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Last Word On Sports

Sports News Since 2011. Honestly.

Last Word On Sports Logo

Sports. Honestly. Since 2011

Year: 2012

Top and Bottom NFL Power Rankings

Posted on by Jack Stone

The hump week is over, and it’s now just past half way through the season.  Week nine gave us many good moments, and story lines.  For a second week in a row there isn’t much change in the teams – the good teams are still good, and the bad teams are still, well, inept.

credit: MattBritt00 via photopin cc

28. Cleveland Browns – There is good news – they’re not absolutely repulsive. They managed, God knows how, to stay in the game with Baltimore and continue to show effort week after week. Trent Richardson keeps things exciting for the Browns, picking up another 100+ yards rushing game.

29. Carolina Panthers – They beat the skins in Washington this week, and suddenly last week’s last second loss to the 7-1 Chicago Bears might not be the fluke we chalked it up as.  They are starting to show they might be turning things around with the new GM…. nah.

30. Tennessee Titans – They say defense wins championships.  So basically the Titans are screwed ’cause they have almost none of that.  They “boast” a league worst points against, which hovers at a disastrous 308, with the closest being 60 points behind (Red Skins 248)! Speaking of Defense, they got absolutely lambasted by the Chicago Bears 51-20 on their own field. At least Carolina showed up against Chicago last week.

31. Alabama Crimson Tide – Last week they jumped the Jaguars and this week they jumped the Chiefs. Are the Jags really that bad?  Better believe it!

32. Jacksonville Jaguars – Even the Jags jumped the Chiefs, because at least the Jags have an excuse – they don’t have their only good player as Maurice Jones-Drew is still sidelined…

33 – Kansas City Chiefs – Here is a stat for you – after eight games the Chiefs have not had a single lead during regulation time. Seriously, I looked it up.  Their only win came off a week 3 field goal in overtime against the struggling Saints.

Now that we’re done with that scary debacle of struggling swine, let’s look at who the leading candidates are for the second half of the NFL season. Unfortunately it almost looks like a photograph of last week’s list, but these teams are rolling.  If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

credit: Mike Morbeck via photopin cc

5. New York Giants – Tough loss at home to the Steelers, but this team really only has to make the playoffs to be a contender.  They shine most when the game counts the most, so I can easily forgive their slip-up.

4. Chicago Bears – We don’t need to talk about their defense because you already have heard about them to death… I know they played the terrible Titans, but they put up 51 points! The Bears can win a lot of games with 17 points, and if they continue to score, they will be unstoppable!

3. Houston Texans – Beating the Bills 21-9 isn’t all that impressive.  It’s the same thing every week, easy opponent after easy opponent, but regardless they definitely should lock-up home field for the playoffs.

2. San Francisco 49ers – A half-season bye is always welcomed. They have tons of depth and still haven’t had to dig into it. Very healthy, very strong, and I like ’em!

1. Atlanta Falcons – Won again…yada yada. Them ’72 Dolphins are starting to get a little antsy after the half-season rolled by and they still have a threat to their undefeated entire NFL season and playoff run. The Falcons win games any way possible.  They missed two field goal attempts and still won a field goal battle with Dallas.  Impressive! Gotta love those Dirty Birds!

Football fans, don’t forget to tune into our featured shows at the following times:
Sunday, 7:30pm – “Sunday NFL Blitz Package“
Thursday, 9pm – “Last Word on NFL”
Saturday, 9am – “College Warm-up”
Monday-Friday, 8pm – “Beyond the Field”

Expect lively banter with opinionated hosts and industry-leading guests.

Hammer Radio 118: UFC 154 Preview and the Trainwreck of TUF

Posted on by Michael Kovacs, ADMIN

The Boys at the Hammer feature weekly coverage of all things MMA. This week they are back with another new episode and you can listen to the archived podcast by clicking here. Hammer Radio 118

“We’re gearing up towards UFC 154: St. Pierre vs. Condit in Montreal on November 17th.  This week we discuss the UFC 154 Media Conference including the complete audio from the event.

Then we preview this Saturday’s UFC on Fuel: Franklin vs. Le, talk this week’s latest drug suspensions, give our thoughts on the latest trainwreck episode of The Ultimate Fighter, and recap all of the MMA cards from last weekend.”

The Hammer features LastWordOnSports’ own writer Greg Persson, long time internet superstar Steve Jeffrey, and is hosted by MMA aficionado Dave Abraham.

The Hammer has had interviews with some of the biggest names in MMA over the years, including BJ Penn, Dan Henderson, Sean Sherk, Mark Coleman, Rory MacDonald, Brendan Schaub, and others. They continue to bring unparallelled, independent coverage of all things MMA to fans of the sport.

They’ll give you the straight goods and the Last Word.

 

Don’t forget to tune into “Friday is MMA Night” on Last Word Radio from 9-10pm EST. If you miss the show, it will be available in our archives or on iTunes for podcast download.

