NFL Flashback: Colts Top Jets In AFC Championship Game

Peyton Manning threw three touchdown passes as the Indianapolis Colts rallied from an eleven point first half deficit to beat the New York Jets and advance to the Superbowl for the second time in four years. New York held their own in the early going but had no answer for Manning and company in the second half as the Colts scored 17 unanswered points to take the 30-17 victory. It’s the fourth trip to the big game in franchise history and, ironically, all four previous appearances have also been in Miami.

The Colts also rewarded NFL football betting enthusiasts who had laid the -7′ points with the pointspread victory. Including the playoffs, Indianapolis has covered 12 of their 18 games this season. The Jets finished their campaign with an 11-8 record against the NFL pointspread. The 47 combined points scored went OVER the posted total of 40.

Manning and the Colts didn’t have much to say in the week prior to their confrontation with the Jets, which the four time NFL MVP insisted was by design:

“I thought we just kept our mouths shut and went to work this week. We talked about being patient against these guys. We knew it would be a four-quarter game.”

Linebacker Gary Brackett added these thoughts:

“We’ve been here before, we had seven comeback wins this year. I think the guys were a little rattled at first, I think we took their best shot, but we came back. I think we did a great job of being the hunters and imposing our will today.”

Indy head coach Jim Caldwell was pleased with his team’s resolve despite their slow start:

“The guys have always been a very confident bunch and they do a great job of hanging in there. Peyton had just an outstanding game. He’s one of those guys that can adjust to different situations. … A real champion.”

Jets’ coach Rex Ryan sounded a philosophical note in defeat:

“Today wasn’t our day. There’s no question. You have to give credit to the Colts. Obviously they’re the cream of the crop right now.

Ross Everett is an widely published freelance writer specializing in sports handicapping, auto racing, fencing, falconry and fantasy role playing games. He is a staff handicapper for Oddsbay and is responsible for providing free sports picks to a variety of broadcast media outlets. He lives in Southern Nevada with three dogs and a retired racing wombat.

Portland Acquires Marcus Camby

The Portland Trailblazers have needed a big inside presence ever since starting center Greg Oden and backup Joel Pryzbilla went down with season ending injuries. They finally found one on Tuesday as they acquired veteran Marcus Camby from the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers received forward Travis Outlaw and guard Steve Blake.

The transaction also served to answer the nagging question about Portland’s point guard situation. Steve Blake and Andre Miller have shared time running the offense, but Blazers’ management apparently felt that Miller was a better fit with superstar shooting guard Brandon Roy. Ironically, until Miller picked up a lot of the offense slack lately with Roy on the shelf with a hamstring injury the presumption was that he’d be the one heading elsewhere as the NBA trade deadline approached.

All three players involved are in the final year of their current contract, meaning that barring anything unforeseen Camby’s career in Portland will probably last only 23 games plus the playoffs. Outlaw and Blake may or may not fit into the Clippers longterm plans-assuming that one of the NBA’s most consistently underachieving teams actually has ‘longterm plans’ in the first place.

Camby indicated that he was excited to be going to the Blazers:

“I think it’s a great situation for myself. It’s a first-class organization that really takes care of their own. I hope I can bring my knowledge of the game, and blend in these last 27 games. I’m really excited to be here.”

He talked about the strange situation of actually being in Portland when the trade went down:

“I only brought one change of clothes. It’s been a real rough, rough 24 hours for me, but real exciting at the same time.”

Camby also said that he’s interesting in staying in ‘Rip City’ longterm:

“Hopefully things work out for myself and work out for the team. Hopefully they have plans for me in the long term.”

Portland GM Kevin Pritchard added:

“We are very excited to bring an experienced big man of Marcus’ caliber to the team and we feel he’ll help us a great deal down the stretch run. He’s a fierce competitor and has been one of the league’s best defensive players for quite some time.”

The 35 year old Camby has long been considered one of the NBA’s best defensive big men. Despite playing on a LA Clippers team well off the playoff pace in the Western Conference, he’s second in the league in rebounds with 12.1 per game.

Ross Everett is a experienced freelance writer who covers travel, poker and sports handicapping. He is a consulting handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, falconry and deep sea diving. He lives in Southern Nevada with four dogs and a pet coyote.

