Best And Worst Of NFL Week 12

Well another week gone, and things are getting more and more interesting in the NFL as time goes by. The playoff picture, in the AFC at least, has gotten a little interesting. There was a little separation in the wild card race. The Jets and Dolphins had a chance to pad their leads in that area and they blew it, allowing for San Diego and Baltimore to remain very much in the hunt with them. The Titans managed to launch themselves into that last wild card spot in the AFC, Pittsburgh has seemed to recover from their worst start in 45 years, and things are starting to really bunch up. With the NFC we can see the separation amongst some of the teams. The East and North are weak, just based on the fact that the division leaders stand at 6-5 in each division. Things are really going to come down to the wire, and teams that are sitting on the bubble are going to have to play great the rest of the way if they want to get in. Week 12 in the NFL helped change the complexion of the playoff picture a little more. So with that in mind, here's some of the best and worst performances from this past week in the National Football League.

Best:
Philip Rivers, Quarterback San Diego Chargers
The Chargers are still in this wild card chase in the AFC at 5-6. San Diego pulled off a huge win, beating the Kansas City Chiefs, a very good football team. How good was Rivers on Sunday? With his team trailing by four points with 1:22 remaining in the game, Rivers led a seven play, 78-yard drive that culminated in a 26-yard touchdown pass to Seyi Ajirotutu with 24 seconds remaining. Rivers finished with 392 yards passing for three touchdowns and zero interceptions in San Diego’s 41-38 win. Now we know from past experiences that Philip Rivers is a very good quarterback. Would I put him up in the elite status.....no. But is he up there as one of the best in the game....yes. He showed me Sunday that he still has something left in the tank.

Worst:
Geno Smith, Quarterback New York Jets
This is infuriating to no end, it really is. The rookie quarterback was dreadful in the Jets’ 19-3 loss to Baltimore, completing 9 of 22 passes for 127 yards and throwing two key second half interceptions to Ravens cornerback Corey Graham. Smith has only thrown one touchdown in his past six games (along with 10 interceptions during that time). After the game, head coach Rex Ryan did not commit to starting the second-round pick in the team’s Week 13 game versus Miami next Sunday. Geno has thrown 8 touchdowns on the season, but 18 interceptions. That's been a problem with the Jets this year, they can't be a pass first offense I'm sorry but they really can't be. They are built to be a running team and they don't do that enough. Smith isn't the type of Quarterback I can look at and say he is going to be the guy to build my team around. You need to give a decent QB something to work with at receiver and the Jets didn't. Some of this is Smith's fault for making bad decisions with the ball, but at the same time he can only do so much with the targets he has to throw to, and those targets aren't all that great. It's pathetic to watch at times it really is.

Best:
Josh Gordon, Wide Receiver Cleveland Browns
Despite losing his starting quarterback Jason Campbell to a concussion in the third quarter, the Browns wideout set a team record with 237 yards receiving in Cleveland’s 27-11 loss to the Steelers. Gordon was targeted by Campbell and his replacement Brandon Weeden a combined 17 times. He caught 14 of those passes, including one for a late game touchdown. To say that Gordon was in a groove on Sunday would be an understatement. The win helped keep Cleveland, at least for the moment, above water.

Worst:
Greg Jennings, Wide Receiver Minnesota Vikings
Now I love Greg Jennings, i think he one of the best wide outs in the game today, when he's on his game. Sunday, in a return to Green Bay, he wasn't exactly on his game. Actually he wasn't much of a factor at all in this ballgame. He was targeted three times by Christian Ponder, catching two passes for 29 yards (and hearing loud boos from the Green Bay fans on the first one.) His biggest impact ended up coming on a 3rd and 5 from the Minnesota 44 late in overtime, when he dropped what would have been a sure first down for the Vikings. A continued drive could have set up kicker Blair Walsh for a potential game-winning field goal try but instead Minnesota was forced to punt as their defense held on to preserve a 26-26 tie.

Best:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Secondary
Already playing without suspended safety Dashon Goldson, the Bucs defense suffered another setback when Darrelle Revis didn’t return for the second half after suffering a groin injury. No worries. The team finished with four interceptions, including a crucial late game pick by rookie Johnthan Banks off a Calvin Johnson deflection that sealed Tampa Bay’s 24-21 win.

Worst:
Bruce Carter and Jeff Heath, Defensive Backs Dallas Cowboys
The two Cowboys defenders didn’t bother to touch Giants tight end Brandon Myers after he caught a ball and fell to the ground at the Dallas 8-yard-line on a 4th & 3 play late in the third quarter. Myers got up and ran the ball into the end zone for a touchdown. The defensive lapse allowed to Giants to narrow the Cowboys’ 21-6 lead and start a rally that eventually resulted in a 21-21 tie late in the fourth quarter. The only lasting consequence of the play was likely just a lecture from their coaching staff, as Tony Romo and Dez Bryant were able to lead a crunchtime drive that resulted in a game-winning Dan Bailey field goal as time expired. I know the Cowboys won the game, and the Giants couldn't stop Tony Romo on the drive late, but those two guys should be ashemd of themsleves for that kind of play. You play in the NFL that's a bush league move, that can't happen.

Best:
Karlos Dansby, Linebacker Arizona Cardinals
Arizona isn't a team to be sleeping on anymore this season. They pulled out a big blowout 40-11 win over the Colts, and Dansby had a big impact on that end result. The Cardinals linebacker picked off Andrew Luck for a 22-yard interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter of Arizona’s 40-11 rout of the Colts. Dansby was also his team’s leading tackler as the Cardinals dominated on both sides of the ball to improve to 7-4. Arizona is very much alive in this playoff chase in the NFC, and should make a lot of noise the rest of the way. They are a team that isn't getting much attention, when they should be for a team as good as they are.

Worst:
Trent Richardson, Running Back Indianapolis Colts
The Colts gave up a first-round pick earlier this season to acquire what they thought would be their most dominant running back since Edgerrin James. The second-year back, who was battling a calf injury all week, hasn’t run for more than 60 yards in any game since joining Indianapolis. Richardson was outrushed by both Dan Herron and his quarterback Andrew Luck against the Cardinals, gaining only 15 yards on seven carries. Richardson is a very good running back, but it seems that he hasn't been able to really find his groove since joining the Colts in that blockbuster trade. He could be that bigtime back that the Colts have looked for since James, and Richardson could be that guy for Indy. He just needs time to get healthy and find his game, he shall be just fine.

Best:
Ryan Fitzpatrick, Quarterback Tennessee Titans
He's Back! The Titans’ backup quarterback hit Kendall Wright on a 10-yard touchdown pass with 10 seconds left to give Tennessee a 23-19 win over the Raiders and keep his team in the mix for the AFC’s sixth seed. Now this is all coming after franchise QB Jack Lockhart went down with Injury against the Jets. It left Titans fans wondering if they could be able to rebound and stay in the playoff hunt. Well it looks like that question has been answered.

Worst:
Robert Griffin III, Quarterback Washington Redskins
The Redskins were outplayed by the 49ers on Monday Night Football, falling 27-6. RG3 really hasn't looked like himself this year. Around this time last year, there was talk that he could be the next big thing in the NFL. I think he still can be, but he hasn't been able to comeback mentally from his injury last year. It's hurting the Redskins this year. He is still a very good quarterback, and will still be a factor in the NFL for a long time to come, but this year just isn't his year.

Game Of The Year Nominee
New England Patriots 34, Denver Broncos 31 (OT)
This game was hands down the best game of the week, maybe the entire season. Denver had a 24-0 lead at the half, and Tom Brady looked off, as he had trouble holding onto the football. But the 2nd half started and Tom Brady came back, helping lead the Patriots to a thrilling 34-31 overtime win. This game showed me two things. One is that Payton Manning really does seem to have trouble playing in cold weather games, going 19 of 36 for 150 yards 2 touchdowns and 1 pick. Those numbers are below what Manning has been putting up this season. What kept Denver in this ball game was the 249 rushing yards, helping keep Denver in this ballgame on offense. This could be a situation Denver could be in again come playoff time against the Patriots, so they had better really learn from it. As for New England, this game was a statement by Tom Brady. It told me that even though he had a rough start and rough first half, he can still pull out a big win when its needed. Brady, by turning the game around in the 2nd half, launched himself into the status of one one the greatest quarterbacks to every play this game.

Oswego Women's Hockey Dominates With A Pair Of Shutout Wins

The Oswego State Women's Hockey team has really seemed to hit their groove. They came off a big weekend in Neumann and followed that up with another huge weekend this past weekend. Oswego started off a three game road trip with a weekend series in Pittsburgh against the Chatham Cougars. Oswego's offense was in a groove, while the defense and goaltending was perfect all weekend, allowing Oswego to skate away with a pair of shutouts in the weekend sweep.

