The Week in sports
What a weekend and what a week we have ins store. Of course everyone knows about the NFL playoffs but alot of people don’t realize tennis is back. make sure you watch my columns for tennis picks and analysis, its my favorite port and this looks like a great year.
The playoffs started with a bang and no one looked better than the Dallas Cowboys. Tony Romo won his first playoff game, connecting on 23 of 35 passing attempts for 244 yards and two touchdowns as the Cowboys (11-5) defeated the Eagles for the third time this season.
Dallas, which clinched the National Football League East Division ahead of Philadelphia, will play the Minnesota Vikings on Jan. 17.The Cowboys held the Eagles to 56 yards rushing and controlled the ball for two-thirds of the game.
The New York Jets beat the Cincinnati Bengals 24-14 and the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 34-14 to advance in the National Football League playoffs.
At Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, Mark Sanchez completed 12 of 15 passing attempts for 182 yards and one touchdown yesterday to become the fourth rookie quarterback to win a playoff game since the Super Bowl playoffs began. Shonn Greene rushed for 135 yards and one touchdown as the Jets (9-7) advanced. The Bengals (10-6), who clinched the American Football Conference North Division, had 371 total yards, including 171 yards on the ground. They haven’t won a playoff game since 1991.
This should be a great weekend next week and it will be tough to go against the Cowboys the way they are playing.
I can’t wait to watch the Saints return healthy next week. The Cards are a great match up but I have to say the Saints will blow them out. If by some chance the Cowboys beat the Vikes, it will be so satisfying to crush them when they come back to New Orleans.
The NFL divisional playoff round begins on Saturday with a pair of games followed by another double-shot on Sunday NFL Playoff Schedule.
The first game on Saturday sees the high-scoring Arizona Cardinals to play a team that can match them in the offense dept., the New Orleans Saints — the Saints open as 7-point home faves 2010 NFL Divisional Playoff Odds and the Total is set at 57.5.
The Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts play the Saturday night cap, with Indy a NFL Divisional Playoff Odds 6.5-point home fave and the O/U at 45.
Sunday kicks off NFL Playoff Schedule with a QB duel between the Dallas Cowboys’ Tony Romo and the Minnesota Vikings’ Brett Favre — Minny is favored by a field goal at home with an Over/Under of 47.The New York Jets will conclude the divisional round with a road playoff game against the San Diego Chargers. NFL Divisional Playoff Odds The Jets are 9-point ‘dogs with a Total of 42.5. Check wagering sports daily for NFL Playoff Picks.
Lets look at my rankings of the teams left.
8. Arizona (11-6): The Cardinals gave up 45 points to the Packers (21 in the fourth quarter). Do you think they’re holding the Saints to under 21 in New Orleans? There could be 100 total points scored in this football game by the time it’s all over.
7. Baltimore (10-7): I’ve been writing this about the Ravens in my NFL power rankings all season long: Every time I begin to love Baltimore, they do something to cause great anger. The Ravens secondary has been very suspect all season long but you have to give that pass defense quite a bit of credit for shutting Tom Brady down, even if Brady didn’t care. For their reward, the Ravens get to face the NFL MVP. Think they can shut down the Indy pass attack?
6. New York Jets (10-7): The biggest question Mark for the Jets throughout the season has been the team’s rookie quarterback. If the Sanchise plays as he did against the Bengals, the Jets are a true Super Bowl contender. Seriously. The Jets beating the Chargers would not be the huge upset some people will make it out to be.
5. New Orleans (13-3): Will backing into the playoffs cost the Saints? They may be the luckiest of the “draw” teams in that they get to host an Arizona defense that did its best to blow the game in the fourth quarter.
4. Minnesota (12-4): Bad news for the Vikings as they have to play he hottest team in the NFC. Hollywood Brett Favre and company will surely benefit from the week off but I certainly would not want to be playing Dallas right now.
3. Indianapolis (14-2): Taking the final two weeks of the NFL season off has hurt the Colts in the past. The Ravens, however, may be the perfect opponent for Indianapolis in the second round. Manning will need to be his MVP self this weekend or 2010 will be another one-and-done playoff performance for the Colts.
2. San Diego (13-3): The Chargers have not had a shutdown defense during the 2009 NFL season and they’re playing against the best defense remaining in the playoffs. With that said, the Chargers are the hottest team in football and many NFL writers have put San Diego at the top of their NFL power rankings.
1. Dallas (12-5): . Even I can’t deny that the Cowboys are currently playing the best football in the entire league. Having finally won a playoff game this century, Dallas is both more relaxed and confident.
It’s only January 11, but the jostling for the 2010 ATP throne has already begun. Not since the leaderless fin de siecle period have so many players come into a season with very real potential for breakout success. (Doesn’t it now seem unbelievable that Lleyton Hewitt was ever the World Number One for two years running?) It all starts for real, of course, next Monday with the Australian Open, “the Grand Slam of Asia/Pacific.” Here, we break down the possibilities for the men.
