Tuesday, January 4, 2011
19 out of 20 for the Heat
The Heat improved to 28-9 on the season tonight with their 7th straight win, a 101-89 triumph over the Milwaukee Bucks who played their 7th straight game without their leading scorer, Brandon Jennings. The Heat continued to get it done on the defensive end holding the Bucks to below 40% from the field, but now they're starting to get it done on the glass as well outrebounding Milwaukee 47-34. Chris Bosh led the way with 12 boards, Erick Dampier added 9 in 20 minutes off the bench and 5 other members of the Heat pulled down at least 4. This is not good news for the rest of the NBA. Add to this the fact that Udonis Haslem started his rehab today and may be available for the postseason and things just keep getting better for Miami. And all this has come without Mike Miller getting going yet. In 6 games since coming back from his injury, Miller has hit just 1 of 13 shots (that's 8% in case you were wondering) and has missed all 6 of his 3-point attempts. As he commands the 4th highest salary on the team this season ($5M), the Heat would obviously like to see more out of him, but considering they're 19-1 in their last 20, it doesn't really appear to matter right now.
Why I'm a Terrible Gambler
You would think with as much as I know about sports I would know not to bet on teams just because I WANT them to win, but to actually take the time to figure out if they're the better team. Tonight is a classic example. Ohio State vs Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl. I do not like Ohio State. I don't know what it is about them, but they're just not a team I pull for. Ever. Against anyone. So when my buddy JP, the diehard Ohio State fan asked me if I wanted to bet on the game tonight, I of course accepted and put $20 on Arkansas. Now Arkansas is a very good team, but I didn't really have a lot to support my reasons for picking them. When you consider that Terrelle Pryor is a very similar player to Auburn quarterback Cam Newton, and note that in that game Newton had 328 total yards and 4 touchdowns and the Auburn offense put up 65 points, you could see how maybe picking the Razorbacks would be considered unwise. Whoops. So it probably shouldn't have come as a shock to me that it was 28-7 Buckeyes in the 2nd quarter. But because sports are cruel sometimes, the sports gods let Arkansas come all the way back to make it 31-26, block a punt in the final minute and recover it in the redzone... and then turn the ball over for the first time all game. !#)*@%@!!! And now I'm out $20. Oh well.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Introducing Coby Fleener
Andrew Luck may be the one that everyone is talking about following Stanford's 40-12 victory over Virginia Tech tonight, but Senior Tight End Coby Fleener had a lot to do with Stanford's Orange Bowl win. Prior to tonight's game, Fleener had not caught more than 4 passes in a game all season. His biggest offensive output in any one game was against Notre Dame where he tallied 57 yards on 4 receptions and his longest play from scrimmage was a 36 yard touchdown against Oregon. Tonight was a different story though. Fleener broke out with 6 catches for 173 yards and 3 touchdowns of 41, 58 and 38 yards. Over the previous 8 games, Fleener had only 154 yards total. Gotta love when players step up for big games.
Basketball Heating up in Florida
For all the talk I did earlier about the struggling Magic and Heat, it seems both teams have righted their respective ships. Two days after ending San Antonio's 10 game winning streak, the Magic came back and ended the Celtics 14 game winning streak on Christmas Day. And now with a win over Golden State tonight, their winning streak has reached 6 games. All 3 of the major additions to the Magic have been contributing as well. During the 6 game streak, Gilbert Arenas is averaging 11.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 5.5 assists. Jason Richardson is averaging 13.8 points and 4.7 rebounds and has a pair of 20 point games. And perhaps most exciting for the Magic is that Hedo Turkoglu is averaging 13.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.7 assists and tonight against Golden State he turned in a triple double (10 pts, 14 rebs, 10 assts). Next up for the Magic, home games against Milwaukee Wednesday and Houston Friday before traveling to Dallas to take on the banged up Mavericks on Saturday.
The Heat meanwhile are in the process of another big winning streak. After their 12 game streak was snapped at home against Dallas, the Heat got right back on track and with a win over the Charlotte Bobcats tonight, they too have won 6 in a row, and more impressively 18 of 19. The biggest reason for their newfound success? The ability of Lebron James and Dwyane Wade to coexist on the court together. Over the last 19 games, both stars have stepped up their play. Wade is averaging nearly 28 points, over 7 rebounds and a shade under 4.5 assists while James is averaging over 26 points, nearly 8 rebounds and nearly 7 assists. It doesn't hurt to have Chris Bosh putting up 19 and 9 either. The Heat have an upcoming home and home against the Milwaukee Bucks playing them in Miami tomorrow night before traveling to Wisconsin on Friday and then wrap up the week in Portland on Sunday.
