It’s been several days since college football fans learned of the four teams chosen to compete in the second College Football Playoff. There was no great controversy like in 2014, when Ohio State leapfrogged Big 12 co-champions Baylor and TCU to earn the fourth seed; the Buckeyes would validate that selection by beating Alabama and Oregon to win the national championship. In 2015, though, the committee tasked with picking the four playoff participants only had four teams to choose from for four spots, making the main “controversy” one of which teams would play each other in the semifinals. Clemson, Alabama, and Michigan State all won conference championship games, while Oklahoma won the Big 12 outright – the Sooners’ regular season finale with Oklahoma State was essentially a conference title game itself.

So Clemson and Oklahoma will meet in the Orange Bowl, while Alabama and Michigan State do battle in the Cotton Bowl. The Tigers beat the Sooners convincingly in last year’s Russell Athletic Bowl, but with new players on both teams, and the stakes higher, expect a different outcome to the game. Meanwhile, Nick Saban is reunited with his former team, now led by former assistant Mark Dantonio. Ohio State stunned the Crimson Tide in the 2015 Sugar Bowl, but will the Crimson Tide be able to apply the lessons learned from that game to beat the Spartans?

Speaking of the Buckeyes, they’ll face Notre Dame in the marquee matchup of the remaining New Year’s Six bowls, the Fiesta Bowl. Ohio State beat the Fighting Irish in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl, the last year before the game was moved from Tempe to Glendale. Also, Iowa and Stanford will play in the Rose Bowl (the Cardinal making its third Pasadena appearance in four years); Ole Miss faces Oklahoma State in the Sugar Bowl, and Florida State-Houston is the Peach Bowl matchup.

Much was made about the chances of Ohio State going to the Rose Bowl, if only because of the school having a bigger brand than Iowa. In the end, the Hawkeyes going to Pasadena does make more sense; they went undefeated in the regular season, won their division, and lost in the last minute of a thrilling Big Ten championship game. The fact that Iowa won their division (let alone coming agonizingly close to making the Playoff) is an accomplishment, and the Rose Bowl is an appropriate award.

However, there was no consistency when it came to the Peach Bowl, where Florida State will play instead of ACC Coastal winner North Carolina. The Tar Heels recovered from a season-opening loss to become one of the hottest – yet underrated – teams in the country, right up to the ACC title game loss to Clemson. The ending of that game aside, one of the Tar Heels’ best seasons in program history will end in the Russell Athletic Bowl, which just seems unfitting. Iowa deserves to be in the Rose Bowl, but North Carolina also was worthy of a New Year’s Six game. The same could be said of SEC East winner Florida, but the Gators had lackluster performances in their final two games, allowing Ole Miss (the one team to beat Alabama) to take the SEC’s Sugar Bowl slot.

What’s your take on the bowl matchups? Leave a comment below!

While the first weekend in December will see many college football conference champions crowned, it also marks the end of another Major League Soccer season. The showpiece of the United States’ marquee professional soccer league offers two clubs from different sides of multiple spectrums: examples being East vs. West, or charter club vs. one of the newer expansion teams.

One of the factors that makes MLS Cup 2015 so intriguing is that it is a soccer match, not football. And it’s not a matchup of Boston or New York vs. Los Angeles, but rather Columbus vs. Portland, two cities with proud identities of their own.

Columbus Crew SC was one of the original members of the league when MLS first started in the mid-1990s, but this is only their second MLS Cup appearance in history. 2008 saw the Crew (as they were known back then; now it’s Crew SC) defeat the New York Red Bulls 3-1, capping off a season when the club also had the best regular season record. That team had stars like Frankie Hejduk, Guillermo Barros Schelotto, and Alejandro Moreno, who are all now retired from playing. Now a new set of star players, led by Federico Higuain, Kei Kamara, and Steve Clark are ready to add their names to club lore as title winners.

Portland Timbers FC have taken a dramatic route to MLS Cup after just missing out on a first-round bye. They were minutes away from advancing in regulation until a Sporting Kansas City goal forced extra time, and were minutes away from elimination until Maximiliano Urruti tied the game late in the second extra time period to force penalties. Portland prevailed that night, before getting past Vancouver and Dallas – the top two seeds in the West – to make their first appearance in the final. For all the excitement of the three new MLS clubs in the Northwest, this is the first time any one of them has made it this far in the playoffs. They’ve had success on the road already, but will face a hostile atmosphere Sunday.

