Week 16 in the NFL

Nick Russ here with your Christmas week of pro football. In a week with plenty of playoff implications, one of the more important ones was not as dramatic as earlier thought. Give credit to Pittsburgh they played a tough game but Tennessee proved they were number 1. 21 of Tennessee's 31 points all came from turnovers. Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger threw 2 picks, one as the final seconds ticked away, and two fumbles. The only scores in the first half for the Titans came from a Kerry Collins TD pass to Justin Gage for 34 yards and a Rob Bironas field goal. After his fumble led to Tennessee scoring Roethlisberger drove down the field and connected for his 100th career TD to Santonio Holmes. Then out of the gate he capped a 4 play drive in the third with a 21 yard pass to Hines Ward to give them the lead. Tennessee answered with a 4th down pitch out to Chris Johnson that ended with a 21 yard touch down. It was down hill for Pittsburgh from there. Michael Griffin intercepted Roethlisberger for the second time and returned all the way to the 1 yard line where Lindel White took it in. Tennessee sacked Roethlisberger 5 times all without pro-bowlers Albert Haynesworth and Kyle Vanden Bosch. This marks the 8th victory in 9 games that Tennessee has won at home against the Steelers.

 

Else where the race has narrowed in one division while another will have its deciding game on Sunday night. The Jets trip to Seattle ended with a crushing loss. The score was only 13-3 but it pretty much eliminates the Jets from the playoffs and could very possibly mean Brett Favre's last game on Sunday. The other teams Miami and New England all won but Miami is in the clinch position. Miami lead by ex-Jet Chad Pennington has to beat his former team the Jets to clinch the division. A Miami loss and a New England win over Buffalo means the division is the Patriots. New England could reach the playoffs if Baltimore loses to Jacksonville. I personally cant believe that the AFC west is going to come down to the last game between Denver and San Diego. These two have stumbled around alllllll year and it has come to this. I've said before that the Chargers were one of the most disappointing teams this year and a win Sunday helps vindicate them of that. Denver loses that means they blew it and Mike Shanahan's job might be in trouble. 

The Bears got a gift early this year. Every team that they needed to lose, lost including Minnesota. In an arctic setting the Bears fought a spoiler driven Packers team in to overtime. Special teams proved to be the deciding factor in the game as Bears QB Kyle Orton threw two picks and only completed 14 of 27 passes with a touch down to tight end Greg Olsen. The Bears managed to block 2 Mason Crosby field goals including one at the end of regulation. On punts the Bears managed to recover a live ball that bounced into Packers Jarret Bush that led to the Orton-Olsen touchdown. The Bears need help to make the playoffs. To their benefit their much alive in the division race due to Minnesota losing. If the Giants beat Minnesota and Chicago beats Houston they win the North. If both Tampa Bay and Dallas lose then the Bears clinch a wild card spot. But it all comes down to beating Houston. Minnesota losing Sunday is a possibility as Giants coach Tom Coughlin believes on maintaing momentum and might not rest his starters.

Speaking of the Giants the game was as good as predicted with Carolina. Anchored by running back Derrick Ward rushing for 215 yards, the Giants now set themselves up as number 1 in the NFC. It was really a rushing game. DeAngelo Williams had 4 touchdowns and 108 yards while Giants Brandon Jacobs raked in 3 touchdowns and 87 yards. One of his touchdowns came with 3:21 in the game to set up Eli Manning to throw to Domenik Hixon to tie the game late capping a 21-7 second half. Carolina had a chance to win the game with a 50 yard field goal but the strong wind pushed it wide left. After both sides swapped failed drives New York nearly gave the ball to Carolina after R.W. McQuarters muffed a punt on the Giants 13 yard line. Immediately after Derrick Ward ran 51 yards to the Carolina 36 and he eventually got the Giants to the 2 where Brandon Jacobs took it in for the score and win. 

Last week I went 1-3 bringing my overall to 24-24

This week I'll take The Bears over Houston

The Jets over Miami

Baltimore over Jacksonville

And my final game of the week Denver over San Diego

Image courtesy of Nam Y. Huh

Hockey Talk week 9

Nick Russ here with your NHL update. The youngest team in the league is a fire ball heading into the Winter Classic. The Blackhawks have won their last 8 straight games tying a franchise record. The impressive streak includes victories over Northwest division leaders Calgary and Vancouver. Powered by All Star vote leading wing Patrick Kane and team goal leader Patrick Sharp, the Hawks have division leading Detroit looking over its shoulder. All this with just a week away from the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field. The Hawks go on the road for Minnesota and Detroit oddly enough before having New Years Eve off then hosting the Redwings at Wrigley. 

