NFL Week 3 Recap

The first 2 weeks proved that this season in the NFL was going to be very interesting, and week 3 was no different.  In this week there were shockers and excitement, with the Patriots losing to the Bills, the Bills and the Lions going 3-0 for the first time in years, Mike Vick snaps on referees and Tony Romo playing with a punctured lung and broken ribs.  This week in the NFL was action filled and did not leave a fan disappointed, not unless your team received a mark in the L column.

Week 3 Highlights:

• At halftime Titans Hasselbeck was 16/19 in passes for 172 yards to 7 different receivers.
• Vick left game for the 2nd game in a row with what was thought to be a broken hand, ended up being a bruised right hand. With Vick out of the game the Giants were able to finish off the Eagles for the first time in 3 years.
• Vikings and Lions went into overtime with the Lions winning the game by a field goal.  This season is the first time the Lions have been 3-0 since 1980.

Brooklyn Nets

Jay-Z announced today that the New Jersey Nets will be moving into their new arena in Brooklyn, New York in September 2012.  Jay-Z stated that he will open the arena with a concert to be held sometime in the month of September next year.  He said he's not sure how many concerts will be a part of the opening but it may be more than one.  Jay-Z feels that the Brooklyn Barclays Center will help escalate the Nets into the elite group of teams like the Miami Heat and other elite franchise. Jay-Z, which is part owner of the Nets, also confirmed the Nets name will be changed to the Brooklyn Nets.

Michael Vick Calls Out Referees

During the press conference following the Eagles loss to the New York Giants Michael Vick brought attention to the referees as well as himself.  Vick has become frustrated and feel that he doesn't get the same calls that other quarterbacks in the league receive.  If you watch the Eagles play its obvious that Vick gets beat up and hit more than other quarterbacks, whether its from the offensive line not doing a good job of protecting him or if defensive players of the opposing teams knowing that they would not receive a roughing the passer flag thrown when going after Vick.

Vick stated, "I don't know why I don't get the call, the 15 yard penalty like other players.  I'm not complaining, I'm just making everyone aware."

The press conference came after Vick left the game with what was thought was a broken hand.  After a CT Scan today it showed that Vick suffered from a bruised hand not a broken hand.  During the game a X-Ray was taken by doctors that showed that Vick may have fractured his hand after a fall he took during the 3rd quarter of last night's game against the Giants, but the CT Scan conducted today showed that what actually looked like a fracture on the x-ray was a blood vessel sitting on top of the bone.  It is uncertain as of now whether Vick will play in this Sunday's game against the 49ers even though the injury occurred to his non-throwing right hand.

Manning Out for Season

It came out earlier today that Colts' owner stated that Peyton Manning would be out for the remainder of the season.  Jim Irsay later took to twitter and stated, "I didn't say Peyton was out for the season for sure, keeping him on active roster and taking it month by month/ Outside chance of return in December possible."  It is still uncertain exactly when Manning will return or if he will even return this season.  Peyton is continuing rehabilitation after his second neck surgery on September 8th.  Not unless the Colts makes the playoffs , which they are now 0-3, it doesn't seem like Peyton would play this season seeing as how the last regular season game is January 1st.  See the tweet from Irsay below:

NBA Season In Jeopardy

Commissioner David Stern stated on Thursday that the calendar is not their friend after another unsuccessful meeting between the owners and players on Thursday 9/22/11.  On day 84 (Friday 9/23/11) of the lockout the league announced that training camp as well as 43 preseason games will be cancelled for this upcoming season.  Training camps were scheduled to begin next Monday 10/3/11 with the first preseason game scheduled 6 days later on October 9th.

Both sides were unable to reach a deal on the new Collective Bargaining Agreement that was presented to both sides on Thursday.  In the new deal the owners wanted to cut the current player's percentage of revenue from 57% to below 50%.  Both sides were also unable to agree on the cap salary for each team, in which players wanted it to also remain the same.  The owners and players are scheduled to meet again tomorrow in hopes of coming closer to an agreement with regular season scheduled to tip off in a little over a month on November 1st.

