Before I get started on the Winter Classic, the Eastern Conference standings or the Olympic selections that have been released so far . . . I want to talk about Buffalo’s game against Pittsburgh on Tuesday.

You don’t even have to know that much about hockey to be impressed by a team that can deliver an old fashioned thrashing to the Pittsburgh Penguins.  The thing that was so amazing about watching this game was that anyone would have thought Buffalo was down and out by the first minutes of the second period.

Then, about halfway through the second, right after Miller got chased (a rarity), right winger Drew Stafford put some magic down by opening the scoring for Buffalo.  The Sabres never looked back; they went on to score four unanswered goals (another rarity against a team like Pittsburgh) to make it a 4-3 win for the Sabres.  It was simply magic.

On the subject of magic, I am hoping that some of you will take a time out from the innumerable bowls on the tube to watch the Winter Classic out of Fenway in Boston.   In case you’re coming back from an interplanetary peace mission, Boston will be facing off against Philly.

Both of these teams are coming off some really impressive wins and look like they are nursing a bloodlust for victory.  As some of you may have guessed, Philly is my pick going into this one, but I won’t be too disappointed to see the home team win, either (Zdeno Chara is just too good in front of the media).

To make matters more exciting USA hockey will be releasing their picks for the US Olympic hockey squad.

Looking onward to the Olympics . . . While I’ll be writing about the 2010 O-games in great detail very shortly, I just want to say that Team Russia and Team Canada look really, really scary.  I have been amusing myself by putting together lines for each of these two teams and each time I giggle with the anxiousness of a Dungeons and Dragons geek who just discovered that there’s gonna be another Lord of the Rings movie.

Have any of you seen the Eastern Conference standings lately?

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I’m ignoring the West (what the hell is Detroit doing in tenth place????), it’s just that there are only three points separating eighth from fourteenth in the East at the halfway mark of the season and unless you’ve reached a completely catatonic state, it makes for some pretty damn exciting hockey.

So, as I sign off for the last time this year and look forward to 2010, I would like to just thank all of you for reading me and would also like to wish you all a happy, safe and healthy New Year.

–Ryan Matwiy, Red Editorial Staff

I wonder if Mark Hughes is poised to make a swift return to management at Bolton following Gary Megson’s sacking.

Hughes is certain to figure prominently in the thoughts of Bolton chiefs as they look for an experienced candidate to replace Megson.

The former Manchester City and Blackburn boss would probably welcome a chance to remain in the north-west.

It just remains to be seen whether he views Bolton as a club who can match his ambition.

Hughes started the season with hopes of moulding Manchester City into a side capable of at least securing a Champions League place.

He could swap that for a battle against relegation with Bolton.

Former Bolton midfielder Peter Reid, currently assistant-manager at Stoke City, is another possible name in the frame to take charge at the Reebok.

Darren Ferguson’s name is also being linked with any managerial job going at the moment.

Bolton’s 2-2 draw at home to fellow strugglers Hull, after they had led 2-0, proved to be the final straw for Megson.

He was in charge for just over two years but was never a popular figure among Bolton fans.

No doubt Megson’s old foe Neil Warnock will have had a broad smile on his face when he learned of the news.

The pair have never patched up their differences since the infamous ‘Battle of Bramall Lane’ clash between Sheffield United and West Brom back in 2002.

When the match was abandoned due to Warnock’s United having only six players left on the pitch, Megson accused his rival of ordering his players to feign injuries.

Incidentally, I was alarmed to read that Chris Evans is taking care of first-team matters at Bolton alongside Steve Wigley on a caretaker basis.

I would have thought that the task of replacing Sir Terry Wogan as host of the Radio 2 breakfast show was enough without the added pressure of a Premiership
relegation battle.

What next, Jonathan Ross joining the backroom staff at West Ham?!

–Nick Johnson, Red U.K. Editorial Staff

The inability of potentially poisonous situations to boil over into unfettered chaos:

Eddy Curry, Nate Robinson, Tracy McGrady and Golden State’s entire team have all been at odds with their coaches for some time now. Yet, in all four cases, cooler heads continue to prevail. Not that any of these guys aren’t mad, but they keep handling their situations in mostly “civil” and “gentlemanly” manners. This isn’t why the New York Post exists, guys! Get to acting foolish about your grievances, or don’t be talking about them at all.

