Here are your division champions and wild card teams for the NFC at the end of the season. No need to watch the last five weeks, because these will be the six teams that will duke it out to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl – mark it down.

NFC West (1 seed): Seattle Seahawks – current record (10-1); projected record (14-2)

Pete Carroll has done wonders at Seattle ever since he left the college ranks, and he’s got a QB in Russell Wilson who just plain wins. Wilson’s job is never to throw the football 40 or 50 times to win a game. His highest output was 33 pass attempts way back in week 1 in a 12-7 win over Carolina. There is no need to throw the football when RB Marshawn Lynch is lined up six yards deep in the backfield. Once defenses stack the box, the Seahawks go play-action which allows Wilson to make plays with his arm or legs. Their defense isn’t too shabby either, allowing just 16.3 points per game. Seattle has built a comfortable three-game lead in their division and they’ll win four of their last five, making the playoffs as the NFC No. 1 seed.

NFC South (2 seed): New Orleans Saints – current record (9-2); projected record (12-4)

“Who Dat” nation will return to the playoffs after struggling last year without Head Coach Sean Payton at the helm. The Saints have lost just two games – a 30-27 loss at Foxboro vs. the Patriots and a 26-20 hiccup vs. the Jets. New Orleans lacks a consistent ground game, but with Drew Brees (317 yards/game, 28 TD) at QB, the team is fine living and dying through the air. They face Seattle this weekend with playoff home field advantage implications on the line and still have to face the resurgent Carolina Panthers twice who trail the Saints by just a game in the standings. Brees and Payton, however, always find a way. They’ll win three of their last five to take home the NFC South title.

NFC North (3 seed): Detroit Lions – current record (6-5); projected record (9-7)

The Lions get the three seed in the NFC due to an unbelievable last-second victory over Dallas in week 8, 31-30. Detroit’s Calvin Johnson is undoubtedly the best WR in the league. He has put up ridiculous numbers through 10 games (he sat out week 5 vs. Green Bay with an injury) as he’s accumulated 1,198 yards and 11 touchdowns on 66 receptions. Megatron is truly unstoppable. Another reason the Lions get the nod, despite having lost two consecutive games, is that they still have their starting QB under center in Matthew Stafford. The uncertainty of Jay Cutler and Aaron Rodgers’ health puts the Lions in the driver’s seat, where they’ll cruise to the playoffs after a one-year absence.

NFC East (4 seed): Dallas Cowboys – current record (6-5); projected record (9-7)

The Cowboys – who still claim to be America’s team – have been stuck in mediocrity for over a decade. This year is no different, despite a roster (offense especially) that is loaded with talent. Tony Romo, clutch-gene or not, has his team in a position to make the playoffs again despite a defense that is one of the worst in the NFL. The Cowboys currently sit in a tie for first with the Philadelphia Eagles and host the birds in a potential playoffs-or-bust game in week 17. Dallas has been in this position before, and more times than not, has failed. This year they’ll get it done, thanks to a relatively easy schedule down the stretch. After hosting Oakland on Thanksgiving, Dallas goes to Chicago to take on the Jay Cutler-less Bears and then return back home to host the Aaron Rodgers-less Packers. They’ll hit the road in week 16 for a matchup with a beleaguered Washington team, before coming back to AT&T Stadium for the aforementioned showdown with Philly.

NFC Wild Card (5 seed): Carolina Panthers – current record (8-3); projected record (11-5)

The Panthers are on a roll behind former Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton. After a 1-3 start, the dual-threat QB has put his team on his back in reeling off seven straight wins. Newton, now in his third year, is finally showing the ability that made him the first overall pick in 2011. He’s a highlight reel waiting to happen, and has turned in some big time performances in the past couple of weeks, including clutch conversions vs. the Patriots in week 11. Carolina eeked out a 10-9 win over San Francisco in week 10, which gives them the nod over the 49ers for the first wild card spot. With that being said, your second wild card team of the NFC will be the…

NFC Wild Card (6 seed): San Francisco 49ers – current record (7-4); projected record (11-5)

The 49ers currently have the same record as the Arizona Cardinals, but they are a much better football team than the redbirds from Phoenix. When the weather gets cold, ground games and defenses become crucial. RB Frank Gore hasn’t put up huge numbers this season (70.8 yards/game), but the 49ers have been in this position before and succeeded. They also get WR Michael Crabtree back from injury, which bolsters their offense significantly by giving Kaepernick three legitimate targets (Anquan Boldin and Vernon Davis the other two). Coach Harbaugh, Kaepernick, and their dominant defense get it done, winning four of their last five, including a week 17 win in Arizona.

