Monthly Archives: September 2011

I have been lucky enough to be a part of some truly amazing games that my favorite teams have been involved with over the years.  Louisville basketball and football as well as the Baltimore Ravens have been a part of so many fantastic memories I will always have as a sports fan.  Some of the memories I have were from being at the games live, while others were simply unforgettable moments that I watched on TV.  With many of the games that come to mind immediately, I can tell you where I was, who I was with and what I was doing.  These memories that have been created by teams that I have given so much of my energy, emotion and time to for the majority of my life are why I love sports.

If you’ll allow me, I’m going to indulge myself and discuss some of the greatest memories I have as a sports fan.

Baltimore Ravens:

• Baltimore 34 New York Giants 7, 2001: Let me start with the obvious one.  Super Bowl XXXV.  This was a while ago, but I still remember it rather clearly.  I still lived in Louisville and was in 6^th grade.  I recall arguing back and forth on the bus during the week leading up to the game with some family friends that had moved from New York to Louisville.  They were Giants fans and I obviously wanted everyone to know the G-Men sucked and the Ravens were going to win the game (which they did handily).  I remember yelling and jumping up and down in my living room when Jermaine Lewis ran back an 84 yard kick return to cap an insane 21 points (14 for Baltimore and seven for New York) in under 30 seconds.  I am 100% sure I would feel a greater emotional attachment to a Super Bowl victory as an adult who not only was able to live in Baltimore and be around the team, but gets the game of football and knows how special it is. Side note: my dad made delicious buffalo wings and chili for dinner.

• Baltimore 44 Seattle 41- overtime, 2003:  What is now the second greatest Ravens game I have attended, in 2003, Baltimore was able to cap one of the most incredible comebacks in NFL history.  Anthony Wright (who???) was their starting quarterback that day against the Seahawks.  Matt Hasselbeck absolutely tore it up throwing 5 touchdown passes and led Seattle to a commanding 34-17 lead (this was back before the Ravens offense realized it actually needed to help the defense if they wanted to win football games).  At this point people started to leave, but since it was the first Ravens game I attended I made it clear to my dad I had no intentions of leaving M&T Bank Stadium early.  What a wise decision that turned out to be.  Due to some lucky calls and Anthony Wright playing better football than anyone ever thought he could, the Ravens came back to win in overtime.  This still stands as one of the best games I have ever seen live in any sport.  The only reason I say it is number two in terms of Ravens games now is because of how amazing beating the life out of Pittsburgh in week one felt. 

 

Louisville Football

• Louisville 26 #4 Florida State 20 – Overtime, 2002: This was one of the biggest games in Louisville football history.  I was supposed to go with my grandmother, but the pouring rain changed those plans.  No one wanted to go with me, and my parents wouldn’t stand for me to go by myself in the downpour (it seemed like a much better idea to 8^th grade me).  I will forever remember Dave Ragone playing his heart out at quarterback in the monsoon weather.  I Will forever remember Anthony Floyd intercepting Chris Rix on Florida State’s first over time possession.  I will absolutely never ever forget the feeling that ran through my blood when Henry Miller ran 25 yards for a touchdown on Louisville’s first offensive play of overtime to win the game.  There is nothing better than making a statement against the number four team in the country, and then watching the goal posts get taken down.  I will never forgive Mother Nature for not allowing me to attend this amazing spectacle. 

 

• The majority of the 2006 Orange Bowl run:  The Cardinals started off the season by absolutely throttling those guys in blue, but the sweet victory was not without a price.  Our star running back Michael Bush (who for some reason was still playing late in the third quarter even with a huge lead) broke his leg and was forced to miss the rest of the season.  After a first half where he seemed primed to be in the Heisman conversation, his season, and thus college career, ended in the blink of an eye.

- A few weeks later, we proved we were for real by handling Miami at home. I remember watching that game at a Green Turtle sports bar with my dad and sister on the way to Ocean City for the weekend.  It was a worthwhile detour.  It didn’t get much more satisfying than beating West Virginia in a “blackout” game in Louisville.

-This Louisville team was perhaps an off-sides call on William Gay on a missed Rutgers field goal away from making the national championship game.  Instead, Rutgers was allowed to re-kick and win a game that the cards seemingly had in the bag.

