MIAMI BOUND: Irish off to the National Championship; Knights Upset Again; Giants Beat Up Green Bay

       On Saturday night, Notre Dame came into L.A. to play USC at 11-0 and win away from an undefeated season and a likely spot in the Title Game. The Fighting Irish got it started in the 1st quarter, as a Kyle Brindza kick and a Theo Riddick 9-yard run game them an early 10-0 lead. The 2nd quarter was a different story. The Trojans scored 10 points of their own with a Robert Woods 11-yarder and a field goal. However, Notre Dame answered back with 2 more Brindza FG's, including a 52-yarder to end the 1st half and it was 16-10 at the half. In the third, the only scoring was another Irish field goal as they had reached the 19-point mark. Both teams scored 1 FG each in the 4th quarter, and wi thin the final 5 minutes, the Irish stopped about 10 points on the goal line. The final score was 22-13, and the Fighting Irish had a perfect season. Now, they're still at the #1 slot, and they will likely play the winner of the SEC Championship Game (Alabama and Georgia) in Miami on January 7, 2013.
       Rutgers was out for the Big East crown on Saturday with a win in Pittsburgh or a Louisville loss as they faced UConn. However, it was not a very good game played by the Scarlet Knights. With the game scoreless in the 2nd quarter, the Panthers scored 3 TD's in a 13-yarder to Mike Shanahan, a 1-yard run by Ray Graham, and a 13-yard pass to Ed Tinker (one of the coolest names in College Football). Rutgers' only score was a Nova 11-yard pass to Brandon Coleman, and the Knights as well missed the 2-point attempt. Other than that, Pittsburgh scored 2 field goals, and that was the game. 27-6 your final. However, there is still hope for the Scarlet Knights, as Louisville suffered a home loss to UConn. The two squads will fittingly meet on Thursday in a game viewable on ESPN for the Big East tughest title and a spot in the Orange Bowl.
       Last night, the New York Football Giants came off a much-needed bye week after a 2-game losing streak and took on their toughest test of the season: the Green Bay Packers, a re-match of last year's NFC Divisional Game. The Jints got it started on their first possession with a quick run by Andre Brown to give New York an early 7-0 lead (Brown would later learn he had a broken fibula and is now out for the season). The Packers responded on their next possession with a Jordy Nelson TD to tie the game. New York would take the ball right after that, and would never look back with a Ruben Randle 16-yarder, a Victor Cruz 9-yard pass (his first TD in a while), an Ahmad Bradshaw 13-yard run, and a Hakeem Kicks 13-yarder. The final score was 38-10, as the Giants got a much-deserved win. Also worth noting is that Eli Manning surpassed Phil Simms on the Giants' all-time TD pass list with 200 to Simms's 199.

Where Are the Sox Going?

       After a blockbuster August trade with the Dodgers that took Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, and Carl Crawford off their roster, the Boston Red Sox may not b e on "Project Re-Build". After signing David Ortiz to another short-term deal this offseason, Boston is supposedly in talks with the Texas Rangers' 2 biggest free agents: CF Josh Hamilton and C Mike Napoli. In fact, Napoli is just about a signature away, as he's in serious talks for a 4-year deal. With all of this and the managerial change in firing Bobby Valentine, it's hard to tell which way the Red Sox are going. A-Gon, Beckett, and Crawford did cause some trouble in the clubhouse, but they were big game-changers on this club. Gonzalez had the perfect swing for Fenway, Beckett and who knows what Crawford could've done with a healthy body? Now, the Sox are after Hamilton, Napoli, Johnny Gomes (who just signed on for the next 2 years), and whoever else they can get their hot dog water-filled hands on. So, it's kind of hard to tell where the Red Sox see in their own future.

