The Week in sports
It has been a great weekend with super bowl action, some fantastic college basketball and the NBA heating up. Â I am going to really miss football but I am going to talk about some surprise teams I think may make a noise next year in the NFL.
The Super bowl was not only a great game but was a real bonanza for CBS. Last night’s Super Bowl XXIV looks like a record-setter: The game was seen by an average 46.4% of TV homes in 56 top markets representing about two-thirds of the country, and by 68% of homes watching TV, according to preliminary Nielsen figures.
That makes it the top-scoring Super Bowl in those cities since 1987, and is up 10% from early figures for last year’s game, which drew an NFL record 98.7 million viewers nationally. If trends hold, it could break the all-time viewing record of 106 million viewers held by the 1983 finale of M*A*S*H, also on CBS.
The game was most popular in New Orleans (naturally), followed by snowbound Washington, D.C., Nashville and Indianapolis. The premiere of reality series Undercover Boss, which followed the game, was seen by 20.3% of homes in those cities, the biggest rating for a post-Bowl show since ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy in 2006.
They say everything is bigger and better in Texas, so Super Bowl XLV will have an all-time first: The Cowboys could be the first team to play the game on their home field and if they Don’t make it next year then jerry Jones should be run out of town.. So who do i think has a good outside chance of reachiong the Super Bowl other than the Colts,Saints,Cowboys,Patriots etc… One team that might surprise people is the Green Bay Packers. I really like this teams chances but I really want to talk about a team that really impressed me this year. the New York Jets..
It would be just the Jets’ luck that after a 41-year Super Bowl drought they finally make the game and then have to deal with playing in Jerry Jones’ billion-dollar palace in Arlington with 80% of the 100,000 fans rooting against them.
What happens in one NFL season in the free-agent era usually is not a good forecaster for the next year – the Saints finished last in the NFC South in ‘08 – but with the restrictive changes in free agency in the upcoming and presumably uncapped year, player movement is going to slow down. That would allow teams a better opportunity to keep their rosters intact and build on strong finishes. Since free agency began in 1993, rosters have turned at about 30% per year.
The Jets and Cowboys each finished the regular season on a hot streak. The Jets won five of their last six games, then beat the Bengals and Chargers on the road in the playoffs and had a 17-6 lead two minutes before the half in the AFC Championship Game before Peyton Manning stepped on the gas.
That gives Rex Ryan something to build on as long as he can control himself and not flip off any more fans in the offseason. Mark Sanchez took a giant step in the playoffs and if Leon Washington is able to rebound from his broken leg and Mike Tannenbaum can find Sanchez a big-time receiver in the draft (Notre Dame’s Golden Tate or USC’s Damien Williams), then the Jets should be able to open up the offense.
If it’s not the Jets, then I like the Steelers and Colts in the AFC next year.
Dallas finished the season by getting blown out in the divisional round by the Vikings, one week after winning its first playoff game since 1996. The Cowboys ended the regular season by spoiling the Saints undefeated season in New Orleans, then shutting out the Redskins and Eagles before beating Philadelphia again in the wild-card round.The Cowboys are loaded with talent and if Tony Romo can play like he did in December, the Cowboys could be big-time players next season.
“I can dream that our team has a chance, and I don’t think it’s an empty dream, to be a big part of the process what the Super Bowl is about next year,” Jones said.
If it’s not the Cowboys, then I like the Packers next year.
If you’re going to pass on the abundance of Super Bowl leftovers, there are a couple of major college basketball matchups on ESPN. Beginning at 7 p.m., No. 2 Villanova goes to Morgantown to play No. 6 West Virginia. That’s followed by the No. 1 Jayhawks going to Austin, Texas, for a Big 12 game against the No. 9 Longhorns
Odds supplied by Betus
707 Villanova +5½ -110 +200
708 West Virginia -5½ -110 -240
715 Kansas -2 -110 -130
716 Texas +2 -110 +110
The Kansas Jayhawks hang on to the top spot in the latest Associated Press Men’s College Basketball Poll released Monday. The Jayhawks survived an upset bid in overtime against Colorado on Wednesday night and defeated Nebraska on Saturday.
Syracuse, who defeated Cincinnati 71-54 on Sunday, moves up to No. 2. Notre Dame coach Mike Bray said that Syracuse was the best team in the country earlier in the year.
Kentucky despite one loss is ranked No. 3. They beat Ole Miss by 10 on Tuesday and man-handled LSU. It’s probably not important that Syracuse is ranked ahead of the Orange unless you’re a Big Blue fan. Otherwise both teams should be No.1 seeds barring major losses down the stretch.
Villanova who beat Seton Hall on Tuesday but lost to Georgetown on Saturday stays at No. 4. While West Virginia who beat Pittsburgh and St. Johns last week moves up to No. 5 in the poll.Georgetown is No. 7, but can beat any team in the country if they are clicking.
Mississippi dropped from the Top 25 after a loss Kentucky and a win against Alabama last week. UNLV is the only newly ranked team after beating Wyoming and Brigham Young last week.Wisconsin who upset Michigan State and then beat Michigan moves up to No. 11 from No. 16.Michigan State who lost star guard Kalin Lucas to an ankle injury against Wisconsin Tuesday night drops from No. 5 to No. 10 with losses to the Badgers and Illinois last week.Michigan State’s real test comes Tuesday night when they face No. 6 Purdue. Lucas practiced Sunday and will be a game time decision for Tuesday’s game.
The ACC has just two teams ranked, a surging Duke squad up two spots at No. 8, after beating Boston College and Georgia Tech. The Yellowjackets, the other ACC team in the Top 25, are up one spot to No. 20 with a win against North Carolina Saturday.
For the fifth consecutive week the Pac-10 doesn’t have a team ranked in the AP Top 25.
AP Top 25 (First place votes) Record, Total points
1. Kansas (55) 22-1 1,613
2. Syracuse (8) 23-1 1,553
3. Kentucky (2) 22-1 1,514
4. Villanova 20-2 1,366
5. West Virginia 19-3 1,361
6. Purdue 19-3 1,301
7. Georgetown 17-5 1,211
8. Duke 19-4 1,142
9. Kansas State 19-4 1,139
10. Michigan State 19-5 968
11. Wisconsin 18-5 871
12. Tennessee 18-4 850
13. Ohio State 18-6 845
14. Texas 19-4 789
15. New Mexico 21-3 725
16. Gonzaga 19-4 693
17. Brigham Young 22-3 532
18. Butler 20-4 422
19. Northern Iowa 21-2 298
20. Georgia Tech 17-6 269
21. Temple 19-5 223
22. Vanderbilt 17-5 222
23. UNLV 19-4 209
24. Baylor 17-5 202
25. Pittsburgh 17-6 149
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