Monday Big Five

What an eventful weekend in the world of sports! Naturally because its the NFL Playoffs is the focus of this week's Big Five.

1. The Trash Talking Jackas- I mean Jets Stomp Patriots.

Rex Ryan's mud slinging tactics seem to work their magic again. The Jets took down the heavily favored Pats in typical Jets fashion. If you were anywhere near sports media this week, you heard the all the hype before this game. From Antonio Cromartie's "Brady is a A**h****( let me give you a hint, it rhymes with glass bowl), *expletive* him!" to Wes Welkers press conference shots at Rex Ryan's foot fetish. This game was primed to be a hard hitting revenge game for both sides. Let's be honest, not many people didn't have the top seeded Patriots penciled in to beat these guys. Ever sense the Pats laided the lumber on the Jet's in that 45-3 victory, it was hard to believe they would ever beat them again. As the game started, it was clear that Gang Green came to play. Rex Ryan was able to confuse Tom Brady with many zone to man looks in the secondary (he dressed 10 defensive backs) and bringing pressure when it was needed. on the other side of the ball, Mark "The Sanchanator" Sanchez led the offence to an explosive game. It was apparent that the matchups that Braylon Edwards talked about were exploited. As good of a game that the Jets had, I saw more in the short comings of the Patriots. For the second straight year they were bounced in the early rounds of the playoffs. Tom Brady didn't stay mistake free like he did in the late part of the regular season. His wideouts didn't help much either. Crumpler and Branch dropped key passes that would have surely led to points. The defence looked flat and overall not their sharpest. I am starting to get the feeling that that the Patriot dynasty is over. The ghosts of Superbowl XLII hang over many of the players on this team. Sorry Tom, but I think your championship window has closed. This win undoubtedly gives a power shift to the Jets in the upcoming years in the AFC east and maybe the entire league.

2. Brown leads Steelers to Overwhelming Comeback

In the 4th quarter of this game, it seemed like we had seen this play out so many time. Another close Ravens-Steelers game. It's like the NFL put these two teams on Tivo and just showed a re-run. It was the 10th time in four years that these two teams battled it out. Don't think I'm sick of it though! This is great for the NFL! These two teams know each other so well it always makes for a good, physical game. It was shown right away when Hines Ward got a unnecessary roughness penalty on a rough block on the Raven's Ed Reed. From the begining it looked to be close, but that soon changed on a bizarre fumble that no Steeler or Raven player paid attention to. The fumble was scooped up by the Ravens and taken to the end zone to make the game 14-7. With the new found momentum, Joe Flacco led a strategic drive to up the lead to 21-7 late in the first half. The second half was a different story. Big Ben and the Steelers Defense took over the game. The Defense started to cause turnovers by the Raven's star players and Ben lit up the defence with the passes of a Superbowl Champion. One of the key plays of the comeback was Antonio Brown's 58 yard reception to bring it to the Raven's 3 yard line. This was maybe the biggest play of the young wide receiver's career. Mendenhall's 2 yard TD would seal the deal for the Steelers and a ticket to the AFC Championship game. The Steelers are not only primed for another AFC Championship, but another Superbowl ring. For the rest of the playoffs, they are truly the favorites to win it all.

3. Packers Dominate in the Georgia Dome

Coming into Saturday, Aaron Rodgers had only won one playoff game, Matt Ryan seemed to be unbeatable at home, and the result of the last game still hung in everyone's mind. Earlier in the season, the Falcons won on a field goal after a memorable drive by Rodgers that tied the game up. This was a new day though and a new day for the Packers to take advantage of. After a back and forth first half, the mistake free Matt Ryan  not only threw a pick 6 to Tramon Williams, but probably the game. The half time score was 28-14 Packers. The Packers came out in the second half on fire! Aaron Rodgers made all the throws and all the runs that he needed to make as he picked apart the strong Atlanta defense. The game would go on to become a blowout as the Pack rolled to a 48-21 victory. This win not only was a big win for the post Brett Favre Packer franchise, but a big win for Aaron Rodgers playoff legacy. In the three playoff games Rodgers has played in he is 2-1 with 10 passing TDs, 1 rushing TD, and only 1 interception. It seems every week that Rodgers is starting to look like one of the best playoff QBs in the NFL. I believe that Aaron Rodgers will one day get a ring. I don't know if its his time this year, but in the following years watch out for number 12! More importantly, this proves that many people just like me who were calling the Pack on of the best teams in the playoffs were right.

4. Bears Roast the Seahawks

After one of the best upsets playoff history, the Seahawks rolled in to Chicago hoping to keep their amazing run going. Many people believe that the Seahawks shouldn't be in the playoffs. I think you win the division, you have the right to host a playoff game no matter how bad your record is. In the first week, the Seahawks backed that up. The Bears had different plans. Jay Cutler had monster of a first playoff game as he delivered a great playoff win. The defense looked solid and they contained the explosive Mike Williams for most of the game. Maybe the least anticipated game of the weekend, it still had it's moments, most of them coming from the Bears. The interesting part of this game though was the ending. The Bears gave up a few touchdowns  late in the game. Was this giving up or a cause for concern? It is a concern in anticipation for next weeks game. A better team could easily take advantage of a Bear's defence that isn't quiet up to par. That's another story though. Until then the Bears look primed to take that final step and give the city of Chicago their second Superbowl.

5. The NBA Season so Far

What a season for the NBA! So many story lines to look at this year! The hot hot Heat, The Best of the West Spurs, and the lacking Lakers. One of the storys that interests me the most is how quiet the hype for the Spurs has been. Over the past few years, they have been a dominate force in the NBA. Many people forget they are just a few years removed from a championship. Once again, they are being over shadowed by the Lakers and other good teams. I don't think they mind being under the radar, so all I have to say to the Spurs is play on! Now for LA. Not just the Lakers but the Clippers. One of my new favorite players, Blake Griffin, is having a year in the NBA that I always wanted him to have. he has been getting more attention due to the fact that the Lakers are struggling. Coming in to this season, I assumed that it would be a two horse race for the West. The Lakers were the front runner. Now it seems all the Lakers do is lose to under .500 teams. Kobe is frustrated and the team seems to be in shambles. If you ask me, it looks as if the Lake Shows chances of a 3 peat might be getting canceled midway through this season. Don't worry LA Fans, your team still has a chance to right the ship but it still may not lead to an NBA Championship.

So this weeks big five has come to a close but its not over yet! There is a very nice slate of great college basketball games today! on the ESPN family of net works you will be able to see!

7 Villanova @ 8 Uconn 3:30 A great show of Big East basketball. A great show!
24 Kansas State @ 12 Missouri 5:30 K State tries to get back on track in a hostile environment.
3 Syracuse @ 4 Pitt 7:30 WATCH THIS GAME! This will be the best game of the night as Pitt tries to solve the mysterious 2-3 zone.
2 Kansas@ Baylor 9:30 Good game for the nightcap, The Big 12 is tough.

PICKS
Uconn
Missouri
Syracuse
Kansas

There you go! Have a happy MLK day and I'll see you Wednesday!