Detroit has been a bit of a roller coaster the past few games. They dropped a game against dismal Dallas and the struggling Avalanche. However they shut out one of the best teams in San Jose. They also won over LA and St. Louis setting up a critical home game against the hard charging Hawks. With Marian Hossa, Nicklas Lidstrom, and Pavel Datsyuk set to make the All Star game, the most players in the West, Detroit could battle with Chicago for a long time. With the animosity towards the BCS in college football the Winter Classic could easily steal some ratings on Jan 1. Detroit visits Colorado before hosting Chicago then playing the Winter Classic.

Out East Montreal is starting to vanish in Boston's mirror. Despite having potentially 5 all stars the Canadiens have underachieved while Boston has soared. Montreal dropped 3 in a row with losses to Tampa, a tough Washington loss, and Carolina. Then they beat the Flyers and Sabres before losing in OT to Carolina. Put this into perspective, if Montreal where in the Atlantic division they would be tied for third with New Jersey one point just behind them. Montreal has a long road trip starting with Pittsburgh before wrapping it up at New Jersey. 

The Atlantic division is the closest division race heading into 2009. The Rangers lead the division with 47 points followed by Philadelphia with 45 points, that's a win difference folks. The Flyers are followed by rival Pittsburgh with 42 points and injury plagued New Jersey. And of course the Islanders have fallen off the globe with 25, worst in the league. Rangers lost to New Jersey early on and lost a critical cross conference game with San Jose. The Rangers play the Devils tomorrow in the only worth while division game before playing Pittsburgh in two weeks. Phily plays no division opponents for a while but they still have been performing well against teams like Washington and Pittsburgh. They go on the road out west against Anaheim and LA before visiting the Capitals. Pittsburgh can get some momentum going against Boston twice in the coming week. Until next time Hockey fans.

Photo courtesy of Nam Y. Huh

Week 15 in the NFL

With two weeks remaining its your NFL recap. With all the drama in the big D something came up that seemed to cool all heads, a win. Winning over the Giants keeps the Cowboys alive in the playoff race for now. Not having Brandon Jacobs limited the Giants to simply throwing against the Cowboys. With DeMarcus Ware being one of the leagues main sack machines combined with Terence Newman intercepting the ball twice, it became a long day for Eli Manning. Eli had 18 for 35 on his passes with 191 yards. The G men's only scores were two John Carney field goals and a safety when Dallas QB Tony Romo fumbled out of the end zone. Romo is 4-0 when facing the Giants. He was out when they lost earlier this year with his finger injury. Saturday night the Cowboys play the Ravens in what is a good matchup but not as important as the Giants game. This week the Giants face off against the Panthers for the number 1 seed in the NFC and the home field advantage. This is a game worth watching and could probably end up being the NFC championship game a few weeks from now. 

Else where in the NFC this week is another battle with major playoff implications. After beating Arizona the Vikings place themselves in the driver seat of their division. A win this Sunday could lock it up for the Vikings, however it wont be against a cup cake team like Detroit. Atlanta after a man up or shut up game with Tampa Bay sit in the second wild card spot with Dallas holding the other. Tampa Bay and Atlanta share the same record but the tie break favors Atlanta. A loss to Minnesota could end the miracle season for Atlanta. Tampa Bay plays host to San Diego while another surprise contender visits the Redskins. The Eagles are sitting on the fringe just waiting for Atlanta to slip up. Chicago is right on the Vikings heels and with a home game Monday night against Green Bay the Bears could end up in first by Christmas should Minnesota lose. Normally a southern team heading north spells trouble for the south team. Minnesota plays in a dome just like the Falcons however, so the crowd will have to help throw off rookie Matt Ryan's rhythm so he cant connect to Michael Turner. The Vikings will have to do with out Pat Williams till the end of the season after injuring his shoulder last week.

In the AFC we might finally see a horse pull away in the AFC east. The Jets, Dolphins, and Patriots all won last week but time is starting to run out for the Pats and Dolphins. The Jets visit Seattle for another Mike Homgren Brett Favre reunion. Miami visits the lowly Chiefs while the Pats have the toughest task hosting Arizona. This one really could come down to next week when the Jets host Miami while the Pats visit Buffalo. If Miami wins out they win the spot. New England has quietly stuck around however and I wouldn't count them out. 

