Tide set to roll
Having secured the school's first Heisman Trophy win courtesy of running back Mark Ingram, the University of Alabama will enter U.S. college football's title game Thursday favoured to cart off their 13th national championship, and first since 1992. But the University of Texas will have a lot to say about that, as head coach Mack Brown takes his Longhorns back to Pasadena's Rose Bowl for the first time since they clinched their last title in a memorable contest against the University of Southern California four years ago. And based on current form, Texas may well need a Vince Young-esque performance out of his successor under centre, Colt McCoy, to stop the rolling Tide.
Red-faced Devils
After being humbled at home by bitter rival Leeds United in the FA Cup yesterday, mighty Manchester United will be in no mood to be upstaged by cross-town neighbour Manchester City in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final on Wednesday. Although the least prestigious of all the prizes on offer for Sir Alex Ferguson's squad this season, pride, and a trip to Wembley, will be on the line in the opening match of the two-legged affair, although it remains to be seen just how seriously the cantankerous Scot will take the outing despite seeing his youth experiment backfire on him yesterday.
Blues take the plunge
Firing a coach is normally a sure-fire way to light a fire under a floundering team, but doing it just before facing off against the high-flying Chicago Blackhawks brought negligible results for the St. Louis Blues this past weekend. The Jonathan Toews-led Hawks blew through St. Louis with a 6-3 win on Saturday, ruining interim coach Davis Payne's debut after taking over from Andy Murray mere hours before the game. And things get no easier for the former coach of the Blues' farm team this week, as he leads his charges into San Jose on Wednesday to take on the league-leading Sharks.
Chiefs not standing Pat
The New England Patriots West experiment looks to continue in earnest this week as the Kansas City Chiefs appear set to add former Pats defensive co-ordinator and Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel to their staff. Alongside other New England alumni such as general manager Scott Pioli, quarterback Matt Cassel and linebacker Mike Vrabel, the Chiefs are starting to look an awful lot like Bill Belichick's three-time Super Bowl champions, minus the perennial playoff appearances and division titles, of course.