MAPFRE Stadium has been the site of choice for the Mexico @ United States match in the last four World Cup qualifying cycles; the Americans won each match 2-0. The passionate atmosphere make it difficult for any visiting sides to Central Ohio, whether it’s a club or a national team.

Another factor in Crew SC’s favor: a good-luck charm of second-year coaches. Two of Ohio State’s most revered football coaches, Paul Brown & Jim Tressel, each won national championships in their second year with the Buckeyes. 2015 is Gregg Berhalter’s second year with Crew SC, can he cap it off with a professional championship?

Expect an entertaining affair Sunday as history will be made. Can the Timbers win a first title or will Crew SC lift the Anschutz Trophy in front of their supporters?

The latest College Football Playoff rankings sees Ohio State at #6, right behind fellow Big Ten teams Iowa and Michigan State. With the Hawkeyes and Spartans meeting each other Saturday for the conference championship, it stands to reason that the loser will drop in the final rankings, allowing the Buckeyes to get one step closer to a repeat appearance in the playoff.

But should the Buckeyes be among the four teams competing for a national championship? On one hand, Ohio State’s only loss came on a last-second field goal to Michigan State. However, that result meant the Spartans won the Big Ten East, and are in Indianapolis this weekend for the conference title game, not Ohio State.

Should Ohio State get into the top four, it would be controversial, but this happened before in the BCS era. In 2001, Nebraska lost their regular-season finale to Colorado, sending the Buffaloes to the Big 12 Championship Game. Then-Cornhuskers head coach Frank Solich was among many who thought Nebraska’s national championship hopes were done, but the Huskers made the Rose Bowl ahead of Colorado and Pac-10 champion Oregon. Nebraska would be blown out in the Rose Bowl by Miami.

In 2011, Alabama lost in the season to LSU, with the Tigers going on to win the SEC West and later the conference championship. However, in large part because Big 12 champion Oklahoma State also lost late in the regular season, the Crimson Tide received the #2 ranking in the final BCS poll, setting up a rematch with LSU, which Alabama won 21-0.

Those were two of the more prominent examples of why the BCS was flawed (2003 Oklahoma also created plenty of controversy, but that team, unlike the ’01 Cornhuskers and ’11 Crimson Tide, did win their division, although the Sooners were blown out in the Big 12 championship game.) When it was decided there would be a playoff starting in 2014, fans were optimistic that the main problems that plagued the BCS would end.

It may turn out that Ohio State doesn’t get into the 2015 playoff, anyway. Oklahoma has surely guaranteed a spot in the four, as will the Big Ten championship game winner. The current top two – Clemson & Alabama – both have conference championship games on Saturday, and will lock up playoff spots with wins.

But if there are upsets in Charlotte and Atlanta, what are the Buckeyes’ chances of sneaking in then? Does Ohio State get the nod over Stanford if the Cardinal win the Pac-12? If North Carolina does win the ACC, will the committee look at how far the Tar Heels have come from the season-opening loss to South Carolina? The committee did so for Ohio State after the loss to Virginia Tech last year.

The committee’s job can be made very simple on Saturday, or it can be made very complicated. Where the Buckeyes go for bowl season will once again be a talking point for days to come.

Remember how the 2007 college football season unfolded?

Ohio State was firmly the #1 team in the country in mid-November, but their national championship hopes seemed dead after a 28-21 home loss to Illinois. The Buckeyes dropped to #7 in the BCS, and with the Big Ten not yet having a championship game, and no second bye week meant the Buckeyes played their regular season finale before Thanksgiving, it appeared unlikely they’d make it to New Orleans. Jim Tressel and company did win at Michigan 14-3 to clinch the Big Ten title outright, but it looked like the Buckeyes would go to the Rose Bowl; not a consolation by any means, but not the national championship site that year. They were hoping for a lot of upsets, which indeed happened, although OSU would fall to LSU in the title game.

Now the Buckeyes have re-entered that kind of scenario in 2015. Saturday’s loss to Michigan State means that the Buckeyes need to win at Michigan and root for Penn State to beat the Spartans. If one or neither of those outcomes occur, Ohio State won’t be in the Big Ten Championship Game, let alone the college football playoff and the national championship. First things first, though; the Buckeyes need to beat the Wolverines.

This post was originally going to be similar to a warning letter, with reminders of how previous Buckeyes teams saw undefeated seasons in the past go up in smoke in Ann Arbor, particularly against first-year coaches for the Maize and Blue. 1969 & 1995 are the most vivid examples, and while Michigan was the favored team in 2011, Brady Hoke began his time there by ending the Wolverines’ long losing streak to their rival. With Ohio State’s loss to Michigan State, however, this post takes a different approach to addressing the rivalry.

