Weekly Watch: Jan. 8 Paper

Georgetown vs. Connecticut
Saturday 1/9 at noon
With the exception of the Old Dominion stumble, it’s been a fine start for the Hoyas. A New Year’s Eve win over an improving St. John’s club was followed with a 17-point road triumph against DePaul. The UConn Huskies, a participant in last year’s Final Four in Detroit, started off Big East play with a disappointing loss on the road at the hands of Cincinnati. Jerome Dyson leads the club in scoring, putting in an average of 20.2 points per game. Stanley Robinson averages 17.8 points to go along with eight rebounds.

Virginia Tech at North Carolina
Sunday 1/10 at 7:45 p.m.
Hokies basketball has a deceiving 11-1 record, considering they’ve beat up on rather easy opponents. Their impressive start will be put to the test against a North Carolina team that, are the defending national champs, but are far different looking from last year. In fact, they were stunned by the College of Charleston on Jan. 4. Tech will have had eight days of rest following a thrilling 103-94 overtime win against the Seton Hall Pirates in Cancun. And it’s unlikely that its most crucial part will be available for action. Guard and leading scorer Malcolm Delaney has been out ever since spraining his left ankle in a win versus Longwood. However, Dorenzo Hudson has filled in just fine — scoring a career-high 41 points against Seton Hall

NFL Wild Card Playoffs
Saturday 1/9 and Sunday 1/10
The road to Super Bowl XLIV begins now. Only twelve teams remain — eight of them will play this coming weekend. Saturday is a day of Week 17 reruns. The Jets will travel to take on the Cincinnati Bengals — one week after beating them 37-0 at home in New York to grab one of the final two AFC Wild Card spots. The Philadelphia Eagles had a chance to capture the NFC East and the second seed in the conference. However, they got neither. A 24-0 beating by the Dallas Cowboys means Philly has one more road meeting with its longtime rival. On Sunday, the Baltimore Ravens will try to take advantage of an injured New England Patriots squad. Lastly, the defending NFC champions — the Arizona Cardinals — may have trouble with their first round opponent, however. Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers are one of the hottest teams.

— Brian Wright