Brady’s Bunches!!! October 22, 2007
Posted by John C in Carrie Underwood, Football, NFL, Patriots, Tom Brady, Tony Romo, fantasy football.add a comment
No, I am not a New England Patriots fan, and no I’m not really a big Tom Brady fan (and neither is Carrie Underwood usually from what I found out today on a radio interview)… Carrie is actually playing in a fantasy football league this year and her team is 5-1 (yes, that’s better than any of my teams!) Since Carrie is a huge Dallas Cowboys fan and is friends with QB Tony Romo, she wanted him on her fantasy team. But Carrie couldn’t make the draft and she got stuck with Brady on autopick instead. Poor Carrie… NOT!
Romo’s had a very good year so far for the Cowboys despite that one five interception game, tossing 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions on the year for a very nice 95.6 quarterback rating. Those are nice numbers, but pale in comparison to what Carrie’s fantasy QB has done. Brady has tossed a ridiculous 27 touchdown passes in the season’s first seven games!!! He’s on pace for 61 TD’s!!! 61???!!! That number is normally associated with baseball and Yankee legend Roger Maris (Maris hit 61 home runs in 1961 - a record which stood for nearly 40 years). Perhaps more incredibly, Brady has tossed just two interceptions so far on the year - he’s on pace for four… His QB rating is a ridiculous 137.9. About the only record he’s not on pace to break is Dan Marino’s yardage record of 5,084 - but hey, he could get onto that pace pretty easily as his 2007 pace would take him to “only” 4,857 yards at the moment…
In yesterday’s 49-28 Patriots win over the hapless (and now 0-7) Miami Dolphins, Brady’s line looked more like something you’d see on your Playstation: 21 of 25 passes for 354 yards, six touchdown passes and no interceptions for a perfect 158.3 QB rating! I don’t know how many times it has happened, but yesterday he had two more touchdown passes than incompletions! That’s CRAZY!!! Where’s a stat guru when you need one? OK, I am one, but I’ll have to do some digging! 
Where do Brady and his 7-0 Patriots go from here? None of us truly knows, all I do know is this run of his over the first seven games of the 2007 season is as impressive as anything as I’ve ever seen in all of my years of watching the NFL.
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Southern California Ablaze… October 21, 2007
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Other than earthquakes, there’s probably nothing more that we as Southern Californians fear more than forest fires. As I went to bed last night, one of the local news stations made mention that the so-called Santa Ana winds would be making their way into our area today. Sure enough, a little after 1 a.m. this morning a gust of wind woke me from my sleep… this would happen several times during the night. As I got up around 7:30 a.m. this morning, the winds continued. I knew more than likely that forest fires were soon to follow. A call just before 8 a.m. this morning from my sister confirmed my worst fears… A fire had been ignited by downed power lines three hours earlier in the nearby community of Malibu.
With that, my normal Sunday plans would be changed. The strong winds (gusting in excess of 80 MPH in many areas) made highway travel very dangerous. Instead of taking the 25 minute drive by freeway to my church in Simi Valley, I decided to spend the day with my family, taking the much less dangerous streets and canyon roads 15 minutes away… Though I tried to tune in the football games, auto races and other sporting events today, my main focus was on the news of the fires. As the day progressed, fire after fire broke out. One in Castaic, another in nearby Santa Rosa, then one in Agua Dulce. Smoke and soot from the Castaic fire actually blew more than 20 miles toward my local area for several hours in the late afternoon, turning day to near-night and making it next to impossible to breathe outside.
By 9 p.m. THIRTEEN separate fires had broken out in Southern California’s mountains. Many of the fires are very near to homes - the worst one appeared to be the fire which had started in Agua Dulce. That particular fire moved approximately 10-15 miles in just four hours and was now bearing down on the Canyon Country community, threatening over 3,800 homes! As of this writing, 25 homes had already been destroyed in Canyon Country. Sadly, I’m afraid that this figure could reach triple digits by morning.
With winds expected to stay strong in the area through Tuesday and with temperatures expected to rise, things could actually get a lot worse before they get better. Please keep your thoughts and prayers with all of the people here in Southern California, particularly those that have already lost their homes…
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Red Sox Advance To World Series! October 21, 2007
Posted by John C in 2007 World Series, Baseball, Red Sox.add a comment
Was I worried? Maybe a little. Did I think they would do it so convincingly? Probably not. Am I happy about it? You bet!
Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched a strong five innings, allowing only two runs, while Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon each went a scoreless two frames as the Red Sox made it to their second World Series in four seasons with an 11-2 win over the Cleveland Indians tonight at Fenway Park in Boston. The game was a much closer one than the end result though.
