Armchair Weekend in Review (October 5-7, 2007)
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by JB82
For those of you waiting for the rest of the Armchair Weekend in Review, here it is comin' atcha. If you're wondering what happened in college football, click here.
NFL Week 5
- The Chicago Bears were in a state of crisis after last week's debacle of a game, where one could easily confuse Brian Griese with Rex Grossman in terms of performance. It looked like more of the same Sunday night against the Green Bay Packers, but the Monsters of the Midway managed to come back in the second half for a 27-20 win. Packers quarterback Brett Favre, who passed Dan Marino last week for the most touchdown passes all-time, made history again, tying George Blanda for most interceptions all-time and getting his two picks all in the second half.
- While Ben Roethlisberger threw for just over 200 yards, the Pittsburgh Steelers defense grabbed the headlines by shutting down the Seattle Seahawks offense to 144 yards in a 21-0 shutout. Shaun Alexander couldn't have bought yardage even at Wal-Mart at that rate...
- The New York Giants and their Giants Stadium co-tenants, the New York Jets, haven't met very often in the regular season. But there have been some rather wild affairs when these two teams have come together. One example was Sunday's Big Apple battle, when the Jets and Chad Pennington jumped out to an early lead. But it was a tale of two halves as Big Blue ramped up both sides of the ball and shot down the Jets, 35-24. Eli Manning threw for 186 yards, was picked off only once and got two touchdowns, one of which landed in Plaxico Burress' loving mitts.
- No Marvin Harrison, no problem; even without their star wideout, the Indianapolis Colts managed to go 5-0 for the third consecutive season in a 37-14 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Peyton Manning went 29 for 37, and got two scores and a pick, just like his little brother.
- Another dominating performance belonged to Tom Brady, who threw for three scores for the 5th consecutive game in a 34-17 doubling up of the Cleveland Browns. Brady also had the most yards of any QB mentioned here, throwing for 265.
MLB Postseason
- Things were looking good for the New York Yankees, as Andy Pettite and Fausto Carmona battled in a 1-0 pitchers duel. However, the Cleveland Indians may have emplyed a little home-field advantage on Friday night. With Joba Chamberlain on the mound, a plague of insects invaded Jacobs Field and bugged (poor choice of words) everybody on the field. Well, it probably worked to the Tribe's advantage, as the previously infalliable Joba uncorked a wild pitch in the eighth inning. The Tribe would go on to win in 11 innings, 2-1.
- As if things in Yankeeland couldn't get any more tense, word came on Sunday that George Steinbrenner would fire manager Joe Torre if the Yanks were eliminated that night. The Bombers responded with a big fifth inning that led to an 8-4 win. Alex Rodriguez got out of his postseason slump with a 2-4 performance.
- Whoever wins that series will face the Boston Red Sox, who scored a sweep of the Los Angeles Angels 9-1 earlier that day. David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez got back-to-back taters in the game (UPDATE 10/9/2007: Ramirez' former mates would go on to the series against the Yanks)
- Get ready for a snoozefest in the National League, as the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks both swept their respective opponents over the weekend.
Across the border (don't forget yer passport)
While the US celebrated Columbus Day, Canadians sat down to turkey with all the trimmings, like what we'll do in the States a month and a half hence. And just like in America, Thanksgiving and football go hand in hand.
- Joe Smith got a touchdown on 13 carries for 45 yards as the BC Lions defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, 26-20, in a seesaw battle in Manitoba that gave the Lions the West Division regular season title. Bombers slotback Milt Stegall got 6 catches for 65 yards and a touchdown, nearing Allen Pitts' yards receiving record.
- More bad karma for the Edmonton Eskimos: Toronto Argonauts quarterback Michael Bishop completed 17 of 26 passes, threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns as the Argos ran rougshod over the tumbling Esks, 33-8. The Argos remain tied for second in the East Division with the Montreal Alouettes.
- Speaking of Les Als, they had a très bon Thanksgiving with a 27-19 win over the Hamilton Tiger Cats. Anthony Calvillo threw for under 300 yards while Kerry Watkins got 7 catches for 192 yards and a score.
Across the Pond
- Arsenal got their 10th win in a 3-2 win over Sunderland. Gunners striker Robin van Persie saved the day at Emirates Stadium with a goal in the 80th minute.
- Meanwhile, at Anfield, Liverpool got a 2-2 draw against Tottenham thanks to an injury time header by Fernando Torres.
Fast Track
- Jeff Gordon took more than the checkered flag at Talladega, Alabama on Sunday; he also reclaimed the top spot in the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup with his win in the UAW-Ford 500. Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson got knocked off the perch despite finishing behind him. Michael Waltrip won the pole (to paraphrase Toyota's UK slogan, "The car on the pole was a Toyota"), while Formula 1 ex-pat Jacques Villeneuve qualified sixth (he would go on to finish 21st in the race after moving to the back of the field).
- Speaking of F1, Kimi Raikkonen made it two for the road by clinching the Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai. While Lewis Hamilton is still atop the World Drivers Championship standing, Fernando Alonso is only four points behind him thanks to a second place finish. It should be a title fight for the ages two weeks from now in Brazil...
It's D Time!
Dude of the Weekend
Giants safety Aaron Ross: Benched during the first half for reasons known only to him and the Giants organization, Ross came off the pine and scored two critical interceptions, the last of which he ran into the end zone to seal the victory against the Jets.
Dope of the Weekend
Houston Texans defensive end Travis Johnson: During the Texans game against the Miami Dolphins, Johnson gave Dolphins QB Trent Green a knee to the face in a blocking attempt. While Johnson said that Green was trying to injure him, he would up giving Green a severe concussion. However, the concussion and the knee are not the reasons he's on here. Johnson soon taunted an unconscious Green, and got a mouthful himself from Texans coach Gary Kubiak. Way to go, ya ditz...
Hope you enjoyed a somewhat disjointed AWIR
Until next week, let's all be good sports (and not be that douchebag Johnson)....