Cincinnati Wins Low Scoring NFL Preseason Battle At New England

When the biggest play of a NFL football game is an extra point, there’s a good chance it was a dull contest. Such was the case in rainy Foxboro, Massachusetts as the Cincinnati Bengals edged the New England Patriots by a 7-6 score. The big play of the game? A point after touchdown by the Bengals backup kicker, none other than wide receiver Chad Ochocinco.

After the game Ochocinco was in rare form talking about his love for European soccer:

“‘Esteban’ Ochocinco is back, the most interesting footballer in the world. Everyone has to remember, I’ve always said that soccer is my No. 1 sport. I think Ronaldinho would be proud of me right now.”

To punctuate his fondness for the sport known as football in the rest of the world, Ochocinco whipped out his iPhone to display a picture of him with former England captain David Beckham. He then continued:

“Soccer’s my first love, Kicking’s easy … like riding a bike. I can kick them from 50, 60 yards, left or right hash mark. … I kicked all through high school.”

Ochocinco was pressed into service as a placekicker when Shane Graham complained of a sore groin in pregame warm-ups. Rather than take any chances, head coach Marvin Lewis let Ochocinco take his place.

Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker, who was pressed into emergency service as a placekicker while with the Miami Dolphins, wasnt buying Ochocincos talk about kicking being easy:

“It’s not easy. To kick that is something, and he got real good height on it.”

The Patriots could only manage two FGs, while Cincinnati scored their only touchdown on JT OSullivans 24 yard pass to Chris Henry. That set up Ochocincos picture perfect extra point. OSullivan was also amused, but emphasized that his receivers athletic versatility is no joke:

“Nothing surprises me. All joking aside, he still kicked the ball through the uprights and it ended up winning the game. Some people might think its funny, but it’s important.”

The Bengals continue their NFL preseason play on Thursday, hosting the St. Louis Rams. New England will be back in action on Friday night as they travel to Washington, DC for a game against the Redskins. Cincinnati will kick off their NFL regular season schedule on Sunday, September 13th as they host the Denver Broncos. The Patriots will get their campaign underway on Monday, September 14th as they play the Buffalo Bills at home.

Ross Everett is a respected freelance writer who covers travel, casino gambling and NFL football handicapping. He is a consulting handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, flower arranging and deep sea diving. He lives in Southern Nevada with four dogs and a pet coyote.

Indy Takes NFL Preseason Win Over Philadelphia

The Indianapolis Colts offense was in high gear on Thursday night as Peyton Manning threw two TD passes in three series of action, leaving backup Curtis Painter with a 14-0 lead over the Philadelphia Eagles before exiting the game. The Colts went on to win 23-15 in NFL preseason action.

Manning was in good spirits as he discussed the Colts’ offense after this game:

“I think everybody wanted to be in there. The entire offense felt hungry after last week. Sure, there were some mistakes we can learn from, but there were some good things we can learn from.”

“I don’t think anybody offensively was really happy with what happened last week. It started with me and the entire offensive starting unit. Overall I thought everybody came back and did a better job tonight.”

Colts head coach Jim Caldwell shared his QB’s pleasure:

“They [the starters] had a couple of real good solid drives in there, performing pretty well. We were pleased with what we saw.”

Eagles coach Andy Reid wasn’t the least bit enthused with what he saw from his team:

“All in all, that was an embarrassing performance and way too many penalties, not enough intensity all the way around, starting with me. It was a poor performance.”

The Eagles were missing a number of starters and aside from a nice touchdown pass from Donovan McNabb early in the game looked nothing like a team expected to contend for a Superbowl berth. The Eagles would go on to choke mightily in the playoffs, an obvious karmic payback for signing unrepentant dog abuser Michael Vick. Vick was ineffectual all year, which made the hubris of bringing him into the fold even less understandable.

Philadelphia will host the Jacksonville Jaguars next Thursday night looking for their first win of the NFL preseason. The Colts will continue their NFL exhibition slate as they travel to Detroit for a game against the Lions a week from Saturday.

Ross Everett is a experienced freelance writer who covers travel, casino gambling and NFL football handicapping. He is a consulting handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, fencing and scuba diving. He lives in Las Vegas with four dogs and a pet coyote.

Dolphins Outlast Jaguars In Soggy NFL Preseason Affair

In a NFL preseason game characterized by rainy weather, sloppy field conditions and a quick exit for both teams starters, the Miami Dolphins outlasted their in-state rivals the Jacksonville Jaguars by a 12-9 score. Only one touchdown was scored in the game, which was a battle of field goal kickers until the third quarter.