The post NFC Playoff Projections thru Week 12 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Three Up

1. Peyton Manning and the 3-0 Denver Broncos.

They were expected to be good….but this good? The addition of Wes Welker to an already dynamic passing attack was just not fair. With Welker, DeMaryius Thomas, Eric Decker, and Julius Thomas, the Broncos have one of, if not the most dangerous arsenal of WRs in the league. The Manning-led Broncos have scored a league-high 127 points in three games (42.3 ppg), which is 31 more points than the second-highest scoring team in the Green Bay Packers. Manning’s numbers look like those from Madden where he’s playing teams at the rookie level. In week 1 against the Ravens, he threw for 462 yards and 7…let me spell that out for you, S-E-V-E-N, touchdowns. Last Monday night on Monday Night Football against the Oakland Pryor’s (Raiders), Manning went 32-of-37 for 374 yards and three touchdowns. In three games, he’s completed 73% of his passes for 1,143 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also hasn’t thrown a pick and retained bragging rights with his brother Eli. Need I say more?

2. Andy Reid and the 3-0 Kansas City Chiefs

Who saw this coming? The Chiefs – coming off a 2-14 campaign – added Alex Smith at QB and Andy Reid as their new head coach. How exactly are they winning? They’re taking care of the football – no turnovers in three games – and are playing admirably on defense. Their defense has allowed 32 points in three games. The other two points the Chiefs allowed came on a safety, the only points the Jacksonville Jaguars scored in KC’s week one 28-2 victory. They held both the Cowboys and Eagles to 16 points each, and forced Chip Kelly’s Eagles into five turnovers. At 3-0, the Chiefs already have more wins than they did all of last year. How long will it last?

3. Ryan Tannehill and the 3-0 Miami Dolphins

I know very little about the Miami Dolphins. What I do know is that they are 3-0 and Ryan Tannehill is their starting quarterback. They opened with wins on the road in Cleveland (23-10) and Indianapolis (24-20) before returning home and delivering a come-from-behind 27-23 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. I’m impressed, but I’m not sold on them…yet. Statistically, the Dolphins don’t (and won’t) wow you. They are 14^th in the league in passing yards (249 ypg) and 28^th in rushing (70.3 ypg). Looking at their schedule, they have favorable matchups against the Bills (twice), Jets (twice), and the hapless Steelers. If they can get to 10 wins, a playoff berth isn’t out of question. They get a chance to show the nation they’re for real on MNF next week on the road against the undefeated New Orleans Saints.

Three Down

1. Eli Manning and the 0-3 New York Giants

What’s it like being the little brother, Eli? Eli’s G-Men are 0-3 in the dismal NFC East and were just shut out 38-0 by Carolina. An offense with WRs Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks should never get shut out, especially against the Panthers of all teams. They have given up a NFL-most 115 points in three games and have turned it over a league-high 13 times. Eli Manning has thrown eight interceptions and is nowhere close to the talent of his brother Peyton in Denver.

2. Ben Roethlisberger and the 0-3 Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers are football’s version of the New York Yankees. They have a young coach, but the players are old, underperforming, and are destined down a path of destruction. They are weak at running back (Jonathan Dwyer and Felix Jones won’t cut it nowadays) leaving it all up to Big Ben to make plays for a hapless offense. While he has his fair share of success, Antonio Brown being his best target is worrisome. It may be a long football season in Pittsburgh, but at least the Pirates will be playing in October, right?

3. Maurice Jones-Drew and the 0-3 Jacksonville Jaguars

They were expected to be bad…but this bad? Actually, yes, yes they were. MJD was coming off a 2012 injury, Blaine Gabbert was still (no longer is) the starting QB, and well, it’s the Jaguars. Have the Jaguars ever been good? That’s a serious question. OK, they made the playoffs in 2007 but that seems like forever ago. Their current offense has scored three touchdowns, and they’ve held one lead all season long – a brief 2-0 cushion over the Chiefs in a game that they eventually lost 28-2. They need a legitimate QB…badly. Heck, they need a lot more than that. At least the 2014 NFL Draft is only 225 days away.

The post NFL Week 3: Three Up, Three Down appeared first on KRUI Radio.

First things first — they still must win one more against the Denver Nuggets.

With Stephen Curry running the point, that doesn’t look to be a problem. This team can run and gun with the best of them.

