2008: A Year In Review N'at

2008 was an interesting year in Pittsburgh sports.

We saw the Penguins make an amazing run to the Stanley Cup Finals, the Steelers reach the playoffs, Pitt basketball win a Big East Title, Pitt Football going 9-3 and making the Sun Bowl, Penn State going 11-1 and missing the National Championship by 1 point, and of course, the Pirates sucked.

Some highlights:

- The first day of 2008 was one of the greatest in Penguins history and NHL history, as we watched the Winter Classic. The outdoor, snowy hockey game featuring the Penguins and the Buffalo Sabres was nothing short of a classic itself, as SId The Kid, "With the game on his stick," would bury a shootout goal to give the Penguins a 2-1 win in cold Buffalo, in front of 70,000+ fans.

- Soon after we saw an AFC Wild Card Game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. After being down by 18 points, the Steelers rallied, taking the lead late in the game. But, due to two missed holding calls by the officials, David Garrard was able to scramble on 4th down to put the Jags in range for a field goal, which they made, winning the game.

- The Pitt Panthers finished their regular season with 9 losses. They entered the Big East tournament as the 7 seed out of 12 teams. Yet, they defeated the 10, 2, 6 and 1 seeds to win the Championship.

- 2008 also so the Steelers enter their regular season facing the hardest schedule known to date in NFL history. Yet, the Steelers went 12-4, while sporting the leagues #1 overall defense. For much of the year they were #1 across the board. They won games against the Ravens (twice), Jaguars, Redskins, Chargers, Patriots and Cowboys, all of whom are playoff teams this season or were playoff teams last season. They enter the playoffs with the #2 seed in the AFC.

- This Pirates season was special, wait, not it wasn't. The things to take away are the stingy Pirates management and the departure of Xavier Nady and Jason Bay. J-Bay went on to much better things, leading the Red Sox into the playoffs with some great play. The only real positive aspect about the season was that the Pirates won the season series against the Yankees, despite the ridiculousness of the Yankees salaries compared to the Pirates.

- The Penguins season continued on of course, leading to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they fell to the Detroit Red Wings in 6 games. Of course no one will forget game 5, with Detroit ready to celebrate, and Petr Sykora's game winning goal in triple overtime, after Max Talbot scored to send it there with less than a minute left in regulation. It was a monumental season, that won't be forgotten any time soon.

- The Penguins also said goodbye to Ryan Malone, Marian Hossa, Gary Roberts, Mark Recchi, Georges Laraque and others, while welcoming Ruslan Fedotenko, Miroslav Satan and others. The start to the new season has been rough, but the play of Evgeni Malkin has been promising, as he is on pace to record 130+ points, which hasn't been done since Mario Lemieux did it.

- Pitt football looked like they were going have another dreadful season when they fell to Bowling Green at Heinz Field in their first game. But the Panthers rallied, with some big wins at South Florida, at Notre Dame, against West Virginia as well as others. They went 9-3 and got invited to play in the Sun Bowl (today).


There were so many other great moments through the year, but I feel as if these were the best. Hopefully 2009 will be a little better. Maybe a Championship somewhere there, or two, but let's not get greedy... Good luck to the Burgh's sports teams in 2009.

NFL Wildcard Weekend Predictions 2009

NFC

5. Falcons over 4. Cardinals
-The Falcons are a very good team and are playing right now like they want to win it all. The Cardinals look like they've mailed it in. I don't see that offense being able to heat up again and win a playoff game, even if they are playing a rookie QB. The Cardinals will try to get back into the game late, but Michael Turner will be the difference and seal the deal.
-Falcons-31, Cardinals-20


6. Eagles over 3. Vikings
- The Eagles are hot right now after a big win to get in. The Viking don't have a true quarterback. I think this game will be very defensive, despite the fact that both teams boast two of the best runningbacks in the NFL. Donovan Mcnabb will make the plays necessary, and the Vikings won't. Both road teams in the NFC win their WC games.
- Eagles-23, Vikings-14
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AFC

5. Colts over 4. Chargers
- This may be the best game of the playoffs. The Chargers have an edge because they are at home. But, they don't have Peyton Manning. I could see this one going either way, but when it comes down to it, I can just picture Adam Vinatieri putting one through to win it for the Colts.
- Colts-23, Chargers-20


6. Ravens over 3. Dolphins
-While I am really tempted to pick Miami, I just don't see the Dolphins offense being able to break the Ravens defense. Pennington is a good quarterback, but I don't think he'll be able to play well against that rush. The real X-Factor will be Joe Flacco. If Joey Porter can get to him enough, Miami might pull it off. I don't think it'll happen though, Ravens move on.
- Ravens-17, Dolphins- 10
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So that's that. I picked all 4 road teams to win. But that's the flaw in the NFL playoff setup, the better teams sometimes have to go on the road and play teams that don't deserve the home game (See: Falcons @ Cardinals).

