My Sports News Digest

Barcelona striker Bojan Krkic says he is disappointed with the Blaugrana unable to claim maximum points against Sevilla on Sunday evening.

The hitman has a “bad taste” that the points had to be shared with the Rojiblancos.

“We could not do what we normally do [play at a high level], but we had chances to score and could not claim more than a draw,” he told Goal.com Spain after the match. “I tried to help the team as much as possible, but the draw has left a bad taste in my mouth.

“Clearly, we prefer to win, but after a tough match such as this, we appreciate the point gained.”

The 20-year-old knows the team will need to put this result behind them and focus on their next league match against Getafe.

“La Liga is a very long season and every game is different,” he added. “We cannot keep thinking about this game, so it is important we move forward.”

Barcelona lead the league by five points over bitter rivals Real Madrid.

It has been a very slow weekend here at CFT, but there is nevertheless some very sad news coming out of Columbus where Jake Nickle, a volunteer strength and conditioning coach at Ohio State, died while playing a pickup basketball game at OSU’s practice facility on Friday.

The 22-year-old collapsed during the game and was transported to the Ohio State Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. No cause of death has been determined yet.

Nickle played defensive end at Capital University and began volunteering with OSU’s strength and conditioning coaches in January.

Volunteer coach or not, Nickle was doing something he enjoyed and it’s a terrible tragedy that he was lost at such a young age.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Nickle family during this difficult time.

Wimbley will receive .151 million, the average of the five highest paid linebackers in 2010, next season. “Kamerion is a great young talent and we are excited about him continuing his career as a member of the Silver and Black,” head coach Hue Jackson said. The Oakland Tribune is reporting that Routt will be guaranteed million over the first two years with the contract potentially being worth .5 million overall. Wimbley, who came to Oakland last season after spending his first four with Cleveland, led the team in sacks with nine and also had 58 tackles while starting all 16 games. Over his five years in the NFL, he has totaled 35 1/2 sacks and 306 tackles. He has appeared in all but one game over his time in the league and has started every game except for one in his rookie season. Routt is a six-year veteran and has spent his entire career in Oakland. Last season he started 15 of the 16 games he appeared in and had two interceptions, 13 passes defensed and 55 tackles. During his time in the NFL, he has appeared in 94 games and has six interceptions, 35 passes defensed and 188 tackles.

The 2011 NBA All-Star Game on TNT delivered 9.1 million total viewers and 6 million households, along with strong growth across all key demos, according to Nielsen Fast Nationals.

This year’s star-studded contest in Los Angeles ranks as the most watched and highest rated game since 2003, which featured Michael Jordan’s final NBA All-Star appearance of his career. In addition, the 2011 NBA All-Star Game and All-Star Saturday Night presented by State Farm, which was the most watched in the event’s 26-year history, combined to average more than 17 million total viewers.

Additional highlights during 2011 NBA All-Star Game included:

· The second most-watched NBA game on television during the 2010-11 season to date.

· The most-watched NBA telecast on cable during the 2010-11 season to date.

TNT’s exclusive coverage of the 2011 NBA All-Star Saturday Night presented by State Farm was the most watched All-Star Saturday Night in the event’s 26 year history.

Heading into the 2011 NBA All-Star break, the 2010-11 NBA season on TNT is the most watched season in Turner’s 27 years of airing NBA coverage.

Despite three days of negotiations featuring an unknown amount of progress (or possibly no progress), some still are concerned that a lockout is looming.  And some in the business fear that a lockout will do serious damage to the game.

Count Bears G.M. Jerry Angelo among those who are concerned about the impact of a work stoppage.

“We’ve got a great game and I’m sorry when things get to this point — for the game,” Angelo told Vaughn McClure of the Chicago Tribune.  “Not for me.  Not for the players.  Not for the owners.  For the game.

“This game is special.  It brings people together.  It galvanizes cities.  And during the tough times in this economy . . . I’m not saying sports is the elixir, but it kind of helps people just have some fun in tough times.”

Angelo, who is only a few months shy of being on the job for a decade, has a hard time envisioning a work stoppage that could wipe out one or more regular-season games.

“This game has been everything to me, personally,” Angelo said.  “I love this game.  I’ve done everything I’ve could to respect the game, to make it better, like you want to do with anything you’re a part of in your life.

“That’s the part that’s bothersome.  It’s not about people losing jobs.  It’s not about anything other than we’re in an entertainment world.  It’s a business.  I know it’s a big pie.  How that pie is distributed, people will determine that.  But I’m more concerned with our game and that it doesn’t get tainted.”

Suddenly, we really like Jerry Angelo.  Hopefully, Angelo and others in the league who share his feelings will make those feelings known to the owners, many of whom haven’t devoted decades of their lives to the game and view their teams as just another asset.

The hiring fills the void that was created when Bill Musgrave left to become the Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator. Bratkowski had been fired by the Cincinnati Bengals two weeks ago after 10 seasons as the team’s offensive coordinator. His offenses had some good seasons, particularly in 2005, when the Bengals finished fourth in the league with 26.3 points per game and won the AFC North. Cincinnati also won the division in 2009, but ranked 22nd in the NFL in scoring. Cincinnati was 22nd in scoring again this past year, averaging 20.1 points per game on the way to a 4-12 record. Bratkowski, the son of former NFL quarterback Zeke Bratkowski, has also coached for the Seahawks and Steelers during his 19-year career in the professional ranks.

Four days after being hospitalized with what was initially described as a congenital vascular condition, Florida freshman Neiron Ball has been released, the Orlando Sentinel is reporting.

The linebacker had been suffering from headaches earlier in the week prior to seeking medical attention, and when he was admitted to the hospital Tuesday morning, it was discovered that a blood vessel in his brain had burst.  He was then placed in intensive care, where he remained until Thursday.

Ball’s brother-in-law told the Sentinel that “[h]e’s in our care now” and will spend the week with his family.

“What we’ve been through, it’s not completely healthy but to get to the point where he’s better, is great,” Dary Myricks told the paper.

Because of the medical condition, Ball, who played in 13 games in 2010, will not participate in spring practice.  As far as his long-range future in the game, the Gainesville Sun reports that no decision has been made about whether he’ll be able to continue his football career.

This year’s All Star game is at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The Western conference is lead by hometown hero Kobe Bryant, and the East will be lead by Heat players LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. It should be a close game. Both rosters are stacked and this game could easily go either way. That said giving any points is an advantage, so I’m happy taking the West +2.

Western Conference All Stars +2 (-105) over Eastern Conference All Stars

It was a down year in football. Congrats to the Packers for winning the Super Bowl, and Aaron Rodgers for getting the Super Bowl MVP. Regular season stars Tom Brady for winning the 2010 MVP and Michael Vick for getting the NFL comeback player of the year.

TV: NBA All-Star Game Sunday, 8:30 pm Eastern – TNT