NFL

Some bad news for Broncos fans.  While they did have a comeback victory against the Browns on Thursday, they suffered a key injury at running back, losing Ryan Torian for the season.  Teams suffer running back setbacks all the time, but Torian was their 4th string back.  They had to play the rest of the game with their fullback, and now will have to scour the league for someone to fill that position.  Some possible candidates are two former Broncos running backs.  Tatum Bell (cut by the Lions earlier this year) and Mike Bell (cut by the Texans earlier this year).  Their passing game looks good with Jay Cutler at the helm, but their running game is going to need some sharp improvement if they expect to cause ANY damage in the playoffs.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Two big showdowns this weekend.  #2 Texas Tech, coming off an upset victory over Texas last week, will put their undefeated streak on the line against a very tough Oklahoma State team.  T-Tech is led by Graham Harrell and a powerful offensive attack, but this year, Texas Tech’s defense is getting a lot of attention too.  These guys are fierce, and Oklahoma State’s offense will have a pretty tough time putting up points.

You also have #1 Alabama going up against a hate-filled rival in LSU.  LSU isn’t as strong this year as past seasons, but when these two teams collide, all the stats and predictions go right out the window.  But the main story of the game is the coaching match-up.  Alabama is captained by Nick Saban, former football mastermind at none other than… LSU.  However, Saban left his powerhouse program in order to pursue greener pastures — the NFL.  He had a 1-year stint as the Miami Dolphins head coach, and then split to return to college football.  LSU’s rival, Alabama, offered him the gig.  Now, he brings his undefeated team back to Baton Rouge, where every single LSU fan has been viciously waiting.  This is absolutely a can’t-miss game.

Finally, the #3 Penn State Nittany Lions will look to complete a perfect season on Saturday against the Iowa Hawkeyes.  A tremendous achievement for 80-year-old coach Joe Paterno (albeit he has a lot of help).  Fortunately for Penn State, the Big 10 (their conference) doesn’t have a conference championship game (aka one more opportunity to lose).  An undefeated season and a (potential) birth in the National Championship game would definitely bring glory back to State College, PA.

NFL

It was the first start for former Notre Dame quarterback (and pretty boy) Brady Quinn.  Throughout the week, there was speculation whether or not this was a good move for the Browns.  To bench last year’s star QB Derek Anderson for a second-year guy midway through the season?  Furthermore, it wasn’t even on a week’s rest, as it was a Thursday night game.  But, Quinn looked pretty good.  He capped off his opening drive with a TD pass to Kellen Winslow, and then hit Winslow later in the game for another TD.  However, the Broncos rallied back, as their QB Jay Cutler threw for 447 yards.  He connected on an 11-yard TD pass to Brandon Marshall with 1:14 left to keep and maintain the lead.  Cutler finished with 3 total TDs.  All in all, Quinn gave Browns fans something to root for even though the game ended in typical Cleveland failure fashion.  Denver 34, Cleveland 30.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

TENNIS

BASEBALL

The Dodgers traded for Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirez late last season.  And boy did it pay off.  Manny caught fire, and led the Dodgers to the NLCS.   Manny was great for business too, as Dodger fans came to the stadium in droves just to see if he’ll crush one out of the park.  Plus, they all wore those Manny dreadlocks wigs.  Well, the Dodgers decided they needed to have him back for next year, and have offered him a huge contract, which would make him the 2nd highest paid player in baseball behind Alex Rodriguez. If he takes the deal, the Dodgers will surely expect a World Series birth, but they can definitely count on some whopping attendance numbers regardless.

NBA

Former Knicks head coach Larry Brown made his return to Madison Square Garden last night, and was greeted with a chorus of boos.  When Brown coached the Knicks, they were absolutely terrible.  So Knicks fans really wanted to win this contest as a form of revenge.  And that’s exactly what they got.  The Knicks look pretty good this season, and their point guard, Nate Robinson, looks amazing.  Every time he put up a shot, it’s like he couldn’t miss.  Robinson had a total of 24 points on the night.  When Larry Brown coached the Knicks, he mostly kept Robinson on the bench.  So Nate wanted to show his old coach that he can be a terror when he gets a chance.  The game was close, but the Knicks prevailed 101-98.

