We may be in the middle of PokerStars’ World Record Week, but this weekend was where the biggest action happened. In just the span of one day, we saw the world’s biggest ever poker tournament, the biggest ever Sunday Million, the biggest ever Sunday Warm-Up, and more than $12 million in real cash tournament prizes awarded to PokersStars players.

Oh…and while we’re mentioning broken records, we should also mention that Sunday around 3:30pm ET, we saw the biggest number of people ever logged into PokerStars. As you can see in the screen capture below, the number topped out at more than 250,500 players (click on the image for a full-size version).

Perhaps the most talked about attraction all week long was PokerStars’ attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the largest ever poker tournament. The players came through–all 35,000 of them. Not only was it a win for PokerStars, it was a pretty significant win for stan34powa who topped the field of 35,000 to win the Guinness World Record tourney and $30,000.

The Guinness World Record attempt may have been the tournament with the most players, but the PokerStars Sunday Million dwarfed everything with its prize pool. The tourney pulled in a whopping 16,260 players who played for a $3,252,000 prize pool. Not only was it a monster Sunday Million, it was also one where the winner cut no deals and collected a $331,378 prize. Many congratulations go to lp_Saki Saki from Sweden. Read how he did it in the 12/28/08 Sunday Million report.

If that’s not enough broken records (and yes, I’m perfectly aware I’m starting to sound like one), the Sunday Warm-Up eclipsed its largest ever number of players this weekend. When the tournament finally settled on a total number, it looked like 5,836 playing for a $1,167,200 prize pool. Hr_Herman went into the final table with one of the smaller chip stacks but emerged with the victory and $147,067. Read all about it in the 12/28/08 Sunday Warm-Up report.

Oh, that should be enough, right? Well, it’s not. Not only was PokerStars rocking and rolling in the record-breaking department, it was also celebrating the last Sunday of the month (and year). That meant it was time for the PokerStars Turbo Takedown and the Battle of the Planets Triple Shootout. Turbo Takedown honors (and $100,000) went to perky246 (read the full report HERE). In the Battle of the Planets showdown, el cuCut ran the table and came out with the victory (full report HERE).

You think that’s it? Well, it’s not.

This weekend also marked the time when the members of Team PokerStars Pro would face off against each other and determine the team’s captain. Who won? After a tough heads-up battle with Daniel Negreanu, Victor Ramdin walked away with the win. We provided full coverage of the match. You can see the whole live blog HERE or read the Team PokerStars Pro Championship match wrap-up.

You think that’s all? Well, that’s all we have room for here, but there were still tons of other major tournaments on Sunday. For a full breakdown of winners from the big weekend, visit the (12-28-08) PokerStars Sunday Tournament Results page.

Congratulations to PokerStars for its record-breaking weekend. Moreover, congratulations to all the players who raked in the big cash.

It’s a win and they’re in scenario for the Miami Dolphins going into the final week of the NFL regular season and it looks like middle linebacker Channing Crowder will see action.

“I’ll play this week,” Crowder told the Associated Press on Friday.

“I’ll be out there. I feel 100 percent today.”

Miami is listed as 2.5-point underdog in a road game against the New York Jets and a victory will give them the AFC East title.

North Carolina is better known for college hoops but it will be the Tar Heels’ football team that takes center stage on Saturday as they battle West Virginia in the Meineke Car Care Bowl with NC listed at +2 and the Total at 45.5.

The last time the two met was back in 1997 with the Tar Heels scoring an SU and ATS win (-6) in a 20-13 victory.

The Los Angeles Lakers have the best record in the NBA’s Western Conference (21-5) but they’ve been most unprofitable the last nine games failing to pay out at 0-9 ATS.

The Lakers have an opportunity to grab an ATS victory as they play the Memphis Grizzlies listed at -11.5 but haven’t done well in Tennessee lately.

Kobe and company are 3-6 SU and ATS in the last nine games in Memphis.

Another week, another loss for Detroit. Unlike other recent contests, this one fell apart early and the Lions never smelled the faint hint of potential victory. New Orleans screamed to a 28-7 first half lead and piled on to end it 42-7. The Saints had four rushing TDs in the first half by four different guys (none of them named Reggie Bush [R.I.P], of course).

In just seven days, the Lions can put this atrocity exhibition behind them. There seems to be some hope the franchise can hire away Scott Pioli from New England, and that’d be an instant coup. Really, no greater attention will be paid to the team than its GM hire. Two first-round picks, an assumed play for a franchise QB, a likely coaching hire — that all comes from whoever takes over Matt Millen’s old office. I don’t need to tell you the decision is vital to the Lions’ recovery.

Of course, there’s a shot Detroit beats a Packers team playing for little next week. As cheeky as it sounds, there’s a huge difference between 1-15 and 0-16. A tornado will rip through Ford Field either way, but at least 1-15 makes religion seem sensible. Today’s final score indicates the players don’t care any more, but hold out hope there’s a stand left in them.