The NHL got back to game play after taking the Christmas break, and hosted a heavy 11 game slate. All the games kept combined goals at 5 or less, which makes this post a lot easier to put out. We start off in...
Atlanta, where the Thrashers hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning. Dan Ellis and Ondrej Pavelec had the goaltending duties for the game. The Lightning got the first goal of the game, thanks to Steven Stamkos potting his 28th of the year, assisted by Ryan Malone and Martin St. Louis. The Thrashers answered in the second period with a goal by Zach Bogosian, his third of the year, helped along by Anthony Stewart and Bryan Little. Tampa Bay retook the lead with Vincent Lecavalier's fifth of the season, assisted by Simon Gagne and Sean Bergenheim. Atlanta kept themselves in the game and tied it up again in the third period when Fredrik Modin notched his seventh of the season, courtesy of Jim Slater and Ben Eager. The 2-2 tie lasted to force overtime, where Lecavalier did magic and won the game for the the Lightning with his sixth of the year and second of the night, a power play goal assisted by St. Louis and Stamkos. Lecavalier, losing goalie Pavelec (31 for 34 saves), and Bogosian were the three stars.
Next on the list were the Chicago Blackhawks hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets. Mathieu Garon and Marty Turco were the goalies for the game. Tomas Kopecky opened the scoring for Chicago with his sixth of the year, assisted by returning star Marian Hossa and Jassen Cullimore. The 1-0 lead for the Blackhawks stayed until Patrick Sharp extended it in the third period with his 19th of the year, helped by Brent Seabrook and Hossa on the power play. Dave Bolland made it 3-0 with his fifth of the year, also a power play goal, from Troy Brouwer and Bryan Bickell. Sharp potted another, his 20th of the season and second of the night with help from Brouwer and Jonathan Toews. The Blue Jackets showed signs of life with a power play goal by Derrick Brassard, his eighth of the year being helped by Tom Sestito and Fedor Tyutin. Hossa, Sharp, and Turco (26 for 27 saves) picked up the three stars.
Following that game was the St. Louis Blues hosting the Nashville Predators. Pekka Rinne and Jaroslav Halak were the netminders for the game. The first period was scoreless, and David Backes opened up in the second period with his eighth of the year, assisted by Vladimir Sobotka. Backes put the game away with an empty net tally in the third period, his ninth of the year and second of the night, courtesy of Alex Steen. Halak's 32 save shutout, Backes' two goals, and Rinne's 24 of 25 were the three stars.
Moving right along with the Minnesota Wild hosting the Detroit Red Wings. Jimmy Howard and Niklas Backstrom played in net for this showdown. Henrik Zetterberg notched the first goal of the game, his 13th of the season, assisted by Niklas Kronwall and Johan Franzen. Danny Cleary made it 2-0 for Detroit with his 16th of the year, helped by Valtteri Filppula. The lead was extended further in the second period by Kris Draper, who potted his first of campaign, thanks to Kronwall and Jonathan Ericsson. Tomas Holmstrom made it 4-0 with his tenth of the year, a power play goal courtesy of Zetterberg and Nicklas Lidstrom. Minnesota showed signs of life, avoiding the shutout with Brent Burns scoring his tenth of the year, a power play goal assisted by Martin Havlat and Patrick O'Sullivan. The final ended up 4-1 for the Red Wings over the Wild. Zetterberg, Kronwall, and Lidstrom were the stars of the game.
Going along to Carolina, where the Hurricanes hosted the Washington Capitals. Semyon Varlamov and Cam Ward were the goalies in the game. Washington struck first as Mathieu Perreault netted his fifth of the season, assisted by Alexander Semin and Brooks Laich. Carolina tied it in the second period with a goal by Jussi Jokinen, whose sixth of the season was assisted by Tuomo Ruutu and Jeff Skinner. The Capitals retook the lead with Dave Steckel's fourth of the season, assisted by Alex Ovechkin, who made it 3-1 with his 13th of the year later in the second period. Mike Green picked up the assist on the Ovechkin goal. The Hurricanes tried to get a rally going in the third period, with Ruutu striking early, his eighth of the year being helped by Jay Harrison and Jokinen. They couldn't muster any extra offense and fell 3-2 to the men from D.C. Ovechkin, Varlamov (33 for 35 saves) and Ruutu were the three stars.
Next up was the New York Islanders hosting the Montreal Canadiens. Carey Price and Dwayne Roloson were tending the twine in this game. New York struck first with Blake Comeau, who scored his eighth of the year thanks to Rob Schremp and Mark Eaton. They made it 2-0 when Michael Grabner scored his eighth of the year with help by Frans Nielsen. The Islanders kept the scoring going in the third period with P.A. Parenteau's seventh of the year, a power play goal assisted by Nielsen and John Tavares. James Wisniewski made it 4-0 for the Islanders with his third of the season, also on the power play with help from Andrew MacDonald and Parenteau. Montreal avoided the shutout with Tomas Plekanec netting his eleventh of the season, from Andrei Kostitsyn and Michael Cammalleri. The final would be 4-1, favoring New York over the Canadiens. Roloson (38 for 39 saves), Wisniewski, and Parenteau would pick up the three stars.
