Afternoon and Sunday Night games

The first on the list of afternoon games has the Washington Redskins hosting the New York Giants. New York opened with Eli Manning rushing 2 yards for a TD, and Lawrence Tynes making the extra point. Washington tied it in the second quarter with Tim Hightower rushing a yard into the end zone, followed by a Graham Gano extra point. The Giants stole the lead back with a 6 yard TD rush from Ahmad Bradshaw, followed by a Tynes PAT. The Redskins evened it up again with Rex Grossman's passing TD to Anthony Armstrong, 6 yards for the score, and Gano made the extra point. The two teams are deadlocked at 14 going into the locker rooms. Washington got defensive in the third quarter, with Ryan Kerrigan intercepting Manning for 9 yards and a score, and Gano providing another extra point. The Redskins kept it up in the fourth quarter with Grossman finding Jabar Gaffney for 4 yards and a score, allowing another PAT by Gano. Washington won it 28-14, going to 1-0 and dropping the Giants to 0-1.

Across the country, the San Diego Chargers host the Minnesota Vikings. Minnesota struck early with Percy Harvin returning the opening kick 103 yards for the touchdown, allowing Ryan Longwell a PAT. San Diego replied quickly as Philip Rivers tossed a one yarder to Mike Tolbert for the touchdown, and Mike Scifres made the extra point. The Vikings took the lead back with Longwell kicking a 33 yard field goal in the second quarter. Minnesota extended the lead as Donovan McNabb found Michael Jenkins for 3 yards and a score , as Longwell provided the extra point. The score had the Vikings up 17-7 at half. The Chargers got a few back on Tolbert's 7 yard TD run, and Scifres extra point. San Diego tied it in the fourth with Scifres field goal from 40 yards away, and he added the extra point for the 7-point San Diego lead after Rivers and Tolbert made a 19 yard connection for a touchdown. They would hold onto this 24-17 lead until the end, giving them a 1-0 record and the Vikings an 0-1 mark.

Eastward, to Arizona, with the Cardinals hosting the Carolina Panthers. Arizona scored first on a Beanie Wells touchdown run of 7 yards and a Jay Feely extra point. Carolina wasted little time in tying, with Cam Newton connecting with Steve Smith for his first NFL touchdown pass, a 77 yard catch and run that was followed up by Olindo Mare's PAT. The Panthers snagged the lead before halftime with another Newton-Smith connection, this time of 26 yards and a touchdown before Mare's extra point. The Cardinals tied it back up with Kevin Kolb connecting with Jeff King for 48 yards, and Feely supplying the extra point. Carolina took the lead back again with Newton himself jogging it in the end zone, the 1 yard run capped off by Mare's extra point. Arizona retied it as Kolb connected with Early Doucet for a 70 yard TD pass, and Feely added the extra point again. The Cardinals took the lead on a punt return of 89 yards by Patrick Peterson, good for a touchdown and extra point by Feely. Arizona weathered the storm to win 28-21, going to 1-0, while the Panthers fell to 0-1.

The last of the second major kickoff wave is the San Francisco 49ers hosting the Seattle Viking outcasts Seahawks. San Francisco first dented the scoreboard with second quarter field goals by David Akers, from 27, 24, and 31 yards away. Just before halftime, the 49ers dinged in a touchdown as Alex Smith ran 1 yard for the score, setting up an Akers extra point, and a 16-0 halftime score. Seattle finally got on the board in the third quarter as Tavaris Jackson connected with Golden Tate for 8 yards, followed by Steve Hauschka with the extra point. The Seahawks added a Hauschka field goal of 39 yards in the fourth. Akers tacked on a field goal in response, from 18 yards out. Seattle pulled within two on a Jackson TD pass to Doug Baldwin, with the PAT by Hauschka, but that was erased eleven seconds later as Ted Ginn, Jr. ran the kickoff back 102 yards, and Akers converted that extra point, and also the one after the Seahawks punt, which Ginn, Jr. returned 55 yards. The 49ers took a 33-17 win, improving to 1-0 and dropping Seattle to 0-1.