This will make for some great 2nd round matchups:

- Eagles @ Giants
- Falcons @ Panthers

- Ravens @ Titans
- Colts @ Steelers

That's some big time football right there. Any of those 8 teams there could win it all in my opinion. I think the AFC is particularly wide open. I think people want the Steelers @ Titans rematch. I don't know if it will happen, but it is a definite possibility.

The Not-So Triumphant Return and the NFL Playoffs

Well, I am back. After a very long, extended period of time off to cope with the struggles of school and life, I have decided to continue writing. To be honest, school was brutal this semester, and I had little motivation to write, but I now realize that this is something I have to do, so here I am.

But, this isn't Xanga. I'm not talking about life issues, I'm talking about sports, and most importantly, the NFL playoffs.

How is it that the Jets, Patriots, Cowboys, Seahawks, Packers, Buccaneers, Browns, Jaguars and Broncos failed to make the playoffs after their seasons last year and start to this season.

The Jets collapsed because of poor quarterback play. The Patriots probably deserve to be in at 11-5, especially with the 8-8 Chargers making it, but they aren't. The week 3 blowout loss to the Dolphins at home though has to be to blame. The Cowboys were as rollercoaster as it comes. They don't deserve to be in after that Week 17 performance against Philly. The Seahawks suffered from injury all season and were playing for a coach on his way out. The Packers had a weird season. They weren't awful statistically, but still lost a lot of games. The Bucs lost to the Raiders and aren't in the playoffs because of it. Wow. The Browns and Jaguars, two AFC preseason favorites were awful. The Browns had 20 yards passing in week 17 against Pittsburgh. The Broncos are a sad story. Good QB play was consistent, but having to put 7 runningbacks on IR really hurt this team, in addition to the empty space known as their defense (The Chargers averaged 45 points per game against them).

Let's talk about the teams that actually did make it, shall we?

NFC first (ladies first, just kidding),

6. The Eagles- I'm not sure that "by the skin of their teeth is the right wording," since they won their game to get in 44-6, but record wise that's about right, especially after tying Cincinnati and having Mcnabb get benched against the Ravens. They are hot though, and dangerous.

5. The Falcons- This is a dangerous team, which is odd to say after the season they had a year ago. Matt Ryan seems to be a leader and a good player for many years to come. But, rookie QB's usually have problems come January, so it'll be interesting to see how he responds.

4. The Cardinals- This team was soaring after their big win against Dallas, but recently it has been all downhill for the Cards, getting blown out by New England and Minnesota. Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin make this team dangerous, but other than that I don't see them doing a whole lot in the playoffs.

3. The Vikings- This is a team without a true QB, and that is a risky game to play come playoff time. Tavaris Jackson seems to be playing well, but Gus Ferotte has a lot more experience. With Adrian Peterson carrying the rock though they may be ok, as long as their defense plays well.

2. The Panthers- Carolina has been a big surprise to me this season. Deangelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart are a dynamic duo and with Steve Smith playing at his best this team won't lose, to anyone.

1. The Giants- the defending champs are doing what many teams aren't able to do after they win the Superbowl. Their running game is remarkable, and if they stay healthy I see it being rough for anyone to beat them in the playoffs. Their destiny will be decided by Eli Manning and his play.
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Now the AFC.

6. The Ravens- a very dangerous team right now. They whooped Dallas and crushed Jacksonville to end their season. They are running the ball as good as anyone and have a the defense to match. The key will be rookie QB Joe Flacco's play, because he's never seen the intensity of the NFL playoffs. The defense has though.

5. The Colts- maybe the most dangerous team in the NFl. Peyton Manning has been on fire and this is an experienced team. I wouldn't want to play them if I were anyone in the AFC. They have a defense that can hang with anyone as well.

4. The Chargers- at 8-8, this team maybe shouldn't even be in, but it's hard to argue that they haven't worked hard for it the last couple weeks. They have won 4 straight to get in and have a great passing and running game that could carry them far.

3. The Dolphins- what a turnaround from a year ago. This team has been remarkable. The Wildcat formation and the big time defense make this team a formidable opponent for any team. Chad Pennington will have to play better than he has ever played before for this team to make a run.

2. The Steelers- with the toughest schedule in NFL history coming in, it's remarkable that this team went 12-4. They were in every game that they lost, as well. If they are healthy and they learn to slow down the run and get back to the defensive form they were in a few weeks ago, this team could win it all. Ben Roethlisberger will have to perform if they want to win. When they won the Superbowl in 2005, Big Ben was stellar throughout the playoffs. Last year, he played poorly against the Jags and they were done after one game.

1. The Titans- this team has had a great season, going 13-3. They have a great defense and a fantastic running game. the Johnson-White combo could carry this team, but I think a lot will depend on how the veteran Kerry Collins plays at QB. Also, could their cockiness come back to haunt them? The Steelers hope so...