Yesterday in Sports: 12/30/14

Yesterday was a very quiet day in sports. There was one firing in the NFL as the Jaguars fired their OC Jedd Fisch. The Jaguars have had a lot of bad seasons recently and look to bounce back sometime soon. Also in the NFL Ndamukong Suh won the appeal of his suspension and will be able to play in Detroit's game against the Cowboys on Sunday.

The MLB off season made some more news yesterday when the Rays signed Asdrubal Cabrera to 1 year deal. Later in the day the Mariners traded Brandon Maurer to the Padres for Seth Smith. He will add some depth to Seattle's outfield.

Their were three bowls yesterday, the first one being the Music City Bowl featured Notre Dame and LSU. ND would win the game 31-28 on a game winning field goal. Boh teams finish their disappointing seasons 8-5. The Belk Bowl featured two ranked teams in Louisville and Georgia. Georgia RB Nick Chubb rushed for 267 yards leading the Bulldogs to a 37-14 win.The final bowl was the Foster Farms bowl featuring Stanford and Maryland. Stanford finished their disappointing season beating Maryland 45-21 and taking home the bowl.

Yesterday in Sports: 12/29/14

Yesterday is known as Black Monday across the football world. Black Monday is the day after the NFL regular season ends and many coaches and GMs are fired. This year all the firings came as expected. The Jets fired HC Rex Ryan and GM John Idzik. The Jets finished 4-12 this year, a lot due to their terrible QB play by Geno Smith and Mike Vick. 

The Bears not only fired their GM (Phil Emery) and HC (Marc Trestman) but they also fired their OC, Aaron Kromer. The Bears were 5-11 this year. Their QB, Jay Cutler, was horrible and is being way over paid. The Falcons also fired their HC, Mike Smith after a tough season. 

Jim Harbaugh was hired by Michigan yesterday after parting ways with the 49ers on Sunday. Harbaugh should be a big boost to Michigan who had a very poor seaso this year.  

Yesterday in Sports: 12/28/14

The NFL brought us an exciting day of football yesterday. The Final AFC Wild Card spot was up for grabs and four teams could have won it, and two of them were paying each other. The Chargers, Chiefs, Ravens and Texans all could have possibly ended up with the final spot, but only one could prevail. If the Chargers won they would get the spot, however the Chargers were playing the Chiefs, who also needed a win to keep their season alive. However San Diego was in luck because backup QB Chase Daniel was starting for KC due to an injury to regular starter, Alex Smith. Yet, Sand Diego would still lose the game, 19-7. The Chargers has lots of chances to score at the end of the game including having the ball 3 times with under 10 minutes left. Although Kansas City won, knocking San Diego out they still needed help. They still needed Baltimore and Houston to lose, lets see how they did.

Houston played against the 3-12 Jaguars, a game they should easily win, except Houston-like KC, was not only on their backup QB but their third QB, Case Keenum. Houston was able to win 23-17 partially due to an amazing defensive performance by JJ Watt. Watt had 6 tackles (4 for a loss) and 3 sacks (including a safety towards the end of the fourth quarter.) With the Texans win the Chiefs were then eliminated from the playoffs leaving the final spot up for grabs between Houston and Baltimore. If the Ravens could beat the Browns they would be headed to the playoffs. Cleveland was winning 10-3 heading in to the fourth quarter but a 17-0 fourth quarter lead but Joe Flacco's 2 TD passes.

Later in the day Green Bay would beat Detroit, the Steelers would beat the Bengals, and the Seahawks would beat the Rams. The table was then set and the playoffs look like this:

Team (My Prediction)
Cardinals (20) @ Panthers (16)
Ravens (20) @ Steelers(31)
Bengals(17) @ Colts(23)
Lions(13) @ Cowboys(31)

Byes: Patriots, Broncos, Seahawks, Packers.
The Playoffs start next week.
 *Note: The Buccaneers will have the first pick of the 2015 NFL draft due to their loss and will likely select Marcus Mariota.

Yesterday in Sports: 12/27/14

Hey guys, sorry for my lack of posting lately, hopefully it won't happen again.

Yesterday in College Football there were five bowls. The Military Bowl featured Cincinnati and Virginia Tech. The first half was close as VT was winning 13-10 when it concluded, however VT outscored Cincinnati by 13 points in the second half to take the win, 33-17. This is Tech's first bowl win since 2012.

In the Sun Bowl Duke took on Arizona State. At the end of the first half Jamison Crowder of Duke returned a punt for 68 yards which made the score 20-17 ASU going into the half. Duke would fall short in the end, despite a strong fourth quarter. The final score was 36-31. This is ASU's third Sun Bowl win.

The Independence Bowl was a good one, as Miami and South Carolina battled it out. Pharoh Cooper of South Carolina had 170 of South Carolina's 284 receiving yards in the game. Although SC was outscored by 8 in the second half they still won 24-21 due to their dominant first half. This marks SC's fourth straight year with a bowl win.

In the 5th annual Pinstripe bowl Penn State took on Boston College. BC, at one point up 21-7 kicked a field goal to go ahead 24-21 with about two minutes left, then PSU marched down the field and tied the game with 20 seconds left. In OT BC scored a TD on their first possession but then missed the PAT. PSU then scored a TD and made the PAT, giving them a 31-30 win.This was PSU's firts bowl game since the 2011 season due to sanctions, and first bowl win since the 2009 season.

In the a high scoring Holiday Bowl USC beat Nebraska 45-42. There was over 1,000 offensive yards in the game including 152 rush yards by Javorius Allen. Since the 2006 season USC is 6-1 in Bowl Games.