BASEBALL

In the baseball post-season, Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux picked up yet another award to add to his trophy case.  He won his 18th Golden Glove award.  For those of you who don’t know, a Golden Glove award is given to the best fielder in every position on the field.  But Maddux is a humble and gracious guy, and even though he’s won numerous Cy Young Awards (Best Pitcher) and 17 Gold Glove awards in his career, he still said that winning this Gold Glove is a tremendous honor in what was an amazing season.

NFL

Broncos Wide Receiver Brandon Marshall and Miami linebacker, Joey Porter, are talking trash to each other.  The two got into a heated battle on Sunday in a Miami 26-17 win, and Porter shut Marshall DOWN.  Porter said about Marshall, “He’s one of those soft receivers, where he has to have the ball all the time. If he don’t get it, he’s going to mope and cry.”  And now Brandon Marshall is spitting it back, saying that Porter is one of those guys who just likes to talk a lot of trash, even though they have their own insecurities.  These confrontations are rather meaningless, but can be fun if they escalate or even meet up again in the post-season.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

USC head coach, Pete Carroll, lambasted the BCS ranking system.  He said he really doesn’t know how the computer calculates the standings, but finds it ridiculous that his team can crush a Pac-10 opponent (Washington) 56-0 and FALL two spots in the standings.  He’s not the only head coach to publicly lash a broken ranking system, and he followed up his comment by saying, “All we can do is keep talking about it”.

NBA

A possible championship preview between the Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets.  The Rockets have a new-look this season with the addition of bad-boy Ron Artest and a healthy Yao Ming in the line-up.  It was a close battle, but the Celtics Big 3 were still too much for the Rockets to handle.  Ray Allen led the way for the Celtics with 29 points, and McGrady was the guy for Houston with 26 points.  These teams will meet again this regular season, but don’t be surprised to see them squaring off again come June 2009.  Boston 103, Houston 99.

BASEBALL

The New York Yankees have declined to pick up the option on their star first baseman, Jason Giambi.  Giambi was one of those huge all-stars who made a name for himself on another team (the Athletics), then picked up by the Yanks and paid big dollars to help them win a World Series.  Well, the Giambi experiment didn’t work out for the Yankees, and wouldn’t it be ironic if he got his trophy with a smaller team.  Perhaps the Oakland Athletics.

NFL

It was domination in Washington D.C.  But it wasn’t the home team doing the dominating.  No, the Pittsburgh Steelers came into Redskin territory and absolutely destroyed them.  They even held the league’s leading rusher, Clinton Portis, to just 51 yards.  It wasn’t all good news for the Steelers, as they lost QB Ben Roethlisberger at halftime.  He’s still suffering from a separated shoulder injury.  However, back-up QB, and former Jaguar, Byron Leftwich stepped in and led to the Steelers to two touchdown drives.  One a 50-yard pass to Nate Washington, and the other a 5-yard strike to Santonio Holmes.  Leftwich might be the Steelers lead guy going forward, but if he plays as well as he did last night, they’ll be just fine.  Pittsburgh 23, Washington 6.

Finally, in one more NFL note, the Browns have finally decided to turn
the ball over to their 2nd-year QB, and former Notre Dame heartthrob,
Brady Quinn.  Quinn was drafted by the Browns in 2007, and was expected
to be their franchise QB.  However, a miracle happened, and the Browns
were spectacular with Anderson at the helm.  So, going into the 2008,
they decided to stick with Anderson and wait on Quinn.  Well, Anderson
has looked awful this season, and the Browns have chosen to roll the
dice with Quinn.  He might stink too, but at least female Browns fans
will have something to cheer for.

