By Alastair Ingram

Anastasia Onuaku might be the most trusted source in college basketball. 

That's because of 10 simple words that are based on nothing more than good old fashioned maternal optimism. 

Anastasia's son Arinze Onuaku went down with a knee injury in the 2nd half of 1 seed Syracuse's surprising loss to 8 seed Georgetown on Thursday at the Big East Tournament.

He had to be carried off the floor with some of his teammates watching and others praying for his health.

It was one of those injuries that, at the time, seemed like a veritable season killer.

Entering the day, the Orange had virtually locked up a #1 seed for the NCAA Tournament, and looked poised for another characteristic run in New York City.

Instead, SU's vaunted 2-3 zone got torched by the Hoyas, Onuaku was left in a crumpled heap, and the Orange's Final Four aspirations were left hanging in the balance.

"He'll be fine. He will be back for the NCAA Tournament"

Well then, Syracuse fans, nothing to worry about. Don't cancel those hotel reservations in Indianapolis, and don't put that Gerry McNamara jersey back in the closet just yet.

As far as I know, Anastasia Onuaku doesn't have a medical background, and yet, it doesn't seem to matter. At this point, I (along with every other SU fan in America) am willing to accept her diagnosis.

Sure there's an MRI scheduled for Friday morning, the results of which could easily leave me stuffing my head down a toilet. But until the letters "ACL" or "MCL" scroll across the ticker, mom knows best.

Maybe it's false hope. But false hope is hope nonetheless. 

First Topic:  UConn women's basketball has won a record 71 straight games.  How impressive is the streak?

Jordan:  I don't want to diminish this accomplishment, because normally I'm the guy sticking up for the small conference team that's trying to make the tournament at 28-4, when everyone is discrediting them for beating up on lesser competition to get there.  My response usually is, well, no matter what the competition, it's still impressive to be 28-4.  But to me, having covered women's college basketball closely this year, there is such a giant disparity between UConn and everyone else, part of me doesn't want to give UConn all the credit I suppose they deserve.  It's an amazing streak, on the surface.  Geno Auriemma deserves a boatload of credit because he recruited these girls and they are the best players in the country.  But they're SO much better than the average, and SO much better than the rest of the top 25, that they really should be blasting these teams every night.  Most women's college teams don't have one player that's as good as one of UConn's starters.  So congrats to them, but the problem here is women's college basketball needs teams that can challenge the Huskies.

Scott:  That streak is, quite simply, stunning. Possibly more stunning is that they beat their own previous record set only a couple of years ago. Now, that all said, I'm not going to front like I've been keeping strict tabs on them all year, but I'm not sure whether or not this is great for UConn or telling of how mediocre the rest of the country is. This team isn't just "beating" teams, they're destroying them, on a nightly basis. We're talking ranked, top-10 teams by 20 and 30 points repeatedly. Just something to chew on...

Alastair:  I had the chance to see the UConn women up close and personal earlier this year at Gampel Pavilion, and that is a well-oiled machine. Maya Moore and Tina Charles might be the two best players in the nation, but what makes this team special is coaching. Geno Auriemma might go down as the greatest women's college basketball coach in history, and it's because his teams never let up, not even for a single second. The Huskies could be down by 4 (although that would never happen) or up by 40, and without knowing the score, you couldn't tell the difference. You can't win 71 straight games based solely on talent (although it doesn't hurt). UConn's won 71 straight because complacency isn't a part of the program's vocabulary.

Sports Pants:  I don't really pay attention to the UConn streak because it's college women's basketball and the only two teams I think of are UConn and Tennessee.  Still, when you get 71 victories in a row, it's a good run.  I wonder if the '72 Dolphins will crack open some champagne when UConn finally loses.

Jordan:  He hasn't been convicted of anything, and we don't really know the details of what happened either time.  The only thing I can think here is that Big Ben needs to stop putting himself in bad positions.  Stop getting into situations where this stuff can happen.  You're too famous to be getting yourself into predicaments like this.  Life isn't fair.

Scott:  This is actually the first that I'm hearing of this, but it just further supports my theory that these guys are just like the rest of the population. Much as we'd rather them not be, there are bad dudes and rapists and thugs and jerks in pro sports, just like in regular society. So, not too shocked.

