UPDATE: Roddick loses as Federer cruises 6-2, 7-5, 7-5. So much for turning a new leaf. At least the world can revel in another Federer-Nadal final. (as long as Verdasco doesn’t pull the upset, which shouldn’t happen because Rafa is rolling.)
MY BOY Andy Roddick pulled off a great upset yesterday, defeating his rival Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals of the Australian open. Djokovic is definitely a rising star and was the winner of last year’s Australian open. I think most people would consider him as the player closest to breaking the Nadal-Federer lock, although there’s still probably a huge gap between those two players and everyone else. Some would consider Djokovic to be one of the more abrasive players on tour..especially after his pleasant encounter with the crowd at last year’s US Open
Also, this isn’t really his fault, but check out what some of his fans did. SH&% gets thrown son.
Granted, Roddick’s upset was aided by the extreme heat during the match. Temperatures reached 130 degrees and Djokovic appeared to tire. Djokovic retired trailing 2 sets to 1, and down 2-1 in the 4th set. Meh. Having Djokovic retire takes a little bit out of Roddick’s win, but still a great effort. As big of a Roddick fan as I am, I’m not sure how he’ll do against Federer. Federer appears to be rolling following an earlier 5 set scare, winning 6-3, 6-0, and 6-0 in quarterfinal. Here’s hoping that Andy can continue his great run and work back to the top.
I’m sorry to produce another Tebow post, but despite the huge amount of Tebow bashing that’s been going on, some people actually think he’s got a chance to suceed in the NFL. First, I’ll admit I’m a huge Tebow fan – and even as a huge fan, I think he gets far far far too much media attention/love. But that’s fine, it’s not really his fault that he’s a student-athelete who hasn’t gotten into trouble during his time at one of the premier college football programs in the nation, shattered Florida high school records, has a law named after him in Alabama, won 2 national championships, was the 1st sophomore to win a Heisman (and had the most first place votes this year (although I think Colt McCoy really deserved it this year), and spends his offseasons organizing charity flag football tournamets/mission work.
That’s terrific for him and an amazing list of accomplishments. But what about his NFL future?
Here’s an excerpt from Peter King’s weekly NFL column about the Tebow situation:
“I think Florida quarterback Tim Tebow made the right decision to stay in school, only because so many college players leave early and later regret it. But I think it’s nuts to hear the speculation that he might not have been picked until the third or fourth round had he entered the draft. That’s where Mel Kiper put him the other day. I’m not blaming Mel; there’s lots of that talk out there. But to suggest he’s some sort of maladroit (there’s your PKWOTW) and marginal prospect is demeaning and downright wrong. I will bet a lot of money that when Tebow comes out, he won’t get past New England in the second round; as much as Bill Belichick is around Urban Meyer and that program, I bet he’s become a huge Tebow fan as a football player — quarterback, goal-line back, something.
I agree with Meyer’s assessment: “When I hear people say, ‘I wonder if he can play in the first round,’ then I don’t know what football is. I don’t have any idea what happens in the NFL.” You tell ‘em, Urban. We’ve got DanOrlovsky and Shaun Hill and Tyler Thigpen starting in the NFL, and we’re debating if a 6-2, 240-pound determined winner should be picked among the top 64 picks in the draft? Interesting. “
Tim Layden has a new article that brings up some interesting points about the potential evolution of the NFL game; the Wildcat formation is a package that many teams have at least incorporated into their offensive arsenal based on some of its early success (granted, as teams had more time to prepare for this offense, the Wildcat lost some of its allure). With so many run/pass dual threat qbs emerging in high school and college football..will NFL offenses change to allow these qbs to succeed?
Sorry for this post to shammgod (the 11-5 pats should be good enough for playoffs, and matt cassel’s 57 yard punt in the wind was epic) and capitalsports (maybe next year? naaah…probably not for the redskins), but the eagles and the chargers somehow made the playoffs!
IIGGGLEEEES!!!
The eagles needed tampa bay to lose to the awful oakland raiders. Oakland was also traveling to raymond james stadium, and tampa bay was 13 pt (i think) favorites in this game. TB eveneven pulled ahead of the raiders 24-14. Somehow jamarcus russel (well..it was really michael bush) led the raiders back and they stunned the bucanners.
