Auburn Beats Alabama On A Missed Field Goal Return For Touchdown

Posted on December 2, 2013 by admin

For the first time in over 4 decades, the Iron Bowl between Alabama and Auburn had both teams ranked in the top 5. This game actually lived up to the hype. With one second remaining and the score tied at 28, Alabama lined up for a 57-yard field goal attempt. The kick missed to the right, and Auburn’s Chris Davis caught the ball about 9 yards deep in the end zone. He returned the missed field goal down the left sideline 109 yards (officially 100 yards), to give Auburn a 34-28 win.

Alabama could have used a good field goal kicker in this game. Their two kickers missed all 4 of their attempts, including the last one, that led to their demise. If they would have made any of the previous 3 attempts, their last field goal attempt would not have even been necessary. Auburn scored their last offensive touchdown, on a 39-yard pass from quarterback Nick Marshall to Sammie Coates with 32 seconds remaining to tie the game.

Alabama then drove 33 yards in 31 seconds to set-up the potential game-winning field goal. But it ended up a game-losing, and potential national championship ending play for the Crimson Tide of Alabama. They will most likely not win 3 national championships in a row. Auburn, who moved up to #3 in the new Bowl Championship series (BCS) poll, will now play in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) championship game against #5 Missouri, who beat Texas A & M 28-21 yesterday. Alabama dropped down to #4 after the loss.

Florida State is now #1 in the BCS poll, with their easy win over Florida 37-7. The Seminoles will face #20 Duke in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championship game on Saturday. Duke beat North Carolina yesterday 27-25 to earn their first 10-win football season ever. The status of Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston remains uncertain, but he hasn’t missed a game yet. He has been accused of sexual assault by a fellow student in an incident at the end of last year.

Ohio State defeated their rival Michigan, by intercepting a 2-point conversion attempt with 32 seconds remaining, to preserve a 42-41 win, and moved up to #2 in the BCS poll. The Buckeyes are headed to the first ever Big 10 Championship game, against #10 Michigan State, who earned their spot in the title game with a 14-3 victory over Minnesota. Both teams enter the conference championship game undefeated in the Big 10. Michigan State’s only loss overall was to Notre Dame in September, 17-13.

If Florida State and Ohio State each win their conference championship games, then they should meet in the BCS Championship game on January 6th. Florida State shouldn’t have any trouble beating Duke, but Ohio State may have a tough game with Michigan State, who is their toughest opponent this year. If either team loses, then the winner of the Auburn-Missouri match-up will most likely move into that game. If they both lose, then Alabama may still have a chance, even though they didn’t even make to their own conference championship game. Next year the 4-team playoff starts. This will be an improvement, but I think an 8-team playoff would be even better.

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The Lions, Cowboys and Ravens Win On Thanksgiving Day

Posted on November 29, 2013 by admin

Football fans got to see 3 games on Thanksgiving. They started out bad, and got better as the day turned into night. In the early game, the Detroit Lions gave the visiting Green Bay Packers a thorough 40-10 beating. The only thing that kept this game close for a while, was the 3 first half Detroit turnovers (2 fumbles and an interception). One of those fumbles was turned into the Packers’ only touchdown, on a one-yard Morgan Burnett touchdown run after the ball was knocked out of Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford’s hand. This gave the Packers their only lead on the game, at 10-3 with 12:33 remaining in the first half.

After the Green Bay touchdown, it was all Lions for the rest of the game. They scored 2 touchdowns in the last 5 minutes of the 2nd quarter. The first touchdown was on a 5-yard pass from Stafford to Jeremy Ross, and the second was a 1-yard run by Reggie Bush. After missing a late field goal, Detroit took a 17-10 halftime lead to the locker room.

The Lions scored 3 touchdowns and a safety in the second half. The only chance the Packers even had to score, came after a 56-yard pass from quarterback Matt Flynn to James Jones. But a fumbled snap lost the ball and ended that drive. Detroit outgained Green Bay 561-126 in total yards, including 241 -24 yards rushing. The Lions’ defense had 7 sacks, including the safety by Ndamukong Suh. Losing this game was not too surprising for the Packers, who have gone 0-4-1 since the injury to starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but the severity of the domination was surprising. These Packers reminded me of their teams in the 1970’s and 1980’s, and up until quarterback Brett Favre arrived in 1992.