Sunday night, the sharp-shooting  Curry, who is battling an ankle injury, took over midway through the third quarter in a tightly-contested game, scoring 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting in the period. The Warriors went on to rout the Nuggets 115-101 and head to Denver with a 3-1 series lead.

Statistically speaking, a 3-1 lead bodes well for the Warriors. In 210 tries, just eight teams have come back to win the series from a 3-1 deficit.

Game 4 saw the Warriors hold a 56-44 advantage at the break behind just seven Curry points. Andrew Bogut looked like the Andrew Bogut of old. The grizzly-bearded center scored 12 points in the first half, six of them coming on high-flying dunks.

In the third, the Nuggets cut their deficit to four at 66-62 after a Ty Lawson bucket at the 6:43 mark. The first 5:17 of the period belonged to Lawson as the speedy guard sliced and diced in the lane to an impressive 15-point quarter.

What Lawson did, however, took a backseat to the last 6:43 that was owned by Curry.

With his team up by just four points, and still held personally at zero points for the quarter, Curry finally took over.

It started with a three. 69-62, Warriors.

Lawson answered with another jumper to cut it to five. After a Warriors timeout, Corey Brewer made 1-of-2 free throws to get it back to four, but that was all the closer the Nuggets would get on a night that will forever be remembered as Curry’s night.

After a Jarrett Jack basket pushed the Warriors lead to six, Curry began to stop and pop.

Wherever he shot, they all seemed to go in. He drilled a 25-footer to extend the lead to nine. A short teardrop followed. An 18-footer after that. With his confidence growing, the shots got deeper.

Curry launched an absurd 29-footer that splashed through the net.

Take it to the bank. Cash. Money.

Behind an absolute raucous ORACLE Arena crowd, one would say Curry was feeling it.

The 6’3 guard followed his deep trey-ball with a layup-and-1 that pushed the Warriors lead to 14.

Curry then picked Lawson’s pocket on the defensive end and weaved up the court, looking for an open spot on the floor to again stop and pop. He found one deep from the top of the key and drilled it.

The Curry flurry continued after the Nuggets called timeout with 1:10 remaining as he nailed his final three points from the corner that gave the Warriors a 91-72 third quarter lead. The only thing that would have topped off Curry’s unbelievable quarter was if his half-court heave, which hit the backboard, had banked in.

In a flash, Game 4 was in the books with a quarter left to play. Curry had regained the Warriors’ momentum.

They’ll need to carry that momentum to Denver as the Nuggets owned the best regular-season home record at 38-3.

However, a convincing 131-117 Game 2 win on the road provides Golden State with plenty of confidence.

With Curry at the point dishing dimes and stroking threes (at a 44% clip), confidence won’t be an issue.

Game 5 airs Tuesday night on TNT at 8:00 p.m.

The post Curry’s Third Quarter Flurry carries Warriors past Nuggets; Hold 3-1 Series Advantage appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Can you throw strikes? Could you please come back and get the last three outs when the Cubs have a slim lead?

For Cubs closers, you can’t do much worse, can ya Kid K?

Just three weeks into the season, the Chicago Cubs record, in addition to their closer situation, are the laughing stocks of baseball.

Cubs legend Ron Santo has probably turned over in his grave. Even he, a former Cubs legend and most recently a color commentator for WGN Radio and Cubs baseball, would rather look the other way.

Through April 24, the Cubs sit at 6-14 overall and are already 6.5 games off the pace in the NL Central. The Northsiders have lost 13 of their last 17 games. After today’s 1-0 defeat in Cincinnati, the Cubs record in one-run games is now a measly 2-6.

When you are the third-worst team in baseball, fingers have to point somewhere. The only place fingers shouldn’t point is at the starting rotation. The starters have thrown 12 quality starts, but the Cubs are just 6-6 in those games. The starting five has posted a collective 2.97 ERA, third best in the major leagues nonetheless, but are only a combined 3-11. The other nine teams in the top ten for starter’s ERA all have winning records.

Coincidence? Maybe. But this is Cubs baseball. It’s going to be a long summer.

Where should fingers point then? The bullpen is an easy target.

Carlos Marmol was named the opening day closer despite an awful spring training. Manager Dale Sveum and pitching coach Chris Bosio  hoped the erratic closer would gain his composure when the games started to count.

Needless to say, he didn’t.

Marmol’s first outing of the season was in Pittsburgh as he entered the ninth with a 3-0 cushion. The Cubs closer recorded just one out, giving up one run on a hit, a walk, and a hit batsmen. James Russell and Kyuji Fujikawa bailed Marmol out of a blown save.

