Our Monday sports round-up features the epic Green Bay collapse in Seattle, New England pasting the not-ready-for-their-closeup-yet Colts, and King James hating on his coach.
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1. The Epic Green Bay vs. Seattle NFC Championship Game
That sound you heard out of Green Bay on Sunday evening was the sound of a crushing how-exactly-did-this-happen defeat at the hands of the now Super Bowl bound Seattle Seahawks.
Was it an epic collapse by Green Bay? Or was it a comeback for the ages by the Seahawks?
Yes. It was both.
Or perhaps…it was destiny:
Seattle was down 16-0 at halftime. With Seattle’s Russell Wilson at that point having an abysmal game, the Seahawks scored their first TD on a gutsy fake FG throw to a little used offensive lineman. Then, trailing 19-7 with less than three minutes to go in the game, Seattle stormed back with a Wilson 1 yard TD run, a perfectly executed onside kick, a Beast Mode TD run, and a two-point conversion completion that should have never been completed. Green Bay tied the game at 22 with a FG, but two perfect strikes by Wilson in overtime put the game to bed and Seattle into the Super Bowl.
Russell Wilson. Winner.
As he said: “Between the onside kick, the fake field goal and the 2-point conversion, it was like destiny today.”
Russell Wilson. A Survivor. A Child of Destiny:
Those watching the game agree:
Either God loves Russell Wilson most or Pete Carroll sold his own soul to Satan. Or both. Either way, I can’t see either AFC team beating the Seahawks with their talent and their &@#king dark magic witchcraft.
– Rick Vazquez
In all events, the fans in Seattle are rejoicing:
I still don’t fully understand the game, but I do understand the thrill. It’s tribal, it’s coming together, it’s being allowed to have ALL the emotions, in public. It’s everything that the “real” world isn’t. I understand…. And it’s filling Seattle right now. A city that is utterly terrified, it seems, of having emotions. Thanks, Pete. We needed you.
– Alyssa Royce.
As for Pete Carroll himself? He was pleased:
“You showed what it is to believe in one another.” – @PeteCarroll #NFCChamps https://t.co/cAzreyuxDD
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) January 19, 2015
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2. Speaking of the AFC Team, Everyone’s Darling, the Indianapolis Colts, Got Throttled By The Patriots.
Patriots 45, Colts 7. I mean, even their left tackle scored a touchdown. It was not pretty, unless you are a Patriots fan. Or Bill Belichick. Or, we suppose, Tom Brady (or Gisele)
TB12 is PUMPED. #OnToSB49 pic.twitter.com/nw0rLJAKMr — New England Patriots (@Patriots) January 19, 2015
Wow. If you’re one of those people who hates Tom Brady, that picture is really going to upset you.
(Our work is done here.)
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3. The LeBron vs. Blatt Situation Is Heating Up
Things are not going swimmingly for the LeBron James-led Cavaliers. Er, we mean, the David Blatt-led Cavaliers. Well.
With an underwhelming 21-20 record, the first-year coach, who leads a superstar laden roster that includes James, Kevin Love, and Kyrie Irving, is having a tough go at it.
The Cavaliers went 1-9 in a 10-game stretch before beating the Lakers and Clippers in back-to-back games last week.
LeBron has missed time with injury.
And worst of all, it seems that James and Blatt do not get along. As reported by the LA Times and during the TNT broadcast of the Cavs game last week:
“However, there is one person in this building who can stop all this nonsense, and it’s LeBron James,” [Analyst Reggie] Miller said during the telecast. “If LeBron were to get in front of a microphone and say, ‘I’m tired of hearing all of this noise,’ we wouldn’t hear anything. ‘We’re rolling with this guy.’ But it’s the silence from LeBron James. . . . I understand he’s in a tough predicament, but he could stop all of this.”
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But he’s not doing that. Nope.
And without the support of the team’s (and the game’s) biggest superstar, it may soon be the end of the road for Blatt.
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Photo Credit(s): AP Photo/Tony Dejak
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For back-issues of our weekly “So…This Happened. Three Things in Sports,” see:
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January 12, 2015 Edition: The defining plays of Divisional Playoff Weekend in the NFL, The Bills choosing unwisely in Rex, and the Knicks finally begin the process of blowing it up.
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January 5, 2015 Edition: The passing of Stuart Scott, college football Bowl game madness, and Wild Card Weekend in the NFL starring Chris Christie.
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Dec. 29, 2014 Edition: JJ Watt’s stellar season, the poor Cleveland Browns, and the NFL playoff picture.
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Three things from yesterday … 1. The moment the camera cut to Clay Matthews face with about 4 minutes left to go. It was just elation … It was relief. As if the game was over. They blinked and the Team That Never Gave Up … Won. 2. The Colts reminded me of the Broncos in last years Super Bowl … Pretty much from the first play … They were off. And the Patriots never took their foot off the gas. 3. Haters gonna hate … But 6 trips to the Super Bowl, more post season wins that most franchises… Read more »