Hello everyone! As you get set to indulge yourself in some heavy-duty college basketball watching this afternoon, I wanted to again remind you about some indulgences Aaron Torres Sports has had with the Guinness brewing company as we get set for St. Patrick’s Day in two weekends.

As you may remember, a few weeks ago it was announced that this site has partnered with Guinness in their pursuit of the biggest St. Patrick’s Day party ever. That’s right, Guinness is trying to set a Guinness World Record for the world’s biggest St. Patrick’s Day party, and they’ve asked me to help get you involved. So far, they’ve already got 32,000 pledges, and are looking for more (unfortunately, I cannot take credit for all those pledges!).

It’s not too late for you to enter, and I encourage you to do so.

Why?

Well, when you do enter, you'll be eligible to win a number of cool free prizes, including... I hope you're sitting down... a FREE trip to Ireland to tour the Guinness brewing factory. 

Yes I'm being serious. And yes, I'm going to say it again, just so it sinks in. Enter this contest… and there’s a chance… that Guinness will fly you to Ireland. Completely for free. No strings attached. No charges. All expenses paid. How does it get any better than that?

In case you haven’t entered, here’s how to do so:

First, go to Guinness.com and once there, you’ll be asked for your birthdate (to verify you’re 21 of course). After entering your birthday, please click the tab “Join the Party.” Easy, right?

After you do that, you'll need to hit the "Count Me In," tab, where you'll enter your first name (only) and zip code, as well as a place for you to “Enter Your Code” for the pub or blogger who is representing you.

That blogger is me, and it’s very important that where it says “Enter Your Code” you put in- TORR- so the folks at Guinness know that I, Aaron Torres, was the person to get you signed up. I don’t ask for much… but if you can punch in that code, it’d be very much appreciated.

And once you punch in that code, you’re officially entered to win all prizes, including the trip to Ireland. Pretty easy, huh?

So that’s the situation, and as always, if you’ve got any further questions, concerns or comments, you’re always welcome to ask me in the comments section below, by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or on Twitter @Aaron_Torres.

And just remember to please drink responsibly, ok?

As most of the readers of this website know, late last week I had the opportunity to do one of my favorite interviews ever posted here at Aaron Torres Sports. It came with NASCAR superstar Joey Logano, just days before the Daytona 500 and the biggest day on his racing calendar. I was grateful then and now for the time he gave me.

If you didn’t have the chance to listen to the interview, I highly encourage you to check it out here. Joey was nice enough to take some time out of his schedule to chat with me about the race, his new crew chief, and the NASCAR blogger program, which allowed one lucky winner to get a free trip to Charlotte for the NASCAR All-Star series later this spring. That is, if Joey won the 500 of course.

Well unfortunately, as you know, Joey wasn’t able to win the event. In what ended up being a wild, fiery and thrilling Daytona 500, Joey finished ninth. To his credit though, Joey was in the Top 10 for virtually the entire race, and even led late, before Matt Kenseth took the checkered flag. Still, for a 21-year-old in just his third Daytona 500, there is a lot for Joey to build-on and be proud of. If you somehow missed the race (which, shame on you, by the way), you can get caught up by clicking here.

Anyway, with that said, I do have a couple quick announcements. The first is that obviously, I will not be able to provide a reader of this site the trip to Charlotte later this spring. That honor went to the website which was affiliated with Kenseth, TheSmokingJacket.com.

However what I am happy to report is that I will still be giving away free autographed gear courtesy of Joey to a couple readers on this site. I’m not sure exactly when I will be receiving the gear (which will likely autographed hats and posters), or how I will give it away, but I do encourage you to continually check back here at Aaron Torres Sports (or follow on Twitter @Aaron_Torres) for updates.

Regardless, I want to thank the NASCAR blogger program for taking the time to set me up with Joey, I want to thank Joey for taking the time to do the interview, and thank you all for taking the time to listen.

Keep an eye out for the announcement on the autographed gear from Joey.

Until next time!

Well hello friends! It’s been awhile since I had a good, old-fashioned giveaway here at Aaron Torres Sports, and by now I bet you’re probably getting more ancy than a football recruit on an unofficial visit to an SEC school: Basically, you want free stuff… and you want it now! And really, who could blame you?

