"Not all the kicks are gonna go in...." -Boise State Quarterback Kellen Moore
You know 'em. You've heard all about 'em. They're the boys in blue, who play on the blue turf, who crush opponents out west, who have the nation's longest NCAA football winning streak, have the spindly, left-handed superquarterback, who have looked like they could be one of the best teams in the SEC if they had the chance.
They're the fourth-ranked Boise State Broncos, darlings of the college football world and arguably the most discussed team in the FBS. They splattered fellow-undefeated team TCU in the Fiesta Bowl last year and claimed the spotlight they had long deserved. Then they beat Virginia Tech in a bare-knuckle fistfight on national TV at the beginning of this season, then started dropping their conference opponents by scores like 51-6, 59-0, 57-14, 48-0, 42-7 (4 50+ point games this year). Sure, they play in the Western Athletic Conference, with opponents like New Mexico State, Louisiana Tech, and Fresno State, but they had been highlighting scoreboards, and putting their stamp on each week of the FBS season. The only question for such a dominant team: given their fairly weak conference opponents', could even an undefeated season full of landslide victories make the National Championship Game against the likes of Oregon or Auburn?
The question is a moot point, now. In the end, it seemed like it was meant to be. Last night, November 26, they went into Reno and played #19 Nevada, jumped out to a 17-point halftime lead, and got the ball right where they wanted it with two seconds left. But kicker Kyle Brotzman pushed a 26-yard field goal attempt wide right. Then they got the ball right where they wanted it in overtime, with the game still tied at 31-31. Brotzman hooked it left from 29 yards out. And, moments later, redshirt Anthony Martinez of Nevada didn't push or hook his kick, but sent it straight in from 34 yards out, and it was all over.
"I'm at a loss for words," said Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore, who passed for 348 yards and 2 TDs yet likely saw his own rather slim Heisman Trophy chances go up in smoke with the team's undefeated season.
"It is the greatest victory this university has ever had, I can tell you that," Nevada coach Chris Ault said.
Boise had their usual electric offense, full of downfield bombs by Moore and weaving, sprinting receivers and running backs. But Nevada did what Virginia Tech did so many weeks ago in nearly winning that Week 1 climactic game, they ran the ball often, and effectively. They amassed 269 rushing yards to Boise's 145, 239 of them coming in the second half compared to only 8 by the Broncos.
The loss sinks Boise into a three-way first-place tie with Nevada and Hawaii in the WAC, will almost certainly rob them of even Top Ten FBS rank, and deeply hurts their chance of playing in any important game in December. Before the game, if not a national title contender, they were at least a near-guarantee for the Rose Bowl. Not anymore.
Two of the near-guaranteed National Championship Game contenders suffered tough matches like Boise State, as well, on Friday, with #1 Oregon facing #21 Arizona and #2 Auburn facing #11 Alabama in the Iron Bowl. Both teams fell behind early (19-14 at the half for Oregon, and Auburn was down 24-0 after the first quarter). But both teams battled back, but Oregon ended up dropping 48 on Arizona for a lopsided victory, and Auburn was led back by Heisman Trophy contender/controversial star QB Cam Newton (216 passing yards and 3 TDs, plus a score on the ground) to win 28-27. Alabama limped away from this one, what with star QB Greg McElroy concussed on the sideline, coach Nick Saban furious, and a 3 in the loss column in their record.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Getting E-vick-ted and Seeing the Doc, November 16, 2010
Back and better than ever
Less than two years removed from being released from federal prison as a disgraced former Pro-Bowler and PETA enemy #1, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick put on a historic show in a 59-28 clobbering of the Washington Redskins on Monday Night Football. There were all kinds of pre-game hype, what with Redskins' struggling QB Donovan McNabb receiving a 5-year, $78 million contract shortly before the game-ending rumors that his stint with the 'Skins would be short-and some verbal and physical quarreling before the game, but it all evaporated around the time Vick heaved an 88-yard touchdown pass (61 yards in the air) to receiver DeSean Jackson on the first play from scrimmage. Vick then gave the performance of the year so far, becoming the first player in NFL history to pass for 300 yards (333 total), rush for 50 yards (80 total), pass for 4 touchdowns, and run for 2 more in the same game. In the process, he moved past 49ers great Steve Young for second place on the all-time quarterback rushing list, behind only Randall Cunningham.
"I've had some great games in my day," Vick said. "But I don't think I've had one quite like this one."
The Washington home fans rained boos on their team almost immediately, as the Redskins allowed the Eagles gaudy numbers including team records for total yards in a game (592), points in a half (45), and notched the biggest leading margin after the first quarter for any pro team since 1950, at 28-0. It was 35-0 after the first play of the second quarter.
New Washington franchise QB McNabb, meanwhile, was 17 for 31 for 295 yards and 2 TDs, but also had 3 interceptions. And he ignored questions after the game about whether his appealing new contract helped numb the pain of the blowout. "At this point, I'm angry," he said.
Well, there ya have it. There have been whispers of MVP talk for Vick, who certainly makes the Eagles a different team (they've won all 4 games in which he has played every minute), but, ultimately, his skyrocketing fantasy and actual value, and re-claimed fame, make him the primary competitor to Texas Rangers' outfielder Josh Hamilton in terms of greatest recent sports comebacks. Hamilton's case will get a new edge if, as expected, he wins the American League MVP award later this week. But Vick is flying high as an Eagle, pun intended.
