The Sports World According to Adam Ragle

Week 13 Power Rankings....

2009-12-03T06:49:00.003-05:00

1. New Orleans Saints (11-0) (lw #1)
2. Indianapolis Colts (11-0) (lw #2)
3. Minnesota Vikings (10-1) (lw #3)
4. San Diego Chargers (8-3) (lw #5)
5. Dallas Cowboys (8-3) (lw #7)
6. Cincinnati Bengals (8-3) (lw #8)
7. New England Patriots (7-4) (lw #4)
8. Philadelphia Eagles (7-4) (lw #10)
9. Arizona Cardinals (7-4) (lw #6)
10. Green Bay Packers (7-4) (lw #10)
11. Denver Broncos (7-4) (lw #15)
12. Jacksonville Jaguars (6-5) (lw #9)
13. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5) (lw #11)
14. Baltimore Ravens (6-5) (lw #17)
15. New York Giants (6-5) (lw #13)
16. Atlanta Falcons (6-5) (lw #18)
17. Tennessee Titans (5-6) (lw #20)
18. San Francisco 49ers (5-6) (lw #19)
19. Miami Dolphins (5-6) (lw #14)
20. Houston Texans (5-6) (lw #16)
21. New York Jets (5-6) (lw #22)
22. Buffalo Bills (4-7) (lw #26)
23. Carolina Panthers (4-7) (lw #21)
24. Chicago Bears (4-7) (lw #23)
25. Seattle Seahawks (4-7) (lw #24)
26. Washington Redskins (3-8) (lw #26)
27. Kansas City Chiefs (3-8) (lw #270
28. Oakland Raiders (3-8) (lw #28)
29. Detroit Lions (2-9) (lw #29)
30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-10) (lw #30)
31. St. Louis Rams (1-10) (lw #31)
32. Cleveland Browns (1-10) (lw #32)

NFL Pick ems Week 12....

2009-11-27T07:49:00.002-05:00

Green Bay Packers @ Detroit Lions
Oakland Raiders @ Dallas Cowboys
New York Giants @ Denver Broncos
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Atlanta Falcons
Miami Dolphins @ Buffalo Bills
Cleveland Browns @ Cincinnati Bengals
Seattle Seahawks @ St. Louis Rams
Carolina Panthers @ New York Jets
Washington Redskins @ Philadelphia Eagles
Indianapolis Colts @ Houston Texans
Kansas City Chiefs @ San Diego Chargers
Jacksonville Jaguars @ San Francisco 49ers
Arizona Cardinals @ Tennessee Titans
Chicago Bears @ Minnesota Vikings
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Baltimore Ravens
New England Patriots @ New Orleans Saints

NFL Power Rankings Week 12...

2009-11-27T07:38:00.002-05:00

1. New Orleans Saints (10-0) (lw #1)
2. Indianapolis Colts (10-0) (lw #2)
3. Minnesota Vikings (9-1) (lw #3)
4. New England Patriots (7-3) (lw #5)
5. San Diego Chargers (7-3) (lw #7)
6. Arizona Cardinals (7-3) (lw #8)
7. Dallas Cowboys (7-3) (lw #9)
8. Cincinnati Bengals (7-3) (lw #4)
9. Jacksonville Jaguars (6-4) (lw #13)
10. Philadelphia Eagles (6-4) (lw #14)
11. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-4) (lw #6)
12. Green Bay Packers (6-4) (lw #15)
13. New York Giants (6-4) (lw #16)
14. Miami Dolphins (5-5) (lw #18)
15. Denver Broncos (6-4) (lw #10)
16. Houston Texans (5-5) (lw #11)
17. Baltimore Ravens (5-5) (lw #12)
18. Atlanta Falcons (5-5) (lw #17)
19. San Francisco 49ers (4-6) (lw #19)
20. Tennessee Titans (4-6) (lw #23)
21. Carolina Panthers (4-6) (lw #20)
22. New York Jets (4-6) (lw #21)
23. Chicago Bears (4-6) (lw #22)
24. Seattle Seahawks (3-7) (lw #24)
25. Washington Redskins (3-7) (lw #25)
26. Buffalo Bills (3-7) (lw #26)
27. Kansas City Chiefs (3-7) (lw #27)
28. Oakland Raiders (3-7) (lw #28)
29. Detroit Lions (2-8) (lw #31)
30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-9) (lw #29)
31. St. Louis Rams (1-9) (lw #30)
32. Cleveland Browns (1-9) (lw #32)

Week 11 NFL Pick ems...

2009-11-22T09:04:00.004-05:00

Well I rebounded from my abysmal week to finish at 11-4. This is the first time I have had double digits with the correct picks in six weeks. I am 50 games above .500 and am only six correct picks away from reaching 100 on the year. With last weeks record it brings my overall record to 94-54.

Miami Dolphins @ Carolina Panthers
Washington Redskins @ Dallas Cowboys
Cleveland Browns @ Detroit Lions
San Francisco 49ers @ Green Bay Packers
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Kansas City Chiefs
Seattle Seahawks @ Minnesota Vikings
Atlanta Falcons @ New York Giants
New Orleans Saints @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Buffalo Bills @ Jacksonville Jaguars
Indianapolis Colts @ Baltimore Ravens
Arizona Cardinals @ St. Louis Rams
San Diego Chargers @ Denver Broncos
Cincinnati Bengals @ Oakland Raiders
New York Jets @ New England Patriots
Philadelphia Eagles @ Chicago Bears
Tennessee Titans @ Houston Texans

NFL Week 11 Power Rankings...

2009-11-22T08:46:00.003-05:00

1. New Orleans Saints (9-0) (lw #1)
2. Indianapolis Colts (9-0) (lw #2)
3. Minnesota Vikings (8-1) (lw #3)
4. Cincinnati Bengals (7-2) (lw #5)
5. New England Patriots (6-3) (lw #4)
6. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-3) (lw #6
7. San Diego Chargers (6-3) (lw #9)
8. Arizona Cardinals (6-3) (lw #10)
9. Dallas Cowboys (6-3) (lw #7)
10. Denver Broncos (6-3) (lw #8)
11. Houston Texans (5-4) (lw #13)
12. Baltimore Ravens (5-4) (lw #14)
13. Jacksonville Jaguars (5-4) (lw #16)
14. Philadelphia Eagles (5-4) (lw #12)
15. Green Bay Packers (5-4) (lw #17)
16. New York Giants (5-4) (lw #15)
17. Atlanta Falcons (5-4) (lw #11)
18. Miami Dolphins (4-5) (lw #19)
19. San Francisco 49ers (4-5) (lw #21)
20. Carolina Panthers (4-5) (lw #23)
21. New York Jets (4-5) (lw #20)
22. Chicago Bears (4-5) (lw #18)
23. Tennessee Titans (3-6) (lw #25)
24. Seattle Seahawks (3-6) (lw # 22)
25. Washington Redskins (3-6) (lw #27)
26. Buffalo Bills (3-6) (lw #24)
27. Kansas City Chiefs (2-7) (lw #29)
28. Oakland Raiders (2-7) (lw # 26)
29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-8) (lw #28)
30. St. Louis Rams (1-8) (lw #30)
31. Detroit Lions (1-8) (lw #32)
32. Cleveland Browns (1-8) (lw #31)

Week 10 NFL Pick ems...

2009-11-15T01:16:00.003-05:00

Last week was terrible I went 7-6 but who would have guessed that the Cowboys would beat the Eagles in Philly, or that the Buccaneers would realize that they play in the NFL. Here are the week's picks... I picked the 49ers on the air(The Odd Couple on Fox Sports Radio 1230 WCWA) on Thursday so don't think that I'm cheating...

Chicago Bears @ San Francisco 49ers
Buffalo Bills @ Tennessee Titans
New Orleans Saints @ St. Louis Rams
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Miami Dolphins
Detroit Lions @ Minnesota Vikings
Jacksonville Jaguars @ New York Jets
Cincinnati Bengals @ Pittsburgh Steelers
Denver Broncos @ Washington Redskins
Atlanta Falcons @ Carolina Panthers
Kansas City Chiefs @ Oakland Raiders
Dallas Cowboys @ Green Bay Packers
Seattle Seahawks @ Arizona Cardinals
Philadelphia Eagles @ San Diego Chargers
New England Patriots @ Indianapolis Colts
Baltimore Ravens @ Cleveland Browns

NFL Power Rankings Week 10...

2009-11-15T01:04:00.003-05:00

1. New Orleans Saints (8-0) (lw #1)
2. Indianapolis Colts (8-0) (lw #2)
3. Minnesota Vikings (7-1) (lw #3)
4. New England Patriots (6-2) (lw #5)
5. Cincinnati Bengals (6-2) (lw #6)
6. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2) (lw #7)
7. Dallas Cowboys (6-2) (lw #9)
8. Denver Broncos (6-2) (lw #4)
9. San Diego Chargers (5-3) (lw #13)
10. Arizona Cardinals (5-3) (lw #14)
11. Atlanta Falcons (5-3) (lw #15)
12. Philadelphia Eagles (5-3) (lw #8)
13. Houston Texans (5-4) (lw #10)
14. Baltimore Ravens (4-4) (lw #12)
15. New York Giants (5-4) (lw #11)
16. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-4) (lw #22)
17. Green Bay Packers (4-4) (lw #16)
18. Chicago Bears (4-4) (lw #17)
19. Miami Dolphins (3-5) (lw #18)
20. New York Jets (4-4) (lw #20)
21. San Francisco 49ers (3-5) (lw #19)
22. Seattle Seahawks (3-5) (lw #24)
23. Carolina Panthers (3-5) (lw #21)
24. Buffalo Bills (3-5) (lw #23)
25. Tennessee Titans (2-6) (lw #28)
26. Oakland Raiders (2-6) (lw #25)
27. Washington Redskins (2-6) (lw #27)
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-7) (lw #32)
29. Kansas City Chiefs (1-7) (lw #26)
30. St. Louis Rams (1-7) (lw #29)
31. Cleveland Browns (1-7) (lw #30)
32. Detroit Lions (1-7) (lw #31)

Replay overturns game winning shot, Bulls lose 90-89...

2009-11-11T08:35:00.002-05:00

The Chicago Bulls(4-3) had an all around productive night and they even had the win for about five minutes but after further review the official determined the last second shot was not released before the buzzer sounded and the Denver Nuggets(6-2) took away a victory from the Bulls 90-89.

Carmelo Anthony put up 20 points for the Nuggets and he traded baskets at the end of the game with Derrick Rose, who lead all scorers with 22 points, but it was Chauncey Billups who scored the last point for Denver hitting the first of his two free throws before purposefully missing the second. Chicago would get the rebound and call a timeout to set up their last play.

Brad Miller took the ball off of the inbounds pass and chucked up a shot as time expired and it was good just not in time though. The Bulls received great effort from everyone else;Luol Deng finished with 21 points six rebounds and five assists, Joakim Noah had a monster game with 12 points and 21 rebounds, John Salmons contributed 11 points five rebounds and five assists, and rookie Taj Gibson chipped in 10 points and six rebounds.

The loss drops the Bulls into a tie for first place with the Cavs but right now the Bulls own the tie breaker with a victory over Cleveland last week. I'm pretty impressed with what I have seen from this team they don't really have a lot of fire power on a consistent basis but all the players know their role and have the ability to pop off 20+ points on any given night. This team should have staying power barring any injuries but I doubt they have enough to honestly compete against the Bostons or Orlandos in the East.

GO BULLS!

Penguins continue to struggle losing 3-0 to Boston...

2009-11-11T08:09:00.002-05:00

Without two of their best players, Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar, the Pittsburgh Penguins(12-6-0) continue to struggle being shut out for the second consecutive game 3-0 by the Boston Bruins(8-7-2). Sidney Crosby was shut out for the fifth consecutive game and after starting 7-0 on the road the Pens have dropped three straight.

This game started off slow for both teams but then the Bruins scored first on a weird fluky goal that was reviewed by the official after being ruled no goal but was overturned giving Matt Hunwik his fourth goal of the season and a 1-0 lead for Boston. The Bruins would increase their lead in the third period with two more goals to give them the 3-0 victory. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 26 of 28 shots but he did give up another fluke of a goal which has become common place for him during his short career. The Penguins are really missing Malkin and Gonchar but the Gonchar injury I think is bigger because he is their top defender, their point man on the power play, and the experience that he brings to the ice can't be replaced. I expected a let down of sorts after their hot start but I never imagined them to be this bad losing four of their last five games. They are still in first place in the Atlantic division and one would think that when healthy this team will be back in the mix and winning games.

GO PENGUINS!

Steelers shut down Broncos 28-10....

2009-11-11T06:48:00.003-05:00

Coming off a bye week in a hostile environment and being short handed didn't stop the Pittsburgh Steelers(6-2) from another dominating performance on Monday Night Football as they easily handled the Denver Broncos(6-2) 28-10.

The Broncos got the ball first and drove the field but they only came away with three points for an early 3-0 lead. The Steelers couldn't really find a flow on offense and had to punt the ball away. both teams traded empty drives until they got into the second quarter where the Steel curtain showed up once again.

The Denver Broncos got the ball to start the second quarter and they picked up a first down but after that the Steelers used pressure to force Kyle Orton to throw an errant pass that was picked off by Ryan Clark's replacement Tyrone Carter and was returned 48 yards for a touchdown and the only touchdown of the entire first half. The Steelers only ran 18 offensive plays in the half.

To start the second half Pittsburgh looked poised to extend their lead after driving down the field to the Denver 33 yard line but then the Broncos defense took control. On first and ten Ben Roethlisberger dropped back to pass and was sacked and fumbled the ball which was returned 54 yards for a touchdown by Robert Ayers for a 10-7 lead.

But the Steelers would respond like champions do and drive right back down the field for a score. The Steelers offense would hit pay dirt with big plays including an 18 yards completion to Mike Wallace, a 24 yard scamper by Rashard Mendenhall(22 carries for 155 yards), a 35 yard completion to Santonio Holmes(6 catches for 93 yards), and the drive was capped off with a three yard touchdown catch over the middle by the always reliable Hines Ward. The Pittsburgh defense would stop the Broncos once again and the offense looked poised to once again extend their lead but Big Ben threw an interception that was to the Pittsburgh 21 yard line. The defense would hold once again stopping Denver after they picked up one first down.

In the fourth quarter the Steelers would grab a strangle hold on the game scoring 14 points and putting the game away. Troy Polamalu intercepted Orton setting the Steelers up with excellent field position and the offense would pounce all over the opportunity. On the third play after the turnover Roethlisberger(21 of 29 for 233 yards and 3 touchdowns) scrambled and found Wallace(4 catches for 69 yards and 1TD) open in the end zone for a 25 yard scoring strike and a 21-10 lead. The Steelers would tack on an insurance score when Big Ben found Ward(7 receptions for 44 yards and 2TD) once again for a three yard touchdown and a 28-10 lead. Carter would intercept Orton for the second time in the game sealing the victory for the Steelers.

The offense is clicking right now and the defense is dominate once again but they will really need to continue that with Cincinnati rolling into town this weekend. The Steelers are coming off of a short week after leaving the high altitude of Denver so that will be something to watch but Coach Tomlin will have his guys prepared.

GO STEELERS!

Week 9 NFL Pick ems...

2009-11-08T07:55:00.002-05:00

Washington Redskins @ Atlanta Falcons
Arizona Cardinals @ Chicago Bears
Baltimore Ravens @ Cincinnati Bengals
Houston Texans @ Indianapolis Colts
Miami Dolphins @ New England Patriots
Green Bay Packers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Kansas City Chiefs @ Jacksonville Jaguars
Detroit Lions @ Seattle Seahawks
Carolina Panthers @ New Orleans Saints
San Diego Chargers @ New York Giants
Tennessee Titans @ San Francisco 49ers
Dallas Cowboys @ Philadelphia Eagles
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Denver Broncos

NFL Power Rankings Week 9...

2009-11-08T07:22:00.002-05:00

1. New Orleans Saints (7-0) (lw #1)
2. Indianapolis Colts (7-0) (lw #2)
3. Minnesota Vikings (7-1) (lw #4)
4. Denver Broncos (6-1) (lw #3)
5. New England Patriots (5-2) (lw #5)
6. Cincinnati Bengals (5-2) (lw #6)
7. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2) (lw #7)
8. Philadelphia Eagles (5-2) (lw #10)
9. Dallas Cowboys (5-2) (lw #12)
10. Houston Texans (5-3) (lw #15)
11. New York Giants (5-3) (lw #9)
12. Baltimore Ravens (4-3) (lw #17)
13. San Diego Chargers (4-3) (lw #14)
14. Arizona Cardinals (4-3) (lw #8)
15. Atlanta Falcons (4-3) (lw #13)
16. Green Bay Packers (4-3) (lw #11)
17. Chicago Bears (4-3) (lw #19)
18. Miami Dolphins (3-4) (lw #22)
19. San Francisco 49ers (3-4) (lw #18)
20. New York Jets (4-4) (lw #16)
21. Carolina Panthers (3-4) (lw #24)
22. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-4) (lw #20)
23. Buffalo Bills (3-5) (lw #21)
24. Seattle Seahawks (2-5) (lw #23)
25. Oakland Raiders (2-6) (lw #25)
26. Kansas City Chiefs (1-6) (lw #26)
27. Washington Redskins (2-5) (lw #28)
28. Tennessee Titans (1-6) (lw #31)
29. St. Louis Rams (1-7) (lw #32)
30. Cleveland Browns (1-7) (lw #29)
31. Detroit Lions (1-6) (lw #27)
32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-7) (lw #30)

Short handed Pistons hand Magic first loss of the season....

2009-11-04T09:02:00.002-05:00

Off season free agent pick up Ben Gordon lead the short handed Detroit Pistons(2-2) to a 85-80 victory over the defending Eastern Conference champions the Orlando Magic(3-1). Gordon scored 23 points, while filling in for the injured Rip Hamilton and the Pistons were without Teyshaun Prince for the first time in six years, and fellow back court mates Will Bynum and Rodney Stuckey combined for an additional 40 points(20 a piece) as the Pistons out quicked the Magic. Dwight Howard was pretty much nonexistent scoring 8 points and grabbing 5 rebounds before fouling out after only 17 minutes of action. Vince Carter and J.J. Reddick scored 15 and 14 points respectively but the team got little help from the rest of the team. Pistons free agent Charlie Villanueva finished with 12 points and 8 rebounds. Prince was held out of the game for the first time in 496 games due to a back injury that is expected to keep him out for at least a few more games.

Saints remain undefeated with a 35-27 win over the Falcons....

2009-11-03T08:41:00.003-05:00

Drew Brees tossed two touchdowns and the running game on got track as the New Orleans Saints out scored the Atlanta Falcons 35-27 to remain unbeaten on the season.

The Falcons got on the board when Michael Turner(20 carries for 151 yards and 1TD) got the hand off and took the ball in from 13-yards out and a 7-0 score. But Pierre Thomas was not going to be out shined on his home field so he ripped off a 22-yard touchdown of his own to tie the game at 7. The Falcons defense would annihilate Drew Brees causing him to fumble the ball and the defense scooped it up and took it into the end zone for a 14-7 lead.

In the second quarter it was all New Orleans as Drew Brees(25 of 33 for 308 yards and 2 touchdowns and 1 int) would connect with Marques Colston(6 catches 85 yards and 1 TD) for an 18-yard touchdown on a beautiful throw in the back of the end zone where Colston had to go up and get it to even the score at 14. Then there was a Reggie Bush sighting as he ran into the end zone from one yard out for a 21-14 lead. The Saints defense would get in on the scoring too when Jabari Greer picked off Matt Ryan and returned it 48-yards for a touchdown and just like that the Saints scored 21 unanswered points for a 28-14 lead heading into the half.

In the third quarter Ryan(19 of 42 for 289 yards 1 TD and 3 ints) would hit pay dirt with a nice throw and even better catch by Roddy White for a 68-yard touchdown. On the play White made an over the shoulder catch that was reminiscent of Willie Mays. The Falcons made the score 28-21. White finished the game with 4 catches for 108 yards and the touchdown.

In the fourth quarter the Falcons would only be able to muster up two field goals that sandwiched a 1-yard Pierre Thomas(14 carries for 91 yards 1 rushing touchdown and one receiving touchdown) touchdown run giving the Saints a 35-27 victory.

The Saints are looking to be the real deal this year with a much improved defense and a running game to back up Drew Brees. The sky is the limit for this team and only they can stop themselves. I hoping for a Black and Gold Super Bowl baby! Go Steelers!

Phillies hold off Yankees for 8-6 win....

2009-11-03T08:16:00.003-05:00

The Philadelphia Phillies still have some fight left in them as they were able to hold off the New York Yankees for an 8-6 victory forcing the series back to the big apple for game 6. The Yankees struck first when ARoid Alex Rodriguez doubled in the top of the first bringing home Johnny Damon. But Chase Utley quickly evened the score hitting a three run homer to put the Phils up 3-1. The Phils would score three more runs in the bottom of the third to extend their lead to 6-1. The Yanks would score a run in the fifth inning to inch closer but in the seventh inning Utley would hit his second homer of the game and that was followed up by Raul Ibanez hitting his own solo homer to make the score 8-2. In the eighth the Yanks would mount an attempt at a come back with ARoid continuing his clutch performance hitting a two run double that brought in Damon and Mark Teixeira. Then Robinson Cano hit a sac-fly that scored ARoid making the score 8-5. In the ninth Derek Jeter grounded into a double play but Jorge Posada was able to score making the score 8-6. Ryan Madson would eventually strike out Teixeira to complete the save opportunity and extend the series for at least one more game.

