Wildcats come up short in the White Out, fall to the Huskies 69-67

When these two teams meet up, expect an exciting match-up. Nothing will be more memorable to a Cats fan than the epic block by Derrick Williams that secured the win in last years' White Out, but Cats fans will remember this game for the wrong reasons. It took Arizona a while to start clicking on offense, but they did once Kevin Parrom came into the game with 7 quick points. However, KP would injure his foot and leave the game at the end of the first half, but everyone in McKale was rejuvenated by a monster Solomon Hill put-back dunk at the buzzer. The Cats took a 32-29 lead into the locker room, but the Dawgs showed off their physicality as they muscled there way for offensive rebounds and the lead. The Cats would fall behind by 10 points as the game winded down, taking the crowd out of it. However Solomon Hill led a late rally for the Cats and he eventually tied the game with a trey with only 5.9 seconds left in the game. The Dawgs went up court in a desperate frenzy when CJ Wilcox ran into a set Solomon Hill. The referees hesitated but finally called a blocking foul on Solo. Wilcox would hit the free throws and UDub would go up by 2. Freshmen point guard Josiah Turner would take the ball to the basket with little time left, only to take a hard block by freshmen Tony Wroten. The ball popped out and freshmen guard Nick Johnson cleaned up with a putback jam, but it was 0.2 seconds late and the Huskies hung on for a key win. It's unfortunate to see the Cats get called for the foul after they fought so hard to tie the game. The Cats lose a crucial game on ESPN as they fall short in a game they could've had.

Cats rout the Cougs, 85-61

Thumbs up to Sean Miller for preparing his team against the Cougars after a close loss at Colorado. The Cats were challenged with the task of silencing a potent Cougar three-point offense and they answered the bell. The guards for Arizona played a solid game as Kyle Fogg finished with a game-high 20 points as the Wildcats offense was firing on all cylinders. A convincing win is just what this team and coaching staff needed as a starting off point, especially since this was a trap game and the White-out game is on Saturday.

New Arizona Wildcats Basketball Nike HyperElite Unis

I guess you either love these or hate these. I personally don't think it's right to use silver (which is actually grey, I mean come on) when Arizona's true colors are red, white, and blue. The whole purpose of these unis is to show off the great traditions of successful hoops programs that have worn Nike, such as Duke, UConn, Syracuse, Kentucky, Florida, and North Carolina, but these don't have anything to do with tradition. The back features a star with the year(s) each program has won a title (but the Cats only have one star). Arizona has had a disappointing season so far in a disappointing Pac 12, therefore this uniform has come out at an odd time since it's a reminder of the Cat's potential and the fact that in all likeliness, they are not going to be able to add another star this season. The Wildcats will wear these uniforms on Senior day against the Ucla Bruins on February 25.

The NFL is allowing the use of Twitter during the Pro Bowl

The NFL has always been uptight about Tweeting during games, but let the players have some fun! The NFL is allowing the use of Twitter during the 2012 Pro Bowl for those who really can't wait to say "Totally just sacked @drewbrees" or "My dude @LarryFitzgerald has got some serious hops!", but I guess they earned it since they've had successful seasons as individuals. At least we don't have to deal with @OGOchoCinco tweeting on the sidelines cause he's in the Super Bowl... and cause he's had an awful season.

Giants top the Niners in OT for NFC Championship, 20-17

The New York football Giants are going to Super Bowl XLVI to set up a Super Bowl XLII rematch with the New England Patriots. A game that was played in such sloppy weather conditions concluded in stunning fashion. Just as the AFC Title game earlier in the day, the team heading to the Super Bowl did not win the game, but the team that lost beat themselves. The Niners scored on an early 73 yard Vernon Davis TD, but did not do much after the quick score. New York would tie and take a three point lead at the end of the first half, giving them plenty of momentum headed into the locker room. However, the second half is where the Niners showed their true colors: stout on defense, well coached, but unable to take advantage. The Niners would take back a four point lead, but the Giants would go back on top with a TD set up by a Kyle Williams' muffed punt. The Niners' David Akers would then tie up the game with about five minutes to go, setting up an almost painful slew of drives that resulted in punts and OT. New York won the toss, giving them the ball first; however, they would fail to score. San Francisco received the ball once again, but they failed to end the game. On a New York punt, Kyle Williams would receive the ball once again in good field position, but he fumbled the ball, giving the Giants a short field to work with. As you may recall, Kyle Williams is an ASU product drafted in the 6th round of the 2010 NFL Draft. Williams, a solid punt returner, cost the Sun Devils the Territorial Cup against the rival Arizona Wildcats by fumbling a punt and setting up a short field for the Wildcats. Is it a coincidence that both San Fran and ASU wear gold and red, whereas New York and Arizona wear red, white, and blue? The similarities did not end there as the Giants ended the dreams of the Niners faithful in Candlestick on a 31 yard Lawrence Tynes Field Goal that will send the Giants once again to the Super Bowl.

