What a weekend of playoff football we had to enjoy this past weekend! Not only did we have two huge upsets but both games on Sunday came down to the final few seconds. About six weeks ago I predicted a Green Bay vs New England Superbowl and that is now close to the reality. Green Bay looked like the best team in the NFC on Saturday as they trounced the Seahawks 42-20 in snowy Wisconsin. The Seahawks could not stop Ryan Grant or Brett Favre and if it wasn't for the two turnovers early in the first quarter by Grant this game would have been a larger blowout.

Jacksonville gave New England all it could handle for 3 quarters on Saturday but in the end the Patriots took control and kept their undefeated season alive. It was fitting the Tom Brady completed 26 of 28 passes and broke yet another record in this game for completion percentage. If Brady plays that well how can New England lose?

In, what I consider, the biggest upset of the playoffs, the Chargers beat the Colts in Indianapolis. Not only did they beat the Colts but they did it with their star players on the bench for most of the second half, Rivers and Tomlinson. How can the reigning World Champs lose to second string chumps? It just goes to show you how far heart can take you. The Chargers wanted to win more than the Colts and it showed in the final score.

The Giants surprised everyone but upsetting the Cowboys 21-17 and left TO crying in his press conference. Neither team played very well and the Giants won this game with better special teams. They worked a short field for most of the game whereas the Cowboys had to drive the length of the field in most cases. You cannot but this loss on the backs of their defense though because when it mattered they forced the Giants to two, three and outs. Romo just couldn't find any open receivers down the stretch and the Cowboys extended their streak of not winning a playoff game to at least 12 years.

So the conference finals are set. The San Diego Chargers have to travel to New England to face the Patriots in the early game and the New York Giants travel to Green Bay to face the Packers. Both games will be played outdoors in cold winter weather, could we ask for a better situation? There is nothing like watching a playoff football game that is being contested outdoors in the cold. I will be wishing for snow in both locations. No matter what the weather is like I feel pretty confident in my earlier prediction for the Super Bowl.

Just my humble opinion...Philly Sports Dude.

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Going into the final weekend of the NFL season I was extremely enthralled at the amount of chances to watch good football games all weekend. There were many games with playoff implications, but there was a game on Saturday night that had more than playoff implications. There were many things about Saturday night’s game that intrigued me. The New England Patriots were in pursuit of a perfect season and both the New York Giants and the Patriots were already locked into their playoff spot. While excited about this game, I was nervous that the old adage of resting players for the playoffs would play a part in this historical game. I was also nervous that I would not be able to watch the game because it was on a subscription channel.

At the end of Saturday night I could not have been happier. The NFL Network caved to public outrage and aired the game for everyone to see. Most importantly the Patriots and the Giants threw “caution” to the wind and played their starters the entire game. The end result could not have been better…..Randy Moss and Tom Brady set their personal records….the Patriots set every record in the book including the first ever 16 and 0 regular season…..and Eli Manning and the Giants played like their name suggests, Giants, to compete with history despite the fact they did not even have to show up. The game on Saturday night made me ponder some interesting points.

As Sunday rolled in I wondered what teams would be “Manning” enough to put a product on the field despite the fact they did not have to show up. Washington needed a win and Dallas did not have to play because they already had home field locked up. Dallas played their starters in the beginning but got beat early by a better team. New Orleans and Minnesota both lost not only their game but any chance at the playoffs. Due to their opponents and the fact they could not help their seeding in the playoffs, Jacksonville did not need to play and nor did Seattle or Tampa Bay.

We were left Sunday night with an awesome scenario for the “Flex” game. Tennessee wins and they’re in…they lose they’re out and Cleveland is then in. Standing in Tennessee’s way was the high powered and dangerous Indianapolis Colts.

Would Indianapolis “Manning Up” and play to win? Of course not. In typical Tony Dungy-Peyton Manning fashion, Indianapolis ole’d their way to a pathetic loss, sitting their starters at the said designated time.

Kudos to the Patriots and the Giants and the “lesser” Manning. They showed up and gave the fans what they wanted and needed…..Quality effort…..Quality entertainment…..and a product worth the money that is put into it. Shame on the Indianapolis Colts and the “greater” Manning for not giving the Cleveland Browns a chance to make the playoffs and not giving the average sportsdude a product to watch on Sunday night.

What I find to be the best part of the story is that the Pats went 16 and 0, people got to see it and they were put to the test by one Manning that was willing to “Manning up” and play.

Just my humble opinion...Philly Sports Dude

Public schools are not allowed to teach religion to their students. Government cannot involve religion in any of their day to day activities. The laws of this country cannot be based on religious beliefs. It is the foundation of this country to separate religion from our schools, our government, and our law. The separation of church and state is a foundation of this country.