In NCAAB undefeated Kentucky handed rival Louisville their first loss of the season, winning 58-50. Kentucky is 13-0 while Louisville is now 11-1.

Attention

I will not be posting over the holidays...next post december 26.

Sorry

Sorry for no post today... NFL week 16 wrap up tomorrow.

Yesterday in Sports: 12/20/14

There were 2 NFL games yesterday, both very important to the playoff hopes of the teams playing in them. The first game was Redskins vs. Eagles. The Redskins won 27-24 which diminishes Philadelphia's playoff chances. Eagle's kicker Cody Parkey missed 2 crucial field goals, which may have changed the outcome of the game. DeSean Jackson of the Redskins had 126 receiving against his former team. The Eagles will be eliminated from playoff contention if Dallas wins today. The Detroit Lions clinched the playoffs due to the Eagle's loss.

The other NFL game yesterday was an extremely exciting game between the Chargers and the 49ers. The Chargers needed a win to keep their playoff hopes alive, however they were trailing 28-7 at half and 35-21 going into the fourth. They managed to tie the game and send it into OT thanks to a Malcom Floyd TD reception from Philip Rivers with 29 seconds left. Rivers threw 4 TDs and 3 INTs. The Chargers would win 38-35 in OT on Nick Novak's 40 yard field goal.

In the NCAAB #24 North Carolina upset #12 Ohio St. 82-74. Both teams now have 9 wins. In the NHL the Blackhawks were upset by the Blue Jackets 3-2 in a shootout. The Hawks now have 46 points while the Blue Jackets have 31.

Yesterday in Sports: 12/19/14

The Padres made quite a few big moves yesterday, mainly by way of trade. But, before they traded anyone they resigned pitcher Josh Johnson. He did not pitch last season due to Tommy John Surgery.They also traded for three players with the best of them being Justin Upton. In return the Padres sent Max Fried, Dustin Peterson, Jace Peterson and Mallex Smith. Upton hit 29 homeruns last year and is a key addition to the padres outfield. They also acquired all-star Derek Norris from the Athletics. He will be the starting catcher, especially due to the fact that they traded their other catcher, Ryan Hanigan the the Red Sox yesterday in exchange for Will Middlebrooks. Middlebrooks had a rough season last year but has proved to be productive in the past. The Marlins continued a successful offseason by trading Nathan Eovaldi, Garrett Jones and Domingo German to the Yankees for MartinPrado and David Phelps. Prado is a very versatile player who has also been a quality hitter recently. Some other signings yesterday are Jake Peavy to the Giants, Corey Hart to the Pirates and David Ross to the Cubs.

In NCAAB the #18 Miami Hurricanes were destroyed 72-44 by Eastern Kentucky. Miami is now 9-2 while E.K. is 6-4.

Player Profile: Leonard Williams

First off, sorry for no summary today, the biggest piece of news from yesterday was the Celtics trading Rajon Rondo to the Mavericks for Brandan Wright, Jae Crowder, Jameer Nelson and draft picks. Rondo will add depth to the Mav's roster. Now, onto the player profile for Leonard Williams.

School: USC

Year: Junior
Position: DE
Home State: Florida 
Age: 20
Height: 6-5
Weight: 300 Lbs.
Position Rank: 1

Leonard Williams is one of the top 2015 NFL draft prospects, although he has not yet declared yet. He had 71 total tackles this year, he also had 6 sacks and 1 interception. He is an extremely good pass rusher and is widely considered the top prospect on the board, which still doesn't mean he will be the first pick.

Today in Sports History: 12/18

1949-Philadelphia Eagles beat LA Rams 14-0, win NFL Championship.
1961-Wilt Chamberlain scores 78 points vs. Lakers

Yesterday in Sports: 12/17/14

The San Diego Padres gained a lot of young talent as part of a three team trade yesterday. They received outfielder Will Myers from Tampa Bay. Myers had a poor 2014 season hitting only .222 but the season before he won Rookie of The Year, hitting .293 with a nice 13 home runs. The other team in the trade was the Nationals who received Trea Turner and Joe Ross. Turner has hit .323 in the minors and could be a very good player in the pros. The Royals signed pitcher Edinson Volquez for 2 years. Last season his ERA was just over 3.00. Also, the Giants resigned RP Sergio Romo for two years. He has had success in the past and is dynamic when he is pitching well.

The San Francisco 49ers released Ray McDonald after his alleged sexual assault. McDonald was arrested earlier in the season for domestic violence. The Chicago Bears announced Jimmy Clausen starter on Sunday vs. the Lions. Original starter Jay Cutler has had a terrible 2014 yet is still being paid more than Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Andrew Luck and Cam Newton combined.

Yesterday in Sports: 12/16/14

A decent amount of news from the MLB yesterday including a big signing from the Marlins.They signed ex-giant Michael Morse for two years. Miami becomes a definite playoff contender with this signing, among others.The San Diego Padres signed free agent pitcher Brandon Morrow for 1 year. He has only started 16 times in the past two seasons. Also in the MLB, the Angels traded Kevin Jepsen to Tampa Bay for Matt Joyce. Both players could make an impact on their new team.

The Warriors 16 game win streak ended last night as the Grizzles beat them 105-98. Marc Gasol has 24 points. Also in the NBA Jabari Parker will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL. He was the 2nd pick of this years draft. In the NHL the Predators beat the Bruins 3-2 in a shootout. Boston has 33 points while the Preds have 42.