Riding the NFL Fantasy Waiver Wire Week 10 – Never too early to think of next year!

Posted on by Bobby Scott

This week’s edition of “Riding the NFL Fantasy Wire” is riddled with impactful injuries as well as players I mentioned earlier this year who are now stepping up and producing.

Injuries are always tough because we make every attempt to handcuff our players but sometimes we just don’t have enough cuffs to go ’round. Another thing to consider is as teams move to having 3-4 running backs playing in a game it becomes progressively more challenging to get good value. One thing I did notice this week is that there are some good running backs in the league that aren’t getting the respect they deserve and could find themselves being traded in the offseason to a team that needs a lead back. Let’s check out this weeks waiver wire pick-ups.

credit: Jeffrey Beall, wiki CC

Marcel Reece RB OAK – I must admit that once  Darren Mcfadden went down I jumped on the waivers, looking for Mike Godson not realizing that he also suffered an injury and Reece was set to take over at lead back. At 6’3 240, the third year back out of Washington, Reece is the team’s fullback and should be able to grind out some yards. In the last game Reece had 8 grabs for 95 yards and a score which alone makes him a nice pick-up in PPR leagues and should help some owners with RB issues in their run for the playoffs.

TY Hilton / Donnie Avery WR IND – With the way Andrew Luck has been playing it’s tough for teams to cover 3 legitimate receivers and two young TE’s. Luck is starting to look more and more as advertised as being the best QB to come out of college in years. Dynasty league owners should take note on Hilton as he is starting to build chemistry with Luck and could be a deadly combination for years to come.

Chris Ivory RB NO – I was very impressed with his game play on Monday night but was somewhat agitated with the turn-stall of New Orleans RB’s. Ivory is slowly drawing interest from other teams in the NFL as he is a restricted free agent in 2013. If a team offers him big bucks it will be hard for the Saints to match the offer with three other productive RB on their squad. If you don’t think you have a shot at the playoffs in your dynasty league this is a must add as he could be starting for another team come next season.

Brandon Myers TE OAK – I’ve had my eye on Myers since week 3, but with other TE’s producing there is no need to have a second TE on your squad. Myers would have been a nice bye-week pick up last week as he had 8 receptions for 59 yards and two scores. Carson Palmer is looking for his TE more often than forcing the ball down the field, which was his trademark forever. The next couple of weeks Myers has a tough match-up against Baltimore and New Orleans. Myers is starting to look like a top 10 TE in most Fantasy formats and is currently only 24% owned in Yahoo leagues.

credit: Jeffrey Beall, Wiki CC

Emmanuel Sanders WR PIT – With Andre Brown hurt this will be Sanders’ time to prove that he deserves to be on the field at all times. With Wallace running the deep routes Sanders should be able to pick up a lot of yards underneath. Last year there were discussions on who was the better receiver and many thought that Sanders was the better raw talent and Brown was a more polished route runner. That being said, if Sanders is on the filed for all snaps in the upcoming week against KC you can expect him to put up the same numbers as Brown.

Riding under the Fantasy Waiver wire

Ryan Broyles WR DET – With the injury to Burleson the receiving core needed to step-up – and they did, finally! Broyles had 6 receptions for 52 yards in Sunday’s match, which adds to his total for the last 3 weeks of 12 receptions for 140 yards and two scores. If Broyles keeps producing he might push Titus for the number two spot on the roster. Broyles is a nice PPR and Dynasty league stash if you have room for him on your roster.

Thanks again for reading and I hope some of my picks have helped you in your Fantasy Leagues. Good Luck this Week!

Football fans, don’t forget to tune into our featured shows at the following times:

Thursday, 9pm – “Last Word on NFL Preview”
Saturday, 9am – “College Football Warm-up”
Sunday, 8pm – “NFL Sunday Night Blitz”

Monday-Friday, 8pm – “Beyond the Field”

Expect lively banter with opinionated hosts and industry-leading guests.

Early Look: World Juniors, Czech Republic, Switzerland and Latvia

Posted on by Ben Kerr

Welcome to today’s edition of “Top Shelf Prospects”. If you missed any of my previous articles you can find a complete listing of them here.

With the CHL seasons now well over a month old, I thought now would be a good time to look at the potential line-ups for the World Junior Championships. Last week we started with Team Canada, moved on to Team USA, and then completed Pool B with Russia, Slovakia and Germany.

Today, I start the Pool A Preview and will look at Switzerland, Latvia and the Czech Republic.  We’ll look at a quick overview of the team, and then focus on players to watch.

Based on the latest in the NHL lockout, I am going to assume that the NHL and NHLPA will not resolve their issues and that premium talent will be available. I’m also going to assume that AHL clubs who have some of these junior-aged players will release them for the tournament.

So let’s get started…

Team Latvia
Not a medal contender, Latvia will be quite content if they can avoid relegation in this tournament.  That said, they are getting strong all the time and will feature some intriguing names to watch in the tournament.

