Rundown . . .

My apologies for doing this two days in a row, but I lost several hours earlier that I can never regain and now I am paying for it. On to RFTR . . .

1. First Serena, now Venus has lost in Australia. But Maria Sharapova outlasted Justine Henin, hitting her with a bagel (that's 6-0) in the second set. This means all of the people who would normally beat Sharapova are gone, and absent some hiccup, she will probably win it all.

2. Shaquille O'Neal is out again for at least two weeks. Shaq is missing about 1/4 of the season or more every year. This time he's out with a hip ailment, proof that he really is getting old. When you're 7'1" tall, I don't think your body can take too much stress for too long. I would say his team needs him, but after losing 14 games in a row, it can't get much worse, and maybe they will start winning with him on the sidelines. Hopefully.

3. People are making a big deal about the above picture (and others like it) of Tom Brady in a foot cast - carrying flowers no less, allegedly on his way to Gisele Bundchen's home. Sounds staged to me. I don't know why he'd even walk down the street in NYC. He's just trying to psych out Eli, that's all. I believe if he had a crushed foot, I believe he would still play, so I don't expect this to mean that he won't be in the Super Bowl. Carry on.

4. Proving that the depth in the college basketball is very real, University of Kentucky beat the #3 ranked University of Tennessee Volunteers Tuesday night. Kentucky has been up and down (more down than up) this season but every now and then, they can produce a good game. I did not get home until really Wednesday morning so I missed this game, but this is obviously a great win for them. As I said before, in a single-elimination format, this year is going to make for a very interesting NCAA tournament.

5. R.I.P. Heath Ledger. I know this is not sports related, but it's my blog so I can break the rules every now and then. A very talented, underrated actor, in my opinion. Just a reminder to cherish every day you have with the people around you.