Sunday Sports from A to Z - 12/22/13 Edition

A is for Andy Dalton. The Red Rocket threw for 366 yards and 4 touchdown passes as the Cincinnati Bengals routed the Minnesota Vikings 42-14 today. The win clinched a playoff berth for Cincinnati and marked the first time in Bengals history that they've clinched a playoff berth in three consecutive seasons.

Photo Credit: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2013/12/22

B is for Bowl Games. The Bowl Season kicked off on Saturday with four games. Colorado State scored 18 unanswered points in the final 3 minutes of the Gildan New Mexico Bowl as the Rams rallied to shock Washington State 48-45. Sophomore running back Kapri Bibbs ran for 169 yards and 3 touchdowns in the win, while Washington State's Connor Halliday threw for 410 yards and 6 touchdown passes in a losing effort... 25th ranked USC jumped out to a 35-6 halftime lead over Fresno State and cruised to a 45-20 win in the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl. Quarterback Cody Kessler threw for 344 yards and 4 scores to lead the Trojans... The San Diego State Aztecs routed Buffalo 49-24 behind 229 yards and 3 touchdowns from junior running back Adam Muema in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl... Finally, in an interstate showdown at the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, a missed 48 yard field goal with 9 seconds left allowed the University of Louisiana-Lafayette to hang on for a 24-21 win over Tulane. Tulane Senior running back Orleans Darkwa tied a career high with 3 rushing touchdowns in a losing effort.

Photo Credit: http://campusinsiders.com

C is for Champions League Draw. The Champions League draw for the Round of 16 is set with some big-time match-ups now on the slate. Here's a rundown of the eight pairings: Manchester City (England) vs Barcelona (Spain), Bayer Leverkusen (Germany) vs Paris Saint-Germain (France), AC Milan (Italy) vs Atletico Madrid (Spain), Arsenal (England) vs Bayern Munich (Germany), Zenit St Petersburg (Russia) vs Borussia Dortmund (Germany), Galatasaray (Turkey) vs Chelsea (England), Olympiakos (Greece) vs Manchester United (England), and Schalke 04 (Germany) vs Real Madrid (Spain). Some of the highlights involve Didier Drogba (Galatasaray) taking on his former club Chelsea and German star Mesut Özil (Arsenal) getting matched up with the German Champions Bayern Munich. Bayern Munich knocked out Arsenal in the first round of last year's tournament en route to the title. 

Photo Credit: http://www.eastbengaltherealpower.com

Sunday Sports from A to Z, 12/15/13 Edition

A is for Asiata. With injuries to running backs Adrian Peterson and Toby Gerhart, the Minnesota Vikings were forced to turn to Matt Asiata in their tilt against the Philadelphia Eagles today. Asiata, undrafted out of Utah, entered the day with 3 carries in his CAREER, and none of those coming in 2013. The result? THIRTY carries for 51 yards (not that impressive), but hold on... THREE touchdowns. He also added 3 catches for 15 yards. I know Asiata isn't going to make anyone forget about Adrian Peterson, but Peterson hasn't rushed for 3 scores in a game since October of 2011.

Photo Credit: http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2013/12/15

B is for Ballon d'Or. The three finalists for the prestigious Ballon d'Or award have been announced by FIFA: Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), France's Franck Ribéry (Bayern Munich) and Argentina's Lionel Messi (Barcelona). Messi has won the award every year since its inception in 2010 but, thanks in large part to a torn thigh muscle, is considered to be out of the running meaning Ronaldo and Ribéry are the two front runners. While Ronaldo is no surprise having been the award's runner-up the past two years, the 30 year old Ribéry is a bit of an aberration. A staple with Bayern Munich since 2007, the French winger helped lead Bayern to wins in the Champions League, and DFB Pokal (German Tournament) as well as first place in the Bundesliga this past year. The winner will be announced in January at the Ballon d’Or award ceremony at the Kongresshaus in Zurich.

