The Week That Was

Wild Card weekend is now a distant memory as the NFL playoffs move into stage two and the Divisional Round. The big boys that got Wild Card weekend off (Giants, Panthers, Titans, Steelers) are ready and waiting. Wild Card weekend was highlighted by an intriguing and surprising Saturday and an inevitable letdown on Sunday.

The Arizona Cardinals defeated the Atlanta Falcons behind their defense and the re emergence of RB Edgerrin James. The Falcons were plagued by turnovers and QB Matt Ryan was once again hit by the interception bug that began to bite him at the end of the season. The Falcons almost looked shell shocked the entire game but despite falling behind 14-3 early, they were able to take a 17-14 lead into the half. That is when the wheels began to fall off as immediately Ryan and RB Michael Turner flubbed a hand off attempt which Arizona returned for a TD, and from there never looked back.

In the prime time game on Saturday night the Indianapolis Colts and the San Diego Chargers added another classic to their growing rivalry. The Chargers won because of two players, RB Darren Sproles and Punter Mike Scifres. The Colts best starting field position the entire game was at their own 33 yard line as Scifres continually pinned them inside the 10. After Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson did his annual playoff exercise of being too hurt to play but then "valiantly" playing 2 series then sitting out the rest of the game, Sproles took over and eventually scored the game winning TD in overtime. People have started complaining about the OT rules again and not surprisingly considering NFL golden boy Peyton Manning didn't get a chance to win the game for his team. Had the Colts won that game I doubt the media would be howling about the rule quite as much.

On Sunday, the Baltimore Ravens dominated the Miami Dolphins. Ravens safety Ed Reed continued his string of dominance on the defensive end, returning an interception for a touchdown right before halftime that proved to be the winning score of the game. Dolphins QB Chad Pennington was harassed throughout and had a terrible game, throwing 4 interceptions. It was a great season for the Dolphins, who have nothing to hang their heads over. Hopefully, this wasn't a one year aberration like the Cleveland Browns were and they can carry the momentum to next season.

Although the game was close late in the 4th quarter the Philadelphia Eagles controlled their game against the Minnesota Vikings. Vikings QB Tavaris Jackson looked out of his element as usual, throwing a terrible interception that was returned by Eagles CB Asante Samuel for a touchdown. Then late in the game with the Eagles leading 16-14, Eagles RB Brian Westbrook, who had been shut down the entire game, took a screen pass 71 yards to pay dirt and sealed the game for the Eagles. The Vikings needs to find some sort of answer at the QB position and it isn't being patient with Jackson. Until they get a legitimate QB they will be stuck as nothing better than a quick playoff participant.

Should be a great Divisional round this weekend, I will get into that more with analysis and picks in Friday's Hail Mary.

In college football, bowl season continued with the big stories being the Utah Utes shocking demolition of the Alabama Crimson Tide, and the Texas Longhorns coming up with a late touchdown to defeat the Ohio State Buckeyes. The most important game to me was the Nebraska Cornhuskers finishing the year 9-4 with a gutty, come from behind win against the Clemson Tigers in the Gator Bowl. Down 14-3, and 21-10, the Huskers kept fighting. The defense had their best performance of the season, coming up with a huge stop at the end of the game. Ndamukong Suh was a beast on defense as he blocked a field goal and had 2 sacks. Joe Ganz overcame some mistakes in the first half, and earned MVP honors.

Back to the Utah Utes, who finished the season 13-0 and will be the only undefeated team in college football this year. If I had a vote in the AP poll, which doesn't have to vote the BCS champion #1, I would definitely tab the Utes as #1. Sure they may not beat USC, Florida, Oklahoma, or Texas in a mythical game but the votes aren't based on mythical games. They are based on what a team did and the Utes did what USC couldn't, beat Oregon State, and whipped a team that was #1 for a month, Alabama. To me, no matter the result of Thursday's national championship game, they are the true #1 team. It will be interesting to see, that now with the non BCS conferences winning 3 out of 4 against the major conferences if these non BCS conferences will now get consideration for the national championship game.

In the NBA, there was some poetic justice on Sunday as Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James was called for traveling in the final seconds, sealing an upset win for the Washington Wizards. The Wizards were screwed on Christmas night when the refs decided that the Cavs should win the game and started calling phantom fouls. James thinks his crab dribble of taking 4 steps is somehow legal but it isn't. I am all for the NBA referees calling traveling, it is a rule and should be enforced.

In college basketball, North Carolina's dreams of an undefeated season came to a surprising end with a humbling home loss to Boston College. Nothing to panic about, as results in March and April are what matter most in college basketball but if anything it should get the Tar Heels focused for the rest of their ACC season. The George Mason Patriots continue to exceed expectations, they took Dayton to the wire on the road, and are now 3-0 in the CAA following a blowout of UNC Wilimington and a close win against an improved Georgia State squad.

See everyone Thursday for the final Cram Session of the season as I predict and analyze the BCS Championship between Florida and Oklahoma. Hopefully, I can get back on track with my picks after a rough week.