I think the Phils are done because I don't see them winning twice in New York but you never know. The Yanks have Andy Pettite pitching on three days rest which isn't a good situation for him at his age and if it makes it to a seventh game then Sabathia would be pitching his third game of the series which also isn't very good for them since he hasn't had time to properly rest his arm. I like how Charlie Manuel has handled his pitching staff in that he's not trying to make them do to much unlike Joe Girardi who may be over using his staff but at the same you do need to put your best players out there. I think the Yankees will win it seven games.

Yankees lead the World Series 3-2

NFL Power Rankings....

2009-11-01T11:40:00.000-05:00

1. New Orleans Saints (6-0) (lw #1)
2. Indianapolis Colts (6-0) (lw #4)
3. Denver Broncos (6-0) (lw #3)
4. Minnesota Vikings (6-1) (lw #2)
5. New England Patriots (5-2) (lw #7)
6. Cincinnati Bengals (5-2) (lw #8)
7. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2) (lw #9)
8. Arizona Cardinals (4-2) (lw #10)
9. New York Giants (5-2) (lw #6)
10. Philadelphia Eagles (4-2) (lw #12)
11. Green Bay Packers (4-2) (lw #14)
12. Dallas Cowboys (4-2) (lw #15)
13. Atlanta Falcons (4-2) (lw #5)
14. San Diego Chargers (3-3) (lw #17)
15. Houston Texans (4-3) (lw #20)
16. New York Jets (4-3) (lw #21)
17. Baltimore Ravens (3-3) (lw #16)
18. San Francisco 49ers (3-3) (lw #13)
19.Chicago Bears (3-3) (lw #11)
20. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-3) (lw #19)
21. Buffalo Bills (3-4) (lw #24)
22. Miami Dolphins (2-4) (lw #18)
23. Seattle Seahawks ( 2-4) (lw #23)
24. Carolina Panthers (2-4) (lw #22)
25. Oakland Raiders (2-5) (lw #25)
26. Kansas City Chiefs (1-6) (lw #26)
27. Detroit Lions (1-5) (lw #28)
28. Washington Redskins (2-5) (lw #29)
29. Cleveland Browns (1-6) (lw #27)
30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-7) (lw #30)
31. Tennessee Titans (0-6) (lw #31)
32. St. Louis Rams (0-6) (lw #32)

NFL Pick ems Week 8...

2009-11-01T09:03:00.002-05:00

Houston Texans @ Buffalo Bills
Cleveland Browns @ Chicago Bears
Seattle Seahawks @ Dallas Cowboys
St. Louis Rams @ Detroit Lions
San Francisco 49ers @ Indianapolis Colts
Miami Dolphins @ New York Jets
New York Giants @ Philadelphia Eagles
Denver Broncos @ Baltimore Ravens
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Tennessee Titans
Oakland Raiders @ San Diego Chargers
Carolina Panthers @ Arizona Cardinals
Minnesota Vikings @ Green Bay Packers
Atlanta Falcons @ New Orleans Saints

Wings end 3-game slide with a 5-4 victory over Vancouver....

2009-10-28T08:26:00.002-04:00

Pavel Datsyuk finally showed up for the Detroit Red Wings(4-4-2) scoring two goals in a wild third period that saw the Wings come from behind to pick up their first road victory of the season with a 5-4 victory over the Vancouver Canucks(6-6-0).

The Canucks jumped out to a quick 2-0 start off of goals by Henrik Sedin and Ryan Kesler. Tomas Holmstrom would put the Wings on the board with a goal in the first period to make the score 2-1.

The Wings would be shut out by Roberto Luongo(37 saves) in the second period but they found away around him in the third period. Niklas Cronwell would tie things up for the Wings with a goal less than four minutes into the final period making it 2-2. The Canucks would pick up a power play goal to regain the lead when Mathieu Schneider put the puck past Jimmy Howard, who replaced Chris Osgood after only four shots. Then Pavel Datsyuk scored his first goal of the season that evened things up once again at 3-3. Datsyuk would score again about three minutes later to put the Wings ahead for the first time at 4-3. Sedin would score his second goal of the game to tie things back up. The Wings would go on the power play with 5:03 remaining and they would make the Canucks pay for it. Jason Williams would be the final player to score in the crazy third period that featured 6 goals including his game winner to make the score 5-4 Detroit.

Celtics spoil Shaq and Cavs home debut....

2009-10-28T08:13:00.003-04:00

The Boston Celtics ruined what was supposed to be a big night for the city of Cleveland and their Cavaliers with the debut of Shaquille O'Neal as the Cavs lost their season and home opener 95-89. The Celtics Big 3 out shined the reigning MVP Lebron James and his new sidekick combining for 52 points and 23 rebounds compared to 48 points and 14 rebounds. Boston's new addition of Rasheed Wallace also paid dividends scoring 12 points off the bench with the Celtics bench out scoring Cleveland's 26-10. Paul Pierce finished with a team high 23 points and 11 rebounds, Ray Allen ended up with 16 points and Kevin Garnett contributed a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards in his first game since hurting his knee in March. James lead all scorers 38 points to go along with 8 assists and 4 rebounds. The Big Lazy aka Shaq had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Cavs fans shouldn't be too worried because there are a lot of new faces that are trying to get used to each other so it may take a few weeks for them to get acclimated to each other. This team may start out slow but they will pick it up and they will win the Central and be a top-3 seed in the Eastern Conference, probably behind the C's and Magic.

Steelers hand Vikings first loss of the season 27-17...

2009-10-27T08:14:00.002-04:00

The Pittsburgh Steelers(5-2) defense got tired of the offense showing them up and answering questions about playing terribly in the fourth quarter so they went out and won the game for the team scoring two defensive touchdowns to hand the Minnesota Vikings(6-1) their first loss of the season 27-17.

Everyone expected a defensive battle between these two titans and that's what they got as both teams were unable to effectively move the ball throughout the first quarter but the Steelers won the game of field position and they would capitalize on it. After poor punts by Minnesota the Steelers opened up shop at the Vikings 39 yard line Pittsburgh was able to put the first points on the board off of a 39-yard Jeff Reed field goal.

The Vikings would respond though with a 13 play drive that covered 76 yards and chewed up almost five and a half minutes. Adrian Peterson(18 carries 69 yards) would cap off the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run. The Steelers would waste little time answering Minnesota's touchdown with one of their own. Ben Roethlisberger, who had his worst game statistically this season going 14 of 26 for 174 yards, found rookie Mike Wallace(3 catches 72 yards, 2 carries 19 yards) open down field for a 40-yard scoring strike just before halftime to give the Steelers a 10-7 lead.

In the third quarter both teams would exchange field goals that would make the score 13-10 heading into the fourth quarter. The vikings would have first and goal from the one yard line but the Steel Curtain held tough and shut down AP on first down. They would then force two straight incompletions forcing them to kick a field goal. In the fourth quarter Pittsburgh's defense would prove to be great once again.

The Vikings had what they thought was going to be a soul crushing drive when they covered 89 yards on 15 plays and they used up seven and a half minutes but they ultimately came up empty handed. Brett Kiesel got pressure on Favre on third and goal and forced a fumble that was recovered by Lamar Woodley 77-yards for a huge 14 points swing and a 20-10 Steelers lead. On the ensuing kickoff Pittsburgh got burnt for the second consecutive week by giving up a kickoff return for a touchdown but this one was by rookie Percy Harvin and it covered 88-yards and the Vikings narrowed the gap 20-17. The Vikings would try to mount a comeback with a quick drive that featured big plays by Sidney Rice(11 catches for 136 yards) and AP(4 receptions 60 yards) but the biggest play would once again be made by the Steelers defense. On third down the Steelers defense put pressure on Favre (34/51 for 334 yards 0 TDs, 1 int. and 1 fumble) on a screen pass and forced him to throw an errant pass intended for Chester Taylor but Keyaron Fox stepped in front of it and returned the interception 82-yards for the game sealing touchdown. The defense would sack Favre to end the game and picking up their fourth straight win 27-17.

The offense was lacking in the game but it didn't matter because they defense was playing possessed. Rashard Mendenhall had a decent day carrying the ball 10 times for 69 yards but he fumbled for the second consecutive game. With the way he carries the ball it's no wonder he has coughed the ball up more. They have a bye week this week so hopefully he gets that corrected with a ferocious Denver defense waiting for them in the mile high city.

GO STEELERS!

Yankees buy their trip to the World Series....

2009-10-26T08:17:00.004-04:00

The Los Angeles Angels jumped out to an early 1-0 lead but the New York Yankees did not panic and came right back to win 5-2 and they advance to their first World Series in six seasons. Bobby Abreu brought home the first run of the game for Angels off of a single in the third inning possibly putting doubt in the minds of the Yankees that they would face more postseason struggles. But New York did not flinch as they responded in the fourth with a three run inning. Johnny Damon hit a single that brought home Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher then ARoid Alex Rodriguez was walked which brought home Derek Jeter for a 3-1 lead. Vladamir Guerrero would narrow the margin by hitting a single that brought home Chone Figgins to make the score 3-2. A pair of errors by the Angels and a sacrifice fly ball by Mark Teixeira resulted in the Yanks getting two more runs and then Mariano Rivera closed out the Angels with the final score being 5-2. Andy Petite got the win which was a record breaker from him as he passed John Smoltz on the all-time career postseason win list with 16. C.C. Sabathia was named the ALCS MVP going 2-0 striking out 12 batters and only giving up nine hits in 16 innings of work. The Yankees host the defending World Series Champions the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday in Game 1 of the World Series.
Yankees win best of 7 series 4-2

Irish end losing streak with a 20-16 victory over B.C.....

2009-10-25T09:25:00.003-04:00

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish ended their six game losing streak to the Boston College Eagles with a 20-16 victory that nearly came down to the wire.

The Irish would get on the board first with a Nick Tausch 37-yard field goal. The Eagles would respond, sort of, with a sack that resulted in a safety.

In the second quarter the Irish would pick up another field goal for a 6-2 lead. Boston College would take their first lead of the game when Dave Shinskie connected with Rich Gunnell for a seven yard touchdown pass a 9-6 lead. Just before the half Jimmy Clausen found Golden Tate for an 11-yard touchdown pass and a 13-9 halftime lead.

In the second half Boston College would score the only touchdown of the third quarter and they would take the lead on a two yard touchdown run by Montel Harris. In the fourth quarter Clausen would find Tate once again for a 36-yard touchdown pass and a 20-16 lead. The Irish defense would pick off Shinskie three times including twice in the fourth quarter. Kyle McCarthy had two interceptions including one in the final quarter with 4:23 to go but Notre Dame was unable to put the game away after going three and out. Brian Smith would finally preserve the victory for the Irish when he picked off Shinskie for the third and final time with 1:28 left in the game.

Clausen finished the game with 246 yards and two touchdowns and Tate set a career high with 11 catches for 128 yards and two touchdowns. Notre Dame won their first game against Boston College since the 2000 season. The Irish play Washington State next week in San Antonio in a prime time game.

GO IRISH!

BCS Top-25 roundup....

2009-10-25T08:23:00.002-04:00

#1 Florida out lasted the Mississippi State Bulldogs on the road 29-19. Tim Tebow had a pedestrian day for the top ranked Gators throwing 12 of 22 for 127 yards and two interceptions but he rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. The Gators snapped a four game losing streak on the road against MSU.

#2 Alabama blocked the game winning field goal to hold off the Tennesee Volunteers 12-10. The Crimson Tide's 350 pound nose tackle Terrence Cody destroyed the middle of the Vols field goal unit and blocked the kick preserving their perfect season for another week.

#3 Texas destroyed the Missouri Tigers 41-7. Colt McCoy rebounded from an abysmal couple of weeks by throwing for 269 yards and 3 touchdowns. Jordan Shipley caught 7 passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns.

#4 Boise State easily handled the Hawaii Warriors 54-9. Kellen Moore threw for 223 yards and 5 touchdowns. #5 Cincinnati routed Louisville 41-10 without their star quarterback Tony Pike. Sophomore Zach Collaros threw more touchdowns than incomplete passes three to two. The Bearcats are off to their best since 1954.

#6 Iowa pulled off a last second victory over Michigan State 15-13. Ricky Stanzi threw a touchdown pass Marvin McNutt as time expired to keep the Hawkeyes undefeated only moments after the Spartans scored a go ahead touchdown.

#7 USC avenged last seasons loss to the Oregon State Beavers with a 42-36 victory. True freshman Matt Barkley threw for 202 yards two touchdowns and two interceptions and senior running back Allen Bradford rushed for his first 100-yard game of the season finishing with 147 yards and two TDs.

#8 TCU routed # 16 BYU 38-7 in Utah. Andy Dalton threw for 241 yards and three touchdowns to keep the Horned Frogs BCS hopes alive. #9 LSU decimated Auburn 31-10. Jordan Jefferson tossed for 242 yards and two touchdowns for Tigers.

#10 Miami was upset by the Clemson Tigers 4-37 in overtime. Jacory Harris threw for 256 yards and two touchdowns but he also tossed three interceptions. The Hurricanes took the lead off of a Harris 69-yard touchdown pass but the Tigers responded by tying the game on a 30 yard field goal with five seconds remaining. In the overtime the Canes settled for a field goal but Clemson was able to put the ball into the end zone when quarterback Kyle Parker connected with Jacoby Ford from 26-yards out.

#11 Oregon easily handled Washington 43-19. #12 Georgia Tech routed Virginia 34-9. #13 Penn State dominated in the second half en route o a 35-10 victory the Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor, Michigan. #15 Oklahoma State used little effort to knock off the Baylor Bears 34-7. #17 Houston continued their Cinderella season by beating Southern Methodist 38-15.

#18 Utah needed overtime to knock off Air Force 23-16. The Falcons scored the last six points on two field goals to force the overtime but the Utes would score a touchdown in the extra period to knock off the Air Force academy. #19 Ohio State overwhelmed the Minnesota Gophers 38-7. Terrelle Pryor combined for 343 yards and three touchdowns for the Buckeyes. #20 Pittsburgh knocked off the former upstart South Florida Bulls 41-14.

#22 Arizona fought off UCLA for a 27-13 victory despite turning the ball over 5 three times. The Wildcats defense dominated the game though holding the Bruins to 211 yards of total offense, 2 field goals, and the their only touchdown given up came off of a fumble returned for six points.

#23 West Virginia held off an emotional Connecticut team 28-24. The Huskies played for the first time since their teammate Jasper Howard was stabbed to death earlier this week. Noel Devine ran for 177 yards and the game winning touchdown with only a couple of minutes remaining in the game.

#24 South Carolina got all they could handle from Vanderbilt winning 14-10. Stephen Garcia tossed two touchdowns for the Gamecocks including a 43-yarder that turned out to be the game winner less than three minutes after starting the fourth quarter.

#25 Kansas got shellacked at home by the unranked Oklahoma Sooners who were without their star quarterback and tight end 35-13. Landry Jones, who was filling in for Sam Bradford, threw for 254 yards and two touchdowns and the Sooners defense picked off Todd Reesing three times as Oklahoma was able to bounce back after losing the Red River shootout.

Penguins finally lose 4-1 to New Jersey....

2009-10-25T08:06:00.002-04:00

The New Jersey Devils(6-3-0) ended the Pittsburgh Penguins(9-2-0) seven game win streak with an all around offensive effort and Martin Brodeur was able to keep the powerful Pens offense in check in a 4-1 win.

The Devils jumped out to a 1-0 lead off of Mark Faser's first career goal 9:50 into the first period, Marc-Andre Fleury appeared to have stopped the shot but he accidentally batted it in for the goal. In the second period the Devils would get a power play opportunity and they would capitalize on it when Niclas Bergfors put the puck past Fleury for a 2-0 lead. Early in third period New Jersey would out distance themselves even more when Travis Zajac would rebound a missed Zach Parise shot into an open net and before the Pens realized it they were down 3-0.

Alex Goligoski would break the shut out for the Pens midway through the third period but that was the only bit of offense the Penguins were able to muster in a lackluster effort. Parise would score later in the third to make the final score 4-1. The Devils held Evgeni Malkin in check holding him to zero points on zero shots. The Penguins lost for the first time all season with Marc-Andre Fleury in net. Fleury turned aside 22 of 26 shots. The Penguins w are home for their next game against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday.

GO PENGUINS!

NFL Week 7 Pick ems...

2009-10-25T07:30:00.003-04:00

Last week I went 9-5 which seems to be the best I can do so far this season but it brought my overall record to 58-36. This week there are some tough matchups and they could go either way. The Texans-49ers matchup is intriguing because this would be the game the Texans should lose with their trend of winning every other game but they are at home. The 49ers are coming off of a bye with Michael Crabtree in the starting lineup and they still have the bitter taste of getting their butts handed to them by Atlanta a couple of weeks ago. That is just one of the conundrums that I am facing this week but I guess I need to press on anyways here are my predictions for this week....

San Francisco 49ers @ Houston Texans
Green Bay Packers @ Cleveland Browns
San Diego Chargers @ Kansas City Chiefs
Indianapolis Colts @ St. Louis Rams
Minnesota Vikings @ Pittsburgh Steelers
New England Patriots @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
New York Jets @ Oakland Raiders
Buffalo Bills @ Carolina Panthers
Chicago Bears @ Cincinnati Bengals
Atlanta Falcons @ Dallas Cowboys
New Orleans Saints @ Miami Dolphins
Arizona Cardinals @ New York Giants
Philadelphia Eagles @ Washington Redskins

Yankees rally but come up short, Angels win 7-6....

2009-10-23T06:37:00.002-04:00

The Los Angeles Angels took an early 4-0 lead, then blew it, then gained it back and were facing bases loaded in the ninth but they ultimately made the key play to hold off the New York Yankees 7-6 and they live to fight another day.

In the first inning Torii Hunter hit a two run single, Vladamir Guerrero doubled in Hunter for a 3-0 lead and then Kendry Morales hit a single that brought home Vlad and before the Yankees knew it they were down 4-0 after the first inning.

The Yankees would rally in the seventh inning though and it all started with Mark Teixeira. Teixeira double to center field driving home Melky Cabrera, Jorge Posada, and Derek Jeter bringing the Yanks within one at 4-3. But New York was not done there as Hideki Matsui hit a single that brought home Teixeira and then Robinson Cano tripled to center bringing in ARoid Alex Rodriguez and Matsui giving the Yankees a 6-4 lead.

The Angels would not be denied though scoring three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to take a 7-6 lead. In the ninth inning the Yankees would have the bases loaded with Nick Swisher at bat, he worked himself into a full count, but closer Brian Fuentes got Swisher to pop out to shallow center field and just like that the Angels are back in the ALCS. Game 6 is Saturday night back in New York.
Yankees lead best of 7 series 3-2

Week 6 NFL Power rankings....

2009-10-22T09:46:00.000-04:00

1. New Orleans Saints (5-0) (lw #5)- The Saints absolutely dominated the Giants and their defense did something that hasn't been done yet this year, make Eli Manning look pedestrian
2. Minnesota Vikings (6-0) (lw #3)- Their continue to win but it appears teams are finding ways to lose to them now instead of the Vikes finding ways to win
3. Denver Broncos (6-0) (lw #4)- In the biggest game of their season coming off a bye week they proved this team will be around come January
4. Indianapolis Colts (5-0) (lw #1)- I don't like dropping a team just because they didn't play but the other teams body of work is more impressive right now
5. Atlanta Falcons (4-1) (lw #7)- The Falcons won a tough gritty game which is good because they can't always win with finesse
6. New York Giants (5-1) (lw #2)- It's not Eli's fault that Drew Brees torched the Giants defense but he did only throw for less than 200 yards
7. New England Patriots (4-2) (lw #9)- I'm not ready to officially declare Tom Brady back but he appears to be getting closer
8. Cincinnati Bengals (4-2) (lw #6)- They were bound to slip up but at home and to the Texans? Come on Cincy you should be better than that
9. Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2) (lw #11)- The Steelers have quietly found themselves back a top the division and they have done it a new way, by passing which may be the new brand of Steeler football with Big Ben under center
10. Arizona Cardinals (3-2) (lw #17)- They proved they are still the big boys on the block in the NFC West, at least for the time being
11. Chicago Bears (3-2) (lw #10)- The offense looked confused and out of sync most of the night coming off a bye week but that shouldn't last very long
12. Philadelphia Eagles (3-2) (lw #8)- Sure they picked up Will Witherspoon but he wouldn't have helped against Oakland since the Eagles threw 46 times against the league's worst run defense
13. San Francisco 49ers (3-2) (lw #14)- In a desperate plea for more offensive explosions Crabtree is now their starter despite holding out until two weeks ago
14. Green Bay Packers (3-2) (lw #16)- Shutting out this years Lions team is impressive but they still haven't solved their offensive line woes
15. Dallas Cowboys (3-2) (lw #19)- Miles Austin played his way into a role opposite Williams and a bye week should have helped this team figure who their play makers are
16. Baltimore Ravens (3-3) (lw #13)- After three straight wins this team was the Super Bowl favorite, since then they have prevented themselves from winning by making HUGE mistakes at critical times
17. San Diego Chargers (2-3) (lw # 15)- This team should be better but the front office has held it back
18. Miami Dolphins (2-3) (lw #18)- Henne had another week to pick up the nuances of the offense this team could become extremely dangerous
19. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-3) (lw #21)- MJD got his wish after complaining about a lack of a running game and he showed them why they should run more with 33 carries for 133 yards and 3 TDS
20. Houston Texans (3-3) (lw #22)- They continue their stretch of winning every other game but they might be able to put consecutive wins together with a home contest against the 49ers
21. New York Jets (3-3) (lw #12)- The defense is no longer dominating and teams now have tape on Sanchez which has proven to hurt him so far, they hope he can start figuring out defenses now
22. Carolina Panthers (2-3) (lw #23)- A soft rushing defense pay dividends for their offense and they get another favorable match up this week against Buffalo
23. Seattle Seahawks (2-4) (lw #20)- I figured with Hasselbeck healthy they were unbeatable at home, boy was I wrong!
24. Buffalo Bills (2-4) (lw #28)- The Bills won with defense despite a still anemic offense and Trent Edwards suffered his second concussion in as many years
25. Oakland Raiders (2-4) (lw #30)- After getting embarrassed last week they showed they still hace some pride, who would have thought?
26. Kansas City Chiefs (1-5) (lw #31)- Finally got a win after playing good enough to win two weeks ago so maybe they have confidence now which what teams need sometimes to win
27. Cleveland Browns (1-5) (lw #25)- First Rolling Stones magazine and now mother nature has joined in the Browns bashing
28. Detroit Lions (1-5) (lw #24)- The bye week could not have come at a better time, they need to heal and lick their wounds
29. Washington Redskins (2-4) (lw #26)- If it wasn't for their two wins this would be the worst team in the NFL hands down
30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-6) (lw #29)- They were close but not close enough maybe the cheap shot will wake these guys up
31. Tennessee Titans (0-6) (lw#27)- You know it's bad when Jeff Fisher makes fun of himself by wearing a Peyton Manning jersey to a charity event
32. St. Louis Rams (0-6) (lw#32)- The Rams get more competitive every week but they still don't have enough to win

Phils return to the World Series for second consecutive year....