This game ended another week of professional football, and, after all the action, the Top Ten stands as thus:
1) Atlanta Falcons, 7-2 (facing the St. Louis Rams this week)
2) New England Patriots, 7-2 (facing the Indianapolis Colts this week)
3) New York Jets, 7-2 (facing the Houston Texans this week)
4) Baltimore Ravens, 6-3 (facing the Carolina Panthers this week)
5) Pittsburgh Steelers, 6-3 (facing the Oakland Raiders this week)
6) Philadelphia Eagles, 6-3 (facing the New York Giants this week)
7) Green Bay Packers, 6-3 (facing the Minnesota Vikings this week)
8) New York Giants, 6-3 (facing the Philadelphia Eagles this week)
9) New Orleans Saints, 6-3 (facing the Seattle Seahawks this week)
10) Indianapolis Colts, 6-3 (facing the New England Patriots this week)
You can see from this there are two must-watch games, the Philadelphia Vicks, erm, I mean, Eagles, and the New York Giants, who were in the conversation for the NFL's best team before being embarrassed on Sunday by the lowly Dallas Cowboys. And, in the other, we have another entry in the primary NFL debate of the past decade. While almost everyone would agree, in terms of sheer ability, the Greatest Current Quarterback Debate is squarely in Peyton Manning's favor (rather than Tom Brady's) it will be interesting to see them match up again, especially coming off a week in which Manning threw zero touchdowns and Brady threw for three and scored another. (FYI: the debate about which QB will look better after they retire got a HUGE new chapter after Super Bowl 44, because, of course, Manning lost that Super Bowl, leaving him with just one current Super Bowl ring, while Brady has three).
Meanwhile, in baseball, other than contract negotiations for guys like Cliff Lee and Derek Jeter, its awards time. Yesterday, recent World Series champion Buster Posey (the Giants' 23-year-old catcher, who became a superstar in the last four months of the 2010 regular season, and in the postseason month of October/November) beat out Atlanta Braves' outfielder Jason Heyward for the National League Rookie of the Year award, snagging 20 of the 32 first-place votes after hitting .305 with 18 home runs and 67 RBIs.
An opponent against whom he singled in the eighth inning of Game 5 of the World Series, Texas
22-year-old closer Neftali Feliz, won the American League Rookie of the Year award, taking 20 of 28 first-place votes after a season in which he set the single season record for saves by a rookie, with 40.
And, today, Roy "Doc" Halladay, just over a month removed from tossing the second no-hitter in postseason history in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Reds (his career postseason debut), won the National League CY Young Award unanimously, winning all 32 first-place votes. In 2010, his first season with the National League's Phillies after spending his entire previous career with the Toronto Blue Jays (and winning a Cy Young with them in 2003), Halladay was tremendous. He went 21-10 with a 2.44 ERA, leading the league in wins, complete games (9), shutouts (4) and innings pitched (250 2/3). He was second in strikeouts (219) and walked only 30 batters. He becomes the fifth pitcher (after Gaylord Perry, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens) to win a CY Young in both leagues, and the third unanimous winner in the last decade (Johnson in 2003 and Jake Peavy in 2007).
Less than two years removed from being released from federal prison as a disgraced former Pro-Bowler and PETA enemy #1, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick put on a historic show in a 59-28 clobbering of the Washington Redskins on Monday Night Football. There were all kinds of pre-game hype, what with Redskins' struggling QB Donovan McNabb receiving a 5-year, $78 million contract shortly before the game-ending rumors that his stint with the 'Skins would be short-and some verbal and physical quarreling before the game, but it all evaporated around the time Vick heaved an 88-yard touchdown pass (61 yards in the air) to receiver DeSean Jackson on the first play from scrimmage. Vick then gave the performance of the year so far, becoming the first player in NFL history to pass for 300 yards (333 total), rush for 50 yards (80 total), pass for 4 touchdowns, and run for 2 more in the same game. In the process, he moved past 49ers great Steve Young for second place on the all-time quarterback rushing list, behind only Randall Cunningham.
"I've had some great games in my day," Vick said. "But I don't think I've had one quite like this one."
The Washington home fans rained boos on their team almost immediately, as the Redskins allowed the Eagles gaudy numbers including team records for total yards in a game (592), points in a half (45), and notched the biggest leading margin after the first quarter for any pro team since 1950, at 28-0. It was 35-0 after the first play of the second quarter.
New Washington franchise QB McNabb, meanwhile, was 17 for 31 for 295 yards and 2 TDs, but also had 3 interceptions. And he ignored questions after the game about whether his appealing new contract helped numb the pain of the blowout. "At this point, I'm angry," he said.
Well, there ya have it. There have been whispers of MVP talk for Vick, who certainly makes the Eagles a different team (they've won all 4 games in which he has played every minute), but, ultimately, his skyrocketing fantasy and actual value, and re-claimed fame, make him the primary competitor to Texas Rangers' outfielder Josh Hamilton in terms of greatest recent sports comebacks. Hamilton's case will get a new edge if, as expected, he wins the American League MVP award later this week. But Vick is flying high as an Eagle, pun intended.