Moving a short distance to New Jersey, where the Devils hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs. Jonas Gustavsson and Martin Brodeur would get the starting nod for the game. Toronto struck first with Colby Armstrong in the first period, with his second of the season being helped by Kris Versteeg. They extended the lead in the second period when John Mitchell netted his second of the season, assisted by Versteeg and Carl Gunnarsson. The Maple Leafs ran the lead to 3-1 with Nikolai Kulemin's 12th of the year, assisted by Clarke MacArthur and Mikhail Grabovski. Johan Hedberg replaced Martin Brodeur in the Devils net to start the third period, and New Jersey woke up with a power play goal by Rod Pelley, his first of the year assisted by Mark Fayne and Andy Greene. Armstrong put Toronto up 4-1 with his third of the year and second of the night, assisted by Tomas Kaberle. That would be the final, with Versteeg, Armstrong, and Gustavsson (29 of 30 saves) earning the stars for their performances. There was a notable fight in the game (something I've taken out of this post due to my lack of energy) between Dion Phaneuf and Ilya Kovalchuck in the second period.
Heading north with the Ottawa Senators hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury and Brian Elliott were in between the pipes. Ottawa struck first with a Mike Fisher goal, his tenth of the year getting help from Erik Karlsson and Sergei Gonchar on the power play. Karlsson added his own goal to make it 2-0 for the Senators, with his seventh of the year assisted by Chris Kelly and Jason Spezza. Karlsson struck again early in the second period, with his second of the night and eighth of the season coming on the power from Spezza. Pittsburgh avoided the shutout because Sidney Crosby was unwilling to kill his almost historical point streak, potting his 30th of the year thanks to Matt Cooke and Chris Kunitz. It was too late to help the Penguins, who lost 3-1 to Ottawa. Elliott (44 for 45 saves), Karlsson, and Chris Phillips earned the three stars. There was an early fight between tough guys Eric Godard of Pittsburgh and Matt Carkner of Ottawa.
Traveling significantly farther south, to Dallas, with the Stars hosting the Phoenix Coyotes. Jason LaBarbera and Kari Lethonen were the masked men. Phoenix opened the scoring with Kyle Turris in the second period, his fifth of the year coming from Shane Doan and Mikkel Boedker. This proved to be the deciding factor, as the Coyotes beat the Stars 1-0. LaBarbera (30 save shutout), Lethonen (24 for 25 saves), and Turris earned the three stars. Keeping the fans awake in the first period was Phoenix tough guy Paul "BizNasty" Bissonnette fighting Krys Barch of Dallas.
Moving along to Hollywood, where the Los Angeles Kings hosted the Anaheim Ducks. Jonas Hiller and Jonathan Bernier were the starting goalies for the game. All scoring occurred in the second period, started off with Wayne Simmonds scoring his eighth of the year for the Kings, from Michal Handzus and Kyle Clifford. The Ducks answered thirty-two seconds later with a Matt Beleskey goal, his first of the season from Toni Lydman and Ryan Getzlaf. Anze Kopitar and Los Angeles took the lead back later with his 15th of the year. from Marco Sturm and Dustin Brown. Justin Williams made it 3-1 with his 14th of the year, an unassisted goal. Brown struck with his 14th of the year to put Anaheim down 4-1, with the power play goal being helped by Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson. Jonas Hiller was replaced by Curtis McElhinney after the Brown goal. This score would prove to be the final. Kopitar, Johnson, and Bernier (18 of 19 saves) picked up the three stars status. Two fights occurred, with Kyle Clifford of the Kings fighting George Parros of the Ducks in the second period, followed by Simmonds dropping the gloves with Anaheim superstar Corey Perry in the third period.
Last on the Sunday schedule was the Vancouver Canucks hosting the Edmonton Oilers. Nikolai Khabibulin and Cory Schneider were the cage protectors. After going scoreless in the first thirty-three minutes, The Oilers got on the board with a Ryan O'Marra goal, his first of the season assisted by Linus Omark. Edmonton would take the lead to 2-0 with Ryan Whitney scoring his second of the season, assisted by Andrew Cogliano and Dustin Penner. Vancouver tried to start a rally back, with Jeff Tambellini scoring his eighth of the campaign late in the second period, with help from Ryan Kesler and Alexander Edler. Mikael Samuelsson continued the Canucks scoring in the early third period with his eighth of the season, courtesy of Raffi Torres and Manny Malhotra. Kevin Bieksa gave Vancouver the lead with twenty-four seconds left in regulation by potting his third of the year, helped along by Alexandre Burrows and Henrik Sedin. The Canucks held on to topple the Oilers 3-2, with Tambellini, Whitney, and Bieksa receiving the three stars.
That's all for Sunday's games. I will get the Monday Night Football, Monday Hockey recap, and possibly Tuesday Night Football out when I can. Thanks for your patience.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Fantasy Hockey All-Stars, week 11
Another week passed, as the now 24 game point streak Sidney Crosby has kept alive is still going. Will it be enough to give him the all-star status? We'll see below:
Center: Sidney Crosby, 4 goals, 3 assists, +4, 4 penalty minutes, 2 power play points, 25 shots on goal
Left Wing: Henrik Zetterberg, 3 goals, 4 assists, +4, 0 penalty minutes, 3 power play points, 10 shots on goal
Right Wing: Bryan Little, 1 goal, 4 assists, +4, 17 penalty minutes, 0 power play points, 7 shots on goal
Defenseman: Kris Letang, 1 goal, 3 assists, +1, 6 penalty minutes, 2 power play points, 18 shots on goal
Goalie: Dwayne Roloson, 3 wins, 0.98 goals against average, 106 saves, .972 save percentage, 0 shutouts
Those were the best players to have on your team in the last week. Approaching the middle of the season now, good luck in the second half.
