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.
Showing posts with label michigan st.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label michigan st.. Show all posts
Monday, September 17, 2012
Friday, September 14, 2012
Weekend Viewing Guide 9/14/12
No tennis, no golf, no soccer...no worries. There is still a glutton of sports to watch this weekend. I'm not even going to highlight the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears I'm watching as I type that was played last night or the mouth-watering Monday Night Football game between my MVP choice, Matt Ryan and the expected Comeback Player of the Year, Peyton Manning. If you're a betting person...take the over. Either of those games would have cracked my top 3 of the weekend, but I push on, there are still enough main courses to satisfy even the Burgerdays crew.
Let's roll our sleeves up and get right into it:
10. James Madison University vs. West Virginia University (FedEx Field)
Okay don't stop reading, I haven't gone crazy. I went to JMU and I know some guys who went to West Virginia so there's a little more at stake if JMU can keep it close. If you remember, JMU went down to Virginia Tech just two years ago and won so be careful Mountaineer fans. In all actuality this will be a 60-17 type score, but you have two schools that have a ton of alumni in the DC/Maryland area and a 90,000 seat stadium to fill. With a 4:30pm start, the only real question is how many fans will be sober enough to remember to go into the stadium? Let's go Dukes!
9. St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers
What the hell is going on with the National League Wild Card standings? The Cardinals suck, the Dodgers stink and the Pirates are terrible. The only teams that seem to want to play Atlanta in the one game playoff are the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers who have each shaved about 10 games in the standings in the last month. This four game series that started (right about now) Thursday has the chance to make a gruesome mess of everything. By Monday there could be five teams within two games of the second Wild Card. When St. Louis and Los Angeles split these four games they will be at 77 and 76 wins respectively. The Pirates play the crappy Cubs, the Phillies will crush the abysmal Astros and the Brewers should manhandle the Mets. This puts all three of them at 75 wins with sweeps. All five will have either 70-72 losses as well with just over two weeks to go...just how we want it.
8. New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers
Neither team expected to be facing an 0-2 start. Both teams were given a tasty cupcake of an opening week game by the NFL and yet both lost. In a division that I expect the Atlanta Falcons to win easily both of these teams are playing for a Wild Card spot in my opinion. This elevates a rather middling week 2 game into a pretty tasty pressure test. I'm sure if I had the Elias Sports Bureau working for me I could tell you what the chances are for 0-2 teams to make the playoffs, but I can promise you it's not that good. Dammit, I'm calling it...the loser of this game does not make the playoffs. Done. Final Score: Saints 31 Panthers 23
7. Florida Gators at Tennessee Volunteers
Welcome back from obscurity Tennessee. This game used to be the highlight of the SEC schedule. Then Tennessee disappeared into oblivion while Florida had up and down seasons (with some Tim Tebow greatness as well) and everyone forgot about these teams. Now even though they are relegated to a Week 3 meeting in mid-September, its good to see both schools getting good again at the same time. Both teams are ranked, ESPN is headed to Knoxville and they made my exclusive list of things to watch! Yes rivalry games in college football are exciting and this one has been ignored for far too long. Final Score Tennessee 31 Florida 21
6. Baltimore Ravens at Philadelphia Eagles
Did you see how good the Ravens looked on Monday? Did you see how bad the Eagles looked on Sunday? All that and Philadelphia is still a 2 point favorite at home this week. A short week and having to play on the road might have a bit to do with that for Baltimore. Something tell me each team will regress to the mean this weekend even if the Eagles are without Jeremy Maclin or DeSean Jackson or both. Michael Vick can't throw 4 more interceptions can he? Joe Flacco isn't going to be an MVP candidate is he? No I don't think either of these will be true. I still have the Ravens squeaking out a 23-20 win.
5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Michigan St. Spartans
This is a perfect September game. Two really good September teams that real fans of college football understand have no frickin' shot at being relevant come mid-November. The fans can only hope for another memorable finish like in 2010:
That highlight was made even better with the Star Wars cameo. Notre Dame has not been in the championship picture since the late 80's and the Big Ten is only good when not playing teams from real conferences like the SEC. That makes this game a perfect match up...for September. Final Score Michigan St. 30 Notre Dame 24
4. Tampa Bay Rays at New York Yankees
I don't understand Tampa Bay. Well I take that back, they can't hit worth a damn. Even though they resemble the Oakland Athletics both on the mound and at the plate and how bad their stadium is, something is missing. There is no magic spark. Time is now beginning to run out on the Rays and unless they walk into New York and win this series, they could be missing the playoffs this year. Things are not looking much better in New York. The age of their core players is starting to become an issue as the injuries continue to mount. Mark Teixeira is injured, Derek Jeter narrowly avoided a bad ankle injury, C.C. Sabathia is hurting and the team just looks sluggish. This starts a 9 game home stand with both the Rays and the Athletics coming to town and we should know the fate of New York by the end of that.
