Cavs vs. Magic

Tonight is Game 5 of the Magic, Cavs series and the Magic are looking to end it with a 3-1 lead in the series. Even though the Cavs hold the seasons best record history is against them right now. In the history of the NBA only 8 teams have comeback from a 3-1 deficit in over 190 attempts. So far LeBron has been doing his job, averaging 42 points a game, but the rest of the team needs to pick up the slack. The main problem has been the Cavs guards not knocking down open threes. Delonte West and Mo Williams were both 0-6 from beyond the arc in Game 4. So if they can start hitting the Cavs shouldnt be in bad shape. Another problem is the matchup at the 4 and 5 spot. The Cavs have not found a way to defend Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis because their big men arent fast enough. Ilgaskus is big enough to guard Dwight Howard but is almost too big becuase Dwight has been flying past him and dunking all over. Lewis has also been a headache because Varejao isnt use to having to go out and guard the three and would rather post up, while Rashard can do either.

Tie Breaker

Last night the Lakers broke the 2-2 tie against the Nuggets winning game 3 and gaining the lead in the series. They won 103-94 which in this series was almost like a blowout considering the first 3 games were all decided by 3 points or less (Game 4 was won by the Nuggets by 19). Last night was a good example of how evenly matched these two teams are because throughout the first 3 quarters they were tied at the end of each. The Lakers big men are who changed the game and the reason they took the game. These being Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol who owned the boards and changed a lot of shots. Game 6 will be in Denver tomorrow and i think that Denver will win again at home and send the series into a Game 7. If the Nuggets are to win they would have to see Camelo and Chauncy have big games not just one, like last night when Melo had 31 and Billups only had 12. Another key piece for them winning is J.R. Smith coming out and having a big game.

Blogging

When i first heard that we were going to be writing blogs in this class i wasnt too excited but didnt feel like it would be to bad considering we could choose whatever we wanted as a topic. When we started it was the begining of the football season so i chose to blog about the NFL. Then the blogging carried on through out the winter and past football season so i switched over to NBA basketball as you know. The hardest thing about this assignment was thinking up topics to write about every week and having them the right length. This is something that i wouldnt keep doing just because blogging doesnt interest me. I would rather be the one reading a blog than writing one. What i did get out of this assignment was a new way to find information, being other peoples blogs.

NBA Tonight

Tonight the Lakers and the Celtics are both looking to close out their series in Game 6 for both of them. I think that the Lakers are most likely to win their game tonight with the Rockets missing their best player Yao Ming. However, as this does sound bad for the Rockets they did take Game 4 from the Lakers without him when they blew LA out, but then they got blown out the next game by about 30 points. Another thing that the Lakers have going for them is having one the best players in the NBA, Kobe Bryant. If the Rockets are to force a Game 7 tonight Artest and Battier are going to need to have big games and show alot of leadership with Yao being out. In the other series left, Boston v. Orlando, i think that the Celtics should pull off a victory tonight. The number one reason is because they are the NBA defending champions right now and are so until beaten. They also have a lot of experience which should help them in later games of the series. I also like the momentum that the Celtics have coming into this game with a buzzer beater win in Game 5 compliments of Glen "Big Baby" Davis. However, the Celtics are going to need to come to play and Paul Pierce is going to need to have a big game and take the big shots. The Magic however are a tough team and can come out shooting any night and also have the defensive player of the year in Dwight Howard.

Nuggets Man Handle Mavs

Last night the Nuggets closed out their series with Mavs in 5 games with a 124-110 victory. This is the first time Denver has reached the Western Conference Finals since 1985 and only the third time in franchise history. This is also Chauncy Billups 7th consecutive conference finals appearance and is only one of 5 players ever to do so since 1970. Billups has been a key part of the Nuggets domination over the series which they won 4-1 with the one loss coming by only 2 points. In last nights game he dropped 28 points only to be out done by Carmelo who had 30 points. Melo also had a shot in the 4th quarter that pretty much sealed the deal for Nuggets. With 2 seconds left on the shot clock and about 9 minutes in the game left, Melo hit a three pointer from about 26 feet out and then the Mavs got a technical on the same play which brought the game to a 10 point lead instead of 6. This killed the hopes of the Mavs and brought all the momentum to the Nuggets. The game high however came from Dirk Nowitski who had 32 points and averaged a crazy 34 points and 11.6 rebounds in the series and also shooting over 54 percent. J.R. Smith also had another big game for the Nuggets off the bench scoring 18 and finally starting to get some credit around the league.