The front runners:
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal won three of the four majors last year, and yet their dominance of the ATP tour is unmistakably over. Nadal is the defending champion in Melbourne, for whatever that’s worth. Ever since Robin Soderling thumped him at his beloved Roland Garros, Rafa hasn’t been the same. He was injured, of course, but that’s not it. He didn’t lose to Soderling because of bum knees. Go back and watch the tape: he was moving and grunting and hitting and running with all the rampaging determination that is Rafael Nadal, Champion. Except this time it wasn’t enough. Not even close. Rafa has had to process that, and no doubt it hasn’t been easy. Think Dorian Gray, martini in hand, babe on his arm, as he watches his portrait unexpectedly tumble off the wall and splinter on impact.
Nadal, needless to say, admits no such agita. The knees hurt for a while, that was all. “When you come back from injury you need time to regain your confidence on your movement,” Rafa said last November about his scratchy end-of-year form. He said he was devoting December to “practice, practice, practice.” What he was saying without saying it: Anyone who underestimates me Down Under will pay the price. True enough. But no one in the draw is dumb enough to underestimate a six-time major champion.
For his part, the number-one seed, Roger Federer, has said the pressure’s now off. He’s not playing for records anymore, so the rest of his career is just for fun. Don’t believe him. Without question, the laser-like focus that has taken him to 22 consecutive Grand Slam semifinals (and counting) isn’t glowing 24/7 anymore. But he still wants to prove that he can beat Nadal. He’s lost three consecutive Grand Slam finals to his lefty nemesis. If he makes it to another Aussie final and finds Nadal there with him, motivation will not be a problem. The problem will be getting to another final.
Juan Martin del Potro had posted a Final Four finish at Roland Garros and was firmly established in the Top Ten, but seeing him in the U.S. Open final last September was still as weird and unexpected as finding Will Ferrell in the New York Times wedding announcements. His five-set win over Federer to claim the title was an even bigger surprise. But Del Potro’s victory was no fluke. The 21-year-old Argentine hits like Mike Tyson, has unshakeable fundamentals, moves exceptionally well for a tall guy and doesn’t seem to have a problem with nerves. He’s going to win more majors. But maybe not in the short term. Others are hungrier right now, and del Potro still has severe ups and downs, as evidenced by his win over Fed in the ATP World Finals round-robin, followed by a loss to the less-daunting Nicolay Davydenko.
Novak, Novak Djokovic hasn’t ripped his shirt off and pounded his chest much lately. He’s stopped amusing the nimrods in the stands by imitating Maria Sharapova and Rafael Nadal. He hasn’t taken any more verbal swipes at Andy Roddick. Instead, he’s stayed low key and stuck to tennis, which resulted in an excellent fall. He beat both Nadal and Federer – the former at the Paris Masters and the latter at Federer’s home port, Basel. Based on recent form, Djokovic has to be considered a favorite in Australia.
Except … that recent form isn’t going to last. It turns out the indoor season was but the brief, red-faced euphoria before the fever really took hold. That’s right, the World Number 3 (and 2008 Australian Open champ) has contracted a full-blown case of Sharapovaitis. The most obvious symptom: He has taken up a high-profile vanity project. Djokovic will play the lead role in a 10-part Serbian TV series about the first king of Yugoslavia. We’re not kidding. Novak Djokovic is ready for his close-up. It might just make his exit in Australia easier for him to swallow. If he can’t be the king of tennis, then at least he can pretend to rule a nation that no longer exists…
The critics have started to pile on Andy Murray. (They even seem to doubt him over at MurraysWorld.com) His game’s too passive to ever win a major. He’s too likely to try a drop shot from three feet behind the baseline. His first serve is too erratic. He thinks too much. He thinks too little. Whatever. The critics are mistaken. The 22-year-old Scotsman has the talent to win a major. Indeed, no one on tour, save Federer, has the pure tennis talent that Murray has. He also has the game, the smarts and the guts to do it. He’s promised to arrive in Melbourne fitter and more focused than ever before, and we believe he will. There will be no more Evonne Goolagong-like “walkabouts” from Murray, like we saw in his loss to Marin Cilic at the U.S. Open. If he falls short again, he’ll leave blood on the court.
The rest of the pack:
Most likely giant killers: Robin Soderling and David Ferrer. Neither player is going to win the tournament, but both of them have the game – and the motivation – to drill a big hole in their respective quarters of the draw by knocking out a top seed. Soderling got a win over Federer in Abu Dhabi a week ago, but it was Ferrer who showed true grit and impressive form there.
Surprising big-name flameout: Andy Roddick. He played like a Wimbledon champion in the Wimbledon final, and it still wasn’t enough. That will weigh on his mind as he closes in on the top seeds in Melbourne.