Yesterday in Sports: 12/15/14

Two coaches were fired yesterday, one in each the NBA and NHL. In the NHL the Oilers fired their coach, Dallas Eakins. Eakins coached the Oilers to 36-62-14. GM Craig MacTavish will be the interim head coach. In the NBA the Kings fired Mike Malone. In his 106 games with the Kings he had a record of 39-67, he was 11-13 this season. Tyrons Corbin will be the interim.

The Houston Astros signed S Jed Lowrie to a 3 year contract yesterday. Lowrie was a member of the Astros until February 2013. Later, the Royals signed Alex Rios. The deal is 1 year. He hit .280 with 4 HRs last year with the Texas Rangers. The Cubs continued to add to the team as they signed Jason Motte who is a relief pitcher. In 2013 he underwent Tommy John Surgery, he hopes to pitch like he did before the surgery this year. Also, the Yankees re-signed Chase Headley for four years. He will start at 3B over A-Rod this year.

In last nights Monday Night Football the Saints took the lead in the NFC South as they beat the Bears. Jay Cutler threw 3 INTs compared to Drew Brees' 3 TDs. He also had 375 yards.

Yesterday in Sports: NFL Week 15

Many teams clinched their playoff births yesterday, some even clinched their divisions. The Broncos, Patriots and Colts all clinched their division and will all get at least one home game during the playoffs. The Patriots clinched by beating the Miami Dolphins 41-13. The game was close going in to the second half as the Pats lead 14-13, but they outscored Miami 27-0 in the second half. Tom Brady threw for 287 yards and two touchdowns, including a 27 yard touchdown to Rob Gronkowski in the third quarter.

The Broncos beat the Chargers 22-10 in San Diego yesterday. Peyton Manning threw for 233 yards and a TD even though he was playing with flu-like symptoms. Phillip Rivers threw two interceptions and only one touchdown in the loss. C.J. Anderson rushed for 85 yards on 29 attempts for Denver.

The Colts beat the Texans to clinch their division yesterday. The final was 17-10. Luck threw for under 200 yards with 2 TD's while Tom Savage came in for the Texans to replace injured Ryan Fitzpatrick. Savage had 127 yards and 1 interception.

The Cardinals also clinched the playoffs yesterday due to the Eagles loss to the Cowboys, 38-27. The win for Dallas puts them back into first in the NFC East. Mark Sanchez tossed 2 INTs and 0 TDs while Tony Romo lead the Cowboys with 3 TDs and no INTs. The Bill's upset the Packers 21-13. No touchdowns were thrown in this game and both QBs combined for 3 INTs.

In the NBA Kobe Bryant passed Michael Jordan on the all time scoring list, moving into third. It was his 32,293 he passed him on. Kobe is over 6,000 points away from Kareem for 1st on the list...

The Chicago White Sox signed Melky Cabrera to a 3 year contract in the $40 millions. He hit over .300 last season to go along with his 16 HRs.

Yesterday in Sports: 12/13/14

Yesterday was a very predictable day in college football. As predicted by many Marcus Mariota of Oregon won the Heisman trophy. He beat out Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper and Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon. In the 115th Army vs. Navy game Navy predictably won 17-10. Army will finish their season at 4-8 while Navy, 7-5, will play in the Poinsettia Bowl on December 23. This is Navy's 13th straight win in this game.

The Warriors won their 15th straight game yesterday, beating the Mavericks 105-97. Their current winning streak is a franchise record and has helped them to their 20-2 record, good for 1st in the Western Conference. The Columbus Blue Jackets upset the Pittsburgh Penguins yesterday winning  4-3 in a shootout. The Penguins now have 42 points.

Player Profile: Amari Cooper

School: Alabama
Year: Junior
Position: WR
Home State: Florida
Age: 20
Height: 6-1
Weight: 210 Lbs.
Position Rank: 1






Amari Cooper is the third and final Heisman finalist to be featured in my Player Profiles. This season Cooper lead the NCAA with 1656 receiving yards. He also lead the league with 115 receptions. He had more catches this year than his first two seasons combined, He also had 14 receiving touchdowns, which lead the SEC. He was 12th in the SEC in points per game with 10. He had seven 100 yard games including three games over 200 yards. Cooper will likely be a first round pick if he declares for the 2015 NFL draft.

Yesterday in Sports: 12/12/14

Yesterday was a very quite day in sports. After Gary Andersen left Wisconsin for Oregon State it took the Badgers no time to find a new coach. They hired Paul Chryst who was previously coaching Pitt. The Denver Broncos signed Chris Harris Jr. to a five year contract extension. 

The LA Lakers upset the Spurs lead by Nick Young's 29 points, including a late OT three to put LA up two. They won the game 112-110. Kobe Bryant now needs 9 points to pass Michael Jordan for third on all time scorers after his 22 points yesterday. 

The Florida Panthers upset one of the leagues best last night as they beat the Red Wings 3-2 in a shootout. 

Yesterday in Sports: 12/11/14

The Red Sox added pitching depth yesterday as the Winter Meetings came to a close. The Sox added Wade Miley, Rick Porcello and Justin Masterson. Masterson was signed as a free agent hile the others came from trades. Miley cam from Arizona in exchange for Ruby De La Rosa and Allen Webster, both pitchers. The bigger of their two trades came for Porcello as they sent Yoenis Cespedes to Detroit in order to get him. This will greatly improve Boston's horrible staff from last year. The tigers also acquired Alfredo Simon from the Reds. Simon is 33. The Reds then traded another pitcher, Mat Latos, to the Marlins. This should strengthen the Marlin's staff. Also in the MLB the Pardres acquired outfielder Matt Kemp from the Dodgers for Yasmani Grandal, Joe Wieland and Zach Eflin. Kemp had a great season last year and will add some depth to the Padres lineup. The Twins signed free agent pitcher Ervin Santana to a four year contract.

