Sports Blog

If you are a sports fan you probably find yourself stricken with a wicked case of déjà vu right now.  Sadly it isn’t a dream and we aren’t stuck in a day that keeps repeating a la Groundhog Day.

No, the truth is much more grim.  Brett Favre is once again waffling on his retirement plans and appears to be intent on torturing the sports world with another summer of ‘will he or won’t he’ nonsense.

There had been murmurs of it for weeks, but it became official yesterday that Favre and Minnesota Vikings Head Coach Brad Childress will meet at an “undisclosed location” to discuss the possibility of Favre coming back to spite the Green Bay Packers try and win another Super Bowl ring.  Even though I dread having to read/watch a million (only a slight exaggeration) stories over the coming weeks about the situation, there are a few things that make it more interesting than Favre’s usual melodrama.

For starters, prior to going to the New York Jets last year Favre indicated interest in playing for the Vikings.  Of course, with the Packers controlling his rights there was no way he was going to be lining up for a division rival.  Still, the interest was mutual and neither side seems to mind ruining former starter Tavaris Jackson’s confidence.

What I find most compelling is Favre, who multiple times said he had no interest in playing, had his agent request his release several weeks ago.  Why would a man content in retirement care which team held his rights?  Was he lying about his intent to stay retired or are we to believe that he has had a recent change of heart?

Daytime TV drama aside, there is still the question of whether or not the 39-year-old Favre can play.  After helping the Jets get off to an 8-3 start, Favre regressed as the season went on and looked completely out of sync (and breath) in the Jets final few games.

It is also difficult to believe he would risk further tarnishing his legacy by coming back and looking like an old Brett Favre instead of the old Brett Favre, but perhaps we are all underestimating how much bad blood there is between him and Packers general manager Ted Thomson.

For now all we are left with are questions. Will he come out of retirement?  Will fans turn on him more than they already have?  Will I lose my mind listening to up to the minute updates on ESPN?  It is too early to tell, but the smart money is a resounding yes on all three.

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If you didn’t tune into the Philadelphia Eagles/Minnesota Vikings game yesterday, then shame on you. But also if you didn’t, you missed out on perhaps one of the best pancakes I’ve seen all season. Chris Clemons happened to bring the pain to Tarvaris Jackson.

Here is a short clip of why quarterbacks should only throw the ball and try not to tackle or block.

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Fantasy Studs:

• Lendale White came back from a rough week to run for 106 yards and 2 touchdowns.
• The Cowboys Defense filled up the stat sheet with 7 sacks, a fumble recovery and an interception.
• Michael Turner still ran for 120-yards, despite losing a fumble.
• Donovan McNabb didn’t get benched this week, throwing for 4 touchdowns and 260-yards.
• Despite only running for 74-yards, DeAngelo Williams still had 4 touchdowns.
• Larry Fitzgerald hauled in 2 touchdown passes on Sunday.
• The Steelers Defense had 3 fumble recoveries,  5 sacks and 2 interceptions.
• Brian Westbrook did it all, catching 2 touchdown passes and rushing for another 2 with 110 yards.
• Bernard Berrian finished with 122-yards, including a 99-yard touchdown reception.
• Adrian Peterson racked up 131-yards and a touchdown.
• Aaron Rodgers threw for 3 touchdowns and 298-yards.
• Tony Romo’s pinky looked fine, throwing for 331-yards and 3 touchdowns.
• Houston’s Steve Slaton rushed for 2 touchdowns and 130-yards.
• The Titans’ Chris Johnson ran for 130-yards and 2 touchdowns.

Fantasy Duds: 

• Ryan Grant finished with only 39-yards.
• Matt Cassel was sacked five times, lost a fumble twice and threw 2 interceptions.
• Laveranues Coles caught only 2 passes for 2 yards.
• Peyton Manning had only 126-yards passing and 2 touchdowns.

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This week in sports blogs and news:

• Former Viking would like to hit Brad Childress -Deadspin
• Other Selfless Acts by Good Citizen Tony Romo - The Sports Hernia
• Houston Police assault Donald Driver’s father - SportsByBrooks
• A pretty sweet double knockout - Larry Brown Sports

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This week on the Smarter Sports Blog we covered:

•  “Anyone have any A-1!!?”
• Fantasy Football: Week 11 Fantasy Stats
• 5-Year-Old Milan Tuttle Shows Off Her Skills

Fantasy Studs:

• Peyton Manning passes for 254 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a 2-point conversion.
• The Pittsburgh Steelers Defense racked up 7 sacks and 2 interceptions.
• Donovan McNabb led the Eagles with 349 yards and 2 touchdown passes.
• In the first start of his career, Tim Hightower rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown.
• Antonio Bryant caught 8 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown.
• Kurt Warner had 342 yards in the air and 2 touchdowns.
• Chris Johnson of the Titans had 89 yards on the ground, 72 receiving and a touchdown.
• Adrian Peterson tallied up 139 yards and a touchdown.
• The Giants’ Brandon Jacobs had 117 yards and touchdown.
• Owen Daniels caught 11 passes for 133 yards.

