It's Friday....

We have made it to Friday, a look at what's up....

- The Falcons got a solid hold on a playoff spot in the NFL with a dominating 41-14 win over the Jaguars Thursday night. One player that was invisible most of the season but has come alive in recent weeks is Roddy White. White had 10 catches and two touchdowns in the win as Atlanta improved to 9-5. I think that win clinched Atlanta's ticket to the playoffs. The Bears and Lions aren't going to catch them now.
- The Penn State story continues today as former athletic director Tim Curley and former vice president Gary Schultz are in court to fight perjury charges. A sad state of affairs in Happy Valley. Let's just hope it all gets figured out sooner than later.
- There are reports this morning that the Blue Jays made a bid of over $40 million on Yu Darvish and that was probably enough to win the bidding for the Japanese star pitcher. That would be a tall task for any AL East team to face Darvish and the 6'5" pitcher wouldn't even have to move to the United States.
- An interesting storyline is developing in Indianapolis with the Colts and Peyton Manning. Indy is assured of the No. 1 pick in the 2012 Draft and there is no doubt they will take Stanford QB Andrew Luck. Where does that leave Manning though? Does he stay and mentor the new kid? Does he ask for a trade to clear the path for Luck? I'm thinking Manning wants nothing to do with having a possible star on the roster with him and will ask out.
- It's a light morning so let's discuss four high school students being suspended for doing Tim Tebow's famous pose at school. If the kids are trying to be like Tebow, let them. It could be a lot worse.
- Last, I would like to talk about the new NFL TV deals a bit...I think we are heading towards Thursday Night games each week of the season for one and wouldn't be surprised if a weekly Saturday game is added. Saturday games showed up a lot on schedules in recent years in the final weeks of the season when college football was done. Why not do it again? Also, I like the switches possible to make the best games to another network if blocked by another great game. More viewers is more money for the NFL. Finally, all three Thanksgiving games on where people can watch them. The NFL can now control the whole holiday, a win-win for everyone.

That's the story for now, trivia later and more sports thoughts tonight....

Saturday Night Fever

A lot of things have broke in the last hour or so, recapping...

- Congrats to Baylor QB Robert Griffin III on winning the Heisman Trophy. A lot of experts would have predicted Stanford's Andrew Luck would get the honor but Luck finished second. He won't finish second in the NFL draft but that's for another day. Griffin probably had the best season of all the finishers anyway so he deserved to win.
- ESPN is reporting Brewers OF Ryan Braun has tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. If this is true and we will wait to see on that, it is a huge blow to the Brewers with the 50-game suspension along with the probable loss of Prince Fielder but also would be a huge black eye on MLB. The MVP being suspended is not good for business.
- A big day in college basketball was topped by Indiana upsetting No. 1 Kentucky in Bloomington. The doormats of the Big Ten in recent years, Tom Crean has done a great job of turning the program around and getting it back to the way it was for many, many years. The Hoosiers will be a major player in the conference this season the way they are going.
- Let's not forget No. 2 Ohio State losing at No. 13 Kansas so we will have a new No. 1 team next week. Probably Syracuse after their win Saturday.
- Hopefully you sat down for a few and watched the Army/Navy game today. You had everything you could want from a game like that, the President helped with the coin toss and seeing all of the soldiers in uniform in the stands was breathtaking. Only happens once a year, got to enjoy it.

NFL Week 14 Predictions coming in the morning.....

Fantasy Five-Pack Friday

The weekend is here, here are the five burning questions in my mind....

- How will this week's events affect Penn State's football team against Nebraska? This could go either way, the players say they are playing for Joe Paterno but how on earth can they focus after everything that has went down.
- Can Andrew Luck clinch the Heisman with a big performance against Oregon? Luck is going to be the No. 1 pick in the draft and can cement his Stanford legacy with a strong game Saturday night. If Luck plays anywhere near his normal self, just call off the ceremony and mail the trophy to Palo Alto.
- Is this going to be the weekend the NBA lockout ends? I know I've been saying that this is going to last a long time, my gut though is telling me the possibility of something happening is here. Let's wait and see if that actually happens though.
- How will basketball on an aircraft carrier look? The answer to that comes Friday night with North Carolina taking on Michigan State on the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson in San Diego. Let's all hope for no wind to affect the ball or the ship and no rain.
- How many more free agents are the Marlins going to bring in? Albert Pujols, Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle. It's obvious now that a big splash is coming in Miami. Pujols isn't going to Miami but I can see Reyes going there. If this all blows up, a new stadium isn't going to help.
- Well, it seems I still can't predict anything as the Raiders opened Week 10 of the NFL season with a 24-17 win over the Chargers.

Fantasy Player of the Day: Oakland RB Michael Bush
Bush ran 30 times for 157 yards and a touchdown along with three catches for 85 yards as the Raiders went on the road for a 24-17 win.

Matchup to Watch: North Carolina vs. Michigan State, 6 p.m. (CT), ESPN
The top-ranked Tarheels begin the 2011-12 season with a game against the Spartans. Will be fun to see a game on an aircraft carrier.

This Date in History: Nov. 11, 1946
The New York Knickerbockers play their first game at Madison Square Garden. 65 years later, it is looked at a mecca for basketball still.