Monday Night Heroics in Soldier Field

    After an incredibly lackluster first half from the Minnesota Vikings, the Chicago Bears led 16-0, as Brett Favre and the Vikes couldn't put anything together against the Bears tough Defense.  Jay Cutler and the Bears moved the ball down the field almost at ease but couldn't put the Vikings away, as they settled for 3 field goals throughout the game from Robbie Gould.  However, boy did things change in the second half, as Adrian Peterson, Brett Favre, and co. exploded for 30 points and over 300 yards of total offense to send the game into overtime.  There's been plenty of memorable Monday Night games in the past year, for example the Bills-Cowboys Monday Night game from last year, however, this game was just as exciting and I think the best game of the year thus far.
       I must hand it to Brett Favre this year, as he's put together game after game of highlights and phenomenal performances.  The beginning of this game certainly led everyone to believe this was not going to be Favre's night, however, his huge second half allowed him to end up with 321 passing yards and 2 touchdowns; none more important than the touchdown pass to Sidney Rice with only seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into OT.  Adrian Peterson also proved that he's the best running back in the league, and certainly the most feared, as he ran over the Bears defense in the second half to rush for 94 yards and put together 2 touchdowns.  No doubt he's ready for the playoffs.
     

I must ask, is this Favre actually 40 years old or what??  What the heck is going on with him?  I started him in fantasy football 2 years ago and was convinced then that his best days were behind him; now we're hearing talk of possible MVP consideration.  Hats off to Farve even though the Bears pulled this one out tonight.  He's the definition of a good ol' boy that never gives up and never cashes out.
       Jay Cutler also showed tonight why some still regard him as a top level quarterback in the NFL, even though probably a second tier quarterback because of his lack of wide receiver talent.  Nonetheless, he persevered tonight and put together a monster night in front of a packed house at Soldier Field in Chicago.  Cutler led the game winning drive in overtime and threw 4 touchdowns to only 1 interception....wow.  He also came through each time when Chicago needed him, as the fans and his team were behind him the whole way....unlike the rest of the season.  The Bears deserved to win this game tonight and maximized on their opportunities to score, as they pulled it out 36-30.  It's always great to see a team like the Bears return to greatness, if only for one game, and pull out a gritty win against a conference opponent. Favre and the rest of the Vikings learned tonight that they'll need to play solid football for 60 minutes instead of just 30 if they wish to make a run in the playoffs this year.
   

NCAA Mens Basketball Rankings as of Monday 12/28/2009

      For those Big East fans out there, you have to be pumped to see 4 Big East teams in the top 10 of the Associated Press rankings, and 5 Big East teams in the Top 13.  However, the concerning factor being that no other Big East teams are ranked at this time.  Earlier in the season, there were 8 Big East teams ranked in the Top 25.  We'll see how these numbers change as conference play gets under way, however, with the strength and talent across the board in the Big East, it's clear that a .500 or better record in conference play will mean that team is battle tested.  Syracuse University(12-0) opens up their Big East season against Seton Hall University(9-2) tomorrow at 9pm.  The Hall just came off a very tough fought overtime loss to now 6th ranked West Virginia.  SU vs. Seton Hall should be a battle...can't wait.



Associated Press Top 25


1 Kansas
2 Texas
3 Kentucky
4 Purdue
5 Syracuse
6 West Virginia
7 Duke
8 Villanova
9 North Carolina
10 Connecticut
11 Michigan State
12 Kansas State
13 Georgetown
14 Tennessee
15 Ohio State
16 Mississippi
17 Washington
18 Temple
19 New Mexico
20 Texas Tech
21 Clemson
22 Florida State
23 Wisconsin
24 UAB
25 Northwestern

Colts Undefeated Season Comes to an End....good decision!

      Nobody thought it would take 16 weeks, and I'm sure nobody thought the Indianapolis Colts first loss would occur against the New York Jets in week 16 by a score of 29 to 15, however, it was clear on Sunday that the Jets came to play and the deciding factor was clearly the fact that Peyton Manning was pulled from the game.  I definitely agree with the decision made by Colts coach Jim Caldwell, as he ultimately felt that the perfect season was not worth risking a possible injury to his All-Pro, all-knowing, all everything Quarterback Peyton Manning.  Any football fan knows that a perfect season sounds great, however, Peyton Manning and Jim Caldwell want another SUPERBOWL. 

