Armchair Weekend in Review (November 2-4, 2007)
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by JB82
A good deal to get to here, so let's get on with the recap...
NFL Week 9
- It was the matchup billed as "Super Bowl XLI 1/2", pitting the two best teams in the NFL and their two high-powered quarterbacks. Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts looked as though they would put the kibosh on the New England Patriots' bid for an undefeated season, holding a 20-10 lead in the fourth quarter. If this game were a Hollywood film, the title would've been Rocky, with Tom Brady in the title role and Peyton Manning as Apollo Creed. However, just when he was on the ropes and done for, Rocky came fighting back as Brady hooked up with Kevin Faulk for the 13-yard winning score late, and landed the knockout when Roosevelt Colvin picked up a Manning fumble. The Pats got the win, 24-20, but this reporter is sure that Rocky (Sly Stallone) didn't get any help from the refs...
- Andy Reid has seemingly gone through hell during the past week, what with his two sons running afoul of the law with drugs 'n'at. Somehow, this may have carried over into the Philadelphia Eagles' Sunday night matchup against the Dallas Cowboys. Tony Romo threw for 324 yards snd three scores in the Cowboys' 38-17 win.
- Talk about a beatdown! The Detroit Lions scored a 44-7 win over the Denver Broncos, the big highlight being Shaun Rogers' 66-yard interception return for a touchdown.
- A scary moment to report from Sunday's game between the Cincinatti Bengals and the Buffalo Bills: late in the fourth quarter, Bengals wideout Chad Johnson suffered a neck injury after colliding with two Bills defenders. Johnson lay stiff as a board for a few minutes while EMTs loaded him onto a stretcher and carried him off the field. There was some good news though, as Johnson's neck soon felt fine, and was able to fly home with the team. By the way, the Bills won the game, 33-21, behind 153 yards rushing and an eight-yard touchdown pass from rookie running back Marshawn Lynch.
CFL Week 10
- LSU had the second known comeback of the weekend, snatching victory from the jaws of a 34-27 deficit to beat Alabama, 41-34. Matt Flynn overcame three sacks and three picks to throw for 353 yards in the win.
- The Bayou Bengals got the number 2 spot in the latest BCS rankings thanks to Boston College's 27-17 loss to Florida State at home. Matt Ryan severly injured his Heisman Trophy hopes with three picks, the last of which sealed the win for the Seminoles and ended the Eagles' bid for its first 9-0 season since 1940.
- Another undefeated bid that came to an end was that of #6 Arizona State. Dennis Erickson's squad suffered its first loss at the hands of the fourth-ranked Oregon Ducks in Eugene, 35-23. Dennis Dixon got four touchdowns despite only 189 yards passing, while Jonathan Stewart got one yard shy of the century mark on the ground.
- Michigan has turned their season around after a surprise loss at home to Appalachian State and a pantsing against the Ducks; further edification came with a 28-24 comeback win over in-state rival Michigan State. Wolverines wideout Mario Manningham (how's that for alliteration?) caught eight passes for 129 yards and two scores, the last of which brought Michigan ahead to stay.
- Talk about a dry spell! Navy had not beaten Notre Dame since 1963, which amounts to 43 annual matchups between then and last Saturday in South Bend. The Midshipmen had been dueling it out with the Irish, and managed to send the game into overtime tied at 28. Both Navy and the USS Charlie Weis soon engaged in a massive gunfight, but Navy finally sunk the Irish battleship when their defense snuffed out a two-point conversion to win 46-44 in triple overtime, 44 years to the weekend they last beat ND.
Over the border
- Milt Stegall's chase for history will have to wait for another year; the Winnipeg Blue Bombers slotback got only 51 yards on two receptions, finishing the regular season with 14,695 yards, just under 200 yards shy of Allen Pitts' all-time record. By the way, the Bombers defeated the Montreal Alouettes, 20-17. These two teams will meet again next week in the first round of the CFL playoffs.
- The Toronto Argonauts clinched the East division with a 41-13 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The Argos get a first-round bye, along with the BC Lions, who withstood a Jeremaine Copeland touchdown four minutes into the fourth quarter for a 25-24 win over the Calgary Stampeders.
- Warren Kern scored ten points (making three of four field goals), but it was too much, too little, to late as the Edmonton Eskimos fell two points shy, 21-19, over the Hamilton Tiger Cats.
