Durant and Olympic Updates

• Kevin Durant extended his streak to 29 games of 25 or more points last night with a 36 point, 8 rebound effort in a loss to the Phoenix Suns. The streak is now the longest since Michael Jordan had 40 consecutive games back in 1986-87. What’s more impressive, however, is that was the young Thunder’s first loss in 10 games, and they are 20-9 overall during the streak. Not only is “Durantula” putting up massive points, he is leading his team to victories. The Thunder sit 33-22 overall and are only two games out of a top-4 seed out West and having home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The MVP is probably LeBron’s in a foregone conclusion but Durant, who now leads the NBA in scoring, just might make it a little tougher on voters if he keeps this up.

• Everyone saw or heard about the United States’ 5-3 victory over Canada Sunday night, leaving the entire country of Canada in shock. The game was relatively meaningless in the overall scheme of the Olympic Competition, but set up an unbelievable quarterfinal match-up tonight of Russia vs. Canada. It is unbelievable because these were the two favorites heading into the Games and now one of them will not medal. My prediction is that Sidney Crosby comes up big once again and leads his team to victory tonight.

• The U.S. will take on Switzerland in what looks like an easy victory for the States. The puck actually drops just a bit later today and the U.S. better be sure to not overlook a dangerous Swiss team. One poor performance and Team U.S. will be left packing their bags in this tournament.

• The United States holds a tight lead in the overall medal count with 26 medals, including 7 Golds. Germany is right on their heels with 23 overall medals and the same 7 Golds. The United States has not won the Winter Olympics medal count in 78 years, going back to 1932. With 81 medals still up for grabs, the final medal count should come right down to the wire making every medal that much more important.

Couple of housecleaning notes:

• I am putting the finishing touches on my first thoughts on your 2010 Buccos. Look out for that piece at some point tomorrow. Let’s just say that I am predicting a historical season for the home team.

• I received a few emails asking when my 2010 offseason plan for the Steelers would be coming. The NFL calendar designates March 5 as the beginning of a “new year” so let us stay in line with the NFL, the king in our sports world, and set that day for the release of my 2010 offseason plan. In the meantime, I would like to see the Steelers start by placing the franchise tag on Casey Hampton.