#5 Liverpool outs Manchester United
This much we know for sure — Manchester United will not be winning the FA Cup this year.  A week after knocking out the defending champs, Manchester City, ManU found themselves on the outside thanks to a tough Liverpool team that may now be the odds-on favorite to take it all.  Although the match was nowhere near so controversial as the last time these two teams met, it was one that Liverpudlians will remember for a long time.

#4 Lindsey Vonn Almost Sweeps
Point zero three seconds is too short to measure by the human eye.  Yet that miniscule span is all the separated Lindsey Vonn from sweeping all three skiing events this weekend.  Still, she put on quite a show and looked good doing it, as always.  A spectacular run by defending champion Maria Hoefl-Riesch denied Vonn the weekend triple crown, but Vonn is still leading the field by a healthy 387 points heading toward the World Cup.

#3 Heat beat Knicks
You think the Miami Heat missed Dwayne Wade?  Yeah, me too.  I think we can safely say that Wade’s ankle is all better.  The Knicks – Heat matchup was a hot one and it looked like the Knicks would be able to keep up for the first three quarters.  But the Wade-powered Heat were better than the Carmelo Anthony-less Knicks by 10 on this night.

#2 NHL All-Star Weekend
Pat Kane’s belly-flopping, cape-flapping goal on the breakaway challenge was a thing of pure beauty.  Carey Price demonstrated faith and class with his in-goal Tebow.  And then there was Zdeno Chara’s impossible, record-breaking 108.8 MPH slap shot.  All that a day before the NHL All-Star Game even started.  The NHL is definitely the class of the major sports when it comes to fan-friendly All-Star action.

#1 Novak Djokovic outlasts Rafael Nadal
Once in a while — once in a great, long while — a tennis match comes along that really captures the attention of the whole sports-loving world.  The final match of the  Australian Open between #1 Novack Djokovic and #2 Rafael Nadal was that epic match for this era.  The five-set match see-sawed back and forth for a record-setting five hours and 53 minutes before Djokovic finally claimed his third Australian Open title.

(U.S. Air Force photo)

And while they have no games for us to preview this weekend, how about a little love for unranked Florida State University for knocking off both #3 UNC and #4 Duke in the past week?

#5 San Antonio Spurs at Dallas Mavericks
The Southwest Division is up for grabs with four of the five teams within a half a game of the lead (sorry, New Orleans). Two of the contenders will face off on Sunday when the San Antonio Spurs take the trip to Dallas to meet the Mavericks. With the Grizzlies streaking and the remainder of the short season slipping away, this divisional game could already have playoff implications for these two teams.

#4 Chicago Bulls at Miami Heat
The best team in the NBA against the most hyped team in the league. The Chicago Bulls may boast the best record in the NBA, but Miami isn’t too far behind. Miami has shown that they can put up some serious points this season –averaging over 105 per game. Chicago is the best in the business on defense, allowing less than 86 per game. This contest of O vs D should be one to watch.

#3 Memphis Grizzlies at Phoenix Suns
Have you noticed the Memphis Grizzlies lately? After an ugly 3-6 start to the season, they’ve rattled off seven straight wins — tied with Houston for the longest active streak in the NBA – and looked respectable doing so. If — and this is a sizable “if” — they can get past Portland and the LA Clippers this week, they’ll be going for a double digit win streak against Phoenix on Saturday.

#2 Michigan at Ohio State
#22 ranked Michigan has five losses already this season. #3 Ohio Sate has three. Neither can afford to add another to the tally this early in the season. But one of them will on Sunday.

#1 The NHL All-Star Game
As previously mentioned, there’s only one non-basketball event in town this weekend. but it is a big one. The annual NHL All-Star Game hits the ice on Sunday featuring Team Chara vs. Team Alfredsson . Unlike the NFL Pro-Bowl where the players are just out there trying not to get hurt, the NHL All-Star Game features a bunch of guys who just want to go out and hurt somebody. It doesn’t matter that the score is really irrelevant. The whole game is irrelevant, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the best of the best in the sport of hockey pummeling each other for a couple of hours.

#5 Boston Celtics at Washington Wizards
This may seem like a strange pick for a game to watch. The Boston Celtics must have lent their lucky leprechaun to the Patriots, because he hasn’t done them a bit of good this season. At 4-8, the Celtics have a long, uphill battle ahead of them if they’re going to even have a shot at the playoffs. The Washington Wizards, on the other hand, are just awful. Absolutely the worst team in the NBA. Fully deserving of their atrocious 1-12 record. This sounds like a recipe for a highlight reel game to spur the Celts on toward better days.

