One of the perks of the job that is covering the NHL for theScore was getting to participate in the media game before the Winter Classic.

A film crew captured the game, then interviewed Rob Pizzo and I “24/7″ style and put this feature together for you.

The game itself? …Meh, it was okay.

Earlier this week I told a half lie, which is only half as bad as a full lie. Relaying the latest report on Rob Gronkowski’s ankle, the post in question was titled “Don’t worry, Rob Gronkowski is fine.” He still is fine, at least in the sense that the danger of him missing the Super Bowl is very minimal.

But now as more information begins to trickle out as it always does with Super Bowl injuries, we’re learning the extent of Gronk’s ankle ailment, and while the latest word certainly isn’t crippling, it’s not promising either. It’s somewhere in the vast, vague wasteland in between.

Father always knows best, and Gordy Gronkowski, the man of the Gronk household, told WIVB that his son has a high-ankle sprain. He made those comments Wednesday, but they’re just surfacing now through Tom Curran of CSN New England.

This isn’t surprising news, or at least it shouldn’t be. When he was tackled by Bernard Pollard in the third quarter of last Sunday’s AFC Championship game, Gronkowski’s ankle bent in a direction that ankles were not designed to bend, and after the game he was hobbling around in a walking boot. He wasn’t on the field for New England’s first practice yesterday to prepare for their Super Bowl showdown against the Giants, and he’ll likely either sit out entirely or be a limited participant and nurse the injury until testing it next week as the regular game-week practice schedule picks up.

Gronkowski being inactive for the Super Bowl still remains unlikely. However, now that we know the nature of his injury, we have a little bit more ammunition during our week of speculation, and I’m still pegging the over/under on Gronkowski name drops in this space before Feb. 5 at around 42.

While he can easily play through a high-ankle sprain, it’s an injury that’s been notoriously cumbersome depending on the severity. Late in the season we watched as Ben Roethlisberger played through his own high-ankle injury, and he was wildly ineffective and clearly restricted. Roethlisberger threw three interceptions and had two fumbles (one lost) during a 20-3 drubbing on the road against San Francisco in Week 15, and his passer rating was a season low 52.3.

Although his father says Gronkowski will be fine, and Bill Belichick is saying nothing and will continue to say nothing, what’s troubling for the Patriots is that Roethlisberger didn’t even have a Grade 3 sprain, the most severe variety.

Gronk will play, but he might not quite be Gronk. The solution and remedy? More nurses. Many, many more nurses.

The San Francisco Giants have signed middle infielder Ryan Theriot to a one year contract worth $1.25 million for the coming season. With all due respect to young Brandon Crawford, the San Francisco Giants have a glaring hole at shortstop, and so Theriot should get every opportunity to win the role of starter during Spring Training, or, at the very least start against left handed pitching.

If he doesn’t win the role, and the Giants struggle at any point this season, we can expect the following quote from Theriot:

When I was signed by San Francisco, we hadn’t lost a game. I know that. It is what it is.

About a year ago, we all learned about how Ron Artest intentionally tires himself out and ignores gameplans just to make defense harder for him. We had some laughs because of course Ron Artest would do something like that because he’s wackadoodle.

Now it’s 2012 and he’s Metta World Peace. But he’s still the same guy on the inside, and he still has hilarious opinions on defense. From ESPN:

“The defense, I got to bring it back,” World Peace said after practice Thursday, a day after putting up three points, seven assists, five rebounds, two steals and a block while playing a season-high 38 minutes. “I got bored with defense because it was so easy for me to stop people over the years. I got real bored with it. When you’re playing against guys and you’re stopping guys every single time, what else are you going to do [but get bored]? It caught up to me, but this year I’m doing better. This year I’m almost back to where I want to be.”

Well, at least this is intellectually consistent with a guy who seeks out ways to make things more difficult for himself. It makes a ton of sense that if you were bored with defense that you would do stuff that would make it more exciting. It’s like Jack White only wanting to play with equipment from the 1960′s because he likes the challenge of mastering old stuff.

Of course, that’s music and this is professional sports, where it seems like most everyone is doing everything they can to make things easier for themselves. But Metta World Peace isn’t the same as most professional athletes. He’s been so good at defense for so long — he made his first All-Defensive second team in 2003 — that he maybe would get bored. Why wouldn’t he think “this is easy for me?” He changed his name to Metta World Peace. Anything is possible.

The interesting thing is that this is pretty much MWP admitting he hasn’t been as good defensively as he should be. Sure, he’s phrasing it along the lines of he’s been so good for so long that even he takes it for granted, but even that is ceding that he isn’t trying as hard as he should be. Even if he’s bored, like he says, he also seems to have just realized that he still needs to try hard. And considering his defense has fallen off considerably, he’s right about that.