Scott Skiles:

Looking for empty discipline? Scott Skiles is your man. Just like he did in Phoenix and Chicago, he had his young Bucks team overachieving with his Mark Mangino style of coaching for a while this season before finally running them into the ground. Acting tough and yelling at your players might motivate them in September and October, before the games are being played and the nicks and bruises are piling up, but in December, January and February? Not a chance. Milwaukee’s 3-10 record so far in December should serve as a very ominous sign for Bucks fans.

The Washington Wizards, the Houston Texans of the NBA:

Every year, people have blind faith that it will finally be Washington’s year. Their big three, Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler and Antwan Jamison, will finally learn to operate as a core, and the wins will pile up while the Cavs get spited. Then the season starts. Gilbert Arenas becomes impossible to work with, Caron Butler acts like a baby and Antwan Jamison gets hurt. It’s time to blow things up and start over in D.C.

Big men:

They continue to drop like flies. Bogut. Bynum. Oden. Garnett. Griffin. Camby. Yao. Chandler. You’d think the NBA’s seven-footers worked in mines for as often as they get hurt. You guys aren’t harvesting ore, you’re grabbing rebounds. I know you have gargantuan frames, but Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain and company found ways to keep theirs on the court. Please do the same.

Andrew Bynum:

As he continues to be breathlessly hyped as some sort of a lynchpin to the future of a franchise that has both Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, Bynum continues to do what he does best: not deliver. That is unless you were looking for eight points and 4.8 rebounds per game during last season’s playoffs. Bynum has become a sort of glorified Kwame Brown. Maybe after another year or two of him doing what he does best–getting hurt and not being factor–all the hyperbole will finally stop. He could go down for the season tomorrow–a very real possibility–perhaps he’ll get a hang-nail–and it would barely cause a ripple in L.A.’s pursuit of its second-straight championship.

Number one overall draft picks that came after Dwight Howard:

Blake Griffin hasn’t played, Derrick Rose has regressed, Greg Oden is out for the season–again–Andrea Bargnani continues to be utterly invisible and Andrew Bogut, as usual, can’t stay on the floor. After two straight franchise, perhaps history, changing number ones in LeBron James and Howard, we’ve got nothing but a bunch of saps.

No team on pace to win 70 games:

In the past three seasons, the Lakers, Cavs, Mavs and Celtics have all flirted with joining the 1995-96 Bulls as only the second 70-win team in NBA history by each winning at least 65 games once. This season, however, no one is even close to being on such a pace, and another one of Michael Jordan’s incredible records looks like it will stand for at least another year.

–Patrick Daugherty, Red Editorial Staff

With the new year nearly upon us, here are Red’s top 10 predictions for 2010.

1. Premier League winners
Chelsea are just that little bit stronger than the rest and they will be crowned champions. Manchester United lack that extra spark now that Cristiano Ronaldo has gone.

2. For the drop
It’s hard to envisage the struggles of Portsmouth and Wolves ending in anything other than relegation. Expect Burnley and Hull to go into freefall, with one of them joining the other two in the Championship next term.

3. Kings of Europe
History is against Barcelona as they bid to become the first team to retain the Champions League trophy. Instinct tells me that Real Madrid, with all their expensive superstars, will replace their great rivals as champions of Europe.

4. League Cup winners
Manchester City will defeat United in a mouthwatering semi-final before proving too strong for Aston Villa in the final. It will be City’s first major trophy since winning the League Cup in 1976.

5. FA Cup victors
Their rivals’ title race and Champions League commitments will open the way for Liverpool to earn their first silverware since their 2006 FA Cup triumph.

6. Transfer coup
Fearing a lengthy transfer ban, Chelsea will splash the cash in January. Top of their shopping list will be Sergio Agüero, the outstanding Argentina striker. Agüero’s current club, Atlético Madrid, will want top dollar. Expect a fee of around £50 million.

