While the world is busy following football (soccer if you’re in the US) or baseball, American Football, basketball, hockey, or cricket, there is a magic that fills the air every four years. The magic is the Olympics. The modern day Olympics have been bringing nations together in friendly rivalry since 1896, and with the exception of the years of World War, have brought an amazing opportunity for nations to come together in a peaceful environment, to challenge each other in friendly athletic competition.

With the exception of the 1972 (Munich Israeli Hostage Crisis), the 1980 (US boycott of the Moscow games), and the 1984 (Soviet boycott of the Los Angeles games), the Olympics have been the stage for all the countries of the world to come together to compete in peace. Whether it be winter or summer competitions, for over a century the world has been sending its greatest athletes to compete against each other, to determine which country or which individual has what it takes to be the “best in the world.” No other event captures the essence of greatness quite like the Olympics.

Take Muhammad Ali, for example. No matter how much a person talks about his accomplishments in the sport of boxing, you will never find a single reviewer who leaves out the fact that Ali won the 1960 Gold Medal in the Olympics held in Rome, Italy. At the same time, you will be hard pressed to find a historian who fails to mention that despite Michael Jordan winning six NBA championships, he also won two gold medals at the Olympics, one in 1984 and the other in 1992.

While the Olympics seemed to have cooled off in prestige in the past several decades, especially with regards to popularity, it’s hard to deny the fact that more people in the world know the name of Michael Phelps, winner of six gold medals at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, and winner of eight gold medals at the 2008 Olympics held in Beijing, than those who have heard the name Birgit Prinz, the all-time FIFA Women’s leader in scoring, with fourteen goals in World Cup competition.

Despite the popularity of Olympic athletes such as Michael Phelps capturing the imagination of the world’s press and taking away the limelight of the Olympics, every four years, including 2012, the world always comes together and puts on a marvelous display of sportsmanship which makes all citizens of the globe proud to be a part of such a beautiful world. May the tradition of the Olympics carry on for centuries to come. The Olympics are more relevant than ever.

Real Madrid boasts some of the best footballers in the world. The team, lead by goalkeeper Iker Casillas, consists of players like Mesut Ozil, Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo. Managing this group of Galacticos is Jose Mourinho, the self-proclaimed Special One, who is expected to lead the team to a record tenth European Cup. But the one obstacle that stands between Los Blancos and glory is the team from Catalonia.

F.C. Barcelona has won the last 3 La Liga titles and two of the last 3 Champions League trophies. Key to their success has been their academy. La Masia has produced a golden generation of footballers. Their coach, Pep Guardiola who is a former Barcelona player, has succeeded in building what is arguably the greatest football side ever. The core of the team has been the triumvirate of Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez. In Lionel Messi, Barcelona have possibly the greatest footballer ever. Messi moved to Barcelona when he was 13 and has never looked back since. The 08-09 season saw him establish himself as the world’s best player. His pace, skill, dribbling and deadly accuracy make him impossible to stop.

2011 saw numerous fixtures between these two heavyweights of world football. Four games in eighteen days saw some brilliant football, ugly diving and mind games. Barcelona knocked out Madrid from the Champions League while a Cristiano Ronaldo header was enough to secure the Copa Del Ray for Real.

Fast forward to the 2011-2012 season. Real Madrid was due to host Barcelona in the first Clasico of the season. Barcelona had come under fire for their poor form while Real Madrid were marginal favourites owing to their free scoring form. Both teams had strengthened their squads with high profile acquisitions like Nuri Sahin, Alexis Sanchez and Cesc Fabregas.

The teams collided with full force and after 90 minutes the Blaugrana showed the world why they are numero uno. Despite going behind to an early Benzema goal, Barca came back and took the game 1-3 at the Bernebau. The passing machine Xavi orchestrated Barca’s fightback and Los Blancos and Mourinho were left to wonder once again, what it will take to stop the Barcelona juggernaut.

As things stand, the Blaugrana are firm favourites to retain their Champions League and Spanish league crown. They rightly hold the title of the best team in the world.

