NFL Week 13

The Thanksgiving Day Feast

Three games in a row last Friday, all in honour of a holiday which we kiwis care nothing for. Fair trade. First up the Lions made a big step towards the playoffs by crushing the directionless Packers. Calvin Johnson had 101 yards and a TD. The Dallas made similar strides in taking care of Oakland despite a rough start. The ‘Boys managed to find a run game for once, and were led by a confident and composed Tony Romo. Then Baltimore held off the Packers in a tight one, where Le’veon Bell was denied a TD for being concussed, Pittsburgh failed a 2-pt conversion at the death and Baltimore still can’t get Ray Rice moving in a forward direction. But a win’s a win, and they’ve got 6 of ‘em now (5-1 at home).

Elsewhere in the National Football League…

Seattle reiterated just how invincible they are at home by pulverising the in-form Saints 34-7, with help from Russell Wilson, Zach Miller and a raucous crowd. The first seed is basically there’s for the taking, and with home field advantage in the playoffs, this is a frightening team to match up with. Denver are scary too, for offensive reasons. They beat up KC for the second time in three weeks. Is Peyton’s armoury the battering ram that could break down Seattle’s defences? That’s the ideal Superbowl as things stand.

Meanwhile important wins for San Francisco, Cincinnati, Miami, Philadelphia and New England. Carolina’s streak continues, the Jags and Falcons actually won games, and devastating losses to NY Jets and San Diego threaten their playoff chances.

NFL Power Rankings

Seattle Seahawks
Denver Broncos
Carolina Panthers
New Orleans Saints
San Francisco 49ers

Going Streaking

Carolina Panthers: 8 consecutive wins

Nick Foles: 19 TDs in 2013 without before throwing an interception

Seattle Seahawks: 14 consecutive home wins

Russell Wilson: 6 consecutive multi-TD pass games

The Modern Coaches Handbook

When one does find themselves out of timeouts, with a desire to stop the game clock, one ought to find a plastic cup full of some indistinguishable liquid, and conspire to spill it upon the court so as to force a stoppage in play to clean the mess. Walking into a player is recommended.

If one should find themselves within the vicinity of an opposition kick returner streaming down the sideline towards a likely touchdown, simply step forward into his running lane and force him back in the directions of a defender.

For the record, both Jason Kidd and Mike Tomlin received massive fines for their antics. Neither act contributed to a win.

Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs vs Portland Trailblazers: 0-2

Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs vs the rest of the NBA: 31-3

A Lesson in Baseball Heresy

Just to prove that nothing is sacred in modern sport (except the almighty dollar, of course), former Boston Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, who won 2 World Series with the Sox, has reportedly signed a 7 year $142m deal with arch rivals the New York Yankees. This won’t go down well with Boston fans once they eventually wake up from their booze induced post-World Series hibernation.

What this also points to is that either the Evil Empire of NYY has a bottomless chequeing account (don’t rule it out) or they’ve given up on their efforts to sign Robinson Cano to a big money contract. In recent days that situation’s been looking more and more pessimistic, with Seattle now joining the ranks of contenders for the all-star 2B’s signature.

Good Week:

Josh Gordon (Cleveland Browns) – Two good week entries in a row. And for good reason: Gordon was the first receiver in the history of the game to put up consecutive 200+ receiving yard games. Last week he had 237 rec yards, this week 262, capped off by this beaut of a 95 yard TD. And most astonishing of all is that he did most of this with Bran-dee-diddly-don Weeden under the guard. Gordon has 1249 total receiving yards for the season – and he didn’t even play the first two games.

Adrian Peterson (Minnesota Vikings) - For one thing, he basically carried his team to a victory over a desperate Bears team, with 211 rushing yards on 35 carries. But he’s also now well out in front on the season rush yard total, and should be running downhill to a third rushing title. Add day, son. All day.
Miami Heat – Yeah, don’t sleep on the 2-time champs. They’ve won 10 straight. Despite slipping under the radar starting 1-2, and with a few injuries in the squad, the South Beach Slayers are well and truly elite still. Although they literally lost as I was writing this. Either I spoke too soon, or I have supernatural powers of negative influence over sports results. Well, I am a Cowboys fan, for what it’s worth…

Bad Week:

The NBA’s Eastern Conference - Only two teams have winning records (Miami & Indy). As it stands, the 8-10 Detroit Pistons would make the playoffs.
Michael Vick (Philadelphia Eagles) – Chip Kelly has basically committed to Nick Foles as his starter for the next 1000 years (talk about a risky contract…) but behind all the Foles Patrols is a former franchise QB riding the pine because he was unlucky enough to lose his spot while injured. Of course, if you start feeling sorry for him, just remember that thing with the dogs.

Jimmy V Week:

This week is apparently dedicated to the memory of college basketball coaching legend, cancer victim and all round nice guy Jim Valvano. If you want his life story, there’s a brilliant ESPN 30 for 30 doco about him called Survive and Advance. In the meantime, here’s his 1993 EPSY’s speech, about as inspirational as inspiration gets, given almost on his deathbed. Watch this; it will change your life:

Player of the Week:

Peyton Manning (Denver Broncos) - 22-35, 403 yds, 5 tds. Against a top 5 ranked defence. Peyton’s having one of the best (perhaps statistically THE best) seasons of his career. He’s still on course for over 5000 yards, and needs 10 more TD passes in 4 games to break Tom Brady’s all time season record. The superlatives do not exist to describe how astounding this all is, from a guy who many doubted would ever play again a couple years ago. Oh, and this:

Upcoming Dates (NZ Time):

December 30 - NFL Regular Season Ends

February 3 - Superbowl XLVIII

February 17 - 2014 NBA All-Star Game