Armchair Weekend in Review (November 9-11, 2007)

This edition of the AWIR is dedicated to those who have served and are currently serving in the armed forces of the US, Canada, and the British Commonwealth.

NFL Week 10

The New York Giants had looked to prove that they were no fluke when it came to the NFC East in their matchup with the Dallas Cowboys. But, almost like last year against the Bears, Big Blue folded like a lawn chair when it counted with penalties on the offensive end and shoddy secondary play on defense. Terrell Owens caught two of Tony Romo's four touchdown passes, while Eli Manning was picked off twice despite edging Romo in the passing department in the Cowboys' 31-20 win.

If it's any consolation to Eli, at least he didn't have as terrible a game as his older brother. Peyton Manning threw three times as many interceptions, but the Indianapolis Colts staged a comeback before Adam Vinatieri pulled a Scott Norwood at game's end for a 23-21 San Diego Chargers. The once-reliable Vinatieri also whiffed on an FG attempt at the end of the first half.

A team that was successful in coming back was the Pittsburgh Steelers; Ben Roethlisberger completed the rally from 28-16 down with a 30-yard run and held the former with a Phil Dawson missed field goal for a 31-28 win over division rivals the Cleveland Browns, over whom they have a two-game lead in the AFC North.

As if getting shut out by the Green Bay Packers wasn't bad enough, the Minnesota Vikings lost rookie running back Adrian Peterson late in the third quarter with a sparined knee. Peterson, who got only 45 yards on 11 carries in the Vikes' 34-0 loss to the Pack, is out for the season (UPDATE 12/31/2007: or so we thought at the time).

Some sad news to report amongst all this excitement and angst: Dick Nolan, the father of San Francisco 49ers head coach Mike Nolan, passed on Sunday at age 75 due to complications from Alzheimer's disease. The elder Nolan coached the Niners for eight seasons, leading them to three consecutive division titles in his first three years at the helm. He later went on to coach the New Orleans Saints, where he succeedes another departed coaching legend, Hank Stram, and made way for ex-Houston Oilers coach Bum Phillips after a winless start to the 1980 season. Nolan the younger will coach tonight's game versus the Seattle Seahawks with a heavy heart...

CFB Week 10

Georgia got first place in the SEC East with dominating performances from running back Knowshon Moreno (101 yards on 22 carries and two scores) and quarterback Matthew Stafford (237 yards passing and two TDs of his own) in the Bulldogs'45-20 shellacking of Auburn in what is known as "The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry".

Kansas defeated Oklahoma State 43-28 to go to 10-0 for the first time since '99. Hold on there, pardner, the fifth-ranked Jayhawks haven't been THIS perfect since 1899.

Meanwhile, a team that is no longer undefeated is Ohio State. Illinois quarterback Juice Williams put the Orange Crush on the Buckeyes with four touchdowns in a 28-21 upset. On top of that, the Buckeyes are no longer tops in the latest BCS rankings; LSU grabbed the top rung with a 58-10 beatdown of Louisiana Tech.
- On a side note, Oregon is right behind the Bayou Bengals despite doing nothing all weekend thanks to Boston College's 42-35 loss to a banged-up Maryland squad.

Tim Tebow got back on the Heisman radar not only with his arm, but also his legs. The Florida QB got a combined 424 yards offense in the Gators' 51-31 win over their ex-coach's current team, South Carolina.

A look at the US service academies on this Vet's Day Weekend:

- Rutgers gave Army their marching orders, 41-6, in a battle of Scarlet Knights and Black Knights. Meanwhile, Air Force shot down Notre Dame 41-24 to send the Irish to their first-ever 10-loss season.

- Navy and North Texas engaged in an epic gunfight, but the Midshipmen came out on top by the score of 74-62. The basketball score of a combined 136 points ties a Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A) record.

Nobody really cares about Division III football, but ESPN College Gameday cared enough to send the trio of Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Lee Corso out to Williamstown, Massachusetts for the annual battle between the Williams College Ephs and the Amherst College Lord Jeffs. The Ephs shut out the Jeffs, 28-0, by the way.

The next weeks will feature many more and varied rivalries, so watch this space, college football fans!

CFL Semifinal Weekend

Marcus Brady got just shy of 200 yards passing, but Winnipeg Blue Bombers kicker Troy Westwood nailed two of his three field goals in the final 9:31 to end the Montreal Alouettes' season, 24-22. The Bombers will go on to face the Toronto Argonauts next week.

The hero of the West Semifinal was Saskatchewan Roughriders kicker Luca Congi, who nailed six of seven field goals in a 26-24 victory over the Calgary Stampeders. Stamps wideout Ken-Yon Rambo scored late, but it wasn't enough, of course. The Riders will head over the Rockies to take on the defending Grey Cup champion BC Lions next Sunday.

Across the Pond

Cristiano Ronaldo was the inarguable Man of the Match in Manchester United's win over Blackburn Rovers. Ronaldo scored both of the Devils' goals within one minute of each other and reached the top of the table in the process.

Meanwhile, Chelsea got knocked off the top with a 1-1 draw at home to Everton.

Next week's soccer action will come from this side of the Pond, as the domestic leagues in Europe give way to Euro 2008 qualifiers. The Houston Dynamo will engage in a rematch of last year's MLS Cup with a 2-0 shutout of the Kansas City Wizards.

Fast Track

Jimmie Johnson is not human! The Hendrick Motorsports driver has the 2007 Nextel Cup title all but in his trophy case after reeling off his fourth win in a row (and tenth of the season) at the Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix.

Meanwhile, HIS series' title already clinched, Sébastien Bourdais won the ChampCar finale in Mexico.

Odds and Sods be ballin'

It was the game that stopped a billion people; the Milwaukee Bucks' game against the Houston Rockets pitted Chinese rookie Yi Jianlian and veteran Yao Ming. The Rockets, led by the latter's 28 points and ten boards, beat Jianlian's Bucks, 104-88 on Friday night (midday Saturday in China).

Two big Eastern Conference trios duked it out the next night, as the New Jersey Nets played host to the Boston Celtics. While the dynamic duo of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen combined for a double-double (46 points, 17 rebounds and ten helpers between the two), the talk afterwads surrounded the Nets' Vince Carter. Carter suffered a sprained ankle in the third quarter, and it factored into the Nets' 112-101 win over the undefeated Celtics. At 5-0, Celtic Pride has never been this strong since the days of Bird-McHale-Parrish...

USC freshman O.J. Mayo scored 32 points in his NCAA debut, but the Trojans were upset by Atlantic Sun squad Mercer, 96-81.

The least-noticeable debut of the college hoops weekend came in Champaign, Illinois. Jeff Jordan, the son of NBA legend Michael Jordan, got only turnover in three m inutes of work in Illinois's 63-55 win over Northeastern.

Dude of the Weekend

The St. Louis Rams: Feels good to get of the schneid, eh? The Rams finaly notched one in the win column with a 37-29 win over the Saints.

Dope of the Weekend

The Miami Hurricanes football program: The Orange Bowl saw some great memories in its 70 years of usage, from college football bowl games to NFL playoff moments. However, the Old Gal of Little Havana went out on a very sour note as the Canes were shut out at home to Virginia, 48-0.