Patriots top the Ravens for a trip to Super Bowl XLVI, 23-20

Tom Brady will return to the Super Bowl for the 5th time in his career. He didn't necessarily will the Patriots with a stellar passing performance, in fact he didn't even have a TD toss, but the Patriots survived a well-prepared Ravens team. The Ravens were able to hit hard and keep Brady under check. Their defense did just about everything they could possibly do to limit an explosive New England pass attack, but they didn't limit the run game. The Patriots could run on the Ravens which led to some scoring drives, but only 2 TDs. Baltimore had the exact opposite situation as they passed well, but rushed poorly. The Ravens took a 20-16 lead in the fourth quarter, but Brady would lead the Patriots down the field and cap off the drive with a QB sneak. Baltimore would get the ball back late in the game and they almost won the game, but Lee Evans dropped a game-winner and Billy Cundiff would miss a 32-yard game-tying FG. Brady will go on to play at Indy against either the team that beat him in hose last trip, the Giants, or his childhood team, the 49ers.

Cats fall short to the Buffs, 64-63

This game shows exactly what the Cats need and what they lack: a dynamic scorer. Last year, Derrick Williams would've stepped up and take all the key shots (even 3-pointers), but our senior leadership is lacking. The Cats battled the Buffs for the entirety of the game as both teams had slight leads, but the Cats were cold for about 5 minutes and Colorado took a 5 point lead. The Cats came back, but Carlon Brown nailed a huge three-pointer, giving Colorado a one point lead. The Cats had the last possession, but Kevin Parrom missed a game-winning three-pointer. The guard play was lacking as Foggy missed some key free-throws, but Jesse Perry stepped up with 20 points. However it wasn't enough as the Cats drop to 4-3 in the conference and 6th place in the Pac 12.

Cats rout the Utes in Salt Lake, 77-51

The Ctas gave the Utah fans false hope for a while as the game was relatively close throughout the first half, but the Cats did what they should've done as they put up 44 second half points to rout Utah by 26. Four of the Arizona guards scored double figures, which was a good sign since the Pac 12 is determined by guard play. If the Cats can have consistent scoring from that position, they will have an advantage against other conference teams.

Kansas hands Baylor their first loss, 92-74

It wa sonly a matter of time till Baylor would experience their first loss, and they saw it coming. Travelling to Kansas and playing during the Rock Chalk Chant is never easy and it's even harder to come away with the win against the team that has won every Big 12 title since 2002. The main match-up in the game was Baylor's Perry Jones III against the Jayhawk's Thomas Robinson. The two made the game interesting in the early stages, but Jones rolled his ankle and the Bear were pushed away from their inside game. Kansas took advantage and built a lead that the number 3 team in the country could never overcome.

Giants stun the Packers, 37-20

Mr. Rodgers better Discount Double Check his game plan cause the Giants out did the reigning champs in every aspect of the game. A steady dose of Eli Manning and the running back tandem of the Giants put the underdogs on top early and often. Eli took a huge step in his QB development as he took the step from good to great by outperforming Aaron Rodgers. New York has always been a road warrior team, so the Pack should've anticipated a good fight, but they were not prepared at all. The receivers dropped several balls, putting the Pack out of sync from the start. New York must have seen tape from the KC-GB game since the Chiefs defeated the Packers by pressuring Rodgers and running the ball first, then throwing the ball. This game plan will put some pressure on Alex Smith next Sunday for the NFC Championship game.

Ravens outlast the Texans, 20-13

Baltimore allowed their first 100 yard rusher in playoff franchise history as Arian Foster carried Houston on his back with his 132 yards, but it wasn't enough as the Ravens forced three costly INTs from Texans Rookie QB TJ Yates. All three picks led to Baltimore scores and all of the Ravens points came off of turnovers, so Baltimore should consider themselves lucky that they played a rookie 5th round QB. Joe Flacco was harassed all day as he threw only 176 yards, which won't get their offense anywhere as they will try to keep up with the Patriots offense next week in Foxborough.

