Sports Articles

2009-11-30 | Jim Murphy

It’s a long standing NFL tradition for the Detroit Lions to play on Thanksgiving Day, and the franchise used to put a high priority in performing well in front of the national spotlight. Before Matt Millen arrived in 2001, the Lions had won four straight and nine of twelve on Thanksgiving Day. They’ve been on a downward spiral since then, losing six straight and eight of ten on ‘Turkey Day’. This time it was the Green Bay Packers who did the deed, dropping the Lions 34-12 at Ford Field. The Packers improved their record on the NFL season to 7-4 while the Lions dropped to 2-9.

2009-11-30 | Jim Murphy

One week after their offense sputtered against the Washington Redskins, the Dallas Cowboys were back in the groove on Thanksgiving Day. Dallas piled up 494 yards of total offense as they easily handled the lowly Oakland Raiders 24-7. Cowboys’ QB Tony Romo threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions in the victory. Dallas won for the sixth time in their last seven games and improved to 8-3 on the season while Oakland slumped to 3-8.

2009-11-30 | Jim Murphy

After losing four straight games, the Denver Broncos displayed a lot of passion on Thanksgiving Day as they got back in the win column with an emphatic 26-6 home win over the New York Giants. Denver hadn’t hosted a Thanksgiving Day game since 1963, but came out with a bang as they outgained the Giants 213-38 yards in the first half. Broncos QB Kyle Orton threw for 245 yards and a touchdown against one interception in the win. Denver improved to 7-4 on the season while the Giants dropped to 6-5.

2009-11-30 | Jim Murphy

The Atlanta Falcons have been hit hard by injuries in recent weeks, but on Sunday they still found a way to win. Backup quarterback Chris Redman hit Roddy White for a touchdown with 23 seconds remaining to give Atlanta a hard fought 20-17 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Falcons kept their playoff hopes alive as they improved to 6-5 on the NFL season, while the hapless Bucs dropped to 1-10.

2009-11-30 | Jim Murphy

Maybe a coaching change is just what the Buffalo Bills needed. Having fired Dick Jauron two weeks ago and given Perry Fewell the reins as interim head coach, the Bills’ offense is clicking and on Sunday they delivered their new leader his first NFL victory. Buffalo used a 24 point fourth quarter explosion to put away the Miami Dolphins and win by a 31-14 final score. Terrell Owens struck a big blow late in the game as he caught a 51 yard touchdown reception from quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. Buffalo improved to 4-7 on the NFL season while Miami dropped to 5-6.

2009-11-30 | Jim Murphy

The Seattle Seahawks have been an awful road team all year long, but all it took for them to end their five game losing streak away from home was a trip to St. Louis. The Seahawks made short work of arguably the NFL’s worst team in front of a half full, apathetic Edward Jones Dome to eventually prevail by a final score of 27-17. Running back Justin Forsett was the catalyst for the Seahawks as he ran for a career high 130 yards and two touchdowns. Seattle improved their record to 4-7 while the Rams’ downward spiral continued leaving their record at 1-10.

2009-11-27 | Jim Murphy

Despite losing starting quarterback Kurt Warner for the second half, the Arizona Cardinals made short work of the St. Louis Rams on Sunday with a 21-13 NFL victory. St. Louis scored first to take a 3-0 lead, but Arizona took over from that point to build a 21-3 halftime lead and coasted to the victory. Warner got hit in the head and preliminary indications were that he may have suffered a concussion. Matt Leinart played the second half of low risk, mistake free football to secure the win. The Cardinals are now 7-3 on the year while the Rams dropped to 1-9.

2009-11-27 | Jim Murphy

Buffalo Bills’ star receiver Terrell Owens finally broke out for a big game with 197 yards receiving, but it wasn’t enough as the Jacksonville Jaguars used a late drive engineered by quarterback David Garrard to win their third straight game 18-15. The Jags scored the decisive touchdown in the final minute of play for the second straight week and improved their record to 6-4 while the Bills dropped to 3-7.

2009-11-27 | Jim Murphy

The Philadelphia Eagles ended a two game losing streak on Sunday as they came from behind to defeat the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field 24-20. Donovan McNabb threw for 244 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in the victory. The loss dealt a severe blow to the Bears’ playoff hopes as Chicago dropped to 4-6 on the year. The Eagles, meanwhile, improved to 6-4 and are still within striking distance of division leading Dallas.

