And down the stretch they come
It's the Elite Eight in the pro football playoff tournament, and our players have made their choices:
13.5 DENVER at New England - Tommy W., NoPoGuy, mna, Rudie, Biggest Cubs Loser, Gary, Annie, genop's gal, John Cr., Eric W., Weavmo, Drewbob
8 NEW YORK GIANTS at Green Bay - john dull, Bob, Bayou Baby, PDXileinOmaha, Usual Kevin, Grizfan, Broadway Joe, AKevin, jmh, Michael K., John Ch.
7 HOUSTON at Baltimore - Paul, Larry Legend, Bad Brad
3.5 SAN FRANCISCO vs. New Orleans - Pete Rozelle, Carol, Ricardo, Gordon, genop
It should be a most interesting couple of days in front of the tube. Good luck and enjoy the games, everyone.
UPDATE, 5:17 p.m.: A super-exciting first game gives 3.5 points to those who picked the Niners. That includes our leader, Pete Rozelle, who ascends to 49 points.
UPDATE, 9:14 p.m.: The second game wasn't much of a game, and Tebowmania has ended, at least for this year. A dozen underdoggers get zilch.
| Posted at 1:48 PM | Permalink |
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Comments (4)
San Francisco and the Saints put on such a display of legendary football that I was unable to focus on the second game. I have been watching football for a long time and that was as heroic a finish as I've ever seen. How many teams would play it safe and kick a field goal and take your chances in overtime? Just going for it with the pass was a bold move by the 49ers and pulling it off the way they did ranks with any game in NFL history. The standard advice would be to extend the game. Don't risk an interception that would have given the Saints a 3-point win. Kick the field goal and live to fight on. Play it safe. Be careful.
It's reminiscent of the 1st Patriots Super Bowl when the announcer Madden was saying that Brady should play it safe in the last minute of regulation and take the tie into overtime. Instead he marched down the field passing the ball and set them up for the game-winning field goal.
Sports can reward the good, and it can reward the lucky, but there's nothing as riveting as when it rewards a team for being bold.
Posted by Bill McDonald | January 14, 2012 9:04 PM
Amen.
This was a neat aspect of that great climax, too:
Vernon Davis cries tears of joy after game-winning touchdown
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/vernon-davis-cries-tears-joy-game-winning-touchdown-025511148.html
Posted by Mojo | January 14, 2012 9:45 PM
As the 49ers got into field goal range I was thinking, "How big is the Sproles 2-point conversion now? At least the Saints won't lose it here in regulation." Wrong.
Posted by Bill McDonald | January 14, 2012 10:08 PM
Hey, funny thing, my prediction on the final score differential in the Denver-NE score was off by only 3.4 pts.
Posted by Mojo | January 15, 2012 11:29 AM