Westbrook and the Thunder ended the Cav's win streak beating them 103-94, however Cleveland was playing without Lebron James. The Boston Bruins lost a close 3-2 game against the Blachawks last night.

In TNF the Cardinals beat the Rams 12-6 in a pathetically low scoring game. No touchdowns were scored and Cardinal's QB Drew Stanton was injured.

Player Profile: Melvin Gordon

School: Wisconsin
Year: Junior
Position: RB
Home State: Wisconsin
Age: 21
Height: 6-1
Weight: 207 Lbs.
Position Rank: 1





Melvin Gordon is the best running back in my player profiles. This season he lead the NCAA with 2,336 rushing yards. He was also top 10 in the league in yards per carry with 7.6. His 26 rushing touchdowns is also good for the top of the NCAA. His 2,336 rushing yards was more than any single player in a season since Kevin Smith of UCF in 2007 (2,567). The highlight of his season was a 408 yard single game record breaking performance in November. He averaged over 15 yards per carry that game. All of his games except for two this season (@OSU, Vs. Western Illinois) were for at least 100 yards with five games over 200 yards. Coincidentally in 2 of the 3 games Wisconsin lost this year Gordon didn't rush for 100 yards. Gordon is a Heisman finalist (although unlikely to win) and should be drafted in the first round of the 2015 NFL draft, which he has already declared for.

Yesterday in Sports: 12/10/14

The MLB off season was once again in the spotlight yesterday. The dodger's moves highlighted yesterday. Their biggest move they made was acquiring Jimmy Rollins. Rollins had spent all of his 15 MLB seasons with the Phillies prior to this. Later in the day they also acquired second baseman Howie Kendrick from the Angels. They sent pitcher Andrew Heaney their in exchange. The reason the Dodgers needed to trade for Kendrick was because earlier in the day they traded Dee Gordon, their old second baseman. He was sent to the Marlins for Andrew Heaney who as I said before was later traded for Howie Kendrick. The Dodgers would later sign starting pitcher Brandon McCarthy to add depth to their already great pitching staff.

In the NCAAF Oregon State hired Gary Andersen. Andersen has been coaching Wisconsin recently leading them to a 19-7 record in two seasons. Also Heisman finalist Melvin Gordon declared for the 2015 NFL draft. He will most likely be a first round pick.

The Warriors, lead by Thompson's 21 points, beat the Rockets 105-93 to earn their 14th straight victory.

Today in Sports History: 12/10

1939- The Green Bay Packers beat the New York Giants to win the NFL Championship.

1988- The Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadiens played to the first scoreless tie in NHL history. This can no longer happen due to the fact there can't be ties.

1992- The NHL gave Miami and Anaheim NHL teams for the 1994-95 season.

Yesterday in Sports: 12/9

Jon Lester finally decided who he will be playing for in 2015, the Chicago Cubs. The deal is 6 years and 155$ Million. The Cubs also traded for Miguel Montero. They send Jefferson Majia to the Diamondbacks in return. The Pirates re-signed pitcher Francisco Liriano to a three year deal. The Braves signed free agent Alberto Callaspo. He is a utility infielder.

The Cleveland Browns announced that Johnny Manziel will start Sunday over Brian Hoyer. Hoyer has struggled recently. Cam Newton was involved in a car accident yesterday where he got two transverse fractures in his back. He will not start Sunday vs. the Bucs.

In the NHL the Capitals upset the Lightning 5-3. The caps have 30 points and the Bolts have 39. The Jazz upset the Spurs last night 100-96. The Spurs drop to 15-6.

Yesterday in Sports: 12/8

The MLB off season dominated the sports world yesterday. The A's have spent quite a bit of time this off season losing talent and that continued yesterday. The first big move yesterday was when the Cubs signed ex-Athletic Jason Hammel. Hammel is a starting pitcher and signed a two year deal. Shortly after Hammel signed the A's lost more talent when they traded 1st baseman Brandon Moss to the Indians. All the A's received back for this was infielder Joe Wendle. The A's lost even more talent as they traded starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija to to the White Sox. Oakland will receive Marcus Semien and Chris Bassitt in return. The Whitesox also added relief pitcher David Roberts for four years. Roberts was a free agent.

The Ottawa Senators fired head coach Paul Mclean. Ottawa was in the midst of a five game losing streak and had a record of 11-11-5. This would have been his fourth full season of  coaching the Sens had he finished the season. Dave Cameron will take over as the head coach.

In last nights Monday Night Football game the Packers defeated the Falcons 43-37. The Packers lead after the first half 31-7 but were outscored by 18 in the second half, however they still managed to win. The Pack improve to 10-3 as the Falcons drop to 5-8.

The Warriors won their 13th straight last night as they beat the Timberwolves 102-86. Golden State was lead by Stephen Curry's 21 points and 7 assists. The Rangers beat the Penguins 4-3 in OT to get their 28th point of the year. The Penguins have 39.  