Fantasy Duds:

• Ben Roethlisberger left the game early Monday Night, finishing with only a rushing touchdown.
• Joseph Addai finished with only 42 total yards.
• Stephen Jackson managed only 17 yards on the ground for the Rams.
• Santana Moss caught only 2 passes for 14 yards.

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Check out and see who made an impact this week in the NFL for your fantasy football teams:

Fantasy Studs:

• Denver’s Brandon Marshall had 18 catches for 166 yards and a touchdown.
• Adrian Peterson ran all over Indianapolis, gaining 160 yards.
• Anquan Boldin caught 6 balls for 140 yards and 3 touchdowns, including a 79 yard score.
• Jay Cutler passed for 350 yards and four touchdowns.
• Arizona’s Kurt Warner showed why Matt Leinart is on the bench with 361 yards and 3 touchdowns.
• Aaron Rodgers had his first 3 touchdown game of his career and passed for 328 yards.
• Greg Jennings had 167 yards receiving.
• San Diego’s Philip Rivers had 377 yards and 3 touchdowns in a heart breaker to Denver.
• Calvin Johnson had 2 touchdowns and 129 yards for Detroit.
• Santana Moss had 164 yards receiving which including a game winning 67-yard touchdown reception.
• Rookie Darren McFadden ran all over the Chiefs, with 164 yards and a touchdown.

Fantasy Duds:

• LaDanian Tomlinson had only 40 all purpose yards for the Chargers.
• The Chiefs’ Larry Johnson ran for a dismal 22 yards.
• Indy’s Marvin Harrison managed only 1 catch for 16 yards.
• Randy Moss finished the day with only 2 catches and 22 yards.
• Jeremy Shockey lost a fumble and finished with only 2 catches.

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The NFL season has officially begun. Let’s all take a moment and rejoice in this joyous occasion.

Being a complete sucker for sports history, I watched the Hall of Fame induction and imagined what it would be like to cry in front of a group of my peers and a national TV audience. I also caught most of the Redskins/Colts game and am on the verge of jumping onto the Colt Brennan bandwagon.

And although neither event was particularly memorable, watching them did get me even more excited about the upcoming season. Since I was so excited about football I decided to take a break from preparing for my fantasy football draft and came up with 10 reasons to be psyched for this year’s NFL season.

10] The Brett Favre watch – Everybody complains that they are tired of hearing about the latest will-he-or-won’t-he-play talk, but every time I speak to a NFL fan they always seem to know the freshest Favre information. Adding to the intrigue is the fact that both he and Packer’s management have treated the situation about as bad as they possible could.

Now we all begin each day wondering whether or not he will he start for the Packers this season; if Aaron Rodgers can ever mentally overcome the circus; how likely it is John Madden cries during Sunday Night Football if he sees Favre Play; and how ESPN will survive in the post-Favre era?

9] Watching this year’s “sleeper” team fail – I know it’s a little perverse, but I get sick of everyone jumping on a sleeper team every year. It has gotten to the point where it is just as bad to be the sheik sleeper team as it is to be on the cover of Madden; no one wants the curse.

Last year the media was talking about how the 49ers were a team to watch, and the moment they did, as a 49er fan I knew the season was doomed. This year the NFL community is hyping the Minnesota Vikings like crazy. Now we have to spend 16 weeks watching them not live up to expectations.

8] NFL Live – Really, is there anything more ridiculous than watching NFL Live in June? Over the summer we take a half-hour out of our day to hear why the Miami Dolphins cut their backup janitor. But once the season rolls around, NFL Live becomes as addicting as crack.

The show keeps us up to date on how every team in the NFL is doing and points us in the right direction for players to watch and players to forget. As an added bonus, hearing Ron “Jaws” Jaworski break down film makes us all wish we would have paid attention more while in school.

7] Seeing karma destroy the Patriots – Like most people who don’t live in Boston, I’m not a fan of the New England Cheaters Patriots. Although I dislike them for different reasons then most people (Bledsoe shouldn’t have lost his job to injury!), watching their perfect season swirl down the Super Bowl drain last year was beautiful.

Who would have ever thought that Eli Manning would go toe-to-toe with Tom Brady and come out on top? The Patriots look good again this year, but I have the feeling that their Spygate misdeeds will once again be punished by the football Gods.

