The “O’s” have it, as Oregon and Ohio State won playoff semi-final games yesterday and will meet in Arlington Texas on January 12th, to decide the national champion.
The “experts” who established Oregon as well over a touchdown favorite, albeit against a defending national champion Florida State Seminoles team that had won 29 straight games, were right as the Ducks eased to a (59-20) victory.
At night, Ohio State, over a touchdown underdog trailed (21-6), but scored 28 straight points and eventually held off Alabama (42-35).
Oregon has been established as just over a one touchdown favorite in the title tilt. They have never beaten Ohio State in 7 previous games played between the two schools.
TCU, a team I felt should have been in the college football playoff, ripped Mississippi University in a bowl game yesterday.
Credit the TCU team and Coach Gary Patterson for getting motivated to play in a bowl game after being denied a playoff spot, despite being ranked third and winning convincingly in their last game. Yet they were dropped out of the top four and playoff relevance.
At night, Georgia Tech won easily as a one touchdown underdog vs another Mississippi team, this one Mississippi State.
As with the “mole people” on the old Superman show, the Mississippi teams will “go back to where they came from.”
That place is far away from being national championship contenders, which the two teams were for a good part of this past season.
“Honeymoon in Vegas,” now in preview performances at The Nederlander Theatre (208 West 41st Street), is a thrilling, entertaining show. It also makes a good statement about relationships and especially about commitments.
With Tony Danza leading the way, “Honeymoon in Vegas” combines nice music, superb dancing and well choreographed numbers. This is evident throughout the just over two hour performance.
Mr. Danza, of television fame in “Taxi” and “Who’s The Boss,” is an excellent “song and dance” man, who fits well in the role of “businessman”/ gambler, “Tommy Korman.”
The character “strikes” an “agreement” with “Jack,” played adeptly by Rob McClure. “Jack” surely has commitment issues, and McClure, a Tony Award nominee, is also well cast and gives a fine performance.
Brynn O’Malley as Jack’s girlfriend of five years, “Betsy,” who is awaiting marriage, and Nancy Opel as Jack’s deceased mother, who says and brilliantly sings “Never Get Married,” are also great.
The entire cast shines. Mr. Danza, interviewed this past Sunday on the excellent year end edition of CBS Sunday Morning, is a superb entertainer. This is a landmark showing for him.
I am glad he is getting this opportunity on Broadway and so glad I saw “Honeymoon in Vegas.” Go see it for yourselves.
After my (0-3) week in my pro football, who knows what to make of these College predictions.
In the first national semi-final game, aka the Rose Bowl, Oregon University is somehow a 9 point favorite vs defending champion Florida State, a team with a 29 game winning streak.
Florida State is a woeful (2-10) vs the spread, obviously all as the favorite in the game. This time, they will cover the spread but Oregon goes to the title tilt with a (37-30) victory.
In the night game/Sugar Bowl/national semi-final game, Alabama, coached by Nick Saban, who is seeking his 5th national title and fourth at Alabama, is also a 9 point favorite vs Ohio State. Their coach is Urban Meyer, who won two college titles while coaching Florida University.
I think the game is too close to call but will give a shaky, non cover (24-20) vote to Alabama which would get BAMA to a fourth title tilt during the Barack (O)BAMA administration, having won it all in 2009, 2011 and 2012.
The Green Bay Packers clinched their fourth straight NFC North crown yesterday, defeating the Detroit Lions (30-20).
The previous three years “G.B.” did not even make the NFC Championship game despite winning the NFC North, managing but one playoffs win, a wild card round win in 2012 at home vs the Minnesota Vikings.
Meanwhile, the Lions are relegated to playing in the wild card round.
That does not augur well for the Detroit Lions, a franchise without a playoffs win since 1991, in a home divisional game.
Additionally, the Lions are (0-7) all-time in wild card round games, six of them on the road.
It is the road again for the Lions in the wild card round as they visit the touchdown favorite Dallas Cowboys in the later Sunday game which rounds out the four game wild card round weekend.
There is a possible “silver lining” for the silver and blue clad Lions. In the film, “Silver Linings Playbook,” the protagonist’s team, the Philadelphia Eagles, wins vs the Cowboys.
In their aforementioned 1991 last playoffs win, the opponent was the Dallas Cowboys.
click here for 1991 Detroit Lions highlights
The city of Cleveland won its last major professional sports league championship 50 years ago. The Cleveland Browns defeated the Baltimore Colts (27-0) in Cleveland to win the 1964 NFL championship.
It was the only team championship for the Browns’ great running back, Jim Brown, who led the NFL in rushing yards in eight of his nine seasons before retiring on the set of the movie, “The Dirty Dozen” in 1966.