As you’ll see with gifted children, you have to find a way to keep them engaged in school, even when their classes aren’t super challenging. Basically, the Lakers just need to treat Metta World Peace like a very smart, very quirky 11-year-old if they want him to play classic Ron Artest defense. Come to think of it, that’s probably a pretty solid strategy all around.

(via PBT)

Mauro Ranallo catches up with MMAFighting.com and FUEL TV’s Ariel Helwani as the two discuss the big UFC on FOX 2 show tomorrow night in Chicago and the latest happenings from the world of mixed martial arts.

You all know David Otunga as the coffee mug sipping, Harvard grad who serves as legal council to WWE Superstars on RAW. Well, it turns out Mr. Jennifer Hudson is ACTUALLY working a lawyer!

TMZ is reporting that Otunga was in the courtroom Thursday representing a man wrongfully terminated and denied unemployment benefits, appealing to the NY State Department of Labor. After winning the case, Otunga told TMZ that he “smoked the witness during cross examination.” And added, “If the outcome of the case is any indication of how I’ll do in the Royal Rumble this weekend, then it looks like I’ll be the winner.” We all know that Otunga winning the Rumble is a huge long shot but it’s still pretty cool that he can pull of being a lawyer in a courtroom.

That got me thinking, I wonder what other wrestlers would be good at their job in everyday situations?  Let’s have a look at just a few possibilities.

Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake: I think we can all agree that he would make a terrible barber. I mean just look at the guys pants and jacket. Who wants their head to look all shredded?  Plus, if you go to a barber that cuts your hair with garden shears you’re probably not leaving with a good hairdo.

Undertaker: I think Undertaker would actually make a pretty sweet gravedigger. He’s super strong and he pretty much just has to dig down to his height. I’m sure being a WWE legend pays more and I bet people wouldn’t like their loved ones choke slammed into their caskets.

IRS: Imagine Mike Rotunda did your taxes? You wouldn’t get any money back! He’d be all sweaty and wear the same suit every day. The good part about Irwin R. Schyster doing your taxes is that you’d probably never get audited and you’d get to find out what he keeps in that briefcase.

Repo Man: Clearly he wouldn’t be a good repo man. The guy looks like he’s been run over like fifty times with all those tire tracks on his one piece.

Doink the Clown: I’m already terrified of clowns and if one showed up to my kids birthday party with a midget version of himself named Dink I’d say, “No thanks” and make my way to Chuck E. Cheese.

Big Boss Man: Imagine how many times he’d be kicked off the force for handcuffing people to their cars and smashing them with a knight stick. I also think that it’s mandatory for cops to button up their shirts.

Virgil: He probably is someone’s assistant right now. Let’s hope he’s gotten better at assisting millionaires.

Well, that was a fun time tough guys! Leave me a comment and let me know who you think would be good / bad at their job.

Follow me on Twitter @normsousa

Equatorial Guinea started the competition with an emotional win over Libya last Saturday. Seven other games followed, after which the first round of games ended. One Zambian fan, not much in tune with the football, was surprised his team were to play again so soon.

“Why we playing today? Yesterday was group D, right? When’s group E??” he tweeted.

Someone picked it up and responded with the joke of the moment: “Group E is the Group of Death”: Nigeria, SA, Egypt, Cameroon – so dead they never made it!”
As funny as it was, it mirrors the general feeling that perhaps the games would have been more exciting had those four been in the mix.

I disagree.

We’ve seen the most open first round of games in years. Every one of the eight opening games produced a winner, something we have not seen since 2006. And we were told the competition had minnows.

What minnows? Sudan, whose second half show against Cote d’Ivoire, despite losing, was very admirable? Botswana, who passed Ghana off the park in the last 30 minutes of the second half but were unlucky not to have drawn? Or Libya, whose domestic league has been suspended since last March, but still managed an attacking stance against Zambia? Not to mention that the Libya-Zambia game was played on a soaked surface.

Splashy times

Equatorial Guinea and Gabon both have two distinct climactic seasons. Like most of sub-Saharan Africa, it’s usually the wet or dry seasons. But even in the dry seasons, there’s rain. Libya drew Zambia 2-2, with the game starting 75 minutes late because of the downpour.

For all the proponents of moving the African Cup to the summer, this was proof that it won’t work. Bata, where the game was played, is technically right in the middle of its dry season, which lasts from November to March. Yet the average temperature has been 79 °F (26.1 °C) and average rainfall has averaged 88mm. Imagine what would happen in the summer.