The Sunday Night game is between the New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys. (As a disclaimer, forgive me if I sound absolutely disgusted with this game, considering the competitors.) Dallas led off with a 3 yard Tony Romo touchdown pass to Dez Bryant, followed by Dan Bailey's extra point. Bailey added a second quarter field goal of 34 yards. New York struck just before the half, making it 10-7 with Mark Sanchez's connection with Dustin Keller for 4 yards, and Nick Folk's subsequent PAT. Dallas opened the second half with Romo finding Miles Austin for 36 yards and the score, followed by Bailey's extra point. Folk replied with a 34 yard field goal. The Cowboys added on again in the fourth quarter with Felix Jones rushing a yard to score a touchdown, and Bailey coming through with the extra point. The Jets pulled back with a Sanchez TD pass to Plaxico Burress, 26 yards away, and Folk made the extra point, and he added the tying point after the Jets blocked a punt and returned it in the hands of Isaiah Trufant 18 yards to the end zone. New York took the lead with a 50 yard field goal by Folk, a 27-24 lead they'd maintain to the very end for the win. They improve to 1-0, while dropping the Cowboys to 0-1.

Sandwich Showdown 2.0

A quick announcement: these will be less frequent from now on, for simplicity. This weekend, we had a battle between a Turkey and Ham on Italian and a Pulled Pork on Garlic. The T&H came out with a good blend and lots of BBQ sauce, which enhanced the flavor. The bread was just about perfect, further benefiting the cause. It was a very satisfying sandwich. The Pulled Pork comes in with a little bit more heft to it, and an equal or greater amount of sauce. The Garlic bread was successful in taste, although it had trouble holding the contents of the large sandwich. Both tasted very good, but the Pulled Pork gets a slight edge this week. Keep checking for these every now and again.

Thursday + Day Games Week 1

Welcome back to Football everybody. The games will be recapped weekly, generally grouped by time started. We begin with...

The Green Bay Packers hosting the New Orleans Saints. Green Bay led off with a pair of touchdown passes by Aaron Rodgers, 7 yards to Greg Jennings and 3 yards to Jordy Nelson, with Mason Crosby converting the extra points. Drew Brees answered with one TD pass, a 31 yard shot to Robert Meachem, followed by John Kasay's extra point. Rodgers restored the 14 point lead with a late first quarter 32 yard pass to Randall Cobb, also good for a touchdown and Crosby extra point. Kasay tacked on a field goal of 30 yards in the second quarter, and the Saints pulled even closer with a 72 yard Darren Sproles punt return TD, providing Kasay another extra point. The Packers made 28-17 at the half with James Starks' 17 yard touchdown rush, and Crosby's extra point. Kasay pushed back with a 38 yard field goal to open the second half scoring, but the ensuing kickoff was returned a whopping 108 yards by Cobb for a touchdown and Crosby extra point. Brees and the Saints avenged this mishap with a 29 yard TD catch by Devery Henderson, followed by Kasay's PAT again. John Kuhn added some points for Green Bay in the fourth quarter with his 1 yard touchdown run and Crosby's PAT. The Saints tried some late heroics, pulling within 8 when Brees found Jimmy Graham on a 5 yard pass and Kasay extra point, but they would come up short and lose 42-34 when the clock ran out. The Packers open 1-0 while the Saints start in an 0-1 hole.

On Sunday, the games begin with the St. Louis Rams hosting the Philadelphia Eagles. Steven Jackson gave St. Louis the early lead with his explosive 47 yard touchdown run, followed by Josh Brown kicking the extra point. Philadelphia answered with Michael Vick passing 7 yards to LeSean McCoy for a touchdown, and Alex Henery made his first NFL PAT. The Eagles struck again with a defensive touchdown in the style of Juqua Parker recovering Sam Bradford's fumble and taking it to the house 56 yards away, followed by a successful Henery extra point kick. The Rams got a few back with Brown's 49 yard field goal in the second quarter. Henery kicked a field goal in response, from 34 yards out, to make it 17-10 Philadelphia at the half. The Eagles extended their lead in the third with Vick's touchdown pass to DeSean Jackson, good for 6 yards and 6 points, as Henery added the seventh extra point. The Rams put another field goal on the board with Brown's 23 yard chip. Philadelphia padded the lead with McCoy rushing 49 yards for a TD, and Henery supplied the extra point. The Eagles took the win 31-13, going to 1-0 and dropping the Rams down to 0-1.

