NFL Late Games week 3

There are 6 late games on today, and we begin our coverage in...

St. Louis, with the Rams hosting the Baltimore Ravens. Baltimore wasted little time in striking, making a statement with Joe Flacco and Torrey Smith combining 3 times for touchdowns, a 74 yard catch and run, a 41 yard catch and run, and an 18 yard reception. Billy Cundiff had the extra point on all three scores. Cundiff would later add two field goals in the second quarter, a 21 yard chip shot and a 31 yard kick. The Ravens lead 27-0 at halftime. Baltimore got going again in the third quarter with a Cundiff field goal of 38 yards. St. louis got on the board with Sam Bradford passing 34 yards to Brandon Gibson for a touchdown, and Josh Brown was responsible for the extra point. Baltimore got defensive with their fourth quarter touchdown, as Haloti Ngata picked up Bradford's bobble and took it in 28 yards for the score, as Cundiff supplied the extra point. The Ravens won 37-7, going to 2-1 while dropping St. Louis to 0-3.

Out west, the Oakland Raiders welcome the New York Jets. Darren McFadden opened the scoring for Oakland on a 2 yard rush for a touchdown, and Sebastian Janikowksi made the extra point. New York replied with Mark Sanchez taking the ball home himself, a 1 yard touchdown run, and Nick Folk tied the game with the extra point. The Jets took the lead with a Sanchez pass to LaDainian Tomlinson for 18 yards and a touchdown, with Folk taking the extra point. Folk also drilled a 21 yard field goal. McFadden brought the game a little bit closer for the Raiders with a 70 yard touchdown run, and Janikowski added an extra point, and he tied the game at 17 going into halftime with a last second 54 yard field goal. Oakland took the lead in the third quarter on a Denarius Moore rush of 23 yards, and the Janikowski extra point made it 24-17. In the fourth quarter, Michael Bush ran 1 yard for a Raider touchdown, and another Janikowski PAT made it 31-17. New York grabbed a touchdown (figuratively) as Sanchez threw a ball that Plaxico Burress grabbed (literally) and 16 yards later found paydirt, followed by a Folk extra point. Janikowski extended the Oakland lead with a 49 yard field goal. The Raiders maintained their lead of 34-24, and won the game, improving to 2-1 and taking the Jets off the undefeated list down to the same mark.

Down the coast, the San Diego Chargers host the Kansas City Chiefs. The first quarter was silent, but San Diego made some noise with Ryan Mathews running 2 yards for a touchdown, and Nick Novak making the extra point. Novak also kicked a 35 yard field goal, making it a 10-0 Chargers lead at the half. Kansas City found points in the third quarter as Matt Cassel connected for a 4 yard touchdown pass with Dwayne Bowe, and Ryan Succop handled the extra point. Mathews struck again for the Chargers with a 4 yard TD rush, and Novak kicked the extra point. The Chiefs pulled within a touchdown as Succop nailed a fourth quarter field from 33 yards. Novak erased this with a 41 yard field goal for San Diego. Kansas City got a little closer with Cassel finding Leonard Pope for a 1 yard touchdown, and Succop added the extra point. The Chargers would hold on for a 20-17 win, going up to 2-1 while dropping the reeling Chiefs to 0-3.

Back to the Midwest region, the Chicago Bears host the Green Bay Packers. Green Bay quickly took control with Aaron Rodgers finding Jermichael Finley for a 6 yard touchdown pass. Mason Crosby handled the extra point. Those two would meet again in the second quarter on a 7 yard TD pass, and Crosby made the extra point again. Chicago got on the board with a Jay cutler touchdown pass to Dane Sanzenbacher, a 4 yard strike finished off by a Robbie Gould extra point. Crosby extended the Packers lead with a 37 yard field goal. Gould replied for the Bears with a 25 yard field goal. Green Bay led 17-10 going into the locker rooms. The Packers got three more off of Crosby's foot, as he kicked a 28 yard field goal in the third quarter. Rodgers and Finley also met for the third time today, a 10 yard touchdown connection capped off by Crosby on the extra point. Chicago made it 27-17 with Cutler connecting with Kellen Davis for 32 yards and a touchdown, and Gould had the PAT. This was a final, with the Packers going to 3-0 and sending their rivals to 1-2.

Up to the Northwest, where the Seattle SeaChickensHawks welcome the Arizona Cardinals. Seattle got on the board with Steven Hauschka kicking a 30 yard field goal. Arizona replied with a 44 yard field goal kick by Jay Feely, and he added the PAT on Kevin Kolb's 12 yard TD pass to Larry Fitzgerald. Hauschka made a 52 yard field goal in response for the Seahawks. The Cardinals take a 10-6 lead into the half. Seattle got the lead with Tavaris Jackson rushing 11 yards to score, and Hauschka added the extra point. After a silent third quarter, the Seahawks maintained their lead and won 13-10. They go to 1-2 and drop their Arizona rivals to the same record.

