Week 8

Week 8 of the NFL season included a matchup of 5-1 teams and a game outside of the United States. The matchup between the San Diego Chargers and the New Orleans Saints took place in London at Wembley Stadium. These two teams are high scoring teams and they proved it on Sunday. Saints' quarterback Drew Brees, who used to be the starter for the Chargers, threw for 339 yards and threw three touchdown passes. Philip Rivers, the Chargers' quarterback, threw for 341 yards and three touchdowns as well but threw a game changing interception with under two minutes left in the game. The Saints won the game 37-32. The best matchup was between the defending champion New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Both teams came in at 5-1, and both quarterbacks Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger came into the NFL from the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft. The Giants defense dominated, recording five sacks and four interceptions against the Steelers. Giants' defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka had three of those sacks for the Giants. Manning was able to do enough to help his team win, throwing for 199 yards and throwing the game winning touchdown, giving the Giants a 21-14 victory. The Monday night matchup involved the Indianapolis Colts and the undefeated Tennessee Titans. The Colts got off to a good start, leading 14-6 in the third quarter, but the Titans defense locked down and quarterback Kerry Collins was very efficient, leading the Titans to a 31-21 victory. In other scores, the Dallas Cowboys beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13-9, the New York Jets beat the Kansas City Chiefs 28-24, and the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Atlanta Falcons 27-14. The Giants, in my opinion, have solidified themselves as possibly the best team in the NFL with their victory and also proved the point that the Steelers and Roethlisberger are overrated. I also believe the Colts are in trouble, and may not make the playoffs. What do you think? Which team are clearly going to the playoffs? What team(s) have been disappointments?

Rays Advance To World Series

The Tampa Bay Rays have advanced to the World Series for the first time in their franchise history with their 3-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox in Game 7 of the ALCS. Matt Garza, who was acquired in a trade from the Minnesota Twins last offseason, was very effective, only giving up one run and striking out nine. The Rays, who were an expansion team in 1998, have drafted a lot of good players over the past couple of years and it has finally paid dividends. They won the AL East division, with the Red Sox and New York Yankees being the dominant team in the division for years. For their first 10 years of existence, they have had 10 losing seasons and have not won more than 71 games in a season. They are the second team in history to make it to the World Series a year after owning baseball's worst record. The Atlanta Braves of 1991 accomplished that feat but lost to the Minnesota Twins in seven games. The Rays will face the Philadelphia Phillies, who defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games in the NLCS. Garza was named the ALCS MVP, with several other players deserving consideration. Third basemen Evan Longoria and center fielder B.J. Upton each hit four home runs in the series, and Carlos Pena hit three home runs. The Rays have home field advantage, due to the fact the American League won the All-Star Game back in July at Yankee Stadium. The World Series starts Wednesday night in Tampa. Who do you think will win the World Series? Which team poses a bigger threat?

Phillies Advance To World Series

The Philadelphia Phillies advanced to the World Series on Wednesday night by defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1. Shortstop and leadoff man Jimmy Rollins led the game off with a solo home run, putting the Phillies ahead and never looking back. In the NLDS against the Milwaukee Brewers, Jimmy Rollins hit a leadoff home run in the series clinching game as well. This is the Phillies first appearance in the World Series since 1993, when they lost to the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1993 World Series. Pitcher Cole Hamels, who won games 1 and 5, won the NL MVP by pitching dominantly. The Dodgers scored their lone run on Manny Ramirez's solo home run. Ramirez, who was acquired from the Boston Red Sox before the trade deadline, was red hot with the Dodgers since joining the team in August. In the NLCS, he has been the only spark for a Dodgers team that struggled offensively after putting up good offensive numbers in their shocking NLDS sweep of the Chicago Cubs. The Phillies are now awaiting the winner of the ALCS between the Red Sox and the shocking Tampa Bay Rays, who went from a last place finish last year to a first place finish. What will be the better matchup for the Phillies? Will the Phillies' pitching continue to be dominant?

Jones Suspended, Williams To Cowboys

Adam Jones, troubled cornerback of the Dallas Cowboys, was suspended by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for a minimum of four games. Last week, Jones was involved in an altercation with a bodyguard that was appointed by owner Jerry Jones. Police were called to the scene, and it was reported that there were some damages to a bathroom in the hotel they were in at the time of the altercation. This is the latest straw in a string of incidents involving Jones. Jones spent his first couple of seasons with the Tennessee Titans and has been arrested or involved in incidents numerous times. He was suspended for the entire year last season, and in the offseason, the Titans traded him to the Cowboys. He vowed to never get into any kind of trouble again, but this was a setback. It was reported that Goodell will decide after the four game suspension what course of action will happen next with Jones. On the same day, the Cowboys acquired wide receiver Roy Williams from the Detroit Lions for a first round, third round, and sixth round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. Williams gives the Cowboys an immediate offensive boost, alongside wide receiver Terrell Owens. Quarterback Tony Romo has a broken pinkie finger and reports earlier in the week were that he would miss four weeks. Now, he has practiced throwing the football and reports are that he will play against the St. Louis Rams on Sunday. I think the suspension of Jones, in my opinion, is unnecessary and it leaves the secondary very depleted with an injury to Terrence Newman. What do you think of the Cowboys' situation? Will Roy Williams help their offense and Owens?

