FOOTBALL

In the NFL, it was the top two teams in the AFC East on Monday Night Football. The battle of two 9 -2 teams, The New England Patriots and The New York Jets.  It was the matchup of two quarterbacks always in the spotlight in Tom Brady and Mark Sanchez. It was what promised to be the game of the week, perhaps even game of the year. How could it not live up to the hype?

Well, it turned out to be one of the most lopsided games of the year. The Tom Brady show put on a production of 326 yards and four touchdowns leading him to his NFL record 26^th straight win at home. From the very beginning New England was in the drivers seat and had control of the game ending the first quarter up 17 – 0. Jets’ quarterback Mark Sanchez coiled up when the bright Monday Night Lights were burning the brightest. Ending the game with 164 yards passing and three interceptions proved that Mark Sanchez is not ready to take the next step in becoming an elite NFL quarterback. But, the story of the game was not only the quarterbacks and their offenses, but also the reversal of roles the defenses had. The Jets defense, which has been known this year to wreak havoc on opposing offenses allowed 45 points, whereas The Patriots defense, who has been ranked in the bottom five of total defenses came up with a huge statement, allowing only three points and causing four turnovers. With the win, New England looks to be in good shape to make the playoffs and New York needs to bounce back next week against Miami. New England 45, New York 3

And in honor of Monday Night Football, longtime Dallas Cowboys quarterback Don Meredith and original Monday Night Football personality has passed away at the age of 72.

Also in the NFL, The Denver Broncos have fired head coach Josh McDaniels. This comes after Denver was found guilty of taping a 49ers’ walk through practice. Running backs coach Eric Studesville will be taking over as the interim head coach. McDaniels is not even half way through his four-year contract. Now, Denver will have to pay three head coaches over the next year, because of Mike Shanahan’s contract. There was no logical successor for the position and what was once seen, as a prestigious NFL head coaching position, now seems just like any other job in the NFL.

In college football, the finalists for the Heisman trophy, the nation’s most outstanding player, have been announced. And they are… drum roll please…Oregon’s LaMichael James, Stanford’s Andrew Luck, Auburn’s Cam Newton, and Boise State’s Kellen Moore.

This past weekend also was a part of college football’s BCS bowl announcements. The National championship between the Oregon Ducks and the Auburn Tigers will feature the two favorite Heisman trophy candidates. The other BCS bowl games that will be occurring are Stanford versus Virginia Tech in the Orange bowl. The Tostitos Fiesta bowl is home to the Oklahoma Sooners and the University of Connecticut.  The Rose bowl will feature the Wisconsin Badgers versus TCU. And finally, the Sugar bowl will be a battle between Arkansas and Ohio State.