Alastair:  The guy has as many sexual assault accusations as he does Super Bowl rings. That's not a good statistic for a high profile NFL quarterback. Maybe both charges are completely bogus. Maybe they both have merit. All I know is that it would be completely naive to side with Ben Roethlisberger based solely on the fact that he's a well-known and highly paid professional athlete. When it's a single, isolated incident, the public tends to think, "here's a desperate woman looking to make some money." When it's two similar stories more than 2,000 miles apart, let's just say it sounds more like a trend than a financial scam. I'm sure the Steelers aren't too proud of the fact that their franchise QB is known more for rape charges and motorcycle accidents than throwing touchdowns.

Sports Pants:   Oh Benji, you silly large mammal.  Going out and sexually assaulting again I see.  There are two sides of thought on this story:  the first is the "where there's smoke, there's fire" theory in which Big Ben must be doing something wrong since he's been accused of being overly sexual twice now.  The other side is the victim theory that says Big Ben is a celebrity which makes him a target.  Now that he's been accused once, every crazy woman looking for her 15 minutes of fame will seek him out in a bar hoping to get her name in the papers.  If you wave a gay yellow towel around your head at every football game, I can guess which side you fall on.  The rest of us are waiting to hear the evidence.  The first girl that accused him didn't have much.  Is this another unfounded claim, or are we going to find a disturbing pattern with the quarterback?  Either way, Big Ben might want to invest in some DVD's so he can stay at home a little more.  Plus, I don't want to think about big goofy Big Ben and the word sex.  Ewww. 

Final Topic:  Which conference tournament(s) are you most excited to watch?  Why?

Jordan:   I honestly enjoy them all.  As a Syracuse fan, I'll definitely watch the Big East Tournament, but as someone who covers the Horizon League I enjoyed watching that tourney as well.  The Big Ten's version is always fun in my neck of the woods, and the ACC Tourney usually provides some interesting games.  I also like watching the small conference tournaments because you see so little of these teams during the regular season that it's fun to see them at this time of year.  If I had to choose, I guess I'm most excited for the Big East because of Syracuse, but I like 'em all.

Scott:  The Big East tourney, which I am actually attending today, is the only one I'm concerned with as it's got my team and the only others I've remotely followed in it. Outside of that, I want Robert Morris to beat Quinnipiac in the NEC tourney championship on Wednesday. Reason? My little brother goes to RMU and I went to Syracuse. Could be looking at a 1-16 match up, and I need to remind my brother that I'm better than him at absolutely everything. Muahahhahahaa.

Alastair:  Clearly it's the Big East Tournament. Best conference. Best venue. Case closed. Even if I wasn't a proud Syracuse fan, it's still the most intriguing of the bunch. 5 teams in the top 25, plus storied programs like Louisville, Georgetown, and UConn fighting for their tournament lives. It also seems like every single year there is an instant classic in the Big East Tournament. Maybe we'll get a 7 overtime thriller this year. The Big Ten and ACC Tournaments are worth a watch to see if Duke or Ohio State can lock up the final #1 seed, although the Big Ten is much more competitive at the top of the conference. Also looking forward to seeing who gets in from the Sun Belt.

Sports Pants:   I'm a Big 12 guy since I'm a Texas fan, but there is no doubt the most interesting tournament will be the Big East.  An entire legion of teams has the ability to take that title and there will be some monster match-ups.  UConn has to win the tournament to be assured of March Madness and they could.  West Virginia is dangerous as is Pittsburgh.  You Villanova, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Georgetown...oh and Syracuse.  It really will be anyone's tournament and you can expect some physical basketball to be played.  The Madness is coming people, please prepare. 

Let's go Orange. Clap, clap, clap clap clap.  And, one thing we didn't get to...poor Joe Nathan.  I like watching him pitch.  As always, thanks for reading Berning On Sports.    

Scottie Reynolds goes flying into the scorers table...Gus Johnson and Greg Anthony react on CBS.  In the words of Kenny Banya, it's "gold, Jerry.  Gold."  Or, it's just funny to see how Gus reacts.

I had this thing ready the day free-agency started, but I had to wait for Mr. Chicago Bernfield to get his two cents in.  It is his territory after all...

The Chicago Bears are all over the NFL free-agency this year. They signed Chester Taylor away from division rival Minnesota, they got stud blocking TE Brandon Manumaleuna (sounds like a Cajun dish) from the Chargers. And the jewel of their free-agent class is sackmaster Julius Peppers from Carolina.

Yep, the Bears dumped all sorts of money in free-agency. Will it work?