Notre Dame Demolishes Wake Forest Then Claims #1 Spot; Knights Win Nail-Biter

       The Fighting Irish came into Saturday back at the #3 spot and hosting Wake Forest, going for a perfect home season. The game was practically over by the end of the 1st QTR after 3 touchdowns for Notre Dame: Ciere Wood, Tyler Eifert, and John Goodman, and the score was 21-0. Everett Golson hit another man in the numbers for the score midway through the second quarter, this time to TJ Jones, and made it a 28-point lead. A Kyle Brindza field goal would make it a 31-point deficit. Golson came out after the first half with 300+ yards and 3 passing TD's. In the 3rd, George Atkinson III ran for 6 yards and put the game way out of reach in the final score of the game as the final was 38-0 on Senior Day. Additionally, Senior TE Tyler Eifert became the all-time Notre Dame leader in career receptions by a Tight End during the game. The next day, both AP and the BCS ranked the Irish the top team in the FBS, as both of the other undefeated teams were upset. On Saturday night, the Irish will have their toughest test of the season, as they will try to get themselves into the National Championship by going to L.A. and taking on USC.
       Rutgers came into the week at 22 and went to Cincinnati for a tough matchup. With the game scoreless mid-way through the 2nd, Scarlet Knights QB Gary Nova found Mark Harrison for 71 yards and it was 7-0 all the way until the fourth. With about 8 minutes left in the game, Nick Borgese made it a 10-point game with a 42-yarder, and Cincy's only scoring was an FG with 11 seconds remaining, and the Knights had yet another win by the score of 10-3. After that huge win, Rutgers not only keeps their lead in the Big East standings, but moved up to #18 in all of the land.
       The Giants had their bye week after 2 straight losses, and they will host the NFC North-leading Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

M - V - P!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

       On Thursday night, the AL and NL MVP's of 2012 were announced, and there were quite a few things that made fans turn their heads:

IN THE NL: Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants came out on top over the other 4 final contenders: Yadier Molina, Chase Headley, Ryan Braun, and Andrew McCucthen. However, a familiar face to New York fans came out right behind those top 5: Mets 3B David Wright, who hit .306 with 21 HRs and 93 RBI and tied with Nationals' Adam Laroche for the 6 spot. NL Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey finished tied with Reds 1B Joey Votto for 14th on the final ballot. Congrats to Posey on an award he very much deserved, as there is no way the Giants get anywhere close to the World Series without their MVP catcher.

IN THE AL: Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers unrightfully took home the prize over Angels rookie CF Mike Trout. Surprisingly, it wasn't as close as most people thought with Cabrera taking the first-place votes 22-6 in a shock to all sabermetric fans including myself. Many voters didn't vote for Trout because he and his team failed to make the Postseason while Cabrera's team went to the World Series.
       I'm going to use an example Brian Kenny used on MLB Network's Clubhouse Confidential: Many used the beginning of September, when the Angels collapsed, as a tie-breaker between the two. Kenny went back to the Angels-Tigers series in early September. In the first game, Trout went 0-2 but had 2 walks, stole 2 bases, and scored from 2nd on a wild pitch. The next night, Trout went 1-3 with a homer, a stolen base, and robbed Detroit 1B Prince Fielder of a HR to end the game. Also, Trout had the most extra bases in the AL. Obviously, Mike Trout had the better overall season and deserved this special award.
       Yankees 2B Robinson Cano as well was in the Top 5, finishing 4th overall in front of Texas CF Josh Hamilton.
   

Story of the Season Becomes Best Pitcher in the NL

       After a tremendous year on a not-so-tremendous team, Mets starter Robert Allan Dickey won the 2012 NL Cy Young on Wednesday night and became the first knuckler to do so ever. He is also the first Met to do it since Dwight Gooden back in 1985. R.A. went 20-6 with a 2.73 ERA. Dickey as well had 8 shutouts including 1-hitters in back-to-back starts in June. There were many people in Baseball, however, that believed that Dickey shouldn't win the award because he was on a bad team. Let me tell all of those people that R.A. being a Metropolitan helps him even MORE. To think that a pitcher could win 20 games on such a terrible offensive team is quite astonishing feat. Seattle's Felix Hernandez can't do that, and he plays for a little better of an offensive club.

       What Mets fans should worry about most is that this accolade will raise Dickey's price tag quite a bit. In the recent days and weeks, there have been some rumors about the Mets shopping for him. Alderson and the organization have said that trading Dickey or David Wright would be a last resort, but if Dickey and Alderson can't find an extension agreement, I could definitely see the Mets looking for options, even if it isn't willingly.