       Unlike Bill Belichek's 2007 Patriots team that sought to classlessly destroy and embarrass every team that came in their path, the Colts focus isn't on the record books, but instead is on reaching their team goals of a championship for the history books.  You've got to commend the Colts for a strong regular season showing and for being what the 2007 New England Patriots were not, which is a class act organization that can be seen through their coach and players.  You certainly won't hear of any scandals or possible league violations by the Colts.  They've had some extremely tight and very tough wins this year and deserved to be undefeated until this week, however, I find it refreshing that the Colts and NFL fans can focus on something other than constantly hearing about the perfect season.  Week 17 to come, and the much anticipated playoffs shortly down the road.
     On a different note, well done to Peyton Manning for hitting 50,000 passing yards for his career and only one of four quarterbacks to do so, that's one heck of a feet and a tremendous accomplishment.

K-GEO's Week 16 NFL Predictions

Philly over Broncos ( 28-25 ) GAME OF THE WEEK, THE MOST MEANINGFUL GAME

NFL Week 16 Player to Watch:

Brandon Marshall  - Expect huge numbers out of Marshall, but it won't be enough to knock off the Eagles at home




The Eagles difference makers today will be Lesean McCoy and Jeremy Maclin.  Check out some highlights:




Oakland over Cleveland  ( 17-14 )

Giants over Panthers ( 28-24 )

Atlanta over Buffalo ( 24-10 )

New England over Jacksonville ( 31-21 )

Green Bay over Seattle ( 35-21 )

Baltimore over Pittsburgh ( 17-14 )

New Orleans over Tampa Bay ( 38-14 )

Cincinnati over Kansas City ( 28-21 )

Miami over Houston ( 31-28 )

Arizona over St. Louis ( 35-17 )

49ers over Lions ( 17-14 )

Colts over Jets ( 24-17 )

Dallas over Washington ( 21-20)

Minnesota over Chicago ( 28-21 )  MONDAY NIGHT GAME

The Giants Blow Out the Injury Ridden Redskins 45-12

    In a must win game for the New York Giants, they proved they still had what it takes to show up and embarrass the Washington Redskins in what many were expecting to be a very tight Monday Night Football battle of two storied NFC East teams.  The Redskins had no answer in their secondary, as Eli Manning torched the Skins for 268 yards and 3 touchdowns to 3 different receivers.  Furthermore, the stingy Washington defense of last year ranked 4th in the league, however, the Skins D allowed over 110 total rushing yards on the ground between two headed beast of Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs that simply pounded the ball down field and exposed the gaping holes in the Redskins defense.  Bradshaw showed his bursts of speed and power as he recorded 2 touchdowns and rushed for 61 yards on only 9 carries.....nearly 7 yards a rush.

 The Giants controlled the game in every statistical category.  This included first downs, total yards, time of possession, penalty yards, and most importantly turnovers.  The Redskins had 3 turnovers to the Giants 0, as the Giants pressure forced the Redskins into mistakes and penalties.  None were more costly than the interception of Washington quarterback Jason Campbell's pass which was returned for a touchdown by Giants cornerback Terrell Thomas with 6 minutes left in the 3rd quarter as he practically walked into the end zone untouched from 14 yards out.  The entire night was very disheartening for the Redskins hopeful, as nearly half the crowd was gone by halftime.  This was all so disappointing after the Redskins had been so competitive and been playing very tough ball against their last 5 opponents.  Even with all of the injuries to leaders such as Clinton Portis, Chris Samuels, and Chris Cooley, the Redskins were expecting a strong performance from their back ups.  Nonetheless, it wasn't meant to be this night, as the Giants completely dominated the Skins to keep their playoff hopes alive. 

SU's Surprising Battle with the Bonnies

       The Syracuse Orange (11-0) overcame a pesky St. Bonaventure (6-4) team Saturday night in front of 20,578 fans at the Carrier Dome, as this game was frought with injuries and ejections in what many believe to be the most exciting SU/Bonaventure game in years.  The Cuse once again won a much tighter game than what the end score showed, as the Orange won 85-72 due to some clutch 3 point shooting from their leaders in the back court, Brandon Triche and Andy Rautins.  The Bonnies front court fought it out with the SU big men in order to keep the game very competitive, however, the big difference in this one was the guard play.  Furthermore, SU's field goal percentage was stellar, as the Cuse made 56% of their shots, as opposed to the solid 46% out of Bonaventure.  This game was very tight throughout all of the first half, as St. Bonaventure even held a 35-32 lead with a few minutes remaining in the first half.
       The Bonnies proved they had what it takes to stay with the 5th ranked Orange, but as was the case for the UNC game, the Cuse used spurts and runs in order to push out their lead with the 3's they've grown to rely on.  The main run that ultimately proved to be the difference in the game was the 21-4 run that stretched into the 15 minute mark of the second half, as Brandon Triche rattled off a 3 to get the Cuse fans out of their seats and the Dome rumbling.   Nonetheless, St. Bonaventure closed to within nine points with just under 10 minutes remaining, Syracuse senior Andy Rautins drained back-to-back 3-pointers for a 69-54 lead.  However, that's when things were about to get very interesting for Rautins at right around the 8 minute mark in the game.  At that point, SU led 71-59. The Bonnies were on offense and as center Andrew Nicholson trotted through the lane, he delivered what Rautins described as a low blow to his groin area.  Rautins immediately dropped to the floor and crouched in the fetal position, he then pointed toward Nicholson and yelled to the officials for confirmation of the ridiculous move by Nicholson. Officials stopped play to get together at the scorer’s table and watched what happened on the televised replay.  Moments later, Nicholson was ejected without any doubt in mind.