Kevin Durant is off to a fast start, and at the ripe old age of 23, is already in his fifth season, and is still three or four years away from what should be his prime. With a career scoring average of just under 26 points per game, Durant has already shown he has the ability to score points from anywhere on the court, and defenses have yet to find a way to stop him from doing so. The Thunder is far from being a one-man show however, with mercurial PG Russell Westbrook, just in his fourth season, directing OKC’s offense and contributing 16.3 points a night. Third-year SG James Harden is poised for a breakout year, and is the only other OKC player averaging double figures (16.0), while big men Serge Ibaka (7.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg) and C Kendrick Perkins (6.3 ppg 5.7 rpg) provide rugged defense and rebounding. Off the bench, OKC utilizes SGs Daequan Cook and Thabo Sefolosha effectively, while veteran big men Nick Collison and Nazr Mohammed provide plenty of experience and physicality up front. Head coach Scott Brooks, now in his fourth season guiding the Thunder, is a skilled offensive tactician, and is young enough (46) to relate to his young players.

The balance of power in the NBA’s Western Conference has shifted with OKC’s emergence, and with the Thunder being so young and hungry, the path to the NBA Finals may indeed go through the Northwest division for the near future.

The Lakers are rebuilding, while the Clippers, with their potentially devastating tandem of PG Chris Paul and PF Blake Griffin, are poised to surpass them, although counting out any Kobe Bryant-led squad would be a mistake. The Mavericks, although ancient by NBA standards, are still loaded with mega-experience and savvy (Nowitzki, Kidd, newly-acquired Lamar Odom), and are still a force. San Antonio is another team loaded with greybeards (Duncan, Ginobili, Parker), while Portland and Denver appear to be the Thunder’s biggest divisional threats. The Memphis Grizzlies are rising fast, but still appear to be a couple of years away from being serious contenders.

Reaching the Western Conference finals last season was a quantum leap for the Thunder, and barring injury, should return in 2012. An unwritten rule-of-thumb in the NBA says that championship-caliber squads need a potent threesome to succeed, and with Durant, Westbrook and Harden all nearing their prime, plus an energetic, innovative coach in Brooks, this appears to be OKC’s time.

The Detroit Red Wings have all the tools for a long playoff run. They have one of the top goaltenders in the league, playmakers that can put the goal in the back of the net, and a solid defensive core. Everyone knows that you can ride a hot goalie for a long way, much as Anaheim did a few years ago with Giguere. I think that Jimmy Howard has learned a lot over the last two years and is capable of giving them that deep run. He looks very comfortable in goal and has kept them in many games this year.

I think the biggest reason why Detroit could be knocked out of the playoffs before they reach the Stanley Cup, is their defense. In the past, a bigger team has been able to push Detroit around. Mike Commodore will help a little bit since he is 6’5″ and 228lbs. The defense has to do a much better job of clearing the puck out of their zone and stop turning it over allowing odd man rushes.

Detroit’s forwards are good and very capable of scoring many goals. They are getting a little long in the tooth and cannot afford any major injuries. When you have players like Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, you have a chance for something special. The rookies need to play like veterans. They have to provide five or six good minutes each game and not make any huge mistakes.

So far this season the Detroit Red Wings have not been very good on the road. To win the Stanley Cup you have to win on the road. The most likely scenario will have Detroit playing in at least one series where they do not have home ice advantage. Because Detroit is in the Western Conference, they are going to get a lot of traveling under their belt. These types of road trips can take a toll on older teams like Detroit.

For Detroit to bring the cup back to Hockey Town, they are going to need some luck. The puck needs to bounce their way, they cannot have major injuries, and Howard has to stay hot. The playoffs will be fun to watch.

In 2011, Tiger Woods had a very disappointing season on the PGA Tour. His ranking has fell drastically from what it once was. He missed the 2011 Open championships due to injuries and announced that he would no longer have Steve Williams as his caddy. All of these things considered, I do believe Tiger Woods will have a better season in 2012. He will not claim a major title or anything like that, but I do believe his rankings will go up thought the season. He has had the proper time to rest and re-cooperate in order to come back stronger. The negative press is behind him now and he can truly now focus on golf. Something that Tiger was best known for in his early days. He really just needs to get back to the basics. His driving game was always sensational, but lately his putting game has suffered.

I believe Tiger will practice his short game in order to become competitive again. Regardless of how he does, Tiger will always be considered one of the greatest golfers of all time. His sheer dominance over the years have definitely left an impact on golf in general. Just what Michael Jordan did for basketball, Tiger Woods has done for golf. He may never reclaim his dominance, but he still has the abilities to be competitive against the top competition of today.