Week 6

Week 6 of the NFL season did not have many intriguing matchups but ended up with some fantastic finishes. The matchups between the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Atlanta Falcons, St. Louis Rams and Washington Redskins, and the Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans were all decided in the last 10 seconds of regulation and the margin of victory for the winners were no more than 2 points. The most surprising of those outcomes was the matchup between the Rams and Redskins. The Redskins, who were 4-1 coming into the game, were coming off of road division wins against the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles. The Rams did not have a win yet, coming in at 0-4. But they shocked the Redskins at FedEx Field and won 19-17 on Josh Brown's 49 yard field goal as time expired. The best game from week 6 was between the Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals. Quarterback Tony Romo was 24 of 38 for 321 yards with 3 touchdowns. However, the Cowboys lost in overtime when punter Mat McBriar's punt was blocked by Sean Morey and was recovered and taken to the end zone by Monty Beisel for a 30-24 overtime victory. One surprising game was the Monday night matchup between the defending champion New York Giants and the Cleveland Browns. The Browns won, surprisingly, 35-14. Browns' quarterback Derek Anderson was very effective and Giants' quarterback Eli Manning wasn't, throwing 3 interceptions with one being returned for a touchdown. In other scores, the Indianapolis Colts beat the Baltimore Ravens 31-3, the Philadelphia Eagles beat the San Francisco 49ers 40-26 and the San Diego Chargers beat the New England Patriots 30-10. In my opinion, other than the games coming down to the final seconds, there wasn't anything interesting in this week of football. What do you think? Which team is the best so far? Which team(s) are pretenders?

Week 5

Week 5 of the NFL season involved teams trying to stay undefeated and teams trying to get their first win. The matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Dallas Cowboys was an example of that. The Bengals came in to Dallas looking for their first win, and they came out flat, falling behind 17-0. However, they battled back and got within 17-13 and made it a game. But a key turnover made the difference as running back Chris Perry fumbled with the Bengals down 24-22. The Cowboys were able to score another touchdown and put the game out of reach, winning 31-22. The Bengals are now 0-5 while the Cowboys are 4-1. The NFC East divisional matchup between the Washington Redskins and the Philadelphia Eagles provided a surprise. The Eagles jumped on top of the Redskins early, leading 14-0 in the first quarter. The Redskins then happened to pull off 23 straight points, leading 23-14 in the fourth quarter and stopping the Eagles from scoring another touchdown in the red zone. Clinton Portis rushed for 145 yards on 29 carries, and quarterback Jason Campbell has continued to be careful, not throwing an interception all season up to this point. The Redskins won 23-17 in Philadelphia to improve to 4-1. The Monday night matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints was good also. Reggie Bush of the Saints returned two punts for a touchdown and almost returned a third. Vikings' running back Adrian Peterson only rushed for 32 yards on 21 carries but the Vikings still won 30-27. In other scores, the New York Giants beat the Seahawks 44-6, Indianapolis Colts beat the Houston Texans 31-27 in a bizarre game, and the Tennessee Titans beat the Baltimore Ravens 13-10. In my opinion, the Colts are in trouble because their offense is struggling along with their defense. The Giants look like Super Bowl contenders and the Redskins look for real as well. What do you think? What teams are disappointing right now?