This game ended another week of professional football, and, after all the action, the Top Ten stands as thus:
1) Atlanta Falcons, 7-2 (facing the St. Louis Rams this week)
2) New England Patriots, 7-2 (facing the Indianapolis Colts this week)
3) New York Jets, 7-2 (facing the Houston Texans this week)
4) Baltimore Ravens, 6-3 (facing the Carolina Panthers this week)
5) Pittsburgh Steelers, 6-3 (facing the Oakland Raiders this week)
6) Philadelphia Eagles, 6-3 (facing the New York Giants this week)
7) Green Bay Packers, 6-3 (facing the Minnesota Vikings this week)
8) New York Giants, 6-3 (facing the Philadelphia Eagles this week)
9) New Orleans Saints, 6-3 (facing the Seattle Seahawks this week)
10) Indianapolis Colts, 6-3 (facing the New England Patriots this week)
You can see from this there are two must-watch games, the Philadelphia Vicks, erm, I mean, Eagles, and the New York Giants, who were in the conversation for the NFL's best team before being embarrassed on Sunday by the lowly Dallas Cowboys. And, in the other, we have another entry in the primary NFL debate of the past decade. While almost everyone would agree, in terms of sheer ability, the Greatest Current Quarterback Debate is squarely in Peyton Manning's favor (rather than Tom Brady's) it will be interesting to see them match up again, especially coming off a week in which Manning threw zero touchdowns and Brady threw for three and scored another. (FYI: the debate about which QB will look better after they retire got a HUGE new chapter after Super Bowl 44, because, of course, Manning lost that Super Bowl, leaving him with just one current Super Bowl ring, while Brady has three).
Meanwhile, in baseball, other than contract negotiations for guys like Cliff Lee and Derek Jeter, its awards time. Yesterday, recent World Series champion Buster Posey (the Giants' 23-year-old catcher, who became a superstar in the last four months of the 2010 regular season, and in the postseason month of October/November) beat out Atlanta Braves' outfielder Jason Heyward for the National League Rookie of the Year award, snagging 20 of the 32 first-place votes after hitting .305 with 18 home runs and 67 RBIs.
An opponent against whom he singled in the eighth inning of Game 5 of the World Series, Texas
22-year-old closer Neftali Feliz, won the American League Rookie of the Year award, taking 20 of 28 first-place votes after a season in which he set the single season record for saves by a rookie, with 40.
And, today, Roy "Doc" Halladay, just over a month removed from tossing the second no-hitter in postseason history in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Reds (his career postseason debut), won the National League CY Young Award unanimously, winning all 32 first-place votes. In 2010, his first season with the National League's Phillies after spending his entire previous career with the Toronto Blue Jays (and winning a Cy Young with them in 2003), Halladay was tremendous. He went 21-10 with a 2.44 ERA, leading the league in wins, complete games (9), shutouts (4) and innings pitched (250 2/3). He was second in strikeouts (219) and walked only 30 batters. He becomes the fifth pitcher (after Gaylord Perry, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens) to win a CY Young in both leagues, and the third unanimous winner in the last decade (Johnson in 2003 and Jake Peavy in 2007).
Monday, November 15, 2010
The Brady Bunch, November 15, 2010
Tom Brady may have long hair that was knocked by none other than 16-year old bowl-haircut pop sensation Justin Bieber. He may have a new scruffy beard to go with it. He may have a bad reputation for leaving his girlfriend Bridget Moynahan, also the mother of his child, and for marrying supermodel Giselle Bundchen, and for playing on the squad that was caught taping other teams' practices a few years ago. And, for a man with three Super Bowl rings and the all-time single-season TD passes record (50 in 2007), he had a poor last playoff showing back in January against the Baltimore Ravens. He's also nowhere near this year's most talked about quarterback (that honor is shared, in part, by guys named Favre, Vick, Kolb, McNabb, Brees, Manning, Manning, Roethlisberger, McCoy, etc...).
Tell you what: the man is still a winner.
In the first and third quarters of last night's big AFC rivalry game against the Pittsburgh Steelers (a 39-26 New England victory), Brady had the Patriots looking every bit as good as they did during their legendary 18-1 2007 season, when their offense was downright explosive and their only hiccup was a Super Bowl loss to the New York Giants. Brady was 30 of 43 for 350 yards passing, tossing 3 touchdowns and scoring one on a three-yard keeper. After said keeper, on the possession after the Patriots were forced to punt and a furious Brady chewed out teammates on the field and on the sideline, he spiked the ball vehemently, looking thoroughly pumped.
A week after a dreadful showing in a 34-14 loss to the two-win Cleveland Browns, the Patriots rocked the high-running Steelers in Pittsburgh, led by Brady and rookie tight end Rob Gronkowski, who caught all three Brady touchdown passes, becoming the sixth rookie tight end since 1960 to have 3 TD catches in one game). The Steelers' secondary was a joke during the game, their defense barely got a hand on Brady all night, star receiver Heinz Ward left the game with neck pain after an ugly first quarter collision, and before he finished 30 of 49 for 387 yards and 3 touchdowns, Ben Roethlisberger spent most of the first three quarters watching his teammates drop passes that hit them in their hands in the end zone.
"We made big plays when we needed to make them," Brady said. "It's an exciting game for us in this locker room. We haven't been this happy in a long time. We're pretty good when we execute the right way."
It was the first matchup of multiple Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks since 1985, when the Oakland Raiders and San Francisco 49ers faced each other, sending Jim Plunkett out against Joe Montana. And the New England victory improves the Patriots' record to 7-2, while Pittsburgh slips to 6-3.
Speaking of the 49ers, San Francisco beat the St. Louis Rams in overtime in one of yesterday afternoon's later games, winning 23-20. The Dallas Cowboys finished off their first strong performance in almost two months by beating the New York Giants, 33-20, and improved to 2-7 (yikes). The Seattle Seahawks beat the Arizona Cardinals 36-18, and the scheduled Monday Night Football game sends the Philadelphia Eagles to Washington to play the Redskins, for Part II of the newfangled Michael Vick/Donovan McNabb rivalry.
Today, baseball's Rookie of the Year awards will be handed out. The favorites are Buster Posey of the World Series-winning San Francisco Giants in the NL (by a whisker over Atlanta outfielder Jason Heyward) and an expected head-butting between Detroit outfielder Austin Jackson and Texas Rangers' closer Neftali Feliz in the AL.