2009-11-25 | Jim Murphy

The Indianapolis Colts are still undefeated, though it hasn’t been easy in recent weeks. On Sunday, Matt Stover kicked a 25 yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter to give his team a 17-15 road win over the Baltimore Ravens. While the Colts’ offense sputtered, the defense came up big and held the Ravens to only five field goals on offense. The victory was Indianapolis’ 19th straight regular season win, the second longest streak in NFL history, and improved their record on the year to 10-0. The Ravens dropped to 5-5 with the defeat.

2009-11-25 | Jim Murphy

In the first six games of the NFL season, the Denver Broncos could do no wrong as they marched to an undefeated record to start the year. Since then, they’ve been in freefall. Their downward spiral continued on Sunday as they were smashed at home by the San Diego Chargers by a 32-3 final score. The Chargers methodically controlled the game from start to finish, as evidenced by their lopsided advantage in time of possession (37:52 to 22:08). San Diego has taken over the lead in the AFC West as their record improved to 7-3 with the victory. The Broncos have now lost four straight and sit at 6-4 on the season.

2009-11-25 | Jim Murphy

The season started off great for the New York Jets and their rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez, but for the past month he’s look every bit like an NFL neophyte. He had another rough game on Sunday as the New England Patriots intercepted him four times en route to a 31-14 home victory. New England scored the first 24 points of the game and basically coasted home from that point. The Patriots improved their record to 7-3 while the Jets dropped to 4-6.

2009-11-24 | Jim Murphy

Tony Romo threw a touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter to overcome a dismal performance by the Dallas Cowboys offense and earn his team a 7-6 victory over their arch rival Washington Redskins. The Redskins led 6-0 at that point thanks to a field goal each in the second and third quarters. As has been the case for most of the season, the Redskins’ defense played well but received no help from their offense. Dallas was happy to escape with the win by the slimmest of margin, and improved their record to 7-3. Washington slumped to 3-7.

2009-11-24 | Jim Murphy

The old football yarn suggests that ‘On any given Sunday, any team can lose to another in the NFL’. Nowhere was that more evident than in Kansas City this past weekend. Former University of South Carolina standout Ryan Succop kicked a 22 yard field goal in overtime to give the Kansas City Chiefs a 27-24 home victory over the defending Superbowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers. The win ended a franchise record ten game home losing streak. With the win, Kansas City improved to 3-7 while Pittsburgh slumped to 6-4.

2009-11-24 | Jim Murphy

By this point in the NFL season two things are evident: the New Orleans Saints are very good, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are very bad. This was clearly evident on Sunday as the Saints went into Tampa’s home stadium and blasted the lowly Bucs 38-7. New Orleans spotted Tampa a 7-0 lead in the first quarter and then dominated the game from that point out. Drew Brees 187 yards and 3 touchdowns with no interceptions, while his Tampa Bay counterpart Josh Freeman threw for 126 yard and one touchdown with three interceptions. The Saints remained undefeated at 10-0 while the Bucs dropped to 1-9.

2009-11-23 | Jim Murphy

With starting running back Ronnie Brown out for the season, the Miami Dolphins turned to a well known name—Ricky Williams. Williams delivered bigtime, running for 119 yards and three touchdowns as the Dolphins beat the host Carolina Panthers 24-17 on Thursday night. It was the Dolphins fourth win in six games, and improved their overall record to 5-5 on the NFL season. Carolina lost for the fourth time this season when trying to even their record at .500, and dropped to 4-6 on the year.

2009-11-23 | Jim Murphy

For the University of Connecticut, it may have been their biggest win in program history. For Notre Dame, it may have finally been the final nail in the coffin for head coach Charlie Weis. In any case, it was a monumental upset on Saturday as Connecticut topped Notre Dame 33-30 in double overtime at South Bend. In recent years the Irish have struggled with teams they used to beat with regularity—over the past three seasons they’re 1-6 against the Big East and Navy. Overall, they’re 6-5 this season while UConn improved to 5-5.

2009-11-23 | Jim Murphy

Many boxing experts thought that WBC champion Mikkel Kessler was the man to beat in the ‘Super 6’ middleweight tournament, and that Olympic gold medalist Andre Ward got the short end of the stick with such a tough draw in his opening fight. In front of a capacity crowd in his home town of Oakland, Ward turned that dynamic on its head as he dominated the fight throughout en route to a technical decision victory. The fight had to be stopped in the 11th round due to a severe cut around Kessler’s eye caused by a clash of heads, and Ward was well ahead on the scorecards at this point.