First up was a Saturday night game against Chatham, which saw Oswego walk away with a 4-0 victory. The only goal scored in the 1st period came at 4:22 when Kendall Appelbaum scored her 2nd of the year. Oswego stretched the lead to 2-0 in the 2nd period, when at 12:28 of the middle frame Melissa Seamont scored her 3rd of the year, a shorthanded goal. Finally Oswego tallied the final two goals in the 3rd period., both on the powerplay. First at 3:36 Olivia Boersen scored her 3rd of the year, and 2nd with the man advantage, then at 9:25 Megan Hagg scored her 3rd of the year, and 2nd on the man advantage, thus sealing the 4-0 win for Oswego.

Tara Treloar took the loss for Chatham, dropping her record to 2-1-2 this season, stopping 24 of 28 Oswego shots. Catherine Cote took the win for Oswego, improving her record to 4-1-0 this season, stopping all 8 shots she faced. Of Cote's 4 wins, three of them have been shutouts. In fact she has gotten shutouts in the last two games for Oswego.  In fact, the last person to beat Cote with a shot, was Lauren Cusack, who scored at 10:51 of the 1st period of the 1st game against Neumann last weekend. Cote hasn't allowed a goal since.

Now after Oswego has won two in a row via shutout, and outscored the opponents 7-0, they set out to face Chatham again in a Sunday afternoon game. The result was much the same as the night before, with Oswego coming away with a 3-0 victory. No goals were scored in the 1st period. Oswego scored twice in the 2nd, both goals coming on the powerplay. First, at 12:45, Leslie Jarvis scored her 2nd of the season, both goals coming on the powerplay, to give Oswego the 1-0 lead. Oswego would stretch the lead to 2-0 at 18:25 when Emma Smetaniuk scored her 2nd of the year, 1st on the powerplay. Oswego put the nail in the coffin at 7:12 of the 3rd period when Alexa Aramburu scored her 2nd of the year to seal the 3-0 win.

Megan Buchanan took the loss for Chatham, dropping her record to 0-3-0 on the season, stopping 36 of 39 Oswego Shots. Tori Trovato picked up the win for Oswego, in her first start of the season, improving her record to 1-0-0. Trovato stopped all 9 shots she faced on the day.

Oswego has now recorded three straight shutouts, for the first time in program history, and has four total shutouts on the season. The team defense has been very very good, having killed 17 straight penalties, and has saved 91 of their last 93 shots faced for a save percentage of 98% (WNYO Sports). They have lowered the team goals against average to 0.85 on the year, and Bridget Smith is the only goalie on the team with an GAA above 1, she has a 1.45 GAA. Now THAT'S impressive.

Oswego has one more game to play before the thanksgiving break, that being at Hamilton College Tuesday night November 26th!

(Photo Provided by Oswego State Athletics)

Oswego Men's Hockey Splits Weekend Road Trip

The Oswego State Men's Hockey team took their show on the road for the first full weekend road trip of the season, this to Geneseo and Brockport. Oswego walked away from the weekend with a split, stumbling badly in the first game but finishing up strong in the 2nd game.

First up was a stop in Geneseo, to take on the Ice Knights in a place that hasn't been too friendly to the Lakers over the last few seasons. Geneseo had one great period, and Oswego was never able to recover, falling to the Ice Knights 7-4. Oswego got the only goal of the 1st period, when at 10:23, Chris Waterstreet scored his 1st career goal. That lone tally held up, and Oswego carried the lead into the break. Once the 2nd period started, the wheels fell off for Oswego. Geneseo tied the game at the 1:44 mark of the period when Connor Anthoine scored his 1st of the year. The Ice Knights took the lead at the 2:08 mark when Matt Solomon scored his 2nd of the season. Oswego was able to pull even at 2 at the 2:55 mark when Brandon Adams scored his 4th of the year. Then Geneseo started to pull away with three unanswered goals. First at 3:24, Jonathan Sucese scored his 2nd of the season. Then AJ Sgaraglio scored his 1st of the year at 16:20, and finally Justin Scharfe scored his 2nd of the year at 19:17.

So Oswego headed into the break down 5-2. Once the 3rd got going, Oswego appeared to be getting back into it. At the 3:57 mark Andrew Barton scored his 1st career goal, a powerplay goal, to get Oswego within two. But Justin Scharfe scored his 2nd of the nighit, and 3rd of the year, a powerplay goal, at 5:46 to reestablish a 3 goal advantage. Oswego cut the lead again to two, when at 9:54 Mike Montagna scored his 2nd of the year. Geneseo iced the game at 18:23 when Zachary Vit scored his 3rd of the year into an empty net. Geneseo, who was the 15th ranked team in the country heading into the weekend, held on for the 7-4 win.

Justin Gilbert got the start for Oswgo but wasn't able to finish. Gilbert tooko the loss, dropping to 2-2-0 on the season, and was pulled in the 2nd period giving up five goals and making 20 saves. Matt Zawadzki finished the game for Oswego, stopping 2 of the 4 shots he faced. Bryan Haude picked up the win for Geneseo, improving his record to 4-1-0 on the season, making 27 saves in the win. Each team scored once on the powerplay.

After taking a stinging loss like they did in Geneseo, Oswego had to turn right around the next night and take on the Golden Eagles of Brockport in Brockport. The Lakers responded quite nicely coming away with a 4-0 win and a split of the weekend games. Oswego was able to connect twice in the first period, first at 9:43 when Dylan Smith scored his 2nd of the year, then again at the 19:15 mark when Matt Galati scored his 5th of the season. To the 2nd period we go, and the only goal of the frame came at 14:45 when Chris Raguseo connected for his 1st career goal. The scoring was capped off for the evening at 13:36 of the 3rd when Mac Scott scored his 2nd of the year to seal the 4-0 victory.

Jared Lockhurst took the loss for Brockport, dropping his record to 0-4-1 on the season, stopping 22 of 26 Oswego shots. Matt Zawadzki got the win for Oswego, improving his record to 2-0-0, stopping all 26 Brockport shots. For Zawadzki, it was his 1st career shutout and 2nd career win.

Oswego now has two weeks off till their next games, and boy is it a big one. The next time Oswego hits the ice is the opening weekend in December and its to host Potsdam and Plattsburgh in Whiteout Weekend!

(Photo provided by Oswego State Athletics)

Alex Rodriguez Case Gets More Interesting By The Minute

We all read the sports pages and listen to sports talk radio. We all know what's been going on with Alex Rodriguez and the steroids case. The new twist yesterday just turned the heat up on the case and made things more interesting. Rodriguez is appealing his 211 game suspension for steroids. The case took an interesting turn during the hearing yesterday when Rodriguez walked out of the hearing. Why did he leave? Because baseball commissioner Bud Selig didn't show up at the hearing. Selig was asked to show up to testify on the case, but wasn't forced to show up thus not giving the time to the case. This angered Rodriguez, with good reason.

This, and subsequently what Rodriguez told local radio station WFAN afterwards, made me rethink this whole case. First things first. Bud Selig no showing at the hearing tells me something. I know he is a busy man, with running Major League Baseball and all, but still this case is a big deal and he needs to make time for this case. It's his prized story and he wasn't there for it. That tells me one of two things. Either he doesn't have time at all, or he just stopped giving a damn about this case. This is making a statement that Selig and baseball aren't trying to push this hard for this incident anymore. It's telling me that Baseball is sort of turning their back on this incident.

Which leads me to my next point with Rodriguez. He went straight from the hearing to WFAN in New York and went on the radio to give his side of it. When asked if he had done any steroids, any interfering with witnesses, or anything he has been accused of, Rodriguez answered no to all of it. Rodriguez maintained his innocence. Today Rodriguez attorney's said that they will not show anything else to baseball until baseball steps forward and the commissioner agrees to testify. It may not be the smartest of moves but I like that idea. The reason is because it's fully calling the bluff of Major League Baseball. Its saying to me that Rodriguez's people are done busting their humps to get this resolved since baseball doesn't seem interested in getting more involved.

Based on what has happened in the last two days, i'm starting to see that Rodriguez may be in the right here and the suspension should be reduced. Did he do steroids? I have no idea. Lets say that he did, based on everything that has gone down the last two days, Rodriguez should still be suspended but it should be cut in half.  Why? Because baseball doesn't seem to have as much conviction anymore. With Selig not showing up it shows that baseball just wants this out of the way already and its not going to happen. Baseball is shooting themselves in the foot on the whole issue.

