Sunday Six Pack

ANOTHER REMATCH COMING UP IN THE AFC

Joe Flacco and the Ravens are headed to Pittsburgh. After falling behind early 7-3 following an impressive 41 yard touchdown run by Jamaal Charles, the veteran Ravens got stingy. Over the final 3 quarters, the Ravens defense forced 5 turnovers and the offense outscored Kansas City 27-0. After only throwing 7 interceptions all season, the Ravens picked Matt Cassel off 3 times, and both Jamaal Charles and Dexter McCluster coughed up costly fumbles. Flacco meanwhile had the offense humming with contributions coming from everywhere. Todd Heap caught a Ravens postseason record 10 passes for 108 yards. Anquan Boldin and Ray Rice each caught touchdown passes and Willis McGahee pull the final nails in the coffin with a late 25 yard touchdown run. The Ravens looked like they'd been there before, while the Chiefs just looked overmatched. Dwayne Bowe, who had 15 touchdown receptions during the regular season didn't catch a single pass, Jamaal Charles had just 1 carry after halftime and it lost 5 yards and for the game, the Chiefs only possessed the ball for 18:16. The win was Flacco's 4th during the postseason in 3 years in the league, all of which have been on the road.

Jamaal Charles is FAST

Ed Reed Ends a Chiefs Drive

McGahee Ices the Game

PACKERS OUTLAST EAGLES

During the entire regular season, rookie 6th round draft pick James Starks ran for 101 yards while appearing in only 3 games for the Packers. In today's game against the Eagles, Starks set a Green Bay rookie postseason record by rushing for 123 yards against the Eagles defense. This took pressure off of Aaron Rodgers and made their attack multi-dimensional. Rodgers was no slouch either hitting on 18 of 27 passes for 180 yards and three touchdowns and was able to spread the ball around, completing passes to 10 different receivers with Donald Driver being the only Packer to catch more than 3 passes. The Eagles had opportunities, but David Akers missed a pair of field goals and Brent Celek stepped out of bounds before catching what would have been a two-point conversion that would have made it a 3 point game late in the 4th. Vick then threw an interception in the endzone in the final minute of the game to seal the win for the Packers. DeSean Jackson was injured in the first quarter and though he was able to return, he did not catch a pass until there were under 9 minutes to go in the 4th quarter. Vick finished with 292 passing yards and 33 rushing yards and accounted for both of Philadelphia's touchdowns, but he didn't get a lot of support from their other playmakers. Jackson finished with only 2 catches, Jeremy Maclin had only 3, and LeSean McCoy had 86 total yards while averaging under 4 a carry. Jason Avant was the leading receiver catching 7 for 93 yards and a score. The Packers now head to Atlanta to take on Matt Ryan and the top seeded Falcons.

CAVS ROUGH YEAR CONTINUES

Absolutely nothing has gone right for Cleveland lately, and the hits just keep on coming. Scrappy Brazilian center Anderson Varejao was injured in practice on Thursday, and it turns out he has torn a tendon in his ankle which will require surgery and end his season. Varejao was leading the team in rebounds with 9.7 a game and also chipping in 9.1 points. In 31 games this season (all starts), he had tallied 7 double-doubles. Cleveland lost their 10th in a row tonight and 20th in their last 21 falling 108-100 at Phoenix. They are now  8-29 and own the worst record in the Eastern Conference. When it rains in Cleveland, it pours. J.J. Hickson started in place of Varejao tonight and had 23 points to go with 17 rebounds (9 on the offensive end), and rookie Guard Manny Harris had a career-high 27 but it wasn't enough.

COLLEGE HOOPS ACTION - DUKE, OHIO STATE AND KANSAS

The top three teams in the men's polls were all in action today with #1 Duke taking on Maryland, #2 Ohio State hosting #21 Minnesota and #3 Kansas traveling to Michigan. All three came out winners, but all three were put to the test.