Freedom of religion is also a foundation of our country. People have the right to worship their god and practice any form of religion they choose. Whether it’s Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, or even L. Ron Hubbard, our country gives its citizens the right to have any faith that gives them comfort.

Last month I was watching the Heisman trophy presentation and I was impressed when Tim Tebow approached the podium to give his acceptance speech without a piece of paper. I have spoken in front of large crowds before and never have I been able to complete the task without notes in front of me. I was on the edge of my seat to hear what this young man had to say. Then the words came out….those words spoken so often in sport….. “I just want to thank God.” Those words got me to thinking.

Why do athletes have to thank God for everything? What number does our lord and savior Jesus Christ wear? When was the last time God threw a block? When was last time Jesus Christ made a game winning field goal?

I am a sports dude and as a sports dude I watch sports for entertainment. I appreciate the talent that is put forth in competition. I like to hear what athletes and coaches have to say after they perform at their highest level. But anymore it seems like all athletes and coaches have to say after a game is that they performed to their highest power. I don’t care to hear that God is responsible for a 400 yard passing performance or that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was a part of the game winning play.

I have two arguments to support my position. One….Sport is a billion dollar industry and it is taxed heavily. Religion is a billion dollar industry and is tax exempt. Until all sport gets a free pass on those taxes I feel that religion has no place in it. Two….The federal government has indicted Barry Bonds. The Mitchell Report, put forth by a U.S. Senator, has tainted the reputation of 90 baseball players. Government can reach into sports whenever it deems necessary. Therefore I feel there is a need to call for a separation of church and sport.

Counter arguments to my view would be freedom of religion and freedom of speech. While valid arguments that support the freedom of athletes to thank whatever higher power they wish after a big win or a championship we can pose the question to Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Andy Pettitte….. “Where was God on that one?”

Just my humble opinion....Philly Sports Dude

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I am constantly hearing the debate from sports writers and reporters on whether or not baseball players from the last 20 years should be lumped together due to the steroid controversy. What they mean is that if there was no steroids testing during this time period and some players were known to use steroids than how can you know any player was clean. It is a valid point and argument. I want to steer away from that argument, though, and focus on who is really to blame for the rampant steroid problem that happened in Major League Baseball.

As I see it, there are only three places where blame can be put, the owners, the players and the commissioner. What I am going to attempt to do is to show you that the owners and the commissioner are the real culprits in this whole scandal and the players are just the cyringe they used to shoot the steroids.

In the late 80' and the early 90's baseball was struggling with their normal fan base. Players were beginning to sign enormous contracts paying them exorbitant amounts of money and the NFL was on the the verge of taking away MLB's place as "America's Pastime". After the strike of '94 baseball was no longer the most important sport in the mind's of the American public. The owners were not making the money they expected to make and the commissioner was fearful of losing his job. Steroids were already an issue in the league and after other sports leagues (mainly the NFL) implemented harsh penalties for steroid use, MLB turned its head the other direction. What the owners and the commissioner knew was that the draw of the long ball would bring back the lure of baseball, it would resurrect it from the grave. They had ever opportunity to institute a steroid policy but they failed to do so and because of that reason baseball is now in the state it is today.

People who read my argument will be shocked, the players are the ones who took the steroids, not the owners and not the commissioner (as far as we know but Bud Selig's head doesn't look much bigger). For those people I want to pose a question. If there was something you could take, a pill or a shot, that would not only improve the way you feel and look but would also make you better at your job, would you take it? Not only would it make you better at your job, it would also increase your salary and we aren't talking about the 3% raise you normally get at the end of every year, we are talking very large sums of money. You could go from making $50,000 per year to maybe $300,000 a year. Your company has no policy in place that makes taking it wrong and, in fact, some of your colleagues are taking it and are making that much money. Now, would you take it? There are no repercussions, if your company finds out there is nothing they can do and they might even encourage it. Your family would live more comfortably and other companies might even want to offer you a job for even more money and you might even win awards for being the best at what you do. If you don't take it, there is a small chance you might achieve those results in time but there is also a chance everyone else will pass you by and you will LOSE your job.

Everyone is so quick to fault the players but you have to put yourself in their shoes. Owners were willing to pay upwards of 15 to 20 million a year to the best players in the game. The commissioner wanted baseball to revive and flourish. They both knew of the steroids problem that was everywhere around them. Yet they did nothing to stop it, they allowed it to go on and although this is just a theory, it wouldn't surprise me if they encouraged it. As we all know, baseball is a business and the owners of these teams aren't in business to lose money. Before you go to a game this year and boo a player who supposedly took steroids because they were mentioned in the Mitchell Report, remember there are more people to blame then just the players.

