High School Football Recruit Made Up Story

A Fernley High School football player who had claimed he was duped into believing he was recruited to play at a Pac-10 school admitted Wednesday he made up the story.

Kevin Hart, a 6-foot-5, 290-pound offensive lineman, offered a broad apology in a statement he issued Wednesday afternoon through the Lyon County School District. He said he had wanted to play football at a Division I school "more than anything."

"When I realized that wasn't going to happen, I made up what I wanted to be reality. I am sorry for disappointing and embarrassing my family, coaches, Fernley High School, the involved universities and reporters covering the story," Hart said.

Lyon County sheriff's detectives had said earlier Wednesday that they had been unable to corroborate Hart's claims that he had been duped by a man he had paid to help promote him in his bid to play college football.

Hart spoke with deputies Saturday, a day after he announced at a school assembly and a press conference that he would sign with University of California, Berkeley.

At the announcement ceremony on Friday, Hart, with Fernley coach Mark Hodges at his side, said he talked Cal head coach Jeff Tedford many times, and that "personal experience" led to his decision to choose the Golden Bears over Oregon, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported.

But the announcement was questioned almost immediately, and on Monday officials with California and University of Oregon said Hart was never recruited by their programs.

Lyon County sheriff's Lt. Rob Hall said Wednesday morning that "nothing has been corroborated."

"There are some things that appear to be inconsistent with how the [recruiting] process works," he said.

Hall said Hart had claimed the alleged recruiter was named Kevin Riley, and that he believed he was from Las Vegas.

Hart, however, was "unable to provide any phone numbers, addresses," or other contact information for the purported recruiter, Hall said.

On Tuesday, Lyon County School District administrators said an internal investigation showed that none of the universities once thought to have pursued Hart -- including Nevada, Washington and Oklahoma State -- were involved.

Superintendent Nat Lommori and Assistant Superintendent Teri White, in issuing the statement the day before recruits across the country sign letters of intent to play for college programs, said they wanted to relieve concerns prospective recruits to those schools might have because of the Hart matter.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

Grizzles Active; Pau to Lakers-Stromile to Nets

The Los Angeles Lakers bolstered their banged-up front line Friday with a key acquisition, 7-footer Pau Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies. The Lakers gave up Kwame Brown, rookie Javaris Crittenton and two first-round draft picks for Gasol. The Spaniard is certain to help a Lakers team reeling from recent injuries to inside players, including blossoming center Andrew Bynum. Gasol, averaging 18.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.44 blocked shots in 39 games this season, can fill in at center until Bynum returns in mid-March and then move to power forward.

The Grizzlies will get the Lakers' first-round draft choices in 2008 and 2010; guard Aaron McKie, signed earlier Friday for salary cap purposes; cash considerations, and the rights to Gasol's brother Marc, a 2007 second-round pick of Los Angeles.

"We're extremely pleased to be able to make this trade," Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said in a statement. "Pau is a proven player of All-Star caliber in this league who can score and rebound and is still a young player. We feel this strengthens our team in the short term as well as the long term." Gasol, the NBA rookie of the year in 2002 and an All-Star four years later, has averaged 18.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 476 career games with Memphis. The 27-year-old forward-center, under contract for three more years, is the franchise leader in 12 statistical categories, including points, rebounds and blocks.

Additionally, a Grizzlies source told The Commercial Appeal of Memphis that forward Stromile Swift has been traded to the New Jersey Nets for center Jason Collins. According to the newspaper, the deal had been discussed for the past week and is expected to be finalized on Monday.

2008 Sprite Slam Dunk Participants Announced

The Minnesota Timberwolves' Gerald Green will defend his crown in the 2008 Sprite Slam Dunk competition to be held on NBA All-Star Saturday Night Feb. 16, at New Orleans Arena (8 p.m. ET on TNT). Green will compete against two first-time entrants – the Memphis Grizzlies’ Rudy Gay and Jamorio Moon of the Toronto Raptors – as well as the Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard who competed in the 2007 contest.

For the first time, fans watching will have final say, deciding the winner of the Sprite Slam Dunk competition. Following the concluding round of dunks, fans will be able to cast their votes via SMS TXT message and at NBA.com to determine this year’s winner. The dunker with the most fan votes will be named the winner of the Sprite Slam Dunk. A panel of judges will continue to play a key role by determining which two participants advance to the final round. During the final round, each judge’s vote will count the same as a fan vote.

