Happy Tuesday! Here is today’s blog.
Let’s kick it off with the NFL.
The Dolphins lost a close one to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, 27-24. After a very ineffective performance in the first half, QB Ryan Tannehill led the Fins to three second-half touchdowns to take the lead, but it wasn’t enough as Aaron Rodgers mounted one of his patented fourth-quarter comebacks, scoring the game-winning touchdown with three seconds remaining in the contest.
There are no such things as “moral victories”, so I’m not hanging my hat on that one. However, it is good to see the Dolphins at a point where they were in a position to beat a very good Packers team, and, in fact, should have won the game. A questionable timeout by the Dolphins during the Packers’s game-winning drive, some shoddy pass coverage schemes and poor tackling came into play as well after the game. In order for the Dolphins to take a step in the right direction, they need to start winning these games. It isn’t just the players . . . the coaching staff needs to also step up their game.
Next up: the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, next Sunday at 1:00 pm. Another opportunity for the Dolphins’ defense to step up, after a very impressive performance against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.
The Dolphins got some more bad news, as RB Knowshown Moreno suffered a season-ending knee injury. We have probably seen the last of Moreno, who only has a one-year deal for this season, in a Dolphins uniform.
The Dolphins got some more bad news, as RB Knowshown Moreno suffered a season-ending knee injury. We have probably seen the last of Moreno, who only has a one-year deal for this season, in a Dolphins uniform.
How did I do on my picks this past week?
Once again, I went 4-2-1. My record now, after six weeks, is a lofty 28-13-2 against the spread, 31-12 overall.
My winners, losers, and pushes for this past weekend are highlighted.:
(HOME TEAM IN CAPS):
Thursday
Colts 33 TEXANS 28 (Colts -3 over TEXANS)
Sunday
Patriots 37 BILLS 22 (Patriots -3 over BILLS)
Broncos 31 JETS 17 (Broncos -10 over JETS)
Packers 27 DOLPHINS 24 (DOLPHINS +3 over Packers)
Cowboys 30 SEAHAWKS 23 (SEAHAWKS -8 over Cowboys)
EAGLES 27 Giants 0 (Giants +2 ½ over EAGLES )
Monday Night
49ers 31 RAMS 17 (49ers -3 over RAMS)
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Here are all of last weekend’s game recaps and scores:
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9
Indianapolis 33 Houston 28
Andrew Luck and T. Y. Hilton lit up the Texans. Luck threw for 370 yards and 3 TD’s, and Hilton finished with nine catches for 223 yards and a score.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12
New England 37 Buffalo 22
New owners didn’t help the Bills against the Patriots, as the Pats beat the Bills for the 21st time in their last 22 encounters. Tom Brady was 27-of-37 for 361 yards and threw four touchdown passes.
Cincinnati 37 Carolina 37 (OT)
Mike Nugent and Graham Gano each kicked field goals in overtime, but Nugent missed a potential game-winner as the Cincinnati Bengals and Carolina Panthers played to a 37-37 tie.
Cleveland 31 Pittsburgh 10
Ben Tate rushed for 78 yards and two touchdowns. Pittsburgh gave up 31 straight points after the first quarter.
Green Bay 27 Miami 24
Aaron Rodgers engineered a game-winning drive, throwing a 4-yard touchdown pass with three seconds remaining to Andrew Quarless. Ryan Tannehill led three straight second-half touchdown drives for the Dolphins as they took the lead, but it wasn’t enough.
Detroit 17 Minnesota 3
The Detroit Lions had eight sacks and three interceptions. Matt Stafford was 19-for-33 for 185 yards and one touchdown.
Denver 31 NY Jets 17
Peyton Manning finished 22-of-33 for 237 yards. Demaryius Thomas had 10 receptions for 124 yards and a touchdown, while Julius Thomas caught four passes for 51 yards and two TD’s.
Baltimore 48 Tampa Bay 17
Joe Flacco threw for career-high five touchdowns, completing 21-29 passes for 306 yards. Torrey Smith caught two of Flacco's touchdown passes and Steve Smith had another while amassing 110 yards on five receptions. Justin Forsett added 111 yards on the ground on just 14 carries.
Tennessee 16 Jacksonville 14
Ryan Succop connected on three field goals and the Titans needed a game-saving field-goal block in the final seconds to beat the Jags.