The eagles then needed either the vikings or the bears to lose. The giants’ backups held things down for a while (although i think tavaris jackson did a pretty good job of that for them) but the vikings eked out a 20-19 win). I think that had some of the worst clock management I’ve ever seen…and naturally, it came from brad childress, a disciple of andy reid. The vikings converted a third down with over a minute. Even though the vikings had 1 timeout remaining, they failed to advance the ball any further, and let their division title, and playoff hopes rest on a 50 yard field goal attempt. Granted, ryan longwell is pretty good, and the vikings play in a dome, but settling for a 50 yard field goal attempt? Weeeeaaaaak.
The bears came through though with a loss to the houston texans. Andre Johnson absolutely beasted with 10 receptions, 148 yards, and 2 touchdowns. Too bad he did nothing for me last week in my fantasy championship game. Garbage.
Capital talked a little bit about the absolute beatdown the eagles laid on the cowboys. Everything was clicking for the eagles, and the crowd was in a frenzy after fans learned that this game was suddenly a playoff play-in game. The eagles d forced 5 turnovers, harrasing tony romo all day. Brian Dawkins, all 35 years of him, had a beastly game, forcing 2 fumbles that were both returned for touchdowns. Mad props for weapon x, who came out ready to play and really iced the game for philly.Thanks to that beatdown, the eagles are somehow in the nfl playoffs, despite sitting at 5-5-1 following a loss to baltimore and mcnabb’s halftime benching. That tie ended up being great for the eagles – a loss to the bengals would have instead given the last playoff spot to tampa bay.
The chargers managed to be in an even worse spot when they were sitting at 4-8. Denver pretty much had the divison locked up. Yet, a timely run by the chargers and some disappointing losses for the broncos resulted in a play-in game on sunday night. The chargers came through with their own blowout win, demolishing the broncos. Phillip Rivers outplayed his new rival Jay Cutler. LT looked like the LT of old and Sproles and Hester chipped in with their own touchdowns. A trendy preseason pick to represent the afc in the superbowl, the chargers sneaked in to the last spot, and will now host the colts next weekend.
And I gotta close with this video, in case you didn’t see any of the highlights of the eagles’ huge win.
So I was getting ready to do a post on the Miracle at the Meadowlands, definitely a unique play in NFL history. But..looks like ESPN totally beat me to it and was able to do research/interview people and stuff. All I had was a youtube clip. Meh.
In honor of the eagles-giants game (and because people are hating on our sportssceneit team’s lack of sports history knowledge), here’s the story behind the miracle at the meadowlands. The Giants are leading the Eagles 17-12 and it looks like they have just wrapped up a win at home following a late Ron Jaworski pick. All the Giants had to do was take a couple of QB knees. Instead, the Giants decided to run a play with a few seconds left (which is standard Madden XBOX protocol, but not so hot for real games). The play is so controversial that some of the players/coaches involved from the giants side still refuse to talk about, more than 20 years after the game. The Eagles (naturally) sent an all-out blitz on the play.
The ball was snapped and the Giants QB, Pisarcik had some trouble handling the ball. He turned to hand the ball off to his running back, but fumbled the exchange. An Eagles DB, none other than the Chiefs’ Herm Edwards, timed his jump perfectly and broke free through the line. The ball hit the turf and Edwards pulled off one of the most clutch scoop and scores in the history of the NFL. Ballin.
Derrick Rose had a couple of highlight reel plays yesterday
First check out his move on Andre Miller
Rose with the solid oop on the pass from Ben Gordon
And check out his block of Andre Miller, the top play from yesterday’s game (last highlight)
And that Devin Harris-Jason Kidd trade is looking worse every day. Devin Harris sliced up the suns for a career high 47 points yesterday (and recently macked the Lakers girls)
Top of the 6th inning, Fightin Phils: 2, Dodgers: 3. Runners on 2nd and 3rd and a wild pitch. Ryan Howard comes home to score and easily beats the tag/throw.
Tim McCarver: “And Ryan Howard came very close to not touching the plate on that play.”
FOX shows the replay. Howard executes a nice slide just in case and reaches his hand out to slap the plate. Clearly touches it. Not even close to not touching the plate.
Tim McCarver = whatanoob.