3. USC Trojans at Stanford Cardinal
I bet you didn't realize that senior quarterback Matt Barkley has yet to defeat Stanford. He's 0-3 thanks to Andrew Luck, but unlike Luck, Barkley stayed in school toparty, hang out with co-eds, be the big man on campus
win a BCS Championship. This is the game that USC has to have had
circled on its calendar ever since Barkley decided to return. They owe
the Cardinal some payback for the recent domination that they have had
on their neighbors to the south. The cupboard isn't completely bare for
Stanford as Junior quarterback Josh Nunes has filed in quite admirably,
albeit against lesser competition (yup I'm talking about you Duke).
I've got the over/under on Barkley touchdown passes at 4.5...anyone dare
to take the under? Final Score USC 45 Stanford 27
2. Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers
Ooooooh I remember how this one ended last year. The two head coaches jawing at each other while racing off the field and a little shove fest. Last week the Lions didn't look like the fun 'n gun offensive video game that was 2011. The 49ers did, on the other hand, resemble their 2011 model of being the best defensive unit in the NFL. They also added a better passing game and currently have a healthy Frank Gore. No matter how much I want this to be a good game, I have a feeling this is where the Lions start to crack a bit and the 49ers surge into Super Bowl contenders. Final Score San Francisco 27 Detroit 13
1. Baltimore Orioles at Oakland Athletics
The two best stories in the American League and possibly the Majors meet in the dump that is the O.co Stadium. If the Orioles allowed the Athletics to be the home team, I'd petition Bud Selig to move the series to Camden Yards. Not only would I be able to attend, but it'd be a setting befitting the importance of this series. I know of nobody who thought this series would receive any national media attention, but with the two darlings of baseball playing in mid-September it will be beat reporters dream for its multitude of story lines. Each team is playing for a fallen teammate, Nick Markakis of the Orioles lost for the regular season with a broken hand and Brandon McCarthy of the Athletics lost for the season with a fractured skull. Both teams are currently in the playoffs and have split the season series 3-3 to date so I expect a low scoring series where the team scoring first will win all three games. The bullpens are just too good and the stadium too big for many comebacks to occur.
*Editor's note* After watching 3 quarters of the Packers/Bears game, I change my mind about it being considered for the Top 10 list. Yaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwnnnnnnn! If your best highlight is a punter pitching a ball to a backup tight end, you have not been entertaining.
Let's roll our sleeves up and get right into it:
10. James Madison University vs. West Virginia University (FedEx Field)
Okay don't stop reading, I haven't gone crazy. I went to JMU and I know some guys who went to West Virginia so there's a little more at stake if JMU can keep it close. If you remember, JMU went down to Virginia Tech just two years ago and won so be careful Mountaineer fans. In all actuality this will be a 60-17 type score, but you have two schools that have a ton of alumni in the DC/Maryland area and a 90,000 seat stadium to fill. With a 4:30pm start, the only real question is how many fans will be sober enough to remember to go into the stadium? Let's go Dukes!
9. St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers
What the hell is going on with the National League Wild Card standings? The Cardinals suck, the Dodgers stink and the Pirates are terrible. The only teams that seem to want to play Atlanta in the one game playoff are the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers who have each shaved about 10 games in the standings in the last month. This four game series that started (right about now) Thursday has the chance to make a gruesome mess of everything. By Monday there could be five teams within two games of the second Wild Card. When St. Louis and Los Angeles split these four games they will be at 77 and 76 wins respectively. The Pirates play the crappy Cubs, the Phillies will crush the abysmal Astros and the Brewers should manhandle the Mets. This puts all three of them at 75 wins with sweeps. All five will have either 70-72 losses as well with just over two weeks to go...just how we want it.