Miami’s Ernest Wilford recently converted to tight end from wide receiver, and gave the football an emphatic spike after his game winning touchdown reception:

“There’s a sense of urgency for me. I want to play well this year. It’s a good start. That was a lot of frustration right there. I didn’t play that much last year, so I had to let it out.”

Dolphins QB Henne was pleased with his first effort of the NFL preseason:

“Overall I thought I played pretty well. I got some points on the board and had us moving.”

Jacksonville QB David Garrard gave a fairly standard assessment of his teams opening game performance:

“We have to get better at some of the protection issues. I have to make sure I get everybody lined up in the right spots.”

Free agent acquisition Tory Holt was happy with his first reception in a Jacksonville uniform:

“I had been anticipating this day for a long time. I enjoyed it and it was a lot of fun. I am looking forward to many more.”

Despite ending up on the wrong side of a losing score, Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio was generally upbeat about his teams effort:

“We are going to be physical up front. I liked what we did up front.”

Not surprisingly given the tempo of the game, the most heated battle for a starting spot was between the Dolphins placekickers. Current PK Dan Carpenter made a 48 yard fieldgoal and a PAT, while his challenger Connor Barth hit a 28 yard FG.

Jacksonville will host their other NFL rival from the state of Florida on Saturday as they welcome the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to town. Miami will remain at home as they take on the Carolina Panthers.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance sports writer and respected authority on NFL football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

NFL Flashback: Arizona Survives OT Challenge From Green Bay

The Green Bay Packers entered the NFL playoffs as one of the league’s hottest teams, and mounted a 21 point second half comeback to force overtime against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Things looked good when Green Bay won the toss, but only moments later their season was over after an Aaron Rodgers fumble that Karlos Dansby returned 17 yards for the game winning score.

Arizona sent much of the NFL football betting public home unhappy as well with their 6 point outright victory. The Cardinals had opened as -2′ home favorites but public sentiment favoring Green Bay had moved the line so significantly that Arizona was a +2′ home underdog by kickoff. With the victory, the Cardinals improved to 5-4 both SU and against the NFL pointspread at home this season. Obviously, the 96 points the two teams put on the board went well OVER the posted total of 48′. In fact, NFL totals players had already cashed their ticket long before the end of the third quarter.

Cardinals’ quarterback Kurt Warner improved his postseason record to 9-3 SU with one of the most impressive performances in league history. Warner finished with 379 yards passing and 5 touchdowns with no interceptions. After the game, he reflected on his performance:

“We knew how tough it was going to be on our defense with all the weapons they have offensively and how they’ve been playing. It was just one of those games where I felt great. I loved our playing. I felt like I was seeing everything well and it accumulates to 51 points.”

Packers’ QB Aaron Rodgers might be remembered more for the game ending fumble than his own impressive performance, but he matched Warner play for play in what will certainly go down as one of the best quarterback duels in NFL playoff history. Not surprisingly, the entire Packers’ team along with head coach Mike McCarthy took the loss hard:

“It’s clearly one of the toughest losses I’ve been a part of. I’m very proud of our football team and fight. This is a hard game to swallow.”

Quarterback Rodgers was in no mood to reflect on his excellent numbers, but was instead focused on reliving the decisive final play:

“I was trying to unload it. I should have held on to the ball. I was looking at the front side for Driv [Donald Driver]. It looked like he was getting grabbed a bit. Then I was looking for James [Jones] and they were driving in on him as he was running a little in cut, so I kind of pulled the ball back and someone hit my arm.”

Arizona will head to New Orleans to face the Saints at the Superdome next Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals are a +7 road underdog with the total set at 57. Oddly, Arizona posted better numbers on the road this season than at home, finishing 6-2 SU/4-3-1 ATS.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer and noted authority on NFL football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Northern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

The Legacy Of Bobby Hull

‘The Golden Jet’ Bobby Hull was the most feared goal scorer of the’60′s and’70′s and arguably the greatest left wing to ever play professional hockey. Along with teammate Stan Mikita, Hull made the Chicago Blackhawks one of the NHL’s true offensive powerhouses. He and Mikita were the first NHL players to use curved stick blades, which made his already wicked slapshot even more difficult to stop. This was a very significant development in pro hockey, and now its rare to find a player that plays with the flat stick blade that was once commonplace before Hull and Mikita’s revolutionary modification.

