the air

The Chicago Bears beat Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24 - 21 in OT. I have to admit this has been a quite abysmal performance again by the Bears. At halftime, the Bears were leading 24 - 3, but the second-half was anything but glorious. With some luck and errors by the Bears defense, the Bucs were able to close in and tie the game. Although the Bucs won possession in OT, they quickly punted and the Bears missed the field goal to win the game. Once the Bucs got it again, the Bears defense showed the crowed why they are the best in the NFL and the Bears regained possession of the ball. This time around, Gould made the field goal and won.

Grossman finished the game 29 of 44 for 339 yards. That’s a career high for him. Desmond Clark caught seven passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns. Unfortunately, Hestor fumbled the ball 3 times and lost it once. It also marked the first time that Hestor joined Grossman on offense. With this win, the Bears won the NFC and earned home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. An incredible feat given that just a few years ago, the Bears were struggling greatly. The Bears have to pick up the slack and perform much better than today’s game if they have any hope of avoiding an early exit.

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For the second time this season, the Chicago Bears defeated the Minnesota Vikings 23-13. This was also the game that had 10 turnovers in a single game, the highest in the NFL this season.

As usual, Rex Grossman was inconsistent and did not perform at superb levels expected of him. He finished the game 6 for 19 passing with 34 total yards. In addition, he threw for 3 interceptions, 2 of which were thrown in the first half alone. Cedric Benson led the Bears in rushing with a total of 60 yards. Once again, Hester had a touchdown on special teams return. Not surprisingly, the Bears finished the game with only 107 total yardage, compared to 348 total yards for Minnesota.

The first half was absolutely horrendous for the Bears. Although they led 7 to 3 at halftime, the Bears struggled offensively. However, the Bears picked it up in the second half and built up a good cushion. With the win, the Bears clinch the NFC North for the third time in six seasons. The Bears still have some ways to go before they can become division champs, but they are leading the NFC and I am expecting the Bears to win the division. However, this win did come at a high price. The Bears lost defensive tackle Tommie Harris to a leg injury late in the 3rd quarter.

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USC fell to UCLA, 13-9 on a late interception thrown by John Booty. For most of the game, USC did not have a strong lead over the Bruins. In fact, it appeared to me that this was not the same USC team that easily beat the Irish just last week.

The Associated Press article does a pretty good job of summing up the game. John Booty ended the game with 23/29 for 272 yards passing with one interception. He was sacked twice for a total loss of 11 yards. Gable had 20 carries for 52 yards and one touchdown. Jarrett was held to only 1 carry for a loss of 3 yards.

I’m really disappointed in the Trojans. I was rooting for the Trojans to return to the national championship game and go for another trophy. However, since the Trojans are PAC-10 champions, they will return to Pasadena and play in the equally prestigious Rose Bowl.

As for the national championship, we will have to wait until later today to find out who will play Ohio State for the national championship. Hopefully it’ll be Michigan since I want to see both teams have a fierce rematch.

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I came across an article on MSNBC.com which talks about two of the most heated debates in the NBA today:

• the new synthetic ball
• zero-tolerance policy towards arguing calls with referees

I thought I was the only one who noticed an increased amount of technical fouls being handed out during many games, but this article confirms that there literally has been an increase in the number of technical fouls handed out. I agree with the principles behind the policy, however, I disagree with the power that the referees have. To me, it seems that there are some referees in the NBA who simply love to call technical fouls on players if they even give them a dirty look or whisper something under their breath. I understand why the NBA doesn’t want its players arguing or creating a major scene with the refs, but at the same time, the refs should exercise some constraint before calling a technical. I’m not a big fan of Kobe, but if a questionable foul or call is made against him, I think it is only fair that Kobe question the call, as long as he does it with great respect. However, these refs simply call technical fouls even if the player is civil.

As for the new ball, I really don’t have an opinion. However, I do agree with the Players’ Association that the issue of introducing a new type of ball in the game should have been discussed with the players thoroughly. Again, this emphasizes my point that the NBA acts as an irresponsible corporation simply because they have no competitor and no federal regulations. In addition, I think David Stern has improved the quality of the game and made NBA games one of the hottest shows in the US, however, his anti-player stance is detrimental to his legacy and his reign.

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Third ranked USC Trojans easily man-handled the sixth ranked Irish 44 - 24. John Booty completed the game with 17 for 28 passes, for three touchdowns, two interceptions and one sack. Brady Quinn finished the game with 21 for 44 passes, for three touchdowns, 0 interceptions and two sacks. Continue Reading »

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