Patriots rout the Broncos, 45-10

Tebow never had a shot against the Pats. The game was over on the first drive as Brady out on a show by doing just about everything Tebow couldn't do, like throwing the ball. Terrific Tom would lead the Brady Bunch by tossing 6 TDs (an NFL playoff record) with three of them to his pass-catching tight end, Rob Gronkowski. The Broncos defense simply never showed up as Brady ripped them for big play after big play and touchdown after touchdown. Tebow definitely didn't help Denver's cause as he went 9-26 with only 136 yards. In the end, New England was simply the better team as they will host next week's AFC Championship game.

Niners shock the Saints in a classic, 36-32

Alex Smith was once a first overall pick and now a QB that has failed expectations and lowered the expectations of a once proud San Francisco franchise. But for one day, Alex Smith was Joe Montana. All those expectations for the Niners turned around this season as they earned an impressive 13-3 record with a rookie head coach in Jim Harbaugh. The second seed in the playoffs still did not prove anything to the football fans of America as the Saints came marching into Candlestick, expected to win. The Niners would have to use every second of their BYE week to formulate a game plan to wrangle the Saints offense. The plan worked. Put pressure on Brees and take away the run, which Resulted in 3 sacks and 63 pass attempts from Breesy. The 49ers took advantage of some early turnovers and took a surprising 17-0 lead in the second quarter. New Orleans offense would fight back though as they took a 24-23 lead with four minutes left in the game on an explosive Darren Sproles screen play. Then things got interesting. With two minutes and in field goal range, Alex Smith ran a QB draw for 28 yards and a TD. The two-point attempt failed and San Fran held a five point lead. The crowd at Canldestick was rejuvenated; however, the unspeakable would occur. The explosive Saints offense scored a 66 yard TD from a pass to Jimmy Graham, which led to a 3 point lead after a successful two-point conversion. Then NFL history would occur. Alex Smith became Joe Montana as he led the Niners down the field to the 14 yard line with 9 seconds left. On the very next play, Vernon Davis became T.O. As he caught and hung on to a TD pass, which marked the return of the Niners to the NFC Championship game.

Cats fall to the Ducks at home, 59-57

I can not stress how important it is to win at home in the Pac 12. Going 9-0 at home then splitting games on the road can set you up with a decent record and possibly a spot in the NCAA Tournament; however, losing to a team like Oregon after you beating their more explosive rival school will get you nowhere in such a weak conference. Oregon dominated early offensively and their zone defense left the Cats scratching their heads. By the time Arizona could get something going, Oregon had jumped out to a 34-22 halftime lead. Though Arizona has always been a victim to sluggish starts but the benefactor of explosive second halves, something wasn't quite right. The Cats did end up having that great 2nd half run that we've grown accustomed to and they even took a one point lead, but the Ducks wouldn't stay flat-footed for much longer. Down the stretch, their guards and team leaders stepped up more that Kyle Fogg did for Arizona. Solo pushed the Cats within striking distance and the frosh took advantage, but the game boiled down to a late trey by Oregon and a missed buzzer-beater by Kyle Fogg.

Arizona survives against Oregon State in OT, 81-73

Thursday's game featured some stellar guard play from the top players in the conference. OSU was led by their dynamic scorer, Jared Cunningham, as they came to the McKale Center looking for a win. The Beavs gave everything the Cats could handle as they toojk a 28-26 halftime lead by quieting Arizona's top two leading scorers in Jesse Perry and Solomon Hill, but the guards stepped up big time for the Cats. Arizona went 12-22 beyond the arc as Nick Johnson, Kyle Fogg, and Brendan Lavender scored 19, 23, and 18 points to tie the game and send it to OT. The Beavers nearly won in regulation as Ahmad Starks went on a scoring rampage, but his buzzer beater rimmed out and the game went to OT at the McKale Center. Arizona would outscore OSU 9-1 in the five minute period, but a lot happened in the short time period other than scoring. Foggy just made a great lay-up over Cunningham and was fouled, which essentially iced the game. However, the two got in a scuffle and four technicals were handed out, two for each team. The Cats would hang on to win and improve to 12-5.

