We Apologize For The Inconvenience

NFL’s Weekend Overview

This past weekend was arguably the best weekend in NFL history as we saw a double overtime playoff game, a quarterback single handling win a game, and a team come back after being down 20 only to lose it on a last second field goal.

The first game of this divisional weekend saw the #4 seed AFC North Champion Baltimore Ravens travel to Denver to take on the #1 seed, the Denver Broncos. There was a lot of talk around the league that this was going to be the end of Ravens LB Ray Lewis who announced that this season would be his last. The Broncos entered the game on an 11 game winning streak and the favorite to win the Super Bowl. The game was going back and forth the whole time and the game really got interesting when the Broncos decided to run it on 3rd and 7 with 2:07 left and didn’t get the 1st down meaning that the Ravens were going to get the ball back. Baltimore had the ball back with 1:09 left and on 3rd and 3 QB Joe Flacco threw a Hail Mary 70 yards down the right sideline. Broncos S Rahim Moore played the ball horribly and jumped to knock it down but missed it allowing WR Jacoby Jones to catch the easiest pass of his career and walk into the end zone to save the Ravens season. The game went to double overtime as both offenses struggled to move the ball in the first overtime. On their own 38 and feeling the pressure of the defense, Broncos QB Peyton Manning threw a ball that he will regret for a couple months as he threw it right to CB Corey Graham who caught his second interception on the day. Six plays later, Ravens K Justin Tucker drilled a 47-yard field goal giving the Ravens the 38-35 victory over the Broncos.

The first game of the weekend was just the beginning and if that game was an indicator of what was ahead, then fans were in for a great couple of days. The second game on saw the NFC North Champion Green Bay Packers travel to San Francisco to take on the NFC West Champion San Francisco 49ers. This game was all about 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick opened the game with a pick six by Packers S Sam Shields. After the early game mistake, the 2nd year quarterback out of Nevada was flawless. Kaepernick out-performed Packers QB Aaron Rodgers as he threw for 263 yards and two touchdowns but did most of damage on the ground as he ran for 181 yards and two touchdowns. His 181 yards were the most by a quarterback in playoff history. The 49ers advanced to the NFC Championship with a 45-31 victory over the Packers.

Yesterday morning, the #1 seed Atlanta Falcons hosted the red-hot #5 seed Seattle Seahawks. As it entered halftime, it looked as if Falcons QB Matt Ryan and TE Tony Gonzalez would finally get their first playoff victories. That all changed in the fourth quarter when the Seahawks scored 14 unanswered and were driving with under a minute left. Seahawks rookie phoenom QB Russell Wilson decided to leave the ball in the hands of RB Marshawn Lynch as he completed a pass to Lynch for 24 yards to set up a first down at ATL 3 yard line with 33 seconds left. Lynch powered the ball into the end zone on the next play giving the Seahawks their first led with 31 seconds left, 28-27. Ryan needed a perfect drive to win the game and he got as he completed two passes for 41 yards to set up a Matt Bryant 49 yard field goal with 13 seconds left. Seahawks coach Pete Carroll called a timeout to ice the kicker but Bryant got a practice kick as the refs called the timeout and missed the field goal. Bryant then lined up for the biggest play in Falcons history and ended a thriller as he nailed the field goal to give the Falcons the 30-28 victory.

The final game of the weekend wasn’t as exciting as QB Tom Brady and the New England Patriots beat the Houston Texans, 41-28. With the victory, Brady passed former NFL great Joe Montana for most playoff victories with 17.

With just three games left until we crown a Super Bowl Champion, fans have to wonder, what else can we expect? Well, surely fans will be glued to the TV as four teams duel it out to find their places in Super Bowl XLVII.

Julian Lopez

Nash’s ten best assists of his career @SteveNash

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On Tuesday, Lakers PG Steve Nash became the fifth player in NBA history to record 10,000 assists. The other four are Jason Kidd, John Stockton, Mark Jackson, and Magic Johnson. Here is video made by the NBA that has Nash’s 10 best assists of his career.

Football Has a Busy Week

As the NFL heads into the divisional playoff rounds this weekend, there was news regarding two teams that aren’t in the playoffs that made headlines recently.

After getting blown out in the BCS National Championship Game against Alabama, Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly met with the Philadelphia Eagles regarding their vacant head coaching position. Kelly has just finished his third season with the Irish and has brought them back into national prominence. The Irish were ranked #1 in the AP Poll last year for the first time since 1993. Kelly couldn’t be reached for comment, but is scheduled to meet with the Eagles again this weekend. According to sources; the recent meeting brought “mutual interest” to both sides.

In some more football news, the Washington Redskins QB Robert Griffin III had surgery yesterday to repair his torn ACL and LCL. Griffin was fist injured when he was hit in the 4th quarter during the Redskins come from behind victory over the Ravens. Griffin, who missed one game, reaggravated the injury in Sunday’s NFC Wild Card loss to the Seattle Seahawks and was forced to leave the game.

Dr. James Andrews who performed the surgery says that he expects Griffin to be ready for the start of the 2013 season. The typical recovery for an injury sustained is 6 to 8 months putting him on track to be ready by week 1.

Griffin let people know how he was doing right after surgery when he tweeted, “Thank you for your prayers and support. I love God, my family, my team, the fans, & I love this game. See you guys next season.”

Football gets busier-Divisional weekend starts Saturday when the Broncos host the Ravens.

