September 13: The Week That Was

This is my first post in a while so there a bunch of points that I want to cover as I anxiously await the Sunday kickoff of the NFL season.

• On Labor Day, I watched an absolutely fantastic game between the Miami Hurricanes and the Florida State Seminoles. I hoped that Miami might win despite the fact that Florida State was favored in the matchup. Miami, led by QB Jacory Harris proved that they were ready for a game and came out to a 7-0 lead. As the game proceeded, both teams were very well matched and the game was decided on the last play. The Hurricanes were up 38-34 with 1:53 left and the Seminoles needed a touchdown on the last drive to win. In the end, Florida State had numerous chances on the goal line but were stuffed by the Hurricanes' defense. Jacory Harris had 386 yards passing in addition to 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He was the obvious MVP in a wonderful game.
• On Thursday, the NFL season kicked off with an impressive matchup between the Tennessee Titans and the Pittsburgh Steelers. From the beginning, it was apparent that both defenses had come ready to play. Steelers safety Troy Polamalu had a fantastic first half with some bone crushing hits on RB Chris Johnson and a spectacular one handed pick against QB Kerry Collins. Soon after, Polamalu was injured as the Madden curse struck early (All those unfamiliar with the Madden curse should refer to the link). The whole night, both teams were not giving the opposing offenses much to work with. The game went into half tied 7-7. In the early fourth quarter, Tennessee took the lead on a Rob Bironas field goal, 10-7. In response, QB Ben Roethlisberger led a game tying drive with key throws to WR Santonio Holmes, that were reminiscent of the Steelers' Super Bowl win last February. The game went into overtime where the Steelers won the coin toss and led a nice drive for a game winning field goal. The final score was 13-10 Steelers in a great game to begin the season. In the end, both teams looked very good but the Titans looked like the more well rounded team. The Steelers were unable to get anything going in the run game, making their offense very predictable.
• Friday was a great day for history with inductions to the Basketball Hall of Fame and a milestone by Yankees SS Derek Jeter. I won't go into too much depth about either of these happenings but they should definitely be acknowledged. The great Michael Jordan, David Robinson, John Stockton, Jerry Sloan, and Vivian C. Stringer went into the Hall of Fame. This was a fantastic hall of fame class but was obviously dominated by the fact that Michael Jordan was a part of it. I am too young to say much about any of these players but nevertheless I am happy to see them being immortalized in the Hall. A player that I can comment on is Derek Jeter, who set the record for all time hits by a New York Yankees player with 2,722 hits to pass Lou Gehrig. This is obviously a historically significant event but I really appreciate it because I am finally starting to see some of the athletes that I grew up with becoming some of the greatest players to ever play their games. Jeter is a great player and a respectable man. I am very happy to see him setting milestones and getting the attention he deserves.
• Saturday, I attended the first home football game for the Buffalo Bulls. This wasn't a normal UB football game because the Bulls were hosting the Pittsburgh Panthers from the Big East Conference. In their matchup last year, the Bulls almost pulled off a huge upset and gave Pittsburgh as much as they could handle. Saturday, the Bulls lost 54-27 but the score does a very poor job of capturing the game itself. The Bulls shot themselves in the foot with four turnovers that led to 27 Pittsburgh points, the difference in the game. Without the turnovers, Buffalo was a better offensive team, producing over 500 yards of offense including 400 yards and 4 touchdowns by sophomore QB Zach Maynard. Wide receiver Naaman Roosevelt also pulled in 6 receptions for 157 yards and 2 touchdowns. The running game for UB was weak but the passing game more than made up for it. Even without the turnovers, UB would probably not have won but this was a great representation of the fact that Turner Gill really has the program heading in the right direction. He has made the program a breath of fresh air to the area and it is really exciting to see it all unfolding.
• There were a few other college games that caught my eye this weekend. It was a shocker to see #5 Oklahoma State go down to Houston, 45-35. I was also somewhat surprised that Michigan managed to beat Notre Dame in an excellent game that came right down to the end, 38-34. Lastly, the game of the night between Ohio State and USC was a great showdown. No one looked great in this game but USC looked like the better overall team winning 18-15. Ohio State QB Terrelle Pryor proved that he still has a long way to go as a quarterback throwing for only 177 yards and a pick.

Word of the Day: Ebullient

bubbling with excitement, exubrerant

I am ebullient to see Terrell Owens' first regular season game for the Buffalo Bills.

Also...

Clip of the Week:

Mike Gundy Rant

This is a relatively old clip but it is nevertheless fantastic. For those who haven't seen it, enjoy!