Photo Credit: http://www.uefa.org/uefa-best-player-award/news

C is for Club World Cup. We're down to the Final Four in the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup: Guangzhou Evergrande (China), Bayern Munich (Germany), Raja Casablanca (Morocco), and Atlético Mineiro (Brazil). Raja Casablanca, the host club for this year's tournament, has pulled off a pair of upsets so far, knocking off OFC Champions Auckland City (New Zealand), and CONCACAF Champions Monterey (Mexico) by identical 2-1 margins. Guangzhou Evergrande punched their ticket to the semis by defeating Egyptian club, and the African champs, Al-Ahly 2-0. Monterey and Al-Ahly will now face one another for 5th place while the semifinal match-ups will feature Bayern Munich and Guangzhou Evergrande, and Atlético Mineiro and Raja Casablanca. Since the rebirth of the Championship back in 2005, only one country from outside of South America or Europe has reached the finals: TP Mazembe from the Democratic Republic of the Congo back in 2010.

Photo Credit: http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/sports/article

Monterrey Wins Second Straight Champions League Title

Photo Credit: mlssoccer.com

While it might not have grabbed the headlines the way European clubs Chelsea and Bayern Munich did this week, Monterrey still has a lot to be happy about as they won a second consecutive CONCACAF Champions League title yesterday holding off Herculez Gomez and Santos Laguna by an aggregate score of 3-2. Chilean striker Humberto Suazo scored both goals in the first leg as Monterrey jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but Santos battled back in round 2 getting goals from Daniel Ludueña and Oribe Peralta to even things up. In the end it was Argentinian Neri Cardozo who would be the hero for Monterrey as his shot deflected off a defender and into the net for the series winner in the 82nd minute. Monterrey now advances to the Club World Cup in Japan for a second straight year. Monterrey finished 5th in the tournament 2011 losing to Kashiwa Reysol (Japan) on penalties before beating Espérance (Tunisia) 3-2 in the consolation bracket. Monterrey is the first team to clinch a berth in this year's Club World Cup with six open spots remaining. These berths will go to the winners of the 2012 AFC Champions League, 2012 CAF Champions League, 2012 Copa Libertadores, 2011–12 OFC Champions League, 2011–12 UEFA Champions League and the 2012 J. League Division 1.


First Leg Highlights:




Second Leg Highlights:

David Villa Breaks Leg in Club World Cup Semis

Barcelona cruised to a 4-0 win in the Club World Cup Semifinals against Al-Sadd (Qatar), but it came at a high price as striker David Villa sustained a broken leg in the win and is out indefinitely. Villa was replaced by 22 year old Chilean striker Alexis Sánchez while 20 year old Isaac Cuenca also saw time up top in the match. Villa hadn't been in top form this year coming off the bench nearly as often as he started in La Liga play, but he's still been a strong finisher netting 5 goals in league play and 3 more in the Champions League. His loss will put a lot more pressure on the youngsters up front as they try to keep pace with Real Madrid moving forward.

Photo Credit: metro.co.uk

As for the match, Adriano scored a pair of goals in the first half while Seydou Keita and Maxwell each scored after the intermission as Barcelona won easily in advancing to the finals. They'll be opposed by Santos FC from Brazil after they knocked off Kashiwa Reysol (Japan) 3-1 in the other semifinal. Brazil's latest sensation, the 19 year old Neymar, opened the scoring while Borges and Danilo added goals in the win.

Photo Credit: vtc.vn

The final will be played on Sunday and will feature the highly anticipated matchup of two of South America's biggest stars in Neymar and Lionel Messi. Neymar already has 8 goals for Brazil's senior national team prior to his 20th birthday while scoring 24 for Santos this year in all competitions. While some would say he's ready to be in the same conversation as Messi, he still has a ways to go before he surpasses the Barcelona striker from Argentina. While Messi hasn't dominated at the international level (just 19 goals in 66 appearances), his contributions at the club level have been unparalleled. Messi scored 53 goals last season for Barcelona including 12 in the Champions League and 31 in La Liga, and already has another 27 goals this year in just 25 games. And at 24 years old, he's still really only just getting started. That said, a win for Neymar and Santos would certainly close the gap between the two and make for a more interesting conversation.