2009-11-19 | Jim Murphy

The Green Bay Packers’ defense finally stepped up on Sunday, forcing two fumbles and a Tony Romo interceptions in the process of completely shutting down the Dallas Cowboys to earn a 17-7 victory. The Packers led 3-0 at halftime and stretched that lead to 17-0 late before a Cowboys’ touchdown in the final seconds of the game made the score somewhat respectable. Green Bay snapped a three game losing streak and improved to 5-4, while Dallas had its four game winning streak stopped as they slipped to 6-3.

2009-11-19 | Jim Murphy

The Arizona Cardinals spotted the Seattle Seahawks a 17-10 halftime lead before roaring back in the second half to take a 31-20 home victory. Rookie Beanie Wells rushed for two touchdowns during the second half rally and Kurt Warner threw for 340 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck threw for 315 yards and a touchdown, but was intercepted twice. The victory improved Arizona ‘s record to 6-3, while the Seahawks dropped to 3-6.

2009-11-19 | Jim Murphy

Even in an era of 24/7 sports coverage, it’s very rare that a single play in an NFL game takes on a life of it’s on to be debated and second guessed for days. Such was the case in Sunday night’s battle between the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. Bill Belichick opted to ‘go for it’ on 4th down rather than punt deep in Patriots territory with plenty of time remaining for the Colts to rally. By now everyone knows how it turned out—the Colts’ defense held and Peyton Manning completed a touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne with :13 seconds left to complete a 17 point comeback as Indianapolis remained undefeated with an improbable 35-34 win. Indy now stands at 9-0 while New England dropped to 6-3.

2009-11-18 | Jim Murphy

In a matchup of two struggling offenses, it wasn’t a surprise that the better defense would come out on top. Such was the case on Monday Night Football as the Baltimore Ravens shut down the woeful Cleveland Browns en route to a 16-0 victory. Baltimore got two third quarter touchdowns on a Ray Rice 13 yard run followed almost immediately by a Dawan Landry interception return for a score. The victory improved Baltimore’s record to 5-4 while Cleveland slipped to 1-8.

2009-11-18 | Jim Murphy

LaDanien Tomlinson found out before the game that his wife is pregnant, and used the motivation to put together one of his best performances of the season. ‘LT’ ran for a season high 96 yards and two touchdowns as the San Diego Chargers thumped the Philadelphia Eagles 31-23. The win moved San Diego to first place in the AFC West with a record of 6-3. The Eagles lost for the second straight week and dropped to 5-4.

2009-11-18 | Jim Murphy

In a miserable season for both the Carolina Panthers and quarterback Jake Delhomme, they have to take the triumphs where they can get them. On Sunday, the Panthers used a series of blunders by the Atlanta Falcons and the ‘controlled chaos’ of a no huddle offense to knock off their division rivals 28-19. Delhomme threw for 195 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. The win improved the Panthers to 4-5 on the season, while the Falcons slipped to 5-4.

2009-11-17 | Jim Murphy

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers looked to be on their way to their second win of the NFL season, but the Miami Dolphins and quarterback Chad Henne had other plans. Henne directed a 77 yard drive as the game wound down, leading to a Dan Carpenter 25 yard field goal as time expired to give the Dolphins a 25-23 home field victory. The victory improved Miami’s record to 4-5 while Tampa Bay slumped to 1-8.

2009-11-17 | Jim Murphy

Even with rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford back in the lineup the Detroit Lions had no answer for Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. Favre threw for 344 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions, while Adrian Peterson ran for 133 yards and two scores as the Vikings made short work of the Lions with a 27-10 home victory. Minnesota led 10-3 at halftime and the Lions never really threatened after that. The Vikings improved their record to 8-1 while the Lions slipped to 1-8.

2009-11-17 | Jim Murphy

It wasn’t that long ago when a battle between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders would have been a marquee matchup. On Sunday, it was a battle between two woeful teams with a combined 3-13 record. Someone had to win, however, and on this day the Chiefs prevailed by a 16-10 score. Jamaal Charles scored on a 44 yard run—the team’s first rushing touchdown of the season—and Kansas City added three field goals from Ryan Succop to take the victory. Both teams are now 2-7 on the NFL season.