8. New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers
Neither team expected to be facing an 0-2 start. Both teams were given a tasty cupcake of an opening week game by the NFL and yet both lost. In a division that I expect the Atlanta Falcons to win easily both of these teams are playing for a Wild Card spot in my opinion. This elevates a rather middling week 2 game into a pretty tasty pressure test. I'm sure if I had the Elias Sports Bureau working for me I could tell you what the chances are for 0-2 teams to make the playoffs, but I can promise you it's not that good. Dammit, I'm calling it...the loser of this game does not make the playoffs. Done. Final Score: Saints 31 Panthers 23
7. Florida Gators at Tennessee Volunteers
Welcome back from obscurity Tennessee. This game used to be the highlight of the SEC schedule. Then Tennessee disappeared into oblivion while Florida had up and down seasons (with some Tim Tebow greatness as well) and everyone forgot about these teams. Now even though they are relegated to a Week 3 meeting in mid-September, its good to see both schools getting good again at the same time. Both teams are ranked, ESPN is headed to Knoxville and they made my exclusive list of things to watch! Yes rivalry games in college football are exciting and this one has been ignored for far too long. Final Score Tennessee 31 Florida 21
6. Baltimore Ravens at Philadelphia Eagles
Did you see how good the Ravens looked on Monday? Did you see how bad the Eagles looked on Sunday? All that and Philadelphia is still a 2 point favorite at home this week. A short week and having to play on the road might have a bit to do with that for Baltimore. Something tell me each team will regress to the mean this weekend even if the Eagles are without Jeremy Maclin or DeSean Jackson or both. Michael Vick can't throw 4 more interceptions can he? Joe Flacco isn't going to be an MVP candidate is he? No I don't think either of these will be true. I still have the Ravens squeaking out a 23-20 win.
5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Michigan St. Spartans
This is a perfect September game. Two really good September teams that real fans of college football understand have no frickin' shot at being relevant come mid-November. The fans can only hope for another memorable finish like in 2010:
That highlight was made even better with the Star Wars cameo. Notre Dame has not been in the championship picture since the late 80's and the Big Ten is only good when not playing teams from real conferences like the SEC. That makes this game a perfect match up...for September. Final Score Michigan St. 30 Notre Dame 24
4. Tampa Bay Rays at New York Yankees
I don't understand Tampa Bay. Well I take that back, they can't hit worth a damn. Even though they resemble the Oakland Athletics both on the mound and at the plate and how bad their stadium is, something is missing. There is no magic spark. Time is now beginning to run out on the Rays and unless they walk into New York and win this series, they could be missing the playoffs this year. Things are not looking much better in New York. The age of their core players is starting to become an issue as the injuries continue to mount. Mark Teixeira is injured, Derek Jeter narrowly avoided a bad ankle injury, C.C. Sabathia is hurting and the team just looks sluggish. This starts a 9 game home stand with both the Rays and the Athletics coming to town and we should know the fate of New York by the end of that.
3. USC Trojans at Stanford Cardinal
I bet you didn't realize that senior quarterback Matt Barkley has yet to defeat Stanford. He's 0-3 thanks to Andrew Luck, but unlike Luck, Barkley stayed in school to
2. Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers
Ooooooh I remember how this one ended last year. The two head coaches jawing at each other while racing off the field and a little shove fest. Last week the Lions didn't look like the fun 'n gun offensive video game that was 2011. The 49ers did, on the other hand, resemble their 2011 model of being the best defensive unit in the NFL. They also added a better passing game and currently have a healthy Frank Gore. No matter how much I want this to be a good game, I have a feeling this is where the Lions start to crack a bit and the 49ers surge into Super Bowl contenders. Final Score San Francisco 27 Detroit 13
1. Baltimore Orioles at Oakland Athletics
The two best stories in the American League and possibly the Majors meet in the dump that is the O.co Stadium. If the Orioles allowed the Athletics to be the home team, I'd petition Bud Selig to move the series to Camden Yards. Not only would I be able to attend, but it'd be a setting befitting the importance of this series. I know of nobody who thought this series would receive any national media attention, but with the two darlings of baseball playing in mid-September it will be beat reporters dream for its multitude of story lines. Each team is playing for a fallen teammate, Nick Markakis of the Orioles lost for the regular season with a broken hand and Brandon McCarthy of the Athletics lost for the season with a fractured skull. Both teams are currently in the playoffs and have split the season series 3-3 to date so I expect a low scoring series where the team scoring first will win all three games. The bullpens are just too good and the stadium too big for many comebacks to occur.
*Editor's note* After watching 3 quarters of the Packers/Bears game, I change my mind about it being considered for the Top 10 list. Yaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwnnnnnnn! If your best highlight is a punter pitching a ball to a backup tight end, you have not been entertaining.