The second game of the day was the Oakland Raiders traveling to play the Dallas Cowboys. This was a much more competitive game throughout, with the game tied at 21 after 3 quarters, and the Cowboys prevailing by a score of 31-24. The Raiders opened the scoring with a 23-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Greg Jenkins. Later, Dallas running back DeMarco Murray scored on 2 short touchdown runs in the first half, sandwiched around 2 Rashard Jennings 1-yard touchdown runs for the Raiders. The first half ended with Oakland leading 21-14.

The only score of the 3rd quarter was Dallas’ Dez Bryant catching a 4-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tony Romo, which tied the game. But 40 seconds into the 4th quarter, Murray scored his 3rd touchdown of the day on a 7-yard run. The Cowboys added a field goal by Dan Bailey to take a 31-21 lead with 1:56 remaining in the game. That was enough to hold off the Raiders, who ended the scoring with a 45-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski with 35 seconds left.

In the final National Football League (NFL) game of the Thanksgiving holiday, the Baltimore Ravens pulled out a 22-20 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Ravens scored the first 13 points, but had to hold on at the end to defeat the Steelers in Baltimore. The Ravens took a 19-7 lead early in the 4th quarter, on a 45-yard field goal by Justin Tucker, his 4th of the game. Pittsburgh came back with a 5-yard Le’Veon Bell touchdown run, to cut the deficit to 19-14. After Tucker added a 5th field goal, the Steelers needed a touchdown and a 2-point conversion to tie the game. With 1:03 left in the game, they got the touchdown on a 1-yard pass from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to Jerricho Cotchery, but they missed the 2-point conversion. After failing to recover the ensuing onside kick, the Ravens escaped with a win.

The home teams went 3-0 on the day. The Lions and Cowboys, both with a 7-5 record, took a half-game lead in their divisions, the Lions in the National Football Conference (NFC) North, and the Cowboys in the NFC East. The Lions lead the Chicago Bears, and the Cowboys lead the Eagles, going into the weekend games. The Ravens are now in 2nd place in the American Football Conference (AFC) North, with a 6-6 record, 1 1/2 games behind the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Lions and Cowboys look like they need to win their respective divisions in the NFC to make the playoffs, because 3 teams are presently ahead of them for the 2 wild card spots. But in the AFC, the Ravens currently have the 2nd wild card spot, even though they are only 6-6. However, 4 teams go into this weekend with a chance to tie Baltimore’s 6-6 record.

The losing teams today, are all in bad shape to get to the postseason. The Packers are a game and a 1/2 behind Detroit in the NFC North, with only 4 games left. The Raiders’ only chance to make the playoffs is as a wild card, but they are 2 games behind now. The Steelers are only 1 game behind the Ravens, for the last wild card spot in the AFC, but they are also a half game behind 4 other teams.  So the winners today would all make the playoffs, if they started now, and none of the losers today would enter the postseason. The playoff race is starting to get a little clearer, now that we’ve started week 13 of the regular season in the NFL.

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Patriots Come Back From 24 Down To Beat Broncos In Overtime 34-31

Posted on November 26, 2013 by admin

Sunday Night Football was billed as another duel between quarterbacks Peyton Manning of the Denver Broncos and Tom Brady of the New England Patriots. It didn’t exactly turn out that way. In a game that featured 11 total fumbles (5 of which were turnovers), the Broncos took a 17-0 lead in the 1st quarter from 3 Patriot fumbles lost, and then added another touchdown in the 2nd quarter to lead 24-0 at halftime. It looked like it had the makings of a blowout, especially with the top scoring offense with that big lead.

The second half was a whole different ballgame. New England scored on their next 5 possessions, including 4 touchdowns, to take a 31-24 lead in the middle of the 4th quarter. Two of those scores were after Denver turnovers (1 fumble, 1 interception). Manning who had an off night, did drive the Broncos 80 yards for the tying touchdown, which was the last points in regulation, and forced overtime.

As time was dwindling down in the overtime period, it looked as if this might be the second tie of the game. More on that later. However, the Patriots punted the ball, and the ball bounced and hit Bronco Tony Carter, which makes it a live ball. The Patriots recovered the football. They ran 3 plays, then Stephen Gostkowski kicked the 31-yard winning field goal to end this crazy game.

