Armchair Weekend in Review (September 7-9, 2007)
| 14
|
by JB82
So much to discuss, so let's get on with it...
NFL Week 1
- An AFC East showdown saw Tom Brady and the New England Patriots travel to the Meadowlands to face Chad Pennington and the New York Jets. While Brady outclassed Pennington 38-14, it was the latter who got the headlines in NYC as he went out of the game with an ankle injury. It's uncertain at press time whether or not he will be in action next week.
- The Jets' co-tenants, the New York Giants, got a good performance out of Eli Manning, only to go out of their game with the Dallas Cowboys with a shoulder injury. Big Blue became Big Black and Blue with defensive end-come-linebacker Osi Umenyiora and running back Brandon Jacobs also exiting stage left do to injury. While the score was a close 45-35, it does beg the question, "Were both offenses that good or were both defenses that bad?"
- The Atlanta Falcons' post-Michael Vick era got off badly, as they were routed by the Minnesota Vikings 24-3. The Vikes' rookie running back Adrian Peterson had his coming-out party, as he got 103 yards rushing on 19 carries and a touchdown receiving. But, give credit to the defense, who sacked Joey Harrington six times and picked off two of his passes for scores.
- In Green Bay, another rookie had a season opener to remember. Mason Crosby was but a small part of the Green Bay Packers' 16-13 win over the Philadelphia Eagles, kicking the game-winning field goal. Also, the Eagles muffed two punts to help the Pack in the win.
- While the San Diego Chargers began the Norv Turner era with a 14-3 win over the Chicago Bears, the score was closer than you think. The Bears' defense clamped down on the Bolts before LaDainian Tomlinson got things moving with a touchdown pass – now there's a surprise! – to Antonio Gates in the third quarter.
- Jason Elam got the early post-game headlines after getting off the game-winning field goal with no time remaining in a 15-14 come-from-behind win over the Buffalo Bills. But it was a devastating injury that got the attention later on. Bills tight end Kevin Everett suffered a horiffic cervical spinal cord injury trying to make a tackle in the third quarter. While Everett received emergency surgery, there are reports that Everett's hopes of making a full recovery are rather slim.
CFB Week 2
- There was more bad karma for Michigan, as Lloyd Carr's squad got pantsed at home by Oregon, 37-3.
- Never send a boy to do a man's job. Maybe Charlie Weis should've taken heed to that precept after Jimmy Claussen got manhandled in a 31-10 loss to Penn State. I guess this adds some spice to next week's meeting between the two teams?
- Last week, we told you that Virginia Tech began their season with the awful memories of the April shootings fresh in the campus community's mind. Two years ago, LSU was dealing with a bigger tragedy: Hurricane Katrina. On that note, the Bayou Bengals faithful gave the Hokies a respectful greeting, and then proceeded to bash their heads in, 48-7. Matt Flynn led the way, going 17-27 and throwing for 217 yards and scored on the ground.
- Since this can't be Upset of the Year in college football, then this is a lock for the second spot. South Florida gave Auburn all it could handle, but upset the Tigers in overtime, 26-23, to knock AU out of the Top 25 polls.
- After last season, Tom O'Brien left Boston College to take the head coaching job at North Carolina State, much to the chagrin of the BC faithful. It wasn't exactly a step up in quality (though it was a boost in salary), and his old charges let O'Brien know about it when he returned to Chestnut Hill on Saturday, getting buried by the Eagles, 37-17.
Two champs square off
- Earlier this year, UFC brought out their rivals in MMA, the PRIDE Fighting Championship. As a result of the Fertitta brothers' acquisition, it was decided that this event pit the two series' light heavyweight champs against each other in Belfast, Northern Ireland. UFC LH beltholder Quinton "Rampage" Jackson went the distance (five rounds) in unifying the UFC and PRIDE belts, the latter last held by Dan Henderson.
- The last time Mirko Cro Cop was in the UK, he was upset in grand fashion by Brazilian Gabriel Gonzaga in Manchester, England at UFC 70 thanks to a head kick that came from nowhere. The former star of PRIDE faced off against fellow heavyweight Cheick Kongo, and found himself on the losing end once again. Kongo almost lost the match with a knee to Mirko's groin in the second of three rounds.
- Also worth noting is Michael Bisping defeating Mike Hamill in front of the home country faithful.
Headed north
Round two of the Labour Day rivalries were contested, and here's what went down:
- Almost like the Eagles-Packers game, the return match of the Battle of Alberta was settled thanks to special teams. Calgary Stampeders kicker Sandro DeAngelis went 2-for-2 on field goals, and proved to be the difference in a 20-17 win (and series sweep) over the Edmonton Eskimos.
- The Toronto Argonauts became kings of Ontario with a 35-22 win over the Hamilton Tiger Cats. Michael Bishop contributed with 261 yards passing and two touchdowns. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Timmy Chang, once the proud product of Hawaii, threw four interceptions and got a paltry 76 yards in the air.
- There was a split in Canada's coast-to-coast rivalry, as the Montreal Alouettes (minus Anthony Calvillo) beat up on the British Columbia Lions, 32-14.
- There was also a split in the 2007 Banjo Bowl, as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers walloped the Saskatchewan Roughriders 34-15.
Where's the fútbol?
European teams had their qualifiers for the upcoming Euro 2008 tourney, so the domestic leagues were off this past weekend...
Fast Track
- Jimmie Johnson won his sixth race of the year at Richmond International Raceway, and the field for the Chase for the Cup was set as well. Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex, Jr. are first-timers in the 2007 NEXTEL Cup pursuit, while Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was left out in the cold.
- Dario Franchitti won the IRL IndyCar Series finale at Chicagoland Speedway, and also clinched the 2007 series championship. Franchitti and Sam Hornish, Jr. are rumored to be heading out of the series and into the realm of NASCAR next year.
- Fernando Alonso won the Italian Grand Prix and got to within three points of second-place finisher Lewis Hamilton in the drivers standings in the process.
Kudos
- ...to Tiger Woods, for winning the BMW Championship and taking the lead in the FedEx Cup going into the PGA TOUR Championship next week in Atlanta.
- ...to Justine Henin and Roger Federer, for clinching the hardware in the US Open tennis tournament. Henin and Federer defeated Venus Williams and Novak Djokovic, respectively.
- ...to Alex Rodriguez, who upped his home run total to 52 this season, clubbing three during this weekend's series against the Kansas City Royals at Kansas City.
- ...to the Detroit Tigers, who took two of three from the Seattle Mariners to help pad the New York Yankees' lead to three games in the AL wild card race.
Dude of the Weekend
Ellis Hobbs: the New England Patriots kick returner recorded the longest kickoff return in NFL history, opening the second half with a 108-yard return for a touchdown in the aforementioned win. Hobbs also tied Nathan Vasher and Devin Hester for longest plays in NFL history.
Dope of the Weekend
Maybe this should be "Dopes" of the Weekend because 77,000+ people share the honors this week. Who am I talking about, you ask? New York Jets fans, who cheered Chad Pennington as he hobbled off the field with an ankle injury. There was some speculation that the cheers were for backup Kellen Clemens; if there was, no beef here. Clemens ended up being a non-factor, as the Pats still won the game.
That's all for this week
Until next time, as always, let's all be good sports...