Teodors “Teddy” Blugers, Centre/Left Wing: The second round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in June’s NHL Entry draft, Blugers is a freshman for the Minnesota State – Mankato Mavericks: He’s started out very well at the NCAA level with 4 points in his first 8 games. Blugers played in the World Juniors last year, and scored 1 goal and 3 points in 6 games in the tournament. Blugers should be better this year as he will have one year more development to draw from. He put up incredible stats at Shattuck St. Mary’s famous hockey prep school last year, but the level of competition he faced should be questioned when looking at the 88 points in 51 games he scored.  This season we can see a good skater who seems to be more of a playmaker, with his really good passing and vision. He also has a decent shot. Expect him to get huge minutes in this tournament.

credit: pipelineshow.blogspot.com

Zemgus Girgensons, Centre: Last year as a 17 year old Girgensons may have only scored 2 goals in the tournament, but was the best player on Latvia, as they used him 25-30 minutes per game.  Expect more of the same this year as the Buffalo Sabres first round pick is developing nicely and has four points in his first ten games in Rochester. Girgensons is a prototypical power forward prospect.  He possesses excellent size and great skating with a powerful stride, very good speed and balance, and above average agility.  He uses these attributes to drive hard to the net and get to the dirty areas of the ice.  He is equally capable of driving wide on a defender and cutting hard to the net, or bulldozing his way right through the opponent.  He adds to this great stickhandling, good puck protection and a strong, powerful shot. Girgensons has a well developed defensive game so I would expect him to be matched up against every other team’s top player in this tournament..

Team Switzerland:
Switzerland lacks the big names that Latvia has, but I give this team a better chance to upset one of the Czechs, Finns, or Swedes and find themselves in the top 3 of the pool and in a playoff spot. Don’t get me wrong, they are still a long shot to get out of the pool stage, but the Swiss always come to the World Juniors with strong team play and a well defined defensive system.  This system frustrates opponents, keeps games close, and allows the team to compete.  If you give the Swiss a lead late in a game, its tough to come back.

credit: OHL Images

Tanner Richard, Centre/Left Wing:  Richard played on the 2012 team and had an excellent tournament scoring 4 points in 6 games.  The third round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning is playing for the Guelph Storm this season where he has posted 2 goals and 20 assists in 16 games so far.  Clearly with numbers like those its not hard to see that Richard is more of a playmaker than a finisher.  He shows good vision and passing skills at the OHL level.  Richard could use some work on his acceleration and top end speed, but he’s well balanced on his skates, and tough to knock off the puck.  He also is a good stickhandler and is able to extend plays to allow his teammates to get open.  Richard is solid defensively and like Girgensons, i expect him to be not just the best offensive player on his team, but also to be asked to shut down the oppositions top lines.

Team Czech Republic:
The Czechs are the best of these three teams on paper, and have a lot of known players and NHL draft picks this year. The team should advance past the pool stage and finish in the top 3.  Questions about depth and goaltending remain though and this keeps them from joining the other true medal contenders

David Musil, Defence:  Recent traded from the Vancouver Giants to the Edmonton Oil Kings, David Musil is also the son of former NHL defenceman Frantisek Musil.  He was picked by the Edmonton Oilers with the the the first pick of the 2nd round in the 2011 draft, Musil is playing 25+ minutes per game in the WHL this season and has shown 8 points in 12 games.  The offensive numbers are impressive, but Musil is a big, rugged, defence first defenceman.  He is strong on the boards and overpowers opponents to win battles and come away with the puck.  He also works effectively down low and keeps the front of the net clear so his goalie can see the puck.  His positioning and footwork are at an advanced level for his age, and this should come as no surprise as he’s probably had 19 years of teaching from his father.  Musil knows how to wait for the opportunity and pick his spots so he doesn’t get caught out of position often, but he does like to throw a big hit if its available.  Expect him to continue to need to rely on his strong endurance and to be used 25-30 minutes per game by the Czech coaches.

Radek Faksa, Centre: Faksa has had a bit of a slow start in Kitchener this year with just 13 points in 17 games.  Last season Faksa led all OHL rookies with 66 points in 62 games and this led to his being drafted by the Dallas Stars in the first round of the NHL draft.   Faksa pairs outstanding hockey sense and offensive instincts, with his very good vision and passing skills to be an excellent playmaker.  He also has a good wrist shot with an excellent release.  Faksa is an above average skater, with good speed and strong balance which makes him difficult to knock off the puck.  He isn’t afraid to go into traffic and to take hits to make plays for the Rangers. For these reasons we believe Faksa will be a top 6 centre at the NHL level.  At 6’3, 202lbs Faksa has the great size down the middle and uses that size effectively to protect the puck, to establish position in the offensive zone. He’s also an excellent defender who will be used in all situations for the Czechs.

