Bowl season moving along, NFL Head coaches fired

Big Weekend of Bowl Games

- New Years Day is typically the biggest day in the college bowl season and this season was no different.  Here's a quick recap:
• Northwestern won their first bowl game since 1949, completing a 10-3 season by defeating Mississippi State 34-20.
• Oklahoma State showed shadows of last season's near-championship contending squad by obliterating Purdue 58-14.
• South Carolina alternated between two quarterbacks and rallied to beat Michigan 33-28, tying their school record for wins with 11.
• Georgia stuck with one QB, record holding Andy Murray who added to his already impressive career totals by throwing another 5 TD's in a 45-31 win over Nebraska.
• Florida State used two late scores to put away pesky Northern Illinois 31-10.  Northern Illinois was the first smaller (non-major BCS conference) school to make a BCS game despite losing a game during the regular season (they were 11-1).  Despite the final score, they hung around and were only down 17-10 and driving when an interception turned the tide of the game.
• In possibly the most well known annual bowl game, the Stanford Cardinal defeated the Wisconsin Badgers 20-14; Stanford's first Rose Bowl triumph in 40 years.
• (Tuesday Night Bonus) Clemson defeated LSU 25-24 on a last-second field goal in what was possibly the most exciting bowl game of the year so far.


Black Monday’s Far Reaching Effects

- The first Monday of the NFL offseason for 24 of the league’s 32 teams saw multiple firings that effected the Head Coach, General Manager or both, of 10 teams.
- The Chicago Bears (Lovie Smith), Buffalo Bills (Chan Gailey), Kansas City Chiefs (Romeo Crennel), and Philadelphia Eagles (Andy Reid) all fired their head coaches. The Jacksonville Jaguars (Gene Smith) and New York Jets (Mike Tannenbaum) fired only their general managers. Finally, the San Diego Chargers (Norv Turner and AJ Smith), Arizona Cardinals (Ken Whisenhunt and Rod Graves) and Cleveland Browns (Pat Shurmer and Tom Heckert Jr) fired their coach and general managers. There is possibly more fallout to come as the Chiefs are also reviewing their GM position and other teams may not have their trigger fingers so well prepared. Earlier in the season the Carolina Panthers fired their GM (Marty Hurney).
- Some of the dust has already began to settle as it looks almost certain that Andy Reid will land on his feet in Arizona. Some of the other names that are likely to be bandied about over the next few days are: former coach and current Monday Night Football Analyst Jon Gruden, recently fired Ken Wisenhunt, former Super Bowl winner Bill Cowher, current college coaches Doug Marrone, Bill O’Brien and Chip Kelly, and current NFL assistant coaches Bruce Arians, Jay Gruden and Mike McCoy

NFL Playoffs Set and a Robot Falls Just Short

NFL Playoffs Set

• After a frantic final day, the NFL Playoff picture was finalized and we now know who will play who (and where) next week as the playoffs begin.
• In the NFC, the Packers just needed to beat a Minnesota team that's starting lowly touted second year QB Christian Ponder; however the team's RB, Adrian Peterson, continued his hot streak, coming within 9 yards of the all-time NFL rushing yards record for a season (more on this below) and Ponder played well too as the Vikings dropped the Packers to the #3 seed and made the playoffs themselves. They will play again next week in Green Bay.
• In the other matchup, two red hot teams with rookie QB's face off as Russell Wilson's Seattle Seahawks travel to the nation's capital to face RG3 and the Washington Redskins. Seattle has won 5 in a row and 7 of 8 and Washington has won 7 in a row, including yesterday's "win and you're in, lose and you're out" game against Dallas.
• The Atlanta Falcons and San Francisco 49ers took the #1 and #2 seeds respectively.
• In the AFC, the #1 seed Broncos and #2 seed Patriots took advantage of a late season swoon by the Houston Texans to gain first round byes. Houston had a two game lead for the top seed over Denver with 2 games left but losses to Minnesota and Indianapolis dropped them to the #3 seed, meaning they will have to play next week (hosting Cincinnati). The Baltimore Ravens host Indianapolis in the other matchup.
• Interestingly, 5 of the 6 teams who made the playoffs in the AFC last year made it again, including the same 4 division winners. The only extra team in Indianapolis who predictably returned to form now that Peyton Manning is healthy again... except that Manning actually plays for Denver Broncos now. If the Colts and Texans win next weekend, Manning will face his old Colts for a berth in the AFC Title game.