Ask the Washington Redskins. They dump truckloads of money around this time every single year. I don't recall too many playoff appearances for them.

If you think I'm doing cartwheels over the signings of Julius Peppers, Chester Taylor, and Brandon Manumaleuna by the Bears, think again. I'm not saying I'm not happy, but I'm not dreaming of representing the NFC in the Super Bowl yet, or even anything close to that, like some of my fellow Bears fans are this weekend.

The Bears made the headlines in the early hours of the free agent signing period, Friday, by inking the biggest named free agent, (Peppers), and two nice complimentary guys.  But if you think these moves were anything other than desperate moves, you're being naive.

As a Bears fan, I am happy that the Bears are addressing their needs.  Yet I also know that what they're really doing is saving face. 

This year, with the upcoming salary structure uncapped, and the looming threat that both coach Lovie Smith and Jerry Angelo will be fired after next season if the team doesn't improve, these moves were made to improve.  Sure.  They were also made to appease a frustrated fan base that has watched the team fall below mediocrity for three consecutive years since their appearance in Super Bowl XLI.

Chicago improved itself in free agency in the last few days, but don't believe for a second they've addressed enough to be significantly better in 2010.  They still have a horrifying offensive line, not one qualified #1 receiver on the roster, (arguably not even a qualified #2 receiver), and their secondary is flat out bad.

Point is, as an objective football observer, and a frustrated Bears fan, this weekend was a start, but should not be the finish.

The Bears must spend what's necessary to address the other major problems on this team, or they will not be much better than the deceiving 7-9 team they were last year.  (Deceiving, because they were 5-9 before finishing the year with a miraculous win over Brett Favre and the Vikings, and then the Lions, who are an automatic victory).  They don't have a salary cap as an excuse, therefore there is nothing inhibiting them from making more moves.

If Lovie and Jerry want to keep their jobs next year, these moves won't be enough.  There's more work to do to get this team where it ultimately needs to go.

Jason Pierre Paul is a DE/LB prospect in this year's NFL Draft. He's 6'5" and 265 pounds.

Kion Wilson is a LB in the draft. He's tiny at 6'0" and only 232 pounds.

Guys that size shouldn't be able to do this: 

First Topic: Where does the USA Canada hockey game rank for you in terms of sporting events you've watched?  Was it the best hockey game you've ever watched?

Jordan:  It probably was the best hockey game I've ever watched.  I can point to some other games I've watched in my life that were great games, like 5 overtime Stanley Cup Finals games (Ducks/Devils not so long ago) and games as a Blackhawks fan that I have enjoyed.  The one caveat with the Stanley Cup Finals, however, is that sometimes by the time the teams reach that level, players are so tired from the grind of reaching the Finals that they are fighting exhaustion.  The players were fresh in this tournament, and they were playing with absolute reckless abandon.  There wasn't one play in the game in which the play wasn't as "all-out" as possible.  Ryan Miller was tremendous, as was Roberto Luongo.  And how about the play of Zach Parise in this tournament, and Patrick Kane in the final few games?  Appropriately, Sid the Kid ended it, but I wasn't even upset when it ended.  Sure, I wanted America to win, and I was rooting as hard for them as I could.  But sometimes, you just have to appreciate the game, and the only thing I was really unhappy about was that the game ended.  It was really one incredible sporting event for the ages.

Scott:  (Shocker/Spoiler Alert! Scott Doesn't Like Hockey!)  Not particularly high.  I tuned in time to see Parise's game-tying goal, but, try as I might, I just couldn't get into it.  I wound up changing the channel because they went to a break before Overtime, and poof, interest gone.  In total, probably 10 minutes of hockey viewing, max.  So, while I obviously wasn't too thrilled because I turned off a close, great game in overtime, it probably has to be the best hockey game I've ever "watched" because I don't know if I ever have watched more than that of another one.

Alastair:  I can't say it was the best hockey game I've ever seen (multiple OT NHL playoff games), but it was certainly one of the most meaningful sporting events I've ever watched. USA vs. Canada for the gold medal in an Olympics hosted by a country that treats the sport of hockey like a religion. You might never be able to beat that kind of international drama again. The game itself was helped by the fact that the US actually played far better than it did in a 5-3 win the week before. It was an extremely evenly matched and well-played game, although the game-winner from Sidney Crosby happened so suddenly that it took a few seconds to actually process. I never thought a tough angle shot like that had any chance of beating Ryan Miller. Still, one for the ages.  