Here's what I would do. I would say get Rodriguez and his people in a room with Commissioner Bud Selig and his people. Lock them in a room and nobody leaves until we get all the facts straight and a final decision is reached. Do I think A-Rod is guilty? Yes but now it doesn't appear to be as bad as baseball made it sound.

I know this is getting confusing, trust me its confusing for me too. But we will keep an eye and ear on this story as more information becomes available.

Rangers, Tigers Pull Off Blockbuster Trade

The first trade of the Major League Baseball offseason has been made and it is a HUGE one. Straight up, player for player, the Texas Rangers send 2nd baseman Ian Kinsler to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for 1st baseman Prince Fielder. But wait there's more. As reported by ESPN, besides trading the two players, as part of the deal, the Tigers are sending $30 million to Texas to offset Fielder's cost. Fielder still has $168 million due to him over the next seven seasons, so Texas will pay him $138 million over that period. Kinsler is guaranteed $62 million over the next four seasons, which includes a $5 million buyout on his 2018 club option. In total, Detroit will pay $92 million in the deal -- $62 million to Kinsler and $30 million to Texas for Fielder.

Fielder, 29, hit .279 with 25 homers and 106 RBIs in 2013, his second season in Detroit. He gives the Rangers a power-hitting, left-handed hitter for the middle of their lineup, something Daniels listed as the top priority heading into the offseason. Fielder will be the primary first baseman and that the club is still figuring out Mitch Moreland's role. The Tigers get a three-time All-Star second baseman and someone who has hit in various parts of the lineup. Kinsler, 31, batted .277 with 13 homers and 72 RBIs last season (ESPN). He adds good speed, replacing what was lost by Omar Infante hitting the free agent market.

Now here's how both teams benefit from the trade. First Texas is getting a big addition to their lineup. Nelson Cruz isn't, as of now, going to be back in the mix for Texas, meaning that Adrian Beltre is the only real heavy hitting power threat in the Rangers lineup, at least on paper. Fielder put up respectable numbers a season ago playing in Detroit, hitting 25 homers and driving in 106 runs. But Fielder's batting average (.279), home runs (25), OPS (.819) and slugging percentage (.457) were all down from 2012. The slugging, OPS and homers were the lowest of his career (ESPN). One theory as to why those numbers are down is the ballpark he was playing in. Comerica Park is more of a pitcher friendly park, where as the Ballpark at Arlington is more of a hitter friendly ballpark. So Texas adds a big power bat to the middle of the lineup and solidify the position of 1st base. This should help the Rangers be more of a threat to Oakland in the American League West.

Now from a Tigers perspective the move was a good one too. Sure it stinks to lose Prince at first base, but in the long run, the move will be of benefit to Detroit. Now they have the option to move Miguel Cabrerra back over to 1st base if they so choose, which would be an easier position for him to play compared to 3rd. By getting rid of Fielder, it frees up some salary cap space and give Detroit more financial flexibility, with Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer a season away from free agency. I think the Tigers are really going to want to lock up Scherzer long term and they needed the money to be able to do it, so they pulled the trigger on the trade. Also adding Kinsler fills a couple of holes for Detroit to fill for next season. They lost a little bit of speed from the lineup with Omar Infante leaving due to free agency, so Kinsler can fill that hole he left. Also Kinsler is a proven 2nd baseman, and lets face facts the Tigers just improved the position because Kinsler is better than Hernan Perez who is listed as the Tigers 2nd baseman.

So the trade is a perfect balance as both teams are able to fill holes in their ballclubs both short and long term. It is a good deal for both sides.

Oswego State Womens Hockey Sweeps In Dramatic and Dominating Fashion

After suffering their first loss of the season and pulling in a tie, the Oswego State Women's Hockey team looked to get back to their winning ways. This time it was back on home ice against a familiar foe in the Neumann Knights. In each of the last two seasons, Oswego has played Neumann at home in the opening round of the ECAC West Playoffs. So you could say there's a bit of a rivalry starting to brew.

The first meeting of the weekend ended in dramatic fashion, as Oswego was able to skate away with the 2-1 overtime victory. Neumann opened the scoring at the 10:51 mark of the first period, when Lauren Cusack scored her first of the season. That goal would hold up till about the midway point of the 3rd period. Oswego was finally able to break through at the 10:21 mark of the 3rd period, when Megan Hagg scored her 2nd goal of the year, a powerplay goal to tie the game. The game remained deadlocked through the end of regulation and into overtime. Finally at the 4:19 mark of the extra period, Emma Smetaniuk buried the game winner, her first goal of the season, to give Oswego the victory.

Justina Mayr took the loss for Neumann, dropping her record on the year to 0-3-0, while stopping 36 of 38 Oswego shots. Catherine Cote picked up the win for Oswego, improving her record to 2-1-0 on the season, while stopping 33 of 34 Neumann shots. This was the 3rd time in the first five games Oswego had to go to overtime. They tied Potsdam in their last game, with the other overtime game resulting in a 3-2 win against Castelton. Ironically, both overtime wins for Oswego have occurred at home, and Megan Hagg has scored in both games. She scored the OT winner in the first game and scored the tying goal in this game.

Now after the nail biter on Saturday, both teams met again on Sunday, but the result wasn't as dramatic. Oswego dominated the game from start to finish, walking away with a 3-0 victory. Melissa Seamont got the scoring going, scoring her first of the season, a powerplay goal at 12:18 of the 1st. Then Alexa Aramburu scored her first career goal at 17:27 mark of the 1st. Finally, Oswego put the game away at 1:10 of the 2nd period when Melissa Seamont scored her 2nd of the game and season, to ice the victory at 3-0.

Julia Fair took the loss for Neumann, dropping her record to 1-1-0 on the seaosn, as she stopped 9 of the 11 shots she faced in the 1st period. She was replaced in the 2nd by Justina Mayr, who stopped 24 of the 25 shots she faced over the final 2 periods. Catherine Cote picked up the shutout victory for Oswego, improving her recod to 3-1-0 on the season, stopping all 17 shots she faced. For Cote it was her 3rd career shutout, and her performance in both games earned her  ECAC West Goalie Of The Week Honors.

That wasn't the only piece of history made this weekend. Two school records were broken this past weekend, and both by the same player. With her assist Saturday on the Oovertime winner by Smetaniuk, Melissa Seamont earned her 32nd career assist, good for the most in school history. The previous record had been 31 career assists which was held by Jillian Bergeron. Also with her two goal performance in the win on Sunday, Melissa Seamont is now the all time leading scorer in school history with 52 points. The previous record had been 51 points held by Kelly Collins.  So Congratulations are in oreder for Melissa Seamont for setting two new school records!

(Photo provided by Oswego State Athletics)

Oswego Men's Hockey Rolls Past Elmira

For the 2nd weekend in a row, the Oswego State Men's Hockey team had a one game weekend to play. This time it was at home, as the boys played host to the Soaring Eagles of Elmira. It was a four goal opening period that helped power the Oswego victory. Kenny Neil got the party going, his first career goal, on the powerplay at 8:39. Elmira came right back at the 10:07 mark, when Jarryd ten Vaanholt scored his 4th of the season. Oswego took control of the period from that point on, scoring three more times. First, at 14:54, it was Mike Montagna with his first of the year, and career. Then at 17:32 Brandon Adams scored his 3rd of the year. Finally at the 19:00 mark, Matt Galati connected for his 3rd of the year. Oswego carried a 4-1 lead into the locker rooms.

To the 2nd period we go and the only goal of the period came at 18:02 of the period when Matt Galati scored his 4th of the season, and 2nd of the night, to stretch the Oswego lead to 5-1. To the 3rd period we go, and it takes just 47 seconds for Kyle Badham to connect for his first of the season, thus upping the lead to 6-1. Elmira would get two goals back, one from Josh Burnell and one from Brian Depp, both coming on the powerplay and both coming 41 seconds apart. So with the lead now just 3, Shawn Hulshof scored his 2nd of the year at 16:59 to put the game away and seal the 703 win for Oswego.

Sal Magliocco took the loss for Elmira, dropping his record to 2-4-0 on the season, while he stopped 34 of 41 Oswego shots. Justin Gilbert picked up the win for Oswego, improving his record to 2-1-0 on the season, stopping 24 of 27 Elmira shots. Elmira went 2 for 5 on the powerplay, while Oswego went 1 for 4 with the man advantage.

Through the first four games of this season, Kenny Neil leads Oswego with 6 points and 5 assists, while Matt Galati leads the team in goals with 4. Justin Gilbert  haas started 3 of the first 4 games, going 2-1-0 with a 2.28 GAA and a .911 SV %. Matt Zawadzki had the other start, picking up the win. He has a 2.00 GAA and a .923 SV %.

