10 Most Memorable of NFL 2010-11

The Lockout's over and I had the AC cranked up so high today it felt like mid-December. That means it's time to start looking forward to another season of NFL football. But let's first look back at what gets us so excited, those incredible Sunday (and Monday night) moments. Here are the 10 most memorable from last season: 

1. Jackson's punt return seals stunning comeback 
With a 21-point fourth quarter lead, the Giants were on their way to gaining an upper hand in the NFC East. Then, in just more than eight minutes, it all fell apart. Michael Vick led the Eagles all the way back, tying the game at 31. One of the NFL's most dynamic players finished it. 



2. Garrard's hail mary
David Garrard...big strong-armed QB. 'Nuff said.


3. Scobee hits 59-yard FG to beat Colts
They didn't make the playoffs but the Jags did have a flair for the dramatic, notching two of the top three spots on this list. In this Week 4 contest, Scobee takes down the division big dog.


4. Lynch goes into beast mode
Not many thought the 7-9 Seahawks could knock off the defending champion Saints on Wild Card Weekend. Most didn't even think they deserved to be in the Playoffs. Marshawn Lynch emphatically proved those many doubters wrong. 


5. Divine intervention
It's pretty common to see players thank God after a big moment. You don't usually see them blame God for a costly mistake. Cue the Bills' Stevie Johnson...

Here's his dropped TD in OT that led to those dramatics.



6. Sanchez bootleg, Taylor safety propel Jets
Two plays earn the six spot, as both were instrumental in the Jets' huge Week 15 victory at Heinz Field. Sanchez's 4th and 1 bootleg TD fooled even the cameraman and tied the game. Taylor's late safety pushed the Jets' lead to five, forcing the Steelers to need a TD they couldn't get on their last drive.




7. Matthews forces fumble in Dallas
The Steelers were gaining traction in Super Bowl XLV, down four and driving down the field. Clay Matthews promptly halted that, crushing Rashard Mendenhall and forcing a fumble to give the Packers the football. They would score, creating an 11-point deficit that was too large for the Steelers.


8. Big Ben to Brown bomb
The gritty battles between AFC North rivals Pittsburgh and Baltimore usually come down to a couple plays. In this Divisional playoff tussle, Big Ben cut through the cold January air to put Pittsburgh in position for the win. 



9. Santonio breaks stalemate
Offseason addition Santonio Holmes made a lot of significant catches in his first season with the Jets. Time was waning and it looked like the Jets and Browns were going to play to a tie with the way Nick Folk was kicking. But Holmes broke free and made sure Folk would not see the field. 


10. He did WHAT?
No it's not Antonio Freeman's miraculous MNF catch that did in the Vikings.  But Al Michaels was on the mic for another improbable play with the Packers again involved. It didn't decide the game or anything but it was a historic return- by an offensive lineman. 


   

Bold (and not-so-bold) MLB Second Half Predictions

It counted- and the NL got home-field advantage. You may have watched or just taken a three-day respite from baseball but at any rate, the All-Star break is over and it's time for the second half. That can only mean it's also time for some predictions to look back at come October and say wow, those were really stupid but one was really good, so I'll do them again next year!

• The Yankees and Red Sox will go down to the wire for the AL East 
• They will not determine a division winner until their final series in the Bronx September 23-25.   Both teams will cautiously play starters though as the division loser has already clinched the Wild Card (so much for heated pennant races).    

•  But the Yankees won’t have the pitching to get to the World Series 
• While it has been a very strong first half for a cobbled together back end of the rotation, you have to wonder if Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia are going to pitch that good all season. They are fourth and fifth starters and solid rookie Ivan Nova is waiting in the minors but the Yankees cannot afford them to implode with Phil Hughes an uncertainty too. At the end of the day though the Yankees’ frontline starters are going to have trouble matching up come playoff time. A first round matchup with whoever wins the AL West would be very dicey. Texas can out-hit the Yankees  and in a short series with the Angels I take Weaver/Haren/Santana over Sabathia/Burtnett/Hughes or Colon or Garcia (?). Sabathia alone cannot carry the Yankees to a World Series. Andy Pettitte was the second dependable playoff starter and without him, I think the Yankees will have an uphill battle come playoff time. 

•  The currently fourth place Twins will win the AL Central  
• No, not the Tigers or surprising Indians who have been battling it out through the first half. The Twins are 24-11 since getting off to a putrid 17-37 start. They’ve also been doing it while battling a rash of injuries. Jason Kubel, Delmon Young, Denard Span and Justin Morneau will all be back soon or sometime this summer and can only make them stronger. Pitching will propel the Twins over a Detroit team that lacks strong pitching outside Verlander and a young Indians team with 14 walkoff wins that is due to come down to earth. 

• The Pirates will finish over .500….but won’t make the playoffs 
• They’ve been one of the first half’s best stories, with exciting young players like Andrew McCutchen, Joel Hanrahan and Jose Tabata. Last year at this time, they were 30-58. Right now, they’re 47-43 and a game out in the NL Central. However, the Brewers and Cardinals will prove to be too strong and both will finish ahead of a Pirates team that finishes with 83 wins, breaking the 18-year under .500 streak

• Neither Jair Jurrjens or Jered Weaver will finish with sub 2.00 ERAs 
• In the past two decades, there have been seven seasons when a pitcher has done that. It’s a feat accomplished by just five pitchers in that time. Both have been incredible in the first half but the dog days of summer will lead to a few blowups and rising ERAs. In fact, I think it is Justin Verlander, 2.15 ERA at the break and a 0.84 ERA since June, who has the best shot.