NBA

A BLOCKBUSTER trade.  It’s always good when the league shakes it up a bit, and puts different faces in different places.  The Detroit Pistons sent their all-star point guard, Chauncey Billups, and back-up Power Forward, Antonio McDyess to the Denver Nuggets for the always interesting Allen Iverson.  The thought process from the two teams is this:  Detroit knows that they’re not getting any better with their current unit.  They’ve had it in place for the last 4 years and it simply is what it is.  They can’t win a championship at status quo.  Therefore, they bring in a huge scorer in Iverson to ramp things up a notch; the trade-off being that they are potentially sacrificing solid team chemistry for a scoring machine (albeit a scoring force they’ll need in the playoffs).  From Denver’s point of view, they realize the Iverson experiment isn’t working, and there’s really nowhere to go but down.  Plus, Iverson is a shoot first guy, and the team wants their star to be Forward Carmelo Anthony.  Therefore, they take a risk, ship Iverson out of there, and import an incredibly intelligent, pass-first point guard in Chauncey Billups.  He might be able to get both Carmelo and the team as whole to a new level.   For once the Nuggets might advance past the first round of the playoffs, as opposed to being a playoff-practice squad for the Lakers, Spurs, or Rockets.

NFL

A wild Sunday in the NFL.  Let’s get right to it:

The Cincinnati Bengals scored their first win against a confused Jacksonville Jaguar Team.  The game was notable due to its come back stories.  Bengals Harvard-grad quarterback, Ryan Fitzpatrick looked good throwing for 162 yards and two 2TDs.  And those touchdowns went straight to Chad ‘Ocho-Cinco’ Johnson, who is having one of his worst seasons, but returned to old form today.  Furthermore, former Bears draft-pick bust, RB Cedric Benson, looked incredible in a Bengals uniform.  He rushed for 104 yards, and a TD.  Don’t get used to the Bengals winning regularly, but it’s still nice to see a team get the bagel out of the win column.  Cincinnati 21, Jacksonville 19.

On that note, the Detroit Lions were seeking THEIR first win heading to Chicago.  And they started off hot, even jumping out to a 23-13 lead.  Their star player, WR Calvin Johnson, is simply a beast.  He catches balls even when double-covered.  If they ever get an organized offense, he might be poised for hall of fame numbers.  Things got worse for the Bears when their Quarterback, Kyle Orton, was carted off the field with a bum ankle.  And then… the boos, as back-up QB Rex Grossman took the field.  (For those of you not sure why Chicago fans would boo Grossman, think back to the 2006 Super Bowl against the Indianapolis Colts, where Grossman was absolutely terrible).  But Grossman wasn’t so bad.  He rallied the Bears back in the 2nd half hitting Rashied Davis for a 6-yard TD pass, and even rushing a TD himself.  The Bears prevailed, and the Lions remain win less.  Just a frustrating day for Lions fans.   Chicago 27, Detroit 23.

And there was a nail-biter in Tennessee, where the undefeated Titans hosted the Green Bay Packers.  It was primarily a game of field goals, but at the end of regulation, Titans kicker Rob Bironas missed a 47-yard field goal that would have won the game.  However, in overtime, Bironas got a chance to redeem himself, and he booted a beautiful 41-yard field goal through the uprights to win the game.  The Titans move to 8-0, and are still the only unbeaten team in the league.  Tennessee 19, Green Bay 16.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Finally, a big shake-up in the college football BCS standings (Bowl Championship Series).  Texas Tech knocked off #1 Texas on Saturday night with 1-second remaining, and that win earned them the #2 spot in the BCS rankings.  #1 belongs to… Alabama.  Therefore, if the Championship game were played today, Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide would take on Texas Tech. However, the Penn State Nittany Lions are undefeated as well, and feel they have every right to play for the National Championship Game themselves. With a few more games to played this season, we don’t need to worry about a controversy just yet.  But it’s certainly in the back of everyone’s mind.  And if all three undefeated teams lose, then we have a huge dilemma on our hands, as there are at least 10 teams with one loss that could make a case for a National Championship appearance.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

The featured match-up and vicious rivalry between the Florida Gators and Georgia Bulldogs was anything but a contest.  The state of Georgia was psyched for this annual battle — one county even canceled school for it.  But Florida came into Athens, GA and took…care…of…business.  It was all Florida all the time.  Last year’s Heisman QB, Tim Tebow, accounted for, count ‘em, 5 TOUCHDOWNS.  2 passing, and three rushing.  And Florida shut down Georgia’s two stars.  Georgia’s QB, and front-running Heisman candidate, Matt Stafford threw 3 interceptions, and their NFL-bound Running Back, Knowshon Moreno, ran for a paltry 65 yards.  Now, Florida’s National Championship hopes are still very much alive — and Georgia’s… not so much.  Florida 49, Georgia 10.