Golden State’s Jason Richardson was the last player to win back-to-back Sprite Slam Dunk titles, capturing the 2002 and 2003 competitions. The only previous repeat Slam Dunk champion was Chicago’s Michael Jordan, who won the 1987 and 1988 contests.

Lebron Out Duels Kobe

The final seconds ticked away, with the Los Angeles Lakers needing a 3-pointer to send the game into overtime. They never got a shot off.

LeBron James won his personal matchup with Kobe Bryant in a duel of the NBA's top 2 leading scorers, pouring in 14 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter, and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat Los Angeles 98-95 Sunday afternoon in the Staples Center, for their fifth straight win over the Lakers.

And on that final defense stand, the Cavs played tremendous switch defense, and did not allow a shot off in the final seconds. "That's really what you want. You want to not allow Kobe to get a clean look from the start of the play, make those guys make a couple passes, which we did, and not let them get a clean look,'' said Cleveland's Larry Hughes afterward

Kobe Bryant scored nine of his 33 points in the final period, and also had 12 rebounds and six assists, but it wouldn't be enough to keep the Lakers from losing their third straight to match their longest losing streak of the season.. "Nobody wanted to shoot it.''

42 Facts About Super Bowl XLII

I. This is the 42nd Super Bowl and the second time it has been held in Arizona. Super Bowl XXX was held at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona (Cowboys 27, Steelers 17).

II. The NFC leads 21-20 all-time but the AFC has won eight of the last 10 games after losing 13 straight.

III. The AFC is the home team in this year’s Super Bowl.

IV. To date 3,205,733 people have attended Super Bowl games.

V. No Super Bowl has ever gone to overtime

VI. The team that has won the coin toss is 19-22 all-time in the Super Bowl and has lost the past four straight and nine of the last 11 games. The Patriots lost the coin toss in each of their three Super Bowl wins. They won the coin toss for Super Bowl XXXI and lost the game; they lost the coin toss for Super Bowl XX vs. the Bears and also lost that game. The Giants won the coin toss in Super Bowl XXXV and lost that game; they lost the coin toss in both Super Bowls XX and XXV and won those games.

VII. The Giants-Patriots Super Bowl is the 12th Super Bowl to feature two teams that met during the regular season. The team that lost the regular-season meeting has won six of the previous 11 matchups. The last matchup was Super Bowl XXXVI between the Patriots and Rams (Rams won regular season; Patriots won the Super Bowl)

VIII. The Giants-Patriots Super Bowl is only the second time that the two Super Bowl participants have met in the final regular season game; the other occurrence was in 1977 when the Cowboys and Broncos met in Week 14 and then in Super Bowl XII. The Cowboys won both games. (The Giants and Patriots also met in the final game of this year's preseason; The Patriots won that game 27-20).

IX. The Patriots have 20 players with Super Bowl experience on their current roster; the Giants have three.

X. Patriots LB Tedy Bruschi will be playing in his fifth Super Bowl; he is the 15th player to play in five Super Bowls. He is the seventh player to play in five Super Bowls with the same team, joining Larry Cole (Cowboys), Cliff Harris (Cowboys), D.D. Lewis (Cowboys) Charlie Waters (Cowboys), Rayfield Wright (Cowboys) and John Elway (Broncos).

XI. 21 Quarterbacks have been named MVP of the Super Bowl, the most of any position.

XII. Tom Brady is one of four players with multiple Super Bowl MVP awards –- the three others are quarterbacks as well: Bart Starr (2), Joe Montana (3) and Terry Bradshaw (2).

XIII. Tom Brady is 1 of 4 players with three Super Bowl wins as a starting QB. The other three are Terry Bradshaw (4), Joe Montana (4) and Troy Aikman (3).

XIV. Tom Brady is the 23rd NFL MVP to play in the Super Bowl in the same season. The last MVP to win a Super Bowl the same season was Kurt Warner in Super Bowl XXXIV in 1999. Overall, 10 NFL MVPs have won the Super Bowl in the same season. In 1968, Earl Morrall won the NFL title but lost Super Bowl III to the Jets.

XV. The Patriots are making their sixth Super Bowl appearance –- and fourth in last seven years. The Patriots are the fourth franchise to make six Super Bowl appearances, joining the Cowboys (8), Steelers (6) and Broncos (6).

