Dean Jones

It's not over, not by a long shot. It is, however, a very good start. Manchester United are half-way to the Champions League Quarter Final after their heroic performance at the Bernabeu last night against Real Madrid. The game finished 1-1, United coming up with a vital away goal in a game which was as frantic and fascinating as we all hoped it would be. The hype surrounding this game was extraordinary, mainly due to Cristiano Ronaldo playing against the Club that had sold him to Real Madrid for a world record fee of £80 million ($124.9m) for the first time. Ronaldo often speaks of his admiration for his former club, the fans and the manager and even teases the United fans with the prospect that one day he could possibly return. Ronaldo has thrived since moving to Spain to become arguably the most complete player in the World. There is no dispute that Lionel Messi and himself are the two best in the World currently. Could he put his emotions to one side and come up with the performances to guide Madrid into the Quarter-Finals.

This year, the gap might be too big to overcome. After what will turn out to be a pivotal weekend in the Premier League title race, Manchester United have increased their lead to 12 points, all but guaranteeing that the title returns to the Red half of Manchester. I know what you're thinking, United were 8 points ahead last season and Manchester City overturned that margin to win the Title in the most dramatic finish to a season the League has ever, or will ever, see. If they did it last year then it's conceivable that they could do it again this year, right? Wrong. This is not the City team of last season. Something is missing, the fire seems to have gone out. Throughout the season they have played with the complacency of knowing they are Champions. They have done it once, so it's not the end of the World if they don't win it again. This attitude hasn't got them very far this season. A disastrous Champions League campaign, where they finished bottom of their Group and failed to even qualify for the Europa Cup, was just the beginning. Their league form has been on gradual decline and it all came to a head Saturday evening in Southampton.

In the end, it was hardly worth Dwight Howard bothering to play at all. The Boston Celtics destroyed the Los Angeles Lakers in what was an exceptional display of teamwork and an unbelievable team spirit. A stark contrast to this Lakers team. All the talk, all day, was of Howard and Kobe again. Bryant had called Howard out for not playing through the pain of the shoulder injury he is currently possessing. This whole situation has now become a ridiculous sideshow in an already chaos-filled season for one of the Pre-season favourites for an NBA title. Bryant seems to be pushing Howard more than he's been before in his career. It is also apparent that Howard isn't responding to it at all well. Howard has had things all his own way throughout his career, he was the Centre of attention in Orlando and could basically do as he pleased there with no real repercussions, as was demonstrated with his behaviour in the Stan Van Gundy situation that saw his then Head Coach fired. The Magic chose to keep Howard in his comfort zone rather that upsetting their prized possession.

We are just 78 days away from the NFL Draft and already we are receiving indications as to what teams will be looking for to improve their line-ups. Here is the first Mock Draft as we look at initial needs of each team and the players who would fit them: 1. Kansas City Chiefs: - Geno Smith, QB, West Virginia. Whether it's the Chiefs or somebody else selecting number one I think the pick will be Geno Smith. Someone will fall in-love with his undoubted skill set during this evaluation process. The Chiefs Quarterbacks are terrible, Matt Cassell hasn't lived up to his large contract and now the world can see why Brady Quinn hasn't been given a prolonged start at the top level. There is also a new regime in Kansas City, with Andy Reid the coach and Smith fits perfectly to his offense. He's a mobile, strong Quarterback with an incredible deep ball and can throw on the run with ease. Like most Quarterbacks in this class he has struggled at times this year, but taking Quarterbacks are less of a risk with the new Rookie Salary Cap in place. 2. Jacksonville Jaguars: - Star Lotulelei, NT, Utah.

In the end, it had to end this way. A heroic effort by the Baltimore Ravens, who were playing their last game with Ray Lewis, their inspirational leader, to clinch Superbowl 47 and give their talisman the perfect send-off with a 34-31 victory over the 49ers. The game itself had everything a Superbowl should. Excitement, controversy, intrigue and some unbelievable performances. Much of the pre-match build up was to do with Lewis, the 17 year veteran and one of the greatest players to ever play the game, was bowing out right at the top after a long and controversial career. The controversy followed him around this week in New Orleans with allegations of using a performance enhancing substance to aid his recovery from a torn bicep. Lewis denied these accusations, he's obviously heard it all before. His pending retirement bringing up that notorious incident in Atlanta after the 2000 Superbowl. It's water off a Ducks back to Lewis, who has been answering similar questions his entire career.