Center: Sidney Crosby, 4 goals, 3 assists, +4, 4 penalty minutes, 2 power play points, 25 shots on goal
Left Wing: Henrik Zetterberg, 3 goals, 4 assists, +4, 0 penalty minutes, 3 power play points, 10 shots on goal
Right Wing: Bryan Little, 1 goal, 4 assists, +4, 17 penalty minutes, 0 power play points, 7 shots on goal
Defenseman: Kris Letang, 1 goal, 3 assists, +1, 6 penalty minutes, 2 power play points, 18 shots on goal
Goalie: Dwayne Roloson, 3 wins, 0.98 goals against average, 106 saves, .972 save percentage, 0 shutouts
Those were the best players to have on your team in the last week. Approaching the middle of the season now, good luck in the second half.
Song of the Week
This week we have another song by Snow Patrol, coming off of their two disc greatest hits package, Up To Now, with the song being PPP. The lyrics are pretty simple, as the phrase "It won't be long forever girl, you gotta grab life with both hands" being repeated as the only line in the song. In the background is an equally easy strumming pattern on the guitar and repetitive drum rhythm. However, the simplicity of the song is part of what makes it so easy to listen to. Check it out, and I'll throw another of these out their next week.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Sandwich Showdown
This showdown features a Friday sub (no pun) of Spicy Italian on garlic against a Sunday Roasted Chicken Breast on Herbs & Cheese. Due to illness by the eater (a shame I'd say), neither sandwich won bonus points for being friendly. However, with the bacon add-on, the Chicken gets the advantage over its toasted Friday competitor. It really filled me up, which is rare, because I am a bottomless pit. Hopefully next week I'll be in better judging conditions.
NFL Full recap Sunday, December 26th
Since I was away for most of today, and catching up on some rest stolen from me over the holiday, I'll put out the full recap. There were 12 games today, with the Eagles/Vikings game being postponed until Tuesday due to heavy snow. We start with...
The Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Tennessee Titans. The Chiefs got two touchdown passes from Matt Cassel to Jamaal Charles in the first quarter, from 14 and 5 yards. Ryan Succop added the extra points, and also a 35 yard field goal in the second quarter to make it 17-0. Kansas City extended the lead farther, to 24-0 after Cassel hooked up with Dwayne Bowe for 75 yards, and Succop's extra point (note to Jamaal Charles: one man in a celebration leap only please). Kerry Collins and the Titans woke up with a 53 yard touchdown pass to Kenny Britt, followed by a Rob Bironas extra point. Collins gave the Chiefs a touchdown as well, throwing an interception to Eric Berry for 54 yards, followed by a Succop extra point. Making it 34-7 for Kansas City in the third quarter was Succop, who kicked a 42 yard field goal. Tennessee responded with Collins making a touchdown pass to Jared Cook for 22 yards. Bironas added the point after, and the score stood at 34-14, which lasted through the fourth quarter to be the final. Kansas City improved to 10-5, and Tennessee fell to 6-9.
The second game was the Cleveland Browns hosting the Baltmore Ravens. Cleveland opened the scoring with receiver Mohamed Massaqoui passing to Brian Robiskie for 29 yards, and Phil Dawson's extra point making it 7-0. Billy Cundiff and Baltimore answered, with Cundiff sandwiching a touchdown with field goals from 27 and 40 yards. Baltimore's touchdown was a 15 yard Joe Flacco pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh, with Cundiff adding the extra point. Dawson made it 13-10 Ravens with his field goal of 30 yards for the Browns before halftime. Flacco struck quickly in the third quarter, finding Derrick Mason for 22 yards and the touchdown, with Cundiff's extra point producing the eventual final of 20-10 Ravens. Baltimore jumped up to 11-4, and Cleveland fell to 5-10.
Continuing along to Buffalo, where the Bills hosted the red-hot New England Patriots. The Bills got the early lead with Rian Lindell's field goal of 26 yards. Danny Woodhead answered for the Patriots with a 29 yard touchdown run, followed by Shayne Graham with the extra point. Tom Brady threw a touchdown to Rob Gronkowski, good for 8 yards, with Graham adding an extra point, following it up with a field goal from 34 yards out, and the extra point on Brady's touchdown to Alge Crumpler of 4 yards. New England led 24-3 over Buffalo at halftime. Brady found Gronkowski again for 8 yards and the touchdown in the third quarter, with Graham adding the extra point once again, before kicking a 26 yard field goal in the fourth quarter, bringing the score to 34-3 Patriots, which would be the final. New England improved to 13-2, while Buffalo fell down to 4-11.