Next up for Oswego is a pair of road games heading into the Thanksgiving break. Both games take the team to Western New York, as Friday night November 22nd Oswego heads to Ira S. Wilson Ice Arena in Geneseo, as take on the Ice Knights at 7PM. Then they close out the road trip Saturday November 23rd at Tuttle North Ice Arena in Brockport, as they take on the Golden Eagles at 7PM!

(Photo provided by Oswego State Athletics)

Best And Worst Of NFL Week 11

Well its that time of the week again. Its time where we look back at some of the best and worst performances from this week's action in the National Football League. With what has gone down, we finally have every team in the league with at least 1 loss, as the Chiefs fell to Denver. The Jets continue their jekyll and hyde type season, other teams are starting to hit their stride, like the Giants, and still other teams manage to surprise you, like the Panthers knocking off the Patriots on Monday Night Football. So with all of this in mind here now is the best and worst of week 11.

Best:
EJ Manuel, Quarterback Buffalo Bills
What a difference a week makes. Buffalo’s rookie quarterback, who looked overwhelmed a week ago in his first game back from injury, made a big statement against a tough Jets defense on Sunday. Manuel completed 20 of his 28 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns in a 37-14 Bills win, outplaying fellow rookie Geno Smith and looking like the franchise quarterback Buffalo was hoping they’d drafted. Manuel had himself a very solid day, and was able to avoid pressure form a good front attack from that Jets Defense. He played a great game, showing he could come back from injury and still play well.

Worst:
Geno Smith, Quarterback New York Jets
I really could possibly give this to the entire team, as Nick Folk missed a field goal, the defense looked average and un Jets like, if you want to call it that. But Geno Smith looked horrible. Smith went 8 for 23 for 103 yards and was picked off 3 times, one of which was run back for a touchdown. This is the 4th time that Smith has had a pick returned for a TD this year, and he has already been picked off 16 times on the season. Some nights, Smith looks really good and looks like he could be a good quarterback at this level. Then theres nights like last weekend where he looks like he shouldn't be in the NFL. If this kinda stuff keeps up the Jets are going to have to do some major overhauls during the offseason.

Best:
Bobby Rainey, Running Back Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Here's a guy who sort of came out of nowhere. Rainey, who started the year as Tampa Bay’s third-string running back, tore apart a bewildered Falcons defense in a 41-28 Buccaneers romp. He had 30 carries for 163 yards and two touchdowns, one of which was a 43-yard run in the second quarter. It was the best day, yardage wise, by any running back in the league in week eleven, and it was done against a defense in Atlanta that seems to really be struggling a lot as of late.

Worst:
Maurice Jones-Drew, Running Back Jacksonville Jaguars
For Jacksonville to be able to go on a winning streak this year,, they need to be able to run the football. They weren’t able to do that against the Cardinals on Sunday, as Maurice Jones-Drew carried the ball 14 times for 23 yards. The Cardinals do have a good defense, but Jones-Drew only averaging 1.6 yards a carry is inexcusable for a back of his quality. If he wants to generate interest from other teams and get out of his situation in Jacksonville, he needs to do more. The way things are going at this point for Jones-Drew, he may be finding himself on another football team before the start of next season. He's the Jaguars best player and right now he doesn't exactly look like it.

Best:
Nick Foles, Quarterback Philadelphia Eagles
If there was any doubt about who was in charge of the offense in Philly on the field, that is now a memory. Foles has the job outright over Michael Vick. Foles had another strong outing for Philadelphia on Sunday, throwing for 298 yards and finishing with a 104.3 passer rating. He scored a touchdown on a four-yard run as well. Foles is proving that mistake-free football and an ability to find open receivers is all you need to be a successful “Chip Kelly quarterback.” Philadelphia won the game, 24-16, and with a 6-5 record find themselves atop the NFC East. So yeah as good as Vick is, or was I should say, that has been surpassed by the play of Foles. this is his offense there is no longer any doubt.

Worst:
Robert Griffin III, Quarterback Washington Redskins
After a slow start against the Eagles, RG3 rallied his team, throwing for two scores and converting two two-point conversions, one through the air and one using his feet. It wasn’t enough for Washington, though, and most fans will only remember Griffin’s two turnovers from the game– a costly red zone fumble, and his last throw, a back-foot heave to the back of the end zone that was intercepted easily by the Eagles’ Brandon Boykin. Griffin still has flashes of his old self, but the turnover in the red zone late in the game is what did him in. RG3 is usually better at being able to hang on to the football. He needs to settle down and do a better job of ball and clock management if the Redskins want to grab this wide open NFC east.

Best:
Vontaze Burfict Linebacker, Cincinnati Bengals
This guy was all over the field on Sunday, reaking as much havok as was humanly possible on a football field. The second-year defensive star logged 15 tackles, including 10 solo tackles, and returned a fumble for a touchdown in a 41-20 Bengals win. Burfict, who went undrafted a year ago after a poor combine, is leading the Bengals in tackles for a second straight season, and has more than twice as many tackles as the next one of his teammates.

Worst:
Solider Field
I'm not blaiming the field itself for the Bears and Ravens performances on Sunday, but it did play a factor in the ballgame. After a period of severe weather in Chicago that delayed the game between the Ravens and the Bears, the two teams returned to a muddy, sloppy turf at Soldier Field. The weather approached so rapidly that the field crew was unable to get a tarp down, so the field was drenched in a torrential downpour. The teams did their best to play a football game after the delay as players from both sides slipped, stumbled, and slogged their way around the chewed-up field. The Bears won the game 23-20 in overtime.

Best:
Calvin Johnson, Wide Receiver Detroit Lions
Megatron played like well Megatron. He had six catches for 179 yards with two touchdowns on Sunday, including catching five passes for 163 yards in the second quarter alone. Strangely, the Lions didn’t find Johnson once in the third quarter, and the Steelers rallied to beat the Lions 37-27. I just feel bad for him that the rest of the Lions couldn't get their act together and help him out in the game, but the Lions still sit atop the NFC North, so he's pretty happy about that at the moment.

Worst:
Case Keenum, Quarterback Houston Texans
The Texans quarterback was benched in the third quarter of their game against the Raiders after the Houston offense sputtered in the second half. Keenum was replaced by Matt Schaub, who also struggled and got into a shouting match with wide receiver Andre Johnson during the fourth quarter. Perhaps most troubling for Texans fans was that both Keenum and Schaub were outplayed by Oakland rookie quarterback Matt McGloin, an undrafted free agent out of Penn State making his first NFL start.

So there you have it, the best and worst from week eleven in the NFL!

2013 MLB Awards. Did They Get Them Right?

The votes are in and the Announcements have been made. Major League Baseball has made their selections for the Awards winners for the 2013 season.  Some of the Awards went to the right people and some didn't. Lets not forget that these awards are given out for the regular season only, so playoff performance has no real influence on who wins these awards. We will be looking at the awards for Cy Young, Manager of The Year, Rookie of The Year and League MVP.  So with all that in mind, lets now take a look at who walked away with the hardware. We start it off with Manager of The Year.

Manager Of The Year:
AL: Terry Francona Cleveland Indians
NL: Clint Hurdle Pittsburgh Pirates

This one has sparked a little bit of a debate. The National League was an easy choice. Clint Hurdle deserved the Award for leading the Pirates to their first winning season, and first playoff appearance, in 20 years. That one was almost a given. The Braves and Dodgers both had good years, I'm not taking anything away from the work of Don Mattingly in LA or Freddy Gonzalez in Atlanta. But the difference between the three is this. The Pirates weren't a given to make the playoffs, where as both LA and Atlanta were expected to get there. Granted LA had a rough start to the year and turned it around to take the West, still the Pirates had had the biggest turn around from the year before and Hurdle had a lot to do with that.

The American League I was a tad surprised by. It's a well deserved honor for Terry Francona I'm not taking that away from him. But I just personally feel that John Farrell should have won the award. Having the Red Sox win the title had no influnce for me, as this is an award for the regular season. I just felt the Red Sox had a bigger turn around than the Indians did. Sure both Boston and Cleveland had bad years last year, Cleveland lost 94 games and the Red Sox lost 93. Both teams had a huge turn around, but I just felt the one by the Red Sox was tougher to do, considering that the AL East is a tougher division to play in than the AL Central. That's all I'm saying.

Since the award was instituted in 1983,  this is the 2nd time an Indians Manager has won the award (Eric Wedge won it in 2007), and this is the 3rd time that a Pirates manager has won the award (Jim Leyland won it back in 1990 and 1992). This is the 1st time that each manager has won the award

Rookie Of The Year:
AL: Will Meyers Tampa Bay Rays
NL: Jose Fernandez Miami Marlins

In both cases I think the writers got the winners right. Jose Iglesias was the next closest in the AL and I still think Meyers beat him out. Granted Meyers only played in 88 games for the Rays, he still had a bigger impact on the team than Iglesias did.