Much like the NFC 1 and 2 squaring off this week, the Titans and Steelers have a head on collision in Nashville for the top seed in the AFC. Pittsburgh had a controversial yet still hard fought win over Baltimore last week while the Titans were upset by Houston. Like the Ravens Steelers game last week this game is gonna be a defensive stand off. Both teams D's are in the top 5 with Pittsburgh leading in total yards allowed and passing yards while Tennessee sits at 4th and 5th in both categories. Both teams are one and two in points allowed. Look to see Pittsburgh run the ball early with Willie Parker and open up their passing game with Ben Roethlisberger. The Titans might do something similar but my try passing earlier with short quick slants to test safeties Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark and to loosen up the defensive line to give Chris Johnson a chance to run for some big gains. 

On a side note, this has to be one of the closest playoff races in recent memory. Usually this time in the season the stage is mostly set for the playoffs. I can't recall a closer race across the board other than college football. With that said I went 1-3 bringing my total to 23-21

This week I'll take Tampa over the Chargers

The Eagles over Washington

And I'm goin with two games of the week

Titans over Steelers and the Panthers over Giants

Have a merry Christmas and happy Hanukkah and enjoy the football this week.

image courtesy of Ronald Martinez 

Week 14 in the NFL

Nick Russ here with your NFL update. Its not over for Phily. The Eagles stunned the Giants at the Meadow lands on Sunday 20-14. While the media circus surrounds the Giants about Plaxico Burress the Giants failed to hook up on Sunday. Eli Manning threw 13-27 and only 123 yards and a touch down. Meanwhile the Eagles defense held the top ranked Giants rushing to just 88 yards. Giants running back Brendon Jacobs did leave in the third quarter but it has been indicated that it is not serious. The Eagles were consistent the whole game. In a tough wind Donovan McNabb threw 19-30 for 191 yards and a touchdown. Brian Westbrook rushed for 131 yards on 33 carries and a touchdown helping the Eagles grind out the clock. The Eagles had 34 minutes in the time of possession aided by 12 of 18 on third downs. The win gives the Eagles a small chance to make a wild card run. On the other side the Giants have clinched the division thanks to a Cowboys loss. However this brings the glorious home field advantage in jeopardy for the G-men. Next week the Giants get to put the Cowboys away while the Eagles host Cleveland.

The Giants established earlier this season they were the team to beat in the NFC. So the question came up who would play the defending champs. It is shaping up to be the Carolina Panthers. Carolina sunk Tampa on Monday night 38-23. It was an offensive explosion on Carolina's part by racking up 464 yards on one of the best defenses in the league. DeAngelo Williams and Johnathan Stewart both ran over 100 yards and both had 2 touchdowns. Jake Delhomme threw 14-20 for 173 yards and a touchdown. 117 of those yards and the touchdown went to Steve Smith. Tampa Bay not being out down had 384 yards. 321 came in the air from Jeff Garcia. Garcia hooked up 24 of 38 passes and 2 touchdowns. Antonio Bryant had a career high 200 yards on 9 catches including a 52 yard pass. Tampa cant rest as they play current wild card team Atlanta. Carolina now eyes home field advantage as they control their destiny with their division. They host Denver this weekend. 

In the AFC the AFC east has become very interesting. There is a three way tie with The Jets the Patriots and the Dolphins of all teams. This came off of the Jets dropping a game against the 49er's. Miami is in position to have probably the greatest one year turn-around. The Dolphins face the 49er's this weekend and next week against the Chiefs. Then if its still deadlocked it could come down to the last game when the Jets play Miami. New England faces Oakland this week before facing Arizona then wrapping it up against the Bills. The Jets host Buffalo before visiting Seattle, then the show down with the Dolphins.  

Elsewhere Pittsburgh has had a nice ride in the AFC north but something has been in their rear view mirror. That thing is the Baltimore Ravens. At 9-4 the Ravens have been a force in their own in the AFC. The Steelers won the first meeting with a field goal at Heinz field. But this time its on the road in Baltimore's house. A Baltimore win would put them in charge of the division and put them as the number 2 team in the AFC. One thing is assured is that this should be one hard hitting game.