7. Big debate
Something will happen at the World Cup that will have us all wondering why on earth nothing has been done to help referees and their assistants. As ever, dreams will be ended by poor decisions. FIFA must act.

8. England expects
For once, England approach a World Cup with realistic expectations of coming home with the trophy. The biggest concern for Fabio Capello is a lack of strength in depth. The nation will be praying that Wayne Rooney is fully fit throughout.

9. Golden Boot
I’ve said for some time that Brazil’s Luis Fabiano will be the top scorer at South Africa 2010. At 29, the Sevilla striker is in his zenith–as shown by a marvellous record of 25 goals in his first 36 internationals.

10. World champions
Brazil have everything it takes to win a sixth World Cup. Defensive steel, midfield control, attacking verve and goals galore from the likes of Luis Fabiano. And, perhaps most crucially, Dunga’s outfit boasts impressive strength in depth.

–Rob Wightman, Red U.K. Senior Sports Writer

If you’re a college basketball fan living outside of Utah you’ve probably never heard of him, because his name is not Wall, James, Harangody or Henry. But if you’re thinking about your bracket early with March just around the corner, it’s a name you’ll want to remember.

He is Jimmer Fredette, a junior guard for the Brigham Young Bears.  Monday night he broke a 48-year-old school record by dropping a career-high 49 points in a 99-69 trouncing of the once mighty Arizona Wildcats.

The 6-foot-2 guard went off on the Wildcats’ defense and nearly everything he put up went down. He leaned, he lunged, he made off-balance shots and launched treys from beyond NBA range. He scored with such fervor that Arizona head coach Sean Miller joked with Fredette in the waning minutes to just pass the ball and stop shooting. No such luck though as he drained yet another three.

When the final buzzer sounded, Fredette had gone 16-of-23 from the field, 9-of-13 from beyond the arc for his school-record 49 points while grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out nine assists.

The win improved the Bears to 13-1 on the year, their lone loss coming at the hands of Utah State, and once again showed just how far the Pac-10 has fallen this year.

But it shows something else, too: it shows bias among the college basketball rankings. If Brigham Young were in, say, the Pac-10 or the Big 12 and sporting a 13-1 record with wins over Arizona State, Nevada and Arizona they’d easily be ranked among the top ten. Instead they sit on the outside looking in, gathering just 49 votes in the ESPN/USA Today poll.

But the bias goes further.

With Monday night’s performance and the season Fredette is having, he should be in the conversation for player of the year.

He has been every bit the leader this season for BYU. In his 31.4 minutes per game Fredette is averaging 21.6 points with 5.6 assists. He is shooting a blistering .926 free throw percentage, ranking among the nation’s highest, and his 303 points on the year is tied for second with Charles Garcia of Seattle and just 11 points behind player of the year candidate, Notre Dame’s Luke Harangody.

He is a leader on a team poised to recapture the Mountain West title when conference play opens for the Bears with a home match-up with UNLV, and a team hungry to redeem their first-round exit from the tournament last year courtesy Texas A&M.

All of this makes Fredette as legitimate a candidate as Harangody, Cole Aldrich, Sherron Collins, Dexter Pittman, Damion James, John Wall, you name ‘em.

But like I said, unless you’re a basketball fan in Utah you’ve probably never heard of him.

–Aaron Whitebread, Red Editorial Staff

It was the feel good story of the year when we surely needed one.  Crippled by a bird strike after leaving New York’s La Guardia Airport, US Airways Flight 1549 was forced to make an emergency landing but the only “runway” available was the Hudson River.

Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, who with Jeffrey Zaslow wrote Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters (William Morrow 2009, $25.99) talked to Red about the ultimate in high anxiety.

I know you’ve probably told this story a million times already but how soon after taking off did you first know that the plane was in trouble?

Almost immediately, about 100 seconds after takeoff, Jeff (Skiles, the first officer) saw the birds a split second before I did. We saw them when they were probably a football field away from us, certainly not enough time to avoid them. You can hear them clearly on the cockpit recording–thump, thump–and almost immediately I could hear the noise of the birds going through the core of the jet engines, I could feel the severe vibrations and smell the birds burning.

Did you know right away it was bad?