Hull was born and raised on a dairy farm near Belleville, Ontario. As a teenager it was obvious that he was on a fast track to NHL stardom, and he joined the Chicago Blackhawks not long after his 18th birthday. He would finish second in the leagues rookie of the year balloting in his first season and within a couple of years would become one of the NHLs marquee superstars. In’61, he played an important role in the Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup championship victory.

Hull made history in’66 by becoming the first player to score more than 50 goals in a season. His 51st goal surpassed Montreal Canadiens’ legends Bernie Boom Boom Geoffrion and Maurice Rocket Richard and earned him a 7 minute standing ovation from the home crowd at Chicago Stadium.

Hulls tenure with the Chicago Blackhawks ended in’72, when he jumped to the upstart World Hockey Association (WHA). Hull signed for an at the time unprecedented $1,000,000 signing bonus. Initially, Hulls response that he would jump ship for a million bucks was an offhanded joke but when the WHA ownership agreed to contribute to that sum thinking that it would provide instant credibility for the league it became a reality.

Hull would quickly resume his offensive onslaught in the upstart league for his new team, the Winnipeg Jets. He would lead the Jets to two league championship AVCO Cup victories and in’77 set a new professional hockey record with 77 goals in a season.

Injuries and chronic knee trouble would finally spell the end to Hull’s career in the WHA’s final season of’79-80. He would briefly attempt a comeback with the New York Rangers in’81, but when he proved ineffective in preseason eventually retired for good.

Modern fans may be more familiar with Hulls third son, Brett Hull, who earned NHL superstar status in his own right. Like his dad, Hull was a prolific goal scorer with a scary slapshot and will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year.

Hull is now 70 years old and splits his time between the Toronto area and Chicago where he serves as a PR ambassador for the Blackhawks organization. He is expected to formally induct his son into the Hall of Fame at the ceremonies later this summer.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and noted authority on NFL football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

#1 Gators Destroy Troy State

The 2009 college football season is already two weeks old and so far its looked almost too easy for defending national champions Florida. That was expected last week, as they destroyed overmatched FCS opponent Charleston Southern 62-3, but it wasn’t much harder today against a better class of opposition. QB Tim Tebow threw for four touchdowns and ran for a fifth as the Gators demolished Troy State 56-6. The Gators led only 7-3 at the end of the first quarter before scoring seven unanswered touchdowns. Florida is now 2-0 on the season, while Troy dropped to 0-2.

Despite a generous head start from the pointspread, Troy State lost against the money as well. Florida covered as -37 home favorites”their third straight ATS cover as a favorite of 31 or more. The Gators also won and covered the last time the two teams met, cashing tickets for college football betting enthusiasts as a -26 favorite in 2007.

After the contest, Florida coach Urban Meyer gave most of the praise to a defense that limited Troy to 139 yards of total offense and took the ball away three times:

“Defense is the name of the game today, and that defense was dominating.

Troy State coach Larry Blakney was just glad the game was over:

“We just close our eyes and pretend we never came here. But hopefully since we’ve seen the biggest, seen the best, we will learn from this experience.”

The Gators now turn their attention to their SEC opener next week against Tennessee. As if the rebuilding Vols didnt have enough problems facing the best team in college football next week, they lost to UCLA this weekend 19-15. And to make matters worse, theyve gone and made Florida mad. Specifically, a quote by new Vols coach Lane Kiffin which was is now taped to the Gators locker room wall. In the incendiary quote, Kiffin talked about Tennessee tradition as follows:

“I’m really looking forward to embracing some of the great traditions at the University of Tennessee, for instance the Vol Walk, running through the T, singing Rocky Top all night long after we beat Florida next year. It will be a blast.”

So having lost the past two games by a combined 89-26 margin, the Vols have managed to make it a game that Florida will ‘circle’ on their schedule.

After hosting Tennessee next weekend in The Swamp, Florida will hit the SEC road the following week against the University of Kentucky. Troy State will host UAB next weekend and play at Arkansas State on Saturday, September 26.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on NFL football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Anderson Silva Smashes Forrest Griffin At UFC 101

UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva had lost a lot of his luster coming into Saturday nights UFC 101 matchup with former light heavyweight champ Forrest Griffin. He was undefeated in his previous nine UFC contests, but his last three victories had been far from impressive. Even Dana White criticized his recent effort and finally conceded that St. Pierre might, indeed, be the best all around fighter in the game.