2009-10-22T08:09:00.002-04:00

The Philadelphia Phillies will make a return trip to the World Series to defend their championship title after knocking off the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-4. The Phils used a flurry of home runs to bat away the Dodgers and became the first team since the New York Yankees did it in 2000-2001. Jayson Werth kicked things off in the first inning hitting a three run homer giving Philadelphia a 3-1 lead. In the second Pedro Feliz hit a solo shot to further their lead 4-2. After the Phils scored two runs the old fashion way Shane Victorino hit a two run home run in the sixth to put the Phils up 8-3 and Werth hit his second homer of the game in the same inning and gave them a 9-3 lead. The Dodgers would get another run but Philadelphia canceled it out with a run of their own. Ryan Howard was named the MVP of the National League Championship Series after going five of 15 hitting two home runs, knocking in eight runs and scoring a run in each game. The Phillies now wait for the winner of the ALCS and the World Series is slated to begin Wednesday October 28th.
Phillies win best of 7 series 4-1

Angels win, Phils take stranglehold on series....

2009-10-20T08:12:00.002-04:00

The New York Yankees looked like they were going to coast to a 3-0 series lead in the ALCS but then the wheels fell off and the Los Angeles Angels seized the opportunity winning their first game 5-4 in 11 innings. The Yankees got home runs from Derek Jeter in the first, ARoid Alex Rodriguez in the fourth, and Johnny Damon in the fifth to jump out to a 3-0 lead but then the Angels started their comeback. Howie Kendrick hit a solo homer in the bottom of the fifth and then Vladamir Guerrero hit a two run shot in the sixth to tie things up. Maicer Izturis hit a sac-fly in the seventh to give LA the lead at 4-3. Jorge Posada hit a homer to tie things up in the eighth at 4. In the 11th inning Jeff Mathis doubled to center field knocking in Kendrick for the game winning run. Game 4 is tonight in Los Angeles.
Yankees lead best of 7 series 2-1

The Philadelphia Phillies took a stranglehold on the NLCS with a 5-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ryan Howard started things off for the defending champs hitting a two run homer in the first inning. The Dodgers battled right back though by scoring two runs in the fourth and then adding a Jack Kemp homer in the fifth and Manny Ramirez scored a run in the sixth to put the Dodgers up 4-2. But like the champs that they are the Phils did not panic and they responded in a big way. In the sixth inning Chase Utley knocked in Shane Victorino to bring them closer. In the bottom of the ninth Jimmy Rollins hit double to center field that brought in the game tying and winning runs and the Phillies grabbed a 3-1 series. Game 5 is tomorrow in Philadelphia.
Phillies lead best of 7 series 3-1

Steelers dominate Browns 27-14....

2009-10-20T06:42:00.002-04:00

The Pittsburgh Steelers(4-2) picked up their first divisional win of the season by dominating the Cleveland Browns(1-5) 27-14 at Heinz Field.

The first quarter was pretty uneventful for both teams due to drop passes and miscues. The Browns continued to struggle with Derek Anderson at quarterback although some of the struggles are with wide receivers dropping easy wide open passes. Josh Cribbs played a lot of the game out of the wildcat formation but his only miscue came when he forced a pass that was intercepted by the returning Troy Polamalu.

In the second quarter the Steelers got rolling with a 7-play 85-yard drive that was capped off when Ben Roethlisberger found Heath Miller open near the sideline of the end zone and like he so often does Ben put the ball only where Miller(5 catches 80 yards) could catch it and the Steelers had a 7-0 lead. With the touchdown catch Heath moved into second place all-time in Steelers history for touchdowns by a tight end passing Eric Green with 25 TDs for his career. The Steelers defense would continue to dominate and they got the ball back for the offense who capitalized on the opportunities that they were given. Big Ben threaded the ball between to defenders and found an open Hines Ward(8 receptions 154 yards) who scampered 52-yards into the end zone to give the Steelers a 14-0 lead.

The Browns would respond instantly mostly because the Steelers would make the ultimate mistake, they kicked the ball to Josh Cribbs. Cribbs returned the kickoff 98-yards out racing everyone on the field and scoring to bring the Browns within a score at 14-7. The Steelers would march down the field into field goal range but then something strange happened, the officials blew a call(who would've thought that?). The Steelers went for it on a fourth and inch from the Cleveland 14-yard line and Ben snuck the ball and picked up the first down, the controversy was whether he really picked up the first down. When the officials measured to see if Pittsburgh got the first or not it appear the Steelers were a few inches short but the officials gave it to them anyways. Then a few plays later Ben found an open Ward in the the corner of the end zone for a touchdown but upon further review it was determined that the ball came out at the last possible second(more on this in a moment). The Steelers would have to settle for a field goal and go into the half up 17-7.

In the third quarter the Browns came out on fire and DA found Mohamed Massaquoi(5 catches for 85 yards) for a huge 41-yard gain setting the Browns up in scoring territory. DA would complete a 1-yard pass to fullback Lawrence Vickers for the touchdown and inching Cleveland closer 17-14.

Steelers would respond like Champions do with a 6-play 79-yard drive to take a 24-14 lead. Rashard Mendenhall(16 carries for 62 yards) ran the ball in from 2 yards out to pick up his fourth touchdown in three games. The rest of the game was ugly and marred by turnovers. On third down the Browns got pressure on Big Ben and forced him to throw an errant pass that was intercepted. On the Browns ensuing drive Lawrence Timmons sacked DA and forced a fumble that was recovered by James Harrison. But on the Steelers drive Willie Parker coughed up the ball and gave it right back to the Browns. Luckily for Pittsburgh Timmons got in on Anderson again forcing another sack fumble. But the Steelers were feeling pretty gracious themselves and Mendenhall handed the ball right back to them fumbling after picking up a nice gain. The Steelers would eventually get the ball back and kick a field goal to make the final score 27-14. Ben Roethlisberger had his second career 400 yard passing game completing 23 of 35 passes for 417 yards and 2TDs.

Now on to the Ward incomplete touchdown catch, the letter of the rule was interpreted correctly and they make the right call. BUT how many times does a guy have to roll on the ground with possession of the ball before it is considered a catch. Ward caught the ball inbounds fell to the ground with possession, rolled once still had possession, rolled twice out of bounds still possessing the ball and on his final roll out of bounds the ball slipped out and touched the ground and the officials initially ruled it a catch before ultimately over turning the call. It was ridiculous he had possession when he hit the ground in bounds and he had possession when he was out of bounds so how was it not a catch. The NFL needs to change the rule because they are ruining a lot of good football games and taking away the integrity of the game.

With the Steelers win, Ravens loss at Minnesota and the Bungals losing at home to the Texans the Steelers are now tied with Cincy although the Bungals do hold the advantage right now since they won the only head-to-head matchup right now.

GO STEELERS!

Playoff weekend in review....

2009-10-19T08:24:00.003-04:00

On Friday the New York Yankees grabbed a hold of the American League Championship Series from the Los Angeles Angels by winning Game 1 with a score of 4-1. The usual choker in October C.C. Sabathia pitched a strong game going eight innings giving up the lone run and striking out seven. Then on Saturday in Game 2 the Yankees got all they could handle from the Angels winning 4-3 in 13 innings. ARoid Alex Rodriguez continued his clutch play hitting home run on an 0-2 pitch in the bottom of the 11th inning to tie the game once again for the Yankees and Melky Cabrera knocked in Jerry Hairston Jr. for the game winning run in the bottom of the 13th inning. Game 3 is this afternoon in Los Angeles.
Yankees lead best of 7 series 2-0

On Friday the Los Angeles Dodgers evened the National League Championship Series by defeating the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1. Ryan Howard hit a homer in the fourth inning but that would be all they would muster in the game. The usually reliable Chase Utley committed an error in the eighth inning that resulted in the game tying score and then Ryan Madson walked in the game winning run. On Sunday night though the Phils would get their revenge in a big way by absolutely embarrassing the Dodgers 11-0. Cliff Lee pitched a beauty of a game going eight innings striking out 10 batters and only giving up three hits. Ryan Howard hit a triple in the first inning that knocked in Shane Victorino and Chase Utley which would ultimately prove to be the winning runs. Game 4 is tonight in Philadelphia.
Phillies lead best of 7 series 2-1

Week 6 Pick ems...

2009-10-18T00:08:00.000-04:00

I called the Browns upset of the Bills but I did miss the Bengals beating the Ravens so what does that tell you? Anyway I'm 49-27 on the season so far in picking games which isn't too bad but if you're placing any money on these predictions you might want to get them elsewhere because who knows how I'll pick from week to week since I like to hold grudges against teams for pretty much any reason. So here we go....

Houston Texans @ Cincinnati Bengals
Detroit Lions @ Green Bay Packers
St. Louis Rams @ Jacksonville Jaguars
Baltimore Ravens @ Minnesota Vikings
New York Giants @ New Orleans Saints
Cleveland Browns @ Pittsburgh Steelers
Carolina Panthers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Kansas City Chiefs @ Washington Redskins
Philadelphia Eagles @ Oakland Raiders
Arizona Cardinals @ Seattle Seahawks
Tennessee Titans @ New England Patriots
Buffalo Bills @ New York Jets
Chicago Bears @ Atlanta Falcons
Denver Broncos @ San Diego Chargers

#8 Cincinnati survives scare from #21 South Florida 34-17

2009-10-16T08:24:00.002-04:00

The eighth ranked Cincinnati Bearcats(6-0) survived losing their star quarterback to knock off the upstart #21 South Florida Bulls(5-1) 34-17.

The Bearcats took an early 3-0 but the Bulls responded and took the lead off of a 28-yard B.J. Daniels touchdown pass to Jessie Hester making the score 7-3.

In the second quarter Tony Pike got the Bearcat offense rolling throwing for 2 touchdowns both to Armon Binns(2 and 8 yards respectively) and Cincinnati had a 17-7 lead. Just before the half the Bulls would hit a field goal just as time expired to make the score 17-10.

Tony Pike would injure his left wrist and not return to the game but the Cincinnati offense did not miss a beat with back up Zach Collaros in the game. Three plays after Pike went down Collaros took a QB keeper, squeezed between the middle of the defense, and took off 75-yards for a touchdown and a 24-10 lead. B.J. Daniels would score from 1-yard out for the Bulls to bring them closer at 24-17 but that's as close as it would get.

In the fourth quarter Collaros would lead the Bearcats on another scoring drive that was capped off once again by him as he ran the ball into the end zone from 2-yards out. Cincinnati would kick a field goal to round out the scoring making the final score 34-17.

Phillies topple Dodgers in Game 1 of NLCS....

2009-10-16T07:56:00.003-04:00

In Game 1 of the National League Championship series the Philadelphia Phillies bested the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-6 in L.A.

The Phillies used their power bats on the road and Brad Lidge appears to be a competent closer again as he picked up his third straight save. Carlos Ruiz hit a three run homer in the fifth that sparked the Phils to a 3-1 lead and later in the same inning Ryan Howard doubled knocking in two more runs for a 5-1 lead. The Dodgers tried rallying late but ultimately came up short losing to a score of 8-6. Game 2 is this afternoon at 4 in L.A.
Phillies lead best of 7 series 1-0

#5Boise State squeezes past Tulsa 28-21....

2009-10-15T08:50:00.004-04:00

The #5 Boise State Broncos(6-0) continue their push for a bid in the BCS National title by remaining undefeated after barely knocking off the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes(4-2) 28-21.

The Broncos quickly fell behind Tulsa when wildcat quarterback A.J. Whitmore connected on a big play of 53-yards with Damaris Johnson for a 7-0 lead. Boise State would respond though when Kellen Moore tossed an 8-yard touchdown pass Tommy Gallarda and the Broncos were successful on the 2-point conversion making the score 8-7. Just before the end of the first quarter Tulsa would have another opportunity to take the lead. The usual QB for the Hurricanes G.J. Kinne found Trae Johnson in the end zone from 15-yards out for a 14-8 lead.

Once again Moore and the Broncos responded when found Austin Pettis open in the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown and BSU would go on top for good 15-14. Before the end of the half the Broncos extended their lead on a field goal by Kyle Brotzman making the score 18-14. in the second half the Borncos would continue to jump all over Tulsa when Moore tossed his last touchdown of the night to an open Gallarda for a 2-yard score and a 25-14 lead. Brotzman would hit another field goal to make the score 28-14.

The Golden Hurricanes were not done though as they traveled 91-yards on two plays both of which were passing plays from Kinne to Slick Shelley and the last one covered 55-yards and brought Tulsa within a touchdown at 28-21. On their next possession the Broncos defense forced their fourth three and out to preserve the win.

Pens squeak past Canes 3-2 in shootout....

2009-10-15T08:16:00.004-04:00

The Pittsburgh Penguins(6-1-0) continued their hot play as of late winning a rematch of last years Eastern Conference Finals knocking off the Carolina Hurricanes(2-3-1) 3-2 in a shootout.

Michael Rupp and the Penguins set the tone early and jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Malkin(6) and Rupp(1) forced a 2-on-1 and Rupp was able to get the puck past Cam Ward for his first goal of the season. In the second period Malkin(3) continued the Pens domination taking the puck and scoring an impressive goal off of a Pascal Dupuis(1) pass giving the Pens a 2-0 lead early into the second period.

Both teams battled back and forth until the Pens finally gave up some ground and when they did the Hurricanes jumped all over them. Ray Whitney single handedly took control of the game in the third period scoring two goals, the first was only 4 minutes and 25 seconds into the period and the game tying goal came five and half minutes later, tying the game and forcing overtime.

In the extra period Malkin had a great chance at winning the game early on but he was stoned by the always reliable Ward and the game would eventually make it to a shootout. In the shootout Sidney Crosby would break the tie when he was able to put the puck past Ward. But Carolina would respond on their next try when Jussi Jokinen squirted the puck underneath Marc-Andre Fleury. Both teams were unsuccessful on their next three attempts until Chris Kunitz was able to solve the puzzle that is Cam Ward. Fleury shut down Eric Staal on the Canes final attempt to win his sixth game of the season and to remain unbeaten on the season. Fleury stopped 27 of 29 shots faced.

The Penguins have set a new franchise mark by winning their first five games on the road, their previous high was 4 straight twice in franchise history with the most recent time being two seasons ago. Crosby was held scoreless for the second consecutive game and for the fourth time in the last five games. This game was the last of a four game road trip and now the Pens will be home for the next week and a half. Up next the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.

GO PENGUINS!

Week 5 NFL Power rankings....

2009-10-14T12:40:00.001-04:00

1. Indianapolis Colts (5-0) (lw #1)- I didn't think it was possible but Peyton keeps getting better and has taken over the mantle of best QB in the NFL from Mr. Brady
2. New York Giants (5-0) (lw #2)- The Giants have coasted so far playing inferior opponents we will see how good they are after a trip to New Orleans
3. Minnesota Vikings (5-0) (lw #4)- Tough few weeks coming for the Vikings with a home against Baltimore than road games at Pittsburgh and Green Bay
4. Denver Broncos (5-0) (lw #10)- I'm not quite sold on these guys yet but hey they are winning close games which is the mark of a champion
5. New Orleans Saints (4-0) (lw #3)- We will see how good this team is after their next three games
6. Cincinnati Bengals (4-1) (lw #12)- Palmer is making plays when it is needed most and the last time this team started 4-1 was in 2005 when they made the playoffs
7. Atlanta Falcons (4-1) (lw #11)- The bye week did wonders for the offense as they dismantled a tough 49ers team but the have a tough stretch coming up
8. Philadelphia Eagles (3-1) (lw #9)- With a healthy McNabb this team can be unstoppable
9. New England Patriots (3-2) (lw #7)- Bad news for winless Tennessee, the Pats don't lose two in a row
10. Chicago Bears (3-1) (lw #13)- The Bears need to get Matt Forte going if they want to keep up with the Vikings and the rest of the NFC for that matter
11. Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2) (lw #14)- A two game winning streak, a ressurging running game and the return of Troy Polamalu bodes well for the defending champions
12. New York Jets (3-2) (lw #5)- The once vaunted defense has been getting burned and Mark Sanchez is resembling a rookie quarterback but for the time being the Bills and Raiders should aleviate some of their pain
13. Baltimore Ravens (3-2) (lw #8)- Consecutive tough losses may hurt this teams confidence especially since Flacco hasn't looked as strong recently
14. San Francisco 49ers (3-2) (lw #6)- After their devastating home loss this team needs a bye week, maybe they can Michael Crabtree on the field in a week or two because they need more offensive weapons
15. San Diego Chargers (2-2) (lw #15)- Huge MNF game this week against the divisional leaders the Denver Broncos, the Chargers can ill afford to drop 3 full games behind them
16. Green Bay Packers (2-2) (lw #18)- Hopefully they solved their offensive line problems with their week off or this team isn't going to go anywhere
17. Arizona Cardinals (2-2) (lw #19)- The offense clicked early on but then they got complacent and struggled late which they can't do against at Seattle this week
18. Miami Dolphins (2-3) (lw #21)- Henne is looking to be the quarterback this team needs to compliment the running attack
19. Dallas Cowboys (3-2) (lw # 20)- Miles Austin may have earned himself a starting spot in the offense with his record breaking 250 yard receiving performance since he out gained Roy Williams and Patrick Crayton's season totals in one game
20. Seattle Seahawks (2-3) (lw #24)- This team is fueled by Hasselbeck and they showed it by destroying the Jaguars: up next a home game with the Cards
21. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-3) (lw #16)- St. Louis rolls into to town on Sunday but who knows what will happen with this team
22. Houston Texans (2-3) (lw #17)- Texans rallied late but came up short the way their recent trend has gone they should win but they won't, they play at Cincinnati
23. Carolina Panthers (1-3) (lw #27)- Finally got off the schneide but they didn't look impressive while doing it
24. Detroit Lions (1-4) (lw #22)- These are not the Lions of yesteryear and they are close to winning some games, they may trip some teams up come December
25. Cleveland Browns (1-4) (lw #29)- Finally won a game but they did not deserve to win with Anderson and his receivers combining for a disgusting 2 of 17 for 24 yards
26. Washington Redskins (2-3) (lw #25)- Three losses are to teams that were previously defeated....the count down begins to Jim Zorn's firing
27. Tennessee Titans (0-5) (lw #26)- The Titans have a lot of problems and quarterback just became another one, Collins looks bad and Young didn't impress in the 4th quarter
28. Buffalo Bills (1-4) (lw #23)- Rumors of T.O. being traded does not bode well for the fans of Buffalo, not that he's done much to begin with
29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-5) (lw #28)- Different quarterback same results
30. Oakland Raiders (1-4) (lw #30)- Their head coach is probably going to be suspended, what else is their to say
31. Kansas City Chiefs (0-5) (lw #31)- Taking the Cowboys to overtime is a good thing for the Chiefs they just need to learn how to win now
32. St. Louis Rams (0-5) (lw #32)- There appears to be no end in sight to this abysmal team

Steelers lose Smith for season...

2009-10-14T12:23:00.002-04:00

Just when the Pittsburgh Steelers thought their defensive problems were getting better with the return of Troy Polamalu they got news that Aaron Smith will be place on the injured reserve list. Smith tore his rotator cuff in his right shoulder during the Lions game and will be done for the season. Ziggy Hood, Travis Kirschke, and Nick Eason are going to be used as a group to try to replace Smith.