Next up was the St. Louis Rams hosting the San Francisco 49ers. The Rams got going first, with Steven Jackson breaking the goal line with a 1 yard touchdown run, followed by a Josh Brown extra point. The St. Louis defense got in on the next score, pinning 49ers quarterback Troy Smith in his own end zone for the safety to give them a 9-0 lead. San Francisco got back in action when St. Louis punted, and Ted Ginn, Jr. returned the kick from Donnie Jones for 78 yards and the touchdown, with Jeff Reed getting the extra point. Brown made it 12-7 for the Rams with his 43 yard field goal, but Troy Smith passed to Michael Crabtree for 60 yards and the touchdown, followed by Reed's extra point to make it 14-12 San Francisco at halftime. St. Louis retook the lead with another field goal by Brown, from 30 yards, and extended the lead to 22-14 with Sam Bradford's touchdown pass to Laurent Robinson for 3 yards, and Brown's point after. Reed and Brown exchanged fourth quarter field goals, with Reed good from 47 yards and Brown true from 28. The Rams would take the 49ers down 25-17, boosting themselves to 7-8, and dropping their opponents to 5-10.
Moving onto a less playoff-relevant game, but still dramatic nonetheless, where the Miami Dolphins hosted the Detroit Lions. Dave Rayner of the Lions and Dan Carpenter traded field goals, with Rayner kicking a 39 yard shot and Carpenter one-upping him with a 40 yard kick. In the second quarter, touchdowns started flying, with Shaun Hill finding Brandon Pettigrew to give Detroit a 10-3 lead after Rayner's extra point. Miami answered with a 4 yard run by Lousaka Polite for a touchdown and a Chad Henne pass Davone Bess for 13 yards. Carpenter's extra points made it 17-10 for the Dolphins going into the locker room. The Lions re-tied the game in the third quarter with a Maurice Morris 5 yard touchdown run, followed by a Rayner extra point, but the Dolphins stole the lead back with Ronnie Brown's 1 yard touchdown run, with Carpenter making it 24-17 with his extra point. Carpenter extended the lead with a fourth quarter field goal of 28 yards. Detroit, now with some catching up to do, let Hill find Jahvid Best for 53 yards, and Rayner's extra point put them within 3, which he later amended with a game-tying field goal of 47 yards. The Lions defense would bail them out with DeAndre Levy intercepting Henne for 30 yards, and Rayner providing the extra point making it 34-27 for the Lions. They would hold on to get the win, improving to 5-10, dropping the Dolphins to 7-8.
Next to last in the morning games was the Washington Redskins visiting the Jacksonville Jaguars. Washington got out to an early 10-0 first quarter lead with Graham Gano's 48 yard field goal, followed by his extra point on the Rex Grossman touchdown pass of 1 yard to Fred Davis. David Garrard got Jacksonville into the scoring game with a 19 yard touchdown to Mike Thomas, with Josh Scobee providing the extra point, and also the tying field goal in the third quarter, from 34 yards. The Redskins and Jaguars traded touchdowns in the fourth quarter, with Ryan Torain giving Washington the lead back on a 1 yard run for a score, followed by a Gano point after before Garrard took it in from 20 yards out, and Scobee providing the extra point. The tie at 17 would last into overtime until Gano notched a 31 yard field goal to win it 20-17 for the Redskins. Washington jumped up to 6-9, and Jacksonville fell to 8-7.
The morning games were wrapped up by the New York Jets visiting the Chicago Bears at a cold Soldier Field. The Bears opened the scoring with a Robbie Gould 37 yard field goal, with Gould adding the extra point on Matt Forte's 22 yard touchdown run. Chicago took a 10-0 lead into the second quarter, but the Jets woke up, with Shonn Greene running 3 yards for the score, the defense getting a 20 yard interception return in the hands of Dwight Lowery from Jay Cutler's misguided pass, and LaDainian Tomlinson running his own 3 yard touchdown in. Nick Folk was present to make it 21-10 by adding all 3 extra points. Chicago was able to answer the scoring bombardment by New York with Cutler running a touchdown in from 2 yards out and Gould providing the extra point. Nick Folk kept the Jets up by a touchdown with his 26 yard field goal making it 24-17 at halftime. Cutler and the Bears came out with their own shellacking of the Jets in the third quarter, with touchdown passes of 40 and 25 yards going to Johnny Knox and Devin Hester. Gould tacked on both extra points. Mark Sanchez found a tying touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes for 23 yards, with Folk's extra point tying the game, but Chicago made it 38-31 with a Cutler touchdown to Knox from 26 yards, with Gould making the point after. The Jets answered early in the fourth quarter with a Folk field goal of 34 yards, but New York couldn't find any more offense and fell 38-34 to the Bears. Chicago jumped up 11-4 and knocked the Jets down 10-5.
This brings the post to its halftime.
The Denver Broncos and Houston Texans led off the late games in a meaningless battle. Arian Foster led off the scoring with a touchdown run of 3 yards, with Neil Rackers making the extra point. By halftime, Houston had gained a 17-0 lead, thanks to Matt Schaub connecting with Owen Daniels for 3 yards, and rackers adding an extra point and a 34 yard field goal. Denver found the end zone in the third quarter with Correll Buckhalter running 6 yards for the touchdown, and Steve Hauschka making it 17-7 with the extra point. The Texans kicked a pair of field goals off the foot of Neil Rackers in the third quarter, sandwiching a Hauschka kick of 27 yards. Rackers was true from 54 and 57 yards. Houston had a 23-10 lead going into the fourth quarter. Tim Tebow and the Broncos decided to change this with Tebow throwing a touchdown pass to Buckhalter for 23 yards and then running in 6 yards for a score. Hauschka's two extra points gave Denver a 24-23 lead, one they would not relinquish. Denver jumped up to 4-11, and Houston fell to 5-10.
