Indianapolis Colts’ quarterback Andrew Luck is now in the record books. Sunday, Luck broke the NFL record for most passing yards by a rookie quarterback in a single game as the Indianapolis Colts defeated the Miami Dolphins 23-20.
Luck threw for 433 yards and broke Cam Newton’s record for most passing yards in a game. Newton set the NFL rookie record last year by throwing 432 yards in a 30-23 Carolina loss to Green Bay last season. Indianapolis improves to 5-3, while Miami drops to 4-4.
In other NFL action, Isaac Redman ran for 147 yards as the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the New York Giants 24-20. The Giants had a short week of practice because of Hurricane Sandy and the storm was strong enough to cause severe flooding in Eli Manning’s New Jersey home. The Steelers improve to 5-3, while the Giants drop to 6-3.
Meanwhile, Doug Martin is starting to become quite possibly the best running back in the NFL. He was outstanding Sunday as he set Buccaneers records for most rushing yards in a game (251) and most rushing touchdowns in a game (four) as Tampa Bay beat Oakland 42-32.
The 39th Ryder Cup is currently taking place just outside of Chicago. On Day 1, the Americans took an early 5-3 lead on Europe thanks to some brilliant shot making by Keegan Bradley, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson and Jason Dufner.
On day two (Saturday, NBC, 7am), there will be four foursome matches in the morning, followed by four fourball matches in the afternoon. The best morning matchup will be Bradley and Mickelson against England’s Lee Westwood and Luke Donald. An interesting morning omission by Davis Love III is Tiger Woods, who played much better in the afternoon on Friday in four ball action than he did in the foursome with partner Steve Stricker in the morning.
Another golfer to watch out for on Saturday is Belgium’s Nicolas Colsaerts, who will be teamed with Spain’s Sergio Garcia against Americans Zach Johnson and Jason Dufner. Colsaerts had eight birdies and an eagle on Friday afternoon.
The Ryder Cup will then conclude Sunday with singles play (NBC, 10am).
Peyton Manning is no longer an Indianapolis Colt. Yesterday, the Colts and Manning parted ways after Manning delivered a Hall of Fame career.
Since playing with the Colts in 1997, Manning won Super Bowl XLI against the Chicago Bears in 2007, has participated in the Pro Bowl eleven times, and has been a four time National Football League Most Valuable Player.
Manning is also the greatest Colts quarterback of all-time. Better than Johnny Unitas. He is the Colts all-time leader in touchdowns (399) and passing yards (54,828).
So why did the Colts think now was the time to part ways to their greatest franchise player ever? Well, a back issue sidelined Manning for all of last season and the Colts weren’t willing to pay his $28 million option bonus payment.
This week on 15 Minutes of Fame, we recap Super Bowl XLVI between the NY Giants and the New England Patriots, we take a look back at Sam Gagner’s eight-point night against the Blackhawks and we try to figure out if the Edmonton Oilers still have a shot at the playoffs, and who might not be on the team when the trade deadline hits.
In the GABBYs: NHL milestones, Shaun White, Rubellos, Zimbabwe soccer, John Foley and Alex Radulov. The Punchline this week is Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson.
If you are a football fan that is absolutely mesmerized and shaking your head that the New York Giants won the Super Bowl this season, you’re simply not alone.
No team was so great against the elite and so brutal against the below average/ordinary teams this season than the New York Football Giants. In fact, their overall inconsistencies this season was so inordinary, I have a difficult time accepting the fact they are Super Bowl champions.
But here I am trying to analyze this football team and it has left me mildly speechless. I think my best explanation is the Giants this season were a football club that got hot at just the right time. They were able to show dominance on both sides of the football when they needed to most even though there were several hiccups along the way in the regular season.
The Giants were not the best team in the regular season. They were far from it. But at 9-7, they won the NFC East and then beat the Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, San Francisco 49ers and New England Patriots. If you beat those four teams in postseason play, you simply deserve the title.
In the Giants 21-17 win Sunday in Indianapolis, Eli Manning was the game MVP after he completed 30 of 40 passes for 296 yards and a touchdown. But I don’t think it will be his two yard first quarter touchdown throw to Victor Cruz that people will remember most. It will be a 38 yard pass to Mario Manningham when the Giants were on their own 12 yard line and trailing 17-15 with just over three minutes left that people will remember most.
Manningham caught the ball with remarkable precision near the sideline and was able to get both feet in bounds by the slimmest of margins. Sure, the Giants had their luck along way. On the Patriots previous drive, Wes Welker dropped a Tom Brady pass that would have gone for at least 30 yards.
But the Patriots simply couldn’t execute like the Giants today. The Giants might not have been flashy but over the last month, they were the team to make the least mistakes and that is why they are Super Bowl Champions.
Is it me, or does anyone disagree with the notion that there still should be two weeks between the NFL Conference Championships and the Super Bowl?
For those that just might have forgotten, the New England Patriots beat the Baltimore Ravens 23-20 in the AFC Championship and the New York Giants beat the San Francisco 49ers 20-17 in overtime for the NFC Championship to set up Sunday’s big game from Indianapolis.
If you watched the Pro Bowl in Hawaii this past weekend, and apparently saw Brandon Marshall of the Miami Dolphins record four touchdown receptions, shame on you. How can you have an All-Star Game when the two best teams in the league aren’t represented?