2007 was the last year both teams were ranked heading into “The Game,” and with both schools in the Top 10, this year may bring back memories of the epic battles between Lloyd Carr and John Cooper, and later Carr vs. Tressel. Jim Harbaugh & Urban Meyer both have a long personal history with this rivalry, each wanting to add another chapter to their legacy in the matchup. And with Michigan in the exact same boat as Ohio State (A win AND a Michigan State loss means a trip to Indianapolis), the Wolverines hope to capitalize on the home-field advantage.

What new memories will 2015 add to the history of “The Game?” Buckeye and Wolverine fans can’t wait to find out.

The motto for Ohio football’s 2015 season has been to the point: Restore the Roar. After 2014 saw the Bobcats miss out on a bowl game for the first time since 2008, the team came back in August prepared to prove that last year was a fluke compared to the recent success for the program. Also among the goals was an improvement within the MAC, as the Bobcats went 4-4 against league opponents in each of the last three seasons.

2015 saw the program open with a road win at Idaho, and while there were moments where the Bobcats didn’t play their best, the Vandals never looked like a team that could overcome a challenge of playing from behind. After more than a week in between games, Ohio returned to Athens for a rivalry game with Marshall, who embarrassed the Bobcats the previous year in Huntington. In a game filled with penalties on every side of the ball, the Bobcats got their revenge on the Thundering Herd, and ended non-conference play 3-1 after a controversial loss at Minnesota.

MAC play began brightly for the Green and White, leading many to wonder about the chances of a conference championship. Then came the dismal three-game stretch in late October and early November; the Bobcats have struggled in recent years against Western Michigan & Bowling Green, and 2015 was not an exception. Sandwiched in between those two losses, however, was a setback at Buffalo, a team that Ohio usually beats in Athens, but gives the Bobcats fits in New York. At that point of the season, Ohio stood 5-4, 2-3 in the MAC, with fans questioning the chances of a second straight year without a postseason appearance.

Ultimately the Bobcats got back on track with convincing wins over struggling Kent State and Ball State, followed by Tuesday’s improbable win at Northern Illinois. The Huskies have been the standard-bearer of MAC football for the better part of the last decade; before the season, their last November losses came in 2009, to Ohio and Central Michigan – the two teams that would in the MAC Championship Game that fall. NIU rallied to stun Ohio and win the 2011 MAC Championship, before another comeback in Athens last year. In DeKalb, the Bobcats were the team off to a fast start, holding for a 26-21 win that could deny the Huskies a sixth straight trip to Detroit.

So Ohio closes the regular season with an 8-4 record, 5-3 in the MAC, second place in the East Division. The Bobcats have not only guaranteed themselves a bowl game, but one of the five games with MAC tie-ins (meaning the Camellia, Famous Idaho Potato, Boca Raton, GoDaddy, or Bahamas Bowls). Another thing to keep an eye on is the long-term program, which the bowl result will impact. Head coach Frank Solich turned 71 in September; as he brings his 11th season in Athens to a close, will this be when he calls it a career? What about the many redshirt seniors on the squad? During their first year in Athens, 2011, Ohio made school history winning 10 games, including the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. After that second-half collapse to Northern Illinois, the Bobcats had one of redemption in Boise against Utah State. If the Bobcats do head back to Boise, it would be a poignant full-circle moment for those players.

2015 has been a year to remember for Ohio football, and the good news for fans: it’s not over yet.

The 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup season came to an end Sunday with a storybook ending. Not the ending many were hoping for, where Jeff Gordon would’ve gone out on top with a fifth championship. Kyle Busch, who suffered injuries during Daytona 500 Week that kept him out of the first 11 races of the season, won the race and therefore his first title, holding off defending champion Kevin Harvick in the final laps to take the checkered flag.

2015 was always going to be known primarily as the final racing season for Jeff Gordon, but the year also marked NBC’s return to airing the sport after an eight-year absence. During the last year of the previous contract (2006), the network was heavily criticzed for the bland style of commentators Bill Weber, Wally Dallenbach, and Benny Parsons. This year, fans were drawn to the comparatively fresh delivery of Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, and Steve Letarte. Some of the talent moves included Allen & studio host Krista Voda joining from Fox, while studio analyst Dale Jarrett left ESPN.