So I found the video of Juqua’s game-clinching pick 6. Here it is:
And there are credible rumors (not really…from the unofficial Eagles’ blog) that the Eagles might acquire Tony Gonzalez from the Chiefs.
wow. wow. i’m so pumped up from the eagles 40-26 win over the san francisco 49ers. yeah yeah, sanfran’s not exactly the class of the nfc but the eagles were down at one point this game. I swear, JT O’Sullivan was playing the game of his life and Mike Martz was dialing up perfect play calls. The eagles were without BWest and had a red zone efficiency of approximately -126971246917246912764971246% (plus or minus 3%). By now we know that David Akers has no chance of hitting field goals of more than 45 yards out, and today he even struggled with a 37 yarder (that he probably missed…but we’ll let that slide.) But the eagles D clamped down in the 4th quarter and came up with 2 picks and 1 fumble recovery. the eagles outscored sanfran 23-0 in the 4th quarter, giving them a big, big win.
(note – I can’t insert a picture here for some garbage reason.)
DE Juqua Parker (what a baller name. I think I need to give someone that nickname, just so I can routinely use” Juqua” in my life) had a beastly game, with 1 sack, 2 tackles for loss (including one wide receiver reverse which he absolutely destroyed), 4 tackles, and the game-clinching pick 6. The play was a beauty. Jim Johnson called a zone blitz with 46 seconds left in the 4th and the 49ers driving for a potential game-tying touchdown. Parker started towards to the offensive line and dropped back into coverage at the perfect moment, picking off the throw to Bruce on a hot route. Parker then turned on the jets and iced the game with a pick 6. Awesomeness.
This eagles win was even bigger because the redskins returned to their normal sucky ways, losing to the St. Louis Rams (the rams…really? really? way to make the nfc east look bad. But this was the perfect Redskins’ loss, because Portis continued his studly fantasy performance). Things also worked out for the cowboys – the cowboys were able to get in position for a game-tying 52 yarder with 3 seconds left in regulation thanks to a dubious offsides call. The dude from the cardinals was injured and wasn’t able to get over the line of scrimmage in time, and the zebras still penalized the dude. WTS!?!?!!? But the cardinals were able to block the cowboys’ punt and win in OT. Ballin.
And I hate baseball’s fake fights where the benches empty, and you have some players trying to act cool pulling that fake “I’m going to act like I want to fight but I really don’t want to so please hold me back” routine. Yes, I’m talking about Man-Ram.
I felt that it was time for me contribute to the blog again with something besides my hilarious comments. So I had a couple of options for this post: 1) my expected rant on the Eagles (WTF…1st and goal and can’t score…3 td passes to kyle orton after absolutely destroying poor roethlisberger in an absolutely dominant defensive performance, highlighted by “my man” dawkin’s amazing sack, forced fumble, and fumble recovery that basically clinched the game. Awesome. Or I could talk about 2) the orlando magic’s new jerseys..I’m not a big fan. Meh. Our old black pinstripe jerseys were so so baller. Those are some of the sweetest jerseys I’ve ever seen:
By now, most teams have started their conference schedules. So naturally, here’s a top 10 (if I don’t get lazy) Heisman ballot.
1. Chase Daniels, Missouri, QB. Daniels had a great season last year and he’s building on it even more this year. Daniels has already thrown for 12 touchdowns, and has a 76%(!!!!!) completion percentage. Mizzou’s got a great play maker in Maclin who is definitely helping Daniels’ Heisman push. Daniels has a chance to really distance himself from the other Big 12 qbs with games against Nebraska, #21 Texas Tech, and #5 Texas coming in the next few weeks.
2. Sam Bradford, Oklahoma, QB. Bradford experienced some early success last year, but a lot of credit was given to Oklahoma’s outstanding offensive line. He’s proving that he’s a terrific qb in his own right, with 16 touchdowns and a 209 rating.
3. Colt McCoy, Texas, QB. McCoy’s actually got the highest rating of the 3 Big 12 QB’s. He’s also got a lot more Vince Young in him than I realized (the good Vince Young..not the emo NFL qb stuff. How is VY not even an NFL starter??!!?!?!? WTS!?!?!? Expect the winner of the Red River Shootout to get a leg up in the Heisman chase.
4. Knoshown Moreno. Moreno was a trendy preseason pick for the Heisman and he’s been doing his part to carry Georgia’s offense. Moreno’s racked up 10 touchdowns and some unbelievable hurdles, but his Heisman candidacy took a hit (along with Georgia’s national title chances) following Alabama’s beat down. Looks like the black was for a f&!@**** funeral. But this hurdle was huuuuuuuuuuuuuge for points:
5. Javon Ringer, Michigan State, RB. Ringer has been an absolute stud for Michigan State so far, putting the offense on his back. He already has a 187 carries, and is still averaging 4.7 ypc. Not bad for the “little-brother” school in Michigan.
6. Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech, WR. Crabtree’s been tagged as the top NFL wide receiver draft prospect in the country. His stats are definitely impressive, but some of it’s gotta be a product of that pass-wacky system in Texas Tech.
7. Jeremy Maclin, Missouri, WR. I guess it’s hard for noobs like me to distinguish between a qbs success and his star wide recevier. According a to the one Mizzou fan I know, Maclin is the better player. Meh. Mebbe I should swap Daniels and Maclin then.
8. Eron Riley, Duke, WR. We gotta give some love to the surprising Dukies, who actually destroyed (not just beat) an ACC team (although it was Virginia). Riley was mentioned by Mel Kiper as a legit NFL prospect, and he’s 2nd in the NCAA with 6 touchdowns. Riley’s definitely the cog of the Duke offensive. Look at this sick catch: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3133/2500723805_24b320bacc.jpg?v=0
And check out this amazing touchdown catch.
9. Tim Tebow, FL, QB. Max Hall, BYU, QB. FL’s loss to Ole Miss was a huge blow to Tebow’s heisman hopes. He’s already had some subpar (by his insanely high standards) game so far. People have been talking about how a Tebow with lesser stats means a better FL; so far, the same old problems have plagued the gators. No reliable rushing attack outside of Tebow and Harvin, and a questionable D. But Tebow could shoot up these rankings if he follows his promises in the press conference following the Ole Miss loss; Tebow guaranteed he would work harder than any other player in college football. We’ll see. In other news, tim tebow’s a playa.
10. Max Hall, BYU, QB. Meh. I’m not a fan of non-BCS conference Heisman hopefuls.
So apparently this blog hasn’t died yet. And apparently “dived” isn’t a word. Meh. I wasn’t always a noob at grammar.
Monday night’s game features another great NFC east clash, between the eagles and cowboys. It seems like announcers/analysts/random dudes are always talking about the great rivalries of the NFL. I dunno. I don’t really buy that stuff in terms of professional football – so many guys change teams and move around to the point where it becomes hard to form true rivalries. I can definitely see it in college football, but not so much in the NFL. I kind of wish this Eagles/Cowboys game was a bit later in the season. I feel pretty good about the Eagles right now – Donovan’s looking healthy, Desean “badly needs a nickname because fraction and action aren’t gonna cut it” Jackson had an explosive debut, and the Eagles D was solid in the 1st game. Then again…this was against the Rams. A Rams fan I know summed up their season very nicely: “we’re really bad.” Tony Romo and the cowboys looked great in their debut, although Cleaveland’s probably overrated too. What’s with his goofy smile at the end of this commercial? Why is he throwing around eagles player? It’s alrite though..Dawkins is there to get that sh@# out (btw..what’s convention for using symbols in swear words?).
But here are the main youtube videos for this post: Shelden Brown absolutely destroys Steven Jackson in last week’s game. Brown plays his zone defense perfectly, and I have no idea how Jackson held onto the ball.
So I’ve gotta link Brown’s huge hit against Reggie Bush in the playoffs from a couple of years ago. This was one of the first plays in the game (I think). Idk how the announcer kept his cool there…I would have exploded.
Moral of the story – good luck to Marion Barber and Felix Jones on Monday night.
So there’s a buncha things going on right now in the sporting world.The Olympics are going on, baseball’s pennant races are heating up, and the NFL is gearing up for a new season. Gotta love watching random Olympic events that I would never otherwise pay attention to/know anything about. Although..you can’t go wrong with women’s beach volleyball.
But it’s really time for fantasy football. Last year was my 1st year playing and uhhh, I can’t believe I waited that long to start. It really is one of the greatest things ever. It’s awesome to play with friends and helps you meet new people (like that one kid who kept out screaming “F@^#” whenever someone drafted his “sleeper pick”). It’s great – it turns meaningless week 16 games involving the bills, the texans, the raiders, (etc.) into huuuuuuuuuuuuuuge games for your playoffs. It leads to constantly updating 7 different stat trackers and trying to calculate scores if you’re too cheap to buy the automatic score updater. Good stuff. Check out espn’s the talented mr. roto (matthew berry) for an interesting article on how the fantasy landscape has changed with more teams using multiple running backs and teams running pass-happy offenses.
But of course..this post would not be complete without a mention of Olympic basketball – Team USA’s first game starts tomorrow against host country China. THE REDEEM TEAM!
Posted by eaglesforever 
Posted by eaglesforever 
Posted by eaglesforever 
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