San Diego 31 Oakland 28
Branden Oliver's 1-yard touchdown run put San Diego ahead, and an interception by Jason Verrett sealed the win. Philip Rivers ended up with 313 yards and three TD’s on 22-of-34 passing.
Arizona 30 Washington 20
Carson Palmer completed 28-of-44 passes for 250 yards and two touchdown passes in his return, after missing the past three games with a nerve issue in his throwing shoulder. Larry Fitzgerald had 98 yards and a touchdown on six receptions.
Chicago 27 Atlanta 13
Matt Forte rushed for 80 yards and two touchdowns. Jay Cutler completed 26-of-38 passes for 381 yards and a touchdown, while Forte also added 77 yards on 10 catches. Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall totaled 136 and 113 receiving yards, respectively.
Dallas 30 Seattle 23
DeMarco Murray joined Jim Brown as the only running backs in NFL history to surpass 100 rushing yards in six straight games to start the season. Murray carried 29 times for 115 yards, and his go-ahead touchdown run with 3:16 to play gave the Cowboys the lead for good.
Philadelphia 27 NY Giants 0
LeSean McCoy exploded for 149 yards on 22 carries. Nick Foles completed 21-of-34 passes for 248 yardsand two touchdowns.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 13
San Francisco 31 St. Louis 17
Colin Kaepernick passed for 343 yards and three touchdowns after the Rams jumped out to a 14-0 lead. San Francisco scored 24 straight points after that. Brandon Lloyd, Anquan Boldin and Michael Crabtree each hauled in a TD pass.
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Here are this week’s NFL games and early point spreads:
Thursday, October 16th
Jets @ PATRIOTS -10 8:30 pm CBS
Sunday, October 19th
Dolphins @ BEARS -3 1:00 pm CBS
Bengals @ COLTS -3 1:00 pm CBS
Titans @ REDSKINS -4 ½ 1:00 pm CBS
Browns @ JAGUARS +5 ½ 1:00 pm CBS
Seahawks @ RAMS +6 ½ 1:00 pm FOX
Browns @ JAGUARS +5 ½ 1:00 pm CBS
Seahawks @ RAMS +6 ½ 1:00 pm FOX
Falcons @ RAVENS -7 ½ 1:00 pm FOX
Saints @ LIONS -2 ½ 1:00 pm FOX
Vikings @ BILLS -3 ½ 1:00 pm FOX
Panthers @ PACKERS -7 1:00 pm FOX
Chiefs @ CHARGERS -4 4:05 pm CBS
Cardinals @ RAIDERS +3 4:25 pm FOX
Giants @ COWBOYS -5 4:25 pm FOX
49ers @ BRONCOS -6 8:30 pm NBC
Monday, October 20th
Texans @ STEELERS -4 8:30 pm ESPN
The bye teams this week:
Philadelphia Eagles
Tampa Bay Bucs
If you play fantasy football, make sure you remember to take the bye weeks into consideration when setting your lineups.
What else are the Dolphins up to?
Miami Dolphins blog from Armando Salguero:
Chris Perkins and Omar Kelly bring us their Dolphin blog:
For more news from around the NFL, here is NFL NATION:
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In my college football picks last week, only the Hurricanes kept me from a perfect week:
UCF 31 BYU 24
MIAMI 55 Cincinnati 34
Florida State 38 SYRACUSE 20
UTSA 16 FIU 13
East Carolina 28 SOUTH FLORIDA 17
LSU 30 FLORIDA 27
Here are this week’s games involving the state of Florida teams:
South Florida @ TULSA 12 noon ESPNEWS
Tulane @ UCF 12 noon ESPNU
Western Kentucky @ FAU 12 noon Sinclair
Marshall @ FIU 6:00 pm American Sports Network
Missouri @ FLORIDA 7:00 pm ESPN2
Notre Dame @ FSU 8:00 pm ABC
Check your local listings for the local broadcasts channel.
The college games to keep your eyes on this coming Saturday:
Texas A&M @ ALABAMA 3:30 pm CBS
Georgia @ ARKANSAS 4:00 pm SEC Network
Oklahoma State @ TCU 4:00 pm Fox Sports 1
Stanford @ ARIZONA STATE 10:30 pm ESPN
I will, once again, bring you all my picks, both in the NFL and the Florida College games, on Thursday.
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Manny Navarro and Susan Miller Degnan have all the latest news from the University of Miami.