• Both Matt Kemp and Jose Bautista will fall off some 
• They were arguably the two best in their respective leagues in the first half. Each will still finish with excellent numbers and top three in MVP voting but on teams that aren’t that good, without much support in the lineup, they will not be able to surpass stars on playoff contenders.

Playoff Picks

ALDS

Red Sox defeat Twins

Angels defeat Yankees

NLDS

Phillies defeat Brewers

Braves defeat Giants

ALCS

Red Sox defeat Angels

NLCS

Phillies defeat Braves

World Series

Phillies defeat Red Sox in 6

Awards

AL Cy Young: Justin Verlander

NL Cy Young: Cole Hamels

AL MVP: Adrian Gonzalez

NL MVP: Prince Fielder

AL Manager of the Year: Ron Gardenhire

NL Manager of the Year: Clint Hurdle

AL Rookie of the Year: Michael Pineda

NL Rookie of the Year: Craig Kimbrel

Leaving your mark

Defining moments don’t always come in championship games.

When the U.S. beat the U.S.S.R. in 1980’s ‘Miracle on Ice,’ it was not the gold medal game. It may have been one of the greatest sports moments ever but it did not assure that group top standing.

Just the same, the U.S. women’s soccer team’s win over Brazil was just a quarterfinal. Ali Krieger’s final PK strike was not for the title, as Brandi Chastain’s winner 12 years to the day was.  This win wasn't for a World Cup but it was a standout. The confounding calls of the referee that put the U.S. in such a difficult predicament, Brazil's stalling, the jump up and down moment of Abby Wambach heading Megan Rapinoe's perfect cross into the net when all hope looked lost and Hope Solo’s spectacular save to break the PK stalemate. Those all resonate as simply unforgettable.

But Abby Wambach said it best when she said for it to be truly historical they need to keep winning and get to the final.

There’s a very good chance that come a year or five or ten down the line it won’t be what the U.S. does against France today or if it reaches the final that we’ll wax poetic about. It will be the ten pound gorilla of a game that was U.S./Brazil, so chock full of drama that watching the replay later that day was like pulling out your favorite Oscar winning movie.

That said it’s easier to wax poetic about a champion’s struggles with adversity than one that falls short after a triumph. Landon Donovan’s extra time goal to keep the U.S.’ World Cup dreams alive last summer was captivating but you can’t help but then also think of the disappointment of the subsequent quarterfinal loss to Ghana.

It’ll be the same for the U.S. women. A loss to France would be an extreme disappointment after overcoming obstacles in the dramatic fashion they did to advance. Memorable moments will still be memorable even if the team is not a champion. They’ll still make best of lists and all that but something will be missing.

You don’t have to have your moment in the final game. A bunch of kids on skates proved that three decades ago in Lake Placid. People remember Mike Eruzione’s game winning goal and their Soviet slaying. They also remember that win led to a gold medal. How the U.S. women will be remembered, just what mark they will leave, is all theirs to determine. Wambach’s header will be the highlight. The comeback will live in lore. It will carry even more clout as a remarkable show of heart and spirit if it leads to a World Cup.

3,000 couldn't be sweeter for Jeter

When it comes to seizing a moment, it’s hard to beat Derek Jeter.

Criticism was swirling, calls mounting for him to be moved to 8th in the order in the midst of the chase for a historic milestone. But Saturday, Jeter did what he does best, captivate once again.

It wasn’t so much about the game, a July afternoon contest between AL East foes pretty commonplace. This was Derek Jeter’s day.

Booming chants of ‘Deh-rick Jeter,’ a Yankee Stadium crowd as frenzied as one come mid-October.  A 3-2 count, facing off with All-Star David Price, one of the game’s best young pitchers. Wouldn’t you know that Jeter, the guy who ‘doesn’t hit homeruns,’ clubs one into left field for hit #3,000. You could not do it in more dramatic fashion. Jeter makes Yankee Stadium or whatever field he’s on his own personal Broadway when all eyes are on him. And it wasn’t just a one-act play Saturday.

Jeter proceeded to finish 5 for 5, a triple away from the cycle. That’s the first five-hit game for any player at the new Yankee Stadium. Oh yeah, he also drove in the game winning run with his fifth and final hit of the day. A pretty good day out at the ballpark for the Yankee captain.

But if you’ve watched Jeter and the Yankees all these years, you shouldn’t be surprised. A flair for the dramatic is par for the course for #2. Oakland fans still have to shudder at the sight of Jeter, remembering him coming out of nowhere to flip the ball to Jorge Posada and get Jeremy Giambi out at home plate, keep the Yankees up 1-0, backs against the wall down 2-0 in the 2001 ALDS.

Though he hadn’t hit a homerun in the Bronx in nearly a year (an inside-the-park one against the Royals), some of Jeter’s most memorable moments are homers. The 10th inning shot off Byung-Yun Kim in the 2001 World Series that earned him the Mr. November moniker. His leadoff homer in game three of the Subway Series World Series of 2000. And even further back, one that shouldn’t have been, the infamous ball that the reach of 12-year-old Jeffrey Maier made a round-tripper against the Orioles in the ’96 ALCS. 

Yes, Jeter’s batting average and OPS are below average this season, especially for a team’s leadoff hitter. That can be forgotten for at least one day. The Yankees won, Mariano Rivera saved it in typical fashion but this game was all Derek Jeter’s. He seized the spotlight and shined. It was history that was inevitable but Jeter made unforgettable. An unparalleled performance in a game where a player got his 3,000th hit, an unparalleled feat for a Yankee. At 37, he’s no longer the best shortstop in the game but he is a legend and you can mark down July 9th as one of the legendary days on the laundry list of incredible for Derek Jeter.