Week 3 Best and Worst Performances

This is a little late, but here are Week 3's best and worst performances from the NFL.

Best:


Wes Welker: It seemed like if Wes Welker didn't make a catch in this game, the only other completions that Tom Brady had were to the Buffalo Bills' defenders.  Fortunately enough, Welker had 16 grabs for 216 yards and two TDs.  The catches and yards were both career highs for Welker and it helped the Patriots jump out to their huge lead and kept them in the game late.

Eli Manning: This one is painful because it came against my beloved Eagles, but Eli Manning absolutely torched their defense.  Every time he threw the ball I was expecting him to overthrow his receiver and it would be picked off.  But that just didn't happen.  Instead, he just threw for four TDs and 254 yards and moved the Giants into a tie for first place in the NFC East.

Darren McFadden: Take away his 70+ yard TD run against the strong Jets defense, and McFadden still would have had 18 carries for close to 100 yards and a TD.  Add in that run and you have an impressive stat line that looks like the following: 19 carries, 171 yards, and two TDs.  Not too shabby.

The Worst:

Tom Brady: It's really hard to knock on Tom Brady for having four TDs in a game, but couple that with four INTs as well, and well, you have a 15 game winning streak against the Bills come to an end.  Things started off great for Brady, but after an early 21-0 lead with three TDs, Brady struggled, throwing four picks and only passed for one more late TD.

Chris Johnson: When was the last time Chris Johnson had a really bad outing?  Oh yeah, the first two games this season.  Johnson ran for only 21 yards this week and has yet to eclipse the 100-yard mark... TOTAL this season.  Maybe CJ2K should worry more about performing and not his bank account.

Dallas Offense: Yeah they won the game, but the Cowboys' offense looked brutal at times in their Monday night clash with the Washington Redskins.  Too many bad snaps, bad penalties, and stalled drives led to their rookie kicker Dan Bailey kicking six field goals and helping them win the game.  The Cowboys are going to have to clean it up a lot.

Stay tuned next week for Week 4's Best and Worst.

*Images courtesy of Google Images*

Football Officials Coming Under Much Scrutiny Recently

Just within the last three days, NCAA and NFL officials have come under intense scrutiny about how they are calling games.  Three big incidents have been at the fore-front for this reasoning: the phantom holding call in the Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears game that called back a long punt-return TD for the Bears, late hits on Philadelphia Eagles QB Michael Vick, and the missed extra point that was called good that may or may not have cost Toledo a victory at Syracuse.
Let's start with the college football incident.  Syracuse scored a touchdown in the game that put them up 29-27.  On the extra point try, the Syracuse kicker clearly missed the extra point wide left, but it was called good.  Naturally, the play went to video review and they still couldn't find any conclusive evidence that could overturn the call.  So, the call stood and the 'Cuse went up 30-27.  Toledo tied the game as time expired on a field goal, but later lost in OT on a Syracuse field goal.

Even in this still-shot, you can see the ball passing in front of the upright

Now, people are calling for the game to be wiped from the record sheets, or to reverse the call and give Toledo a win and Syracuse the loss.  I'm not one for going back in time and changing game results based on one call because if we did, then there'd be very few legit games.  But, this is one instance where it would seem like the likely scenario, although I doubt the NCAA will change the game's outcome.  Football has had it right early on by using the instant replay system, but how could they not get this one right?  It was so obvious even to the naked eye that this ball missed wide, even if the refs did have a "bad angle" to make the call.  Minus one to the officials on this one.
Incident number two came in the Packers vs. Bears game.  The Bears were trailing by 10 when this play occurred.  The Bears pulled off a remarkable fake where Devin Hester pretended the ball was being punted to him, he called for a fair catch, but there was no ball.  Meanwhile, all the Green Bay players were running to Hester, but Johnny Knox was on the other side of the field catching the ball and running it back for six points and narrowing the gap.  But wait, the play was called back due to holding, even though when you look at the replay there was not a Green Bay player in Knox's area to be held and there was no way that a flag could be necessary on the play.  Just a complete hose-job by the officials on this one.  And yes, players who lost out on the spread and the over/under on this game, tough break.