Last week I went 2-2 bringing my total to 22-18

This week I'll take San Francisco over Miami

The Giants over the Cowboys

The Buccaneers over Atlanta

And my game of the week- Pittsburgh over Baltimore in another tight one.

image courtesy of Rick Stewart

Hockey Talk week 7

Greetings Hockey fans its your weekly update. After falling behind Minnesota, Vancouver fought back to regain control of the Northwest. After a tough loss to Detroit the Canucks beat then division leader Minnesota on the road. They traveled then to Colorado and played to an Overtime loss. Which comes at no surprise as Vancouver has done well on the road. They've scored 56 goals on the road while scoring 32 back home. The Canucks end their road trip at fellow Canadian team Edmonton before returning to General Motors Place to face Florida, Edmonton again, and a resilient Blackhawks team. Minnesota is still right behind the Canucks. They did beat the lowly St. Louis Blues but they dropped their next two to Vancouver and Nashville. They pay a west coast visit to Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Anaheim. By next week either team could be in control of the division. Over in the Central the Blackhawks continue their pursuit of leading Detroit. After winning a game against Anaheim the Hawks faced off against Detroit. After falling behind 2-0 early in the first the Hawks scored 4 straight goals led by Jonathan Toews with 2. From there the defending Stanley cup champs took over. Answering with two goals in the 3rd period. This was the second meeting between the two original 6 rivals. The first one also played into an overtime decision. The Blackhawks need to start winning these overtimes if they want to catch Detroit, they lead the Western conference with 7 OT losses. The next time these two meet will be at Detroit on the 30th before the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field. 

Until next week Hockey fans.

Image courtesy of Bruce Klukhohn 

Week 13 in the NFL

Nick Russ here with your happenings of the NFL. The Redskins Giants game had a bit more coverage than predicted. In a game that was crucial to the NFC east, Plaxico Burress stole a bit of the spot light. Regardless Eli Manning threw for over 300 yards spreading his passes through out the Redskins secondary. Amani Toomer led the way with 85 yards and a touchdown. Brandon Jacobs ran for 71 yards and 1 touchdown on 21 carries. Eli had a rushing touchdown as well. The Redskins only score came from a Devin Thomas run. The Redskins couldn't score after in what was supposed to be a dedication to the late Sean Taylor. The Redskins woes continue after losing their last 4 straight while the Giants have won their last 7. 6 of those against winning teams. The G-men can clinch the division this weekend with a win and a Dallas loss. While the Redskins are slowly seeing their playoff dreams begin to vanish as they now have to fight for a wild card spot. 

Over in the NFC north, Minnesota may have won the lead from Chicago but they have a tough road ahead. Also factor in that the Williams Wall may not be there to help them. Kevin and Pat Williams tested positive for banned substance. The NFL has blocked their suspension for Sundays game against Detroit but from there its up for grabs. The substance in question can serve as a masking agent which carries a four game suspension. If there ever is a chance that Detroit can win a game this year its against Minnesota this weekend. The Vikings must avoid this trap game due to the fact their next three opponents are Atlanta, Arizona, and the Giants, all three are playoff bound teams. The Bears have it easy going with the under achieving Jacksonville then their toughest game with New Orleans. They then have a chance to avenge themselves against Green Bay then finish with Houston. Did I also mention that three of these games are at home?

Over in the AFC the Broncos managed to upset the Jets on Sunday. Jay Cutler unleashed a passing attack that racked up 357 yards and 2 touchdowns one to Brandon Stokley and the other to Eddie Royal. Rookie running back Peyton Hills had a season high 129 yards rushing and a touchdown. The Jets only scores aside from a Jay Feely field goal came from another spectacular game from Thomas Jones. Jones ran for 138 yards on 16 carries for two touchdowns including a 59 yard run. Denver's win essentially nails the coffin for San Diego. The Bronco's face Kansas City this weekend but have a challenge next week at Carolina. Jets face the 49er's before Buffalo. If they win those two they could lock up the division. 

The Colts pulled off a sloppy win over a battered Cleveland. Both teams combined for 5 turnovers and the only touchdown came in the forth quarter and it was a fumble return. Peyton Manning had an off day throwing 2 picks and only 15 for 21 and 125 yards. The Colts win all but cements their playoff birth. Their next three games are against Cincinnati Detroit and Jacksonville all three combine for 5 wins. Their last game is against Tennessee but by that point the Titans will be resting their starters. 