Brady threw for 344 yards and 3 touchdowns, compared to only 150 yards for Manning, who had 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. The Bronocos’ Knowshon Moreno rushed for a career high 224 yards, on 37 carries, and a touchdown. The Patriots’ seemed to concede the rushing yards, so that Manning wouldn’t carve them up through the air. That strategy eventually worked. This was the 14th time that Brady’s team went up against Manning’s team, all but the last 2 times with Manning playing for the Indianapolis Colts. Brady has now won 10 of those 14 games.

Denver is still ahead of New England in the American Football Conference (AFC) playoff standings and has the top seed, with a 9-2 record. They are tied with the Kansas City Chiefs, but have the tie-breaker since they beat them last week, and have the better division record. New England has the #2 seed in the AFC, with an 8-3 record. The Chiefs are presently the #5 seed, as the top wild card, even though they have the second best record in the AFC. Division winners hold seeds #1-4. The Chiefs can move up to be the division leader, and #1 seed this weekend, by beating the Broncos at home, and push Denver down to the #5 seed.

It remains to be seen what effect this game will have on the Denver Broncos. It’s devastating to lose a game, when you lead by 24 at halftime. Manning must have nightmares about Brady, losing to his Patriots 10 different times. The Broncos need to pull themselves together fast, or they could end up losing the AFC West division, if they lose against the Chiefs, who were undefeated 2 weeks ago. The San Diego Chargers upset them in Kansas City on Sunday 41-38. So they have problems of their own. For the 3rd straight week, the focus of the National Football League (NFL) will be on the game featuring the Broncos.

Now back to the tie game on Sunday. The Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings played to a tie, after one overtime period. This needs to be changed. Under the old rules, the Packers would have won the game because they scored first. But now, if the first drive results in only a field goal, then the other team gets a chance to score points. The Vikings scored a field goal also, so the game continued. Neither team scored again before the overtime period ended. No game should ever end in a tie. Teams should keep playing until someone wins. Even though the Packers play again on Thanksgiving, 4 days later, games should never end in a tie, even in the regular season. As Herm Edwards said many years ago in a press conference in 2002, “You play to win the game.” Call me crazy, but I think the game should continue until someone wins.

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Is Jimmie Johnson The Best Driver Ever?

Posted on November 23, 2013 by admin

On Sunday, Jimmie Johnson won his 6th NASCAR Sprint Cup Driver Championship. Which brings up the question, is he the best driver ever? Let’s look into the numbers. The record for the most Sprint/NEXTEL/Winston Cup driver championships ever is 7, with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt tied at the top of the list. Johnson is next with 6, Jeff Gordon has 4 titles, and 5 drivers have won 3 championships.

Number of championships is probably the easiest way to judge who is the best driver, but not the only measure. If we look at the number of total race wins, Petty is clearly the most dominant, almost lapping the field with 200 wins. Back in the earlier days of NASCAR, they ran a lot more races than they do now. David Pearson is 2nd in all-time wins with 105. 119 of Petty’s wins, and 58 of Pearson’s wins came before the Winston Cup Series was even started in 1971.

Gordon, who is 3rd on the all-time list, actually has the most wins since the advent of the Winston Cup Series with 88 on both lists. Darrell Waltrip would be next with 84 wins, Petty is 3rd with 81, and Earnhardt 4th with 76 wins since the Cup Series started. Johnson ranks 8th on the all-time list, and tied for 6th since 1971 with Bobby Allison, with all 66 of his wins coming since 2002. Allison is tied for 4th on the all-time list with 84 wins, Cale Yarborough is 6th with 83, and Earnhardt 7th with 76 career wins.

After looking at number of championships, career wins, and race wins since the Cup series began in 1971, I would have to say Petty is still the best, and Earnhardt is in 2nd place, especially since his career was cut short at 49, in his fatal wreck at the Daytona 500 in 2001. However, Johnson is only 38 years old. Earnhardt actually won 4 of his 7 championships after age 38. At this point, I would say Johnson is the 3rd best driver of all time, but he should be racing for many years to come. Gordon still races, but hasn’t won a championship since 2001.

