Things got a bit testy this weekend in the NFL didn't they? The replacement referees certainly took a step backwards in almost every way. It seemed like each game that I watched was one cheap shot away from a full scale brawl. College football had its share of jaw dropping results including Virginia Tech getting punched in the gut by Pittsburgh who looked no better than a high school team coming in. Obviously I will talk about the other major upsets in a bit. The baseball races continue to have no clear resolution as more and more teams continue to stake their claim for a playoff spot.
All of that pales in comparison to what I did this weekend. My mother brought a box of my old stuff over this week and included my old Playstation. Woot! I cleaned it off, hooked it up and put in Twisted Metal 2. It worked like it was brand new. It took me about 30 seconds to remember how to play and it took me back to high school. Pure, unadulterated bliss. Sure the graphics look archaic to today's standards and the game play is quite simplistic, but that is what I enjoyed about games back then. Yes I'm officially old now.
For those of you who got caught up being young for the weekend and missed out on the sporting world, here are the important events that you may missed:
10. James Madison University vs. West Virginia University (FedEx Field)
You know what, Geno Smith might just win himself a Heisman Trophy this season. I know he hasn't faced the stiffest competition but he has looked exceptional so far. He had as many uncompleted passes (5) as he did touchdown passes (5) against James Madison. My Dukes kept the Mountaineers under 60 as I had predicted and they even scored a safety, but this game belonged to West Virginia from the opening kick. It's great exposure for JMU as they continue to have hopes to eventually jump to 1-A in the future. As for holding this game at FedEx...yeah only 45,000 showed up which is half capacity, so maybe RFK next time guys.
9. St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers
This might be the only prediction I got right all weekend. The Cardinals and Dodgers played a very hotly contested 4 game series which ended in a split, but each team could have staked claim to series win with the right break. Each team scored 15 total runs in this series as the Cardinals continue to hold on to their slim 1 game lead for the second Wild Card spot. As for the teams chasing team, the Phillies blew their golden opportunity against the lowly Astros by losing 3 of 4. The Pirates have already lost 2 of 3 to the Cubs in their four game set. Only the Milwaukee Brewers won a series of the 5 contenders as they took 2 of 3 against the Mets. There are currently five teams within 4 games of that final playoff spot in the National League.
8. New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers
Both New Orleans and Carolina knew that the loser of this game would have about a 12% chance of making the playoffs this season (stat courtesy of NFL Network). Of course I already eliminated the loser and we all know that whatever I say goes. The Panthers looked like a completely different team with the return of Johnathan Stewart. After running the ball 13 times for a measly 10 yards in week 1 versus Tampa Bay, Carolina gutted the Saints defense with 41 carries for 219 yards and 3 touchdowns. That is more like it from the Panthers. The Saints didn't change much from the Week 1 debacle. They gave up 35 more points (75 in two weeks) and Drew Brees threw two more interceptions. The victory went to the team who made better strides and the was Carolina. Your season is now over New Orleans...enjoy the Super Bowl host city curse.
7. Florida Gators at Tennessee Volunteers
Hey look another game I was completely wrong about. It will be a week long trend and for that I am ashamed. I thought this was finally the time where Tennessee would be able to turn the corner for their revival and doing so against the team that kept them down for so many years would have been sweet. Half way through the 3rd quarter, things were looking good for me and 100,000+ Volunteer fans in Knoxville. Florida then spent the remaining 22 minutes silencing the entire state of Tennessee...again. They outscored Tennessee 24-0 over the remainder of the game and turned a close encounter into a blowout. I do like the orange pants though.
6. Baltimore Ravens at Philadelphia Eagles
Even though this game resembled a backyard street fight more than a National Football League game it turned out to be one of the best games on Sunday. Joe Flacco did indeed return to mediocrity as he struggled all day with his accuracy while Michael Vick was still inconsistent, but showed flashes of greatness with his arm and legs. It was unfortunate that the biggest takeaway for fans from this game was the horrible officiating as they let players continue to push and shove after the whistle without any punishment. The Eagles took a late lead and the Ravens final drive came up short as Philadelphia climbs to 2-0 and they have yet to look really good so far. The Ravens will be fine if they can survive this tough stretch where they play their first 4 games in a short 17 day span.