Incident number three is a little more personal.  For those of you who do follow/read my stuff, I am a huge Philadelphia Eagles fan.  This one is all about the unfair officiating when it comes to Michael Vick.  As many of you know, Vick suffered a right (non-throwing hand) contusion in their Week 3 loss to the Giants and is questionable for next week's game against the 49ers.  But, what is getting to me, is the way the ref's are allowing other teams to take shots at Vick and not calling them.  They treat Vick more like he is a running back or wide receiver and don't respect him for the quarterback that he is.  This might be bias, but I completely agree with him for getting upset with the league and officials for not doing their job.
The hit in which Vick injured his hand was a tad late and did come in a little high.  Both very borderline in regards to whether or not it should have been a 15-yard penalty for a personal foul.  But, you're telling me that if that were Tom Brady or Peyton Manning (barring he's actually healthy and playing) and not the swift footed Vick, they'd get the same non-call.  NO WAY!  Because of Vick's athleticism and agility to elude tacklers, officials need to see more in order to make a call against him.

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=7020628

This is something that has been going on for not just this season, but last season as well.  When Vick returns, hopefully he'll begin to get the same treatment and protection from officials that the other star QBs of the league get.
That's three strikes on officials this week.  That means... THEY'RE OUT!

NHL Preseason Underway

As most of you probably already know, the NHL preseason got underway last night, so in turn, that means that everything is right with the world.  Also, my beloved Philadelphia Flyers were in action last night at Toronto and made it look almost routine the way they handled Phil Kessel and the Maple Leafs 4-0.  

Zac Rinaldo helped his cause to crack the opening-night roster with two goals against Toronto

It was weird not seeing the star players out on the ice for the orange and black, but it also looked like all the young guys have been playing with each other for a few years.  That's a major plus heading into their season opener on Oct. 6 at Boston.  

Sergei Bobrovski played tremendous with a 27 save shutout and first round draft pick Sean Couturier scored his first NHL goal.  Other new guys got in on the action as Zac Rinaldo (178th overall in 2008 draft) netted two goals and Wayne Simmonds also had a nice tip-in, in his debut with the Flyers.

Here are the highlights of Tuesday's game.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=589171

The Flyers are back in action Wednesday night against Toronto again, only this time Ilya Bryzgalov will make his team debut.  Expect more good things from the Flyers tonight.

Other Tuesday Scores:

Columbus 5  Winnepeg 1 (split rosters)

Nashville 2  Washington 0

Dallas 6  Montreal 3

St. Louis 3  Tampa Bay 1

Winnepeg 6  Columbus 1 (split rosters)

Calgary 5  Vancouver 1 (split rosters)

Edmonton 4  Chicago 2 (Edmonton split rosters)

Minnesota 4  Edmonton 3 (Edmonton split rosters)

Phoenix 7  Anaheim 4

Vancouver 4  Calgary 3 (split rosters)

NFL Week 2: Best and Worst Performances

So, week two has come and gone in the NFL and I must now look at the best and worst performances from the past weekend in the NFL:

The Best:


Tony Gonzalez: The tight end has constantly been questioned about whether or not he can continue to perform at a high level.  Well, this past Sunday proved that he can compete and do it well against a very good team.  When things looked sluggish at times for  Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons offense, Gonzalez was the one stabilizer and kept them in the game early with seven catches and two TDs.

Matt Forte: The Chicago Bears running back didn't have a huge game rushing the football, only gaining 49 yards (but on only 10 carries) but made his presence felt with 10 catches for 117 yards.  He didn't score a touchdown, but his production of 166 yards of total offense accounted for all but 80 of Chicago's 246 yards of total offense.  It's nice to have a weapon like Forte, but the Bears are going to need to find a second and third outlet if they want to compete in the tough NFC.

Tony Romo: As a Philadelphia Eagles fan, it's hard for me to appreciate Romo, but what he did for the Cowboys this past weekend may have saved their season.  Getting knocked out of the game early with broken ribs (and later diagnosed with a punctured lung), Romo came back and threw for 345 yards and two TDs en route to an OT win for Dallas.  1-1 is a lot better than 0-2, especially in Texas, where everything is bigger, including the expectations.

The Worst:


Matt Cassel: The Kansas City Chiefs are losing more and more key players every down, but that's when a team needs their quarterback to step up.  Cassel's has struggled this year thus far and this past week was a great example of that.  He threw for only 133 yards with no TDs.  But, there's more.  He also threw three INTs and also had one fumble, before being pulled in the fourth quarter en route to an ugly 48-3 loss to the Detroit Lions.

Luke McCown: When you have almost as many INTs as you have completions, things don't usually shape up well for you.  And for Luke McCown, things in Jacksonville are getting uglier and uglier by the week, as the calls for Blaine Gabbert to start are becoming louder.  McCown's four picks against the Jets were a major key in the 32-3 loss, almost as key as his six completions.  If he gets the nod in Week 3, expect his leash to be very short.