One thing you can definitely say about Johnson, is that he is the king of the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Since the Chase has started in 2004, has won all of his titles, which means that he has won 6 of the 10 years that the Chase has been in effect. Even non-math majors can figure out that’s an astounding 60%.  He also has the record for most consecutive championships with 5, from 2006-2010. If Johnson is even close to this dominant in future years, the magic number of 7 championships will fall in the next 4 or 5 years. He will never reach Petty’s total of 200 wins, but he could also end up with the record for most race wins since the Winston Cup started in 1971. So my answer to the question of whether Jimmie Johnson is the best driver ever, is not yet.

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Panthers Beat Patriots On Controversial Last Play

Posted on November 19, 2013 by admin

The Carolina Panthers defeated the New England Patriots 24-20 on Monday night football in Charlotte, NC. The Patriots had a chance to win the game, getting the ball back with 59 seconds remaining and 3 time outs. They drove down to the Panthers’ 17-yard line with 3 seconds remaining. On their last play, Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady threw a pass into the end zone to tight end Rob Gronkowski, but it was intercepted by Panthers’ safety Robert Lester. However, a referee threw a penalty flag on the play.

There was a conversation between the referees after the play, then the flag was picked up and the game was declared over. When a replay was shown of the play, Gronkowski was clearly interfered with by Panthers’ linebacker Luke Kuechly, behind where the interception was made. No explanation was given by the referees why the flag was thrown, and/or why it was picked up. No review was made on the play either. Nothing ruins a game for me more than a referee deciding it.

On ESPN, every broadcaster I heard during and after the game, thought a penalty did occur, except a former referee, who said that the ball was uncatchable by Gronkowski, because the interception was made in front of him. So, if he wasn’t interfered with and driven to the back of the end zone, he couldn’t have come back to the ball and attempted to make the catch? Ridiculous. The only time I ever saw a pass interference flag picked up because the ball was uncatchable, is when it goes well out of bounds, or it flies way over the receiver’s head. But we don’t know why the flag was picked up, because the cowardly refs left the field without any explanation.

If the correct call was made, the Patriots would have the ball on the 1-yard line, with one play left, because the game can’t end on a defensive penalty. New England could have scored and won the game, or Carolina may have stopped them, but we’ll never know, thanks to the refs. Last year, the “Fail Mary” horrible call in Seattle, against the Seahawks, cost the Green Bay Packers a first round bye, and a #2 seed in the playoffs. It remains to be seen how much this game could cost the Patriots.

Just before the Patriots had their last drive of the game, the Panthers had taken the lead on a 25-yard pass from quarterback Cam Newton to wide receiver Ted Ginn. That 13-play 83 yard drive, was a nearly perfect response to the Patriots taking their first lead of the game in their previous drive. Carolina took 5:33 off the clock, and left New England with only 59 seconds remaining. Newton finished the game passing for 209 yards and 3 touchdowns on 19 of 28 throws.

Both teams are now 7-3. The Patriots still lead the American Football Conference (AFC) East by 2 games over the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins. The Panthers trail the New Orleans Saints by 1 game in the National Football Conference (NFC) South, and will play the Saints twice in their remaining 6 games. Carolina is now the top-seeded wild card in the NFC.

The National Football League (NFL) needs to seriously consider taking away as much power from the referees as possible. The last play of this game should have been reviewed, and an explanation for their decision should have definitely been given. Also, anything should be reviewable at any time. If a coach wants to challenge anything, he should be able to, especially in the last 2 minutes of each half. The fact that challenges are only in the hands of the referees at those times is absurd. I know their job is difficult, and everyone makes mistakes, and that’s more reason that their power should be as little as possible, so the chances of bad calls determining games is minimal.

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The Indianapolis Colts Come From Behind And Win…Again

Posted on November 16, 2013 by admin

The Indianapolis Colts beat the Tennessee Titans 30-27 on Thursday night at Nashville. Like usual the Colts had to come from behind to pull out the win. Although this wasn’t a 4th quarter comeback, they still trailed by 14 twice in the first half. But the 3rd quarter was a whole different story. It took just under half of the quarter to turn a 17-6 halftime deficit into a 20-17 lead.

