Our Monday sports round-up features 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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1. A Wild Divisional Playoff Weekend: Packers, Seahawks, Patriots, and Colts Advance
We bring you the defining plays of the weekend, one per game:
Packers/Cowboys: The Dez Bryant Catch/Overturned And Ruled Not-A-Catch: You Make The Call!
The Detroit Lions would say: “What goes around, comes around” and “Karma’s a bitch.” Oh wait, they sort of did:
Sorry @dallascowboys. We know the feeling: http://t.co/CfC95Nj3Q6. #CompletingTheProcesspic.twitter.com/7xuEA9FH49
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) January 11, 2015
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Seahawks/Panthers: The Kam Chancellor Pick-Six
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Patriots/Ravens: The Julian Edelman Double-Pass
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Colts/Broncos: Luck Trends Up, The Manning Face & The End of the Road For Peyton?
Andrew Luck is feeling his oats.
And deservedly so:
“I’d like to think I’m a better quarterback and we’re a better team and more well-equipped to handle the unknown and the unforeseen.”
Meanwhile, Manning’s balls looked like Babe Laufenberg circa Tecmo Football in the early 1990s.
Manning Struggle Face. #NFLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/xEUHMNgN5p
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 12, 2015
To be fair, news today indicates that Manning was playing with a torn quad. Although it must also be said that this time of year, no one is playing at full strength. Aaron Rodgers sure wasn’t, but got the job done:
Hi. I’m Aaron Rodgers. And I’m gimpy less mobile Aaron Rodgers . . . @dallascowboys @packers
— Michael Kasdan (@michaelkasdan) January 11, 2015
At any rate, at age 38, Peyton Manning has some thinking to do this off-season.
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2. The Buffalo Bills Hire Rex Ryan. Unfortunately He Is a Bad Football Head Coach.
It’s been many years since the glory years of Marv Levy at the helm of teams led by Jim Kelly, Andre Reed, Thurman Thomas, Bruce Smith, and Daryl Talley. Or even Frank Reich. From Norwood’s “Wide right!” to the years of concern of losing the team to Toronto, being a Bills fan seems an unhappy existence.
And now they’ve gone and hired Rex Ryan, describing him as “the best fit.”
We covered Rex Ryan and whether he was a good head football coach here. (Hint: the answer is, he’s not a very good one.)
Like former Dallas Cowboy’s rabbits foot and Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, Ryan is all bluster and bravado, but does little to back it up.
We are shaking our collective heads.
Poor Bills.
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3. The Knicks Are Blowing It Up . . . Finally.
At 5-35, the New York Knicks trail even teams that are TRYING to lose, like the Philadelphia 76ers.
Read that again. Oh yes. It’s that bad.
Despite the presence of Phil Jackson, they have been completely Zen-less.
Even Taylor Swift could not save them.
And so the dismantling process has begun:
Goodbye to crazy JR Smith. Goodbye to Iman Shumpert. Any takers for Bargnani or Calderon?
Thank God they signed Carmelo to that gigantic contract this off-season.
Where have you gone Anthony Mason and John Starks? A Knicks Nation turns its lonely eyes to you . . .
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Photo Credit(s): Twitter.
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For back-issues of our weekly “So…This Happened. Three Things in Sports,” see:
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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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Dec. 22, 2014 Edition: The Raiders host Ava Urrea, Zach Doubek returns on the court, Kentucky Men’s Basketball dismantles UCLA, and . . . well . . . Odell Beckham Jr.
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Dec. 15, 2014 Edition: Odell Beckham Jr. (again!), Johnny Manziel being shown the money (but not how he imagined), and a wonderful speech by Notre Dame’s women’s basketball coach about activism by athletes – and all of us – in the wake of the death of Eric Garner.
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December 8, 2014 Edition: Eric Garner protests by athletes, Andre Johnson’s Christmas toy shopping spree for kids, and the Legend of Odell Beckham Jr. grows.
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December 1, 2014 Edition: Ferguson protest by the St. Louis Rams, what’s good about sports from Ohio State/Michigan, and an epicly bad loss by the NY Football Giants.
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November 24, 2014 Edition: Odell Beckham, The Red Sox, and Kentucky Wildcats basketball
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