Peterson Falls Just Short

• The incredible season of Adrian Peterson will continue into January as his Vikings defeated the Green Bay Packers yesterday to make the playoffs as the #6 seed in the NFC. However, the way the game ended left AD just 8 yards short of tying Eric Dickerson’s 1984 record of 2,105 yards.
• Peterson was on a roll early in the game, rushing for 61 yards in the first 9:14 of the game. He came into the game needing a huge (for mortal running backs) total of 208 yards to best Dickerson, and early on looked to be on pace. Peterson passed some of the greats in NFL history on Sunday, including OJ Simpson and Barry Sanders.
• Peterson set a career high with 34 rushes in a clear attempt by his team to get him the record, the final rush, which put him only 8 yards short, put the Vikings in easy field goal range for kicker Blair Walsh with only 3 seconds left in a tied game. The Vikings, needing to win the game to make the playoffs, couldn’t risk giving the ball to Peterson again to get the record. Walsh made the field goal (Walsh earlier in the game set an NFL record for most 50+ yard field goals in a season).
• Dickerson was happy that his record stood, even though he tweeted out respect for Peterson and support for him being the one that would eventually break the record.  All of this is much more impressive considering Peterson tore his knee up just a year ago. This robot-of-a-running-back is proving all doubters (and medical convention) wrong.
• Interestingly, Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams did hit the number Peterson needed running for 210 yards, despite only rushing for more than 25 in 8 of the 15 other games this season and not breaking 100 yards in any of those.

 

Jets QB's, Matsui retires

QB Carousel Continues in NY

• The New York Jets announced that they will be starting Mark Sanchez at quarterback on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, in a game that should be marked with no additional interest. When the Jets announced that last week they would be starting Greg McElroy it was assumed that the second year player would be playing for the rest of the year. However, McElroy suffered a concussion last week and will be out this week.
• The announcement that Sanchez will start kept Tim Tebow on the bench yet again. Tebow said he wasn’t happy with the decision, but coach Rex Ryan said he chose Sanchez due to the short time frame before the game, and Sanchez’s comfort with the system.
• This caps an already disappointing season for the Jets. Both Tebow (who's already rumored to be traded to Jacksonville in the offseason) and Sanchez are unlikely to be with the team next year, and the Jets will be looking for their long-term answer at quarterback. That answer may very well be McElroy, but it could also mean that coach Rex Ryan will be fired and the new coach will look for his own QB in the draft, as new coaches typically do when there's not an established veteran already on the team.


Matsui retires

• Hideki Matsui ended his 20 year career (10 of which were spent in the MLB) on Thursday, officially announcing his retirement.  Starting off as a dominant outfielder in Japan for the Yomiuri Giants, he signed a deal with the Yankees in 2003, instantly becoming a fan favorite.  Over the course of his MLB career, he hit .282 with 175 home runs.
• Although he only finished 2nd in the 2003 Rookie of the Year voting, he had a much better career than the winner, Angel Berroa, going on to make 2 All-Star teams and win the 2009 World Series MVP with the Yankees against the Phillies.  He became only the third player ever to hit over .500 with 3+ home runs in the same World Series, joining Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.
• Possibly the most impressive thing about him is not his stats, but the impression he left on teammates.  Derek Jeter gave him a glowing recommentdation, saying:  "I've said it numerous times over the years, but it's worth repeating now. I've had a lot of teammates over the years with the Yankees, but I will always consider Hideki one of my favorites."
• The 38 year old Matsui last played with the Tampa Bay Rays this past season, never really producing before the team released him in August.

