SixSeeds Sports Wrap-Up

During all the Christmas activities, don't forget there's a vibrant world of sports you might be ignoring! Here's what you may have missed while you were shopping at Bed, Bath, and Beyond for that perfect rice steamer:

NFL -

Things are starting to heat up for the playoffs.  Or, when it comes to the Dallas Cowboys, cool off...again, while the Chargers won their 8th straight.  The 'Boys now trail the Eagles in the NFC East after the Eagles beat the Giants in a game that had FIVE touchdowns of more than 60 yards.  As for the rest:  the Jags' loss to the Dophins  leaves 7 teams within a game of the final Wildcard spot in the AFC, and the Saints  and Colts  stayed perfect at 13-0.

College Basketball -

John Wall  is still at it in the Bluegrass State, as he led unbeaten Kentucky to a win over ranked UConn.  Syracuse is for real, as they beat Florida, their 3rd win over a ranked team already this year.  Two ranked teams lost to cross-town rivals Sunday:  Cincinnati to Xavier in double OT, and #3 Villanova was bounced by Temple.

Penn got an early start on the firing cycle, letting go of head coach Glen Miller  after they opened their non-conference slate with losses.  Seven of them in seven tries.  Presumably they were concerned about heading into the Ivy League regular season gauntlet with Miller at the helm.

College Football -

After wondering if college athletics would ever be a place where minority hiring of head coaches would ever catch up with the NFL, Turner Gill and Charlie Strong were named as head coaches of BCS Schools last week (Kansas and Louisville, respectively), bringing the total number to twelve - almost double last year.

Mark Ingram became the third sophomore in a row to win the Heisman - the closest vote ever and the first (hard to imagine!) ever for Alabama.

On the off chance that Notre Dame is still relevant to college football, Brian Kelly was named their head coach  this week.

And at Tennessee, Lane Kiffin has caused another stir, prompting an NCAA investigation.  He's got a different definition of "compliment" than I do.

Tim Tebow finally made news by taking a date to an awards ceremony...and he only met her the night before.  Turns out that Kelly Faughnan had been diagnosed with a brain tumor the prior fall, and her wish was to go to Disney for the College Football Awards Show and "get a glimpse" of Tebow.  When he heard of her wish, he introduced himself, and after some time talking, invited her to be his date for the following day's event - including walking the red carpet.  The linked FoxNews video is a MUST watch...but keep the tissues within reach.

NBA -

Different directions:  the Celtics  have won ten straight while the Sixers have lost twelve straight.  Meanwhile, the Lakers still look like the best team in the league but must overcome Kobe's fractured finger from Friday night.

MLB -

The Winter Meetings wrapped up, and Edwin Jackson (now Arizona), Curtis Granderson (Yankees) and a host of others (Tigers) changed teams.  Andy Pettitte didn't, choosing to stay with the Yankees for 2010 - and not retire.

Golf -

And just when you thought he couldn't get any more boorish, more came out last week about Tiger, who is taking an "indefinite leave" from golf.  No links here - if you, my bright and clever reader, can't find fifty articles on Tiger in eleven seconds, I give up.  But why would you want to?  You're here for the things that a good and true and uplifting...

by NATHAN WHITAKER

Nathan is the co-author (with Tony Dungy) of the #1 New York Times bestseller Quiet Strength, Uncommon, and others. Most recently,he co-authored (with James Brown) the new book Role of a Lifetime: Reflections on Faith, Family, and Significant Living. A two-sport athlete in baseball and football at Duke University, he worked in the front offices of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Nathan lives in Florida with his family.