There’s a reason for the statement, “On any given Sunday.”  That’s because in the National Football League, you never really know what’s going to happen.  Not with an undefeated team.  Not with a winless team.  Heck, not even with the great Tim Tebow.

In fact, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, only two previous times in NFL history had a team that was at least 10-0 lost and a team that was at least 0-10 won on the same Sunday.  Of course, the third time happened this weekend.  Thank goodness for Drew Brees to keep some things constant in the NFL.

A PRESENT for the Kansas City Chiefs, handing the Green Bay Packers their first loss of the season.  Kyle Orton must have stolen some of Tebow’s miracles when he was cut from the Denver Broncos.  How else to explain Orton outdueling Aaron Rodgers while Tebow failed to complete a comeback against some guy named Tom Brady?
A LUMP OF COAL to the Packers, now a dismal 13-1.  Seriously, I have no use for them anymore.  They no longer have the chance to stand alongside the 2007 New England Spygaters, er, Patriots, as the only teams to finish a 16-game regular season unbeaten.  And they no longer have the chance to push aside the 1972 Miami Champagne Poppers, er, Dolphins, as the team with the longest undefeated season ever.  Now they are just another very good team I have no reason to root for because they aren’t perfect.
A LUMP OF COAL to the Indianapolis Colts, now a dismal 1-13 after beating the Tennessee Titans, 27-13.  Seriously, I have no use for them anymore.  They no longer have the chance to stand alongside the 2008 Detroit Lions as the only teams to finish a regular season without a win.  And Don Orlovsky, who finished up as the quarterback of those Lions, no longer has the chance to finish up a second season for a team without a win.  Now they are just another very bad team I have no reason to root for because they aren’t perfectly imperfect.
A PRESENT for the 2010 Detroit Lions, who rallied with two TDs in the last five minutes to beat the Oakland Raiders, 28-27.  Three years removed from Matt Millen and infamy, the Lions are on the verge of clinching a playoff spot for the first time since 1999.  Yes, Virginia, er, Michigan, there is a Santa Claus!
A PRESENT for the Carolina Panthers, who used a gadget play inspired by a movie to score a TD in their win against the Houston Texans, 28-13.  The Panthers ran a hidden ball trick, known as “the annexation of Puerto Rico,” in the film “Little Giants,” to spring tight end Richie Brockel for a 7-yard TD run that put Carolina ahead 21-0.  It’s a case of life imitating art, if you consider “Little Giants,” to be art!
A PRESENT for the Philadelphia Eagles, who thrashed my J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS, 45-19.  Amazingly enough, if the Eagles beat the Cowboys and the Jets beat the NY Giants this week, then the Eagles beat the Redskins and the Giants beat the Cowboys next week, the Eagles will win the NFC East.  Despite the fact I hate Andy Reid as a coach and I despise Michael Vick as a person, I’m rooting for this scenario to play out!
A PRESENT for Reggie Bush, who ran for a career-best 203 yards as the Miami Dolphins beat the Buffalo Bills, 30-23.  Bush capped his day with a 76-yard TD burst that he finished off with a slide through the wet, snowy end zone.  Of course, a grinch masquerading as an NFL official flagged him for excessive celebration!
A WHOLE SLEIGH FULL OF PRESENTS for Drew Brees, who passed for 412 yards and five TDs as the New Orleans Saints whipped the Minnesota Vikings, 42-20.  The Saints have won six in a row and in the last five, Brees has completed an astounding 73% of his passes (148 - 204) for 1,776 yards, 16 touchdowns and ZERO interceptions.  He has now completed at least 20 passes in 34 consecutive games and has thrown at least one TD in 41 consecutive games.  With just 305 more passing yards in the last two games, he will break Dan Marino’s single-season record of 5,084.  I’m not embarrassed to admit I have a mancrush on Drew Brees!
A PRESENT for all my loyal readers for enjoying my sometimes friendly but more often snarky and bitter view of sports.  Enjoy the holiday season and have a Happy New Year!

THERE IT IS!

-Jake Stevens

Tiger Woods won a golf tournament.
Kentucky nipped North Carolina in college hoops.
Kurt Busch and Penske Racing are done with each other.
Jose Reyes is set to join the Florida Marlins.
Ron Santo was finally elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame.

Those are nice stories, but the calendar turned to December, which means the NFL has entered its final month and NCAA bowl games will soon start.  Let’s keep our focus people, there’s time for everything else when we hit 2012.  For now, it’s football, football and more football.