Cavs Sweep

Last night the Caveliers took out the Atlanta Hawks 84-74 sweeping them in four games. The Cavs are now 8-0 this year in the post season. Cleveland dominate this game like they had the rest of the series with the Hawks. A large part of the win last night was the poor shooting of Atlanta who were 2-13 from behind the arc and 23-73 shooting overall. The Cavs also dominated the boards grabbing 48 rebounds, 15 being offensive rebounds, while the Hawks only had 33 rebounds. The rebounding for the Cavs was led by Anderson Varejoa with 11 and Ilgauskas who had 10 rebounds. On the otherside of the ball, the Cavs were led in scoring by LeBron James with 27 points and 8 assists. LeBron also got help from his two guards Delonte West who had 21 points and Mo Williams who scored 14. For the Hawks, Josh Smith led the team in scoring with 26 points followed by Joe Johnson who had 18 points. Having swept the first two series the Cavaliers have an even better chance to make a run and win the playoffs with a lot of rest. However the last time a team started out the playoffs 8-0 since they were changed to best of seven game series, the 2003 Miami Heat, they lost in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Top Seed Falls in Game 1

Last night the Rockets took an early lead in the series against the number one ranked Lakers, beating them 100-92. This ended the Rockets drought of losing to the Lakers in the regular season, so now they are 1-4 against them this season. The game was pretty close all the way through even until the last few seconds of the game but the Lakers missed a few key shots and gave up some easy baskets that led to the Rockets victory. Kobe had a game high 32 points with 22 of those coming in the fourth quarter. Although he had a game high he shot 14-31 in a losing effort and the Lakers are now 2-7 in the playoffs when Kobe shoots more than 30 times. The Rockets were led in scoring by Yao Ming with 28 points and 10 rebounds. The had a scare in the fourth quarter when Yao and Bryant collide with their knees and Yao had to be helped off the court but then came back within minutes to help lead the Rockets to a well needed victory. Ron Artest also had a big game with 21 points, twelve of them coming in the first half which was a game high at that point. The young point guard for Houston, Aaron Brooks, also played a good game scoring 19 points for the Rockets.

Nuggets Continue to Dominate

Last night in game one against Dallas the Denver Nuggets continued to roll in the playoffs after their 4-1 series win against the Hornets. They beat the Mavericks 109-95, extended their win streak over them to 5-0. They also extended their home game winning streak to 14 wins in a row. The Nuggets were led in scoring by Nene with 24 points which was a career high for him and the first time a Nuggets center has scored 20 points in a playoff game since 1994 when Dikembe Mutumbo did it. Carmelo Anthony also had a great game going 7-10 shooting, which was his best shooting percentage in a plyoff game in his career, and 23 points. Dirk Nowitski had the game high with 28 points. A big part of the Nuggets win last night was their defense, which you usually dont associate with the Nuggets, which forced 20 turnovers and kept them in the game until they blew away to a 19 point lead in the fourth quarter. Some standouts from the bench from the Nuggets were J.R. Smith and Chris "Birdman" Anderson. "Birdman" had six big blocks in Game 1 after having nine in the whole series against the Hornets. J.R. Smith had 15 points and was instruemental in their run in the fourth quarter to seal the deal.

Bulls push Game 7

Last night the Bulls pulled off another victory over the top seeded Celtics in a triple over time thriller, 128-127. Last night marked the 7th overtime period of the series which set an NBA record for most overtime periods in a playoff series, beating the previous record of four. The Celtics, Ray Allen, also had a record setting night scoring 51 points which tied for the 2nd most in Celtic franchise history. Rajon Rondo also tied the franchise record, along with Bob Cousy, for most assists in a playoff game with 19. On the other side of the ball John Salmons led the Bulls in scoring with 35 points, which was a playoff game high for him. Derrick Rose also added 28 points 8 rebounds and 7 assists on the winning effort. The Bulls have now forced a game 7 in a series that everyone expected the Celtics to win easily. However, going into Boston for game 7 will be hard and i think that the Celtics should pull it out in a close one with home court advantage. I would like to see the rookie Derreck Rose lead his team into the second round since he has had such a good series for such a young man and will soon be a vital part of the Bulls franchise.