This is a huge blow for the Steelers defense because the last time Smith got hurt the team gave up 629 yards rushing in 4 games which included back to back loses at home to the Jacksonville Jaguars. They drafted Hood for this single reason and he looked impressive in the preseason but he hasn't done much so far during the regular season. Kirschke is a suitable replacement who has been with the team for both Super Bowl runs but he is getting old and you can't really replicate what Smith brings to the defense. The team should get an emotional lift from Polamalu's return but everyone is going to have to step up to fill the void that Smith brings to the field. I am fully confidant that the Steelers can overcome this and remain a factor in the AFC playoff picture.

GO STEELERS!

Penguins down the Senators 4-1...

2009-10-13T08:34:00.002-04:00

The Pittsburgh Penguins(5-1-0) continued their dominance of the Ottawa Senators(3-2-0) with a decisive 4-1 victory in Ottawa.

The Senators opened up the scoring but that would be their only point of the game when Milan Michalek snuck the puck past Marc-Andre Fleury for a 1-0 lead and his first goal of the season.

The Penguins responded less than a minute later off of a Bill Guerin(2) goal that he rebounded in off of his own shot and into the net for a 1-1 tie. MMMMMMMMMMRRRRRRRRRRRR. KENNEDYYY Tyler Kennedy would pick up his third and fourth goals of the season in the second period to give Pittsburgh the lead for good at 2-1 and then 3-1. Jordan Staal would put his third puck of the season into the net to ultimately close out the game 4-1.

Fleury remains unbeaten on the season at 4-0 and stopped 30 of 31 shots in the game. Sidney Crosby was held scoreless for the third time in four games and Evgeni Malkin was held without a point for the second time of the young season. The Penguins are undefeated on the road so far this year and they have one more road game at Carolina before returning to the friendly confines of Mellon Arena for a five game home stand.

GO PENGUINS!

Phils wrap up series over Rockies, headed back to NLCS....

2009-10-13T08:16:00.003-04:00

The Philadelphia Phillies took the best shot the Colorado Rockies had but it wasn't enough as the defending World Series champions won in the Rocky Mountain state 5-4. The Phillies were down two runs in the top of the ninth but the defending champs didn't flinch and Ryan Howard would knock in the game tying runs on a double with two outs. Howard would be knocked in on the very next batter to give Philadelphia a 5-4 lead and the Brad Lidge picked up his second consecutive save. The Phillies will play the Dodgers in the NLCS starting on Thursday.
Phillies win best of 5 series 3-1

Dolphins sink Jets 31-27...

2009-10-13T06:56:00.004-04:00

The Miami Dolphins(2-3) shocked the New York Jets(3-2) with a last second Ronnie Brown touchdown and the Dolphins now have a two game win streak with a 31-27 victory.

Ronnie Brown and the Dolphins opened up the scoring in the game and they were last ones to score when Brown lined up in the wildcat formation took the shotgun snap and ran up the gut for a 2- yard touchdown with only six seconds left. The Dolphins used their opening possession to chew up half of the first quarter while taking a 7-0 lead off of a 1-yard plunge by Brown.
The Jets would respond when the newly acquired Braylon Edwards(5 catches for 64 yards) made a routine(for him anyway since all he does is make spectacular catches but drops the easy ones) catch for his first touchdown of the season and a 7-7 tie. Mark Sanchez finished the night completing only 50% of his passes(12/24) for 172 yards and the touchdown. The Dolphins kicked a 35-yard field goal at the end of the first quarter for a 10-7 lead.

In the second quarter the Jets kicked a 40 and 43- yard field goal to go ahead before the half 13-10. In the third neither team did anything which would turn out to be the quiet before the storm.

The fourth quarter got underway with Anthony Fasano catching a 2- yard pass from Chad Henne to give give the Dolphins a 17-13 advantage. The Jets would respond two minutes later to reclaim the lead when Thomas Jones ran the ball in from 1-yard to give him his first touchdown of the game and the Jets a 20-17 lead. Tedd Ginn Jr. finally made the big play that offense has been looking for from the passing game when he out ran the New York secondary and Henne(20/26 for 241 yards and 2 TDs) put the ball on the money connecting for a 53-yard touchdown pass and the just like the Dolphins had the lead again 24-20. Five minutes later Jones(13 carries 42 yards and 2 TDs) picked up his second rushing touchdown of the night from 3-yards out and the Jets were up 27-24 with five minutes remaining. Jones would match Brown touchdown for touchdown but Brown(21 carries for 74 yards and 2 TDs) would have the last laugh as he and the Dolphins scored with only six seconds remaining and the Dolphins extended their win streak to 2 games and handed the Jets their second straight loss.

Yankees and Angels sweep, Phils win....

2009-10-12T11:01:00.003-04:00

The New York Yankees and all their high priced free agents may actually be starting to pay off as the Yankees swept the tired Minnesota Twins 4-1 in the last game ever played at the Metrodome. Alex Rodriguez homered in the seventh to tie the game up at 1 and Jorge Posada took the lead with a homer in the same inning and New York never looked back. Andy Pettite picked up the win and the Yankees are heading back to the ALCS for the first time in 5 years.
Yankees swept series 3-0

The Los Angeles Angels took care of the Boston Red Sox sweeping them with a Game 3 victory of 7-6. The Angels scored three runs in the ninth off of closer Johnathan Papelbon and they got revenge over the Sox who have knocked them out of the playoffs 4 straight seasons. Vladimir Guerrero hit a single to drive in the tying and go ahead run and now the Angels will take on the Yankees in the ALCS.
Angels sweep series 3-0

After postponing the game twice due to it being too cold(they realize that October baseball in any of the cities left except for L.A. will have cold weather right?) the pansies known as the Philadelphia Phillies knocked off the other pansies the Colorado Rockies 6-5. Chase Utley, went 3-4 with a home run, lead the defending champs and Ryan Howard hit in the game winning run in in the top of the ninth then Brad Lidge held off the Rockies to extend their series lead. Game 4 is tonight back in Colorado.
Phillies lead best of 5 series 2-1

Steelers prevail over the Lions 28-20....

2009-10-12T06:32:00.003-04:00

The Pittsburgh Steelers(3-2) got up big early and the Detroit Lions(1-4) rallied but the Steelers ultimately prevailed 28-20 to pick up their first road win of the season.

The Lions took an early 3-0 lead off of a Jason Hanson field goal but the Steelers would respond with a touchdown. Rashard Mendenhall, who filled in for the injured Willie Parker again, rushed for his third touchdown of the season from 7-yards out for a 7-3 Steelers lead. Mendenhall would finish with 15 carries for 77 yards. The Lions answered Pittsburgh's score with another Hanson field goal at the end of the first quarter to inch the Lions within a point at 7-6.

Ben Roethlisberger took control of the game leading the Steelers on a 12-play drive that covered 75-yards and chewed up 6 minutes 46 seconds off the clock and it ended when Heath Miller( 5 receptions for 54 yards) took a screen pass 15-yards for a 14-6 lead. On Pittsburgh's next drive Roethlisberger threw a pass into coverage that was intercepted and returned 38-yards for touchdown by William James to bring the Lions within a point once again 14-13. Big Ben and the offense responded with a 6-play 52-yard drive that was capped by Hines Ward( 7 catches for 77 yards) catching a pass and fighting his way into the end zone from 17-yards out for a 21-13 halftime lead.

After the half the Steelers hit their first big passing play all season when Roethlisberger found rookie wide receiver Mike Wallace( 2 catches 52 yards) open down field for a 47-yard touchdown bomb giving the Steelers a 28-13 lead.

In the fourth quarter both teams exchanged empty drives until the Lions tried mounting a comeback on the arm of Daunte Culpepper. Culpepper completed 6 passes on their final scoring drive with the last completion spanning 25-yards and Dennis Northcutt came down with the touchdown to bring the Lions closer 28-20. But on Detroit's final drive the Blitzburgh defense sacked Culpepper on three consecutive plays and then forced an incomplete pass to end the game. The Steelers sacked Culpepper 7 times with last year's defensive MVP James Harrison accounting for 3 sacks himself.

The offense looks unstoppable when they don't beat themselves with penalties and turnovers
and if they really wanted to they could have put the game away in the fourth if they would have just handed the ball off to Mendenhall. OC Bruce Arians likes to put the game in Ben's hands now instead of using the traditional Steelers football way of running out the clock with the running game. The defense finally forced a turnover and they got after a quarterback so that's good and I think once Troy Polamalu returns next week or in two weeks the defense will be fine because he will have guys in the right position to make the plays. All in all it was a good game and the Steelers should be proud. I'll be in Pittsburgh this weekend for the game against the Browns so I can't wait.

GO STEELERS!

Week 5 NFL Pick ems....

2009-10-11T09:28:00.000-04:00

I'm not picking the Tennessee Titans again until they win and they play a team that they can beat. I like a big upset this week with the Cleveland Browns picking up their first win of the season at Buffalo. And I think the Chiefs could beat the Cowboys but Dallas has too much talent to lose against Kansas City. Here we go.....

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Detroit Lions
Cleveland Browns @ Buffalo Bills
Dallas Cowboys @ Kansas City Chiefs
Minnesota Vikings @ St. Louis Rams
Oakland Raiders @ New York Giants
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Philadelphia Eagles
Washington Redskins @ Carolina Panthers
Cincinnati Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens
Atlanta Falcons @ San Francisco 49ers
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Seattle Seahawks
Houston Texans @ Arizona Cardinals
New England Patriots @ Denver Broncos
Indianapolis Colts @ Tennessee Titans
New York Jets @ Miami Dolphins

Dodgers sweep Cardinals...

2009-10-11T09:02:00.002-04:00

The Los Angeles Dodgers swept the first round of the playoffs for the second consecutive year dominating the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1. Omar Vicente(who was unemployed just 3 months ago) held the power bats of the Cardinals in check pitching 7 innings and only giving up four hits and no runs. Manny Ramirez doubled in the second to drive in a run and he picked up another RBI on a single in the seventh. After the first MANRAM RBI Adam Ethier hit a home run in the third and Rafeal Furcal drove in a run in the fourth.
Dodgers sweep series 3-0

Top-25 roundup....

2009-10-11T08:22:00.002-04:00

#1 Florida went into Baton Rouge and remained unbeaten on the season with a beaten up Tim Tebow and the Gators knocking off the #4 LSU Tigers 13-3. Tebow wasn't impressive but he provided his usual leadership and gritty play while completing 11 of 16 passes for 134 yards a touchdown and an interception two weeks after suffering a concussion.

#2 Texas got an early scare from the Colorado Buffalo's trailing 14-3 but then Colt McCoy and the defense put the Longhorns where they expected to be and that's still undefeated after a 38-14 win. The special teams blocked a punt and returned it 6 yards for a touchdown to put the Longhorns up 17-14. A pick-6 and a punt return gave Texas an insurmountable lead.

#3 Alabama continues to roll after bullying #20 Ole Miss 22-3. The Crimson Tide defense intercepted Jevan Sneed 4 times and the Tide had to settle for 5 field goals but they proved to be enough. The Tide also got a 36 yard touchdown run from Mark Ingram.

#5 Virginia Tech steam rolled Boston College in continuing their domination of the conference with a 48-14 victory. Tyrod Taylor did his usual thing of scrambling and breaking tackles and then finding the open receiver connecting for two touchdowns.

Speaking on conference domination #9 Ohio State shot down the Wisconsin Badgers to a tune of 31-13. The Buckeye defense returned two interceptions for touchdowns and Ray Small returned a punt 96 yards for another defensive score.

#10 TCU remains a BCS buster after downing Air Force 20-17. TCU went up 14 points in the first half but had to hold on for the victory to remain unbeaten on the season. #11 Miami dominated Florida A&M 48-16. Jacory Harris tossed two touchdowns and the ground game accounted for three touchdwons in the easy victory.

#12 Iowa extended the Wolverines losing to 2 games but got all they could handle from Michigan in a 30-28 win. Ricky Stanzi proved to be the better quarterback on Saturday throwing for 284 yards and 2 touchdowns. #13 Oregon won 24-10 over the struggling UCLA Bruins. The Ducks exploded for 21 points in the third separating themselves and not looking back.

#14 Penn State destroys Eastern Illinois 52-3. #15 Oklahoma State struggled without star wide out Dez Bryant they ultimately prevailed 36-31. #16 Kansas went on the strong arm of Todd Reesing who tossed 4 touchdowns while leading the Jayhawks over Iowa State 41-36.

#17 Auburn got upset big time by Arkansas 44-23. Arkansas' high powered offense out gained the Tigers 495-375. #18 BYU shellacked UNLV 59-21. #19 Oklahoma got a much needed lift from the returning Sam Bradford who threw for 389 yards and a touchdown in a 33-7 win over Baylor. #22 Georgia Tech put another nail in the coffin of Bobby Bowden's coaching career winning a close contest 46-44. #25 South Carolina pulled out a tough victory over the Kentucky Wildcats and the Gamecock passing game resembled Spurrier's success from his Florida days in a 28-26 win. Kentucky scored late but failed to tie the game on the 2-point conversion and Stephen Garcia tossed 3 touchdowns and threw for 233 yards.

Penguins win 5-2 in Toronto....

2009-10-11T07:50:00.002-04:00

The Pittsburgh Penguins'(4-1-0) Sidney Crosby ended his two game pointless streak a powerful two goal performance in a 5-2 victory that kept the Toronto Maple Leafs(0-3-1) winless on the season.

Matt Cooke(1) got the Penguins going early scoring 3 minutes into the game after MMMRRRRRRR. KENNEDYYYY Tyler Kennedy forced a turnover and fed the puck to Cooke who put the puck past the goalie for a 1-0 lead. The first of three goals on the power play came later in the first period when Sergei Gonchar(1) capitalized on a roughing penalty slipping the puck under the legs of the Maple Leafs goaltender.

In the second period the Leafs showed some fight scoring their first goal of the game but they quickly gave back the momentum to the Pens. Jay Rosehill scored 2 minutes into the period but 15 seconds later the Leafs were penalized for offensive holding and Crosby(3) put back an Evgeni Malkin(3) rebound and just like that Pittsburgh was up 3-1. 12 minutes later the Pens had another powerplay and they made Toronto pay for it with Crosby and Malkin(4) hooking up for Crosby's(4) second goal of the game and a 4-1 lead.

In the third period the Leafs tried getting back into the game when Niklas Hagman scored the Penguins offensive was too powerful tonight and Jordan Staal(1) answered a minute later and gave the Penguins the final score and 5-2 lead. Malkin recorded his third assist of the game on the Staal goal giving him 5 assists and 2 goals on the season. Marc-Andre Fleury stayed undefeated on the season at 4-0 while stopping 18 shots on the night. The Penguins travel to Ottawa on Monday for game 3 of the 4 game road trip.

GO PENGUINS!

Yankees win, Red Sox lose....

2009-10-11T07:37:00.002-04:00

The New York Yankees were taken to extra innings by the Minnesota Twins but clutch homers from Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira gave the Yankees a 2-0 series lead with a 4-3 victory Friday night. ARoid hit a home run in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game at 3 and then offseason free agent pickup Teixeira hit a leadoff walk off homer for the win in the bottom of the 11th bringing the raucous home crowd to their feet.
Yankees lead best of 5 series 2-0

The Los Angeles Angels continue to stifle the Boston Red Sox once powerful bats with superb pitching and good defense and took a commanding 2-0 series lead with 4-1 win. Jered Weaver out dueled Josh Beckett pitching 7 and a third inning striking out 7 and giving up the only Red Sox run in the series while Beckett gave all four runs in 6 and two-thirds.
Angels lead best of 5 series 2-0

MLB Playoff recap...

2009-10-09T06:49:00.003-04:00

The Colorado Rockies evened things up in their first round playoff series against the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4. The Rockies took it to Cole Hamels early scoring three runs in the first five innings before he left to be with his pregnant wife. Yorvit Torrealba hit a two-run homer in the fourth and Huston Street recorded his first save of the postseason.
Best of 5 series tied at 1-1

The Los Angeles Dodgers took a commanding 2-0 series lead over the St. Louis Cardinals with a 3-2 win. Matt Holliday had a chance to seal the game for the Cards with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and all he had to do was catch a sinking line drive but instead he missed the catch and gave the Dodgers new life. The Dodgers went on to win on a pinch hit single by Mark Loretta that drove in Casey Blake to give L.A. the go ahead score.
Dodgers lead best of 5 series 2-0

The Los Angeles Angels continued the Bay area dominance with 5-0 win over the Boston Red Sox. The Angels jumped over Jon Lester including Torii Hunter who hit 3-run home run in the fifth inning giving the Angels the first runs of the game and which would turn out to be the game winner.
Angels lead best of 5 series 1-0

Penguins beat Flyers 5-4...

2009-10-09T05:59:00.003-04:00

The Pittsburgh Penguins(3-1-0) started their four game road trip off on the right foot by knocking off the Flyers in Philadelphia(3-1-0) by a score of 5-4.

Evgeni Malkin started the scoring for the game recording his second goal of the season on a power play that was set up by Sergei Gonchar and Kris Letang only 48 seconds into the game.

The Flyers responded 11 minutes later when Daniel Briere put the puck into the net for the second time on the season and tied things up at 1.

The Penguins answered the Flyers score almost 30 seconds later when Jordan Staal had a break away that was set up by Malkin and Staal made a great move to get the puck past goalie Ray Emery.

In the second period Philadelphia would tie things up once again when Briere recorded his second goal of the game on a power play at the 2:37 mark. Jeff Carter and Kimmo Timonen were credited with the assist.

Bill Guerin would give Pittsburgh the lead for good when he took a cross ice pass from Chris Kunitz and wristed the shot past Emery for his first goal of the season. Second year defenseman Alex Goligoski would pick up his first career goal on a fluke play. A Flyers defenseman was trying to clear the puck behind his own net when the puck took a weird bounce and it deflected off of Goligoski's skate and then off of Emery into the net. Marc-Andre Fleury stoned two point blank shots on Flyer breakaways to preserve the 4-2 lead.

With 3 minutes remaining in the period Jeff Carter would lead the Flyers on another successful power play scoring on a two man advantage making the score 4-3.

Midway through the third period MMMMMMMMMRRRRRRRRRRRRR. KENNEDYYYYYY Tyler Kennedy increased Pittsburgh's lead 5-3 after he scored his second goal of the season. Jeff Carter picked up his second goal of the game scoring with only 41 seconds left but it was to little too late. Fleury stopped 30 of 34 shots en route to starting the season 3-0. Malkin recorded a goal and an assist but team Captain Sidney Crosby was held scoreless for the second straight game. Ray Emery stopped 20 of 25 shots faced. The Penguins travel to Toronto on Saturday for game two of their 4 game road trip.

GO PENGUINS!

Oh yeah the MLB playoffs finally started....

2009-10-08T08:27:00.003-04:00

After a 162 game regular season( I guess 163 for the Twins if you want to get technical about it) the long arduous journey to the MLB playoffs is finally here and it kicked off with three games yesterday. Somehow the Twins who played on Tuesday got screwed and had to play the very next day against the Yankees in New York. I don't think tzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.... Oh sorry I fell a sleep just talking about baseball it's that boring, anyway here's what happened....

The defending World Series Champions the Philadelphia Phillies won 6-1 over the Colorado Rockies. Ace Cliff Lee pitched the entire game giving up only 6 hits and 1 earned run and striking out 5 batters.
Phillies lead best of 5 series 1-0

C.C. Sabathia finally won a meaningful game in October and the Yankees got contributions from captain Derek Jeter and well known steroid user and post season choker Alex Rodriguez during a 7-2 trouncing of the tired Minnesota Twins. Sabathia pitched 6 and two-thirds of an inning and struck out 8 batters while only giving up 1 run on 8 hits. ARoid drove in 2 runs and Jeter hit a home run in the in the first inning.
Yankees lead best of 5 series 1-0

And the Los Angeles Dodgers knocked off the St. Louis Cardinals 5-3 to take the first game of the series. Albert Pujols went 0-3 with a walk and the Cardinals missed a lot of opportunities. Manny Ramirez for the Dodgers was 1-4 with a walk and Rafeal Furcal was the catalyst for the offense going 3-4 with an RBI and triple.
Dodgers lead best of 5 series 1-0

Penguins get shut out 3-0 at home by Phoenix...

2009-10-08T08:03:00.003-04:00

The Pittsburgh Penguins returned home yesterday only to be shut out by the unexpected upstart Phoenix Coyotes 3-0.

Two of the Coyotes goals came on the power play and the last one was an empty netter when the Penguins were trying to mount a late comeback. The Penguins were lethargic and played a terrible game that was filled with a lot of mistakes and very few shots. Brent Johnson made his first start of the season over Marc-Andre Fleury, who was given the night off, and played well enough to win stopping 24 shots but the rest of the Pens were committing stupid penalties and were out of position most of the night. The Pens were unable to solve Ilya Bryzgalov who easily turned aside all 24 shots he faced. Pittsburgh's two big stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin recorded almost as many penalties(2 apiece) as shots(3 for Crosby, 2 for Malkin). The Penguins start a tough 4 game road trip on Thursday at division leader Philadelphia, then the Maple Leafs, Senators, and it ends in Carolina. With the loss the Penguins drop to 2-1-0 and are now tied for second in the division with the Rangers.

GO PENGUINS!

Crabtree finally ends holdout...