From FIU, David J. Neal of the Herald, who is, once again, allowed to see FIU play and practice, has the latest from the University of Westchester in his blog.
Here’s the latest from Tallahassee and the Seminoles:
From Gainesville and the University of Florida:
The Central Florida Knights are in the house:
Every week, celebrating the fact that we will now have a four-team playoff to determine the national championship, I will bring you my TOP FOUR teams in college football, a good barometer of what teams could end up in the four-team playoff. For now, here are this week’s “TOP FOUR”:
1. Florida State
2. Mississippi State
3. Ole Miss
4. Baylor
Just on the outside, looking in: Notre Dame
Another reminder . . . . I’ll have my picks, both NFL and College, in Thursday’s blog.
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Remember - - - Call me for all your real estate needs in Central Florida, Ocala, and The Villages . . .
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Let’s shift gears, and head out to the baseball diamonds.
The Kansas City Royals have taken a 2-0 lead in their series with the Baltimore Orioles, and now are home for the next two contests. Over in the National League, the San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals are tied at one game apiece.
Here are the probable pitchers and schedules for the week:
TUESDAY
4:00 pm Cards @ Giants John Lackey vs Tim Hudson Fox Sports 1
8:00 pm Orioles @ Royals Wei-Yin Chen vs Jeremy Guthrie TBS
WEDNESDAY
4:00 pm Orioles @ Royals Chris Tillman vs James Shields
TBS
TBS
8:00 pm Cards @ Giants Shelby Miller vs Ryan Vogelsong
Fox Sports 1
Fox Sports 1
Playoff news and notes:
In Wednesday’s game, since game Three was rained out in Kansas City on Monday, both managers have the options of going with their game one starters on regular rest. Otherwise, the Royals could choose to go with Jason Vargas, while the O’s could opt for Miguel Gonzalez.
The Cardinals are keeping their fingers crossed on the status of catcher Yadier Molina. Molina suffered a strained oblique muscle in Sunday’s game. He is feeling better, but he is not in the starting lineup for game 3. A. J. Pierzynski will be starting behind the plate for the Cards, hitting sixth in the lineup. Molina may be available off the bench. Personally, I wouldn't hold my breath for him to make an appearance in game 3.
The Orioles have an uphill battle as they face a 2-0 deficit in their series with the Royals. Eleven times a home team has lost the first two games of a seven-game League Championship Series, and none have rallied to win the series. We should remember however, that both the 1986 Mets and the 1996 Yankees lost the first two games of the World Series at home, and came back to win the series.
Can you believe that the Royals have had at least one runner on base in every inning so far in this series against the Orioles? They are beginning to look like a team of destiny, as they are the first team in major league history to win four extra-inning games in the postseason.
TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: Who has the record for the most postseason home runs in MLB history? Who holds the record for the most World Series home runs? The answer comes later, alligator.
For the latest Marlins news and stories, as well as Dolphin news, you need to make sure you follow my good friend Larry Walansky on nbcmiami.com.
Here is Joe Frisaro’s MLB Marlins Blog:
The Yankees’ blog is here, thanks to Mark Feinsand of the NY Daily News:
The Baseball Writers Association has released the schedule for award announcements in MLB:
Rookies of the Year Mon November 10
Managers of the Year Tue November 11
Cy Young Awards Wed November 12
Most Valuable Players Thu November 13
THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: Who has the record for the most postseason home runs in MLB history? Who holds the record for the most World Series home runs?
The postseason record for home runs is held by Manny Ramirez, with 29. Bernie Williams is second, with 22 and Derek Jeter is third, with 20. The World Series record for home runs belongs to Mickey Mantle, who blasted 18. Babe Ruth is second, with 15 and Yogi Berra holds down the third spot with 12.
NOTE TO THE NEW COMMISSIONER: BASEBALL NEEDS TO DIFFERENTIATE AND SEPARATE WORLD SERIES RECORDS FROM POSTSEASON RECORDS. THE WORLD SERIES RECORDS SHOULD REMAIN SEPARATE AND STAND ALONE.
Let’s go to the hardwood. Here is the Herald’s Miami Heat Blog:
Let’s shift gears and hit the ice. Here is George Richard’s Florida Panthers Blog:
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Behave yourselves, and always remember that tomorrow will bring us a brand new day.
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