-Louisville’s BCS fate came down to the last game of the season between West Virginia and Rutgers.  It was quite simple, if Rutgers won, Louisville doesn’t make the Orange Bowl, If WVU won, they do.  Along with a large number of family members (also Louisville fan’s), I watched the game at the bar at the venue that was holding my cousins Bat Mitzvah party in Birmingham.  West Virginia went on to win and Louisville represented the Big East in the Orange Bowl.  My dad and I were able to go to the game, and through a pretty amazing EBay excursion, we found tickets about 15 rows up at the 40 yard line complete with a parking pass and tickets to the pregame Orange Bowl party for people on the committee.  I was able to take my picture with the trophy and meet coach Dennis Erickson, which was pretty awesome.  We also ate Dinner the night before the game at the table next to Muhammad Ali (Louisville’s honorary captain for the game).  Louisville won too.

Louisville Basketball

I could write for days about all of the amazing Louisville basketball games I have seen and attended over the years.  Louisville basketball is my passion in terms of sports.  I give the most attention, time and stress to them.  I have probably lost years off of my life because of the knots they are constantly forcing to be tied inside me.  I just want to jot down some quick memories that I won’t go into detail about just because I will feel bad if I leave them out.

• Edgar Sosa burying the game winning three with 2.3 seconds left against Kentucky in 2009.  

 

• Reece Gaines and Bryant Northern leading one of the most incredible comebacks I have ever seen in the last 30 seconds against Tennessee in 2001.

 

• Watching Darius Washington Jr. melt to the ground after missing two of three free throws with no time left on the clock that would have tied or won the game.  

 

• Taquan Dean Hitting a three to send the game to overtime against Notre Dame in 2006.  I was sitting about even with where Dean hit the shot about five rows up.
• Seeing Reece Gaines, Francisco Garcia, and Jerry Smith all hit game winning three’s against Marquette.  Coach Crean wasn’t too fond of those.
• Coming back to beat Notre Dame in the Big East Tournament in 2011.
• Winning the Big East regular season and tournament titles in 2009.
• Attending my first game at the nicest arena in college basketball, The KFC Yum Center, in 2010.
• Watching Louisville overcome an 18 point deficit led by Preston Knowles to come back and beat Marquette on my birthday in 2011

These are just a few of the amazing memories I have that I will never forget as a Louisville basketball fan. Now, onto two of my favorite memories.

• Louisville 78 #1 Syracuse 68 – Final Game in Freedom Hall, 2010:  This was one of the most emotional day’s I have ever been a part of as a Louisville fan.  54 years of history has taken place inside Freedom Hall, and I was there to see it all end.  My dad and I were able to procure second row seats behind the Louisville bench (thank you Grammy), which was pretty amazing.  There wasn’t a dry eye in the house during the pregame introductions.  There was an aura in the arena unlike anything I had ever felt before.  You thought Louisville was playing for a national championship instead of scraping for one of the last spots in the NCAA tournament.  There was no way the crowd would let them loose.  The fans refused to leave the caramel corn scented arena for the last time with a loss to anyone, let alone the number one team in the country.  Led by Kyle Kuric (King stay the King), who at the time was lucky to play more than five minutes a game and seemed to be nothing more than your average white boy, Louisville willed its way to victory.  Kuric scored all 22 of his points in the second half, much to the crowds delight.  Not a single person sat down after half time, and the building was literally shaking for nearly the entirety of the last 20 minutes.  I had no voice left following the game.  This was a truly magical game that I will never forget.  

 

• Louisville 93 West Virginia 85- Elite 8, 2005: I watched this game at one of my oldest friends houses in Louisville.  We have been friends since Kindergarten where we attended Sunday School with Ms. Paula.  He is also the only other person I know who is as insane as I am when it comes to Louisville basketball.  He had just lost a close soccer game and by the time he had returned to his house, West Virginia had a commanding lead and he chose to watch the remainder of the first half by himself.  We chatted at halftime about how we couldn’t lose this game.  Francisco Garcia, Taquan Dean and Larry O’bannon would not let that happen.  We had come too far to loose now.  Louisville basketball would NOT get Pittsnogled.  Sure enough, after being down 18 at halftime, we saw an amazing second half comeback to send it to overtime.  Francisco Garcia (clearly Louisville’s best player) fouled out and Taquan Dean was suffering from a terrible case of leg cramps to the point he couldn’t run even if he tried.  It didn’t matter though.  Louisville dominated overtime and went on to the Final Four.  We jumped, yelled, screamed, hugged and probably shed a tear.  I want that feeling again.

