It has been a busy weekend for sport, with 3 key matches coming to a close on a global scale:

Formula 1 - The Flying Fin - Kimi Raikonnen, pips British rookie Lewis Hamilton and last years champion Fernando Alonso in the final race at Interlagos, Brazil. Kimi had not lead the championship since the first race, however he finished with a phenominal 2nd half to the season and beat the feuding McClarens who drove themselves out of the points repeatedly during the final races in a bid to best each other.

MLB - the Boston Red Sox defeated Cleveland 11-2 in game 7 of the ALCS, firing them into the World Series. They scored and impressive 6 runs in the bottom of the 8th to clinch the victory.

Rugby World Cup - South Africa become world champions defeating England 15-6, amid the outcries of a “dubious” decision by the video referee that disallowed what appeared to be an England try, (which would have, at the time, cut the score from 9-3 to 9-8) the springboks captivated a dream world cup in which they cruised through the entire competition, and ending Englands dream of back to back world cups, and the opportunity to do so by winning 3 consecutive games as the underdogs (beating Australia in the 1/4 finals and home nation France in the semi’s)

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Cody Paul, a name to remember perhaps?

As highlighted in a previous report, on Sunday British rookie Lewis Hamilton will be fighting for the F1 championship.
But before that, on Saturday, England will be taking on South Africa in the final of the 2007 Rugby Union World Cup. The two teams were in the same group at the start of the world cup, and in the previous match England were well and truly hammered by the springboks 36-0, but after hitting their form, dispatching the highly rated Aussie’s and the home side of France, they will be looking for a 3rd successive upset as they go in as the underdogs.

But, not only will they be going into the final with the memories of the loss from a month ago, and the pressure of being the first team to winback to back world cups, they will also be without Josh Lewsey, one of the standout wingers in rugby. He limped off during the first half against France and the England team doctor Simon Kemp has ruled him out after scans were taken of his leg, although nothing else has been said about the injury.

Lewsey, who was a member of the 2003 World Cup team that won the tournament, will remain in France with the squad. He also stated:
“I have done all i can, now is the time to get behind the team”

Regardless of injuries to the squad, come Saturday England will be facing a huge test against a side that has cruised almost effortlessly through the tournament, could we be seeing the fate of it all resting on Johnny Wilkinson’s left foot once again?

The answers to that question are obvious:

- Besides a major injury setback, the Pats will be coming out of week 9 with either home field advantage or the other advantage of knowing what the Colts may try should they meet again in the post-season.

- LT is not done yet, 4 TD’s and 198 yards rushing, while still being eclipsed by rookie Peterson’s numbers, it could be the start of something big for the future hall of famer. and i say future hall of famer for both LT and Peterson (he is THAT good).

- Defensive co-ordinators can’t prepare you for everything, all the tape available from the first 5 weeks, and despite missing any big kind of attacking prowess, Adrian Peterson still rolled over the Bears for 224 yards, and he did it behind a line that can’t be considered anywhere near the best in the league, while the Bears stacked up against him. And on the other side of the ball? They are STILL kicking to Hester, it’s simple, on kickoff’s give them the start on the 40, the Bear’s offense is inconsistent, look for turnovers. And on punt’s, give the ball to the crowd! just go for it on 4th and 21, its all better than just giving them an easy 7 points!

- Old dogs, new tricks? Of course im talking about Testaverde, 21 straight seasons with a TD, mind you, he is still more mobile than Drew Bledsoe ever was, but throwing for over 200 yards after only having a few days to get to know the offense is some going, kudos to you old man, kudos…

- If strange men offer you the cover of a certain game, turn it down. I am a firm believer of the Madden curse, so is Tomlinson, and he quickly turned down the offer to be on the cover of ‘08. Vince Young did not, and so far he has thrown only 3 TD’s but 6 interceptions, has a rating of 68.0 and for a mobile QB has only gone for 129 rushing, and then to top it off he hurt his quadriceps against the Bucs and sat out the rest of the game.

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In precisely 8 days time and 1 race, the Formula 1 season will be finished, and the title race is the closest it has been for years (the first time since 1986 there have been 3 drivers gunning for the championship in the final race).

