| On the schedule today
As you check out the sports page today, make sure to notice our dual (not duel) chats. First, at noon, NBA editor Brian Styers holds forth on "thee association." Even if you don't want to spend your lunch break with Brian -- but who wouldn't? -- you can send in your questions ahead of time and check in later for his pithy replies. Just as you've collected all the NBA nuggets that were possible, Nate Davis checks in at 2 p.m. with NFL fantasy tips and more. You can send in your queries ahead of time, of course. If you're reading this, make sure to ask him what to do for self-punishment if you benched Jason Hanson of Detroit in favor of Jeff Reed just before Thanksgiving. Hanson had a huge game, scoring close to 20 points in leagues that reward long-distance kicks and Reed made the game winner on Monday Night but missed a kick earlier resulting in a fantasy score of one point.
On Second Thought: Bowl Championship Series Champions
The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) might be the worst idea since naming bowl games after their sponsors. How proud would you be to play in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl? That's its real name - no joke. Instead of letting the teams decide who will win the championship on the field, college football takes the votes of biased sportswriters and coaches in the Associated Press and Coaches' polls, then combines them with some computerized rankings to decide which two teams get to play in the championship game.
Sometimes they get it right, but there have been a couple of instances where undefeated teams got left out, or the computers just flat-out mess the whole thing up. This year, that's not going to happen because this season has made about as much sense as wearing a parka to the beach.
Monday’s national sports time schedule
FOOTBALL
NFL
Miami at Pittsburgh, 8:30 p.m. BASKETBALL
NBA
Utah at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Minnesota at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Washington at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Orlando at Portland, 10 p.m.
San Antonio at Sacramento, 10 p.m.
Phoenix at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.
Houston at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m. .
El Paso Times - Sign-Ups
Gary Del Palacio Center "Jazz Funk" classes: Hip Hop class every Friday. Plaza Theater Performing Hip Hop class every Monday and Wednesday. Fee: $20.00, and new Jazz Funk class on Fridays, $10.00.
Carolina Recreation Center Aerobics classes: Held Monday-Thursday AM and PM. Carolina Recreation Center is located at 563 N. Carolina. Fee: $20/month. Information: 594-8934 or YbarraRM@elpasotexas.gov.
Hip Hop Dance Classes: are forming at the Leona F. Washington Recreation Center on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Fee: $20 a month. Information: 562-7071.
Leona Ford Washington Recreation Center: Looking for an Aerobics instructor. Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 5:30-6:30 p.m. The Leona Ford Washington Recreation Center is located on 3400 E. Missouri.
25 million reasons they're in trouble
GORDON Brown suffered a seismic shock to his premiership yesterday, as it was revealed that the privacy of half the UK's citizens had been compromised. The Prime Minister listened solemnly as his Chancellor, Alistair Darling, laid bare a bureaucratic bungle on an unprecedented scale. .
Groban Gets Oprah Bounce, Jordin Sparks Doesn't Fly
The Grinch might be stealing Christmas from music retailers, but thanks to Josh Groban and Oprah, there's still some singing in Whoville. For the sales week kicked off by Super Tuesday—the release date before Thanksgiving when record labels typically schedule their big guns—the figures were abnormally bad, with only one Top 10 bow and a seven-week-old album topping the charts. Still, that album, Groban's Noël, can thank last week's performance on The Oprah Winfrey Show for driving it past Alicia Keys and into the number one spot. Noël crowned the Billboard 200 by selling 405,000 copies for the week ended Sunday, according to SoundScan numbers released today. The holiday disc, featuring Groban's take on "Silent Night," "O Come All Ye Faithful" and other wintery classics, originally debuted in the 10 spot in mid-October.
Blues' stingy defense makes up for quiet offense
As of Tuesday morning, only one NHL team had scored fewer goals this season than the 53 generated by the St. Louis Blues. Their shot total ranks near the bottom of the league. But three other telling statistics show why the Blues are 13-8, fourth overall in the Western Conference and winners of six of their last seven games. They began Tuesday with the fewest goals against (46), the league's top penalty-killing unit (91 percent) and third-best goals-against average thanks to goalies Manny Legace and Hannu Toivonen (a combined 2.18). "We would like to be higher than what we are on offense, but we don't want to compensate anything defensively to try to do that," Blues coach Andy Murray said. "I think when you play good defense, it usually contributes to good offense.
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