Ronaldo shoes can beat a car and Newcastle United

It's gotta be the shoes, was the classic line from Mars Blackmon and it has been a great week to the be the shoes on the feet of Christiano Rolando.

Earlier this week, his new Nike Mercurial Vapor 4 beat a Bugatti Veyron in a foot race.
Then today, the magic orange shoes, scored on a free kick in the second half to start the destruction of the Newcastle United defense and later scored two more to get his first hat trick with United.

With the win, United jump the Gunners on goal difference at the top of the Premier League.

Roy is at it again

This year, Roy Williams decided not to bring a freshman class in at North Carolina. But in preparation for the next couple of years, Roy has really done his work. According to Rivals.com, Roy is bringing in six 5-star recruits and a 4-star recruit in the next couple of classes.

"Carolina has assembled an incredible group of high school players," national recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons of All-Star Sports, told the Charlotte Observer.
"Roy Williams already has classes that will be among the tops in the country and it is just January."

For the 2008-2009 season Roy has brought in:

• Tyler Zeller, C, Washington, IN
• Larry Drew, PG, Los Angeles, CA
  
• Ed Davis, PF, Mechanicsville, VA
  

For the 2009-2010 season:

• John Henson, PF, Round Rock, TX
• David Wear, SF, Santa Ana, CA
  
• Travis Wear, SF, Santa Ana, CA
  

For the 2010-2011 season:

• Kendall Marshall. PG, Arlington, VA (this story is from 2003 about who good he is)
  
• Reggie Bullock, SG, Kinston, NC.
  

As this current group of Tar Heels moves on, Roy will have another great generation right behind them waiting to make an impact.

Nike Rules College Football

The bowl season, that was just completed, can be described in one word, Swoosh. All over the month long festival of college football, besides the football, the other constant, was that darn Nike Swoosh .

Take a look at the BCS Bowls, the only team that did not sport the swoosh was Kansas who wore the three stripes of Adidas.

Here is the list of the bowl games and the shoes and uniform deals they were wearing:

• Poinsettia Bowl: Navy vs. Utah: both Nike schools
• New Orleans Bowl: Florida Atlantic vs. Memphis: both Nike schools
• Papajohns.com Bowl: Cincinnati vs. Southern Miss: Both Nike schools
• New Mexico Bowl: New Mexico vs. Nevada: New Mexico Nike, Nevada Adidas
• Las Vegas Bowl: BYU vs. UCLA: BYU Nike, UCLA Adidas
• Hawaii Bowl: East Carolina vs. Boise State: both Nike schools
• Motor City Bowl: Purdue vs. Central Michigan: Purdue Nike, Central Michigan New Balance
• Holiday Bowl: Texas vs. Arizona State: both Nike schools
• Texas Bowl: TCU vs. Houston: TCU Nike, Houston Adidas
• Champs Sports Bowl: Boston College vs. Michigan State: Boston College Reebok, Michigan State Nike.
• Emerald Bowl: Oregon State vs. Maryland: Oregon State Nike, Maryland Under Armour
• Meinke Car Care Bowl: Wake Forest vs. UConn: both Nike schools
• Liberty Bowl: South Florida vs. Mississippi State: South Florida Adidas, Mississippi State Russell Athletic
• Alamo Bowl: Penn State vs. Texas A&M: Penn State Nike, Texas A&M Adidas
• Independence Bowl: Colorado vs. Alabama: both Nike schools
• Armed Forces Bowl: California vs. Air Force: both Nike schools
• Sun Bowl: South Florida vs. Oregon: both Nike schools, but South Florida will be becoming Under Armour next year.
• Humanitarian Bowl: Georgia Tech vs. Fresno State: Georgia Tech Russell Athletic, Fresno State Nike
• Music City Bowl: Kentucky vs. Florida State: both Nike schools
• Peach Bowl: Clemson vs. Auburn: Clemson Nike school, Auburn Under Armour
• Insight Bowl: Oklahoma State vs. Indiana: Oklahoma State Nike, Indiana Adidas
• Outback Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Tennessee: both Adidas schools
• Cotton Bowl: Missouri vs. Arkansas: Missouri Nike , Arkansas Adidas
• Gator Bowl: Texas Tech vs. Virginia: Texas Tech Under Armour, Virginia Nike
• Capital One Bowl: Michigan vs. Florida: both Nike schools
• International Bowl: Rutgers vs. Ball State: both Nike schools
• GMAC Bowl: Tulsa vs. Bowling Green: Tulsa Nike, Bowling Green Adidas