The Heat meanwhile are in the process of another big winning streak. After their 12 game streak was snapped at home against Dallas, the Heat got right back on track and with a win over the Charlotte Bobcats tonight, they too have won 6 in a row, and more impressively 18 of 19. The biggest reason for their newfound success? The ability of Lebron James and Dwyane Wade to coexist on the court together. Over the last 19 games, both stars have stepped up their play. Wade is averaging nearly 28 points, over 7 rebounds and a shade under 4.5 assists while James is averaging over 26 points, nearly 8 rebounds and nearly 7 assists. It doesn't hurt to have Chris Bosh putting up 19 and 9 either. The Heat have an upcoming home and home against the Milwaukee Bucks playing them in Miami tomorrow night before traveling to Wisconsin on Friday and then wrap up the week in Portland on Sunday.
Big Ten Disaster
New Year's Day 2011 will forever be remembered as just an absolute disaster for the Big Ten Conference. Five of the conferences teams played in bowl games on Saturday, and all 5 of them lost giving up an average 41 points per game. Co-Champions Wisconsin and Michigan State both fell as did Michigan, Penn State and Northwestern. The Big Ten now has a 2-5 record in Bowl Games this season with just Ohio State left to play. Here's a look at the carnage:
Michigan State was absolutely manhandled by Alabama 49-7. The Spartans didn't even get on the board until there were under 6 minutes to go in the 4th quarter and they were outgained on the day 546-171. Most of the damage was done on the ground as the Tide combined for 275 yards and 6 touchdowns with 4 different players scoring on running plays including two by Mark Ingram.
Michigan got off to a quick start in their game against Mississippi State taking a 14-10 lead into the second quarter, but that was it for them and the Bulldogs scored 42 unanswered over the final three quarters. Junior quarterback Chris Relf threw 3 touchdown passes and ran for another score while junior Vick Ballard ran for 3 more touchdowns as Mississippi State gave Michigan their worst bowl loss EVER. Michigan was 2/10 on 3rd down and 0/5 on 4th down. By contrast, Mississippi State converted 5 4th downs in as many tries.
Florida picked off Penn St. sophomore Matt McGloin 5 times en route to a 37-24 win in the Outback Bowl. The Nittany Lions led 24-20 going into the 4th quarter, but the Gators took the lead on a 1 yard touchdown run from Mike Gillislee and iced the game when Ahmad Black returned his second interception of the day for an 80 yard score with under a minute to go.
Northwestern came back from being down 31-9 to make it a 7 point game on two occasions, but fell short against Texas Tech in the Ticketcity Bowl 45-38. The Red Raiders threw the ball all over the field as Senior quarterback Taylor Potts went 43/56 for 369 yards and 4 scores as Texas Tech totalled 552 yards of total offense. The Wildcats lost their 8th straight bowl game and haven't won one since 1949.
Wisconsin put up the best fight of any of the 5 Big Ten teams in play but still managed to lose the Rose Bowl to TCU 21-19 allowing the Horned Frogs to become the first school from a non-automatic qualifying conference to win it. The Badgers trailed for most of the game and they missed a chance to tie the score in the 4th quarter when a two-point conversion attempt was batted down by linebacker Tank Carder. Wisconsin dominated the game in time of possession and outgained the Horned Frogs on the ground 226-82, but at the end of the day, it wasn't enough to stop Andrew Dalton and undefeated TCU who finishes the season 13-0.
Michigan State was absolutely manhandled by Alabama 49-7. The Spartans didn't even get on the board until there were under 6 minutes to go in the 4th quarter and they were outgained on the day 546-171. Most of the damage was done on the ground as the Tide combined for 275 yards and 6 touchdowns with 4 different players scoring on running plays including two by Mark Ingram.
Michigan got off to a quick start in their game against Mississippi State taking a 14-10 lead into the second quarter, but that was it for them and the Bulldogs scored 42 unanswered over the final three quarters. Junior quarterback Chris Relf threw 3 touchdown passes and ran for another score while junior Vick Ballard ran for 3 more touchdowns as Mississippi State gave Michigan their worst bowl loss EVER. Michigan was 2/10 on 3rd down and 0/5 on 4th down. By contrast, Mississippi State converted 5 4th downs in as many tries.