So with that, I wanted to let you know that the time has come for another promotion… and this one my friends, is big.

That promotion? Well, it’s a partnership with Guinness (the beer company), and it’s in conjunction with St. Patrick’s Day, and it goes as follows: This year Guinness is trying to set a Guinness World Record for largest St. Patrick’s Day Party. Sounds fun, right? Thankfully the good folks at the company were nice enough to get me involved, and want me to get you involved as well. To do so is quite simple, and could net you some really, REALLY big prizes.

Here’s how it works. To get involved, all you’ve got to do is head over to www.Guinness.com. Once there, you’ll be asked for your birthdate (to verify you’re 21 of course), and then click the tab “Join the Party.” Easy, right?

After you do that, you'll need to hit the "Count Me In," tab, where you'll enter your first name (only) and zip code, as well as a place for you to “Enter Your Code” for the pub or blogger who is representing you. That blogger is me, and it’s very important that where it says “Enter Your Code” you put in- TORR- so the folks at Guinness know that I, Aaron Torres, was the person to get you signed up. I don’t ask for much… but if you can punch in that code, it’d be very much appreciated.

Now with that, I know you’re probably wondering: “Aaron, that’s all well and good, but what’s in it for me?”

Ahh, I’m glad you asked.

That’s because once you enter the promo code (TORR), you can also enter to win a number of different prizes, including… are you ready for this… an all-expenses paid trip to Ireland, where you’ll actually be able to tour the Guinness Brewery.

Yes I’m being serious.

That’s right, for everyone who enters the St. Patrick’s Day contest, Guinness will pick a handful of winners to fly to Ireland, and tour their brewery. And all you’ve got to do is enter the promo code TORR at Guinness.com, and then fill in the corresponding form which follows. Got that?

(And just to be totally transparent, I will add this: There are 50 or so writers and bloggers who are launching similar giveaways, but there’s a chance that if I get the most people to sign up, I too could get a trip to Ireland. I’m not denying that there’s something in it for me, but at the same time, if there’s anything better than a trip to Ireland, wouldn’t it be a trip to Ireland with your buddy Aaron?

No? Ok, let’s just move on then!)

As crazy as it sounds, that’s basically it.

Beyond what I’ve mentioned above, there are no catches, gimmicks, or strings attached. And really, there’s nothing else for you to do, other than go to Guinness.com and enter the code TORR. Considering that it might result with you winning a trip to Ireland, it seems worth the two minutes out of your day to me.

Please let me know if you’ve got any more questions, and if you need any further information, always feel free to check in, be it in the comments section below, on Twitter or by e-mailing in. Also, I will be having another cool giveaway later this week, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

Oh, and one more thing… please drink responsibly. Anyone who knows me knows I’m all for having a good time. But you also don’t need to act like a fool when doing so.

Thanks again, and let me know if you have any additional questions.

Until next time…

When I received a review copy of “The Last Great Game” in the mail last week, I halfheartedly joked that I was “excited to read the second best college basketball book released in the last few months.” I knew I’d enjoy it, but truthfully didn’t expect to enjoy it right away. I figured I’d probably skim a few chapters here and there, then dive in with two feet after March, when I needed to further my college hoops fix.

Yeah, about that.

Within a few pages I was hooked, and it was clear to me that this book wasn’t about a basketball game, so much as a different time for us as sports fans. It was a time when college basketball still mattered, not just as a four week event in March, but as a four month season starting in late November. It was a time when you could go into a barbershop, sit down at a bar, hang out in a dorm room and have an argument with buddies about Duke, or the Fab Five, or Jerry Tarkanian’s Vegas teams; an argument about college basketball. With all due respect to Anthony Davis and Thomas Robinson, you can’t walk into a bar in 2012 (at least outside Lawrence and Lexington) and engage in a debate about which of them deserves National Player of the Year. You could in 1992 about Christian Laettner, Jamal Mashburn and Chris Webber thought.

As for the book itself, well, chances are pretty good that if you’re bothering to read this review, you know that it’s about the Kentucky-Duke, 1992 East Regional Final, and for the shot Laettner hit to win it at the buzzer in overtime. You know that as the single greatest game in college basketball history. What you probably don’t know is all the ancillary stuff that led up to that shot, not just in that NCAA Tournament, but in the years before that. To his credit, author Gene Wojciechowski does a masterful job of setting up the narrative around that; I consider myself a bit of a college basketball aficionado, and Icannot tell you how much I learned from this book.