Across the pond
- William Gallas had kind of a topsy-turvy day for Arsenal on Saturday; the Gunners defender put one in his own net at the end of the first halfm but made up for it at the end by netting the equalizer in injury time, 2-2, against Manchester United. Both clubs are one-two in the Premiership standings after the weekend's action, three points behind Chelsea, who shut out Wigan, 2-0/
- Portsmouth are off to another good start, just like last year, adding on with a 4-1 win over Newcastle United. With the possible exception of Sol Campbell's own goal in the 16th minute, Pompey essentially pitched a shutout.
Fast Track
- I mentioned last week that Jimmie Johnson still had the points lead after last week's race in Atlanta. Well, the truth was that Johnson was nine points BEHIND Jeff Gordon. Well, Johnson tagged a threepeat with a win in the Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, and got a 52-point lead in the standings with two races left.
- Staying in NASCAR, kudos to Carl Edwards, who clinched the last NASCAR Busch Series championship. Nationwide Insurance will take over sponsorship of the series starting next season.
- While Dani Pedrosa won the MotoGP finale in front of his fellow countrymen in Valencia, Spain, Australian Casey Stoner confirmed what many of us suspected during the year: he is for real. Stoner won the 2007 FIM Road Racing World Championship by a clear margin over Pedrosa, who held off the now ex-champion Valentino Rossi by one point for second place.
NBA season openers
- The Boston Celtics got what may be their most anticipated season yet off to a fast start with a 103-83 win over the Washington Wizards. New acquisition Kevin Garnett got 22 points and 20 rebounds, while new running mate Paul Pierce led the C's with 28. Another new acquisition, Ray Allen, nailed a crucial three-pointer two days later to defeat the Toronto Raptors. Sunday also saw the temporary departure of their head coach Doc Rivers after the passing of his father.
- While rumors still swirled about whether or not he would be traded, Kobe Bryant got a double-double (16 points and 11 boards) as the Los Angeles Lakers got by the Phoenix Suns, 119-98.
- The two people for whom Bryant would've been traded, Luol Deng and Ben Gordon, combined for 35 points in the Chicago Bulls' 96-85 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
- The New York Knicks departed their tumultous offseason, and picked up their losing ways from last season, falling to LeBron James (45 points and all) and the Cleveland Cavaliers, 110-106. Then on Sunday, the Knicks opened up the Madison Square Garden portion of their 2007-2008 season with a 99-95 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Odds and Sods (with a hint of Kudos)
- Kudos to Martin Lel and Paula Radcliffe, who won their respective divisions of the 2007 New York City Marathon. Lel brought Kenya back to marathon prominence, while the Englishwoman Radcliffe nearly equaled her personal best, finishing with a time of 2:23:09, just one second off her winning time three years ago.
- However, there was tragedy the day before the race: Ryan Shay, 28, collapsed at the end of the US Olympic Trials in Central Park. Autopsy results on a former nine-time All-American at Notre Dame are still a mystery at press time.
- Our concerns to Arizona men's head basketball coach Lute Olson, who is taking a leave of absence due to external problems. Assistant coach Kevin O'Neill will take over the ship until Olson returns.
- It seems as though Al Arbour wanted so much to coach his 1,500th game, he wound up asking permission from New York Islanders coach Ted Nolan to do it. Well, it was worth it, as the man behind the Isles' early-1980s dynasty won the 740th of his 1,500 career games in a 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, it wasn't all celebration as goalie Rick DiPietro left the game after being hit in his right eye by a Penguins stick.
Whip out the D's (get yr mind out of the gutter)
Dude of the Weekend
Make that "Dudes of the Weekend": There was one game which saw the following two feats. As the first half wound down, San Diego Chargers defender Antonio Cromartie (I don't know why I munged up his first name last week) caught a missed field goal and ran it 109 yards to the house. Cromartie pushed Chicago Bears Nathan Vasher and Devin Hester off the record books for the longest play in NFL history bar none.
- Also, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson ran for 296 yards on thirty carries to break Jamal Lewis' single-game rushing record, but the Vikes got the win in this game, doubling up the Bolts 34-17.
Dope of the Weekend
Nebraska head coach Bill Callahan: When you give up 76 points to a team like Kansas, you deserve to get shown the door in Lincoln. It hasn't happened yet, but it looks all the more likely.
That's all for this week
Until next time, let's all be good sports.