I feel like Maryland always gives Duke problems and tonight was no different. Duke went into halftime only up 1 against the Terps, but Seniors Kyle Singler (25 points, 10 rebounds) and Nolan Smith (18 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists) powered the Blue Devils to a 71-64 victory. Duke overcame 23 points and 13 rebounds by Maryland's Jordan Williams as they improved to 15-0 on the year and 2-0 in the ACC. Maryland drops to 10-5 and 0-2 in conference play. Duke's next game will be Wednesday at Florida State.

#2 Ohio State hosted #21 Minnesota and it came down to the last shot. Freshman Guard Austin Hollins missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer as Ohio State won their 16th game of the season and improved to 3-0 in the Big Ten. Jared Sullinger had 15 points and 12 rebounds and Senior swingman David Lighty chipped in 19 before fouling out to lead the way for the Buckeyes. Minnesota was led by Trevor Mbakwe who had 16 points and 12 rebounds. With the loss Minnesota drops to 1-3 in the Big Ten. Next up for Ohio State is a trip to rival Michigan on Wednesday.

#3 Kansas saw a double digit lead evaporate in the second half and found themselves needing overtime to knock off Michigan 67-60. Neither team shot the ball well from long range with the Jayhawks hitting 4 of 24 while the Wolverines hit only 4 of 28. Marcus Morris led all scorers with 22 points and added 10 rebounds to lead the way for Kansas. Twin brother Markieff added 13 points and 11 rebounds. Tim Hardaway Jr. led Michigan with 19 points, but shot just 5 of 19 from the floor. The game was just Kansas' 2nd true road game of the season as they improved to 15-0 on the year overall. Kansas opens up Big 12 play against Iowa State on Wednesday.

AND THEN THERE WAS ONE

With the conclusion of the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl tonight, there is now just one bowl game remaining: Oregon vs Auburn in the National Championship Game. The Mountain West Conference enjoyed the most successful bowl season to this point going 4-1 in their 5 games. BYU blew out UTEP in the New Mexico Bowl 52-24, San Diego State ran over Navy 35-14 in the Poinsettia Bowl, Air Force knocked off Georgia Tech 14-7 in the Independence Bowl and TCU held on to win the Rose Bowl over Wisconsin 21-19. The Mountain West's only loss came when 1-loss Boise State beat Utah 26-3 in the Las Vegas Bowl. The ACC, SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 all produced 5 bowl losers which was something of a surprise. The SEC will need a win from Auburn tomorrow night to clinch a .500 postseason. Conference USA finishes with the worst bowl record going just 2-4.

GOLF SEASON UNDERWAY

The Hyundai Tournament of Champions kicked off the 2011 Golf Season this weekend. I'm not a huge golf fan, however my buddy Rue and I started playing Fantasy Golf last year so that's actually gotten me to follow it a little bit. I'll be honest though, I'm still not very good. Americans Jonathan Byrd and Robert Garrigus each shot 6 under 67s to force a playoff which Byrd would win in 2 holes. Byrd won one tournament during the 2010 season and finished 58th on the money list. Garrigus also won one tournament last year and finished 54th. Graeme McDowell came out of nowhere and shot an 11 under 62 on the final day to finish 3rd. My top golfer was Steve Stricker who came into the final day tied for the lead, but shot just 2 under and finished tied for 4th.

The Winners Just Keep Winning

2 DOWN, 88 TO GO!

The Huskies are back! Two in a row! A hard fought game against #12 Notre Dame went down to the wire, but ended in a 79-76 win. Maya Moore led the way with 31 points and 8 rebounds, and Kelly Faris chipped in 20 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists to lead the way for the Huskies. Connecticut was outrebounded 37-33 and turned the ball over 17 times, but hit 26 of 27 free throws on their way to the 92nd win in 93 games as they improved to 14-1 on the year. Next up for the Huskies, #18 St. John's.

