Our first three sporting events of 2011 included an overtime game between the Phoenix Coyotes and the Buffalo Sabres, a poorly-defended game between the aging Phoenix Suns and the post-Lebron Cleveland Cavaliers, and some little college football game between the Auburn Tigers (aka Plainsmen and War Eagle) and the Oregon "we-have-more-Nike-uniform-combinations-than-Auburn-has-nicknames" Ducks. The "Home Team" was 2-for-3, with the Coyotes making it close bringing the game to OT, and the highest scoring game (Suns vs Cavs) was probably the least entertaining.
Hockey is not one of my favorite sports, but USA vs Canada in the Olympics did catch my interest. We got to see Ryan Miller (the goalie for the US Hockey team) goaltend for the Sabres, and a close game kept me engaged. Buffalo prevailed on a goal in OT, and the final score was 2-1. I'm starting to appreciate the sport.
I have to admit, I'm a frontrunner NBA fan. In the MJ days, it was the Bulls. When the Admiral was at the helm, it was the Spurs. And a few years ago, when two very talented but ringless players joined another to wear green, it was the Celtics. But I LOVE defense in sports. So as long as that's how the Celtics play their game, I'm "All In". (Yes, this is an intentional foreshadowing of the topic to come.) So even though it was the highest scoring game we attended, the geriatric Suns against the Cavs was disappointing. The defense was miserable (the offense was too, otherwise there would've been more points). Nash is getting old and looks it. Grant Hill is breaking down. And Half Man-Half Amazing (Vince Carter) is not so much anymore. Suns beat the Cavs 108-100. LeBron's talents are still in South Beach.
And for our last little game of the trip.... in September 2010, Alabama looked to repeat for the SEC West, when a little-heard of talent from the south Atlanta area went a few hours down I-85 to Auburn. (Maybe he got there in a new car, who knows.) And the rest, as they say is history. With Cameron Newton taking the snaps, Auburn went through a tough SEC West and a weak SEC East to win the SEC Championship. They took their 13-0 record to face the 12-0 high-flying Oregon Ducks. I expected a basketball score; after all, I had watched Auburn score 65 points against a pretty good Arkansas team, and average around 500 yards a game. And I knew the Ducks were capable of the same. What I got were two teams that looked like they hadn't played in a month, a 'fairley' well-defended game, and a few impressive drives.
At the end, the quarterback from College Park, Ga was not the star. With Michael Dyer's knee never touching the ground after rolling over a defensive back, he had a stop and go run which eventually led to a Wes Bynum field goal. I would've loved to see Urban Meyer's face at that moment. Remember him trying to freeze the little freshman kicker back in 2007? Auburn wins 22-19, its first National Championship since 1957. Though I still say they would've put up a better game against USC in 2004 than Oklahoma and very well could've won the game. Let's hope that Auburn doesn't have the same fate as the 2004 USC team. Nonetheless, congratulations! It was a great game to cap off a great season. Damn War Eagle! (Oops, did I say that wrong?)
