The holiday’s are over, the new year is here and now it’s time to move past them and straight into the NFL Playoffs where the stakes are high and the intensity even higher. The regular season is over and now only the undefeated team from this point will obtain Super Bowl glory. My guess is that the New England Patriots will be raising the Lombardi Trophy this year; they just look too good and have all parts working at this right time of year. But you never know which team is going to make all the right plays and none of the wrong ones and advance to the Super Bowl. Before last year nobody would have thought the New Orleans’ Saints would have made it and won against a tough Peyton Manning? So here we go, it’s win or go home now and who’s going to be the team to go home last with the ultimate trophy in their possession?
There is plenty to watch for the first full week of 2011 and you will want to watch to get a jump start on all the memories this year is sure to bring. Enjoy!
Top Games To Watch
1. NFL – New York Jets at Indianapolis Colts – Jan. 8 @ 8 pm
The young, upstart Jets being lead by second year quarterback Mark Sanchez, have the swagger and ability to play among the best but will they show up against a hard-nosed veteran team like the Colts? We know Peyton Manning will show up and give it everything he has and expect his team to do the same. After meeting in last years AFC Championship, the Jets were sent home and Peyton and the Colts went on to lose in the Super Bowl. The Jets have been talking themselves up since before the season even started and now it is their chance to put-up-or-shut-up and back up all that talk. I’m sure Peyton would love to teach them a little thing about hubris though. Watch to see which will move on and which will move onto the off season.
2. NFL – Green Bay Packers at Philadelphia Eagles – Jan. 9 @ 4:30 pm
Aaron Rogers was able to overcome a late season concussion and got his Packers into the playoffs while Mike Vick has been able to perform better than ever and has been a post season favorite most of the season. Now it’s time to see if Vick can truly show he’s not the man he was before the dog-fighting and actually a better one. If he can lead Philadelphia deep into the playoffs he will have come full circle and proven his critics wrong. But Aaron Rogers has waited many years behind Brett Favre and now has a chance to show that the Packers made the right decision in going with him over Brett. See which quarterback continues his way into the record books and which will have to wait until next year.
3. NHL – Tampa Bay Lightning at Washington Capitals – Jan. 4 @ 7 pm
Fresh off their Winter Classic victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Capitals will be looking to move into first place with a big win over the Lightning who are in the exact same position as the Capitals and could very well move into first themselves. There are still plenty of games to be played in the season but big wins over other top teams for a long way for a teams psyche and building momentum. These teams know each other and know that they could very well face each other in the post season and having a regular season victory over the other will go a long way for pride. Alex Ovechkin has turned around the Capitals who suffered a long losing streak but have since regained their winning ways and this win will mean a lot to the young star. This should be a rough and tumble game that will go down to the final horn and even then it may not be decided. This should be fun.
Things To Keep An Eye On
- The NHL season is chugging along and the top tier teams are starting to separate from the pack. Check out these standings and then go to the schedule to see when your favorite team is playing.
- Supposedly Brett Favre has said that he will not return next year but until next season officially begins I will not believe it.
- This college football bowl season doesn’t have a lot to offer (I feel) and really the only game left to look forward to is the National Championship Game between Oregon and Auburn on the 10th. But for a complete list of results and upcoming games, visit the scoreboard to get all the info.