Florida picked off Penn St. sophomore Matt McGloin 5 times en route to a 37-24 win in the Outback Bowl. The Nittany Lions led 24-20 going into the 4th quarter, but the Gators took the lead on a 1 yard touchdown run from Mike Gillislee and iced the game when Ahmad Black returned his second interception of the day for an 80 yard score with under a minute to go.
Northwestern came back from being down 31-9 to make it a 7 point game on two occasions, but fell short against Texas Tech in the Ticketcity Bowl 45-38. The Red Raiders threw the ball all over the field as Senior quarterback Taylor Potts went 43/56 for 369 yards and 4 scores as Texas Tech totalled 552 yards of total offense. The Wildcats lost their 8th straight bowl game and haven't won one since 1949.
Wisconsin put up the best fight of any of the 5 Big Ten teams in play but still managed to lose the Rose Bowl to TCU 21-19 allowing the Horned Frogs to become the first school from a non-automatic qualifying conference to win it. The Badgers trailed for most of the game and they missed a chance to tie the score in the 4th quarter when a two-point conversion attempt was batted down by linebacker Tank Carder. Wisconsin dominated the game in time of possession and outgained the Horned Frogs on the ground 226-82, but at the end of the day, it wasn't enough to stop Andrew Dalton and undefeated TCU who finishes the season 13-0.
And the "Winners" are...
Introducing the 2011 NFC West Division Champions, your Seattle Seahawks who will host a playoff game with a record of... 7-9? It's true. With a 16-6 win over the Rams last night, the Seahawks become the first team to win a division with a losing record in NFL history. Some more fun Seahawks facts:
*The Seahawks allowed opponents to score at least 31 points 8 times this season. For the year they were outscored 407-310. Only 7 teams allowed more points than the Seahawks, none of whom made the postseason: Dallas 436, Carolina 408, Arizona 434, Buffalo 425, Jacksonville 419, Houston 427, Denver 471.
*Seattle quarterbacks combined to throw 20 interceptions against just 14 touchdowns. By comparison, their opponents threw 31 touchdown passes and just 12 interceptions as the Seahawks boast the league's 27th best pass defense.
*Seattle did not have a running back gain 100 yards in a game all season. Their 1424 yards gained on the ground rank 31st in the NFL, ahead of only Arizona.
*Seattle's #1 Wide Receiver Mike Williams did not play in an NFL game the previous two seasons. Seattle had Deion Branch for the first four weeks of the season but traded him to New England for a draft pick. Branch went on to catch 5 touchdowns (more than any Seattle receiver) for the Patriots after the trade.
*Running Back Leon Washington was tied for the most kickoff returns for touchdown in the NFL this year with 3.
*While Matt Hasselbeck is the clear #1 quarterback when healthy, it was Charlie Whitehurst who led the Seahawks to their playoff clinching win over the Rams. Whitehurst, a 3rd round pick by the Chargers in 2006 had not thrown an NFL pass before this season.
*Seattle will host New Orleans this weekend. During the regular season the two teams met in New Orleans and the Saints won 34-19. Drew Brees threw for 382 yards and 4 touchdowns despite not having Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush or Jeremy Shockey available.
*The Seahawks allowed opponents to score at least 31 points 8 times this season. For the year they were outscored 407-310. Only 7 teams allowed more points than the Seahawks, none of whom made the postseason: Dallas 436, Carolina 408, Arizona 434, Buffalo 425, Jacksonville 419, Houston 427, Denver 471.
*Seattle quarterbacks combined to throw 20 interceptions against just 14 touchdowns. By comparison, their opponents threw 31 touchdown passes and just 12 interceptions as the Seahawks boast the league's 27th best pass defense.
*Seattle did not have a running back gain 100 yards in a game all season. Their 1424 yards gained on the ground rank 31st in the NFL, ahead of only Arizona.
*Seattle's #1 Wide Receiver Mike Williams did not play in an NFL game the previous two seasons. Seattle had Deion Branch for the first four weeks of the season but traded him to New England for a draft pick. Branch went on to catch 5 touchdowns (more than any Seattle receiver) for the Patriots after the trade.
