Armchair Weekend in Review (October 12-14, 2007)

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by JB82

This was a wack weekend, so let's go through the looniness together...

NFL Week 6

The Chair's Game of the Week pitted two undefeated teams: the New England Patriots and the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys had a lead early in the second half, but Tom Brady (31-46, 386 yds and a mind-blowing 5 touchdowns) soon got the vaunted Pats offense going and never looked back in a 48-27 win. The two number 81's had a somewhat negligible impact on the game as Terrell Owens and Randy Moss got a combined 12 catches for 125 yards and two scores. Brady's Dallas counterpart, Tony Romo, went 18 for 29, with 199 yards, a score and a pick. Are the 1972 Miami Dolphins thinking that they could have company after the season's over on Undefeated Mountain?

Just four days after signing on with the Carolina Panthers, 44-year-old Vinny Testaverde traded in his Rascal scooter for a helmet and shoulder pads and had a fine performance in a 25-10 win over the Arizona Cardinals. Testaverde, substituting for injured starter David Carr, went 20-36 for 206 yards and a touchdown.

Remember last week when Brett Favre tied George Blanda's interception's record? Well, the Green Bay Packers quarterback now has the record all to himself, throwing a pick in a 17-14 squeaker over the Washington Redskins.

A Minnesota Vikings rookie running back had his coming-out party on Sunday: Adrian Peterson ran for three touchdowns, getting those along with 244 yards on 20 carries in a 34-33 close shave win against the Chicago Bears. In all, Peterson totaled 361 all-purpose yards in the game, including a 54-yard kickoff return that set up a Ryan Longwell field goal, setting an NFL rookie record in the process. Bears wideout Devin Hester's lone reception was an 81-yarder that tied the game; he also landed the first punch with an 89-yard punt return for a score and made some of his own history, passing Gale Sayers for the most PR touchdowns in Bears history.

On campus

2007 will go down as a topsy-turvy year in college football. Many edifications of that statement were found on Saturday:

Our CFB game of the week took place in Lexington, Kentucky, with top-ranked LSU and #17 Kentucky squaring off. Just like the Patriots and Cowboys, there were two undefeated teams, but unlike the game, this one had an exciting finish. The Wildcats defense managed to stop the Tigers in the third overtime for a 43-37 win, while Andre Woodson threw for three touchdowns and 250 yards.

The number two-ranked Cal Golden Bears also lost, falling to Oregon State 31-28. Kevin Riley, playing in place of starter Nate Longshore, got almost 300 yards with two TDs and a pick, but couldn't avoid the fact that the top two teams in the AP poll both lost on the same day since September 21, 1996.

Sixth-ranked Oklahoma ended 11th-ranked Missouri's bid for a perfect season with a 41-31 win in Columbia; Chris Brown proved himself to be a worthy successor to Adrian Peterson, as the Sooners running back ran it 13 times for 67 yards and three scores.

South Florida climbed into the number 2 spot in the first Bowl Championship Series standings of the year, thanks to a 64-12 beatdown of Central Florida at Raymond James Stadium. The Bulls are right behind Ohio State in the BCS so far.

Arkansas running back Darren McFadden all but took himself out of Heisman Trophy contention, getting only 44 yards on 16 carries in a 9-7 loss to Auburn.

USC began the Mark Sanchez era, as John David Booty's understudy got 130 yards on 19 of 31 passes, but got picked off twice in a 20-13 Trojan return to winning ways against Arizona. Running back Joe McKnight stole the show a bit, getting 75 yards on 13 carries.

MLB Posteason: LCS's underway

The Boston Red Sox got the American League Championship Series off on the right foot, as Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz both went 2-for-2 in a 10-3 win over the Cleveland Indians on Friday. The following night, however, was a different story. With the Sox enjoying a 6-5 lead in the top of the sixth inning, Franklin Gutierrez tied it up with an RBI groundout. The score would remain deadlocked and the game eventually headed into extra innings; Red Sox reliever Eric Gagné was summoned into the game, and soon blew up as former BoSoxer Trot Nixon drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the 11th with a bloop single to center field. The Tribe would go on to scalp the Sox, 13-6, in a game that ended at 1:37 AM EDT.

