WEEKEND WRAP-UP

WEEKEND WRAP-UP

 

This past weekend in sports was one for the ages. When Oregon lost at home to Arizona in a game that they were almost four touchdown favorites in, we should’ve known something was up. It began there and ended last night when the Patriots put themselves back on the map and in the driver’s seat in the AFC East. In between we were treated to excitement comparable to being a kid on Christmas morning. Let’s get to the wrap up beginning with Major League Baseball and the wrap up of the two ALDS series.

The Detroit Tigers came into the playoffs with the worst bullpen of all the playoff teams and it showed in their ALDS matchup against the Orioles. In both games 1&2 the bullpen could not hold a lead and put the Tigers in an 0-2 hole heading back to the Motor City. Yesterday the offense showed that it stayed in Baltimore to maybe enjoy a few more days at the Inner Harbor. A 2 run home run by Nelson Cruz in the 6th inning was enough to give the Orioles the win and the series. In the other ALDS series you had the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, who ran through the American League and wrapped up home field throughout the playoffs, and the Kansas City Royals. The Royals were coming off their exciting wild card game win against Oakland but most didn’t give them a shot against the Angels, who had the far superior hitters, at least on paper. Thank God they don’t play games on paper though because the Royals went out to Anaheim and brought their hot bats with them. Kansas City completely stole away home field taking the first two games in Anaheim, led by the suddenly unstoppable Eric Hosmer. Coming back to KC with a chance for a sweep had the home crowd in an absolute frenzy and C.J. Wilson never had a chance. Wilson couldn’t even make it out of the first inning after giving up 3 runs and having poor control. The Royals onslaught continued and they became the second team in the ALCS, and also the second team to sweep its opening round series. When Kansas City and Baltimore meet, with game 1 on Friday, it will be the team with the longest pennant drought against the team with the second longest. Something will have to give on the way to the Fall Classic and one of these fan bases will be bearing witness to history.

This week in College Football was the week where anything potentially amazing that could happen did.  There were upsets galore, possible championship dreams shattered, and more excitement than could be humanly handled. It all started Thursday night when Arizona strolled into Oregon and handed the Ducks their first loss of the season in a game they were believed to have no chance in. Then Saturday came along and all hell broke loose. UCLA lost to unranked Utah, Alabama and the most overrated coach/coordinator in the history of the game, Lane Kiffin got embarrassed by Ole Miss, LSU was completely demolished by Auburn (the team that looks the most complete thus far), South Carolina suffered their 3rd loss of the year, burying their championship hopes with a loss to Kentucky, USC lost on a last second Hail Mary against Arizona St., Notre Dame won a wet and sloppy contest against the Cardinal of Stanford, and TCU handed Oklahoma their first loss of the season. This weekend threw the entire playoff picture into shambles and almost all but guarantees at least one single loss team and possibly two could make the playoffs. Right now if the playoffs started I would have to say Auburn, Florida St., Notre Dame, and either Miss. St. or Ole Miss as the fourth team. However that will change once again this weekend when Auburn faces off against Miss. St., Ole Miss travels to A&M, and Baylor and TCU square off in another top ten matchup of undefeated teams. Make sure your seatbelts are buckled folks because we’ve officially hit the point in the season where we need to make sure we’re strapped in tight and keep our hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times. 

Sunday in the NFL was another week of action and drama as per usual with this league. There are no undefeated teams left and only three one loss teams. Of those 3 one loss teams, (San Diego, Philadelphia, and Dallas) only San Diego has looked truly championship quality. Dallas and Philadelphia both have their issues but will no doubt take the position they are in right now. The one thing that is certain so far in the season is that the NFC is clearly the far superior and deeper conference. One AFC team who people had left for dead was the New England Patriots, and all they did was come out and dismantle the previously undefeated Bengals. Watching that game early on, when Brady ran for a first down and jumped right up and gave an emphatic fist pump, that’s when I knew New England wasn’t losing this game. With their power running and two tight end formations they may be right back on track to finish atop the AFC. I would also like to extend congratulations to Peyton Manning for throwing his 500th TD pass against the Arizona Cardinals. The individual accomplishments are piling up but hopefully he can get that second ring that has eluded him in order to fully top off his resume as one of the greatest to ever play the game. Also, congratulations to Jason Witten, my absolute favorite player in the NFL by the way, for eclipsing the 10,000 receiving yard mark, joing only Tony Gonzalez and Shannon Sharpe in that exclusive club. Tonight on Monday Night Football I see the Redskins keeping things interesting but ultimately falling short against the Seahawks and further burying themselves in the NFC East race. I’m going to end on this note: My top 3 picks right now for the Most Valuable Player through Week 5. I would give Philip Rivers a slight lead over Andrew Luck at the moment with DeMarco Murray coming in 3rd. Rivers is my leader just based on the fact that the Chargers have gone through 183 running backs and 398 offensive lineman, and specifically centers. What he has been able to do even in the face of those shortcomings has been nothing short of brilliant and the award is his to lose right now.