Ibrahim Abdul-Matin

The NBA season is on full throttle as the New York Knicks played the champion Dallas Mavericks Sunday afternoon and Jeremy Lin was able to hold off the team and the Knicks cruised to yet another win. There were also exciting games around the league as Kevin Durant scored a stunning 51 points for Oklahoma City. The question for Linsanity remains: how long can it last?

Jeff Yang, contributor to It's A Free Country, the WSJ Speakeasy blog, and former "Asian Pop" columnist at the San Francisco Chronicle, and Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, Takeaway sports correspondent, comment on the meteoric rise to fame of Chinese-American Knicks player Jeremy Lin, and what it says about sports, race and culture.

The New York Giants beat New England 21-17 in a game that most certainly would be consider an instant classic. Eli Manning was the game's MVP, completing 30 of 40 passes and engineering the late 4th quarter touchdown drive that would win the Giants the game. Tom Brady could not execute a successful one-minute drive after launching a Hail Mary pass that went unanswered.

In a world where one team must face off against another not once, but twice, on the world stage tempers will flare, bodies will be pushed to the limit, and reveling fans will discover if the underdog can triumph over tragedy… or if the top dog will rise again. Cliched? Absolutely, but appropriate: just as they did in 2007, the New England Patriots will face off against the New York Giants in this year's Superbowl.

It'll be Eli Manning leading the New York Giants to a Super Bowl rematch against the New England Patriots. The Giants came out on top as they won their fifth straight road playoff game. But even kicker Lawrence Tynes says it's no miracle. Tynes kicked a 32-yard field goal in overtime to send the Giants to the Super Bowl. Eli Manning played like his brother last night, setting a franchise records for completions and attempts, even in the bad weather.

Joe Paterno, the most successful coach in major college football history, the face of Penn State University, and at one point, among the most admired figures in the entire sporting world, is dead at the age of 85. News of Paterno’s death from lung cancer came early Sunday morning. At the center of one of the worst scandals to ever hit the sports world, what JoePa's legacy will be, once the dust clears, is up to more people than just Lions fans.

Time is short in the 2011/2012 NFL season, but this past weekend certainly left behind some incredible moments. The New York Giants pulled off a huge upset by pummeling the Green Bay Packers. And speaking of a pummeling, that is exactly what Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow received from the New England Patriots as his offensive line could not hold.

The Packers continued their winning streak on Sunday after beating the New York Giants 38 to 35. The Denver Broncos also narrowly won over the weekend, with a 35-32 win over the Minnesota Vikings.

What is the Tim Tebow effect? The new Denver Broncos quarterback has garnered a lot of national attention, partly for his talent, partly for his prayerful play. But is the attention — or the critiques, which are growing after Tebow failed to lead Denver to a win over Detroit Sunday — fully warranted? We find out, and get a general NFL update from Takeaway sports contributor Ibrahim Abdul-Matin. 

The Detroit Tigers are heading to the ALCS after edging out the New York Yankees 3-2 on Thursday night in a decisive winner take all game 5. Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, The Takeaway's sports contributor, gives his analysis of the game.

It's hurricane Friday here at the Takeaway, and someone who's never afraid to get out there in the rain is our correspondent Ibrahim Abdul-Matin. He joins us to talk some sports, including one seriously quirky stat from the baseball world when the New York Yankees continued to earn their out-sized salaries. Also, we will be looking at the NBA lockout. A recent piece by Malcolm Gladwell on Grantland.com says that the idea of basketball teams as a normal "business" is a fantasy, and so the idea of teams losing money and thus justifying the lockout is completely over the rainbow.

It almost didn’t happen, but there will indeed be an NFL season this year. It all begins in just a few weeks but already, the season may be off to a rocky start. Seven former players have filed a lawsuit against the NFL, claiming the league fails to properly treat them for concussions and deliberately trying to conceal links between football and brain injuries. It could become the first potential class-action case of its kind.

Thank you to The Wall Street Journal's Nando di Fino and Jerry Watson, the owner of the Stadium View Grille in Green Bay, Wisconsin who let us know this morning about the winners and losers of the NFL labor agreement that ends the NFL lockout after about 136 days.

But sorry, Nando and Jerry, John and Celeste, I know I am in the minority but I wanted football to stay locked out.

All this week, in honor of Independence Day, we're airing a series of reports titled My America. We'll be speaking to leading figures in politics, culture, media and the arts—and we're asking what being American means to them. We've also had quite a few listeners—as well as our producers and hosts—weigh in!

After hours of negotiating, NBA players and owners failed to come to an agreement over salary caps and team revenue. Those involved said the meetings were friendly, but players will remain on lockout until a settlement can be reached. While players have proposed a string of pay cuts to be enacted over the next few years, team owners say it is not enough to make the teams profitable. The Players Association and team owners will meet in two to three weeks to discuss this issue again.

At this point in the most summers, Sports contributor Ibrahim Abdul-Matin would be turning his attention to the first glimmers of football season, and to Tiger Woods, the shining star of golf.  But with an NFL lockout, a looming NBA stoppage, and a little firecracker from Northern Ireland taking over the links... It's a very different sports summer.  So what DOES a sports-watcher watch?  According to Ibrahim: Dodgeball, Cycling, and Badminton. 

The Dallas Mavericks beat the Miami Heat 105-95 in game 6 of the NBA finals. Takeaway sports contributor, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin reports on the game and what the loss means for the Heat going forward. The team spent a lot of money bulking up its roster, which includes LeBron James.

In a pivotal Game 5 last night in Dallas, the Mavericks took home a 112-103 victory, earning their first N.B.A Championship win. Lebron James continued to show final quarter troubles—in the last four games, he has yet to score more than five points in the final quarter. Takeaway sports contributor Ibrahim Abdul Matin talks about this and other sports news from the week, including the outlook for the Boston Bruins.

Shaq told his fans first in a video posted to Twitter, "I'm about to retire... love you!"  He and his size 23 basketball shoes are done with the game. "He could dance, he could move, he could pass," says Takeaway Sports contributor Ibrahim Abdul-Matin. He explains why Shaq was such a dominant force and what he might do next.

Up until recently, Ohio State University head coach, Jim Tressel had a brilliant career. He was the Head Football Coach for Ohio State, a Big Ten school that recruits some of the most talented athletes in the nation. He had one national title and seven Big Ten championships. However, Tressel resigned amid accusations that he’s covered up years worth of NCAA violations among his players. Running Back Bri'onte Dunn, from Canton, Ohio, has made a verbal commitment to join the OSU Buckeyes in January 2012. What will these developments mean for his future? Takeaway sports contributor, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin weighs in.