This week on 15 Minutes of Fame, we give a passing grade to the NHL’s All-Star Weekend, touch on Tim Thomas’ decision to skip his team’s White House visit and discuss the biggest surprises in the league at the All-Star break. As well: we give out our Super Bowl predictions and comment on a couple of massive MLB contracts!
In the GABBYs: The Canadian women’s soccer team, US Senator John Kerry, Jay Cutler, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Kyle Williams and Scott Gomez. The Punchline this week is Minnesota Vikings kicker Chris Kluwe!
The New York Giants are headed to the NFC Championship against the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick.
On Sunday, the Giants defeated the Green Bay Packers 37-20 at Lambeau Field. Eli Manning threw for three touchdowns and 330 yards passing in the victory.
It was also a huge day for Giants wide receiver Hakeem Nicks, who caught Manning’s first two touchdown passes, and ended the day with 165 yards receiving. A major turning point in the game was a 37 yard touchdown pass from Manning to Nicks at the end of the second quarter. The pass put the Giants up 20-10.
Another major reason for the Giants victory was turnovers and the pressure the team put on Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The Packers turned the ball over four times, with safety Deon Grant recording an interception and a fumble.
The Packers also tackled very poorly, as shown by Brandon Jacobs’ ability to waltz into the end zone with complete ease late in the fourth quarter that put the Giants up by 17 points.
The New York Giants have punched their ticket to Lambeau Field for a meeting next week against the Green Bay Packers.
Early Sunday afternoon, Eli Manning threw for three touchdowns and 277 yards passing in a 24-2 win over the Atlanta Falcons.
Wide receiver Hakeem Nicks also had an excellent day, as he caught six Manning passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Manning’s 72 yard touchdown pass to Nicks in the third quarter was key as it put the Giants up 17-2. The Giants also had a key touchdown in the fourth quarter as Manning threw a 27 yard touchdown pass to Mario Manningham.
Atlanta, which got off to a 2-0 start thanks to a safety, had their chances but just could not capitalize. Twice they failed to record a first down on a fourth and one deep in New York territory.
Atlanta also was week on their offensive line, not allowing Michael Turner to have a big day, who was limited to only 42 yards.
On Sunday, the Calgary Stampeders (11-7) will go on the road to take on the Edmonton Eskimos (11-7) in the CFL Western Division Semi-Final.
The Eskimos won the season series 2-1, but the Stampeders won their only matchup at Commonwealth Stadium, 30-20 in Edmonton on September 9.
But this is a much different Stampeders team than what was put on the field by Head Coach and General Manager John Hufnagel two months ago. Since then, Hufnagel has replaced Henry Burris with Drew Tate at the quarterback position and Joffrey Reynolds with Jon Cornish at running back.
Still I cannot ignore the fact that in the Labour Day rematch, Burris passed for 316 yards and Reynolds ran for 80 yards.
But since Tate has taken over the starting role in Calgary, the Stampeders are 3-0.
The big news in Edmonton is the health of running back Jerome Messam, who, according to TSN, is questionable with a lower-body injury that flared up during Monday’s practice. Messam became the first Canadian to rush for 1000 yards since 2000 this season. The game can be seen Sunday on TSN at 2:30pm.
By the way, my gut is telling me the Stamps will win. I feel the veteran leadership, healthier offensive line and playoff experience for the Stampeders is key and will get them through on Sunday.
Nikolai Khabibulin (Dan Nicholas, Wikimedia Commons)
From every angle possible, it is a great time to be an Edmonton Oilers fan. The kids are producing. The veterans are producing. The entire team is buying into Tom Renney’s defensive-minded system and Nikolai Khabibulin has been completely spectacular.
On Saturday night, the Oilers (8-2-2), visit the Phoenix Coyotes at Jobing.com Arena (CBC, 8pm). Edmonton is currently tied with the Chicago Blackhawks for first place in the Western Conference. They have also only given up 18 goals all season long, five fewer than second place Dallas at 23 goals. The recent play of Khabibulin led Brad May of Rogers Sportsnet to say last night that Khabibulin right now “is the best goaltender in the NHL.”
The Coyotes meanwhile are trying to get to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third year in a row. The last two seasons they have lost to the Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference Quarterfinals. So far in 2011-12, they are 6-4-2, and tied with the Nashville Predators, Colorado Avalanche, San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings for fifth place in the Western Conference.
The Coyotes’ top player this season is Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta native Ray Whitney, who leads Phoenix with five goals, seven assists.
Here are the other events I’ll be watching this weekend:
It’s a tale of two lockouts in the world of North American pro sports right now.
In the NFL, the season is fast-approaching as the work stoppage nears its 130th day, but there are rumblings that it may all be over soon. Not so in the NBA though, where players are being encouraged to find somewhere else to play to show the owners what’s up!
Lets start with football: ESPN reports that Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees are calling for the end of the lockout, but after another marathon session, the two sides aren’t ready to come together just yet.
There is a lot of talk that July 21st might be a big day in the CBA battle, but there are also rumors that the players still don’t feel like the owners are “giving” as much as they should be in negotiations. Another thing that could potentially slow things down is the legal action being taken by former players who feel they’ve been left out of the whole process. Could that affect a potential deal reached by the players and the owners? I suppose we’ll find out on August 8th when a judge hears the case! (After the Jump: Hilarious “lockout” video from the ESPYs!) (more…)
It’s a tale of two lockouts in the world of North American pro sports right now.
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