The Sports Truth

For longtime Siena fans, Saturday November 17th, 2007 felt like 1989 in the Times Union Center in Albany, NY. Siena College evened the all-time series vs. #20 Stanford with a 79-67 win and avenged last season’s 20-point blowout in California.

Siena’s Kenny Hasbrouck puts up a lay-up over the Cardinal’s Landry Fields in Siena’s shocking 79-67 win over #20 Stanford.

Siena and Stanford have each won two of their four all-time meetings with the most dramatic being Siena’s shocking upset of #3 seeded Stanford in the 1989 NCAA tournament as a 14 seed.

The 20th ranked Cardinal were known for their impressive size, with starting heights of 7′0″, 6′10″, 6′9″, 6′5″, and 6′3″, were run out of the building by the smaller and faster Siena Saints. Using a pressing and trapping defense, Siena forced 14 turnovers and used their superior athleticism to attack Stanford in the open floor.

The win was Siena’s first win over a ranked opponent in 18 years, but it will not be their only opportunity this season. The prohibitive favorite to win the Metro Athletic Atlantic Conference and get their first invitation to the NCAA tournament since 2002, the Saints will travel to Memphis to take on the #3 Tigers on January 3rd, 2008.

Forget Ruth or Bartman, the new curse du jour in professional sports is The Curse of the 2nd ranked team in college football.

Soon to be dropped #2 Oregon continued a stunning trend in college football this past Thursday, becoming the 5th #2 ranked team to lose to an unranked team. USC, California, South Florida, Boston College, and now Oregon.

The Curse doesn’t end with just the lone loss and it seems to be getting worse. USC won its subsequent game, then lost to Oregon later in the year. California, South Florida suffered worse fates, losing three consecutive games each. Boston College is in the midst of a two-game losing streak and must win in Clemson to avoid losing three in a row.

However, with the demise of the Ducks, apparently The Curse saved its best for last (so we think - watch out, Oklahoma and Kansas).

Oregon learned today that star quarterback and Heisman hopeful, Dennis Dixon, is done for the year after tearing his left anterior cruciate ligament in Thursday’s loss. The Ducks will go to UCLA next week and then finish the season with Oregon State at home. It was a hard enough schedule to begin with, but The Curse wanted to make it even more difficult by taking Dixon away as well.

The Curse of #2 does not discriminate and will take down anyone in its path. The best strategy to make the BCS title game is to be #3 going into the last week of the season.

Midwest
(1) Indiana
(16) Hampton

(8) Pitt
(9) Clemson

(5) Kansas St.
(12) Penn St.

(4) Michigan St.
(13) Utah St.

(6) Virginia
(11) Florida

(3) Marquette
(14) Belmont

(7) Wisconsin
(10) West Virginia

(2) Tennessee
(15) Montana

West
(1) Memphis
(16) Vermont

(8) Davidson
(9) UConn

(5) Oregon
(12) Providence

(4) Gonzaga
(13) Winthrop

(6) Arkansas
(11) Ga. Tech

(3) Kansas
(14) Austin Peay

(7) Texas
(10) Butler

(2) Washington St.
(15) Princeton

East
(1) Georgetown
(16) McNeese St./Alcorn St.

(8) Texas A& M
(9) George Mason

(5) NC St.
(12) Akron

(4) Maryland
(13) Bradley

(6) Xavier
(11) Notre Dame

(3) Duke
(14) UC Santa Barbara

(7) Ohio St.
(10) Stanford

(2) Louisville
(15) W. Kentucky

South
(1) UNC
(16) C.Conn. St.

(8) Syracuse
(9) New Mexico St.

(5) So. Illinois
(12) VCU

(4) Kentucky
(13) Siena

(6) USC
(11) Utah

(3) Arizona
(14) Oral Roberts

(7) Washington
(10) New Mexico St.