Sports Pants:  I'm trying to think of the events that I've watched which I'll remember more than USA/Canada.  The Texas win over USC in that epic championship game comes to mind, as does the Red Sox/Yankees playoff battle of 2004.  There are several other events that I looked forward to more than this hockey game simply because I've never considered Canada vs. the USA a major rivalry.  No one was talking about this game when the Olympics started.  The game turned out to be a classic, but there was no time for build up in the tournament style of play. 

I didn't get to see the Miracle on Ice which is probably the de facto best hockey game for anyone over 40, but I'd have to say my favorite hockey game was one a decade ago between the Dallas Stars and Detroit Red Wings.  First of all, I was there.  Secondly, it was Halloween night, so we were all dressed up (I was Jack in the Box complete with clown head and suit).  Finally, the game was a classic 3-2 Stars victory over the hated defending champion Red Wings.  The game winning goal was scored by newly acquired Star Brett Hull with just a few minutes left in the game.  He hit a slapshot so hard that no one saw the puck until it was coming back out of the net.  That was good times.  Go America.  Wait, it's over. 

Jordan:  I think it will have an effect, and a positive one.  It would be naive to think that all of a sudden the ESPN's of the world will start treating hockey like they do their products, but I do think the interest in hockey will spike, and could have some staying power.  A lot of people have resentment towards hockey (see Scott) because they don't understand it and therefore they don't like it.  But the people that gave it a chance during the Olympics, without a doubt, probably found this was a great game that they should pay attention to more.  Obviously, there are plenty of people that watched it for patriotism, and others who might watch hockey now and fade out, but there couldn't have been a better advertisement for the sport.  And the fact that America has some really great players should capture some people that may not have watched before.  The sport should definitely benefit from this, and significantly.

Scott:  I'm sure there will be an uptick in interest initially regarding the last two weeks of Olympic competition, but the fact remains that its still a red-headed stepchild in the world of American athletics.  Those of you that are real fans aren't going anywhere, and some of the middlings will stay for a bit longer, but I personally don't see it lasting too long.  Now, if the US has won, I'd imagine it actually would carry a little longer, but then still fall prey to the fact that it is hockey, in America.  Fact is, it's just not as popular as the other 3 major sports (shocker alert 2!).  Case in point, I was watching a SportsCenter a few weeks back, and a hockey highlight came on.  It took forever, because who ever was doing the highlight was not only describing the action, but explaining it as well.  They know that a lot of people out there, don't even know most of the players or how the game is played.  You won't see any NFL or MLB highlights where they explain who this guy is or what a certain call means during the highlight.  It's assumed, safely most times, that enough of the viewing audience knows what is going on without explanation.

Alastair:  There may be an initial spike over the next week, but after that I don't see any significant long term effects on the NHL's popularity. This country rallied around the team because of the "USA" on their sweaters, not because of some new-found passion for the sport. Take away the fact that there was national pride on the line and a heavily-favored host country with a team of All-Stars, and you lose most of the fringe hockey fans that came out of hiding for the gold medal game. However, the Olympics did manage to highlight the immense talent the NHL has to offer, something the league consistently fails to do on an annual basis. If NHL stars received half the exposure that they got in 2 weeks in Vancouver, maybe hockey wouldn't perennially rank 4th place in this country.

Sports Pants:  This hockey game was the most watched event since the Miracle on Ice.  It very well could get some new people involved in hockey.  Don't worry though, they'll get right back away from it when they see Columbus and Atlanta play a snoozer.  The gold medal game was about the atmosphere more than it was about the game of hockey.  The game turned out great, but it was the match-up of two neighboring nations being played right there in Canada.  The fans desperately wanted the U.S. because of the victory the Americans had scored against the Canadians earlier.  That place was shaking all through the game and you're just not going to get that in a regular season NHL game.  My suggestion for those who want to get someone interested in hockey:  wait for a game between the Washington Caps and the Pittsburgh Penguins.  That should do it.

Final Topic:  How cool is it that our Syracuse Orange is the new #1?  Are they really the best team in America, and how far do you predict they'll go?