credit: Anderson, Creative CC

Tomas Hertl, Centre:  The first thing that jumps out at you when you watch Tomas Hertl, is his very unorthodox skating style.  The best way to describe it is “herky-jerky”.  However despite the fact that its not pretty, it is still reasonably effective.  While Hertl is by no means a fast skater, he’s not a slow one either.  This unorthodox stride gets him where he’s going, and his good hockey sense and instincts keep him heavily involved in the play. The San Jose Sharks first pick in the latest NHL draft, Hertl is a big, strong, versatile forward.  He is capable of playing both centre and wing.  He has good passing skills and vision, and is more a playmaker than a scorer.  He is at his best playing a puck control game, working the boards and cycling in the offensive zone. He can effectively protect the puck, and then pass to an open teammate. Without the puck he is able to find open spaces and has good hockey sense and instincts.  He’s not a huge hitter, but he uses his size and strength to win board battles.  Hertl could use work on his shot and his release, which are below average and so should be a playmaker on this team.  Hertl is also an excellent two way player. He can be very effective on faceoffs and is a key penalty killer on the squad, showing good positioning and instincts in the defensive zone.  He is a conscientious backchecker who uses his size, strength and active stick to keep defenders to the outside. .

Martin Frk, Right Wing:  Frk skipped this tournament last season, in a surprise move.  However the Czechs are hoping that they can get the Detroit Red Wings draftee back in their lineup this year.  He’s started the season strong with 19 points in 16 games for the Halifax Mooseheads, helping the team to reach first place in the QMJHL.  When Frk is on his game, he’s impossible to miss on the ice.  He is one of the best agitators or pests in the QMJHL and marries that chippy play with a high skilled power forward’s game  He has good size and strength and uses those to throw hits, win board battles, and get to the dirty areas of the ice.  He also possesses impressive offensive skills.  He has a hard and accurate shot and an excellent release. Frk is also a skilled stickhandler and adept at dangling past opponents or protecting the puck from them on the cycle game.  He goes hard to the net and knows what to do when he gets there. Frk also has a knack for finding open spaces on the ice and unleashing his excellent one-timer. He needs work on his defensive game and will need to be paired with the good defenders on this squad, as he is wildly inconsistent in his own end of the rink.

We’ll finish off Pool A, featuring the Swedes, and Finns, shortly, but for now, feel free to leave comments below and follow me on twitter @lastwordBKerr.

Thanks for reading, and be sure to join Max Vasilyev and I on Wednesday Nights at 10:00pm when we host the hockey radio show, “Puckheads”, on the Last Word Radio Network. You can listen in live or to our past podcasts by clicking here, or by searching for us on iTunes.

Euro Football Weekend Rundown

Posted on by Luciano Giuliano

This weekend, Milan proved to be resurrecting slowly. Ibrahimovic and his PSG teammates lose first of the season in Ligue 1. Man United take care of Arsenal at the Old Trafford 2-1 and a missed Rooney pk. Lastly, Inter end Juve’s magnificent undefeated streak.

4) Milan resurgence continue after 5-1 demolition of Chievo Verona

The days are looking brighter for AC Milan as the dark era is slowly lightening up. The Rossoneri put in a great performance Saturday against lowly Chievo with goals from Emanuelson, Montolivo, Krkic, El Shaarawy and Pazzini. Sergio Pellissier scored the only goals for the side that was once known as the Flying Donkeys. It looks like Chievo might be flying directly to Serie B at the end of the season.

We all know that Claudio Ranieri is known as the Tinkerman but I think the name can be assigned to Massimiliano Allegri as the Tuscan tactician has experimenting with different formations as late deploying a 3-4-3 in the last Champions League. For this match, he shelved the 3-4-3 in favour of the 4-2-3-1. Phillippe Mexes and Christian Zapata made up the central defensive pair with Ignazio Abate and Kevin Constant as the makeshift wingback. Montolivo partnered captain Ambrosini in front of the defence. In attack, Emanuelson played in the centre with Bojan and El Shaarawy as his wingmen supporting the lone-striker Pazzini.

This may well be the right formation for the Diavoli to field in the next game against Malaga as victory is desperately needed to keep their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League second round alive. This formation allowed the Rossoneri to clog up the middle and hit on the counter with style. AC Milan is certainly not lacking any options up front and if Mexes and Zapata can develop a strong partnership, then this side will be moving on up much earlier than expected. Adriano Galliani stated he had confidence in Allegri. Allegri stated that he needed some time and Galliani allowing the coach the time to tinker is what is doing the team some good now. Should the Rossoneri make a miraculous comeback to finish top three this season and qualify for the 2013-2014 CL, then Allegri might just be around for another session.

AC Milan are currently in 10th with 14 points. El Shaarawy leads the Serie A with 8 goals.

3) PSG lose, Ibra expelled

Carlo Ancelotti’s Paris Saint-Germain lost their first game of the season in Ligue 1 thus failing to keep Marseille distant by three points.