It wasn’t until last Tuesday night that I came to have a full appreciation for just how important college football had become in my everyday life.

After eating, sleeping and breathing the sport since the beginning of August (and even before that really), all of a sudden, I looked up, and well, there was no college football to be played, no college football to be discussed, and really, just a huge void in my life. Honestly, it was like breaking up with a girlfriend, only about 100 times worse, and ended with me questioning everything I thought I knew. What do I do? Where do I go? Who am I? Needless to say, it got pretty bad.

But after a few nights of sitting in bed, eating Ben and Jerry’s and watching replays of old MAC games on ESPN3.com (ohh MACtion, how I’ve missed you), I decided that it was time to be proactive. College football may be over, but that also means a bunch more time has opened up, and I plan on using it as productively as I can. There’s just so much more to life than sitting my couch with a bag of Doritos, and wondering things like “Hmm, I wonder who would win in a fight, Will Muschamp, or a grizzly bear?” It’s time to live life dammit, which is what I plan on doing!

And because of it, I decided to make a list of all the ways I plan on passing the time over the next eight months. Not every item on the list is perfect, and with so little time in the off-season, I know that not every single one will be accomplished. But the path to success starts with a plan, and this is my way of tabulating one.

Here are 50 Ways I plan to pass the time during the college football off-season.

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Go ahead and say it, I already know what you’re thinking: “Aaron, are you really giving us a ‘Things To Look Forward To In 2012 List?’ You’re only like the 3,000th sportswriter to do that this week. Geez, get an original idea. I thought you were better than that.”

First of all, I’m not better than that. But more importantly, come on, lighten up, it’s the New Year! Besides, I could give you a list of 500 things to look forward to in 2012, and it would still be more entertaining, and end quicker than last night’s Baylor-Washington game…which I still can’t believe happened by the way.

All bad jokes aside though, I really do think 2012 could be a banner year for sports. We are in line for quite possibly the most exciting NBA season in recent history, the most exciting NCAA Tournament of my lifetime, and a fantastic Summer Olympics. Not to mention the return of the best pro football player on the planet (Peyton Manning, who we all know will play- and play well- in 2012), the changing address of the best baseball player on the planet (Albert Pujols) and the mental breakdown of the best basketball player on Earth too (I fully expect Kobe Bryant to pull a Tonya Harding and have Troy Murphy clubbed in the knees by the end of February. Mark that down, it will happen.)

Granted, 2011 was a fun year. But there’s plenty more ahead in 2012.

Here are 50 story lines that I’m excited about, plus my BCS bowl game picks…

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Since my book ‘The Unlikeliest Champion’ became available for sale last week, of all the things I’ve learned, the most ironic is undoubtedly this: The act of writing a book takes a lot of time away from well, actually writing on my own. Between doing the PR for the book, packaging, mailing and handling all the other small things that come with the process, not only have I not gotten more than four hours of sleep in a night, not only have I become about 600 percent more irritable, not only is my dog afraid to look me in the eye, but I also haven’t been able to do any actual writing. Which is not only ironic, but also a shame. Because there’s nothing in the world I enjoy doing more.

So with that, I’ve decided to take a break this morning from all book related things. I’ve decided to take a break from the constant e-mailing and phone service. I’ve decided to take a break from endless trips to the post office (it’s ok, my teller there was starting to creep me out anyway). And I’ve decided to just sit down, and write. I don’t know if what you’ll read below is going to come out any good. But at the very least, it’ll be therapeutic for me (And believe me, I need it).

A lot has happened in the world of sports since I last penned a column here or at Crystal Ball Run, and here’s my best attempt to capture it all…with my very own Sports Fan Christmas Wish List.

Now, is a sports Christmas wish list lame and gimmicky? Absolutely. But my brain has crumbled like Feta cheese in the past six days, and a gimmicky column is all I’ve got in me.

Enjoy. And if I don’t talk to you all, hope you enjoy the holiday!

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Well hello everyone! I come to you with some big news.