In summary, Tiger Woods will have a better season in 2012. He may never obtain his old swagger, but he will always be competitive. Love him or hate him, Tiger Woods has left a legacy that many aspire to leave.

There’s talk that Federer can’t keep up, now that he’s in his (*gasp*) thirties. Luckily, the march of time is a universal equalizer. Say what you will about younger contenders, but Nadal and Murray are the guys with the plague of pseudo-injuries. Not serious enough to keep you out of the game – just serious enough to bring up in the post-match interview when you get whooped? You won’t hear that from Federer.

Yes, Federer lost in Abu Dhabi to both Djokovic and Nadal, but it’s not like the man can’t compete. He knocked Djokovic out of the French semis back in May, and it’s been little more than a month since he wiped the courts with Nadal in a highly lauded match at the ATP World Tour Finals in London.

He’s gracefully managed milestones that have slowed down other athletes, somehow getting married and having twins with little disruption on the court. When Lleyton Hewitt (Who-it?) and Andy Roddick hit public puberty and started bringing girlfriends to their matches, we saw them more in celebrity news than we did on the sports pages. (Hewitt and Federer are the same age, by the way. That former #1, now finds himself ranked 186th.)

Tennis is a mental competition, and Roger Federer’s attitude is as unbreakable as his service game. Strength and stamina may take some dings over time, but his drive will keep him at the top of the rankings in 2012. Djokovic may be having the year of his life, but he’s is not always at peace on the court. Murray suffers from the same pressure-induced schizophrenia. When those guys blink, (and curse, and throw things…) Roger will be right there to capitalize on their frustration. He has essentially trained the competition. They learn his strokes and strategies, but until someone can knock him off the throne of focus, he’ll be lurking near the top of the heap.

Will Roger Federer be back in 2012? He didn’t even realize you thought he was gone.

Prior to the NBA season, the Lakers made a trade for Point Guard Chris Paul. If that trade had gone through, forget about it, the Lakers would have won it all. However, David Stern had to step in and block the deal. The Lakers were left with Derek Fisher as their starting PG – again. It seems like Derek Fisher has been playing since the Wilt Chamberlin era. He’s not what he used to be and he doesn’t make many spectacular plays, but he does play smart and he doesn’t turn the ball over.

Ron Artest was hired a couple of seasons ago to be an intimidator and make the Lakers tougher. That worked out well for a while, but considering he just changed his name to Metta World Peace, that intimidation factor has seriously faded. Artest is also aging a little. He’s still got time, but he doesn’t care about the game enough to stay in top-tier shape and offer everything he can to the team.

Pau Gasol was bashed by the media for being too soft last season. Look for him to respond in a big way. If the Lakers are going to have any chance at the NBA title, it’s going to have to be Kobe and Gasol leading the way. As far as Andrew Bynum goes, expect mediocrity as always. Devin Ebanks is a young player who is getting more playing time. He could be a sleeper. If he ends up panning out, the Lakers will once again be a serious threat.

Despite all the problems the Lakers have, they will likely be the best team in the West by the end of the season. Therefore, they should keep they’re current unit. It’s the East that they’ll have trouble with once making it to the Finals.

Not many people realize this, but while the Dolphins were awful record-wise early in the season, every game was close. They never got blown out and they were always competitive. The problem was that they didn’t know how to win. That had a lot to do with Chad Henne. He was far from a good late-game QB. In the 4th quarter, you could always rely on Henne to produce a 3 & out. It was frustrating even if you weren’t a Dolphins fan. You wondered why they wouldn’t try another QB. The thinking by the Dolphins coaches was that they were going to be a ground and pound team. The problem was that Reggie Bush isn’t a ground and pound RB. This meant Henne would have to face many 3rd and longs. So not everything was completely his fault.

For some reason unknown to the public, once Henne got hurt and Moore went in, they began to throw the ball more. Ironically, it was probably because they were out of playoff contention and they just wanted to see what they had in Matt Moore. It worked out well because all of a sudden the Dolphins were winning games. It also helped that they weren’t running Bush up the middle for 1 or 2 yards on every first down. Instead, they would gain 5 or 6 yards through the air, which would open up all options. You can probably see the point we’re getting at, which is that Moore is a better option than Henne. If you don’t agree, just take a look at their stats.

