Playoffs

Joe Nathan is my hero.  He saved the first game of 14 game block the twins have embarked.  When he takes the mound in any game Twins fans settle a little back into their seats. Suddenly the Metrodome doesn’t seem so ugly or cold when Nathan is pitching.  The Minnesotan accents retreat and we start to sound a little like New Yorkers;  over confident and coarse.  Our nice is replaced with cocky.  

Continue reading "Minnesota Twins Fan Ga Ga Over Joe Nathan"

           Each week, I will look into my (never wrong, just misinformed) crystal ball and give my predictions for that weekend’s games.  I will prognosticate on all the playoff games each week.  Keep in mind, that this is for entertainment purposes only, and that I do not endorse any sort of legal or illegal gambling.  That being said…let’s see what’s in my crystal ball!   

Continue reading "Predictions Super Bowl XLIII"

Last Week: 1-3  

Playoffs: 3-5

Overall:  36-31-1  

Baltimore @ Tennessee:  (WIN)  This was a classic defensive struggle.  Both teams did rack up some yards, especially the Titans (391).  That’s a lot of yards against the Ravens defense, but the name of the game is to score points.  The Titans had their share of opportunities, but they didn’t get the job done!  The Titans had the edge in yards and time of possession, but the three turnovers they committed sealed their fate!  The Ravens offense wasn’t great, but it doesn’t need to be.  They played tough, hard-nosed football, and Flacco managed the offense.  More importantly…he had no turnovers.  In the playoffs, it’s hard to win when you lose the turnover battle.  The Ravens will travel to Pittsburgh for the AFC title.  

Continue reading "Divisional Round Review"

Last Week: 2-2Playoffs: 2-2

Overall:  35-28-1  

Atlanta @ Arizona:  (LOSS)  The Atlanta Falcons had a good run, but their season came to an end.  The Cardinals were able to use the home crowd to their advantage.  QB Kurt Warner had a good game.  The Cards brought Edge off the bench, and he rewarded them by grinding out the tough yards.  Fitzgerald reeled in 6 receptions for 101 yards and a TD.  The Cardinals pulled away in the 3rd quarter with 2 TDs.  The Falcons fought hard to the bitter end, but it just wasn’t meant to be.  Arizona moves on to play at Carolina.  The Falcons exceeded everyone’s expectations this year, and they will be a team to be reckoned with for several years to come.  

Continue reading "Wildcard Weekend Review"

Last Week: 2-2  

Playoffs:  0-0 

Overall:  33-26-1  

Atlanta @ Arizona:  The Atlanta Falcons (11-5) will travel to Arizona to play the Cardinals (9-7).  It’s a quirky nuance in the rules where the team with a better record must travel to play a team with a worse record in the playoffs.  The Cardinals won their division, so by rule they get the home game.  The Falcons have been a huge surprise this season, but the NFL is well aware of them now.  The Cardinals played in a sub-par division, but they won enough games to earn their way into the tournament.  Unfortunately for the Cards, they will be one and done.  The Falcons are clearly the better team, and the Cardinals have been playing poorly as of late.  The Falcons are the real deal and should win easily.  Atlanta 34, Arizona 23.  

Continue reading "Predictions Wildcard Weekend"

The crystal ball had a mediocre performance this past week, going a mere 2-2.  We’re not sure what happened, but we will get to the bottom of this.  The crystal ball took its lumps on the Cowboys game, but it may have been predicting with its heart rather than its fortune-telling powers?  Either way, that puts the crystal ball at 29-22-1 for the season.  That’s seven games over .500 (.563 to be exact).  Let’s take a look back, and review what happened last week.    

Continue reading "Week 16 Review"

           On Saturday night, the Cowboys had a golden opportunity to close out Texas Stadium in style.  This was the final game to be played at the stadium.  A Cowboys win would have been a fitting end to a stadium that has had many classic games.  A win, and the Cowboys would have been one step further in their quest for a playoff berth, and a Super Bowl run. 

Continue reading "Not Dead Yet"

           Last year, the Cowboys sent 13 players to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl.  Granted, a few of those players made it by name alone, but for the most part they deserved it.  When you go 13-3, as the Cowboys did last year, you tend to get a lot of coattail votes.  This year the ‘Boys will be sending only 5 players. 

Continue reading "Snubbed"

The crystal ball, once again, had a stellar performance this past week, going undefeated at 4-0.  Truly a tremendous achievement, as many of the games had playoff implications.  That puts the crystal ball at 29-22-1 for the season.  That’s seven games over .500 (.567 to be exact).  Not many prognosticators gave the Cowboys much of a chance against the G-Men, but the crystal ball took a chance on them.  The ‘Boys rewarded the crystal ball, and pulled off the upset.  Let’s review and see what happened last week.    