The Colts scored on their first possession of the 3rd period, a 74-yard drive, finishing with a 6-yard Donald Brown touchdown run. Then the Titans fumbled the ensuing kickoff. The Colts recovered on the Titans’ 20-yard line. Two plays later, quarterback Andrew Luck scored on an 11-yard touchdown run to give the Colts a lead they would never relinquish. While winning the game is the most important thing, for the third game in a row, Indianapolis trailed by at least 14 points in the first half, but they ended up winning 2 of those games.

After this win, the Colts are 7-3 and have a 3 game lead in the weak American Football Conference (AFC) South division. However, if they are to be successful in the playoffs, they can’t keep trying to dig themselves out of large first half holes. It worked against the Titans and Houston Texans, but they never even made the game competitive two weeks ago against the St. Louis Rams, losing 38-8. Since wide receiver Reggie Wayne is out for the rest of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), coming back in games becomes more difficult.

The present standings in the AFC have the Indianapolis Colts as the #3 seed, behind the Kansas City Chiefs and the New England Patriots. If they can get up to the #2 spot, and have a first round bye, then a home playoff game in the second round, they will be in good shape. But if they finish with the #3 seed or especially if they drop to the #4 seed, their path in the playoffs will get dramatically more difficult. As the #4 seed, they will most likely have to face the second place team in the AFC West in the first round. That would be either the presently undefeated Chiefs, or the 8-1 Denver Broncos. Even playing in Indianapolis, the Colts would probably be eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

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The Winless Teams Win & The Dolphins’ Situation Remains Bizarre

Posted on November 12, 2013 by admin

There are no longer any winless teams in the National Football League (NFL), as the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers both won their first game of the season. The Jaguars beat the Tennessee Titans 29-27 on Sunday, and the Buccaneers defeated the Miami Dolphins 22-19 on Monday night.

The Titans outplayed the Jaguars in almost every statistical category, except turnovers. Tennessee had 3 fumbles and an interception, while Jacksonville threw 2 interceptions. The Titans threw for 279 yards compared to 160 for the Jaguars, and rushed for 83 yards to 54 for Jacksonville. But when you’re -2 in the turnover ratio, you’re chances of winning drop dramatically. While holding a 2-point lead, the Jaguars’ Will Blackmon picked up a fumble and ran 21 yards for a touchdown with 2:32 remaining in the game, which basically ended the Titans’ chances to win.

On Monday night, the Buccaneers took a 15-0 lead midway through the 2nd quarter, then gave up 19 straight points, as the Dolphins took a 4-point lead late in the 3rd quarter. It looked as if the Bucs were on their way to their 9th straight loss to start the season. But they kept running the ball effectively, outrushing the Dolphins 140 yards to 2. Tampa Bay regained the lead on a 1-yard Bobby Rainey touchdown run, with 10:19 remaining. Because of no running game, the pressure was on Miami quarterback Ryan Tannehill to deliver the win for his team. He did throw for 229 yards and 2 touchdowns, but was picked off by Darrelle Revis late in the game to end the hopes of a Dolphin comeback.

The Miami Dolphins had endured a bizarre week, with the bullying charges from offensive tackle Jonathan Martin, that I wrote about a week ago. More has come out in the past week, including dramatic support for teammate Richie Incognito, the person reported to be the bully. Tannehill even said that if you asked him who Martin’s best friend on the team was a week ago, he would have said it was Incognito. Incognito in an interview said that he texted Martin when the story first broke, and Martin texted back that he didn’t say anything to start this controversy. He also said that Martin had texted him before that he was going to kill Incognito’s family. Incognito said he knew Martin wasn’t serious, that’s just the way that they communicated.

The relationship between these 300+ pound offensive lineman does seem strange, but I’ve never been in an NFL locker room. With the support that Incognito has received from teammates, it’s clear that they don’t like all this negative attention that Martin has brought to the Dolphins. I’ve never heard of an NFL player complaining about being bullied before.

With the new input from teammates this week, it seems that Martin is a wimp, and that he is preparing for a law suit. He may be planning to sue the NFL, the Miami Dolphins, Richie Incognito, and maybe other teammates. Martin, who hasn’t been interviewed on this controversy, has communicated through his lawyer, that he doesn’t plan to return to the Dolphins this year. Why would they want him? His performance on the field was poor, then he walked out on his teammates, and created this mess for his team. With the suspension of Incognito, the Dolphins have lost 40% of their offensive line because of him. The immediate result is bad, but the Dolphins will eventually be better without someone like him on the team.

