Lions Over Bears, Remain Undefeated

Calvin Johnson fends off Brandon Meriweather on his way to the end zone.
(AP Photo/Rick Osentoski)

The Detroit Lions are 5-0. If that sounds foreign, don't feel bad. It's the first time that Detroit has started a season 5-0 since 1956. It was only a 12 game season in those days and the Lions ended up 9-3 on the year. What was interesting about that team, as with this one is the meteoric rise going from worst to first. Something this same Lions team looks to do this year in the NFC North.

Amid the hoopla surrounding the upstart Lions, they had the home field in the Monday night affair with division rival Chicago. After a scoreless fourth quarter, the Lions found pay dirt as Matthew Stafford connected with Calvin Johnson for a 73 yard touch down pass and catch. After making the catch, Johnson fought off Safety Brandon Meriweather and trotted into the end zone. Johnson had a big night, with a total of 5 catches and 130 yards, but really set the tone with his scoring catch.

Jay Cutler started off accurately in the first half, completing 11 of his first 14 passes including a 9 yard hook up to Kellen Davis for the Bears only touch down of the night. It was good enough for Chicago to take the lead into the break at 10-7. From that point on, it was all about the Lions' defense. They continually put pressure on Cutler, sacking him 3 times and knocking him down 6 more. That pressure forced Chicago into costly penalties with 9 false starts stunting the offense that needed all the help it could get.

Much of that help came in the form of Matt Forte, who continues to be a force on the offensive side of the ball. Coming into this week, Forte was the 3rd in the NFL in yards gained from scrimmage since he came into the league in 2008 and he continues to impress. Forte, as it stands seems to be the only true viable threat on the Bears' offense and last night he accounted for 116 yards on the ground and added 4 receptions for 35 yards. Forte has been a stalwart since he put on a Bears helmet and he is showing his talents in a contract year that could net him a good paycheck the next time around, as he seems to be the only moving part in the Chicago offense.

 After the Lions forced a three and out, the offense went on a methodical 7 play drive, complete with 2 3rd down conversions and capped by an 18 yard pass to Brandon Pettigrew to put the Lions back in front. When the Bears got the ball back they started moving the ball up field but the drive stalled near mid field and Chicago was forced to punt. Stefan Logan was forced to fair catch the punt and Detroit was backed up, deep in their own territory on the 12 yard line.

This was no problem for Jahvid Best as he sprung loose after some solid blocks to open the hole and took the first play from scrimmage for 88 of his 163 yards and a score that would put the game out of reach. After Best's run it put Detroit ahead 21-10. It would end up being the last touch down scored as both sides managed a field goal in the final frame to make it 24-13. After the game, Best was asked about the turn around from a team that went 0-16 only three years ago to a squad who is contending for the NFC North crown. He stated, "Some of our guys were on the team, so they know what the city's been through. They know what this team's been through. I can definitely feel the sense of how hungry the city is."

Hopefully for Detroit they continue to feed off their city's hunger and show some themselves as their match up with suddenly explosive San Francisco looms large next week. "We'll start on San Fran in about an hour and a half," Coach Jim Schwartz stated, not satisfied with a 5-0 start. At least they get the 49ers at home next week while the Bears travel back to Chicago to face other division foe, the Minnesota Vikings.

How the lockout affects the NBA fan: An editorial

Shaq is a lot taller than Earl Boykins and I miss him already.

This isn't so much as how it affects every NBA fan, but maybe more so how it affects me. I'm a fairly young man and so when I started watching the NBA, certain things and players became commonplace. It's interesting to me to see an era of basketball slowly closing. For me, it started with the retiring of Shaquille O'Neal.

For as long as I can remember, "The Diesel," "Shaq Fu," "The Big Aristotle," "Superman," or whatever you want to call him has been moving up and down the floor, being one of the most dominant big men in the history of the game. He was certainly the most dominant of his era. It struck me as he clowned his way through his retirement ceremony that a lot of my sports icons were sure to be following in his path.

It made me a little sad realizing that iconic players who have been capturing my imagination like Vince Carter, Kevin Garnett, Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, and Tim Duncan are getting older and won't be playing much longer. It truly is as I mentioned before the end of an era. These athletes will go down into the annals of time and many of them will be discussed as some of the greatest to ever do what they do, and even though they've battled the odds, each other and even gravity they can't battle time, at least not forever.

That's why to me and fans like me, this lock out is turning into one of the largest injustices to sports fans that I can remember in quite some time. As I write this, owners and players still have not met on an agreement which means, according to Commissioner David Stern; games are going to be cancelled. With the entire season in jeopardy it makes it a possibility that the fans won't get to see these tremendous athletes play at all this year, a year that could push many players past their abilities and won't be the players we remembered them being the last time they picked up a basketball.