Some other interesting news: in NCAA women's basketball, The Connecticut Huskies kept their remarkable 78-game winning streak alive with an unholy beatdown of Holy Cross, 117-37, and 80-point margin of victory that would surprise me if it didn't start up that debate about the kindness of running up the score that usually surfaces after games like this. And, on the men's side, defending national champion Duke (and #1 ranked team entering this season) smashed Princeton, 97-60. I'm not as big a fan of basketball as football or baseball, especially not college (at least I know the names of players in the NBA), but I'll try to keep you updated on big happenings.
Tell you what: the man is still a winner.
In the first and third quarters of last night's big AFC rivalry game against the Pittsburgh Steelers (a 39-26 New England victory), Brady had the Patriots looking every bit as good as they did during their legendary 18-1 2007 season, when their offense was downright explosive and their only hiccup was a Super Bowl loss to the New York Giants. Brady was 30 of 43 for 350 yards passing, tossing 3 touchdowns and scoring one on a three-yard keeper. After said keeper, on the possession after the Patriots were forced to punt and a furious Brady chewed out teammates on the field and on the sideline, he spiked the ball vehemently, looking thoroughly pumped.
A week after a dreadful showing in a 34-14 loss to the two-win Cleveland Browns, the Patriots rocked the high-running Steelers in Pittsburgh, led by Brady and rookie tight end Rob Gronkowski, who caught all three Brady touchdown passes, becoming the sixth rookie tight end since 1960 to have 3 TD catches in one game). The Steelers' secondary was a joke during the game, their defense barely got a hand on Brady all night, star receiver Heinz Ward left the game with neck pain after an ugly first quarter collision, and before he finished 30 of 49 for 387 yards and 3 touchdowns, Ben Roethlisberger spent most of the first three quarters watching his teammates drop passes that hit them in their hands in the end zone.
"We made big plays when we needed to make them," Brady said. "It's an exciting game for us in this locker room. We haven't been this happy in a long time. We're pretty good when we execute the right way."
It was the first matchup of multiple Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks since 1985, when the Oakland Raiders and San Francisco 49ers faced each other, sending Jim Plunkett out against Joe Montana. And the New England victory improves the Patriots' record to 7-2, while Pittsburgh slips to 6-3.
Speaking of the 49ers, San Francisco beat the St. Louis Rams in overtime in one of yesterday afternoon's later games, winning 23-20. The Dallas Cowboys finished off their first strong performance in almost two months by beating the New York Giants, 33-20, and improved to 2-7 (yikes). The Seattle Seahawks beat the Arizona Cardinals 36-18, and the scheduled Monday Night Football game sends the Philadelphia Eagles to Washington to play the Redskins, for Part II of the newfangled Michael Vick/Donovan McNabb rivalry.
Today, baseball's Rookie of the Year awards will be handed out. The favorites are Buster Posey of the World Series-winning San Francisco Giants in the NL (by a whisker over Atlanta outfielder Jason Heyward) and an expected head-butting between Detroit outfielder Austin Jackson and Texas Rangers' closer Neftali Feliz in the AL.
Some other interesting news: in NCAA women's basketball, The Connecticut Huskies kept their remarkable 78-game winning streak alive with an unholy beatdown of Holy Cross, 117-37, and 80-point margin of victory that would surprise me if it didn't start up that debate about the kindness of running up the score that usually surfaces after games like this. And, on the men's side, defending national champion Duke (and #1 ranked team entering this season) smashed Princeton, 97-60. I'm not as big a fan of basketball as football or baseball, especially not college (at least I know the names of players in the NBA), but I'll try to keep you updated on big happenings.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
The Boys Are All Right, November 14, 2010
At least, right now, they are. The 1-7 Dallas Cowboys had a great first half against the New York Giatns under new head coach Jason Garrett, hired on Monday to replace the fired Wade Phillips. The 'Boys are without starting QB Tony Romo and a host of defensive players, but, behind some big stops and a key interception (101 yard return for TD by Brian McCann), they put a hurtin' on the incoming 6-2 Giants. And, turns out, just over a minute into the second half, backup quarterback Jon Kitna hit Felix Jones for a 71-yard touchdown pass, making it 26-6. The Giants came in riding the red-hot arm of Eli Manning, and a five-game win streak. That all looks like a distant memory now.
On Thursday, the then-#1 ranked Baltimore Ravens coughed up a game to the Atlanta Falcons, scoring a touchdown with just over a minute to go, then failing to play enough defense to keep Atlanta out of the end zone. Atlanta won, 26-21.
Today, other scores include:
Buffalo got its first win of the season after an 0-8 start by beating Detroit 14-12
The Bears beat up the Minnesota Vikings, 27-13
The New York Jets got a 37-yard TD pass from Mark Sanchez to Santonio Holmes with 16 seconds left in overtime to beat the Cleveland Browns, 26-20, in Cleveland. The Browns shocked the New England Patriots with a big win last week, and beat the New Orleans Saints the week before.
Peyton Manning failed to throw a touchdown pass, but the Colts still beat the collapsing Cincinnati Bengals, 23-17
The Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Houston Texans, 31-24, on a shocker of a 50-yd TD pass from QB David Garard on a play that started with 3 seconds left on the clock. Garard took a step, waited, took another step, then threw a bomb from the 50-yard line. At the goal line, the ball was smacked with both hands by Houston defensive back Glover Quinn, and the ball hit charging Jaguars receiver Mike Thomas in the chest. The ball bounced off his chest, his trapped it against his thigh, then snuck across the goal line for a touchdown. They're calling it a Hail Mary.
