Category: Following Sports

Sports Forecast for Thursday, November 13, 2014

Sports is no fun if you don’t know what’s going on. Here’s what’s going on:

In today’s segment, I covered:

  • NHL – San Jose Sharks at Tampa Bay Lightening, 7:30 p.m. ET on regional cable.
  • NBA Basketball – Chicago Bulls at Toronto Raptors, 8 p.m. on TNT.
  • NBA Basketball – Brooklyn Nets at Golden State Warriors, 10:30 p.m. on TNT.
  • NCAA Football – East Carolina Pirates at Cincinnati Bearcats, 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
  • NCAA Football – California Golden Bears at USC Trojans, 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.
  • NFL Football – Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins, 8:25 p.m. ET on NFL Network.
  • And more!

For email subscribers, click here to get the audio.

You can subscribe to all Dear Sports Fan podcasts by following this link.

Music by Jesse Fischer.

What happened on Wednesday, November 13, 2014

  1. A furious friendly: Mexican soccer fans got the revenge they were waiting for by beating the Netherlands 3-2 in a wild soccer game. There was a loud section of Mexican fans who had made the trip to Amsterdam bearing signs with the slogan “No ay penal” referring to the controversial penalty kick awarded to the Netherlands in this past summer’s World Cup. Beating the Netherlands in an exhibition game may be weak revenge but its revenge nonetheless.
    Line: If Mexico had played that aggressively in the World Cup, they wouldn’t have been victimized by a penalty call. They would have won by three goals.
  2. More revenge in hockey: The two national games yesterday both featured teams that have played each other recently in dramatic, seven game playoff series. In both the games, the team which had lost in the playoffs won yesterday. The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins 6-1 and the Anaheim Ducks beat the Los Angeles Kings 6-5 in overtime.
    Line: Revenge is a dish best served cold. You know, like on ice… get it? get it?
  3. The NBA takes a trip to Mexico: The National Basketball Association held a regular season game in Mexico City lat night between the Houston Rockets and the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Rockets won 113-101 and it should probably be no surprise that one of the most brand conscious NBA players, Dwight Howard, had a big game. Howard has been criticized for being too happy-go-lucky but it’s hard to criticize him at all when he scores 22 points and gets 10 rebounds.
    Line: Somehow when the NBA plays a game internationally it doesn’t seem like a gimmick the way it does when the NFL does it.

Sports Forecast for Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Sports is no fun if you don’t know what’s going on. Here’s what’s going on:

In today’s segment, I covered:

  • International Soccer – Mexico at the Netherlands, 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
  • NHL – Boston Bruins at Toronto Maple Leafs, 8 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network.
  • NHL – Los Angeles Kings at Anaheim Ducks, 10:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network.
  • NBA Basketball – Houston Rockets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves in Mexico City, 10 p.m. on ESPN.
  • And more!

For email subscribers, click here to get the audio.

You can subscribe to all Dear Sports Fan podcasts by following this link.

Music by Jesse Fischer.

What happened on Tuesday, November 12, 2014?

  1. New York/New Jersey teams win: An odd thing happened in the NHL last night, the New York Rangers, New York Islanders, and New Jersey Devils — three NHL teams within about 50 miles of each other, all played and all won. The Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-0 to end the Penguins long win streak. The Islanders beat the Colorado Avalanche 6-0 to one-up the Rangers. The Devils beat the Minnesota Wild 3-1.
    Line: Good night for hockey in New York and New Jersey.
  2. Raptors put their claws down in the fourth quarter: The Toronto Raptors are the contenders for the Eastern Conference championship that no one is talking about. They don’t have the star power of the Cleveland Cavaliers or Chicago Bulls, plus they hide out all the way up there in Canada. They have the best record in the league so far this season with seven wins and only one loss. Last night, the young Orlando Magic were beating them through three quarters but the Raptors came out in the fourth and outscored them 32-17 to eek out a four point victory.
    Line: Don’t sleep on the Raptors!
  3. Versatility helps Northern Illinois: At first glance, the college football game last night between the Toledo Rockets and the Northern Illinois Huskies looks like a close, exciting, but expected 27-24 victory by Northern Illinois, the school that’s won the last four division titles. Then you look a little closer and find out that the Northern Illinois starting quarterback was their fourth quarterback of the year because their first three all got injured and he’s actually a wide-receiver!
    Line: I love it when teams are forced to switch a player to another position.

Sports Forecast for Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Sports is no fun if you don’t know what’s going on. Here’s what’s going on:

In today’s segment, I covered:

  • NHL – Colorado Avalanche at New York Islanders, 7 p.m. ET on regional cable.
  • NBA Basketball – Orlando Magic at Toronto Raptors, 7:30 p.m. on NBA TV.
  • NCAA Football – Toledo Rockets at the Northern Illinois Huskies, 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
  • And more!

