A. Alex Poythress . Apparently the college basketball gods want a level playing field this season. Or they just like Duke. Poythress, one of Kentucky's best players (albeit one of about 500), was struck down by a torn ACL during practice last week and will obviously miss the rest of the year. The junior forward was averaging 5.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in 20.3 minutes per game. The Wildcats and Blue Devils are a combined 21-0 and occupying the top two spots in both the AP and coaches polls. Kentucky is a +110 favorite at Sportsbook.ag to win the National Championship.

B. Bryant, Kobe . Passing someone for third place on an all-time list should not be a big deal…except when that someone is named Michael Jeffrey Jordan. Kobe overtook Jordan by scoring his 32, 293^rd career point on a free throw last Sunday at Minnesota. Passing Karl Malone for No. 2? Possible. Passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for No. 1? No way in Hell.

C. Champions League . That's probably not what Manchester City had in mind for its reward when it managed a final-day push through the group competition and into the knockout stages last week. The Champions League round of 16 draw was held on Monday, and City has to go up against familiar foe FC Barcelona. Things could get Messi for the Sky Blues! Among the other matchups are Chelsea vs. Paris Saint-Germain and Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Bayern Munich. Bayern and Real are +250 co-favorites at Bovada Sportsbook to win the title.

D. Dog Pound . Cleveland's fans were more effective against the Bengals than their team was-and it's not even close. During Cincinnati's 30-0 humiliation of the Browns last weekend, rookie running back Jeremy Hill jumped into the first row of the Dog Pound only to get pushed away. Cleveland is a +3.5 underdog at Carolina on Sunday, per BookMaker.

E. Ennis, Tyler . In case you're like a lot of football-crazed fans who often overlook what's happening in the world of hockey, you may have missed Ennis' late-November goal that was recently highlighted on SportsCenter's plays of the month. Buffalo's forward leaps over the pad of Montreal goalie Carey Price to avoid a collision then backhands a no-look shot into the back of the net. It is literally unbelievable. Speaking of unbelievable, relatively obscure teammate Zemgus Girgensons is still leading the All-Star Game vote. Thanks, Latvia!

F. Floyd Mayweather . He has made the proposal: Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao. May 2. Make. It. Happen.

G. Gary Andersen . Anderson made a curious career choice last week when he bolted Wisconsin for Oregon State. The former head coach of the Badgers will assume the same post for the Beavers, who are a far less proud program. Of course, they did not lose a conference championship game 59-0. WagerWeb has Wisconsin as a +6.5 underdog against Auburn in the Outback Bowl.

H. Heisman . As expected, Marcus Mariota won the Heisman Trophy in blowout fashion. It helps when the list of your competitors includes players who were busy shoplifting crab legs, selling autographs for money, tearing ACLs, leading teams to zero-point performances in championship games, and/or playing positions that Heisman voters treat only slightly superior to that of a punter on a team quarterbacked by Peyton Manning. Of course, Mariota had just a little bit to do with it. He has tossed 38 touchdowns compared to only two interceptions and has also scored 14 times on the ground. Bovada Sportsbook has Mariota at even money to rush for more than 1.5 touchdowns in the Rose Bowl.

I. Indiana Pacers . The Indiana Pacers won a basketball game. Like, for real. You can't make this stuff up, folks. Then again, does it even count when it comes against the Lakers? In fairness to the Pacers, they actually have eight wins this season-but their Monday scalp of L.A. came on the heels of an eight-game losing streak. Indiana likely started a new streak on Wednesday when it lost to the Clippers 102-100 to fall to 8-18. At least the schedule threw Frank Vogel and company a bone by not making them play Golden State on this current road trip.

J. Johnny Football . You know you've got problems when you make Brian Hoyer look like an adequate quarterback. That's exactly what Browns' QB Johnny Manziel did in Week 15, when the former Heisman Trophy winner completed 10 of 18 passes for a mere 80 yards to along with two interceptions during the embarrassment against Cincinnati. He also rushed five times for just 13 yards. On the bright side, we only have two more weeks of watching this team because it has been mathematically axed from playoff contention.

K. Kingsman . "Kingsman" now has company from "The Interview" on the list of films that had their release dates pushed back. It is unclear, and entirely less controversial, why "Kingsman" was moved from October to February. But don't push it back any further, Fox, otherwise Samuel L. Jackson is gonna come after you; kind of like he did with those serpentine menaces in "Snakes on a Plane."

L. Lester. Jon . When did Lester become so good and the Cubs become so not bad? Apparently the answer is when he signed with Chicago last week. The southpaw was inked to a deal as if he was the best pitcher in baseball (six years, $155 million), and the Cubs' World Series-winning odds jumped from approximately +2000 to +1200 at most books. The Cubs are +1400 at SuperBook to win it all.