Finally, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers welcome the Atlanta Falcons. Tampa Bay got on the board with Connor Barth's 49 yard field goal. Matt Bryant answered for Atlanta in the second quarter with a 26 yard field goal. The Buccaneers regained the lead on a 1 yard rush by Josh Freeman, with Barth supplying the extra point. Barth also scored a 26 yard field goal. Tampa Bay led 13-3 at halftime. The Buccaneers got another three points with a Barth field goal of 28 yards in the third quarter. The Falcons got closer with a Matt Ryan touchdown pass to Tony Gonzalez, good for 10 yards, and a Bryant extra point, and even more so after his 33 yard field goal. They couldn't finish the comeback, losing 16-13 to the Buccaneers, as Tampa Bay went to 2-1 and Atlanta dropped to 1-2.

NFL Early Games Week 3

There are eight games kicking off this morning, and we begin with...

The Cincinnati Bengals hosting the San Francisco 49ers. Cincinnati opened with a field goal of 25 yards by Mike Nugent. This would be the score that was taken into halftime after a silent second quarter. San Francisco got a tying field goal in the third quarter off of David Akers' boot, a 23 yard kick. The Bengals replied with their own 23 yard field goal in the fourth, courtesy of Nugent. The 49ers took the lead when Kendall Hunter ran 7 yards for a touchdown, and Akers made both a PAT and a FG of 53 yards for a 13-6 lead. Cincinnati would get a free two points as Andy Lee, punter for San Francisco took an intentional safety to save a 13-8 win. The 49ers go to 2-1 and the Bengals fall to 1-2.

Next, we have the Carolina Panthers hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars. Carolina got a sack by Greg Hardy on Blaine Gabbert, good for two points on the safety. The Panthers took a 5-0 lead (I've always wanted to type that) on Olindo Mare's 35 yard field goal. Jacksonville had a field goal of their own, namely Josh Scobee's 53 yard kick to make it 5-3. The Jaguars found the end zone (the correct one this time) with Gabbert's first NFL touchdown, a 36 yard strike to Mike Thomas, and Scobee had the extra point to make it 10-5 at halftime. Mare added on a field goal in the third quarter, going true from 32 yards away. The Panthers got the lead with Cam Newton finding Greg Olsen for 16 yards and a touchdown, and made it 16-10 with those two connecting again on the two point conversion. This was a final score, moving Carolina to 1-2 and Jacksonville down to the same mark.

Heading northwest, the Minnesota Vikings host the Detroit Lions. Minnesota led off with a Ryan Longwell field goal, coming from 33 yards away, and backed it up with a 41 yarder later in the quarter. Minnesota got a touchdown run from Adrian Peterson, a 6 yard rush finished off by Longwell with the extra point. Donovan McNabb went airborne for the next touchdown, passing to Visanthe Shiancoe for 8 yards, and Longwell topped it off with the extra point. The Vikings lead 20-0 at halftime. Detroit showed life in the third quarter as Matthew Stafford connected with Calvin Johnson for 32 yards and a touchdown. Jason Hanson added the extra point and another three later with his 28 yard field goal. In the fourth, Stafford and Johnson met up again for 5 yards and a TD, with Hanson making the PAT again, and adding field goals of 50 and 40 yards to take a 23-20 lead. Longwell replied to tie the game with a 49 yard field goal to the benefit of Minnesota. Detroit would take the game in overtime with Hanson blasting a 32 yard field goal through the uprights for a 26-23 win. The Lions remain undefeated at 3-0, and Minnesota fell to 0-3.

Backtracking to Tennessee, with the Titans hosting the Denver Broncos. Denver was the first into the scoring game as Kyle Orton found Matt Willis for 5 yards and a touchdown, followed by a Matt prater extra point. Tennessee tied it in the second with a touchdown pass of 14 yards from Matt Hasselbeck to Nate Washington, and Rob Bironas was there with the extra point. Bironas also kicked a 46 yard field goal. The Titans own a 10-7 lead going into the locker rooms. In the third quarter, Orton passed for a touchdown to Willis McGahee, and Prater was there for the extra point. Tennessee struck in the fourth quarter as Hasselbeck met up with Daniel Graham for 4 yards and a touchdown, and Bironas' extra point made it 17-14, the final in the Titans' favor. They went to 2-1 and they dropped their opponents to 1-2.