2009-11-16 | Jim Murphy

Jay Cutler came to the Chicago Bears hailed as the franchise quarterback the team had been seeking for years. It hasn’t quite worked out that way as Cutler has struggled, with his performance getting progressively worse. He may have hit rock bottom on Thursday night in San Francisco, as Cutler threw a career high five interceptions as the 49ers beat the Bears 10-6. Cutler is now the first Bear to have two games in a season with four or more interceptions since Billy Wade in 1962. The Bears have now lost four of their last five games and are 4-5 on the year. The Niners are also 4-5 having snapped a four game losing streak.

2009-11-16 | Jim Murphy

Tony Romo had another effective game, throwing for 307 yards and a touchdown against one interception as the Dallas Cowboys went on the road and beat the NFC East rival Philadelphia Eagles 20-16. Dallas has won four straight games and took over sole possession of first place in the division. The Cowboys improved to 6-2 on the season while the Eagles dropped to 5-3.

2009-11-16 | Jim Murphy

The Denver Broncos opened the season with six straight wins. They’ve since begun their first losing streak of the year, dropping their second straight game to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night. The Steelers spotted the Broncos a 3-0 first quarter lead and then took over the game en route to a 28-10 road victory. Both teams are now 6-2 on the NFL season.

2009-11-16 | Jim Murphy

Maybe a quarterback change was just what the Tennessee Titans needed all along. Since the change to Vince Young as their starting signal caller, Tennessee has won three straight including a 41-17 blowout of the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Chris Johnson ran for 132 yards and two touchdowns, plus caught nine passes for 100 more yards as the Titans improved to 3-6 after a 0-6 start to the NFL regular season. The Bills lost their second straight game and are also 3-6 on the year.

2009-11-16 | Jim Murphy

No one can blame the New Orleans Saints for not being able to ‘get up’ for a road game against the lowly St. Louis Rams, and particularly after back-to-back divisional contests. Fortunately for the Saints, their malaise on Sunday didn’t cost them their undefeated record. Reggie Bush scored two touchdowns to help New Orleans overcome three turnovers and a generally uneven effort to beat St. Louis 28-23 at the Edward Jones Dome. The Saints improved their record to 9-0, while the Rams slipped to 1-8.

2009-11-16 | Jim Murphy

It seems like only yesterday that the Denver Broncos were a perfect 6-0, and quarterback Kyle Orton was the toast of the town. How quickly fortunes can change in the NFL—on Sunday, the Broncos lost their third straight game with a 27-17 setback to the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field. Denver led 17-14 heading into the fourth quarter before the Redskins scored the final 13 points of the game for the decision. Adding to the Broncos woes, quarterback Orton injured his ankle just before halftime and had to be replaced by Chris Simms. The Broncos dropped to 6-3 on the year while the Redskins upped their record to 3-6.

2009-11-13 | Jim Murphy

The Jacksonville Jaguars bounced back from an embarrassing blowout loss at Tennessee the previous week to get past the Kansas City Chiefs 24-21 on Sunday. David Garrard threw for 264 yards and one touchdown to help his team get back on the winning track. Maurice Jones-Drew chipped in with 97 rushing yards and a touchdown. Jacksonville evened its 2009 NFL mark at 4-4, while Kansas City slumped to 1-7.

2009-11-13 | Jim Murphy

The New Orleans Saints spotted the Carolina Panthers a 17-6 halftime lead before roaring back in the second half to earn a 30-20 victory. Saints’ QB Drew Brees finished with 330 yards and a touchdown against one interception. The Saints are now 8-0 for the first time in franchise history. The best season opening run prior to this year was a 7-0 start for the defensively tenacious 1991 Saints under head coach Jim Mora. The Panthers dropped to 3-5 on the year with the loss.

2009-11-13 | Jim Murphy

The Seattle Seahawks’ fans haven’t had much to cheer about this season, and Sunday looked to be another low point of the season as their team quickly fell behind the lowly Detroit Lions 17-0 on their home field. The Seahawks then proceeded to storm back behind a franchise record 39 completions from quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and went on to defeat the Lions 32-20. The Seahawks improved to 3-5 with the victory while the hapless Lions dropped to 1-7.