Hawks break away from Heat

Last night the Hawks regained the lead in their series with the Heat, winning 106-91, making the series 3-2. Atlanta had to do this with a short bench. Al Horford ended up being taken to the locker room and sitting the rest of the game after being fouled hard and landing on Dwayne Wade. Also Williams was out for his 3rd straight game with a sprained wrist. Mike Bibby also didnt play very much after he got his 4th foul so the Hawks had to reach deep into their bench with Soloman Jones and Mario West getting extensive minutes, which didnt happen during the regular season. The series is also starting to heat up with tempers flaring and the games getting physical. Last night there were a lot of hard fouls and fights that almost broke out. One started when Soloman Jones made a hard foul on Wade and Magloire came in and shoved Jones and then Smith shoved Magloire back before the refs came in and broke up the fight before punches could be thrown. All four players were given technicals for the incident. Another one was when Pachulia caught Jermaine O'Neal with an elbow to the head when he drove to the lane. The next time Pachulia came down the lane on the Heat side of the floor O'Neal caught him across the head also, neither of them were called a technical or flagerant foul.

Nuggets Close out Hornets

Last night the Nuggets closed out their series with the Hornets. This was their first, first round victory since 1994 when they were an eigth seed beating Seattle who was the number one seed. The Nuggets did this in convincing fashion, like they have the rest of the series, 107-86. Even though Denver lost a game, they outscored New Orleans by an average of 24 points a game. Carmelo led the Nuggets to the win with 34 points and was helped out by J.R. Smith who had 20, 15 of which came in the second half, and 13 points and 11 assists by the Denver native Chauncy Billups. A big part of the win Wednesday night was poor shooting by the Hornets. From beyond the arc they went 3-20 which is 15% and 29-76 overall which is 38%. Although the final score was a blowout it was actually a pretty good game up until the end of the game. Going into halftime the score was 49-49 and then tied at 62 later in the third quarter. The Nuggets however eventually went on a 24-4 run to break away and never looked back. Denver will now be facing the Mavericks in the next round who beat also beat the Spurs in 5 games. The Nuggets swept the Mavericks 4-0 in their season series this year.

Heat vs. Hawks - Game 2

After a game one blow out loss to the Hawks, the Heat came back with a 108-93 victory to ties the series up at a game a piece. This was the Heats first playoff win since 2006 in Game 6 of the NBA playoffs against the Mavericks. Dwayne Wade was the hero for the Heat as usual, scoring 33 points. 13 of his points came in a row before the end of halftime to give his team the lead and momentum going into the locker room. Wade also hit a season high 6 threes in the game, which doubled his previous playoff high. When Dwayne Wade scores more than 30 points in a playoff game the Heat are currently 18-1, which shows the Hawks might wanna play some defense on this man if they want to win the series. However, the rest of the supporting cast also had good games too. Daequan Cook had 20 points shooting 6-9 from beyond the arc and Jermaine O'Neal had 19 points. The Heat also set a team high playoff record of 15 three pointers in a game, going 15-26. In the long run i think that the Hawks will pull off the series win because they have the better team all-around. However, if Dwayne Wade keeps playing out of his mind like last night he could maybe pull off a few more wins for the Heat and take the series.

Nuggets vs. Hornets - Game 2

Last night the Nuggets again pulled off another huge win against the Hornets, 108-93. Chauncy Billups again was the leading scorer in the game with 31 points coming off his 36 point game one game, also where he set a Nuggets playoff record with 8 three-pointers. Another crazy stat by Chauncy is that he has back to back turnover free games in this series. Last night the Hornets tried putting Chris Paul on him, but Chauncy lit him up just like he did Rasual Butler. Carmelo Anthony also had a big game scoring 22 points and dishing out 9 assists. When Carmelo and Chauncy are both hitting on all cylinders the Nuggets are a very tough team to beat. The key in this game was the Nuggets defense. They forced 17 turnovers in the game while they only had 6 turnovers. They also blew them out of the water in the steal category with 8 while the Hornets had a measly one steal. Some of the key contributors to the tough defense were Kenyan Martin, Dahntay Jones, and Nene. The Nuggets should easily come out of this series with a win, which will be the first round one win for the franchise in 15 years. If they do it in 4 games and sweep the Hornets that would be huge for their success in the later rounds because they will get more rest.

Top Five Power Rankings- 3 through 5

3. Coming in at third are the 60-20 Boston Celtics. The Celtics are again having a great year and are of course the leagues reigning champions. Now, with everyone healthy again and KG coming back the Celtics should be able to make another run deep into the playoffs and defend their championship. With all of the stars on their team and a great coach in Doc Rivers i think that the Celtics can do it again even though it will be a tough run with the Lakers and Cavs also having magnificent seasons.