As some of you may have heard, I Aaron Torres wrote a book. No, seriously...I wrote a book. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I can't believe it either.

The book is called “The Unlikeliest Champion” and it’s about last year’s UConn Men’s Basketball team, and their run to the 2011 National Championship. For those of you wondering, “Why UConn?” just know that I’m an alumnus of the school, and have been a fan for longer than I remember. If I were ever to write a book, this was the topic for me to do it on. The 2011 UConn Huskies truly were a special team, and I consider myself blessed to be the one who had the opportunity to capture it all, and to tell their story.

Now, before I get to the big announcement, I want to take a moment and thank each and every one of you. Since first making new of this book public a few weeks back, the support has been simply overwhelming. I’ve gotten to know so many great people throughout my time writing, and the love that you all have showed me in the last two weeks (and really, the last two years) is something that I can never thank you for. Just know that I do appreciate it.

Now, to the news.

After making my announcement about this book two weeks ago, I’m happy to report that…it is now available for purchase!

For all the details on the book as well as excerpts, insight and more, please visit www.UConnBook.com.

As for the specifics of purchasing, here they are:

The quickest and most efficient way for you to get your hands on this book is to go ahead and purchase it through the publisher. You can do that either by clicking here or at UConnBook.com as well. By purchasing through the publisher, you can pick your own shipping speed, and have the book in your hands in a timeframe which works best from you. You can also purchase the book off of Amazon, and a Kindle version should be available in the coming weeks as well.

Of course, there are other options too.

For those of you who would like me to sign the book, well, first off, I’m flattered that you’re interested. I sincerely mean that. To get an autographed copy, all you’ve got to do is go to UConnBook.com, go to the “Buy The Book” tab on the top right of the site, and click on the “Buy Now,” link. I will be sure and autograph each and every purchase that is made that way. However, be warned: All books purchased from there will not be shipped until early next week. Believe me, I don't like it, but it's the best time-frame the publisher could give me. Regardless, by ordering the book this way, it will still get to you for the holiday. I personally guarantee that.

(Also, please note: If you want any special inscription in your book, please make a note on your PayPal purchase. If that’s a problem, you can also e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )

And finally, to everyone who was nice enough to pre-order the book, I absolutely cannot thank you enough. I genuinely mean that. To give you a bit of a time-frame for your purchase as well, your books should be in the mail early next week, and will be in your hands in plenty of time for the holiday. Again, I promise you that. If you do have any additional questions though, feel free to grab me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

And really, that’s all I’ve got for you this evening.

Again, I want to thank you all for the unbelievable support through this process. Writing a book is as tough and challenging as one might expect it to be, but the response from everyone is amazing. It really did make the whole process worthwhile.

And of course, I need to thank the 2011 UConn Huskies for giving us a season we’ll never forget. Sitting here today heading into 2012, I still can’t believe what I saw with my own eyes last spring. Watching them, you really didn't need to be a fan of the team, or really even a fan of college basketball to enjoy it. They were just that fun.

Thank you all, and for any further questions or comments, feel free to post below, or e-mail me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . More information, including excerpts and other goodies can be found at www.uconnbook.com as well.

Aaron

Alright, so I’m just going to spill the beans: For weeks I’ve been hinting at, casually mentioning and tweeting about a big surprise I’ve had to share with all of you.

And well, that surprise can’t wait any longer:

(Drumroll, please…)

I wrote a book!

No, seriously, I wrote a book. It’s on the 2011 UConn basketball team, and it’s called 'The Unlikeliest Champion'. And believe me; I’m just as surprised to type out that last sentence as you are to read it. I still can’t believe it actually.

But I did it. It wasn’t without the help of a lot of people (no seriously, A LOT of people), and the incredible support of my family and friends. Not to mention a whole lot of blood, sweat and tears. Well, actually there was no blood or sweat. But I sure did cry a lot.

Anyway, I’m sure you’re probably thinking to yourself: The 2011 Huskies? Hmm. Why UConn and why now?

Well, as most of you know by now, I’m a born and bred UConn guy. Growing up in Connecticut affords you a lot of great opportunities and experiences, but when it comes to sports- and college sports in specific- you’ve only got one choice: You either root for UConn…or you sit alone every day in the elementary school cafeteria. That’s really it. People in this state are born into UConn fandom, live it, and breathe it for 365 days a year. There aren’t many things that this state has to call its own, but UConn and its sports teams are one of them.