CHEERS for Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers, now 12-0 after booting the Giants, 38-35.  After the Giants tied the game with 58 seconds left, Rodgers calmly completed passes of 24, 27 and 18 yards to set up Mason Crosby for the game-winning field goal.  With the remaining schedule of Oakland, @ Kansas City, Chicago and Detroit, perfection is within reach if the Packers choose to play for it!
CHEERS for Tim Tebow, who pulled off another comeback as the Denver Broncos edged the Minnesota Vikings, 35-32.  Tebow completed 10 of 15 passes for 202 yards and two TDs and led the Broncos on game-tying and game-winning field goal drives in the final three minutes.  Tebow is now 6-1 as the starter this season and Denver has rallied from a 1-4 start to 7-5 and the top of the AFC West standings because…
BOOS to the Oakland Raiders, who were MIA in Miami.  Riding a three-game win streak, the Raiders were drilled by the Dolphins, 34-14, in game that wasn’t as close as the 20-point margin indicates.  The offense was terrible, the defense was abysmal and as usual, Oakland took stupid penalties, including DL Richard Seymour throwing a punch and getting ejected.  Of course, the Raiders looked disciplined compared to…
LOUD BOOS to the Detroit Lions, who picked up where Ndamukong Suh left off on Thanksgiving in a 31-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints.  WR Titus Young smashed a player in the facemask that turned a likely TD drive into a FG.  WR Stefan Logan flipped the football into a defender’s face that backed up what could’ve been a tying TD drive.  TE Brandon Pettigrew topped them by shoving an official who tried to break up a skirmish and will no doubt be hanging out with Suh next Sunday.
CHEERS for New England Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski, who caught two more TD passes and ran for a third as the Pats beat the Colts, 31-24.  Gronkowski has 13 TD catches this season, tying Antonio Gates (2004) and Vernon Davis (2009) for the most by a tight end in a single season, and 23 TD grabs in just 28 career games.  Considering Tony Gonzalez is the all-time leader for tight ends with 95 in 234 games, Gronkowski’s start is absolutely ridiculous.
BOOS to Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett, who turned what should’ve been a last second victory into an overtime defeat to the Arizona Cardinals, 19-13.  After reaching the Arizona 31-yard line with 26 seconds left, Dallas didn’t use either of its two timeouts, electing to let the clock run down for a 49-yard field goal attempt.  “We have yard lines that we use as guidelines before the game,” Garrett said. “We felt that we were in range at that point. You see so many situations where you have negative plays in those situations.”  (Norv Turner, there’s a Mr. Garrett to see you about playing scared at the end of games).
MORE BOOS for Garrett, who called a timeout just before K Dan Bailey powered the ball through the uprights, nullifying the kick.  “The play clock was running down. We just wanted to make sure that he had a real clean opportunity at it,” Garrett explained. “It was at about 6 (seconds) and we were still getting settled in, so we banged a timeout to give him the opportunity to get the snap, hold and kick as clean as possible.”  Needless to say, Bailey missed the second attempt and the Cardinals scored a TD in the extra session to win it.  (Andy Reid, there’s a call on Line 2 from a Mr. Garrett about clock and game mismanagement).
CHEERS for the LSU Tigers, who throttled the Georgia Bulldogs, 42-10, in the SEC title game to clinch their spot in the BCS Championship.  Just like the previous week against Arkansas, the Tigers spotted their opponent an early lead, then rolled after CB Tyrann Mathieu returned a punt for a score.  As to who they’ll face…
BOOS to the BCS, which set up a rematch of the game between the Tigers and the Alabama Crimson Tide that LSU won in Tuscaloosa, 9-6, in OT.  Alabama might be the second best team in the country, but a system that rewards a team that didn’t win its own division, no less its own conference, with a spot in the title game is a bad system.
CHEERS for my beloved Michigan Wolverines, playing in a BCS Bowl for the first time in five years.  They’ll match up against the Virginia Tech Hokies in the Sugar Bowl after a 10-2 regular season.

THERE IT IS!

-Jake Stevens

“The only two certainties in life are death and taxes.” – Mark Twain
“The only three certainties in life are death, taxes and the Green Bay Packers.” – Jake Stevens

OK, so maybe that’s an exaggeration.  But can you remember the last time the Packers played a game that counted and didn’t win?

I’ll help you out.  It was December 19, 2010, a 31-27 loss to the New England Patriots.  Aaron Rodgers didn’t play in that game after being knocked out the previous week with a concussion in a 7-3 loss to the Detroit Lions.  Since then, the Packers have won 16 consecutive games, including three road playoff games and the Super Bowl.

At 10-0 this season, the Packers have a real chance to do what the Patriots nearly did in 2007, finish the regular season 16-0 and then win the Super Bowl.  They are the top scoring team in the NFL (35.5 points per game) and their margin of victory is more than two touchdowns (14.3).  They are likely to play their starters the entire way because the San Francisco 49ers are just a game behind them in the NFC.  And while they have some tough games remaining against the Detroit Lions, NY Giants and Chicago Bears, none of those teams will make the Packers say, “OH MY!”