Across the state, the Kansas City Chiefs host the Buffalo Bills. Buffalo drew first blood with a Ryan Fitzpatrick touchdown to Scott Chandler from 4 yards out, and a Rian Lindell extra point. The Bills tacked on another touchdown with Fitzpatrick finding Stevie Johnson for 27 yards, and Lindell's extra point makes it 14-0. Lindell put six more points on the board in the second quarter with his 29 yard and 38 yard field goals. Kansas City finally found the scoreboard with Matt Cassel passing 6 yards to Jamaal Charles for a touchdown, allowing Ryan Succop the extra point. Buffalo took a 20-7 lead into the half, and got back to work in the third with Fitzpatrick and Chandler meeting again, for 11 yards and a touchdown, with Lindell making the PAT. Fitzpatrick went aerial for another touchdown, and he found Donald Jones for 4 yards and a score, followed by Lindell's trusty PAT. The Bills would not quit in the fourth, as C.J. Spiller rushed 9 yards for a touchdown, and Lindell again made the extra point. Buffalo would win by a 41-7 landslide, improving to 1-0 and dropping the Chiefs to 0-1.

Northward to Chicago, where the Bears host the Atlanta Falcons. Robbie Gould got Chicago on the board with his 41 yard field goal, but was promptly answered by Matt Bryant and Atlanta with a 48 yard kick between the uprights. The Bears broke the tie later in the first quarter with Jay Cutler connecting with
Matt Forte for a 56 yard catch and run touchdown, and Gould converted the extra point with ease. Gould added two field goals in the second quarter from 23 and 26 yards away. The Bears take a 16-3 lead into the locker room. The Falcons drew blood in the third with Bryant kicking a 25 yard field goal. Chicago replied with two touchdowns, as Cutler connected with Matt Spaeth for a yard and Brian Urlacher recovered Matt Ryan's fumble and took it 12 yards to the end zone. Gould made both extra points. Atlanta struck again in the fourth, with a defensive touchdown as Cutler was picked off and Kroy Biermann took it back 50 yards, although Ryan was unsuccessful on the two point conversion. The final would have the Bears up 30-12 on the Falcons, improving themselves to 1-0 and dropping the opponent to 0-1.

Down to Florida, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hosting the Detroit Lions. Detroit opened with a Jason Hanson field goal of 23 yards, and Connor Barth traded the barb back by kicknig a 38 yard field goal for Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers took the lead when Aqib Talib intercepted Matthew Stafford and ran 28 yards for the touchdown, which Barth supplemented with the PAT. Hanson cut into the lead for the Lions with a 28 yard field goal. Stafford started throwing touchdowns to his own team in the second, starting with Calvin Johnson, whom he found for 36 yards and a score, with Hanson kicking the extra point. Stafford also connected with Tony Scheffler for 11 yards and score, while Hanson happily kicked the extra point. Barth added a field goal for the Buccaneers at the end of the half, his 31 yard kick making it 20-13 for the Lions at half time. Detroit got back to work in the third as Stafford tossed to Johnson again, the 1 yard pass going for a touchdown, and Hanson added another extra point. Tampa Bay pulled to within seven as Josh Freeman found Mike Williams for a 5 yard touchdown, followed by Barth with the extra point. The Lions would hold on to the 27-20 lead for the win, going to 1-0 while dropping the Buccaneers to 0-1.

Crossing the state to the east, where the Jacksonville Jaguars host the Tennessee Titans. Jacksonville struck open the scoring in the first quarter with a 21 yard touchdown run from Maurice Jones-Drew, and the PAT came from Josh Scobee. The Jaguars made it 10-0 with Scobee kicking a 48 yard field goal. Jacksonville leads 10-0 at the half. Scobee kicked a 21 yard field goal in the third quarter, and was promptly answered by Tennessee's first score, an 80 yard TD pass from Matt Hasselbeck to Kenny Britt, followed by Rob Bironas' extra point. Jacksonville took another field goal from Scobee, this time 45 yards from the posts. The Titans scored again as Hasselbeck and Britt met for a 2 yard touchdown, followed by Bironas with the PAT. The Jaguars weathered the final onslaught by Tennessee to win 16-14, and improved to 1-0 while dropping their opponents to 0-1.