His second outing came in the series finale at Pittsburgh and again was dealt with a comfortable 3-0 lead. Marmol allowed two runs on three hits and a walk before inducing a game-ending 4-6-3 double play to notch his first, and only save to this date.

Just two days later, it was Marmol again on the mound in a save situation against the Atlanta Braves. Marmol took the hill with a 5-4 lead but faced the top of the order. B.J. Upton worked the count to 3-1 before drilling a game-tying home run, giving Marmol another blown save. Two batters later, younger brother Justin Upton stepped to the plate and launched a 1-2 pitch to straightaway center field. Game over.

With that blown save, Bosio and Sveum had seen enough and named Fujikawa the new closer. Many Cubs fans, including myself, were calling for Fujikawa to be the closer long before the season started.

He certainly made the majority look silly.

Fujikawa nailed down his first save as the Cubs closer (second on the season after saving Marmol on opening day) at home against Milwaukee. His second save opportunity wasn’t as kind. In fact, the Japanese closer did his best Marmol impression. Given a 2-0 lead, Fujikawa gave up three hits and three runs in an inning of work. Thankfully, a Cubs rally in the bottom of the ninth saved Fujikawa from the loss.

But as the saying goes, “People don’t forget.” I’ll add to that saying with, “especially Cubs fans.”

To add to Fujikawa’s struggles, the new-named closer headed to the disabled list following that blown save at Wrigley.

The Cubs didn’t have another save opportunity until this past Monday night, and it was probably the hardest blown save to watch on the young season. Chicago squared off against the Reds at Great American Ballpark and the game headed to extras knotted at two apiece. Cubs third baseman Luis Valbuena crushed a two-run shot to give Chicago a 4-2 lead in the 13th inning.

However, the bottom half was again not kind with a save on the line.

Cubs reliever Michael Bowden, who threw a 1-2-3 scoreless 12th inning, was sent to close out the game. Bowden did his best Fujikawa/Marmol impression. The Reds rallied for three runs, notching four hits in the inning with Bowden unable to record the final out.

Frustrating? Absolutely.

Game two of the three-game series saw Marmol back in his normal closing duties. The Cubs “closer” was unable to strand a runner at second, giving up an RBI single to Joey Votto who entered just 1-for-15 with 9 k’s against Marmol.

Of course.

Collectively, the bullpen leads the majors with six blown saves in ten opportunities. That’s pathetic.

Neither fans, nor the front office, expected much coming into the 2013 season, but they certainly expected better than this. A vastly improved rotation, along with young players in Starlin Castro and Anthony Rizzo – the core of the future – provide hope that better days are to come.

Cubs GM Theo Epstein continues to preach patience to Cubs fans, projecting that by 2015 the team will be a playoff contender again. I don’t know about you Theo, but 104 years and counting is a long, long time.

The post Theo, How Much Longer? appeared first on KRUI Radio.

The Penn State Nittany Lions won their third consecutive B1G title with four individuals claiming individual crowns en route to 151 team points, while Minnesota finished in second place with 139 points, and two titles, respectively.

Entering the final session, the Hawks were in second place in the team standings as they trailed Penn State by just a half point, 131-130.5. The Nittany Lions also had four finalists.

One team left with lots of gold. The other left empty-handed.

What was a nail-biter became a round of disappointment for Iowa.

No. 2 ranked Matt McDonough, the top seed at 125 pounds, fell for the second time this season to Illinois’ Jesse Delgado, 10-4. Delgado controlled the tempo of the match from the very beginning, jumping out to a 2-0 lead and piled the points on in the latter periods. The loss was McDonough’s third on the season, and despite being the defending 125-pound national champion, will likely head to Des Moines as the No. 3 seed. As a result, McDonough may have to beat both Delgado and Missouri’s Alan Waters  if he wants to claim his third NCAA championship. Waters and Delgado have beaten McDonough handily in their previous bouts.

The highly anticipated matchup between Iowa’s No. 2 Tony Ramos and Ohio State’s No. 1 ranked Logan Stieber finally happened in the 133-pound final. Ramos lost 3-1 in overtime with just three seconds left on the clock as Stieber used a body lock to earn the takedown and his second B1G title. The loss was Ramos’ first of the season. Expect to see a rematch in the NCAA finals as both Stieber and Ramos are the top two in this weight class, and showed why Sunday afternoon.

At 141 pounds, Iowa senior Mark Ballweg, ranked No. 9, made his first appearance in the B1G finals but fell to Ohio State’s Hunter Stieber, 8-3. Ballweg will look to close out his Hawkeye career as an All-American for the first time.