Yes, it was immediately obvious that it was a dire emergency. In 40 years of flying I had never experienced one engine failing, let alone two.

What was your first response?

My very first reaction was disbelief, I had two distinct thoughts, one was this can’t be happening, my second was this doesn’t happen to me. It was definitely shocking, the enormity of the problem, the intensity. The initial second or two was when I had those thoughts.  The physiological reaction I had to this was strong, and I had to force myself to use my training, force calm on the situation and force myself to concentrate on the problem.

So you stayed calm?

I had to fight my body, I was sure my blood pressure and pulse spiked.  I had to fight to ignore that and to concentrate on the tasks at hand and not let what was happening, to keep myself from panicking or paying attention to what was going on with my body.  I had only 208 seconds, an extreme time compression.  Jeff stayed calm too and he and I worked together seamlessly.

Did you ever think oh this isn’t going to work; we’re not going to make it?

Despite everything I had confidence we could do it.

That sounds calm.

For a week or two afterwards, my pulse, which was normally 60, was at 75; my blood pressure was 160 over 100 when normally it’s 100 over 70.

Recounting the story of his heroic struggle to save his Airbus 320 from crashing either into the densely populated Manhattan skyline or into the Hudson River, has also given Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger a chance to discuss how cost saving measures at airlines is impacting passenger safety.

Indeed, as Sully struggled to keep control of his aircraft once its two jet engines had died, his first flight officer Jeff Skiles reached for the inch thick Quick Reference Handbook to find the most appropriate procedure for the emergency they were facing.  But US Airways, to save money, no longer had numbered tabs.  Skiles had to quickly leaf through the book’s pages, looking for the right procedure–taking away precious seconds at a time when every second counted.

You really have several stories to tell, don’t you?  Not only about how you and Skiles saved the plane and 155 passengers and crew but also about how cost cutting is threatening aviation safety.

Jeff and I felt like we had an obligation to tell about what’s going on.  The economic difficulties that most people have seen in the last year or so, pilots and airlines have seen for the last seven and eight years.  I took a 40% decrease in salary, Jeff took a 60%, and we’ve lost our pensions.  As I describe in the book, many of us are the working wounded, it’s a real testament to the nature of our dedication to flying that we’re still working in this field. People don’t want their pilots worrying about their second job that they need to pay their mortgage.  One of my messages is that is that many people who run airlines now are financially trained and I think they’re all too often removed from what it’s like to fly an airplane.

Was it difficult writing a book and talking to so many people about your experiences?

No, because the concept I used when I started the book was that I knew that it had to be more than just the story about the flight–that people had already heard that.  I had to get it inside of my head, how I had only 208 seconds and how Jeff and I communicated and made the decisions we made.  It had to be a survey of my life and what it was about this that prepared me to face that challenge that day and to face all this attention in the aftermath.

And what did prepare you for this?  Was it all your years of flying from being a teenager in a crop duster’s plane to being in the Air Force and flying an F-4 Phantom?

What had really helped was that I had paid attention over the years.  One of the things that makes flying large jet engines–which are bigger, heavier–difficult, is that you need to pay attention to that energy and power and know how to manage it. I was also running through a host of facts and observations that I had filed away over the years, giving me a broad sense of how to make this decision which was the most important one of my life.

And one of the decisions was not to return to LaGuardia?

It would be an irrevocable choice and it would have ruled out every other option and it would have had catastrophic consequences for both everyone on the airplane and who knows how many people on the ground.  I also knew that whatever happened we would need a serious rescue effort and I knew that the water rescue resources at LaGuardia were just a tiny fraction of those available on the Hudson between Manhattan and New Jersey. As a fighter pilot I had had to pay the closest attention to everything because life and death could be separated by seconds and by feet.

–Interview by Jane Ammeson, Red Editorial Staff

Green is good. The green-jerseyed Packers were dominating in a 48-10 clocking of the Seahawks that, well, just wasn’t that close.  QB Aaron Rodgers is looking like a Super Bowl QB, if not this year (possible), then sooner rather than later. The Packers defense is ferocious, and NFC teams have to be secretly glad they don’t face LBs A.J. Hawk and Clay Matthews, plus D-back supreme Charles Woodson, up there on the frozen tundra.