NBC was originally scheduled to air seven races this season on the network: Daytona, Darlington, Charlotte, Kansas, Texas, Phoenix, and the championship at Homestead-Miami. The Darlington, Kansas, and Texas races went as planned. The Coke Zero 400 at Daytona – the first race broadcast by NBC Sports since 2006 – didn’t start until after 11:30 PM Sunday night, but the network stayed on air through the delay and aired the race in its entirety.

The Charlotte race was planned for a Saturday night run, which NBC would’ve used as a perfect transition into Saturday Night Live. However, rain went on throughout the evening, postponing the race to Sunday afternoon, and it was aired on NBCSN. The penultimate race at Phoenix was also delayed heavily by weather, and while the network stayed with NASCAR content until 6:00, the race was moved to cable, where it was aired in entirety.

Sunday’s championship race presented a similar scenario; there was beautiful weather around Homestead-Miami Speedway when NBC first came on air, before storms rolled in and delayed the start of the race. The network aired the Ford EcoBoost 400 in its entirety, even as it became clear that the race would not finish before 7:00 PM, the time that Football Night in America usually starts. After the race ended, Allen quickly mentioned that post-race coverage would be on NBCSN, before the network cut to commercials and began an abbreviated Football Night before 8:00.

Presumably one reason NBC got NASCAR rights back was because of a commitment to airing races on broadcast television, as opposed to ESPN. That commitment was put to the test Sunday, but the network sent a message to NASCAR and its fans that they are indeed making the sport a priority by not moving a race in progress to cable, despite complaints from football fans. The network has consistently received praise for its coverage of the NFL, NHL, Premier League, and other events such as the Rugby World Cup. With Year 1 of the new NASCAR contract in the books, NBC has set the bar high for its coverage of stock car racing, and 2016 will be a season to watch to see if they can keep up that high quality.

How many times have sports fans seen a legend retire as a champion? In tennis, Pete Sampras called it a career after winning the 2002 U.S. Open for his 14th major title, then a record. In basketball, David Robinson went out as the champion center with the 2003 San Antonio Spurs. In football, Jerome Bettis, Michael Strahan, and Ray Lewis have all retired in the last decade with the opportunity to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in their swan songs.

On Sunday, one of auto racing’s legends can join that club, as Jeff Gordon will compete for the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup title at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Even for those who aren’t racing aficionados, they know who #24 is and the place he holds in modern American sport.

Gordon’s farewell year started perhaps the best way possible, when he won the pole at February’s Daytona 500. Although he didn’t, one had to wonder if the stars would align for a fairytale season. Then came the pre-Chase races, and while other drivers collected wins, including Hendrick Motorsports teammates Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson, Gordon failed to pick up a checkered flag. As it would turn out, #24 was one of five drivers who would make the Chase solely on points, and it was also on points how he qualified for the Contender & Eliminator rounds.

Then came the race at Martinsville, where Gordon was second for much of the day to Joey Logano, who was riding a hot streak having swept the Contender round races. That all came to an end with less than 50 laps to go when Matt Kenseth, in an act of revenge from Kansas two weeks prior, took Logano out of the race; Gordon would hold off a late charge from Jamie McMurray to win and book a spot in Homestead.

Now it’s come down to one race, as Gordon faces three other drivers for the 2015 title. It would be his fifth Sprint Cup championship, and first since 2001. Can he complete the storybook ending?

So far, 20 teams have qualified for next year’s European Championships in France; the list includes defending champion Spain, reigning world champion Germany, and many continental powers including England & Italy. With the field expanded to 24 from 16 in past tournaments, it’s given several more nations a chance to qualify, and teams that may not have had the pedigree in the past have taken advantage of the opportunity. Currently five nations will be making their Euros debut in France; Iceland, Northern Ireland, Albania, Wales, and Slovakia.

Eight teams are competing for the four remaining spots in the finals, and they’ll meet in the standard two-leg playoff that’s used among all UEFA competitions. By November 17, all the tickets will have been punched, but the drama surrounding the playoffs should be just exciting.

The first match comes Thursday when Norway hosts Hungary. The Hungarians were just minutes away from being the best third-placed team in the qualifying groups, meaning an automatic spot in the finals. However, the nation that produced soccer icons like Ferenc Puskas and Sandor Kocsis has a new generation of players eager to show what they can do on an international stage. After being absent for the past several Euros and World Cups, there might be tremendous pressure on Hungary to prevail over Norway in a matchup where the former is the favorite.