Player Profile: Marcus Mariota

School: Oregon
Year: Junior
Position: QB
Home state: Hawaii
Age: 21
Height: 6-4
Weight: 219 Lbs.
Position Rank (By me): 1





Marcus Mariota will kick of my college athlete player profiles. This season he his the Heisman front runner, and is very worthy. This year he has thrown 38 touchdowns compared to only 2 interceptions. Only four quarterbacks through for more yards than him (3,783) and he had the sixth best completion percentage (68.3%). He averaged over 10 yards per attempt which leads the NCAA. His 38 touchdowns are good for 2nd in the NCAA. Along with an amazing passing season Mariota was also a very solid rusher. He rushed for 669 yards along with 14 touchdowns. His 14 rushing touchdowns ranked 20th among all NCAA players. This season he threw eight less interceptions this year than Jameis Winston did last year when he won the Heisman. He also has more yards and touchdowns than 2012 Heisman winner Johnny Manziel had in his Heisman season. Marcus Mariota deserves to win the Heisman and be the #1 draft pick if he declares.

Yesterday in Sports: NFL Week 14

The only major upset coming from this week in the NFL was the Panthers over the Saints. The upset itself was not a huge shock, due to the terrible NFC South this year, but it was the fashion it was done in as the Panthers blew them out, 41-10, in New Orleans. Andre Luck lead the Colts on a late game comeback to beat the Browns 25-24. In the late game last night the Patriots beat the Chargers 24-13. The Chargers scored all their points in the second quarter yet somehow managed to take the lead into the 4th, but the patriots would score 10 points in the fourth and prevail. In an NFC North match up the Steelers doubled the Bengals score winning 42-21. In a huge NFC match up the Seahawks defeated the Eagles 24-14. The Eagles only had nine first downs all game...

The LA Galaxy won the MLS Cup yesterday defeating the Revolution 2-1 in extra time.

Marcus Mariota: Player Profile Later today.

Today in Sports History: 12/7

1937: The Red Sox acquired the contract of Ted Williams. At the time Williams was 19 years old. Williams would go on to later be a Hall of Famer.

1939: Lou Gehrig was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was inducted two years before he died. He died June 2, 1941 at the age of 37. He died of ALS or what is now known as Lou Gerhrig disease.

College Football Playoffs-Final Rankings

A few minutes ago the first ever College Football Playoff Selection Show revealed the top six teams. They are as follows:
1. Alabama
2. Oregon
3. Florida St.
4. Ohio St.
5. Baylor
6. TCU
Now, lets see how they got here:
Alabama- The Crimson Tide finished the season with a 12-1 record. Their season concluded last night in the SEC title game as they blew out Missouri 42-13. The one blemish to their record came to a good Ole Miss team in early October. Alabama had a top five strength of schedule yet still managed only the one loss.

Oregon-The Ducks also finished the season with a 12-1 record. They won the Pac-12 Championship 51-13 over a top 10 Arizona team. They were lead by Heisman favorite Marcus Mariota. Their one loss was to Arizona who they got their revenge on Friday night.

Florida State-The Seminoles once again went undefeated this season. However QB Jameis Winston did not have nearly as good a season this year as he did last year. Florida State beat Georgia Tech 37-35 in last nights ACC Championship. However FSU is not ranked higher due to their close games against un-ranked teams like Boston College and Florida.

Ohio St.-The Buckeyes were not ranked in the top four before today's selection show. OSU was boosted by their 59-0 Big 10 Championship game win over #13 Wisconsin. OSU won this game with their 3rd string QB Cardale Jones. They finished the season 12-1 with their only defeat coming to Virginia Tech.

TCU and Baylor just barely missed the cut, however they will still play in a new bowl.

Alabama and OSU will play in the Sugar Bowl on New Years. Oregon and FSU will play in the Rose Bowl, also on New Years.

Yesterday in Sports: 12/6

Yesterday was Championship Saturday in college football. I will be posting a CFB special after the final rankings come out today but in this post I will post my projected top 6:
(What I think it Will be/What I think it should be)
1. Alabama/Alabama
2. Oregon/Oregon
3. TCU/Ohio St.
4.Florida St./Baylor
5. Ohio St./Florida St.
6. Baylor/TCU
College football special out later.

In other sports news #3 Arizona barely beat #9 Gonzaga in College Basketball. Arizona won 66-63 in OT to improve to 8-0 as Gonzaga drops to 7-1. In the NHL two of the leagues top teams were upset as the Stars upset the Canadiens 4-1 and Columbus upset Tamba Bay 3-1. The Golden State Warriors defeated the Bulls 112-102 to win their 12th straight. They improve to 17-2 on the season.

More posts coming later today.

New Feature

Today I am going to start a couple of new types of posts. The first type is This day in sports. I will go back to this date in the past and post a headline or two and talk about it. Also I'll be posting Draft Profiles. I will do this for college football and later for college basketball. I will release my first this day in sports tomorrow and draft profiles the next day. These will alternate days for the time being.

Yesterday in Sports: 12/5/14

First off, sorry about no post yesterday. I will try and make sure it doesn't happen again. Now, to yesterday is sports.

In yesterday nights Pac-12 Title game the Oregon Ducks DESTROYED Arizona by a score of 51-13. With this commanding win by Oregon over a top seven team they have pretty much guaranteed themselves a spot in the College Football Playoff. Marcus Mariota continued to prove why he should win the Heisman by rushing for three TDs and throwing for another two. Mariota also threw for over 300 yards.

In a match up of top ten college basketball teams #1 Kentucky beat #6 Texas 63-51. Kentucky junior, Willie Cauley-Stein, had an insane game for the Wildcats. He lead the game in Points, rebounds, steals and blocks. Big day for the MLB, the AL East in particular as the Rays hire a new manager and the Yankees make a couple transactions as they acquire Didi Gregorius from the D-Backs. Gregorius will replace Derek Jeter for the time being. They also signed relief pitcher Andrew Miller for four years. He has had an ERA under 3.00 the past couple seasons. Tampa Bay hired Kevin Cash as their new manager, he will replace Joe Maddon who recently left for the Cubs.