The Red Sox had Indians starter Jake Westbrook in trouble seemingly with every pitch in the early going. Westbrook allowed nine hits in the first four innings, but only allowed three runs thanks to his defense bailing him out with three double plays. He then pitched perfect ball in the fifth and sixth innings to keep the Indians in the game - the outcome was still very much in doubt as the Red Sox only led by a 3-2 score after six.
In the bottom of the 7th, Jacoby Ellsbury reached second base on Indian thirdbaseman Casey Blake’s fielding error to open the inning off of the usually reliable Rafael Betancourt. Julio Lugo then sacrificed Ellsbury to third. Dustin Pedroia then took a Betancourt fastball and deposited over the Green Monster in left for a two run homer, giving the Red Sox a 5-2 lead. The Indians threatened in the top of the eighth as the first two batters reached base off of Okajima. Papelbon was then summoned and retired the next three batters in order to end the threat. The Sox would erupt for six more runs in the bottom of the frame to put the game away at 11-2. The final out was recorded on a Casey Blake flyout deep to center that Boston outfielder CoCo Crisp made a spectacular catch on - running hard into the center field wall with his left leg as he came down with the ball.
The World Series is now all set. Game one will pit Jeff Francis of the Rockies against ALCS MVP Josh Beckett. You can catch all of the action on your local Fox station beginning at 8:07 ET/5:07 PT this Wednesday night.
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Schill, Drew Draw Sox Even! October 20, 2007
Posted by John C in 2007 World Series, Baseball, Red Sox.add a comment
Curt Schilling has always been known as a “big game” pitcher, so it wouldn’t have surprised anyone for him to step it up tonight in Game six of the American League Championship Series tonight against the Cleveland Indians at Fenway Park. Sure enough, Schilling did his part, limiting the Indians to two runs over seven strong innings.
Who was the big hero offensive tonight for the Sox? Perhaps the unlikeliest of all people: J.D. Drew! As most of you know, Drew had a very disappointing season for the Red Sox, putting up only 11 home runs, 64 RBI’s and a .270 batting average after hitting 20 home runs and driving in 100 for the Dodgers in 2006. Drew gave the Red Sox all of the offense they would need in the first inning tonight, slamming a 3-1 fastball off of Fausto Carmona into the center field stands for a Grand Slam. The Red Sox would not look back, erupting for six more runs in the third inning to build an insurmountable 10-1 lead. Hideki Okajima and Eric Gagne each pitched a scoreless inning to close out the game as the Red Sox ended up winning by a 12-2 score… You know the rest - Game 7 will be on your local Fox affiliate at 8:07 ET/5:07 PT tomorrow night! And one more time… GO SOX!!!
UCLA upsets Cal!!! October 20, 2007
Posted by John C in UCLA Bruins, college football.add a comment
Finally, I have a college football game I actually want to write about!!! It’s about time!
Two weeks ago, the California Golden Bears were looking like they might become the #1 ranked college football team in the nation. A stunning loss to unranked Oregon State last Saturday night dropped them from #2 to #10 in the national rankings. In the meantime, the UCLA Bruins spent last weekend licking their wounds and healing after an embarrassing 20-6 loss to previously winless Notre Dame the weekend before.
This afternoon, the Bruins took Cal at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena… and from the outset, it was clear that they Bruins were going to make a game of things. The game was a see-saw battle throughout. The Golden Bears took a 7-0 lead in the first on a 21 yard pass from Nate Longshore to Craig Stevens with 6:48 to play. A 32-yard field goal on the first play of the the second quarter by UCLA’s Kai Forbath made it a 7-3 game. On UCLA’s next possession Kahlil Bell broke a 64 yard run down to the Golden Bear 2 yard line. On the very next play Patrick Cowan passed to Logan Paulsen for a touchdown to give the Bruins at short-lived 10-7 lead with 11:14 to play. A long kickoff return and a Bruin penalty gave Cal the ball just inside UCLA territory, and they scored five plays later as Longshore hit DeSean Jackson for a 39-yard score to make it a 14-10 Cal lead just a minute and 55 seconds later. Forbath hit another 28-yard field goal for the Bruins late in the second quarter. The Bears would take a 14-13 lead into halftime.
The Bruins came out strong in the second half, driving the ball the length of the field in 10 plays. The 80 yard drive cuminated with a Bruin score on a trick play. Wide receiver Brandon Breazell got the ball on a reverse, then pulled up and threw a 29-yard pass to Dominique Johnson in the end zone to give UCLA a 20-14 lead. The Golden Bears came back with 2:15 to go in the quarter as Longshore hit Jackson again on a two-yard scoring toss to make it a 21-20 Cal advantage.
Cal took that one point lead into the fourth quarter… neither team could do anything with the ball over the first three possessions. With 8:37 to go, the Bruins took over at their own 48 yard line and meticulously drove the ball down the field 42 yards in 10 plays, none of which went for more than nine yards. The Bruins took five minutes and 22 seconds off the clock with that drive and that proved crucial. Forbath hit on his third field-goal of the game from 27 yards to give UCLA a 23-21 lead with only 3:15 to go in the game.