#4 Columbus Blue Jackets at Detroit Red Wings
In a little best-vs-worst action, the woeful Columbus Blue Jackets will drag their worst-by-a-lot 31 to Detroit to face the best team in the Western Conference. This should be worth watching just for the sheer brutality of the smackdown that the Wings should put on their overmatched opponents. Unless you’re a Columbus fan…

#3 Oklahoma City Thunder at New Jersey Nets
The Oklahoma City Thunder has won seven in a row en route to an NBA best 13-3 record so far in this shortened NBA season. The New Jersey Nets are looking lost and hopeless at 3-11 so far and showing little prospect for improvement. Will this be a game that OKC overlooks? Will the Nets find the fire they’ve lacked all season? Put this one down as an Official Buzzer Eagle Upset Special.

#2 New York Giants at San Francisco 49ers
NFL fans all across the Fruited Plain are now becoming aware of what regular readers of Buzzer Eagle have known for the last 10 weeks or so. The San Francisco 49ers are quietly among the elite of the National Football League. Now they’ll have a chance to prove their elite-ness with a trip to the Super Bowl. But, of course, the surging New York Giants may have a thing or two to say about that.

49ers tight end Vernon Davis gave the G-Men some great bulletin board material when he told reporters that he prayed the Giants would win. Even though he tactfully tried to ameliorate the comments later in the week, you can’t un-ring a bell. It will be a teed-off New York team that makes the cross country trip to face Davis (pictured) and company this weekend. The better team punches their ticket to the Super Bowl.

#1 Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots
Everyone is so impressed with The Hoodie and his New England Patriots that many observers are forgetting just how good the Baltimore Ravens are. Will the Ravens‘ smothering, dominant defense be enough to stop Tom Brady and those ridiculously good tight ends? No. But will the Ravens‘ smothering, dominant defense be enough to slow down Tom Brady and those ridiculously good tight ends enough to give Delaware alum Joe Flacco (Go Fighting Blue Hens!) and the Baltimore O a chance to win? Maybe.

(U.S. Air Force photo)

#5 Columbus Blue Jackets vs Anaheim Ducks
What could be so great about the two worst teams in the NHL playing for last place? More than you might think, it turns out.  Like scoring, lots and lots of scoring.  11 goals altogether.  Plus, one of the great accomplishments in the game of hockey – Corey Perry scored a hat trick, the fourth of his career, to propel the bad Anaheim Ducks over the worse Columbus Blue Jackets.

#4 The Other Three Wild Card Games
It was a rough weekend for the visiting team. And not so great for fans hoping to see some competitive football games, either. The Atlanta Falcons looked outclassed almost from the opening whistle. The Cincinnati Bengals never had a chance. The Detroit Lions were embarrassed in the second half. The higher seed won every game of the wild card weekend – handily in the case of the first three games played. The victorious New York Giants, Houston Texans, and New Orleans Saints will move on to face some presumably stiffer competition in the divisional round next week.

#3 The AllState BCS National Championship
The AllState BCS National Championship was everything you could want in a championship football game – if you really like defense and field goals.  Or if you’re from Tuscaloosa.  Who would have thought that Jeremy Shelley would be the superstar of the game?  The Alabama Junior contributed more points than everyone else from both teams combined.

#2 Thundering to Victory
The Oklahoma Thunder had themselves a nice weekend. They woke up Friday morning as a 5-2 team still stinging from back-to-back blowout losses to start the week. But a few days’ rest and a trip home did them a world of good. After dispatching Houston in back-to-back home-away games, they manhandled San Antonio on Sunday in their only scheduled set of three consecutive playing days this season.

#1 Mile High Miracle Part… I’ve Lost Count
Overtime is Tebow Time. I guess Tim didn’t feel like having much Tebow Time this week because it was over before half the viewers got back from the bathroom. The Denver Broncos got behind, but not by much, took the lead by what should have been enough, fumbled and bumbled their way to a tie, and then won the game on the first offensive play of overtime. Tebow’s pass was nice, but have you ever seen anything as pretty as Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas‘ stiff arm that added another 45 yards — and the all important 6 points — to the play? Don’t answer that if you’re a Pittsburgh Steelers fan.

