#5 Giants Pass Rush vs. Tom Brady
The New York Giants defense has just gotten better and better as the season wore on. They’ve found a way to dial it up to “11″ in the post-season. After they pushed Tom Brady around in their earlier meeting in Week 9 of this season, they really think they’ve got his number. But Bill Belichick, Tom Brady, and company have had the last two weeks to do nothing but scheme. We’ll see for whom all the scheming and counter-scheming pays off on Sunday.

#4 Chad Ochocinco in the Spotlight
Chad Ochocinco has presented himself as nothing but a good teammate amid all the hoopla leading up to the Super Bowl. He’s played the good boy. He’d seem absolutely humble if we didn’t know him so well. He’s snowed many of my colleagues in the media into believing that he’s a changed man. But… I’m unconvinced. I’m just waiting to see what football’s biggest ham will do given football’s largest stage.

#3 Rob Gronkowski’s Ankle
Tom Brady’s favorite security blanket may be on the shelf on Sunday. Or maybe not.  Rob Gronkowski may be limited. Or maybe not. Is Coach Hoodie messing with the Giants – and the media – by overstating Gronkowski’s injury? Probably not. But it wouldn’t be the first time Belichick has over- or under-stated injuries to the chagrin of the NFL powers that be. If he plays – and he probably will – the commentators will analyze his every step. And for good reason. His effectiveness could well be the difference between a win and a loss for the Patriots.

#2 Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
A 10-second video clip on Youtube has captured the attention of the whole Ferris Bueller – loving world this week. The date at the end of the ad just so happens to be the date of a certain highly-anticipated football game. Rumors peg the video to car-maker Honda, but we’ll all be glued to the set between drives hoping to catch a glimpse of our favorite high-school delinquent all grown up. Well, we always are on Super Bowl Sunday, but even more so hoping to catch a glimpse of Matthew Broderick reprising his greatest role.

#1 The Rematch
Four years ago the underdog New York Giants ruined evil super genius Bill Belichick’s bid for immortality by rudely taking away his perfect season with a nigh-impossible final drive. Belichick plays to win any time they’re keeping score. And by “win”I really mean “humiliate his opponent by running up a ridiculous score”. Add to that the fact that this is the Super Bowl, the sporting world’s largest stage and swirl in the revenge factor. When you sum it all up, the Hoodie will be in full frenzy mode from beginning to end.

(White House photo)

It should never have been. The Baltimore Ravens won the AFC Championship Game on a touchdown pass from Joe Flacco to Lee Evans with 22 ticks left on the clock. Evans had the ball in the end zone but the New England cornerback stripped the ball away. AFTER the touchdown catch with two feet in bounds and control of the ball. But there was no review of the play and the Ravens had to settle for a sure thing, 32 yard, gimme of a field goal to tie the game and force overtime. But Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff whiffed, sending the ball wide left, waaaayyyy wide left, and the Patriots and their lucky leprechaun are heading to the Super Bowl.

The Giants weren’t supposed to be there, either. They stumbled through the regular season without ever looking any better than mediocre. They walked into the playoff because they played in a woefully weak division. They weren’t supposed to have a chance against Atlanta, but they beat them like a drum. Everyone knew the Giants didn’t stand a chance against the mighty mighty Green Bay Packers who had been anointed as the NFC representative in the Super Bowl months ago. And they really, really couldn’t pull off three upsets in a row by upending the San Francisco 49ers – in San Francisco.

And they shouldn’t have beaten San Francisco. They wouldn’t have if Ted Ginn hadn’t missed the game with an injury, leaving his unprepared backup to make two HUGE gaffs that cost the 49ers the game and their shot at Super Bowl glory.

Yet here we are. New York and New England battling for NFL supremacy. Belichick vs. Coughlin. Brady vs. Manning. Not a single Harbaugh in sight. There is no David in this story. This is Goliath vs. Goliath. It’s like watching their MLB counterparts – the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox – compete for the American League Championship. One of them has to win, but you just can’t bring yourself to feel too sorry for the loser.

(Photo: President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports)

#5 Boston Celtics at Washington Wizards
This may seem like a strange pick for a game to watch. The Boston Celtics must have lent their lucky leprechaun to the Patriots, because he hasn’t done them a bit of good this season. At 4-8, the Celtics have a long, uphill battle ahead of them if they’re going to even have a shot at the playoffs. The Washington Wizards, on the other hand, are just awful. Absolutely the worst team in the NBA. Fully deserving of their atrocious 1-12 record. This sounds like a recipe for a highlight reel game to spur the Celts on toward better days.

