These Athletes Will Dominate The Headlines In 2012

As we get ready to flip the calendar to 2012, some of the biggest questions in sports remain unanswered. And a whole new crop of stories will dominate the headlines.

And while the Jerry Sandusky, Bernie Fine, and Bill Conlin stories are not going away anytime soon, we can be grateful for the stories on the fields, on the courts, and on the tracks.

On the next few pages, we will take a look at the biggest stories that we are sure to be talking about over the next twelve months.

Will L.A. still be a Lakers town?

Now that Chris Paul is with the Clippers, Lamar Odom is in Kardashian-land, and Kobe Bryant is getting the Tiger-treatment, the Clippers are the hottest team in Los Angeles. But will it last? Ever since the Staples Center opened in 1999, Lakers games were the place to see and be seen. And most of those people don't even know where the Clippers play (they also play in the Staples Center). The ultimate test will be if Jack Nicholson is wearing red and blue in May.

Can Aaron Rodgers win a second Super Bowl and cure Green Bay of Brett Favre?

For all the great things Brett Favre did in Green Bay, he only won a single Super Bowl in his 16 seasons with the Pack. If the Packers can win their second straight, Aaron Rodgers will have two Super Bowl wins in just his fourth season as a starter. And if the Packers win just one of their final two games, they will set a franchise record with 14 wins.

Will NBC Sports become a legitimate rival to ESPN?

On January 2nd, Versus will be re-branded as NBC Sports with their coverage of the NHL's Winter Classic. And with the NHL and a large chunk of the Summer Olympics, the network will instantaneously become the first serious threat to the Worldwide Leader's Worldwide Lead. But will NBC Sports have enough original content to make ESPN nervous? You can make a case that it is only a question of how long it will take.

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