Currently on top is British rookie and McClaren driver Lewis Hamilton, who could have taken the title last week, but in treachourous conditions, his tyres were worn so far that the canvas was showing, and when he pulled into the pits, he slid off under braking into the gravel trap immedietly outside the pits, and no amount of pushing from the Chinese stewards could move the beached car. This leaves Hamilton (107 points) going into the final race (Brazil) with “only” a 4 point lead, which means if he finishes 1st or 2nd, he will become the champion ahead of his team mate Fernando Alonso (103).
However, If Hamilton finished 3rd and Alonso wins, they will be tied on points however Alonso will have one more 1st place, and will take the title, there are dozens of other possibilities involving tied points, but anything other than the above scenario between those two will result in Hamilton taking the title thanks to him having one more 2nd place finish.

Then there is the outside chance, Kimi Raikonnen, aka the Flying Fin, and he has certainly lived up to that nickname in the latter half of the season. He currently stands at 100 points, so if Hamilton finishes 5th or better, or Alonso finishes 2nd, then Kimi is out. But the way the second half of the F1 season has gone so far, anything could happen.

A complete listing of all the possible finishes at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix.
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It’s week 6 of the NFL season, and everything has been turned upside down, at least, in the NFC it has…but first, the “big showdown”, the 5-0 Pats at the 5-0 ‘Boys, Only the 5th time in history that two teams at 5-0 or better have faced off, but whats making this headline news across the board is that of the receivers, or as everyone else has been talking about, the 81 showdown, T.O. vs. Moss.
T.O. struck first, after practice leaving a note on his locker, which read as follows:
“Dear Reporters,

“p.s. Getcha Popcorn Ready.”

Of course the “other 81″ he is referring to is Randy Moss, who is letting his stats do the talking as he currently leads the NFL with 34 receptions for 551 yards and 7 TD’s. and while T.O.’s numbers aren’t shabby, (21 receptions/387 yds/3 TD’s) he certainly isn’t letting the stats take his spotlight. But then there is the QB situation, or rather, the shoot-out situation, since this is how the match is shaping up to be (that could be down to the lacklustre pass defence of the Cowboys). Romo will be playing his 16th career start, and when compared to Tom Brady’s first 15 games, or anybodys for that matter, Romo is on fire, throwing for over 4,000 yards and having a rating over 100, but coming off a game in which he threw 5 interceptions and fumbled the ball, its going to require a big return to form to go against the current number 1 defence in the NFL. But we are looking at a team that has improved from last year, and they beat the 9-0 Colts.
My prediction: even i have to respect how well the Pats are playing right now and go against my fave team; Pats 38-21 Cowboys.
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The Tigers and Mariners had the distinct advantage of knocking each other down some games since they played one another. While the Tigers won the first two of the three game series, the Mariners weren’t about to let the Tigers get one step closer to moving ahead of them (just behind the Yankees). Today, the Tigers lost 14-7, at Comerica Field. Felix Hernandez started for the Mariners and in actuality he really didn’t control the ball game. Hernandez gave up multiple runs and hits to the Tigers, but that didn’t seem to matter.

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Ok, so my record is 0-1, but this week isn’t over yet. For some reason, Payton Manning had all the right moves and the Saints (even with the talent of Brees and Bush) just didn’t have what it took to take Manning down. This is just the first game of the season. Let’s hope it doesn’t foreshadow how the rest of the games will play out for the Saints this year.

This wasn’t just a win. This was a mess of a game. I hardly recognized the Saints in this game. Sure, the Colts won last year’s Superbowl, but it was a new year and in football who wins one year doesn’t necessarily reflect on how well they play the next. However, this opening game, in which the Colts won 41-10, seems to be the prelude to another season the Colts will dominate.

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Despite other losses on the board, it was the 34-32 loss of Michigan that got the attention of sports fans and caused them to take the hardest hit. Most of the other teams failed to even move on the poll. Another team to fall off the rankings was number 19, Florida State. Their drop was due to the loss at Clemson (24-18). With Florida State out, Clemson moved in. Georgia Tech also made it into the Top 25 thanks to their win against Notre Dame (33-3), which almost made U of M’s loss look like nothing in comparison.

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I find that the hardest games to predict tend to occur during the first few weeks of the season. This does not take away from the fun that is involved in predicting each game. I’m going to try and explain my motivation for choosing each team. Anyone who wants to compete in the NFL prediction game can leave their predictions (with or without explanations) in the comment section. I look forward to seeing what teams everyone else will be predicting to win.

Thursday, September 6, 2007

New Orleans Saints at Indianapolis Colts

While the Colts made it to the Superbowl (and won) last year, the New Orleans Saints were last year’s underdogs turned superstars. This pre-season has shown the Saints still have what it takes to win a football game while the Colts have been nothing more than a disappointment (what gives Peyton?!). While I may be a bit biased in this selection, and I do believe this will be a close game, I have to go with my team on this one.

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