6] Grown men beating each other senseless – If we were really honest about it we would say that one of the best things about the NFL is the big hits. Seeing a defensive end blindside a quarterback who stood a little too long in the pocket sends shivers down our spine and adrenaline throughout our body.

You could also add to the list: a running back trying to jump over the pile, a punt returner not waiving for a fair catch and getting laid out, and a wide receiver that was hung out to dry by his quarterback who makes him jump in the air over the middle.

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Tom Brady is at is again, but Adrian Peterson was shutdown and held to only three rushing yards. Here are the players that made an impact this weekend.

• Tony Romo passed for 302 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner to Jason Witten with under a minute in the game.
• Jason Witten hauled in 15 passes for 138 yards, including the touchdown.
• Marion Barber finished the day with three touchdowns for the ‘Boys.
• Randy Moss caught 7 passes for 135 yards and two touchdowns.
• Tom Brady did it again with four touchdown passes and 399 yards.
• The Colts Defense had a great day with 3 interceptions, 2 fumble recoveries, 4 sacks, a safety and a blocked punt.
• Peyton Manning matched Brady with four touchdowns of his own and 246 yards.
• Jay Cutler had a great day with 4 scores and 244 yards.
• Ryan Grant ran for 156 yards and a touchdown in a win for the Packers.
• Wide receiver Lee Evans had 2 touchdowns for the Bills in a win over the Dolphins.
• LaDainian Tomlinson rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner in overtime over the Titans.
• The Vikings Defense racked up 2 sacks, 3 fumble recoveries and 2 interceptions, including one for a touchdown.
• Eagles running back Brian Westbrook had 116 yards rushing, 38 yards rushing and touchdown.

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Here are those who made a difference this weekend. For once, there won’t be Patriots player on this list, only because they play tonight.

• Tony Romo helped put the Cowboys above the rest in the NFC by defeating the Packers with 309 yards and 4 touchdowns.
• Terrell Owens chipped in 7 catches for 156 yards and a touchdown.
• Adrian Peterson didn’t show any signs of rust after missing a few games, rushing for 116 yards and 2 touchdowns.
• Andre Johnson of the Texans caught 9 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown.
• Stephen Jackson had a good overall game with 96 yards on the ground with a touchdown and 71 yards receiving.
• Looks like that hamstring didn’t bother Braylon Edwards at all, catching 7 passes for 149 yards and a touchdown.
• LaDainian Tomlinson ran for 177 yards and 2 touchdowns.
• Kevin Curtis caught 6 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown for the Eagles in a losing effort.
• Despite having no touchdown grabs, Joey Galloway hauled in 7 passes for 159 yards.
• Hines Ward had 11 catches for 90 yards and 2 touchdowns.
• Falcons receiver Roddy White had 10 catches for 146 yards and a touchdown.
• The San Diego Chargers Defense had 3 interceptions and 8 sacks, including 3 from Shawne Merriman.
• Eagles running back Brian Westbrook did it all against the Seahawks, running for 93 yards and a touchdown, returning a punt for 64 yards and 46 yards receiving.
• Peyton Manning passed for 4 touchdowns and connected with Reggie Wayne for 2 of those who also finished with 158 yards receiving.
• Tony Gonzalez finished with 10 catches and 140 yards for the Chiefs.

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Here are the best of the best in NFL action yesterday. And surprisingly, Tom Brady wasn’t the most dominant player this weekend.

• In a heartbreaking loss to the 49ers, Kurt Warner tossed for a staggering 484 yards and 2 touchdowns, but it was his costly fumble in the end zone that lost the game for the Cardinals.
• Frank Gore did it all for the 49ers, running for 116 yards with 2 touchdowns and catching 11 passes for 98 yards.
• Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald hauled in 9 passes for 156 yards and 2 touchdowns.
• Colts signal caller Peyton Manning was back this week with 3 touchdown passes and 272 passing yards.
• Despite not having any touchdown grabs, Patriot Wes Welker caught 13 passes for 149 yards.
• Antonio Gates caught 6 passes for 105 yards and 2 touchdowns for the San Diego Chargers.
• The Viking Defense had an awesome game with 3 out of their 4 interceptions being returned for touchdowns and 3 sacks.
• Bronco Jay Cutler passed for 302 yards and 2 touchdowns.
• Brett Favre was up there with Kurt Warner in terms of stats, but led the Packers to a win with 381 yards and 3 touchdowns.
• Kellen Winslow caught 10 passes for 107 yards and a touchdown.
• Drew Brees threw for 3 touchdowns and rushed for another one in a win over Carolina.
• Chad Johnson had 3 touchdowns and 103 yards receiving on 12 catches.
• Tom Brady passed for 380 yards and only 1 touchdown.

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