Pure Sports, No Steroids

A+ plus for Mr. Aikman

If you're tired of hearing about all of the recent stories about athletes who have either confessed to using or those who are alleged to have used performance-enhancing drugs, welcome to the sanctuary for good, clean organic sports stuff.

Here you go, sports fans, load up for the day:

- Troy Aikman is back at UCLA

- Prez says predicting North Carolina-Duke game may cost him his Blackberry

- Something special about Cy Young and Cleveland (Frank Viola to team up with Cliff Lee)
Note: Cy Young played over half his career in Cleveland and began his career with the Cleveland Spiders - Cy for yourself

- Six straight NHL games with a goal? And you're a defenseman?

And Now This: Super Bowl Star Commercials

Wow, thanks Mean Joe!

Are we there yet? Are we there yet?

Uh, no kids. We're still two days away from Super Sunday. But we're almost there, so hang in there. In fact, we've got a little something to make the time to kickoff go faster - no, not a juice box. It's a quick list of commercials featuring some of your favorite Super Bowl stars of the past! Consider it a primer for Sunday's parade of Super Bowl commercials.

Amusement Guaranteed

Priceless Peyton

Go Greene

Singing With The Stars

The Fridge Is Running

Huddle Up With The Raiders

Tony D. Turns It Up

Orlando Magic: Mesmerizing Basketball

AllPosters.com

In your face, NBA. The Orlando Magic have stolen the show so far this season.

After a road trip marked by wins over each of the Western Conference's three division leaders - the Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets - Orlando stood atop the NBA mountain with a 33-8 record.

So you're wondering, how in the name of Dennis Scott did this happen? Elementary. This team plays to its strengths - the inside game of Dwight Howard and the outside game of its splendid arsenal of three-point sharpshooters (led by Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu and Jameer Nelson).

Thursday night will be another test as the defending NBA Champion Boston Celtics look to put a Larry Bird-style beatdown on O-Town at Amway Arena. I suggest you watch this one if you can (TNT, 8 p.m. ET).

WITH OR WITHOUT PULP? - Did you know that before the franchise was officially named the Magic, Central Florida's NBA team was almost named the Orlando Juice? Don't believe it? Read it.

MYSTIQUE, SCHMYSTIQUE - The last team to win an NBA game at venerable Boston Garden was the Magic. The Shaquille O'Neal/Anfernee Hardaway-led Magic scored a 95-92 triumph on May 5, 1995, and in the process gave the team its first-ever playoff series win.

CALLING LIL' PENNY - While the Magic are playing lights-out basketball, they might want to consider finding a spot for Lil' Penny in their pursuit of a title. If just for some comedy relief. Watch this classic spot, fool!

Crazy About Winning Streaks

So the Boston Celtics are shooting for their 17th consecutive win tonight after beating the pesky Atlanta Hawks on the road the other night. Believe it or not, as long as the streak is, it's not the longest one in team history. Which isn't surprising, given the team's storied past. The team record is 18 wins in a row, set by Bird and his buddies back in 1981-82.

Everybody loves a winning streak - it's peak season for dormant fans to come out of the woodwork. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But please just don't go in complete hibernation when your team hits the skids. Be a fan, man!

Anyway, here are few interesting notes on some famous winning streaks of the past:

Many of us know that the Los Angeles Lakers of 1971-72 hold the all-time record for the longest winning streak in professional sports, at 33 games. But did you know that longtime Lakers star Elgin Baylor's last pro game was the one right before the first win of the 33-game streak? Yep.

The New England Patriots set the all-time NFL mark for continuous winning with a 21-game, regular season streak that ran from December 2006 to September 2008. Did you know that the team that ended the streak - the Miami Dolphins - was also the last team that beat the Pats? Wicked amazing, right?

In the NHL, the Pittsburgh Penguins concluded the 1993 regular season by reeling off 17 straight W's. However, had the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champion pens not lost a seven-game Wales Conference Division Series to the New York Islanders and then won in the next round, the world could have witnessed a Wayne Gretzky-Mario Lemieux showdown in the Finals. As it turned out, Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings squared off against eventual champion Montreal.

Finally, the 1916 New York Baseball Giants earned a spot in the MLB record books with 26 victories in a row. But, did you know that one of those games actually ended in a tie? Uh-huh. The Giants' streak was preserved because tie games are not reflected in Major League Baseball's official statistics.

Team Trivia Spotlight: Atlanta Hawks

It may have been caused by the Ted Turner feature on 60 Minutes last night, but for some reason, SportsTriviaBuff.com's Grand Poobah had the Atlanta Hawks on his brain this morning. So today's post is dedicated to Teddy's old team.

Here's the trivia you need to know to be the MVP at the water cooler:

* The Hawks won their fifth consecutive game yesterday, marking the fourth time in franchise history that they won their first five games.

* On this date in 1969, Hawks legend Lou Hudson scored a then team-record 57 points vs. Chicago at Auburn, Alabama.

* Hudson's scoring feat stood for almost 16 years before the "Human Highlight Film," Dominique Wilkins, equaled it on 4/10/86 and again on 12/10/86.

! Question: Who was the last Hawks player to score 50-plus points in a game? Hint: He played college ball at Cal. Click here for the answer.