LSU gets blanked by Bama in the Title Game, 21-0

This is the definition of embarrassing: getting blanked in your home state against your arch rivals in the title game. This is the definition of intensity: blanking your rivals in the title game and not allowing them to cross the 50 yard line until their last drive. The Tigers had an awful show of football as they had no fight whatsoever on offense while the defense was hung out to dry against a prepared Bama offense. This was the last game for many SEC stars including Bama's Dre Kirkpatrick and Trent Richardson while LSU saw the last of the Jordan Jefferson/Jarrett Lee duo of QBs. Les Miles will be and should be criticized for not putting Jarrett Lee in the game while Jefferson was struggling as the game was still in reach. LSU was not prepared and I don't think they deserve co #1s even though the two teams split this year.

Tebow! Broncos shock the Steelers, 29-23 OT

Give Tebow some credit. Maybe he's not the flashiest QB that can throw lasers all over the field, but he was good enough to go unconventionally conventional as he went 10-21 with 316 passing yards and 2 TDs. The Broncos started hot and earned a 20-6 lead. The Steeler would tie the game with 3:48 and had a chance to set up a game-winning Fg, but Roethlisberger was sacked and pushed back out of FG range. The game would go to OT, the first ever with the new system. Tebow did the same thing he's been doing all season in OT: win. That's exactly what he did when he tossed the ball to Demaryius Thomas for an 80 yard catch and run to set up a rematch against New England and Tom Brady.

Giants shutdown the Falcons, 24-2

Marty Ice was ice cold as he and the Falcons offense was shut down all game long. The only points for the Falcons came on an intentional grounding by Eli Manning in the End Zone. Those were the first points and the only points in the game for Atlanta. The Giants were well balanced on offense as Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw steadily picked up yards and Eli was efficient enough. Green Bay better be concerned in the solid Giants defense next Sunday.

Cats top the Trojans, 57-46

The Cats showed two weaknesses on their tip to the LA schools: a small interior and a three-point dependent offense. The Cats went only 2-15 against USC in their win on Sunday due to poor guard play and an offense dependent on shooting the trey. The Cats are usually better than this, but on an off-day, they better be wary of a team that can jump on their back. Arizona jumped out to a dominating 32-16 halftime lead, but the Trojans could slowly climb back. Jesse Perry picked up the slack for the three-point shooters as he put up 20 points.

Saints top the Lions, 45-28

The Lions return to the NFL playoffs was short-lived, but they fought hard. The only problem was that they were put up against Drew Brees and the red-hot Saints. Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson hooked up a few times for TDs, but Breesy made things look easy as he racked up 466 yards against the Lions secondary. Detroit set the tone with a great opening drive and really controlled the game in the first half. It wasn't till the second half that the Saints explosive offense ignited and it wasn't till the last quarter that the Saints marched away. The 49ers will have to put up big offensive numbers if they want to win in Candlestick.

Texans beat the Bengals in their first playoff game, 31-10

Since the Texans joined the NFL in 2002, they haven't been in the playoffs. That all changed this year as the Texans started this Season with an impressive 7-3 record, but their luck seemed to change when Matt Schaub went down with a broken foot. Going into the playoffs with a 3-game losing streak and a rookie QB, things looked gloomy for Gary Kubiak's squad. On Saturday, when the Bengals came into Reliant Stadium, the atmosphere was electric. Cincinatti would quiet down the crowd a bit by drawing first blood, but Andy Dalton, the rookie out of TCU, would throw three INTs as Arian Foster had a great game to put away the Bengals and send Houston to Baltimore.

Suns rip the Trailblazers, 102-77

I'm not expecting a lot from the Suns this year, but it's great to see some vintage Phoenix basketball led by Steve Nash. Nash was perfect on ESPN on Friday night as he racked up 17 points and 9 assists. The suns had fresher legs and a more potent offense against the surprising Portland squad, but a tight schedule this year with too many back-to-back games could've been the difference as the Suns hit 100 points the first time this season as they climb to 3-4.

Arkansas tops Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl,

Kansas State has had a surprise season, but they were outmanned and outmatched against the Razorbacks. Collin Klein could never establish himself as a running QB, so once they got in a hole against Tyler Wilson's Arkansas offense, KSU had to throw. Kansas State fell in a 19-0 hole early on, but Klein led the Wildcats back to within three. However, the Razorbacks would put KSU away and walk away with the Cotton Bowl.

Cats can't rally past the Bruins, fall 65-58

You don't have to be a college basketball expert to figure out how important Thursday's game against the Ucla Bruins was for the Arizona Wildcats. Beating a preseason favorite (that has faded badly) was important for Sean Miller's squad since it would put them in the upper echelon of Pac 12 basketball, unfortunately they fell short in Anaheim. The Honda Center, an arena with both great and awful Cat's memories from last year's tournament had another poor memory for Arizona. The Bruins fed the ball to their to headed center combo of twins: the Wears. And boy, did they wear down the Cat's will in the paint. Travis Wear had 20 points while his brother David had 14 points. The two combined for 34 points and an astonishing 13-16 as they gave the Cats their fifth loss of the season.

