The last of “The Week in Sports” for this year is here! After receiving great feedback regarding this section, we will continue to update it throughout 2013. Hope you had a great holiday season and have a great New Years!
This one’s mainly NFL, for obvious reasons. We have the week’s update, as well as the full set of predictions for the Wild Card Round, which will kick off next week. Hit the jump for the recap.
Don’t forget, we put up a Year-End list for our Best of Sports on the Internet in 2012, so be sure to check that out.
-grizzly and thevhb
NFL News:
The final week of the season proved to be fairly dramatic, considering many teams had a lot on the line. Our home team, The Houston Texans have been on a miserable streak as of late, losing in Indy and giving up the first round bye. The Redskins beat the Cowboys in a “win and in” situation, as the rookie tandem of RGIII and Alfred Morris are continuing to impress any and everyone. The Vikings clinched a playoff spot, thus eliminating the Bears and Giants in the process. However, it didn’t come without the heartbreaking fact that Adrian Peterson was NINE YARDS short of breaking the all-time rushing record. The Jets, Raiders, Jags and Chiefs suck, but the it’s the latter team who landed the #1 pick in 2013’s Draft.
Check the “What to Watch” section for the schedule of the Wild-Card Round Matchups, as well as our Predictions.
The NFL Playoff picture is set! Grizzly and I did our Predictions for the post-season below.
Here is how we fared from our early season predictions:
NFC East: We were both extremely wrong. We picked the Eagles to win the division, but the Redskins ended up winning it in the final game.
NFC North: We were correct in picking the Packers. We both thought that they would have 3 losses, when they landed a 5* – asterisk of course, for the famed Fail Mary, which ended up haunting them.
NFC South: We both picked the Saints. I guess Sean Payton is worth more than we think. Falcons ended up winning it in an extremely convincing fashion, taking home the #1 seed in the NFC.
NFC West: I personally want to take this time to say I was dead wrong about Russell Wilson in my prediction. Who would have thought he was the real deal? 49ers took home the cake, with a first round bye to boot.
AFC East: We both picked the Patriots, and were right. It wasn’t even close.
AFC North: We both picked the Ravens, and were right. But wow – Steelers missing the Playoffs? Who would’ve thought?
AFC South: We both picked the Texans, and were right. We also thought the Colts would be much worse, but they ended up putting up a very impressive 11-5 campaign.
AFC West: We both picked the Broncos, and were right. Peyton’s back.
“Black Monday” has started off with a blaze. As of now, 7 Head Coaches and 5 General Managers have been let go.
Andy Reid’s reign in Philly is over. Not even waiting til Monday, sources have turned in news items that his tenure as the Head Coach (14 years, longest current tenure) will come to an end, and he will surely hit the open market soon enough.
The Chicago Bears fired Lovie Smith as well. The team started of 7-1, but finished 3-5, missing the playoffs for a second year in a row..
The San Diego Chargers will be firing Norv Turner and GM AJ Smith. No surprises here.
The Jacksonville Jaguars will be firing their GM, but retaining their Head Coach, Mike Mularkey.
The New York Jets have also fired their GM Mike Tannenbaum, but Rex Ryan remains.
The Kansas City Chiefs gave Romeo Crennel one year as head coach before firing him. The Chiefs will have the first pick in the NFL Draft to build on as well..
The Cleveland Browns got rid of Pat Shurmur. The real head-scratcher was them getting rid of their GM, Tom Heckert who had done a great job rebuilding this team.
The Arizona Cardinals have fired their GM Rod Graves and Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt. They’ve also cleaned house on the offensive side of things. They started 4-0, and ended 5-11. Enough said.
The Buffalo Bills have relieved Head Coach Chan Gailey of his duties after three years.
The Oakland Raiders have fired Offensive Coordinator Gregg Knapp, as well as their Special Teams Coordinator, IL coach and LB coach.
Other coaches that may get the axe: Dennis Allen (Oakland Raiders), Ron Rivera (Carolina Panthers), Mike Munchak (Tennessee Titans), Jim Schwartz (Detroit Lions), Jason Garrett (Dallas Cowboys) and Bill Belichick (New England Patriots – Just kidding, assholes).
NBA News:
After 28 games, Avery Johnson was relieved of his duties as Brooklyn Nets’ coach. This comes after Johnson won the NBA Coach of the Month for October and November. Rumors of Deron Williams’ hand in all of this have been swirling, and after what happened with Jerry Sloan, I wouldn’t be surprised.
We have two streaks that we need to keep watch for as of January 2013:
+ The Los Angeles Clippers are on a 17 game winning streak.
+ The Charlotte Bobcats are on an 18 game losing streak.