Julian Lopez

Hall of Famers?

Besides winning a World Series, being inducted in the Hall of Fame has to be the main dream of all MLB players. This year’s Hall of Fame ballot features some alleged PED users bringing out the question, will this be the year no one gets elected.

Today’s announcement will be very interesting-it may just be that no one will receive the mandatory 75% indeed be included in the Hall of Fame.

Some of the candidates include: Giants’ OF Barry Bonds, Yankees’ P Roger Clemens, Cubs’ OF Sammy Sosa, and Cardinals’ 1B Mark McGwire. Although this is a powerful lineup of historical figures in baseball, all of these players have either admitted to using steroids or have been investigated heavily for alleged use.

It can be easily assumed that had these five players had not been associated with steroids, they would instead be recognized by their incredible achievements in baseball; for example, they all broke substantial records or rank in at least the top 10 of baseball statistical categories.

So, for a second, let’s assume that this group doesn’t receive the necessary 75%- who has the highest chance of making it into Cooperstown? The two players that come into mind are Astros’ 2B Craig Biggio and Mets’ C Mike Piazza.

Biggio has earned his place, winning four gold gloves and was a seven-time all-star. Piazza also has an impressive past; he was an exceptional catcher with both the Dodgers and the Mets and has the most home runs by a rookie catcher and hit 40 in a season. The only hiccup is that this would be their first year for eligibility; a factor that isn’t really favorable for either candidate.

If no one receives the 75%, it’ll be the first time that no player is elected into Cooperstown.

The Hall of Fame is a sacred place for players, managers, and other people that have displayed exceptional efforts in the MLB-anyone who lives humanely can tell you that. The only problem now is-the special stature of the Hall of Fame has created an equal requirement of its candidates. And we just may not have those needed players this round.

Julian Lopez

Crimson Tide Takes It Home! @alabamabuzztap

The #2 Alabama Crimson Tide entered last night’s BCS National Title Game against #1 Notre Dame looking to become the first team to ever repeat as BCS Champs. The Tide did more than prove their point as they dominated Notre Dame, 42-14. The win gave Alabama their 15th national championship, the most by any school and their third BCS title in four years.

The Crimson Tide opened the game on a 5-play 82-yard drive that was concluded by a 20 yard rushing touchdown by RB Eddie Lacy. Notre Dame had two costly penalties on the drive that cost them 20 yards. After a three and out the Irish punted and PR Christon Jones fumbled the punt that was recovered by the Tide but the refs threw a flag because Jones wasn’t given enough space to catch the ball. The play looked as if the Irish didn’t even touch Jones giving the Tide a break.

The Tide drove on their next drive on a 10-play 61-yard drive with QB AJ McCarron hitting TE Michael Williams for a three-yard touchdown to extend their lead to 14-0. Notre Dame finally was able to move the ball when they got their first 1st down with 5:42 left to play. The Irish again punted the ball with Alabama starting their next drive at their own 20.

RB T.J. Yeldon scored from one yard out to give the Tide a 21-0 victory on the first play of the second quarter. A big issue for the Irish defense in the first half was their lack of tackling as all players were having problems bringing down Yeldon and Lacy. The Irish suffered a huge blow when DE and co-captain Kapron Lewis-Moore went down with an apparent knee injury. Moore didn’t return to the game. On that same drive, McCarron hit Lacy for a 2-yard pass and Lacy went 8 yards for a touchdown giving the Tide the 28-0 lead heading into halftime. The Tide outgained the Irish 309-118 in the first half.

The Irish tried to muster up some type of offense at the start of the third quarter but that failed when Irish QB Everett Golson went deep to an Irish receiver but DB Ha’Sean Clinton-Dix made a nice play and forced the game’s first turnover. Notre Dame finally scored with 4:08 left in the third when Golson ran for three yards to cut the lead to 35-7.

McCarron finished the night with 264 passing yards on 20/28 and 4 touchdowns. Lacy received the game’s MVP award as he rushed for 140 yards and a touchdown and also caught a touchdown.

Alabama will most likely enter next season as the number #1 team in the nation and although the result wasn’t what they wanted, Notre Dame has a lot to be proud of and will be a top contender again next season.

But for now, this year is all about the Tide.

Julian Lopez

Manziel dominates the Sooners @JManziel2

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Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel had a game to remember in friday’s Cotton Bowl victory over Oklahoma. Here is a highlight reel that was made after the game.

Re-Cap Of The Winch Sessions @redbull

The Redbull winch team is an assortment of guys who had all come together to travel the country to find some of the coolest wake skating spots in the United States. The 10 episode recently aired and the tour is officially over for the United States as far as I’m concerned. This series or tour was a huge hit with anyone who loves action sports. This is just a recap of the spots they visited, showing us how cool all of it really is. Redbull has not released any information as of yet if there will be more winch sessions, but they would be dumb not to make more.

James Stewart Preperation For Motocross @js7 @redbull

James Stewart is a redbull athlete who rides in the motocross pro circuit. Before the season starts he has been practicing on a private dirt course. “I feel like I’m in the right place, I think um I’m in a pretty calm place, I don’t really have any worries” said Stewart after a practice session. “I’m just kind of ready to get out there and see where I am at” said Stewart and I think that we are all anxious to see where the riders will come in this year.

Johnson’s Double Dribble

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Apparently Raptors F Amir Johnson doesnt have to obey the NBA rules. Watch as Johnson gets away with a double dribble.