5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Michigan St. Spartans
What a pile of crap this game turned out to be. Not only did we not get a great ending, but we didn't get a great beginning or middle either. Maybe Notre Dame is really for real this time. They stuffed the Spartans in all aspects of the game including holding dynamic running back Le'Veon Bell to only 77 yards rushing on 19 carries. The Irish will certainly be able to state their case for being elite as they get three more ranked teams including a trip to Oklahoma over their next five games. For Michigan St., college basketball is only two months away and Tom Izzo probably has another great rebounding, blue collar bunch of guys looking to win another Big 10 title!
4. Tampa Bay Rays at New York Yankees
Two teams in dire need of a good weekend met in the Bronx and the Yankees walked away with a series win. Each game was decided by two runs, but after taking game one behind David Price, neither James Shields nor Matt Moore could keep the potent Yankee offense down enough to get the tepid Rays offense in it. Tampa Bay is now five games behind New York in the A.L. East and 4 games out of the second Wild Card spot currently owned by Baltimore. Of course after last seasons heroics nobody will count the Rays out of it, but they didn't do themselves any favors this weekend. New York, for all of their struggles, only play one more team with winning record (Oakland at home) the rest of the way. The East is once again theirs to lose.
3. USC Trojans at Stanford Cardinal
About Matt Barkley being so angry after going 0-3 against Stanford in his career that he'd take out his frustrations in spades this time around...yeah didn't happen. I don't know if it was just a great defensive effort by the Cardinal defense or just a very horrible Trojans offensive line. Barkley was under great duress the entire game and could never set his feet long enough to make a play. As for Stanford's offense, Josh Nunes played well enough to move the offense, but it was running back Stepfan Taylor who took the bull by the horns, rushing for 153 yards and touchdown on 27 carries. Stanford now emerges as the national title contender from the PAC-12 as Matt Barkley now needs to save face and try to be the #1 draft pick in the NFL Draft next year.
2. Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers
Huzzah! I got one almost perfectly right. The 49ers stifling defense held the Detroit Lions to 5 field goal attempts over the first 58 minutes of the game while continuing to show a much more consistent offensive approach. No longer are the 49ers a run only offense with an occasional pass to keep the defense honest. They have weapons for Alex Smith to target and he has become a very reliable passer and has broken the all time San Francisco record for most consecutive pass attempts without an interception. That's pretty impressive when you consider the hall of fame caliber signal callers that have roamed the grounds there. I'm not calling the Lions dead in the water just yet, but their magic of 4th quarter comebacks (like week 1 and all of 2011) can only last for so long. If Detroit hadn't scored that late touchdown my prediction of 27-13 would have been just about spot on, but I call this one a win for me.
1. Baltimore Orioles at Oakland Athletics
I predicted that the team scoring first would win all three games in this series. They went 0-3. I don't even know why I try. The Orioles scored first in both of the first two games only to see Oakland take the lead right back and hold on the rest of the way. In game three Josh Reddick homered in the 1st inning and it was all downhill the rest of the way as they walked 9 Orioles and Matt Wieters hit two home runs to salvage a game for Baltimore. Oakland didn't lose any ground on Texas or Los Angeles as all three teams won 2 of 3 this weekend. They now embark and a very difficult, make or break, 10 game road trip to Detroit, New York and Texas (4 games) that could very possibly cost them a playoff spot if things go poorly. Baltimore is now a game back of New York, but with no more head to head games remaining they don't control their own fate. None of their next 13 games are against teams with playoff aspirations so they can easily make up ground on Oakland if the Athletics falter with a much more difficult schedule.
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