NFL Wild Card Update

Arizona Cardinals vs Atlanta Falcons

It’s been 61 years since the Arizona Cardinals got their last home playoff victory. The Cardinals edged the Atlanta Falcons 30-24 with the strong arm of QB Kurt Warner throwing for 271 yards and two touchdowns. The Falcons’ Michael “The Burner” Turner had nowhere to go in the second half due to a stellar defensive performance by the Cards. (Cardinals 30, Falcons 24)

San Diego Chargers vs Indianapolis Colts

Saturday night featured San Diego running back, Darren Sproles as he lifted the Chargers over the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC wild-card game. Sproles recorded 328 total yards and sailed into the endzone in overtime for the game-winning touchdown. Peyton Manning and the Colts looked like the team to beat, particularly as Peyton had just won his third Associated Press NFL MVP award, but yet it wasn’t meant to be.  (Chargers, 23, Colts 17)

Miami Dolphins vs Baltimore Ravens

Miami Dolphins’ feel good season ended abruptly Sunday with a loss to the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens defense put so much pressure on Dolphins’ QB Chad Pennington that he was scrambling all game and coughed up four interceptions. Next up for the Ravens is the Tennessee Titans. (Ravens 27, Dolphins 9)

Philadelphia Eagles vs Minnesota Vikings

Philadelphia Eagles are heading to New York to take on the New York Giants after their 26-14 win over the Minnesota Vikings. Philly QB Donovan McNabb ramped it up and led the team with some clutch throws.  He finished the game with 300 yards, one touchdown and one interception, completing 23 of 34 passes.  And, thanks to Jim Johnson’s masterfully crafted defense, the Phillys are in a great position to take on the mighty Giants. The last time the Eagles played at the Meadowlands they won decidedly, which really means nothing other than you can tell people that on Dec. 7th, the Eagles beat the Giants 20-14. (Eagles 26, Vikings 14)

On Vacation this week…..back on Monday Jan. 5th. Enjoy the Weekend Wild Card Games

NFL

Darius Rucker, lead singer of Hootie and the Blowfish used to sing about the Dolphins making him cry. Well, not this season. After a 1-15 2007 season, the Dolphins under a brilliant executive vice president of football operations Bill Parcells,  clinched the AFC East title with a 24-17 defeat of the Jets. Dolphins QB Chad Pennington was under a tremendous amount of scrutiny and pressure this season and particularly in this game as he was released from the Jets when they brought in QB Brett Favre from the Packers. According to ESPN, before the game Chad told his teammates that he loved them. All Dolphin fans are loving their team today as well….particularly my buddies the two Michelles. For more on the Dolphins, check out their site!!!!

Oy, the Detroit Lions did it….they made history with a legendary 0-16 season. With a 31-21 defeat at the hands of the Green Bay Packers, the 2007 Lions have secured their place in history as the first NFL team to lose 16 regular-season games.

In Dolphin/Lions news, there is report this morning that Bill Parcells may leave the Dolphins and look for a job…possibly with the Lions. The Lions already fired head coach Rod Marinelli after three seasons with the team.

Here’s the wild card playoff scenario for January 3rd and 4th

Saturday

Atlanta Falcons at Arizona Cardinals, Saturday at 4:30 pm
Indianapolis Colts vs San Diego Chargers at 8:00 pm

Sunday

Baltimore Ravens vs Miami Dolphins at 1:00 pm
Philadelphia Eagles at Minnesota Vikings, Sunday at 4:30 pm

NFL

Playoff Scenarios

NFC

NY Giants: #1 seed
Arizona Cardinals: #4 seed

AFC

Tennessee Titans: #1 seed
Pittsburgh Steelers: #2 seed
Indianapolis Colts: #5 seed

The Falcons and the Panthers are also assured of a playoff berth, but other than that all the other spots are up for grabs. What does this mean? In the AFC, the San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Denver Broncos, Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots are all in contention. And in the NFC, the Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Bucs and the Philadelphia Eagles all still have playoff hopes.

Click here for playoff scenarios.

In more NFL news, New England QB, Tom Brady proposed to Super Model Gisele Bundchen on Christmas Eve on a private jet.

NFL-WEEK 17

This is the weekend we’ll see who’s playoff chances are destroyed and who looks strong heading into the post season. We could also see a record broken and history made….although no one wants this to happen. All eyes will be on the Detroit Lions vs the Green Bay Packers Sunday. The Lions are currently 0-15 and if they lose again on Sunday, they will go down in history as the only team (so far) to record a 0-16 season. The only other team to achieve this infamy was the 1976 expansion team, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, although this was prior to a full 16 game schedule, so the Bucs only went 0-14 for the regular season.Tune in 1:00 pm (est) Sunday if you’re prepared to see grown men cry.