Going into Oakland for the next game, with the Raiders hosting playoff-hungry Indianapolis Colts. The Colts opening kickoff was returned by Jacoby Ford for 99 yards and a touchdown, with Sebastian Janikowski making it 7-0. Joseph Addai would even the score for Indianapolis with his 6 yard touchdown run, and Adam Vinatieri added on the extra point. Indianapolis would take a 10-7 lead when Vinatieri knocked in a 30 yard field goal, but Oakland retook the lead when Janikowski kicked two field goals from 59 and 38 yards. The Colts would retake the lead before halftime as Peyton Manning found Jacob Tamme for 19 yards and the touchdown, and Vinatieri's extra point made it 17-13. Janikowski found the lead foot again in the third quarter, booting one in from *only* 51 yards. Manning would connect with Blair White to make it 24-16 after Vinatieri's extra point, with the touchdown pass good for 4 yards. Oakland attempted a comeback on the foot of Janikowski, who booted in a 45 yard field goal in the fourth quarter, but was promptly answered by Manning connecting with Pierre Garcon for 7 yard and the touchdown, and Vinatieri's extra point made it 31-19. Jason Campbell got a touchdown for the Raiders with a 6 yard pass to Zach Miller, and the 31-26 score was made possible by Janikowski's extra point, but Oakland didn't have enough time left to win the game and lost to Indianapolis, who improved to 9-6 and dropped the Raiders to 7-8.
Next up was a must-win situation for the San Diego Chargers, who visited the Cincinnati Bengals. Carson Palmer allowed the Bengals to draw the first blood with a touchdown pass to Jermaine Gresham for 3 yards, followed by a Clint Stitser extra point. Palmer found Jerome Simpson in the second quarter from 10 yards out, but the score stayed at 13-0 as Stitser bumbled the extra point attempt. The Chargers regained themselves with a late second quarter field goal by Nate Kaeding. San Diego got even closer in the third quarter, as Ryan Mathews rushed a touchdown in from 23 yards, allowing an extra point by Kaeding. Cincinnati got back on track with Palmer finding Jordan Shipley for 3 yards. Stitser made the extra point this time. Kaeding responded for the Chargers with a 28 yard field goal, but was promptly answered by Palmer finding Simpson for a 59 yard touchdown. Stitser's extra point made it 27-13. Bernard Scott squashed any hopes of the playoffs San Diego had left by running a 10 yard rush into the end zone for the Bengals, and Stitser was good again with the extra point. Philip Rivers sent a goodbye message to Cincinnati with a 5 yard touchdown pass to Kelley Washington, and Kaeding was good on the extra point, producing the final of 34-20 in favor of the Bengals, who improved to 4-11, and dropped the Chargers to 8-7.
Second to last on the slate was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks, both teams with playoff hopes still very much alive. Seattle opened the scoring with a 1 yard touchdown run by Matt Hasselbeck, who found a new way to get injured before Olindo Mare kicked the extra point. Connor Barth answered for Tampa Bay with a 46 yard field goal. Josh Freeman kicked the Buccaneers into a higher gear with touchdown passes to Kellen Winslow and Mike Williams (TB), of 10 and 20 yards. Barth's points after made the score 17-7 for Tampa Bay at the half. Freeman did another edition of Winslow first, Williams second, connecting with both for touchdown in the third quarter, this time from 21 and 7 yards. Barth added another two extra points to bring the score to 31-7. The Seahawks showed a sign of life again in the fourth quarter with Leon Washington running 16 yards for a touchdown, and Charlie Whitehurst finding Ben Obomanu for the two point conversion to bring the score to 31-15. Freeman threw his fifth touchdown pass to Maurice Stovall, for 2 yards, followed by a Barth extra point that created the final score of 38-15. Tampa Bay jumped up to 9-6, and Seattle fell to 6-9.
Lastly, the marquee game between the hosting Green Bay Packers and visiting New York Giants. Aaron Rodgers opened up the scoring for the Packers with two touchdowns passes of 80 and 3 yards to Jordy Nelson and James (Earl?) Jones. Mason Crosby produced both extra points. Eli Manning did his own two-pack of touchdowns, to Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham for 36 and 85 yards. Tying the game was Lawrence Tynes who nailed two extra points. John Kuhn gave Green Bay the lead back with an 8 yard touchdown run, followed by a Crosby extra point. The Packers led the Giants 21-14 into the locker rooms. Crosby and Tynes exchanged field goals in the third quarter, from 31 and 38 yards, respectively. Rodgers extended the Green Bay lead with a 1 yard touchdown pass to Donald Lee. Crosby made it 31-14 with the extra point, before adding two more on fourth quarter touchdowns by Rodgers to Kuhn for 5 yards and a 1 yard Kuhn rush. The final score would stand at 45-17 Packers over Giants, with Green Bay jumping up to 9-6 and dropping New York to the same margin.
That's all for the football today. I hope you readers appreciate the 100 minutes that took to put out, and be watching for Monday's Song of the Week, Fantasy Hockey All-Stars, and Hockey recap. Also, directly following this supersized post will be a Sandwich review.
The Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Tennessee Titans. The Chiefs got two touchdown passes from Matt Cassel to Jamaal Charles in the first quarter, from 14 and 5 yards. Ryan Succop added the extra points, and also a 35 yard field goal in the second quarter to make it 17-0. Kansas City extended the lead farther, to 24-0 after Cassel hooked up with Dwayne Bowe for 75 yards, and Succop's extra point (note to Jamaal Charles: one man in a celebration leap only please). Kerry Collins and the Titans woke up with a 53 yard touchdown pass to Kenny Britt, followed by a Rob Bironas extra point. Collins gave the Chiefs a touchdown as well, throwing an interception to Eric Berry for 54 yards, followed by a Succop extra point. Making it 34-7 for Kansas City in the third quarter was Succop, who kicked a 42 yard field goal. Tennessee responded with Collins making a touchdown pass to Jared Cook for 22 yards. Bironas added the point after, and the score stood at 34-14, which lasted through the fourth quarter to be the final. Kansas City improved to 10-5, and Tennessee fell to 6-9.
The second game was the Cleveland Browns hosting the Baltmore Ravens. Cleveland opened the scoring with receiver Mohamed Massaqoui passing to Brian Robiskie for 29 yards, and Phil Dawson's extra point making it 7-0. Billy Cundiff and Baltimore answered, with Cundiff sandwiching a touchdown with field goals from 27 and 40 yards. Baltimore's touchdown was a 15 yard Joe Flacco pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh, with Cundiff adding the extra point. Dawson made it 13-10 Ravens with his field goal of 30 yards for the Browns before halftime. Flacco struck quickly in the third quarter, finding Derrick Mason for 22 yards and the touchdown, with Cundiff's extra point producing the eventual final of 20-10 Ravens. Baltimore jumped up to 11-4, and Cleveland fell to 5-10.
Continuing along to Buffalo, where the Bills hosted the red-hot New England Patriots. The Bills got the early lead with Rian Lindell's field goal of 26 yards. Danny Woodhead answered for the Patriots with a 29 yard touchdown run, followed by Shayne Graham with the extra point. Tom Brady threw a touchdown to Rob Gronkowski, good for 8 yards, with Graham adding an extra point, following it up with a field goal from 34 yards out, and the extra point on Brady's touchdown to Alge Crumpler of 4 yards. New England led 24-3 over Buffalo at halftime. Brady found Gronkowski again for 8 yards and the touchdown in the third quarter, with Graham adding the extra point once again, before kicking a 26 yard field goal in the fourth quarter, bringing the score to 34-3 Patriots, which would be the final. New England improved to 13-2, while Buffalo fell down to 4-11.
Next up was the St. Louis Rams hosting the San Francisco 49ers. The Rams got going first, with Steven Jackson breaking the goal line with a 1 yard touchdown run, followed by a Josh Brown extra point. The St. Louis defense got in on the next score, pinning 49ers quarterback Troy Smith in his own end zone for the safety to give them a 9-0 lead. San Francisco got back in action when St. Louis punted, and Ted Ginn, Jr. returned the kick from Donnie Jones for 78 yards and the touchdown, with Jeff Reed getting the extra point. Brown made it 12-7 for the Rams with his 43 yard field goal, but Troy Smith passed to Michael Crabtree for 60 yards and the touchdown, followed by Reed's extra point to make it 14-12 San Francisco at halftime. St. Louis retook the lead with another field goal by Brown, from 30 yards, and extended the lead to 22-14 with Sam Bradford's touchdown pass to Laurent Robinson for 3 yards, and Brown's point after. Reed and Brown exchanged fourth quarter field goals, with Reed good from 47 yards and Brown true from 28. The Rams would take the 49ers down 25-17, boosting themselves to 7-8, and dropping their opponents to 5-10.
Moving onto a less playoff-relevant game, but still dramatic nonetheless, where the Miami Dolphins hosted the Detroit Lions. Dave Rayner of the Lions and Dan Carpenter traded field goals, with Rayner kicking a 39 yard shot and Carpenter one-upping him with a 40 yard kick. In the second quarter, touchdowns started flying, with Shaun Hill finding Brandon Pettigrew to give Detroit a 10-3 lead after Rayner's extra point. Miami answered with a 4 yard run by Lousaka Polite for a touchdown and a Chad Henne pass Davone Bess for 13 yards. Carpenter's extra points made it 17-10 for the Dolphins going into the locker room. The Lions re-tied the game in the third quarter with a Maurice Morris 5 yard touchdown run, followed by a Rayner extra point, but the Dolphins stole the lead back with Ronnie Brown's 1 yard touchdown run, with Carpenter making it 24-17 with his extra point. Carpenter extended the lead with a fourth quarter field goal of 28 yards. Detroit, now with some catching up to do, let Hill find Jahvid Best for 53 yards, and Rayner's extra point put them within 3, which he later amended with a game-tying field goal of 47 yards. The Lions defense would bail them out with DeAndre Levy intercepting Henne for 30 yards, and Rayner providing the extra point making it 34-27 for the Lions. They would hold on to get the win, improving to 5-10, dropping the Dolphins to 7-8.
Next to last in the morning games was the Washington Redskins visiting the Jacksonville Jaguars. Washington got out to an early 10-0 first quarter lead with Graham Gano's 48 yard field goal, followed by his extra point on the Rex Grossman touchdown pass of 1 yard to Fred Davis. David Garrard got Jacksonville into the scoring game with a 19 yard touchdown to Mike Thomas, with Josh Scobee providing the extra point, and also the tying field goal in the third quarter, from 34 yards. The Redskins and Jaguars traded touchdowns in the fourth quarter, with Ryan Torain giving Washington the lead back on a 1 yard run for a score, followed by a Gano point after before Garrard took it in from 20 yards out, and Scobee providing the extra point. The tie at 17 would last into overtime until Gano notched a 31 yard field goal to win it 20-17 for the Redskins. Washington jumped up to 6-9, and Jacksonville fell to 8-7.