Roddy White: He came into the season as one of the top wide receivers, but struggled heavily against the Eagles Sunday night, only making three catches for 23 yards.  It's tough to blame him for the lousy performance when he was going up against either Nnamdi Asomugha or Asante Samuel all night, but he'll need to do better in order to help Matt Ryan out later in the season.

Stay updated and keep a look out for my Week 3 analysis next week.

*Images courtesy of Google Images*

So What's the Bigger MLB Story?

Even when the Red Sox and Yankees aren't matching up in baseball's most-intense rivalry, they're still competing against each other to come up with the biggest story.  And just like in their games, there is a winner and a loser.  The battle in this one is a matchup for the bigger MLB story at the moment: Mariano Rivera becomes the all-time saves leader vs. the Boston Red Sox possibly having a historical collapse and missing out on the playoffs?  Take your pick...

Usually, when a player approaches a record in baseball, it makes the front page of every major newspaper and sporting magazine, but now there's a different scenario.  On a day when Rivera became the all-time leader in saves, it seemed like more of the focus was on the Red Sox and whether or not they would continue to falter down the stretch and blow an insurmountable lead in the AL Wild Card. 
Just a few weeks ago, the Red Sox were leading the AL East.  Since their three game series loss to the Yankees, which diminished their lead to only 1.5 games, the Red Sox have struggled to even win a series.  Since that night, they have lost their lead in the East, fallen 5GB of the hated Yankees, and are only a slim two games up on the surging Tampa Bay Rays.  If the Sox go on to lose the Wild Card this season, it will be the largest collapse based on games up that a team has ever had going into the last month of the season.

There's been a lot of this around Boston lately

On Sept. 30, the Red Sox were .5 a game up on the Yankees, meaning that they had a 9 game lead over the Rays.  At that time, everyone was complaining that the races weren't competitive because it seemed that all the division and wild card leaders had everything wrapped up.  But, oh how playoff baseball has come about two weeks earlier for the Rays and Red Sox.
I know a lot of this post has been focused around the collapse of the Red Sox, but let's not throw Rivera's record on the back burner.  He has dominated the baseball world in the ninth inning for 15 years now, doing it with one predictable pitch: the cutter.  You could ask anybody what pitch is coming from Rivera, even the hitter and he'd guess right.  But, time and time again, 602 times to be exact, he has come out on top and preserved a game for the Yankees (644 if you include playoffs).  Just imagine where the Yankees would be in the past 15 years without Rivera and it's getting hard to imagine anyone else running out of that bullpen in the ninth inning in a couple years, because let's face it, his time is running short.

So here's to both major stories, each getting their own sort of acknowledgement, one for the better, one for, well, the not so good.  But, don't panic yet Boston fans, you managed to gain a split in the double-header against the cellar-dweller Orioles tonight and got back to a two game lead over the Rays.  It doesn't matter how you make the playoffs, all that the people care about is whether you're in it or not.

*Images courtesy of Google Images*

Congrats to Tim Wakefield and Mariano Rivera

I understand that this is a day late, but I figured better late than never.  So Tuesday night Tim Wakefield won his 200th career game as a pitcher and just hours later, Mariano Rivera became the second pitcher in MLB history to save 600 games.
Wakefield's 200th career win may not seem like a lot in comparison to the all-time greats, but when you add in that he is a pure knuckleball pitcher, 200 wins might as well seem like 300 for someone like himself.  On any given night, a knuckleballer can be completely unhittable, or the complete opposite.  Early in his career, he was the former, making hitters look foolish, with the ball dancing around the strike zone and hitters diving out of the way of a ball that started at their head, only to wind up having it drop in for a strike.  Recently though, Wakefield hasn't been as dominant, with his age (45) catching up to him.  But, with the Red Sox in the midst of a playoff push and their pitching staff dropping like flies, Wakefield has constantly toed the rubber, hoping to get his team a win.

Using one pitch, the knuckleball, Wakefield has managed to sustain a career well into his 40s

Many believe that Wakefield may be one of the last two or three pure knuckleballers in the game, with only one other notable knuckleballer pitching in the bigs, R.A. Dickey.  So congrats to Tim Wakefield on a tremendous feat and fantastic career.
Only mere hours after Wakefield's teammates popped the champagne on his milestone, across the country the Red Sox's rivals, the Yankees, celebrated one of their own milestones.  Closer Mariano Rivera became only the second pitcher to achieve 600 career saves, only one behind all-time leader Trevor Hoffman for most all-time.  Rivera has been a cornerstone in the Yankees bullpen, becoming one of the "Core Four" of him, Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, and Jorge Posada, members from the Yankees dynasty in the late 1990s and early 2000s and also members of the 2009 World Series championship team.