Bear's receiver Brandon Marshall is out for the season with Broken Ribs. He has had a decent season to this point finishing with 8 TDs and 721 yards.

Yesterday in Sports: 12/3/14

The 76ers finally won a game last night! With the 85-77 win over the Timberwolves the 76ers improve to 1-17. The Atlanta Braves signed free agent Nick Markakis to a four year contract. Markakis had spent the previous nine years of his career with Baltimore. In a match up of to top four teams in the NCAAB Duke beat Wisconsin 80-70. Duke is now 8-0 while Wisconsin is 7-1.

In some sadder news NHL great Jean Beliveau passed away. He was 83. He spent his whole career with the Montreal Canadiens. RIP to a very great hockey player.

Yesterday in Sports: 12/02/14

The College Football Rankings came out last night and look like this:

1 Alabama
2 Oregon
3 TCU
4 Florida State
5 Ohio State
6 Baylor
7 Arizona
8 Michigan State
9 Kansas State
10 Mississippi State
11 Georgia Tech
12 Ole Miss
13 Wisconsin
14 Georgia
15 UCLA
16 Missouri
17 Arizona State
18 Clemson
19 Auburn
20 Oklahoma
21 Louisville
22 Boise State
23 Utah
24 LSU
25 USC

I had the top 6 predicted exactly in my College Football Special this weekend. Also in college football Michigan fired head coach Brady Hoke after he had coached the Wolverines for four seasons. After winning a Sugar Bowl in his first season he could not improve and only went downhill. Michigan is a prime coaching job that is now available. 

With under five seconds left in the Magic vs. Warriors NBA game yesterday Stephen Curry hit a 3-pointer to give the Warriors a 98-97 win. This is Golden States 10th straight win.

The St. Louis Blues signed 42 year old goalie Martin Brodeur to a one year contract. This is mostly because of Blue's goalie Brian Elliott's knee injury.

In MLB free agency news the Twins signed Torii Hunter who will return to his original team.

Yesterday in Sports: December 1st

The biggest news from yesterday came from the MLB as the Mariners signed free agent Nelson Cruz. The deal four years and worth $57 Million. Last season Cruz lead the MLB hitting 40 home runs while playing for Baltimore. Cruz will join short stop Robinson Cano in Seattle. In the NBA the 76ers lost their 17th straight game to open the seasons. They lost to the Spurs who were playing without Tony Parker and Tim Duncan. If they lose their next game tomorrow against the Timberwolves they will tie the NBA record for losses to start a season. The NHL's best two teams both played last night as the Canadiens beat the Avalanche and Tampa Bay destroyed the Rangers 6-3. Both teams now have 36 points.

In last nights Monday Night Football game the Dolphins beat the Jets 16-13. The Jets were winning 10-3 at half but did a very Jets like thing and blew it in the second. The Jets rushed for 277 yards but passed for under 100. With the win the Dolphins now hold the last playoff spot in the AFC.

How Bowls Should Work

I currently believe the college football should change the way they chose who plays in each bowl. This year there will be 38 bowl games played wrapped up with the national championship which would be 39. The way the top four teams are placed into a bowl works perfectly. The big bowls (Rose, Cotton, Peach, Fiesta, Orange, Sugar) will all alternate who hosts the national semifinals and the other four will be played by various other top teams. That's not the problem. The problem is the rest of the bowls and I will explain how to fix that.

First off most of the bowls are set so they contain teams from the ACC vs. SEC or various other combinations. That should change. The committee should be aloud to put who they want to put in a bow in order to generate the best bowl games. For example Boston College and Notre Dame are big rivals. This year they both finished 7-5. Put them in a bowl. That would get more fans and turn a pointless bowl no one cares about into a great rivalry game.

The committee needs to take things like that into consideration if they want to change the toilet bowl, into a money making machine.

Yesterday in Sports: NFL week 13

Although the name of this post is NFL week 13 I will also briefly touch upon some other news. Only one NHL game last night as the Red Wings defeated the Canucks 5-3. Both teams now have 33 points standings wise. In the NBA the Lakers upset the Raptors in OT 129-122. Kobe Bryant made history in this game becoming the first player in NBA history with at least 6,000 assists and 30,000 points. This could be shocking to some because many say Kobe never passes. The Nebraska football team fired coach Bo Pelini. This was rather surprising because they had at least nine wins in all seven seasons under Pelini.

Now, onto the NFL. In the biggest game of the weekend Aaron Rodgers and the Packers took down Brady and the Pats. With the Pack up 16-14 with under a minute remaining in the half Rodgers threw a 45 yard TD pass to Jordy Nelson to extend the lead to nine points at half. Down five in the fourth the packs were forced to a field goal try, which was missed giving the ball to Green Bay. The Pats D was not able to slow down Rodgers and running back Eddie Lacy and the Packers went on to win 26-21. Both teams are now 9-3.

Phillip Rivers lead the Chargers on a late TD drive to beat the Ravens 34-33. The Rams demolished the Raiders, winning 52-0. This was behind a 117 yard performance by Tre Mason and the Ram's defense who forced five turnovers. The Falcons upset the Cardinals 29-18 and during the late game the Broncos handled the Chiefs, 29-16.

During the Browns 26-10 loss to the Bills Johnny Manziel made his first NFL appearance. He lead an 80 yard TD drive in the fourth capped off by his 10 yard TD run. It is still unknown if he will start or not.