2009-10-08T06:53:00.002-04:00

On Wednesday Michael Crabtree finally ended his holdout that lasted into the first month of season by coming to terms with the San Francisco 49ers on a contract that is 6 years long. The signing comes one day after Crabtree and his agent met with the 49ers vice president of football operations Paraag Marathe face to face to see if they could revive the contract talks. Crabtree is expected to partake in practices the rest of the week but his game status has yet to be determined but they have a bye week next week so he will have some extra time to prepare.

I really liked Crabtree while he was in college and coming into the draft I thought he was the best player and should have been the number 1 pick and I was shocked that the Raiders passed on him for Darrius Hayward-Bey. Now I think he is a bit of a jackass for feeling like he should be paid as much or more than someone who was drafted four spots ahead of him and just now signing ruining his rookie season. Yes he was more talented then DHB but in the real world he wasn't drafted that way and he hasn't done anything yet to prove that he is better than anybody else in the NFL, in fact he has done the complete opposite by not attending the combine, not running on his pro day at Texas Tech, and now he has become the biggest diva at wide receiver in the NFL and he hasn't even put on pads yet. Hopefully this holdout was just a hiccup in the road for the very talented wide out and he learns from this and becomes what he is capable of being, a Pro Bowl caliber player.

Browns trade Edwards to the Jets....

2009-10-08T06:16:00.003-04:00

The Cleveland Browns traded away their much maligned wide receiver Braylon Edwards to the New York Jets for two players and two draft picks. The Browns received receiver Chansi Stuckey, linebacker Jason Trusnick, and a conditional third round draft pick( it can increase to a second round pick if Edwards catches a certain number of balls) and fifth round pick. On the season Edwards has 10 catches 139 yards 0 touchdowns and is coming off his game with no catches. Stuckey has 11 catches for 120 yards and a touchdown, Trusnick is a special teams ace and will be an immediate backup at linebacker in Cleveland.

This is a good move for both teams on paper. The Browns really needed to get rid of Edwards because he clearly didn't want to be there and aside from the 2007 season, where he made the Pro Bowl with 80 catches for 1,289 yards and 16 TDs, he was more of a hindrance with his poor attitude and even more poor hands. He would routinely drop key passes for touchdowns or on third downs killing drives. Plus he recently got into a fight with a friend of Lebron James, which is just one of a few off the field problems that he has had over his career.

For the Jets they hope Edwards will provide a reliable down field threat for rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez. Edwards has the big play capabilities that the Jets feel they need to get their passing game going to compliment a tough aggressive defense and a solid ground game. I personally don't like Edwards that much though, I think he drops way too many balls and even when he has his good season he still hurt the a lot of times and he doesn't make very good choices off the field. Edwards gets flustered too easily and if you get physical with him he will be thrown off his game and will mope and sulk around the field until something finally goes away, essentially he rides the emotional waves too much. He is in New York now where he will fit right in a probably be welcomed with open arms.

NFL Power Rankings Week 4...

2009-10-07T09:14:00.000-04:00

1. Indianapolis Colts (4-0) (lw #2)- They have the hottest quarterback right now in the league and the longest current win streak
2. New York Giants (4-0) (lw #3)- Continue to dominate and find ways to win
3. New Orleans Saints (4-0) (lw #4)- The defense is looking good now if only the offense could keep up...wait what?
4. Minnesota Vikings (4-0) (lw #5)- Dominated the Packers at home and Favre(the wildcard for the team) is looking impressive so far
5. New York Jets (3-1) (lw #7)- Yes they lost and Sanchez looked like a rookie throwing 3 picks but they only lost by those miscues by Sanchez and the defense held Brees in check
6. San Francisco 49ers (3-1) (lw #10)- Dominated the Rams but the offense didn't look good...answer Michael Crabtree anyone?
7. New England Patriots (3-1) (lw #12)- The Pats got help from the refs but Brady is getting closer to being back up to snuff
8. Baltimore Ravens (3-1) (lw #1)- Even with the refs playing against them they still had a chance to win
9.Philadelphia Eagles (2-1) (lw #6)- A healthy McNabb should be back which means trouble for the rest of the division
10. Denver Broncos (4-0) (lw #11)- With the next 6 of 7 games we will see how good this team really is (New England, @ San Diego, @ Baltimore, Pittsburgh, San Diego, and the Giants)
11. Atlanta Falcons (2-1) (lw #8)- Coming off a bye week will help the team rebound from the lose at New England but traveling to San Francisco might hinder their progress
12. Cincinnati Bengals (3-1) (lw #14)- Struggled to beat the Browns and now they travel to Baltimore for another huge divisional game with 1st place on the line
13. Chicago Bears (3-1) (lw #16)- In the second half this team showed what they are capable of, now if only they could do it for 4 quarters
14. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2) (lw #17)- Got off the schneid finally and Polamalu should be returning in the next couple of weeks so this team will get better
15. San Diego Chargers (2-2) (lw #9)- Rallied late but came up short and they need a bye with a key game in 2 weeks against 1st place Denver
16. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-2) (lw #24)- 2 game winning streak and David Garrard has turned back the clock a few years and is looking impressive so far
17. Houston Texans (2-2) (lw #18)- This team is the hardest to figure out from week to week because they are so inconsistent on both sides of the ball right now
18. Green Bay Packers (2-2) (lw #15)- The Packers were lucky they only lost by a touchdown, if they want to compete for the division they need to protect Rodgers
19. Arizona Cardinals (1-2) (lw #22)- Coming off the bye week they welcome the Texans which should be good for them since the Texans are due for the down week coming off a victory last week
20. Dallas Cowboys (2-2) (lw #13)- Lost on a last minute touchdown and Romo has not shown the flashy plays that Cowboys fans have come to love and with no true #1 option at wide out this team will be in for a long season
21. Miami Dolphins (1-3) (lw #25)- The ball control offense finally worked and Chad Henne looked good in his first career start but now they welcome the Jets so Dolphins fans will have to wait for a possible winning streak
22. Detroit Lions (1-3) (lw #19)- One week after ending their 19 game losing streak it looks like they are going to start a new one but this team is still heading in the right direction
23. Buffalo Bills (1-3) (lw # 20)- The offense looks terrible and they entire team is inconsistent
24. Seattle Seahawks (1-3) (lw #23)- Without Hasselbeck this team is going to continue to lose
25. Washington Redskins (2-2) (lw #26)- They brought in Sherman Lewis as an offensive consultant to help with the anemic offense but the move could be to use him as a replacement if Zorn is eventually fired
26. Tennessee Titans (0-4) (lw #21)- Unlike last year they keep finding ways to lose and badly
27. Carolina Panthers (0-3) (lw #27)- Hopefully the bye week helped this team find their MOJO plus they have Washington coming in so they should be able to end their losing streak
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-4) (lw #29)- Made the switch at quarterback and it helped for about 5 minutes before the team realized they were the Bucs
29. Cleveland Browns (0-4) (lw #30)- The offense looked better and they were competitive for the first time all year now if only they could build off of that with an inconsistent Buffalo up next on the schedule
30. Oakland Raiders (1-3) (lw #28)- These guys are plain awful and they need to bench JaMarcus Russell
31. Kansas City Chiefs (0-4) (lw #31)- Matt Cassel isn't playing well yet and they got rid of Tyler Thigpen so unless Cassel steps up the Chiefs will be competing for the #1 pick in April
32. St. Louis Rams (0-4) (lw #32)- Shut out and they continue the longest current losing streak, watch out Tampa Bay you may have another contender for the longest losing streak ever

Favre shines in revenge game against Packers...

2009-10-06T08:34:00.003-04:00

In the first time in Brett Favre's career he faced and the Green Bay Packers and like the other 31 teams he has faced throughout his 19 years in the league they fell before him to a tune of 30-23.

Favre completed 24 of 31 passes for 271 yards and 3 touchdowns while becoming the first quarterback to ever defeat all 32 current NFL teams. Favre threw touchdown passes to Bernard Berrian, Vishante Shiancoe, and Sidney Rice, Adrian Peterson ran for a touchdown, and Jared Allen sacked Aaron Rodgers in the end zone giving the Vikings their 30 points. The Minnesota defense harassed Rodgers all night sacking him 8 times(Allen finished with4 and a half sacks) and the running game never got going for the Packers offense. When Rodgers wasn't being pressured he was able to complete 26 of 37 passes for 384 yards and 2 touchdowns but he did throw his first interception of the season and he had his first fumble.

Rodgers is a good quarterback but when the offensive line consistently gets dominated and the running game is nonexistent there is not much he can do. At this point in the season it's not fair to judge Rodgers against Favre since it appears the Vikings are the better team; they have a better offensive line, running back, and defense plus they were at home so they should have won the game. When things shift back to Lambeau field things will probably be different.

Steelers dominate early then hold on for dear life 38-28....

2009-10-06T07:44:00.003-04:00

The Pittsburgh Steelers once again dominated a team, this time the San Diego Chargers, then let them back into the game on some weird plays but luckily Rashard Mendenhall showed up for the Steelers because he was able to lead them to a 38-28 victory.

The domination started from the opening drive for the Steelers when they drove 79 yards down the field on only 6 plays and the drive was capped off by a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Mendenhall. The defense forced the Chargers to a three and out and the offense took over once again and had their way with the San Diego defense. Ben Roethlisberger capped off the drive finding his safety valve Mewelde Moore open in the flats on third and four for a 19 yard touchdown to put the Steelers up 14-0.
After the quick start the Steelers and Chargers traded empty drives until the middle of the second quarter when the Steelers chewed up 6 minutes and 21 seconds off the clock to go increase their lead. Mendenhall had six carries for 20 yards including a 2-yard touchdown run to put the Steelers ahead 21-0.

After the half the Steelers continued having their way with the Chargers driving 81 yards down the field on 8 plays and Big Ben picked up his second touchdown throw of the game when he found the always reliable Heath Miller open in the end zone for a 28-0 lead.

But momentum started to swing in favor of San Diego on their next possession. Philip Rivers methodically drove the Chargers offense down the field and they finally found pay dirt when Rivers connected with Antonio Gates for a 3- yard touchdown making the score 28-7.
The Steelers would force another three and out but on the ensuing punt return Stefan Logan was stripped of the ball by Jacob Hester who returned it 40 yards for a touchdown and just like that the Chargers were down only 28-14.

The Steelers were able to seize some of the momentum again with an 8 play 70 yard drive that spanned just over five minutes. Pittsburgh used some trickeration on their final touchdown of the game with Mewelde taking a sweep toss right at the six yard line and then pulling up and firing the ball into the end zone to an open Miller for a 35-14 lead.

The Chargers quickly went to work and needing only 4 plays to drive 67 yards and the drive ended when Rivers hit an open Gates who broke tackles on his way to a 30 yards touchdown. San Diego onside kicked the ensuing kickoff and recovered the ball because the Steelers were unprepared for the kick. With the short field the Chargers would pull within a touchdown of Pittsburgh after Rivers hooked up with Chris Chambers for 13 yard touchdown pass making the score 35-28.

Pittsburgh would get the ball back and respond like the Champions that they are by using up almost all of the remaining 4 minutes and 25 seconds. The offense drove down the field and kicked a 46 yard field goal to stretch the lead and prevent the Chargers from making a come back, Steelers win 38-28.

The offense looked awesome and the defense looked like the '08 version until about the end of the third which seems to be their trouble spot this year. I'm not sure what it is but this year the defense looks tired in the late stages of the game and they have been getting burned, it may be conditioning but whatever it is they need to get it fixed if they want to catch Cincinnati or Baltimore.

GO STEELERS!

Week 4 NFL Pick ems...

2009-10-04T09:30:00.003-04:00

I rebounded from my terrible 7-9 week with an 11-5 record last week. Overall my record is 30-18 which isn't too bad but it's not great either. Here are my picks for Week 4 of the NFL season...

Detroit Lions @ Chicago Bears
Cincinnati Bengals @ Cleveland Browns
Oakland Raiders @ Houston Texans
Seattle Seahawks @ Indianapolis Colts
Tennessee Titans @ Jacksonville Jaguars
New York Giants @ Kansas City Chiefs
Baltimore Ravens @ New England Patriots
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Washington Redskins
Buffalo Bills @ Miami Dolphins
New York Jets @ New Orleans Saints
Dallas Cowboys @ Denver Broncos
St. Louis Rams @ San Francisco 49ers
San Diego Chargers @ Pittsburgh Steelers
Green Bay Packers @ Minnesota Vikings

Another game another last second victory, Irish defeat Huskies 37-30 in OT...

2009-10-04T07:31:00.004-04:00

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish had 5 chances to score touchdowns throughout the game but they came away with only 3 points each time and mistakes kept this game closer than it should have been as the Irish needed overtime to knock off the Washington Huskies 37-30.

Even though the Huskies were able to move the ball up and down the field the Irish defense made some key stops, including two goal line stands, and they held Washington out of the end zone when it mattered most forcing an incomplete pass on fourth down and 19 in the extra period to preserve their third straight last second victory.

The first goal line stand came in the third quarter with the Irish defense twice stuffing quarterback Jake Locker at thew goal line and the ball was turned over on downs at the 1-yard line. The Irish then drove down the field and came away with one of their five field goals an inching Notre Dame closer 24-22.

The second goal line stand came in the fourth quarter after the Huskies ate up over nine minutes off the clock. The Irish defense stuffed Washington and forced them to kick a field goal that was good but then the officials made up a penalty(roughing the snapper) which gave the Huskies a fresh set of downs. The tired Irish D was able to persevere and forced the Huskies to kick another field goal to give them a 27-22 lead.

Jimmy Clausen, who had a career day throwing 23 of 31 for a career high 422 yards and 2 TDs, threw for one of his two touchdowns with 1:22 left in the game to tight end Kyle Rudolph to give the Irish the lead at 28-27 . Robert Hughes did something on the 2-point conversion that the Irish were not able to do from inside the five yard line all afternoon, he scored and gave Notre Dame a three point lead 30-27.

The Huskies once again drove down the field and tied the game on 37-yard field goal to force overtime. In the extra period Hughes once again found the endzone to put Notre Dame ahead for good from 1-yard out and then the Irish defense did its job to help Notre Dame to improve to 4-1 on the season.

Golden Tate had a monster day for Notre Dame finishing with 9 catches for 244 yards and 1 TD. He routinely broke tackles and gave the Irish opportunities to score including his own 67-yard catch and run and he also had a huge catch and run to start the second half that went 77-yards but the drive ended in only 3-points.

The Irish defense is terrible and they give up lots yards and points but I guess its okay when you have one of the best offenses in the nation its okay. I'm a realist this team is not that good, sure their offense is unstoppable but the defense is absolutely terrible, they are going to lose to teams that are better than they are, especially USC next weekend. If they face a good defense and an offense that can score Notre Dame will be in trouble, lucky for them only one team left on their schedule fits that bill and its USC, but who knows what will happen when they travel to Pittsburgh and an improved Stanford team at the end of the season, hopefully they will have worked out some of their defensive kinks by then.

GO IRISH!

Penguins win season opener on Friday and their road opener on Saturday....

2009-10-04T06:54:00.003-04:00

On the night the Pittsburgh Penguins raised the new banner for the 2009 Stanley Cup championship they went out and handled their business beating the New York Rangers 3-2.

Conn Smythe winner Evgeni Malkin got things started off quickly for the Cup Champs scoring on power play 7:48 into the first period on shot that he deflected into the net from Sergei Gonchar giving the Pens a 1-0 lead. The Rangers tied it up 10 minutes later on a goal scored by Chris Drury.

Sidney Crosby would break the tie in the second period forcing a 3-0n-1 with teammates Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz but Kris Letang who was trailing on the rush was the one who fed the puck to Crosby on a rebound in front of the net for his first goal of the season. One minute later MMMRRRRRRRR. KENNEDY Tyler Kennedy would put the Pens ahead for good on another shot that was deflected into the net and giving Pittsburgh a 3-1 lead.

The Rangers would attempt a comeback as Marian Gaborik scored to make the score 3-2 less than 6 minutes into the third period but Marc-Andre Fleury did everything he could after that to preserve the win for Pittsburgh. Fleury finished with 25 saves in the season debut.

On Saturday night the Pittsburgh Penguins traveled to New York to take on the Islanders and they got all they could get form last seasons worst team being taken to a shootout but they eventually pulled it out with 4-3 victory.

Sid the Kid got things started for the Pens scoring the first goal of the game taking a long cross ice pass from Ruslan Fedotenko, crashing the net and squeaking the puck past the goalie for 1-0 lead. The Islanders would tie things up on a 5-on-3 goal from Mark Streit.

In the second period the #1 pick overall in the recent draft, John Tavares paid immediate dividends for the Islanders scoring his first career goal on a power play to give New York a 2-1 lead.

In the third period Mark Eaton would tie things up on assists by Kris Letang and Crosby but the less than 30 seconds later the Islanders would regain the lead on Trent Hunter goal. Ruslan Fedotenko would tie the game up again with less then four minutes to go in regulation wristing off the skate of an Islander defender.

In the overtime neither team could do anything and the teams would go to a shoot out. Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby scored goals in the shoot out and Marc-Andre Fleury turned aside both attempts by New York to pick an important 2 points in the early season. Fleury stopped 25 shots for the second consecutive night.

Crosby recorded his 400th point of his career becoming the fifth fastest player all time to reach that milestone needing only 292 games. The Penguins improved to 2-0 on the season.

GO PENGUINS!

NHL season kicked off last night....

2009-10-02T06:52:00.002-04:00

The 2009-2010 season of the National Hockey League debuted last night and they had 4 games to get things started.

The Washington Capitals lead by Alexander Ovechkin's 2 goals and an assist defeated the Boston Bruins 4-1. Despite Semyon Varlamov's impressive playoff run last year Jose Theodore was in the net for the Capitals but he did turn aside 19 of 20 shots so maybe they feel Varlamov is not quite ready yet to be a permanent starter.

The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 in the first overtime game of the new season. Carey Price picked up his first win of the season stopping 43 of 46 shots and Josh Gorges scored the game winner with just 13 seconds to go in the extra period.

The Colorado Avalanche knocked off the San Jose Sharks 5-2 and in the second battle of Canada the Calgary Flames downed the Vancouver Canucks 5-3.

Mangini throws dart at board, Anderson named starter....

2009-10-01T10:00:00.004-04:00

Even though Cleveland Browns new head coach Eric Mangini said at the beginning of the season that once he picked a starter for quarterback he was going to stick with him for the whole season barring injury, well that lasted less than 3 weeks. Yesterday Mangini announced that Derek Anderson will be his QB that will start at home against the Cincinnati Bengals. Anderson threw three picks in the second half of the Baltimore game last week and hasn't really done much to be given the starting job but at the same time Brady Quinn didn't do much to be given the job and once he had it he didn't do anything to prove that it was the right move.

I guess the Browns are hoping D.A. can revive the franchise like he did in 2007 but the team only lost the first game that year before he was declared the starter and he was able to get things going right away but in this case the team is 0-3 and they haven't scored a touchdown in "real time" of a game in 9 games, which he has been apart of the abysmal play for the offense during the stretch.

What does this say about the head coach that less than three weeks into the season he makes the change, he even said it's not all on Quinn but he made the change anyway. They traded away their best offensive talent in Kellen Winslow before the season started and now they wonder why the offense is terrible, maybe its because they kept the guy who has bricks for hands instead of keeping the guy who provided the attitude and fire that the offense needed.

Both quarterbacks will be gone after the season and the Browns will use their #1 pick on Colt McCoy or Sam Bradford and they will be at the bottom of the NFL for the foreseeable future.

Oh and congratulations to the city of Cleveland for being announced as the new home of the 2014 Gay Games. I guess when you haven't fielded a competitive team in a while you will take any type of competition you can get. HAHA

Dolphins trade for Thigpen after placing Pennington on the IR...

2009-09-30T10:07:00.002-04:00

A couple of days after Chad Pennington left the Dolphins game do to a shoulder injury it was announced he will be placed on the injured reserve list and will be done for the rest of the season. The shoulder injury is the third for Pennington since 2005 and at the age of 33 and another surgery on his throwing shoulder looming his career maybe in jeopardy.

The move to put Pennington on the IR was made so the Dolphins could trade for Tyler Thigpen from the Kansas City Chiefs. Thigpen last year went 1-10 as a starter but he put up impressive numbers throwing for 2,608 yards 18 touchdowns and only 12 interceptions in his first taste as starting quarterback. Thigpen is the only quarterback in Chiefs history to score a touchdown three ways: running, throwing, and catching. Thigpen became dispensable when the Chiefs hired a new head coach and they traded for Matt Cassel from the New England Patriots.

The Dolphins picked up a pretty good versatile quarterback that should be able to compliment Chad Henne who is now being thrust into the starting position for an 0-3 team. Thigpen was the best thing last year on a terrible team in K.C. and with him going to a talented team in Miami his potential is only going to sky rocket. Plus when Bill Parcells trades for you that means you are probably a pretty good player. The rumor is that with his size(225 pounds) and versatility they plan to use him as their wildcat quarterback but if Henne doesn't look good in the first few games Thigpen maybe called upon to save their season. Hopefully it won't be too late for the Dolphins with their ultra competitive division because he could provide a Pennington like spark for this team.

The NBA to use replacement referees...

2009-09-30T09:12:00.002-04:00

Days after the NBA thought they had reached an agreement on a new contract with the National Basketball Referees Association they have announced that they will be going with replacement referees for the upcoming season after the NBRA turned down the offer.