Once told to lose his cutter, Rivera has become the poster-boy for the best cutter ever thrown

Rivera is considered the greatest closer of all-time, even though he doesn't stand atop the leaderboard in saves, but couple his 600 career regular season saves with his 42 career postseason saves and 0.71 ERA and you have yourself not only one of the best closers in the game, but one of the best pitchers in the game.
So congrats to both players once again on achieving great milestones and outstanding careers.

Poll Question:

Out of these four from just this season, who's milestone is most outstanding?:
1. Derek Jeter (3,000 career hits)
2. Jim Thome (600 career home-runs)
3. Tim Wakefield (200 career wins as a knuckleballer)
4. Mariano Rivera (600 career saves)
Please leave answers in comments box 

*All images courtesy of Google Images*

Week 1's Best and Worst Performances (UPDATED)

So I'm thinking that I'm going to have to wait till all games are completed during each week before I do my best and worst performances because last night there was a great performance, maybe even the best of the week.

Tom Brady: Maybe the best QB in the game last night was on full display against the Miami Dolphins, as Tom Brady passed for 517 yards.  That's approximately 13x more yards than Minnesota QB Donovan McNabb.  And don't forget about that 99-yard passing TD to Wes Welker, tying the record for longest passing touchdown in NFL history.  The greatness that is Tom Brady was at it again on Monday Night Football.

Week 1's Best and Worst Performances

So, I was thinking about this today and I've decided to rank the best and worst performances from the week of football.  I think that I may do this every week.  So, without further ado, here we go.

The Best:
Cam Newton: Killer Cam was at his finest yesterday when he torched the Arizona Cardinals' defense, passing for 422 yards, two TDs, and a rushing TD.  The 422 yards was most in a rookie's NFL debut.  Unfortunately, nobody else on the Panthers showed up to play, making Newton 0-1 in his short career.  But, who knows, maybe he can translate into a solid NFL quarterback.  This was certainly a good start.

Ryan Fitzpatrick: So he goes out and throws for four TDs in Buffalo's Week 1 victory 41-7 rout of the Kansas City Chiefs.  The loss was the worst opening-week home loss in Chiefs history.  And believe it or not, this solid performance by the Bills and Fitzpatrick actually has people believing that they could be an alright team, maybe even winning upwards of eight games (I know, seems like a miracle).  But with Fitzpatrick at the helm, if he continues this pattern, they may even make the playoffs...

Ted Ginn Jr.: The poor man has to take a pay-cut earlier in the week and what does he do in return?  Well, he returned all right, a punt return and a kick off return for touchdowns.  He is the first player to have one of each in the same opening-week game in NFL history.  The AFC West is up for grabs, and Ginn Jr. may just be a secret-weapon for the 49ers to take the division.

The Worst:
The Colts: Everyone knew Peyton Manning was great, but is he really everything for the Indianapolis Colts?  It seems that way, after new addition QB Kerry Collins and the rest of the team pretty much forgot that the lockout ended and walked their way to a 34-7 blowout defeat at the hands of the Houston Texans.  Many believe that this could be Houston's year, especially with no Manning for the Colts.  Houston looked good and I have to agree with that assumption.

Donovan McNabb: It pains me to hate on McNabb, considering he is a legend in Philadelphia, but his debut for Minnesota could not have been much worse.  He completed only seven of 15 passes for a grand total OF... 39 yards.  Yeah, very productive.  Everyone thought that he could have a bounce back year now that he has a legitimate running back to hand off to, but in order for that to become a factor, he'll need to complete more than seven passes and try to throw for at least triple-digit yards.

The Steelers: I don't understand.   A year ago, they were playing for the Super Bowl.  Now, nine months later, they're turning the ball over SEVEN times?!  I thought teams stopped turning the ball over more than five once they got past Pop Warner.  Guess not.  Either way, I don't expect this to be the usual trend for the Steelers this season, but if this is how they play against good teams and their rival, it could be an ugly season for Pittsburgh fans.

Hopefully, the "bad's" aren't always the same, but good luck to all the "good's" out there.