XVI. The Patriots have won three Super Bowls; with a win they’ll join the Steelers (5), Cowboys (5) and 49ers (5) as the only franchises to win 4 Super Bowls.

XVII. Bill Belichick is the eighth head coach to appear in four Super Bowls. The others are Don Shula (6), Tom Landry (5), Chuck Noll (4), Joe Gibbs (4), Bud Grant (4), Marv Levy (4) and Dan Reeves (4).

XVIII. Belichick is one of four coaches to win three Super Bowls. The others are Chuck Noll (4-0), Bill Walsh (3-0) and Joe Gibbs (3-1).

XIX. Since 2001, the Patriots are 24-7 when meeting teams for the second or third (Jets, 2006) time in the same season.

XX. Junior Seau is making his second Super Bowl appearance; the first since Super Bowl XXIX. The 13 years between Super Bowl appearances is the longest span in the game’s history.

XXI. The Patriots are the third team to win 18 games in a season, including playoffs. The ’85 Bears (18-1) and ’84 49ers (18-1) also won 18 games

XXII. The Patriots are the 11th team to go 10-0 at home, including the playoffs. Of the previous 10 to accomplish the feat, 8 of them won the Super Bowl (only the 1990 Bills and 1988 Bengals lost).

XXIII. The Patriots led the NFL with 36.8 PPG this season, the highest in the Super Bowl era.

XXIV. The Patriots are the 17th team to lead the NFL in scoring and reach the Super Bowl. The previous 16 teams are 9-7 in the Super Bowl (last two -- the ’05 Seahawks and ’01 Rams -- have lost). The last team to lead the NFL in scoring and win the Super Bowl was the ’99 Rams in XXXIV.

XXV. The Giants will be playing in their 18th NFL title game dating back to 1933. The Giants have won five NFL championships in their history –- including two Super Bowls.

XXVI. The Giants' 18 NFL championship game appearances are the most in NFL history.

XXVII. Eli Manning is the seventh No. 1 overall pick to start the Super Bowl at quarterback; the others are Peyton Manning, Drew Bledsoe, Troy Aikman, John Elway, Jim Plunkett and Terry Bradshaw.

XXVIII. 18 sets of brothers to have reached the Super Bowl. Eli and Peyton Manning are the first set of brothers at quarterback.

XXIX. Eli Manning is the only quarterback in the 2007 playoffs yet to throw an interception. Of the 12 quarterbacks in the 2007 playoffs, he had the most interceptions during the regular season (20) -- tied for the most in the NFL with Jon Kitna and Carson Palmer.

XXX. Eli Manning is the seventh quarterback in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) to throw 20 interceptions in the regular season and reach the Super Bowl.

XXXI. This is the second straight season in which the NFC quarterback in the Super Bowl threw 20 interceptions in the regular season (last year, Rex Grossman threw 20 interceptions, and threw three in the playoffs, two in the Super Bowl). The other to throw 20 interceptions during the regular season and then reach the Super Bowl are Kurt Warner (22 in 2001), Phil Simms (22 in 1986), Terry Bradshaw (25 in 1979 and 20 in 1978) and Darryl Lamonica (20 in 1967). The only two Super Bowl quarterbacks to throw 20 interceptions during the regular season and not throw one in the playoffs were Boomer Esiason in 1990 and Simms in 1986.

XXXII. Tom Coughlin is coaching in his first Super Bowl as a head coach. Head coaches making their Super Bowl debut are 20-22.

XXXIII. Tom Coughlin has coached 205 career games, including the playoffs. That is the most games coached before making a Super Bowl debut as a head coach.

XXXIV. The Giants are 10-1 away from Giants Stadium and 3-5 at home this season.

XXXV. The Giants are the third team to reach the Super Bowl by winning three straight road games, joining the ’05 Steelers and ’85 Patriots.

XXXVI. The Giants are the ninth wild-card team to reach the Super Bowl. Wild-card teams are 4-4 in the Super Bowl. The ’05 Steelers were the last wild-card team to win.

XXXVII. The Giants are the fourth team to reach the Super Bowl following a 0-2 start. They join the ’01 Patriots, ’96 Patriots and ’93 Cowboys.

XXXVIII. The Giants are the only team in NFL history to win 10 straight road games in a season.

XXXIX. Bill Belichick (15) and Tom Coughlin (7) have 22 postseason victories combined, tied for the second most in Super Bowl history among opposing coaches and surpassed only by the 25 combined playoff wins by Tom Landry and Chuck Noll in Super Bowl XIII.

