Pro Bowl Proposition: Add Mini Competitions

The Pro Bowl is the worst All-Star Game of the 4 major sports leagues in North America, no doubt. It is boring, little hype, and it is a game that is not at all on par with real football games. However, it gets great ratings (7.7 rating and 12 share).  I don't get it. They are trying to make the game more interesting by allowing players to tweet during the game. However, I doubt it will make a difference. I think the Pro Bowl needs to add what all other sports leagues have; an interesting event(s) to the excitement of the All-Star Game.  My proposition is the Pro Bowl Mini Games. 

Accuracy Competition




The 1st competition is one for QB's and how accurate they can be. There would be 8 targets around the field, 5 yards, 10 yards, 15 yards, 20 yards, 25 yards, 30 yards, 40 yards, and 50 yards away. Each target is worth the amount of yards away it is. 6 QB's would start the competition. 2 of the 6 will make the finals were they will battle it out. The QB's that I would choose  include Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Phillip Rivers.


40 Yard Dash

The 40 Yard Dash
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The 40 Yard Dash is probably the most simple of all the competitions. All you have to do is run the fastest for 40 yards. There will be 8 players to start of the match-up. The top 4 will make the finals were they will run against each other in a 40 yard dash. If I were going to pick the 8 players, I would defiantly have RB Chirs Johnson (4.24 at 2009 Combine) and WR DeSean Jackson (4.29 at his Pro Day).


Hands Competition


This a competition for wide receivers, but can also feature defensive backs. The point of the challenge is to catch the most footballs with out dropping or miss one. You finish when you drop or miss 3. 10 players  start the game but the finals only has 4. Players I would select; WR Calvin Johnson, WR Wes Welker, and CB Charles Woodson.


Power Competition

Ndamukong Suh is a ruthless player
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This competition is for hard hitting defensive players. Each player tries to push a dummy the farthest in 1 minute. There will be 10 players competing for 3 spots in the finals. In the finals, they would see who could push the dummy the full 100 yards. The finals would be the 3 of them against each other, while the qualification round is just 1 player a t a time Some of the players I  want to see in this competition would be LB Ray Lewis, DL Ndamukong Suh, LB James Harrison, and LB Brian Urlacher.


Distance Kicking Competition


This contest is where kickers kick against each other to see who is the best with accuracy and power. They will kick straight on field goals starting from the 20 yard line. A kicker who misses a kick is eliminated from the competition. When it gets down to 2 kickers and a both of them miss. They will try the spot again. If no one can make it from there they start over again. Kickers I would have in the competition would be Sebastian Janikowski, David Akers, and Nate Kaeding. 

2012 Youth Winter Olympics

2012 Youth Winter Olympics Logo
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The 1st ever Youth Winter Olympic Games just finished up in Innsbruck, Austria, 88 years after the 1st Winter Olympics. The first Youth Summer Olympics was held in 2010 in Singapore. The Youth Winter Games occur the same year as the Summer Games, while the Youth Summer Games and the Winter Games also occur during the same year. Athletes must be 15-18 years old, depending on each sport. The Games took place from January 13th to the 22nd. It is almost like a regular Olympics, same sports, Torch Relay, mascots, and an Opening and Closing Ceremony. 


There were 15 sports at this year's Youth Winter Olympics, Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Cross-Country Skiing, Curling, Figure Skating, Freestyle Skiing, Ice Hockey, Luge, Nordic Combine, Skeleton, Short Track Speed Skating, Ski Jumping, Snowboarding, and Speed Skating. Here is my report on a few of them.



Alpine Skiing 


Alpine Skiing had the most competitions of any sport at 9. They were Men's and Women's Slalom, Giant Slalom, Super-G, Super Combine, and the Mixed Parallel Team Event. Switzerland's Sandro Simonet was victorious in the Men's Slalom. Marco Schwartz of Austria won the Men's Giant Slalom and the Super Combine. Morocco's Adam Lamhamedi got Gold in the Men's Super-G. The winner of Gold for the Women's Slalom was Slovakia's Petra Vlhova. France's Clara Direz won a gold medal in the Giant Slalom. Estelle Alphand, also of France, won the Women's Super-G. Magdalena Fjaellstroem of Sweden won the Women's Super Combine. Austria won the Mixed Parallel Team Event.


