A "Super" week

In a crazy week for sports, who knew Sunday’s Super Bowl upset was just the beginning. Here’s a recap from the week that was.

The General quits. Coaching legend Bob Knight, synonymous with winning, hastily left Texas Tech adding another chapter to a tumultuous career. Knight’s legacy is a mixed bag of good, bad and ugly. Knight leaves the game with 902 career wins, more than any major-college men’s basketball coach and three national championships with Indiana in 1976, 1981 and 1987. Unfortunately, Knight will be remembered more for his antics than his successes. It’s fitting that Knight finishes his career in a football state trying to build an irrelevant basketball program. In the end, there were too many empty seats at Tech home games, which ultimately pushed Knight into the night.

NCAA Football held its annual draft…I mean, Signing Day 2008. Depending on which scouting outlet (ESPN.com, Rivals.com, Scout.com) you trust most, Miami and Alabama were the clear winners as both schools finished in the top 5 of every ranking. They were followed by Georgia, Florida and Notre Dame. I don’t follow Signing Day much, because I have no clue who most of the recruits are. But looking at recruiting rankings and some of the recaps one thing really stood out.

Teams in warm weather states, where football is king, fared much better than their snowy counterparts. Notre Dame, Ohio State and Michigan were the only consistent cold weather schools to appear in the top 10. There were almost as many SEC schools in the Rivals.com top 25 as there were snowy schools (seven vs. eight). This not only reflects a shift in U.S. demographics, but really shows that if you are the “professional sport” in town (Oxford, Tuscaloosa, Auburn, Norman) it that matters. From this recruiting class, I’m expecting the Big Ten’s recent struggles to continue.

Phoenix essentially gives up. I think ESPN columnist J.A. Adande said it best, “trading Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks for Shaquille O'Neal might be a full-scale (albeit bizarre) attempt to grab a ring, but it also is an admission of failure for their way of basketball.” Looking at the Suns pay role due in next few seasons, you knew that the Marion, Amare and Nash core would change. But, this trade seems like a move of desperation. Marion was more valuable to Phoenix than Shaq ever will be. Unless O’Neal gets healthy, the Suns just opened the door for the rest of the Western Conference to overtake them.

Congress still wants answers. Congressional interest in regulating sports remained higher than their desire to work on actual legislation. The impending meeting on the NFL’s handling of the “Spygate” tapes between commissioner Roger Goodell and Senator Arlen Specter, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, didn't happen but may take place this coming week. Why they are meeting? I’m not sure. I wish Congress would actually do its job, rather than worry about petty problems in pro-sports. Does anyone really care about Spygate after the Pats lost the Super Bowl?

Also, Roger Clemens schmoozed political leaders after he underwent a taped deposition on Tuesday (Feb. 5) with congressional lawyers. A PR move most likely, but it could pay off this coming Wednesday as the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will question Clemens about the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Again I ask, since when did Congress care about the integrity baseball?

Finally..After a gray winter Seattle fans got some good news. With the Sonics playing as expected and the annual demise of the Seahawks in the playoffs, Northwest fans needed a little lift. They got it on Friday (Feb. 8), as the Mariners trade for pitcher Erik Bedard was finalized. Bedard escaped a rebuilding mess in Baltimore, who receive Seattle’s top outfield prospect Adam Jones, reliever George Sherrill and three minor league pitching prospects. I’ll have more analysis on the Bedard trade in the coming days as I countdown to spring. But some positive news for a sports town that desperately needed a jolt.