*Images courtesy of Google Images*

The Lokomotiv Tragedy

Today was a sad day in the world of sports.  Every blind sports fan is probably thinking "Oh I know, Peyton Manning is out this week and his consecutive starts streak is snapped."
Nope not that.  A true tragedy occurred earlier in the day in Russia when the plane that the Kontinental Hockey League team Lokomotiv was traveling on crashed into a riverbank, killing 43 players, coaches, and other passengers on board.  The tragedy seems almost unreal to imagine, with so many professionals, so young in life, now dead.
Although it happened in Russia, the impact this crash has on America is huge.  There were a number of players on the Lokomotiv roster who played in the NHL, making their mark on the league and helping the sport grow.  Players such as Ruslan Salei, Karlis Skrastins, Pavol Demitra, Stefan Liv, Josef Vasicek, Karel Rachunek, and former NHL player and coach of Lokomotiv Brian McCrimmon have all lost their lives.
The KHL is considered as the second best professional hockey league behind the NHL and is a very popular destination for players to finish off their careers or try to re-start them and get another shot at the NHL.  The league's popularity grew during the most recent NHL lockout, becoming the first league that many NHL players attempted to join in order to stay on the ice.
Lokomotiv had won three KHL titles, their first in 1997 and then back-to-back titles in 2002 and 2003.
All you can really say is, Rest In Peace.

http://aol.sportingnews.com/nhl/story/2011-09-07/russian-jet-carrying-hockey-team-crashes-36-dead

College Footballs 10 Ugliest Uniforms

Thanks to the University of Maryland's hideous display of state pride in last night's win over the University of Miami, the Oregon Ducks now have some company in putting together some ugly uniform combinations.  While Oregon's jerseys have gotten better over the past couple seasons, they still have thrown out a number of scary uniforms.  So, I now list my top-10 ugliest college football uniforms.

10. Syracuse Orange (the orange on orange with orange helmet)

9. Iowa State (white on red pants, with red and yellow trim)

8. Louisiana-Monroe (white on white, with maroon lettering)

7. Notre Dame (light green top with yellow pants and traditional gold helmet)

6. Tulsa (white tops with gold pants and gold helmet with red and blue trim)

5. Oregon Ducks (neon yellow top and pants with green helmet and green shoulders)

4. Wyoming Cowboys (any jersey combo with the ugly white helmet and brown silhouette of the cowboy and bronco)

3. Maryland Terrapins (the "State Flag" theme)

2. Florida A&M (white tops with green shoulders, green pants, and orange helmet)

1. Rhode Island (light blue everything)

So, that's my top-10.  Everywhere I looked, Rhode Island's new uni's (yes I said new because they debuted the atrocity in 2010) were a consensus number one.  I don't even think that a pee-wee Pop Warner team would accept those jerseys if one of the teams was named the Seals.  For God's sake, burn them please.

PS: Whoever is playing Florida A&M in the #2 picture, you're lucky I don't know which school you are because you definitely would have made the list with that ensemble.

Getting You Going for the New College Football Season

Jeff Maehl Play of the Year at the 3:45 mark

Welcome back college football.  You've been missed

CJ2K Gets Paid

Well there you have it, the Chris Johnson/Tennessee Titans contract saga has been resolved.  It was announced Thursday that the Titans and running back Chris Johnson have agreed to a 4 yr./ $53 million extension, with $30 million guaranteed.
The announcement brings relief to all them "fake" Titans fans (yes I am mocking Chris Johnson's tweet) and can make any fantasy owners of Chris Johnson feel relieved that he will be in the lineup for all 16 games this season (I'm now mocking Arian Foster).

Both sides got what they wanted, with Johnson getting his pay and the Titans keeping around their main offensive threat.  Johnson has been holding out of camp the entire preseason due to contract disputes.  Johnson was entering his last year on his rookie contract.  He was only expected to earn $1.065 million this season, which may seem like a small amount for a running back that rushed for over 2,000 yards two seasons ago.  But, like many first round picks, much of Johnson's money was guaranteed, meaning that he earned roughly half of his pay on the contract in the first two seasons.
Guaranteed contracts have been of much dispute lately, with many high-profile players getting guaranteed contracts and receiving upwards of $20 million a season in the first two or three years of a contract and then only making about $5-6 million in the remaining years.  Players need to begin realizing that by earning guaranteed money, they are forfeiting an average pay over the length of the contract and are getting the majority of it in the early years.

That was the main dispute between Johnson and the Titans, with Johnson saying that he has outplayed his contract, but forgetting that he got paid as a high-profile running back during his first two seasons in the league.
Johnson was the NFL's leading rusher two seasons ago and is by far one of the most dynamic players in the game and definitely the most dynamic in Tennessee.  He wanted to be paid as a top NFL player, not just running back.
So, while Johnson may be getting more money this season, it won't surprise me one bit if he wants to re-up his contract in about three seasons, when he won't be making the same money that he is going to get this season.  But hey, who cares, because today is a happy day for CJ2K and the Titans.

*Images Courtesy of Google Images*