Players are still holding out on signing overseas to see what will happen this week with negotiations.  Durant stated earlier that he would wait until October 1st to make a decision as he has been talking with a Turkish team.  Kobe Bryant has also been offered a deal from a team in Italy.  For fans that had already purchased tickets for the preseason, ticket holders will receive a full refund on all tickets purchased plus 1 percent interest.

NFL Week 2 Recap

As the season continues to roll along, some of the teams that were not so good in week 1 made a turn around in week 2, while some teams continued to struggle, and others continued to succeed.  During this week, 2 of the top publicized quarterback exited their games with injuries, Michael Vick and Tony Romo.  Also in week 2 the league continued to hand out fines as Atlanta Falcons Dunta Robinson was one player fined ($40,000) during week 2 for a hit led by his helmet against Eagles Maclin in the 3rd quarter.  The Colts also continued to struggle without star quarterback Peyton Manning as they are now 0-2 after losing this past week to Cleveland.  Below are some highlights from this past week.

Stand Out Highlights:

• Tate continued to start for the Texans this past week rushing for 103 yards in his second start.
• Tom Brady had 423 passing yards for 3 touchdowns against the  Chargers.
• Giants fans are beginning to become frustrated with Eli Manning who had 200 passing yards and 2 touchdowns against Rams.  

Newton Does It Again

Newton broke another record Sunday being the 1st rookie quarterback to have 2 consecutive games passing for 400+ yards.

Panthers held Packers to a scoreless 1st quarter and took and early 10-0 lead but was unable to hold on with the Packers outscoring the Panthers 16-0 in the 3rd quarter.  Newton rushed for a 4-yard touchdown with :37 seconds left in the game which brought the Panthers within a touchdown of the Packers.  After Newtons touchdown the Panthers attempted an onside kick, which if recovered could have led to a touchdown to tie the game.  The Panthers was unsuccessful at recovering the onside kick which sealed the deal giving the Packers a 30-23 victory over the Panthers.

Newton ended the game with 432 yards 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions.  Newton also led Carolina in rushing with 10 carries for 53 yards and 1 touchdown.  J. Stewart led the Panthers in receiving with 8 receptions for 100 yards.

Rodgers ended the game with 308 passing yards leading to 2 touchdowns.  Starks led the Packers in rushing with 9 carries for 85 yards as Finley led Green Bay in receiving with 5 receptions for 68 yards.

It's crazy that Cam has had 2 back to back 400+ passing yards games but yet the Panthers did not win either game.

Rodgers stated, "I'm just happy we played them early in the season because once he [Cam Newton] gets it together he's going to be a force to be reckoned with."

Vick Returns to the Georgia Dome

The game Sunday in Atlanta was a sight to see.  I was lucky enough to have tickets to the game to witness Vick's first return to the Georgia Dome as the starting quarterback for a team other than the Atlanta Falcons.  The fans in the Dome was in full force ready to see their former star in person again.  The Dome was filled with Vick jerseys old and new.  The crowd was torn wanting to cheer for Vick but also wanting to be loyal to the home team.

With the game under way Matt Ryan set the momentum of the game throwing a touchdown pass to Roddy White in the 1st quarter with 2:44 remaining.  The Falcons defense also held the Eagles to a scoreless 1st quarter putting the Falcons on top going into the 2nd quarter.  Vick pulled the Eagles back into the game in the 2nd quarter with the Eagles scoring 10 points in the quarter but the Falcons still led going into halftime 14-10.

Before leaving the game in the 3rd quarter with a concussion from a hit from his own player, Vick was able to bring the Eagles back into the game.  Philadelphia scored 3 touchdowns in the 3rd quarter and held the Falcons to only 1 touchdown, putting the Eagles on top 31-21.  Going into the 4th quarter down by 10 points Atlanta had to get it together to not disappoint the fans on their own field.  The Falcons defense pumped it up holding the Eagles to another scoreless quarter as the offense, led by Matt Ryan, scored 2 touchdowns giving Atlanta a 35-31 victory over Philadelphia.