Green Bay fans were ready to clean house just two months ago, but six wins in seven games changes minds in a hurry.

With New Orleans’ recent hip-deep dip into the loss column, it is not hard to imagine one of the sweetest matchups in years for a Super Bowl berth: Green Bay and Rodgers vs. Minnesota and You-Know-Who-Didn’t-Retire.

But another green machine on a late-season, the Philadelphia Eagles, will have something to say about that NFC conference title showdown. Philly is looking Super-good after Andy Reid’s contract extension was hammered out. Quarterback Donovan McNabb hasn’t heard a boo in a couple of months, wideout DeSean Jackson is healthy and Brian Westbrook is getting there (the latter scares NFC foes the most). Plus, Philly is loaded at receiver and has a tight end, Brent Celek, most people don’t know–but will by the end of the playoffs.

Philly booted Denver on a last-second FG, 30-27, in a game much more lopsided than it looked. The Eagles were cruising in the third quarter, up by 17, when CB Asante Samuel ran back an INT 40 yards. But safety Macho Harris was penalized for unnecessary roughness on the runback and Samuel drew a 15-yarder himself for spiking the ball in celebration.

The ball ended up on the Eagles’ own 1-yard line and, after three and out, turned into a Denver TD. Harris flubbed the ensuing kickoff and Denver made it a ballgame by scoring.  Kicker David Akers saved the day, but dig this, Philly might just be the best NFC team in the league right now.

And Denver must have altitude sickness from dropping so low–no longer in control of its playoffs fate–after such a fast start this season.

Green is also lucky. The green-and-white New York Jets were in the right place at the right time on the NFL schedule grid. Since Indy had clinched home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, it (rightfully so) rested its regulars about halfway into the third quarter.

Colts fans didn’t like it, but you know Jets head coach Rex Ryan did, especially when rookie backup QB Curtis Painter fumbled his first snap from center and New York recovered in the end zone for a defensive TD. Remarkably, the Jets control their own playoff fate next weekend: Win and they’re in.

Their opponent? The Bengals, who, tah-dah, clinched the AFC North and will likely rest some starters next weekend at the Meadowlands in a 8:20 ET Sunday night start.

Seven AFC teams have a shot at the two Wild-Card berths, but only the Jets and Ravens (who travel to Oakland) can reach the playoffs by winning. Everybody else has to win and hope for some combination of losses for other contenders.

Guess you might say that makes those other five contenders–Pittsburgh, Houston, Denver, Miami and Jacksonville–green with envy.

–Bob Condor, NFL RedHouse

Top Premiership managers should be worried by news that Jose Mourinho wants to return to English football.

Mourinho made an emotional return to Stamford Bridge to watch his old team beat Fulham and then declared he could even make a Premier League comeback this
summer.

The self-styled ‘Special One’, now in charge of Inter Milan, was on a spying mission ahead of his side’s Champions League game against Chelsea.

When asked about his feelings for English football, Mourinho said: “I have always said the same–I love it here, I love it here, I love it here.”

I think we get the message, Jose.

Mourinho added that he is still in love with Chelsea, so it must have been painful for him to see his former lover with a new partner in Carlo Ancelotti.

On the one hand he wants to see his ex-love happy, but there will also be pangs of regret about what might have been had they not gone their separate ways.

There is always a chance, of course, that Mourinho will rekindle his love affair with Chelsea.

That is a possibility if Chelsea blow their lead at the top of the table and miss out on the title.

If that happens, Ancelotti could find himself dumped in favour of Mourinho.

Title success for Chelsea could see Mourinho run into the arms of another club in this country.

He has been linked with Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City.

I think you can safely rule-out United for the time being as Fergie is not ready to stand down just yet.

A move to City could also be a non-starter if Roberto Mancini makes significant progress between now and the end of the season.

That leaves Liverpool as the most likely destination for Mourinho given their disappointing campaign.

If the axe falls on Rafa Benitez, Mourinho could be offered a route back to the Premiership.

The return of the Special One would be a welcome breath of fresh air.

He oozes charisma and is the nearest to the great Brian Clough that English football has ever seen.

