Beginnings, endings in this week’s sports headlines

Ross Weingarten Guest Writer

While the NFL season is heating up as the playoffs loom, pro football is not the only sport worth watching. As a result, I present a list of all the noteworthy headlines and stories in the world of sports.

1. The college basketball season has begun, and a familiar face is at the top. Yes, it looks as if Duke University, the school everyone loves to hate, is the team to beat. They have the best shooter in the country in J.J. Redick and the best center in Sheldon Williams, as well as a strong supporting cast led by freshman. They haven’t looked their best in some early games, but Duke should continue to improve as the season goes on. But the Blue Devils aren’t alone at the top.
The Connecticut Huskies, led by superstar Rudy Gay, are another great team. Despite missing their point guard, suspended for his involvement in a laptop stealing scam (smart kid), Connecticut won a prestigious tournament in Hawaii by beating some very strong teams.

Gonzaga is also extremely talented, led by the ugliest player in the nation, Adam Morrison. He shoots, passes, and looks like Larry Bird (only the first two are positive), but he has the tiny school from Spokane, Washington thinking about their first trip to the Final Four. Other teams that have a shot to do some damage are Louisville, Boston College, Kentucky, and Michigan State. No matter what happens, the college basketball season will be extremely interesting, filled with upsets and great performances.

2. College Football is coming to a close and it seems that, barring a major upset, USC and Texas, the two best teams all year, will play for the national championship. If the two teams do play in the Rose Bowl, it is sure to be a great game. The college football season has also seen the return of two traditional powers to national prominence: Penn State and Notre Dame. After a few down years, both schools appear to be headed to a BCS bowl game (one of the four most prestigious bowls, each of which pay participating schools up to $14 million). If only Vassar had a football team, we could enter into Division I, make a BCS game, and then finally fix that elevator in Main building!

3. Even during the off-season, baseball fills the headlines. There have been a number of major free-agent signings that will shake up the standings next year. The Mets signed Carlos Delgado, giving them a powerful hitter in their line-up. Will this finally put the Mets over the top and out of the Yankee’s shadow? Probably not. Also of note, the White Sox signed Jim Thome, an aging slugger who missed all of last year with an injury. Can he return to his form of a few years ago? Again, probably not.

4. In pro football, the Colts still have not lost a game. With each week, Peyton Manning and the Colts inch closer to an undefeated season, a feat that has not occurred in 33 years.
The Terrell Owens saga in Philadelphia is finally over. An arbitrator ruled that the Eagles were justified in suspending Owens, their obnoxious, selfish ass—I mean, wide receiver. Now, the only questions remaining are if and where Owens will play. My message to NFL coaches: how could you not want a guy that takes the credit for every win, blames the coach for every loss, and threatens every member of the team to a fight?

5. Tired of reading about pro players with over-priced salaries and egos bigger than their stadiums? Here is a story that made me remember why I am a fan. Last month, new Notre Dame football coach Charlie Weis read about a boy in South Bend, Indiana who was dying of brain cancer. A lifelong Notre Dame fan, Weis went to see the boy who asked for one dying wish: to call the first play of the next game for the Irish. Weis obliged, and on the first play of their next game, quarterback Brady Quinn threw an 80-yard touchdown pass on the play that the boy had called. The ten-year-old boy died later that day. Stories like these make us remember why sports are so important.
Sure, there are wars, earthquakes, and famines around the world that make a silly game seem superfluous. But it is because of these wars and tragedies that sports matter. Whether your game is football, basketball, baseball, or any other, sports provide an outlet for our passion, our innocence, and our love that gets lost everywhere else in society. And at the end of the day, we can still remember that a game is only just that, and with the next day comes the renewed opportunity for competition, and hopefully, victory. It is this passion that the boy in South Bend took with him to his dying day, and in the spirit of thanksgiving, reminded me why I am so thankful for sports.