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Stanford Beats Oregon, Baylor Crushes Oklahoma

Posted on November 8, 2013 by admin

Thursday night games in college football usually aren’t that important. Tonight, 4 of the Top 10 ranked teams played each other. #5 Stanford led the whole way, and survived a furious comeback attempt by #3 Oregon 26-20. In the other game, #6 Baylor easily withstood their first big test of the season, with a 41-12 win over Oklahoma.

Stanford took advantage of early Oregon mistakes to take a 14-0 lead early in the 2nd quarter. The Oregon Ducks went for a 4th and goal on their first drive and missed it. Then the Stanford Cardinal (not cardinals, they are named after a tree) then went all the way down the field for their first touchdown. The next time the Ducks were in the red zone (inside their opponent’s 20 yard line), they fumbled the ball away at the 2 yard line. Oregon added a late field goal to take a 17-0 halftime lead to the locker room.

The third quarter looked much like the first half, except the Cardinal just added 2 field goals, to start the 4th quarter with a 23-0 lead. The Ducks were averaging almost 56 points per game coming into this PAC 12 showdown. It looked like Stanford was cruising to a rare blowout upset. But Oregon finally scored on a touchdown pass from their quarterback and Heisman Trophy favorite coming into the game, Marcus Mariota with 10:11 remaining. 5 minutes later, the Ducks blocked a field goal attempt and ran it back for a touchdown, cutting the deficit to 26-13, after a failed 2-point conversion attempt.

Oregon then recovered an onside kick, and scored again, to get within 6 points, with 2:12 remaining. After their 3rd attempted, and 2nd unsuccessful onside kick, Stanford ran out the clock with a 26-20 win. Cardinal running back Tyler Gaffney had a team record 45 carries, for 157 yards. Stanford rushed for a total of 274 yards in the game. For the second year in a row, the Cardinal has ended the Ducks undefeated season, and probably any chance to play for the national championship.

The Baylor Bears had a big night, showing the whole country that they have an excellent team. They came into this game leading the country in scoring, with almost 64 points per game. So the Oklahoma Sooners holding them to 41 wasn’t so bad, I guess. But if a team scores 41, then you won’t win, unless you score at least 42, and the Sooners weren’t even close to that. They actually led 5-3 early in the 2nd quarter. Then Baylor scored 28 straight points, to take a commanding 31-5 lead halfway through the 3rd quarter. Bear quarterback Bryce Petty, who should be among the top Heisman Trophy candidates, had a modest game passing, with 204 yards on 13 of 26 passing. However, he threw for 3 touchdowns, and ran for 2 more. Baylor also rushed for 255 yards in the game.

The loss of Oregon opens the door especially for Florida State to the national championship game. Their schedule is relatively easy the rest of the way. Ohio State also enjoyed the Oregon loss, but after Thursday night, how far will Stanford and Baylor move up in the rankings? Alabama is ranked #1 and will remain that way as long as they keep winning. But the way I would rank the Top 5 right now isn’t the way they are ranked in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). I would rank Florida State #1, based on their routs of previously unbeaten Clemson and Miami. I would have Alabama #2, Baylor #3, Ohio State #4 and Stanford at #5. Yes I know Stanford was already #5 before the win against Oregon, but I wouldn’t have had them that high, and their loss to Utah will loom large in the end. The 4 teams I have ahead of them are all still unbeaten.

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Bullying, Coaches’ Health Issues & A Record-Tying Performance In The NFL

Posted on November 5, 2013 by admin

This past weekend was definitely out-of-the-ordinary for the National Football League (NFL). There are charges of bullying by a fellow teammate, serious health issues for 2 head coaches, and a record-tying performance, by a relatively new starter at quarterback.

The bullying accusation has to do with 2 offensive linemen from the Miami Dolphins. Jonathan Martin, a right tackle, has produced text messages, and a particularly disturbing voicemail from the guy that lines up next to him at right guard, Richie Incognito. This voicemail, that is from April of this year, includes a racial slur and a death threat from Incognito directed at Martin. I know teammates don’t always get along, but this goes way beyond any disagreement or skirmish in the locker room.