2009-11-12 | Jim Murphy

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have won a game. With a rookie quarterback making his first NFL start at the helm, the Bucs used a 21 point fourth quarter to put away the Green Bay Packers by a final score of 38-28. The Bucs were the only remaining winless team in the NFL, and the victory ended the league’s longest active losing streak at 11 games. The Bucs are now 1-7 on the season, while Green Bay evened their mark at 4-4.

2009-11-12 | Jim Murphy

The Cincinnati Bengals opened up a 17-0 halftime lead and the defense took care of the rest as they grinded their way to a 17-7 home victory over the Baltimore Ravens. Cedric Benson ran for 117 yards and Carson Palmer played efficient and mistake free football as the Bengals improved to 4-0 in the AFC North. Cincinnati is now 6-2 overall while the Ravens dropped to 4-4.

2009-11-12 | Jim Murphy

The Indianapolis Colts survived a tough test from the visiting Houston Texans on Sunday, escaping with a 20-17 victory as Kris Brown’s 42 yard field goal attempt as time expired went wide right. Indy held a 14-3 lead at halftime, only to see the Texans claw their way back into contention. Ultimately, however, they couldn’t complete the comeback and the Colts remained undefeated. Indianapolis is now 8-0 on the NFL season while Houston is 5-4.

2009-11-11 | Jim Murphy

The New England Patriots used standout performances from quarterback Tom Brady and wide receiver Randy Moss to take a 27-17 home victory over the Miami Dolphins. Brady threw for 332 yards and a touchdown against one interception, and Moss caught the touchdown pass—a game breaking 71 yard play. New England improved to 6-2 on the season with a perfect 5-0 mark at home. Miami dropped to 3-5 with the loss.

2009-11-09 | Jim Murphy

Boise State remained undefeated with a 45-35 victory over Louisiana Tech in Ruston, Louisiana on Friday night but the win was anything but easy. The Broncos actually trailed in the first quarter and had to fend off a second half Bulldogs comeback that saw Louisiana Tech draw within two points early in the fourth quarter. Ultimately, the host team was no match for the firepower of the #7 Broncos. Boise State is now 9-0 while Louisiana Tech fell to 3-6.

2009-11-09 | Jim Murphy

With a star studded crowd in attendance that included the New York Yankees and rap mogul Jay-Z, LeBron James took advantage of the occasion to put on a show. Worthy of the Madison Square Garden venue that had played host to so many legends—from Frank Sinatra to Muhammad Ali—LeBron and his Cavs came out smoking and led 40-19 at the end of the first quarter. Cleveland would go on to win 100-91 over the New York Knicks as LeBron posted 33 points, 9 assists and 8 rebounds in the Cavs only visit to ‘The Big Apple’ this season.

2009-11-09 | Jim Murphy

Not happy with his team’s offensive production in the early part of the NBA season, Portland Trailblazers’ coach Nate McMillan decided to shuffle the deck. His revamped, guard heavy starting lineup responded with a 96-84 drubbing of the San Antonio Spurs at the Rose Garden Arena on Friday night. The Blazers improved to 3-3 on the season, while the Spurs dropped to 2-3 and are still winless on the road in the early part of the NBA season. San Antonio has opened their season with three straight road losses for the first time in 16 years.

2009-11-06 | Jim Murphy

Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback Tony Romo had more to say about accusations from his sulky receiver Roy Williams that he’s somehow ‘sandbagging’ his performance by not throwing his balls as accurately or effectively. To his credit, Romo is more concerned with his team’s performance and continued NFL success than his individual performance though enough of a leader to not directly throw Williams ‘under the bus’.

2009-11-06 | Jim Murphy

After a successful regular season last year, the Boston Bruins have struggled this season particularly on offense. They were able to avoid tying a dubious historical mark for scoring futility on Thursday night, forcing overtime with a late goal against the Montreal Canadiens. It wasn’t enough to get the win, however, as Montreal went on to prevail in the shootout for a 2-1 decision. Glen Metropolit lit the lamp for the Habs in the first period, and that was the only score of the game until Patrice Bergeron tied it for the Bruins in the final minute of regulation.

2009-11-06 | Jim Murphy

Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams each scored 27 points, and Boozer added 14 rebounds as the Utah Jazz defeated the San Antonio Spurs 113-99 at the Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City on Thursday night. The Jazz broke a two game losing streak and atoned for a dismal performance at Dallas on Tuesday where they blew a 16 point fourth quarter lead and eventually lost after the Mavs dropped 44 points on them in the final quarter. It was Utah’s first victory over San Antonio since April of 2008.