Matt Moore has a 59.7% completion percentage. This isn’t great, but he has 15 TDs versus only 7 interceptions. That’s impressive, especially for someone who has limited snaps in the NFL. Chad Henne has a 61.4% completion percentage. However, he has 15 TDs and 19 interceptions. Realize that this is 12 more interceptions than Moore and in less time. Look for the Dolphins to go with Moore at the start of next season, which would be a wise decision.

While I certainly expect the Clippers to make a big improvement over last year’s record, the Lakers are not likely to slip too far from their 57 win season. It appears the Lakers will get a little worse and the Clippers will get a little better. My best guess is that by the time the regular season ends, both teams will be about 15 games over .500. In this 66 game, strike-shortened regular season, 40 wins would be a good accomplishment for both teams.

LAKERS OUTLOOK

The team still has Kobe Bryant, arguably one of the top 10 players in the last 25 years. At age 33, Kobe’s on-court performance remains at a high level. He averaged 25 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists last year and has gotten off to a good start this year. The other significant members of the team include centers Pau Gasol (18 pts. & 10 assists), Andrew Bynum (11 pts. & 9 rebounds) and the enigmatic Metta World Peace, aka Ron Artest. The rest of the team consists of role players and a few rookies with no NBA experience. The Lakers will have to ride Kobe hard and if he can hold up all season, the team can compete with anyone. The wildcard is Bynum, who at age 24 still has plenty of potential. When he gets his mind into the game, he has the skills and can do a lot of damage with his 7 foot, 285 pound frame. The weakest part of the team is the lack of a point guard to take some of the pressure off of Bryant. New Coach, Mike Brown, who replaced the cerebral legend, Phil Jackson, will have his hands full.

CLIPPERS OUTLOOK

Slam Dunk Champion, Blake Griffin remains the star of this team. At only 24, the 6’10″, 250 pound Point Forward dominates the paint. Last year, he averaged 22 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists per game. He needs to improve on his mediocre 62% free throw shooting skills. Chris Paul joins Chauncey Billups to give the Clippers one of the best point guard tandems in the league. At 35, Billups is in great shape and still averages about 16 points per game. He also hits free throws at a 90% clip. Paul is considered the top point guard in the league, also averaging about 16 points per game. His command of the court and 10 assists per game makes everyone around him play better. The team could probably use another big scorer in the front court. I expect the Clippers to struggle in the early part of the season, just like the Heat did when they acquired LeBron. By the end of the season, the Clippers could be tough to beat.

PREDICTION

The Lakers have at least one more good year in them. Assuming no key player gets hurt, the Lakers will finish with the best record in Los Angeles. The Clippers will have to wait one more year to make their mark as “The Team” in the LA market.

The Packers looked like they had a shot to go undefeated until they rolled into Kansas City thinking it was going to be a cakewalk. To make matters worse, they lost WR Greg Jennings in that game. The good news for the Packers is that Jennings will be back for the playoffs. This adds an extremely valuable weapon for Aaron Rogers, who already has JerMichael Finley, Jordy Nelson and Donald Driver as targets. You must understand something about Aaron Rogers. He is one of those guys. He is Tom Brady ten years ago and Joe Montana twenty years ago. He’s just at the beginning of his reign of supremacy. Despite what people say, nobody is going to march into Green Bay and beat the Packers in the playoffs.

The 49’ers might seem like a threat, but if you’re going to put your money on Aaron Rogers or Alex Smith, who are you going to choose? It’s not even close. The other problem for the 49’ers is that they can’t play catch-up if they fall behind. They’re built to play low scoring games where the defense spends little time on the field and has the energy to attack from many different angles. The problem there is that Aaron Rogers is too smart for that. The 49’ers are also much better at home than they are on the road, and if these two teams meet it will be on the road.

The Saints have become a much stronger team with Sproles. The Chargers made a huge mistake letting him go. Drew Brees has just as many weapons as Rogers, if not more. There are two problems with the Saints, however. One is that they’re not very good on the road. We said the same for the 49’ers, but this is even truer for the Saints. They’re simply not as effective, especially in a freezing Green Bay. The other problem is the defense, which loves to blitz. Aaron Rogers picks apart the blitz better than any QB in the game. Case Closed: Packers win the NFC Championship.