2/7 Opening Ceremonies Quickie

Happy 40th birthday, Steve Nash -- one of my all-time favorite athletes (and not just because we're close to the same age)...

*Everyone ready for the Olympics to start?

*I have a very (very) hard time believing that Jameis Winston -- a lock as the No. 1 overall pick of the 2015 NFL Draft (as he would be a lock as the No. 1 overall pick of the 2014 NFL Draft) -- would put off the NFL any longer than he is required to.

*I'm not sold on the new Dunk Contest format, but I like that John Wall is participating. I don't think he'll win, but I do think he'll win All-Star Game MVP. (And I am certain Bradley Beal will win the 3-point contest. Although Damian Lillard playing in every event is the most fascinating participant of the weekend.)

*Arizona basketball just isn't that impressive anymore. It's not like I was picking them to win the national title anyway, but still.

*Most fascinating thing I read yesterday: "Databall," on the breakthroughs in statistical analysis in the NBA, by Grantland's Kirk Goldsberry. Worth the time to work your way through it.

*Condolences to family and friends of Ralph Kiner.

*I founded and ran the first (and only) monthly reading series dedicated to sportswriting, and it was one of my favorite things I have ever done. Last night, I went to a reading that reminded me how fascinating they can be -- if you are interested in parenting stuff, don't miss "All Joy and No Fun" by Jennifer Senior.

2/4 Great Super Bowl Day-After Reads Quickie

Filing this 8 hours ahead of the actual 2/4...

Grantland's Bill Barnwell: "Seattle's Best"

SB Nation's Matt Ufford: "Deserve has nothing to do with it."


Grantland's Brian Phillips: "Are we having fun yet?"

Yahoo's Dan Wetzel, on Peyton Manning's moment of failure.

SB Nation's Jon Bois with a hilarious cut of the data of the "whooping."

Deadspin's Drew Magary: On the Super Bowl party boat

The MMQB's Peter King: On the game. (God, I vividly remember editing the morning-after Super Bowl MMQB column 15 years ago.)

Big sports moments always produce really terrific day-after observations.

-- D.S.

2/3 Super Bowl Hangover Quickie

*Right about the Seahawks winning, wrong about the margin (but at least I wasn't one of those folks who picked the Broncos!) Should have been spot-on about Percy Harvin winning MVP.

*The Seahawks' defense is exceptional -- to do that to one of the best offenses in NFL history puts this performance among the greatest by a defensive unit in Super Bowl history.

*None of this changes Peyton Manning's place in history, except to the extent that in remembering his greatness, we'll always remember the way his team got shellacked in the Super Bowl.

*My personal favorite ads: Tim Tebow's two spots for T-Mobile, obviously. (As many folks bemusedly observed, he had a way better night than Peyton Manning, which fits with "Tebow ultimately wins" theory.)

*Looking ahead to next year: No reason not to install the Seahawks as favorites to win the Super Bowl again. (The AFC is less clear -- way less clear.)

-- D.S.

2/2 Super Bowl Day Quickie

*Repeating myself from Friday: Seattle wins by 5. Percy Harvin as MVP.

*Speaking of MVPs, Peyton was a lock. And this is by far the most impressive MVP season of his career. (Or any other player's career.)

*"Syracuse-Duke is the best!" is the new "Realignment ruined college hoops rivalries!"

*Go figure: Arizona was overrated. (Meanwhile, this Florida team is better than any I have watched since the back-to-back title teams. The offense doesn't necessarily come easy, but the D is ridiculous.)

*I can't explain why my Wizards play so well against the Thunder, but I'm sure glad they do.

Enjoy the game.

-- D.S.

Friday 1/31 Super Bowl Quickie

Seahawks win by 5, with Percy Harvin as the game MVP...

*Two of my favorites at their best for the biggest game of the season: Bill Barnwell with an exhaustive game preview and Chris Brown with an exhaustive look at Peyton Manning's offense.