Same thing can be said with the National League. Yasiel Puig made the race close in the National League, but Fernandez was just better. Sure Puig was one of the reasons that sparked the Dodgers to their turn around in winning the NL West, but Fernandez put up great numbers on a bad baseball team in the Marlins. In fact, Fernandez was the best player on that bad Marlins team, clearly being the only bright spot for the club.

Since Rookie Of the Year started being given out in 1949, this is the 3rd Tampa Bay ray to win the Award, with Meyers following Evan Longoria (2008) and Jeremy Hellickson (2011). As for the NL, this is the 4th time a Marlin has won the award, with Fernandez following Dontrelle Willis (2003), Hanley Ramírez (2006) and Chris Coghlan (2009).

Cy Young Award:
NL: Clayton Kershaw Los Angeles Dodgers
AL: Max Scherzer Detroit Tigers

The AL Cy Young Award wasn't even close. Scherzer had the best year in the American League, hands down. The only one in the voting for the award who was even close was Yu Darvis of the Texas Rangers. Scherzer was the only pitcher in the bigs to win 20 games this year, going 21-3 with a 2.90 ERA and 240 strikeouts. Scherzer won the award not because he had a high scoring ball club behind him, which he did. Scherzer won the award because he was able to find different ways to get people out. He was, by far, the most dominating pitcher in the AL this season.

With the NL Cy Young, Clayton Kershaw took home the award with a 16-9 record with an 1.83 ERA and 232 strikeouts. This was another landslide win for the award, much like the American League. The only one close to Kershaw this season was Adam Weinwright of the Cardinals, but even he was a bit of a ways back. Kershaw was just outright dominant. The only shocker in Kershaw winning the award was that he didn't win it in a landslide.

The Cy Young award has been given out to the best pitchers since 1967. In the NL, this is the 11th time a Dodger has won the award. Kershaw had won the award back in 2011 so this is his 2nd trophy. before the 23011 win, the other dodgers to win the award were Don Drysdale (1962), Sandy Koufax (1963, 1965 and 1966), Mike Marshall (1974), Fernando Valenzuela (1981), Orel Hershiser (1988) and Éric Gagné (2003).  As for the Tigers, this is the 1st win by Scherzer and the 5th win by a Tiger. Besides Scherzer the Other Tigers to win the award were Denny McLain(1968 and 1969), Willie Hernández (1984) and Justin Verlander (2011).

Most Valuable Player
AL: Miguel Cabrera Detroit Tigers
NL: Andrew McCutchen Pittsburgh Pirates

Miguel Cabrera wasn't able to pull off back to back triple crown wins in the American League, but he was able to pull in a 2nd straight league MVP award. Only ones close in the league voting were Chris Davis of Baltimore and Mike Trout of Anaheim.  Cabrera still finished the year hitting .348 which is his career best. Sure the power and RBI numbers weren't quite as prolific but they were still damn good. And think about this he had a groin injury too that wasn't revealed till towards the end of the season.  He as hurt in September, and the Tigers struggled, going just 13-13 in the final month of the year. That right there should tell you just how big of an impact Miggy had on the Tigers lineup. He was that good of a ball player. Now I feel also that if Baltimore or Anaheim had been able to pull into the playoffs, this race would have been a little closer. But it wasn't and Miggy walked away with the award.

With the National League, it has been a long time coming for the Pittsburgh Pirates, with Andrew McCutchen walking away with the MVP award.  He finished the year hitting .317 with 21 homers and 84 RBI's. Not the greatest numbers ever produced by an MVP winner, but still damn good numbers never the less.  Much like the AL MVP Race, this one was just as much a landslide win for McCutchen, as he beat out Paul Goldschmidt of Arizona and Yadier Molina of St. Louis. Molina's platform was built on respect and reputation. Goldschmidt had the standout numbers. But McCutchen was recognized more for driving teammates on than for driving them in. His 84 RBIs are the fewest for an NL MVP (in a full season) since Kirk Gibson -- saluted as a similar driving force on the Dodgers -- earned the 1988 award after a 76-RBI campaign. (courtesy of MLB.com)

Since the League MVP Awards have been handed out in 1931, the Tigers have had  12 MVP winners. Miguel Cabrera has won the last two, so prior to that the other winners have been Ty Cobb (1911), Mickey Cochrane (1934),  Hank Greenberg (1935), Charlie Gehringer (1937), Hank Greenberg (1940),  Hal Newhouser (1944), Hal Newhouser (1945), Denny McLain (1968), Willie Hernández (1984) and Justin Verlander (2011). As for the Pirates, this is the 8th time one of their players have been named MVP. Aside from McCutchen, the others are Barry Bonds (1990, 1992), Roberto Clemente (1966), Dick Groat (1960), Dave Parker (1978), Willie Stargell (1979), Paul Waner (1927).

So there you have it. The Award Winners for Major League Baseball in 2013!

Oswego Women's Hockey Suffers First Loss Of Season

The Oswego State Women's Hockey Team took their talents on the road for the first time this season, heading north for a weekend series against the Potsdam Bears. Oswego went into the weekend with an unbeaten record, but  weren't able to come out with that perfect record still in tact.

First up was the Saturday afternoon matchup, which saw Oswego dominate the hockey game, but still come up short in their quest, falling to the Bears 3-2. Potsdam scored the first two goals of the game in the opening period, both of them coming off the stick of Jordan Ott. Ott's first goal, her 2nd of the seaosn, came on the powerplay at 11:02. Ott scored again, her 3rd of the year, at 13:58 to give the Bears the 2-0 lead heading into intermission.  To the 2nd period we go and Oswego was the only team to find the back of the net in the middle frame. The Lakers cut the lead in half at 4:46 of the period when Kendall Appelbaum scored her first career goal, a powerplay goal, to cut the lead in half. That's how it would stay when the 2nd period came to a close. When the 3rd period got underway, it took the Bears 2:54 into the period to stretch the lead to 3-1, when Izzy Fayerman scored her 2nd of the year, a powerplay goal. Oswego would get the goal back late in the period, when at the 18:50 mark, Bridget Hamlin scored her 2nd of the season, a powerplay goal, to again cut the lead to one. But it was too late as the Bears held on for the 3-2 win.

Oswego outshot Potsdam 43-16 in the game, and 14-2 in the 3rd period alone. But it just wasn't enough as the Lakers suffer the first loss of the season. Alexane Rodrigue got the win for the Bears, improving her record to 2-1-0 on the season, as she made 41 saves in the win. Catherine Cote took the loss for Oswego, dropping her record to 1-1-0 on the year, as she made 13 saves in the loss. Special teams played a big impact on this game, as both teams went 2 for 7 on the powerplay.

So Oswego had to make a quick turnaround, as the two teams met again in Potsdam on Sunday Afternoon. Oswego shook off the preformance from the day before, earning a 1-1- tie against the Bears. Bridget Hamlin  scored the only goal of the game for Oswego, her 3rd of the year and 2nd in as many days, at the 3:06 mark of the 1st period. Potsdam answered with a powerplay goal from Amanda Lucky, her 2nd of the year, at 18:20 of the 2nd period. That was all the scoring that both teams could muster over 65 minutes of hockey.

Shots were closer in this hockey game then they were the day before, as Oswego outshot Potsdam 30-25 on the night. Alexane Rodrigue made 30 saves for Potsdam in the tie, pulling her record to 2-1-1. Bridget Smith earned the tie for Oswego, moving her record to 1-0-1, made 24 saves on the day.

Now that the north country trip is done for the season, Oswego gets set to return home to the friendly confins of the Campus Center Ice Arena, as the host an old foe. The Neuman Knights make the trip to the Campus Center this weekend, with games set to be played Saturday November 16th and Sunday November 17th, both with 3PM puck drops!

(Photo provided by Oswego State Athletics)

Three Goal Middle Frame Powers Oswego to Victory

Last weekend was one of the few weekends during the course of the season where the Oswego State Men's Hockey Team had only one game to play all weekend. The only opponent for the Lakers over the weekend was a road trip to Cortland to take on the Red Dragons. Oswego exploded with three goals in the 2nd period to come away with a 4-1 victory.

Oswego connected for the only goal in the opening period, as Brandon Adams scored his 2nd of the season at the 11:59 mark. The Lakers outshot the Red Dragons in the opening period 14-4, as they controlled the majority of the play in the opening twenty minutes. To the 2nd period we go, Oswego only held the lead for a short time, as 11 seconds into the middle frame, Ryan Wagner pulled Cortland even with his first of the season. That's about as close as Cortland would get in the hockey game. Oswego took the lead back at the 9:30 mark of the period, when Mac Scott scored his first career goal. Oswego would put the game away with a pair of powerplay goals in that 2nd period. The first one came at 15:05 when Matt Galati scored his 2nd goal of the year to make it 3-1. Then Oswego put it out of reach at 18:37 when Alex Botten potted his 2nd goal of the year, the other powerplay goal, to ice the game at 4-1. No other scoring took place in the 3rd period.