Rays, Red Sox Advance To ALCS

The Tampa Bay Rays and the Boston Red Sox, both AL East teams, advanced to the ALCS by wrapping up their respecitive series on Monday. The Rays defeated the Chicago White Sox 6-2 in Chicago, winning the series three game to one. Later that night, the Red Sox defeated the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 3-2 to also win their series three games to one. Andy Sonnanstine, pitcher for the Rays, was effectiv, giving up 2 runs in 5 2/3 innings. Those two runs came off of home runs from Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye. The Rays were offensively better, however. B.J. Upton hit two home runs in his first two at-bats against Gavin Floyd to propel the Rays to the win. This is the Rays' first playoff appearance since they became a major league baseball team in the 1998 season. They advance and will play the Red Sox, starting on Friday. The Red Sox, who are the defending champions, dominated the Angels in this series like they have done in past series. In two previous playoff series between the two teams, the Red Sox swept the Angels in both. It almost happened again with the Red Sox taking the first two games in Los Angeles, but the Angels won Game 3 in Boston to extend the series. Both starting pitchers, John Lackey of the Angels, and John Lester of the Red Sox, pitched good. Rookie Jed Lowrie had the game winning hit in the bottom of the ninth, driving in Jason Bay. The Rays won 10 of 18 regualr season games against the Red Sox. I believe that both teams are good and the Rays will pull it out in seven games. What do you think? Who has better pitching? Who has better offense? Does experience play a factor?

Phillies Advance To NLCS

The Philadelphia Phillies have eliminated the Milwaukee Brewers and advance to the NLCS for the first time since 1993 with their 6-2 victory in Game 4 in Milwaukee. Pat Burrell for the Phillies was a big reason why the Phillies won the game. Burrell hit two home runs, with the first one being an important three-run home run that put the Phillies ahead 4-0 in the third inning. Jimmy Rollins got things started with a leadoff home run for the Phillies, and the Phillies never had to look back. They also got strong pitching from Joe Blanton, who was a midseason acquisition from the Oakland Athletics. Blanton pitched six solid innings, only giving up a run. The Phillies got strong starting pitching for the most part in this series. Cole Hamels and Brett Myers pitched great in the first two games. Jamie Moyer did a solid job in Game 3, but the Phillies' offense didn't come through. Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, and Chase Utley, the Phillies best hitters, were non-existent in the first three games of the series. The Phillies' offense finally came alive in the series in Game 4, and they were able to clinch. The Phillies will now play the Los Angeles Dodgers, who swept the Chicago Cubs in the NLDS. In my opinion, I believe the Phillies have enough offense to get by the Dodgers. It will definitely be an interesting series. What do you think? Who will win the NLCS? Will Brewers' pitcher C.C. Sabathia return to the Brewers next season?

Cubs Swept By Dodgers

The Chicago Cubs were eliminated from the playoffs on Saturday by losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1 in Los Angeles. Pitcher Hiroki Kuroda of the Dodgers pitched a gem tonight in a game where people thought the Cubs would show some life. The Cubs, after losing the first two games of the series at home, came out flat again. Pitcher Rich Harden didn't pitch badly, giving up three runs in 4 1/3 innings. Manager Lou Pinella of the Cubs pulled Harden early because he didn't want to risk the game being blown open by the Dodgers. The Cubs bats, however, were not alive the entire series. The Cubs only scored six runs the entire series, and the Dodgers outscored them 20-6. The Cubs starting pitchers Ryan Dempster and Carlos Zambrano didn't do a good job in the first two games. They were outpitched by Derek Lowe and Chad Billingsley. The Cubs owned the National League's best record, with a 97-65 record, their best record since the 1945 season. The Cubs and the city of Chicago have suffered through some bad luck and terrible moments in the franchise's history. The Cubs haven't won a World Series since 1908 and had a couple chances to reach the World Series in the past. In my opinion, I don't think the Cubs were cursed. I believe that the combination of Lowe, Billingsley, and Kuroda was underrated and they were and are better than Dempster, Zambrano, and Harden. What do you think? What does this mean for the Cubs' future? How long will Pinella be in Chicago?

White Sox Get In, Eliminate Twins

The Chicago White Sox defeated the Minnesota Twins 1-0 in a one-game playoff to get into the playoffs. Both teams were tied at 88-74, meaning that they would have to play an extra game to determine who gets into the playoffs and win the AL Central division. John Danks started for the White Sox while Nick Blackburn started for the Twins. Both pitchers were pitching great, holding each team without a run. In the 5th inning, Michael Cuddyer of the Twins was trying to score off of a fly ball out by Brendan Harris. The ball was caught by Ken Griffey Jr. and he made a strong throw to home plate to get Cuddyer out. That was the only chance the Twins had of scoring. In the seventh inning, Blackburn finally got burned on a pitch. Jim Thome of the White Sox provided the only run of the game, with a solo home run to deep center field. Closer Bobby Jenks of the White Sox came in the game in the ninth inning to close the door on the Twins and advance to the postseason. With the White Sox postseason berth, this will be the first time both Chicago teams made it into the playoffs in the same year in 100 years. The White Sox will face the AL East division champion Tampa Bay Rays in the divisional series. I believe the White Sox have a good team but not better than the competition the Rays have faced in the season. The White Sox, in my opinion, will be eliminatedby the Rays. What do you think? What lies ahead for the Twins in the offseason?