The Super Bowl is just around the corner so now’s the time to decide who you’re going to root for.  Will it be the Packers or will it be … um…  I’ve forgotten – exactly who is it that the Packers will be beating this year?

If you are a big fan of rugby, you’ll soon be able to check out the 6 nations podcasts.  While you’re waiting for it to begin, the RBS web site is full of news and information about what is going on in the 6 Nations Championship. Whether it’s England, Spain, Ireland, France, Scotland or Wales that is your favorite team, the info you want is easily accessible.  Want to watch some highlights?  Look into the video section and see what you can find.  Not sure who’s on the squad right now?  Squad lists are provided with each team.  They have schedules and results and pictures and…  Well, you get the idea, there’s TONS of information for you to explore.  While you’re at it, sign up for the ezine and have the latest results emailed to your inbox.  If you just liked rugby before, you’re going to find your self loving it because this site makes it easy to do so.

What a night for sports in the A-Z!

Almost simultaneously, both the Arizona-Arizona St. game and the Suns-Pacers game went down to the wire. Both games were tied at the same time with less than two seconds to go in regulation. Both games went into overtime despite nail-biting last second efforts on each court.  I don’t think that the flashback button on my remote has gotten that much of a workout since last year’s famous switchback between Dirty Jobs and House.

In the end the good guys won, and all was right in the world. Go Suns. Go Sun Devils.

I live in Arizona so I don’t often get to the ocean.  Being landlocked, it goes without saying that I can’t surf  — but I am glued to the TV on those rare occasions when surfing is on.  (Actually pretty much any sport other than the ones they seem to show are the ones I like.  I’ll take skateboarding over golf any day of the week.)  Anyway, I just found out about an interesting web site called SurfExpo.com.  They have a lot of information about the goings on in the surf community and have a tradeshow coming up in January in Orlando.  It’s hard to find a blog that is actually enjoyable but one of the SurfExpo’s Staff Blogs has footage of the waves on a recent day on the California coast that was really cool.  They also have a section on the main page that lets you access different press releases about surfing, skateboarding and surf and skate fashions.  If you can’t make it to the expo, you can always check out their  slide shows.If you’re interested in the surf industry (and that includes surf fashion as well) this is a good website to check out for news and the latest gear.

There is a sort of sports renaissance occurring in Phoenix these days. It may be over sooner than I hope, but it’s great while it lasts. Currently, the Diamondbacks are about to play for the NL Championship. The Suns are one of the top three teams in the NBA and are favored by some to win the title finally. The Cardinals have a winning record and are in first place in the NFC West. ASU is undefeated and ranked in the national polls. And the Mercury just won the WNBA Championship. We’ll just ignore the Coyotes. (Why is there even and NHL team in the desert?)

I hope that the success can continue, and things do look promising that all of these teams could be in their respective post-seasons for a number of years to come. Go Phoenix (or Arizona, as the case may be).

Another week, another creative way to lose. As a long-time Phoenix resident, I always hope that the Cardinals can find a way to win, and it’s alwaysa good feeling when they do manage a win. However, most of the time, wins are rare. It’s not that the Cardinals consistantly get blown out. To the contrary, they’re usually in a game to the end with a good chance to win. What makes the Cardinals the Cardinals is the creative ways they find to lose games.

When the Cardinals played 49ers in the first game of the season, they held a lead late in the game. The defense had held firm for the entire game until the last 3 minutes. Even after this defensive collapse, they still had a chance to win the game. A 49ers receiver fumbled the ball into the endzone and right to the feet of a Cardinals defender. Instead of falling on the ball and winning the game, the defender tried to pick up the ball, missed it, and allowed the 49ers to recover, score a touchdown, and win the game.

The third game against the Ravens started out as a blowout, but the 2nd half heroics of Kurt Warner led the Cardinals back into the game and only trailing by three. Warner led the team back into the redzone, threw a perfect pass into the endzone which was dropped. They settled for a field goal and a tied game. An unnecessary roughness penalty later, and the Ravens get close enough for a game-winning field goal.

Now, I never expected the Cardinals to beat the Ravens, few did. But it is just like the Cardinals to find a way to almost win, then find another way to blow it.

Good thing I’ve been a Cowboys fan for longer than the Cards have been in Arizona. They’re 3-0.