Armchair Weekend in Review (December 7-9, 2007)

Kind of a light weekend these past three days, but let's look back just the same...

NFL Week 14

All but one of the NFC's division titles were settled on Sunday:

The Dallas Cowboys wrapped up the NFC East, but needed a fourth-quarter comeback to do the job. The Pokes scored 14 unanswered points, capped when Tony Romo found Jason Witten in the end zone for a 28-27 win over the Detroit Lions.

The Seattle Seahawks' NFC West title seemed improbable earlier in the season, but it became reality as the Hawks pounded the Arizona Cardinals, 42-21. Matt Hasselbeck contributed with 272 yards and a career-high four touchdowns.

The Green Bay Packers had no trouble handling the Oakland Raiders, 38-7, and clinched the NFC North title in the process.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, however, had no such luck in putting away the NFC South. Luke McCown followed up a spectacular performance with a bruising game in which he was sacked three times and helped the Houston Texans' 28-14 double-up. Also noteworthy: Andre Davis (FROM...Niskayuna, New York) starting the second half with a 97-yard kickoff return.

Elsewhere in the NFL:

The New England Patriots made Anthony Smith put his foot in his mouth as Tom Brady threw for a yard shy of 400 and got four TDs, two of which found Randy Moss (three away from tying Jerry Rice's single-season record), in a 34-13 burning of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The New York Giants kept their playoff aspirations afloat thanks to a comeback of their own in Philadelphia. Big Blue can thank Philadelphia Eagles kicker David Akers for coming up a dime short in a 57-yard field goal attempt to seal the deal, 16-13. All this wouldn't have been possible hadn't Eli Manning hooked up with Plaxico Burress in the third quarter.

Peyton Manning reached yet another milestone in his NFL career on Sunday night; Manning's four TD passes contained the 300th of his career as the Indianapolis Colts rolled over the Baltimore Ravens, 44-20.

Saturday was a banner day for the Reading Football Club. Playing host to FAPL juggernaut Liverpool at Madejski Stadium, the Royals got a penalty goal from Stephen Hunt, Kevin Doyle and James Harper to score its first win over the Premiership's "Big Four" (Reds, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester United.)

Speaking of two of the Big Four, the Gunners got a surprise 2-1 loss away at Middlesbrough. Couple that with a Devils' 4-1 blowout of Derby County, and the top-of-the-table tilt is on.

On behalf of UK users (and visitors) to AGM, our congratulations to Sir Bobby Robson on winning the Lifetime Achievement Award at Sunday's BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards. The main prize went to boxer Joe Calzaghe, followed by F1 rookie sensation Lewis Hamilton and fellow pugilist Ricky Hatton (who lost to Floyd Mayweather Saturday night in Las Vegas).

Just when things couldn't get any worse for the New York Knicks, they did Saturday night as they were booed off the court after a 105-77 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Georgetown head coach John Thompson III had every reason to give his team the "scary good" label, as the fifth-ranked Hoyas easil handled Jacksonville 87-55 thanks to 15 points off the bench by freshman guard Austin Freeman.

Some of the New York Rangers played for the New Jersey Devils at one point or another in their careers, and there were two that contributed to the latest chapter in this rivalry. Scott Gomez fed Brendan Shanahan for the 1-0 overtime win on Sunday; in fact, it was the only goal of the entire game (obviously).

It was a hell of a night for Nashville Predators forward Jordin Tootoo on Saturday. In the span of four minutes of ice time, Tootoo scored the first goal of the game, got an assist on a Ryan Suter lamplighter, and got in a brawl with Anaheim Ducks defenseman Joe DiPenta. BTW, the Preds won the game, 4-2.

...to Tim Tebow for becoming the first sophomore ever to win the Heisman Trophy. The Florida quarterback scored over 20 touchdowns both in the air and on the ground. If he keeps this up, he could become the first back-to-back winner in over 30 years and maybe the first (and only) ever to win in three years in a row. Arkansas running back Darren McFadden was the bridesmaid yet again, finishing as the runner-up ahead of Hawaii's Colt Brennan and Chase Daniel of Missouri.

...to Mac Danzig, who you'll soon see in the UFC thanks to his making quick work of Tommy Speer in the finale of The Ultimate Fighter 6 on Saturday via a rear naked choke submission two minutes into the first round.

David N. Arsenault of Grinnell College, who smashed the NCAA record for assists, getting 34 dimes in a 151-112 win over Central University (Minnesota) in a Division III game. Arsenault, the Grinnell coach's son, bested the previous record by eight assists.