Weis era over in South Bend
Charlie Weis’ oft-tumultuous tenure as head coach of the Notre Dame football team is over, as he was fired earlier this week after finishing this past season with an unremarkable 6-6 record. Weis arrived at Notre Dame fresh off of great success as the New England Patriots’ offensive coordinator, and was expected to bring the Fighting Irish back to greatness. He led the team to back-to-back BCS bowl game appearances in his first two seasons, but went 16-21 since then. According to FoxSports.com, the 21 losses in three seasons are the most ever by the Notre Dame football program in any three-year span. Weis, who had six years left on his contract, finished his Notre Dame career with a record of 35-27.
Iverson to return to the Sixers?
Just a few weeks after he was supposedly mulling retiring from professional basketball, Allen Iverson met with the head coach and general manager of his former team, the Philadelphia 76ers, for over two hours in Dallas on Monday. Reports on ESPN.com suggested that the two sides were talking about Iverson making a return to Philly, as the Sixers’ starting point guard, Lou Williams, is expected to miss significant time with a broken jaw. Yesterday, Iverson was slated to meet with John Thompson, his former coach at Georgetown, who said last week that he intended to try to talk Iverson out of retiring. Iverson has never won an NBA title, and likely won’t get the chance this season if he re-joins the Sixers: the team is currently in 13th place in the Eastern Conference.
Jeter named SI’s Sportsman of the Year
Under a month after leading the New York Yankees’ to their MLB-leading 27th World Series title, shortstop Derek Jeter has another award to put in his trophy case: Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year. Jeter was selected by the magazine on Monday, and in winning the award he became the first Yankee to receive the honor. Jeter hit .334 this past season, while belting 18 home runs and driving in 66 runs. He also had 30 steals, won another Gold Glove and passed Lou Gehrig to become the Yankees’ all-time hits leader. Sports Illustrated has been naming its “Sportsmen of the Year” since 1954. Last year’s winner was American Olympic hero Michael Phelps.
Messi named Europe’s top footballer
Argentine striker Lionel Messi was awarded the Golden Ball as the European Footballer of the Year earlier this week in what was one of the most lopsided votes in the history of the award. Messi received 473 points out of a possible 480, and finished with 240 more points than second-place Cristiano Ronaldo. Playing in Spain’s La Liga for Barcelona, Messi led his club to a Champions League title, a La Liga title and a Copa Del Rey title. Barcelona is the first Spanish-league team to win all three, known as the “treble.” Messi scored a remarkable 38 goals in 51 matches over the course of the year, while also agreeing to a contract extension to remain with Barcelona through 2016, one that will see him earn around €9.5 million per year.
Kansas in top spot in Coaches’ Poll
Kansas, 5-0 on the young college basketball season, were the top team in the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll. The Jayhawks were followed closely by another Big-12 team, Texas, which moved up to the second spot. The rest of the top five was rounded out by three 6-0 teams: Villanova, Kentucky and Duke. Michigan State, ranked second in the last poll, fell down to ninth after losing to Florida late last week. Purdue (5-0), Syracuse (6-0), West Virginia (5-0), Michigan State (5-1) and Washington (5-0) round out the top ten. Kansas and Texas are slated to play each other in February in what will likely be one of the biggest games of the season, one with huge NCAA Tournament implications.