Anyway, finally to the point of this whole thing.  If you know me well, you know I am not a huge baseball fan, but I will attempt to root for the Orioles.  I have never really had one of these memories that will stick out in my head forever to go along with any Orioles game.  I was too young to appreciate Cal Ripken for what he was (he was one of my favorite athletes as a young kid, but I never could have known just how great he was when he retired), and they have been so bad for so long.

This year was no different for the O’s who again, finished in last place with a record of 69-93.  They Lost the cities interest quite early and instead of being able to go to one of the most beautiful ball parks in all of Major League Baseball, Baltimore sports fans probably preferred to sit in their air conditioned homes and wait for the lockout to end and the Ravens to return to the forefront.

Wednesday night however, in a game that meant absolutely nothing for the Orioles aside from the pride of winning a game, was different.  They came out and played with the heart that had not been there for most of the season.  They looked like they wanted to win more.  They had totally embraced the role of spoiler and the games were actually somewhat fun to watch on TV (I tend to have a very tough time watching baseball on TV).

They also gave me something I have been lacking from a team I root for.  I finally got my distinct memory that will stick with me forever as an Orioles fan.  Sure, their season was over as soon Nolan Reimold crossed home plate off of Robert Andino’s walk off double, but it doesn’t matter.  The Orioles were part of one of the most exciting nights of not only baseball, but sports, in a good while.  It took all of three minutes for the Red Sox collapse to become official.  What are the odds the just three minutes after Reimold’s walk-off, Evan Longoria smacks a walk-off home run against the Yankees?  It felt like a night of faith.

My team might not be making the playoffs this year (or anytime soon), but I will not soon forget this game.  Hopefully this group of O’s uses this final stretch of the season as a jumping off point for next year and can maybe have some success.  No matter what, this Orioles game, and entire night of baseball showed why I love sports.  It is the greatest reality TV out there.  It brings people together and helps form memories and lives.

I can’t wait to work in sports.

-I’ll start with the story that seemed to take over the weekend.  The Eagles are in bad shape right now.  Mike Vick is getting tossed around like Raggedy Anne in the backfield and now has a contusion in his non-throwing hand, their offensive line is god-awful and their defense simply can’t tackle.  What do we make of this rough start for the now 1-2 “Dream Team”?

For most teams it would be easier to say they will continue to struggle, or that they will be just fine.  This Eagles team is tough to tell.  If Mike Vick is healthy, getting the protection he needs, and playing at a high level, they can be great.  If he keeps getting banged up and the defense continues to play sloppy, they could very easily wind up in the cellar of their division.  The NFC East is a very tough division and if they don’t solve their problems soon they could be in trouble.  Also, no quarterback other than Tom Brady gets the treatment Mike Vick wants.  He just needs to shut up and play.  If he wants to complain about something, he should tell his offensive lineman to keep him clean.

-Congratulations to the Bills and Lions for starting 3-0 and ending long loosing streaks to their opponents.  I’m thrilled that I picked the Bills game wrong.  I knew it would be high scoring, but I wasn’t sure if the Bills were quite ready to take that next step and actually beat the Pats and start 3-0.  Kudos to them for proving me wrong.  This Bills offense is running like a well-oiled machine.  Ryan Fitzpatrick looks like a pro bowler, as does Fred Jackson.  Even though they have played two very good offenses the last two weeks, their defense still needs to step up and prove it can keep teams off the scoreboard.  Tom Brady may have had four interceptions, but I believe three of them were tipped.  This Bills team just might be for real, and I know I will be rooting for them.  The Patriots and Jets better not rest on their laurels; they will be in a dogfight for not only the division, but for a wild card spot.

The Lions managed to overcome a 20-0 halftime deficit and rallied to win in overtime.  Matthew Stafford continued his amazing start to the season and the Vikings, well, collapsed hard again.  I have never seen a team have such commanding leads in the first half of three straight games and somehow find a way to blow all of them.  Who is to blame for this?  Most will blame McNabb and call for their number one pick Christian Ponder to come in, but that would be foolish.  He needs to sit and learn for the majority of the season, and these losses are also not squarely on McNabb.  You also must look to the coaching (still…Is Brad Childress still there?  Are they messing with us?) as well as the defense letting teams back into games. The Lions are rolling and the Vikings are in trouble.  I don’t think it will get old to see the Lions have success, at least for a couple of years.