Ice Hockey


Ice Hockey had two tournaments and two Skills Competitions, one for Men and one for Women. In the Men's tournament, Finland defeated Russia 2-1 to win Gold. The game was tied at 1 and  went in to game winning shots (penalty shootout). In the shootout, Finland scored on it's 1st two tries while Russia scored none, giving the Finnish the win. Canada beat the US 7-5 in the Bronze medal game. Latvia's Augusts Valdis Vasilonoks got Gold in the Skills Competition, who won the Fastest Shot competition. 


For the girls, Sweden won it all in a 3-0 victory over Austria in the Gold Medal Game. Sweden did not lose a game all tournament, with it's biggest victory a 17-0 blowout of Kazakhstan. In the Bronze Medal Game, Germany won 7-4 against Kazakhstan. The winner of the Skills Challenge was Julie Zwarthoed of the Netherlands. She won the Fastest Shot and Puck Control contests.


Luge

The USA's Gold Winning Mixed Team Relay for Luge
IOC Young Reporter Photo by Raitis Purins

Luge in Innsbruck was very exciting. In the Men's singles competion, Germany's Christian Paffe edged out Riks Kristens Rozitis of Lativa by about 2 milliseconds. Mirian-Stefanie Kastlunger from Austia beat Saskia Langer by about 2 milliseconds for Gold in Woman's singles. Italy's Florian Gruber and Simon Kainzwaldner won the doubles Gold. USA won the Mixed Team Relay with lugers Summer Britcher, Tucker West, Ty Andersen, and Pat Edmunds. The medal leader for Luge was Germany with 1 Gold, 3 Silvers, and 1 Bronze.


Snowboarding


Ben Ferguson of the USA won the Men's Halfpipe with a best score of 93.25. Micheal Ciccarelli of Canada received Gold in the Men's Slopestyle with a score of 94.25. Hikaru Ohe of Japan won the Women's Halfpipe with a score of 96.25. Canada's Audrey McManiman won the Women's Slopestyle with a score of 84.25.


All in all, Germany had the most medals of the Games with 17 and the 8 Gold medals, most in that category. Japan and Russia both had 16 total medals. The host country Austria had 13 medals, including 6 Gold medals. The USA had 8 medals in all. Morocco and Slovakia both have 1 medal in total. Those medals is a Gold medal.

2012 MLS SuperDraft Report

Andrew Wenger at the Draft
Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Montreal Impact Surprise With #1 Pick


The MLS's newest expansion franchise, the Montreal Impact, had the 1st overall in this year's SuperDraft. Many expected them to pick F Darren Mattocks from Akron. However, the Impact surprised and selected Duke's D/M Andrew Wenger with the 1st pick. The former Blue Devil scored 17 goal and had 8 assists. With the 2nd pick, the Vancouver Whitecaps selected Darren Mattocks, who had 21 goals in 22 games.


Chandler Hoffman Slides To Philadelphia 


Former UCLA Forward Chandler Hoffman was expected to be taken as high as the 3rd pick. Hoffman wasn't chosen until Philadelphia Union took him with the 13th pick. Hoffman had 18 goals and 6 assists.

2 Goalies Selected In Draft

Only 2 goalkeepers were selected in this year's draft and both were taken within 2 picks of each other in the 2nd round. First was Ryan Meara from Fordham who ha 75 saves in 18 games. He went to Red Bull New York. Second, came Chris Blais, the former goalie of South Florida, who had 60 saves last season. Blais was selected by the San Jose Earthquakes.

Silva and Maund are going to call BMO Field  home this year
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Toronto FC Gets 2 1st Round Selections


Toronto owned the 4th pick in the draft and picked Luis Silva, midfielder from UC Santa Barbara. He had 17 goals and 10 assists in 22 games. They also owned the 12th pick through a trade with the Red Bulls with them last April. With the 12th pick, Toronto selected Defenseman Aaron Maund from Notre Dame.


The Supplemental Draft


The 19 teams of the MLS are not done drafting. On Tuesday, January 17th the MLS will have it's Supplemental Draft. The draft will have 4 rounds. Also, this is the 1st year of the MLS SuperDraft having just 2 rounds. So any 3rd round SuperDraft pick becomes 1st round Supplemental pick.