Organizers have been bashed for not foreseeing such eventualities, and rightly so. The stadium’s drainage system is suspect, with workers resorting to using long brooms to sweep the water off the pitch. Average pass completion at tournament before that Libya-Zambia game was 79% but due to the pitch, this game recorded a watery 60%.

But in the end, the brilliant qualification of the hosts for the quarter-final stage quickly dimmed memories of the poor surface.

United Nations FC

Juvenal Edjogo-Owono, one of the Equatoguineans’ best players, refused to be drawn into the negativity of the soggy pitch. He towed the party line of his dictator President and officials, declaring that his country has “a major new stadium” and also that “the country has evolved greatly. We are developing more quickly than the rest of Africa.”

Can you blame him? According to the World Bank, Juvenal’s country recorded about $35,000 per capita income in 2010, putting them ahead of Japan, France, Spain and the entire European Union.

He went on: “I can only approve of this because when you look at the past, we are proud to be able to enjoy today all that we have.”

Indeed, the Equatoguineans are an oddly setup side. Of the full 23-man squad, only third choice goalkeeper Felipe Ovono and reserve defender Jose Bokung were born in Equatorial Guinea.

The National Lightning – as the team is called – went on a course to expand its selection base beyond the borders of the country in 2004, mainly because of their small population. Antonio Dumas,a Brazilian, had taken over as national team coach. He had previously introduced several of his countrymen into the Togolese national team when he was in charge there.

Frustrated by Equatorial Guinea’s poor performances in Africa Cup of Nations and World Cup qualifiers, Dumas was encouraged by Equatorial Guinean officials and politicians to look elsewhere for talent again. He introduced several Brazilians to the team and this policy was later expanded to include other nationalities, setting a trend.

That’s why all 13 players who featured against Senegal are not natives. If Ban Ki Moon, the boss of the United Nations, ever needs a country to use in his propaganda, he knows where to go…

The Terangled Lions

The United Nations FC proved the African proverb, if it ever needed proving, that in unity lies strength. The shock I felt at how they beat Senegal has not worn off yet. I billed the Teranga Lions to be roaring favorites.

It’s not difficult to see why, considering their outstanding record and qualifying and the depth of their attacking talent. However, their output on the field was embarrassing. Two defeats to Zambia and the hosts bundled Demba Ba and his band of hyped mates out of the event.

Before playing Zambia, Senegal may not have heard the heroics of this Zambian team. Known for their strong bond and great relationship with Frenchman Herve Renard, they’ve chugged along slowly in recent years. “This is Africa, man. It’s the Cup of Nations,” Chris Katongo, Zambia’s captain said before the Senegal game. “It’s not like Spain or England. It’s tough and has different challenges. You wait and see.”

Katongo should know what he’s talking about; after all, he’s now scored in four consecutive Afcon editions from 2006 till now. As for Senegal, their poor form against host countries continues. The Lions have now set a tournament record of five eliminations at the hands of host nations, dating back to 1990.

And there is confusion in their camp at the moment. The players would have wanted to go back to Senegal before joining their European teams, but plans have been changed and they will all fly straight from Central Africa to the various destinations.

The two reserve goalkeepers were the only two locally-based players named in the 23-man team and have been dreading the return home. Pape Latyr Ndiaye, who was called up after a brilliant season in which Ouakam won its first title in its 60-year history in the Senegalese premiership, told Jollof News that, “It would be a disaster if the team goes home now. Because I did not play maybe I will be spared the insults. But I know it would not be easy.”

Security

Senegal are not the only ones not having it easy in Equatorial Guinea. Apparently, every foreigner is. Security has been a bit over the top, but it’s quite understandable given the context.

In 2004, mercenaries bankrolled by London financiers and backed by Margaret Thatcher’s son, were arrested in Zimbabwe as they prepared to launch a coup and install a government in Equatorial Guinea more sympathetic to their business interests.

The country has been a security freak since then. Equatorial Guinea refused to grant visas in advance of the games, insisting travelers first pass through co-host Gabon. The security advisors for the games were brought in specially from Mossad, the intelligence arm of the Israeli government. The dictatorship in charge of the country is rumoured to have paid $20 million for their services.

Of course, that has been denied. But there’s something the President did not deny: “This tournament has been marvelous. We have goals, goals and more goals!

You can’t deny that, too, can you?

Gary Al-Smith is a freelance African football specialist. He writes for ESPN, Kicker and is the Ghana editor for SuperSport, Africa’s largest sport network. Follow him on Twitter @garyalsmith and on Facebook.