The Miami Dolphins clocked the Tennessee Titans (Randy Moss' new home), 29-17, and the Bucs beat the Carolina Panthers, 31-16.
Those are all the games that have been completed so far. More scores will come later.
Yesterday, in college football, top-ranked teams Oregon (#1), Auburn (#2), and TCU (then-#3) all spent a chunk of their games searching for their identities before finally pulling out wins. Oregon beat California 15-13, which will likely set aside all talk that theirs might be the best offense in college football history. Auburn beat SEC rival Georgia 49-31 amidst allegations that QB and Heisman hopeful Cam Newton might have been paid, or been assisted, in coming to Auburn to play football. And the TCU Horned Frogs crept past San Diego State, 40-35, in their least satisfactory performance of the season, and one that nearly proved costly. Boise State crept even closer to TCU in the rankings this week (TCU still holds the #3 spot), after hammering Idaho 47-7. Worse, for TCU, Utah, whom they beat last week in a matchup of then-undefeated teams, was crushed by Notre Dame, 28-3, putting a major dent in their strength-of-schedule argument.
The rest of the BCS Top Ten includes: 5) LSU (which murdered LA-Monroe, 51-0)
6) Stanford (which snuck by Arizona State, 17-13)
7) Wisconsin (which slaughtered Indiana, 83-20)
9) Nebraska (beat Kansas 20-3)
9) Ohio State (beat Penn State, 38-14)
and 10) Oklahoma State (beat Texas 33-16)
I'm going to try to write an in-depth piece on tonight's big NFL matchup, the New England Patriots versus the Pittsburgh Steelers.
On Thursday, the then-#1 ranked Baltimore Ravens coughed up a game to the Atlanta Falcons, scoring a touchdown with just over a minute to go, then failing to play enough defense to keep Atlanta out of the end zone. Atlanta won, 26-21.
Today, other scores include:
Buffalo got its first win of the season after an 0-8 start by beating Detroit 14-12
The Bears beat up the Minnesota Vikings, 27-13
The New York Jets got a 37-yard TD pass from Mark Sanchez to Santonio Holmes with 16 seconds left in overtime to beat the Cleveland Browns, 26-20, in Cleveland. The Browns shocked the New England Patriots with a big win last week, and beat the New Orleans Saints the week before.
Peyton Manning failed to throw a touchdown pass, but the Colts still beat the collapsing Cincinnati Bengals, 23-17
The Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Houston Texans, 31-24, on a shocker of a 50-yd TD pass from QB David Garard on a play that started with 3 seconds left on the clock. Garard took a step, waited, took another step, then threw a bomb from the 50-yard line. At the goal line, the ball was smacked with both hands by Houston defensive back Glover Quinn, and the ball hit charging Jaguars receiver Mike Thomas in the chest. The ball bounced off his chest, his trapped it against his thigh, then snuck across the goal line for a touchdown. They're calling it a Hail Mary.
The Miami Dolphins clocked the Tennessee Titans (Randy Moss' new home), 29-17, and the Bucs beat the Carolina Panthers, 31-16.
Those are all the games that have been completed so far. More scores will come later.
Yesterday, in college football, top-ranked teams Oregon (#1), Auburn (#2), and TCU (then-#3) all spent a chunk of their games searching for their identities before finally pulling out wins. Oregon beat California 15-13, which will likely set aside all talk that theirs might be the best offense in college football history. Auburn beat SEC rival Georgia 49-31 amidst allegations that QB and Heisman hopeful Cam Newton might have been paid, or been assisted, in coming to Auburn to play football. And the TCU Horned Frogs crept past San Diego State, 40-35, in their least satisfactory performance of the season, and one that nearly proved costly. Boise State crept even closer to TCU in the rankings this week (TCU still holds the #3 spot), after hammering Idaho 47-7. Worse, for TCU, Utah, whom they beat last week in a matchup of then-undefeated teams, was crushed by Notre Dame, 28-3, putting a major dent in their strength-of-schedule argument.
The rest of the BCS Top Ten includes: 5) LSU (which murdered LA-Monroe, 51-0)
6) Stanford (which snuck by Arizona State, 17-13)
7) Wisconsin (which slaughtered Indiana, 83-20)
9) Nebraska (beat Kansas 20-3)
9) Ohio State (beat Penn State, 38-14)
and 10) Oklahoma State (beat Texas 33-16)
I'm going to try to write an in-depth piece on tonight's big NFL matchup, the New England Patriots versus the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Wade Walks, Suh Kicks, Bama Loses, and Or-e-gon!!, November 9, 2010
Hello, faithful readers. I appreciate your faithfulness :) People like me would be really bored if no one ever read our work.
It's been a while since my last post, largely because, with the end of the baseball season, my greatest sports fascination is over until next October. Well, AL Gold Glove winners were announced today (Ichiro, Joe Mauer and a bunch of Yankees), and the other major award winners will be announced in following days, but, really, baseball is over. It's all about football now.
I'm not too big a fan of hockey, or basketball, though I did watch the revamped Miami Heat (D-Wade, King James, and Chris Bosh, and company) in their season opener against the Celtics (they were beaten soundly, despite a late charge led by LeBron) and their home opener against the Orlando Magic (they crushed 'em, behind a strong effort from Wade). Well, now I've seen: it's still Wade's team, and it always will be, just like Derek Jeter remained the most popular Yankee even once A-Rod came on board. When Wade has a big night, the Heat wins. With LeBron, it's about 50/50. I am expecting the Heat to make the playoffs, though.
Well, football season is in full swing. My mom went to the Baltimore Ravens-Miami Dolphins game in Baltimore last weekend (the Ravens won despite some scuffles on offense), and said the same thing everyone does about going to football games: the atmosphere is awesome, but if you're there for the football, you should just watch in on TV.
