Weekly Nickel 11-21-2011

Photo courtesy of sacbee.com. Thanksgiving will be a family reunion of sorts for the Harbaugh family as Jim Harbaugh (left) leads his 49ers into Baltimore to take on John Harbaugh's (right) Ravens.

By Josh Kramer

It is safe to say that last week was absolutely a wild one in the wide world of sports.  The College Football world was turned upside down, while the NFL was highly entertaining as always.  College Basketball is back in full force, while the MLB off-season awards were doled out.  Plus the NASCAR Sprint for the Cup came to a wild conclusion.

Here are the events to keep an eye on this week.

5.  The “Euro Trip” may have officially begun.  An NBA season of any facet is looking highly unlikely at this point and many of the star players are pondering their options.  It will be very entertaining to see the vacation destinations of many of the game’s elite players.  Though it is sad, this has become a reality.  I would say at this point stick a fork in the 2011/2012 NBA season.

4.  This is the time of year when the NHL typically gets lost in the shuffle.  We are in the main portion of pigskin season, and College Basketball is just getting going.  Though the NHL has lucked out that the NBA is not in full force, many around turkey time tend to forget about sports other than football.  Here is the marquee matchup of the week.

–Boston Bruins at Buffalo Sabres:  A big-time clash in the very tight NorthEast Division of the Eastern Conference.  Boston is of course the defending champions and the hottest team in hockey, while the Sabres currently sit atop the division with the second best record in the conference.  Typically, Buffalo relies on their stout defensive unit and their innate ability to kill power plays.  The defending champions on the other hand, despite a relatively slow start, feature one of the League’s elite offensive attacks.  Boston are winners of eight straight and I expect them to carry that momentum into Buffalo, where the Sabres have struggled this year.  Expect the Bruins to take advantage of Buffalo’s lack of home-ice advantage.

3.  NCAA hoops is already off to a wild start.  Upsets have been heard all over the country, and it is only November.  Though it may be hard to believe, this year may actually end up with more “Madness” than last year.  There are many major tournaments going on already and into next week, but there is one matchup that I have my eye on.

-Michigan Wolverines vs Memphis Tigers:  This afternoon, two of the nation’s top 20 teams will go toe to toe in Maui.  Though there has not been a whole lot of chatter about either squad, likely due to how dominant UK and UNC have looked, these teams are no slouches.  Memphis dismantled a tough Belmont team last week, while Michigan has handled business in their first three outings.  The Tigers currently lead the country in points per game and field goal percentage (granted they have only played one game).  Tim Hardaway Jr. seems poised for a big-time sophomore campaign, and should really mesh well with diaper-dandy Trey Burke (former teammate of Jared Sullinger in high school) in the backcourt.  Memphis on the other hand will be led by a three-headed monster of Barton, Witherspoon, and Jackson.  This team is extremely athletic and will be around for the Madness.  I like Memphis’ athleticism to be a little bit too much for a Wolverines team that should be very solid in the Big Ten this year.

2.  I think the BCS is ready to explode after the wild week that was Week 12 of the College Football season.  Good luck choosing a team to face LSU on January 9th.  And what if LSU were to lose to Arkansas on Saturday?  Then what would happen?  I think the BCS may have a heart attack.

Here are the marquee matchups to keep an eye on.

-Arkansas at LSU (SEC West collision in Baton Rouge)

-Ohio State at Michigan (Best rivalry in College Football)

-Alabama at Auburn (Past two National Champions)

-Penn State at Wisconsin (Big Ten Leaders Division Battle for all of the marbles)

-Florida State at Florida (Battle for state supremacy)

-Clemson at South Carolina (Another battle for state supremacy)

-Notre Dame at Stanford (Andrew Luck’s last home game)

(All picks for the big games will be released in my weekly College Football picks)

1.  Thanksgiving Day is all about the three F’s.  Family, food, and football.  There are always great matchups on turkey day, and this year will be no different.  Yesterday, Green Bay became the first defending Super Bowl Champion to start the year 10 and 0 since the Denver Broncos in 1998.  And we all know what happened that year.  Week 11 is nearly in the books, but Week 12 is right around the corner.

-Green Bay at Detroit (NFC North throwdown)

-San Francisco at Baltimore (Brotherly love)

-Buffalo at New York (Jets) (AFC East showdown)

-Cleveland at Cincinnati (Battle of Ohio Part II)

-New York (Giants) at New Orleans (NFC Divisional Leaders)

All of the picks for Week 10 will be included in the weekly “TheSportsKraze Pick’em Challenge” on Friday)

Stay tuned for the next edition of TheSportsKraze.