       

       Here are some of the best moments of R.A.'s magical season:

      

"The Mystery of the Miami Marlins: The Saga Continues"

       It hasn't even been 3 months since all of Baseball was shocked by the Red Sox-Dodgers trade that sent Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, and Carl Crawford to L.A. Now, those busy GM's were at it again last night, as the Miami Marlins have dealt Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson, and John Buck to the Toronto Blue Jays for Yunel Escobar and some prospects. I first read of these talks on the MLB Network bottom line and as the words "Blue Jays" passed by the screen, I could hardly think. It's amazing how quickly this Miami team gave up with a bright future. Hardly ever will you find a club go on a huge shopping spree and have it all work out in the first. Sure, they finished last and lost 97 games, but what can you expect from a team playing in a city like Miami with a troublesome manager and a brand new stadium with a brand new attitude? With a huge trade like this, Marlins fans will think this is a fire sale and be devastated about how the organization just threw it all away. Therefore, Miami will have trouble selling out for years and will probably have to move again. This trade might've turned the Miami Marlins into the newest Houston Astros.

"Holy War" Goes the Irish's Way; Knights Route Navy; Giants Fall to 6-4

       Saturday night, while Alabama lost for the first time since the "Game of the Century", Notre Dame was off to storied rival Boston College to try and reach 10-0. The scoring started out in the first with a Everett Golson 2 yd run that put the Irish ahead by 7. After a Nate Freese 36-yard kick and a 7-yard pass to Troy Niklas (both of those being in the second quarter), Notre Dame went into the half leading the Eagles 14-3. The 2nd half was not much different, as an 18-yarder to John Goodman and another Freese FG (this on for 45 yards) would not change anything, as the Irish remain undefeated beating Boston College 21-6. On Saturday, the Fighting Irish will go for an undefeated home schedule in South Bend by taking on 5-5 Wake Forest.
       Meanwhile, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights looked to get back on track after a bye week and an upset loss to Kent State against Army. The Black Knights got it started about halfway through the first with a Trent Steelmen ran for a 1-yard TD, putting them up 7-0. After that, it was all Scarlet Knights with a 16-yarder to Brandon Coleman in the 2nd and 3 touchdowns in the 4th, them being another 31-yarder to Coleman, a 2-yard run from Savon Huggins, and Duron Harmon 73-yard fumble return made it a final of 28-7 Rutgers. They are now #22 in the nation and will go to Cincy on Saturday.
       On Sunday, the New York Football Giants tried to end their recent skid by traveling to Cincinnati to play the Bengals. It wasn't much of a close game as the Giants only points came from 2 20+ yarders from Lawrence Tynes and a 4th QTR TD by Andre Brown. Everything else was the "Andy Dalton Show". Dalton made a great Jints defense look like the Kansas City Chiefs, throwing 4 touchdown passes: 10-yard passes from Jermaine Gresham and former Scarlet Knight Mohamed Sanu, an 11-yard pass to Andrew Hawkins, and even a 56-yarder to A.J. Green. The final was 31-13, and New York will have another challenge after their current bye week, as they will go back home to take on Green Bay.

The Irish ARE Legit!!!

       Throughout the past few years, there has been much talk that the BCS and AP Rankings have been too "Notre Dame happy", that meaning they've been ranking the Irish a little too high in the Top 25. In past years, I have agreed with that including last year when the team went into the BCS #16. However, this year, as they are now in the #4 slot, the 2nd-highest point of the year, they seriously are for real. First of all, their offensive line has seriously improved. Last season, the offense surrendered a total of 29 turnovers, near the very bottom of the FBS. This year, however, they've only given up 11 with only 3 games remaining. So unless they average 6 turnovers in their last 3 games>, consider the O-Line improved.
       Moving to the other side of the Line of Scrimmage, the defense has been untouchable. They've only given up 1 rushing TD this year, the least in the FBS. Most importantly, the Irish defense as a player who's a serious Heisman Trophy contender: Manti T'eo. He's been responsible for 6 turnovers and has 87 total tackles.
       Probably two of the most important parts of  this #4 team are the coach, Brian Kelly, and the young QB, Everett Golson. Kelly has been a huge part of this school's squad since he became the main man in  2010. He's won everywhere he's gone, and he's proved that this year at South Bend with one of his best creations so far. Every single move he's made as worked, one of them being giving Junior Tommy Rees some time as the starter.
       Then there's Everett Golson, the starter at Quarterback for this team. First of all, he's a Freshman and he's 9-0. He makes less mistakes than Matt Barkley of USC, who's a Senior! Golson has shown he can hand off the ball to his RB's such as Sierre Wood and can hit receivers pretty well, such as Tyler Eiffert. He's been a QB who's come up HUGE in the clutch and is the most important part of the 2012 Fighting Irish!

