Saturday, January 7: WEEKEND EDITION It’s the start of the NFL playoffs, and that’s the focus here at the Notebook. There are previews of the games on Saturday (Cincy-Houston, Detroit-New Orleans), plus those on Sunday (Atlanta-NY Giants, Pittsburgh-Denver). There’s also some historical reflection on some memories from this round of the NFL postseason. Also part […]
The Portland Trail Blazers are lurking in the Western Conference. They won 48 games a year ago before being Dallas’ first victim in the playoffs and with a nationally televised win over the LA Lakers on Thursday night, Portland is up to 5-2. Can the Trail Blazers keep right on blazing and become a contender […]
It’s a quiet weekend in college basketball, with not much notable on national television on Saturday and only major game set for Sunday. Wisconsin goes to Michigan for a 1:30 PM ET tip on CBS, a game the network will televise as a lead-in to the Pittsburgh-Denver AFC playoff game in the late afternoon. The […]
There’s two college bowl games going this weekend, both bracketing the NFL playoffs in terms of time slots and serving as the college bridge to Monday’s night battle for the BCS National Championship. Here’s a look at both… SMU-Pitt (Sat,1 PM ET, ESPN): Am I the only one who saw this game and thought of […]
It’s time for another weekend with the first round of the NFL playoffs. Yesterday, as I was making a three-hour drive through central Wisconsin, I grabbed a diet Dr. Pepper, relaxed and tried to think of the most memorable games in NFL playoff history this round since 1990. That year is the cutoff point because it’s when the NFL expanded the postseason to 12 teams and had four opening-round games. I’m afraid to say I was able to remember the matchup and winner of all 84 first-round games, and pertinent points from a lot of them. The fact I can remember this stuff while casually driving is surely at least one explanation for a lot of the problems in my life. But it is what it is, and I am who I am. So I thought I’d put a few of those memories down here.
Sunday’s NFL 1st round games feature the #4 vs. #5 matchup in both conferences, so where the winners advance will depend on who won Saturday (see the Notebook preview of those games for explanation). It’s Atlanta-NY Giants and Pittsburgh-Denver today. Here’s a look at both… Atlanta-NY Giants (1 PM ET, Fox): Both teams excel at […]
The first round of the NFL playoffs kicks off on Saturday with eight of the twelve teams in action (Green Bay, New England, Baltimore and San Francisco have the byes). Here’s the Notebook breakdown of the Saturday games… Cincinnati-Houston (4:30 PM ET, NBC): Cincy is the #6 seed, so as the lowest in the AFC […]
The Big 12 is set for a heavyweight fight between two national powers this season, but unlike past seasons those schools aren’t named Kansas or Texas. This time around it’s Baylor and Missouri who rolled through non-conference play undefeated and then opened Big 12 action with another win. In a year where this conference saw […]
Duke’s upset loss at Temple yesterday was the biggest news outside of the Orange Bowl shellacking Clemson took, making it a tough night for the ACC in both sports. If nothing else though, football is over and the conference can turn its attention to hoops, where league games begin on Saturday. The ACC still has […]
Clemson-West Virginia kicks off at 8:30 PM ET on ESPN. The Notebook’s live blog starts shortly. The game preview is here. WVA makes first mistake kicking the ball out of bounds. Clemson starts at their own 40. West Virginia has to pick its poison with trying to defend Ellington in the backfield and Watkins on […]
There’s one last bit of business to clean up on the NFL regular season before the Notebook moves its focus to the playoffs and that’s the Coach of the Year. Yesterday, we did an examination of the MVP candidates to see if Aaron Rodgers deserved the favorite’s role. The COY debate also has a clear […]
A thrilling three-day run of major bowl games comes to an end tonight as Clemson meets West Virginia in the Orange Bowl (8:30 PM ET, ESPN). After the Rose, Fiesta and Sugar Bowls all came down to the last possession and the latter two going into overtime, the Orange will a tough standard to live […]
