Monday, October 4, 2010

10/3: The Gauntlet

Greetings all... What a weekend... culminating in "The Gauntlet" for an Atlanta sports fan such as myself... a 1:00 Falcons kick-off coupled with a 1:35 Braves first pitch in the biggest/last/clinching game of the season, and the subsequent 3 hour battle between the Padres and Giants with a serious rooting interest... here we go with a recap..
  • The Braves are in... I have to lead with this... if you don't care, move swiftly down the page... but as much as the Braves backed in, they are in nonetheless with an assist to Charlie Manuel, and the San Francisco Giants... 162 games is a long race... now short series are the name of the game, and everyone's got a puncher's chance... there will be a full MLB playoff preview in this space before Wednesday... but big-ups to a gutty Braves team that probably has no business being there...
  • Carlos Boozer out 8 weeks... the huge FA signing for the Bulls will miss the first month-plus of their season... pretty brutal already for Chi-town... but it's better to happen now than later...
  • The Ryder Cup stands at 9.5 to 6.5 in favor of Europe after a total domination 5.5 to 0.5 session late in the day on Saturday into Sunday... still a puncher's chance for the rare Monday comeback for the Americans because anything can happen in singles... Can't wait to tune in...
To the Pigskin from the weekend... First, college...
  • Alabama the undisputed #1... a 31-6 drubbing of Florida that sent a message to everybody in the SEC, and really the country... they were dominant on both sides of the ball, they have 2 of the top 5 running backs in the country, and they are extremely well coached... pretty nice combo...
  • Oregon takes control of the Pac 10... a 2nd half explosion (and the wilting of Andrew Luck) propels the Ducks into the driver's seat out west... and shot them past Boise State in the rankings... I'm okay with it simply based on the best win (this win) on either resume, and the general way they've dominated...
  • Ohio State shaky... Pryor got hurt... they looked shaky... but it's a conference road game, and they looked to be in full control while he was in there... don't be alarmed...
  • The Red River shootout... didn't see a second of this game, I wouldn't lie to you... but Texas made 2 turnovers to Oklahoma's none... that's the recipe to lose..
  • Sparty takes out Wisconsin... I was semi-shocked by this one... fresh off their coach's heart attack and the turmoil that comes with that, Michigan State banded together, controlled the tempo throughout, and beat up on a Wisconsin team I really liked... setting up undefeated vs. undefeated in the battle for Michigan next week.... Speaking of the Wolverines..
  • Denard Robinson had 494 yards of total offense... that's absurd... he's the first player in FBS history to have 2 games of 200 yds passing and 200 yds rushing in their CAREER... he's done it twice in 3 weeks... and he's a true sophomore... if only he could play defense for Greg Robinson's mess of a unit...
  • USC can't solve Washington... This game got a lot more coverage than it probably warranted... but Jake Locker put himself back on the map after a dreadful performance the previous week...
  • Georgia is 1-4... I don't even know what to say about that... I'm taking a little joy in it, but my heart tells me that I shouldn't... speaking from someone who endured a 3-9 Michigan season recently... there's nothing worse than when it starts to snowball...
NFL...
  • Falcons squeeze one out... Thanks to Nate Clements... who took a late INT from Matt Ryan down inside the Falcons 10-yd line instead of merely getting down and virtually ending the game... and he fumbled the ball back to Matty Ice who was able to take the Falcons back down the field for the game winner... really an ugly game throughout, and I caution people to not forget the 2nd soul-crushing Ryan INT of the season on a final drive... but I'll take the win to be sure... 3-1 looks good
  • Cleveland upsets Cincy... Carson Palmer is a mess... his numbers look fine... but he's made so many crucial mistakes in the red zone, etc. that I've lost count...
  • GB sneaks by Detroit... this game was o-v-e-r... at least it should've been... until Aaron Rodgers threw 3 picks in 7 attempts... and Shaun Hill was decent... but alas, the Pack sneak one out.. that's the sign of a better team...
  • Baltimore makes plays... a late big-time throw by Flacco and the subsequent Charlie Batch INT seal this one for the Ravens... typical AFC North game...
  • Indy goes down... Jacksonville seems like a house of horrors for Peyton Manning and company... a 59-yarder by Josh Scobee at the gun to win it... crazy stuff there... Jacksonville didn't make mistakes and were able to run the ball effectively... best way to beat Indy...
  • Vick goes down... #7 left early... and Washington was able to milk their 17-6 half-time lead into a victory... pretty ugly football here... resulting in the final hail mary that my boy Jason Avant probably should've come down with (and I'm frankly shocked he didn't... he catches everything)... Huge W for the Skins...
THE PICKS wrap-up (12-7 entering)
  • NW - 5... Loss
  • Wisconsin -2... Loss
  • UGA -4.5... Loss
  • UNLV +21... winner!
  • Seattle - 1... Loss
  • NO -13.5... Loss
  • San Diego -8... winner!
Now 14-12 on the year... rough week... at any rate... Lots of content to come in this space soon... Appreciate your patronage


2 comments:

DRow said...

Wow, you're my sports knowledge hero!! One day, when I get much older and smarter, I hope to gain as much info in my head as you have. Bad week on your bets, but you're forgiven. Keep up the insitting work!

T row said...

Boozer is huge loss.. I feel like he's the glue to any team because of his unselfishness and willingness to do the dirty work.. Hopefully he comes back healthy

PS- Denard sucks