Three finalists for Iowa. “O” for three.

In a stacked 174-pound weight class, Iowa’s No. 3 ranked Mike Evans squared off against Penn State’s No. 7 Matt Brown. Brown entered the tournament as the fifth seed, but a very balanced field led to the first, and only, head-to-head finals matchup between the top two teams. Evans jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on an illegal move but made a rare mistake in the second period. Brown knotted the score 1-1 with an escape and caught Evans out of position, throwing the Hawkeye for a five-point move. The final score ended with a 7-3 decision, and the Hawkeyes left Assembly Hall with zero B1G champions for the first time since 2006, and just third time since 1970.

The win by Brown was Penn State’s second individual title, and they went on to claim two more at 184 (Ed Ruth) and 197 pounds (Quentin Wright). The Nittany Lions ran away with the B1G title, and enter the NCAA’s as the clear favorite to be national champions.

Meanwhile, the Hawks have a lot of work to do if they want to make any noise at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

McDonough, Ramos, Derek St. John (3rd place B1G finish), Nick Moore (4th place), and Evans all left valuable team points on the table at their respective weights. Bright spots for Iowa came from the three upper weights as each outperformed their tournament seed. 184-pounder Ethan Lofthouse finished in third place (seeded fifth), 197-pounder Nathan Burak finished fourth (seeded sixth), and HWT Bobby Telford finished third (seeded fourth).

While having no B1G champions may be a tough pill to swallow, Iowa’s grapplers do get one more chance to show their fight at the highest level. The Hawkeyes qualified nine out of ten wrestlers to the NCAA’s, and on paper, have a legitimate chance to have seven or eight All-Americans and multiple national champions. That may seem highly optimistic, but this team is capable.

They showed it during the B1G dual season.

They’ll need to show it again in two weeks.

The post Iowa Finishes Third at B1G Wrestling Championships; No Hawks Claim Individual Titles appeared first on KRUI Radio.

The Iowa Hawkeyes wrestling team, ranked No. 2 in both dual and tournament team rankings, fell twice over the weekend at the hands of No. 4 Minnesota and No. 6 Missouri while competing at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Dual Championships hosted in Minneapolis.

Iowa’s grapplers started off sluggish in their defeat of No. 9 Cornell Friday night, winning by a final score of 21-16. The two teams split the ten matches, 5-5. The Hawkeyes scored bonus points in four of their fives wins via major decisions by Derek St. John, Mike Evans, and Bobby Telford, in addition to a Tony Ramos fall at 133 pounds. Despite the victory, the Hawkeyes didn’t appear to be in top form as No. 8 ranked Mark Ballweg lost to No. 10 Mike Nevinger, 3-1.

The Hawks were lucky to survive round one in advancing to the semifinals, but would run into a coveted rematch with the home-favorite Minnesota Gophers.

In their first meeting at “The Barn,” the Hawkeyes prevailed, winning on a tie-breaker, 16-15. Both teams split the ten bouts five and five, with no bonus points scored in any of the matches.

Similar to the Cornell meet, Iowa again jumped out to an early 9-0 lead. Top-ranked 125 pounder Matt McDonough won by a decision, 8-2, over No. 13 David Thorn. Tony Ramos then pinned No. 7 Chris Dardanes before the Hawkeyes lost at 141 and 149 pounds.

St. John righted the ship with a 7-4 decision at 157 and Iowa’s Nick Moore hung on to a 3-2 victory to make the score 15-10 in favor of Iowa.

The highly anticipated rematch between Minnesota’s No. 1 ranked Logan Storley and Iowa’s No. 3 Mike Evans took place at 174, but once again, Storley scored a reversal in the second period, eventually winning by a 3-1 final. Minnesota closed out the dual with three more victories, winning six of the ten matches and ultimately winning the dual, 22-15.

The Hawkeyes didn’t have much time to regroup in their preparation for No. 6 Missouri and it showed on the mat. McDonough was upset 4-0 by Missouri’s fourth-ranked Alan Waters. Ramos won by forfeit at 133 pounds, and Iowa’s Josh Dziewa won by a major decision at 141 to give Iowa a 10-3 advantage, but Iowa would win just two more matches the rest of the evening.

Top-ranked 157 pounder, St. John, was upset 4-3 on a last-second takedown by No. 19 Kyle Bradley, in one of the more shocking upsets of the dual championships. Nick Moore and Mike Evans both earned decisions at 165 and 174, respectively, to give Iowa a 16-9 lead going into the final three matches.