It was a very lucky encounter for PSG as the Parisian-side stormed in attack with various chances until the half hour mark.  Unfortunately for the men in blue defender Mamadou Sakho turned the ball into his own net at the 55th minute.

At the 70th minute, proof of the Ibra-dependency reared its ugly head as the tall Swede was sent off for an ugly foul. The ballon d’or nominee went in late on St. Etienne goalkeeper Ruffier following a through ball and the referee immediately gave him a straight red card. When frustrated, Ibra tends to make some thoughtless tackles. Good decision and well deserved.

Three minutes later, the visitors doubled their lead when Alejandro Alonso got down the right before slotted a precise pass to ex-Milan attacker Aubameyang in the area who beat Sirigu with a confident finish.

As consolation, Hoarau pulled one back when he smashed home a spectacular half-volley across Ruffier but it was too little too late for PSG.

Paris is currently tied for first with 22 points on level with Marseille.

2) Arsenal is no threat for Man U who received yet another PK gift

Manchester United dominated Arsenal at Old Trafford with ex-Gunner Robin van Persie who struck within three minutes against his former club as the Red Devils eased to a 2-1 victory against Arsene Wenger’s 10-man side.

On the stroke of half time, Wayne Rooney was awarded a penalty for a handling offence in the box. Cazorla handled an Ashley Young cross which the ref judged as voluntary. Voluntary or not, the ball did make contact with his hands in the box. But the argument could be made that the Spaniard was blocking his face and his arms were close to his body and not extended meaning that was for protection and involuntary. I can agree with the Arsenal man as when the ball is flying at your face, your natural instincts are to protect your face. Hard to judge in my opinion.

Justice would serve its purpose though seeing that Rooney missed his chance to double United’s lead by thumping the base of the post. Arsenal was still in it at this point as it remained 1-0 going into halftime.

Man U put the game to bed when Rooney crossed the ball to Evra and the France international planted a firm header inside the post – 2-0.

Two minutes later, Wilshere dug the hole a little deeper for Arsenal as he received a second yellow for a terrible tackle on Evra.

The Gunners did manage to pull one back though through Cazorla who netted an excellent consolation goal from the edge of the box with the last kick of the game.

Man United now leads the EPL with 24 points. Chelsea drew 1-1 with Swansea and is now in second with 23 points while Manchester City also tied 0-0 with West Ham United.

1) Inter end Juve’s 49 Serie A match unbeaten streak

Well, the good run is finally over my fellow Juventini and it was absolutely great while it lasted. The 49 Serie A match undefeated streak is now over. It is a record that will most likely stay intact for a long while in Italy and Europe as no other squad has accomplished this accolade in their respective domestic league.

Inter beat Juventus 3-1 in Turin on Saturday with a Diego Milito brace and Rodrigo Palacio hammering in the final nail while Juventus opened the scoring with an Arturo Vidal offside sitter.

The match was pretty even with Juventus edging out their rivals on possession with 51% compared to the visitor’s 49% while shots on target were also in favour of the Old Lady with 7 shots to 6 for the Beneamata.

Juventus took the lead in dramatic fashion after 19 seconds. Claudio Marchisio sent Kwadwo Asamoah through with a slide rule pass that the Ghanaian international carried into the box to lay a low cross across the area to an unmarked Vidal who easily slotted home. Video replays show, however, that Asamoah was a few steps offside when he received the ball.

This sparked dedication and desire in the Nerazzzurri players who applied their game plan to perfection, closing the gaps in defence which left the Bianconeri attack hopeless to score and hitting Juve’s vulnerable defence on the counter.

The Milan-based club hit back with a yet a debatable goal of their own. Diego Milito received a pass in the box when Marchisio clearly held (albeit for a few seconds) the Argentine striker’s jersey who, at the same time, released his shot and fell to the ground. The ref pointed to the spot and Milito blasted the ball in past Buffon who was extremely close to palming the ball away – 1-1.

The Old Lady poured their efforts in attack but came up short with some fine chances from Bendtner, Quagliarella and Pirlo. Inter then ended a quick counterattack with Fredy Guarin who unleashed a bullet which Buffon parried onto the path of the on-running Milito who slid it home on Buffon’s short side – 2-1 Inter.

Juve switched to a 3-man attack but it was again Inter getting the better of the Bianconeri on the counter with Nagatomo catching Palacio in the area unmarked who shot it home to make it 3-1 and lights out Juve.

Opinion: Inter fully deserves credit for this match for implementing coach Andrea Stramaccioni’s game plan and was slightly lucky as well. It certainly is not easy to go to Turin nowadays and collect three points. Juve did not approach the match as they normally do and this will probably change when head coach Antonio Conte returns in December.

Juve’s first goal was legitimately offside and should have been disallowed. Rodrigo Palacio also had an offside goal rightfully called off as well. The PK sparked Inter’s revival. Although there was a slight shirt tug, Milito did get his shot off which leaves us with a very debatable penalty which could even be considered as harsh.

