Holiday season brings sports treats

As the fall semester comes to a close and semester break nears, the sports world is just priming for a loaded plate of great games and storylines to follow into the new year. Of course, all the college bowl games will have been played out and the BCS controversy could be settled or have been fueled even more by the time we return to Bloomington, but there is much more going on in the sports scene over the next four weeks.\n\nThe new year will bring with it the start of conference games in college basketball as teams will begin to solidify themselves as true contenders for a national title and tough conference contests will lead the way to March Madness. But even before conference play starts in the new year, there are still many battles among top-ranked teams to take place in 2003. Starting with tonight's matchup of Purdue and Oklahoma, there is a plethora of games between teams in the top 25. Missouri and Illinois will battle in the "Border War" and the Tigers will also take on Gonzaga. Kentucky has two top 25 opponents as well in Michigan State and North Carolina before it begins SEC play, not to mention the always tough in-state battle with old coach Rick Pitino and Louisville. \nMLB\nSure, Major League Baseball is in its offseason, but with all the news swirling around about possible trades for superstar Alex Rodriguez as well as possible free agent signings of other stars like Gary Sheffield, Vladimir Guerrero, Ivan Rodriguez, Miguel Tejada and Andy Pettitte, among others, there is much to follow over the winter break from a baseball fan's perspective.\nNBA\nWhile I usually couldn't care less about the NBA during the regular season as do most other sports fans, there usually is one day worth watching, Christmas Day. This year is no exception with all three games being televised on national television. Cleveland and Orlando face off in the opener, and while neither team is going to make the playoffs, the individual matchup of rookie phenom LeBron James against Tracy McGrady is enough to get me to watch.\nDallas and Sacramento matchup in the second game of the day, posing perhaps the two most offensive oriented teams in the league. Both teams have mastered the art of phantom defense in recent years and this run 'n gun affair could end up with both teams scoring in the 120s. In the final game of the day, the NBA's two best-known giants will square off as Yao Ming and Houston travel to face Shaquille O'Neal and the Los Angeles Lakers. Ming and O'Neal have already had a couple of memorable head-to-head matchups and this Christmas Day affair should live up to the hype. With Houston a serious contender in the tough Western Conference, this could be an early pivotal game to prove its ability against the already-established Lakers.\nNFL\nBy the time we all return to the drudge of classes in the cold January weather of Bloomington, there will only be four teams left in the NFL Playoffs. The regular season concludes Dec. 28, and with many wild card and division title races going down to the wire, the postseason battles should be heated. Philadelphia and St. Louis look like the favorites in the NFC, while New England appears dominant in the AFC with Kansas City and Indianapolis challenging as well. The final regular season and, no doubt, the postseason matchups will be fun to watch as teams vie for the opportunity to play in the Super Bowl.\nNCAA Football\nI told myself starting this article I would not mention the college bowls because they were too obvious to even mention in such a story, but I couldn't resist. Of course the Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl will be the two most important games, considering the national title implications of both, but there are a couple other very intriguing bowl matchups. First off is the Fort Worth Bowl which pits hometown TCU against Boise State. Ranked No. 19 and 18 respectively, these are two very talented yet unheralded teams which should make for an exciting game; the teams have a combined record of 23-2 and will battle for the bragging rights of being the best mid-major team along with Miami (OH). Perhaps the most intriguing bowl matchup is the Houston Bowl, with the high-powered air attack of Texas Tech and quarterback BJ Symons against the hard-nosed running game of Navy. Navy has two 1,000 yard rushers with Eric Roberts' leading the way in receiving with 493 yards on the year. Roberts receiving totals would put him sixth on the Red Raider receiving list, and Symons threw for more yards than Roberts' season total in a single game on four different occasions. In fact, Symons' two biggest games of 661 yards and 558 yards are more yards than Navy quarterbacks had all season. The contrast of styles in this game should be interesting to watch to see if the old style smash-mouth running game can prevail over the new run 'n gun shootout passing attack.\nNo matter what sport you like, there is something for you to watch or follow over the winter break. Enjoy all the festivities, have a safe break and see you in January.