For email subscribers, click here to get the audio.

You can subscribe to all Dear Sports Fan podcasts by following this link.

Music by Jesse Fischer.

What happened on Monday, November 10?

  1. Eagles outclass Panthers: I suppose it’s fitting for the NFL game the night before Veterans’ Day to be won by a team that uses our national bird as their name. The Eagles scored on defense, special teams, and offense last night in beating the Panthers 45-21. The Panthers, who made the playoffs last year, have now lost four games in a row.
    Line: Looks like the Eagles really didn’t miss a beat with new starting quarterback Mark Sanchez.
  2. Seattle and Dallas tie, Seattle wins: The Seattle Sounders went into their Major League Soccer playoff game last night knowing that they would advance to the next round with a win or a 0-0 or 1-1 tie. They went for the 0-0 tie and their home crowd, wise to the ways of the soccer playoffs, didn’t mind one bit.
    Line: Sometimes in soccer, a 0-0 tie is really a win for one team.
    What’s next: Game one of the Western Semifinals between the Seattle Sounders and the L.A. Galaxy is 5:30 pm E.T. on Sunday November 23, on ESPN.
  3. Spurs get late run to beat Clippers: The defending champion San Antonio Spurs leaned heavily on last year’s finals MVP, Kawhi Leonard to beat the Clippers 89-85. Leonard scored 26 points despite not being able to see very well out of one eye because he’s still recovering from a nasty case of pink eye. I repeat he scored 26 points against professional competition despite not being able to see very well out of one eye. And I have trouble making an uncontested layup.
    Line: Kawhi Leonard, even with one eye, is better at basketball than most humans.
  4. LeBron’s triple double leads the Cavs to a win: In basketball, a double double is when a player records double digits in two main statistical categories, most frequently points and assists. A triple double is an ever rarer feat which calls for a player to score double digits in three categories. It’s a sign of a well-rounded player absolutely dominating a game. LeBron James recorded a triple double last night with 32 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists and his team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, beat the New Orleans Pelicans 118 to 111.
    Line: Now that’s the LeBron the Cleveland fans have been waiting for!

Sports Forecast for Monday, November 10, 2014

Sports is no fun if you don’t know what’s going on. Here’s what’s going on:

In today’s segment, I covered:

  • Tennis – Barclay’s ATP World Tour Finals: Roger Federer vs. Kei Nishikori 9 a.m. ET and Novak Djokovic vs. Marin Cilic at 3 p.m, ET on The Tennis Channel.
  • MLS Soccer Playoffs – FC Dallas at Seattle Sounders FC, 10:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network.
  • NBA Basketball – San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Clippers, 10:30 p.m. on NBA TV.
  • NFL Football – Carolina Panthers at the Philadelphia Eagles, 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
  • And more!

For email subscribers, click here to get the audio.

You can subscribe to all Dear Sports Fan podcasts by following this link.

Music by Jesse Fischer.

Week 10 NFL One Liners

On Mondays during in the fall, the conversation is so dominated by NFL football that the expression “Monday morning quarterback” has entered the vernacular. The phrase is defined by Google as “a person who passes judgment on and criticizes something after the event.” With the popularity of fantasy football, we now have Monday morning quarterbacks talking about football from two different perspectives. We want you to be able to participate in this great tradition, so all fall we’ll be running NFL One Liners on Monday. Use these tiny synopses throughout the day:

Week 10

Sunday, November 9, at 1:00 p.m. ET

Kansas City Chiefs 17, at Buffalo Bills 13

After starting the season with two losses, the Chiefs have won six of their last seven games and are hurtling towards a playoff spot. The Bills are the exact opposite. They started the year with two wins and are now sinking towards missing the playoffs for the 15th straight season.
Line: Two teams headed in opposite directions pass each other in week 10. If they are both traveling at the speed of light, how far will they…

Tennessee Titans 7, at Baltimore Ravens 21

The Titans scored seven points in the first quarter and then not again for the rest of the game. That had to be frustrating for Titans fans. Frustrating for Ravens fans? They’re stuck in a division with three other really good teams.
Line: Are they the Tennessee Titans or the Titanics? ’cause their season is sinking fast.

Dallas Cowboys 31, vs. Jacksonville Jaguars 17 (In London)

Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo came back from missing one game with two broken bones in his back and led the team to a relatively easy win over the Jaguars. These London games might be fun to go to, but for some reason they’re almost always bad examples of what an NFL game should be like.
Line: Why do we keep sending the worst matchups over to London?