-The Colts, without question, outplayed the Steelers on Sunday night.  There is no way in hell this game should have been close with how bad the Colts have looked thus far.  Hats must go off to the Colts defense for doing everything they could to keep them in the game.  Dwight Freeny and Robert Mathis were animals coming off those ends and getting to Ben, but the two of them and the rest of their running mates couldn’t do everything.  It really comes down to the fact that Kerry Collins and Curtis Painter just won’t cut it for the Colts.  Collins played better than he had the first two weeks, but Painter, although he did lead a huge touchdown drive, overthrew and unbelievably wide open Pierre Garcon, and pretty much handed the ball to Troy Polamalu along with a hand written invitation to run it back.  The Steelers defense, for the second time in three weeks, didn’t appear quite themselves, and to be honest, didn’t deserve that game.  I have to give a ton of credit to the Colts for not giving up on the season and continuing to battle even with Thing One and Thing Two at quarterback.

-Baltimore had a very nice bounce back win on Sunday against the Rams.  They did exactly what they were expected to do, and in big.  The biggest piece of the victory for the Ravens is without a doubt the progression of second round pick Torrey Smith.  After hearing questions about his skill and development all over Baltimore since the start of pre-season, he finally got involved, and it was quite a statement.  I hope for his sake (and mine as a fan) that he has turned the corner and is finally comfortable and confident in his role within the Ravens offense.  It will be interesting to see what he does next week against the Jets, especially since Antonio Cromartie will miss the game.

-I would just like to point out that I called the Oakland upset over the Jets and it felt pretty damn good.  While Sanchez didn’t have that bad of a game as I thought he might, the defense let up 171 yards and two touchdowns to Darren McFadden, which they can never do if they want to win games.  The Jets life doesn’t get any easier the next two weeks as they are at Baltimore this weekend, followed by playing at New England.

-Congratulations to Cam Newton for getting his first NFL win.  He may not have had the stats of his first two games, but he led his team to victory in a monsoon, which he hadn’t done before.

-How in the world did the Cardinals loose to the Seahawks?  That just doesn’t make sense to me.  Maybe Sidney Rice will be a bit more of a difference maker than I thought.  I didn’t think anything could save T-Jax (not that his presence saves him as the future by any stretch of the imagination).

-You can’t help but feel horrible for Kenny Britt.  He was having such a great start to his season.  It’s never fun to watch someone go down with a bad knee injury.  Hopefully he has a speedy and successful recovery and can come back next season just as strong.

I know I am two weeks late in starting up my picks for NFL games, but I started the blog directly following week one and last weekend I was out of town and unable to get a post up.  I was also riding high on Louisville’s big W over Kentucky and nothing could distract me from the glory that came from that win.  It was long overdue; as the last time the Cards came out on top I was a senior in high school.  They also won the Orange Bowl that year.  Oh how times have changed…KRAGTHORPEEEEEE!

Anyway, I digress.  Week two left a pretty sour taste in my mouth as a Ravens fan.  It never feels good to follow up an enormous, tone setting win with an ugly, bad loss.  Since I’m already talking about them, what better place to start than with the Ravens week three matchup.

Baltimore Ravens (1-1) @ St. Louis Rams (0-2)

Tennessee came out and embarrassed the Ravens last week.  While they held Chris Johnson to next to nothing, they let Old-Man-Hasselbeck throw for 358 yards.  This is unacceptable against a team that isn’t supposed to be good with a new quarterback who didn’t have any offseason training programs to get comfortable with his new offense.

This game clearly isn’t going to be a measuring stick for the Ravens season, and I hope it will actually help them in the long run.  They are a very good team, but it is still the NFL and if you let your guard down for one second, you will get beat.  No matter how bad the team you are playing is, they are still professionals for a reason.

The Rams at 0-2 are still trying to find their identity and are already pretty banged up.  Danny Amendola is most likely out again, and even if they can go, Sam Bradford, Steven Jackson, and Cadillac Williams will all not be playing at 100%.  With that being the core of their offense, I don’t foresee any drastic improvements coming from them this week.  The good news for the Rams is they are never out of the race for the NFC West.

I believe the Ravens will come out Pissed off and ready to knock some heads around after getting embarrassed last week and the Rams might be the unfortunate sacrificial lamb.  27-10 Ravens.

New England Patriots (2-0) @ Buffalo Bills (2-0)

I must admit, I never would have expected the Bills to open up at 2-0.  Ryan Fitzpatrick has been outstanding so far, and Fred Jackson leads the NFL in rushing yards after two weeks.  Their offense has seemingly been unstoppable, but they have benefitted from playing Kansas City and Oakland.