2009-11-05 | Jim Murphy

The Dallas Cowboys have won three straight games and moved into a first place tie with Philadelphia. Tony Romo is playing efficient and productive football at quarterback, and backup receiver Miles Austin has produced like a NFL Pro Bowler since entering the starting lineup. So how is the presumptive starter, Roy Williams handling the success of the Cowboys and his teammate as he’s struggled through injuries? He’s decided to whine about it.

2009-11-05 | Jim Murphy

In theory, Florida coach Urban Meyer should be a happy man this week. He’s got his Gators ranked at #1 and the team just demolished their biggest SEC rival in the annual game dubbed ‘The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party’. His quarterback, Tim Tebow, passed former University of Georgia and NFL great Herschel Walker on the SEC all time rushing list. Instead of celebrating the victory, however, Meyer is steaming about what he suggests was a late hit on his star quarterback that wasn’t called by SEC officials.

2009-11-05 | Jim Murphy

For such a tough, physically imposing guy UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar sure has a puny immune system. On Wednesday, the promotion announced that his rescheduled title defense against Shane Carwin that had been set for UFC 108 in January had been postponed indefinitely due to a lingering illness. The UFC has been hit by a spate of injuries to top stars in recent weeks that has forced a frequent reshuffling of their forthcoming events, but none is as significant as Lesnar who is their top PPV draw among the mainstream public and casual MMA fans.

2009-11-04 | Jim Murphy

The Philadelphia Eagles jumped out to a 30-7 halftime lead and went on to brutalize the visiting New York Giants, eventually winning by a final score of 40-17. Donovan McNabb passed for 240 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in the victory. Since opening the season 5-0 the Giants have now lost three straight games as quarterback Eli Manning has struggled. Against the Eagles, Manning had 222 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions. The Giants dropped to 5-3 on the year while Philadelphia improved to 5-2.

2009-11-04 | Jim Murphy

It was far from a flawless performance by the New Orleans Saints, but in the end they held off a late game rally by the Atlanta Falcons for a 35-27 victory on Monday Night Football. The win kept the Saints’ undefeated season alive despite four turnovers for the second straight week. The Falcons had their share of miscues as well, with quarterback Matt Ryan throwing three interceptions. New Orleans improved to 7-0 with the victory while Atlanta slumped to 4-3.

2009-11-04 | Jim Murphy

The Cleveland Browns have sent their general manager packing after less than a year on the job. George Kokinis has been ‘relieved of his duties’ as of Monday and neither the Browns nor anyone associated with the team is giving much of an explanation. The move was highly unexpected both locally and around the NFL despite the team’s dismal 1-7 start to the season due to Kokinis short tenure on the job and good relationship with those within the organization.

2009-11-03 | Jim Murphy

The Miami Dolphins offense continued to struggle, but their special teams bailed them out in a 30-25 victory over the New York Jets on Sunday. Relegated to kickoff return duty, Ted Ginn, Jr. had a record breaking day scoring two long touchdowns as Miami found a way to prevail in a game in which they were dominated statistically. The Dolphins improved to 3-4 while the Jets evened their NFL record at 4-4. New York has gone 1-4 since a 3-0 start to the season.

2009-11-03 | Jim Murphy

The Baltimore Ravens sent the Denver Broncos to their first loss of the season on Sunday, using 24 fourth quarter points to blow open a close game as they went on to win 30-7. The big blow came on a 95 yard kickoff return for touchdown by Lardarius Webb to start the third quarter and give the Ravens a 13-0 lead. Joe Flacco played an efficient, mistake free game at quarterback as Baltimore improved to 4-3. Denver dropped to 6-1.

2009-11-03 | Jim Murphy

Chris Johnson rushed for a franchise record 228 yards and two touchdowns and Vince Young returned to the starting lineup and threw another touchdown as the Tennessee Titans won their first game of the season with a 30-13 verdict over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Jacksonville’s Marcus Jones-Drew played well in a losing cause, rushing for 177 yards and two touchdowns. Tennessee is now 1-6 on the year while Jacksonville slumped to 3-4.

