Armadillo: Tuesday's six-pack
Six of the more interesting NFL games in Week 14
-- Vikings @ Arizona (-7)-- Interesting Thursday game in the desert.
-- Bills @ Philadelphia (-1)-- LeSean McCoy visits his old friends.
-- Falcons @ Carolina (-7.5)-- These teams play twice in next three weeks.
-- Saints @ Tampa Bay (-4)-- Buccaneers heading towards the playoffs.
-- Patriots (-3.5) @ Houston-- New England visits their old QB coach.
-- Cowboys @ Green Bay (-8.5)-- 3:25 local time kickoff on frozen tundra.
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Armadillo: Tuesday's List of 13: Nobody asked me, but.......
13) Steve Sarkisian is suing USC for wrongful termination; he is asking for a lot of money. He got fired for showing up drunk- he might even have coached a game or two under the influence. Takes a lot of onions to sue your employer after that happens.
12) Dodgers signed pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma as a free-agent; Seattle then filled that hole by acquiring Wade Miley from Boston. Iwakuma is good if he is healthy.
11) Speaking of the Dodgers, Peter Gammons wrote last week that new manager Dave Roberts wasn't allowed to pick any of his coaches-- very unusual. Why would you hire a guy who has never managed, then not let him pick any of his coaches?
10) Saints ran a blocked PAT back for two points Sunday, first time that happened in an NFL game-- rule has been in college for lot longer. Counting that block, there were nine PATs missed this week- there were eight missed all of last year.
9) UMass-Lowell 68, Boston College 66-- If you're in same league as Louisville, Duke, North Carolina and Virginia, and you lose to Mass-Lowell, its going to be a very long winter. Some BC players apparently got food poisoning at a Chipotle, too- they didn't practice on Monday.
8) When Austin Davis started for Cleveland Sunday, he became their 24th starting QB since 1999. If you own the Browns, just hire a coach, keep him there for a few years, give him a chance. Without continuity, it is hard to develop a good program.
7) Oklahoma 78, Villanova 55-- This game was played in a neat old arena on Pearl Harbor; no air conditioning, seats close to the court. It really did look like a summer league game. Both of these teams should be high seeds in March, but this was really a surprisingly easy win for Oklahoma.
6) Nancy Pelosi was Speaker of the House from 2007-11; she is obviously a very influential politician. About ten years ago, her husband was an investor in an ill-fated football league, the UFL. Apparently he and others lost tens of millions on the deal. I'm reading s book about a guy who coached in that league- must be nice to be rich.
5) In Matt Schaub's last nine starts, he's thrown six pick-6's; no bueno.
4) Indianapolis Colts fired OC Pep Hamilton earlier this year, replaced him with Rob Chudzinski. Problem is, Chudzinski doesn't know the language of Indy's offense, so when he calls plays, it has to go thru a third party so the QB gets the right terminology called in to the quarterback's helmet.
Wouldn't it be easier to let Matt Hasselbeck call his own plays? He's started 157 NFL games, he has to be able to call his own game. QBs called the plays in the old days-- it is not always progress when you change things.
3) Last four years, Big 14 teams have played in 33 bowl games; they've been the underdog in 27 of those 33 games, going 13-20 SU.
2) Under-reported sports story of the year: Remember Michigan State's miracle TD on last play of the game to beat Michigan? Well, when the Michigan State players ran on the field to celebrate, so many of them jumped on the pile that the kid who scored the TD dislocated his hip and is out for the year, may never play again.
1) Cowboys 19, Redskins 16-- Three NFC East teams are 5-7; they're all tied for first place, with Dallas at 4-8. You win your division, you get a home game in the playoffs; it is almost guaranteed that the #5 seed will be a hefty road favorite over the NFC East champ in the first round of the playoffs.
Six of the more interesting NFL games in Week 14
-- Vikings @ Arizona (-7)-- Interesting Thursday game in the desert.
-- Bills @ Philadelphia (-1)-- LeSean McCoy visits his old friends.
-- Falcons @ Carolina (-7.5)-- These teams play twice in next three weeks.
-- Saints @ Tampa Bay (-4)-- Buccaneers heading towards the playoffs.
-- Patriots (-3.5) @ Houston-- New England visits their old QB coach.
-- Cowboys @ Green Bay (-8.5)-- 3:25 local time kickoff on frozen tundra.
**********
Armadillo: Tuesday's List of 13: Nobody asked me, but.......
13) Steve Sarkisian is suing USC for wrongful termination; he is asking for a lot of money. He got fired for showing up drunk- he might even have coached a game or two under the influence. Takes a lot of onions to sue your employer after that happens.
12) Dodgers signed pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma as a free-agent; Seattle then filled that hole by acquiring Wade Miley from Boston. Iwakuma is good if he is healthy.
11) Speaking of the Dodgers, Peter Gammons wrote last week that new manager Dave Roberts wasn't allowed to pick any of his coaches-- very unusual. Why would you hire a guy who has never managed, then not let him pick any of his coaches?
10) Saints ran a blocked PAT back for two points Sunday, first time that happened in an NFL game-- rule has been in college for lot longer. Counting that block, there were nine PATs missed this week- there were eight missed all of last year.
9) UMass-Lowell 68, Boston College 66-- If you're in same league as Louisville, Duke, North Carolina and Virginia, and you lose to Mass-Lowell, its going to be a very long winter. Some BC players apparently got food poisoning at a Chipotle, too- they didn't practice on Monday.
8) When Austin Davis started for Cleveland Sunday, he became their 24th starting QB since 1999. If you own the Browns, just hire a coach, keep him there for a few years, give him a chance. Without continuity, it is hard to develop a good program.
7) Oklahoma 78, Villanova 55-- This game was played in a neat old arena on Pearl Harbor; no air conditioning, seats close to the court. It really did look like a summer league game. Both of these teams should be high seeds in March, but this was really a surprisingly easy win for Oklahoma.
6) Nancy Pelosi was Speaker of the House from 2007-11; she is obviously a very influential politician. About ten years ago, her husband was an investor in an ill-fated football league, the UFL. Apparently he and others lost tens of millions on the deal. I'm reading s book about a guy who coached in that league- must be nice to be rich.
5) In Matt Schaub's last nine starts, he's thrown six pick-6's; no bueno.
4) Indianapolis Colts fired OC Pep Hamilton earlier this year, replaced him with Rob Chudzinski. Problem is, Chudzinski doesn't know the language of Indy's offense, so when he calls plays, it has to go thru a third party so the QB gets the right terminology called in to the quarterback's helmet.
Wouldn't it be easier to let Matt Hasselbeck call his own plays? He's started 157 NFL games, he has to be able to call his own game. QBs called the plays in the old days-- it is not always progress when you change things.
3) Last four years, Big 14 teams have played in 33 bowl games; they've been the underdog in 27 of those 33 games, going 13-20 SU.
2) Under-reported sports story of the year: Remember Michigan State's miracle TD on last play of the game to beat Michigan? Well, when the Michigan State players ran on the field to celebrate, so many of them jumped on the pile that the kid who scored the TD dislocated his hip and is out for the year, may never play again.
1) Cowboys 19, Redskins 16-- Three NFC East teams are 5-7; they're all tied for first place, with Dallas at 4-8. You win your division, you get a home game in the playoffs; it is almost guaranteed that the #5 seed will be a hefty road favorite over the NFC East champ in the first round of the playoffs.
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