The Baltimore defense shut down the Carolina attack, and QB Joe Flacco played a virtually mistake free game as the Ravens built a 14-3 halftime lead before going on to beat the Panthers 17-13. The banged up Panthers scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to make the final score respectable, but were never really in the game.
Despite the fact that neither their starting QB Carson Palmer nor his Indy counterpart Peyton Manning saw action, the Cincinnati Bengals will take their wins however and whenever they can get them. For that reason, they had to be heartened by their NFL preseason ending 38-7 home rout of the Indianapolis Colts. The Bengals rushing game put 296 yards on the board and Cincinnati trounced Indianapolis in every significant offense statistical category. The Bengals evened their NFL preseason record at 2-2, while the Colts dropped to 1-3.
Though it enjoyed solid fan support and was popular among sports betting enthusiasts, arena football fell off the map with the demise of the Arena Football League. The AFL suspended play under the weight of a poor business model in 2009 and later pulled the plug altogether. Since then, a new league has announced plans to take its place. Arena Football One (AF1 for short) will begin play in April and on Thursday secured a TV contract to broadcast games on the NFL Network in the United States. The TV deal should help the new arena football entrant to get off to a successful start as they attempt to revive the sport. Obviously the long term goal is a deal with a major network like Fox or ESPN but a good relationship with the NFL never hurts.
The bad news for the Baltimore Ravens in their 2009 NFL regular season opener was that their vaunted defense gave up 24 points despite holding a decided advantage in every other statistical category. The good news was that their offense was more than up to the task, answering with 38 points and a franchise record 501 yards. All told, the Ravens opened their season on a winning note beating the Kansas City Chiefs 38-24.
Until Sunday, it looked as if the return of Brett Favre to the NFL would have a storybook ending and propel the Minnesota Vikings to the Superbowl. Instead, the New Orleans Saints will be heading to the Superbowl for the first time in franchise history. Garrett Hartley nailed a 40 yard field goal in overtime to give the Saints a 31-28 victory in the NFC Championship game after Brett Favre was intercepted deep in Saints territory during the final seconds of regulation.
Rumors of the New England Patriots demise are clearly premature. Two weeks after being thoroughly outplayed by the New York Jets, the Pats have won two straight and on Sunday ended the Baltimore Ravens undefeated start to the NFL season with a 27-21 victory. They needed a little luck along the way”usually sure handed receiver Mark Clayton dropped a wide open fourth down pass in the final minute to kill a potential game winning drive deep in New England territory. Both teams are now 3-1 on the season.
Alexis Arguello, one of the greatest boxers to ever compete, was found dead in his Managua, Nicaragua home in early July of an apparent suicide. He was 57 years old. Arguello was the mayor of Nicaragua’s capital city at the time of his death.
The Portland Trailblazers have needed a big inside presence ever since starting center Greg Oden and backup Joel Pryzbilla went down with season ending injuries. They finally found one on Tuesday as they acquired veteran Marcus Camby from the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers received forward Travis Outlaw and guard Steve Blake.
Seattle’s Matt Hasselbeck and Denver’s Kyle Orton both played fairly well in the first half, but the Seahawks reserves pulled away in the second half. The Seahawks improved to 2-0 on the NFL preseason with a 27-13 win while the Broncos dropped to 0-2 in their exhibition contests.
After a summer of negotiational back and forth during which both sides indicated at various points that they were far apart and then making progress, the Portland Trailblazers have inked All Star shooting guard Brandon Roy to a five year contract extension. Roy will be in the final year of his rookie contract in the forthcoming NBA season, and securing the services of a player that did no less than turn around the franchise was the teams top summer priority.