Extracurriculars

Yes, it was a short pass that a speedy Demaryius Thomas turned into victory. Yes, the Pittsburgh secondary was curiously out of position, with no one deep to prevent an overtime touchdown.

But Tim Tebow got the ball to Thomas at the end of another classic Denver Broncos victory that he triggered with a strong start, and the National Football League’s most compelling story just got more compelling.

It’s a no-brainer for this blog’s Sports Moment of the Weekend.

And even Lady Gaga was impressed, Tweeting in such a way that would make the devout Tebow blush:

“Giants fan but wow. #Tebow Thats what the fuck a champion looks like.”

Rendering most of the volumes of words penned by others rather useless.

An exception, from a Canadian columnist: “Tim Tebow is the best thing to happen to sports fans in a long, long, time.”

Unless you’re a Steelers fan this morning.

Hands down, the absolute best sports moment of the weekend:

(video h/t to Awful Announcing; the audio is the Indiana radio crew led by Bob Fischer)

This is why I’ve always thought that if I ever live abroad, I’d miss college basketball the most. (Then there is the the ugly brawl at the end of Saturday’s Xavier-Cincinnati game.)

With all the miserable headlines about child sex abuse scandals, outrageous free agent contracts, a dubious nixing of a major NBA trade and everything else that’s been plaguing the world of sports lately, this is a joyful reminder of what drew us to this craziness in the first place.

Great reads from Bloomington by Dana O’Neil, Pat Forde, Bob Kravitz and John Clay.

As for the best ongoing sports story right now, at least in North America, the Tim Tebow phenomenon is getting more unbelievable every week.

Surely this has got to come to an end, right?

• I wrote on Blue Star Basketball today about my friend Mel Greenberg, the creator of the first women’s basketball poll, who has retired from the Philadelphia Inquirer after more than 40 years. He’s not leaving the sport, not by a long shot, I’m happy to say.

• I have no strong feelings either for or against Tim Tebow, whether it’s as a football player or a committed Christian, and I don’t think I know any more than anyone what kind of career he’s going to have in the NFL. But Vanity Fair refers to his late first-round drafting this way, and this little shot does go beyond the pale:

“Noted anti-abortionist Tim Tebow was picked by the Denver Broncos as their potential clipboard-toting third-string quarterback.”

• The NCAA men’s tournament field will expand by only three teams to 68 in all — and not the 96 that had been feared by most of the national sports media, in a $10.8 billion, 14-year extension of the current deal with CBS, which is adding Turner as a cable and digital platform partner.

The math is curious to one skeptical college basketball observer, who notes that ESPN’s failed bid is reportedly more than what was settled. Questions not asked in other reporting I’ve seen: Why did the ultimate number fall below that? Was this more about which media conglomerate bid more? Will any of this be fleshed out?