#4 Columbus Blue Jackets at Detroit Red Wings
In a little best-vs-worst action, the woeful Columbus Blue Jackets will drag their worst-by-a-lot 31 to Detroit to face the best team in the Western Conference. This should be worth watching just for the sheer brutality of the smackdown that the Wings should put on their overmatched opponents. Unless you’re a Columbus fan…

#3 Oklahoma City Thunder at New Jersey Nets
The Oklahoma City Thunder has won seven in a row en route to an NBA best 13-3 record so far in this shortened NBA season. The New Jersey Nets are looking lost and hopeless at 3-11 so far and showing little prospect for improvement. Will this be a game that OKC overlooks? Will the Nets find the fire they’ve lacked all season? Put this one down as an Official Buzzer Eagle Upset Special.

#2 New York Giants at San Francisco 49ers
NFL fans all across the Fruited Plain are now becoming aware of what regular readers of Buzzer Eagle have known for the last 10 weeks or so. The San Francisco 49ers are quietly among the elite of the National Football League. Now they’ll have a chance to prove their elite-ness with a trip to the Super Bowl. But, of course, the surging New York Giants may have a thing or two to say about that.

49ers tight end Vernon Davis gave the G-Men some great bulletin board material when he told reporters that he prayed the Giants would win. Even though he tactfully tried to ameliorate the comments later in the week, you can’t un-ring a bell. It will be a teed-off New York team that makes the cross country trip to face Davis (pictured) and company this weekend. The better team punches their ticket to the Super Bowl.

#1 Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots
Everyone is so impressed with The Hoodie and his New England Patriots that many observers are forgetting just how good the Baltimore Ravens are. Will the Ravens‘ smothering, dominant defense be enough to stop Tom Brady and those ridiculously good tight ends? No. But will the Ravens‘ smothering, dominant defense be enough to slow down Tom Brady and those ridiculously good tight ends enough to give Delaware alum Joe Flacco (Go Fighting Blue Hens!) and the Baltimore O a chance to win? Maybe.

(U.S. Air Force photo)

Requiem for Tebowmania 2011  

Tebowmania 2011 is done. To no one’s surprise, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots proved to be better than Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos. The one-sided beatdown was an ugly ending to a beautiful season. It is a sad commentary on the state of our nation that in a sport filled with all manner of hoodlums and miscreants, the national media focused so much ire on Tebow for the offense of openly wearing his Christian faith.

The Denver Broncos won only one of their first five games to start the season. Coach John Fox inherited Tebow and made it clear that the young quarterback out of Florida wasn’t the way he would have gone in the draft. Bronco legend John Elway was publicly nonplussed by Tebow. The kid came in with low expectations, no support, and no hope. In the next few months, Tebow showed Denver and the nation that he just knows how to win. Even on days when his statistics line was well short of impressive, the team somehow rallied together and found a way. There’s something in him that brings out the best in players around him.

The three-game skid at the end of the regular season brought the legend of Tebow back to earth. But thanks to the gross incompetence of the Oakland Raiders, the Broncos made the playoffs with roughly zero chance of beating the heavily-favored Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card round.  The final Mile High Miracle of the 2011 season was the most watched NFL playoff game in over 20 years. But all things must come to an end and Tebowmania 2011 came to a grinding halt against a superior New England team that has been to the playoffs many times before. There can be no argument against bringing back Tebow as a starter next year. Denver’s improbable success since he took the reigns of the team has earned him that much, at least. Tebowmania 2011 is dead! Long live Tebowmania 2012!

Pack it up

The Green Bay Packers plans for a repeat were shockingly disrupted by the New York Giants Sunday night. After a 15-1 season and two weeks to rest and prepare for this game, the Pack came out looking flat and disinterested. To this observer, it appeared that the Packers had already notched this one in the “W” column and were thinking they could just kill time until the NFC Championship Game. The Giants, who were no better than mediocre over the course of the regular season, made it into the playoffs only by virtue of a weak NFC East division. But they are peaking at the right time, which is often how Championships are won. Of course, there’s still the small matter of traveling to San Francisco to face the 49ers next week.

#5 The Sony Open in Hawaii
Your average duffer’s golf clubs are still stored away in the garage until Spring, but the winter blues are over for the pros in the PGA. Live vicariously through your favorite tour star as they play the Sony Open in Hawaii this weekend.