BCS Bowls

• Rose Bowl: USC vs. Illinois: both Nike schools
• Sugar Bowl: Hawaii vs. Georgia: both Nike schools
• Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Kansas: Virginia Tech Nike, Kansas Adidas
• Fiesta Bowl: West Virginia vs. Oklahoma: both Nike schools
• BCS Title Game: LSU vs. Ohio State: both Nike schools

Of the bowl games that were played only two games did not feature the swoosh. In college football its all about the swoosh.

The African Cup of Nations Affect on the EPL

The African Cup of Nations, which starts later this month, is going to have its own say on the Premier League title race. Here is the list of players, from The Guardian, that are in the process of leaving their team to play in the tournament:

Arsenal
Kolo Touré and Emmanuel Eboué (Ivory Coast),
Alexandre Song (Cameroon)
Birmingham
Richard Kingson (Ghana), Mehdi Nafti and Radhi Jaidi (Tunisia)
Blackburn
Aaron Mokoena (South Africa)
Bolton
El Hadji Diouf (Senegal), Abdoulaye Méïté (Ivory Coast)
Chelsea
Mikel John Obi (Nigeria), Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou (Ivory Coast), Michael Essien (Ghana)
Everton
Joseph Yobo and Yakubu Ayegbeni (Nigeria), Steven Pienaar (South Africa)
Liverpool

Nabil El Zhar (Morocco), Mohamed Sissoko (Mali)

Middlesbrough
Mohamed Shawky (Egypt)
Newcastle
Obafemi Martins (Nigeria), Geremi (Cameroon), Abdoulaye Faye and Habib Beye (Senegal)
Portsmouth
Pape Bouba Diop (Senegal), Nwankwo Kanu and John Utaka (Nigeria), Sulley Muntari (Ghana)
Reading
André Bikey (Cameroon), Emerse Faé (Ivory Coast), Ibrahima Sonko (Senegal)
Sunderland
Dickson Etuhu (Nigeria)
Tottenham
Didier Zokora (Ivory Coast)
West Ham
John Pantsil (Ghana), Henri Camara (Senegal)
Wigan
Salomon Olembe (Cameroon), Julius Aghahowa (Nigeria)

Sky Sports breaks down who is going to feel the loss the most during the next month. Of the top four Manchester United have no one going and Liverpool only have Sissoko, who will not be with the team when he gets back, and a fringe player going.

Separated at Birth

They are both know as the devils, but the mascots at Manchester United and AC Milan might be separated at birth.

Manchester United's Fred the Red

AC Milan's Milanello

I'm not saying that one used the other as a base, but there look very similar.

The Wizard Rules New Orleans

They call him the Wizard, because he is the man behind the curtain.

During the first half of the BCS National Championship LSU Offensive Coordinator Gary Crowton (right) had the Ohio State brain trust on the run and pulling their hair out. Crowton used every formation from the Pistol to the Spread to the Full House and at each turn the vaunted Ohio State defense did not have an answer for the master planner.

The thing that makes Crowton so good as a play caller is that he is fearless and will try anything. That showed at every turn during the title game.

Crowton should be up for any job that opens up, but a tough end to his head coaching tenure at BYU has turned people off to him. Before coming to LSU, Crowton lead the offense of the Oregon Ducks. When The Mad Hatter Les Miles went looking for someone to replace Jimbo Fisher, who left to become the offensive coordinator at FSU last year, he went to Eugene and talked him to coming to Baton Rouge. Some people questioned the hire but in the end it was one of the best things that Miles did and the rest as they say is history. May be soon, another school will give him another head coaching job.

Joys of the Cup

Every week fans of English football get to see such great meccas as Old Trafford, Anfield, Ewood Park, and in the past Highbury, but during the FA Cup that all changes. Fans like my self, get to see such classic grounds in lower divisions as Portman Road (below), Turf Moor (above) and the Scholars Ground.
The best things about the ground outside of the premier league is that they all have something different to offer, weather its classic terraces or a terrible pitch.

That is what makes the cup so special, it gives fans who have never been to England a look at the smaller clubs that make up the fabric of the game.