All Good Things Must Come to an End

We all saw this day coming.

It was always a matter of when, rather than if. 

Throughout the Patriots’ magical season last year, it was always “Can they go undefeated?” For the 2008 Tennessee Titans, however, everyone expected them to lose. No one honestly thought this Kerry Collins-led bunch could rattle off 16 straight wins, let alone 19.

If Tom Brady and the Patriots could only manage 18 straight wins, there’s no way – we all thought – that this Titans team could go undefeated through 19 games.

Well, suffice to say, everyone was right. After amazing critics and fans alike with a 10-0 start, Chris Johnson & Co., finally succumbed at the hands of Brett Favre and the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets.

The score: 34-13. It was a game in which nothing went right and everything that could go wrong did go wrong. It also was a game that saw Jets backup running back Leon Washington scamper for 82 yards on eight carries and a pair of touchdowns, including one from 61 yards out and a four-yard run that put the game out of reach.

So what does this game mean for Tennessee? And what does it mean for the NFL?

For starters, the Titans proved just how difficult it is to go undefeated and the Jets proved that they are a force to be reckoned with in the AFC.

They may have barely scraped by for the past few weeks, but the Tennessee Titans started the 2008 season 10-0. That’s 10 more wins than the Detroit Lions has in the same period and one more than the defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants.

How hard is it to start the season 10-0? Prior to this year, the Titans had never even come close, with the 10-0 start setting a new franchise record by five games. What’s more, is that the Titans are now one of only 10 teams in NFL history to start the season 10-0.

So, although the dream of a perfect season ended and the 1972 Miami Dolphins will be popping champagne this week, the 2008 Tennessee Titans have joined an elite group of NFL teams in history.

For the New York Jets, a dominant victory over the Titans following an overtime victory over the Patriots proves that they are, in fact, the class of the AFC East. With their record sitting at 8-3, the Jets control their own destiny in the East and have a legitimate shot at a first-round bye in the playoffs.

In fact, by beating Tennessee, the Jets earned the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Titans, and could earn home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs should the Jets manage to make up the current two-game deficit in the race for the top seed in the AFC playoffs.

Moreover, Favre had one of his best games as a Jet on Sunday. Favre completed 25 of 34 passes for 224 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while throwing only one interception against the league’s ninth-ranked passing defense.

Though Favre’s stats don’t dazzle, he managed the game well enough to allow Thomas Jones to rush for 96 yards and Washington to find the end zone twice. Favre looked comfortable throughout the game against Tennessee and didn’t try to force things against the Titans’ tough secondary

With this game in the books, one can’t help but look ahead to a possible rematch in Tennessee for the AFC Championship. Certainly, the Titans will learn from this game and use it as motivation for the rest of the season.

The Jets, on the other hand, must feel as confident as they have all season after knocking off the NFL’s last remaining unbeaten team and solidifying their position as a playoff contender.

Unfortunately, we won’t have the pleasure of watching an 11-0 Tennessee team face off against a 0-11 Detroit team on Turkey Day. Regardless, the Titans remain among the NFL’s elite teams this season and the Jets couldn’t be happier about their current situation.

Yet, if either of these two AFC contenders takes the conference title in January, they’ll be in for a tough matchup if the NFL’s best team – the New York Giants – manages to find its way back to the Super Bowl for a second consecutive season.

Here’s to looking forward to a great finish to the 2008 NFL season. It’s certainly something to be thankful for.

 

Best Game of Year?

Wisconsin didn’t exactly play its best football of the season Saturday against Cal Poly. Even so, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t the best game they’ve played this year.

Don’t get me wrong, the second half comeback with two safeties against Minnesota was great. No really, it was.

Still, it doesn’t get much better in football than an overtime game at the collegiate level. While the NFL still seems to think overtime games should be decided by a coin flip, the NCAA does it the right way.

Saturday, as the Mustangs did all they could to give the game away to the Badgers, the game went from an all but certain Cal Poly victory to a thrilling 36-35 win in overtime for UW.

Now, here are ten reasons why this game was so great:

First: Cal Poly is an FCS team.

While the Mustangs average nearly 500 yards of offense and nearly 50 points per game, they still play FCS competition. Yet, coming in from sunny San Luis Obispo, Calif., to frigid temperatures at Camp Randall Stadium in front of more than 80,000 fans didn’t seem to faze them.

Cal Poly came in to one of the toughest places in to play in the country and ran up 20 points before the half – including a punt return for a touchdown and a pair of scoring drives of 60 yards or more.

Second: Wisconsin is a bowl-eligible FBS team.

Sure, they may not have looked like it at times this season, but the Badgers at the seventh-ranked team in the Big Ten, a major BCS conference. Against all odds, Wisconsin has played its way to a potential Insight Bowl berth in a season that began with Rose Bowl hopes and teetered on the edge of bowl ineligibility.

The Badgers needed a win against a tough Cal Poly team and they got it. It wasn’t pretty but they got the job done and that’s what matters.

Third: Cal Poly runs the Wing T, or what is essentially a high school offense.

Wisconsin players hadn’t played against the Wing T since high school and it showed early and often as Cal Poly ran the ball all over UW for more than 200 yards rushing.

Fourth: Wisconsin nearly broke Ramses Barden’s streak of consecutive games with a touchdown.

For four quarters, the Badgers kept one of the most prolific touchdown-scoring receivers in FCS history from scoring a touchdown. Something his last 18 opponents had been unable to do.

Fifth: Barden kept the streak alive on the first play of overtime.

Talk about a big play. On the first play of overtime, quarterback Jonathan Dally lobs the ball 30 yards into the end zone for an over-the-shoulder catch for Barden. Barden snags it and Cal Poly shocks the Badgers once again.