(U.S. Air Force photo)

#5 Louisville at Kentucky
Louisville currently holds the #4 ranking in NCAA college basketball. The Cardinals would surely like to move up a spot, and the opportunity is right in front of them when they travel to Kentucky to face the #3 ranked Wildcats. Of course, getting the chance to move up and actually doing it are two different things. This should be a wild, down to the buzzer kind of game.

#4 There Can Be Only One
Either the New York Giants or the Dallas Cowboys will be in the playoffs. They can’t both make it. The truth is neither really deserves to make it. But one of these mediocre teams will slide in at 9-7 thanks to the less than stellar competition in the NFC East. The Giants are riding high after dispatching their cross-town rivals, the Jets, last week. The Cowboys are nursing their wounded pride – and Tony Romo’s wounded hand – after an embarrassing performance last week against the Eagles. Exactly one of these teams will move on to sacrificial slaughter against the cream of the NFL once the playoffs begin.

#3 Tebow Time?
Denver lost two in a row after that remarkable run of 7 wins in 8 games with Tim Tebow at the helm. Now the Broncos are in a “win and you’re in” scenario for the last game of the season, thanks to the Oakland Raiders dropping three of their last four games. So the most watched story line of the 2011 NFL season comes down to a Week 17 match against the Kansas City Chiefs. Of course, the outcome of that game won’t matter if the Raiders can’t take care of business at San Diego on Sunday.

#2 The Lucky Andrew Luck Sweepstakes
The St. Louis Rams suddenly find themselves in contention for the first overall pick in the 2012 draft thanks to the suddenly surging Indianapolis Colts and their own continued incompetence. In week 17 the Rams play a very good San Francisco 49ers team that has nothing left to play for, having locked in the #2 seed. The Colts, so bad they can’t even lose right, have won two in a row after 13 straight losses and run the risk of losing out on the first overall pick if they somehow beat 4-11 Jacksonville this week.

#1 The Battle for the AFC North
The Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers are both 11-4 heading into week 17. Both are assured a spot in the playoff, but one will be the #2 seed with a comfortable bye, while the other will be a Wildcard team forced to play on the road. The division was solidly in Baltimore’s control, until they found a way to lose to the hapless Indianapolis Colts. Now they’re hanging on by a tiebreaker, but they must win against a not-too-shabby Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday to keep pace. The Steelers, on the other hand, face a cream puff in the Cleveland Browns for the regular season finale.

#5 Houston – Indianapolis
After losing the first 13 games of the 2011 NFL season, the Indianapolis Colts have improbably won two in a row. Indy’s by-the-seat-of-their-pants 19-16 victory over the 10-4 Houston Texans was the first time in NFL history that a one-win team defeated a 10+ win team. Peyton who? Just kidding.

#4 Chicago – Los Angeles
The Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers delivered an exciting, down-to-the-buzzer game on the opening day of the NBA season. While Kobe Bryant lit up the scoreboard with a game high 28 points, it was Derrick Rose’s final jump shot, with just under 5 ticks left, that gets top mention because it put the Bulls over the top to stay.

#3 Miami – New England
The Miami Dolphins jumped out to a 17-0 lead over their hated division rivals, the New England Patriots. But this is Tom Brady and the Patriots, not a team easily cowed. And this is the Miami Dolphins, a 5-10 team that isn’t even quite as good as those five wins might indicate. It was informative to watch the Pats put on an offensive clinic for the final half to storm back and win by three.

#2 Boston – New York
The New York Knicks and the Boston Celtics. It’s a storied rivalry that continues to delight and amaze fans. So it was apropos that the 2011-2012 NBA season, such as it is, kicked off on Christmas Day with a battle between these two franchises. And the actual game didn’t disappoint one bit.

Carmelo Anthony lead the Knicks in making a statement that they’re not going to be the Celtics’ whipping boys any more. New York outscored Boston by 10 in the fourth quarter to overcome a late deficit and take the first game of the new year 106 – 104.

#1 A Bad Day for the Ryans
A two-for-one tops our list this week. Rex Ryan and his New York Jets had a high stakes game against cross-town rival New York Giants on Saturday. Brother Rob and his Dallas Cowboys had the chance to get a leg up in their division in their game against the Philadelphia Eagles a little later the same day. Neither game went well for Buddy’s boys. Rex’s Jets self-destructed late in the game, giving up a safety when their offense was needed the most and lying down for the Giants when their defense was needed the most. Rob’s Dallas defense was a turnstile for Mike Vick and the Eagles’ receivers all afternoon, despite Ryan’s laughable post-game assertion that holding Philly to 20 points represented some sort of redemption.