#4 New York Giants at Green Bay Packers
Are the Green Bay Packers as good as they appear to be? Are the New York Giants peaking at the right time? We’ll find out this weekend when the 10-7 Giants travel to frosty Lambeau to face the 15-1 Packers. Expect to see the ball in the air a lot, especially if the Pack jumps out to an early lead and Eli Manning is forced to play catch up all day long.

#3 Houston Texans at Baltimore Ravens
This one would almost be easy to overlook. The Baltimore Ravens’ crushing defense stifles both the pass (fourth) and the run (second). But the Houston Texans are just as dominant, ranking third against the pass and fourth against the run. And let’s not forget Arian Foster has lead the Texans to the #2 rushing attack in the NFL. Baltimore cannot be too confident against the upstart Texans on Sunday.

#2 Denver Broncos at New England Patriots
Is there another miracle in the Denver Bronco’s season? For a team the stumbled backwards into the playoffs, they provided quite a show in the Wild Card round. Of course, that was in the friendly confines of Mile High Stadium. This week, Tim Tebow and company have to travel to the decidedly unfriendly home turf of the New England Patriots.

#1 New Orleans Saints at San Francisco 49ers
The New Orleans Saints looked just about unstoppable in the last half of the Wild Card game against the Detroit Lions last week and really for the last half of the regular season. They scored at least 20 points in every game this year and have the number one passing game in the league.
The San Francisco 49ers are doing it all with defense and the run game. They allowed more than 23 points just twice all year and boast the top ranked run defense in the NFL. Unlike last week’s lopsided matches, this game should be down to the wire.

#5 Columbus Blue Jackets vs Anaheim Ducks
What could be so great about the two worst teams in the NHL playing for last place? More than you might think, it turns out.  Like scoring, lots and lots of scoring.  11 goals altogether.  Plus, one of the great accomplishments in the game of hockey – Corey Perry scored a hat trick, the fourth of his career, to propel the bad Anaheim Ducks over the worse Columbus Blue Jackets.

#4 The Other Three Wild Card Games
It was a rough weekend for the visiting team. And not so great for fans hoping to see some competitive football games, either. The Atlanta Falcons looked outclassed almost from the opening whistle. The Cincinnati Bengals never had a chance. The Detroit Lions were embarrassed in the second half. The higher seed won every game of the wild card weekend – handily in the case of the first three games played. The victorious New York Giants, Houston Texans, and New Orleans Saints will move on to face some presumably stiffer competition in the divisional round next week.

#3 The AllState BCS National Championship
The AllState BCS National Championship was everything you could want in a championship football game – if you really like defense and field goals.  Or if you’re from Tuscaloosa.  Who would have thought that Jeremy Shelley would be the superstar of the game?  The Alabama Junior contributed more points than everyone else from both teams combined.

#2 Thundering to Victory
The Oklahoma Thunder had themselves a nice weekend. They woke up Friday morning as a 5-2 team still stinging from back-to-back blowout losses to start the week. But a few days’ rest and a trip home did them a world of good. After dispatching Houston in back-to-back home-away games, they manhandled San Antonio on Sunday in their only scheduled set of three consecutive playing days this season.

#1 Mile High Miracle Part… I’ve Lost Count
Overtime is Tebow Time. I guess Tim didn’t feel like having much Tebow Time this week because it was over before half the viewers got back from the bathroom. The Denver Broncos got behind, but not by much, took the lead by what should have been enough, fumbled and bumbled their way to a tie, and then won the game on the first offensive play of overtime. Tebow’s pass was nice, but have you ever seen anything as pretty as Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas‘ stiff arm that added another 45 yards — and the all important 6 points — to the play? Don’t answer that if you’re a Pittsburgh Steelers fan.

(U.S. Air Force photo)

#5 Detroit Lions at New Orleans Saints
Well, somebody has to play Drew Brees  (pictured), the New Orleans Saints, and their #1 passing attack this weekend. The Detroit Lions drew the short straw on this one. The last time the Saints lost a game was four major holidays ago, the day before Halloween. Detroit-ians should be thrilled that their team made the playoffs for the first time in the 21st century, but don’t expect too much more.

#4 Cincinnati Bengals at Houston Texans
The 9-7 Cincinnati Bengals snuck into the playoffs despite a week 17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. The Houston Texans won the AFC South despite a three-game losing streak to end the regular season – including that head-scratching, mind-boggling loss to the Indianapolis Colts. These two teams met in the regular season, a game that the Texans won by a slim 20-19 margin. But that was the last game that the Texans won. The rematch should be very interesting.

