I’m still recuperating from a weekend filled with good friends, good food, good wine and of course good football. So, let me get straight to a few highlights.
College Weekend.
Auburn is #1. The Tigers put away Alabama 28 – 27. They now have the top spot in the BCS and will play for the SEC Championship this weekend.
Boise State loss a close game to Nevada, 34-31. The loss closed the door on their hopes to play in the BCS Championship Game and opened the door for #4 Stanford,
#5 Wisconsin, #6 Ohio State, #7 Arkansas, #8 Michigan State and #9 Oklahoma to move up. Arkansas and Oklahoma entered the top 10 after beating LSU and Oklahoma State respectively.
The Big Ten title is a three-way tie this year. Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan State all ended the regular season with 11-1 records. Big Ten Conference Championship game can’t come fast enough.
NFL Week 12
The Thanksgiving Day games went as expected. The New York Jets beat Cincinnati, New Orleans beat Dallas and New England played with Detroit before Tom Brady crushed them.
A lot of fans and people close to the sport, believe that the Thanksgiving game should be taken away from the Lions and replaced with a game that has playoff implications. The Lions overall have not been that bad on Turkey Day. They are 33-35-2. The problem is that in the last 10 years the Lions have only won twice and the 8 losses were nowhere near competitive. From a business standpoint, I think rotating the game could build some excitement and generate more interest on a day where people have all day to eat and watch football. Personally, I’m tired of people complaining to me about their desire to watch a good game on Thanksgiving instead of my Lions.
Reminder to everyone: I’m from Michigan. I don’t have a NFL team. I liked the Bears, Cowboys and 49ers growing up. I do not own the Lions nor am I the commissioner of the NFL. Send your concerns to Mr. Roger Goodell.
After Turkey Day…
Brett Favre had a good day with new Minnesota Vikings Head Coach, Leslie Frazier making the decisions. Without throwing a touchdown pass, Favre still led the Vikings to a 17-13 victory over the Washington Redskins. McNabb started off the game well. The Redskins’ first score was a touchdown pass. By the end of the game, he had an interception and was sacked four times. The Redskins are now 5-6.
Michael Vick’s 333 passing yards and two touchdowns were not enough to get Philadelphia a win against the Chicago Bears. The Bears defense discovered a way to stop Vick. They intercepted one of his passes and sacked him four times. Chicago won, 31 – 26.
The Buffalo Bills almost pulled a big upset against an AFC leader, Pittsburgh Steelers. After two consecutive wins (their only victories this season), Buffalo was prepared to make a statement. They scared the Steelers and forced overtime with just two seconds left in the game. Pittsburgh finally won the game with a little more than two minutes left in overtime, 19–16.
Are you ready for some football?
Monday Night Football is out west again this week. The San Francisco 49ers are traveling to University of Phoenix Stadium to play the Arizona Cardinals. They are in the same division, NFC West. They have the same record, 3-7. They suffered embarrassing losses last week by more than 21 points. (San Fran did not even get on the scoreboard.) The situation looks bad for both teams, but all hope should not be gone. This is not the result of a superstar addition or new coach. 49ers and Cardinals fans can still be optimistic because the NFC West is weak. The “leaders” in this division, Seattle and St. Louis, are tied at 5-6. So, this game still has some value. Both teams have the potential to make it to the playoffs. As their records illustrate, neither team has done anything impressive this year. However, San Fran is 12 in the league on defense while Arizona is 29. Despite an ugly loss last weekend to Tampa Bay, the 49ers are undefeated with Troy Smith starting at quarterback. We may see some great moves from Arizona wide receiver, Larry Fitzgerald, but I don’t expect much else from the Cardinals. I’m picking San Fran. Honestly, it’s not because of the defense or Troy Smith. It’s nostalgia. Joe Montana. Steve Young. Jerry Rice. Deion Sanders. I loved those guys.
Ciao!
Heels & Helmets®
My Thanksgiving football weekend was a split. College-wise my alma mater's legendary coach Joe Paterno took one on the chin, but still retains his all time standings in college ball. Pro-wise say what you want about my hometown Steelers. A "W" is a "W" : - )
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