sportsfanatic

The Utah Utes have a lot to be proud of. They went all year without losing one single game. Now, they get to sit back as the Florida Gators and the Texas Longhorns get to do battle for the National Championship. This is just one more reason why the BCS is flawed and most be fixed.

Can you imagine going through the entire season without a loss, then going to the bowl game and beating, or should I say demolishing, a current #1 ranked team, only to get third or fourth in the nation? Say what you may about their schedule and who they played but you can not take from them the fact that they went into a bowl game the underdog and kicked the Crimson Tide’s butts.

I wonder, if you sat on the BCS committee and this were your Alma mater, how would you feel about right now?

The University of Georgia Bulldogs did not have to travel to far to meet their Capital One Bowl rivals. The game was played in Orlando, Florida in the beautiful Florida Citrus Bowl. The Dawg’s opponents were none other than the Michigan State University Spartans. The first half made it look like this would be a great defensive game or maybe just a sloppy offensive one.

Either way, Georgia decided that they would put the game to rest in the third quarter. They did just that with scoring 2 touchdowns and spreading the score out to 17-6 and gain an 11 point lead. That lead would shrink as the Spartans would score again in the 4th quarter. Georgia would soon eliminate all threat. Matthew Stafford, UGA’s quarterback, would fine sophomore running back Knowshon Moreno in the right corner of the 1 yard line and Moreno would do the rest for the final score of the game.

With that said, Georgia won the game. But, with that win, are they losing their 2009 season before they even start it. Rumors are flying rampant all over concerning Matthew and Knowshon both. The biggest question is whether they are returning to play next year at Georgia. From the looks of it, they are both going to declare eligibility for the NFL Draft.  Personally, I think that both could excel in the NFL. However, I think that both could use another year under their belt in college.

Time will tell. What are your thoughts on it?

The NFL playoffs get under way this weekend. The first set of games will start at 4 PM ET with the second game being at 8 PM ET. These are the first of the Wild Card round and I think that these games can be very instrumental in how the Super Bowl is determined. Personally I think that the Colts will win their game and move forward as with the Falcons. But, I still want to go over what I think is key for this to happen. So, let’s take a dive into this, shall we.

In the first game of the day, the Atlanta Falcons flies west to confront the Cardinals of Arizona. This will be a rematch of week 17. The Falcons won that game 31 to 27 and I think that they will accomplish this fact again. With that said, I think that they score will reflect a much different game. I think that the Falcons have to shut down the run of Steven Jackson and shut down Tory Holt. If they can manage those two things on defense, then I believe that they can win. On the offensive side of the ball, the Falcons need to complete more than 10 passes. Having a completion percentage below 50% just right out sucks and if Matt Ryan is going to lead Mike Smith’s team, then he needs to figure out how to get the ball to Michael Jenkins and Roddy White more often. The final score will favor the Falcons 35-24.

In the nightcap, we will see the Colts of Indianapolis travel west to face the San Diego Chargers. These are the Chargers that up ended the Colts in last years playoffs and sent them home early. However, this is a new year and a new team. Peyton Manning will have all of his weapons and if the line can hold long enough, he will dissect them like insects. Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, and Anthony Gonzalez will get the linebackers and secondary of the Chargers on their heels all day long. Then, factor in the tandem of Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes, and you can understand why Peyton loves Indianapolis. On the defensive side of the ball, the Colts have to make sure that Phillip Rivers can not kill them with his arm. If they can keep the ball in front of them, then they can keep Rivers off his game. The defensive line has to figure out a way to penetrate the offensive line and get to Rivers quickly and often. One of the things that has been his biggest downfall is his attitude. When he gets fluster or right down mad, he becomes ineffective. In my prediction, this game will end with the Colts coming out on top 44-33.

For all of you that are pro football fans, this weekend starts the NFL playoffs. This year there are some new teams in the field. One of the biggest surprises might be that of the Miami Dolphins. I wrote an article today on my other sports site that you might find very interesting on them. Click here to read that.

As I have already stated, I would love to see a Manning versus Manning Super Bowl. But, there are several good teams in the way of that happening. Miami is one of those teams. The Tennessee Titans also have a very good team, but I am not sure that Kerry Collins can take them to the promise land. The AFC that scares me the most has to be the Pittsburgh Steelers.

On the NFC side, I am most concerned with the Carolina Panthers, but you can not count out the Atlanta Falcons. I truly and excited about this post season and hope that it turns out some great games and limits the blow outs.

I love this time of the year. The NFL playoffs get underway this weekend with a full swing of games on Saturday and Sunday. I cannot wait to sit down with a beer in front of my 42″ Plasma and watch them abuse each other. My hopes is that when all the smoke clears, that it is the Mannings facing each  other for the coin toss. I truly think that it would be one of the best games.

With that said, the Colts have a long way to go this year. They get San Diego at home but then hit the road to Nashville if they win. Personally I think that they can and will beat both teams. What concerns me is the Pittsburgh Steelers. As for the Giants, they are in the drivers seat and can play every game at home in the frigid cold.

The table is set and the time is drawing close. Who will you be picking to go to the dance?

OK, now I have heard it all. Terrell Owens is not wanting to give advise to Jerry Jones about how to run the Dallas Cowboys. This might be the best thing since TO cried for his quarterback. I think I heard Tony Romo practicing “Don’t cry for me Argentina” yesterday.