Speaking of those teams…

CHEERS for the Lions, who rallied from a 24-7 deficit to beat the Carolina Panthers, 49-35.  Thanks in large part to QB Matthew Stafford’s five TD passes, Detroit became the first team since at least 1950 to win three games after trailing by 17 or more points, according to STATS, LLC.
CHEERS for Lions RB Kevin Smith, who racked up 201 total yards and scored three touchdowns.  Considering he put up those totals with just 20 touches, the performance was impressive.  Considering he didn’t have a job in the NFL just two weeks ago, it was absolutely astonishing.
BOOS to the Giants, who lost at home to the atrocious Philadelphia Eagles, 17-10.  NY’s offense was putrid, amassing a mere 29 rushing yards and 12 first downs all game.  The defense was awful as well, allowing QB Vince Young to march the Eagles 91 yards on 18 plays in 8:51 for the game-winning score late in the 4th quarter.
MIXED EMOTIONS for the Chicago Bears, who won their fifth straight game but likely lost QB Jay Cutler for the rest of the regular season.  Cutler threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third in a 31-20 defeat of the San Diego Chargers.  But reports out of Chicago say Cutler broke his right thumb and will need surgery.  Ouch, literally!
CHEERS for the Miami Dolphins, who blasted the Buffalo Bills, 35-8.  After starting 0-7, the Dolphins became just the third team in NFL history to then win at least their next three games, according to Elias Sports Bureau.  In case you’re interested, the 1986 Indianapolis Colts started 0-13 and then won their last three, while the 1978 St. Louis Cardinals started 0-8 and then won four straight before finishing 6-10.
BOOS to the #2 Oklahoma State Cowboys, who blew their chance to play in the national title game by losing at Iowa State in double-overtime, 37-31.
BOOS to the #4 Oregon Ducks, who blew their chance to play in the national title game by losing to USC, 38-35.
BOOS to the #5 Oklahoma Sooners, who blew their chance to play in the national title game by losing at Baylor, 45-38.
CHEERS for the SEC West, which thanks to those losses, has the #1 (LSU), #2 (Alabama) and #3 (Arkansas) teams in the country.  Not surprisingly, it’s the first time in the 14-year history of the BCS that the same conference has had the top three teams in the standings.

THERE IT IS!

-Jake Stevens

When used properly, replay in sports helps officials make the correct calls.  About a week ago a friend of mine, Jonny LaRue, posted in our college football league that he has no faith in the college football replay system because, among other things, incorrect calls are often left to stand.  My response to him was that the system is good, but the officials are either corrupt, incompetent or both.  Little did I know the officials would live up (or is it down) to my expectations.

Fast forward to Saturday, when my beloved Michigan Wolverines were trying to rally from a 24-16 deficit against Iowa.  Early on Michigan’s final drive, RB Vincent Smith ran for an 82-yard TD, but replay correctly showed he was down in the middle of the play and the TD was overturned.  With just seconds to play, on 2nd and goal from the Iowa 3, QB Denard Robinson threw a pass to WR Junior Hemingway in the end zone, but Hemingway was ruled out of bounds.  Replay showed Hemingway caught the ball and his foot and knee were both in bounds, which made it a TD catch.  But the replay official uphelding the ruling of an incomplete pass.

Needless to say, the Wolverines failed to score on their last two attempts, including the final play where an Iowa defensive back interfered with the Michigan receiver.  There was no flag on the play.  And I was left to wonder, was it corruption, incompetence or both.