XL. Giants long snapper/linebacker Zak DeOssie’s father Steve DeOssie played in Super Bowl XXV as a member of the Giants (Belichick was the defensive coordinator of that Giants team). The DeOssie’s are the ninth different father-son combo to reach the Super Bowl.

XLI. When he appears in the game, Jeff Feagles will be the oldest Super Bowl participant at 41 years, 335 days. The previous oldest was Mike Horan at 40 years, 363 days. Feagles began his career with the Patriots in 1988.

XLII. Giants DE Justin Tuck and Patriots LB Adalius Thomas are cousins. Tuck’s father and Thomas’ father are first cousins.

2008 NFL Conference Championship Weekend Expert Predictions

New York @ Green Bay Sun 6:30pm

With weather predictions in the 0's and a chance of snow in Lambeau on Sunday, look for both teams to be pounding the ball with the run a lot, and both have the back to do it Grant and Jacobs. Whoever can establish the running game first should take early control, in a first half probably no more than a field position battle, and a 7-7 tie at intermission.

Ryan Grant should have a solid day again, look for him to top 100 yards again and punch in 2 TD's. Look for both offenses to at least attempt to open it up a little more in the 3rd Quarter with the the Giants keeping it close to the end, and Brett Farve throwing a game clinching TD early in the 4th and the Packers hold on late for the victory when Eil finally makes big mistake late in the game, sealing the win for the Pack. Packers 21-14, setting up a Super Bowl XXXI rematch in Glendale.

Best Ever vs. Biggest Talker

This weekend’s conference title games, as do all playoff games, will come down to defense, and quarterback play. Heading into this weekends showdown in Foxboro, for the AFC title game, the biggest match up comes down to Tom Brady vs. Philip Rivers (who should start).

Once again, with the biggest match up being quarterback play, look for the greatest ever to take down a quarterback who is just as focused on the other sidelines and fans in the stands.

While one team has a multiple Super Bowl MVP winning quarterback, a player who's career playoff record has risen to 14-2 this post season, second in percentage to only Bart Starr. The other has a quarterback who multiple times this season has had issues with on-field trash talking, even with opposing teams QB's. Has not been able to block out the heckling form the fans, and now has become common knowledge you can take him out of his focus if you say the right thing.

The match ups of Quarterbacks vs. the opponent’s defense will decide this game. And expect all-world Tom Brady to handle the pressures and elements as he always does, and continue the Patriots path to 19-0.

Yes, the Chargers do have the players up front who can win without blitzing all out and leaving the secondary vulnerable. But they will have to hit Brady six or seven times and sack him more then twice in order to see success. Conversely, with a hobbled superstars Tomlinson and Gates, the Patriots defense only great challenge will be in the secondary where 6-5 Vincent Jackson will have a six inch height advantage over every Patriots CB, this was overcame, and will be again, just as was the same case when the Pats faced off against the Jags in the divisional round.

Look for the game to never really be close from the beginning, with the Patriots jumping out to 10,14 point lead in the first quarter, and play front runners the rest of the way, with the Chargers not having enough ammo in the arsenal to keep up with the high flying Patriots. New England 30 San Diego 21

NFL Championship Round: Early Lines

The San Diego Chargers open up as 14.5 point underdogs at the undefeated New England Patriots.

The Green Bay Packers and their fearless leader Brett Favre open up as 7 point favorites over the New York Football Giants.

Definition of Handicapping

Handicapping, in sport and games, is the practice of assigning advantage through scoring compensation or other advantage given to different contestants to equalize the chances of winning. The word also applies to the various methods by which the advantage is calculated. In principle, a more experienced player is disadvantaged in order to make it possible for a less experienced player to participate in the game or sport whilst maintaining fairness. Handicapping also refers to the various methods by which spectators can predict and quantify the results of a sporting match.

The term handicap derives from hand-in-cap, a popular 17th-century lottery game, where players placed their bets in a cap.[citation needed] Handicapping is used in scoring many games and competitive sports, including Go, chess, golf, bowling, polo, yacht racing, and track and field events. It also serves to foster wagering on horse racing events. Often races, contests or tournaments where this practice is competitively employed are known as Handicaps.

The term is also applied to the practice of predicting the result of a competition, such as for purposes of betting against the point spread. A favored team that wins by less than the point spread still wins the game, but bets on that team lose.