Jordan:  I think it's great.  It's awesome.  I'm thrilled.  I don't know that they're necessarily the best team in America, but they're definitely in the top 3 with Kansas and Kentucky.  I'd give the edge to Syracuse over Kentucky because they're older and can shoot the three (Kentucky can't shoot, and this will kill them at some point), but between Syracuse and Kansas it's pretty even.  With the way SU orchestrates the 2-3 zone this year, they're going to be extremely tough to beat, and I think right now it's between them and Kansas to cut down the nets in Indianapolis.  Furthermore, Syracuse hasn't lost on the road this year.  Think about that.  If they do go all the way, I'll be there, given that it's a 3 hour drive from home.

Scott:  It's (rhymes with "trucking") awesome.  I'm not sure they're the best team in America right now, but they're ranked there and that's all that matters.  I think that Kentucky has a better team and with John Wall on board has a chance to go further in the tournament.  Syracuse's flaw, in my opinion, is that if you can limit their transition opportunities, they truly struggle (case in point, UConn and Louisville).  Number one teams, in legit years (which this isn't), don't have that serious of a flaw.  That all said, this is well earned.  They've kicked ass and taken names for a while now, and that beat down of the 'Cats this past weekend was the final stamp on it.  So, yes, it feels good.  The only problem with all this winning is that it places expectations on postseason finish even higher.  I think that anything less than Elite Eight is a bust.  Still, good season, but if you measure on how well you do in the NCAAs, which they all do, you've got to at least get to the E8 if you're Syracuse.

Alastair:  Sure, I'm walking around with an undeserved sense of accomplishment. It feels pretty darn good. I'm used to watching Syracuse underachieve year after year, so it's nice to finally see the boys exceed expectations for once. With that said, being #1 doesn't really matter all that much. What does matter, in my opinion, is that the Orange is definitely one of the best 3 teams in the country along with Kansas and Kentucky. While the Cuse only goes 7 deep, all 7 could start at any major D-I program, and all 7 are extremely unselfish (something you wouldn't associate with past Syracuse teams this decade). The way it dismantled Villanova (a top 10 team for most of the year) on Saturday night, I'd say this team has all the makings of an NCAA champion. Rematch of 2003 anyone?

Sports Pants:  I guess it's super duper that Syracuse is ranked number one.  I don't really care though as long as the Orange are a top four team going into selection Sunday.  You want them to have a number one seed to avoid upsets as long as possible.  Other then that, it doesn't matter one bit to me if they finish the regular season ranked number one.  What if they lose in the first game of the Big East tournament?  Do you say "well, at least they finished the season number one?"  No one remembers the regular season, it's all about setting yourself up for the tournament.  If Syracuse remains number one and then draws a killer bracket, it will suck.  So here's to bracketology, may the Orange get the easiest road they can.  And screw Kentucky.  I refuse to root for a team that has John Calipari as coach. 

#1 Syracuse is the most fun thing to report for me right now.  Updating listeners on that St. Johns vs Syracuse score was really great.  GO CUSE!  And, while Scott hates hockey, watch it more if you haven't.  Trust me on this.  As always, thanks for reading Berning On Sports.

The fact that it took the NFL this long is a joke.

But there may finally be a change coming to the league's overtime policy, a sudden death approach beginning with a highly trivial "coin flip" for the last 35 years. 

The proposed change would basically force a team to score at least 6 points in the extra session to win the game.

Both teams would be guaranteed an offensive possession, unless the team with the opening possession scores a touchdown (in which case, game over). If the first team kicks a field goal, the other team would have the chance to match with a field goal, or win with a touchdown. If both teams kick field goals, overtime continues in a sudden death, first team to score wins scenario.

These changes, while LONG overdue, make a ton of sense. If you can't stop the opposition from going the length of the field and getting into the endzone, you don't deserve to win the game. 

But winning a coin toss and getting to the opponent's 30 yard line for a game-winning field goal is no way to end any game. When you only play 16 games all year, that gets magnified.

If the proposal passes, both quarterbacks will, in all likelihood, have a chance to lead their offenses down the field one final time.

If a QB is left holding his helmet on the bench as the other team celebrates a victory, he'll have his own defense to blame.

So, there's the good news.

The bad news? This will only apply to playoff games. That might even be dumber than the original policy itself.

Why wouldn't you use it for all games? Do regular season games mean nothing? Are you really extending the game that much longer? Is anybody listening?

I applaud the NFL for doing something about its extremely flawed OT system (although it's a shame that it took an NFC Championship game for the league to wise up). But if you're going to make a change, make a change.

Why have different rules for different games? It makes so much sense, and yet, so little. I guess beggars can't be choosers. 

Well done Canada. You got the gold. Now go clean your shorts.