4. My fourth ranked team, also with the fourth best record of 58-22, is the Orlando Magic. The thing that makes the Magic special is, Dwight Howard. The bigman owns the paint and is a shot blocker and shot changer. He also leads the league in rebounding and blocks. Not only do they have Dwight Howard but a great supporting cast around him. In one game this year the Magic broke the NBA record for most three pointers in a game.

5. The last team in my power rankings is my favorite team, the Denver Nuggets. The arrival of Chauncey Billups has been a great addition to the team, leading them to win their division which no one had imagined them doing. The real test however will be if the Nuggets can get to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 1994.

Top Five Power Rankings-1 and 2

1. My number one team has to be the Cavaliers, who own the best record in the NBA. They are also an amazing 39-1 at home and are going for an NBA record 40-1 tonight if they decide to start everyone instead of benching people to rest for the playoffs. Not only do they have the best record in the NBA but the best margin of victory which is an impressive stat to me. Another thing that makes them standout to me is the one and only LeBron James who will Probably be the leagues MVP.

2. Coming in right behind the Cavs are the LA Lakers, who are just a game back for the best record in the NBA. They also just got Andrew Bynum back which will help them largely throughout the playoffs. However, as evidence of last year, they dont need Bynum to make a deep run into the playoffs. The Lakers are also 21-7 against the top 10 in the league which no one else in the league is even close to. A large part of their success is the duo of big man Pau Gasol and possible MVP recipient Kobe Bryant. The Lakers have also swept the Cavaliers this season, giving them a legitiment case to be put ahead of the Cavs in the rankings but for now will sit at number 2.

Tar Heels Domination

The Michigan State Spartans had high expectations coming into the national championship game, with the game being played closed to home in Detroit. Before the day of the game estimates were that 60,000 of the 70,000 fans at the game were to be Spartan fans. The hometown crowd however seemed to be a non factor. The Tar Heels jumped out to an early lead at half 55-34. This was the most points scored in the first half in tournament history and also the largest halftime lead. North Carolina then kept this lead and won convincingly by 17 points, 89-72. A large factor in this game was the Spartans 21 tournovers that led to 25 North Carolina points and also kept them from making a run to make the game closer. The closest the Spartans ever came to the Tar Heels was 13 points throughout the latter parts of the game. The five starters for the Tar Heels will be entering the NBA draft this next year, with a good chance of the majority going in the first round. "You've got six NBA players that could be drafted in the first round or early second," Spartans guard Travis Walton said. "You're looking at a team that could probably beat the worst team in the NBA."

Red Hot Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets took on the Oklahoma City Thunder last night to capture their 8th win in a row. They also have won 9 of their last 10. The Nuggets squeaked out the win 122-112 by having a huge fourth quarter. As usual Carmelo had a big game which took them to a win, going for 31 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. Backup center Chris Anderson also came up big with 7 blocks in the game, while his fellow center, Nene, was the second leading scorer with 23 points. With that win last night the Nuggets are 27 games above five hundred for the first time in francise history. The Nuggets also only need 2 more wins to surpass the franchise record of 54 wins set back in 1987-1988. To extend their win streak they will need to beat the Lakers tonight in Los Angeles. If they go into LA and win they will clinch being the Northwest champs and also clinch a 2 seed, giving them homecourt advantage in the playoffs for the first time in 21 years. "It would be huge, man, especially at this time of the year and for what we're trying to accomplish," Anthony said. "That would be a big win for us."

Thriller in Boston

Last night, Boston Celtics who are second in the east took on the Charlotte Bobcats 9th in the east and just out of the playoffs at the moment, went head to head in a barn burner going into double overtime. The Celtics came out on top 111-109 complements of a 3 from Ray Allen, who seemed to somehow find himself open behind the arc alot in the game, with two seconds left. Ray Allen went 5-13 behind the arc with 22 points in the game and you could say he was the player of the game because of his huge shots. He not only hit the game winner but also hit a 3 to tie the game in the first overtime and kept it going. Paul Pierce also had a great game shooting fifty percent from the field and having 32 points. In my opinion Paul Pierce is one of the most underrated players in the NBA and should get more hype in the MVP race. One reason i think he doesnt though is because he has such a good supporting cast around him. One way the Bobcats hurt themselves was only getting to the freethrow line 4 times and going 5-7 while the Celtics got there often shooting 18-26. The Bobcats Raja Bell also got a very good look at the end of the second overtime to win the game but it just barely rimmed out.