#3 Atlanta Falcons at New York Giants
The New York Giants aren’t what you’d call a great team this year. They did, however, manage to win two big games to close out the regular season and ensure their place in the playoffs. The Atlanta Falcons are the Wildcard team and the lower seed, but they come in with all the momentum after the unbelievable offensive outpouring in the first half against the Buccaneers last week. Then again, it was against the Buccaneers who were on their way to 10 straight losses. Expect plenty of scoring, especially if the Falcons take an early lead and the G-Men have to play catch up to stay in the game.

#2 Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos
Is this the end of Tebowmania? Well, no, it isn’t. There will be a 2012 edition regardless of this weekend’s outcome. But it may well be the end of Tebowmania for this year. Despite the home field advantage and the technical higher seed, the Denver Broncos limped into the playoffs by virtue of a weak division and the ineptitude of the Oakland Raiders, not by any merit of their own over the final three weeks of the regular season. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, went 12-4 in the regular season, including six of the last seven and only missed a first round bye by a tie breaker to the Baltimore Ravens.

#1 Allstate BCS Championship Game
OK, Monday night doesn’t qualify for your standard definition of the weekend, but we can make an exception for the BCS National Championship matchup between LSU and Alabama. After a season of surprises, one team will walk away a Champion. This is absolutely the kind of grudge match that should make a National Championship. The two teams met in November in an ugly defensive struggle that LSU won in overtime. It was the only time all year that Alabama was held to fewer than 24 points. Their closest margin of victory in their 11 wins was 16 points.
LSU averaged over 40 points per game in the rest of their games, but came up with just three field goals against Alabama. This will be a Monday night championship game worthy of extending the weekend by a full day. Maybe two.

(U.S. Air Force photo)

#6 The Winter Classic
The Philadelphia Flyers took a 2-0 lead over the New York Rangers in the second period of the Winter Classic. But that wasn’t enough to keep the Rangers out of the game. The last 25 minutes of the game belonged exclusively to the Rangers offensively and defensively. A 2-0 lead melted into a 3-2 loss faster than the mild Philadelphia weather melted the ice rink.

#5 The Comeback Kids
A week after spotting the Miami Dolphins a 17 point lead before they started playing for real, the New England Patriots fell behind the Buffalo Bills 21-0. Three touchdowns is nothing to this season’s edition of the Patriots. The defense tightened (to put it mildly) and Tom Brady and the Pats’ offense kicked into high gear. By the time the final whistle blew, the Patriots had rolled off a shocking 49 unanswered points to turn a big deficit into a laugher of a rout.

#4 Take the AFC West… please
Somebody had to win the AFC West. The Oakland Raiders and the Denver Broncos both seemed to be doing their best to avoid it, going a combined 1-5 in the last six games played. Denver couldn’t find the end zone even once against Kansas City on Sunday. Oakland couldn’t keep San Diego out of the end zone. Somebody has to play the Pittsburgh Steelers next weekend, and by default that somebody will be the Broncos.

#3 Like Passing?
Detroit Lions QB Matthew Stafford and Green Bay Packers back-up quarterback Matt Flynn combined for an even 1,000 yards passing and 11 touchdowns in one of the most exciting offensive outpourings of the year. Green Bay – sans Mr. Aaron Rodgers – outgunned Detroit to a thrilling 45-41 finish.

#2 The Outback Bowl
 Georgia kicker Kirk Cousins became the all-time leading scorer in SEC history on Monday. The Bulldogs’ Brandon Boykin – as in “that boy kin play football” – scored on offense, defense, and special teams. Georgia started the Outback Bowl by jumping out to a quick 16-0 lead in the first half. All around, it was a great day for the Georgia Bulldogs, except that they lost the game to Michigan State. The Spartans capitalized on the Bulldogs’ dubious play call in the first OT and went on to win 2 OTs later.

#1 The Rose Bowl
Score – score –score. Touchdown after touchdown. Eleven of them, to be exact. Each team kicked one field goal as well, just for good measure. The Oregon Ducks won the game, but you couldn’t help but think that Wisconsin would have scored again if they hadn’t just run out of time.

