Sports Blog

The Most Substantial Occurrences During The Indy and New Orleans Super Bowl

This year’s Super Bowl was definitely one that kept all the fans of the game watching it and getting so much out of it, just like the last two Super Bowl games were. That is so refreshing when you think about the games that took place in prior years before these three and how they were just disappointing to the fans.

Now, the Indianapolis Colts were heavily favored to come away with the victory at the Super Bowl, but, much to everyone’s surprise, the New Orleans Saints won instead. This was largely due to the fantastic way that Drew Brees and the rest of the Saint’s offense performed in the game; however, their defense did equally as well when dealing with the Colt’s quarterback, Peyton Manning.

Let’s take a look at a few of the top stories from Super Bowl XLIV. If you missed out on the game, here are the things you should know about.

He started off a little shaky, but once that passed, Drew Brees had an almost perfect game. He began it by only getting three completions from the first seven attempts, but then he went on to complete 29 out of the next 32 attempts. He finished the game with an impressive total of 32 completions out of 39 attempts with 288 yards, no turnovers and 2 touchdown passes.  Read more...

Will The Ravens Make It To The Big Game?

The Baltimore Ravens are, what many sports enthusiasts would call, infants in the NFL. The originated in Cleveland, and after much debate, Art Modell finally got his wish of moving them to Baltimore. They did not have their own stadium, at first, so they plated in Memorial Stadium, home of the Colts. It only took two years for their stadium to be ready; although, the name of the stadium changed numerous times over the next ten years (it took some time for the team to settle in).

After they moved to their new stadium, the Ravens did not overly improve their game, not even with coach Marchibroda. Their first season ended at a 6-10 record, nothing overly impressive. After only two years, in their new stadium, the head coached was replaced with Billick. Billick’s first season, with the Ravens proved to be a difficult one. Once the team got over the hump of having a new coach, and a few rough years behind them, they ended their ‘99 season with a 8-8 record; the best they’d seen yet.  Read more...

The Chicago Bears – A Hopeful 2010 Season

The Chicago Bears, beloved NFL franchise since 1919, have had many glorious years, with many more to come. This is one of those old-time teams that has a place in the hearts of thousands; a team full of passion and fight, a team that does what it takes to get to the end. Two short years after they were founded, the Bears began their rivalry with the Green Bay Packers, one thing fans can count on year in and year out. One year after this rivalry began, the Bears took their current colors, and have kept them ever since. That is one of the great things about this team, besides their talent, the fact that they are stable and are not going anywhere anytime soon.

Wrigley Field, another popular field to Chicagoans, was used as the Bears’ stomping grounds in the old days, mostly for scrimmage games. The team, obviously, needed a stadium they could call home, which they had not too long after they were a team, a stadium we all know as Soldier Field. Over the years the stadium has taken a lot of abuse, and required quite a bit of remodeling. The entire stadium was pretty much tore down and rebuilt by 2003, leaving only one wall from the original stadium. The new stadium was so different and new, in fact, that it was even renamed the Soldier Field II.  Read more...

A Fierce Matchup In The Works

Every generation of football sees the emergence and prevalence of a few elite quarterbacks. In the 80s and 90s, we saw the likes of Montana, Elway, Marino, and Aikman dominating the sport. Currently, quarterbacks like Manning, Favre, Brady, and Brees are clearly the best in the game.

Very rarely do we see two of the best quarterbacks in the sport facing off against one another in the Super Bowl. This year, the football world will be privileged enough to enjoy such an opportunity. Not only is this the case, but many believed that both teams were tops in the league through the course of the season.

Both the Saints and Colts won their first 14 games, leading many to speculate as to whether these teams would go undefeated through the course of the entire season.

Now, they have a chance to showcase their abilities once more in a game that is sure to result in a very high final score. This will be an offensive battle at its finest in Miami.

While both of them lost a few games during the last few weeks of the season, many would attribute this to the fact that they no longer needed to win more games in order to secure home field advantage.  Read more...

Football Offensive Line Drills, How Champions Are Made

Most people will have differing opinions when you ask them what the most important position is on a football field. Some will more than likely say the quarterback, and some will tell you the name of another position. However would any of these positions really be able to score effectively without the offensive linemen?

It is for this reason that the offensive linemen must be in shape. If they are out of shape in anyway they will effectively create a whole in their line allowing for the other teams defenders to break through and essentially attack their quarterback. The drills that the linemen have help teach them to be quick, strong and to definitely build muscle.

The first drill ends up placing one offensive lineman at the bottom of a hill. Placed on the hill are 2 defensive linemen. The offensive linemen in this case linemen 1 needs to push one of them up the hill as quickly as he can. Once the whistle is then blown the 1st linemen then needs to switch to the 2nd defender and try to push him up the hill as well. This is an extremely ravaging exercise that helps the linemen build strength, stamina, and endurance.  Read more...