The effects of this are far reaching, especially with current champion the Dallas Mavericks. Jason Kidd was the heart, soul and behind Dirk Nowitzki the leader of the team. Well, if the season starts the way it's supposed to the Mavericks come back looking to repeat with largely the same squad with which they won the title. After another year though? A year without game speed competition, but most importantly another year. Do I personally think that Kidd can come back and play like he did in the playoffs after missing an entire year of basketball? Not really, but I've been wrong before. I was wrong about the Dallas team that won it all.

So maybe I'm wrong about this. Maybe a year off, a year of rest letting Garnett and Duncan rest their knees could help them in the long run to extend their already sparkling careers. It could be just what the doctor ordered to keep these players in the league. Yet, the inverse is also possible. Maybe apathy sets in and they get out of shape. We certainly see it with Baron Davis every year. These players return as a shell of their former selves and realize that they have to hang it up sooner than they thought. This is all pure speculation of course. There are few athletes with the competitive drive that Kevin Garnett displays, but you have to wonder as he approaches the twilight of his career if his window is closing.

I don't know. Maybe a new era in the NBA would be a good thing. Once the old guard is retired, young promising stars like Kevin Love, John Wall, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin and Brandon Jennings will get their day in the sun. Maybe it's for the best. All I know is I want basketball.

#9 Ducks win game, Lose James

LaMichael James breaks free against California (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

At the half, it appeared that Oregon was on upset alert at home. They trailed 15-14 going into the break after Keenan Allen's 12 yard touch down reception and memories of last season began to well up in the minds of the home crowd. Oregon had a chance to respond, but Darron Thomas' errant pass was intercepted by D.J. Campbell and Cal was on the march again..After driving to the Oregon 23, Giorgio Tevecchio had a field goal blocked by John Boyett and the Ducks took a little momentum back heading into the locker room at the break.  However, the upset effort was shut down as the Duck defense shut down and shut out California in the second half en route to a 43-15 win for Oregon.

 California opened up the scoring with a Tevecchio field goal after a promising drive. The Cal kicker had a career night going 3 for 4 including a career best 54 yard kick which brought the bears within 5 early on at 14-9. Oregon answered back with a two play 64 yard drive to answer back. The drive was capped off by a 53 yard run by LaMichael James for his only rushing touchdown of the game. James went for 239 yards but encountered a scary moment early in the fourth quarter when on a rushing play, James dislocated his elbow and stayed on the ground for several minutes. In a great sign of support for the injured superstar, 54,000 began to chant his name as they feared the worst. LaMichael, the NCAA's leading rusher left the field with a smile on his face to the relief of the home town crowd.

California quaterback Zach Maynard missed on several passes early, but started to find his rhythm as he threw for 218 yards, Keenan Allen a nice compliment with 170 receiving yards and the only touchdown California would score on the night. As good as Allen and other Cal receiver Marvin Jones were, Oregon's defense was simply better. They put pressure on Maynard early forcing high and errant throws and locked down  Isi Sofele, not letting him get rolling in the second half.

On the other side of the ball, Oregon really got rolling in the second half as fans have grown accustomed to seeing, rattling off 29 unanswered points to put the game away early in the fourth. James had the yardage but the player of the game had to be De'Anthony Thomas who had two receiving touchdowns as well as one on the ground on a beautiful end around after a bit of misdirection by Darron Thomas.

Oregon put the game away with 68 yard touch down run by Kenjon Barner which seemed to break the spirit of the Golden Bears' defense. Coach Tedford was forced to pull Maynard early in the fourth and replaced him with Sophomore Allen Bridgeford. It appeared that Maynard got sandwiched between two defenders and would not return. By that point the Ducks had the game well in hand as Bridgeford was ineffective in running the offense.

The loss gives the Cal Bears their second in the Pac-12 giving them a 0-2 record in conference, both losses coming against fellow members of the North division. Cal has won a game against a conference opponent, Colorado but due to the conference realignment and scheduling conflict the game was not ruled as a conference game. After this game, they have to go home to AT&T field to face a challenging game against the USC Trojans. The Ducks now 2-0 in conference have an extra two days of rest to prepare for #22 Arizona State in a potential conference championship preview. It will be interesting to see if LaMichael James will return against the talented ASU run defense and Vonteze Burfict.

Drop the puck, let's play hockey.

Hoisting the Stanley Cup is a big deal.
Barbara Johnston-US Presswire

Stepping out from behind the keyboard, I just want to say I love hockey. I wish more people watched and liked hockey so it would get more TV time and so more people could watch and like hockey and the cycle would continue. With the impending lockout in the NBA, it's going to leave us with only one professional sport. Hockey. Often times, I find that people dismiss hockey because it's difficult for them to follow, or they don't understand what's going on. I hope to explain some of the rules and nuances of the game so maybe you'll consider flicking on a Sunday morning game when the NFL is done playing football.