Into Ohio again, as the Cleveland Browns welcome the Miami (Florida) Dolphins. Miami opened up with a touchdown, a 10 yard Chad Henne pass to Daniel Thomas, and Dan Carpenter added the extra point. Colt McCoy responded in the second quarter with a 33 yard touchdown pass to Joshua Cribbs, and Phil Dawson's extra point tied the game. The Dolphins retook the lead on Carpenter's 23 yard field goal. Miami would lead 10-7 at the half. Dawson and Carpenter traded field goals in the third quarter, Dawson from 30 and Carpenter from 41 yards out. Carpenter added on another three points in the fourth quarter with a 38 yard FG, but the Browns stole the game late as McCoy and Mohamed Massaqoui found a connection of 14 yards and a touchdown, Dawson's extra point being the difference in the 17-16 Cleveland win. They improved to 2-1 and kept the Dolphins winless at 0-3.

Big NFC East matchup comes next, as the Philadelphia Eagles kickoff against the New York Giants. New York got a big play to take an early lead, as Eli Manning and Brandon Jacobs made a 40 yard touchdown connection, and Lawrence Tynes added the extra point. Manning had another big pass, going 74 yards to Victor Cruz for a touchdown, and Tynes once again had the extra point. Alex Henery put Philadelphia on the board with a 21 yard field goal. The Eagles gained more ground with LeSean McCoy rushing 11 yards for a touchdown, and Henery tacked on the extra point. Henery's last second field goal from 38 yards away made the score at halftime 14-13 Giants. Henery kept kicking in the third quarter with his 21 yard field goal. The Giants went back to work in the fourth though, and Manning found Cruz once more on a 28 yard touchdown, capped off with a Jacobs two point conversion. Manning would go to the air again for a touchdown later, finding Ahmad Bradshaw for 18 yards and a score, with Tynes finalizing the score at 29-16 on his extra point. New York advanced to 2-1 and dropped their rival Philadelphia to 1-2.

Down south, the New Orleans Saints and Houston Texans go out it. Houston was first on the board with a Matt Schaub touchdown pass of 14 yards to Owen Daniels, and Neil Rackers added the extra point, plus a later field goal of 22 yards. New Orleans got on the board with a 30 yard rush by Darren Sproles, a touchdown run polished off by John Kasay with the extra point. Rackers added a pair 27 yard field goals for the Texans to gain a little separation. The Saints took three back with Kasay kicking a 35 yard field goal. Houston took a 16-10 lead into the half. New Orleans took off in the third with a Drew Brees touchdown pass to Robert Meachem for 2 yards, and Kasay had the extra point. Houston briefly took the lead back on a Rackers field goal from 36 yards. They padded the lead with Schaub finding James Casey for 26 yards and a touchdown, which Rackers added the extra point on. The Saints came back with a rather quick fifteen points to erase the deficit, as Brees passed 27 yards for a touchdown to Jimmy Graham and extra point by Kasay, followed by Brees and Lance Moore for 16 yards and the score, and meeting again for two more. The Texans got a one point lead as Schaub and Kevin Walter found gold on a 20 yard touchdown pass, with Rackers making the extra point. The Saints made it far more difficult though, as Mark Ingram ran 13 yards for a touchdown, and Brees passed to Moore again for another two point conversion, putting the score at 40-33, the eventual final. The Saints improved to 2-1 and took Houston off the undefeated list, moving them to 2-1 as well.

Finally, in upstate New York, the Buffalo Bills welcome the New England Patriots. New England took no time to dent the scoreboard, as Tom Brady connected for a touchdown with Wes Welker, a 14 yard play capped off by Stephen Gostkowski with the PAT, and he made the extra point on Brady's next golden TD pass, a 1 yard strike finding Rob Gronkowski. Exactly one quarter later, the terrific twosome would hook up again, this time for 26 yards a touchdown, and Gostkowski cordially obliged to kick the extra point. Buffalo found the scoreboard with a Ryan Fitzpatrick touchdown pass to Stevie Johnson, going 11 yards for the score, finished off by Rian Lindell with the extra point. Lindell also tacked on a late field goal to make it 21-10, the kick coming from 42 yards just before halftime. In the third quarter, Fitzpatrick found Scott Chandler for a 3 yard touchdown, and Lindell made the extra point. Gostkowski lessened the pain with a 23 field goal for the Patriots. Fred Jackson stirred it up for the Bills in the fourth, running a yard for a touchdown, allowing Lindell to tie it with the extra point. Drayton Florence then intercepted Brady and took it home 27 yards for a touchdown, giving Buffalo a seven point lead after Lindell kicked the PAT. Brady threw his next touchdown to the right team, finding Welker again for 6 yards, and Gostkowski made it 31 all with the extra point. Lindell would put the nail in the coffin at the last second, giving Buffalo a 34-31 win with a 28 yard field goal. The Bills are now at 3-0 (who would have guessed it?) while their division rivals fell to 2-1.