Miami Dolphins 16, at Detroit Lions 20

This game was one of the weekend’s best matchups. The Lions and Dolphins both seem to be on the upswing this season and they played a great game. Vegas’ common logic says that home-field advantage is worth three points, so this game suggests that the Lions are better than the Dolphins by a hair.
Line: I really enjoy both these teams.

San Francisco 49ers 27, at New Orleans Saints 24

The 49ers needed to win this game more than the Saints because, although they were both 4-4 coming into the game, the Saints division is much weaker than the 49ers. First it looked like the 49ers were going to win comfortably, then it looked like the Saints were going to beat them, then there was OVERTIME, and finally the 49ers won.
Line: Just like the Dolphins, Lions game, this one lived up to expectations.

Pittsburgh Steelers 13, at New York Jets 20

A classic “any given Sunday” game to use as evidence that even seemingly lopsided matchups in the NFL can have unexpected outcomes. After throwing 12 touchdowns in two weeks, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger couldn’t seem to get anything going against the canny Jets defense.
Line: Was this enough to save (Jets coach) Rex Ryan’s job?

Atlanta Falcons 27, at Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17

This game could be used as exhibit A for another NFL lesson. Even a game between two bad teams with almost no chance of making the playoffs is played in a spirited fashion. Why? Because every player on both teams is playing for their job each week.
Line: This game was more exciting to watch than you would think from the score and the, uh, teams involved.

SUNDAY, November 9, AT 4:05 and 4:25 P.M. ET

Denver Broncos 41, at Oakland Raiders 17

This was a good game for almost a quarter and a half of football. Then the Broncos woke up and remembered they were the Broncos and the Raiders remembered they were the Raiders and fell asleep.
Line: Sheeesh, the Broncos are good.

New York Giants 17, at Seattle Seahawks 38

The Giants were actually winning this game at halftime but the Seahawks scored 24 straight points in the second half and the Giants scored none. Seahawks running back, Marshawn Lynch, scored four touchdowns.
Line: BEAST MODE [Lynch’s nickname/catch phrase]

St. Louis Rams 14, at Arizona Cardinals 31

The Cardinals won this game to move to eight wins and one loss on the season, but the question of the day will be, “at what cost?” Their starting quarterback, Carson Palmer, went down with what looked like a bad knee injury in the fourth quarter.
Line: Arghh. The Cardinals were such a fun story. I hope Palmer is not too badly hurt.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 9, AT 8:30 P.M. ET

Chicago Bears 14, at Green Bay Packers 55

This game was as lopsided as any game I’ve ever seen. The Packers came out and were simply better than the Bears in every facet of the game. It’s one of the few games where I wouldn’t have been surprised if the owner had fired the coach at halftime.
Line: If you were watching that game after the first half, you must have either had money riding on the outcome, or you just love rubbernecking.

What happened on Sunday, November 9, 2014?

  1. Football, football, football: Good football games. Bad football games. Close football games. Lopsided football games. We’ve got them all covered in our NFL One Liners column.
    Line: No time to watch football? Just read Dear Sports Fan’s One Liners instead.
  2. Major League Soccer playoffs: The New England Revolution beat the Columbus Crew 3-1 to advance to the Eastern Finals where they will play the New York Red Bulls. The Los Angeles Galaxy got a hat-trick (three goals) from their retiring captain, Landon Donovan, on their way to advancing to the next round. They beat Real Salt Lake 5-0.
    Line: Landon Donovan’s still has some energy in his legs and tricks up his sleeve.
    What’s Next: The last conference final spot is up for grabs tonight at 10:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network when the Seattle Sounders play F.C. Dallas in the second leg of their two game playoff series. The two teams ties the first leg in Dallas 1-1, so to advance, Dallas will need to win the game or tie it at a score higher than 1-1.
  3. California Basketball teams play Trading Places: Last night the until then undefeated Golden State Warriors lost their first game of the season, 107-95 to the Phoenix Suns while the unvictorious Lakers won their first game of the season 107-92 over the Charlotte Hornets.
    Line: You can’t keep a good team down forever. Or a mediocre one, it seems. Nor can you keep a good team up forever.
  4. Second place not enough in NASCAR’s Elimination round: NASCAR has a playoffs of its own which I don’t completely understand but should probably figure out. Yesterday’s race was the semifinals of the championship where the eligible field (more drivers race in each individual race than are eligible for the championship) was narrowed from eight to four. The top four spots didn’t change and Jeff Gordon was eliminated despite placing second in the race.
    Line: I get the feeling that NASCAR’s playoffs are pretty awesome, I’ve just never spent the time to understand how they work.