Orange crush! West Virginia dominates Clemson in the Orange Bowl, 70-33

I wasn't surprised that the game had a total of 103 points, but I was shocked at how the Mountaineers scored 49 first half points and really gave the Tigers no time to get their act together on defense. Geno Smith passed for 6 TDs, which set an Orange Bowl record. The combined 103 points was the highest ever in a BCS game too, but the game was truly decided when West Virginia stripped the ball at the one yard line and returned it 99 yards for a 13 point lead and a 14 point swing. Clemson would never recover and the Big East tri-champs would walk away with the Oranges.

The Wolverines top the Hokies in the Sugar Bowl, 23-20 OT

It sure is sweet for Denard Robinson and the Michigan Wolverines as they return to national prominence with a Sugar Bowl win. While I don't think either team was the best choice for an at-large bid in New Orleans, they still put on a show. This BCS game also came down to FGs and missed opportunities as the Virginia Tech Hokies kicker, Justin Myer, went perfect in regulation, including the game tying kick. However, Myers missed a kick in OT, which proved to be the difference as Michigan capitalized.

Oklahoma State gets past Stanford in the Fiesta Bowl, 41-38 OT

So far, 2012 has been the year of the kicker. The day before in the University of Phoenix stadium, Jay Feely of the Arizona Cardinals nailed a game winner in OT. A day later, RS freshmen Jordan Williamson botched key FGs for the Stanford Cardinal as they lost in OT to the Oklahoma State Cowboys, 41-38. Stanford started off well as they leapt out to a 14-0 lead. Brandon Weeden started off slowly by throwing an INT on his first attempt, but OSU tied in the game after two big touchdown plays by Justin Blackmon. With 3:12 to go in the game, Joseph Randle tied the game once again for the Cowboys in a back and forth game, meaning 3:12 for Andrew Luck to work with. Luck would set up a 35 yarder for Williamson, which the freshmen pushed wide-left. The kicker would miss the FG again in OT, and OSU would capitalize with a Quinn Sharp chip-shot. The true irony of this game is that both kickers missed key FGs that would've changed their seasons: Williamson missed the Fiesta Bowl game winner and Quinn Sharp missed a would-be game winner against ISu, their only loss of the season. It seems kicking affects football in all the wrong ways. This is how Andrew Luck's stellar college career will end. Breaking John Elway's records doesn't get you Rose Bowl berths as Stanford has finished second in the Pac 12 to the Ducks. Luck finished as runner-up for the Heisman twice. All he can hope for is being drafted 1st.

Ducks outscore the Badgers in the Rose bowl, 45-38

The 98th Rose Bowl featured two of the best offenses in college football but with different styles. The Bucky Badgers relied on Montee Ball to run the ball and set up big pass plays for Russell Wilson. The Ducks fast-paced spread running attack was not slowed down at all as they ran past the Wisconsin defense. The game was back and forth, till Darron Thomas threw a pick-six to give the Badgers a 28-21 lead. Oregon would tie and take the lead in the next half. The game's turning point was when Jared Abbrederis fumbled the football when Wisconsin was driving for the tie. Wisconsin would get the ball back, but with no timeouts and only 16 seconds left. Wilson would lead the Badgers to the 28 yard line, but the time expired when he tried to spike the ball. Oregon would win their first Rose Bowl in 95 years. De'Anthony Thomas showed that the Ducks running attack won't miss a beat without LaMichael James as he ran for 155 yards on only two attempts to score two TDs. Montee Ball would only tie the record for TDs in a single season as he scored once to tie Barry Sanders at 39. This was Chip Kelly's first BCS bowl win in three appearances.

Spartans comeback to top the Bulldogs in Triple OT, 33-30

Blair Walsh was college football's best kicker last year. This year, he botched two costly field goals for the Georgia Bulldogs in the Outback Bowl. Georgia jumped out to a 16-0 lead with the help of Aaron Murray and Brandon Boykin. Kirk Cousins led a fourth quarter comeback to tie the game at 27 to force OT. Cousins was intercepted in the first possession of OT, but Walsh missed the game winner. In the third OT, Walsh's game-tying field goal attempt was blocked and the Spartans capped off a big comeback.

