In case you were too busy stuck in a polar vortex at Pearson Airport, here’s what you missed in the world of sports …
NCAA Football
—Following FSU’s 34-31 victory over Auburn, Dee Dee Bonner (Alabama Quarterback AJ McCarron’s mother) contributed to the national debate over whether colleges are doing enough to educate their student athletes. Her response to Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston’s post-game speech—“Is that even English?”—raised an important point concerning the academic exceptions granted to certain student athletes on the basis of their importance to their university’s sports program. FSU responded with a collective ‘U mad bro?’ coupled with a picture of Winston’s Heisman trophy and the crystal ball shaped national championship.
NBA
—Mediocrity is truly a terrible existence. The Toronto Raptors can empathize with Kierkegaard’s existential angst as they will struggle to either go deep in the playoffs or obtain the number 1 pick in the 2014 NBA draft. After getting rid of Rudy Gay, the Raptors went 6-3 with Head Coach Dwayne Casey questioning the meaning of life and the rules governing winning the game of basketball. Oh well, considering how bad the Eastern Conference has been, Casey at least knows that his team can play at this level and still be good for home court advantage in the first round. Who ever said losing basketball isn’t playoff basketball?
IIHF U-20 World Championships
—Canada extended its gold medal drought to five years, and Tim Hortons wondered if its hockey sponsorship money could be put to better use. In a dominant performance, Finland won 5-1 in the semifinals against the junior Canucks. With the tournament heading to Toronto and Montreal next year, fans should get an early start raising their expectations to wildly enreasonable levels.
NFL
—Spike Jonze couldn’t have written a better matchup than that which awaits NFL fans in the Conference Championship weekend. The Saints went marching out against Beastquake Lynch and the Seattle Skittles. They face their archrivals the San Francisco 49ers who ripped apart the Carolina Panthers after stealing all of their signature moves. In the AFC, icons Tom Brady and Peyton Manning faced off for the 15th time. Manning led the Denver Broncos past divisional rivals, the San Diego Chargers who proved that temper tantrum throwing abilities do not correlate to playoff success. The Luck ran out on the Indianapolis Colts as Tom Brady’s Patriots proved to be unflappable.
Ashes Cricket
—For those of you who look to expand your sporting horizons across the Atlantic (and Pacific), Australia just demolished England 5-0 in their recent cricket series, the Ashes. Yes, cricket, that most noble sport enshrined in Canadian history, with the first ever international cricket match having been played between none other than Canada and the United States. Australia, inspired by their rampant fast bowler Mitchell Johnson, played one of the most effective and brutal brands of cricket in recent memory to claim this year’s title.