Monday, September 3, 2012
Weekend Viewing Recap 9/3/12
The weekend for most isn't technically over. You still have the final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship (Golf, kids) with both Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods in the hunt, U.S. Open Tennis, Virginia Tech vs. Georgia Tech in college football later that night and the start of the Athletics/Angels and Yankees/Rays series in baseball. That plus a good barbeque should be enough to tide you over until Wednesday when the NFL begins with the Cowboys heading to New York to take on the defending Super Bowl champion Giants.
The final weekend before the return of profession football did not let us down. Let's take a look back just in case you hit the beach one final weekend and missed out.
7. College Football (Non ranked vs. ranked games)
The most eye opening score came from Pittsburgh as the Panthers lost to I-AA (eff that FCS crap) Youngstown St.. It's not the first Division I team to lose to the smaller schools recently (JMU vs Virginia Tech, Appalachian St. vs. Michigan), but it still is shocking when it happens. Navy went to Ireland to battle the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame and got blasted 50-10. Clemson retains the 'Tigers' moniker for this season as they beat Auburn who will now be called the 'Pumas' for the remainder of the year. That would have made the game much more interesting. Penn St. lost on the field after an off season of losing off the field. As noted on Twitter, they lost again Saturday to extend a losing streak that dates back to 1998. USC (not the Gamecocks who are neither USC nor Carolina...just South or Cocks, your choice) rolled over Hawaii in their first game as #1 in the nation. West Virginia claimed their state title as they whooped Marshall and my two favorite colleges (UNC and JMU) won by a combined scored of 117-7.
6. Boise St. Broncos at Michigan St. Spartans
In one of two ranked vs. ranked match ups this weekend, two new look teams squared off in a surprising defensive battle (of sorts). Michigan St. jumped out behind Le'Veon Bell who scored early en route to 265 total yards on the night. Boise St. couldn't muster much offense at all and it was a credit to their defense, who scored their lone touchdown of the night, that the game was as close as it was. In fact Boise St. held the lead going into the 4th quarter, but after Bell scored his second touchdown of the game, Michigan St. took the lead back for good. Both teams looked offensively challenged, save for Bell and he was the difference on Saturday.
5. St. Louis Cardinals at Washington Nationals
What a series these two teams gave us. After a miserable start for the Cardinals, losing the 1st two games by a combined 18-1 score we got two classic games to end the series. After seeing their bats go dormant for 48 hours in Washington, St. Louis spotted Washington 4 runs before scoring 8 over the next three innings to take an 8-6 lead. The Nationals answered back with a three run inning, but gave up single runs in the eighth and ninth to lose 10-9. Sunday, Nationals fans got one of their final looks at Stephen Strasburg this season and he was masterful throwing six scoreless innings and left with a 2-0 lead. That didn't last long as Sean Burnett promptly gave up a 2 run homer to light hitting David Descalso who had previously been 5 for his last 58. This time it was the Nationals that were able to respond as they scratched out two runs in the bottom of the 7th and held on for a 4-3 victory and a 3 games to 1 series victory.
4. Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees
This close. The Orioles were this close to walking into Yankees Stadium and sweeping New York. Mark Reynolds hit two home runs in both the Friday and Sunday games as the Orioles outscored the struggling Yankees 14-4 in those two games. In the middle game, Baltimore was up 3-0 in the 4th and 3-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh when it all fell apart for them. With two outs and only one man on base, starting pitcher Wei-Yin Chen walk a guy and gave up a hit to cut the lead to 3-2. Pedro Strop 'relieved' him and walked the first two batters he faced to knot the game up at 3. Then when he finally threw a hittable pitch, Nick Swisher hit a ball to shortstop J.J. Hardy who booted it and allowed the go ahead, and eventual game winning run to score. Baltimore wins the series and creeps to within 2 games in the A.L. East as their dream season continues with the 4 game rematch in Baltimore starts Thursday.
3. U.S. Open Tennis
Nothing of note happened this weekend, which is good for the upcoming quarterfinals. Andy Roddick is still alive and plays next on Tuesday. The closest major upset was Maria Sharapova down 2 games to none in the third set, but she stormed back to win. Because of the length of that match and the rain delay last night, American John Isner was forced to start playing after 10 pm local time and of course his match against Philipp Kohschreiber went the full five sets and 3+ hours ending right around 2:30 in the morning. That seems quite ridiculous if I must say so. I don't understand why they can't just bring them back at 8 am because you won't get the television ratings you were expecting either way. Today another American is expected to be ousted as Mardy Fish has to play Roger Federer. Miracles can happen can't they?
2. Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers
I asked for a Detroit sweep and by God I got a Detroit sweep. The Tigers held serve on their home field behind strong starting pitching and a timely home run last night. The marquee match up was between Chris Sale and Justin Verlander yesterday and into the 6th inning it lived up to the billing. Tied at one in the bottom of the 6th inning, Sale threw one too many sliders (slurves if you listen to ESPN) to Delmon Young without changing his eye level with a high fastball (who am I to judge?) and he hit a 3 run home run. Even though Detroit has underwhelmed all season, they are still my choice to represent the American League in the World Series. Behind the one-two punches of Verlander and Max Scherzer on the mound and Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder at the plate, if they can play good enough defense I don't see anyone being able to beat them in a short series. Chicago may have seen their cushion slip away this weekend, but they will get their chance to strike back one week from today when they welcome Detroit to town for a huge 4 game series.
1. Michigan Wolverines vs. Alabama Crimson Tide
I tried to time it right on Saturday night as the wife and I watched The Dictator for our weekend movie which was actually disappointing. I figured I'd missed about 15-20 minutes of this game and that would be hardly enough to worry me, but that turned out to be quite incorrect. I flipped the game on and it was already 14-0 Alabama with 5 minutes left in the 1st quarter and I knew it was over. By the time I got back from the bathroom (too much information???) it was 21-0 and that was the last I saw of the game. Michigan kept it within 20 into the 4th quarter which sparked my curiosity knowing one of my friends had a small $1500 wager on Alabama and the 13 1/2 point spread, but the Crimson Tide scored again and he was safe. Lunch on him on Tuesday!!!!! Wake me when Alabama plays in the SEC Championship game which will probably be the BCS Championship game as well (sorry USC).
The final weekend before the return of profession football did not let us down. Let's take a look back just in case you hit the beach one final weekend and missed out.
7. College Football (Non ranked vs. ranked games)
The most eye opening score came from Pittsburgh as the Panthers lost to I-AA (eff that FCS crap) Youngstown St.. It's not the first Division I team to lose to the smaller schools recently (JMU vs Virginia Tech, Appalachian St. vs. Michigan), but it still is shocking when it happens. Navy went to Ireland to battle the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame and got blasted 50-10. Clemson retains the 'Tigers' moniker for this season as they beat Auburn who will now be called the 'Pumas' for the remainder of the year. That would have made the game much more interesting. Penn St. lost on the field after an off season of losing off the field. As noted on Twitter, they lost again Saturday to extend a losing streak that dates back to 1998. USC (not the Gamecocks who are neither USC nor Carolina...just South or Cocks, your choice) rolled over Hawaii in their first game as #1 in the nation. West Virginia claimed their state title as they whooped Marshall and my two favorite colleges (UNC and JMU) won by a combined scored of 117-7.
6. Boise St. Broncos at Michigan St. Spartans
In one of two ranked vs. ranked match ups this weekend, two new look teams squared off in a surprising defensive battle (of sorts). Michigan St. jumped out behind Le'Veon Bell who scored early en route to 265 total yards on the night. Boise St. couldn't muster much offense at all and it was a credit to their defense, who scored their lone touchdown of the night, that the game was as close as it was. In fact Boise St. held the lead going into the 4th quarter, but after Bell scored his second touchdown of the game, Michigan St. took the lead back for good. Both teams looked offensively challenged, save for Bell and he was the difference on Saturday.
5. St. Louis Cardinals at Washington Nationals
What a series these two teams gave us. After a miserable start for the Cardinals, losing the 1st two games by a combined 18-1 score we got two classic games to end the series. After seeing their bats go dormant for 48 hours in Washington, St. Louis spotted Washington 4 runs before scoring 8 over the next three innings to take an 8-6 lead. The Nationals answered back with a three run inning, but gave up single runs in the eighth and ninth to lose 10-9. Sunday, Nationals fans got one of their final looks at Stephen Strasburg this season and he was masterful throwing six scoreless innings and left with a 2-0 lead. That didn't last long as Sean Burnett promptly gave up a 2 run homer to light hitting David Descalso who had previously been 5 for his last 58. This time it was the Nationals that were able to respond as they scratched out two runs in the bottom of the 7th and held on for a 4-3 victory and a 3 games to 1 series victory.
4. Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees
This close. The Orioles were this close to walking into Yankees Stadium and sweeping New York. Mark Reynolds hit two home runs in both the Friday and Sunday games as the Orioles outscored the struggling Yankees 14-4 in those two games. In the middle game, Baltimore was up 3-0 in the 4th and 3-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh when it all fell apart for them. With two outs and only one man on base, starting pitcher Wei-Yin Chen walk a guy and gave up a hit to cut the lead to 3-2. Pedro Strop 'relieved' him and walked the first two batters he faced to knot the game up at 3. Then when he finally threw a hittable pitch, Nick Swisher hit a ball to shortstop J.J. Hardy who booted it and allowed the go ahead, and eventual game winning run to score. Baltimore wins the series and creeps to within 2 games in the A.L. East as their dream season continues with the 4 game rematch in Baltimore starts Thursday.
3. U.S. Open Tennis
Nothing of note happened this weekend, which is good for the upcoming quarterfinals. Andy Roddick is still alive and plays next on Tuesday. The closest major upset was Maria Sharapova down 2 games to none in the third set, but she stormed back to win. Because of the length of that match and the rain delay last night, American John Isner was forced to start playing after 10 pm local time and of course his match against Philipp Kohschreiber went the full five sets and 3+ hours ending right around 2:30 in the morning. That seems quite ridiculous if I must say so. I don't understand why they can't just bring them back at 8 am because you won't get the television ratings you were expecting either way. Today another American is expected to be ousted as Mardy Fish has to play Roger Federer. Miracles can happen can't they?
2. Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers
I asked for a Detroit sweep and by God I got a Detroit sweep. The Tigers held serve on their home field behind strong starting pitching and a timely home run last night. The marquee match up was between Chris Sale and Justin Verlander yesterday and into the 6th inning it lived up to the billing. Tied at one in the bottom of the 6th inning, Sale threw one too many sliders (slurves if you listen to ESPN) to Delmon Young without changing his eye level with a high fastball (who am I to judge?) and he hit a 3 run home run. Even though Detroit has underwhelmed all season, they are still my choice to represent the American League in the World Series. Behind the one-two punches of Verlander and Max Scherzer on the mound and Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder at the plate, if they can play good enough defense I don't see anyone being able to beat them in a short series. Chicago may have seen their cushion slip away this weekend, but they will get their chance to strike back one week from today when they welcome Detroit to town for a huge 4 game series.
1. Michigan Wolverines vs. Alabama Crimson Tide
I tried to time it right on Saturday night as the wife and I watched The Dictator for our weekend movie which was actually disappointing. I figured I'd missed about 15-20 minutes of this game and that would be hardly enough to worry me, but that turned out to be quite incorrect. I flipped the game on and it was already 14-0 Alabama with 5 minutes left in the 1st quarter and I knew it was over. By the time I got back from the bathroom (too much information???) it was 21-0 and that was the last I saw of the game. Michigan kept it within 20 into the 4th quarter which sparked my curiosity knowing one of my friends had a small $1500 wager on Alabama and the 13 1/2 point spread, but the Crimson Tide scored again and he was safe. Lunch on him on Tuesday!!!!! Wake me when Alabama plays in the SEC Championship game which will probably be the BCS Championship game as well (sorry USC).
Friday, August 31, 2012
Weekend Viewing Guide 8/31/12
Finally. The summer doldrums are just about over and the best time for sports fans is upon us. Not only is baseball headed towards the playoffs, but both college football and the NFL are beginning. In a months time the NBA will be back and hopefully the NHL will be as well.
Let me say thank you to the Olympics, Euro Cup 2012, Golf majors, Tennis Grand Slams, the College World Series and last but not least Major League Baseball for getting us through a very hot summer. Baseball has been especially exciting for me as an Oakland Athletics and Washington Nationals fan. I will definitely not forgot about them come September, but with so many other options to choose from I will certainly have plenty of story lines to crow about in the next couple of months.
But enough about the next couple of months...we have a three day weekend ahead of us as the summer torch unofficially changes into the fall torch.
7. College Football (Non ranked vs. ranked games)
The first weekend of College Football is feast or famine when hoping to see a competitive game. Not every game will be LSU winning by 40 points against North Texas. There are some fun match ups to whet our palettes here in late August/early September. Teams that don't like each other very much meet up as Marshall and West Virginia square off. Clemson and Auburn will fight over which mascot gets to keep the name Tigers. Penn St. tries to return to normalcy as they begin their life post-Joe Pa and scandal against Ohio. USC starts the season #1 and welcomes Hawaii in for a warm up. One game I'm intrigued to watch will be Navy and Notre Dame playing in Ireland. With a perfect 9am start time it will be a great way to start the weekend (while at work for me).
