You know how it works…..15 deserve props, 7 got lucky, and 1 is a total zero. The Ravens don’t factor into the equation until Tuesday’s Top 7. Although, after returning from tonight’s game; I’d prefer they didn’t factor in at all…….
Please allow me to prop you….
1-Fantasy Studs Matt Cassel, Michael “The Burner” Turner, and Andre Johnson
Cassel threw for 218 yards and 4 TD’s as the Patriots beat the Raiders 49-26. Turner rushed for 152 yards and a TD as the Falcons beat the Buccaneers 13-10 in overtime. And Johnson had 11 catches for 207 yards and a TD in the Texans’ 13-12 win over the Titans
2-Caps goalies Brent Johnson, Simeon Varlamov, and Brett Leonhardt
Johnson was impressive in making 32 stops Friday night; lifting the Capitals to a 5-1 win over the Senators. Varlamov was even more impressive; stopping 32 in his first career appearance Saturday night to beat the Canadiens 2-1. And Leonhardt had the biggest weekend of all; dressing for nearly ten minutes Friday night before being taken off the bench. Doesn’t sound that impressive? Consider the fact that Leonhardt works as a website producer for the Caps; and has no experience past the college level; but was pressed into emergency duty while Washington waited for Varlamov to arrive from Houston. Pretty cool stuff.
3-Jerry Richardson
He was part of the team that won the 1959 NFL Championship for the Baltimore Colts; and now Panthers owner Jerry Richardson needs a heart transplant to survive. But after missing his first ever game last week; Richardson was back in his box Sunday; watching his Panthers blow out the Broncos 30-10 to stay alive in the race for the #1 seed in the NFC.
4-A10 College Hoops Stunners: Temple and UMass
For the Temple Owls; it was as simple as letting Christmas come early. Dionte Christmas scored 35 points as the Owls stunned #8 Tennessee 88-72 Saturday in Philadelphia. Meanwhile, the UMass Minutemen played tough defense down the stretch to hold off #24 Kansas 61-60 Saturday in Kansas City. The Atlantic 10 certainly made a strong case for getting extra teams come Selection Sunday.
5-The Dallas Cowboys defense
The Cowboys’ offense went through a tumultuous week; which reportedly escalated Friday with a locker room confrontation between TE Jason Witten and WR Terrell Owens. But to make the turmoil moot; the defense went out Sunday night and absolutely dominated the Giants. DeMarcus Ware tallied 3 of the Boys’ EIGHT sacks and also forced two fumbles. Terrence Newman also picked off two Eli Manning passes; helping Dallas to a 20-8 victory. Maybe Saturday night’s trip to Dallas won’t be so easy….
6-Landon Milbourne
The competition may not have been as good as the ACC teams Maryland will play the rest of the season; but Milbourne looked like the athletic stud power forward the Terps will need to make a run towards March. Milbourne scored 23 points and brought down 7 rebounds to lift Maryland past Delaware State Friday night, 86-58. That Landon Milbourne will need to show up the rest of the season to make sure Maryland isn’t NIT-bound again.
7-Tavaris Jackson
With the Bears winning Thursday night; the pressure was on the Vikings to go to Glendale for a victory to stay on pace in the NFC North. With Gus Frerotte out; it appeared as though the Vikes might be in trouble against the NFC West Champion Cardinals. But Tavaris Jackson showed the signs he never showed in his first run as starting QB; throwing for 4 TD’s as Minnesota beat Arizona 35-14.
8-University of Arizona Basketball
Russ Pennell was working as a radio color analyst for Arizona State University just last April. Only months later; he’s now responsible for trying to extend the longest current consecutive NCAA Tournament streak in college hoops as head coach of the Wildcats; replacing the legendary Lute Olson due to a dramatic retirement. After suffering a few unspeakable late losses early in the season; Pennell’s Wildcats are showing signs of life, which was particularly evident in Sunday’s win over previously undefeated Gonzaga. Jordan Hill scored 22, Nic Wise added 21, and the Wildcats got a 69-64 win over the Bulldogs in Phoenix.
9-“Ultimate Fighters” Ryan Bader and Efrain Escudero
Almost one year ago; wrestling was dead at Arizona State University. Athletic Director Lisa Love had decided to remove it as a varsity sport due to financial troubles in Tempe. Coach Thom Ortiz’s program was saved by boosters; and his former wrestlers are now proving just how important the program really is. Bader won a UFC contract Saturday night by defeating Vinny Magalhaes via first round TKO; and he did so with fellow former ASU wrestler and fellow former “Ultimate Fighter” finalist CB Dalloway in his corner. In the lightweight division Escudero defeated Phillipe Nover via decision to also get a six figure contract.
10-Sasho Cirovski, Zac MacMath, and Graham Zusi
Zusi scored the lone goal in Maryland’s semifinal win over St. John’s Friday night; and then again Sunday as the Terrapins defeated North Carolina for the national championship. MacMath pitched both shutouts in the College Cup while starting as a FRESHMAN. And Cirovski won his 2nd National Championship in College Park after making his 5th College Cup in the last 7 years.
