Category: External Sports (Page 57 of 821)

      Sunday Evening Quick-Hitters: Reactions from Week 7 in the NFL

      October 24, 2011 /

      Every Sunday evening throughout the 2011 NFL season I’ll compile quick-hit reactions from the day that was in football. I vow to always overreact, side with sensationalism over rationalism, and draw conclusions based on small sample sizes instead of cold, hard facts. It’s the only way I know how to write…

      DIDN’T SEE THAT COMING…

      Denver Broncos’ quarterback Tim Tebow celebrates after running the ball in for a two-point conversion to tie the score in the fourth quarter of play against the Miami Dolphins in their NFL football game in Miami, Florida October 23, 2011. REUTERS/Doug Murray (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      – Earlier this week the Broncos said that they’re not going to change their offense with Tim Tebow taking over at quarterback. Then on Sunday, they kept their game plan ultra-conservative and hardly called any screen passes or high-percentage throws to help build his confidence while being dominated for 56 minutes by a winless Miami team. Do they want the kid to fail? Are they trying to prove that they were right by not starting him over Kyle Orton? Are they trying to stick it to all of the fans that have basically begged the organization to play Tebow? Either way, I absolutely love what the former Gator did today. Despite his coaching staff’s unwillingness to put him in position to succeed, he found a way to pull off a miraculous victory with some help from his defense and kicker Matt Prater. It wasn’t hard to figure that he would score a couple of touchdowns and compile over 200 total yards. But the way he did it was marvelous. The Broncos did nothing until four minutes left in the fourth, when he basically willed them to victory. He’s too nice of a guy to say it, but that had to feel good to stick it up his critics’ asses for just one week.

      – While Denver refused to change its offense in efforts to help Tebow, Minnesota did a nice job of using designed roll-outs and plays that maximized rookie Christian Ponder’s strengths at quarterback. The rookie will be seeing Charles Woodson (2 INTs) in his nightmares for a while, but he showed a lot of grit bouncing back in the fourth quarter to nearly lead the Vikings to an upset over the still-undefeated Packers. Ponder is clearly an upgrade over Donovan McNabb and his performance today was definitely something to build on. Green Bay’s defense has struggled all year but for Ponder to have Minnesota in position to win in the fourth quarter was something not a lot of people expected.

      – Anyone who watched DeMarco Murray play at Oklahoma knew he was a versatile player with a bright future. He did everything for the Sooners in his time at OU and the Cowboys really got a steal last April when they selected him with the 71st overall pick in the third-round. Nobody envisioned him rushing for 253 yards (a Dallas single-game record) in one game, but it was only a matter of time before Murray turned heads. Granted, 91 of those yards came on one play and he did face a pathetic St. Louis run defense. But given all the issues the Cowboys have had at running back over the years, his feat today had to be refreshing for Jerry Jones and Co. Here’s hoping the 23-year-old back can avoid injuries and build off of this incredible performance.

      – I made it clear in my predictions this week that I liked the Chiefs to at least cover the 3.5-point spread in Oakland. But 28-0 with two 50-yard pick-sixes? Yeah, no – didn’t see that coming. Suddenly Kansas City is only a game back of San Diego and Oakland in the win column. That’s quite a contrast to where the Chiefs were a month ago, when head coach Todd Haley was nearly fired for the team’s ugly 0-3 start.

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, NFL

      Fade Material: NFL Week 7 Predictions

      October 23, 2011 /
      Fans of Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Tim Tebow hold up a sign during their NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs in Denver November 14, 2010. REUTERS/Rick Wilking (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      While my college picks continue to do well, a .500 record for my NFL predictions seems to be out of the question. After hitting the 49ers and Packers in the early games, the Saints were dropkicked by the Bucs and the Vikings…oh, the Vikings.

      Following my 2-2 effort in Week 6, that puts my season record at 10-14 on the year.

      Broncos @ Dolphins, 1:00PM ET
      I was one of the many who chastised the Broncos for trading back into the first round to take Tim Tebow in 2010. But now that it has become almost cliché to bag on Tebow’s abilities as a passer, I’m flat out rooting for him now. RELEASE THE TEBOW! From a performance standpoint, you can’t get much worse than the Miami defense. Their pass rush isn’t that bad but what’s the difference? They can’t stop the pass or run so teams can still pretty much do whatever they want against the Dolphins. Tebow will probably throw for 87 yards but give me two I say TWO touchdowns in a Denver victory today.
      THE PICK: DENVER BRONCOS +1

      Steelers @ Cardinals, 4:05PM ET
      Here’s the way I’m viewing this game. Pittsburgh is a 3.5-point favorite but let’s toss out the spread for a second. I ask myself, ‘Do I think the Steelers will win?’ The answer is yes. And if I believe they’re going to win, then they’re probably going to beat a bad Arizona team (which has proven it can’t finish games) by more than a field goal, right? Again, the answer is yes. (At least in my eyes.) The Steelers have been models of inconsistency thus far, but if you follow that same model then they should roll today. After the Ravens hammered them 35-7 in Week 1, the Steelers covered as 14-point favorites the following week against the Seahawks. After they lost to the Texans in Week 4, they covered easily as a 3-point favorite against the Titans in Week 5. And after they barely squeaked by the Jaguars last Sunday, I expect them to cover against Arizona. It’s science.
      THE PICK: PITTSBURGH STEELERS –3.5