Up to Ohio, where the Cleveland Browns host the Cincinnati Bengals. Cincinnati came out strong with Mike Nugent kicking a 24 yard field goal and supplying the extra point after the Andy Dalton-Jermaine Gresham 2 yard touchdown connection. Nugent kept it going for the Bengals with a second quarter 47 yard field goal. Cleveland got on the board with Colt McCoy connecting with Benjamin Watson for a 34 yard touchdown, and an extra point came from kicker Phil Dawson, who also tacked on the PAT when McCoy passed 2 yards to Evan Moore. The Browns got a bit of padding on their 14-13 half time lead, with Dawson blasting the pigskin through the uprights at 20 yards away. Cincinnati replied with a Bruce Gradkowski touchdown to rookie A.J. Green, a 41 yard reception, followed by Nugent with the extra point, putting the Bengals in front. The Bengals put the dagger in with Cedric Benson running 39 yards for a TD, with Nugent supplying the extra point for a 27-17 final. Cincinnati goes to 1-0 and the Browns drop to 0-1.

Eastward again to Maryland, with the Baltimore Ravens hosting their fierce rivals from Pittsburgh, the Steelers. Baltimore came out with two first quarter touchdowns, an aerial strike from Joe Flacco to Anquan Boldin for 27 yards and a ground attack by Ray Rice from a yard out and Billy Cundiff making two extra points. Pittsburgh got on the board in the second with Ben Roethlisberger connecting with Emmanuel Sanders for an 11 yard touchdown, and Shaun Suisham had the PAT. Rice and the Ravens worked for another late touchdown in the second quarter, catching a pass from Flacco for 11 yards, with Cundiff making the extra point. Baltimore will go to the showers with a 21-7 lead. Baltimore came out swinging in the third, with Flacco completing an 18 yard TD pass to Ed Dickson, followed by a PAT fake and Sam Koch conversion for two additional points. Cundiff would get his chance to kick shortly after, and he nailed the 29 yard field goal, and he also added a 30 yard boot in the fourth quarter. The final would stand at 35-7, with the Ravens going to 1-0 and dropping the Steelers to 0-1.

Finally, the last of the early games, where the Houston Texans welcome a crippled Indianapolis Colts team. In less than three minutes, Houston put up 17 points with Neil Rackers' 25 yard field goal and extra points on a Derrick Ward 1 yard rush and Ben Tate 2 yard rush, both going for touchdowns. Matt Schaub kept the Texans going in the second with a 4 yard touchdown pass to Andre Johnson, with Rackers again making the extra point. Rackers continued Houston's string of points with a 29 yard field goal kick, and kicked the extra point after Jacoby Jones returned Pat McAfee's punt 79 yards. The Texans can comfortably go to the locker room with a 34-0 lead. After a third quarter of silence, the Colts finally found out what scoring feels like in the fourth, as Kerry Collins connected with Reggie Wayne for a 6 yard touchdown, and Adam Vinatieri made the extra point. The final would put Houston up 34-7, sending them to 1-0 and knocking the Colts to 0-1.

Fantasy Baseball All Stars week 22

The playoffs should be in full swing now, and the following players helped the middle-of-the-pack teams with their last second push.