L.A. teams rolling

Lakers Putting it Together

- The Lakers defeated the New York Knicks 100-94 as part of the NBA’s quintuple header. This win, the fifth in the row for the Lakers, put them at .500 for the first time since early November. The return of point guard Steve Nash helps the Lakers look like they are clicking the way the experts thought they would prior to the season.
- Of course, it helps to play some weaker teams. The five game streak included defeats of the Washington Wizards, Charlotte Bobcats and the still Andrew Bynum-less Philadelphia 76ers. However, this victory over the Knicks is the biggest single victory for the Lakers this season.
- The Lakers move to 14-14 on the season and the Knicks drop to 20-8 but still in control of their season and in second place in the Eastern Conference. The Lakers were led by Kobe Bryant who scored 34 points, becoming the highest scoring player on Christmas Day in NBA history. The Knicks were led by Carmelo Anthony who also scored 34 points.


Clippers win 14th straight

- Only a few hours after the Lakers extended their win streak, the Staples Center setup crew had changed out the floorboards to match that venue's other tenant, and the Clippers did not disappoint their home fans, beating the Denver Nuggets 112-100 which, combined with Oklahoma City's earlier loss to the Miami Heat, gave them the best record in the NBA.
- The Clippers have used superior depth all season and it showed again on Christmas; Jamal Crawford and Matt Barnes led all scorers with 22 and 20 points respectively, even though neither one started. 
- Every Clippers player scored and this is a team that is hitting its peak even without solid contributors Chauncey Billups and Grant Hill who have both been hurt all season long.
- L.A. additionally did a good job containing Nuggets superstar Ty Lawson, who only had 15 points and 5 assists.

Merry Christmas!

Seahawks steamroll 49ers

• In their 3rd straight blowout win, Seattle jumped on the 10-3-1 49ers with 2 quick rushing TD's and then a blocked FG returned for another and the showdown of the week was never close.  Seattle has outscored opponents 150-30 in the past 3 weeks and is looking to be an extremely dangerous team for whoever has to face them in the playoffs. 
• The good news for the rest of the league is that unless they can win their division (more on that below) they'll have to go on the for the whole playoffs, unless somehow they make the NFC championship game against the #6 seed.  The Seahawks look unstoppable at home, 7-0 so far, but are only 3-5 on the road.
• They finish the season against the St. Louis Rams and need to win in order to keep their chances of a division title (and playoff home game) alive.


NFL Playoff Picture Coming into Focus
• The American Football Conference is all set when it comes to post-season football. With the Cincinnati Bengals defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday (on a thrilling interception and last second, game-winning field goal), the Bengals guaranteed themselves a spot in the post season and ensured that the Steelers won't get one. They will be joined by the Houston Texans, Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts. The Bengals are currently in 6th place (with the rest of the teams in order of their ranking). Some of these rankings may shift next week, but these six teams are in.
• In the NFC, only half of the spots are set. The Atlanta Falcons have clinched the #1 overall seed in the conference. The Green Bay Packers are the #2 seed and the San Francisco 49ers are the #3 seed. Green Bay and San Francisco can flip flop depending on how week 17 goes. The Seattle Seahawks are the #5 seed, but could take San Francisco’s spot depending on how next Sunday goes.
• The Washington Redskins won yesterday, but it's meaningless and now they essentially have a one game playoff against the Dallas Cowboys with the winner taking the division.  The defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants can't win the division but still have an outside chance of making the playoffs as a wildcard. Speaking of which, the Minnesota Vikings currently have the last wild card spot after a huge win against Houston but the Chicago Bears will be hoping to get some help from the Packers against the Vikings, as they are in a position to overtake Minnesota.


Christmas Bonus!!

• Hey, we're not sports Scrooges, we know how to get into the holiday spirit, so check out this awesome video and have a wonderful Christmas!