SPORTS: Allen Iverson's Nuggets Debut, Ohio State-Florida and NFL Match-ups

NBA
Allen Iverson is expected to play Friday night, however, this is contingent on all players in the deal passing physicals. While it appears likely that will happen, a massive snowstorm in Denver, which held up many flights, has left thousands stranded. Airport officials are planning to open two of six runways.

NFL
Perhaps the most intriguing weekend match-up is Cincinnati at Denver. Both clubs are 8-6 and with Denver and the New York Jets also at 8-6, but on the outside looking in. Another intriguing match-up is Tennessee at Buffalo. With Vince Young, simply put, winning and the Bills streaking, only one of these two 7-7 teams will remain alive in the AFC playoff hunt. ... the New York Giants need to win against New Orleans, as does Pittsburgh versus Baltimore and Jacksonville at New England for their playoff aspirations to remain intact.

NCAA
No. 3 Ohio State visits No. 4 Florida in one of the best regular season games this year. C Greg Oden blends perfectly into this lineup, as Ohio State's backcourt carries the load. SG Daequan Cook scores and rebounds at an impressive clip (16.1 and 6.0) and PG Mike Conley Jr. always passes to the open man (6.5 APG). When G Jamar Butler comes off the bench, OSU doesn't miss a beat. Unfortunately for Florida, the team's best player, C Al Horford is out with a sprained ankle.

While it seems certain Ohio State wins the game, the reason to watch this game is last year's best player, Joakim Noah, matching up against instant sensation Oden. Horford's absence surprisingly adds appeal to this game.

SPORTS: Weekend Preview

NCAA Basketball
Friday is a light day, and so is Saturday, despite a huge schedule of games. A couple of games peak my interest, but there aren't many nail biters to watch. All eyes should be on Madison where No. 11 Wisconsin WILL beat No. 2 Pittsburgh, whether the Panthers are with or without center Aaron Gray's services. Kentucky-Louisville matchups always have a ton of meaning in their home state, but at this stage of the season it's not vital to watch. These teams both could make noise later in the year, though, and UK forward/center Randolph Morris and Louisville forward Juan Palacios are names you should know. Southern Miss enters Saturday's meeting with No. 4 Alabama a perfect 7-0, but the Crimson Tide should cruise at home.

NBA
The Allen Iverson sweepstakes will be the biggest news of the weekend with mediocre matchups throughout. The Suns play both the Warriors (Friday) and Kings (Saturday), so we could see a preposterous amount of points scored in either or both of those games. On Saturday, the Cavaliers travel to Orlando for a potential Eastern Conference Finals preview, and Sunday's Rockets-Clippers game is intriguing, especially if the Clips would swing a deal for Iverson beforehand. A Lakers-Wizards game later in the night will complete a Staples Center doubleheader and feature two of the league's most gifted scorers – Gilbert Arenas and Kobe Bryant.

NFL
The NFC East will again be in the spotlight as the Eagles and Giants play at The Meadowlands play on Sunday with the knowledge of a Cowboys win or loss against the walking wounded Falcons (Saturday, 8 p.m.). With the potential for four 8-6 teams, things could get messy in the NFC with a Dallas loss. The Vince Young watch continues in Nashville against the Jaguars, where the rookie's only setback came to the 10-3 Ravens by a 27-26 score. The bigger question in San Diego isn't if the Chargers beat the Chiefs, but how far LaDainian Tomlinson raises the bar on his new single-season touchdowns record. Indianapolis attempts to overcome the same "undefeated hangover" it had last season, but probably fails against the peaking Bengals.

This Could Be the Start of Something

SPORTS: Great Weekend Ahead... NOT!

NFL
Eli Manning will derail New York's season versus Carolina, while his brother Peyton Manning will beat Jacksonville setting up spectacular playoff failure (again).

Houston's DE Mario Williams will have a monster game and silences his critics who said RB Reggie Bush should have been drafted #1 overall, especially off his 4 TD performance. QB Vince Young will break his arm, his shoulder tears completely off his body and his spleen spontaneously combusts... obvious punishment from Shiva the Destroyer for Dustin's article.

Denver QB Jay Cutler will play like a rookie against Philip Rivers and San Diego, forcing Denver's running game to step up. I don't care how they're statistically ranked, that rushing offense is what the Spanish call el horrible.

NBA
Allen Iverson reportedly asked to be traded. Might not happen this weekend or ever, but keep an eye out. This article came from Peter Vecsey, who made a career of pulling things from his butt.

My preseason pick to be Eastern Conference Champions will be labeled "surprise of the season" by the morons running ESPN after Orlando's Dwight Howard punishes Detroit down low. How's Darko Milicic (and Carlos Arroyo) looking now?