*Fun, clever Slate piece by Joshua Keating where he describes the Super Bowl as if US sportswriters were describing a big sports event elsewhere around the globe.

*The NYT Sunday Magazine leads with a big read on the world of NFL gambling in Las Vegas.

*Finally, in a brilliant piece of Super Bowl journalism/entertainment I guarantee you won't see anywhere else, this video from SB Nation's Jon Bois is phenomenally fun.

*If you love Super Bowl ads, be sure to register to be on USA TODAY's "Ad Meter" panel to rate each ad and be part of the group that picks the game's top ad. Sign up here today.

Enjoy the game and your weekend. Tomorrow is the season opener for the 2nd-grade boys' basketball juggernaut that I am coaching -- currently, I am thinking about which song is our layup-line music.

-- D.S.

1/26 Super Bowl Week Eve Quickie

*Your beat-you-over-the-head Super Bowl storylines, in order of beat-ness: (1) Weather, (2) Peyton, (3) Richard Sherman, (4) Russell Wilson, (5) Pete Carroll.

*Pro Bowl haters have it wrong: It will get more viewers than the World Series or NBA Finals. At some point, critical bleating just doesn't match up with what fans clearly want to see.

*Regular-season wins don't mean much in college hoops (particularly between two teams guaranteed to make the Tournament), but Michigan's win at Michigan State was a solid one.

*Terrence Ross scores 51: Pretty amazing stat -- he is the first player in NBA history to average single-digit scoring then score more than 50 in a single game.

*Career-defining win for Stan Wawrinka in Australia in beating back/down Rafa Nadal.

-- D.S.

1/23 Thursday Still Cold Quickie

Last night was the most deflating Wizards loss I can remember -- and that's saying something...

*More inspired Richard Sherman writing: Rembert Browne with one of the best takes yet.

*Olympics: My HS newspaper protege gets the exclusive on the US Opening Ceremonies outfits, and they're terrible.

*College hoops: Understand why Arizona is a resurgent super-power (via Sports On Earth's Matt Norlander)

*Future of sports media: Ted Leonsis totally gets it.

*Good week for Denver continues: My old boss Luke Beatty -- die-hard Broncos fan -- makes a big acquisition and gets a new role.

-- D.S.

Wednesday 1/22 Snowy Quickie

*Must-see: Kevin Durant going off last night...



*No chance: The Warren Buffet $1B NCAA bracket challenge (via WSJ's Ben Cohen).

*Snow: 538 hits its weather wheelhouse.

*Don't call it the "Grantland Model": Ezra Klein & team leaving the Washington Post

*Richard Sherman parody: Equinox gym trash-talk (via Kate Hahn/NewYorker.com)

-- D.S.

Tuesday 1/21 Sherman Quickie

Five things I like today:

*Richard Sherman on... well, Richard Sherman.

*Christina Kahrl on Grantland's Dr. V debacle.

*NBA rumors: Specifically, my Wizards eyeing Greg Monroe.

*Tom Ziller's new daily NBA email: "Good Morning, It's Basketball"

*Early reviews for Beats Music: Editing > algorithms.

-- D.S.

12/31 End-of-Year Quickie

Having just published the annual Quickish year-end best-sportswriting list, here is a listicle of 10 notable personal milestones from 2013, excluding standard ones about my marriage and kids:

*Turned 40!
*Moved into a new house!
*Helped launch an awesome new news product!
*Solo-coached my first youth sports team!
*Highest finish ever in fantasy football! (5th!)
*Finally got a night-guard for teeth-grinding!
*Bought not one but TWO pairs of neon sneakers!
*Bylined a Tebow column in USA TODAY print edition!
*Cut my hair shorter than ever - and realized it didn't work!
*Secured the elusive Bradley Beal t-shirt jersey!

Left on the table for 2014:
*Tebow book!
*Losing the 20 pounds I need to!
*Assorted projects!

Happy new year, everyone -- here's to your Best. Year. Ever. ahead.