However, Iowa’s upper weights were all underdogs in their matches and none of the three could pull off victories when Iowa needed one most. Iowa’s No. 14 Ethan Lofthouse fell 3-2 to No. 13 Mike Larson and 197 pounder Nathan Burak followed that with a 1-0 loss to No. 17 Brent Haynes. Heavyweight Bobby Telford, ranked as high as sixth, had a chance to salvage the dual but faced stiff competition in Missouri’s No. 1 Dom Bradley. Telford fought hard but surrended a takedown in the second tiebreak overtime period, losing 4-2, and sending the Hawkeyes back to Iowa City with a 18-16 defeat and a fourth place finish at the NWCA Duals.

Three weeks ago, the Iowa wrestling team seemed to be peaking. Hopefully, it wasn’t too soon.

They defeated then-No. 1 Penn State 22-16 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena and McDonough, Ramos, St. John, and Evans had all shown glimpses of being national title contenders, even favorites. In no way are these individuals out of the national title talk, especially Ramos, but McDonough has lost twice in the past two weeks, Evans hasn’t gotten over the hump against the Gophers’ Storley, and many of St. John’s matches have gone down to the wire in recent memory, finally losing a nail-biter this weekend.

The Hawkeyes will look to regroup and make a statement at the Big Ten Championships in Champaign, Illinois, on March 9th and 10th.

By then, this past weekend will be a distant memory.

The post Hawkeyes Wrestling Struggles over Weekend at NWCA Duals appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Winning a Super Bowl isn’t easy when your team fails to make the playoffs.

The quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys has another shot at redemption. The player who dons number nine has another chance to prove doubters wrong in a winner-take-all matchup. Two previous winner-take-all, week 17 games, one in 2008 vs. the Philadelphia Eagles and the other last season vs. the New York Giants, did not bode well for the Eastern Illinois alum. The Eagles humiliated the Cowboys 44-6 in ’08 while the Giants routed Dallas 31-14 at the Meadowlands in January, 2012.

What gives this third time around?

For Romo, this matchup is scarily similar to the last two. Dallas travels to Washington D.C. to take on another NFC East foe, the revived Washington Redskins led by 2012 Heisman winner Robert Griffin III. Romo failed vs. the Eagles and Giants, what makes one think he’ll flip the switch this time?

Just five weeks ago, the Cowboys hosted the Redskins on Thanksgiving Day and RG3 was an effective 19 of 27 for 304 yards and an oh-by-the-way four touchdowns. Since then, however, the rookie phenomenon tweaked his knee against the Baltimore Ravens and was forced to sit a game. RG3 did return to play the Eagles last week and led them to a 27-20 victory but was a noticeably different quarterback from a running standpoint. He carried just two times for four yards. In the last matchup against Dallas, Griffin bought all kinds of time with his feet. That story may be different tonight on NBC.

What RG3 does on offense is obviously out of Romo’s control. It’ll take an unbelievable game plan by Dallas Defensive Coordinator Rob Ryan to stop Griffin III that must be executed to near-perfection by the likes of DeMarcus Ware, Anthony Spencer, and whoever is lining up nowadays at every other defensive position. Collectively, the Cowboys have been hit hard by the injury bug, especially on defense. Wide receiver Dez Bryant is battling a broken finger. The list goes on and on. Nevertheless, Romo has been unscathed all season long and has no excuses. His recent play, arguably, has been the best we’ve ever seen.

The Cowboys were 3-5 following a 19-13 loss on November 4 in Atlanta. They then reeled off five wins in six games, the lone loss coming to the Redskins. Last week, they trailed 31-17 with under four minutes remaining to the New Orleans Saints. Romo rallied to force a tie with just seconds remaining and had a shot to win in overtime. The Saints eventually kicked the game winning field goal, but the loss did not come at a cost. Dallas is still in the same situation, regardless – win and they’re in.

To win tonight, the Cowboys can not throw the ball 62 times. DeMarco Murray must hang on to the football and keep the Redskins defense honest with the ground game. Romo must continue to protect the football as he has done lately. He has a 26-16 touchdown-to-interception ratio and needs just 315 passing yards to eclipse 5,000 for the season. That milestone ought to be the last thing on Romo’s mind. Romo will only be remembered whether he wins or loses tonight. It’ll take a turnover-free effort by Romo to give the Cowboys their best chance at making the playoffs.

So there you have it, Tony. You’ve been superb in the second half. Your statistics place you in the upper echelon of NFL quarterbacks. However, you lacked the clutch gene in your last winner-takes-all matchups. People say one game shouldn’t define a career, but you’ve had multiple opportunities. How do you want to be remembered?