Sixth: Andrew Gardner missed three extra points.

As if missing the extra point in the fourth quarter weren’t enough, Gardner missed the ensuing XP following the Barden touchdown in overtime. Of all times to miss an extra point, overtime is not a good one to choose.

Seventh: John Clay stepped up when P.J. Hill struggled.

On a day where quarterback Dustin Sherer proved why he should have been the starter all along with impressive passes to receivers Nick Toon and David Gilreath, Hill seemed unable to push the ball across the line of scrimmage outside of the red zone.

Fortunately for Wisconsin, Clay managed 107 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns on just 11 carries. Clay’s two touchdowns: a 17-yard run in the second quarter which stalled Cal Poly’s momentum and the six-yard game-tying touchdown in overtime.

Eighth: the Badgers’ success throwing the ball.

For much of the game, Wisconsin’s offense looked nothing like what fans have grown accustomed to seeing on a weekly basis.  Sherer completed several passes in the game to Gilreath, Toon and Isaac Anderson for big chunks of yardage. Gilreath finished with just four catches but managed 125 yards receiving on the day. Toon caught just two balls but gained 40 yards for the cardinal and white. Anderson, meanwhile, caught four balls for 55 yards, his longest reception going for 21 yards.

In the end, Wisconsin scored four touchdowns on the ground, but Sherer used his passing ability to move the ball for much of the game, something that excited fans time and again.

Ninth: it was senior day.

Nothing is better than a win in your final game as a Badger, except maybe playing the drums during the fifth quarter if you’re sophomores John Moffitt and Gabe Carimi. It would have been awful to send out one of the top senior classes in UW history with a loss to an FCS team in their final game at Camp Randall Stadium.

Instead, the Sherer, Clay & Co. managed to send them out on a high note – a thrilling overtime win for the first time in six years.

Last, but not least: Wisconsin is headed to a bowl game. No one is quite sure which one, but signs are pointing toward a Dec. 31 trip to Tempe, Ariz., to face a potential Big XII opponent in the Insight Bowl. Something no one would have expected at any point in the season until the past three weeks.

Ultimately, Saturday’s win over Cal Poly won’t go down in history as one of the most important victories for UW, but perhaps it was one of the most thrilling and bittersweet in recent years.

Wisconsin played its hearts out Saturday afternoon and it showed.

Spring Training

Spring is in the air.

If that's the case then why does my car keep getting stuck in the snow?

While it is still winter on the calendar for another five weeks, it's spring in the MLB.

For baseball fans this means one thing: this year could be the year. This season's perfect example is the Cincinnati Reds. 

The Redlegs finished fifth in the NL Central last season, 13 games behind the Cubs. Yet, with the addition of Francisco Cordero and Dusty Baker, Cincinnati figures to make a run at the division leaders in 2008.

While Spring Training games may not always sell out and casual fans may not realize they exist until late March, true baseball fans know the months of February and March are as important -- if not more important than -- as the first two months of the season. 

Over the next six weeks, teams will evaluate new and veteran players alike to determine just who will make the 25-man roster.

Every spring, just like every season, has a degree of uncertainty to it that makes it so enticing to true fans. For example:

How will the latest Japanese outfielder Kosuke Fukudome fit in with the Chicago Cubs?

The Cubs signed Fukudome to a four-year, $48 million deal on December 11th. His patience and power to the gaps should result in an excellent doubles hitter in the MLB with about 20-30 HR potential. Fukudome is expected to start in Right Field alongside Felix Pie in center and Alfonso Soriano in left -- one of the better young outfields in the league.

Will Johan Santana be the guy that leads the Mets back to the World Series for the first time since 2000?

The Mets signed Santana to a record-breaking six-year, $137.5 million contract on February 1. With that contract, Santana became the highest-paid pitcher in the MLB. With such a contract -- especially in New York -- comes high expectations. Is it so unreasonable for Mets fans to expect a return to Santana's 2004-2006 form which saw him go 55-19 with a 2.75 ERA and 0.96 WHIP and 748 K's?

Will steroids continue to overshadow the sport when the players finally take the field in March and April?

Who's telling the truth - Brian McNamee and Andy Pettitte  or Roger Clemens and the "Nanny"? Will Barry Bonds be convicted on perjury charges? Will anyone buy Jose Canseco's new book, and if so, who will be named in it? Will any of these questions be answered before the start of the regular season? Will these questions take precedence over the actual games on the field? (Let's hope not)

How good will Francisco Liriano be post-Tommy John surgery?

In 2006, the Minnesota Twins, enroute to a come-from-behind AL Central title, possessed two of the league's best pitchers: Johan Santana and Francisco Liriano. Santana won his second Cy Young Award in 2006 while leading the league in all three major pitching categories: wins, ERA, and strikeouts. Liriano went 12-3 with a 2.16 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 144 K's in 121 innings pitched. 

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. With Santana now out the door, the Twins expect Liriano -- who has not reported to camp due to visa issues -- to ace the staff and have added Livan Hernandez to fill the void left by Santana's departure. 

My thoughts:

Fukudome will not be a superstar, but he will be good enough to lead the Cubs to a second NL Central title in as many years.

Santana's 2008 season will fall somewhere between his 2006 season and his 2007 season -- which should be enough to get the Mets into the playoffs and avoid another catastrophic collapse.

The deck is stacked against Clemens and Bonds and both appear to be guilty of perjury. Steroids will continue to fill the headlines, but when opening day rolls around fans will forget about who's juicing and enjoy the game once again.

Liriano will finish the season with at least 15 wins and anchor the Twins' young staff.