The Patriots are who we thought they were.  They are still very good.  As much as I hate him, “The Golden Boy” has been absolutely on fire so far.  I do feel this team should enjoy its overwhelming success while it lasts.  Not to say they won’t be there until the very end this season, but this is not a running team, and once it gets cold out and the field shortens, I see them having some trouble.  By that time, teams will be more cohesive and have significantly more film on what Belichick is doing.  That said, for now, I don’t see anyone slowing Brady down.

This game should see a lot of points being put on the board, but I just don’t see the Bills ready to take that step yet.  It’s been 15 straight losses for them, and if there is one pick this week that I hope I am very wrong on, it’s this one.  I would love to see the Bills pull it out in front of their home crowd, but I just don’t see it happening quite yet. 42-38 Patriots.

Jacksonville jaguars (1-1) @ Carolina Panthers (0-2)

If ever there were a player in the NFL who didn’t deserve to start 0-2 based on his level of play alone, it’s Cam Newton.  I wrote about him after week one, and he continued his record setting start in the NFL, this time against the defending champs defense.  I look for him to absolutely shred Jacksonville.

The Jags are a very bad football team and I can’t see them getting any better in the short term by starting Blaine Gabbert.  I don’t think “Sunshine” will turn out to be much of an NFL QB, but I also said that about Newton, so that probably means he will be great.  For now though, MJD can’t do it all.  Cam will get his well-deserved first win with ease.  27-7 Panthers.

San Francisco 49ers (1-1) @ Cincinnati Bengals (1-1)

The 49ers better hope that Alex Smith can play.  They can feel sorry for themselves all they want about that demoralizing loss to the Cowboys last weekend, but if Smith doesn’t play, this game might become unwatchable.  Neither of these teams are very good to begin with, and Colin Kapernick will not help that cause in any fashion.  That said, I’ve been impressed with these teams so far.  Despite all of their glaring flaws, they both play hard and don’t want to believe they are part of the armpit of the league, unlike Kansas City and Seattle.  It might be ugly, but this should be a close, hard fought game.  17-13 49ers.

Miami Dolphins (0-2) @ Cleveland Browns (1-1)

The Dolphins confuse me.  They have a bunch of good pieces in place.  Their defense is strong, they have a good receiving core, and Chad Henne seems to at the very least be improved from the last two years, which might not be saying much.  Their running game definitely needs help, but I feel Reggie Bush and Daniel Thomas complement each other nicely for the time being.  And yet, for some reason, they sit at 0-2.

The Browns are definitely a team on the rise and will continue to improve throughout this season and the next few years.  This team will definitely beat teams is has no business beating, but it will also blow some games it shouldn’t loose.  I believe they have finally made the transition from one of the leagues really bad teams to one of the leagues good-bad teams.

This game will be close, but I see the Dolphins coming out with a sense of desperation.  If they loose this game, I could see the team slowly quitting, and Tony Sparano winding up unemployed before the season is over.  They need this one more and will find a way to step up and win.  24-17 Dolphins.

Detroit Lions (2-0) @Minnesota Vikings (0-2)

The Lions are one of the most fun stories in the NFL this year.  You can’t help but hope they succeed.  They have been so awful for so long, it’s actually fun to see them winning games.  I’m calling it now; Matthew Stafford will be a Pro Bowl quarterback IF he can stay healthy.  Calvin Johnson sure helps his cause.  Also, just because I feel like mentioning him, Ndamukong Suh is an absolute monster and a new idol of mine.

As for Donavan McNabb and the Vikings, this will not be the week they turn it around.  They have a different problem than other bad teams in the league.  They can compete, they just can’t seem to finish games.  They have talent, but just can’t seem to put all the pieces together.  The Lions are on a roll and will continue to win.  God I hope they make the playoffs.  31-17 Lions.

Houston Texans (2-0) @ New Orleans Saints (1-1) 

This has the potential to be the game of the week.  I love watching games with that have two of the most explosive offenses in the league and two extremely mediocre defenses.  It always sets up for a fun game, unless you really want to see defense.

I don’t really see the Texans getting threatened in their division this year unless they collapse and allow themselves to be threatened, but the Saints are a different story.  Atlanta and Tampa Bay are both playoff contenders, and even though Carolina isn’t there yet, Cam has proven he will at least keep them in ball games thus far.  This game will be close, but not only does New Orleans need this big game more, I think they are a superior football team, and they do not loose in the dome.  38-31 New Orleans.