MVP race

This years MVP race in the NBA is a very close one with 3 amazing players at the top of the pack for likely winners. These 3 players are Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Dwayne Wade who are all very deserving of the award. My personal pick for MVP would have to be LeBron James. One example of his outstanding play is the Cavaliers owning the best record in the NBA right now and not having the best talent around him. Only one player in the last five years has won the MVP with less than 60 wins and the Cavs have already surpassed that with 61 wins already. The other reason i think he will win is because of his crazy stats. He is second in the league in scoring with an amazing 28 points a game but the thing that sets him apart from the other is his 7 rebounds and 7 assists per game which makes his game all around better. He is also just plain exciting to watch with his highlight dunks and huge blocks. LeBron can also beat you a multiple of different ways which makes him a very hard man to defend. He can either drive to the whole and dunk it on you or step back and drain a three, he has also improved his mid-range game alot over his career in Cleveland. His 6'8, 250 pound body with lightning quick speed is also another reason he is very hard to defend on the Strong Forward position.

Change In Topic

Now that the NFL season has come to end it is going to be very hard to post about the NFL so i have decided to talk about basketball. I will not only discuss professional basketball in the NBA but also the NCAA since the tournament is still going on and is getting very exciting. There may be on a occasion a day where i still post about something new story in the NFL and also post about the NFL draft. To get you acquainted with me as an NBA fan ill start by telling you my favorite teams and players. My most favorite team in the NBA is the Denver Nuggets who are currently second in the Western Conference behind the Lakers. The Nuggets have two of my favorite players in Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith. J.R. Smith is a four year veteran who came straight out of highschool and Carmelo is a 5 year veteran out of the University of Syracuse. Another team that i like to watch in the NBA is the New Orleans Hornets. The main reason i like the Hornets is because of Chris Paul, their starting pointing guard. Chris Paul was drafted from the Hornets 3 years ago as the 4th overall pick out of Wake Forest. He is now one of the most exciting players in the league and is already setting records like the one for steals.

TO Show

After all of the talk about no one wanting to sign troubled reciever Terrell Owens, the Bills picked him up after only a week. Owens agreed to a 1 year 6.5$ million contract. This could be a big move for both parties. With such a small media market in Buffalo its possible that TO might not cause as many problems which will help the success of the team and also help Terrell's reputation. Last year Bills Marshawn Lynch was arrested twice, once for a hit and run and the other for possesing a concealed weapon. This atests to the small media market in Buffalo because these incidents created little to no buzz outside of Buffalo. TO will also have to stay on the straight and narrow and perform well if he wants to be resigned next year by the Bills or any other team for that matter. Also in the past TO has been a good team mate in his first year with a team and doesnt cause trouble till later when hes been with them for a season or two. Another reason he is good for the Bills is because he should take some attention off of their other star reciever Lee Evans. Everyone in the sports world is again holding their breath to see what TO will do next, which is just the way TO wants it to be.

Top 10 TO moments

Blogging

So far my blogging experience hasnt been to bad. Although it hasnt been bad i wouldnt say it has been enjoyable either but just another assignment. On the up side though it is about something i enjoy to watch and think about so it hasnt killed me to be writing about writing about. Now however i think i am going to switch the attention of my blog over to all sports considering the NFL season is over. I will mostly be focusing on professional and college basketball because that is one of the only things goin on in the sports world right now and is one of my favorite sports to watch. For the NBA my favorite team is the Denver Nuggets who have my favorite player, Carmelo Anthony. For college my favorite team other than the Hawkeyes is the Pittsburgh Panthers.