The post Romo’s Legacy will be Remembered Tonight appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Two Justin Verlander fastballs.Even an Al Albuquerque slider.

The Kung Fu Panda, the roly-poly, lovable third baseman stole the spotlight in Game 1. This was supposed to be Verlander’s time, Miguel Cabrera’s time.

Instead, it was Panda time.

His first three World Series at-bats resulted in home runs. The first two were on 96 mile-per-hour heaters coming from the right hand of Verlander.

In his first at bat, he fell down in the count 0-2. A letter-high fastball was slung from Verlander, and the Panda’s bamboo stick squared it up, launching it deep into the night sky at AT&T Park in San Francisco.

The stadium erupted.

Panda-monium.

1-0, Giants.

However, the fun had just begun.

His second at-bat saw Verlander fall behind 2-0. Forced to throw a fastball down in the count, Sandoval was ready to feast. The Panda’s swing was slightly late, but still drew solid contact.

That’s usually all it takes when the opposing pitcher tops out at triple digits.

The ball looked like a routine fly to left, but it carried, and carried, and carried.

Into the seats.

4-0, Giants. Two Panda homers, three RBI’s.

A visibly stunned Verlander mouthed one word.

“Wow.”

Not Verlander, not myself, really, probably nobody outside of San Francisco saw this coming.

When Verlander was relieved in the fifth inning, the Panda’s meal was still not finished. Albuquerque sent a 1-1 slider down and in, and Sandoval crushed it 435 feet to straightaway center.

6-0, Giants.

Game, set, match.

The last home run put Sandoval in rare company. He joined Albert Pujols, Reggie Jackson, and Babe Ruth (twice) as the only players to hit three home runs in a World Series game.

Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera was supposed to be the best third baseman, and hitter, in this series.

In Game 1, the Panda had something to say about that.

While we are all stunned by Verlander’s performance, remember his struggles in the 2006 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. A rookie or not, losses in Game 1 and Game 5 sealed the Tigers’ fate.

The 2012 World Series is scarily off to the same start.

The post Kung Fu Panda-monium Crushes Tigers in Game 1 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Sorry, San Francisco, I ignore miracles. Six consecutive elimination-game victories is impressive, but the grind of those games will take its toll.

The Tigers haven’t needed a miracle this entire postseason. Yes, they did go to the fifth game of the American League Division Series with the Oakland A’s, but it was the A’s who needed a miracle – the task of beating Justin Verlander. The most dominant pitcher in the game did what he was supposed to do. He threw a complete game shutout, striking out 11 A’s in the process.

After eliminating the postseason darlings in the A’s, the ALCS featured Tigers-Yankees. A Derek Jeter broken ankle or not, the Tigers completely obliterated the New York Yankees from the very beginning, needing only one Verlander start during the sweep. The Tigers outscored the once-potent Yankees lineup 19-6 (four of those six runs came in the 9th inning collapse from Valverde in Game 1), in addition to a combined 1.38 ERA out of its pitching staff.

If those numbers aren’t convincing enough, I’ll reiterate – Verlander started one game in that series. After coming up short in the 2006 against the Cardinals and losing in the 2011 ALCS to the Texas Rangers, this is his time to shine.

Verlander’s numbers for the postseason are quite ridiculous, but Verlander-esque to say the least.

3 starts, all victories. 24 1/3 IP, a 25:5 K/BB ratio, 10 hits allowed and 2 earned runs, both coming on solo home runs.

The man is on a mission.

San Fran, you’ve been warned.

Verlander takes the mound tomorrow night in Game 1 and will also start in Game 5 if necessary. If the series gets to Game 7, which it won’t, Verlander will be available from the bullpen. How’s 100 mile-per-hour heat sound in the ninth inning to close it out? I’ve never experienced a fastball like Verlander’s, but if I were a Giant, that’d be the last thing I’d want to face with the game, and World Series, on the line.

If Verlander is pitching in potentially three games, where do the Giants have a chance, you ask? Can their pitching limit the Tigers lineup? Does the Buster Posey/Pablo Sandoval combo strike fear into the Tigers staff?

The simple answer to those questions consists of two letters.

No.

The Tigers staff didn’t just shut down Cano/Teixeira/A-Rod/Granderson/Swisher in the Yankees lineup, they embarrassed them.

I’m once again sorry Giants fans, but a lineup featuring Marco Scutaro as the hottest hitter doesn’t exactly send off the alarm signals in the Tigers dugout. Sandoval has been great, but Posey has had a quiet postseason. Expect that to continue against Verlander and Co.