-- D.S.

12/23 ThinkPiece Quickie

Wrote this for NiemanLab's year-in-review package, about "stars" vs. "starters." Finding stars who also possess the ability or track record to be starters -- Swisher and Silver, to name two 2013 notables -- is very rare.

More often, stars are more like David Pogue -- that's not to knock him; he is simply about his individual brand, not creating something bigger than himself. And, as I argue, starters are both more prevalent and easier to cultivate.

It's gotten a good reaction -- whether folks agree with it or not. Please give it a read and share it around if you think it's worthy.

-- D.S.

12/15 Very Quickie

*Not unlike Johnny Manziel, Jameis Winston has the chance to finish his college career next year ranked as one of the best players in the sport's history -- a short list that includes Cam Newton, Herschel Walker and, of course, Tim Tebow.

Of course, Winston should skip next year and get ready for the 2015 NFL Draft, for which he is the clear No. 1 pick. (He'd be the clear No. 1 pick of the 2014 draft -- for which he isn't eligible, for some inane reason -- but that's another story.)

*Texas is the best job in college football. But they can't just take their pick of college coaches -- among the top tier, Nick Saban is out. Kevin Sumlin is out. Jim Harbaugh presumably wouldn't take it (although if he WAS going to go back to college, this feels like the only job worth doing that for).

If the model is late-90s Mack Brown -- successful as a head coach at a atypically successful program, with the political acumen to navigate both UT's internal politics and external recruiting trail -- then Vandy's James Franklin has to be a serious candidate, even if his success feels a little faddish.

(I will say that the benefit of Northwestern's awful 5-win season is that if it had been the 10- or 11-win Rose Bowl year that a lot of us were hoping for, Texas would have clearly made Pat Fitzgerald an offer he would have had a very hard time turning down.)

Enjoy your NFL Sunday and for those of you with fantasy stakes on the line, good luck.

-- D.S.

12/10 Tuesday Quickie

*I'm overly obsessed with seeing "older" athletes -- that's why he wouldn't qualify for most people's "must-see" lists, but I was thrilled to see Andre Miller in person last night, even if the Wiz blew the game.

*Mack Brown being out at Texas is a "when not if" situation. Just a good reminder that Texas is the single-best job in college football, and nothing else is even close. I'd put Florida a distant second, which makes Will Muschamp's failures all the more disappointing.

*If I'm Jerry Jones, I absolutely try to hire Kevin Sumlin from Texas A&M. (I do the same thing if I'm the Texans.) If the Cowboys can't win the NFC East in this kind of terrible down year for the division, it ain't happening under this regime.

-- D.S.

12/09 Monday Morning Quickie

*That was an amazing day of football yesterday. Between the snowy visuals and all the TDs and the record-setting (number of TDs, longest FG kick, McCoy Eagles rushing record), it was awesome.

*Of course, I got throttled in a regular-season fantasy finale in which I advance to the playoffs with a win but miss the playoffs with a loss. (Adding insult to injury, my opponent then thwacked me in QuizUp later in the evening.)

*My three most notable storylines from yesterday:
- The Ravens-Vikings final two minutes was as stunning as any final two minutes I have ever seen -- it is, statistically, even less probable than Auburn's "Kick Six."

- Peyton Manning is something to behold, but I still think the Broncos fall short of a Super Bowl win.

- Not many folks are saying it, but I will: Chip Kelly for NFL Coach of the Year (and right now I'd put Jacksonville's Gus Bradley as runner up).

*No surprises in the bowl reveals -- Auburn-Florida State should be a fun one, but I expect that the Tigers will roll.

*Kobe's first game back was a bit of a dud -- hardly a surprise -- but file away how much better the Raptors looked without Rudy Gay.

-- D.S.

12/08 End of the BCS Quickie

The BCS is a pretty shoddy system, but last night was an epic reminder that -- yes -- college football's regular season IS one big playoff.