Last week I whiffed going 0-4 bringing my overall to 20-16

This week I'll take Atlanta over New Orleans 

the Dolphins over Buffalo

Baltimore over Washington

And my game of the week Tampa Bay over the Panthers

Image courtesy of Nick Wass

Hockey Talk week 6

Nick Russ here with your Hockey update. San Jose continues on its winning ways. The Sharks are riding on a 7 game winning streak with big wins against the Blackhawks and division rival Phoenix. They lead the league in goals for with around 4 per game. It probably helps the Sharks that their next 4 games are home. Thursday they play Columbus before hosting a tough division opponent in Anaheim. The Minnesota Wild have taken the lead in the Northwest just edging out Vancouver. The Wild had some great wins over Tampa Bay and Washington and had a tough loss against Colorado. The Wild are second only to Boston in goals against and are second in power play goals. The Wild have a huge game against Vancouver this weekend then visit Nashville then Phoenix. Out east the Rangers still have yet to show signs of letting up. This despite splitting the Florida teams and dropping a game to Vancouver. Even if you get them in OT they have won 7 shoot outs. The Rangers visit Montreal and host Calgary this weekend. Until next week Puck heads.

The Good, the Bad, and the BCS

NCAA Football Quiz

1. BCS stands for _________________.

a) Bowl Championship Series
b) Barely Comprehensible Scheme
c) Bafflingly Complicated Situation
d) All of the above

After this past weekend’s developments, many college football fans are beginning to view this question as a toss-up. With #3 Oklahoma’s 61-41 win over #12 Oklahoma State on Saturday, the Sooners finished the regular season in a three-way tie with #2 Texas and #7 Texas Tech atop the Big 12 South Division. But since one team from each division advances to the Big 12 Championship game, only one of these three teams can play in the conference championship.

Well, that should be an easy one to choose, right? Oklahoma and Texas have a consensus lead over Texas Tech, so we’ll just take a look at what happened when the Sooners and the Longhorns squared off earlier this season, right? Wrong. In an inexplicably atrocious move, college football has turned to the BCS standings as a tiebreaker. Yesterday’s updated BCS release has Oklahoma edging out Texas, .9351 to .9223.

Suddenly the Longhorns’45-35 triumph over the then-top ranked Sooners on October 11th seems completely meaningless. Head-to-head records apparently don’t tell us anything (sarcasm). Conventional wisdom says that the way to determine which team is better is to pit them against each other, but perhaps this line of thought is too advanced for the complex calculating of computers.

In summary, we have reached the climax of the college football season, and instead of relying on what happened on the field, we are putting the entire decision in the virtual hands of computers. When it comes to tabbing the better team, computerized calculations pale in comparison to actually going out onto the field and playing a game. The fact that Texas beat Oklahoma by 10 points on a NEUTRAL FIELD should be enough to put the Longhorns in the Big 12 Championship game ahead of the Sooners. Instead, they are forced to stay at home at watch a game between two inferior teams, BOTH of which Texas has beaten this season.

It’s only a conference championship game, you may say. It’s not like it’s the national championship. Well, it might as well be. The winner of the SEC championship game between #1 Alabama and #4 Florida has a lock on one of the spots in the title game, but the other will undoubtedly come from the Big 12. Oklahoma now has the inside track to grabbing that second spot. If the Sooners beat a fading Missouri squad in the Big 12 championship, they will play in the title game as well. The only way Texas can take that spot is if Oklahoma somehow loses to Missouri in a manner that convinces voters to bump the Longhorns past the Sooners in the polls.

By the same flawed logic, then, there can never be a playoff in college football. By using the BCS rankings as tiebreakers, college football is undermining its regular season and showing that what happened on the field doesn’t matter. It’s the computers that have the final say. This is diametrically opposed to the establishment of a playoff system, which bases its rankings solely on the in-game performances of two competing teams.

This entire quagmire, however, could be solved with one simple move: abolish divisions within conferences. Because Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas Tech are all in the South Division of the Big 12, only one of those three teams can play in the conference championship…even though the Sooners, Longhorns, and Red Raiders (all 11-1) combine for the same number of losses as the North Division Champs, the Missouri Tigers (9-3). The top two teams in any given conference should get to face off in the conference championship; they shouldn’t be limited by their division classification.

Besides, you can’t tell me that Oklahoma and Texas players wouldn’t lick their chops at the thought of a rematch. Their regular season meeting provided plenty of drama already. Just imagine the atmosphere if they faced off with a berth in the national title game on the line.

But is shouldn’t have to come to that. Texas deserves a spot in the Big 12 championship game, and they are being cheated out of it because of the nuances of a flawed system. College football should be ashamed of this calamity, and the Big 12 should be embarrassed by the selection.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, the answer is D.

Photos courtesy of ESPN.com.