There are MAAAAANY major stories out there, but I'll only quickly touch on a few:
-Brett Favre's starts streak is still alive (293 and counting), despite injuries to his ankle (against the Green Bay Packers) and his chin (against the New England Patriots), and he led the Vikes to an overtime win against Arizona this week
-Randy Moss is a Tennessee Titan. The wide receiver with the second-most touchdown passes all time (to Jerry Rice, duh) went from New England to Minnesota, was released, and was picked up. Moss has been labeled a head case and a pri-madonna, and has already refused to speak to the media for the rest of the year. We'll see if he holds to that.
-Michael Vick led the Eagles to a big win over the Indianapolis Colts this week, helping to shovel some dirt on the Vick/Kolb QB controversy.
-Colt McCoy makes a heck of an NFL quarterback! The University of Texas product passed for 270 yards in his NFL debut against the Steelers, led the Browns to a victory over the Saints, and then beat the Patriots this week, scoring his first career rushing TD on a 16-yard carry in the process. McCoy has pretty much made up for missing most of the 2010 BCS Title game versus Bama after that first quarter shoulder injury.
-Donovan McNabb had a bye week after being benched by Coach Mike Shanahan late in an ugly loss to the Detroit Lions. Shanahan put in backup quarterback Rex Grossman (remember him?) with about two minutes left, with the Redskins only down by one score. Grossman fumbled after being hit on his first snap, and the Redskins were crushed. Shanahan defended his move by saying Grossman knew the two-minute drill vernacular better than McNabb, then saying he doubted McNabb's cardiovascular endurance. I'm serious.
Wade Walks
The woeful 1-7 Dallas Cowboys changed coaches yesterday, when general manager Jerry Jones fired head coach Wade Phillips and replaced him with offensive coordinator Jason Garrett in the aftermath of a hideous 45-7 loss to the Green Bay Packers. The Cowboys are without Tony Romo, are without luck, and will host the Super Bowl this year, but most assuredly will not play in it. This week, they play the red-hot New York Giants.
Suh Kicks
This was by no means one of the week's major highlights, but it's worth mentioning. During last Sunday's game against the New York Jets, the Detroit Lions lost their kicker to an injury, and defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh (the 2010 NFL Draft's #2 pick out of the University of Nebraska) volunteered to kick the point after touchdown late in the game. His kick clanged off the right post, just barely missing. The Lions lost the game.
Bama Loses
All you need to know is right there in the section heading. The defending BCS National Champion University of Alabama Crimson Tide lost their second game of the year on Saturday, dropping to head coach Les Miles' LSU Tigers, 24-21, just four weeks after losing their first regular season game in 29 tries to South Carolina. One thing you will hear about is that Miles was seen plucking blades of grass and eating them during the game. Kind of random, right? But this victory catapulted LSU (who lost to Auburn the week before) back into the Number Six spot in the national rankings, and dropped the Crimson Tide to 12th.
Or-e-gon!
The Ducks opened the season with a 72-0 win over New Mexico, beat Portland State 69-0 two weeks later, and dropped 50 points on Washington this week in their second week at number one. The week before, the Auburn Tigers became one of just a handful of teams in BCS history to lose the #1 overall ranking without losing a game. All that remains between the Ducks and the National Championship Game are Cal, Arizona and Oregon State.
Speaking of college football, #3 TCU smashed former #5 Utah in a matchup of then-undefeateds, claiming a 47-7 victory. TCU has games remaining against San Diego State and New Mexico. If they win both, and either Auburn or Oregon loses (and Auburn plays Alabama in three weeks) , they could play for the national title. Last year, the Horned Frogs were undefeated until they met Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl.
Boise, meanwhile, smashed Utah State and continued their undefeated reign.
To make things simple, I'll finish up here with the Top Ten rankings for the BCS and the NFL.
College Football
1. Oregon 2. Auburn 3. TCU 4. Boise State 5. Stanford 6. LSU 7. Wisconsin 8. Ohio State 9. Nebraska 10. Michigan State (Oregon, Auburn, TCU and Boise are all undefeated)
Professional Football
1. Baltimore Ravens (6-2) 2. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2) 3. Atlanta Falcons (6-2) 4. New York Giants (6-2) 5. New York Jets (6-2) 6. New England Patriots (6-2) 7. Green Bay Packers (6-3) 8. Philadelphia Eagles (5-3) 9. New Orleans Saints (6-3) 10. Indianapolis Colts (5-3)
It's been a while since my last post, largely because, with the end of the baseball season, my greatest sports fascination is over until next October. Well, AL Gold Glove winners were announced today (Ichiro, Joe Mauer and a bunch of Yankees), and the other major award winners will be announced in following days, but, really, baseball is over. It's all about football now.
I'm not too big a fan of hockey, or basketball, though I did watch the revamped Miami Heat (D-Wade, King James, and Chris Bosh, and company) in their season opener against the Celtics (they were beaten soundly, despite a late charge led by LeBron) and their home opener against the Orlando Magic (they crushed 'em, behind a strong effort from Wade). Well, now I've seen: it's still Wade's team, and it always will be, just like Derek Jeter remained the most popular Yankee even once A-Rod came on board. When Wade has a big night, the Heat wins. With LeBron, it's about 50/50. I am expecting the Heat to make the playoffs, though.
Well, football season is in full swing. My mom went to the Baltimore Ravens-Miami Dolphins game in Baltimore last weekend (the Ravens won despite some scuffles on offense), and said the same thing everyone does about going to football games: the atmosphere is awesome, but if you're there for the football, you should just watch in on TV.
