Great October

October 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

It’s true what they say about the MLB in October — it’s where legends are born. The 2012 divisional series’ were a testament to the saying. With every series going the distance the stage was set for some remarkable finishes.

Out in Oakland, the A’s welcomed the Detroit Tigers in to the O.co Coliseum with expectations to do great things, while Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander had other plans in mind. Verlander, who is known to pitch a complete game from time to time, took the mound last Thursday and manager Jim Leyland said he could see it in Verlander’s eyes. Even Prince Fielder said he could tell Verlander was not going to come out of the game. The Tigers ace did not disappoint as he went the full nine innings to shut out the A’s, giving up just four hits. The 122-pitch masterpiece retired 11 batters via strike out and sent the Tigers to the ALCS where they took a 2 game lead against the Yankees. The series is headed to Detroit for games 3-5 at Comerica Park.

On the other side of the American League the Yankees – Orioles series was just as intense. Games three and four both found their way into extra innings and were decided by one run. Game 5 left the Orioles hanging their hats for the season as the Yankees outscored them 3-1.

After Werth’s walk-off jack in Game 4 to extend the series, expectations for a dramatic Game 5 in Washington were surpassed by the unexpected. If you were a Nationals fan, the first three innings left you with a great feeling. If you’re a Cardinals fan and stopped watching the Washington Nationals demolish the St. Louis Cardinals after the 6th inning you probably found yourself at a loss for words upon seeing the final score. After blasting the ball out of the stadium three times to take a 6 to nothing lead the Nationals were sitting pretty going into the final innings of the game. What they did not count on is an extremely experienced Cardinals team to come back with four unanswered runs in the ninth. After Descalso’s 2-RBI single to tie the game all was in line for that moment every kid acts out in their backyard. It’s the ninth inning, there are two outs and the game is tied. The TicketCity Play of the Week comes from the batter that stepped into box for the most cliché scenario in baseball. With runners on second and third the Cardinals shortstop Pete Kozma rips the 2-2 pitch down the right field line knocking in the game-winning runs.

The Cardinals advanced to the NLCS against the San Francisco Giants where they have a one game lead at ATT Park. Games 3-5 will take the series to Busch Stadium in St. Louis after tonight’s Game 2.

Enjoy an unbelievable Cardinals comeback with the TicketCity Play of the Week.

Filed Under: MLB

A New Generation of Legends

October 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Last week in sports was definitely one for the ages. With nearly 100 years of combined records being broken, Miguel Cabrera and Drew Brees replaced some legendary names in the record books. Cabrera became the first player in 45 years to win the Triple Crown. In Major League Baseball the Triple Crown refers to when a player leads either league in batting average, home runs, and RBIs (runs batted in). In 143 years of MLB play this feat has only been accomplished 17 times. Before Cabrera the last person to win the Triple Crown was Carl Yastrzemski in 1967. Not only did Miguel Cabrera win the Triple Crown but he is leading his team through the MLB Playoffs as they are battling the Oakland Athletics in the American League Divisional Series. Though there is no video to show how Miguel Cabrera’s bat has been the most powerful in all the MLB he most certainly will share the TicketCity Play of the Week pedestal with Drew Brees.

In 1942, Green Bay Packers quarterback Cecil Isbell established a record of 23 consecutive games with a touchdown pass. 18 years later, when the Colts called Baltimore home, one of the most legendary QBs to play the game doubled this record and threw for a TD in 47 consecutive games. His name was Johnny Unitas. After Unitas set this astonishing record it remained in the books for decades going unchallenged for 52 years. Players like Dan Marino, Brett Favre and Tom Brady all danced around the record only to fall short by ten or more games. On October 18, 2009 New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees would begin his shot at breaking this streak.

Drew Brees began his football career as a Westlake Chaparral in Austin, Texas. From Austin the 6-foot 200-pound quarterback went on to make a name for himself as the starting quarterback for the Purdue Boilermakers. In the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft the San Diego Chargers took Drew Brees as the 32nd pick. Though his size was always questioned in the NFL, Brees came to be one of the great quarterbacks of the league. It was not until 2005 when the Chargers signed their current franchise QB Phillip Rivers that Brees found himself without a team. Sean Peyton and the New Orleans Saints saw more than just the shortest quarterback in the NFL — they saw an amazing leader and football player. In the same year Brees began his consecutive game touchdown passing record he also led the Saints to a victory in Super Bowl XLIV where he was named MVP.

Last night’s stage was set perfectly for Brees as he took the field for pregame warmups. Not only was his head coach Sean Peyton allowed to attend the game but he would be going up against Phillip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers. With three minutes left in the first quarter Brees drops back on third down and finds Henderson wide open down the sideline for a touchdown to surpass Unitas in one of the most untouched records in NFL history. Brees capped the night off with three more touchdowns and 370 passing yards to bring the Saints out of their winless start and leave the new record for consecutive games with a passing touchdown at 48.

 

Filed Under: MLB, NFL

Runner Up or #1?

October 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Not to keep throwing rocks at a broken window, but it sure was nice seeing some actual NFL refs this weekend. At first I thought it was in every spectator and critic’s head, the whole ref thing. The psychologist in me would like to believe that when you tell an audience what to see there is a good chance they will see it. So as the opening weeks of the NFL began to play out along with lots of chatter about how bad the replacement refs were doing, I laughed and moved on. Then I started hearing how some of the refs had only coached high school and junior college games before getting thrown into the fastest version of football in the world and to my surprise the calls were getting worse each week. Still, not wanting to succumb to what I truly believed to be a psychological endeavor, I looked on to the next week of football. Then the Seattle – Green Bay game came to an end.