Oswego outshot Cortland 44-23 in the hockey game, in what turned out to be a very chippy affair. Cortland went 0 for 5 on the powerplay, while Oswego went 2 for 10 on the man advantage. Mark Balkwill took the loss for Cortland, making 31 saves in relief of Lyle Rocker, who was pulled after making 9 saves in the 1st period. Justin Gilbert got the win for Oswego, improving his record to 1-1-0, making 22 saves in the victory.

The effort Oswego gave on Saturday was good, but it wasn't enough to help them in the coaches polls, as the team fell from 8th to 10th in the country in the latest coaches polls. They are the only team in the top ten in the nation to have a loss on the season.

Next up for the Lakers is another one game weekend. This time they return home for a one game stop Saturday November 16th to play hoast to the Elmira Soaring Eagles at 7PM!

(Photo provided by Oswego State Athletics)

Best and Worst of NFL Week Ten

We just passed week ten in the NFL season, with things really starting to take shape on the field of battle. Finally, we no longer have winless teams in the league, as both Jacksonville and Tampa Bay picked up their first wins of the season. We still have one more unbeaten team in the league in Kansas City. The playoff picture in the league has been muddled just a bit. Some division races are wide open, while others look to be runaways. So many things can happen over the final seven weeks of football season, that it's going to really make you want to tune in just to see what the hell is going to happen next. With all that being said, lets now take a look back at some of the best and worst from week ten in the NFL.

Best:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jacksonville Jaguars
We have to give both teams their props here. Both teams coming into this week, were sitting at 0-8 and looked really bad. But they showed up for their respective games this week, got a little bit lucky, and picked up their first wins of the season. Jacksonville did it  by forcing turnovers by the Titans, in their 29-27 victory. Don't get me wrong the Jaguars made mistakes of their own, but the defense had done enough to force Tennessee to make more of them. Tampa Bay did the same thing against Miami, pulling out the 22-19 win on Monday Night Football. Tampa Bay just caught Miami off guard, took full advantage of it and came away wit the win.

Worst:
Tennessee Titans and Miami Dolphins
These two clubs didn't fair so hot this week, giving the NFL's two winless teams their first wins of the year. The Titans just played a bad game, its a simple as that. They are really starting to show just how big a loss Jack Lockart is, not having him there to lead the offense. As for Miami, I think they are a decent football team, but I think they let what's been going on off the field with Martin and Incognito get to them on the field. They didn't play as sharp as they normally would, and it cost them a victory.

Best:
Tavon Austin, Wide Receiver St. Louis Rams
Austin had a breakthrough game for St. Louis, something the Rams have been waiting on for a while now. He returning a punt 98 yards for a touchdown and breaking free for two long touchdown grabs (57 and 81 yards, respectively). The three scores helped contribute to St. Louis’ surprising 38-8 rout over Indianapolis but may have also given the West Virginia product some confidence to build on heading into the season’s final seven games. Those two long touchdown grabs were the only catches he made all day long on offense. It was well worth it though, as it helped in a big way lead the Rams to victory.

Worst:
Arian Foster, Running Back Houston Texans
You wanna talk about a bad break. Houston’s Pro Bowl running back will not complete his fourth consecutive season with more than 1200 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. Foster will undergo season-ending back surgery to fix a ruptured disk he initially suffered in training camp. The team will attempt to replace Foster’s production – he’d been fighting injuries all season – with Ben Tate, but it’s just another setback in a season of many for the reigning AFC South champs, who dropped to 2-7 with a loss to Arizona. Things just really seemed to be going from bad to worse to Houston, a team who many had picked to be a playoff team again this season.

Best:
Nick Foles, Quarterback Philadelphia Eagles
Nick Foles had another good week this week, proving to me that last week's performance was really no fluke. Foles also made a strong case that he should be the starting quarterback for the Eagles. Why? In Sunday’s 27-13 win over the Packers, Foles went 12 of 18 for 228 yards and three touchdowns. He’s now thrown for 16 touchdowns and zero interceptions on the season. More importantly, four of the Eagles’ five wins have occurred in games where the second-year player has attempted more than 15 passes. He may not be the prototypical quarterback to run Chip Kelly’s offense, but he’s definitely been effective in doing it lately. He's showing to me that he can lead this offense and this team as well as Michael Vick.

Worst:
Terrelle Prior, Quarterback Oakland Raiders
Oakland’s signal-caller seems to be having an opposite string of fortune than Foles, throwing eight interceptions since his last touchdown pass, which occurred in the first quarter of the Raiders’ Week 6 loss to Kansas City. Pryor was even worse than Eli Manning in Oakland’s 24-20 loss to the Giants Sunday, completing just 42.3 percent of his passes for 122 yards and an interception. Pryor also committed a key fumble on a sack on the Raiders’ final drive late in the fourth quarter. Save an early QB sneak for a touchdown, Pryor’s vaunted running skills remained dormant as well. Both teams didn't look all that great on Sunday, that much was obvious. Oakland looked worse off than Big Blue, which is saying something.

\Best:
Luke Kuechly, Linebacker Carolina Panthers
Talk about stepping up big on defense. The 49ers have one of the better offenses in football this season, and Kuechly just plain shut them down on Sunday. Carolina came away with a 10-9 win over the 49ers, and Kuechly was a big part of the Panthers defensive effort in the win. He had a big day on Sunday, leading the team with 11 tackles, a sack and a pass deflection. With five wins in a row, the Panthers defense has established itself as one of the best in the NFL, with the second-year player from Boston College emerging as its star.

Worst:
CJ Spiller, Running Back Buffalo Bills
Because we’re sick of harping on Ray Rice’s inability to gain more than two yards per carry, we look to the Buffalo tailback, who gained only 23 yards on eight carries in the Bills’ 23-10 loss to the Steelers. Pittsburgh had the second-worst run defense in the league coming into the game, but the Bills’ combined 95-yard day (50 yards below their season average) ought to change that ranking. Yeah Ray Rice doesn't seem all that bad by comparison any more does he?

So there we have it. Some of the best and worst from the NFL in Week Ten!

A Closer Look At The NFL Bullying Case

The NFL has brought us fans some great memories this season on the field. Of course, with on field success comes off the field drama. So far, the biggest story to come out from off the field issues has been the hazing incidents between Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin, former teammates with the Miami Dolphins. Incognito has played in the NFL for nine years, while Martin was in just his second pro season. Both guys have left the team, Martin did so on his own account over what happened, while Incognito was suspended indefinitely by the team for his actions towards Martin. Now for those of you reading this who are unfamiliar with what has gone down, here's a recap of what exactly has happened.

-Alleged texts sent to Martin from Incognito consisting of vulgar and very crude language detrimental to a person
-A Vegas trip with a bill for $15,000 that Martin didn’t even go on.
-Martin allegedly being told by Coach Philbin to “strike” Incognito to take care of the situation
-Incognito claiming that Martin sent him threatening messages afterwords

So there are a few different reports as to what has actually happened here, but that, for the most part is what we do know for a fact happened. All we know from Jonathan Martin is that after this went down, he left the team, choosing to take I feel the high road here. Martin hasn't gone on record and talked about what happened exactly, and I don't really blame him. Something like that went down I wouldn't really be ready to talk about it yet either. I do have a lot of respect for Jonathan Martin for handling the situation with class and dignity, which, so far as I can see it, everybody else involved with this incident lacks.

Did the Dolphins coaching staff really go and tell Incognito to do those things to Martin? I have no idea I wasn't there. If in fact that is the case, then somebody got their signals crossed up somewhere along the lines. Its a common practice in the sports world for coaches to tell veteran players to toughen up some of the younger guys on a team. It happens in all sports. But I really don't think the Dolphins staff wanted Incognito to really go as far as he did. The coaching staff has yet to comment on the story, so we have no way of knowing as of yet, what exactly it is they did.

Finally there's Mr Incognito. He said in an interview with Jay Glazer that some of what he said is stuff that is said all the time in an NFL Locker Room. He also said that some of the stuff that was said, he and Martin said to each other all the time (I'm parpaphrasing here). It seemed heartfelt coming from Incognito, but I still have this gut feeling that he wasn't fully telling the truth.

