2010 Monthly Recap: January

The first month of the new decade provided us with a college football championship that saw a star get injured early, a NFL playoff schedule that saw few exciting games, and a college basketball number one curse.
College Football:
In the BCS National Championship Game, Texas QB Colt McCoy was hurt early in the first quarter, an injury that cost the Longhorns the title, and it was not until the second half that we saw the potential that backup Garrett Gilbert has for the next three seasons. Outside of the title game, other exciting bowl games in January included the Outback Bowl, where Northwestern and Auburn put a clinic on how not to kick field goals and how not to play defense in a sloppy overtime battle.
In BCS play, Tim Tebow dominated in his final college game and another talented quarterback in Terrelle Pryor finally showed the big game performance that was needed for him to gain national attention in the Rose Bowl.

College Basketball:
While the college football season ended, the college hoops season started to heat up with conference play. One of the main storylines is the number one curse that plagued Texas and Kentucky in the past two weeks, which ended up in Kansas regaining the top spot after a tough loss in Knoxville to the Volunteers, who suspended four scholarship players prior to the game due to an off-campus incident.
Coaching legend Jim Calhoun took a leave of absence from Connecticut due to health issues and the Huskies responded well in the first two games after his leave by defeating Georgetown and then top ranked Texas at home.
Also, mid-major powers Gonzaga and BYU both cracked the top ten and teams will not want to see both in their bracket come tourney time.

NFL:
The last week of the regular season gave Jets and Cowboys fans reason to celebrate as both teams had big wins to set up playoff rematches against Week 17 opponents, Cincinnati and Philadelphia, in which both the Jets and Cowboys won.
The wild-card round was filled with lackluster games until the Packers and Cardinals took the field in Glendale. Aaron Rodgers and Kurt Warner led their offenses to a shootout that will not be forgotten for a while. But in the shootout, a defensive play in overtime leading to a Karlos Dansby touchdown gave the Cardinals the win.
The divisional round lacked a punch with the only surprise being a Jets upset in San Diego, in a game where the usually accurate Nate Kaeding missed three field goals and helped the Jets advance to Indianapolis. On the NFC side, Kurt Warner played his last game against the Saints, where Warner was mauled by the New Orleans' defense all day.
The conference championships showed the fight of the Jets and Colts. The Colts survived the early threat from Rex Ryan's fiesty group and booked their tickets to Miami. In the Superdome, the Saints' defense did the same to Brett Favre as they did to Kurt Warner a week before and in what is most likely Favre's last game, his last play will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. An interception that gave the Saints a chance to go to overtime and eventually win the game is not thw way Favre would wanted to have left on but he is most likely going to retire in the offseason, even if his decision doesn't come until July.

NBA:
The league was marred by a situation that did not please commissioner David Stern. Wizards' teammates Gilbert Arenas and Jarvaris Crittendon got into an argument in the locker room and firearms were pulled. The event ended in both players facing firearms charges and both suspended at least until the end of the season.
The Western Conference continues to be dominated by All-Star starter Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. While in the East, one of the bigger headlines is that Allen Iverson, back with the Sixers, has been elected to start in the All-Star Game by the fans, which has come under scrutiny because Iverson has barely played half a season in Philly. The other top storylines in the East are the playoff push being done by the Charlotte Bobcats, seeking their first playoff appearance, and the Atlanta Hawks, who if they get hot could challenge the powerhouses for the title.

NHL:
The Winter Classic on New Years' Day between the Flyers and Bruins was a success in every way. At the end of the month, the struggling Maple Leafs made two blockbuster deals by acquiring Dion Phaneuf from Calgary and Jean-Sebastein Giguere from Anaheim.
In the Western Conference, the duel between San Jose and Chicago for the top spot continued and the Capitals, led by captain Alex Ovechkin are still on top of the East and look to have no contest for the number one spot with the closest team eight points behind in the Devils.

Events to Look Forward to in February:
Super Bowl XLIV: Colts vs. Saints
21st Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia
NBA All-Star Game at Cowboys Stadium