New Year's Day Sports: College Football or Hockey

New Year's has historically been a day of celebration, Dick Clark, and important college football bowl games. This year is a little different due to New Year's being a Sunday, the bowl games are moved back a day so the NFL games can be played. These games include the Rose Bowl Game, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, and others. However, the NHL has a new New Year's game, the Winter Classic, that is really gaining attention and views. So can the NHL and Winter Classic take over College Football as New Year's sport?

The Rose Bowl Game is a New Year's Tradition
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First, lets look at the reigning champion, college football. We looked at the history of all the games played yesterday and games that were mostly played on New Year's Eve, Day, and January 2nd. I consider January 2nd part of the New Year's celebration because the bowl games are usually not played on New Year's if New Year's is on a Sunday. 

The Rose Bowl Game has been played on January 1st and 2nd every time in the bowl's 98 game history except twice. Both times were when the Rose Bowl was also the BCS National Championship. 


The Sugar Bowl was played on December 31st, January 1st and 2nd every time from 1935 until 2000. Since the 2000, 6 games have been played on dates other tha the 1st and 2nd of January. 


The Orange Bowl was been played on December 31st, January 1st, and 2nd from 1935-2000. Since 2001, the Orange Bowl has switched dates during the 1st weeks of January. Only 5 of the games since 2001 have been played on the 1st or 2nd.


The Fiesta Bowl was first played on various dates in December from 1971-1980. Then, starting in 1982, the Fiesta Bowl was played on New Year's Eve, Day and the 2nd until 1997. Since 1999, 4 games have been played on different dates.

The Cotton Bowl was a New Year's Classic
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The Cotton Bowl Classic was played on December 31st, January 1st, or 2nd every time except once from 1935-2010. It was played on January 7th last year and will be played January 6th this year.


The Gator Bowl was played on the New Year's Eve, Day, and the 2nd 24 times from 1946-1994. Since 1996, January 1st and 2nd has been the date of the Gator Bowl.


The Outback Bowl has been played on January 1st or 2nd every time except in 1986, the 1st ever edition of the bowl.


From 1947-1986 The Capital One Bowl was played on the 1st 13 times. Since 1987, the bowl has been played on the 1st or 2nd every time.


The TicketCity Bowl has only been around for 2 years and was played on January 1st in 2011 and January 2nd in 2012.


The reason for the Orange Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, and Sugar Bowl have not played all their games on January 1st or 2nd is because of the BCS. They like to spread out their games more. I think this is taking away from college football's tradition of New Year's games. 


The Winter Classic does not have as much history as some of the bowl games, but does have as much intrigue. The first regular season outdoor game was not a Winter Classic. It was on November 23, 2003 and it was between Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens in Edmonton. The idea for the game, called the Heritage Classic, came from an outdoor college hockey game between Michigan and Michigan State called the "Cold War" that attracted 74,554 fans two years prior. There has only been one other Heritage Classic, last year, in Calgary, between Calgary and Montreal in which Calgary won 4-0.

NHL Winter Classic 2011 in Philly
Noah Graham/NHLI via Getty Images

The idea of an outdoor game on New Year's was brought up by Executive VP of NBC Sports Jon Miller. He got the idea in 2004 and was finally approved in 2007. Buffalo hosted the first ever Winter Classic on January 1st, 2008 between the Buffalo Sabres and the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was played at Ralph Wilson Stadium and had and attendance of 71,217. The game was tied at 1 when it went into overtime and then the shootout. In the shootout, Sidney Crosby scored the goal that won it for Pittsburgh. Next, came the 2009 Winter Classic played at Wrigley Field between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings won 6-4. The next year, the Boston Bruins faced off against the Philadelphia Flyers at Fenway Park in Boston, with the game going to Boston 2-1. 365 days later, Heinz Field in Pittsburgh hosted the 2011 Winter Classic between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals, won by the Caps 3-1. And, finally, the 2012 Winter Classic between the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers at Citizen's Bank Park in Philadelphia. New York won 3-2.


There is a lot that is appealing about the Winter Classic. The game being played outdoors, the retro sweaters, the star players, great games, are just a few of many reasons the Winter Classic is one of the best sporting events of the year. These reasons are helping the Winter Classic become more of a tradition and more popular each year.


The 4th of July has pro, minor, and independent league baseball, Thanksgiving has the NFL, Christmas has the NBA, March has college basketball, and what does New Year's have. I think that right now college football has the edge, but, I believe hockey will soon be on par with college football. However, I don't think hockey can take over New Year's due to the number of bowl games it is up against.