Now I still have this gut feeling that there is a lot more going on here than meets the eye. not everything has been made public knowledge yet. And the Dolphins are trying to get this story covered up and thrown under the rug quickly, and I really don't think that's going to happen. I think this story is going to be hanging around for a long time until everything is out in the open and we can get a straight, honest answer from all parties involved.

Best and Worst From The NFL Week 9

It's that time of year again. We have hit almost the halfway point of this NFL season, with things really starting to take major shape around the league. Teams continue to surprise people, like the jekyll and hyde type teams such as the New York Jets. They will be good one week, then play horrible the following week. Then we have teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars, who you just know going into the week are going to have a bad time. Some teams continue to surprise people and deliver, like the Kansas City Chiefs. Also you have teams like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who continue to leave their fans scratching their heads. We have also had more big name stars go down with injury. Aaron Rogers will miss playing time with a broken collar bone, while Broncos coach John Fox had to have heart surgery, and Texans coach Gary Kubiak collapsing at halftime, on the field, during the Sunday night game against the Colts. With all that going on, there were still some good and bad performances from this past week in the NFL.

Best:
New York Jets Running Game
Coming into the game Sunday against the New Orleans Saints, the Jets knew the Saints had a bad run defense. The Saints are ranked 25th in the NFL against the run this year. When the game started, the Jets didn't really use the run game very well and had no answer on defense for Drew Brees and Jimmy Graham. But the defense found its groove and shut the Saints down, while Chris Ivory had a solid day, with 18 carries for 139 yards and 1 touchdown. It is indeed safe to say that the Jets running game was in a groove on Sunday. And this performance goes to show that when the Jets running game is a success, the team, as a whole, plays better and comes away with wins that most figured they wouldn't.

Worst:
New Orleans Saints Offensive Line
Now when the game started, New Orleans had their offense in a groove and going. But at some point during the 2nd and 3rd quarters, the offensive line just sort of fell apart. Don't get me wrong, Drew Brees still had a very good day, but he was rushed during the middle of the ball game, couldn't get too many great throws off, and had a tough go of it during the day. The line didn't do much to help Brees during the middle of the game, and he had sort of a rough go of it, by his standards.

Best:
Nick Foles, Quarterback Philadelphia Eagles
Foles had a day for the ages Sunday against the Oakland Raiders. He went 22 of 28 for 406 yards. That's good enough. What made this day so special is he threw for SEVEN touchdown passes, the 2nd quarterback this year to do it (Payton Manning did it week one), and the 7th all time to do it. The performance helped power the Eagles to a 49-20 victory. Foles had a chance to go for eight in the game, but Eagles coach Chip Kelly not pulled him with more than nine minutes left in the fourth quarter. Still it was one of the top performances this year, and maybe the greatest game Foles will ever play in the NFL.

Worst:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Late Game Defense
It's been a really tough year for Bucs fans down in Tampa Bay. The team is 0-8 on the year, sitting in dead last of the NFC South. Last year Tampa showed up for most of the ball game against the NFC's best team in the Seattle Seahawks. They only showed up for MOST of the game.  The defense chocked late in the game, giving up a 21 point lead, en route to a 27-24 overtime loss. The Bucs deserve the bulk of their 0-8 record, but certainly played better than that mark for three quarters on Sunday. It’s the closest they got to a win since Week 1, when Lavonte David’s questionable penalty on a late hit against the Jets set New York up for a game-winning field goal.

Best:
Chris Johnson, Running Back Tennessee Titans
This is the Chris Johnson Titans fans have been waiting to see all season. At one point during his career, he was a 2,000 yard rusher, who had a ton of talent and can be a top teir back. This year he had been a little on the quite side, coming into Sunday’s game against the St. Louis Rams without a touchdown or 100-yard performance. He broke free, against former coach Jeff Fisher and the Rams for 150 yards and two scores (including a 19-yard game winner with 2:54 left) as Tennessee left the Edward Jones Dome with a 28-21 win. So is this a sort of coming out party for Chris Johnson? Only time will tell.

Worst:
Baltimore Ravens Offensive Line
At some point the Ravens’ inability to run the football goes beyond Ray Rice. Joe Flacco led the team’s ground game with 25 yards rushing in Baltimore’s 24-18 loss to Cleveland, a game in which he was also sacked five times by Browns defenders. For a team to be good, even remotely good, they have to have an offensive line that can pass block with regularity. I'm not saying they have to be perfect all the time, but this kind of stuff can't keep happening if the Ravens want to get back to the promise land. If the reigning Super Bowl champs want to get any sort of offensive consistency, it’s going to have to start with the guys up front.

Best:
Tony Romo, Quarterback Dallas Cowboys
The fourth quarter is never boring with the Cowboys quarterback. After the Vikings scored with 5:40 left to go up 23-20, Romo’s pass to Terrence Williams was picked off by Minnesota’s A.J. Jefferson on 3rd & 9 several plays later. The signal-caller shook it off and led a nine play, 90-yard drive on the next series, which culminated with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Dwayne Harris with 35 seconds to play. This goes to show that Tony Romo is still one of the top Quarterbacks in the entire league during the regular season. Now if he could only play like this come playoff time, the Cowboys would be all set.

Worst:
Christian Ponder, Quarterback Minnesota Vikings
Despite Adrian Peterson’s best efforts, the Vikings couldn’t escape the performance of their beleaguered quarterback, who fumbled the ball in his own end zone for a Cowboys touchdown in the third quarter, threw an early fourth quarter pick and failed to convert any first downs following Romo’s key turnover late in the game. Given one last opportunity to throw a Hail Mary pass from the Dallas 47, Ponder’s last-second heave didn’t even reach the end zone. It's been a really tough year to play quarterback in Minnesota this season.

Best:
Tom Brady, Quarterback New England Patriots
After an underwhelming first eight games, Brady compiled a 151.8 passer rating in New England’s 55-31 win over Pittsburgh, hitting three receivers for over 100 yards each. With the Pats now 7-2 and a healthy Rob Gronkowski, Danny Amendola and Stevan Ridley at his disposal coming out of next week’s bye, the quarterback looks poised to put up some more Brady-like numbers in his final seven games.

Worst:
Pittsburgh Steelers Secondary
A week after they let Terrelle Pryor fly by them with a 93-yard touchdown run, the Steelers defense gave up a franchise record 55 points in a 55-31 loss to the Patriots. The team’s usually solid safeties were victimized by a series of big plays, including several by Rob Gronkowski on the Patriots’ second drive.

So there you have it. The best and worst from Week Nine in the NFL!

Oswego Women's Hockey Sweep With A Shutout And A Thriller

The Oswego State Women's Hockey team kicked off the 2013-14 season with a big bang. They hosted the Oswego State Classic, their first ever home tournament, and did so in pretty convincing fashion. The first game of the tournament, and the season for that matter, Oswego dominated New England College, coming away with a 5-0 victory. Laker Captain Olivia Boersen got the scoring started, which turned out to be the game winner, at the 5:03 mark of the opening period, her first goal of the season. That would account for the only offense in the opening period.

To the 2nd period we go, and Oswego extended the lead to 2-0 at the 8:36 mark, when Bridget Hamlin scored her first career goal. Oswego increased the lead to 3-0 at the 17:49 mark when Erika Truschke knocked home her first career goal. Oswego would carry the 3-0 lead into the 2nd intermission. In the 3rd period, Oswego would deposit their final two goals of the game. First, at the 2:01 mark of the 3rd, Ashley Lyman scored her first career goal, and 3rd point of the game, to give Oswego the 4-0 lead. Finally at the 7:00 mark, Olivia Boersen scored her 2nd of the game, a powerplay goal, to seal the 5-0 victory.

Boersen (2 goals) and Ashley Lyman (goal, 2 assists) lead the offensive charge for the Lakers in the win, as they managed to fire 48 shots on goal, compared to just 11 by New England College. Lauren Hopps took the loss for New England, stopping 43 of 48 Oswego shots, while Cathrine Cote picked up the shutout win for Oswego, stopping all 11 shots she faced. The shutout was the 2nd career shutout for Cote, who also picked up her 8th career win.

So after the dominating win Saturday, Oswego had a bit more of a challenge in the contest on Sunday, beating Caselton State in an overtime thriller 3-2.  Oswego string of shutout hockey to start the season was broken at the 14:14 mark of the 1st period when Lisa Kilroy scored her 1st of the year. Oswego wouldn't go away quietly, as at the 16:15 mark of the period, Leslie Jarvis scored her first of the year, a powerplay goal, to get the game even. That's the way the score would stay going into the 1st intermission.