(2) UCLA
(15) Bucknell

The Indianapolis Colts have been dealt a major blow with the injury to Pro Bowl defensive lineman Dwight Freeney, whose bum foot has him on the shelf for the year.

But if Tony Dungy and the coaching staff desire to look beyond the Colts’ bench and the waiver wire for for a mid-season pickup, we may have found a diamond in the rough.

Just look at the form - the tenacity! - displayed by Friday Night Lights blonde bombshell Tyra Collette (played by Adrianne Palicki) in the photo below. You wanna go up against this?

In fictional Dillon High School’s annual powerpuff game, Adrianna Palicki looks poised to burst through the line and rip the head off QB Lyla Garrity. Just try standing in her way!

The Colts’ Dwight Freeney (left) is out for the year, but one resident bad-ass TV babe - Adrianne Palicki of Friday Night Lights fame - looks like she’s more than up to the task.

Also in Adrianne Palicki’s favor? The Writers Guild of America strike that threatens to wipe out the second half of Friday Night Lights and just about all other shows this season. There’s no work stoppage in the NFL, baby! Get her in a Colts uni by the end of the week!

Sean Avery of the New York Rangers denied making cancer-related insults to ill Maple Leafs forward Jason Blake before a pregame altercation between the clubs last weekend.

Avery exchanged words and shoves with Blake and his Toronto teammate Darcy Tucker during warmups before New York’s 3-2 shootout victory over Toronto.

The FAN 590, an all-sports radio station in Toronto, reported Monday that an unnamed Rangers player said Sean Avery started the pregame scuffle with his comments directed against Jason Blake, who has been diagnosed with a form of leukemia.

“I am extremely upset and hurt that these false and damaging comments were attributed to me regarding Jason Blake,” Sean Avery said Tuesday in a statement.

“I made no such comments. I have lost two grandfathers to cancer and have been a consistent contributor to cancer-related charities, first and foremost, Hockey Fights Cancer.”

Sean Avery celebrates after another great (verbal) shot.

Sean Avery met with NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell Tuesday to discuss the fight with Darcy Tucker. Both players and teams were fined by Campbell later in the day.

The pregame confrontation seemed to be sparked by Sean Avery, who was yelling at Tucker before shoving Blake, who is playing despite the illness. Darcy Tucker then slashed Avery before they got face-to-face in a heated exchange.

“The clearly unprofessional conduct of Sean Avery in initiating this altercation, less than a week after being involved in an incident in the pre-game warmup against New Jersey, is the basis for this discipline,” Colin Campbell said.

The longtime adversaries, known as much for their agitation of one another as their on-ice prowess, were sent off together in the first period for unsportsmanlike conduct and fought eight seconds after they left the penalty box.

“[Sean Avery] has absolutely no sense of class and you know, what goes around comes around in this game, eventually,” Darcy Tucker said Monday.

A number of Hollywood celebrities might agree with that assessment.

After a well-publicized split with Elisha Cuthbert, Sean Avery was recently said to be dating Mary-Kate Olsen - only to cheat on her with another of his exes, actress Lake Bell.

The Oakland Athletics’ rumored move to Fremont is apparently supported by a majority of that city’s residents - but not by these two crazy A’s fans.

Calling attention to Oakland’s storied history as the birthplace of social movements - the Black Panthers, the word “hella” - and deriding neighboring Fremont as just a “parking lot with a mayor,” these Oakland fans want their hometown team to stay, and will stop at nothing to make sure it happens. Even if they have to ghost ride the whip.

Earlier this fall, Washington’s Chris Cooley got engaged to Christy Oglevee, a former Redskins cheerleader who got her cute butt kicked off the team for dating him.

It gets better. Turns out Chris Cooley used to date a different Redskins cheerleader, and she’s the one who introduced him to Christy Oglevee. Both the future Christy Cooley and the other cheerleader got fired when the Redskins found out they dated Cooley. It’s a violation of team rules for employees to “fraternize with players,” of course.

Christy Oglevee: The fired, still hot future wife of Chris Cooley.