In my opinion, I believe Juve’s stand-in coach Angelo Alessio could have done better with the substitution choices. Mirko Vucinic received a knock and was injured; therefore, at the beginning of the restart Alessio decided to call up Niklas Bendtner. The Dane is big and slow and does not suit Juve’s attack. The better move would have been to call up Quagliarella to partner Giovinco up front. Secondly, I do agree with the Stephan Lichtsteiner sub as he was becoming reckless and almost received a second yellow. Martin Caceres was a good choice to replace the Swiss man. Lastly, Paul Pogba is in fine form at the moment and is beaming with confidence. It would have been wise to give the 19 year old wonderkid with some playing time to prove his quality.

In any case, losing once in a while is not a bad thing anyway. It’s not like Juve lost to Atalanta or some low end team. No, rather the Bianconeri lost to a direct title contender who is on a seven-game winning streak. Nothing to worry about and I’m sure Conte is already making the adjustments to ensure another loss will not happen again anytime soon.

Juventus continue to lead the Serie A with 28 points while Inter follow closely with 27.

Don’t forget to tune into “World Football Roundtable” every Monday and Thursday night at 10pm EST on Last Word Radio.  If you miss the show, you can access the archive at our radio home page, or in iTunes by searching for “Last Word Radio”.

Last Word College Football Rankings, Nov. 5

Posted on by Lindsay Higgins
credit: sarowen via photopin cc

1. Kansas State- the top four are basically interchangeable at this point; K-State disappointed me the least this week.

2. Alabama- played 58 minutes of lousy football, won anyway.

3. Oregon- fantastic offense, pretty good run defense, pretty bad pass defense

4. Notre Dame- was Pitt’s game to win, Panthers choked.

5. Georgia- played a fairly even first half against Ole Miss, throttled them after halftime

6. Florida- desperately needs to get a passing game going. They’re lucky their run game and defense are as good as they are.

7. LSU- came within two minutes of taking down the Tide; I hate to drop them but they lost to Florida, and Florida lost to Georgia, and both Florida and Georgia won; ergo at least for now the Gators and Dawgs have to be ahead.

8. South Carolina- had an off week to regroup in wake of Lattimore injury

9. Louisville- unbeaten is unbeaten, and they spanked Temple by 4 TDs.

10. Florida State- hate dropping teams on off weeks, but Louisville deserved to move up.

11. Oregon State- overcame a rough start to beat Arizona State.

12. Clemson- big game for Tajh Boyd over the Blue Devils.

13. Oklahoma- good job bouncing back from Notre Dame beatdown.

14. Stanford- throttled Colorado 48-0, with 4 TDs in the second quarter alone.

15. Texas A&M- beat a good Mississippi State team soundly.

16. UCLA- beat a ranked Arizona team, currently lead the Pac-12 South.

credit: Mike Pettigano via photopin cc

17. Nebraska- overcame 3 INTs by Taylor Martinez, who rushed for over 200 yards, to eke out a late win over the Spartans.

18. Texas- penalties and pass defense still issues, but they got the W against Texas Tech.

19. Louisiana Tech- two points away from being unbeaten.

20. USC- scored a lot of points, allowed even more. Safe to say they started the season overrated a wee bit.

21. Mississippi State- suffered their second loss, but it was to another ranked SEC team.

22. Rutgers- moves back into top 25 on an off week by virtue of other team’s losses.

23. Northwestern- see Rutgers.

24. Toledo- one loss, and a big win two weeks ago over a ranked, then-unbeaten Ohio team.

25. Texas Tech- best of the three-loss teams.

NFL Gamechangers, Week 9

Posted on by Ben Kerr

NFL Gamechangers, the column that brings you the biggest plays that you won’t see on the highlights. These are the plays and players that changed the outcome of the games this weekend, but really don’t get the fanfare or hype that they deserve given their key role in the outcome of the game. Of course touchdowns are important, but these are plays that help to set up those touchdowns and give a team momentum throughout the course of the day.

credit: Alex Irney Photopin CC

Miami Dolphins @ Indianapolis Colts (the Interception that wasn’t)
With a little under 3:00 left the Colts had the ball, 3rd and 4, on their own 26 yard line. The Colts were leading the game 23-20 and needed a first down to keep the clock running and end the game.  Andrew Luck had been on fire all day, as he had helped the Colts to convert 12/19 third down plays.  He set a rookie record for passing yards yesterday and he looked completely unstoppable on the day.   However on this play, the Dolphins got good pressure and Luck threw an ill-advised pass that was headed right for the hands of cornerback Sean Smith.  It looked like a sure interception.  The Dolphins would be getting the ball inside the Colts 35-yard line, needing just a field goal to tie, and with plenty of time on the clock to go for the game winning touchdown as well.  There was only one problem – Smith dropped what should have been an easy catch, saving Luck and the Colts, who would punt the ball away and pin the dolphins inside their own 20, and have their defense preserve the win.  You won’t see it on your highlight package, but you can bet that Sean Smith will be seeing this play in the Dolphins film study this week.

