Four very good dogs.
The Cheat SheetBy Kevin McGuire on
Powered By
00:00/04:21
10
Joel Berry II admits to not understanding magnitude of UNC-Duke rivalry at first
Share
Next
Stay

It’s Super Bowl Week!

Yes, the week has finally arrived. We all survived our first week without football (no disrespect to the Senior Bowl and Pro Bowl… well, maybe to the Pro Bowl just a little bit) and will now be treated to the biggest game of the year this coming Sunday. But a Sunday without real football did not leave us having to dig very deep to find stuff to talk about. Let’s get your week started with this morning’s edition of The Cheat Sheet!

Serena Williams wins 23rd Grand Slam, Roger Federer pads lead on Nadal

Everybody loves the underdog story, if you can even qualify Roger Federer as an underdog.

The Australien Open this weekend was made for legacies to be cemented as if there were any doubts where Serena Williams and Roger Federer stand in the all-time history of the sport. Serena Williams defeated her sister, Venus, in the women’s championship match on Saturday, giving Serena her 23rd all-time Grand Slam tournament championship. That breaks a tie for all-time Slam victories previously shared with Steffi Graf.

As a reward, not only did Serena take home the trophy, but she also got a nice pair of custom Jordans to mark the occasion from (who else?) Michael Jordan.

The following day, Roger Federer continued his impressive run at the Australian Open with an exhilarating match against Rafael Nadal. Some called it “the most important tennis match in history,” and while I can’t say that for sure, I can say it did all it could to live up to the billing. The two went back and forth from start to finish but Federer came out on top after a grueling match to claim his 18th career Grand Slam championship.

Not bad for a guy that’s been out of action for the past six months.

Federer is now four Grand Slam titles ahead of Nadal, and the tennis experts seem to think Nadal’s time is quickly running out for a chance at catching Federer in the Grand Slam title race.

Sports world reacts to Donald Trump’s immigration ban

You’ll never guess which NBA coach is speaking out against Donald Trump. Oh, you guessed it? You toally guessed it.

Last week President Donald Trump signed off on an executive order to begin an extreme vetting process for immigrants, which many have referred to as the Muslin Ban due to the nations it targeted and the religious background of refugees it was designed to hinder. It hasn’t exactly gone over well with many, as this weekend put on vivid display. Protests around the country were seen at airports and more, and the sports world used its voices to offer some reaction as well. Among those in on this delicate story were Spurs coach Gregg Popovich (who is no fan of Trump based on previous comments, and sort of resembles President Snow from The Hunger Games), United States soccer captain Michael Bradley and UFC star Ronda Rousey.

Those taking to Twitter have been using a similar hashtag currently being used by Atlanta Falcons fans, which is having a slightly humorous result on Twitter…

A number of colleges and universities have issued responses to ensure the safety and protection of foreign students enrolled on their campuses as well. This has become a bit of a story for the sports world as well with Luol Deng and Thon Maker at risk of being affected by Trump’s ban.

https://twitter.com/vspandia/status/825478697947762688

On a much lighter note, here is video of Trump giving a tour to David Muir of ABC News with lines from Spinal Tap dubbed over it.

The Pro Bowl was last night

Does that trophy come with that guy’s head in it? Because if it does, I’ll watch the Pro Bowl next year.

Contrary to the stereotype, there actually was at least one moment of some rough stuff. Perhaps not coincidentally, it came between a Buffalo Bill and Seattle Seahawk (remember the tensions got a little high during a regular season meeting this past season).

Want another highlight from the most meaningless game of football there is? OK, fine, here you go.

I guess the AFC won, which I also suppose is a reason to celebrate.

That’s it. That’s all I’m going to say about the Pro Bowl. I already feel I’ve gone on too long discussing it.

Quick Hits

Four very good dogs.

– Oh, for crying out loud. The NHL All-Star Game was on Sunday as well?

My thoughts exactly. Your highlights…

Kudos to the NHL for throwing in a 3-1 joke…

– Also, kudos to Chris Pronger for doing something just about anybody would love to do just once…

– The San Francisco 49ers have a new general manager with the hiring of John Lynch. The hiring pulls Lynch out of the broadcast booth on FOX  and puts him to work in a front office role for the first time in his career. He’s even getting a six-year deal, which is unheard of for an unproven general manager, but Lynch seems like he may have the smarts to help the 49ers out. That’s the hope, at least. My biggest concern would be expecting Lynch will be able to rekindle the glory years of the 49ers just because he has a connection to the Bill Walsh era due to playing college football at Stanford. Regardless of how Lynch pans out, there is nowhere to go but up for the 49ers, so he will have plenty of work to do out west.

– How about some college basketball from Sunday. Here’s Villanova clipping Virginia in a good one at the buzzer. Hit it, Gus Johnson…

Villanova may lose their top ranking when the new AP poll comes out today after losing a game in conference play during the week, but a win over No. 12 Virginia may prevent them from falling too far as well as four other top 10 teams losing this weekend. Could Gonzaga be your new No. 1? At 22-0 and No. 3 last week, it could be, but I’d guess No. 2 Kansas makes the jump to No. 1 after a road win at No. 4 Kentucky.

Elsewhere, Northwestern fans are starting to feel a little giddy…

– Jon Rahm with a reminder that I will never be good enough to be on the PGA Tour…

– The New York Knicks and Atlanta Falcons played a lengthy game of NBA basketball on Sunday, needing four overtimes to decide a winner. NBA All-Star Paul Millsap played 60 minutes.

– Remember when the St. Louis Cardinals hacked the Houston Astros? The unsealed court documents have been opened. Speaking of the Astros, the Astrodome has been designated as a historical landmark, but that may not prevent it from being paved into a parking lot.

– College football fans can be the absolute worst sometimes.

– It’s a good thing Oklahoma’s football program has some spare Big 12 conference trophies laying around.

– It seems new Oregon head coach Willie Taggart is schooling players in Madden. Take it from a Duck, offensive lineman Tyrell Crosby…

– If somebody could mix in some NBA Jam sounds to this video of Justin Tucker dropping a field goal through a basketball hoop, I’d greatly appreciate it.

– I can’t even get my dog to bring a tennis ball back to me half the time and this dude has his dogs doing this…

https://twitter.com/WeLoveRobDyrdek/status/825920495107395584

One last gratuitous moment of procrastination

Remember the old Batman: The Animated Series? That show was awesome, and now someone has redone the intro video in LEGO form. Not a bad way to kill some time before the LEGO Batman movie hits theaters.

Here’s the original…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XJ3HJXxDwc

About Kevin McGuire

Contributor to Athlon Sports and The Comeback. Previously contributed to NBCSports.com. Host of the Locked On Nittany Lions Podcast. FWAA member and Philadelphia-area resident.

View all posts by Kevin McGuire