There are MAAAAANY major stories out there, but I'll only quickly touch on a few:
-Brett Favre's starts streak is still alive (293 and counting), despite injuries to his ankle (against the Green Bay Packers) and his chin (against the New England Patriots), and he led the Vikes to an overtime win against Arizona this week
-Randy Moss is a Tennessee Titan. The wide receiver with the second-most touchdown passes all time (to Jerry Rice, duh) went from New England to Minnesota, was released, and was picked up. Moss has been labeled a head case and a pri-madonna, and has already refused to speak to the media for the rest of the year. We'll see if he holds to that.
-Michael Vick led the Eagles to a big win over the Indianapolis Colts this week, helping to shovel some dirt on the Vick/Kolb QB controversy.
-Colt McCoy makes a heck of an NFL quarterback! The University of Texas product passed for 270 yards in his NFL debut against the Steelers, led the Browns to a victory over the Saints, and then beat the Patriots this week, scoring his first career rushing TD on a 16-yard carry in the process. McCoy has pretty much made up for missing most of the 2010 BCS Title game versus Bama after that first quarter shoulder injury.
-Donovan McNabb had a bye week after being benched by Coach Mike Shanahan late in an ugly loss to the Detroit Lions. Shanahan put in backup quarterback Rex Grossman (remember him?) with about two minutes left, with the Redskins only down by one score. Grossman fumbled after being hit on his first snap, and the Redskins were crushed. Shanahan defended his move by saying Grossman knew the two-minute drill vernacular better than McNabb, then saying he doubted McNabb's cardiovascular endurance. I'm serious.
Wade Walks
The woeful 1-7 Dallas Cowboys changed coaches yesterday, when general manager Jerry Jones fired head coach Wade Phillips and replaced him with offensive coordinator Jason Garrett in the aftermath of a hideous 45-7 loss to the Green Bay Packers. The Cowboys are without Tony Romo, are without luck, and will host the Super Bowl this year, but most assuredly will not play in it. This week, they play the red-hot New York Giants.
Suh Kicks
This was by no means one of the week's major highlights, but it's worth mentioning. During last Sunday's game against the New York Jets, the Detroit Lions lost their kicker to an injury, and defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh (the 2010 NFL Draft's #2 pick out of the University of Nebraska) volunteered to kick the point after touchdown late in the game. His kick clanged off the right post, just barely missing. The Lions lost the game.
Bama Loses
All you need to know is right there in the section heading. The defending BCS National Champion University of Alabama Crimson Tide lost their second game of the year on Saturday, dropping to head coach Les Miles' LSU Tigers, 24-21, just four weeks after losing their first regular season game in 29 tries to South Carolina. One thing you will hear about is that Miles was seen plucking blades of grass and eating them during the game. Kind of random, right? But this victory catapulted LSU (who lost to Auburn the week before) back into the Number Six spot in the national rankings, and dropped the Crimson Tide to 12th.
Or-e-gon!
The Ducks opened the season with a 72-0 win over New Mexico, beat Portland State 69-0 two weeks later, and dropped 50 points on Washington this week in their second week at number one. The week before, the Auburn Tigers became one of just a handful of teams in BCS history to lose the #1 overall ranking without losing a game. All that remains between the Ducks and the National Championship Game are Cal, Arizona and Oregon State.
Speaking of college football, #3 TCU smashed former #5 Utah in a matchup of then-undefeateds, claiming a 47-7 victory. TCU has games remaining against San Diego State and New Mexico. If they win both, and either Auburn or Oregon loses (and Auburn plays Alabama in three weeks) , they could play for the national title. Last year, the Horned Frogs were undefeated until they met Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl.
Boise, meanwhile, smashed Utah State and continued their undefeated reign.
To make things simple, I'll finish up here with the Top Ten rankings for the BCS and the NFL.
College Football
1. Oregon 2. Auburn 3. TCU 4. Boise State 5. Stanford 6. LSU 7. Wisconsin 8. Ohio State 9. Nebraska 10. Michigan State (Oregon, Auburn, TCU and Boise are all undefeated)
Professional Football
1. Baltimore Ravens (6-2) 2. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2) 3. Atlanta Falcons (6-2) 4. New York Giants (6-2) 5. New York Jets (6-2) 6. New England Patriots (6-2) 7. Green Bay Packers (6-3) 8. Philadelphia Eagles (5-3) 9. New Orleans Saints (6-3) 10. Indianapolis Colts (5-3)
Monday, November 1, 2010
Heartbreak in Texas, Euphoria in San Fran, November 1, 2010
The 2010 World Series is in the books. Five games. Scores of 11-7, 9-0, 4-2, 4-0, and 3-1. The National League Champion San Francisco Giants, 6 games out in their division in the last week of August, thumped the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS, surprised the Philadelphia Phillies with their fight in the NLCS, and just plain outpitched the American League Texas Rangers in this series.
I haven't made a post since the end of Game Two, when the Giants led the series 2-0 after a horrific bullpen implosion by the Rangers.
Texas won Game Three behind the sure and steady arm of Colby "The Yankee Killer" Lewis, though he gave up a pair of late solo home runs (Cody Ross and Andre Torres). The big hit in that game was a three-run homer by Rangers rookie first baseman Mitch Moreland. Josh Hamilton also hit a home run in that game, his only significant contribution of the series.
San Francisco won Game Four behind a spectacular pitching performance. It wasn't Tim Lincecum on the mound. It wasn't Mr. 0.00, Matt Cain. 21-year-old Madison Bumgarner became the second-youngest pitcher to throw eight shutout innings in a World Series game (Jim Palmer of the Orioles in Game 2 of the 1966 World Series). Aubrey Huff hit a two-run homer, rookie sensation Buster Posey smacked a solo shot to center, and the Giants were one win away.
