SPORTS HITS

Hines Ward who created quite of stir with his recent comments before a game has apologized to Big Ben and his Pittsburgh Steelers teammates. Ward had said that he thought Ben Roethlisberger should have lied so he could play in the game. Those comments were not well received by the public and many officials in the NFL. Ward many times has said things that was just out of character and this was one of those times.

This is what happens sometimes when you are struggling you start to point the finger and try to grab anything you can. It was in bad taste that Ward would say something like he did, but it is life. The Steelers have moved on and everyone else should as well. If the Steelers win their next two games which they should everything will be fine in Steeler land once again.

So far this NFL season has been one kind of a season for the ages. I have seen things that I just shake my head at sometimes. Here are some of the awards I would had out if I was giving out hardware.

MVP: This is always a tough award to hand out as many players could grab this one. It is a two man race Peyton Manning and Drew Brees. After Monday’s night performance I must give the nod to Drew Brees right now. Peyton is real close, but the award goes to Brees.

Best Team: The New Orleans Saints for me is the best team and also the most surprised team as well. I never seen this coming as I thought they would play well, but not that well. Second place for me is the Minnesota Vikings.

Comeback Player of the Year: Now I know he may not meet the criteria as Comeback Player of the Year, but my pick is Brett Favre. He has played extremely well an continues to do.  Without him I wonder where the Minnesota Vikings would be right now.

Disappointing Team Of The Year:. This is a tough one, but many could actually take this award. I think though The New York Giants are the team that would take this crown.  You would think with that kind of talent they would play much better.

Coach of the Year: This is a tough one as you could say Brad Childress of Minnesota or Sean Payton from New Orleans, but I pick Marvin Lewis from Cincinnati. He has been through a lot and has always did the right things and now reaping the awards.

That’s enough awards for now. I like to hear everyone’s opinions tell me your favorites as well. I am always interested in hearing other fans views that’s why we love sports.

THU, NOV 19

Miami 24, Carolina 17

SUN, NOV 22

Washington at Dallas

Cleveland at Detroit

San Francisco at Green Bay

Pittsburgh at Kansas City

Atlanta at NY Giants

New Orleans at Tampa Bay

Buffalo at Jacksonville

Indianapolis at Baltimore

Seattle at Minnesota

Arizona at St. Louis

NY Jets at New England

Cincinnati at Oakland

San Diego at Denver

Philadelphia at Chicago

MON, NOV 23

Tennessee at Houston 8:30 PM

Being in Ohio and not a Browns fan I am always subject to having to watch the Browns, but this week I won’t have to because there will be a black out. I call it the Blackout Bowl as the Cleveland Browns play the Detroit Lions. Now this game should tell us a lot about both teams. Mostly how bad both teams are. The Lions have won one game and so have the Cleveland Browns and this means one team will get another win unless the Blackout Bowl ends in a tie. Let’s hope not.

I’ll bet this game was hard for oddsmakers in Las Vegas to figure out who they liked in the Blackout Bowl. I think the Lions will easily win this game. The hapless browns have only scored 78 points where the Lions have scored 143. The Browns have looked very bad while at times the Lions have somewhat resemble a NFL team.

I feel bad for the fans in the stands that buy tickets for this game. Sitting through this would be tough, but die hard fans will. I am just happy I won’t have to watch it. My pick though is  the Lions by a score of 16-10. I actually think the Browns will score a touchdown. Of course I never said they would do it on offense it maybe a defensive touchdown.