I honestly didn't think the U.S. had a chance as I saw Canada destroy Russia in the early rounds of the Olympic tournament. That was supposed to be a gold medal type match and Canada wiped the floor with those Russian types.

The U.S. beat the Canucks early in the tournament and people like myself thought that loss simply woke the Canadians up. They'd come into the gold medal game with something to prove and would therefor crush the upstart Americans with a team that reads like an NHL All-Star roster.

And yet there the Americans were, pushing the Canadians into overtime before falling in the final game of the Olympics.

So why did the Americans look so glum afterward? Sure, they lost. Losing sucks. But c'mon, man! The U.S. was one of the youngest teams in the tournament! This is a team that was hoping to make some strides during this Olympics. They were playing for 2014, but there they were, pushing the heavily favored Canadians to the brink.

I know America didn't win the gold. The Canadians deserve the praise they get. And so do the Americans.

It would have been nice to see some love given by the winners to a team that beat them once and then nearly beat them a second time despite the Canadians having every motivation to win big. The only tip of the cap I heard to the U.S. players was a big ovation for goaltender Ryan Miller during the medal ceremony.

Miller deserved it for sure, he was a beast. Don't think though that he was the only reason the U.S. was in the gold medal game. That's selling this team short. The Americans went toe to toe with the best in the world and absolutely held their own. Guys like Zach Parise, Patrick Kane, and Brian Rafalski proved that they could be on any Olympic team. Yes, even Canada's.

So I applaud the Canadians for a gold medal they deserve, but as I say that, I can tell you without a doubt that I am proud to be a U.S. hockey fan today.

America! F--k Yeah!

By SportsPants

No, not those legs, though we all enjoy us some of those too eh? 

I'm talking about NFL kicking legs and wow, talk about going against standard thinking.

If you listed the positions of a football team from most important to least important, you start with quarterback and somewhere toward the bottom of the list would be the kicker. Sure, if the kicker was a stud, you'd rank him higher since he could win several games by himself, but that's a rare breed of kicker.

Most kickers are streaky specialists. As we saw this past season, when a kicker loses any of his confidence, he can melt down quicker than ice cream in August. It seems half of the teams in the NFL had kicking troubles this season. The Cowboys and Redskins both dumped kickers mid-season while the Bengals and Chargers lost playoff games thanks to shoddy kicking.

Kickers just seem interchangeable. A team uses one until he freaks out, then he goes to another team and tries to start fresh.

So why would the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks place franchise tags on middle of the road kickers? I'm confounded, confused, and possibly even flummoxed. Like the Southpark Chewbacca defense, it does not make sense.

Jeff Reed isn't a bad kicker for Pittsburgh, but he didn't exactly set the league ablaze last year. He didn't make any kicks over 50 yards and his kickoffs were routinely short. Worth hanging onto, but not a top three kicker.

Olindo Mare is an even bigger reach for Seattle. He's 36 years old, has only been in Seattle a couple of season and every training camp, the Seahawks coaches bring in competition to overtake him. Mare had a good late season surge last year, but he struggled early. Plus, Seattle used a franchise tag on kicker Josh Brown back in 2006. Brown is now long gone.

Maybe the Seahawks and Steelers saw how badly kickers struggled this past season and don't want to risk losing their guys in free-agency. Maybe the teams are convinced that the kickers will be in the zone next season. Whatever the reason, both teams are paying top dollar to hold into their guys, so they should probably have a team psychologist on site just in case things go a little wacky on their kicker's brain.

Yevgeny Plushenko is having trouble dealing with reality these days. The Russian figure skater is apparently still dumbfounded that he didn't win the men's competition despite being the only skater to land a quad jump which is considered the most difficult maneuver.

Plushenko's second place finish is definitely controversial, but he has officially gone off the deep end to protest it.

His website has announced that Plushenko's silver medal is actually platinum, a metal more precious than gold.

...Okay

This sounds like a story for Jon Stewart. Russian skater upset with his medal decides to play make believe.  The skater exclaims "Plushenko won in Vancouver!" He then shows Stewart his gold medal which is actually a paper cut out colored in gold crayon. "Plushenko colored a bit outside the lines. But is gold."

If you haven't seen this yet, you will now.  You can thank me later.  Some producer at ESPN might want to check the phone number in the Rolodex underneath the name Brian Westbrook.

Clearly, in this spot, the ex-Eagles running back was NOT on the line.