Larger post coming later today.

Quick Annoucement

AS you may have noticed most of my post have been coming in the morning. On Monday-Friday my post will come out around 3 pm and they will continue the same time on the weekends and holidays.

Kickers Are People Too!

Many people believe that a NFL team or NCAAF team would do just fine without a good kicker. In some cases this may be true, for example Mississippi is only 10/14 (71%), yet they have only lost two games and will most likely still be ranked in the top 10 after this week. However in most cases this is not true, this post will explain how a good kicker can not only transform the outcome of a game, but a whole season.

Some kickers may be good most of the time, but not when it matters. In last nights Florida vs. Florida State game Florida kicker Austin Hardin went 4/6 kicking field goals. Those two missed field goals add up too six points Florida could of had. The final score to that game was 24-19, Florida would have won if those field goals had gone in. Had Florida won that would have been a major upset. Florida very possibly would not be in the top four after a loss and therefore would most likely not make the four team playoff.

Not only can a kicker effect a game but also a season. In this case it is not only a kicker, it is three kickers. Mike Knoll, Alex Howell and Joey Launceford. These 3 combined to go 11/18 (61%) kicking field goals. They also went a pathetic 32/38 (84.2%) on extra points. For crying out loud North Carolina who kicked 50% on field goals were 12% more efficient on extra points than the eagles. Four of the six extra points were missed by Launceford, who made 100% of the field goals he attempted. Each of the other kickers missed one extra point.

Now, how did this terrible kicking lead to a season worse than it could have been? Well that's simple. It all starts back in week 2 vs. Pittsburgh. The final of the game was 30-20 Pitt. BC kicker Alex Howell missed a 46 yard field goal in the first quarter. If that field goal was made the game BC would have been down 7 points with 43 seconds left and only 55 yards for a touchdown. Had they been down only one possession opposed to two they would have had more time to work with and may not have thrown an interception. They could have gone on to win the game.

Their kicking woes continued week 5 vs Colorado State. They would lose the game 24-21, and of course Howell missed a 44 yard field goal in the second quarter. Three weeks later BC went on to play #24 Clemson. The final score to the game was 17-13 Clemson. In the fourth quarter Mike Knoll missed an extra point putting BC up 13-10 opposed to 14-10. Clemson scored a few minutes later going up by four. With less than a minute left BC could have attempted a 48 yard field goal but instead opted to go for it because a field goal would not have tied it and they needed a touchdown. Had they hit the extra point and then went on to kick that field goal they could have upset Clemson.

Last weekend unbeaten Florida State beat BC 20-17. Alex Howell missed a go ahead field goal late. Florida St. then marched down the field and kicker Roberto Aguayo (only missed 2 field goals all year) hit a go ahead field goal to seal the deal.

That is four of BC's five losses that potentially could have been won. That could have mad BC's recors 11-1 which would have been good to win the ACC Atlantic and they'd be playing for the ACC Championship next week against Georgia Tech and potentially in the running for a National Title.

So you see, kickers are people too.

College Football Special: 11/29/14

Rivalry Weekend was a great one this week. The biggest game of the weekend was the Iron Bowl played between Auburn and Alabama. The Tide wanted to bounce back from the tough Iron Bowl loss last year. After a tough first half last night for Blake Sims and the Tide they dominated the second half out scoring the Tigers 34-18 in the half and eventually taking the game 55-44 in the highest scoring Iron Bowl ever. Before the game even started Bama knew they has clinched the SEC West due to Mississippi States loss to Rival Ole Miss. #19 Ole Miss upset their rival, the #4 Bulldogs 31-17 essentially ending their playoff hopes. In Will Muschamp's final game as Florida's head coach he almost pulled off the upset against rival Florida St, yet the Seminoles remain undefeated. Jameis Winston threw four interceptions in this game and is lucky the Gators couldn't capitalize on them. Winston now is 4th among all FBS quarterbacks with 17 interceptions...that's more than one a game! #6 Ohio St. beat rival Michigan 42-28 improving to 11-1, 8-0 in the BIG 10. They will face Wisconsin in the BIG 10 Championship game as the Badgers defeated Minnesota 34-24 in the battle to play Ohio St. However Ohio St. is without quarterback J.T. Barrett broke his ankle and will miss the remainder of the season. The ACC had a good day as Georgia Tech defeated Georgia 30-24 in a crazy overtime game. Georgia Tech tied the game with a 53 yard field goal to end regulation and went on to win in OT. They will play Florida St. in the ACC championship next week. Louisville of the ACC defeated Kentucky, another SEC team, 44-40. Baylor barely survived the scare from un-ranked Texas Tech as they stopped the two point try towards the end of the game to secure the win 48-46. In the third quarter Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty was diagnosed with a concussion in the third quarter and did not finish the game. This could be a big blow to the Bears if he is not healthy for next Saturday's game against #12 Kansas St. In a less meaningful game USC spanked Notre Dame 49-14. The Trojans improve to 8-4 but even more importantly Notre Dame drops their fourth straight and now has a 7-5 record. All in all it was a great day in college football!

After some big teams fell their should be a shake up in the rankings so I will tell you what I think the top 10 should be.