(U.S. Air Force Photo)

#5 Louisville at Kentucky
Louisville currently holds the #4 ranking in NCAA college basketball. The Cardinals would surely like to move up a spot, and the opportunity is right in front of them when they travel to Kentucky to face the #3 ranked Wildcats. Of course, getting the chance to move up and actually doing it are two different things. This should be a wild, down to the buzzer kind of game.

#4 There Can Be Only One
Either the New York Giants or the Dallas Cowboys will be in the playoffs. They can’t both make it. The truth is neither really deserves to make it. But one of these mediocre teams will slide in at 9-7 thanks to the less than stellar competition in the NFC East. The Giants are riding high after dispatching their cross-town rivals, the Jets, last week. The Cowboys are nursing their wounded pride – and Tony Romo’s wounded hand – after an embarrassing performance last week against the Eagles. Exactly one of these teams will move on to sacrificial slaughter against the cream of the NFL once the playoffs begin.

#3 Tebow Time?
Denver lost two in a row after that remarkable run of 7 wins in 8 games with Tim Tebow at the helm. Now the Broncos are in a “win and you’re in” scenario for the last game of the season, thanks to the Oakland Raiders dropping three of their last four games. So the most watched story line of the 2011 NFL season comes down to a Week 17 match against the Kansas City Chiefs. Of course, the outcome of that game won’t matter if the Raiders can’t take care of business at San Diego on Sunday.

#2 The Lucky Andrew Luck Sweepstakes
The St. Louis Rams suddenly find themselves in contention for the first overall pick in the 2012 draft thanks to the suddenly surging Indianapolis Colts and their own continued incompetence. In week 17 the Rams play a very good San Francisco 49ers team that has nothing left to play for, having locked in the #2 seed. The Colts, so bad they can’t even lose right, have won two in a row after 13 straight losses and run the risk of losing out on the first overall pick if they somehow beat 4-11 Jacksonville this week.

#1 The Battle for the AFC North
The Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers are both 11-4 heading into week 17. Both are assured a spot in the playoff, but one will be the #2 seed with a comfortable bye, while the other will be a Wildcard team forced to play on the road. The division was solidly in Baltimore’s control, until they found a way to lose to the hapless Indianapolis Colts. Now they’re hanging on by a tiebreaker, but they must win against a not-too-shabby Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday to keep pace. The Steelers, on the other hand, face a cream puff in the Cleveland Browns for the regular season finale.

#5 Houston – Indianapolis
After losing the first 13 games of the 2011 NFL season, the Indianapolis Colts have improbably won two in a row. Indy’s by-the-seat-of-their-pants 19-16 victory over the 10-4 Houston Texans was the first time in NFL history that a one-win team defeated a 10+ win team. Peyton who? Just kidding.

#4 Chicago – Los Angeles
The Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers delivered an exciting, down-to-the-buzzer game on the opening day of the NBA season. While Kobe Bryant lit up the scoreboard with a game high 28 points, it was Derrick Rose’s final jump shot, with just under 5 ticks left, that gets top mention because it put the Bulls over the top to stay.

#3 Miami – New England
The Miami Dolphins jumped out to a 17-0 lead over their hated division rivals, the New England Patriots. But this is Tom Brady and the Patriots, not a team easily cowed. And this is the Miami Dolphins, a 5-10 team that isn’t even quite as good as those five wins might indicate. It was informative to watch the Pats put on an offensive clinic for the final half to storm back and win by three.

#2 Boston – New York
The New York Knicks and the Boston Celtics. It’s a storied rivalry that continues to delight and amaze fans. So it was apropos that the 2011-2012 NBA season, such as it is, kicked off on Christmas Day with a battle between these two franchises. And the actual game didn’t disappoint one bit.

Carmelo Anthony lead the Knicks in making a statement that they’re not going to be the Celtics’ whipping boys any more. New York outscored Boston by 10 in the fourth quarter to overcome a late deficit and take the first game of the new year 106 – 104.

#1 A Bad Day for the Ryans
A two-for-one tops our list this week. Rex Ryan and his New York Jets had a high stakes game against cross-town rival New York Giants on Saturday. Brother Rob and his Dallas Cowboys had the chance to get a leg up in their division in their game against the Philadelphia Eagles a little later the same day. Neither game went well for Buddy’s boys. Rex’s Jets self-destructed late in the game, giving up a safety when their offense was needed the most and lying down for the Giants when their defense was needed the most. Rob’s Dallas defense was a turnstile for Mike Vick and the Eagles’ receivers all afternoon, despite Ryan’s laughable post-game assertion that holding Philly to 20 points represented some sort of redemption.