*Running Back Leon Washington was tied for the most kickoff returns for touchdown in the NFL this year with 3.
*While Matt Hasselbeck is the clear #1 quarterback when healthy, it was Charlie Whitehurst who led the Seahawks to their playoff clinching win over the Rams. Whitehurst, a 3rd round pick by the Chargers in 2006 had not thrown an NFL pass before this season.
*Seattle will host New Orleans this weekend. During the regular season the two teams met in New Orleans and the Saints won 34-19. Drew Brees threw for 382 yards and 4 touchdowns despite not having Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush or Jeremy Shockey available.
The Winter Classic
Happy New Year everyone! Lots to catch up on after a busy couple of days to kick off 2011. Finally back in Louisiana after a week up in Big Sky country so I'll do my best to catch up today. We'll start off with a look at the Winter Classic.
During the 2007-2008 NHL season, the National Hockey League decided to try something new. On New Year's Day 2008, there would be a hockey game played outdoors instead of in the traditional closed rinks. On January 1, 2008, the Pittsburgh Penguins took on the Buffalo Sabres at Ralph Wilson Stadium (the home of the Buffalo Bills) and the event was such a large success that they decided to do it again. On New Year's Day 2009, the Chicago Blackhawks hosted the Detroit Red Wings at Wrigley Field in what was once again deemed a huge success. And just like that, a new tradition was born.
This year's matchup featured the NHL's two premier stars with Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins hosting Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. With two of the NHL's most prolific scorers involved, Crosby had 32 goals in 39 games entering play on Saturday while Ovechkin has never scored fewer than 46 in a season prior to this one, it seemed likely that one of these two would be the hero. As they say though, that's why they play the game. With two goals including the game winner, the star of the game for this year's Winter Classic was none other than Capital Right Winger, Eric Fehr who had just 5 goals on the year entering play and had scored only 43 goals in parts of 6 seasons with the Capitals. You've got to love how sports play out sometimes. The Capitals won the game 3-1 becoming the third visiting team in 4 years to win the Classic in front of over 68,000 fans.
Winter Classic History
1/1/2008 - Pittsburgh Penguins 2, Buffalo Sabres 1 (SO) - Ralph Wilson Stadium - 71,217 fans
1/1/2009 - Detroit Red Wings 6, Chicago Blackhawks 4 - Wrigley Field - 40,818 fans
1/1/2010 - Boston Bruins 2, Philadelphia Flyers 1 - Fenway Park - 38,112 fans
1/1/2001 - Washington Capitals 3, Pittsburgh Penguins 1 - Heinz Field - 68,111 fans
During the 2007-2008 NHL season, the National Hockey League decided to try something new. On New Year's Day 2008, there would be a hockey game played outdoors instead of in the traditional closed rinks. On January 1, 2008, the Pittsburgh Penguins took on the Buffalo Sabres at Ralph Wilson Stadium (the home of the Buffalo Bills) and the event was such a large success that they decided to do it again. On New Year's Day 2009, the Chicago Blackhawks hosted the Detroit Red Wings at Wrigley Field in what was once again deemed a huge success. And just like that, a new tradition was born.
This year's matchup featured the NHL's two premier stars with Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins hosting Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. With two of the NHL's most prolific scorers involved, Crosby had 32 goals in 39 games entering play on Saturday while Ovechkin has never scored fewer than 46 in a season prior to this one, it seemed likely that one of these two would be the hero. As they say though, that's why they play the game. With two goals including the game winner, the star of the game for this year's Winter Classic was none other than Capital Right Winger, Eric Fehr who had just 5 goals on the year entering play and had scored only 43 goals in parts of 6 seasons with the Capitals. You've got to love how sports play out sometimes. The Capitals won the game 3-1 becoming the third visiting team in 4 years to win the Classic in front of over 68,000 fans.
Winter Classic History
1/1/2008 - Pittsburgh Penguins 2, Buffalo Sabres 1 (SO) - Ralph Wilson Stadium - 71,217 fans
1/1/2009 - Detroit Red Wings 6, Chicago Blackhawks 4 - Wrigley Field - 40,818 fans
1/1/2010 - Boston Bruins 2, Philadelphia Flyers 1 - Fenway Park - 38,112 fans
1/1/2001 - Washington Capitals 3, Pittsburgh Penguins 1 - Heinz Field - 68,111 fans
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