Vince Marriott: Now that football season has drawn to an end and playoff races are starting to heat up, hockey can finally get some attention. Even if hockey is the forgotten step-child of the major sports, the Philadelphia Flyers have continued to prove they are worth watching, consistently showing they are among the best of the best. On Thursday, they will play host to a strong opponent in the Toronto Maple Leafs, a team looking to climb up the conference standings in anticipation of a deep playoff run. Couple this with the Flyers' need to sharpen their skills in anticipation of a high seed and you've got a quality game, especially for a Thursday night. Celebrate Winter Carnival the right way grab a beer (or two) and check out some good hockey before making the frat rounds. (Thursday at 7 p.m., NHLN).
Jonathan Gault: There are a lot of great rivalries in college sports, but when it comes to basketball, there's Duke-UNC, and there's everyone else. The two schools separated by eight miles of Tobacco Road have claimed two of the past three national titles, and both are again well-positioned to make deep tournament runs in March. No. 5 UNC boasts an up-tempo attack that leads the nation in scoring (84.1 points per game) and rebounding (46.3 boards a game). The driving force is point guard Kendall Marshall, whose 9.5 assists per game rank second in the country, but with a front court of Harrison Barnes, Tyler Zeller and John Henson each of whom average over 14 points per game the Tar Heels have talent at every position. No. 7 Duke, meanwhile, is led by freshman sensation Austin Rivers (son of Celtics head coach Doc Rivers) and the intimidating 6'10" Plumlee brothers, Miles and Mason. Duke won two of the three matchups last season, including a 75-58 victory in the championship game of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. (Wednesday at 9 p.m., ESPN).
Nathan Yeo: Liverpool and Tottenham will face off today in a match that marks the return of Liverpool forward Luis Suarez following an eight-game suspension for directing racial insults toward Manchester United defender Patrice Evra. Liverpool (10-8-5) will try to exploit the Uruguayan striker Suarez's dangerous foot as it looks to climb out of seventh place in the Premier League. Tottenham (15-4-4) is holding steady in third and will look for strong play by winger Gareth Bale and striker Emmanuel Adebayor, who are both among the league's leaders in goals and assists. (Monday at 3 p.m., ESPN2).