I think that the first piece of advice that TO should give Jerry is to get rid of everyone that is not a team player. Then, secondly, they should get rid of all the “thug” players. And then, lastly, they should get rid of the players that do not want to get hit.

Once all that is done, then the Dallas Cowgirls can go back to being the Cowboys and maybe win a game. That is just my 2 cents worth.

Even though the New York Giants lost today, there was a sweet victory of sorts. Today, Derrick Ward surpassed the 1000 rushing yard mark to end the regular season with 1,025 rushing yards. His running mate, Brandon Jacobs, has also surpassed the 1000 yard mark this season as well. Jacobs has 1,089 of his own hard earned yards on the ground this season. As a team, the Giants have 2,383 rushing yards. They also hold a team average of 5 yards a carry.

Derrick’s yards today came against one of the best run defenses in the league, the Minnesota Vikings. As impressive as he was today, I think last week pretty much sealed the deal when he eclipsed over 200 rushing yards in that game. As Derrick is the number 2 back and most of his yards are earned in the third down situation, he has stepped up big when given the opportunity. I think that a lot of people thought that the team would be hurt when Jacobs went down, but Ward has quieted most of them.

When you couple in the 406 yards that these two earned in pass receptions along with the 2,114 on the ground, and they have accounted for 2,520 yards of the Giants offense. Considering that the Giants have a total of 5,507 total yards, that is pretty impressive. If you throw in the third running back, Ahmad Bradshaw, they account for more than half of the offensive production in yards.

The history was made when Ward surpassed the 1,000 mark. He, along with Brandon, became just the 4th tandem to achieve 1,000 yards each in a single season. They join the likes of  Miami’s Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris who were the first tandem to ever accomplish the feat. They managed it in 1972. Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier of the Pittsburgh Steelers did it in 1976. The final running back tandem to do it was Earnest Byner and Kevin Mack of the 1985 Cleveland Browns.

Bobby Bowden and his Florida State Seminoles did not have to travel far to engage in battle with the Wisconsin Badgers. Florida State went down to central Florida to beautiful Orlando to participate in the Champs Sports Bowl . I think that the Badgers would have liked it better if the Seminoles actually had to walk to Orlando though. The game was a “no contest” in the eyes of the Seminole Nation. I also think that Bobby got a glimpse of what 2009 hold for the Seminoles.

While watching the Seminoles systematically tear this Badgers team from limb to limb, I actually got chills of how similar they played to the teams of old. The Seminoles were able to flex their muscles on offense and defense. When you see the Noles score the first of their points off a75 fumble recovery, then you know that it is going to problems for the opposition. That was again the fact in this game. What makes it sweeter is they repeated it again in the beginning of the 4th quarter as Dustin Sherer was sacked by Dekoda Watson. Watson then proceeded to pick up the fumbled football and galloped 51 yards into the end zone for the second score for the defense.

The offense did their share in this game as well providing the Noles with 4 touchdowns of their own. FSU’s quarterback, Christian Ponder, threw for 199 yards and 2 touchdowns. He even gave way to Drew Weatherford in the fourth quarter. Drew did no more than connect for 77 of his own throwing yards. The running game of the Seminoles amassed a total of 134 yards on the ground. Antone Smith and Carlton Jones both visited the end zone for rushing touchdowns. Both of these touchdowns were both scored in the 3rd quarter.

As for the Badgers, the only touchdown that they would see would come in the 4th quarter. There was 4:06 left on the clock when all the scoring was over.

Brett Farve has “retired” 2 years in a row. The first time that he did it, it was quite and painless as he held the Green Bay Packers hostage. The second year that he did it, it was painful and took away one of the best all time quarterbacks in the history of the Green Bay Packers. Now, he is crying the same song before the season is even over. It makes me think that he wants someone to jump up and down telling him that they can not survive without him.

Personally, I think that the New York Jets could survive. The Packers did what they needed to do and cut ties with Favre this year. An, though they did not get into the playoffs, they will be a better team next year for it. Aaron Rodgers has taken his bumps and bruises this season and he will be better for it.

What remains to be seen is if the Jets can manage to beat the Dolphins this weekend and try to get back into the playoff picture. I am not even sure if it is mathematically possible for them to climb back in. For all it is worth to me, I hope that they lose this weekend to the Miami Dolphins and lay this season to rest.

The Denver Broncos have no one to thank but themselves. They have played themselves right into the thick of it and now it is time to pay the piper. The last time these two teams met, it was an ugly game. Both offenses ran like the defense forgot to show up. Denver escaped with a one point victory and are very happy for that. However, Sunday nights game is not in Denver and it is for all the marbles.

Talk about being able to control your own destiny. If Denver wins, then it is all over and the Chargers can go home for the off season. The fat lineman can go home and eat double cheese burgers, LT can run up and down stadium stairs and make commericals, and Phillip Rivers can go chase teeny boppers with his buddy Matt.

However, if the Chargers wins, then that happens to throw a monkey wrench into the whole playoff pitcher. This leaves both teams with a tie win/loss record. So, then you look at win/loss between the two teams and that would also be tied. And, if by some miracle, the Chargers were to win by 1 point, then the real fun hits. Ouch!!! That makes my head hurt.

In the end, does it really matter? Not in my book. Neither of these teams will have a chance in the playoffs. I would think that either loses in the first round and goes home.