11-Illinois-Chicago Flames
If Paul Hewitt was already writing his obituary at Georgia Tech; Sunday might have been the exclamation. Scott Vandermeer scored 19 points, Josh Mayo scored 17; and Illinois-Chicago defeated the Yellow Jackets 66-60 in Atlanta.
12-Paul Pierce and the Celtics
Facing former teammate James Posey and the outstanding New Orleans Hornets; the Boston Celtics put together one more outstanding performance Friday night to win their 14th straight game and improve their record to 22-2. Pierce scored 28 points in the win, giving the Celtics their best record through 24 games in franchise history.
13-James Franco
Everyone expected Heath Ledger to get a Golden Globe nomination for his turn as The Joker in “The Dark Knight”; but not all of Thursday’s Golden Globe nominations were so expected. Tom Cruise and Robert Downey Jr. picked up supporting actor nods for their roles in “Tropic Thunder”; and Franco was unbelievably nominated by the Hollywood Foreign Press for his role in the very funny pot movie “Pineapple Express.” Deserving? Sure, Franco was great. Surprising? No; downright STUNNING.
14-Junior Hairston
Towson’s 71-57 win at High Point Saturday night was a complete performance for Hairston. He scored 17 points, pulled down 7 boards, and even blocked 4 shots to lift the Tigers past the Panthers. Troy Franklin also had 15 points in the win.
15-Forensic Mapping
I’ve already said my peace regarding ESPN’s re-broadcast of “The Greatest Game Ever Played” in another blog, so I won’t keep piling on here. But the best thing ESPN did in the entire show was their use of forensic mapping to prove that Frank Gifford was indeed stopped short on 3rd and 3 with 3 minutes to play. Many thought that Gifford had picked up the first down but the ball was kicked backwards during the confusion after Gino Marchetti was hurt. But ESPN’s forensic mapper used a grid to prove how Gifford had been stopped about 9 inches short.
You got lucky…..
1-Sam Bradford
Look, Sam Bradford had a fine season. And frankly; his stats were almost significantly better than my Heisman pick-Colt McCoy. But it is tough to see someone win the Heisman who didn’t get as many first place votes as a competitor (Tim Tebow). It is even more difficult knowing that the man who had the most first place votes actually finished THIRD in voting (McCoy finished 2nd). I’m not saying that the voting system is flawed-it was just a strange way to see the award’s winner selected.
2-Indianapolis Colts
The Colts didn’t do the unthinkable; they beat the Lions 31-21. But when the Lions got a 2 point conversion in the 4th quarter to tie things up at 21; you have to think that there were plenty at Lucas Oil Stadium who were sweating profusely.
3-The Richmond Spiders
Many thought that the CAA would have two representatives in Friday’s FCS Championship Game. But with one quarter to play in Saturday’s Richmond-Northern Iowa game; it appeared more like there would be NO CAA representation in the title game. But trailing 20-7 in the final period; QB Eric Ward went to work. First, he rushed for a 1 yard TD with 11:16 left. Then, with 1:14 to play and the Spiders 62 yards from the endzone with no timeouts; Ward marched his team downfield for the winning score-a 13 yard TD pass to Joe Stewart. The Spiders will now face Montana for the national championship.
4-Phillip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers
It has been a disappointing season in San Diego; and the Chargers were exactly 91 seconds away from having the season end with an eliminating defeat at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs. But instead; the Bolts scored a TD when Phillip Rivers found Malcolm Floyd. After recovering an onsides kick; the Chargers won the game when Rivers connected with Vincent Jackson for a ten yard TD to win 22-21.
5-Arizona State basketball
When the Sun Devils signed up to play IUPUI at the US Airways Center in Phoenix; they NEVER imagined they’d be trailing by 16 in the 2nd half. But Rihards Kuksiks wouldn’t allow Coach Ron Hunter’s Jaguars to pull the stunner; hitting 6 3-pointers to force the extra frame. ASU scored just 4 points in overtime; but it was enough to eek out a 59-58 victory.
6-Gene Chizik
So let me get this straight…….Tommy Tuberville has won over 100 career games; including 5 SEC West titles, 1 SEC Championship, 6 Bowl Game wins, 9 Bowl Game appearances, 1 BCS Bowl win, and an undefeated season; and he’s being replaced by his own former defensive coordinator…..who has 5 career head coaching wins? Yeah, that makes sense.
7-Those of us who finished our Christmas shopping already
Some of us won’t be rushing to see what stores are still open at 8pm on Christmas Eve. Some of us won’t be panicking when we rush to see if there are ANY Nintendo Wii’s ANYWHERE in the entire Baltimore area over the next ten days. Some of us can just sit back and prepare for a celebration on December 25………..that is, after we get around to wrapping those gifts.
You’re an absolute zero……
Boxing’s Heavyweight Division
Baltimore’s own Hasim Rahman-a two time former heavyweight champion-fought Wladimir Klitschko Saturday afternoon in Germany for the chance to become a 3 time heavyweight champ. But not only could this blogger find NO establishment in the Baltimore area willing to show the HBO fight; but multiple WNST listeners admitted that they had no idea the fight was even happening. Keep pretending like you don’t have any problems boxing. Things are going really well for your sport right now. Klitschko won, but who cares? Total indictment on the state of boxing…..
Talk to you in the morning.
-G
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