While the Giants consider themselves having a solid pitching staff, the Tigers will be able to put runs on the scoreboard. A lineup featuring Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera and postseason phenomenon Delmon Young will have no problem scoring runs against Giants’ lefties Madison Bumgarner and Barry Zito. Sandwich the home-run mashing Prince Fielder between those two righties and the Tigers’ lineup is virtually unstoppable.

There isn’t reason to believe the Giants won’t pull of another improbable comeback (see 2-0 deficit in NLDS vs. Cincinnati, see 3-1 deficit in NLCS vs. the defending World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals), but those teams didn’t have a Justin Verlander. Cincinnati threw Mat Latos in it’s Game 5 and St. Louis threw Kyle Lohse. While these two may be considered the aces of their respective staffs, Verlander is on a whole ‘nother level.

Although I see the Tigers winning in five games, I do see the Giants winning Game 2. However, Detroit will close it out at Comerica Park, with none other than Justin Verlander.

It’ll be the man on a mission who finally gets his ring.

The best player in the NBA, LeBron James, got his.

Now the best player in MLB gets his.

It’s Verlander’s time.

The post Verlander, Detroit Will Get Their Rings appeared first on KRUI Radio.

With the Minnesota Gophers, 4-0 overall, coming into Iowa City this weekend for Homecoming, the Hawkeyes must find answers. Quickly.

Iowa looks to end a two-game losing streak to the Gophers, who upset the Hawks in both the 2010 and 2011 seasons. However, Iowa may not be as large of a favorite, if at all, after suffering a major setback versus the Central Michigan Chippewas in a 32-31 shocker.

While the Hawkeyes were expected to struggle in the early-going due to a young roster and coaching changes, one couldn’t have expected it to be this bad.

For example, the offense and James Vandenberg finally recorded their first passing touchdown on the opening drive Saturday. While the running game has shown hope with fullback-turned-halfback Mark Weisman carrying the rock, the passing game hasn’t picked up its end of the bargain.

In addition to the passing woes, the bend-but-don’t-break Hawkeye defense has shown vulnerabilities against the Panthers and Chippewas in consecutive weeks. They allowed UNI to march down the field on their first possession last week, making the Panthers look like the Oregon Ducks in the opening minutes.  This week, the defense fell apart when the team needed a stop most.

After the Iowa defense had allowed just ten points combined in the second halves of their first three contests, they managed to give up nine points in the final 45 seconds Saturday.

Remember folks, this was to Central Michigan.

Let’s play a little game.

Raise your hand if you felt “good” when Iowa took an 8-point lead late in the fourth quarter.

Put your hand down.

Raise your hand if you felt “sick to your stomach” as the Chippewas marched down the field unscathed, scoring to make it a two point game.

Lower hand.

Raise your hand if you felt “relieved” when Micah Hyde deflected the Chippewas’ two-point conversion pass to preserve the two point lead.

Please, put your hand down.

Raise your hand if you felt “unbelievably anxious” following the Central Michigan onside recovery.

Continue raising your hand and raise your other hand if you thought Iowa was bound to lose the game.

Both hands are unfortunately, most likely raised.

Sure, the Hawkeyes could be 4-0 right now with their two losses coming by a combined four points. But to look at the other end of the spectrum, Iowa could just as easily be 0-4. They snuck out of Chicago with a one-point victory over Northern Illinois and didn’t have control of the UNI game until midway through the fourth quarter.

Fans, get used to it. This is the 2012 Iowa Hawkeyes.

While the Big Ten as a whole appears to be in a “down year”, the Legends division does not.

Minnesota and Northwestern, two of the “easier” opponents Iowa will face this season, both sit at a surprising 4-0. Michigan St. and Nebraska are 3-1 on the young season and are ranked in the top 25, respectively. And, oh yeah, Michigan is just 2-2 but has the deadliest weapon in the conference running their offense in Denard Robinson. Throw Indiana and Purdue, both 2-1, into the mix and no game proves to be “easy.”

The non-conference matchups versus Northern Illinois, UNI, and Central Michigan were supposed to be relatively easy, allowing Iowa to go into cruise-control mode by the third quarter. As we now know entering week five, the Hawkeyes are barely out of park.

If the Hawkeyes are unable to establish the passing game and shore up the defense, it may be an extremely trying season in the Big Ten, even if it’s a “down” year.

The post Questions Marks Surround Hawkeye Football as B1G Play Begins appeared first on KRUI Radio.