#5 New York at New York
There’s something fascinating about a matchup between the two teams from New York. Something deeply insulting about having to use the visitor’s locker room in your own stadium. Something special about bragging rights in the Big Apple. Sunday the New York Giants travel to Metlife Stadium, normally their home turf, as the visitors to play the New York Jets. Both teams were embarrassed last week. The Jets were blown out by the Philadelphia Eagles. The Giants lost to the lowly Washington Redskins. Only one can find a measure of redemption this week.

#4 Get your hockey fix Friday
The NHL is taking the weekend off to celebrate Christmas, so get your fix on Friday. There’s a pretty full slate of eleven games on Friday night. So get warm up your channel flipping finger and get ready.

#3 Denver at Buffalo
Tebow-mania has swept the land. Denver QB Tim Tebow did just enough in the blowout loss to the New England Patriots – and handled the aftermath with such class – that he actually rose in the estimation of at least one big Denver Broncos fan: John Elway. Elway gave his strongest endorsement of Tebow yet, which isn’t really saying much as he’s been lukewarm on the quarterback since his debut.

Sunday, Tebow and the Broncos will travel to cold, blustery Buffalo to play the Bills. We’ve seen Tebow roll off a win streak. We’ve seen him lose badly. Now the nation will watch to see how he bounces back after that beating.

#2 Boston at New York
The NBA is back! And if you’re going to tease us with a half a season, you’d better start it with something good. Something like the Boston Celtics at the New York Knicks on Christmas Day. Last season’s top rated defense against the NBA’s 2nd most potent offense. A rivalry as old as the NBA itself. Yeah, that’ll do.

#1 Chicago at Green Bay
The Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers have a rivalry as old as… the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. Now the Bears are 7-7 after a four game losing skid. The Packers are sitting pretty at 13-1. The Bears couldn’t possibly fall below .500, could they? But there’s no way the Pack could drop two in a row after rattling off thirteen straight, right? Something’s got to give at Lambeau on Sunday. Cue Faith Hill now, because I’m just waiting for Sunday night.

#5 Philadelphia Prominent
In a game of “my green, white, and silver team from the Northeast can beat your green, white and silver team from the Northeast,” the Philadelphia Eagles looked like the Dream Team they were advertised to be as they punished Mark Sanchez and the New York Jets all afternoon. Too little, too late for Philadelphia, whose playoff hopes are somewhere between slim and none after a miserably disappointing season to date. On this particular Sunday, however, the E-A-G-L-E-S handily beat the J-E-T-S.

#4 Preseason Play
It’s been a long, long time coming. This weekend we were treated to a slate of nine NBA games. The effort wasn’t there. The scores don’t count. There were mistakes and sloppy play and unnecessary fouls. But it was professional basketball. Seven days and counting until the scores count.

#3 Peyton’s Presence
The Indianapolis Colts will not join the 2008 Detroit Lions as losers of every game in a 16-game season. Indianapolis had gone two weeks short of an entire year without a victory. In fact, it has been 14 years since the team has won a game without a certain Mr. Peyton Manning under center. All that changed on Sunday. The Indianapolis, lead by the greatness-that-is Dan Orlovsky, overwhelmed a mediocre Tennessee Titans team to win their first game of the season and avoid the ignominy of a winless year.

#2 Patriots Pound
What everyone thought would happen, happened. Tom Brady and the 2011 New England Patriots proved themselves to be better than Tim Tebow and the 2011 Denver Broncos. Tebow and the Broncos weren’t equal to the task of defeating the mighty Patriots, but they weren’t awful, either. That won’t matter much to many of my peers who are salivating over the prospect of trashing Tebow for the crime of losing a single game. Let the onslaught of media gloating and “I told you so’s” begin.

#1 Packers Pounded
That wasn’t supposed to happen. The Kansas City Chiefs beat the previously-unbeaten Green Bay Packers? Kyle Orton outplayed Aaron Rodgers? Exactly no one gave the 5-8 Chiefs a chance of derailing the Packers’ quest for a perfect season.
Sure, the Packers were handicapped with both their leading receiver, Greg Jennings, and their leading rusher, James Starks, nursing injuries. But the Chiefs, a sub-.500 team, were playing behind new interim coach Romeo Crennel with nothing but pride on the line. Somehow, KC got the lead and then ran out the clock by pounding the rock to hold on for the big win.