(What comes first? A Clippers loss or a Bobcats win? )
In a marquee matchup, Oklahoma City Thunder went on the road to beat the Houston Rockets, who are currently housing their former 6th man of the year, James Harden, in a convincing fashion.
The Miami Heat saw their first back to back losses of this seasons, after taking home Ls against the Pistons and the Bucks.
Vish took home the W in our Christmas Day predictions matchup, 3-2. FYV.
NCAA News:
Today, many of the better Bowl Games start taking off. Worth noting are the Hyundai Sun Bowl, Chik-Fil A Bowl, Capital One Bowl, Outback Bowl, Sugar Bowl, and of course – the marquee games in the Rose Bowl and Fiesta Bowl. For a full schedule, head here.
Notable Winners:
Texas Tech beat Minnesota in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.
Texas rallied to beat Oregon State in the Valero Alamo Bowl.
Baylor tacked on 49 points in a victory over UCLA in the Holiday Bowl.
What to Watch this Week:
(All Times are EST)
NCAAF:
Check out the bowl schedule , which will have many big name matchups this week.
NBA:
1/1 | NBATV | 9:00 | LA Clippers at Denver
1/2 | NBATV | 7:30 | Memphis at Boston
1/4 | ESPN | 8:00 | Chicago at Miami
1/4 | ESPN | 10:30 | LA Lakers at LA Clippers
NFL:
(All Times are EST)
2012 NFL Results: Vish (15-4) | Grizzly (12-7)
Wildcard Round:
Cincinnati Bengals (6) at Houston Texans (3)
Saturday, January 5. 4:30 PM, NBC
Grizzly’s Prediction: Holy shit, I couldn’t be more disenfranchised as a fan of the Texans, my home team who I hold so dear. These guys have been playing like absolute ass, letting teams like the Vikings and Colts embarrass em while they let the #1 seed slip away and fall by the wayside. Now they’re playing a rematch of last year’s Wild Card Round, but I’ll still ride with my team. It’s what comes after this that I’m worried about.
Vish’s Prediction: Agree with everything that Grizzly said. I hope that this team at least shows up for this round and takes care of the Bengals. I’m glad our team can use our home crowd to feed off of, otherwise I’d be picking the Bengals. They have a great defensive line and one of the best WRs in the game. I think Houston finally gets their shit together and gets this win.
Minnesota Vikings (6) at Green Bay Packers (3)
Saturday, January 5. 8:00 PM, NBC
Vish’s Prediction: I like the Packers. At home, Aaron Rodgers will get things taken care of. Christian Ponder was great and all, but having your first playoff game at Lambeau Field isn’t an easy task.
Grizzly’s Prediction: Packers. This past week’s game was no fluke, but I’m positive the Packers weren’t too concerned about rolling through. Plus, a loss keeps the Bears out of the playoffs, right? Packers in a convincing 2 TD+ win.
Indianapolis Colts (5) at Baltimore Ravens (4)
Sunday, January 6. 1:00 PM, CBS
Vish’s Prediction: Ravens. What a story of Chuck Pagano. You can only ride the emotional aspect so long though. The Colts are not the same team they are at home. Andrew Luck has played nearly flawless at home, but the Colts are going into a place where it is very difficult to win. Even if the Ravens are banged up, they will be ready to end Andrew Luck’s season.
Grizzly’s Prediction: Colts have been on an emotional high as of late (They’re also playing excellent football), riding the incredible story of Chuck Pagano. But as Pagano meets his former team, there will be a bit of a reality check. Sure the Ravens struggled at times this year – but they’re pretty good at home. Look for the Ravens to welcome a young a rebuilding Colts team to the playoffs and win by 10.
Seattle Seahawks (5) at Washington Redskins (4)
Sunday, January 6. 4:30 PM, FOX
Vish’s Prediction: Seahawks on the road. They are well balanced and will be getting their other great CB back, Brandon Browner. With Richard Sherman winning his suspension appeal, the Seahawks are getting better on defense. Yes, they are on the road, but Russell Wilson is used to cold weather. Alfred Morris has been a beast in Mike Shanahan’s run scheme, but Marshawn Lynch is simply better. I’m excited for the rookie QB matchup between Wilson and RGIII.
Grizzly’s Prediction: This is easily the best game of the Wild Card round. Two of the most impressive rookies in NFL history – Russell Wilson and the enigmatic RGIII facing off in what almost seems like a Rookie of the Year battle. As great as I think the Redskins have become this year, Seattle is too well-rounded to sleep on. That defense is stifling. I’m going with the Seahawks by 4.
Thanks for reading!
-grizzly and vish