Monday Night Football week 2

The Monday Night game featured the host New York Giants and the visiting St. Louis Rams. St. Louis opened with a 21 yard field goal from Josh Brown. New York took the lead away with Eli Manning and Hakeem Nicks' connection, a 3 yard touchdown capped off with a Lawrence Tynes extra point. Brown got three points back for the Rams with a 25 yard field goal. However, in the second quarter, that score was sabotaged by Sam Bradford's fumble, returned to the house by the Giants' Michael Boley, 65 yards for the touchdown. Tynes added the extra point here and on a 22 yard Manning touchdown pass to Domenik Hixon. The halftime score had New York up 21-6. Brown put another field goal up in the third, coming from 27 yards away. The Giants scored another touchdown, this time with Brandon Jacobs rushing 9 yards for the score, and Tynes making the PAT. St. Louis would pull slightly closer with Bradford helping out the Rams, finding Danario Alexander for 19 yards and a TD, and Brown made the extra point to put the score at 28-16 New York. This would be the final after a scoreless fourth quarter, and New York went to 1-1 while the Rams fell to 0-2.

Fantasy Football All-Stars week 2

The season is in gear now, and we do have a few season-ending injuries thinning the herd at various places. Here's last week's studs.

Quarterback: Cam Newton
Running Back: Adrian Peterson
Wide Receiver: Miles Austin
Tight End: Rob Gronkowski
Kicker: Adam Vinatieri
Team Defense: Detroit
Defensive Player: Michael Boley

Best of luck to everyone next week.

Fantasy Baseball All-Stars week 24

The baseball season is closing down quickly, and it's not looking too good for a majority of my teams, but these players would have been valuable to help me last week.

Catcher: Carlos Santana, 7 runs, 8 hits, 4 HR, 6 RBI, 0 SB, .364 average, .481 on base
First Base: James Loney, 5 runs, 9 hits, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 0 SB, .360 average, .448 on base
Second Base: Dustin Pedroia, 8 runs, 8 hits, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 1 SB, .333 average, .346 on base
Third Base: Mike Moustakas, 7 runs, 11 hits, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 1 SB, .524 average, .545 on base
Shortstop: Erick Aybar, 8 runs, 10 hits, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 0 SB, .455 average, .520 on base
General Infielder: Pablo Sandoval, 5 runs, 11 hits, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 0 SB, .440 average, .481 on base
Left Field: Josh Hamilton, 6 runs, 10 hits, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 0 SB, .400 average, .464 on base
Center Field: Matt Kemp, 7 runs, 10 hits, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2 SB, .385 average, .433 on base
Right Field: Carlos Beltran, 7 runs, 14 hits, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 0 SB, .467 average, .515 on base
General Outfielder: Ryan Braun, 6 runs, 10 hits, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 0 SB, .455 average, .455 on base
Starter: Justin Verlander, 15 IP, 2 wins, 12 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.93 WHIP
Reliever: Drew Storen, 5 IP, 4 saves, 7 K, 0 holds, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP

Best of luck over the next week and a half in the quest for championships.

Sunday Night Game week 2

Tonight's Sunday night game is in Atlanta, with the Falcons hosting the Philadelphia Eagles. Atlanta got the first score, a touchdown pass of 2 yards from Matt Ryan to Roddy White. Matt Bryant was serviced for the extra point. Philadelphia evened the score in the second quarter on Michael Vick's touchdown pass to Jeremy Maclin, a 5 yard reception that was followed by Alex Henery on the extra point, followed by a 22 yard field goal later in the frame. The Falcons took the lead back when Ryan threw to Tony Gonzalez for a 4 yard TD, and Bryant was there for the extra point, leaving the score at halftime as 14-10 Atlanta, and they hooked up again after the halftime break for 17 yards and a score, as Bryant tacked on the PAT to make it 21-10. Shortly after that, Vick and Maclin connected for 36 yards and a touchdown, with Henery adding the extra point. The Eagles struck again with LeSean McCoy running 8 yards for a touchdown, allowing another Henery extra point, and then he ran another 2 yards to score later in the quarter, with Henery again making the extra point. The Falcons got some back with Ryan and Ovie Mughelli connecting for a yard and a TD. Bryant came on for the extra point. Bryant also made the PAT when Michael Turner ran 3 yards to find the end zone. The final had Atlanta up 35-31, moving them to 1-1, and dropping the Eagles to the same mark.

