Some call this weekend the best weekend during the NFL season. Others call it the elite eight. There are great expectations for excellent football this weekend after last week produced anti-climactic contests.
In the AFC, the Denver Broncos (13-3) will host the Baltimore Ravens (10-6) in a divisional playoff game (Saturday, CBS, 2:30 p.m.). The Broncos had no problems beating the Ravens in the regular season, beating them 34-17 in Baltimore on December 16. Eric Decker had 133 yards receiving and Knowshon Moreno had 115 yards rushing in a game the Broncos once led 31-3 after three quarters. The Broncos have won 11 straight, while the Ravens beat Indianapolis 24-9 last week.
Sunday’s AFC game could see another blowout as the New England Patriots (12-4) face the Houston Texans (12-4) (CBS, 2:30 p.m.). In the regular season, the Patriots hammered the Texans 42-14 on December 10 as Tom Brady had four touchdown passes. Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski led the NFL with 153 points and Texans defensive end J.J. Watt led the NFL with 20.5 sacks. The Patriots had a NFL best +226 this season, while the Texans beat the Bengals 19-13 last week in the AFC Wildcard.
Robert Griffin III (Keith Allison, Wikimedia Commons)
Ok. This was the first time I had the opportunity to watch one of the most exciting players currently in the National Football League on Thursday and you have to be excited.
Robert Griffin III is the real deal, and on American Thanksgiving, with a large television audience watching his every move, he had an outstanding second quarter.
RG3 threw three touchdown passes Thursday in a 38-31 win over the Dallas Cowboys. His arm strength is what impressed me the most. He found Aldrick Robinson for a 68 yard touchdown and Pierre Garcon for a 59 yard touchdown. At 5-6, the Redskins are now only a win and a loss back of the New York Giants for first in the NFC East.But RG3 wasn’t the only quarterback to have a great second quarter Thursday. Tom Brady of the New England Patriots did too, as he threw three touchdown passes in the second quarter in a 49-19 romp over the New York Jets. The Patriots have now scored 108 points in their last two games after blasting the Indianapolis Colts 59-24 last week at Foxboro.
I am 80-53 on the season following Indianapolis’ 27-10 win over Jacksonville Thursday night. The Colts played excellent defense with Darius Butler leading the way with two interceptions, one for an eleven yard touchdown early in the second half.
Here are my Week 10 picks:
11am
NY Giants over Cincinnati–The Bengals D has been horrible over the last three weeks.
This is currently one of the most exciting times in Canadian tennis. Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ontario achieved greatness again Friday night when he defeated U.S. Open and Olympic champion Andy Murray of Great Britain in three sets, 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 at the Japan Open in Tokyo.
Raonic saved off two match points in the third set and was able to break Murray back after being down 4-1 in the final set.
Raonic also performed admirably while not serving in the third set, something he has struggled with in his career. He will now face Japan’s Kei Nishikori in tonight’s final (11pm, Sportsnet One). Raonic is also seeking his third title of the season, having won in Chennai and San Jose earlier in the year.
A solid 12-4 week to open the season. Now it is off to week two. On Thursday night, I successfully predicted the Green Bay Packers over the Chicago Bears. The game, won by the Packers 23-10, was headlined by a fake field goal. Punter Tim Masthay ended up throwing a 27 yard touchdown pass to backup tight end Tom Crabtree to give the Packers a 10-0 lead and a lead they would not relinquish.
Here are the rest of my predictions for week 2:
11am
New England over Arizona–Tom Brady is simply better than Kevin Kolb.
This week on 15MOF, we’re talking coaching injuries in the NHL and long goal droughts (Scott Goalmez!), the NBA’s Tim Tebow and we discuss whether or not we will ever see the “super fight” between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao!
In the GABBYs: Paul Pierce & Kobe Bryant, Tomas Holmstrom & Nick Lidstrom, the Penticton Vees, Gisele Bundchen, Kevin Love and Tiquan Underwood. The Punchline this week is soccer player Adriano!
For the second consecutive Super Bowl famous female personalities have dominated the Super Bowl headlines.
Last year it was four-time Grammy Award winner Christina Aguilera missing a line during the Star Spangled Banner and now this year it was Tom Brady’s wife and Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen as well as the British rapper M.I.A. who are the top post Super Bowl stories.
M.I.A. (real name Maya Arulpragasam) of Sri Lankan descent, inappropriately extended her middle finger to the cameras during the halftime show. While many, including me thought it would be Madonna that might decide to pull a controversial stunt based on her history, it was the lesser known M.I.A. instead. Madonna meanwhile was on her best behaviour.
Bundchen meanwhile made headlines for publicly stating she couldn’t believe her husband’s receivers dropped the ball so many times and that Tom Brady simply can’t throw and catch footballs at the same time. Come to think of it, didn’t Brett Favre catch his first professional football pass himself? Bundchen obviously has a point but it doesn’t strengthen her relationship with Brady when she criticizes his co-workers on the world’s greatest stage.
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.
Super Bowl XLVI takes place tomorrow from Indianapolis, as the New York Giants play the New England Patriots in a rematch of the Super Bowl from 2007 when the Giants beat the Patriots 17-14 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Currently the Patriots are a 2.5 point favourite.
With all the talk that the Giants have the better defense than the Patriots, I simply don’t buy it. The Patriots allowed 58 fewer points than the Giants this season.
Offensively, there has been some concern regarding who Tom Brady will be able to throw to at the tight end position with Rob Gronkowski hurt. People must remember that Aaron Hernandez is the best backup tight end in the NFL.
I’m picking the Patriots to win their fourth Super Bowl 34-16. For more information on Super Bowl XLVI please go to my blog earlier in the week.
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!
Many people felt Saturday night’s game could end up a little bit ugly in terms of the score. They were right.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw five touchdown passes in the first half alone, and six in the game, in a complete 45-10 romp of the Broncos.
Saturday also told us the year of the tight end is continuing. After San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis caught seven passes for 180 yards, and two touchdowns earlier in the day in San Francisco’s 36-32 win over New Orleans, the Patriot tight end duo of Rob Gronkowski and Adrian Hernandez had excellent performances themselves. Gronkowski had ten catches for 145 yards and three touchdowns, while Hernandez had four catches for 55 yards and one touchdown, plus an additional 61 yards rushing. Trust Bill Belichick to come up with a game plan where he gives five rushing carries to his backup tight end.
This game was over at halftime before the Patriots put everything on cruise control. They will either host the Baltimore Ravens or Houston Texans in the AFC Championship next week.
We are down to eight teams left now in the National Football League.
In the AFC, the New England Patriots (13-3) will host the Denver Broncos (8-8) this evening (CBS, 6pm) in the most anticipated game of the weekend.
Tebownmania is larger now than it ever has, and possibly ever will be. But the bottom line is how many championships in the NFL has Tim Tebow won? The answer is zero and he will be up against a quarterback that has won three Super Bowls, is a two-time MVP and is a seven-time Pro Bowler in Tom Brady. And oh yes, the Patriots hammered the Broncos 41-23 in Denver on December 18, as Brady threw for 320 yards, including 129 yards to underrated tight end Aaron Hernandez. I’m picking New England in a rout.
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