When I first heard about the allegations, I thought what is wrong with this Martin guy? Reportedly Martin left the team after a prank on Monday in the cafeteria by fellow offensive linemen. This isn’t a 300 pound lineman picking on a 180 pound kick returner, these guys are both over 300 pounds. He should fight back. But after seeing the transcript of the voicemail, which also included Incognito saying he would slap Martin’s mother across the face, I can see that this a bigger problem. Incognito has been suspended indefinitely by the Dolphins, and Martin says he will be away from the team for a couple of weeks. I’m sure much more of this story will surface in the coming weeks.

On Saturday, John Fox, the head coach of the Denver Broncos, felt dizzy while playing golf. He was taken to a hospital, and today underwent aortic valve replacement surgery in North Carolina. Fox, who is 58, was scheduled to have heart surgery after the season. Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio will be the interim head coach of the Broncos while Fox recovers for the next several weeks. Del Rio was the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2003-2011.

Last night, as the teams were heading to the locker room of the Houston Texans – Indianapolis Colts game, Texans’ head coach became Gary Kubiak became light-headed and dizzy, and went down to one knee on the sidelines. He was immediately attended to by medical staff, and was eventually taken off the field on a stretcher, and brought to a Houston hospital. It was reported later that Kubiak, who has no known health problems, did not have a heart attack.  He is now stable and in good spirits, but will remain hospitalized for the next 24 hours for observation. Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips will be the interim head coach for the Texans. Let’s hope Fox and Kubiak recover nicely from their situations.

On the field Sunday, Philadelphia Eagles’ second year quarterback Nick Foles threw 7 touchdown passes in a 49-20 thumping of the Oakland Raiders. Foles, who has been battling Michael Vick for the starting job, for about the last year or so, was just coming back from a concussion, and a poor performance in the game before that against the Dallas Cowboys. When Peyton Manning of the Denver Broncos threw for 7 touchdowns in the first week of the season, it wasn’t very surprising, but Foles doing it, was almost shocking.  He was 22 of 28 passing, for 406 yards, and no interceptions. Only 7 quarterbacks in NFL history have thrown 7 touchdown passes in a game. It looks like the Eagles know who their quarterback of the future is now.

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The Boston Red Sox Won The World Series

Posted on October 31, 2013 by admin

For the third time in the last 10 years the Boston Red Sox won the World Series, beating the St. Louis Cardinals in 6 games by a score of 6-1. But, for the first time in 95 years, the Red Sox could celebrate the championship at home, in Fenway Park. The 2004 and 2007 titles were in 4 game sweeps against the Cardinals and the Colorado Rockies respectively, but they finished off those series on the road.

Boston starting pitcher John Lackey shut out the Cardinals for the first 6 innings, before leaving in the 7th inning with 2 outs, and 6-1 lead. Lackey also started and won the final game for the Anaheim Angels’ only World Series Championship, in 2002 as a rookie. The Red Sox scored 3 in the 3rd inning and 3 in the 4th inning. Right fielder Shane Victorino drove in 4 runs in Game 6.

The World Series Most Valuable Player was an easy choice, with David Ortiz batting .688, and slugging 1.188. He basically carried the team with his hitting. No other Red Sox player hit more than .250, or slugged more than .333. Ortiz was a one-man hitting machine, but it was enough.  Boston manager John Farrell became the 4th first year Red Sox manager to win the World Series.

This was a striking rebound for the Red Sox after their 2012 season. Last season they were 69-93, had the 3rd worst record in the American League, and finished last in the American League East. The one-year Bobby Valentine experiment ended the day after the last game of the season. Valentine was fired after just 10 months on the job. The Red Sox apparently made the right move by hiring Farrell as manager before the 2013 season.

The baseball season has now ended. However, professional basketball just started their regular season yesterday, hockey has been going on for almost a month, and football is right in the middle of their season. So there is more than enough sports to keep me busy. The next postseason will be the college football bowl games in December and January, then the National Football League (NFL) playoffs in January and ending with the Super Bowl in early February.

Congratulations to the Boston Red Sox, World Series Champions! After waiting 86 years to win a World Series, since Babe Ruth won as a Red Sox in 1918, to winning their 3rd title since 2004.

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