CHEERS for Baltimore Ravens QB Joe Flacco, leading a 12-play, 92-yard TD drive in the last two minutes to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 23-20.  It capped a terrific night for Flacco, who threw for 300 yards without an interception, just the 5th QB to do that at Pittsburgh since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.  The win gave the Ravens a sweep of the Steelers this season and the tiebreaker edge in the AFC North.
CHEERS for Ravens rookie WR Torrey Smith, who dropped what could’ve been the game-winning TD with just 35 seconds left but then made the game-winning catch with eight seconds remaining.  The night started terribly for Smith, who was called for holding on the first play of the game, negating a Ray Rice 76-yard TD run, but ended perfectly as far as the Ravens were concerned.
CHEERS for NY Giants QB Eli Manning, leading an eight-play, 80-yard TD drive in the last 90 seconds to beat the New England Patriots, 24-20.  Manning took heat from fans and the media in August after saying he was an elite QB in the same class as the Patriots Tom Brady.  But after Brady had marched New England down the field for a go-ahead score with 1:36 left, Manning backed up his boast with the drive of his own.
CHEERS for Arizona Cardinals rookie DB Patrick Peterson, who returned a punt 99 yards for a TD in overtime to beat the St. Louis Rams, 19-13.  You’re not supposed to field a punt inside your own 10-yard line, but when you play for the Cardinals, you take any chance to score you can.  In fact, Arizona’s only other win this season came on opening day, when Peterson returned a punt 89 yards for the winning score halfway through the 4th quarter.
CHEERS for Atlanta Falcons rookie WR Julio Jones, who returned from a hamstring injury and had three catches for 131 yards and his first two NFL TDs.  The initial score showed off his amazing hand-eye coordination as he stumbled but still managed to dive forward and catch a 50-yard bomb. The second one showed off his moves in the open field, as he broke one tackle, dodged another and raced 80 yards for the TD.
BOOS to LSU and Alabama, who played one the sloppiest, ugliest, lowest-scoring #1 versus #2 game in history.  Sure, it was close and the end was exciting, but for most of the game it was just flat out boring.  If they rematch these teams in the BCS Title Game, I might not watch.  Speaking of which…
LOUD BOOS to the BCS standings, which dropped Alabama just one spot to #3 and kept unbeatens Stanford (#4) and Boise State (#5) on the outside looking in at the championship.  I don’t care how good the SEC is, when you score only six points on two field goals (and miss four other field goal attempts) in a game that went to overtime on your home field, you can’t just slide down one notch in the rankings.
CHEERS to the Northern Illinois Huskies and Toledo Rockets, who also played a #1 vs #2 game decided by three points.  OK, so it was #1 vs #2 in the Mid-American Conference’s West Division, but it was a heck of a lot more exciting.  Northern Illinois won, 63-60, when QB Chandler Harnish threw his sixth TD pass of the game with 19 seconds left.  The teams combined for 1,121 yards and a conference-record 17 TDs in the highest scoring regulation game in MAC history.  Now that’s a game worthy of a rematch!

THERE IT IS!

-Jake Stevens

It was a fitting week leading up to Halloween in the world of sports. The ghosts of Game 6 will no doubt haunt the Texas Rangers for years to come. The ghouls of the NBA are threatening to end their season before it starts. On campus, Georgia Tech turned the Clemson Tigers into pumpkins. And in the NFL, some good teams switched costumes with some bad teams with frightening results.

TREATS for the St. Louis Rams, who shocked the New Orleans Saints, 31-21. Steven Jack(son)-O-Lantern ran for 159 yards and two TDs as the Rams won for the first time all season.
TREATS for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who whipped the New England Patriots, 25-17, in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score. Ben Roethlisberger made the Pats pass defense look like scarecrows standing still as he went 36-50 for 365 yards and two TDs to move the Steelers to 6-2 and the top of the AFC.
TRICKS on the Baltimore Ravens, who fell behind the Arizona Cardinals, 24-3, in the first half and looked awful.
TREATS for Ray Rice, who ran for three TDs in the second half as the Ravens rallied past the Cardinals, 30-27.
TREATS for Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid, now 13-0 after an off week after his team eviscerated the Dallas Cowboys, 34-7. The Eagles finally resembled the team they were hyped to be in the offseason. If Reid ever figures out clock management, look out!
TRICKS on USC’s Lane Kiffin, who claims the refs lied to him at the end of regulation when he asked for time to be put back on the clock to attempt a game-winning field goal. Not to excuse the refs if they did in fact lie, Kiffin should place the blame where it belongs, on wide receiver Robert Woods, who ran across the field trying to get out of bounds instead of just falling down so his team could call timeout, as well as the coaches for not clearly instructing Woods to do so before the play.
TRICKS on the Wisconsin Badgers, who lost on another last second touchdown heave, this time to the Ohio State Buckeyes, 33-29. Hey Bret Bielema, I guess it’s tough to run up the score when you have to rally from two TDs down late in the 4th quarter. Of course, in true classless coach fashion, Bielema blamed replay review for the loss like the previous week.
TREATS for David Freese, who saved the St. Louis Cardinals with a two-out, two-run triple in the bottom of the 9th inning of Game 6, then won it in the 11th with a home run. As if that wasn’t enough, the Missouri native then delivered a two-run double early in Game 7 to help the Cardinals win the World Series, 6-2. NOW THAT’S AN MVP!
TREATS for Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa, who retired from baseball Monday after his 3rd World Series title. Of course, he tricked himself and botched Games 2 and 5, necessitating Freese’s heroics, but the Cult of LaRussa (members of the media who credit him every time his team wins and blame somebody else every time his team loses, just like LaRussa himself) will no doubt start campaigning for LaRussa as the greatest manager ever.
TREATS for every boy and girl on this fun holiday.

THERE IT IS!

-Jake Stevens