8 IN A ROW FOR THE HEAT

It took overtime against Milwaukee, but the Heat pulled out their 8th straight win last night 101-95. Miami survived off nights from each of their "Big Three" - Wade (4/19), James (8/23), Bosh (6/16) - and overcame 27 rebounds by Andrew Bogut.  Carlos Arroyo actually outscored Dwyane Wade in this one 15-14. Chris Douglas-Roberts led the way for Milwaukee with a season-high 30 points off the bench, but it wasn't enough as the Heat outscored the Bucks 10-4 in overtime. The Heat look to make in 9 in a row at Portland tomorrow.

NEW LIFE FOR TURKOGLU

Just like the Heat, the Magic keep winning making it 9 in a row with a win over shorthanded Dallas 117-107 tonight. Hedo Turkoglu continued his revitalized play since coming back to Orlando scoring 13 points, picking up 5 steals and notching a career-high 17 assists.None of the 8 Magic players who played scored less than 9 points, and the Magic hit 14 of 32 3-pointers. Dwight Howard led the way with 23 points and 13 rebounds as Dallas couldn't overcome the absences of Dirk Nowitzki and Caron Butler. The schedule gets tougher though as Orlando travels to New Orleans Wednesday and then Oklahoma City on Thursday.

The Saints are... not... Coming... and neither is Indy

Well, hope you didn't place any bets based on my picks today. The sub .500 Seahawks knocked off the defending champs 41-36 despite 404 passing yards from Drew Brees. Matt Hasselback threw 4 touchdown passes and Marshawn Lynch had just a beast of a 67 yard touchdown in the 4th quarter on his way to a 131 yard performance (the first Seahawk to run for 100 yards in a game all year) in perhaps one of the biggest upsets in postseason history.

Lynch devastates Saints Defense

This game ultimately came down to who wanted it more. The Saints got out to an early 10-0 lead, but it was the Seahawks who fought tooth and nail for this one. Lynch's touchdown run epitomized that. Did you see the way he absolutely destroyed Tracy Porter? Meanwhile Seattle's O-Line and Hasselbeck were racing down field to make blocks! Anything the Saints offense did, the Seahawks had an answer for. Pete Carroll's crew came well prepared and they just wanted this game more than the Saints did. Unbelievable. I really thought this was the one game of the playoffs that wouldn't be contested. Shows you what I know.

And then, to make this bizarro day of football even more bizarre, Mark Sanchez out-Manninged Peyton Manning as Nick Folk hit a field goal as time expired AFTER Manning set Adam Vinatieri up for a 50 yarder with under a minute remaining. Jets 17, Colts 16. So the Jets are moving on, and no matter what happens tomorrow, they're taking on the Patriots for a third time this year. Unreal. Key stat in this game? Reggie Wayne. 1 catch for 1 yard. Revis Island DOES exist...

So yeah, not a great start to my football picks this weekend, and a definite possibility that I could manage to go 0/4. On the one hand, that's why you have to love the playoffs, but on the other hand? @#%##!!!!

Weekend Playoff Picks

Let's see if I can manage to pick half of this weekend's games right.

New Orleans Saints (11-5) at Seattle Seahawks (7-9)

This one should be a gimme. New Orleans spanked the Seahawks during the regular season 34-19 behind 382 yards and 4 touchdowns from Drew Brees. As we mentioned earlier this week, the Saints are going to be short running backs after putting both Chris Ivory AND Pierre Thomas on the injured reserve, but I don't think that's going to matter. Not even an apparently healthy Matt Hasselbeck will be enough to swing this one in Seattle's favor. Seattle's 27th ranked pass defense (3994 yards 31 touchdowns) will be their downfall.

Saints 31 Seahawks 13 

New York Jets (11-5) at Indianapolis Colts (10-6)

Despite a rash of injuries, the Colts were once again the winners of the AFC South so they'll host the Jets Saturday night. After Peyton Manning's 3 game stretch (weeks 11-13) where he threw 11 interceptions in the midst of a 3 game losing streak, he has the Colts back on track and they cruise into the playoffs winners of 4 straight. Even without Dallas Clark, Austin Collie and Anthony Gonzalez, the Colts offense is potent, so you're basically looking at the Colts offense against the Jets defense. While Rex Ryan may think he has the best team in the AFC, I'm not one to bet against Peyton Manning at home. I see this one playing out similar to the AFC Championship game last year when Manning threw for 377 yards and 3 touchdowns during a 17-6 deficit into a 30-17 victory. Sorry Rex.

