Friday Night Five Pack

It's Friday night and I got a five pack of thoughts to pound. So let's get to it.

• 2010 has to go down as my worst sports year since 1993. The Nets finished up a 12-70 campaign and are now 7-20. The Devils got bounced in the first round of the playoffs again and now sit in second to last place in the East. UW and Georgia football were down. Bucknell hoops lost to Holy Crap in the 1st round of the PL tournament. The only shining lights were Sounders soccer and Husky hoops. Here's hoping that things turn around. UPDATE: And somehow I forgot about the Mets and their suck-ass season.
• It looks like we may have seen the last of Yao Ming on an NBA court as it was determined that he will miss the rest of the year with a stress fracture in his ankle. This injury is good for no one - not the Rockets, not Yao and not the NBA. He was responsible to turning more people on to the NBA than any other player and he served as an unofficial ambassador of his home country. At 7'7 he never had the odds in his corner. Men that big have never had long careers in the NBA because their bodies just break down. We don't know when it will happen or what will be the cause, but it always happens. With a skill set like none other, he will be missed.
• Well, LeBron did it again. Tonight in front of a packed house at MSG (that included my boys 'Buns and Gorman), LeBron silenced the crowd in the 3rd quarter with 14 points on his way to another triple double. The game was tied at halftime and the crowd was going apeshit. Surely the NYC fans could help propel the Knicks to a win...or maybe not. LeBron was an assassin again. He was unguardable again. He led the Heat on one of their patented runs, outscoring the Knicks 33-17 in the third. I am really liking this.
• College Bowl Week season starts Saturday. I can honestly say that it is my favorite week of the year. Yes the first four days of the NCAA bball tournament are great, but there is a 3 day break in between the 2nd and 3rd round. During college bowl week we are without a game on only 2 days between Dec 22 and Jan 4. If it was mid-November there would be 0% chance that I would watch a game between Northern Illinois and Fresno St, but during bowl week, I'll watch the whole thing if given the opportunity. I really don't know what it is, but I am a pig in shit until the New Years.
• On the day that Kasey Keller re-signed with the Sounders (for what I am hearing will be a significant paycut), Portland traded for former MLS Keeper of the Year Troy Perkins. Time will tell if it is a good move as Perkins was horrible last year, losing his job to a guy not even old enough to drink. To me, the most interesting thing was that they traded away Steve Cronin, who was thought to be the incumbent starter. I can't help but feel for Cronin. He was good enough to play in MLS last year, but stayed in Portland because he wanted to be a part of the new MLS team in 2011. He loved the city and was committed to the organization. When the time came, he was one of the first three players signed. And less than a month later he is gone. Not exactly I would want my front office to work.

That's all I got for now. Enjoy the weekend.