Argos’ Home Woes Continue In CFL Loss To Stampeders

Judy Garland famously said in her role as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz that theres no place like home. The Toronto Argonauts would likely take issue with that sentiment. On Friday night, the Argos lost a close one to the Calgary Stampeders at the Rogers Centre by a final score of 23-20.

Calgary hasnt done well in Toronto in recent years,and Henry Burris was happy with the victory despite the Argos recent struggles on their own field:

“Rogers Centre has never been a fun place for us to play. We’ve had some tough games here against some hard-hitting Argos teams. This team has been through a lot and with the belief we have in one another, we were able to fight back and respond when it really counted.”

Toronto could have tied the game, but Argos coach Bart Andrus kept the offense on the field for a last ditch effort to score a touchdown rather than go for the tie.

Placekicker Justin Medlock had missed a 57 yard kick earlier this season”his only miss of the year. Andrus is already hearing some criticism of this decision, and he addressed it after the game:  Read more...

NY Giants Open NFL Season With Win Over Washington

The New York Giants jumped out to a 17-0 lead against their NFC East rivals from Washington, and were never threatened as they went on to beat the Redskins by a final score of 23-17. Defensive stalwart Osi Umenyiora returned from a serious knee injury and scored a touchdown on a fumble return, while the Giants offense controlled the ball well and completely dominated the time of possession. The Giants held a lopsided edge of 36:08 to 23:52 in that department, which helped them overcome a couple of turnovers.

NFL sports betting enthusiasts who took the Redskins as +5 road underdogs were likely not heartened by the near miss on a backdoor cover. The Redskins scored a touchdown with 1:30 left to get within a ” point of the spread but the Giants still got the cover by the slimmest of margins. The Skins dropped to 13-17 ATS over the past three years with the setback, while New York improved their pointspread mark to an impressive 27-11 against the number. NFL totals players also witnessed a late game change of fortune due to the Skins touchdown, with the 7 points pushing the point total OVER the posted 37.  Read more...

Steelers Over Cards In Superbowl Rematch

The Pittsburgh Steelers used a 17 point fourth quarter outburst to break open a close game and send the Arizona Cardinals to defeat by a 20-10 score in a NFL preseason rematch of this years Superbowl. The two teams traded first half field goals and played a scoreless third quarter before Pittsburgh turned up the offense late in the game.

NFL bettors who favored the defending Superbowl champions in this matchup cashed their tickets as the Steelers covered as -3 home favorites. The combined 30 points scored stayed UNDER the posted total of 33.

The big catalyst for the Steelers offense was undrafted rookie Issac Redman out of Bowie State. Redman, listed as the Steelers #7 depth chart running back scored two rushing touchdowns in the decisive fourth quarter run. The big short yardage back had already impressed the Pittsburgh coaching staff in practice, but he knew that he had to take advantage of the opportunities to demonstrate his skills in a game situation:

“This team prides itself on being able to find those free agents that are capable of playing. Hopefully I can be that next free agent. I knew I had to make an impression, or I might not even make it to the first preseason game.”  Read more...

Lions Look To Regain Momentum With CFL Win Over Roughriders

The BC Lions may have turned the corner after a disappointing 1-4 start to the CFL season. This past weekend, a clearly motivated Lions team defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders 35-20 to improve to 2-4 in CFL play. The Roughriders dropped to 3-3 in the early going in the CFL season.

Lions defensive end Brent Johnson said that the motivation for this game was simple”his team was just sick of losing:

“We were sick of losing. That was our only option – to win tonight. This was the must wins of must wins.”

Johnson led a tenacious Lions defense with three QB sacks. Overall, the BC stop unit combined for five QB sacks and three interceptions in their best performance of the season.

Lions running back Martell Mallett caught one touchdown pass, ran for another and generally made himself a thorn in the side of the Riders defense all night. After the game, he praised the play of his offensive line:

“We just went out there and executed. The offensive line blocked well. I was just hitting the holes. They opened it for me and I got in it.”  Read more...

Football Flashback: Gators Stay Atop College Football With Win Over Vols

Tennessee put up a gutty effort against #1 ranked Florida in The Swamp, but ultimately the Gators defense were too much for the Vols. Florida held Tennessee to 210 yards of total offense en route to a 23-13 SEC victory on Saturday and in the process won their school record 13th consecutive game. The Vols fell to 2-7 all time when playing a #1 ranked team. Florida has now beaten Tennessee in five straight, and has won 10 of the last 12 meetings at home.

Sports gamblers who took the points with UT in their bet on college football were smiling at the end, as Florida never really threatened to cover as -29 home favorites. Despite the ATS setback, Florida’s pointspread records remain outstanding–they’re 20-7 ATS overall in the past three years, as well as 13-4 ATS in SEC games and 10-3 ATS at home. The 36 points scored went well UNDER the posted total of 52.

Florida QB Tim Tebow didn’t have a great day, though he did rush for a touchdown. On the other hand, he failed to put a touchdown pass on the board for the first time in 30 games. He sounded almost disappointed that the Gators weren’t able to dish out more of a beating to their hated rivals:  Read more...