General

Shanoff’s WUC: Greene, OKC, Kobe-LeBron, ACC

Jan 21, 2010, 1:20 PM UTC

Today’s Calls: Reggie Bush vs. Shonn Greene, Kevin Durant vs. Kobe-LeBron, Duke vs. UNC, Jim Harbaugh vs. Al Davis, Joel Pineiro vs. John Lackey, CBS vs. Tim Tebow, Tiger Woods vs. Sex Addiction and More.â†µâ†µThe Opening Pitch: In honor of Kobe vs. LeBron tonight, let’s talk about some of the morning’s best matchups.â†µ

â†µâ†µ• Kobe vs. LeBron: Who’s the NBA’s real MVP? (Um: Durant.)â†µ

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â†µ• Reggie Bush vs. Shonn Greene: Bigger playoff breakout? (Hold 'til Monday.)â†µ

â†µâ†µ• Duke vs. UNC: More deflating loss last night? (UNC, 3rd in a row.)â†µ

â†µâ†µ• Tim Tebow vs. CBS: Super Bowl ad a big deal? (Not really.)â†µ

â†µâ†µ• Tiger vs. Sex addiction: Help his image? (At least he’s trying.)â†µ

â†µâ†µMore on those -- and a lot more -- after the jump.â†µNFL Conf Champ Week: No offense to Percy Harvin, but is Shonn Greene the NFL’s real Offensive Rookie of the Year? Greene has been the X-factor in the Jets’ offense.â†µ

â†µâ†µSpeaking of RBs: Everyone talks about the Saints’ passing attack behind Brees, but in the backfield -- especially now that Reggie Bush seems to have found his stride -- the Saints are loaded.â†µ

â†µâ†µPicks: SN’s Vinnie Iyer says “Saints-Colts.” (My picks coming tomorrow.)â†µ

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â†µNBA Talking Points: â†µ

â†µâ†µ• Why was Kevin Durant my Midseason MVP? Last night provided good symbolism: Durant was individually brilliant (31 and 10) AND the Thunder topped their entire win total from last season.â†µ

â†µâ†µ• NBA Finals Preview: Kobe vs. LeBron tonight, with the best game of the season’s 2nd half coming immediately. Yeah, yeah: Probable preview of the NBA Finals ... who wins this game is meaningless. It’s just posturing.â†µâ†µ

â†µâ†µ• The story line of the 2nd half? Trades. Who deals to win now, who finds pieces to lure free agents next summer and who is just trying to dump salary.â†µ

â†µâ†µCBB Mania: I’m tempted to write off NC State upsetting Duke as simply a highly motivated underdog taking advantage of a sleepy in-state rival not taking the game seriously enough. But I also want to flag this as a data point to justify Duke not getting out of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.â†µ

â†µâ†µSpeaking of not making the Sweet 16 this year: Um, UNC?â†µ

â†µâ†µBig win for G’town over Pitt at Pitt. And a big game for Chris Wright. (DeCourcy’s a fan.)â†µ

â†µâ†µBe sure to check out DeCourcy’s mid-term grades for college hoops. (But Mike: No love for Northwestern? Make up for the preseason pick of UNC to the Final Four by giving the Wildcats at least a solid B+ for staying in the conversation for March.)â†µ

â†µâ†µNFL Coaching Carousel: Jim Harbaugh, to his credit, wants nothing to do with the Raiders’ mess. (Per Cook, is Harbaugh waiting on RichRod’s failure at Michigan?)â†µ

â†µâ†µMLB Hot Stove: Joel Pineiro is the Angels’ replacement for John Lackey. (Or maybe that’s “replacement.”)â†µ

â†µâ†µMLB Good Read: The Red Sox had a better offseason than the Yankees, says Stan McNeal.â†µ

â†µâ†µSuper Bowl Ads: CBS has approved the ad from Focus on the Family featuring Tim Tebow. (Check out an extended take over at TimTeblog.com. Work in progress.)â†µ

â†µâ†µPop Culture: Speaking of Tebow, his rumored former girlfriend, Janell Wheeler, was on “American Idol” last night (and apparently does pretty well for herself).â†µ

â†µâ†µTweet of the Day from Rockets GM Daryl Morey (@dmorey), scouting the UNC-Wake game in Chapel Hill: “UNC has smart seating rules I am learning.1 is if your team leaders R from UK/Duke&you have not drafted a TarHeel, BobUecker has better seat”â†µ

â†µâ†µThe Last Word: Tiger in sex rehab?! Oh, wait: We covered this a week ago.â†µ

â†µâ†µDan Shanoff writes The Wake-Up Call every weekday morning for SportingNews.com and blogs daily at DanShanoff.com. Got any comments, questions or feedback? Email Dan at shanofftsn-[at]-gmail-[dot]-com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/danshanoff. â†µ

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