Front Row.com Blog

 The NFL Playoffs are at hand. I originally inteneded to offer my own thoughts on the subject but since I’m getting ready to deploy to Iraq to work alongside the soldiers I thought I’d offer their thoughts. Today We’ll do NFC Wild Card Games

 Wild Card games

Saturday Redskins vs Seahawks

 James P. - A private from Washington.

“The Washington Redskins have a better defense than Seattle. Joe Gibbs has won it before. I like the Redskins by 3.”

Ryan S.  – Private from Washington (state) “No way. The Seahawks will blow them away. They’ve been to the Super Bowl before and won’t take no for an answere in getting back. The Skins just got lucky.”

 Giants vs Bucs

Amy L – Lieutenant from Florida “The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have it all. they’ve got a solid running game, a quarterback that’s not great but not making mistakes either, and a better defense. That’s all it takes. The Giants will fold like an accordion.”

Philip G. from the Bronx  “Throw out what happened to the Giants the last few years. They played great against the Patriots. They play like that on Saturday and the Bucs don’t stand a chance. Go Eli!”

These young guys are pumped for the playoffs. Though we’ll be 10,000 miles from home they’ll be watching. And the endless debates about the merits of each team go on endlessly. Don’t you just love playoff time?

Tags: sports by edrouant
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Here’s a little advice to Jay Cutler of the Denver Broncos and Philip Rivers of the San Diego Chargers. It’s never good to run your mouth. Bt if you want to, establish some credentials first. Cutler still hasn’t shown the NFL world anythng and Rivers is riding the backs of a talented team, basically just not screwing anything up. Take a tip from Manning and Brady, let your play do the talking.

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 While you’re drooling over your Sugar Bowl tickets or your BCS National Championship Game tickets don’t forget to check out some of the “lesser” bowls.  One of those so called inferior post-season games may have just been the most exciting game of the seasn. The Motor City Bowl between Purdue and Central Michigan featured almost 100 points scored and a 21 point comeback, finally ending on a last second field goal. It’s that type of game that makes college football great. While we all focus on the big names, the lower ranked teams provide the real excitement. Wouldn’t being at the Motor City Bowl have been better than some f the top ranked blowouts we’re going to see come New Year? 

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 Just heard from Dancin Dave in Atlanta. It seems he’s all hepped up about latching on to Bruce Springsteen tickets for the show in his adopted hometown. it seems kind of wierd to me because Dave’s favorite band is The White Stripes. His getting excited about The Boss just seems kind of ….well….off. Bruce is more my era and more my style. Too bad I’ll be in Iraq before Springsteen gets anywhere close to my area. Oh well, maybe he’ll visit Baghdad.  

Tags: concerts by edrouant
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 The NFL announced today that the much ballyhooed game between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants will be broadcast on network TV.  Are they really that generous or are they receiving tons of backlash from their dedicated fans. I wonder how may have written, pledging to never again watch or attend an NFL game if they continue to be weeded out by money. Will the NFL become a league seen only by the monied few? Will the wretched masses without a $100,000 income be left out in the cold? Or will we all just pay out our butts for basic cable? These are the questions that make my wife slap me in my sleep.

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 Florida State will be missing over 30 players as it lines up to take on Kentucky in the Music City Bowl. It’s a shame for the players and a shame for the university that so much attention is being paid to this incident because the simple truth is that everyone should probably be in the same boat. intense scrutiny of almost every program in the country would yield embarrasing facts. Florida state just got caught.

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 Quick note. the Portland Trailblazers of the NBA have now won 11 games in a row. On the flip side, the Chicago Bulls are 9-16 and just fired their coach.  I for one am surprised. I thought the Bulls were on the right track. Shows you what I know.

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 The verdict is in. the biggest ticket in the NFL this week is Giants-Patriots tickets. It seems that while Giants fans are banking on their team mailing it in, Patriots fans are clamoring to be there when their heroes complete the first perfect 16 game regular season. Can the Giants ruin the Patriots shot at perfection? I don’t think so. But somewhere down in the steamy swamps of South Florida, Dolphins fans are sacrificing live animals to the gods of football.

 Meanwhile in the NFC the Saints-Redskins-Vikings triumvirate are locked in a battle for the final playoff spot. Washington seems to me to have the inside track. The Redskins will be playing a Cowboys team that couldn’t care less, having locked up the #1 seed.  The Vikings take on Denver, a team that hasn’t shome at all this season but is still good enough to win if Jackson has a bad game. The saints are just hoping.

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 There’s always some disagreement among college football fans as to which bowl games will be the best. I asked around with some friends and here’s a compilation of opinions:

 BCS National Championship – This seems a natural selection but digging a little deeper yields some interesting thoughts. My friend Tim Giroir says he thinks the LSU Tigers will win but calls it as a close game. “I think something like 17-14 or even 14-10.” says Tim. “They’re about as evenly matched as I think you’ll get.” On the other hand my friend Doug says LSU will win in a blowout.  I’m interested in the motivational factor. Should Ohio State be more motivated because of their loss last year or should LSU have the edge because they haven’t made the trip since 2003?

Orange Bowl – This should be a great game. Kansas has a strong argument for being slighted in the championship game. Their offense taking on a tough Virginia Tech defense will answer a lot of questions. I think defense will prevail.

Fiesta Bowl – While my friend Dancin Dave is still crying over the Oklahoma Sooners not being in the championship he’s confident that Oklahoma will win. His thought: “West Virginia will be suffering from the loss of their Head Coach. The mental aspect of playing without their leader will be their downfall.” I’m thinking he may be right BUT if Mountaineers quarterback Pat White plays as well as he’s capable of then West Virginia could pull off the upset.

Rose Bowl - To be honest I don’t think USC scares anyone anymore. Despite a winning streak at the end of the season it’s been shown that they CAN be beated by jacked up teams with something to prove. Illinois falls into that category.

Sugar Bowl – Kudos to Hawaii for a perfect season. Now welcome to the SEC where the real football gets played. Georgia is (or was) the hottest team in the land t the end of the season. Unless the Bulldogs suffer a major letdown from the layoff, they’ll hand the Warriors their first loss.

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 Jonathan Papelbon of the Boston Red Sox said today that his dog ate his souvenir ball, the one used for the last out of the World Series. It just goes to show you: One man’s treasure is another man’s dog food. Or something like that.

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