The morning games were wrapped up by the New York Jets visiting the Chicago Bears at a cold Soldier Field. The Bears opened the scoring with a Robbie Gould 37 yard field goal, with Gould adding the extra point on Matt Forte's 22 yard touchdown run. Chicago took a 10-0 lead into the second quarter, but the Jets woke up, with Shonn Greene running 3 yards for the score, the defense getting a 20 yard interception return in the hands of Dwight Lowery from Jay Cutler's misguided pass, and LaDainian Tomlinson running his own 3 yard touchdown in. Nick Folk was present to make it 21-10 by adding all 3 extra points. Chicago was able to answer the scoring bombardment by New York with Cutler running a touchdown in from 2 yards out and Gould providing the extra point. Nick Folk kept the Jets up by a touchdown with his 26 yard field goal making it 24-17 at halftime. Cutler and the Bears came out with their own shellacking of the Jets in the third quarter, with touchdown passes of 40 and 25 yards going to Johnny Knox and Devin Hester. Gould tacked on both extra points. Mark Sanchez found a tying touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes for 23 yards, with Folk's extra point tying the game, but Chicago made it 38-31 with a Cutler touchdown to Knox from 26 yards, with Gould making the point after. The Jets answered early in the fourth quarter with a Folk field goal of 34 yards, but New York couldn't find any more offense and fell 38-34 to the Bears. Chicago jumped up 11-4 and knocked the Jets down 10-5.
This brings the post to its halftime.
The Denver Broncos and Houston Texans led off the late games in a meaningless battle. Arian Foster led off the scoring with a touchdown run of 3 yards, with Neil Rackers making the extra point. By halftime, Houston had gained a 17-0 lead, thanks to Matt Schaub connecting with Owen Daniels for 3 yards, and rackers adding an extra point and a 34 yard field goal. Denver found the end zone in the third quarter with Correll Buckhalter running 6 yards for the touchdown, and Steve Hauschka making it 17-7 with the extra point. The Texans kicked a pair of field goals off the foot of Neil Rackers in the third quarter, sandwiching a Hauschka kick of 27 yards. Rackers was true from 54 and 57 yards. Houston had a 23-10 lead going into the fourth quarter. Tim Tebow and the Broncos decided to change this with Tebow throwing a touchdown pass to Buckhalter for 23 yards and then running in 6 yards for a score. Hauschka's two extra points gave Denver a 24-23 lead, one they would not relinquish. Denver jumped up to 4-11, and Houston fell to 5-10.
Going into Oakland for the next game, with the Raiders hosting playoff-hungry Indianapolis Colts. The Colts opening kickoff was returned by Jacoby Ford for 99 yards and a touchdown, with Sebastian Janikowski making it 7-0. Joseph Addai would even the score for Indianapolis with his 6 yard touchdown run, and Adam Vinatieri added on the extra point. Indianapolis would take a 10-7 lead when Vinatieri knocked in a 30 yard field goal, but Oakland retook the lead when Janikowski kicked two field goals from 59 and 38 yards. The Colts would retake the lead before halftime as Peyton Manning found Jacob Tamme for 19 yards and the touchdown, and Vinatieri's extra point made it 17-13. Janikowski found the lead foot again in the third quarter, booting one in from *only* 51 yards. Manning would connect with Blair White to make it 24-16 after Vinatieri's extra point, with the touchdown pass good for 4 yards. Oakland attempted a comeback on the foot of Janikowski, who booted in a 45 yard field goal in the fourth quarter, but was promptly answered by Manning connecting with Pierre Garcon for 7 yard and the touchdown, and Vinatieri's extra point made it 31-19. Jason Campbell got a touchdown for the Raiders with a 6 yard pass to Zach Miller, and the 31-26 score was made possible by Janikowski's extra point, but Oakland didn't have enough time left to win the game and lost to Indianapolis, who improved to 9-6 and dropped the Raiders to 7-8.
Next up was a must-win situation for the San Diego Chargers, who visited the Cincinnati Bengals. Carson Palmer allowed the Bengals to draw the first blood with a touchdown pass to Jermaine Gresham for 3 yards, followed by a Clint Stitser extra point. Palmer found Jerome Simpson in the second quarter from 10 yards out, but the score stayed at 13-0 as Stitser bumbled the extra point attempt. The Chargers regained themselves with a late second quarter field goal by Nate Kaeding. San Diego got even closer in the third quarter, as Ryan Mathews rushed a touchdown in from 23 yards, allowing an extra point by Kaeding. Cincinnati got back on track with Palmer finding Jordan Shipley for 3 yards. Stitser made the extra point this time. Kaeding responded for the Chargers with a 28 yard field goal, but was promptly answered by Palmer finding Simpson for a 59 yard touchdown. Stitser's extra point made it 27-13. Bernard Scott squashed any hopes of the playoffs San Diego had left by running a 10 yard rush into the end zone for the Bengals, and Stitser was good again with the extra point. Philip Rivers sent a goodbye message to Cincinnati with a 5 yard touchdown pass to Kelley Washington, and Kaeding was good on the extra point, producing the final of 34-20 in favor of the Bengals, who improved to 4-11, and dropped the Chargers to 8-7.