NFL Week 10 Good Cop, Bad Cop Precaps

The NFL season has started but how do you know which games to watch and which to skip? Ask our favorite police duo with their good cop, bad cop precaps of all the Week 10 matchups in the National Football League this weekend. To see which games will be televised in your area, check out 506sports.com’s essential NFL maps. If you’re worried about watching too much football or if you’re negotiating for a little break during the weekend, read our weekly feature, Do Not Watch This Game.

Week 10

Sunday, November 9, at 1:00 p.m. ET

Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo Bills

Good cop: This game is for the real football fans out there! The teams may not be glamorous but they’re both 5-3 and playing great football! I can’t wait to see it!

Bad cop: Not glamorous is an understatement for teams featuring Alex Smith and Kyle Orton as starting quarterbacks. Even the biggest football fans in the world wouldn’t know those guys if they bumped into them in the super market. Unless Orton had his famous neck beard. Neck beard.

Tennessee Titans at Baltimore Ravens

Good cop: The Baltimore Ravens are the best last place team in football! A win this weekend is going to start their run to the playoffs!

Bad cop: The Tennessee Titans are the WORST third place team in the NFL by far. Can you say blowout? 

Dallas Cowboys vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (In London)

Good cop: Will Cowboys Quarterback Tony Romo play with two broken bones in his back?!? What a tough guy! That’s a game I want to watch!

Bad cop: The Jaguars always play with at least two broken elements of their team. The Cowboys could beat them without ever even attempting a pass.

Miami Dolphins at Detroit Lions

Good cop: Without ever making headlines, these two teams are quietly among the best in the league! They have great defenses! Neither team gave up a point last weekend!

Bad cop: Sure… the Dolphins shut out the Chargers and the Lions… had a bye week. Cheap stat.

San Francisco 49ers at New Orleans Saints

Good cop: Whoooo! This is an exciting game! Both teams have underachieved this year and both teams need to win this game! At 4-4, a loss here could end the playoff chances of either team!

Bad cop: You’re overselling that a little. A loss would be disastrous for the 49ers but the Saints are actually in first place of their division at 4-4, that’s how bad their division is. The Saints can afford a loss here.

Pittsburgh Steelers at New York Jets

Good cop: Ben Roethlisberger has thrown twelve touchdowns in the last two weeks!

Bad cop: The New York Jets have eight passing touchdowns this whole year. I keep mistakenly typing their name as the Jest and I think I should stick with it.

Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Good cop: If 8-8 might win this division, the 1-7 Buccaneers still have life!

Bad cop: Amazingly, that’s what they’re thinking too. As evidenced by them switching back to unsuccessful veteran quarterback Josh McCown.

SUNDAY, November 9, AT 4:05 and 4:25 P.M. ET

Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders

Good cop: These teams hate each other! The Raiders would love to continue the Broncos losing streak!

Bad cop: One loss creates a losing streak? The Broncos lost last weekend and now they’re mad. You think the Raiders are going to even score in this game? Bah.

New York Giants at Seattle Seahawks

Good cop: This is an unexpectedly important game for the standings! With the Cardinals running out to a two game lead over the Seahawks and the Eagles and Cowboys ahead of the Giants and looking strong, these two teams need to win to stay in the divisional race!

Bad cop: I have no idea what will happen in this game. But I can’t see it being exciting. These teams induce my afternoon football nap more than any other teams in the league.

St. Louis Rams at Arizona Cardinals

Good cop: The Rams may be a losing football team but they love playing within their division! They are 2-1 against divisional opponents and they just beat the 49ers in a close game! Will they make it two in a row?!!?

Bad cop: Rams are sheep. Sheep need water. Arizona is a desert. No, the Rams won’t win.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 9, AT 8:30 P.M. ET

Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers

Good cop: Old time football! Outside! Freezing cold! The forecast says it will be 34 degrees at kickoff!

Bad cop: So it will probably be 65° and sunny. Did you see Patriots quarterback and star curmudgeon, Bill Belichick go off on the weather forecasters this week?

MONDAY, November 10, AT 8:30 P.M. ET

Carolina Panthers at Philadelphia Eagles

Good cop: It’s a classic matchup of star quarterback versus offensive system! The Panthers have the quarterback, Cam Newton, but the Eagles have the system! Even with a new quarterback, Mark Sanchez, coming in, my bet is on the system!

Bad cop: You do know that the offenses don’t actually play against each other, right? There are so many other factors that go into winning a football game, something that, dare I mention it, the Panthers haven’t done since October 5.