2009-11-02 | Jim Murphy

The Columbus Blue Jackets learned a valuable lesson about NHL hockey on Friday night—it’s dangerous to ‘sit on a lead’ and particularly against the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Down 3-1, Pittsburgh tied the game late in the third period as Ruslan Fedotenko and Alex Goligoski each lit the lamp with less than three minutes remaining. After a scoreless overtime period, Sidney Crosby scored the only goal of the shootout to give the Penguins an improbable 4-3 victory. It was the 9th win in ten games for Pittsburgh, who are a perfect 6-0-0 on the road. Columbus lost for the fifth time in six games after a 5-1 start to the NHL season.

2009-11-02 | Jim Murphy

After losing the services of starting goalie Roberto Luongo for the indefinite future with a broken rib, the Canucks may have breathed a sigh of relief too soon after backup goalie Andrew Raycroft’s performance in his first game in relief. After an excellent effort in an overtime victory over Los Angeles, Raycroft was torched for four goals in two periods before being pulled from the game. Corey Schneider, recently recalled from Manitoba of the AHL, played the third period in net giving up three more goals as Anaheim cruised to a 7-2 victory. The Canucks scored twice in the first five minutes of the game to lead 2-0 before giving up seven unanswered goals.

2009-11-02 | Jim Murphy

Brett Favre’s return to Green Bay may have been dramatic, but it wasn’t competitive. The Vikings opened up a 17-3 halftime lead before coasting to a 38-26 victory. Favre was booed mercilessly by his former fans at Lambeau Field, but it didn’t seem to bother him a bit as amassed 244 yards and 4 touchdowns with no interceptions. Minnesota improved to 7-1 on the NFL season while Green Bay dropped to 4-3.

2009-11-02 | Jim Murphy

The conventional wisdom in NFL football is that teams are supposed to play better at home than on the road. The Houston Texans apparently didn’t get the memo. On Sunday, Houston improved to 3-1 away from home with a 31-10 pasting of the Buffalo Bills. Buffalo led 10-6 at halftime but fell victim to a Houston onslaught of 23 unanswered points in the second half. The Texans improved to 4-3 overall, while the struggling Bills dropped to 3-5.

2009-11-02 | Jim Murphy

The Chicago Bears have had an up and down season, but they definitely sounded an ‘up’ note on Sunday. Perhaps inspired by the presence of the world’s best mixed martial arts fighter, Fedor Emelianenko, on their sidelines, the Bears administered a fearsome beatdown to the hapless Cleveland Browns en route to a 30-6 victory. Jay Cutler passed for 225 yards with only one interception, but was held without a touchdown pass for the first time this season. Matt Forte ran for 90 yards and two touchdowns as the Bears improved to 3-0 at home. Overall, the Bears’ record stands at 4-3 after the victory while the Browns dropped to 1-7.

2009-11-02 | Jim Murphy

Quarterback Tony Romo had another solid game, and the Dallas Cowboys made short work of the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday afternoon in a 38-17 victory. Romo threw for 256 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, and receiver Miles Austin caught a touchdown pass for the third straight game. The Cowboys improved to 5-2 with the win, while the Seahawks dropped to 2-5.

2009-11-02 | Jim Murphy

Making the most of their best opportunity to end their NFL worst 17 game losing streak, the St. Louis Rams took full advantage of their game against the equally dismal Detroit Lions. The Rams outplayed their host in every phase of the game and used a late fourth quarter touchdown from Steven Jackson to post a 17-10 victory. The Rams ‘improved’ to 1-7 on the NFL season, while Detroit slumped to 1-6.

2009-11-02 | Jim Murphy

The Indianapolis Colts won their sixteenth consecutive regular season game on Sunday, beating the San Francisco 49ers 18-14. It was far from easy, however, and the Colts’ offense as well as quarterback Peyton Manning looked ragged and out of sync all day. The only touchdown pass of the day for Indianapolis was thrown off a trick play by running back Joseph Addai, and his toss was the eventual game winning points. The Colts improved to 7-0 with the victory while San Francisco slipped to 3-4.

2009-11-02 | Jim Murphy

Redshirt freshman quarterback B.J. Daniels threw for three touchdowns and the South Florida Bulls used a tenacious defensive effort to upset visiting West Virginia 30-19 on Friday night. Daniels threw for 232 yards and rushed for 104, compiling more yardage individually than West Virginia amassed as a team. The Bulls have had the Mountaineers’ number in recent years, and this was the third victory in four seasons for the Big East Conference upstarts. Both teams are now 6-2 on the season.