That all changed at UFC 101. Silva was simply dominant as he overwhelmed the naturally larger Griffin, knocking his opponent down three times before finishing the fight with a spectacular–yet almost effortless–straight right hand. The TKO victory was The Spiders most impressive showing since his submission triumph over Dan Henderson at UFC 82. Ironically, Hendo–off his own devastating KO victory over Michael Bisping at UFC 100–will likely be Silva’s next challenger for his middleweight title.

The live crowd in Philadelphia clearly backed the likable Griffin and gave him a huge ovation as he entered the cage to Shipping Up To Boston by the Dropkick Murphys. Silva, meanwhile, received a smattering of boos as he confidently strode to the ring to the sound of Aint No Sunshine by rapper DMX.

Once the fight began Silva transformed into the wrecking machine that UFC fans had grown accustomed before his recent run of lackluster performances. Forrest came right at Silva, assuming that his natural size advantage would equate to a strength advantage as well. After an early feeling out process, Griffin flashed a body kick which was caught by Silva and countered with a short punch that sent him to the canvas for a flash knockdown.

The resolute Griffin quickly bounced to his feet, this time flashing a high kick which Silva easily countered for another knockdown. This one clearly hurt Griffin, though he once again made it back to his feet quickly and landed a combination of his own. This was his best”and last”offense of the fight. Silva quickly floored Griffin with a left hand that left little doubt to the eventual outcome of the contest.

Silva, backing up, countered it perfectly and landed an almost effortless straight right that sent Griffin down for good. The referee didnt even bother to count as he waved his arms over the prone fighter as Silva celebrated his win. Griffin quickly exited the cage and, reportedly, the arena. Postfight reports suggested that he wanted to get immediate medical attention for a dislocated jaw suffered on the penultimate knockdown.

Silva, apparently making an effort to be more fan friendly, did his postfight interview in English with a Portuguese interpreter standing at the ready. His message was simple: I want to fight against the best. Whoever the best is at the time, I want to fight them. Though Silva didnt really affirm that hed be campaigning more at the heavier weight, that was the implicit message of his comment.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer and highly respected authority on NFL football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Northern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Swedish Heavyweight Champ Ingemar Johansson In Profile

Ingemar Johannson died in a Swedish nursing home in January 2009 at the age of 76. He’d lived in the nursing home in the Swedish coastal city of Kungsbacka since the mid’90′s when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and dementia, and had suffered from a tough case of pneumonia immediately prior to his death.

Johannson became a worldwide fistic superstar when he knocked out Floyd Patterson in the third round of their June’59 fight to become heavyweight champion of the world. At the time, he was only the 5th champ to be born outside of the United States. He wasn’t given much of a chance going into the fight due to his lax training and frequent partying during the weeks before the bout.

Despite his devil may care approach to training, he shocked the boxing world on that night in Yankee Stadium. After a lackluster first two rounds, Johannson knocked Patterson to the canvas with a right hand early in the third. Patterson never recovered and was knocked down a total of seven times before the ref waved off the fight and awarded the victory to Johannson.

Johannson would hold the title for just under a year before he lost it back to Patterson in a rematch at the Polo Grounds in New York City. Patterson was the aggressor from the opening bell, and would eventually regain his title as he knocked Johannson out cold in the fifth round with a looping left hook. Johannson went down like he got shot, and took a ten count staring up at the lights with his leg twitching and blood dribbling out of his mouth. In the immediate aftermath of his victory, Patterson displayed the class of a champion as he was more concerned about Johanssons well being than celebrating his win. Patterson sat on the canvas with his fallen opponent cradling his head as medical personnel tended to Johannson. Floyd Patterson had just become the first man to regain the undisputed heavyweight championship, but his thoughts were with the man hed taken the title from.

The two men would fight again later in the year, with an exciting slugfest transpiring before the superior conditioning of Patterson took over. Patterson would put his opponent away for good in the 6th round. After that, Johannson fought only four more times against nameless opponents in his native country before retiring in’63.

Patterson and Johannson remained close lifelong friends and would travel to visit each other every year until the American champion died in 2006. While it is commonplace today for former in-ring adversaries to become close personal friends(eg: Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mosely, Mickey Ward and Arturo Gatti), it was less common in the’60s. Johannson remained a big star in Sweden, occasionally appearing in movies and enjoyed good health well into his 60′s when old age began to take its toll.

Ingemar Johansson is considered one of Sweden’s greatest sports heroes, and was a crucial element in fueling the popularity of boxing in Europe and Scandinavia. He was married and divorced twice, and is survived by five children.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and noted authority on NFL football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

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