As 2016 begins, football is the name of the game. College Bowl mania is in the air and the NFL Playoffs have arrived.
National Football League (NFL)
The biggest winners on Sunday were the Pittsburgh Steelers, Denver Broncos and Minnesota Vikings.
Return of the Man-ning. The Broncos beat the San Diego Chargers and climbed to #1 in the AFC. Humming his way into the game injured QB Payton Manning returned to action in the 3rd quarter to lead Denver to the big win.
The Steelers’ victory in Cleveland and the New York Jets’ loss in Buffalo left both teams with a 10-6 record, but the Steelers take the #6 seed in the AFC on a tiebreaker.
In the NFC, the Vikings went to the land of the cheeseheads and defeated the Green Bay Packers 20-13, improving from the #6 seed to the #3 seed in the process.
Playoff drumroll please…
AFC
#1 Denver Broncos – Taking the week off to relax in the Jacuzzi and get healthy
#2 New England Patriots – Off this week off and catching up on Making a Murderer on Netflix like everybody else!
#3 Cincinnati Bengals vs. #6 Pittsburgh Steelers (Sat., Jan 9, 8:15pm ET)
#4 Houston Texans vs. #5 Kansas City Chiefs (Sat., Jan 9, 4:20pm ET)
NFC
#1 Carolina Panthers – Off and posing for photos after posting the league’s best record
#2 Arizona Cardinals – Maybe spending the week building LEGO Star Wars Starships their kids got for the holidays?
#3 Minnesota Vikings vs. #6 Seattle Seahawks (Sun., Jan 10, 1:00pm ET)
#4 Washington Redskins vs. #5 Green Bay Packers (Sun., Jan 10, 4:30pm ET)
Start planning the party…the Super Bowl is Sunday, Feb. 7 @ 6:30pm ET
Speaking of new beginnings, anybody looking for a job? These teams are searching for a new head coach, barely 24 hours after the end of the season: New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins, and Tennessee Titans.
National Hockey League (NHL)
Did someone say outdoor hockey on a football field? Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots, hosted the NHL Winter Classic on New Year’s Day. The Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins 5-1 in balmy 40-degree weather. The local football and hockey teams had some fun when Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask painted Patriots’ QB Tom Brady on his mask and Brady returned the favor with his Facebook post in full pads.
A hockey homecoming. Montreal’s backup goalie and Massachusetts native Mike Condon started and led his team to victory. In a Hallmark moment, Condon’s father, a Massachusetts State Policeman, escorted the Canadiens’ team bus to the stadium. #ProudPapa
College Football
The Playoff championship game is set: #1 Clemson will take on #2 Alabama January 11th in Arizona.
How did they get there? On New Year’s Eve #1 easily handled #4 37-17 and #2 destroyed 38-0 (no typo – that’s a zero). Done and Done.
Playoff Bowl viewership was down by millions after the move from New Year’s Day to New Year’s Eve. Bad play Disney and ESPN.
The blowouts continued on New Years Day…
Rose Bowl record-breaker. Sophomore RB Christian McCaffrey showed why he was the Heisman trophy runner-up as he led #6 Stanford to an easy victory over #5 Iowa 45-16, setting the Bowl record with 368 all-purpose yards.
What’s a team without their best defender? In Ohio State’s case, just fine. #7 Ohio State dropped #8 Notre Dame 44-28, despite star defensive end and potential first overall draft pick Joey Bosa being ejected from the game in the first quarter. It didn’t hurt that stud running back Ezekiel Elliot had 149 yards and four touchdowns (tying a Fiesta Bowl record).
Down 31 points? No problem said #11 TCU. In an amazing, record-tying comeback, TCU defeated #15 Oregon 47-41 in triple overtime. TCU won despite playing without starting QB Trevone Boykin who was suspended after an altercation outside a San Antonio bar Thursday morning.
Other big winners singing their fight song in victory were:
#12 Ole Miss aka University of Mississippi – “Forward Rebels”
#14 Michigan – “Hail to the Victor”
#18 Houston – “Cougars Fight for Dear Old U of H”
#25 Tennessee – “Rocky Top”
College Basketball
March Madness in January? Epic win by #1 Oklahoma over #2 Kansas 109-106 in triple overtime Monday. Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield, an early player of the year candidate, was spectacular in defeat scoring 46 points. Not to be outdone, #6 North Carolina’s Brice Johnson had 39 points and 23 rebounds in a win against Florida State.
Star watch…Keep your eye Tuesday on LSU’s super freshman Ben Simmons as his Tigers take on #9 Kentucky (Ashley Judd’s squad). Simmons is the most talented player in college and likely the #1 pick in the coming NBA draft.
Remember at TINK Sports we watch the games so you don’t have to.
See you next time…
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