Friday Five, 2/5/2010

It seems to be a rather slow week in sports, as we are in the limbo between the Championship games and the Super Bowl. Not surprisingly, the majority of the talk in the sports world is centered in Miami for the build up to the Super Bowl. Ironic how people complain about there being too much of a delay between the LCS and the World Series, and yet there are two weeks between the championship games and the Super Bowl. Hmmm....

#5 - Australian Open

It's not often that I'll dive into the world of tennis; however, it's hard to ignore a major. The Australian Open is the first of four majors in tennis, and so, it is appropriate that it is on this week's Friday Five. Roger Federer dominated Andy Murry to extend his record Grand Slam collection to 16. On the woman's side, Serena Williams beat the recently unretired Justine Henin to tie Billie Jean King with 12 Grand Slam singles titles.

#4 - Baylor goes into Austin and takes care of Texas.

I don't know why a Texas loss actually deserves to be in the Friday Five for a second time; however, this is really more about the Baylor win. This one is really more for my buddy Joseph, a Baylor grad. It is the first time that Baylor has beaten Texas in Austin since 1998. While the win took place in OT, Baylor held the lead for most of the game, opening up a 13 point lead at the beginning of the 2nd half.

#3 - Dwight Freeney's ankle

This has been one of the major stories that Colts fans have been following this week. It was originally reported that Freeney had a ligament tear and probably would not be able to play in the Super Bowl. The latest that I have seen is that he is doing much better and will play on Sunday. Freeney is going to be an important part of a pass rush that cannot allow Drew Brees to have plenty of time to throw if the Colts want to win.

#2 - Pro Bowl played with paltry players in power positions

I didn't watch it this year. Actually, I don't know if I've ever made it a point to sit down and watch the Pro Bowl. This is the first time that they played it the Sunday prior to the Super Bowl, and a lot of people weren't particularly happy about it. Super Bowl teams had their representatives in Miami to be introduced before the game, but did not participate. Considering that was 11 or 12 of the best players in the game, it was certainly a disappointment. However, Matt Schaub and David Garrard lit up the NFC secondary for 372 combined yards and 3 TD's, and Chris Johnson scored with 5 minutes left to give the AFC a 41-34 victory. Schaub was the MVP of the game. That's right, Matt Schaub was the starting QB and Most Valuable Player; do I need to say more about why I don't watch the Pro Bowl?

#1 - Kurt Warner retires

After jumping onto the scene in 1999 with the Rams, disappearing for a while with fumble problems and helping turn the Arizona Cardinals into an offensive power house, Kurt Warner has retired. In 1998, Warner was bagging groceries, in 1999 he was bagging the NFL MVP and a Super Bowl ring. Not a bad turn around. Some sports talkers were saying that Warner doesn't deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, but I have a feeling he'll get in and be right at home. He has the top three passing games in Super Bowl history, and the only reason why he doesn't have three rings is because of last minute drives when the defenses couldn't fend off the Patriots or the Steelers.