6. Boise St. Broncos at Michigan St. Spartans
Gone are Kirk Cousins and Kellen Moore for the respective schools. With both teams starting from scratch it will be interesting to see if either team will be able to be a national contender this season. Whether successful or not this year, it is a fact that Boise St. will be leaving the Mountain West conference and heading to the Big East as of next year. Geographically challenged issues aside, it will be good for their school to finally face better competition to try and prove if they are actually as good as they think they are. This should be a rebuilding year for Boise St., but with a preseason ranking of 13 for Michigan St., hopes are high for a smooth transition from Cousins to senior quarterback Andrew Maxwell.
5. St. Louis Cardinals at Washington Nationals
A possible playoff preview in the Nation's Capital. The defending champions against a team primed to be in contention for the foreseeable future. This is a huge 4 game set for both teams. The Cardinals have been chased out of contention in the N.L. Central due to the continued excellence of the Cincinnati Reds, and are currently trying to fend off both the Pittsburgh Pirates and the L.A. Dodgers for the 2nd Wild Card spot. The Nationals have been slumping of late with a recent 5 game losing streak but starting last night, they have 11 straight games at home. They look to have a comfortable five game lead over the Atlanta Braves, but with the distraction of the Stephen Strasburg shutdown and the fact that they have never been in this position in September anything is still possible.
4. Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees
I don't think anyone had this series circled in April one that could hold the key to who will win the A.L. East, but that's why they play the games. The Orioles sit only 3 games back of the might Yankees and with a miraculous weekend they could be tied by Labor Day. The Tampa Bay Rays are right there as well sitting one game behind Baltimore and are playing lowly Toronto with hopes of keeping this a 3 way race all the way until the end of the season. Maybe this will be the weekend where New York starts to build towards the playoffs. Since going to Oakland in mid-July the Yankees are only 18-21 and have nearly squandered the 10 game lead they had at that point. Nobody seems to understand just how Baltimore is winning. I'll put it simply...their bullpen has been fantastic. Without a great bullpen you can't go 24-6 in one run games and 12-2 in extra innings like the Orioles currently are.
3. U.S. Open Tennis
With the first couple of rounds out of the way, the real tournament can now begin. Even though he probably won't be around much past this weekend, American Andy Roddick has announced he will be retiring after the U.S. Open. For nearly a decade he was the best hope for the U.S. to win in Men's Tennis Grand Slam event after Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi retired. After winning the U.S. Open in 2003, Roddick could never climb that mountain again in a Grand Slam event. As for people who could win this year all the usual suspects are around (save for Rafael Nadal who is once again nursing injuries). Federer, Novak, Serena and Sharapova are all alive and are expected to contend, but when the lights are on in New York City magical things sometimes happen and that is why we watch.
2. Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers
I'll admit it, I called the A.L. Central over long ago. I thought for sure the Tigers would have run and hid from the White Sox by now. What do I know anyways? Heading into this series Chicago still holds a 3 game lead with no signs of wavering. This series also brings us Chris Sale vs. Justin Verlander on Sunday night. As the final Sunday without the NFL to compete with, MLB has given fans the ultimate treat as a send off. Two Cy Young candidates facing each other with the division title at stake...niiiiice. I'm still saying the Tigers win the division and I still say it will be by around 4 or 5 games so sweeping Chicago this weekend might be a good start to make me look less foolish.
1. Michigan Wolverines vs. Alabama Crimson Tide
The defending champions get a real test right out of the gate as Alabama and Michigan head to Dallas Cowboys Stadium to get the first weekend of College Football started off with a bang. This will be the first time that these two school meet outside of a Bowl Game and only the fourth time ever. Senior quarterback Denard Robinson will need to be more like he was in 2010 than 2011 for Michigan to keep close. After breaking onto the scene, Robinson regressed in almost all statistical categories last season. Alabama may have lost some key pieces, but they don't rebuild, they just reload and the defense that was NFL worthy last season should be extremely stingy once again.
Let me say thank you to the Olympics, Euro Cup 2012, Golf majors, Tennis Grand Slams, the College World Series and last but not least Major League Baseball for getting us through a very hot summer. Baseball has been especially exciting for me as an Oakland Athletics and Washington Nationals fan. I will definitely not forgot about them come September, but with so many other options to choose from I will certainly have plenty of story lines to crow about in the next couple of months.
But enough about the next couple of months...we have a three day weekend ahead of us as the summer torch unofficially changes into the fall torch.