Denver Broncos @ Cincinnati Bengals (Matthew Willis Block)
One play you will see on the highlights is Trindon Holliday’s 105-yard kickoff return for a Touchdown that gave the Broncos a 16-3 lead (17-3 after the PAT) at the start of the second half.  It is almost impossible to have a great kickoff return though, without great blocking opening up holes for the returner, and this play was no different as the big beef for Denver opened a huge hole for Holliday.  I’d like to point out one particular block as a big play here. If you watched the play develop on an overhead view (one of the great angles CBS gave us during the game), you would see that as Holliday got to his own 45-yard line it looked like kicker Mike Nugent was going to have the chance to make a touchdown saving tackle.  He was in a really good position, and while he might be a kicker, how many times have we seen the kicker make this type of play over the years?  It was at this point that Matthew Willis of the Broncos had other ideas. He came from Nugent’s left and absolutely pancake-blocked him.  Seriously, he sent Nugent flying about three feet.  It was a devastating block that sprung Holliday past the last would-be tackler, and if not for the endzone, Trindon Holliday is probably still running right now.  Run Trindon, Run!

credit: Substitut

Buffalo Bills @ Houston Texans (Whitney Mercilus causes the turnover)
This was a much closer game than the score indicated of that analysts expected and it was definitely not an easy win for the Texans.  With about five minutes left in the third quarter, the Texans were up 21-9 but the Bills were driving down the field trying to get back into the game.  They had taken the ball down to the Houston 24-yard line and were looking to cut into the Texans lead and make it a one-score game.  It was at this point that Houston’s defense would step up to seal the win.  Ryan Fitzpatrick dropped back to pass, but Texans rookie linebacker Whitney Mercilus got great pressure and chased Fitzpatrick out of the pocket.  Fitzpatrick tried to scramble for a first down but Mercilus could not be stopped.  He chased Fitz down from behind, tackled him and forced a fumble which the Texans recovered.  Turnovers kill teams every week and this big play essentially ended the Bills hopes of a comeback.

Pittsburgh Steelers @ New York Giants (Justin Tuck Sack)
The Giants were leading 14-10 at half time and kicked off to start the 3rd quarter. Following a nice return by Chris Rainey, the Steelers were set up at the Giants 35-yard line.  On 3rd and 7 from the 32, Justin Tuck broke into the Pittsburgh backfield and sacked Ben Roethlisberger pushing the Steelers out of Field goal range.  This is the type of play that Tuck has been making for years, and was a huge sack given the position of the ball on the field, and that the Giants took a chance for 3 points away from the Steelers, and wasted the momentum they could have gotten from Rainey’s excellent return. In such a close game anytime you take away points it’s a huge play.  But……

Steelers turn on Defense and Special Teams:
In fourth quarter the Giants had the ball up 20-17. On a 3rd and 11 from the Giants own 34-yard line, Lawrence Timmons broke into the Giants backfield and sacked Eli for a loss of 11 yards.  The Giants were forced to punt from deep in their own territory and Emmanuel Sanders got a 63-yard punt return setting up the Steelers deep in Giants territory.  The Steelers would get stuffed on a fake FG.  But….. again……

On the ensuing possession the Steeler defense would do it again, putting more pressure on Eli and again forcing another 3 and out deep in Giants territory.  The Steelers got excellent field position (though not as good as the last time) after the Giants punt.  They marched down the field to the Isaac Redman game winning TD.  This is an example that just shows how great defense and pinning another team back on their heels can have a big effect on your offence, and help to set up points.

Thanks for reading and don’t forget to tune in to our show, NFL Sunday Blitz Package every Sunday night at 7:30 pm, on the blogtalkradio.com/lastwordradio. Also tune in to Beyond the Field on Mondays at 8pm as I’ll be joining their hosts Priest and St. Peter in running down NFL Game Changers.

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NBA: The Laker Surprise

Posted on by Andy Cunningham

0-3! The Lakers are 0-3!

Forget the financial world’s earning surprise; those gambling against the Lakers must be just as happy as the suits that get paid an extra dividend!

To the nation’s surprise the Lakers have delivered a shocking 0-3 start to what originally looked to be the league’s “new” best team. The addition of Nash, and Howard presented the Lakers with the chance to let Nash dribble the court, toss Howard the toast underneath and let Dwight Spread the jam! These two additions should be left wide open as Kobe is often covered like a pig in crap.  It boggles me sometimes as to how Kobe drains some of the shots facing that coverage. The opposing D forms such tight coverage around Bryant, and all you can see is his eyes lighting up as he spots the net and sneaks a ball that rainbows in for the dramatic finish.