Andy Rautins had this to say about the incident, “I wasn’t going to let something like that slide. I was in pain. I felt nauseous for the rest of the game. Especially something unprovoked like that. There’s just no excuse for that.”

   Nicholson knew what he did was wrong and worthy of an ejection, as he galloped down the tunnel that led to the St. Bonaventure locker room.  It was clear the Bonnies were a bit frustrated with they way they had allowed SU to push out their lead, and it's possible that Nicholson's move was a measure of showing his physicality and presence to the SU team.  Nonetheless, Nicholson's move appeared to re-ignite the Orange as they closed out the game with their stingy defense that has been their staple all season long.  More importantly, SU led 71-57 at the point of the flagrant foul, as Nicholson had played 32 minutes and had contributed 18 points on a spectacular 9-of-10 shooting.  The Bonnies needed their leader down low, and with no Nicholson their efforts at getting back into shooting range of the Orange were over. 
        It was another very entertaining game in the Carrier Dome, and one that I'm sure SU has learned much about their team from, as they played well to overcome the runs of the Bonnies and Boeheim utilized different rotations with Arinze Onuaku out for most of the game due to a "minor" bruise to his knee.  From the sounds of it, Onuaku will be ready to play for the next game, however, it may be better off for the Cuse to rest him and make sure he's 100% for when the Big East starts in January.  Go CUSE!!!

Chris Henry's Dark Road **Updated

      Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry experienced what is being called "very serious" injuries today in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Police have indicated that Henry jumped into the bed of a pick up truck that was being driven by his fiancee Loleini Tonga after a dispute.  Henry was found a half mile from Tonga's parents house on the ground with what KY Post have indicated are "life threatening head injuries."  At this point the hospital and police have not disclosed any further information, but some reports have indicated that it doesn't look good for Henry to survive this accident.  Moreover, Henry was just last month placed on injured reserve by Cincinnati after breaking his left forearm against the Baltimore Ravens in week 8.  He later had season ending surgery after going through half an NFL season in which his production on the field was well below his expectations.  Nonetheless, the Bengals have flourished this season, as they're off to their best start in years and lead the AFC North by 2 games with 3 to play.

       Overall, Henry has been somewhat of a feel good story lately since he was brought back to the team after initially being let go from the Bengals because of his 5th arrest back in 2007....whoa!  Chris has stayed out of trouble for over a year now, and has indicated that his fiancee Loleini is the reason behind that turnaround.  Ironically, it appears that in this case Tonga may have ultimately caused the demise of his football career and quite possibly his life.  There's no doubt that Henry never reached his full potential after being considered a top prospect out of the highly touted West Virginia program, and it's doubtful after this car accident that Henry will ever play again.  We must all keep him in our prayers as he struggles to overcome these unfortunate events; I can only hope that the reports we've all recieved thus far are overstating his injuries.

**An update to the post from last night.  Chris Henry, age 26, unfortunately, passed away this morning due to the injuries he sustained in the above mentioned incident from yesterday afternoon.  Even though I'm sure most of us were sick of hearing of all the issues and run-ins with the law that Chris Henry went through over the last 5 years.  I'm also sure that any person out there, whether they follow football or not, would have loved to read or hear about a story down the road in which a young man turned his life around and became one of the best wide receivers in the game, maybe even a role model at some point.  However, Henry didn't live long enough in order for any of us to see his transformation.  Most people believe that no sports relationships are closer than the one between a quarterback and his wide receiver.  Therefore, I take the words of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer to say a lot about how Chris Henry was actually making an effort to become the best man and wide receiver he could.  According to Palmer, Henry had a great offseason and had "really turned his life around."  Palmer and fellow coaches had seen a glimpse this year of what could be expected for years to come in Cincinnati, nonetheless, it is ironic that today Chris Henry's life was so tragically taken away.  Our thoughts and prayers are with the Henry family on this day.