Goals

It may seem simple but I feel the need to explain this. Hockey is more like soccer than it is football in respect to scoring. By this I mean the entire puck has to cross the goal line instead of like football where only part of the ball has to cross the line. Once the entire puck is in the goal, a point is awarded.

What the heck is "icing?"

Icing is when a player shoots the puck across both the center red line and the opposing team's goal line without the puck going into the net or being able to be touched by an opposing player in their neutral or defensive zones. If an offensive player touches the puck first after it crosses both the red line and the goal line, icing is negated. Icing can also be negated by the goalie touching the puck back behind the goal line. When icing occurs, a linesman stops play. Play is resumed with a face off in the defending zone of the team that "iced the puck." Another time when icing is nullified is when a team is on a "power play" (which will be explained next,) the defending team can send the puck down the ice to stop the man advantage.

Power Play

A power play occurs when one team has more players on the ice than the other team as a result of penalties assessed to the shorthanded team. A power play can end one of two ways. Either the clock (usually 2 minutes) expires, or the team with more players scores a goal.

Offsides

If a player enters the attacking zone ahead of the puck but does not touch it, the play is offside but no whistle is blown immediately, thus creating a delayed offside. When all players from the offside team leave their offensive zone and go into the neutral zone the linesman cancels the offside infraction. Conversely, if the offending team touches the puck before leaving their offensive zone the whistle is blown for the offside infraction.

Hat Trick
When one player scores three goals in one game.

Why do people throw octopus onto the ice?

According to answers.com, it started during the 1952 Stanley Cup Playoffs. At that time there were only 6 teams, and to win the Stanley Cup required 8 playoff victories (two best of seven series). The owner of a local fish shop in Detroit threw an octopus onto the ice claiming that the 8 tentacles represented the 8 games that the Red Wings would win to get the Stanley Cup. The Wings won the Cup, and the tradition of using an Octopus to rally the Red Wings was born.

These are some real basic rules but I find some of the most confusing. I hope you tune in to a few games and enjoy one of the most fast paced sports in existence. It's fast, fun and great entertainment.

California at #9 Oregon Preview

Chris Conte is gone but it remains to be seen what impact that will hold Saturday.
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images North America)

Last season's match up between Oregon and California was mired in controversy that left both sides pointing the finger for dirty tactics. Much was made of feigning injuries by California and the illegal pick play by Oregon. Truly, that's all that needs to be said about those two topics. If you feel the need to look them up, Google is your friend. It was a hard fought, low scoring game that saw Oregon held under 20 points for the only time in the regular season. The game turned on a Cliff Harris punt return which made the difference in the game. Oregon made several stops down the stretch and held the ball for the final 9:26 as they escaped Memorial Coliseum with a 15-13 win to keep their national title hopes alive.

This year California makes the trip up to Eugene with revenge on their mind. Last season, they were able to contain Oregon's dynamic offense by playing a Cover-Zero package, meaning they were committing to the run and essentially playing one on one with the wide receivers. They dared Oregon Quarterback Darron Thomas to beat them over the top, which he was unable to do. Cal was able to do this with a disciplined attack on the defensive side of the ball and force Oregon's hand. It will be interesting to see if this years defense which had to replace more than half of its starters can be as disciplined and contain Oregon again this year. Cal loses standouts from every level on the defensive side of the ball. Cameron Jordan, Mike Mohammed and Chris Conte were who made that defense click and their absense could spell trouble for California's efforts.

On offense, the lefty Zach Maynard will get his first taste of Autzen Stadium. Along side him in the back field is, Junior first year starter Isi Sofele. Maynard has played well to this point in the season already throwing for 10 touchdowns, 3 a piece to dynamic weapons on the outside Keenan Allen and Marvin Jones. Both Allen and Jones average over 16 yards a catch and have the ability to break a big one at any point. The key to stopping any offense is to make them one dimensional. The Ducks won't stop Keenan Allen but if they can contain him, they stand a good chance to keep Cal's play makers off the field and do what Oregon is wont to do, run the football and wear down Cal's defense. As far as running goes, Sofele has 380 yards on the year. In his last game against Washington, Sofele went for 98 yards and two catches out of the back field. Standing 5'8", Sofele will remind Oregon fans of LaMichael James for his quickness and explosiveness with the ball in his hands.

For the Ducks, it all starts and stops with the offense. If Thomas and James can push the tempo and get Cal back on their heels early, it could be a long day for the Bears. Last time we saw James he was carving up the Arizona defense to the tune of 288 yards on the ground, a school record. The Golden Bears must stop him if they want to hang tough. On a lot of big plays against Cal, they were often caused by poor tackling. They will have to wrap up and make the stops early to keep players like Josh Huff, Kenjon Barner, DeAnthony Thomas and Darron Thomas from breaking a big one. It will be interesting to see what defensive strategy the Golden Bears come out with to stop the Oregon offense. Darron Thomas has matured as a passer and receivers Rashaan Vaughn and Lavasier Tuinei have stepped up for a graduated Jeff Maehl and a hobbled Josh Huff.