New York Giants (1-1) @ Philadelphia Eagles (1-1) 

The Giants have more injuries than they know what to do with.  You can’t help but to feel sorry for them that only two weeks into the season they are already in dire straights.  I also have unbelievably little faith in Eli Manning.  I just don’t trust him and that damn body english kills me slowly inside every time I see it.

The Eagles are very good and I’m sure since he has already been practicing, Michael Vick will play.  I don’t really think this one will be very close.  Not only is it in Philly, but, injuries aside, the Eagles are just better.  31-13 Eagles.

Denver Broncos (1-1) @ Tennessee Titans (1-1) 

The Titans are staying at home this week coming of their huge win over the Ravens.  This Titans team could wind up surprising a lot of people if they can play at a high level, as they did last week.  Kenny Britt is a very good young receiver and Matt Hasselbeck may be old, but he still has some tricks up his sleeve.  The scary thing about the Titans is they haven’t even been able to get Chris Johnson going.  Look out when he finally gets his game legs under him.

The Broncos are another team that isn’t very good this year. I feel like I have said that a fair amount already and still have some bad teams left to cover, but I think the lockout had much more of an effect on the amount of bad teams than many realize.  The Titans will continue to play strong and handle business at home.  24-13 Titans.

New York Jets (2-0) @ Oakland Raiders (1-1)

I think I’m going to go out on a limb here.  This is going to be my upset pick of the week.  The Raiders offense has been extremely efficient thus far and yes, the Jets defense is great, but everyone has an off week.  I might be delusional, but look for Darren McFadden and Michael Bush to have big games in Oakland’s backfield and I’m feeling like Mark Sanchez will have one of those terrible Mark Sanchez games.  I’m probably wrong but what the hell.  27-23 Oakland.

Kansas City Chiefs (0-2) @ San Diego Chargers (1-1) 

The Chargers are coming off a big loss to the Patriots that I’m sure they were none to happy about.  The Chiefs absolutely SUCK and now their best player, Jamal Charles, is on IR.  They will loose badly…again.  45-10 Chargers.

Green Bay Packers (2-0) @ Chicago Bears (1-1)

This game is also up there for most intriguing game of the week.  In a rematch of last years NFC title game, Chicago will most definitely be out for some revenge on one of their biggest rivals.  After a strong showing in week one, the Bears really struggled last week against the Saints.  I’m sure being back at home will re-energize them and they will come out much sharper.

As great as the Packers have looked so far, I see the Bears stealing this one, as they need to keep pace with the Pack and the Lions (?!?).  24-21 Bears.

Arizona Cardinals (1-1) @ Seattle Seahawks (0-2) 

Arizona is a better team than they have played like in the first two weeks.  They have a new quarterback and I think as the season goes on they will continue to improve and Kevin Kolb will come into his own.  The Seahawks and Tarvaris Jackson will not.  They are right up there with Kansas City and Indy in the battle for the top pick.  I haven’t seen anything positive to say about them yet.  31-9 Arizona. 

Atlanta Falcons (1-1) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-1)

This is an extremely important game and one that could play in as the season goes on.  These two, along with the Saints will be jockeying for position all season long in the NFC South.  Both teams are coming off huge comeback wins last week and are certainly riding high.  This game will be close but I like Josh Freeman and the Bucs in this one.  23-20 Bucs.

Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1) @ Indianapolis Colts (0-2)

I can’t believe that with some of the good games on this is the Sunday night game this week.  I know Peyton was supposed to play when they scheduled this game, but really?  This is such an uninteresting game and I think the score will only add to that.  The Ravens pissed the Steelers off in week one and the Colts are really bad.  They should really sign David Garrard already.  He may not be great but he will certainly be better than that Fossil Kerry Collins.  31-13 Steelers.

Dallas Cowboys (1-1) @ Washington Redskins (2-0)

I can’t believe the Redskins are tied for the division lead with Rex Grossman as their starter (side note- a buddy and I shared a drink with the Bloomington native’s wife at Kilroy’s when we were there a few weeks ago.  I’m not sure anyone will care, but it’s kind of cool).  These two teams absolutely hate each other and I’m sure this will be a hard hitting, close game.

I believe if Tony Romo plays, he will not finish the game.  They should really be smart and save him.  It’s a long season and they will be in far worse shape if he gets injured further.  Healthy Romo or not, I for some reason am buying into the Redskins.  27-24 Redskins.