Happy Monday!
This week on 15MOF we recap a very interesting Super Bowl between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers, we discuss the opening weeks of the NHL season and how the Edmonton Oilers are looking and we answer the question: who owns the Phoenix Coyotes?
In the GABBYs: Vincent Lecavalier, David Beckham, the NFL, Ottawa’s CFL team, PED’s and pro sports blackouts. The Punchline this week is OHL ref Joe Monette.
The 47th Super Bowl will take place Sunday in New Orleans (CBS, 4:30 p.m.) with the Baltimore Ravens playing the San Francisco 49ers.
The 49ers have won the Super Bowl five times, while the Ravens won it once in 2001. This will also be a record tenth time the Super Bowl is in New Orleans. The last Super Bowl in Louisiana was in 2002 as the New England Patriots defeated the Saint Louis Rams 20-17.
Super Bowl XLVII will also be historical because brothers will be coaching against each other for the first time. Jim Harbaugh will take the reigns for San Francisco, with his older brother John Harbaugh in charge of Baltimore.
The Ravens (10-6) led the AFC North, while the 49ers (11-4-1) led the NFC West.
Happy Tuesday!
This week on 15MOF we welcome the NHL back and we look at the preseason ranking that has the Edmonton Oilers remarkably high up. As well, we take a look at the storylines surrounding Ilya Kovalchuk, Brian Burke and Scott Gomez, and we recap the NFL playoff action from this past weekend.
In the GABBYs: Kate Upton, the Dallas Stars, the MLB, the MLB again, the NY Jets and Lubomir Visnovsky. The Punchline this week is Jose Canseco.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9rsOi3Al8o
Ray Lewis (Andy Truello, Wikimedia Commons)
It was simply an outstanding day for the National Football League on Saturday as the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens won playoff classics.
In San Francisco’s 45-31 win over the Green Bay Packers last night, Colin Kaepernick set a NFL record for most rushing yards in a playoff game by a quarterback. In rushing for 181 yards, Kaepernick set a record set by Michael Vick, who rushed for 119 yards in an Atlanta playoff win over St. Louis in 2005.
Frank Gore had 119 yards rushing and Michael Crabtree had 119 yards receiving.
However, the Ravens victory over the Broncos was remarkable, with Baltimore winning 38-35 in double overtime. In what should be considered one of the greatest games of all-time, five times the game was tied before Justin Tucker kicked a game winning field goal of 47 yards in double overtime.
In the fourth largest comeback in NFL history, the Denver Broncos, who at one time trailed the San Diego Chargers 24-0 at halftime, marched back with a 35-24 victory Monday night at Qualcomm Stadium.
With the win the Broncos move into first place in the AFC West, tied with the San Diego Chargers at 3-3. They are two win better than the pitiful 1-4 Oakland Raiders and 1-5 Kansas City Chiefs.
The Indianapolis Colts and Oakland Raiders have made a decision on who their next head coaches will be for the 2012 NFL season.
The Colts, who fired Jim Caldwell last Tuesday after an abysmal 2-14 season, have named Chuck Pagano as his replacement. Pagano was the Baltimore Ravens defensive co-ordinator, and with a group of high quality veterans including Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and Terrell Suggs, the Ravens gave up the third fewest points in the NFL this season.
The Raiders meanwhile have also hired a defensive specialist to take the helm, choosing Denver Broncos defensive co-ordinator Dennis Allen.
What Allen was able to do this season was remarkable and was a key reason (not Tim Tebow) why Denver won the AFC West. The Broncos might have given up 390 points, but would have given up less if the offense would have made smarter decisions on the football field this past season. It was the Broncos defense, not their offense, that won many games for them.
In Indianapolis, the future of Peyton Manning as a Colt just got significantly cloudier. The question not only now rises how Manning will adjust to the team drafting quarterback Andrew Luck, but how will he respond to a defensive specialist in charge?
Ray Lewis (Andy Truello, Wikimedia Commons)
The Baltimore Ravens are headed to the AFC Championship. But they’ll need to be play significantly better next weekend in Foxboro Stadium if they have any intention on heading to Indianapolis for the Super Bowl.
On Sunday, the Ravens beat a walking and wounded Texans team by only a touchdown– 20-13 in the AFC Divisional Playoff. The Ravens will now play the New England Patriots next weekend.
The major reason why the Ravens won on Sunday was the play of Texans’ quarterback T.J. Yates, who threw three interceptions after a clean performance against the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Wildcard.
Once again, the Ravens defense came up big for their team when it mattered most. They may not have been all that stylish, but at the end of the day, they got the job done. Ray Lewis led the team with seven tackles, Ladarius Webb had two interceptions and Ed Reed had six tackles and an interception.
The Texans had their chances, and actually had an incomplete pass in the end zone on the final play of the fourth quarter that would have forced overtime.
Terrell Suggs (Wikimedia Commons)
In week one I was 10-6, and wrong with the Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Tennessee Titans, and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Here are my week two picks:
11am
Green Bay over Carolina–The Packers will win a tight one. Panthers’ quarterback Cam Newton raised eyebrows with how he was able to find instant success with Steve Smith last week.
