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.