#1-Alabama
#2-Oregon
#3-TCU
#4-Florida State
#5-Ohio State
#6-Baylor
#7-Mississippi State
#8-UCLA
#9-Michigan State
#10-Arizona

You may think Florida State should be higher, however I completely disagree. Only two of their wins are against opponents who could potentially be ranked after this week (Clemson/Louisville) and FSU barely beat Boston College, Miami, and Oklahoma State. The most wins any of those teams has is 7 (Boston College). However FSU deserves to be ranked just due to the fact they went undefeated in a power conference. You could make an argument that Ohio State is better than TCU, but with the loss of J.T. Barrett it is unknown what OSU can do in the future. That's just my opinion.

Later today: Kicker are People Too

Yesterday in Sports: 11/29/14

Yesterday belonged to college football. In fact yesterday was so filled with college football I am not even going to talk about it in this post. It will get its own post later today. DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors was diagnosed Saturday with a torn tendon in his left groin. The injury was suffered during the Raptor's game on Friday, he is out indefinitely. In other NBA news the Mavericks beat the 76ers 110-103 handing them their 16th straight loss to start the season. The 76ers are two losses away from tying the Net's record for most losses to start a season at 18. In the NHL the Rangers beat the Flyers for the third time in their past five games winning 5-2 lead by Derick Brassard's two goals. The Sabres upset the Canadiens 4-3 in a shootout to pick up their 8th win of the season. Very quite day in the MLB off season as well as the NFL.

Later Today:
College Football Special
and also
Kickers Are People Too-Why Kickers Matter

Yesterday's Summary: Black Friday

Yesterday the NHL and NBA got their day after the NFL dominated Thanksgiving. The NHL schedule was highlighted by the Rangers 3-0 shutout of the Flyers in which Cam Talbot stopped all 26 shots against recording his second straight shutout. Martin St. Louis recorded his 1,000 career point in this game with a goal and an assist. He is the 81st player to record 1,000 points in a career. In the NBA Russell Westbrook returned for the Thunder in their 105-78 route of the Knicks. In only 24 minutes Westbrook scored 32 points to go along with his eight assists. The Warrior's continued their winning ways defeating the Hornets. This is the Warriors eighth straight win as the improve to 13-2. In college football Missouri defeated Arkansas 21-14 to clinch a spot in the SEC championship game, also Arizona defeated rival Arizona St. 42-35 to clinch a spot in the Pac-12 championship. Ray Rice won his appeal of his suspension and is allowed to play again, however he still needs to find a team that will sign him. It is very risky to take a chance on Rice, especially this late in the season, but I found some contenders who could possibly use a boost in the running game. The Arizona Cardinals are second to last in the league when it comes to rushing this year, (862 yards) and with Drew Stanton as their quarter back they might want to sign him. The Atlanta Falcons also have a weak rushing offence this season. They are averaging under 100 yards per game and if they want to win the weak NFC South they need to rush more often. Just due to the fact of the crime Ray Rice committed and also that last year Ray Rice had fourth least yards per carry in the NFL he may not be the best option for any team. In other news a big trade took place in the MLB last night. The Oakland Athletics traded 28 year old third baseman Josh Donaldson to the Blue Jays. Last season Donaldson hit 29 home runs and tallied 98 RBIs. In return the A's received Brett Lawrie, Kendall Graveman, Sean Nolin and Franklin Barreto. That concluded yesterday's big day of sports.

Martin St. Louis was not drafted. He played for the University of Vermont for four years concluding in 1997. After not being drafted he signed with the Calgary Flames in 1998. In 69 games for the Flames throughout two seasons he recorded only 20 points. In 2000 he would sign with Tampa Bay Lightning who would be his home for the next 13 years. He tallied 953 points in his lightning career including an 102 point season in 2006-07. In 2003-04 he won the Hart Memorial Trophy (MVP), and as of last night he now has 1,000 points. Congratulations, Martin St. Louis!

Today's Summary: Thanksgiving 2014

Yesterday was a rather quiet day in most sports. There was only one  NHL game and no NBA games. In the one NHL game the Predators continued their strong start to the season defeating the Edmonton Oilers 1-0 in overtime, the goal was scored by Filip Forsberg. However the most important sporting events yesterday were the three football games. All three games were blowouts.The lions beat the bears 34-17 lead by an 146 yard two touchdown performance by Calvin Johnson. The Cowboy's recent struggles continued against the Eagles as they dropped their 3 game in the past 5 weeks. Tony Romo struggled for the Cowboys trowing two interceptions and no touchdowns. LeSean McCoy went off for the eagles with 159 yards including a 38 yard touchdown run. In the late game the Seahawks shut down the 49ers allowing only three points. Richard Sherman intercepted Kaepernick twice on their road to victory, which leads me to my larger piece for the day.

Richard Sherman and Calvin Johnson. When you here these names you think stars. This season they had lost some of that, but yesterday they got it back. Prior to Thursday's game Megatron had only two games with over 100 receiving yards, three touchdowns and much of his season was plagued with injuries. Yesterday he had more targets in a game (11) than he has had in any game for over a year. This was also his first multiple touchdown game since week one. On the other side of the field Richard Sherman had more interceptions in last nights game than he had had all season (1) prior to that. This was Sherman's first game against the 49ers since the NFC championship game last season. As most people know Sherman split up the last play of that game and then went on to say "I'm the best corner in the game. When you try me with a sorry receiver like {Michael} Crabtree, that is the result you are going to get. Don't you ever talk about me," This season Sherman has not been able to prove his what he said, but tonight he gained some of his mojo back.

Stats from ESPN.com

First Post

Hello,
           Welcome to Today In Sports. I will be writing a daily summary about the day in sports around 8:00 P.M. eastern time. Along with that I will write a larger piece about the sports story that I feel is the biggest that day. My first posts will start on Thanksgiving.