Continue reading "Week 15 Review"

Where was this in the first two weeks of the season?

Tavaris Jackson, bench after two losses this season, had four TD passes (two of them over 40 yards) to led Minnesota to a not-so-surprising win over the playoff-bound Arizona Cardinals. Jackson went 11-for-17 with 163 yard with no picks or fumbles. He was sacked three times but also had three carries for three yards, all of them for one yard, avoiding other potential sacks. This was the kind of spark the Vikings haven't had since Dante Culpepper had his MVP-caliber season--only to be upstaged by record-setting QB Peyton Manning.

Continue reading "Surprising T-Jack leads to win with ..."

It isn't a good sign when two important wins for the Vikings this season have been two- and four-point victories against a winless team. Nonetheless, the Viks avoided the trap game and are 7-2 in their last nine games to move to 8-5 and have a one-game lead over Da Bears in the NFC North.

Continue reading "Another week, antother close Vikings' ..."

           This past Sunday, the Cowboys had a 10-point lead against the Pittsburgh Steelers, late in the 4th quarter.  Then disaster struck, as the Cowboys were not able to finish off the Steelers.  All the Cowboys needed were a couple of first downs and the game would be over.  Nope…didn’t happen!  The Cowboys let the Steelers tie the game with about 2 minutes left in regulation.  Then, Romo gave the entire Steeler Nation an early Christmas present by throwing a pick-6…game over! 

Continue reading "Chokers"

The game was much closer than the score would indicate as the Vikings downed the Bears 34-14.

After a no-call on a roughing the passer, Minnesota had to settle for a field goal. The next possession, Minnesota forced a Chicago punt... which they didn't have to do because one of our DBs got a stupid (and I can't say that enough), stupid personal foul. He got bailed out by four stops from the two-yard line. The first play of the next Vikings' drive was a 99-yard, perfect pass to Berrian that resulted in a TD (and 15 points for anyone playing Berrian in fantasy football--the most you can have on one play in a non-point-per-catch league).

Continue reading "SNF win over the Bears 34-14 moves ..."

So it might not come down to this, but the Vikings (6-5 overall, 2-2 in the division) need to win on Sunday Night Football this weekend against the Bears (6-5, 3-1) to win the NFC North.

Yes, if they lose they will be a game back with four games to go; however, we would have lost both games to Da Bears and lose any tie-breaker, essentially being two games back with four to go. Throw in the fact that the Packer face a Carolina team that can be beat and the Vikings could fall to third in the division quickly (fortunately they can't drop to fourth--thank you Detroit). Green Bay is 3-1 in the divison, 5-6 overall.

Continue reading "Ball control key in Chicago/Minnesota ..."

The Vikings can bless the Saints for their work this season.

On Monday Night Football two months ago, somehow the Saints managed to blow a game to the 1-3 Vikings 30-27. the win was the start of Minnesota's current 5-2 run. Back on MNF, the Saints helped the Vikings again by downing the Packers 51-29 to get above .500 at 6-5 and are back to within two games of NFC South leaders Carolina and Tamba Bay (8-3).

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Well it seems as though the "Devil" in Devil Rays has officially been exorcised.  The Rays win their first playoff game in franchise history on the shoulders of rookie Evan Longoria.

Continue reading "A Little Bit Of H-Evan"

With pitchers and catchers finally reporting to spring training, it marks the start of the 2008 season where anything is can happen.  It is a season where even the Tampa Bay Rays can contend for fourth place.  It is a season where the impossible turns into the possible.  Just listen to Ryan Dempster of the Chicago Cubs make a bold prediction, “I think we are going to win the World Series. I really do.”  Great, just what a Cubs fans need to hear, another prediction. 

Continue reading "Is this the year of Dreams? Think ..."

Well, the Divisional playoffs are upoon us and I thought I'd tell you what will happen so you won't have to watch.

First up is Seattle and Green Bay, and a lot is being made about the weather being a big factor.  Well, I think it will be a factor for both teams, because, Ryan Grant's late season success notwithstanding, I think both teams will have to fling it.  I think Seattle has been playing well enough to habg close in here, and if you're looking for an upset this weekend, look no further.  (Don't let my Viking affiliation make you think I'm biased here.  Would it amuse me to see Mike Homgren getting the Gatorade shower in Lambeau?  OK, maybe just a little.)

Continue reading "NFL Divisional Playoffs"