In Game Five, the Freak Tim Lincecum pitched his best game since his first career postseason start, his 14-K two-hitter in Atlanta in Game One of the NLDS. Lincecum as nearly as good here, giving up just three hits and walking one, striking out ten, making at least one sterling defensive play, and hiccupping just once, on a two-out seventh inning home run to Rangers right fielder Nelson Cruz. That, though, came just a few minutes after Giants' shortstop Edgar Renteria smashed a stadium-silencing three-run homer off Rangers' ace Cliff Lee, who lost his second straight World Series start after beginning his career with 7 straight postseason wins (including two wins in last year's World Series). That homer was set up by consecutive singles by Cody Ross and Juan Uribe. Giants closer Brian Wilson (FEAR THE BEARD) struck out Hamilton looking on a belt-high fastball on the outside corner, got Vladimir Guerrero to ground sharply to third, then struck out Cruz swinging, and the Giants erupted. Leading the charge out of the dugout to the mound celebration was outfielder Pat Burrell, who had a hideous series (1o strikeouts).
The series MVP award could easily have gone to Cain, Bumgarner, Lincecum, Ross, or Huff, but was awarded to Edgar Renteria, who hit two home runs in the series and had several other big hits after a season in which he was on the DL three times and barely played. Renteria has been shuttled around from team to team, was the last out of the 2004 World Series when he played for the Cardinals, but once, long ago, smacked a Game 7-winning RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning for the Florida Marlins against the Cleveland Indians. He was 21 at the time. He joins an incredible exclusive fraternity of players who have game-winning RBIs in two World Series clinching-games: (ready for this?) Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, Yogi Berra. You've heard of them, right?
This was the Giants' organization's sixth World Series, first since 1954 (a la Willie Mays' famous catch), when they beat the 111-win Cleveland Indians, and the first since moving to San Francisco in 1958. They lost the 7-game 1961 series to the Yankees, the 4-game 1989 series to the A's, and the 7-game 2002 series to the Angels.
For the Texas Rangers, who had a great postseason run in eliminating the beasts of the AL East (the Rays and defending world champion Yankees), it was a disappointing series in which their best pitcher failed and their offense ran into a buzzsaw of moving pitches.
Time to close the door on the 2010 Major League Baseball season (except for the major awards). Congratulations, Giants.
I haven't made a post since the end of Game Two, when the Giants led the series 2-0 after a horrific bullpen implosion by the Rangers.
Texas won Game Three behind the sure and steady arm of Colby "The Yankee Killer" Lewis, though he gave up a pair of late solo home runs (Cody Ross and Andre Torres). The big hit in that game was a three-run homer by Rangers rookie first baseman Mitch Moreland. Josh Hamilton also hit a home run in that game, his only significant contribution of the series.
San Francisco won Game Four behind a spectacular pitching performance. It wasn't Tim Lincecum on the mound. It wasn't Mr. 0.00, Matt Cain. 21-year-old Madison Bumgarner became the second-youngest pitcher to throw eight shutout innings in a World Series game (Jim Palmer of the Orioles in Game 2 of the 1966 World Series). Aubrey Huff hit a two-run homer, rookie sensation Buster Posey smacked a solo shot to center, and the Giants were one win away.
In Game Five, the Freak Tim Lincecum pitched his best game since his first career postseason start, his 14-K two-hitter in Atlanta in Game One of the NLDS. Lincecum as nearly as good here, giving up just three hits and walking one, striking out ten, making at least one sterling defensive play, and hiccupping just once, on a two-out seventh inning home run to Rangers right fielder Nelson Cruz. That, though, came just a few minutes after Giants' shortstop Edgar Renteria smashed a stadium-silencing three-run homer off Rangers' ace Cliff Lee, who lost his second straight World Series start after beginning his career with 7 straight postseason wins (including two wins in last year's World Series). That homer was set up by consecutive singles by Cody Ross and Juan Uribe. Giants closer Brian Wilson (FEAR THE BEARD) struck out Hamilton looking on a belt-high fastball on the outside corner, got Vladimir Guerrero to ground sharply to third, then struck out Cruz swinging, and the Giants erupted. Leading the charge out of the dugout to the mound celebration was outfielder Pat Burrell, who had a hideous series (1o strikeouts).
The series MVP award could easily have gone to Cain, Bumgarner, Lincecum, Ross, or Huff, but was awarded to Edgar Renteria, who hit two home runs in the series and had several other big hits after a season in which he was on the DL three times and barely played. Renteria has been shuttled around from team to team, was the last out of the 2004 World Series when he played for the Cardinals, but once, long ago, smacked a Game 7-winning RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning for the Florida Marlins against the Cleveland Indians. He was 21 at the time. He joins an incredible exclusive fraternity of players who have game-winning RBIs in two World Series clinching-games: (ready for this?) Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, Yogi Berra. You've heard of them, right?
This was the Giants' organization's sixth World Series, first since 1954 (a la Willie Mays' famous catch), when they beat the 111-win Cleveland Indians, and the first since moving to San Francisco in 1958. They lost the 7-game 1961 series to the Yankees, the 4-game 1989 series to the A's, and the 7-game 2002 series to the Angels.
For the Texas Rangers, who had a great postseason run in eliminating the beasts of the AL East (the Rays and defending world champion Yankees), it was a disappointing series in which their best pitcher failed and their offense ran into a buzzsaw of moving pitches.
Time to close the door on the 2010 Major League Baseball season (except for the major awards). Congratulations, Giants.
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