Another interesting playoff features Sweden facing Denmark. These two have consistently been the strongest of the Scandinavian sides, so it was a shock for some to see both at the stage while Iceland won its group. Sweden underperformed in each of the last two Euros; their lone group win in 2012 came after they were already eliminated. Is this the last chance at Euro glory for Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, or will he be around the national team for the 2020 cycle?

The other two playoff ties see 2012 co-host Ukraine face Slovenia, white Bosnia & Herzegovina meet Ireland. The big story remains the Netherlands’ failure to even make the playoffs, the second time this century the Dutch have failed to qualify for a major international tournament (2002 World Cup). But for the teams still with a chance to qualify, it’s do-or-die, and exciting drama awaits.

After two games in the 2014 World Series, the Kansas City Royals were tied at 1-1 with the San Francisco Giants, having rallied from a Game 1 defeat to win Game 2. I wrote last year how had the Giants taken both games in Missouri, there was a strong chance the series wouldn’t return to Kauffman Stadium, but that split eventually led to one of the most memorable World Series in recent memory.

Fast forward to this year; the Royals and Mets were engaged in a tough battle in Game 1 before the hosts prevailed on a sacrifice fly in extra innings. In Game 2, the Royals batting lineup took charge, giving them a commanding 2-0 lead in the series.

Friday marks Game 3 at Citi Field, a game the Mets have to win to maintain hopes of winning their first world championship since 1986. No team has ever rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win a World Series, although it’s happened before in previous rounds, notably the 2004 ALCS. The Mets will be sending Noah Syndegaard to the mound, one of the team’s star pitchers this year along with Jacob deGrom, who struggled in Game 2. The Royals’ starter, Yordano Ventura, also has a powerful fastball that can give the Mets’ batters fits.

One group who will be very interested in the next two nights are NBC Sports executives. With this week’s Sunday Night Football matchup featuring the undefeated Packers and undefeated Broncos, they’ll want to draw in a huge audience for ratings. However, Sunday is when Game 5 of the World Series is scheduled, and if Kansas City wins either Friday or Saturday (with the Mets winning the other game), they’ll have a chance Sunday to win their first title since 1985. It’s fair to say NBC is hoping the Royals can finish a sweep of the Mets Saturday, or that the Mets take both of the first two games so that Sunday’s game isn’t one where the Royals can win the series. If it is a 3-1 series going into Sunday night, it will be intriguing to see which game earns the higher ratings.

Can the Mets get out of a 2-0 hole to at least send the series back to Kansas City? Or will the Royals finish the job they nearly accomplished twelve months ago?

It’s been a rough start to the 2015-16 season for the Columbus Blue Jackets. The franchise began a new NHL campaign with high hopes of returning to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but have endured a disastrous 0-7 start. Their latest loss, a 4-0 defeat to the New York Islanders Tuesday, proved to be the final straw for management, as head coach Todd Richards was fired shortly afterward. Richards will always be remembered for being the head coach that led the Blue Jackets to their first ever playoff wins in team history, but a poor start to the season produced a decision that some viewed as inevitable.

General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen wasted little time finding a replacement, with John Tortorella introduced Wednesday as the new head coach. Tortorella brings an impressive resume to Columbus; he’s a Stanley Cup winner with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and has also managed the New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks. In addition, he’ll be Team USA’s head coach for the World Cup of Hockey next year.

Tortorella also brings an interesting personality to the Blue Jackets. He is notorious for polarizing behavior during press conferences, and many will see his arrival as the start of a spark for a club desperately needing one. His reunion with Brandon Dubinsky, who played for him with the Rangers, will be one of the critical points that determines whether this move will work both short-term and long-term.

Despite the disappointing start to the season, the Blue Jackets can look to recent history for optimism. The Flyers parted ways with Peter Laviolette three games into the 2013-14 season, but Craig Berube helped the team clinch a playoff spot. After four games in 2008-09, Chicago fired Denis Savard, and Joel Quenneville not only led the Blackhawks to the playoffs that year, they’ve won three Stanley Cups since.

Columbus begins a four-game road trip Thursday at Minnesota, perhaps the ideal time for a new coach to begin his tenure. Tortorella’s job will be to keep the team focused and free from distractions, whether it’s the negativity that an 0-7 start usually breeds or the hype that surrounds the hiring of a new coach. It gives the Blue Jackets a chance to get critical road wins before they return to Nationwide Arena at the end of the month.

Is Tortorella the answer for Columbus? It’s up to him to turn the Blue Jackets’ fortunes around.