NFL Late Games Week 2

A much lighter slate in the afternoon, we have four games going. The first is in California...

Where the San Francisco 49ers host the Dallas Cowboys. San Francisco led off the scoring with a second quarter touchdown by Frank Gore, coming from a yard away, and allowing a David Akers extra point, who also had the PAT for the aerial pass from Alex Smith to Kyle Williams for 12 yards and a touchdown. Dallas got on the board before halftime with Tony Romo and Miles Austin connecting on a 53 yard touchdown, and Dan Bailey made the extra point. The score is 14-7 49ers. The Cowboys tied it with Jon Kitna throwing to Austin, good for a 5 yard touchdown, and Bailey added the extra point. The 49ers got the lead back with Smith finding Delanie Walker for 29 yards and a touchdown, followed by another extra point from Akers. San Francisco added a field goal of 55 yards from Akers in the fourth quarter. Dallas pulled closer with Romo passing another 25 yards to find Austin yet again in the end zone, and Bailey added another extra point. The Cowboys tied it on the last play of the game, a Bailey field goal of 48 yards. The score stands at 24 all, and the game will go into overtime, the first of such this year. In overtime, the Cowboys took the game with a 19 yard Bailey field goal, improving themselves to 1-1 and dropping the 49ers to the same mark.

Into the Rockies, the Denver Broncos host the Cincinnati Bengals. Denver drew first blood with a Willis McGahee touchdown run from a yard out, followed up by Matt Prater with the extra point. Cincinnati got on the board with a Mike Nugent 45 yard FG. Prater replied for the Broncos with a 34 yard field goal for a halftime score of 10-3. Denver took control in the third quarter with a Kyle Orton touchdown pass of 25 yards to Eric Decker, with Prater tacking on the extra point. The Bengals got three more points from a Nugent field goal of 37 yards. Cincinnati pushed a little closer to the Broncos with Andy Dalton finding Andre Caldwell for 10 yards and a touchdown, but the two point attempt was a failure, as Dalton's pass to Jerome Simpson was wayward. Nugent later added a 23 yard field goal to pull within two. Denver got back some separation with Orton and Decker hooking up yet again, this time going 52 yards for the touchdown, and Prater was again available to make the extra point. The Bengals shot back with Dalton passing 5 yards for a touchdown to A.J. Green, and Nugent had the extra point. The Broncos held off a storm, and won 24-22, going to 1-1, and dropping Cincinnati to 1-1.

Back much farther east, the New England Patriots host the San Diego Chargers. New England opened with Tom Brady and Aaron Hernandez making magic in the form of a 14 yard touchdown connection, with Stephen Gostkowski doing his part on the extra point. San Diego replied with a Ryan Mathews 10 yard TD rush, and Nick Novak made the extra point with ease. The Patriots retook the lead on a Gostkowski field goal of 22 yards, and he added the extra point when Brady met Rob Gronkowski for a 10 yard touchdown pass. Before the half, Gostkowski nailed a 47 yard field goal, giving New England a lead of 20-7 to take into the locker room. San Diego struck in the fourth quarter with Philip Rivers hitting Vincent Jackson for a 3 yard touchdown, and Novak made the PAT. Brady gave a little breathing room to the Patriots with a 17 yard TD pass to Gronkowski, and they converted the two point attempt on Danny Woodhead run. The Chargers fought back with Rivers and Jackson meeting for 26 yards and a TD, followed by a Novak extra point to put them back seven. New England appeared to have put the nail in the coffin on a 16 yard touchdown run via BenJarvus Green-Ellis, followed by Gostkowski's extra point to make it 35-21. This was a final, giving the Patriots a 2-0 record and San Diego faded to 1-1.

Rounding out the second wave, the Miami Dolphins welcome the Houston Texans. Houston strikes early with two field goals by Neil Rackers, from 23 and 22 yards away. Dan Carpenter replied for Miami with a 42 yard field goal. The Texans pulled to a more comfortable lead when Matt Schaub found Owen Daniels for a 4 yard touchdown, bringing Rackers on for the extra point. Rackers also kicked a field goal before the half to make it 16-3, this final kick being 36 yards. The Dolphins pushed a little closer with a Chad Henne touchdown pass to Brandon Marshall, good for 12 yards and a touchdown, and Carpenter added the PAT. Miami chipped away with a field goal by Carpenter, coming from 34 yards out. Houston extended their lead with Schaub finding Andre Johnson for 23 yards and a touchdown, with Rackers adding on the extra point. The final had the Texans up 23-13, moving them to 2-0 and dropping the Dolphins to 0-2.