Oakland over Buffalo–The Raiders defense impressed me significantly last week, and will pressure Ryan Fitzpatrick more than the Chiefs did a week ago.
Baltimore over Tennessee–The Titans don’t have the passing attack like the Steelers do, and the Ravens did a great job of pressuring Ben Roethlisberger last week. The Ravens’ defensive tandem of Ed Reed, Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs are still playing at a high level, and cornerback Lardarius Webb is starting to come into his own as a significant presence as well.
Ray Lewis (Andy Truello, Wikimedia Commons)
In the first of a weekly series you can read every Sunday night, here is my analysis of the day’s events in the NFL.
First off, I think the National Football League and its fans are relieved that we have seen some outstanding plays by kick returners. With the new rule, kickoffs are now at the 35 yard line, meaning the majority end up deep in the end zone. The result is a touchback the majority of the time, but surprisingly I did see two kickoff returns for a touchdown this weekend– a 108 yard return by Randall Cobb of the Green Bay Packers Thursday night and a 102 yard kickoff return by Ted Ginn Jr. of the San Francisco 49ers this afternoon against the Seattle Seahawks.
The upset of the week came from the Washington Redskins as they defeated the New York Giants 28-14. The Redskins I felt played strong defensively and pressured Eli Manning all afternoon. The Giants’ defense was horrible as Rex Grossman threw for 305 yards.
Finally the surprise came in Baltimore as the Ravens hammered the Steelers 35-7. I think many thought Baltimore had a chance, but nobody expected them to clobber Pittsburgh as much as they did. Ed Reed had two interceptions and Ray Lewis had one. In my Thursday blog, I felt the Ravens’ defense was aging a little. Now I feel they’re just more experienced.
Marshawn Lynch (Ted Warren, Associated Press)
This is the right time for me to blow my own horn.
I successfully predicted the Seattle Seahawks to win on Saturday. So how did they beat the Saints 41-36? A combination of excellence through the air and on the ground. Matt Hasselbeck was spectacular, posting a quarterback rating of 113, and throwing four touchdowns for 272 yards. Hasselbeck found his tight end John Carlson twice and wide receivers Brandon Stokley and Mike Williams each once.
There were thirty-two teams that mattered back in September when the 2010 NFL season began…we’re now down to twelve as the first round of the playoffs gets underway in four cities around the United States.
There are eight teams in action around the league on Wildcard Weekend, including the defending Super Bowl champs, an “elite” team that went down to the wire to get in and even a team with a losing record.
Here are my predictions:
New Orleans @ Seattle
I need to clear a couple of things up before we get into this match-up: Yes, a team with a losing record is actually hosting a playoff game (I called the league office to double check and everything!). Secondly, no, the Saints aren’t being paired up with a 7-9 team because they’re the defending Super Bowl champions.
Alright, now that we’ve got that sorted out, let’s get into it: (more…)
Peyton Manning (Jed Jacobsohn, Getty Images)
I’ve realized something. It is difficult to make predictions in the National Football League when I am trying to figure all 32 teams in the league out and late in the season, when teams that are in the playoffs start resting their talent and those who are out are looking at possible prospects for next year.
I have now had two straight 6-10 weeks. My overall record now is 147-93.
One last week to go folks. Here are my picks for Week 17:
11am
Atlanta over Carolina–The Falcons win the NFC South with a win, so expect them to dress their starters throughout.
Pittsburgh over Cleveland–Like the Falcons, the Steelers will probably dress their starters regularly because a win guarantees them first place in the AFC North. Expect a regular dose of Ben Roethlisberger and Rashard Mendenhall.
Joseph Addai (Jeffrey Beall, Wikimedia Commons)
For only the second time in 2010, I had a losing week in week 15, only going 6-10.
Hopefully, there will be brighter times during the holiday season as the bulk of games in week 16 goes Boxing Day, with the final day of the NFL Regular Season taking place on January 2.
To date my overall record is 141-83. Here are my Week 16 picks.
Thursday:
Pittsburgh over Carolina–The Steelers at 10-4, may not have Troy Polamalu, but have enough defensive presence to get by the Panthers.
Saturday:
Dallas over Arizona–The Cowboys are now 4-2 since Jason Garrett took over as head coach. But I feel Saturday’s game is critical for Garrett if he hopes to coach Dallas next season. A win would make him 5-2. A loss, would see his record drop to 4-3, with the Cowboys heading into Philadelphia for the final week of the season.
Troy Polamalu (Karen Blaha,Wikimedia Commons)
This is the time where the National Football League takes center stage with my sports viewing. Please take a look at my weekend picks for Week 13.
If you like defense, there is no better game out there on the weekend than the Sunday Nighter– the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens.
Both teams rank among the top five in the National Football League in fewest points allowed. Pittsburgh is led by Troy Polamalu and Baltimore is led by Ray Lewis. The game could go a long way to who will win the AFC North. Both teams are currently at the top of the division at 8-3. The game can be seen at 6pm on Sunday night on NBC.
Here are the other events I’ll be watching this weekend:
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