7. College Football (Non ranked vs. ranked games)
The first weekend of College Football is feast or famine when hoping to see a competitive game. Not every game will be LSU winning by 40 points against North Texas. There are some fun match ups to whet our palettes here in late August/early September. Teams that don't like each other very much meet up as Marshall and West Virginia square off. Clemson and Auburn will fight over which mascot gets to keep the name Tigers. Penn St. tries to return to normalcy as they begin their life post-Joe Pa and scandal against Ohio. USC starts the season #1 and welcomes Hawaii in for a warm up. One game I'm intrigued to watch will be Navy and Notre Dame playing in Ireland. With a perfect 9am start time it will be a great way to start the weekend (while at work for me).
6. Boise St. Broncos at Michigan St. Spartans
Gone are Kirk Cousins and Kellen Moore for the respective schools. With both teams starting from scratch it will be interesting to see if either team will be able to be a national contender this season. Whether successful or not this year, it is a fact that Boise St. will be leaving the Mountain West conference and heading to the Big East as of next year. Geographically challenged issues aside, it will be good for their school to finally face better competition to try and prove if they are actually as good as they think they are. This should be a rebuilding year for Boise St., but with a preseason ranking of 13 for Michigan St., hopes are high for a smooth transition from Cousins to senior quarterback Andrew Maxwell.
5. St. Louis Cardinals at Washington Nationals
A possible playoff preview in the Nation's Capital. The defending champions against a team primed to be in contention for the foreseeable future. This is a huge 4 game set for both teams. The Cardinals have been chased out of contention in the N.L. Central due to the continued excellence of the Cincinnati Reds, and are currently trying to fend off both the Pittsburgh Pirates and the L.A. Dodgers for the 2nd Wild Card spot. The Nationals have been slumping of late with a recent 5 game losing streak but starting last night, they have 11 straight games at home. They look to have a comfortable five game lead over the Atlanta Braves, but with the distraction of the Stephen Strasburg shutdown and the fact that they have never been in this position in September anything is still possible.
4. Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees
I don't think anyone had this series circled in April one that could hold the key to who will win the A.L. East, but that's why they play the games. The Orioles sit only 3 games back of the might Yankees and with a miraculous weekend they could be tied by Labor Day. The Tampa Bay Rays are right there as well sitting one game behind Baltimore and are playing lowly Toronto with hopes of keeping this a 3 way race all the way until the end of the season. Maybe this will be the weekend where New York starts to build towards the playoffs. Since going to Oakland in mid-July the Yankees are only 18-21 and have nearly squandered the 10 game lead they had at that point. Nobody seems to understand just how Baltimore is winning. I'll put it simply...their bullpen has been fantastic. Without a great bullpen you can't go 24-6 in one run games and 12-2 in extra innings like the Orioles currently are.
3. U.S. Open Tennis
With the first couple of rounds out of the way, the real tournament can now begin. Even though he probably won't be around much past this weekend, American Andy Roddick has announced he will be retiring after the U.S. Open. For nearly a decade he was the best hope for the U.S. to win in Men's Tennis Grand Slam event after Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi retired. After winning the U.S. Open in 2003, Roddick could never climb that mountain again in a Grand Slam event. As for people who could win this year all the usual suspects are around (save for Rafael Nadal who is once again nursing injuries). Federer, Novak, Serena and Sharapova are all alive and are expected to contend, but when the lights are on in New York City magical things sometimes happen and that is why we watch.
2. Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers
I'll admit it, I called the A.L. Central over long ago. I thought for sure the Tigers would have run and hid from the White Sox by now. What do I know anyways? Heading into this series Chicago still holds a 3 game lead with no signs of wavering. This series also brings us Chris Sale vs. Justin Verlander on Sunday night. As the final Sunday without the NFL to compete with, MLB has given fans the ultimate treat as a send off. Two Cy Young candidates facing each other with the division title at stake...niiiiice. I'm still saying the Tigers win the division and I still say it will be by around 4 or 5 games so sweeping Chicago this weekend might be a good start to make me look less foolish.
1. Michigan Wolverines vs. Alabama Crimson Tide
The defending champions get a real test right out of the gate as Alabama and Michigan head to Dallas Cowboys Stadium to get the first weekend of College Football started off with a bang. This will be the first time that these two school meet outside of a Bowl Game and only the fourth time ever. Senior quarterback Denard Robinson will need to be more like he was in 2010 than 2011 for Michigan to keep close. After breaking onto the scene, Robinson regressed in almost all statistical categories last season. Alabama may have lost some key pieces, but they don't rebuild, they just reload and the defense that was NFL worthy last season should be extremely stingy once again.
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