Colts 27 Jets 16

Baltimore Ravens (12-4) at Kansas City Chiefs (10-6)

The Chiefs ran for 2627 yards this year to lead the National Football League. The Ravens have the NFL's 5th ranked run defense. Something's got to give. Will Jamaal Charles (1467 yds 5 TDs) and Thomas Jones (896 yds 6 TDs) have their way with Ray Lewis and the vaunted Ravens defense? Don't forget the Chiefs can move the ball through the air as well with Dwayne Bowe catching 15 touchdown passes from Matt Cassell. The Ravens aren't exactly slouches on the offensive end either. The additions of Anquan Boldin and T.J. Houshmandzadeh have added new elements to their passing game and Ray Rice tallied nearly 1800 yards from scrimmage. This one for me comes down to experience. The Ravens have been here before. The Chiefs have not.

Ravens 23 Chiefs 21

Green Bay Packers (10-6) at Philadelphia Eagles (10-6)

A lot has changed since these two met way back in Week 1. Ryan Grant was the Packers running back. Kevin Kolb was the Eagle quarterback. Neither one finished the game. The Eagles jumped out to a 20-3 lead and held on to win 27-20. Clay Matthews led the Packers defense with 13.5 sacks and Aaron Rodgers threw 28 touchdown passes despite missing time due to a concussion during the regular season. The Eagles counter with dynamic playmakers Desean Jackson (22.5 yards per catch), Jeremy Maclin (10 receiving TDs), LeSean McCoy (1672 yards from scrimmage) and Vick (30 total touchdowns) however the stumble into the postseason losing to lowly Minnesota and Dallas in their final two games. I think momentum is important, and the Packers are playing well on both sides of the ball.

Green Bay 31 Philadelphia 27

So there you go. Let the playoffs begin!

Hoops and Stuff

RONDOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

After going just 4-3 without their starting point guard, the Celtics are back in business winning all 3 of their games since his return including a gritty 105-103 win over the Spurs. Rondo picked up his 11th career triple double, and second one of the season, in the win with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 22 assists! Crazy as it might seem, that's not even his season high for assists as he had 24 earlier this year against New York. Rondo is now averaging 14.0 assists per game this year. His career high, set last season, is 9.8. If he keeps this up, it will be the highest average for assists per game in a season in 20 years. John Stockton was the last player to average at least 14 a game over a full season. He did it in back to back seasons with the Jazz in 1989-1990 and 1990-1991.

RECAPTURING THE MAGIC

Orlando kept pace with the Heat yesterday by winning their 7th in a row over Milwaukee despite hitting just 5 of 22 3's and getting outrebounded 48-44. Dwight Howard led the way with 28 points and 13 rebounds and the Magic had 5 other players in double figures en route to a 97-87 win. The Magic host the Rockets tomorrow night while the Heat travel to Milwaukee. Rough week for the Bucks to kickoff the new year: vs Dallas Saturday, at Miami Tuesday, at Orlando Wednesday, vs Miami Friday. All with their leading scorer on the shelf following foot surgery. Ouch.

A NEW WINNING STREAK

The UCONN women are at it again! Ok, maybe not yet as they've only won one in a row. But still, they quickly bounced back from their first loss in 2 1/2 seasons and buried Villanova 81-35. The Wildcats were held to 12 points in the first half and managed to shoot just 22% for the game (11/50). Perhaps even more ridiculous is the fact that of their 50 shot attempts, 38 were 3-pointers. They managed to connect on just 9. They were also outrebounded 42-13 by the Huskies. That is unheard of. Junior Tiffany Hayes led the way for Connecticut with 22 points.

