Saturday, January 23, 2010

With MVP Peyton Manning at the helm, no one’s surprised to see the Colts in the Conference Finals. But this year’s NFL playoff underdogs won’t go down without a fight. The Saints and Vikings are looking for their first Super Bowl wins, and the Jets are trying to break through 41 years of frustration. Bill talks with Dave Cariello, blogger for the Canal Street Chronicles, and Ian O’Connor of the Bergen Record.

In the 1980s, the Houston Rockets boasted Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson as The Twin Towers, although the two centers weren’t related. Today, the NBA has two sets of actual, towering twins: Robin and Brook Lopez and Jarron and Jason Collins. As KJZZ’s Steve Goldstein reports, they’re all making their mark on the pros.

The NFL schedule has begun to wind down, but not to worry sports fans: the U.S. Figure Skating Championships are just heating up! The Olympic showcase features Sasha Cohen and Mirai Nagasu, both jostling for the American spotlight. Bill talks with John Powers of The Boston Globe about the event, and what to expect next month in Vancouver.

As a child, Henry Cejudo wrestled for ice cream. In 2008 at Beijing, he became the youngest American ever to win Olympic wrestling gold. Now he’s sharing his story in his new book American Victory. Bill talks to Henry about his fight for survival and his journey to the top.

Earlier this week, lesser-known Chinese tennis player Zheng Jie made an impressive run in the Australian Open, which would make for a great story if Bill knew how to pronounce her name. Fortunately, he’s called in the Two Chinese Characters to help him out.

With the Winter Games on the horizon and plenty of news on the home front, Bill and Only A Game analyst Charlie Pierce have a lot to cover as they discuss the week in sports, including NFL playoff predictions, some trouble on the Olympic front, and an all-white basketball league?

Dave Cummings is a man on a mission. He wants to hit 1,000,000 free throws by Veterans Day 2011 to raise money for American soldiers and their families. After hitting number 100,000 earlier this week, he’s right on track. Only A Game’s Doug Tribou reports.