Meanwhile, in the National League (YAWN), the Colorado Rockies took a squeaker in Game 2, 4-3, and headed home where the Rox beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 4-1, breaking the deadlock via a Yorvit Torrealba home run. As we go to press, the Rockies find themselves in more terra incognita, as they stand on the cusp of playing in their first-ever World Series.

Off the field

Dusty Baker is now the manager of the Cincinnati Reds, being the team's skipper starting in 2008 and going for the two years thereafter.

While Charlie Manuel will be staying on as manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, but he'll have a slew of new coaches next season. Notable in the new group are former Red Sox manager Jimmy Williams and former manager Davey Lopes.

Meanwhile, the big story involving the New York Yankees, still in indecision about manager Joe Torre. It was announced on Sunday that George Steinbrenner would be giving the keys to the candy store to his two sons, Hank and Hal. George will play a role akin to a chairman of the board vis-à-vis Torre negotiations.

Take off, eh?

Robert Edwards was the star of Friday's game against the Montreal Alouettes, as the Toronto Argonauts running back got a touchdown to go along with 15 carries for 115 yards in a 35-17 win over Les Als. The Argos may be one step closer to a playoff spot, as both teams were knotted at 7-7 going into the game (the win makes them 8-7, obviously.)

Jarious Jackson may not have had the best of performances on Saturday, but that didn't stop the BC Lions from defeating the Edmonton Eskimos, 24-18. The lone bright spot for the Esks was kicker Sean Fleming, who made three of his four field goal attempts.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders became the second team to join the playoff party, as Andy Fanutz got three touchdowns in a 40-23 beating of the Hamilton Tiger Cats. Fanutz, who also tallied seven receptions for 240 yards, played in front of friends and relatives, as he hails from nearby Chatham, Ontario.

Make it three for the show: the Winnipeg Blue Bombers may have lost Sunday's game against the Calgary Stampeders, but despite a 38-25 loss, they made the playoffs and look to clinch the Eastern Division. Bombers slotback Milt Stegall got 120 yards on six catches and a touchdown as he gets closer to Allen Pitts' all-time yardage record.

Fast Track

Jeff Gordon padded his points lead in the Chase for the Nextel Cup, as he won the Bank of America 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Saturday night. However, Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson is within striking distance, just nine points off the lead.

Meanwhile, across the Pacific, Casey Stoner took the MotoGP event in Australia. With two more races to go in that series, it's very safe to say that no one will catch him in that championship chase.

Kudos

...to Lorena Ochoa, for garnering back-to-back LPGA Player of the Year honors in winning the Samsung World Championship in California.

...to LaDainian Tomlinson, for getting back on last year's dominating track by scoring all four of the San Diego Chargers' touchdowns in a 28-14 win over the Oakland Raiders.

...to the Baltimore Ravens defense, for getting a franchise record five interceptions in a 22-3 romp over the hapless St. Louis Rams.

Odds and Sods

There was no domestic fútbol over the weekend, as the focus was on qualifiers for the Euro 2008 tourney. Germany, our hosts in the World Cup two years ago, became the first squad to qualify for the final tourney, while England stayed alive with a 3-0 win over Estonia.

Condolances to Florida's football program upon the death of walk-on quarterback Michael Guilford. Guilford, 19, was killed along with another person in a motorcycle accident on Friday.

Something in a lighter vein

Dude of the Weekend

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez, who broke the NFL record for touchdowns by a tight end by getting numbers 63 and 64 in the Chiefs' first win of the season, 27-20, over the Cincinnati Bengals. The previous record holder, you ask? Shannon Sharpe.