Vick ended the game with 242 passing yards leading to 2 touchdowns, 1 interception, 3 fumbles, and 6 carries for 25 rushing yards.  L. Mccoy led the Eagles in rushing with 18 carries for 95 yards and 2 touchdowns as J. Maclin led the Eagles and Falcons in receiving with 13 receptions for 171 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Ryan ended the game with 195 passing yards leading to 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.  M. Turner led the Falcons and Eagles in rushing with 21 carries for 114 yards and 1 touchdown as T. Gonzalez led the Falcons in receiving with 7 receptions for 83 yards and 2 touchdowns.  Gonzalez had an amazing 1-handed catch at the back of the endzone from Ryan in the 3rd quarter which at first glance looked like it could have been an incomplete pass.  To catch the pass and keep control of his body for the score took a lot of concentration and self control.

It was great seeing Vick playing in the Georgia Dome again even though it was for another team.  It's great to see someone change their life around for the better.  Michael Vick's story is truly a story of redemption and 2nd chances.

Boise State Rolls Over Toledo

With 5 minutes still left in the game, Kellen Moore of Boise State had already thrown for 455 yards and 5 touchdowns and was 32 for 42 in passing.

Moore got the pace of the game rolling in the first quarter throwing 2 touchdown passes, one for 26 yards and the other for 71 yards.  Going into the half Moore kept the game rolling throwing a touchdown pass to Tyler Shoemaker with 17 seconds left in the 1st half putting the Broncos up 20-9 at halftime.

The Broncos went into the game against Toledo looking to improve its running game who ended up having only 145 rushing yards in Friday's game.  Doug Martin led the Broncos in rushing with 19 carries for 70 yards as well as leading Boise State in receiving with 5 receptions for 122 yards.

Moore was definitely a beast in Friday's game, putting up NFL numbers.  His precision, accuracy and the numbers he put up had a lot sitting back in awe.  With 1:22 left in the 1st half Moore was able to get the football down to the 1 yard line within 6 consecutive passes.  Moore went on the lead the Broncos in a 40-15 victory over the Toledo Rockets.

"If we have to put the ball in Kellen's hands, we don't have any problems with that," Boise State Coach Chris Peterson.

Meet Metta World Peace

After applying to have his name changed to Metta World Peace back in June, a Los Angeles County Superior Court Commissioner finally approved for Ron Artest's name change today during a brief court session.  Artest was not present for the court session due to scheduling conflicts with Dancing With the Stars, but a representative from Ron's camp was present.  His representative stated that Ron's new name would go as follows: First Name: Metta; Last Name: World Peace. It's going to be interesting World Peace on the back of Artest's jersey next year (well that's if there is a NBA season).  Ron decided to change is first name to Metta based of the Buddha meaning for the term which is loving kindness and friendliness toward others.  I wonder how many people will really call him Metta or would a lot of people continue to call him Ron Artest?

NFL Week 1 Recap

The first week of regular season was very interesting to say the least... Some of the teams looked like the lack of mini camps due to the lockout did not affect that at all, then on the other hand some of the teams, including some of the leagues top teams, looked like the lockout had a major affect on their playing abilities.  If you would try to determine who you believed would be in the Super Bowl based off of the first week's action it would be very difficult, some of our favorite teams that everyone is looking to dominate this season fail short in their games this past weekend.  The biggest shocked of the week has everyone asking when Peyton Manning went out did he take the entire team with him? The Colts shocked everyone who thought that even though Manning would be out they would still be able to hold their own. Sunday's game showed how much of a leader and how much the team needs P. Manning as the Texans had a field day with the Colts, dominating them in every aspect of the game.  Hopefully the Colts will bounce back this week against the Cleveland Browns. Below are some of the highlights that stood out during the games this past week.

Stand Out Highlights:

• The number one highlight of the past week (in my opinion) goes to Mr. Cam Newton.. Newton had a rookie record debut with 422 passing yards, throwing 2 TD passes, and had 18 rushing yards that led to a rushing TD.
• Tom Brady threw for 517 yards in the Patriots' victory of the Miami Dolphins. When asked about the win the coach replied there is always room to improve.
• Janikowski of the Oakland Raiders tied the NFL record with a 63 yard field goal, which later would be the determining factor in the victor in their game against the Broncos.
• Rookie Randall Cobb scored 2 TDs in his debut for the Green Bay Packers including a 108 yard kickoff return.