M. Miss South Africa . Miss South Africa won the Miss World competition last Sunday in London. That's all well and good for 22-year-old medical student Rolene Strauss. What's not all well and good is that the pageant higher-ups subsequently announced that they are doing away with the bikini round in future competitions.

N. NatsFest . Bryce Harper skipped the Nationals' fan appreciation celebration last Saturday. He said he was "unable" to attend, while general manager Mike Rizzo said Harper "chose" not to attend. It sounds like the Nats have a Manziel situation on their hands.

O. Odell Beckham, Jr . If you played against Beckham in the fantasy football playoffs last week, you're watching your league's championship matchup from the sidelines. OBJ caught 12 passes for 143 yards and three touchdowns in the Giants' 24-13 victory over Washington. Speaking of watching big games from the sidelines…. Yeah, those two teams…. Beckham is -400 to win Offensive Rookie of the Year, according to Bovada Sportsbook.

P. Poop emoticon . Justin Timberlake donned a poop-head mask at Taylor Swift's birthday party last week, and the maker of said poop-head mask is reporting a massive spike in sales in the wake of Swift's now-famous Instagram post. How long until J.T. has a craptastic endorsement deal?

Q. Quintin Mikell . In advance of last Sunday's NFC East showdown between Dallas and Philadelphia, the former Eagle told Philly Sports Talk that the best way to defend Tony Romo would be to "knock him out." Well, the Eagles didn't. And it's clear from the game's result that Mikell may have been onto something when he made that suggestion.

R. Royal eye-roll . Kate Middleton eye-rolling at the Nets playing basketball, especially during a 22-point loss to Cleveland, would not have been unexpected. But eye-rolling after being told by some random New York woman to "keep wrapping" Christmas gifts came as a major-and much-appreciated-surprise. New Jersey is a +12 underdog at Cleveland on Friday, as indicated by WagerWeb.

S. Shelley Meyer . Urban Meyer's team was on fire when Ohio State shut out Wisconsin. So was his wife. Shelley Meyer's hair caught fire last week during her birthday dinner. Their daughter promptly took to Twitter with, "Shelley Meyer girl on fire. Literally." The Buckeyes are +750 at BetOnline Sportsbook to win the National Championship.

T. Traded . Matt Kemp was last week, but he will be staying not only in California but also in the NL West. The Dodgers' roster overhaul included Kemp's shipment to San Diego. It almost hit a snag when the outfielder's physical showed hip arthritis, but the deal went through on Thursday.

U. Unavailable . That's what Adrian Peterson will be to the Vikings-and any other NFL team-for the rest of this season. The league denied his appeal to be reinstated, leaving Peterson so furious that he has threatened retirement and a career in Olympic sprinting. Good luck with that.

V. Victoria's Secret . The fashion show earlier this month could not have gone any better. It had Ariana Grande getting hit by a winged costume, it had Adriana Lima, it had Alessandra Ambrosio, it had Behati Prinsloo, and it had no performances by Justin Bieber.

W. Will Mushchamp . Muschamp may be like the younger, college version of Norv Turner: terrible head coach, great coordinator. That's what Auburn hopes as Muschamp agreed last week to lead the Tigers' defense. He won't have big shoes to fill after Ellis Johnson was canned when his unit gave up 55 points to Alabama in the Iron Bowl. New Florida head coach Jim McElwain won't have big shoes to fill, either!

X. Xavier Rhodes . Vikings' head coach Mike Zimmer almost always keeps his cornerbacks on their normal sides of the field, but he changed things up a bit last week and assigned Rhodes to shadow Detroit's Calvin Johnson wherever he lined up. Megatron was limited to just four catches for 53 yards in the Lions' 16-14 win. It's safe to say the experiment worked; Rhodes was successful, and so was his team, which lost to position itself for a better draft pick. 5Dimes Sportsbook has Minnesota as a +7.5 underdog at Miami in Week 16.

Y. Young, Nick . In the most outrageous result of this young NBA season, the Lakers won at San Antonio last Friday. And Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili were actually playing. Swaggy P poured in 29 points and hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 7.4 seconds left in overtime to help L.A. pull off a 112-110 upset.

Z. Denotes clinched division . The "z"s popped up in the NFL standings like wildfire in Week 15, with New England, Indianapolis, and Denver clinch the AFC clinching East, South, and West, respectively. Somehow, no team has been good enough to come anywhere close to wrapping up the worst division in sports-the NFC South. The Patriots are +293 favorites at BookMaker to win the Super Bowl.

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