Thursday, November 19th

Miami 24 Final
Carolina 17

Sunday, November 22nd

Washington 1:00
Dallas PM ET

Cleveland 1:00
Detroit PM ET

San Francisco 1:00
Green Bay PM ET

Pittsburgh 1:00
Kansas City PM ET

Seattle 1:00
Minnesota PM ET

Atlanta 1:00
NY Giants PM ET

New Orleans 1:00
Tampa Bay PM ET

Buffalo 1:00
Jacksonville PM ET

Indianapolis 1:00
Baltimore PM ET

Arizona 4:05
St. Louis PM ET

San Diego 4:15
Denver PM ET

Cincinnati 4:15
Oakland PM ET

NY Jets 4:15
New England PM ET

Philadelphia 8:20
Chicago PM ET

Monday, November 23rd

Tennessee 8:30
Houston PM ET

Ricky Williams knew he would need to step it up with his fellow running back Ronnie Brown gone for the season and he did. Williams rushed for 119 yards and scored three touchdowns, and the Dolphins beat the Carolina Panthers 24-17 on Thursday night for their fourth win in six games to get into the AFC playoff picture. This was a big win for the Dolphins who want to make the playoffs and need every win in the tight AFC.

Ricky Williams in recent years has taken a lot of heat for his performance on and off the field. Last night Williams showed that he is still a back that can be counted on. With over 100 yards rushing he still can bring it and that has to put a smile on his face and Dolphin fans as well.

For the Panthers DeAngelo Williams rushed for 122 yards for the Panthers (4-6), but Jake Delhomme had his streak of three games without an interception snapped. His desperation pass into the end zone was knocked down as time expired. The Dolphins and Texans (0-2) are the only teams the Panthers have never beaten.

Ronnie Brown of the Miami Dolphins has been put on injured reserve and will be gone for the rest of the season. This is a big blow to the Miami Dolphins and the wildcat offense they run. Ronnie Brown was a big part of this offense and he ran it to perfection so he will be missed a lot.

The dysfunctional Oakland Raiders get more dysfunctional as they have benched JaMarcus Russell for Brad Gradkowski at quarterback. Now I am not saying Russell played well, but when your paying him that kind of money put him on the field. Gradkowski was given a chance to start in Tampa Bay and could not do nothing there either. Bad mistake, but it’s the Raiders what can you say.

The NFL sent Brady Quinn a letter telling him that the chop block on Terrell Suggs will cost him 10,000 dollars. Suggs could miss a could of weeks because of the hit that Quinn delivered. Ray Lewis was not happy at all with the hit and made sure Quinn new about it. I was surprised that the fine was not more hefty than just 10,000 dollars. I am sure players on the Ravens wish it was more.

I have noticed that the Ravens and the Browns were much more chippy Monday Night than normal. This series has been getting rougher every year it seems.  With the hit Quinn delivered I am sure that this rivalry will just get even more wild. They do not play until next year so we will have to wait until next year to see what happens.

You knew it had to be only a matter of time before Dick Jauron was going to be let go. The Buffalo Bills have struggled all season long and are off to a 3-6 start. Ralph Wilson Bills owner could not take anymore and gave Jauron his walking papers today. Jauron was 24-33 since being hired by former general manager Marv Levy in 2006 to be head coach. He has two years remaining on his contract that will pay him a total of $6 million in 2009 and 2010. The Bills are schedule to announce a new coach soon.

After signing Terrell Owens in the off-season everyone thought the Bills would be better. The truth is Terrell Owens has not done a lot all season. Not all his fault as the quarterback has been an issue as well. The Bills need someone to come in and clean house as this team has no direction. It will be interesting to see who they bring in to solve their problems.

Thursday, November 12th

Chicago 6 Final
San Francisco 10

Sunday, November 15th

Buffalo 17 Final
Tennessee 41

New Orleans 28 Final
St. Louis 23

Tampa Bay 23 Final
Miami 25

Detroit 10 Final
Minnesota 27

Jacksonville 24 Final
NY Jets 22

Cincinnati 18 Final
Pittsburgh 12

Denver 17 Final
Washington 27

Atlanta 19 Final
Carolina 28

Kansas City 16 Final
Oakland 10

Dallas 7 Final
Green Bay 17

Seattle 20 Final
Arizona 31

Philadelphia 23 Final
San Diego 31

New England 34 Final
Indianapolis 35