Clear Waters Ahead!!! The Troubled Bay Behind!!!!

       After 3 upsetting years for Mets fans, the pain has come to an end as on Wednesday, New York terminated Jason Bay's contract 2 years early. In 2012, Bay hit .165 in 70 games and hit .223 in 288 games as a Met. Like many other people who follow the Mets, I could not be happier that the agreement finally came. He has been absolutely holding back a young team that has been improving since the start of last season shocking all of Baseball by going into the All-Star break 6 games over .500. With Sandy Alderson and the organization having to keep him up on the Big League 25-man roster, it has made the team have to make crucial decisions on which of their young stars to send back down such as Lucas Duda, Jordanny Valdespin, and Kirk Niuwenhuis. In fact, he struggled so much that Terry Collins officially made him a platoon player, only to be used in certain situations.
       It's not only the organization that was struggling with Bay, the fans absolutely despised him and his contract up to the very last day. From the countless concussions to the underperformance, the boos from the Citi Field crowd became overwhelming. Looking on, I would think to myself "How could you not feel bad for the guy?".
       To me, the Mets should've done this earlier. If New York had made this decision during the season, it would've given Valdespin more time as the full-time left-fielder. Also, there would've been an extra spot on the September Call-Up Roster that could've gone to Zach Wheeler.

Notre Dame Makes Huge Comeback Then Falls in Rankings; Giants with Disgusting 4th Quarter

       On Saturday, the Fighting Irish was up to #3 in the country, their highest point this season, and were back to South Bend to take on the 4-win Pittsburgh Panthers. The score was 20-6 in favor of Pitt heading into the 4th quarter when a 11-yard pass to TJ Jones from Everett Golson that made it 20-12, but the extra point  attempt was no good. Then came a Red Zone situation for the Irish inside the 10, when an End Zone pass from Golson was intercepted for a Touchback. After that was a "3 and Out" for the Panthers, Notre Dame started at the 50. Then Golson unleashed a 45-yarder that brought the Fighting Irish to the 5. The very next play was a 5-yard TD pass to Theo Riddick and a 2-point conversion run by Golson tied the game as OT was on its way. Both teams' kickers, Notre Dame's Kyle Brindza and Pitt's Kevin Harper, kicked 35 plus-yard FG's to send it to 2 OT. The Fighting Irish had the first possession and it had looked like Cierre Wood had ran into the End Zone through Pitt's D-line to give Notre Dame a lead, but Wood fumbled and lost the ball in the End Zone and Pitt picked it up for a turnover. It was 4th Down for the Panthers and it looked as if Harper would lock up a huge upset with a FG, but his kick was wide right. In 3 OT, Harper kicked a 44-yarder, but a 1-yard run from Golson gave the Irish a hair-greying win, 29-26. However, since they went into 3 OT with a 4-4 squad, they fell 1 place in the BCS Rankings as Oregon is now the #3 team.
       The Giants were as well back home to play Ben Rothlisberger and the "Big Bad" Pittsburgh Steelers. In the 2nd QTR, Emmanuel Sanders caught a 4-yard pass, and Pittsburgh was up 7-0 before a 1-yard run from Andre Brown and a Lawrence Tynes PAT that ties the game at 7. Then Michael Boley picked up a Rothlisberger fumble and ran 70 yards to make it 14-7 Jints. In the final seconds of the 1st half, Shaun Suisham kicked a 30-yarder and it was a 4-point game. The 3rd quarter was all Giants as all the scoring was 2 field goals by Lawrence Tynes as New York was doubling up Pittsburgh heading into the 4th. Then in the 4th, the Steelers scored 2 TD's from Mike Wallace and Isaac Redmanthat gave Pittsburgh a 24-20 lead. The last 3 possessions for the Giants were "3 and Outs", as New York took the loss, 24-20.
       Rutgers had this week off after their upset loss to Kent State, and after completely falling from the Rankings, the Scarlet Knights are back on as #23 with a 7-1 record. They will host Army on Saturday.