Cardinals finish the season with an OT win against the Seahawks, 23-20

Fitzgerald left his best for last and started 2012 off with a bang. The Japanese Fighting Fish snagged two of the greatest catches this NFL season in a 9 catch 149 yard performance against the Seattle Seahawks. The Cards pushed out first to a Get a comfortable 20-10 4th quarter lead, however the Seahawks were the team that forced OT with a late comeback. In OT, Fitzgerald made a great one-handed catch to set up a 28-yard Jay Feely game winning FG. The Cardinals finish the season with an 8-8 record and 2nd place in the NFC West. Arizona showed vast improvement in close games as they were 1-6 in the first 7 games, but finished 7-2 with an improved defense and some fourth quarter/OT magic from Skelton. If Skelton can improve his accuracy, he'll give Kolb a run for his money in the off-season. If Kolb can stay healthy, the offense will improve. If the Cards can keep most of their roster and coaches and get a few offensive linemen, they should really improve next year.

Packers top Lions in a shoot-out without Rodgers, 45-41

Matt Flynn had a better game than any single performance by Aaron Rodgers this year as the 4-year, former 7th round back-up from LSU filled in for the regular season finale. Flynn passed for 480 yards and 6 TDs. If Rodgers had a performance like that, he would've been only the 5th QB to ever hit 5000 yards in a season and throw 51 TDs, which would be a new record. Rodgers didn't get the chance at that record, but Matthew Stafford was able to hit 5000 yards on the season as he threw for 520 yards, but the Packers proved too much. The Pack will have the first overall seed in NFC and the Lions will have the 6th seed in the NFC.

Remembering 2011

Let us not forget 2011... A year that can be described by thousands of words: scandalous, shocking, lockout, wild, epic... I would describe this year with one word: unpredictable. 2011 in sports always left us questioning and guessing about the next thing that was going to happen; what was going to happen next? There are a few good and bad things this year has for us to learn from:

NFL: The Green Bay Packers returned to prominence and Aaron Rodgers proved Lambeau doesn't need Brett Favre to become Titletown once again. During the offseason, the players and owners couldn't come to an agreement on a new deal, but the Lockout ended just in time for a full NFL season. Us NFL fans were treated with 4th quarter comebacks and countless stories from the media because of an interesting 2nd year QB with a funky wind-up: Tebow. Like it or not, this kid is something special and he's left his footprint on the great game of football. 2011 was also the year of the passer; Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, and Drew Brees, need I say more? It'll be exciting to see what happens in the playoffs. One Word: Unpredictable
MLB: A crazy year. D-backs make the playoffs, Boston and Atlanta miss out while St. Louis sneaks in. St. Louis upsets the dream team of Philadelphia, but Texas forces them to one out from a World Series. America's past time still has some punch, though and St. Louis used a couple of miracles to win game 6 and then win game 7. Unpredictable
NBA: The Mavericks won their first NBA title by taking down giants: Kobe and the Lakers, and LeBron and the Heat. For an underachieving franchise to win their first title by taking out heavily favored opponents in a league that has lacked suspense was great for the sport, however the lockout was not good for the sport. Why argue over money when a sport can be revived? Unpredictable
NHL: A sport with few fans needs a lot to make news, but the 2011 season for hockey had many treasures and lessons to learn from. Vancouver leapt out to a Stanley Cup lead, but in Boston, Aaron Rome nailed Nate Horton for a Stanley Cup ban. The Bruins awoke afterwards and took the series from a stunned Vancouver team. The shock led to arguably the saddest moment in Vancouver history: the riots. Unpredictable
NCAAF: A year of scandal. Penn State saw an awful end of an era as Joe Paterno himself couldn't escape the scandals in "Happy Valley". However, college football always holds surprises. The many upsets and RG3 winning the Heisman instead of Andrew Luck are just a few stories from a rich year. Unpredictable
NCAAB: A year full of talent from Kemba Walker to Derrick Williams. VCU and Butler making their presence felt in the basketball world as they both made the Final Four. Many talented college freshman stayed in college rather than going to the NBA to create another unpredictable year.
What does 2012 hold in store for all of us? Will more QBs make their impact in the NFL? Will Bryce Harper emerge as baseball's top star? Will Miami falter in the playoffs once again? Who will win the Stanley Cup in an air-tight playoff race? LSU or Bama? What will happen in March? How will the Summer Olympics play out?  Which country will win the Euro Cup? We won't know until we witness it. Welcome 2012.