Running out of Running Backs

First Chris Ivory, then Pierre Thomas. The Saints put both their leading rusher in 2010 and their leading rusher in 2009 on the injured reserve this week where they'll join fellow backs Ladell Betts, Lynell Hamilton and P.J. Hill and are now down to Reggie Bush, Julius Jones, fullback Heath Evans and new additions DeShawn Wynn and Joique Bell. When the two teams met in Week 11, Ivory was the healthy one (no Bush or Thomas) and he had 23 carries for 99 yards. Julius Jones on the other hand had 4 carries for 4 yards. Jones and Ladell Betts also combined to catch 5 passes for 45 yards.

Having Bush back will be a nice addition, but he's not really the feature back type - in 8 games this season, he did not reach double digit carries once (he had 9 carries twice). Jones carried ten times exactly once. But he averaged only 3.7 yards on his 60 carries. And if you take away a 54 yarder he had against Carolina, that average goes down to 2.9! And Jones did not register a touchdown this year. Yikes. And I wouldn't expect Heath Evans to start shouldering the load either. He carried the ball twice all year. Fortunately for New Orleans, the Seahawks have the 27th ranked pass defense so it may not be an issue in their first round game. However, I don't know what it's going to be like playing outdoors in Seattle in January. Throwing the ball might a challenge. We'll see.


Here's the skinny on the two new additions:

DeShawn Wynn - Drafted in the 7th round of the 2007 draft out of Florida by the Packers, Wynn spent his first 3 NFL seasons in Green Bay. His carries decreased in each of his 3 seasons there going from 50 in 2007 to 8 in 2008 (although one of those was a 73 yard touchdown against the Lions) and down to 6 in 2009 before eventually getting let go. The Saints signed him in August of this season where he appeared in a pair of preseason games totaling 38 yards on 9 carries, but waived him for good in October. The 49ers had him for a while starting in November, but despite Frank Gore's injury, he didn't get any significant work there either before getting waived in late December. For the year, 7 games, 0 touches.

Joique Bell - Division II Superstar Joique Bell won the Harlon Hill Trophy in 2009 after tallying 2084 yards and 29 touchdowns for Wayne State. He went undrafted before signing with the Buffalo Bills and spent time with the Philadelphia Eagles and Indianapolis Colts during the 2010 season. Between those two franchises, Bell appeared in 8 games, but like Wynn, he did not record any touches during the regular season. Bell, however, did carry 27 times for 152 yards and a pair of scores for Buffalo during the preseason.

So this should be interesting. Will New Orleans just totally abandon the run? Will Julius Jones revert to 2006 form when he was a 1000 yard back for the Dallas Cowboys? Will it be Reggie Bush? Evans? Wynn? Bell? Let's see what Sean Payton, Drew Brees and the Saints can do in Seattle this weekend. I know I'm still picking New Orleans, running game or not.

My Hall of Fame Ballot

Ok, so I don't get an actual vote here, but if I did, here are the guys that I would vote for to get elected into this year's Hall of Fame Class:

1. Roberto Alomar - Arguably the best second baseman of our generation, Alomar won 10 gold gloves (more than any second baseman in history) and made 12 all star teams. He was an integral part of Toronto's two world championships in 1992 and 1993 hitting a combined .354 over those two postseasons and he finished his career with 2724 hits, 504 doubles and 474 steals and a .300 average. In my mind, this one's a no brainer.

2. Bert Blyleven - This guy was in the twilight of his career when I first started getting into baseball, but here's some numbers that have me convinced this guy is hall-worthy: 242 complete games including 3 seasons with at least 20 (yes, it was a different era, but still) - and 60 shutouts (9th all time). He is also 5th all time in strikeouts with 3701 and won 287 games with a 3.31 ERA. Like Alomar, he was a part of two world champions, the 1979 Pirates and the 1987 Twins. In those two postseasons he was a combined 5-1 with a 2.20 ERA. In this, its 14th season on the ballot, I believe it's time to let Bert in.

