Around the World of Sports......

While we're all waiting with baited breath on who wins the Peyton Manning sweepstakes (despite the Jets bowing out, and then inexplicably extending the oft-criticized golden boy Mark Sanchez), I thought I'd take this time to comment on a few of the top sports stories right now. These are my opinions only, and should not be taken for fact. Anyone who knows me would have no problem agreeing with that statement.

While UConn couldn't repeat the incredible postseason run from last year, they did take Syracuse to the limit in the Big East tournament and earned a 9 seed in the South regional of the NCAA's. Considering the up and down flow of their season, and the wildly inconsistent play of Jeremy Lamb, Shabazz Napier, Andre Drummond and Ryan Boatright, this isn't a bad thing.

They have a very winnable matchup with Iowa State, depending on which UConn team shows up on Thursday. Of course, this year the selection committee gods did not shine up upon them; their region features both #1 seed Kentucky AND Duke. Jim Calhoun's squad will have quite an uphill battle on the road to the Final Four.

LINsanity has been halted, if not derailed entirely. Despite saying all the right things before his return, things like "now we have a true point guard so I won’t have to create my own shot", the Knicks are 2-7 since Carmelo Anthony's return.  What's worse, opponents have trapped and pressed Jeremy Lin into a virtual backseat to Baron Davis. Clearly this team isn't gelling, which is surprising given the production out of the young guys (Lin, Iman Shumpert, Landry Fields) and the core of battle-tested veterans (Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler).

Now would be the time to seize power in the conference, currently led by a surprising Philadelphia 76er team and featuring a fading Celtics squad. If nothing else, the Knickerbockers have brought some recent excitement to MSG for us local fans to enjoy. This leads me to my next topic ...

Madison Square Garden has been rocking, and it's a good thing. Sports all around benefit when some relevancy is heaped upon "The World's Most Famous Arena." The Rangers are skating at a high level and currently leading the Eastern Conference, the Knicks are breathing life into the franchise that James Dolan continually attempts to destroy, and the Big East tournament just enjoyed five days of capacity crowds. Life (and NYC sports) are looking up.

I covered baseball in my previous blog, so I'll restrain myself here (but come early April, I promise nothing).

Despite being a sport where going head-hunting is par for the course, the recent news that former New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams offered cash bonuses to his players for injuring opposing players and forcing them to leave games is still a bit shocking.

Like New England and the "Spygate" controversy, this bounty scandal gives the NFL another black eye. After last season's lockout, that's the last thing they need. Williams and head coach Sean Payton have accepted responsibility, but rest assure the consequences to the franchise will be dire.

But on a positive note for football, great job by the Redskins acquiring the #2 pick in this year's draft from the Rams. They had to completely mortgage their future to do it, but they feel that Robert Griffin III, the Heisman Trophy winner from Baylor, is the type of franchise quarterback to lead them out of the abyss. Time will tell, but at this point it's worth the gamble.

On a local note, go out and support the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. They represent the area well, are involved in the community, and just so happen to be having a heck of a year. Since reaching the Caldor Cup finals (as the AHL’s top team) in their inaugural season, the minor league affiliate of the New York Islanders have had their ups and downs, but right now are tied for the lead in the Northeast Division. The team they're tied with? Hartford’s own Connecticut Whale, the Rangers' affiliate. If you haven't experienced this rivalry in person, I’d recommend checking it out. They battle each other twice more this season, including March 25^th at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport.