January 9, 2012
Ceci Ferrara
Sports Writer
Sports Insider
It appears the new uniforms have no transforming powers for the Washington Wizards. While the team may not have had particularly high hopes for the season (Owner Ted Leonsis admits on his blog that they are not an experienced team.), it’s safe to say they were definitely expecting a win or two by now. With the abbreviated season entering its third week, the Wizards — at 0-8 — are not only at the bottom of their division, but of the entire league. They remain the only team without a win so far this season, and any hope of a resurrection is fading fast.
The team has struggled to score enough points to win games (five of their eight losses were decided by four points or less), and the players aren’t coming together as a cohesive team, a problem that has plagued the franchise in recent years. Whether or not coach Flip Saunders will go the way of Bruce Boudreaux (the Capitals coach that was axed during the team’s slippery period earlier this season) remains to be seen. Saunders, who is in the second to last year of his contract, didn’t seem too worried in a post game press conference on Sunday. When asked, he said he didn’t fear losing his job. Instead he said, “I think I know the process we’re going through and it’s a painful process.” Wizards, Redskins, and Nationals fans all know the pain of the rebuilding process; it involves a lot of losing.
NFL Wild Card Weekend came and went the way many anticipated, with the favored Saints and Texans winning the first two games on Saturday. Sunday’s NFC match-up against the Falcons and Giants seemed to be iffy. The Giants appeared to be peaking the past couple of weeks, while the Falcons’ offense was explosive during the season, putting up more than 30 points (and twice over 40) in seven of their wins.
But Atlanta couldn’t get their offense going against the Giants, with their only points coming from their defense with a safety against Eli Manning in the second quarter. Trailing 2-0, Manning quickly led the Giants down the field, connecting with Hakeem Nicks to give Big Blue a 7-2 lead going into halftime. With a field goal in the third quarter, and another Nicks TD reception in the fourth, the Giants routed the Falcons 24-2 on their way to the Divisional match-up against the Green Bay Packers.
While the Packers have been nearly perfect this season (15-1), let’s not forget it was Manning and the Giants who ruined the Patriots’ perfect season in the 2008 Super Bowl. The Saints will travel to San Francisco to face the 49ers on Saturday, and the winners of each game will face off in the NFC Championship Game for their spot in the Super Bowl.
The biggest game of the weekend — with reportedly 45 million people tuning in — was Sunday evening’s match-up between the defending AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers and Tim Tebow’s Denver Broncos. Tebow has become nothing short of a cultural phenomena since he took the starting QB from Kyle Orton and led the 1-4 Broncos on an unbelievable six game winning streak and a playoff berth. Despite Tebow’s fourth quarter miracle comebacks and fierce determination, the Steelers were the heavy favorites to win the game. But Tebow and the Broncos played more like experienced veterans than the Steelers, jumping to a 23-7 lead going into the half.
The rejuvenated play by Steelers QB Roethlisberger and some tough breaks for the Broncos (most notably Willis McGahee’s fourth quarter fumble) brought the Steelers back for a 23-23 tie. While Pittsburgh looked all but ready to win it with a field goal, the Denver defense was able to sack Big Ben and keep the Steelers out of field goal range to force overtime.
Denver won the coin toss and got the ball first. Under the new playoff game overtime rules, each team gets a possession and a chance to score, unless the first team gets a touchdown, or the defense scores (safety, interception). On the first play and starting from their 15 yard line, Tebow surprised everyone. Instead of passing it off for a rushing play, Tebow threw an 18 yard pass downfield to Demaryius Thomas, who took it 62 more yards for a TD and the quickest ending to an NFL overtime game ever. While viewers may still be reeling, Tebow is only looking forward; he faces Tom Brady and the Patriots in New England next week.