I'm torn on this because it can go either way, the previous set of officials were substandard but at the same time don't you want the best product put on the floor every night? What makes the NBA think that the replacements can do a better job then the guys who have been officiating in NBA Finals and playoffs for the last five years? Where will the replacements come from, the college level? Those guys do just as bad of a job as the pros do and they are dealing with a different style of game. Are they going to bring in international refs but again you are dealing with a different style of basketball where the players are bigger, faster, stronger. So the big question is where are these guys going to come from.

On the other hand the replacement refs may have a fresh take on how the games should be called and maybe they will let the players play more then the league has allowed in the past. Maybe marquee players won't get their usual calls that they have in the past which would make for interesting basketball because it will change how players approach the game? The current refs won't have any bias towards certain players or teams so that's a good thing. Plus the NBA can start fresh with the refs and they will be able to build a new rep after the who cheating scandal involving Tim Donaghy.

I'm really on the fence with this because it's not like the new guys can do a worse job than their predecessors or maybe they will and the fouls will be called at an all time high and games will be long drawn out boring affairs. The one thing I do know is that in the short term the credibility of the NBA has been ruined but this could work out in the end, so I guess we will just have to wait and see.

NFL Power Rankings week 3...

2009-09-29T11:23:00.000-04:00

1. Baltimore Ravens (3-0) (lw #1)- The offense is averaging 30 points a game which is unheard of in Baltimore, but they have faced the Browns and Chiefs
2. Indianapolis Colts (3-0) (lw #2)- Peyton once again proves it doesn't matter who is on the field the offense will score
3. New York Giants (3-0) (lw #3)- Dominating run game and a couple of easy games before a real test at New Orleans
4. New Orleans Saints (3-0) (lw #5)- The defense looks like they are the real deal but it's still early
5. Minnesota Vikings (3-0) (lw #6)- Favre showed he still has some gas left in the tank and the team is winning tough close games
6. Philadelphia Eagles (2-1) (lw #7)- Kolb has filled in nicely for McNabb but with the bye week Kolb will probably go back to the bench
7. New York Jets (3-0) (lw #11)- Sanchez and Ryan's defense keep finding ways to win which is the mark of a champion
8. Atlanta Falcons (2-1) (lw #4)- Tough road loss but the team held tough but they couldn't make enough plays to win
9. San Diego Chargers (2-1) (lw #8)- Rebounded from a tough loss with a big home win but they have a road game at Pittsburgh and then a huge divisional matchup with the Broncos
10. San Francisco 49ers (2-1) (lw #10)- Coach Singletary has a mediocre team ready to play every week and puts them in positions to win but they lost on last second play on the road
11. Denver Broncos (3-0) (lw #12)- Yes they are undefeated but they haven't played anyone yet
12. New England Patriots (2-1) (lw #13)- The offense is still off key but they are finding ways to win which is scary because once Brady finds his rhythm this team will be dangerous
13. Dallas Cowboys (2-1) (lw #15)- Finally got the elusive first win in the new stadium, we will see how good they are after a road game at Denver this weekend
14. Cincinnati Bengals (2-1) (lw #23)- The Bengals are one play away from a 3-0 start but they were manhandled by the Steelers until the fourth quarter
15. Green Bay Packers (2-1) (lw #17)- The offense has found it's stride but the defense needs to pick it up if they want to knock off the Minnesota Favres on MNF
16. Chicago Bears (2-1) (lw #18)- They picked up a big road win at Seattle and they go to Detroit for a big early season matchup
17. Pittsburgh Steelers (1-2) (lw #7)- 2 games losing streak and they had the lead in the fourth quarter of both games, they need to learn to close games out
18. Houston Texans (1-2) (lw #19)- Texans need to find consistency which has been the case every year in the league
19. Detroit Lions (1-2) (lw #29)- first win in 20 tries but they still have room to improve, if Stafford doesn't turn the ball over they will be in every game
20. Buffalo Bills (1-2) (lw #20)- When you can't get your best player the ball your offense has problems, Lynch returns from suspension but they can't expect him to solve their woes right away
21. Tennessee Titans (0-3) (lw # 21)- Yes they are 0-3 but they have been in every game they just can't seem to find a way to win
22. Arizona Cardinals (1-2) (lw #14)- Just when you think they have found how to win they lay a huge egg at home for the second time this year, they should use the bye week to figure their offense out
23. Seattle Seahawks (1-2) (lw #16)- Hasselbeck was out with broken ribs and coach Mora lost his cool during the post game press conference, unless Hasselbeck is healthy this team won't win
24. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-2) (lw #26)- Finally found a win and the MJD showed up for the first time but it was probably an anomaly
25.Miami Dolphins (0-3) (lw #22)- Pennington is done for the year which does not bode well for them since he was the spark for their playoff run last year
26. Washington Redskins (1-2) (lw #24)- The offense is terrible and they gave the Lions their first win, Jim Zorn is on the hot seat
27. Carolina Panthers (0-3) (lw #25)- The offense is inconsistent and the defense is put in bad situations so they look bad as well, the bye week could not have come at a better time plus the Skins are on the horizon
28. Oakland Raiders (1-2) (lw #27)- Jamarcus Russell is terrible and they don't have anyone backing him up, hello long season for Oakland
29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-3) (lw #28)- Fired the OC before the season and now 3 games in they have made the switch at QB to go with a rookie not named Josh Freeman
30. Cleveland Browns (0-3) (lw #30)- Terrible offense and the defense can't stop anyone, before the end of the season they will compete for something: the #1 pick
31. Kansas City Chiefs (0-3) (lw #31)- Thinks haven't worked out yet in K.C. and it doesn't look like it will anytime soon
32. St. Louis Rams (0-3) (lw #32) - Marc Bulger is hurt and the team isn't getting much better

USC RB Johnson nearly crushes throat in weight lifting accident, Tebow released from hospital...

2009-09-29T09:05:00.005-04:00

USC running back Stafon Johnson may be done for the season after a weight lifting accident injured his neck and larynx. Johnson was bench pressing on Monday when the bar slipped from his right hand and fell on his throat resulting in severe injuries to his neck and required surgery, he is in critical but stable condition. Johnson is USC's second leading rusher and he leads the touchdowns with 5.

Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow was released from the hospital yesterday after being treated for a concussion that he sustained in Saturday's win at Kentucky. Superman Tebow was injured on a sack by the Wildcat defense where he was rocked pretty hard but as he was going down his head also hit the leg of one of his lineman snapping his forward after it was just rocked backwards (I'm not sure how the Wildcats smuggled kryptonite into their home stadium but it looks like they need to tighten security there if they want to be taken seriously as a football school.) The Gators are idle this week but Tebow should be back for their biggest game of the year on October 10 at LSU.

Steelers blow another 4th quarter lead and lose to the Bengals 23-20....

2009-09-28T14:56:00.002-04:00

So once again the Pittsburgh Steelers had the lead going into the fourth quarter and plenty of chances to put the game away but they let the Cincinnati Bengals back into it and they ended the Steelers dominance in the Queen City with a thrilling 23-20 victory.

The Steelers got things started right away shutting the Bengals down on offense and the Pittsburgh O took the ball down the field and came away with the first points of the game on a field goal by Jeff Reed. The Steelers got on the board again when Ben Roethlisberger connected with Willie Parker for a 27 yard scoring pass to put the Steelers up 10-0. Jeff Reed put Pittsburgh up 13-0 with 24 yard field goal in the second quarter.

The Bengals found a flow to their offense just before the half as they drove down the field to the Steelers 17 yard line. The Bengals had some confusion on a couple of plays and only came away with 3 to narrow the gap to 13-3 at halftime.

The second half started terrible for the Steelers when Ben connected with Santonio Holmes for a first down but the play was nullified by a penalty on Hines Ward, then on the very next play Ben and Holmes had some miscommunication and Jonathan Joseph intercepted the ball and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown making the score 13-9 Pittsburgh(Cincinnati botched the extra point). Then on the ensuing drive on third down Ben found Limas Sweed wide open in the end zone and Sweed made the catch but dropped the ball when he hit the ground. After the incomplete pass Jeff Reed missed a 52 yard field goal.

The Steelers eventually found the end zone for the last time as Roethlisberger kept the ball and snuck in from one yard out to put the Steelers up 20-9 heading into the fourth quarter. The Bengals would close the margin to 5 on a 23 yard Cedric Benson touchdown run. And with just over 5 minutes left the Bengals took the field and drove down the field to score the game winning touchdown. Carson Palmer found Andre Caldwell open in the end zone for a four yard scoring strike to put the Bengals up 21-20. They were successful on their two-point conversion and the Steelers tried a last second hail mary but came up short.

This was another game where the Steelers had an inferior opponent on the ropes on the road and they came away empty handed. As Coach Tomlin has put it this team is not winning situational football, they have in all their games given up scoring drives inside two minutes before halftime and at the end of the game and they cannot get off the field on third downs when they need to. I realize you can't win them all but when you miss opportunities to put teams away in the NFL you are going to lose. I also think the Steelers are missing Troy Polamalu more than they are letting on because in a lot of situations on the defensive side of the ball players have been out position and have been getting burnt in crucial situations. Limas Sweed is the biggest waste of roster space that I have ever seen, he has dropped 2 HUGE touchdowns in his short NFL career, the Steelers should have kept Nate Washington or they should put Mike Wallace as the third wide receiver permanently. It's no time to panic yet but it is getting close, the Steelers have home contests with the Chargers, Vikings, and Browns with a road trip to Detroit, who doesn't appear to be an easy win anymore, in between the San Diego and Minnesota games so they need to right the ship before their bye week.

GO STEELERS!

Week 3 Pick ems...

2009-09-27T12:38:00.002-04:00

I did terrible last week going 7-9, I tried picking upsets but picked the wrong ones, oh well....

Cleveland Browns @ Baltimore Ravens
Washington Redskins @ Detroit Lions
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Houston Texans
Atlanta Falcons @ New England Patriots
Green Bay Packers @ St. Louis Rams
New York Giants @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tennessee Titans @ New York Jets
Kansas City Chiefs @ Philadelphia Eagles
San Francisco 49ers @ Minnesota Vikings
New Orleans Saints @ Buffalo Bills
Chicago Bears @ Seattle Seahawks
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cincinnati Bengals
Denver Broncos @ Oakland Raiders
Miami Dolphins @ San Diego Chargers
Indianapolis Colts @ Arizona Cardinals
Carolina Panthers @ Dallas Cowboys

Oregon coach reimburses fan for Boise State game...

2009-09-24T10:25:00.002-04:00

Oregon Ducks head coach Chip Kelly received an email from an alumni who attended the season opening loss at Boise State asking for a refund for his expenses from the game. So what did Kelly do?... He reimbursed the guy the entire $439 dollars.

This is amazing that the head coach of a major D-1 college would have the integrity to actually do that, its freaking awesome. Most coaches would take it as a personal slight and they would probably rip the fan a new hole, but not Chip Kelly, he had the integrity to actually do the right thing. Well I don't know if it's the right thing for him to do but it shows how much he cares about how the University is represented and that he can listen to the fans, to an extent.

Was it a knee jerk reaction by the fan to send the email, sure but most fans were upset with how the running back from Oregon handled himself after the loss and it does start with the head coach, so he should take the blame. But to actually have the stones to email the coach and ask for your money back is pretty weird. I guess if you are an alumni you should be upset with how the university was represented on that night on national t.v. The fan was taken aback by the gesture of the coach so he mailed a thank you note with the check back to coach Kelly.

Hats off to the people of Oregon for displaying class and using their heads in this situation. They have earned points in my book and Chip Kelly has picked up another fan.

NFL Power rankings Week 2...

2009-09-23T09:33:00.000-04:00

1. Baltimore Ravens (2-0) (lw #3)- Joe Flacco has the offense on par with the defense and they and he looks more confident in the pocket
2. Indianapolis Colts (2-0) (lw # 4)- They won by only running 34 total plays so that tells you how dangerous this team can be, the defense bent but did not break which is a good sign for Manning
3. New York Giants (2-0) (lw #8)- Won consecutive close games and they continue to find ways to win games and with their next 3 games against Tampa Bay, KC, and Oakland they could 5-0 before they get into the real meat of their schedule
4. Atlanta Falcons (2-0) (lw #9)- Ryan is avoiding a sophomore slump but their schedule is about to pick up with no "pancake" on their schedule until week 12
5. New Orleans Saints (2-0) (lw #11)- No one can stop the offense and if the defense can continue to make stops this may be the teams year
6. Minnesota Vikings (2-0) (lw #7)- An easy start to the season and have looked good but 6 of their next 7 games will test their true mettle
7. Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1) (lw #1)- Blew a road win and they have to travel to Cincinnati for an early divisional game, they cannot afford to beat themselves again
8. San Diego Chargers (1-1) (lw #6)- Lost a home contest that they could have won and found out that the rest of their schedule will not be as easy as when they play their division: up next is a home game against the Dolphins then they travel to Pittsburgh
9. Philadelphia Eagles (1-1) (lw #5)- The offense looked just as stellar without McNabb but the defense could not stop Brees, a home game against the Chiefs should help them this week plus Michael Vick is allowed to return to the field for the first time in 2 years
10. San Francisco 49ers (2-0) (lw #14)- They have taken on the personality of their coach and they are winning with a tough style of gritty football
11. New York Jets (2-0) (lw #19)- Have found ways to win and Rex Ryan looks like he has the defense prepared to stop any offense
12. Denver Broncos (2-0) (lw #17)- They are not pretty when they win but in the NFL its not about style points
13. New England Patriots (1-1) (lw #2)- Tom Brady is not back to what he once was and it looks like the defensive departures are hurting more than everyone thought
14. Arizona Cardinals (1-1) (lw # 18)- Kurt Warner and the offense appear to be on the same page again but a home contest with Colts could derail their momentum
15. Dallas Cowboys (1-1) (lw #13)- Once again the Cowboys lose a big game with Tony Romo as their quarterback
16. Seattle Seahawks (1-1) (lw #12)- Hasselbeck is out with some broken ribs which severely limits this teams potential
17. Green Bay Packers (1-1) (lw #10)- Blew what should have been a big win for them but they sould rebound this week since facing the Rams should be a cure all for any team
18. Chicago Bears (1-1) (lw #20)- The Bears were handed the game but a win is a win and Cutler has confidence again which is a bad sight for the NFC North
19. Houston Texans (1-1) (lw #26)- Rebounded from a bad home loss by winning a divisional road game and the offense found it's stride
20. Buffalo Bills (1-1) (lw # 24)- One play away from a 2-0 start, we'll see if the Bills are serious or not after a home game this week against the Saints
21. Tennessee Titans (0-2) (lw #15)- Being 0-2 for this team is very disappointing since they had serious Super Bowl aspirations
22. Miami Dolphins (0-2) (lw # 16)- 2 straight loses to playoff teams are tough to swallow for them but being in an 0-2 hole certainly hurts their chances of returning to the playoffs
23. Cincinnati Bengals (1-1) (lw #31)- They won on the road but the Packers lost it more than the Bengals won it
24. Washington Redskins (1-1) (lw #21)- Yes they won but it was against the Rams and they only scored 9 points
25. Carolina Panthers (0-2) (lw #23)- Looked better than in Week 1 but they still aren't up to snuff with the talent on this team
26. Jacksonville Jaguars (0-2) (lw #22)- Lost at home, the offense couldn't score and the defense couldn't stop anyone
27. Oakland Raiders (1-1) (lw # 27)- Sure they won but when your "franchise" QB throws 7-24 for 104 yards and you rush for less than 70 yards, you're a bad team
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-2) (lw # 25)- Were out manned by the Bills who were still without Marshawn Lynch
29. Detroit Lions (0-2) (lw # 28)- Had the lead at halftime and they contained AP most of the game but Stafford is still going through his learning pains
30. Cleveland Browns (0-2) (lw #29)- The offense is terrible and the defense found another way to lose the game in the fourth quarter
31. Kansas City Chiefs (0-2) (lw #30)- Had the lead at home and blew it against a bad Oakland team even though they dominated statistically
32. St. Louis Rams (0-2) (lw #32)- Put up a good fight but it still wasn't enough and the offense is offensive

Colts knock off the Dolphins 27-23 on MNF....

2009-09-22T08:44:00.002-04:00

The Indianapolis Colts scored first in the exciting Monday Night Football and they scored last to pull out a victory over the Miami Dolphins 27-23 improving to 2-0 on the season.

Peyton Manning and the offense took little time to score as he found a wide open Dallas Clark on the first play from scrimmage and they connected on an 80 yard touchdown to give the Colts a 7-0 lead.

The Dolphins responded with an 9 play 75 yard drive that chewed up 6:06 off the clock and Ronnie Brown tied the game up taking a snap out the wildcat formation and running into the endzone from 14 yards out. The teams would exchange field goals 3 field goals apiece in the second quarter and neither team could find the endzone during the third quarter and were tied at 13.

In the fourth quarter Ronnie Brown broke the tie running the ball in from 3 yards out to put the Dolphins ahead 20-13. The Colts would answer that score with a 15 yard touchdown run by rookie Donald Brown to tie it up for the fourth time during the game. The Dolphins would once again take the lead but this time it was on field goal with less than 4 minutes left to go up 23-20.

You never leave Manning and the Colts with any time to tie or win the game because he will win it which was evident last night when he hooked up with Pierre Garcon for a 48 yard pitch and catch to give the Colts the lead for good at 27-23.

The Dolphins drove down the field and had a chance for the win when Chad Pennington threw a perfect pass to Tedd Ginn, Jr. in the back of the endzone but Ginn could not come down with it and Pennington then threw a pick to end the game.

The Colts only had the ball for 14:53 minutes during the entire game and they ran only 35 plays to Miami's 84. But Manning took advantage of every opportunity completing 14 of 23 passes for 303 yards and 3 touchdowns. Dallas Clark had 7 catches for 183 yards and the games first score.

The Dolphins ran the ball a whole heck of alot with Ronnie Brown finishing with 24 carries for 136 yards and 2 tds. Ricky Williams touted the ball 19 times for 69 yards. Ginn had a hell of a ball game catching 11 passes for 108 yards but he did drop the game winning touchdown.

Top-25 College Football Polls...

2009-09-22T07:32:00.002-04:00

Look I think it's dumb that there is more than one poll to determine who is the top-25 of college football, coaches should not be allowed to vote because they spend so much time being focused on their teams that they don't get a chance to follow the rest of the college football world. You can't tell me that these coaches are able to watch all 119 college football teams to determine who is better than the rest.

The other thing that is really dumb is that the AP poll has to be the biggest joke in all of college football, right after the BCS National Championship game. Notre Dame finished last year 7-6 beating a 6-6 Hawaii team and they start out ranked in the top-25. Michigan finishes 3-9 and got destroyed in a lot of games last year and they start this year off beating a team that they should have beaten in Western Michigan and then they get lucky against an overrated ND team and all of a sudden they are in the top-25. And the biggest head scratcher of the early polling season is Washington, a team that lost 15 straight games including their home opener against LSU, beats Idaho(who, are they even a D-1 school?) and they get lucky against the #3 team in the nation USC and all of a sudden they are a top-25 team? Come on you have got to be kidding me, they look like a better then years past but come on USC loses on the road to unranked PAC-10 teams almost every year it doesn't mean anything other than on that day the Huskies were a better team then the Trojans, that's it, it doesn't mean that Washington could hang with Florida, Texas, or Alabama, heck I don't even think they can beat Notre Dame(we will find out in a couple of weeks).

The polls should not come out until after week 5 you can't really gauge how good a team is until at least after their third or fourth game because players and coaches are still getting used to each other during live situations and there are players who have yet to emerge or make a name for themselves. They should have a formula that goes into determining who the top teams are in the nation, my suggestion is that it should include strength of schedule, margin of victory over teams(but not teams that are favored to win by 20+ points), how many road games against home games, where you beat an opponent, and the eye test.* But college football will always continue with their hypocrisy of polling and handing out championships instead of letting the teams determine it out on the field.

The eye test is: sure a team won against someone but how did they look doing it, did they struggle and pull it out at the end or were they dominate in every game they played?

Steelers blow 4th quarter lead lose to Bears 17-14...

2009-09-21T09:53:00.002-04:00

The Pittsburgh Steelers had two leads and opportunities to increase those leads but dropped passes, errant throws, penalties, and missed field goals caused the Steelers to blow a 7 point lead in the fourth quarter on the road and they lost to the Chicago Bears 17-14.

Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers got off to a fast start as he completed 10 straight passes en route to leading the offense to a score on their first drive of the game for a 7-0 lead. Then the wheels came off a bit and Big Ben missed on a throw to Mike Wallace that was intercepted and ending the drive. Dropped passes and bad throws resulted in Ben throwing 6 straight incompletions ruining any flow the offense might have had hampering their chances to increase the lead. Big Ben connected with tight end Matt Spaeth from one yard out on the Steelers first scoring drive and then Ben took ball in himself for a rushing touchdown in the third quarter to give Pittsburgh a 14-7 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The offensive line held up pretty well only giving up 2 sacks and they helped the rushing game opening up holes for the team to pick up their first 100 yard rushing game of the season on 22 carries.