Please come back, Jose, you’ve been sadly missed.

–Nick Johnson, Red U.K. Editorial Staff

It’s 20 below zero with wind chill, but a group of guys sporting yellow foam cowboy hats doesn’t seem to mind.  Nor do the 7,000 other anglers and 2,000 on-lookers among 21,000 holes drilled into Brainerd, Minnesota’s, Gull Lake.

The handful of cowboys has driven 1,000 miles from Wyoming to Minnesota for past seven years to compete in the world’s largest ice-fishing contest.

Winning a snowmobile the second year didn’t hurt, but they insist it’s the warm, playful spirit of those willingly sitting around in brutal temps that keeps them coming back.

“We come for the good-looking girls,” jokes Rich Hepner of Casper, Wyo., knowing full well you can’t tell a bust from a beer gut.  Everyone shuffles around androgynously, thickly bundled head-to-toe. Only eyes or sunglasses peek from the layers.

The idea for the Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza was first scrawled on the inside of a beer case 20 years ago.  It has brought in $1.5 million for charities since then.

Participants in the Jan. 23 contest win big, too, with more than $150,000 in prizes, many of which don’t require the biggest catch.  Someone goes home with a new truck. Others earn ATVs, snowmobiles, ice-fishing gear, tents and more.

In many ways, the ice-fishing contest is the winter equivalent of Minnesota’s famed State Fair: big crowds, funny attire, full-blown spectacle.

Anglers show up toting poles, sleds and gear as they trudge down an American flag-draped avenue of ice leading to Hole-in-the-Day Bay.  One group gleefully flies signs identifying themselves as “Happy Hookers.”  A local man, dressed in a mountain man’s fur hat, fishes from the comfort of a cushy La-Z-Boy he hauls from home.

Steinarr Elmerson, a rowdy character who runs the Nordic Inn Medieval Bed and Brew, hawks fur Viking hats with horns. Known by most as The Crazy Viking, he often pops up among Minnesota football fans in full historic attire.

To an outsider, “crazy” could apply to all the participants. Where else do people schlep portable heaters so they don’t have to drink beer slushies?

Like the state fair, though, there’s this infectious we’re-in-this-together spirit.  It’s a chance to collectively laugh at Mother Nature’s frigid efforts–something worth numb toes, icy eyelashes and grins that freeze to your face.

–Photo and text by Lisa Meyers McClintick, Red Editorial Staff

David James has sent a clear ‘come and get me’ plea to Tottenham in a bid to secure his place as the England No.1 ahead of the World Cup finals.

Saying that he is “flattered” to be linked with a club of such stature, James added that it would be good for his England chances to join “an upwardly mobile club”.

If that isn’t saying that he is desperate to leave Portsmouth when the transfer window opens, I don’t know what is.

James has never made any secret of the fact that he was disillusioned after seeing a number of players leave Pompey last summer.

He now says that the mass exodus from Fratton Park left him feeling “a bit cheated”.

By the sound of it, I think Pompey boss Avram Grant needs to start looking for a new keeper.

Spurs boss Harry Redknapp has great admiration for James, having worked with him during his time in charge at Portsmouth.

With Carlo Cudicini out of action following a road accident, Redknapp is looking to sign an experienced keeper and James would fit the bill.

A move to White Hart Lane would give James’ World Cup hopes a timely boost, swapping a relegation battle for a tilt at qualification for Europe.

Regarding England, I have to agree with a fellow journalist who, when writing about our chances in South Africa, expressed concerns about the goalkeeper situation.

I must confess that I am not a fan of James as I feel he makes too many errors to be a top international keeper.

The problem is, no-one has staked a strong claim to replace him.

I fancied Ben Foster to take over after starting the season in goal for Manchester United, but a dip in form cost him his place and effectively scuppered his England chances for the time being.

Of the others–Robert Green, Paul Robinson and Joe Hart–there is no stand-out contender.

That means that if he is fit, David James is the favourite to win Fabio Capello’s vote.

Let us hope that the man nicknamed ‘Calamity’ does not let his country down on the biggest stage.

–Nick Johnson, Red U.K Editorial Staff