What an exciting weekend for sports. The two main American football games lived up to their billing. And there are some fascinating contract talks in the world of baseball.
The reigning champions New York Giants trailed by 11 points late in the first half and by 8 points with 4 minutes left before beating the Carolina Panthers in overtime 34-28 at home. Derrick Ward rushed for 215 yards on just 15 carries and Brandon Jacobs scored three touchdowns, including the winner in overtime.
The game also featured Giants quarterback Eli Manning tossing a two-point conversion to Domenik Hixon with 3:21 left in the game as New York clinched home field advantage in the NFC play-offs.
The number one seed and home field advantage in the AFC is also set as the Tennessee Titans forced four turnovers in beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-14 at home. Tennessee gained 323 yards of offense, the first time the Pittsburgh defense has given up over 300 yards in a game this season. And rookie defensive tackle Jason Jones collected 3.5 of the 5 sacks of Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
There is also plenty of drama in Major League Baseball as the Los Angeles Angels said they withdrew their offer for free agent first baseman Mark Teixeira. The Boston Red Sox have already said they will not be a player in the talks. And now the New York Yankees are being mentioned in the fun.
Boston have already dealt with super agent Scott Boras and know the game he plays. So expect Teixeira to land with the Red Sox. Teixeira will not want to play in Washington or Baltimore for eight or nine years.
The Boston Celtics beat the New York Knicks 124-105 for their 18th straight victory, tying a franchise record. Boston hope to not slip up at home against the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday and could win their 20th straight at the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas Day.
Was looking around and found something absolutely outstanding from Toronto Raptors’ super point guard Jose Calderon. The Spanish playmaker has a career 88 percent average from the free throw line. This season, Calderon has NOT MISSED a foul shot in 59 attempts.
And one last note today, it is absolutely amazing how much can happen in a season. Superstar quarterback Tom Brady was supposed to lead the New England Patriots before he went down for the season in the first game of the season. Now, Matt Cassel is dominating and there is more and more talk that the Pats should think about trading Brady. Unbelievable – but the idea is not the worst in the world.