California Will Win If:                    Oregon Will Win If:
Maynard has time to throw                Offense spreads the field successfully
Sofele proves to be a weapon            Contain Allen and Jones
Defense contains running game          Receivers make an impact

Trojans outlast Wildcats in Shootout

Robert Woods hauls in one of his 14 receptions against Arizona
(AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)

The Arizona Wildcats have a record setting defense. Unfortunately, they aren't setting the records that they want to be setting. Last week, the allowed LaMichael James to rack up 288 yards on the ground, setting an Oregon rushing record. This week, Arizona fell victim to Matt Barkley's 468 passing yards, good enough to set a school record for USC.

Arizona dug themselves into a hole early, stalling on their first drive and then allowing a 2 play 91 yard touch down drive. Matt Barkley went to Sophomore sensation Robert Woods on both plays, the second an 82 yard reception which would set the tone for the rest of the afternoon. Of Barkley's passing yards 255 of them went to Woods who fell just 5 yards short of breaking the USC receiving mark for a single game. With under a minute in the first, Barkley connected with Marquis Lee for 38 yards and a score and it appeared the rout was on.

Arizona would not go quietly. Nick Foles continued to show his passing prowess as he also threw for over 400 yards. His streak of passes thrown without an interception was broken though when T.J. McDonald got his hands on the ball at the USC 30, stopping a promising drive from the Wildcats. Arizona continued to battle back though and got within a touch down at 34-27 as Ka'Deem Carey showed some signs of life for the previously anemic Wildcat running game. But it was not to be as the squads exchanged touchdowns, the final coming through the air as Foles connected four four yards to Austin Hill to render the final score 48-41 USC.

The Wildcats' skid against FBS foes continues as they have not beat a FBS squad in nearly a year. They have their best shot of the season so far when they go on the road to visit Oregon State who have struggled their way to a 0-4 record but showed some fight against Pac-12 South favorite Arizona State. The secondary for the Beavers looks to be improving and could provide problems for one of the Pac-12's most accurate passers. USC on the other hand have a week and a half to prepare to travel to AT&T park in San Fransisco to face the California Golden Bears. Cal will be playing their second consecutive Thursday night game as they travel to Eugene to play the #9 Oregon Ducks.

Wisconsin Survives Early Charge, Dominate Nebraska

Russell Wilson throws on the run against conference newcomer, Nebraska. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)

For Nebraska, it was their first chance to make a statement. They were matched against a talented Wisconsin team in a hostile environment. Coming out of the gates they looked like a team that could finally give the Badgers some trouble but Wisconsin responded to adversity, walking away with this one 48-17. Much could be made to this point about the level of competition Wisconsin has faced, beating their previous four foes by a combined score of 194-34.

In Nebraska's first game in the Big Ten they also provided the Badgers with their first deficit of the season when Taylor Martinez ran it in from 1 yard out to open the scoring, then again early on in the second quarter when Rex Burkhead punched it in to put the Huskers up a score early in the second. It was all Wisconsin from there.

The Badgers rattled off 34 consecutive points before Brett Maher tacked on a vanity field goal for Nebraska early in the fourth. However, on a day where every thing was going right for the Badgers, Montee Ball answered with his 4 touch down from 15 yards out to tie a career mark for most scores in a game.

While Ball did the heavy lifting, the star of the game was once again Russell Wilson. The NC State transfer threw for 255 yards and two scored of 36 and 46 yards. Wilson also added a score on the ground, once again proving himself as a dynamic running threat from behind center. When asked about Wilson's performance to this point in the season, coach Bret Bielema stated "If there's a better player in college football right now, I'd like to see it,"  He makes a compelling case for his quarter back who has thrown for 1391 yards and 13 touch downs against only 1 interception thus far in the year.

Wilson's fleet footed counter part did not fair so well. After showing promise in the first two drives which resulted in touch downs, Martinez finished the game completing only half of his passes and threw 3 interceptions against a stingy defense that still has not allowed more than 17 points on the season and an average of just over 10 points per game.

If Nebraska takes care of business in their half of the Big Ten, they could meet Wisconsin again in the conference championship game with redemption on their mind. They have a tough road to go however still having to face traditional conference powers Ohio State and must go on the road to the big house and their own multi-tooled quarter back Denard Robinson. For Wisconsin, they have a bye week leading up to a showdown with Indiana, closer to the end of the year, their stiffest challenge on paper would be Illinois, on the road. To this point, Wisconsin appears to be the class of the conference and the road to the Big Ten title goes through Madison. It will be interesting to see if they can maintain their level of play.