In addition to "Every Saturday counts," college football's motto should be "These things have a way of working themselves out."

And so we end this college football season with no controversy at the top -- it will be FSU vs. Auburn, and I fully expect Auburn to continue the SEC's dominance with another title.

Given that Auburn was 0-8 last season -- before Gus Malzahn got there -- it's a pretty solid argument that Malzahn has had the greatest first year at a school in college football history.

As for Ohio State, it's hard not to experience some schadenfreude. They'll be fine, but that's the reality of life at the top -- championship or fail.

Otherwise, let's all just marvel at Malzahn's offensive schemes, Tre Mason's game for the ages and a wildly entertaining SEC title game.

The SEC will be back in the national title game -- and will probably win again.

And, now that we're expanding the playoff to four teams -- with the SEC champ guaranteed a spot, no matter how many losses -- it's hard to see when the streak will end.

-- D.S.

12/07 Tailgate Quickie

*Auburn over Mizzou, Ohio State over Michigan State -- and, absurdly, the SEC will be shut out of the national-title game.

*Northern Illinois: That's why you play the whole schedule. (And why you never know with Michigan State.)

*World Cup draw: Ouch. Yikes. Yeesh. That said! I predict we will beat Ghana (finally) and draw with Portugal, putting us in a position to advance to the knockout round.

*Cano did what he had to do: He'll regret not playing on a championship team, but -- then again -- it's not like he was playing on a championship team in New York.

*Malzahn staying at Auburn: In the absence of a not-forthcoming offer from Texas, he might as well lock it in while the getting is as good as it gets.

*Texans fire Kubiak: Anyone not see that coming? Good for Houston for dumping him now and giving themselves a running start to find a replacement. I'd try to hire Kevin Sumlin from Texas A&M (who just signed an extension but clearly would not be begrudged for leaving for the NFL), but that's just me. Trade the No. 1 overall pick for a couple of 1sts (hello, St. Louis) and pick Manziel plus Best Available (probably not in that order).

*Kentucky hoops: From what you can see, they don't look like an elite team that will be able to win six straight in March. They are certainly not last season's debacle, but they are much closer to the uber-talented Wall-Cousins-Bledsoe 2010 team that fell well short of a national title than the Davis-MKG team that won one in 2012.

*Can't wait for Kobe's return tomorrow.

-- D.S.

Sunday 12/01 Auburn December Quickie

It's a glorious morning for those of us who traffic in instant history: Auburn's jaw-dropping win over Alabama was the single-greatest finish in college football history.

If you consider the context, participants, stakes, history -- all of it -- nothing can match it. It not only ended Alabama's national-title hopes, but it elevated Auburn's.

All in a rivalry game and all in the single-most-stunning play you will ever see. Just when you think sports can't sports any more dramatically... sports.

Let's move on to what will be a cataclysmic debate this week: Given the SEC's string of national titles and given Auburn's -- or Missouri's -- (vastly) superior resume, should a 1-loss SEC champ get into the BCS title game ahead of an unbeaten "brand-name" team from a power conference?

The answer -- simply enough -- is absolutely.

When you compare Ohio State's resume -- devoid of literally any high quality wins, let alone the multiple high quality wins of either Auburn or Mizzou -- it simply doesn't compare.

Even if/when Ohio State beats Michigan State next week, the Auburn-Missouri winner will have racked up yet another high-quality win -- far more impressive than Michigan State.

(Forget top 2 in the country: Can we agree that Ohio State might only be the 6th-best team in the SEC, reasonably set behind Auburn, Alabama, LSU, Texas A&M, Missouri and South Carolina?)

You could say that a BCS finale that shuts out a clearly superior 1-loss SEC champ in favor of two unbeatens with relatively paltry resumes is the fitting end to a flawed system.