The Washington Post also reports that Christy Oglevee turned 21 last year and to celebrate the momentous occasion, her father and Chris Cooley did 21 shots apiece.

Let’s see Brodie and Kelli Croyle attempt that.

A Virginia native, Christy Oglevee tells Maxim that it’s only appropriate that she marry a Washington football player, since she’s a die-hard ‘Skins fan.

“The only reason I became a Redskins cheerleader was to go to every home game… I grew up with posters of Darrell Green on my wall. Now I have personalized license plates on my car that say SMOOT. For Fred Smoot. He must think I’m psycho.”

Okay then. Here are some pics of Christy Oglevee nude or damn close to it in Maxim. Damn. You are one lucky, crazy tight end/fullback, Chris Cooley.

Riding high after a 9-0 start, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady took advantage of time off over the weekend to catch up in L.A. with John Edward Thomas Moynahan, his three-month-old son with his ex-girlfriend, Bridget Moynahan.

After spending time in Los Angeles, Brady has been in New York during the team’s week off, too. He was spotted at the Gramercy Park Hotel last Wednesday night and elsewhere in New York City with supermodel girlfriend Gisele Bundchen on Saturday.

Despite rare downtime with baby son John Moynahan (pictured with his mom, Bridget Moynahan), Tom Brady said he spent most of Sunday watching football.

With the holidays upcoming, Brady has more than little John Moynahan to think about - he has another (large) family when it comes to doling out presents: his offensive linemen.

“I know they look forward to the gift,” a smiling Tom Brady told a Boston radio station. “I give the best gifts they probably get all Christmas season. I’m like Santa Claus now.”

At least Brady appreciates the importance of protection nowadays. Hopefully Dallas’ Tony Romo will learn from this as he sleeps with every celebrity in Hollywood.

“People that are meant to be together always find their ways in the end.”

This touching, not at all cheesy One Tree Hill quote was uttered by Brooke Davis, played by the cutie Sophia Bush. In speaking these words, could the actress have been channeling her feelings for a certain Cowboys quarterback?

Dallas gunslinger Tony Romo, who has been linked to Jessica Simpson and Carrie Underwood in the past year or so, is reportedly dating Sophia Bush, according to the October 24 issue of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, which reports:

“At Terence Newman’s house in Dallas, Tony Romo played the new Xbox 360 game “Guitar Hero III” with Carmen Electra, who was playing online in Los Angeles. Romo was joined by what appears to be his newest … uh … friend, actress Sophia Bush. She has starred in the TV show One Tree Hill and the 2007 movie The Hitcher.”

We at The Sports Truth take every piece of Tony Romo and Sophia Bush gossip with a grain of salt, but two things must be said here:

• Wade Phillips’ predecessor as coach, Bill Parcells, would not approve of Tony Romo partying with Britney Spears, or dating any celebrity for that matter.
• The One Tree Hill star may not be Carrie Underwood material, but if Tony Romo and Sophia Bush are an item, the QB is still doing alright. His team is looking decent as well, having opened up a lead in the NFC East.

The moment fans of HBO’s Hard Knocks have been hoping for has arrived. Well, sort of. The Chiefs have announced that Brodie Croyle will start at quarterback Sunday against the Colts. This means that at least for one week - before Brodie absolutely sucks and is benched once again - fans can freely ogle his wife, Kelli Croyle.

If the TV crew is at all smart, they’ll be showing the effervescent Kelli Croyle in the crowd early and often. The former Kelli Schutz met Brodie Croyle in Mobile in 2006 while the Alabama alum was preparing for the Senior Bowl.

Kelli Croyle: Reason #1 to say “Let’s go Chiefs!”

Kelli Croyle supposedly won of the 2005 America’s Junior Miss competition or something You probably have to be hot, though. We hear Kelly used to go to SMU but recently transferred to nursing school in Kansas to be closer to Brodie Croyle. Aww.