      Chiefs @ Raiders, 4:05PM ET
      Every time I’m utterly confused by a point spread it usually winds up burning me in the end. The Raiders opened as 3-point point home favorites against the Chiefs when it was presumed that Kyle Boller was going to be Oakland’s starter. That makes sense. The Raiders are at home, they’re the better team and the old rule is that home field advantage is worth three points. Thus, Oakland –3. But after they acquired Carson Palmer on Tuesday and it was announced that he was playing, the line climbed a full point to 4.5. Then the damn thing jumped up to 5.5 as the public presumably hammered the Palmer-led Raiders. So what you’re telling me is that Palmer is worth a full 1.5 points? Are you kidding me? I know this isn’t the same the Chiefs team that won the AFC West last year but they are 2-0 in their last two games and 3-2 against the spread this year. They’re also coming off a bye and playing an opponent they’re incredibly familiar with (sans Palmer, that is). Plus, and this is the biggest reason why I can’t understand the line, Palmer hasn’t played in a live game since January 2. Now, after reporting on Friday that Palmer might not start, the line is back down to 3.5. Either way, give me the points. I don’t trust either Palmer nor Boller.
      THE PICK: KANSAS CITY CHIEFS +3.5

      Packers @ Vikings, 4:15PM ET
      The Packers haven’t played a full game in a couple of weeks, as they struggled in the first-half against the Falcons in Week 5 and completely took their foot off the gas in the second-half last Sunday against the Rams. That scares me, although not as much as what Aaron Rodgers is going to do in a dome against Minnesota’s brutal secondary. Even if rookie Christian Ponder plays well in his first career start, he isn’t going to keep pace with Rodgers and the Packers. I’ll probably get burned by this same Viking team that I predicted would upset Chicago last Sunday but just like the Chiefs-Raiders game, I’m not going to over-think this one. (I also love that the spread has stayed below the key number of 10.)
      THE PICK: GREEN BAY PACKERS –9

      External Sports, NFL

      Oklahoma goes down at home against Texas Tech

      October 23, 2011 /

      No. 3 Oklahoma couldn’t overcome an early deficit as they lost to Texas Tech 41-38. The much-hyped Sooners’ defense gave up 572 total yards to the Red Raiders along with the 41 points, pretty much destroying any notion that they belonged in the National Championship game. Meanwhile Landry Jones completed 30 of 55 passes in the shootout for 412 yards and 5 touchdowns against one interception.

      This result will shake up the BCS rankings, as No. 4 Wisconsin also lost a heart-breaker to Michigan State. Few people have been talking about No. 8 Stanford, but with Andrew Luck at the helm, they might pose the most interesting challenge to the eventual SEC winner if that’s how things play out. Last night Luck barely had to break a sweat in Stanford’s 65-21 thrashing of No. 25 Washington, as the running game for Stanford exploded for 446 yards and 5 touchdowns.

      Of course the entire BCS discussion is ridiculous. Oklahoma is still a very good team, and if we had a sensible 8-team playoff for example, the Sooners would have a chance to redeem themselves and learn from this loss. Unfortunately, that notion doesn’t exist often in college football unless everyone ends up losing a game.

      College Football, External Sports, News

      Pujols leads offensive explosion with three dingers

      October 22, 2011 /

      Albert Pujols clubbed three home runs as the Cardinals pounded the Rangers 16-7 to take a 2-1 lead in the World Series. He also had 5 hits and 6 RBIs. The Cardinals chased Rangers starter Matt Harrison in the fourth inning and then continued their assault on a Texas bullpen that had been brilliant in the post-season.

      The series had been characterized by low-scoring games, but everything changed when the teams arrived in the warm Texas climate. Both pitching staffs had a rough night, but Texas suffered a total collapse by giving up 15 runs.

      It had looked like Texas may have stolen momentum in the series with their dramatic ninth-inning win in game two, but the Cardinals shook it off and unleashed Pujols and the rest of the offense. Pujols had received heavy criticism for not talking to the media after committing a key error in the ninth inning of game 2, but he shrugged that off as well.

      External Sports, MLB, News

      Michigan State stuns Wisconsin

      October 22, 2011 /

      Michigan State can thanks the replay rules for a miraculous victory over Wisconsin in a physical and exciting game tonight. Kirk Cousins threw a 44-yard Hail Mary pass with time running out, and Keith Nichol came up with it after it was tipped by several players. The problem was that it was hard to see whether he actually got into the end zone, and the officials ruled on the field that Nichol didn’t get it. But the replay showed that the ball did barely cross the end zone, and Michigan State won in stunning fashion.

      The game had some wild swings, and Wisconsin jumped out to a 14-0 lead after an opening touchdown drive and then another quick touchdown after a Spartan turnover.

      But then Russell Wilson got called for intentional grounding in the end zone for a safety, and then he threw an interception and all of a sudden the Spartans were on their way to 23 unanswered points.

      In the fourth quarter, Wisconsin was down by 14 points, but Russell Wilson did a great job of bringing the Badgers back to tie the game with 1:26 left. But then Michigan State got its miracle, and Wisconsin’s dream of an undefeated season ended with the replay call.

      What a game!

      College Football, External Sports, News

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