Watching the game as just a football fan and having no allegiance to either team I have a truly unbiased opinion and it was clearly an interception. I felt like I was dreaming because there is no way a ref standing 10 feet away sees this play and thinks yep that’s a touchdown. Low and behold there was a way. The blown call was bad, but what’s even worse is that the two refs run up to the dog pile, acknowledge each other with a slight head nod and then display completely opposite calls of one another. Then they proceed to review the play and still go with the call on the field of a touchdown. This was the worst call I have ever seen in a football game and was enough to get me on the bandwagon against these replacement refs. After the game some sports analyst came on with Steve Young and the post-game show cast and described what was going on perfectly, “It’s like painting a mustache on the Mona Lisa.” I couldn’t agree more.

But now that the real refs are back all is good and we can get back to talking top plays and performances. This week Baylor made its way to West Virginia for the first time for a game with a score that looked to be from a basketball game. Early this season in week one or two, I dubbed an Ohio State catch as the catch of the year, well JD Woods did not agree and decided to give Devin Smith a run for his money. I am really stuck in a cross roads with this one because the Ohio State catch was for a touchdown and he had to stay in bounds, but JD Woods catch is just as amazing. It is definitely the TicketCity Play of the Week; I will leave the catch of the year decision in your hands. JD Woods or Devin Smith?

 

Filed Under: NFL

Top Ten?

September 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment

With week four of college football coming to an end the top 10 gets a few additions. After a 13 – 6 win over Michigan, Notre Dame settles in at number 10 — the first time in six years the Irish have been a top ten team. Could this be the year for the Irish? They still have three teams left on their schedule that started the season highly ranked but have now dropped giving the Golden Domers hope that Stanford, OU, and USC are all winnable games. Likewise the Kansas State Wildcats find themselves sitting nicely at #7, the highest position for the Big 12 team since 2003. More impressively the Wildcats upset the Sooners 24 – 19 to get there.

The Crimson Tide found themselves with yet another easy week holding on to the #1 spot after their fourth consecutive blow out this year. With Ole Miss next week it could be awhile before Alabama is truly tested on the field. Florida State proved why they are not leaving the top ten anytime soon scoring 35 points in the second half in the 49 – 37 win over Clemson, knocking the Tigers down seven spots to #17. Other than Oregon State, Rutgers, and Baylor finding their way into the top 25 this week, the top teams seem to be holding steady but anything can happen in college football.

The top ten team of interest this week started there and remains the most explosive member of the undefeated bunch, the South Carolina Gamecocks. With the exception of a week-one Vanderbilt scare, the Gamecocks have been unstoppable but have somehow managed to stay out of the headlines. The Gamecocks are 5th in the nation and 2nd in the SEC for points allowed holding opponents to 9.8 points per game average. While you would have a perfectly good argument to say that S.C. has not played any top caliber teams, neither has the #1 team in the nation (Michigan lost to Notre Dame). My point being that as the season starts to move away from the “stat-building” opener games don’t be surprised to see South Carolina remaining a top contender in this year’s BCS Championship game.

Remember that Big 12 team, no not the one we all love to hate, the Missouri Tigers. They have had a pretty rough entrance into the SEC losing the first two conference games to Georgia and, you guessed it, South Carolina, which brings me to the TicketCity Play of the Week from Ace Sanders. The last time I saw a college player run this well I was in high school and Reggie Bush was on the field. There are no words to describe this kid’s quickness; you just have to witness it.

 

Filed Under: College Football

Spinable

September 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Week three in the NCAA left a few teams speechless, including the #2 ranked USC Trojans who, for the fourth year in a row, took a loss from the Stanford Cardinals. USC fans looked forward to this year’s game as they figured Stanford’s “Luck” had finally run out. Saturday night all USC personnel learned one thing; it had nothing to do with luck. It’s all about Stanford’s smash-mouth version of offense. Andrew Luck’s successor, Josh Nunes, had one of his biggest games yet against the Trojans, leading the Cardinal to a 21-14 victory.

What could quite possibly be the biggest upset of the year, also knocked USC out of the top ten and launched Stanford from 21 to 9. Continuing the west coast football theme, the year’s Super Bowl champions may be calling California home as well. Last night the San Francisco 49ers displayed defensive domination over the Detroit Lions winning at Candlestick Park, 27 – 19. The Lions were only able to get in the end zone once late in the fourth quarter. The Niners held Detroit to a field goal on four separate red zone stops and held the great Calvin Johnson to eight catches and no touchdowns.

This week’s play also comes to us from the West Coast, more specifically from the Pac-12’s California Golden Bears. Cal headed out to Ohio to take on the OSU Buckeyes. Losing 20 – 7 in the third quarter, this 81-yard touchdown run may have been what juiced the Bears comeback to lessen the margin to 7-point game. Brendan Bigelow shows some extreme balance and visual spatial coordination as he makes two spins while not only keeping his knees off the ground but also staying in bounds. It was an amazing run and a great addition to the TicketCity Play of the Week list.

This week there is also a runner-up purely due to the fact that they are both really good spin moves and I couldn’t decide on just one. The runner up play goes to Rutgers running back, Jawan Jamison, and is the second video listed below.

Filed Under: College Football
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