Jay Cutler rebounded from his abysmal week 1 performance and took advantage of the Steelers misfortunes in guiding his Bears to their first victory of the season completing 27 of 38 passes for 236 yards and 2 touchdowns. Just before halftime the Bears got some help from the refs on a BS roughing the passer call on James Harrison on an incomplete pass on third down. With the penalty the Bears found new life and Cutler connected with Kellen Davis for the game tying touchdown just before the end of the half. Cutler found rookie Johnny Knox in the fourth quarter open in the endzone for the tying score for the Bears.

The Steelers drove twice into Chicago territory in the fourth quarter and came away empty handed with the usually reliable Jeff Reed missing two field goals(38,44). After the second missed field goal the Bears drove down the field and Robbie Gould kicked the game winning field goal 17-14.

It's not time to panic but the Steelers beat themselves in this game and it was a shame that they gave it away. Pittsburgh had multiple opportunities to take big leads, not just off of the missed field goals, but they dropped a lot of passes and the rain appeared to effect Big Ben when he would throw the ball in the second and third quarters. They need to rebound this week with a big divisional match-up on the road against the Bengals because they can not afford to go down 2 games in the division.

GO STEELERS!

Week 2 pick ems...

2009-09-20T12:20:00.004-04:00

Last week I went 12-4 in my weekly NFL pick ems with the Panthers laying an enormous egg, the Bungals being the Bungals losing to a less talented team, the Texans forgot how to play football, and the 49ers continued their resurgence under Mike Singletary. So here are my picks for this week....

Carolina Panthers @ Atlanta Falcons
Minnesota Vikings @ Detroit Lions
St. Louis Rams @ Washington Redskins
Houston Texans @ Tennessee Titans
New Orleans Saints @ Philadelphia Eagles
New England Patriots @ New York Jets
Oakland Raiders @ Kansas City Chiefs
Arizona Cardinals @ Jacksonville Jaguars
Cincinnati Bengals @ Green Bay Packers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Buffalo Bills
Seattle Seahawks @ San Francisco 49ers
Baltimore Ravens @ San Diego Chargers
Cleveland Browns @ Denver Broncos
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Chicago Bears
New York Giants @ Dallas Cowboys
Indianapolis Colts @ Miami Dolphins

Notre Dame finally beats the Michigan State Spartans 33-30...

2009-09-20T08:06:00.005-04:00

Notre Dame could not afford to start the season 1-2 and they definitely could not afford to let Michigan State win a seventh straight game in South Bend. The Irish got all they could handle from the Spartans before Kyle McCarthy came away with the game sealing interception to preserve the victory 33-30 for their first victory at home over the Sparties since 1993. Michigan State had the ball at the ND 4 yard line with 57 seconds left and only needed a field goal to tie but the Irish defense applied pressure on quarterback Kirk Cousins forcing him to throw an errant pass which was intercepted allowing them to escape with a much needed victory.

Jimmy Clausen finished the game with his fourth straight 300 yard passing game going 22 of 31 for 300 yards and 2 touchdowns. Notre Dame's big play wide receiver Michael Floyd who caught a 22 yard touch down pass from Jimmy Clausen before injuring his shoulder, he is expected to be out indefinitely which is a huge blow to the Irish offense. Armando Allen picked up his third career 100 yard rushing game ending his day with 23 carries for 115 yards and a touchdown, he also threw a touchdown pass to Robbie Parris. Golden Tate stepped up big time in the absence of Floyd recording 7 receptions for 127 yards and he scored the go ahead touchdown with 5:18 remaining in the game.

College football wrap up...

2009-09-20T07:27:00.003-04:00

#1 Florida shut up the Volunteers from Tennessee by knocking them off 23-13. Tim Tebow did not have a good game turning the ball over twice(one interception, one fumble) but he continually provided the leadership that only he could provide. Tebow ripped off plenty of big runs and he extended plays with legs and he rallied the players to another victory.

#2 Texas got revenge from last year's loss to the Texas Tech Red Raiders 34-24. Colt McCoy had a bad game(24/34 for 205 yards 1td 1 int) but the level of talent around him was able to overcome his shortcomings to remain undefeated.

#3 USC was upset once again by an unranked PAC-10 on the road and Washington was the culprit this time upending the Trojans on a last second field goal 16-13. Washington was 0-12 last year and hired their head coach was hired after being the Trojans offensive coordinator last year. Freshman Matt Barkley was not able to play and the offense suffered not finding any rhythm and unable to put points on the board.

#4 Alabama routed North Texas 53-7. #5 Penn State dominated in state rival Temple 31-6. #6 Ole Mississippi had no troubles destroying SE Louisiana 52-6.

#7 BYU was upset by Florida State ruining any chance that they had of getting a shot at the BCS National title game 54-28. What really hurts the Cougars is that the big loss was at home.

#8 California went on the road and gave the Minnesota Golden Gophers their first loss of the season 35-21. The win coupled with USC's loss makes Cal the favorite to win the PAC-10.

#9 LSU routed LA-Lafayette 31-3. #11 Ohio State shut out the Toledo Rockets 38-0 at Cleveland Browns Stadium. #12 Oklahoma wasted little energy in shutting down Tulsa 45-0.

#13 Virginia Tech needed a last minute touchdown to knock off #19 Nebraska 16-15. Tyrod Taylor shook off would be defenders extending the play with his legs and eventually found an open Hokie receiver in the back of the endzone for the game winning score.

#15 TCU easily handled Texas State 56-21. #16 Oklahoma State kept Rice defeated beating them 41-24.

#17 Cincinnati picked up a big road win by traveling to the state of Oregon to knock off the Beavers 28-18 to remain undefeated.

#18 Utah was upset on the road losing to the Oregon Ducks 31-24 ending the nations longest winning streak at 16 games.

#22 Kansas shook off Duke 44-16 at home. #23 Georgia got all they could handle from the Arkansas Razorbacks in a shootout but they came out on top 52-41. #24 North Carolina powered past East Carolina 31-17. And to round out the top-25 Michigan matched last years win total by eventually taking control of the Eastern Michigan Eagles 45-17 and setting themselves up to exceed the 3 wins from 2008 with another home game next week against Indiana.

No. 20 Miami knocks off No. 14 Georgia Tech 33-17...

2009-09-18T08:12:00.003-04:00

The Miami Hurricanes continue their resurgence to a national powerhouse by knocking off their second straight top-25 opponent, the 14th ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 33-17. The win ended a four year losing streak for the Canes against the Jackets. Sophomore Jacory Harris lead the Canes by completing 20 of 25 passes for 270 yards and three touchdowns and the defense shut down Tech's triple option holding them under one hundred yards rushing. The victory marked the first time Miami has knocked off back-to-back top-25 teams since the end of the 2003 season and they matched their best conference start since joining the ACC with a 2-0 record.

I find it pretty weird that Miami opened up with two straight conference opponents to begin the season but it can work out for them because they are better prepared to compete having faced consecutive conference rivals and not the powder puff teams like other major schools. It's amazing what second year head coach Randy Shannon has done with the program because not only are they winning again but they seem to be taking in more quality people over the thugs and gangsters that have plagued the "U" in the past. I know Miami didn't finish well last year and it's still early in the season but you can see the confidence building within these guys each week and they are better prepared and not just relying on scaring teams because of who they are.

Miles Brand passes away at age 67....

2009-09-17T11:19:00.003-04:00

NCAA President Miles Brand passed away yesterday after losing his battle to pancreatic cancer at the age of 67. Brand was most known for being the University of Indiana's President and firing the legendary Bob Knight after multiple reports of abuse against players. The move sparked a movement for Brand who took a tougher position against the traditional powerhouses who sacrificed winning over academics. Brand announced in January that he was diagnosed with cancer at an NCAA convention and he also announced that he would continue to run the day-to-day operations. Its impressive when people face adversity and certain death and they still remain strong and do what is required of them with no questions asked. Brand is someone that should be looked up to and he knew how to run an organization the right way and with integrity. When he was announced as the new president of the NCAA in 2002 many thought that he was in over his head and wasn't qualified for the job but he quickly put those doubters to rest by passing big pieces of legislation within his first year. He tightened eligibility standards for incoming freshman which eventually lead to new academic standards that provide real-time statistics for athletes and their performance in the classroom.

R.I.P Miles Brand

Is this a touchdown?...

2009-09-16T20:48:00.004-04:00

Was this a touchdown catch by Oakland's rookie wide receiver Louis Murphy against the San Diego Chargers on Monday Night Football? My initial reaction was that it was a touchdown but after further review by the officials it was not a TD. I don't agree with the rule but it is what it is and according to NFL rules the referees got it right on the review. The one thing I don't agree with is that I don't think there was enough "irrefutable" evidence to over turn the call on the field, which was a TD, so the original call should have been upheld. If the catch would have been aloud the Raiders would have taken the lead from the Chargers late in the fourth quarter.

At the end of the video it compares the Murphy TD with New England Patriots tight end Ben Watson's TD catch that won the game for the Pats over the Bills in the first game of the MNF double header. I don't think the two are really comparable because with Watson you can't tell if it definitively came out like it did with Murphy. His arm is under the ball the entire time, now it does move a little bit but he still maintained control of the ball. The officials reviewed the play and upheld the ruling on the field which was the right call and thats how it should have been ruled in the Raiders game but I guess it doesn't hurt to be the Pats who always get questionable calls in their favor. The officials have started off on a bad note so far this year so this should only be a preview of things to come.

Week 1 NFL Power Rankings....

2009-09-15T08:35:00.002-04:00

1. Pittsburgh Steelers(1-0)(lw #1)- The Steelers knocked off the Titans in similar fashion to many of their games from last season, but they lost Polamalu for 3-6 weeks so they may see a decline over those few weeks.
2. New England Patriots (1-0)(lw #2)- The Patriots had to rally from two scores down at home but when your star quarterback is playing for the first time in a year what can you expect.
3. Baltimore Ravens (1-0)(lw #3)- Granted it was against the Chiefs but the Ravens still scored 38 points and Joe Flacco looked impressive
4. Indianapolis Colts (1-0) (lw #4)- Faced a tough Jaguars defense but they pulled out a tough win plus Manning looked good like usual
5. Philadelphia Eagles (1-0) (lw #6)- Dominated the Panthers on the road and the offense looked unstoppable
6. San Diego Chargers (1-0) (lw #7)- Needed late game heroics but the offense put up points when needed, the defense needs to step up though
7. Minnesota Vikings (1-0) (lw #8)- Dominated a lowly Browns team but the defense shut them down and AP looked like an MVP
8. New York Giants (1-0) (lw #9)- Found a way to win a tough game at home and the offense did enough to win
9. Atlanta Falcons (1-0) (lw #11)- Continued their resurgence from last year looking impressive against the Dolphins
10. Green Bay Packers (1-0) (lw #12)- The offense wasn't as impressive as it was in the preseason but the defense looks to be the real deal
11. New Orleans Saints (1-0) (lw #16)- Offense looks unstoppable and the defense looks a little better but they need to play a better opponent
12. Seattle Seahawks (1-0) (lw #19)- They dominated at home and the offense was clicking on all cylinders
13. Dallas Cowboys (1-0) (lw #22)- They won on the road over a bad Tampa team but once the offense got rolling they looked impressive
14. San Fransisco 49ers (1-0) (lw #24)- Pulled off the upset of the weekend and they will be around come December
15. Tennessee Titans (0-1) (lw #10)- Took the Super Bowl champions to overtime and the defense doesn't look like it will suffer without Haynesworth
16. Miami Dolphins (0-1) (lw #13)- Lost a tough game on the road
17. Denver Broncos (1-0) (lw #26)- Needed a miracle touchdown to beat the Bungals and they shut down a high powered offense
18. Arizona Cardinals (0-1) (lw #14)- They lost at home and Kurt Warner looked lost
19. New York Jets (1-0) (lw #30)- Jets won on the arm on rookie qb Mark Sanchez and they dominated on the road shutting down the Texans high powered offense
20. Chicago Bears (0-1) (lw #15)- Cutler had a rough debut and they lost Urlacher for the season to a wrist injury
21. Washington Redskins (0-1) (lw #17)- The offense couldn't find their rhythm and the defense didn't do enough to win
22. Jacksonville Jaguars (0-1) (lw #23)- The defense looks tough again this year limiting the Colts and Peyton Manning to only 14 points but the offense is anemic
23. Carolina Panthers (0-1) (lw #5)- Delhomme has continued his terrible stretch throwing 4 more interceptions and the defense couldn't stop a snail
24. Buffalo Bills (0-1) (lw #18)- Blew a fourth quarter lead against the Pats but the offense had more continuity than in the preseason
25. Tampa Bay Buccaneers(0-1) (lw #27)- Not much was expected with a rookie head coach and a lot of turnover but they were competitive
26. Houston Texans (0-1) (lw #20)- Lost at home to a rookie coach and quarterback
27.Oakland Raiders (0-1) (lw #32)- Showed a lot of grit and look like they may be competitive this year
28. Detroit Lions (0-1) (lw #29)- They showed fight in a losing battle and they never gave up
29. Cleveland Browns (0-1) (lw # 28)- The offense looked lost until the fourth quarter but that was against the second stringers and the run defense was terrible once again
30. Kansas City Chiefs (0-1) (lw # 25)- They lost to the Ravens which was expected but they were not fluid on offense and the D gave up a lot of points
31. Cincinnati Bengals (0-1) (lw #21)- The Bengals had high expectations and they laid an egg at home with an anemic offense
32. St. Louis Rams (0-1) (lw #31)- When you get shut out in the season opener and the entire team looks lost... it's bad

Monday night recap...

2009-09-15T07:03:00.002-04:00

In Tom Brady's return to the field the New England Patriots had to rally from two scores down in the fourth to knock off the Buffalo Bills 25-24. The Pats were down 24-13 in the fourth quarter of the game which is when Brady looked the Terrific Tom from 2007 leading the Patriots on a scoring drive by connecting with tight end Ben Watson to make the score 24-19 with 2:06 to play. Then New England got some help from the Bills when Leodis McKelvin fumbled the ensuing kickoff and kicker Stephen Gostkowski recovered to set the Pats up for a chance to take the lead. Brady orchestrated another scoring drive once again finding Watson on a similar play to their last scoring drive and gave New England the lead for good with only 50 seconds remaining. Brady finished his 2009 debut with a less than stellar performance completing 39 of 53 passing attempts for 378 yards two touchdowns and interception. In Terrell Owens regular season debut for the Bills he was held in check finishing the game with only 2 catches for 46 yards.

The second half of the Monday night double header featured another come from behind victory but this time the road team won with the San Diego Chargers defeating the Oakland Raiders 24-20. The Chargers were down 20-17 before Darren Sproles ripped through the Raiders defense for the go ahead score with only 18 seconds remaining in the game. Philip Rivers showed why he is worth a $93 million contract extension by completing 24 of 36 passes for 252 yards a touchdown and an interception while leading the Chargers from two scores down in the fourth quarter to a 12th straight victory over division rival Oakland.

Week 1 NFL picks....

2009-09-13T12:37:00.001-04:00

Teams I predict to win are in bold...

Miami Dolphins @ Atlanta Falcons
Kansas City Chiefs @ Baltimore Ravens
Philadelphia Eagles @ Carolina Panthers
Denver Broncos @ Cincinnati Bengals
Minnesota Vikings @ Cleveland Browns
New York Jets @ Houston Texans
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Indianapolis Colts
Detroit Lions @ New Orleans Saints
Dallas Cowboys @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
San Fransisco 49ers @ Arizona Cardinals
Washington Redskins @ New York Giants
St. Louis Rams @ Seattle Seahawks
Chicago Bears @ Green Bay Packers
Buffalo Bills @ New England Patriots
San Diego Chargers @ Oakland Raiders

Steelers out last the Titans 13-10 in overtime...

2009-09-11T08:31:00.002-04:00

The NFL season got off to an extended start at Heinz Field last night between two evenly matched teams and a coin toss was ultimately the deciding factor as the Pittsburgh Steelers out slugged the Tennessee Titans 13-10 in overtime.
Both teams got off to slow starts and could not find their rhythm until late in the second quarter when the Steelers struck first. Ben Roethlisberger connected with Santonio Holmes from 34 yards out for the first touchdown of the new NFL season with only 1:22 left before the half, Holmes finished the game with 9 receptions for 131 yards and the touchdown.
The Titans counter punched the Steelers though(who were without Troy Polamalu and Lamar Woodley) and it only took them three plays before Kerry Collins found pay dirt hooking up with Justin Gage to tie things up heading into halftime.
Both teams traded three and outs and unfinished drives all third quarter before Rob Bironas broke the tie for the Titans in the fourth nailing a 45 yard field goal(Bironas missed a 37 yarder in the first and had a 31 yard FG blocked in the second) to put Tennessee ahead 10-7.
The Steelers got the ball back and proceeded to eat up over 8 minutes off the clock before tying the game up with on a 32 yard field goal by Jeff Reed. The Steelers looked like they were going to wrap up the game in regulation when Big Ben found a wide open Hines Ward for a 30 yard completion to the Tennessee 4 yard line but Ward was fighting for extra yardage and was stripped from behind by Michael Griffith and the Titans defense recovered the loose ball.
The Steelers won the coin toss in overtime and Ben repeatedly found the gaps in the Titans defense while driving the Pittsburgh offense into field goal range. Roethlisberger hooked up with rookie wideout Mike Wallace for a 22 yard connection and set the Steelers up in field goal range. Pittsburgh wasn't willing to have another turnover so they brought out Reed to kick the game winner and he calmly knocked it in from 33 yards out for the Steelers first victory of the 2009-2010 season(like he has so many times over the last few years). Roethlisberger finished the game completing 33 of 43 passes for 363 yards a touchdown and two interceptions.

First of all the Steelers won and that is the most important thing but the defense did not look the same without Polamalu who may be out for a few weeks after he was making every play during the first half, he made a spectacular interception on a play where the offense should have been called for pass interference plus he had 6 tackles before the injury. The defense will miss him because he is the cog that makes everything work, the way he disguises his blitzes and coverages are amazing and nonone in the NFL can replicate him. Secondly the offensive line looked horrible when it came to the run and the Tennessee defensive lineman were routinely in the back field before Willie Parker, Rashard Mendenhall, or Mewelde Moore even got started. Ben was sacked 4 times but I put three of those on him because he was doing his usual thing trying to create opportunities and he held on to the ball too long. But the o-line was routinely beaten off the snap and they looked lost a lot of the times.

I expected this game to be physical and for both teams to grind it out but I did not think they would need overtime to settle the score, but the NFL has to be excited about how the first game turned out since so many in the past have turned out to be blow outs. The Steelers travel to Chicago next week to face Jay Cutler and the Bears. The Titans look to rebound next week at home against division rival Houston.

GO STEELERS!

NFL season kicks off tonight: Tennessee Titans vs. Pittsburgh Steelers...

2009-09-10T08:12:00.004-04:00

Tonight marks the official beginning to the NFL season with the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers hosting the Tennessee Titans. This should be a great way to start the season off with two of the most physical teams setting the tone to start the season, plus there is no love loss between these former divisional foes.

Last season the Titans and Steelers squared off in Tennessee in week 16 of the NFL season with the number one seed overall in the AFC playoffs on the line and the Titans took it to the Steelers by beating them 31-14. Tennessee was without star defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth who was replaced by rookie Jason Jones. Jones dominated the Steelers front line finishing the game with 3.5 sacks and 7 tackles en route to helping the Titans secure the top seed in the AFC. The Titans finished the season 13-3 but they lost in their home playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens 13-10. The Titans return the majority of their starters from last season minus Albert Haynesworth who left via free agency. They went out and bolstered their wide receiving group signing Nate Washington away from the Steelers and drafting a big tall wide out in Kenny Britt. The Titans will probably experience a bit of a drop off this season without Haynesworth and with a tougher schedule.

The Pittsburgh Steelers rebounded after the Tennessee loss by shutting out the Cleveland Browns 31-0. Pittsburgh locked up the number two seed overall in the AFC playoffs and hosted the San Diego Chargers in the Divisional round and won 35-24. The Steelers then knocked off the Baltimore Ravens for the third time in the season in the AFC Championship game 23-14. The Steelers won their 6th Super Bowl title in exciting fashion knocking off the Arizona Cardinals 27-23. The Steelers return 19 of 22 starters and they bolstered their depth on the defensive front by drafting Ziggy Hood who has shown promise in the preseason recording three sacks in two games. The running backs are healthy for Pittsburgh which will be crucial if they want to have a chance to repeat this year.

I'm looking for this game to go the distance and be close the entire game with the Steelers defense making a stop to preserve the win. Both teams will be pumped up and ready to play, it will come down to who will keep their emotions in check and who will make the less mistakes. With all the hoopla surrounding the Steelers home opener and the Super Bowl banner being unveiled I think the Steelers will come out and put on a tremendous show for their fans and the world.
Prediction: Steelers will win a close one

GO STEELERS!

A tour of the new Lucas County Arena....

2009-09-10T06:32:00.003-04:00

Fred Lefebvre of NewsTalk 1370 WSPD and his producer Meghan W. Ragle( awesome camera work by her by the way) went on a tour of the new Lucas County Arena located in downtown Toledo, Oh with General Manager of the Toledo Mud Hens/Walleye/Bullfrogs Joe Napoli. The Arena will be home to the AHL minor hockey league team the Toledo Walleye, who are affiliates with the Detroit Redwings and Chicago Blackhawks and Arena Football 2 franchise the Toledo Bullfrogs. The new Arena looks awesome and there will not be a bad seat in the house, I can't wait to attend the WWE event that is coming here in October.