Catcher: Miguel Montero, 3 runs, 8 hits, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 0 SB, .320 average, .346 on base
First Base: Eric Hosmer, 9 runs, 11 hits, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 1 SB, .440 average, .484 on base
Second Base: Ian Kinsler, 6 runs, 6 hits, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 1 SB, .250 average, .321 on base
Third Base: David Wright, 6 runs, 13 hits, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 0 SB, .500 average, .594 on base
Shortstop: Cliff Pennington, 3 runs, 10 hits, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 3 SB, .345 average, .406 on base
Outfield: Austin Jackson, 13 runs, 18 hits, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 SB, .529 average, .543 on base
Utility: Miguel Cabrera, 6 runs, 12 hits, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 1 SB, .414 average, .452 on base
Starter1: Brandon McCarthy, 17 IP, 1 win, 20 K, 1.06 ERA, 0.53 WHIP
Starter2: Daniel Hudson, 14 IP, 2 wins, 13 K, 0.64 ERA, 0.71 WHIP
Reliever: Craig Kimbrel, 5 IP, 1 win, 2 saves, 10 K, 0 holds, 0.00 ERA, 0.40 WHIP

Good luck to all of you in the playoffs, and look for Fantasy Football All-Stars next week on Tuesday.

Song of the Week XXXIV

This week, we have a new song to my collection, from Radiohead. The song comes off the highly regarded album OK Computer. It is the third track, entitled Subterranean Homesick Alien. The song has a soft, melodic feel covered by a nervousness in the lyrics about being away from home. It is a feeling expressed by many people who are in a strange place for the first time, or people who are stuck somewhere they'd rather not be. This is a very good song, on a masterpiece of an album. Check this column again next week.

Fantasy Baseball All-Stars week 21

This week marks the beginning of the playoffs in a select few leagues. Last week, many teams are feeling the pinch to reach the playoffs if the opportunity still presents itself. Here's the best players of last week's hurricane baseball:

Catcher: Matt Wieters, 5 runs, 6 hits, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 0 SB, .353 average, .476 on base
First Base: Adrian Gonzalez, 8 runs, 11 hits, 5 HR, 9 RBI, 0 SB, .393 average, .452 on base
Second Base: Howie Kendrick, 9 runs, 10 hits, 4 HR, 5 RBI, 1 SB, .500 average, .545 on base
Third Base: Mark Reynolds, 7 runs, 12 hits, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 0 SB, .429 average, .448 on base
Shortstop: Troy Tulowitzki, 6 runs, 9 hits, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 0 SB, .409 average, .536 on base
Left Field: Carlos Gonzalez, 9 runs, 13 hits, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 2 SB, .481 average, .533 on base
Center Field: Matt Kemp, 8 runs, 8 hits, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 1 SB, .296 average, .321 on base
Right Field: Corey Hart, 9 runs, 13 hits, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 2 SB, .500 average, .552 on base
Starter: Chris Capuano, 9 IP, 1 win, 13 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.22 WHIP
Reliever: Francisco Cordero, 4 IP, 1 win, 3 saves, 3 K, 0 holds, 2.25 ERA, 0.75 WHIP

Fantasy Baseball All-Stars week 20

Some second tier teams have probably locked up their bid to a playoff spot, while the last few teams fight for the remaining seeds. Here's who did well last week.

Catcher: Nick Hundley, 8 runs, 12 hits, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 0 SB, .500 average, .520 on base
First Base: Joey Votto, 6 runs, 8 hits, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 1 SB, .400 average, .556 on base
Second Base: Ben Zobrist, 4 runs, 11 hits, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 3 SB, .500 average, .520 on base
Third Base: Aramis Ramirez, 4 runs, 11 hits, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 0 SB, .500 average, .556 on base
Shortstop: Troy Tulowitzki, 6 runs, 8 hits, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 1 SB, .348 average, .385 on base
Outfield1: Peter Bourjos, 7 runs, 15 hits, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 2 SB, .500 average, .516 on base
Outfield2: Ryan Braun, 9 runs, 10 hits, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 4 SB, .400 average, .464 on base
Outfield3: Carlos Gonzalez, 6 runs, 8 hits, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 0 SB, .364 average, .462 on base
Utility: Ryan Zimmerman, 5 runs, 12 hits, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 0 SB, .500 average, .500 on base
Starter: Jon Lester, 13 IP, 2 wins, 11 K, 1.38 ERA, 0.85 WHIP
Reliever: Mariano Rivera, 3 IP, 3 saves, 5 K, 0 holds, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP

Good luck to everyone battling for a playoff position this week.