The #2 Alabama Crimson Tide continued to roll, crushing Arkansas St. 35-0, and #5 USC annihilated Washington by more than 50 points.  Washington currently has coaching question marks, and this blow comes as no surprise, while USC still has their eyes set on playing in the National Championship Game.

And in the saddest news of college football Saturday, the Michigan Wolverines, one of the most historically prestigious college football programs in the country, have sealed their first losing season since 1967.  They lost to Purdue 48-42.  This is frustrating news for die-hard Michigan fans around the country, who always looked forward to bragging rights every fall.  This program needs to make a turn around, and soon.

NFL

Finally, in the NFL, a little good news for the winless Detroit Lions.  They signed retired Quarterback Daunte Culpepper to a 2 year deal.  Culpepper has been a sub-par QB the last couple of years for both the Dolphins and Raiders, but everyone still remembers his glory days in Minnesota, throwing long-bomb touchdowns to Randy Moss.  Well, now Culpepper has another wickedly talented wide-receiver in Calvin Johnson.  The Lions playoff hopes might be dead, but we could see some very exciting highlights from them in the remaining weeks of the season.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

It’s college football Saturday and there are two HUGE match-ups to salivate over.  Especially because of the quarterbacks involved.

First, it’s #8 Florida v. #6 Georgia in a game that has National Championship implications.  However, this isn’t just a game… this is a war to these two teams.  The SEC is like no other conference in college football.  Every single one of these teams has a rabid fan base, and thus, every week they play another rabid fan base.  The fury never ends.  This week, Florida travels to Georgia (not that far), and in an oddly unprecedented move a Georgia school district needs to close school on Friday because they can’t find enough teachers to work.  Last year apparently, they had 137 teaches call in sick the day before the big game, and could barely function as a school.  This year they just said, ‘Lets cancel school’.  Kinda neat for students — to have school canceled not for weather, but because everyone wants to have fun.

The game itself should be a heated showdown.  It’s a battle of former Heisman trophy winner, Tim Tebow, going up against this year’s Heisman candidate running back, Roshown McLeod.  Furthermore, Tim Tebow is just one touchdown away from setting the touchdown record at Florida — previously held by Emmit Smith.   Then again, Georgia Quarterback, Matthew Stafford, could steal Tebow’s thunder.  He’s playing great, and experts feel Stafford is a better pro-prospect than Tim Tebow.  So it’s a pair of competing QB egos hitting the field today as well.

Second, it’s #1 Texas v. #7 Texas Tech, and both teams have momentum going into the game.   Texas is playing incredible, but Texas Tech has been killing their opponents.  This game should be a shootout, as both quarterbacks, Texas’ Colt McCoy, and Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell, have been playing out of their mind.  Plus, these guys are probably the leading Heisman candidates right now, and this game will be reviewed come awards month.  Texas has been in this spot before, but for Texas Tech, this is their first 8-0 start since 1976.  And Texas has been taking on elite competition the last three weeks (Oklahoma, Missouri, Oklahoma).  Will Texas Tech finally be the straw that broke the camel’s back?

NFL

Finally, a little NFL news and follow-up story.  Going into the season, there was a lot controversy surrounding Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers.  Should they keep him or should they let him go and let their new guy, Aaron Rodgers, take the helm.  They opted to let him go to the Jets, and maintained confidence in Rodgers.  Well, 9 weeks into the season, Aaron Rodgers has proved he can take the reigns of this team, and the Packers have awarded him a contract extension until 2014.  So the answer to ‘Can Aaron Rodgers replace Brett Favre’ is… Yes.  Well, at least to Packers management.  The gen-pop of Wisconsin might feel otherwise.