The 1964 championship game featured such great Browns players as quarterback Frank Ryan and receiver Gary Collins (the two combined for three touchdown plays). The immortal Lou “The Toe” Groza, and of course, Jim Brown also shined.
The Colts also had their share of great players in the game: John Unitas, Lenny Moore, Raymond Berry, Jim Parker and Gino Marchetti.
Jim Brown
The NFC North crown and very likely the NFC two seed goes to the winner of tomorrow’s Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers game. I predict the touchdown underdog Lions will play very well and may even win outright. Green Bay 27 Detroit 23.
Someone has to win the woeful NFC South. Either the Carolina Panthers with a (6-8-1) record going into the game or the (6-9) Atlanta Falcons will win the crown and play at home in next week’s wild card round. I predict the field goal favorite, home-standing Falcons to be that team. They will win the game by 7 points. By the way, the game will air on CBS, the AFC Network, even though the two teams are from the NFC.
In a game that does not affect the playoff race, the field goal favorite New York Giants will win by 10 points vs the disappointing Philadelphia Eagles, whose consecutive losses to the Seattle Seahawks, Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins dropped them out of the playoffs race.
This Sunday the Seattle Seahawks are nearly two touchdown favorites to clinch their second straight NFC top seed.
They have bigger goals in mind, namely making and winning a second straight Super Bowl. If they get the one seed and do go on to win the Super Bowl, having hosted the Conference Championship Game in two straight seasons, they will make some unique history.
Only one team, the 1978 and 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers has ever won two straight Super Bowls, each in a season they hosted the Conference Championship Game.
There have only been five other teams that hosted consecutive year conference championship games, one was the Philadelphia Eagles, who lost 2 of the 3 NFC Championship games they hosted from 2002-2004 and lost in its one Super Bowl appearance during that span.
Two teams, other than the Steelers of ’78 and ’79, won consecutive home conference championship games and those were the Washington Redskins of 1982 and 1983 (they split in the Super Bowl games following those victories) and the Buffalo Bills in 1990 and 1991.
The Bills, who made and lost 4 straight Super Bowls from 1990-1993, obviously lost in both the 1990 and 1991 Super Bowls.
Both the San Francisco 49ers, who won in the related Super Bowl and the Miami Dolphins, who lost (coincidentally to another 49ers team) won and then lost in conference championship games they hosted in consecutive years (Miami in 1984 and 1985 and S.F. in 1989 and 1990).
Seattle is a pretty big favorite to at least host a conference championship game for the second straight season, which would make them the seventh team to do so.
1978 Pittsburgh Steelers team Leaders
On New Year’s Day, 2 0f the 5 College Bowl games will have National Championship significance.
This year the Rose Bowl, which matches Oregon and Florida State. and the Sugar Bowl, pitting Alabama vs Ohio State, serve as national semi-final games.
The winners of those two games will meet at A T &T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night January 12th for the title.
I vividly recall undefeated Ohio State playing on New Year’s Day 39 years ago and blowing the national title, losing to UCLA in the Rose Bowl.
That 1975 Ohio State team had a great regular season, not only going unbeaten, but winning on the road at very good UCLA and previously unbeaten Michigan. However, they had to beat UCLA again in the Rose Bowl to be national champions and despite being big favorites, were unable to do so.
This year, Ohio State, far from great in the regular season, was deemed the fourth best team by the selection committee.
I believe this was largely because unlike the other choices for fourth and playoff qualification, TCU and Baylor, Ohio State has a huge following that would boost ratings and create more business.
Ohio State are 9 point underdogs vs Alabama, making them dangerous, and increases their chances to win, in my opinion.
Later this week, I will offer predictions on the Sugar and the Rose Bowls. Meanwhile, take yesterday’s Western Kentucky vs Central Michigan fiasco as a warning. That meaningless game had an incredible finish that affected the point spread and proves that betting any significant financial or emotional sum on the outcome of these, not so sporting contests is a fool’s errand.
This Sunday marks the 56th anniversary of the 1958 NFL Championship game, the game that “made” pro football.
On an unusually warm winter day in New York, the Baltimore Colts led by quarterback John Unitas and receiver Raymond Berry defeated the New York Giants in the NFL’s first overtime game.
Alan “The Horse” Ameche scored a touchdown from one yard out to end the game. Baltimore won (23-17) and from that point forward professional football boomed.
This Sunday NBC, which telecast that 1958 game in the afternoon, has moved the Cincinnati Bengals game at Pittsburgh vs the Steelers, to the night.
Quite possibly it will be very cold in Pittsburgh, but pro football, too big and popular, does things with no regard for the fans.
My fondness for the many great players (Roosevelt Brown and Frank Gifford were among the New York Giants’ greats in that game) in that 1958 game and even the extraordinary game itself, is tempered by what football has become.
Click here for a video tribute
Andy B Sports 