The Monday Night Football game was three days ago, but like a lot of people I can’t stop thinking about it. It was as interesting as a game can be. The people of New Orleans obviously thought so – two-thirds of TVs in the city were tuned to the game, and that’s better ratings than any Super Bowl has ever gotten in the city. There are two peripheral issues that come up around the Saints that I find interesting:
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I’m a big Big Ten fan. That’s been a rough thing to be over the last few years – especially since Michigan is my favored corner of the conference. Because of that I look at the Big Ten – ACC Challenge, which runs today and tomorrow, with more than a little fear. The concept of this series is brilliant – each team in the Big Ten plays a team in the ACC each year, and the team that wins more of the 11 games wins the Challenge for that year. Despite the fact that the Big Ten has had some really good teams over the last decade the event has happened the ACC has managed to win every edition of the Challenge. Even worse, Michigan State is the only team in the Big Ten that has a winning record in the Challenge. It has been total ACC domination. I’m hoping for different this year. Here’s a very brief look at the games and how they set up for each conference. The Challenge actually got an early start this year, when Penn State beat Virginia last night, so the Big Ten already has a head start. As you can see, I see it as anyone’s Challenge at this point:
I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall at Florida State the last couple of days. Word is that Bobby Bowden is going to retire tomorrow. I have absolutely no doubt that he is doing the right thing – he has no business coaching anymore. That being said, I wasn’t expecting him to go easily. It will be very interesting to see what happens with this team next year. We have heard for a long time about how good Jimbo Fisher is, but now he has no safety net and no one to blame. I don’t like anything about the Seminoles, but the sport is unquestionably better when they are an elite squad.
Today is the Grey Cup, the championship game of the Canadian Football League. It takes place in Calgary, and pits the Western Conference champs the Saskatchewan Roughriders against the Eastern camps, the Montreal Alouettes . The game is the most popular televised event in Canada each year, and the trophy that the winner will hoist is an old one – it was first awarded in 1909. Even if you aren’t a Canadian, this game, which kicks off after 6:30 pm eastern time, is worth a look. To get you up to speed on this contest here are five things you’ll need to know if you aren’t familiar with the league:
Here’s the best of a relatively light day of college football:
Oklahoma State (+8) at Oklahoma – It amazes me that the Cowboys are still getting as little respect as this line indicates given the seasons the two teams have had. This one really matters for the Cowboys, and only counts for pride for Oklahoma.
New Mexico (+44.5) at TCU – Boise State did their job yesterday. Now TCU needs to avoid a humiliating upset to secure a BCS bid. This is a chance for style points for the Horned Frogs.
There was a lot of good sports action yesterday. Here’s a look at the biggest stories to come out of the day:
1. Detroit has a long, long, long way to go. There were a couple of good things going on in their game against Green Bay, but not many. Matthew Stafford looks like a deer in the headlights, and I can’t imagine that getting chased around the field before throwing yet another interception is helping him become a better quarterback. I’m not writing the guy off yet, but this isn’t positive.
Happy thanksgiving from everyone here at Madduxsports.com. We hope you have a great day watching football and basketball with your families, and eating enough food for 16 people.
All the best!
So, when do the Cavs admit that they made a mistake and try to do something about it? And what can they do? Shaq has now missed six games in a row with injury, and he has been a mere shadow of himself when he has played – 11.3 points and 6.9 boards. TheCavs made a big splash getting him to fix their problems up the middle, and they messed up their salary cap this year in the process. If Shaq isn’t the answer then the team won’t likely be able to go all the way, and that means that LeBron is more likely to leave town. I could see management starting to panic soon if something doesn’t change, or if Shaq doesn’t showed both some health and some marked improvement. Panic is always fun to watch – unless the team panicking is one you are a fan of.
I was looking ahead to Thursday’s Thanksgiving football games today when I had a few spare minutes, and something really jumped out at me – this could be a really, really bad day for sportsbooks . The public pays more attention to football on Thanksgiving day than on most days, and the fact that there are three games means that people will be drawn to parlays and teasers even more than usual. The public also has a blind, undying love for the favorites, so it’s bad news for books that there are three very obvious favorites on Thursday. The Packers will be a popular pick over the Lions. The Cowboys are a public favorite at any time, never mind when they are at home against the Raiders. The Giants are popular all the time and will be very popular this week against a freefalling Denver team. Books will be desperately hoping for an upset of some sort or this could be ugly. The worse news from my point of view is that none of those games is particularly riveting. Matthew Stafford showed he had some game yesterday, but the Packers are a significantly better opponent, and it’s not clear how healthy he is. Bruce Gradkowski gave the Raiders a nice boost, but they aren’t at home this time, and they aren’t a good road team. The Giants aren’t playing great football right now, but compared to the Broncos they look like world-beaters. The chances are high that this won’t be a stunning display of football. Last year’s games weren’t any good, so I was hoping for more this year. Maybe next year.
Ha! I knew if I kept doubting the Bengals for long enough they would come through for me. Losing to the Raiders? Really? People have been trying to paint the Bengals as an elite AFC team for a few weeks now, but you can’t be an elite AFC team and let the Raiders score 10 points in the last minute of the game to beat you. What I think we are actually learning about the Bengals is that they are playing in a division that just isn’t as good as we thought it was. We thought that the AFC North was among the best there was, but Baltimore continues to struggle, and Pittsburgh just lost to the Chiefs (of all things). And then there is Cleveland – they couldn’t even protect a massive lead against the pathetic Lions. The Bengals have, in my view, benefited from playing in this troubled conference and look better than they are as a result. Outside of the division their only wins are against the Bears and the Packers – two flawed teams as well. Needless to say, I’m not drinking the Cincinnati kool-aid. This is not a serious contender.
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