Accuser will drop rape charges against Roethlisberger if he does two things....

2009-09-09T10:06:00.003-04:00

The woman who has accused Ben Roethlisberger of rape says she will drop the lawsuit if he agrees to two conditions. The first being the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard, he must admit he raped her and then apologize to her. Wait what? The man has vehemently denied that he raped her and that she is doing this just to get money so why would he admit that he raped her? It doesn't make sense and the only reason why she is doing this is because she wants to appear as if she is not about the money but they know that Ben is not going to bite on this, if he is innocent like he has said from the beginning then he is not going to admit it and apologize. There have been so many stories coming out from her co-workers and friends saying that she was excited and happy about her encounter with Roethlisberger plus her story is full of holes, this lady has no case and she is just trying to save some face and not appear to a money grubbing groupie.
The second condition is that he must donate $100,000 to the Committee to Aid Abused Women, which is a nonprofit organization in the Reno, Nevada area. I have no problem with this, I think Ben should do it anyway just to show that he has respect for women and takes the situation seriously. This is a serious allegation and when women do things like this, make up allegations of rape to get money, it ruins it for the woman who have really been raped.
I don't think this is going to effect Ben during the season unless the woman keeps throwing out allegations or if the facts of what really happened comes out and it turns out she is telling the truth, which shes not. Roethlisberger is known for shaking off the off field problems when it comes to game day and he will lead the Steelers like he has in the past and he will perform at a pro bowl level. If anything he will be more determined and focused to go out and keep his name above the mud and out of the headlines for anything not related to football. The Steelers open the season tomorrow against the Tennessee Titans.

GO STEELERS!

Steelers re-sign Hartwig for four more years...

2009-09-09T08:41:00.003-04:00

The Pittsburgh Steelers made their last move of the offseason regarding new contracts for current players by re-signing starting center Justin Hartwig to an extension that will keep him the team through the 2012 season.

I like this move for a couple of reasons the first of which being that the signing brings stability to the offensive line and especially the center position where the Steelers have had three starters over the last three years. By no means is Hartwig one of the best centers in the NFL but he held his own againts some of the best nose tackles last year and helped the team win a Super Bowl, plus he is a definite upgrade over Sean Mahan who was the starter in 2007. The other reason why this is a smart move is that the Steelers don't really have a legitimate backup waiting to take over so this gives them another year or two to figure who will replace him, unlike when Jeff Hartings abruptly retired leaving the team with noone behind him. The Steelers have A.Q. Shipley who they drafted this year but he did not step up during the preseason and was moved to their practice squad so this will give him time to sink or swim and allow Pittsburgh to make decisions based on his talent level and knowledge of the play book. The Steelers are a class organization and they know how to treat players who are deserving and this is just another example.

GO STEELERS!

B.Y.U. cracks top-10 in A.P. poll after upset over Oklahoma....

2009-09-09T08:11:00.002-04:00

The B.Y.U. Cougars made the biggest jump from the preseason poll to this weeks A.P. poll moving 11 spots to number nine after pulling off the biggest upset of the college football weekend knocking off then #3 Oklahoma 14-13. The Sooners dropped 10 spots to #13. Florida remained the top team with Texas and USC staying in the same spots. Oklahoma State moved up four spots to #5 after easily knocking off the Georgia Bulldogs. Alabama moved up one spot into the #4 spot after defeating Virginia Tech. Ohio State dropped two spots to #8 after squeaking by Navy. Rounding out the top-10 are Ole Miss at #6, Penn State at #7, and California at #10.

Notre Dame jumped five spots to #18 after soundly defeating Nevada 35-0 and they look to prove their ranking is no fluke this weekend against the Michigan Wolverines.

The Miami Hurricanes knocked Florida State out of the top-25 and in doing so moved themselves into the the top-25 after being unranked they sit at #20 in the nation. Missouri and Cincinnati also played there way into the top-25 with wins over the weekend placing #25 and #23 respectively.

College football starts off with a bang....

2009-09-08T08:16:00.002-04:00

Wow what an exciting weekend of college football starting with #14 Boise State knocking off the #16 Oregon Ducks 19-8 and improving their chances of, getting shut out of the National Title game, sorry I mean improving their chances to get into the BS National Title game. That game was marred by Oregon's running back LeGarrette Blount punching BSU's Byron Hout in the face after Hout taunted him when the teams were shaking hands.

#6 Ohio State had to rally the troops so to speak against the Navy Midshipmen to hold them off to win 31-27. OSU pulled off a rarity in college football as the Midshipmen were going for a two-point play to tie the game but the Buckeye's defense rose up and intercepted the pass attempt and returned it for their own two-point play to seal the victory.

#22 Iowa needed to block two field goals including what would have been the game winner to preserve a 17-16 win over interstate rival Northern Iowa.

#9 Oklahoma State Cowboys came out with guns blazing and ruined Georgia's national title hopes by defeating them 24-10. Oklahoma State's Dez Bryant had 3 catches with 2 resulting in Tds.

#20 BYU Cougars ruined Sam Bradford's Heisman hopes and they also crushed Oklahoma's shot a another BCS title game by holding off the Sooners 14-13. Bradford dropped back to pass and as soon as he released the ball a Cougar defender drilled him into the ground and knocking him out of the game. Bradford did not return with his sprained throwing shoulder and he is expected to miss 2-3 weeks with the injury.

#5 Alabama routed #7 Virginia Tech 34-24 and set themselves up for another run at a BCS bowl game and essentially ending the Hokies hopes of making the BCS title game.

#23 Notre Dame kept up the momentum they had from routing Hawaii in the Hawaii bowl by putting together a complete game shutting out the Nevada Wolfpack 35-0. Jimmy Clausen played only three quarters but he finished 15 of 18 for 315 yards and 4 tds. Clausen connected with sophomore wide receiver Michael Floyd on 4 occasions with 3 of them resulting in touchdowns, Floyd finished with 189 yards receiving.

And finally #18 Florida State lost a tough battle against in state rival the Miami Hurricanes 38-34. The Seminoles had first and ten from Miami's 2 yard line with 14 seconds left but they were unable to complete the comeback throwing three straight incomplete passes. Hurricanes sophomore Jacory Harris put up huge numbers going 21 of 34 for 386 yards and 2 tds.

Bengals rookie Smith fractures foot out at least a month...

2009-09-02T09:12:00.003-04:00

In a case of the ultimate irony Cincinnati Bengals first round draft pick Andre Smith fractured his foot during a non-contact drill in only his third practice since ending his nearly four month holdout. Smith is expected be out for at least a month.
I'm sorry but this is pretty funny because the Bengals were putting so much stock into this head case who has been nothing but trouble for them and he is quickly falling into Bengals lore for first round busts. I know it's too early to call him a bust and he very well may have a tremendous career but holding out and missing all of training camp and then breaking your foot during a non-contact drill is pretty laughable right now. In his short career in the national spotlight Smith has shown a lack of integrity and character, let's start with him being suspended for the 2009 Sugar Bowl for dealing with an agent, he showed up to the combine out of shape and he tested terribly(even running the forty yard dash without his shirt on), and let's not forget about the incident when he was supposed to go to a football camp in Illinois and he ended up in Indiana because he didn't ask for directions on where to go(it's not a major gaff on his part but it shows he lacks attention to detail).
When you draft players purely on talent this is the result you usually get and it's sad the Bungals haven't learned their lesson yet. Lewis and the Bengals have routinely during his reign as head coach drafted players with low character and loads of talent but they usually self implode and cause all sorts of troubles for the team, the Bengals have had only one winning record during Lewis' tenure so it's not like the can justify it by saying at least we are winning. If the Bengals do not make the playoffs Lewis and the GM should be fired.

RichRod denies allegations of wrong doing...

2009-09-01T08:11:00.003-04:00

The Detroit Free Press broke a story on Sunday that current and former University of Michigan players are alleging that head coach Rich Rodriguez and his staff violated NCAA offseason practice requirements. RichRod of course is denying the allegations but its hard to believe him with everything that has gone on over the last 18 months or so.(This probably went on while he was at West Virginia but who is going to say anything when he turned that school into a perennial top-10 team with All-American talent?)
When he made the move to leave West Virginia for Michigan the people back there were very infuriated and a long legal battle ensued that was eventually resolved but it instantly tarnished his legacy at WVU and he got off to a rocky start at UM. As soon as he got to Ann Arbor a huge chunk of his players transferred with the majority of them saying that "family values had eroded at Michigan." Then of course the Wolverines went on to have their worst season in team history including their first lost to a MAC team at home losing to Toledo 13-10. And just when things were quiet in Michigan and everybody was looking to put last year in the past and start a new era of Michigan football, this happens.
Now I'm not saying if he is guilty or not of having the players practice longer than the maximum 4 hours per day/ 20 hours per week under NCAA regulations, but something has been going on their since so many players have spoken out and/or transferred elsewhere. RichRod is under a lot of pressure to win now and he was implementing a new offense so he probably felt like they needed extra practice and that ticked off a lot of players so they left. But that doesn't excuse Rodriguez because this is really bad for Michigan and it reflects poorly on them for a number of reasons, the first was that they were so quick to get rid of Llyod Carr, who ran a spotless and competitive program his entire time there, for having a down season and not being able to beat Ohio State that they didn't realize what they were doing. Then they did not hire someone who had a history with the University who would have understood the values and traditions at UM.
Now Michigan football, which has never faced sanctions from the NCAA, has become just another team in the fabric of college football breaking the rules to try to get a slight advantage over their opponents. It is a sad day for Wolverine fans and it looks things will probably get worse before they get better.

Teddy Bruschi is calling it a career...

2009-09-01T06:48:00.002-04:00

New England Patriots linebacker Teddy Bruschi decided yesterday that 13 years in the NFL was enough by announcing his retirement. Bruschi was the leader of the Patriots defense that helped win the franchise three Super Bowls. He was the consummate professional who showed up to work everyday and did what was asked of him with no questions asked. Bruschi suffered a mild stroke in February 2005 and he made his return to the NFL eight months later but his football health has been declining the last few years and he missed most of this year's training camp. Patriots coach Bill Belichick referred to the linebacker as the "perfect player."

Bruschi is the epitome of a Belichick player, he was versatile, smart, displayed leadership, and was willing to do whatever it took to win. As important as Tom Brady is to the Patriots and their offense Bruschi was just as crucial to the defense putting the other linebackers and lineman in the correct positions to make plays. As a fan you have to respect Bruschi and the way he played the game, with little flash and all substance. He did played the game the right way and in the era of free agency he began and ended his career as a Patriot, which is very rare and speaks volumes about what the organization thought of him. I don't think Bruschi is a hall of famer but he definitely deserves to be discussed that way and he should have his number retired by Patriots.

Steelers shut out the Bills 17-0...

2009-08-30T06:40:00.002-04:00

In the third preseason game for both teams only one looked like they were in mid-season form and the home team Pittsburgh Steelers were the one's who got contributions from both sides of the ball to shut out the Buffalo Bills 17-0.
Ben Roethlisberger completed 15 of 19 passes for 168 yards and he orchestrated two scoring drives resembling last year with Big Ben scrambling around breaking tackles and making plays with his legs. Rashard Mendenhall got the start due to Willie Parker being banged up and he ran pretty nasty yesterday delivering the blow instead of waiting for it and he finished off runs by always falling forward. Mendenhall finished with 16 carries for 48 yards and a four yard touchdown. Limas Sweed just closed the door on the third wide receiver spot for the Steelers by catching everything thrown his way against Buffalo including a catch where he leaped high in the air took a hit and came down with the ball picking up a first down on third down, ending the game with 4 catches for 34 yards.
The defense looked really stout shutting down everything the Bills did and James Farrior was leading by his actions; a 22-yard interception returned for a touchdown, a sack, and a forced fumble, all in one half! Rookie Joe Burnett preserved the shut out by blocking Buffalo's field goal attempt with 2 minutes to go in the fourth quarter.
The Steelers looked really strong and they have pretty much all preseason long, so I can't wait for the regular season to start. I know the Bills were without Terrell Owens but the Steelers have shut him down every time they play against his teams and they didn't give Trent Edwards the time of day to throw anyway. This NFL season should be exciting and I can't wait.

GO STEELERS!

News of the day...

2009-08-28T16:22:00.003-04:00

The Denver Broncos suspended Brandon Marshall until September 5th for conduct detrimental to the team. This offseason Marshall has openly asked to be traded and has been a big distraction during mini camp, when he actually shows. Good for the Broncos I'm glad that a team stuck up for themselves and are at least trying to get Marshall to play out his contract, they can't let the players run the team. But on the other hand you can't have a disgruntled player who doesn't want to be there on the team, it can ruin morale and it reflects poorly on the franchise. They should make Marshall sit the entire year and then they should trade him to the worst team in the league.

The NFL ruled that a punt that hits the Dallas Cowboys new video screen it will be re kicked but the rule is only in effect for this season, which might be an indication Jerry Jones will have to raise it next season. However there is a rule in the league rule book(Rule 3, Section 1) that states a rule implemented during the season is up for vote with owners during the offseason. Jones is a nut and his screen is entirely to big and distracting, people will probably end up watching the game on that then on the actual field. But that's how Jerry Jones rolls big and flashy with not a lot of thought put into the situation.

The NBA suspended Denver's forward J.R. Smith and Phoenix's forward Jason Richardson who were recently charged with separate driving offenses. Smith was suspended seven games for pleading guilty to a reckless driving charge in New Jersey. Richardson will miss the first two games of the season for pleading guilty to a d.u.i charge in Arizona. Good for the NBA but how is a reckless driving charge more severe than a d.u.i., that is the dumbest mistake any athlete can make yet every year these stupid idiots get arrested for driving while drunk. These guys make way too much money to get arrested for driving drunk, they can afford a cab or chauffeur, or just ask someone in the bar, just don't drive drunk, apparently nobody has learned from Donte Stallworth's situation! When the league's suspend players for a d.u.i offense it needs to be more severe so they will think twice, they should be shut down for half the season with no pay.

Michael Vick makes his Eagles debut....

2009-08-28T08:08:00.003-04:00

Last night the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 33-32 in their third preseason game but the story of the night was the return of Michael Vick to the NFL. When Vick took the field on the Eagles first possession he received a standing ovation from the infamous Philly fans in the half empty Lincoln Financial stadium. Vick only participated in 6 plays but he finished 4-4 for 19 yards and one rush for one yard. Vick showed some versatility playing quarterback, lining up at wide receiver, and he even took a snap in the shotgun to run the Eagles' version of the wildcat. Overall it was a pretty good outing for someone who hasn't played in the NFL since December of 2006.
The Eagles offense was disjointed though with Vick in the huddle and they found their groove after he was taken out of the game for good. Donovan McNabb looked pretty good finishing the game completing 21 of 36 passes for 244 yards a touchdown, an interception, and a fumble that was returned 92 yards for a TD. Backup Kevin Kolb looked pretty good too completing 10 of 18 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown. The Eagles won the game on a last second field goal by David Akers.

"Fez" from "That 70's Show" named starting QB for the Jets....

2009-08-27T10:09:00.005-04:00

New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan has named rookie Mark Sanchez(who looks like Fez) as his starting quarterback for the Jets season opener. Sanchez out dueled veteran Kellen Clemens as the starting quarterback after the two were in a heated battle that began on the day the Jets traded up to draft Sanchez, who attended USC, with the fifth overall pick. Sanchez will become the first ever rookie to start the season opener at quarterback for the Jets, not even the great "Broadway" Joe Namath got a chance to start that early.
I personally have not been that high on Sanchez, he only started one year, had a boat load of talent around him so his stats were impressive but he never really displayed the leadership that other USC QBs showed during their careers there, and in the two preseason games played so far he has gone 6-12 for 131 yards, 1 td and 1 interception(which was a pick-6 thrown to wide body Haloti Ngata of Baltimore).
If Ryan was smart he would run as much as possible this season ala Ben Roethlisberger's rookie season. They have a proven veteran in Thomas Jones(who helped resurrect Favre's career last year), Mr. Everything Leon Washington, another rookie in Shonn Greene, and a good young offensive line that should make things a lot easier for Sanchez but the team lacks a go to wide receiver, sure Jerricho Cotchery had a good year last season but that was opposite Laverneous Coles who is gone. I'm sure Ryan knows more about his QB situation than the media does but it looks like Sanchez was handed the job due to his high salary and the fact the team paid a high price to trade up to get him. The Jets open the season September 13 at Houston.

Dick LeBeau finally a finalist on the Senior list committee for the Hall of Fame...

2009-08-26T09:55:00.004-04:00

Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator and former Detroit Lions cornerback Dick LeBeau was nominated by the Senior committee as a finalist for the Hall of Fame. This has been a long time coming, granted he is not guaranteed to make it, but he should have been in the Hall about 10 years ago. During his 14 year career LeBeau started a record 172 straight games at cornerback for the Lions and when he retired he was third all-time in career interceptions(he now sit 7th all-time) with 62 picks.
Dick Lebeau is in his 36th year as a coach and he got his start as a special teams coach for the Philadelphia Eagles a year after he retired as a player. He has twice been a head coach once with the Cincinnati Bengals and the other time was with the Buffalo Bills. Dick first joined Pittsburgh in 1992 as a defensive backs coach and was eventually promoted to defensive coordinator for one year before he left to take over the same role with the Bengals. LeBeau is in his second stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers and he has masterminded 2 Super Bowl winning defenses and over his career with the Steelers he has helped them win 7 division titles and 3 trips to the Super Bowl. Dick's contributions to the game have been numerous and he revolutionized the way defenses attack the offense. He is known for his creative blitz packages and his on the fly adjustments that have won his teams many games.
His players revere him and they treat him like he is a father figure to many of them. I met him this offseason and he was very nice and he went out of his way to make me feel welcome at Steelers training camp. He is an example of nice guys finishing first and he is a rare commodity, someone who loves his job and is at the top of his profession. Congratulations Dick LeBeau, lets just hope the voters finally get it right. Also here is a link for an interview he did with steelers.com talking about the honor of just being nominated for the Hall of Fame.

GO STEELERS!

Chargers and Rivers agree to a contract extension...

2009-08-25T09:46:00.002-04:00

The San Diego Chargers locked up their franchise quarterback through 2015 by coming to terms on a contract extension with Philip Rivers who is coming off his best season so far in his young career. While leading the Chargers to their third straight playoff berth, Rivers threw a career and tied the league high(Drew Brees) with 34 touchdown passes and he became only the second Chargers QB to ever throw for over 4,000 yards(Hall of Famer Dan Fouts was the other). Rivers and the Chargers made it to the AFC Championship game in 2007 and he played with a torn ACL in his right knee which earned a lot of respect for him from his teammates and fans. When Rivers was drafted he went to a 4-12 Chargers team that still had Drew Brees but that lasted only two years before Rivers potential and draft pick status forced San Diego to part ways with Brees.
Since Philip Rivers has been the starter the Chargers have gone 36-18(22-5 at home) and his numbers have increased every year with him taking more of a leadership role and not having a consistent running game, the only knock on him is he can't win the big game but that's not necessarily true. He lost to the eventual Super Bowl Champs the Pittsburgh Steelers(who had the best passing defense in the league) and he didn't have LaDanian Tomlinson in the '07 AFC championship game against the undefeated New England Patriots(plus he played with a torn ACL). Rivers will always be linked to New York Giants QB Eli Manning and Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger because they were in the same draft class and the only thing Rivers lacks is a Super Bowl ring.
Is the '04 QB class the best ever? They have 3 Super Bowl rings, 8 division titles, and 3 Pro Bowl appearances between Roethlisberger, Rivers, and Manning in only 5 years of being in the league. I know the '83 QB class of John Elway, Jim Kelly, and Dan Marino have better stats but they all played for 15 plus seasons and they only collectively won 2 rings, granted Kelly made it to 4 straight Super Bowl. The classes will be forever compared and what makes it even more interesting is that both draft classes had a punk QB decide where he was going to be drafted, Manning telling the Chargers to not draft him and Elway sitting out the previous years draft because he didn't want to play for the worst team in the league.

Edgerrin James signs with the Seahawks...

2009-08-25T09:05:00.002-04:00

Edgerrin James and the Seattle Seahawks agreed to a one-year contract yesterday worth about $2 million, and the Seahawks released T.J. Duckett to make room for James. James is on the back side of his career but he proved last year during Arizona's improbable run to the Super Bowl that he still had something left in the tank running for 336 yards to end the regular season and playoffs. The move makes sense for the Seahawks because of James experience, versatility, and durability and he should fit in nicely with the offense. This gives Matt Hasselback another option in the passing game and James is one of the best at picking up the blitz, he probably won't contribute that much to the running game early on but he could make this offense dangerous later in the season.(I thought New Orleans should have tried to sign him because they lack depth and quality at the running back position and he would have helped solidify that but I guess the Saints' brass feel they can win with what they have.)This is a good move on both parts and the Seahwaks will surprise people this year and win the division.

Adam Ragle on the Benchwarmers on NewsTalk 1370 WSPD...

2009-08-24T12:33:00.000-04:00

I went to Steelers training camp in Latrobe, Pa. a week ago and I did a live report for the Benchwarmers. I chatted with the boys from the Benchwarmers about the Steelers first preseason game and some of the position battles in training camp. The Benchwarmers can be heard Sunday nights from 6p-8p on NewsTalk 1370 WSPD.