Yet this season 24 has not delivered that drama.  Actually, he shouldn’t have to, and you shouldn’t expect it.  Why else would the Lakers have stacked their team?  The fact is the “other team” is now taking over Los Angeles.

That’s right, the often forgotten little brother, the Clippers, just buried the Lakers with their younger and much more exciting squad. Chris Paul, and Blake Griffin started to deliver much to the delight of the fans last season and so far this year Jamal Crawford is making opposing competition crumble, not unlike Tanya Harding did years ago with the benefit of of a club and a hitman.

So is it the Princeton offense that is the cause of the Lakers demise, or is nature taking its course as they slowly become irrelevant with age? All I know is 0-3 doesn’t cut it regardless of the system used with these players.  Preseason was one thing.  This a whole ‘nother.

At the end of the day it may take a Princeton scheme to go 0-3, but one doesn’t need a doctorate from that school to realize you cannot have a worse record after three games.   Lakers fans are erupting worldwide, as fear oozes from their pores, and the media is calling for heads faster than the Royal Family of the 1800’s.

At the end of the day Kobe basically told these fans to relax, shut up, stop being dumb and stupid.  He may have said it more eloquently than that.  Let me be the first to say I agree! Sit back and let the pros do their job.  An armchair chump who never played the game will never have a clue on the minor things going on in the game. Rest assured fans, the Lakers will turn things around and make the playoffs along with a solid run, until they possibly end up meeting their cross-town rivals, the Clippers.

Things We Learned In College, Week 10

Posted on by Lindsay Higgins

Isn’t it awesome when a good prime-time game (or a few of them) coincides with changing the clocks? Here’s what I learned while staying up past midnight and still getting a decent night’s sleep:

Credit: Carmine18jock Flickr CC

-The big game first: I’m gutted for LSU. They dominated Alabama for 58 minutes of that game and deserved the win, even with a few (very) questionable play calls from Les Miles. Alabama was 1-9 on 3rd down; LSU was 10-20. The Tide committed two turnovers, LSU had none. Time of possession was 20:45 for Alabama, 39:15 for the Tigers. Total yards were 331 to 435 in favor of LSU. And so on.

-Who was that quarterback in purple and gold last night, and what closet did Les Miles lock Zach Mettenberger in? Best game that kid has ever played, hands down.

-Speaking of winning teams that probably should have lost, I don’t want to hear any Notre Dame fans arguing today that they should be higher than #4.  At least not this week.  That said, they are still 9 and 0 which keeps them alive, but they will need one of the other 3 big undefeateds to take a loss.

-Texas has gone back to David Ash at quarterback. He threw a fairly conservative 19 passes, completing 11, but the Longhorns have a good enough running game that 11 of 19 was good enough for the win. Seth Doege, on the other hand, attempted 44 passes and completed 26. Opposite approaches to the game, and surprise surprise, the running game won. Both teams hurt themselves with penalties, though- Texas had 9 for 85 yards, Texas Tech 8 for 64 yards. Do that against a more disciplined opponent and you’re in trouble.

-In the absence of Denard Robinson, Michigan turned to former QB Devin Gardner, who’s been playing at WR this year. He got off to a slow start (his first three dropbacks resulted in a completed pass, a sack, and an interception), and then in the second quarter he did this. He only got better from that point, and the Wolverines rolled 35-13 over a Minnesota team that’s improving in their second year under head coach Jerry Kill. At 5-4, the Golden Gophers are one win away from bowl eligibilty. They still face Nebraska and Michigan State, but next on their schedule is 2-7 Illinois, which should be a winnable game for them.

-Another team that’s improving under a new coach is Ole Miss. They played Georgia tough in the first half, but a last-second TD by the Dawgs gave Georgia a 14-10 halftime lead. Mentally, it seemed to break the Rebs, who ended up losing 37-10. But from a technical standpoint, I like how they played in the first half. Hugh Freeze has this team heading in the right direction.

-Florida was lucky to escape Missouri with a 14-7 win. It was nice of Mizzou QB James Franklin to help them out with four INTs, because the Gators are going nowhere until their own passing game improves. It’s a shame, because they have a very good defense and Mike Gillislee is a heck of a running back.

-Man, is Oregon’s offense fun to watch. I’ve been waiting seemingly forever for them to play a game that starts at a reasonable hour on the East Coast. Kenjon Barner is just ridiculous. Their defense is a bit worrisome, though- USC was held to just 131 rushing yards, which is good, but the Ducks allowed Barkley to pass for 484 yards. I’m not at all sure that will cut it against K-State or Alabama.

-Kansas State remained unbeaten, but it’s hard to say much about them with regards to the BCS until more is known about the injury to Collin Klein.

-Perennial potential BCS buster Boise State won’t be busting anything this year after losing to San Diego State. 8-1 Louisiana Tech might be this year’s best bet.

 

That’s all for this week, stay tuned for Last Word’s rankings later on today!