Just my humble opinion...Philly Sports Dude.

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I was watching the New England Patriots improve to 15 and 0 yesterday against their formidable opponent, the 1 and 13 Miami Dolphins.  Despite the excitement of the second half, I saw something that made me ponder the current state of affairs of celebrations in the NFL.

Tedy Bruschi made a nice play in the second half and as he was walking off the field he engaged in a celebration with his teammates. It was some form of an arm locking celebration the likes of which I have never seen. I was relieved. Why? Because I finally saw an original celebration.   More

With two weeks left in the NFL season there are multiple games with playoff implications Sunday and also games that mean nothing. I am going to give you my predictions on each game starting with Cleveland @ Cincinnatti.

Cincinatti has nothing to play for since they are elimanted from playoff contention. With that said this is still a divisonal game between two rivals and there are a bunch of players on the Bengals who will be free agents next year. Cleveland needs to win to keep pace with Pittsburgh in the division after Pittsburgh won on Thursday night. I see Cleveland dominating in this game with Jamal Lewis running wild all over the Bengals porous defense.

Cleveland 31 Cincinnatti 14

Green Bay and Brett Favre face off in another divisional battle this weekend against the Chicago Bears. Again we have another team playing for nothing but pride (Chicago) against a team who needs to win in order to have a chance at home field advantage throughout the playoffs in the NFC. With Kyle Orton leading the Chicago offense, I have trouble seeing Chicago putting up any points against a very improved Packer Defense. Favre will have his usual game and the Pack should win easily.

Green Bay 24 Chicago 3

Houston travels to Indianapolis to face Petyon Manning and company. Neither team have much to play for since Houston has been eliminated from playoff contention and the Colts cannot improve their seeding in the AFC. Tony Dungy insists he won't be resting any of his starters but if Indy gets out to a decent lead, which they should, I doubt you see Manning or Addai finish the game. Indy's talent will be too much for Houston to handle and the Colts should win but it will be closer than you might think.

Indianapolis 24 Houston 20

Kansas City will be in the Motor City of face the falling Lions. Before the season started John Kitna guaranteed the Lions would go 10-6 this year, unfortunately he forgot to show up and play for the last six weeks. This week shouldn't be much different. Even though Kansas City doesn't have anything to play for, I don't see Detroit stopping their losing streak until next season.

Go to http://phillysportsdude.blogspot.com to see the rest of my predictions...

How do you have 209 total yards, 32 yards rushing, convert 1 of 14 third downs and have a chance to win a football game? Easy, play in the talent diluted NFL.

Last night’s football game between the Vikings and the Bears was tough to watch. It was two teams on a mission to lose a game despite their defenses best efforts.

The game got me to thinking. I don’t understand how the NFL has reached this point. It used to be that it seemed like there were only 33 punters and 33 kickers that could play at the NFL level. You would see a kicker or punter get cut and then picked up the next week. It seemed like there was only one punter or kicker that would be out of football at a time and they were next on the list to take over for the next cut. Very little new blood was brought into these two positions.

Now it seems that the NFL quarterback position has fallen into this same pattern. When Tavaris Jackson and Kyle Orton are the starting quarterbacks in a late season NFL game that has playoff implications for not only the two teams playing but for four other teams I think it’s a sign that the NFL is lacking talent at QB.

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I have to start my recap with my beloved Eagles. Just when I finally give up on them for the season they turn in their most impressive victory of the year, defeating the Cowboys 10-6.  More

I have had a slight writers block lately and couldn't find a topic interesting enough to write about. The Mitchell report came out yesterday but I can't bring myself to write about it because it is a joke. More

With three weeks left in the NFL season the playoff picture is starting to take focus. Other than maybe one spot up for grabs left in each conference for a wildcard spot, everything else looks pretty much set.  More

I just finished watching the Flyers destroy the Penguins 8-2. This game had it all, goals, penalties and a ton of fights.  More

Each morning on my commute to work I listen to sports radio and most of the time I listen to Michael Bradley and Glenn Foley's morning show on Sports Radio 950.  More

Now that I have had 24 hours to soak in the loss I want to go back over the game and make some valid points on the 3rd close loss in as many weeks.  More

Sundays from September through December are without a doubt my favorite days of the year. Even though the Eagles lost a dissapointing game yesterday it was still a good day. I want to recap yesterday's action in the NFL...More

Watching the game today I knew it was a long shot the Eagles could make the playoffs. They had to win their last four games against the Giants, on the road at Dallas, on the road at the Saints and home against the Bills.  More