Welcome one and all to another episode of Inside Sports with the General, where I run the sports. This week was definitely one of the more interesting weeks in sports, so where do I begin?

First stop in this week in sports is the Super Bowl in Indianapolis. The Patriots, led by quarterback Tom Brady, up against the New York Giants, led by Eli Manning. This game was definitely a game that went down to the wire, but in the end, Eli Manning proved to be the man again in the fourth quarter. Down in the fourth quarter, Eli hit a huge pass in to wide receiver Mario Manningham and that led to a touchdown by running back Ahmad Bradshaw with 57 seconds left. Brady couldn’t get it done to close out the game and Eli, once again, beat Brady and the Patriots in the big game.

After this game, everyone began to talk about how great Eli is and how he is better than his brother. The truth is that Eli has moved into the elite status, but he is not more talented than his brother. Eli, on his best day, is not as talented as Peyton Manning, but what he does better than Peyton is come through in the clutch. I was once an Eli hater but now I can say that this guy is for real and has got it done for this Giants team. Congratulations go out to the New York Giants and their fans! And now sadness falls on all NFL fans as the season is now over.

Speaking of sadness, what has happened to the University of Connecticut basketball team this year? The Roots album Things Fall Apart seems to fit this team to a tee. When the season began, all felt that sophomore guard Jeremy Lamb would step into the leadership role and be the focal point of this team. Instead of that happening, Lamb has shied away from the leadership role and seemed to disappear now that the attention is on him. This was very evident in UCONN’s latest loss, a 80-59 beatdown at the hands of a down Louisville team.

UCONN has now lost 5 of 6 and the defending National Champions are in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament and heading to the NIT. And to compound all of the bad luck that has hit this team, their head coach, Jim Calhoun, is now bedridden with spinal stenosis and may have to have surgery and miss the rest of the season. If UCONN is to make the tournament, some leaders must emerge and quickly. Who would have thought that a UCONN team would not be tough? This one sure isn’t.

Houston power forward Luis Scola has been a tough guy in the paint for the Rockets. This week, he showed how tough he was when he took a stomp from the foot of Minnesotapower forward Kevin Love. And for those that are wondering, the stomp was intentional. Love stomped Scola in his chest and head because he was frustrated with not getting a foul call on the other end.

For his actions, Kevin Love has been suspended by the NBA for two games. To his credit, he did go apologize to Scola after the game but am I the only one who is miffed that he was only suspended for two games? If a player even swings and misses in the NBA in a game, he gets suspended one game, so how does a two game suspension fit the crime? I think this suspension is a joke. If they really wanted to send a message, they would have suspended him for at least 10 games. He could have seriously injured that man. But I guess that a player’s safety doesn’t mean that much these days.

Who knows who Nerlens Noel is? For those that don’t know, he is the next big thing to come on the college scene next year. Noel was supposed to be in the Class of 2013, but he has now reclassified and put himself in position to be in the Class of 2012. He has college programs drooling because of his size and ability. And this big man is so good that people are saying that he will be the best big man coming out in this year’s class. Noel is the second high school player that has reclassified and left for college earlier than expected, joining UCONN’s Andre Drummond. Look for this to start being a trend going forward, as more and more kids are trying to get to their NBA dreams quicker and quicker.

I want to end this week’s segment with sending my condolences out to Knicks power forward Amar’e Stoudemire. The superstar forward of the Knicks recently lost his older brother, Hazell, in a car accident inFlorida. Hazell was apparently driving at a high rate of speed in his sports utility vehicle, when he collided with the back of a tractor trailer.

Stoudemire has left the Knicks to be with his family at this time and there is no timetable on his return. I love to talk about sports, but family comes first. Amar’e, my thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family.

Thanks again to everyone for reading this week. If you have any sports questions or need some sports information, feel free to hit me up on Twitter (@General_MP).

Previously: Inside Sports With The General: The Hall Of Fame Snub