As for the 2011 team in specific, well, there’s a reason I wrote about them too. Simply put, in all the years I’ve been watching sports, I’ve never seen an underdog story quite like them. Not just in college basketball. But in sports, too.

Consider the following things:

- Entering 2011, UConn was coming off an 18-16 season, where they not only missed the NCAA Tournament, but got bounced early from the NIT too. Following the season they lost three senior starters to graduation and a high-profile transfer, meaning that other than Kemba Walker, UConn didn’t really return anyone of substance to the 2011 team.

- Of the recruits who came in to replace the departed seniors, only Roscoe Smith was considered “elite.” UConn missed on a bunch of other prospects, and instead ended up with a handful that most had never heard of. Jeremy Lamb hadn’t started for his high school as a junior and Shabazz Napier had to move his graduation up a year to get to Storrs for the 2011 season. Yes, both of things actually happened.

Well, hello everyone! It’s been awhile since I’ve had one of these giveaways, but I figured now was as good a time as any to have another. The holidays are coming up, and man, who couldn’t use a $50 Amazon Gift Card at this time of the year? Luckily that’s what I’ve got for you, thanks to a giveaway that I’m doing with this really cool new website called FanLime.com.

First off, let me explain to you what FanLime is, because I really think it is the next big thing in interaction between athletes and sports personalities and their fans.

Basically, the best way I can put it, is that FanLime is basically Facebook for sports fans. You pick your favorite players, coaches and teams, and FanLime builds a feed catered specifically to your interests, highlighting media, videos and more, specific to you- and only you.  If you’re a Mets fan, no more Yankees articles, highlights and videos. If you’re a Clippers fan, you’ll never have to see Kobe Bryant’s goofy, chin-out grin ever again.

Where it gets interesting though is that FanLime is slowly adding professional athletes (as well as goofy media/blogging personalities like myself) to their stable of members, and I suspect that this will eventually become the best platform yet to interact with them. The site is based on a points system, so the more you interact with each athlete involved (such as this one with the Carolina Panthers Steve Smith), the more points you get. And simply, the more points you get, the more quickly you get vaulted to kind of a “top fan” status type thing.

Now, that “top fan” thing might not mean much to you this second, but let’s think about it big picture. Because let’s say an athlete like Chad Ochocinco or Shaq was trying to do a giveaway with his Top 50 fans, and he had to find a way to figure out who those fans were. Well, isn’t this much easier than trying to figure it out through Facebook or Twitter, or any other platform? To me, the answer is an unequivocal “yes.”

Anyway, let’s get to the giveaway. Because by now I know you’re thinking, “AT, just tell me how I can win that gift card. Papa needs a new outfit for the weekend.”

Don’t worry, I’ve got you. The way to enter is simple.

If you click on this link, it’ll take you right to my page over at FanLime. That goofy guy standing on the chair is yours truly.

On my profile you’ll see a poll, with a question that I believe you all will have an opinion on. The question is this:

If LSU were to remain undefeated, who should they play in the BCS National Championship Game?

The choices- as you may have guessed- are Alabama, Boise State, Oklahoma State and Stanford.

From there, all you’ve got to do is log-in (you can log-in through your regular Facebook account if you please), and when you make your pick, a pop-up will appear. From there you just need to give a sentence or two on why that team should play for the title. (Note: A few people have already entered, so just follow their lead.)

Once you post your response, the response with the most “likes” (similar to Facebook “likes”) gets the gift card. Meaning that the best way to win this gift card is to share the response with your friends, so that they can “like” what you had to say.

(For you folks on Twitter, the easiest avenue, might be to tweet something like “Just entered @Aaron_Torres giveaway. Click here to like my response so I can win a $50 gift card!”

It’s really that simple. Again, click on the link, log-in to the poll, answer your poll question, and get people to “like” your status. It could not be any easier. You can continue getting friends to “like” your response all the way up until next Thursday, when the poll closes.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out either here, on Twitter or by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , and I’ll be happy to respond as best I can.

Thanks for entering, and I wish you the best of luck in winning the gift card!!!