I would prefer it if the BCS belied its checkered history and -- not unlike the way Breaking Bad ended things for Walter White -- sent itself out with a bit of dignity that comes with rejecting a kneejerk "But they're unbeaten!" rationale for what we all know to be true:

The Auburn-Missouri winner deserves a shot at the national title in a way that Ohio State simply doesn't. (OK: If you want to make it interesting, let Ohio State and Florida State play in two Saturdays for the right to face the Auburn-Mizzou winner... but that's a 4-team playoff, of course.)

None of this should overshadow the most remarkable finish to a college football game in the history of the sport.

-- D.S.

11/29 Thanksgiving Hangover Quickie

(1) So, basically, Thanksgiving NFL in review comes down to whether you think Mike Tomlin intentionally tried to get in Jacoby Jones' way or not.

My instinct is no, because you can't fake Tomlin's "holy-smokes-I-better-scoot-over" reaction and because something like that becomes a thing that defines a coach (and not in a good way), which Tomlin wouldn't want. I appreciate that the entire thing looked iffy, but no.

(2) After watching yesterday's debacle in Detroit, we're all agreed that Aaron Rodgers is NFL MVP, right? (And a big/must win for Dallas, even if there should be no expectation they'll do anything if they make the playoffs.)

(3) It was an absurd moment, but $50K doesn't seem like enough of a punishment for Jason Kidd messing with the integrity of the game. (Then again, if the NBA suspended Kidd for a game or two, it would become apparent how much better the Nets are without him.)

(4) There isn't a more consequential inconsequential rivalry game than the Egg Bowl. Congrats to Mississippi State fans.

(5) Good weekend for rivalry games, but today is kind of threadbare. There's Arkansas-LSU at 2:30 if you want it, but Oregon-Oregon State should be worth it at 7.

(6) Otherwise, the best game you'll watch today is Warriors-Thunder at 8 on NBA TV (even if regular-season NBA is almost entirely inconsequential).

Get to that shopping, y'all.

-- D.S.

11/28 Thankgsivukkah Quickie

*The best holiday tradition in sports is Thanksgiving day NFL.

(FWIW: No. 2 is Christmas Day NBA and No. 3 is New Year's Day NHL.)

*Don't forget to set your fantasy lineups.

*Lions over Packers, Cowboys over Raiders, Ravens over Steelers.

*I still think LeBron will eventually end up in Cleveland.

*This Jason Kidd "Hit me" thing is hilarious. He's a terrible coach otherwise, so more power to him.

*Katherine Webb should be rooting for Auburn.

*The No. 1 rule of Turkey Bowls: Don't get hurt.

-- D.S.

11/25 Thanksgiving Week Kick-Off Quickie

*Best way to start off the week: Diagnosis of plantar fasciitis. So basically I'm rolling with Nene.

*This is not just a good but a GREAT NFL season. Pretty amazing that over 7 days, the Patriots could be involved in two of the top 5 (top 3?) games of the season so far. Three other observations:

-- Gabe is a massive Carolina Panthers/Cam Newton fan, so the past 7 weeks have been kind of amazing for him (and for me to watch).

-- Mike Glennon: Offensive Rookie of the Year. Didn't see that coming.

-- We can debate his lack of ultimate (read: Super Bowl or even AFC title) success, but it's hard to think of a QB who makes the waning minutes of games more manic and fun than Philip Rivers.

*The Derrick Rose story is painful. The Kobe Bryant story is hilarious. The NBA will be so much worse for missing Rose this season -- but so much better with Angry Super-Paid Kobe the next two.

*My Football Four college football playoff ballot this week: (1) Alabama, (2) FSU, (3) Auburn, (4) Missouri. My protest abstention from listing Ohio State continues. They have a similar resume to Northern Illinois.

*College hoops is still ramping up, but Louisville ain't Louisville (clearly) and as impressed as I am with Duke's offense, the defense is going to keep them from winning the NCAA title.

*Nothing drives (self-)delusions of your child's exceptional athletic future like buying a pair of "youth small" wide receiver gloves.

-- D.S.