Sunday Rundown

I've been MIA for a while, but not without good reason. My dad told me I should get to the point on here and no one wants to hear about how tired I am. Ha. Well, I don't tell you because you care, I tell you because I want you to know why I've slacked off! Work, work, and more work . . . but I'm not complaining at all because I'm thankful that I even have a job, much less one that I enjoy doing. But I digress.

Nice, full day of good football games. The Dallas Cowboys just barely held on for the win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but a win's a win, I guess. Just ask the Detroit Lions, who got close (again) but couldn't seal the deal against the Washington Redskins. Nice to see that they're still putting in an effort. Nicer to see Roy Williams doing what he should be doing and wasn't doing in Detroit - scoring. He couldn't do that for the Lions but he got that chance on Sunday in the Cowboys game. Hopefully, as long as the Cowboys keep winning, he won't fuss too much, but let's see how many more TD's Williams can catch before T.O. raises a ruckus.

The Philadelphia Eagles, and more specifically, Brian Westbrook, looked pretty good against the surprising Atlanta Falcons. Coming off an injury and rushing for nearly 175 yards is deserving of the top performer of the week award, I'd say.

The NFL crossed the pond again for the New Orleans Saints vs. San Diego Chargers game in London on Sunday. Last year, I noted that it was a mucky mess, so this year had nowhere to go but up. This year, the fans actually got to see some offense. Even LaDainian Tomlinson broke out of his season and almost-a-half long funk to step up his game. Perhaps I'm just a cynic, but I can't help but think that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell put in a call to the Saints and Chargers and asked them to go easy on the defense? If you're a fantasy football player (which, thankfully, this year I am not), you might want to take that into account for the Europe game every year. I also thought it was kind of cute (yes, I am a female) how one team (the Saints) was designated the "home team," and the fans waved Saints pennants and cheered loudly. A small touch but maybe just enough to make these guys not sulk so much about "having to" be the ones to make the ocean-jump mid-season.

More and more, it's looking like the "Terrible Three" (aka, the Lions, Cincinnati Bengals, and the Rams) might just be the Terrible Two. For the past few weeks, the Rams have looked like they really are interested in winning some games. Even the Lions are still making an effort. The Bengals, however, appear to have just given up. They don't get as much press for their terrible performance (they're now a perfect 0-8), perhaps because they don't have the legacy of losing of the Lions nor have they fallen from the ranks like the Rams, or maybe just because it's Cincinnati. And now that it looks like Carson Palmer is done for the rest of the season, the Bengals (who have been done for a long time aready) just never be mentioned again . . . unless, maybe, Ocho Cinco gets an 85 tattooed across his forehead.

Speaking of not-achieving (a step worse than underachieving, which implies that you are actually capable of achieving in the first place), the San Francisco 49ers, on the heels of firing their coach Mike Nolan last week, still looked a mess. Only everyone's not just going to roll over and die. New coach Mike Singletary has only been on the sidelines one game but already he's fed up and is not going to take it anymore. He sent underachieving (yes, he's capable) tight end Vernon Davis to the showers early, and benched his other major (in more than one way) underachiever, quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan. You have to watch the video of Singletary getting in Davis' face. Singletary's post-game interview definitely teetered on the edge of "rant" status - which makes him worthy of MYSM-status. Thanks, Mike.

You gotta love a man who's not afraid to go in and shake things up right from the start. I'm a firm believer that good things happen when you make a clean break from the status quo rather than gradually trying to turn things around. I'm definitely interested in seeing how this one shakes out . . . loving even more that we're not counting up black NFL coaches.

Monday Night Football should also be a good one, with Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts meeting the undefeated Tennessee Titans. Although, the Colts even record of wins and losses accurately reflects the likelihood that this game will be as good as it should be.

I'm Winning!!!

I know some of you cared more whether your favorite team won or lost (mine won), but the only thing I really cared about this Sunday was whether I'm winning in my Fantasy Football league. Which I am, thus far. I don't believe in jinxing, I believe in talent.

Here's a run-down of what I consider to be the top events in the NFL (recognizing my Fantasy Football bias):

1. Carson Palmer!! He threw six touchdowns. His opponent threw 5. Most TD's thrown by two QB's in almost 38 years. And Palmer and the Cincinatti Bengals still lost to the Cleveland Browns . . . but Palmer gained me 44 points, compensating for the dump LT took on my scoreboard. Yes, LaDainian Tomlinson played, but he might as well not have for the numbers he put up. The Bengals don't have to play defense at all this season as long as they keep scoring. Even better, nobody had the Browns' QB, so I didn't get "Romo'd" this week.

2. Old man Favre (Brett, that is) is not just hanging on, he's playing out of his mind. Not only did he catapult the Green Bay Packers over Eli Manning and the NY Giants, but he set the all-time record for wins by a QB. The previous owner of that record was none other than Coach Elway. As I told my cousin, I know he had that painkiller addiction, but I'm inclined to think he must be taking a whole lot of them right now to still be playing like he is. In any event, way to stick it to all the critics who said you should retire with dignity, Favre.

3. Vince Young is Cool Hand Luke on the football field. Cool as a cucumber, or the underside of the pillow, there's no panic from this guy. At least he doesn't show it. Even though I don't have him on my team, I like his style. And he has one of the best QB names around. And he and the Tennessee Titans almost swiped another one from Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts. Someone should tell him to stop taking naps in the locker room during halftime.

4. Jamal Lewis has gone from pleading guilty in 2005 to using his cell phone to help his friend set up a drug deal (oh boy), and spending 4 months in jail as a result, to rushing for over 200 yards (that's good, NPT) today in the Browns' win over the Bengals. His offense may top the list of "What were you thinking? Or maybe you weren't, and that's the problem." I just hope he found better friends. Keep fighting the good fight, Jamal.

I was at an ESPNZone watching most of these games, and the one thing I concluded is that ESPN is making a killing off of football season. They have a policy that if they have a "sell out" (meaning no tables "indefinitely" as I was told) you have to spend $10 per person, per hour.

I asked my friend what ESPN does when there's no football on, and he said that he would come there to watch a NASCAR race. Apparently, he didn't understand that I was asking about other sports that one would watch there.