MLB

The Yankees are flexing their economic muscles again with a $180 million contract for eight years with first baseman Mark Teixeira. The Yankees have now spent a remarkable $423.5 million on three players: CC Sabathia (pitcher) received $161 million seven-year deal and A.J. Burnett (pitcher) secured a $82.5 million, five-year contract. Yankees management hasn’t confirmed the trade yet, but apparently it’s pretty close to closed (assuming Teixeira passes his physical).

NFL

New York Giant’s wide receiver Plaxico Burress just can’t keep his name out of the news. The New York Post reported that authorities seized a bundle of weapons (unclear if they’ve been registered) from his home. They also found a suitcase full of cash (odd…..wonder what that’s all about?). If the weapons haven’t been registered, Plaxico could face even more trouble (and possibly jail time) from his accidental shooting (of his leg) with an unregistered gun last month in New Orleans.

Chicago Bears playoff hopes are still alive after their overtime win against the Green Bay Packers Monday night. The Bears, who are (9-6), came back from a 3-14 halftime to win their third game in a row.  Robbie Gould kicked the game winning 38 yard field goal.

Chicago could win the NFC North next weekend if they beat Houston and the Vikings lose to the Giants. (Chicago 20, Packers 17)

Click here for the rest of the playoff scenarios

NFL

The Atlanta Falcons secured a playoff spot with their win over the Minnesota Vikings Sunday. With their QB in jail and coming off of a 4-12 season, no one expected the Falcons to be so good this season. But, with rookie phenomenon QB Matt Ryan leading the helm, the Falcons are now 10-5 and creating tremendous excitement in the NFL. (Falcons 24, Vikings 17).

New York Giants clinched home-field advantage in the playoffs with their win over the Carolina Panthers. This is a big deal as they are 7-1 this season at home…is there another Super Bowl in the Giants’ future? (Giants 34, Panthers 28).

Tennessee Titans secured home-field advantage and the number one seed through the playoffs in their convincing win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. (Tennessee 31, Pittsburgh 14)

The Dolphins clinching AFC East? I know it sounds crazy after their 1-15 season last year, but they are one game away! If the Dolphins beat Brett Favre and the New York Jets next weekend, they could be on top of their division. This is huge, not just because the Dolphins were so awful last year but also because the Dolphins QB is Chad Pennington (who was discarded by the Jets). Dolphins beat Kansas City Sunday 38-31

NBA

The Detroit Pistons continued a very interesting streak.  Over the past couple seasons, Detroit has been a consistently tough team to beat.  But, they just can’t seem to beat the Utah Jazz.  It’s known as the Jazz curse in Detroit.  Utah matches up very well with Detroit’s big men, and seems to have their number.  Last night was no different, as Utah won their 7th straight game over the Pistons.  Jazz point guard Derron Williams led the way with 29 points and 8 assists.  Meanwhile, Iverson lit it up with 38 points for the Pistons, but it just wasn’t enough.  Utah 120, Detroit 114.

Elsewhere in the NBA, the Celtics keep on steamrolling through their competition.  They won their 17th straight game against Chicago.  But the guy who really stepped up wasn’t one of the Big 3 (Garnett, Allen, Pierce), nor was it their up-and-coming speedy point guard, Rajon Rondo.  Nope, it was center Kendrick Perkins.  He looked fantastic with 25 points and 8 rebounds.  These guys are jelling to the Nth degree, and don’t seem like they plan to stop anytime soon.  Now, the Celtics are 25-2, and just one win away from tying the franchise record win streak of 18 games.  Boston 126, Chicago 108.

BASEBALL

In some off-season baseball news, the World Baseball Classic is upon us.  This is a new event, and is essentially the World Cup of baseball.  Basically, major league baseball consists of so many nationalities that people wanted to see which nation would reign supreme if there was a former competition.  However, three of last year’s biggest stars, Brad Lidge, Cole Hamels, and Ryan Howard, all members of the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies, have officially told Team USA that they do not want to be considered for the roster.   They basically said they’ve had enough baseball for a while, and need to rest this off season.  Bad news for Team USA, but it’s understandable.

NFL

First year Washington Redskins coach, Jim Zorn, the heir apparent to the great Joe Gibbs, seems to be keeping his job.  Many thought he might be ousted after only one year, partly because the Washington head coaching job is historically difficult to keep (given the demanding nature of their fan base), but also because Clinton Portis, their star running back, has publicly called him out for being a bad coach.  On the flip side, the Skins had a pretty good season this year, and Zorn just might be in the safe zone until the end of the season.

The Dallas Cowboys lost to the Baltimore Ravens in their last game at Texas Stadium. The Cowboys got close in the final minutes, but it wasn’t nearly enough and the Ravens pulled out a 33-24 win.