2009 Draft Class

In my opinion this years draft class is very weak compared to recent years. I dont see any of this years quarterbacks to come out and be rookie stars like Joe Flacco who led the Ravens in the playoffs and Falcons standout Matt Ryan who also led Atlanta in the playoffs. The projected first pick of the draft is Georgia quarterback Mathew Stafford to the Detroit Lions. I dont think that Stafford has the capabilities to bring the Lions back to a winning season anytime in the near future and that they would be better off looking for a proven quarterback already in the league. Other notable quarterback in the draft are Mark Sanchez from USC and Graham Harrel of Texas Tech. Im excited to see how this years wide receivers turn out in the NFL in the future. Im most excited to see Texas Techs Michael Crabtree who won the award for best receiver this year and last year. Also speed demons Percy Harvin and Jeremy Maclin, who is also a return threat on special teams. I think that Jeremy Maclin will have a better chance of succeeding because he is bigger than Percy Harvin who has greater speed but is very small. However im not very excited about the runningbacks of this draft class either. The two most notable runningbacks of the draft are Georgias Knowshon Moreno and Ohio States Chris Beanie Wells. Although both of these runningbacks were very good in college i dont know if they have what it takes to be great professionals and people you can build your team around.

XLIII

On Sunday the Pittsburgh Steelers became the football champions of the world with a win over the Arizona Cardinals. This was one of the most exciting Super Bowls in recent history. Coming into the fourth quarter it looked like everyone was right and the Pittsburgh Steelers would come out with an easy victory over the Cardinals but Arizona had a different plan. Halfway through the fourth quarter Kurt Warner hooked up with Larry Fitzgerald for a one yard touchdown. Then with less than four minutes left the Cardinals punted the ball away which looked like it might be the end of their Super Bowl hopes. Less than a minute later the Arizona defense caused a safety complements of a hold by Justin Hartwig. Not more than twenty seconds later Larry Fitzgerald scored a sixty four yard touchdown to put the Cardinals up 23-20. With only two and a half minutes left the Steelers put together a game winning drive that will be remember for a long time in Super Bowl history. The first big play of the drive was a forty yard pass to Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes which put them in striking distance. Then with thirty seconds left Roethlesberger hooked up with Holmes again with a six yard pass to him in the corner of the end zone for a spectacular catch. The catch was so close to being out of bounds they had to review it in the booth for a few minutes before it was official.

2009 Super Bowl

Super Bowl forty three will be a showdown between the Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers in Tampa Bay, Florida in two weeks. The Steelers are definately the favorite to win the Super Bowl with the number one ranked defense in the NFL and led by sensational Quarterback Ben Rothlesberger. They also have one of the best Safeties in the game today with Troy Potamolu who is definately a game changer and causes defensive coordinaters to plan the game around him. Although if they want to come out with a win they are going to need a better performance out of runningback Willie Parker who only rushed for 47 yards on 24 carries in the AFC Championship game. The Cardinals on the other hand cant be counted out being led by quarterback Kurt Warner who has experience winning a Super Bowl and also could very well be the league MVP. He also has two dangerous weapons in recievers Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin who are two of the best recievers in the game right now. I personally think that the Steelers will come out with the win in this game in what i think will be a surprisingly high scoring game. I think that the Steelers defense will come up in the clutch when they need it to and Big Ben seems to play at his best under pressure.

AFC Champs

The Pittsburgh Steelers came out as AFC champs today after beating the Ravens in a nail biter 23-14. A big reason for this was the poor performance by Ravens rookie quarterback Joe Flacco who threw three costly interceptions one of which was returned for a touchdown sealing the game for the Steelers. He also only went 13/30 for 141 yards and an 18.2 quarterbacking rating. The Steelers number ranked defense not only held the Ravens to 141 yards through the air and taking three interceptions but also held them to under 100 yards on the ground. On the other side of the ball Ben Rothlesberger had a decent game going 16/33, 255 yards and a touchdown and leading the Steelers to a win. Big Ben threw his only touchdown to reciever Santonio Holmes who caught two passes for 70 yards including the 65 yard touchdown pass.The Pittsburg running game on the other hand was shut down only going for 53 yards. Today was the third time that the Steelers beat in division rivals the Ravens this year proving their dominance over the East. Coach Mike Tomlin is now taking the Steelers to the Super Bowl in only his second season as the head coach of the team. If the Steelers win in two weeks in Tampa against the Cardinals they will be the only team with six Super Bowl wins in the league.

NFC Champs

Today the Arizona Cardinals became the NFC champions after beating the Eagles 32-25. Going into this game they were the first No. 4 seed ever to host an NFC Championship game. The Cardinals went down 25-24 with 10 minutes left until Kurt Warner drove them done the field for a game winning touchdown to Eddie Hightower with just under three minutes left. Larry Fitzgerald was a big part of the win with the first three touchdowns of the game for Arizona and having nine catches for 152 yards on the day. Kurt Warner had a huge day going for 21/28, 279 yards, 4 touchdowns, and no interceptions. Edgerin James led Arizona in rushing with 73 yards on 16 carries. The Cardinal defense also forced three turnovers two of which were fumble recoveries and the other a interception by Aaron Francisco. An underlying story to this was the injured Brian Westbrook being again held under 50 yards on the ground. However Donovan McNabb and Correll Buckhalter made up a little for this loss by running for a combined 52 yards. One of the biggest game changers in the game was the flea flicker for the Cardinals that went for a 62 yard touchdown to Larry Fitzgerald. The Cardinals also achieved some more firsts by going to the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history and being the first team with 9 or fewer wins to reach the Super Bowl since 1979. The Cardinals will now play the Steelers in the Super Bowl.

Ed Reed

This post is all about my favorite Defensive player in the NFL, Ed Reed, and also arguably the best safety in the game right now. Ed Reed is an instruemental piece to the Ravens devistating defence. The seven year veteran out of the University of Miami is leading the NFL in interceptions with an amazing 9, two of which have been returned for a touchdown. One of the interceptions he returned for a touchdown was a NFL record return for 108 yards beating his own previous record of 106 yards. Also all of his interception return yards added up for 264 yards. He was also the only unanimous AP All-pro pick which says alot in its self. He also recieves high praise from his Head coach John Harbough. "He has a tremendous feel for the game," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said of Reed, who made his third All-Pro squad. "Very, very intelligent player, studies it as well or better than anybody. And he's a highly disciplined player. He plays his position as well as anybody I've ever seen." To go along with all his interceptions he also recorded 41 tackles on the season leading the Ravens secondary. Just his presence on the field alone causes trouble for offensive coordinaters and make them mold their game plan around him. He is an indespensible part of the Ravens defence and intimidater just like thirteenth year linebacking teammate Ray Lewis.

AFC Championship

The AFC will come down to the late season rivalry between the Ravens and Steelers. The Steelers won the last meeting in a close 13-9 game. The Ravens got into the playoffs by way of wildcard because of the loss to the Steelers. They then played the Dolphins in the wildcard game and blew them out in Baltimore fashion and holding them to single digits, 27-9. The Ravens rookie quarterback didnt play the best in his first playoff appearance throwing 9/23 and 135 yards. The running game was head up by Le'Ron McClain with 75 yards and then Willis Mcgahee with 62 yards. Also as usual the Baltimore Ravens defense came up with 4 interceptions and 1 fumble. Veteran safety Ed Reed accounted for two of these interceptions and returning one of them for six. Their next challenge was the number one see Tennessee Titans. They won the game in a nail bitter 13-10. The difference in the game was the Ravens defence again, coming up with an interception and 2 fumble recovery. Joe Flacco also recovered from is terrible first game with a decent second game going 11/22, 161 yards and one touchdown. The Steelers won the AFC East and got a first bye in the playoffs. This turned out to be important because Big Ben suffered a concussion in their last regular season game. He then recovered over the week off and they beat the Chargers in the Divisional Playoff game. Willie Parker was an instruemental piece in this win by rushing for 145 yards on 27 carries. The Steeler defence also forced two turnovers that were very big.

NFC Championship

The NFC championship will come down to the Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals. The Eagles got there by first getting a wild card bid because they did not win their division. They then held Adrian Peterson in check and beat the Vikings in the NFC wild card game. They held Adrian Peterson, one of the best running backs in the league, to only 83 yards. The Eagles however were held to 67 rushing yards as a whole team. Donovan McNabb however picked up the slack throwing for 300 yards and one touchdown. Then today the under dog Eagles took down the NFC favorites, the Giants. Again the Eagles running game was held under 100 yards with only 59. McNabb also didnt have the best day throwing 22/40 and only 217 yards and 2 interceptions. The Eagles defence was the main part in the Eagles win and hold the Giants to 3/5 in the red zone. All of the Giants points were also field goals. The Cardinals who they will be facing got into the playoffs by winning the NFC South. In the wild card game they took out the hot Atlanta Falcons in a nail biter. All-star recievers Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin both had a touchdown. Kurt Warner also went 19/32, and threw for 271 yards and two touchdowns. The next week they had to take out the Carolina Panthers. They beat them in a 33-13 win that wasnt as close as the score shows. The Cardinal defence came up big with 5 interceptions and 1 fumble recovery. In this match up i think that the Cardinals will come out with the win. Their pass offense is too good and also have Edgerin James to hand it off to.