Cal’s next possession was a crucial one, and it looked after the kickoff as though the Bruins were going to let this one get away as the ensuing kickoff was returned all the way down to the UCLA 35 yard line. The Golden Bears picked up five yards on two ensuing running plays to bring up a third down and five from the UCLA 30. Longshore went to the air and was intercepted by Alterraun Verner who would take the ball 76 yards to the end zone with 1:33 remaining, giving the Bruins a 30-21 lead. Longshore would desperately try to drive the Golden Bears on their next possession, but he would be intercepted again, ending Cal’s chances. The Bruins are now 5-2 on the season and 4-0 in conference play. They will go on the road to take on the Washington State Cougars next Satruday night at 6:30 pm.
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Red Sox Stay Alive! October 19, 2007
Posted by John C in Uncategorized.1 comment so far
For the first time all year, the Boston Red Sox faced the prospect of having their season ended. Down three games to one to the Cleveland Indians in the American League Championship Series, their only hope to make it back the World Series for the second time in four years was to win last night’s game and hope to send the series back to Fenway Park. Easier said than done, or so it seemed.
Josh Beckett took the mound for the Sox last night and came through, pitching a dominant eight innings, allowing only a run, while striking out 11. For most of the first six innings, Indians starting pitcher C.C. Sabathia was able to get out of trouble as they only trailed 2-1 entering the seventh inning despite him giving up eight hits. A Dustin Pedroia single began the top of the 7th inning. Kevin Youkilis then tripled him home to knock Sabtahia from the game. David Ortiz then hit an opposite field sacrifice fly to score Youkilis and give the Sox a 4-1 lead. The Sox scored three more runs in the 8th inning to put the game away. Jonathan Papelbon pitched a scoreless ninth to secure the Red Sox win and send the series back to Boston. Game six of the series is tomorrow night and will pit Fausto Carmona against Curt Schilling and as you probably guessed by now, the game will start on your local FOX affiliate at 8:07 ET/5:07 PT.
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Red Sox On The Brink… October 18, 2007
Posted by John C in 2007 World Series, Baseball, Red Sox.add a comment
If the 2007 World Series hopes of the Boston Red Sox are to continue, they are going to need a near-miracle reminiscent of their 2004 pennant year. As you may recall, the Red Sox came from a three games to none deficit against the New York Yankees in the AL Championship Series that year and went on to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals for the championship.
This year, they are “only” down three games to one to the Cleveland Indians in the ALCS. Tonight, Josh Beckett takes the mound for the Sox, while C.C. Sabathia pitches for the Indians. The game will begin at 8:07 ET/5:07 PT on your local Fox affiliate. GO SOX!!!
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Week 6 NFL Rankings October 17, 2007
Posted by John C in Football, NFL, NFL Power Rankings.add a comment
The game Sunday afternoon between the Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots was definitely the most anticipated one of the week. It’s pretty rare for two undefeated teams to face each other so late in the season. As it was, the Patriots were heavily favored coming in and ended up winning by 21 points, 48-27. In reality though, the game was much closer than that as the Cowboys did hold a 24-21 lead with just five minutes to go in the third quarter. All in all, the game went pretty much as expected, except that the Cowboys probably hung in there a lot longer than predicted. Consequently, the Cowboys keep their previous #3 ranking.
One team that’s been severely hurt the past two weeks would be the Arizona Cardinals. They’ve lost both their first string (Matt Leinart) and backup (Kurt Warner) quarterbacks the past two Sundays. Tim Rattay is their third-stringer and isn’t anywhere close to Leinart’s or Warner’s level. The Cardinals looked so very promising two weeks ago and reached #8 in the rankings last weekend. I think their only hope now is to give the ball to running back Edgerrin James as much as possible until Warner gets healthy from the torn ligaments in his left (non-throwing) elbow. Who was most responsible for the Cardinals’ loss this past Sunday to the Carolina Panthers? While Rattay should get a lot of the blame, perhaps 43 year-old Vinny Testaverde of the Panthers should get some much-deserved credit for leading his Panthers to victory. For some reason, I’m having flashbacks to that Monday night game several years ago where Vinny led the New York Jets from 23 points down in the 4th quarter to an improbable overtime victory.
With the Patriots win on Sunday, everyone now is anticipating the November 4th game which will pit them against the Indianapolis Colts. It’s very possible both teams will go into that week undefeated. The Pats should have no problem with the 0-6 and #31 ranked Miami Dolphins next weekend, but the #8 Washington Redskins could give them a tough battle. The Colts have a very difficult game this Monday night against Maurice Jones-Drew and the rest of the surging and #5 ranked Jacksonville Jaguars. The Colts then face another surging team in the aforementioned #13 ranked Carolina Panthers the following week.