Second to last on the slate was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks, both teams with playoff hopes still very much alive. Seattle opened the scoring with a 1 yard touchdown run by Matt Hasselbeck, who found a new way to get injured before Olindo Mare kicked the extra point. Connor Barth answered for Tampa Bay with a 46 yard field goal. Josh Freeman kicked the Buccaneers into a higher gear with touchdown passes to Kellen Winslow and Mike Williams (TB), of 10 and 20 yards. Barth's points after made the score 17-7 for Tampa Bay at the half. Freeman did another edition of Winslow first, Williams second, connecting with both for touchdown in the third quarter, this time from 21 and 7 yards. Barth added another two extra points to bring the score to 31-7. The Seahawks showed a sign of life again in the fourth quarter with Leon Washington running 16 yards for a touchdown, and Charlie Whitehurst finding Ben Obomanu for the two point conversion to bring the score to 31-15. Freeman threw his fifth touchdown pass to Maurice Stovall, for 2 yards, followed by a Barth extra point that created the final score of 38-15. Tampa Bay jumped up to 9-6, and Seattle fell to 6-9.
Lastly, the marquee game between the hosting Green Bay Packers and visiting New York Giants. Aaron Rodgers opened up the scoring for the Packers with two touchdowns passes of 80 and 3 yards to Jordy Nelson and James (Earl?) Jones. Mason Crosby produced both extra points. Eli Manning did his own two-pack of touchdowns, to Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham for 36 and 85 yards. Tying the game was Lawrence Tynes who nailed two extra points. John Kuhn gave Green Bay the lead back with an 8 yard touchdown run, followed by a Crosby extra point. The Packers led the Giants 21-14 into the locker rooms. Crosby and Tynes exchanged field goals in the third quarter, from 31 and 38 yards, respectively. Rodgers extended the Green Bay lead with a 1 yard touchdown pass to Donald Lee. Crosby made it 31-14 with the extra point, before adding two more on fourth quarter touchdowns by Rodgers to Kuhn for 5 yards and a 1 yard Kuhn rush. The final score would stand at 45-17 Packers over Giants, with Green Bay jumping up to 9-6 and dropping New York to the same margin.
That's all for the football today. I hope you readers appreciate the 100 minutes that took to put out, and be watching for Monday's Song of the Week, Fantasy Hockey All-Stars, and Hockey recap. Also, directly following this supersized post will be a Sandwich review.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Saturday Football, week 16
Because they couldn't just handle playing on one major holiday, the Dallas Cowboys traveled to play the Arizona Cardinals on Christmas Day. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie got Arizona on the board first with his 32 yard interception return off of Cowboys quarterback Jon Kitna. Jay Feely provided the extra point on this touchdown, and also on the Greg Toler interception return of 66 yards for a touchdown, giving the Cardinals an early 14-0 lead. Dallas got on the board in the second quarter when David Buehler kicked a 42 yard field goal. Arizona answered with a John Skelton touchdown pass of 74 yards to Andre Roberts, and Feely adding the extra point again. Kitna finally threw a touchdown for Dallas with his 2 yard pass to Jason Witten. Buehler added the extra point late in the second quarter, and kicked a 53 yard field goal in the third quarter. Making it a 21-20 Cardinals lead was Marion Barber's 24 yard touchdown run and Buehler's extra point. Jay Feely made it 24-20 with his 49 yard field goal for the Cardinals. Stephen McGee then connected with Miles Austin to give the Cowboys a lead, but the score stood at 26-24 after the 37 yard touchdown because Buehler missed the extra point, allowing Jay Feely to come in and save the day with his 48 yard field goal with 5 seconds remaining, and giving the Cardinals a 27-26 victory over the Cowboys. Both teams were at 5-10 at the conclusion of the game.
For those of you curious, I will be working on football tomorrow, with seven games early and the five late games plus the Sunday Night Football game mashed into one post. Also, there are eleven hockey games tomorrow, so expect everything to be caught up by Tuesday. I have been feeling a bit under the weather, which has caused me to be a bit slower with these posts, but hopefully I'll be better next week.
For those of you curious, I will be working on football tomorrow, with seven games early and the five late games plus the Sunday Night Football game mashed into one post. Also, there are eleven hockey games tomorrow, so expect everything to be caught up by Tuesday. I have been feeling a bit under the weather, which has caused me to be a bit slower with these posts, but hopefully I'll be better next week.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Thursday Night Football, week 16
This week's Thursday night game featured the Pittsburgh Steelers hosting the Carolina Panthers. Shaun Suisham got things started for the Steelers, kicking a 26 yard field goal before adding extra points on two touchdowns. The touchdowns were a Ben Roethlisberger pass to Mike Wallace for 43 yards and a 1 yard run by Rashard Mendenhall. Suisham also added a 29 yard field goal before halftime to make it 20-0 Pittsburgh. Roethlisberger added his own touchdown run, from 1 yard out, that Suisham added an extra point on to make it 27-0. Avoiding the shutout for the Panthers was John Kasay, who kicked a 27 yard field goal in the fourth quarter, bringing us to the final score of 27-3 Pittsburgh over Carolina. The Steelers improved to 11-4, while the Panthers fell to 2-13.
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