(Photo: U.S. Air Force)

#5 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Ohio vs. Utah State. It’s not the BCS Championship.  They’re not even ranked teams.  But for NCAA Football fans, it’s something, at least. Just be glad there’s a bowl game this weekend.

#4 Dallas at Tampa Bay
There’s nothing particularly compelling about this Saturday’s NFL game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers except that it is this SATURDAY! NFL action moves to four days a week! The Cowboys are barely above .500 and are locked in a battle with the Giants for supremacy in the supremely awful NFC East for the right to go one and out in the playoffs. The Bucs are 4-9 and losers of their last six in a row and have no hope of even catching sight of the playoffs from their deep, deep basement. But it’s NFL Football! On Saturday! You know you’re going to watch.

#3 Texas A&M at Florida
The start of the NBA season is still two weeks away and NCAA basketball hasn’t kicked into high gear yet. The only bright spot for hoops fans is the one meeting between two top 25 teams this weekend – #22 Texas A&M at #13 Florida.  That’s going to have to tide us over until Santa brings us the real thing.

#2 Green Bay at Kansas City
The Green Bay Packers have already clinched the NFC North. They can actually clinch the top seed in the NFC with two weeks to spare with a win over the 5-8 Kansas City Chiefs. Could this be the week when the ball bounces the wrong way for Aaron Rogers and company? Is it conceivable that KC could KO the Packers? Probably not. But playing the spoiler is strong motivation for a team with nothing else to play for.

#1 Tebow vs Brady I
The Legend of Tim Tebow is that he somehow inspires and gives strength to his defense to hold opponents to 13 points or less for 58 minutes while he and the offense rest up, then takes over the game with a miraculous comeback as the clock expires. The Legend of Tom Brady is six Pro Bowls, four Super Bowls, three Rings, two MVP awards, and one super model wife. Give the edge to Brady at this point in their respective careers. It is hard to imagine a scenario in which Tebow comes out on top when the two meet for the first of what I expect to be many highly anticipated match-ups on Sunday. I don’t think all the motivational speeches in the world will help the Denver Broncos defense keep the explosive New England Patriots offense in check.

#5 The Highland Games
There’s something so magical about a sport the combines brooms, heavy drinking, and standing on ice. So it is with great anticipation that we look forward to the return of curling season this weekend.

#4 Green Bay at New York
The New York Giants have faltered recently, but there have been moments during this season – notably their upset victory over New England – when they looked like a championship-caliber team. Green Bay has been riding high since last December and actually is a championship team. Eventually, the ball will bounce the wrong way for Green Bay and New York may be the team in position to benefit when it does.

#3 North Carolina at Kentucky 
Kentucky won’t have very long to rest on their laurels as the new #1 team in NCAA Basketball. As the vagaries of the basketball fates would have it the old #1 is coming to town on Saturday. North Carolina obviously isn’t too happy about losing a game and their ranking so early in the season, and the schedule has given them a quick turnaround on an opportunity to prove last weekend’s loss was a fluke.

#2 The All-Star Group Homecoming Tour 
When this showcase for LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Chris Bosh, and Dwayne Wade was first planned, the return of the NBA was nebulous and theoretical. When it was first announced it seemed a feeble and unsatisfying substitute for professional basketball. Now that we know there will be an NBA season, the game is more like an amuse-bouche, a tiny little foretaste of the good things to come. “Homecoming” turned out to be a prophetically good name for the mini-tour, now that we know there will be a home for them to come back to. The first two of four scheduled games are coming this weekend, Thursday night in Akron, Ohio and Sunday in New Orleans.

#1 Denver at Minnesota
The Denver Broncos, since Tim Tebow took the helm, have found ways to win games. Close wins. Ugly wins. An Overtime win. Five wins in six games since Tebow became the most underappreciated quarterback in the NFL. The Minnesota Vikings, on the other hand, have been finding new ways to blow leads, make head-scratching blunders, and lose games en route to their current 2-9 record. Tebow’s history of 4th quarter comebacks combined with the Vikings’ tendency to fall apart late in the game should make for an interesting can’t-look-away type spectacle.
As an added bonus plotline, Minnesota’s rookie quarterback Christian Ponder is a former Florida State Seminole. He should have a little extra incentive in his first post-collegiate meeting with Tebow, a former Florida Gator who overshadowed him during their overlapping college careers in their home state.