MLB
Kansas City team officials will announce they're sorry for not holding onto Carlos Beltran, Johnny Damon or Jermaine Dye in years past, but more than made up for it by signing Gil Meche to a five year $55 million contract.

NASCAR
I don't even have a joke. Well, not one that's better than the Meche joke.

WHAT I'LL BE WATCHING THIS WEEKEND
NCAA Men's Hoops:
No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 6. Texas A&M, 2:30 EST Saturday on CBS.

NFL: Back to the Future - Vince Young to Randall Cunningham

By Dustin Hockensmith

Look at Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young next to former Philadelphia Eagles great Randall Cunningham, and just one glance should reveal their similarities. Both are 6-foot-4 or better and stand that way in the pocket, but they can also tuck it and run with the best of them in any instance of a breakdown. The difference between the two is mental, and you'll watch in the not-so-distant future as Young and the Titans (or whoever else) succeed in the playoffs where Cunningham and the Eagles (and Vikings) failed.

There's obviously no mistaking just how talented Young is on the exterior, but what he has shown over the Titans' surprising three-game win streak is the inner toughness of a champion. Not that it should come as a shock, Young single-handedly carried his underdog Texas Longhorns to a win in the 2006 national championship game.

Young's heroics have continued as a pro quarterback, which is arguably the hardest position to learn in all of sports. A little erratic as a passer thus far, Young has thrown five touchdown passes and two interceptions over the last three Titan wins. If he keeps minimizing his mistakes through the air and making timely runs, there's no telling how successful he can be.

Cunningham had similar accuracy troubles as a young QB, but grew and put up big numbers his entire career. He had his best season as a pro in 1988 when he finished second in the NFL with 30 passing TD's and ninth with 942 rushing yards. Cunningham was a Pro Bowler that season and took his team to the playoffs for three straight years (1988-90), but he threw zero touchdown passes and five interceptions in three straight Eagles losses.

I simply have a hard time believing that a Young-led team would whimper like that and get dominated in the playoffs.

Of course there's still projection and you can never account for the kinds of injuries Cunningham suffered, but you get the sense now that Young is destined for a brighter future. Considering he's beaten both Manning brothers in back-to-back weeks, the future might just be now.

SPORTS: Weekend Recap, Michigan Robbed

NCAA Football
The BCS selection of Ohio State vs. Florida defined the weekend’s sports landscape. The wrong one-loss team was selected. Both Florida are Michigan great teams, but everyone I know wanted to see Michigan avenge their 42-39 loss to Ohio State.

The shame in this situation is everyone—AGAIN—is talking about a broken system rather than (1) USC blowing its BCS hopes vs. UCLA (complete with free furniture), (2) Arkansas hanging tough against Florida or (3) Rutgers losing out on the Big East title--and the Orange bowl--by losing in 3OT to West Virginia.

When the championship game is set right, the outcome is last year’s Texas vs. USC game, which was an all-time great game.

NFL
Rex Grossman killed my fantasy match up against Kenny Bloggins and seems destined to do the same to the Bears in the playoffs. Assuming the Bears win after their first-round bye, I’m predicting Grossman tosses three interceptions in the NFC Championship game.

More novice QB eras were unfolding this weekend too. Vince Young looks like a winner, despite what ESPN analysts said. Jay Cutler debuted Sunday night, while Mike Shannahan waited for the toughest possible game to introduce his young QB to the league. I like David Garrard and Jack Del Rio made the right albeit difficult decision by benching their “franchise player” Byron Leftwich (if he avoided taking monster hits, he’s a franchise player. Unfortunately, that won’t happen). Jason Campbell threw interceptions and his footwork is poor, but he has a strong arm.

Tony Romo started this novice QB trend, and had an effective game against the diminutive Giants. There’s a reason Romo went undrafted; he’s, at best, average in the pocket. Having said that, there’s a reason Bill Parcells is a genius; I’ve never seen a more accurate passer on the run than Romo, a rare talent indeed. He did this all day against the Giants, and Romo knocked the Giants down from Super Bowl contender to playoff pretender.

NCAA Basketball

FSU’s AL Thornton continues to be a stud against college basketball’s elite. His 28 points and 9 rebounds led the Seminoles to a stunning upset over the fourth ranked Florida Gators.

NHL
Viktor Kozlov’s four goal outburst put the Islanders atop the Atlantic Division after beating the Rangers 7-4.

NBA
Kevin Garnett said he’s angered by the trade rumors and he’s happy in Minnesota. Well, Kevin, I’m calling your bluff you liar.

The storyline for this NBA season is: if KG or Allen Iverson get traded, which uniforms will they don?