3. Jack Morris - My best memory of Jack Morris was Game 7 of the 1991 World Series when Morris pitched 10 shutout innings against the Atlanta Braves allowing Gene Larkin to drive in Dan Gladden in the bottom of the 10th to win the World Series for Minnesota. Like Blyleven he was durable tossing 175 complete games (28 shutouts) and winning at least 20 games 3 times. For his career he was 254-186. While his ERA was high (3.90), Morris was a member of 4 world series winners (1984 with Detroit, 1991 with Minnesota, 1992 and 1993 with Toronto). While he didn't pitch in the '93 playoffs and struggled in '92, check out his totals for 1984 and 1991: 7-0 with a 2.07 ERA. As a result he was the 1991 World Series MVP. Morris was a 5 time all star and no pitcher won more games than he did during the 1980s.

4. Tim Raines - I actually lived in Canada while Raines was with the Expos in the late 80s so unlike a lot of people, I was actually privy to his talent while he was still playing. Raines was an all-star every year from 1981-1987 and a member of 2 World Series Teams (the 1996 and 1998 Yankees). Raines hit .294 for his career and is ranked 4th all time in stolen bases with 808 (with an 84.7% success rate). He finished with 2605 hits and is the Expos/Nationals career leader in singles, triples, walks and stolen bases. Not just an offensive threat, Raines was also an excellent left fielder tallying 21 outfield assists to lead the National League in 1983.

5. Alan Trammell - Trammell was another one I got to see quite a bit as a kid as we lived just across the Michigan border in the late 80s. Trammell played his entire career with the Detroit Tigers and was a tremendous all around shortstop. He was selected to play in 6 all-star games, won 4 gold gloves, and 3 silver sluggers over his career. He was the 1984 World Series MVP when the Tigers beat the Padres and he hit .419 during the 1984 postseason.

6. Jeff Bagwell - I'm slightly biased on this one as an Astros fan, but this guy was arguably the greatest Astro ever and he did pretty much everything well. He retired as the Astros career leader in homeruns, runs batted in, and walks and tallied 449 career homeruns despite playing in the Astrodome for nearly a decade. He was the 1994 NL MVP when he hit .368 with 39 homeruns and 116 rbis in just 110 games before the strike. He had a pair of 30/30 seasons, won a gold glove, was the rookie of the year in 1991, and was elected to 4 all star teams. The only thing that would be nice if he didn't get elected was if Biggio and Bagwell could go into the Hall together. The guy deserves to be there though.

7. Barry Larkin - Despite playing in the Ozzie Smith era, Larkin was a 12 time all star and won 3 gold gloves with the Reds where he spent his entire major league career. Larkin was the NL MVP in 1995 and a pivotal member of the Reds 1990 World Series team hitting .353 against the heavily favored Athletics. Larkin totalled 2340 hits, won 9 silver sluggers and hit .295 with 441 doubles and 379 steals. When you talk 80s /early 90s NL shortstops it was always Ozzie Smith and Barry Larkin.

8. Edgar Martinez - A lifetime Mariner, Martinez was one of the greatest DH's in baseball history. While that may sour some people, check this out: Martinez is one of 8 players to hit 300 homeruns, 500 doubles, hit at least .300, have an on base percentage of at least .400 and slug at least .500. The other seven? Oh just Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, Stan Musial, Rogers Hornsby, Lou Gehrig, Manny Ramirez and Todd Helton. Not bad company. Martinez made 7 all star teams and won 5 silver slugger awards.

9. Dale Murphy - I got a Dale Murphy baseball card in my first pack of Topps back in 1988 so I've always liked him. He was one of the better power hitters of the 80s and won a pair of MVP awards in 1982 and 1983 with Atlanta. He also was a 7-time all star and won 5 gold gloves. From 1988 on he struggled hitting just .236 and that brought his career average down from .282 to .265 and many voters may hold that against him. Not me though.

10. I'm not ready to vote for Rafael Palmeiro and Mark McGwire just yet. Maybe in a few years.

So there we have it. Let's see how it all turns out.