Here are this week’s rankings with last weeks rank in (). Record is only one consideration. I also take into account strength of schedule, strength of victory (or loss) and other intangibles…
1.(1) New England Patriots (6-0)
2.(2) Indianapolis Colts (5-0)
3.(3) Dallas Cowboys (5-1)
4.(4) Pittsburgh Steelers (4-1)
5.(10) Jacksonville Jaguars (4-1)
6.(5) Green Bay Packers (5-1)
7.(11) San Diego Chargers (3-3)
8.(6) Washington Redskins (3-2)
9.(9) Baltimore Ravens (4-2)
10.(12) New York Giants (4-2)
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11.(16) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-2)
12.(7) Tennessee Titans (3-2)
13.(19) Carolina Panthers (4-2)
14.(21) Cleveland Browns (3-3)
15.(8) Arizona Cardinals (3-3)
16.(17) Philadelphia Eagles (2-3)
17.(18) Oakland Raiders (2-3)
18.(14) Houston Texans (3-3)
19.(13) Chicago Bears (2-4)
20.(15) Seattle Seahawks (3-3)
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21.(22) Kansas City Chiefs (3-3)
22.(29) New Orleans Saints (1-4)
23.(20) San Francisco 49ers (2-3)
24.(26) Minnesota Vikings (2-3)
25.(23) Detroit Lions (3-2)
26.(25) Buffalo Bills (1-4)
27.(27) New York Jets (1-5)
28.(28) Atlanta Falcons (1-5)
29.(24) Cincinnati Bengals (1-4)
30.(30) Denver Broncos (2-3)
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31.(31) Miami Dolphins (0-6)
32.(32) St. Louis Rams (0-6)
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Rockies Sweep Out D-Backs! October 16, 2007
Posted by John C in Baseball, Matt Holliday, Rockies.add a comment
Did any of us see this coming??? After a 10-2 loss to the Florida Marlins on September 15th, the Colorado Rockies fell 4 1/2 games behind the San Diego Padres for the National League wild-card. Rockies elderstatesmen Todd Helton said at the time “These are desperate times. We have to play like a desperate team. Maybe we can get lucky and get some help.”
Talk about some prophetic words… The Rockies did play like a desperate team those final two weeks of the regular season, winning 13 of their final 14 games. Other contenders such as the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves slumped badly to open the door some more. Trevor Hoffman of the Padres was within one strike of closing out the Rockies season on September 29th against the Milwaukee Brewers, but Tony Gwynn Jr. of all people tripled off of Hoffman to score Corey Hart (no, not the singer) to tie their game and send it to extra innings. The Brewers went on to win that game in 11 innings. A guy named Gwynn helping keep the Padres out of the playoffs? How bizarre is that??? Well, it happened! The Rockies won their next game, the Padres lost and both teams finished the season at 89-73. We all know what happened in the ensuing one game playoff. Trevor Hoffman blew a two run lead in extra innings, and the Rockies scored three times including the winning run on a play where home plate was not even touched. Nonetheless, the Rockies won that 9-8 thriller and made it into the post season.
The Rockies swept through the Philadelphia Phillies in three straight games last week, and completed a four game sweep of the N.L. West division-winning Arizona Diamondbacks last night with a 6-4 victory. The Rockies scored all six of their runs last night off of Diamondbacks starter Micah Owings in the fourth inning. Series MVP Matt Holliday’s 3-run homer after a crucial error on a ground ball by firstbaseman Conor Jackson proved to be the blow which would be too much for the Diamondbacks to overcome. With the win, the Rockies have won 21 of their past 22 games, losing only once in the past month!!! That’s remarkable.
Now the Rockies have to wait to see who they are going to play in the World Series. The Cleveland Indians beat the Boston Red Sox in game three of their series last night to take a two games to one lead in the American League divisional series. Game four of that series will be on your local FOX affiliate tonight starting at 8:07 ET/5:07 PT.
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In The Air Tonight… October 15, 2007
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Yes, I had to borrow a classic Phil Collins song title for my blog today - did you know it’s played at pretty much ALL NFL Stadiums during warm ups??? It gets the players in the mood apparently… I got up this morning and it was that awful pea soup fog here and it never did clear up… kind of like my day today… It was just one of those days that got off on the wrong foot for me and never did quite get on the right one (with the exception of Eli Manning getting me just enough points tonight to win one of my fantasy league games this week)…
My Red Sox lost… they’re now down 2-1… not good!!! I get the feeling I’ll be asleep by the time the Rockies/D-Backs game ends tonight and I wouldn’t at all be surprised if it ends in a four game sweep. Then again, would you bet against a team that’s won 20 of their past 21 games???
Tomorrow’s another day… hopefully it will be a better one personally…