To the 2nd period we go, and the intensity picked up a little bit. Oswego scored the only goal of the period at the 3:54 mark when Mady Paul scored her 1st if the year. The Lakers were able to hold that one goal lead until the 12:14 mark of the 3rd period when BriAnna Narodowy tied the game up for Castelton. Neither team could break the tie during regulation, thus sending the game to overtime.  I took 2:31 of overtime for us to get a winner, and that goal came off the stick of Megan Hagg, lifting Oswego to the 3-2 victory.

Jess Cameron took the loss for Castelton, stopping 47 of 50 Oswego shots. Bridget Smith picked up the win for Oswego, stopping 19 of 21 Castelton shots. Laker captain Olivia Boersen as named MVP of the tournament.

With the two wins over the weekend, it is the first time since the 2009-10 season that Oswego has opened the season 2-0. Ironically, the Lakers' first win that season was against the Spartans of Castleton State.

Oswego takes their show on the road next weekend for a pair of games in Potsdam against the Bears.

Oswego Men's Hockey Earns Split Opening Weekend

Oswego State officially kicked off the 2013-14 season with a weekend series against western New York opponents, as the Fredonia Blue Devils and Buffalo State Bengals made their only trips to the Campus Center during the regular season. Fredonia was up first last Friday night, a team in which has given Oswego fits over the past few seasons, was back to the same old tricks.

The first period went quietly, with neither team being able to find the back of the net. Shots favored Oswego 14-10 in the opening period. To the 2nd period we go and the scoring finally opened at the 4:36 mark when Shawn Hulshof scored his first career goal to give the Lakers the lead. Mitch Kaufmann would tie the game for the Blue Devils less than three minutes later. Oswego would retake the lead at 19:12 when Brandon Adams scored his first career goal. The Lakers would carry the 2-1 lead into the 2nd intermission. The lead wouldn't last very long, as at 4:08 of the 3rd period Chad Bennett would connect on the powerplay, his first of the season, to knot the score. Nobody would be able to break the tie in regulation, so we headed to overtime. The game looked set to end in a tie but out of nowhere, with 28 seconds left on the clock, Hunter Long scored the game winner for the Blue Devils, pulling out the comeback 3-2 win.

Oswego outshot Fredonia 40-29 throughout the hockey game, but couldn't get that elusive 3rd goal. Justin Gilbert took the Loss for the Lakers, stopping 26 of 29 shots. Meanwhile, Chris Eiserman got the win for Fredonia, stopping 38 of 40 Oswego shots. Fredonia went 1 for 5 on the powerplay, while Oswego was 0 for 4 with the man advantage. This was the first season-opening loss for Oswego since the 2008-09 season when it fell 3-2 on the road at Elmira College. The loss is also the first home-opening loss in the Campus Center Ice Arena since the 2007-08 season when the Soaring Eagles defeated Oswego 3-2.

So after the sting of Friday night still fresh, Oswego had to rebound Saturday night against the Buffalo State Bengals. And rebound they did. Both Oswego and Buffalo State came out in this game very aggressive, with Oswego getting on the board first. Dylan Smith connected for his first career goal at the 5:19 mark of the opening period to give Oswego the early lead. The lead wouldn't last long, as at the 8:26 mark Adam Rossi scored his 2nd of the season to tie the game for the Bengals. Teams would trade off penalties the rest of the opening period, but neither team would capatalize and the opening period ended tied at 1.

To the 2nd period we go, and the intensity was much the same from the opening frame, but with an increase in scoring. Alex Botten scored his first career goal, a powerplay goal, at the 10:01 mark to put Oswego back up by one. Taylor Pryce scored his 1st of the season at the 12:43 mark to pull Buffalo State back even at 2. The tie wouldn't last very long, as Matt Galati scored his 1st career goal, and game winner, at 13:36 of the 2nd. Nobody scored during the final period, allowing Oswego to hang on for the 3-2 victory, their first win of the young season.

Matt Zawadzki picked up his first career victory in net for Oswego, stopping 24 of 26 buffalo State Shots. Meanwhile, Kevin Carr took the loss for Buffalo State, dropping his record to 1-1-0 on the year, while he stopped 50 of 53 Oswego shots.

So the Lakers close out opening weekend with a couple of nail bitters to start the year off. Next weekend the team plays only once, that being Saturday 11/9 in Cortland against the Red Dragons, with faceoff set for 7PM!

(photo and some parts of the story provided by the Oswego State Sports Information Department)

Oswego State Women's Hockey Is Reloaded And Ready To Start The Season

This time last year, things didn't look too good for the Oswego State Women's Hockey team. They had lost some of their best players and headed into the season with 17 players on the roster. Nobody really thought they would be able to make it back to the playoffs. But they did. They finished the year last year 12-12-1 and got into the playoffs for the 3rd year in a row, before falling to Neumann in the opening round.

That was last year. This year, things look a whole lot different. Last year, the team surprised a lot of people by getting to the playoffs, and even finishing .500, with a short roster. The team only had 17 players, so if anybody really got hurt, that put the team at a distinct disadvantage. They still got it done and made the playoffs.

That was last season. This year, head coach Diane Dillon has a full 23 player roster to work with. After last season, Oswego only lost one player due to graduation, that senior defenseman Brea Reith. Reith broughtt a very physical presence to that blueline. With that missing, Dillon and the coaching staff had some big skates to fill. They did that and then some heading into this year.

For most hockey teams, success starts with goaltending. Oswego has that. All three netminders from last yeas squad are back for this season. Senior Cathrine Cote missed almost all of last year with a shoulder injury, but is now back, fully healthy and ready to make an impact again in net. Of course she will be competing with Junior standout Bridget Smith, who carried the bulk of the work load in net a season ago. In her career, Smith has the highest winning percentage and 2nd most shutouts in school history. So Smith and Cote are going to be fighting it out for the number one job. Finally there's Sophmore Tori Trovato, who did a great job as a freshman filling in for the injured Cote. So the goaltending situation is solid heading into this year.

On defense, the loss of Reith has an impact. But the team still has their top three defenders back in the lineup, in the form of Seniors Jocelyn St. Clair, Leslie Jarvis and Chelsa Hunt. Their calming influence and experience will be of great value to a solid hockey club. Plus throw in the experience of Sophomore Jayme McCreary, and you've got a solid top four defenseman. McCreary has the year experience under her belt, proving to be a solid stay at home defenseman. Now with Reith gone, and some younger legs on the team, there's a little more competition for playing time on the line. The coaching staff has brought in three new defenseman who will be playing for the final two spots on the blueline. Coming into the mix are freshman Alli Ullrich, Monica Patten, Kendall Appelbaum and junior Monique Cornett, all of whom will be competing for playing time on defense. Having this mix of veteran leadership and youthfulness is going to be huge for Oswego.

But wait there's more. In order for a hockey team to be a success, you have to be able to score. The squad brings back its leading scorers from a year ago in the form of seniors Alternate Captain Mady Paul, Captain Olivia Boreson and team leading scorer Melissa Seamont. Also coming back are Megan Hagg, Emma Smetaniuk, Bailee Goodon and Lizzy Marks, who help power a pretty dynamic offense. Now there is some new blood coming in to help balance the offensive attack. Joining the forward ranks for this years team are going to be Erika Truschke, Bridget Hamlin, Alexa Aramburu, Ashley Lyman, Brennan Butler and finally Monica Patten.

This new crop of players brings in a mix of size, speed and scoring touch. Oswego, at times seems to be out played in the physical department, but now they seemed to add the size they need to be able to compete with some of the top teams in the country like Elmira and Plattsburgh. Does Oswego have enough talent here to make a deep playoff run? Absolutely they do. There's a lot of talent on this hockey team, with a good mix of youth and veteran leadership. Last year they surprised a lot of people making it as far as they did with what they had. Now they have a full roster, with a good mix of size, speed and strength. If they can nstay healthy, Oswego is going to be a force in the ECAC West this season!

(photo and some of the story provided by the Oswego State Sports Information Department)

Oswego State Men's Hockey Ready to Go After Rebuild

The time of year has finally arrived. The puck is set to drop on another season of Oswego State Lakers Hockey. Once again its a season of rebuild on the shores of Lake Ontario. During each of the last four years, the Men's Hockey team at Oswego has made it all the way to the final four in the NCAA Tournament. This year the team looks to get back there again, but this time with a slew of new faces.

At the end of last year, the team lost 14 players, all due to graduation. The top scoring line of Paul Rodriguez, Jon Whitelaw and Luke Moodie are all out due to graduation. In total, the team lost its top nine scorers from a season ago, two of whom were defenseman, so there are some pretty big skates to fill. Up front, Oswego will bring back plenty of talent. Leading the way will be new captain David Titanic and alternate captain Kyle Badham. Both of those guys, along with Chris Carr are going to be counted on by the coaching staff to really lead this team up front. Eli Kim-Swallow had a big impact on the team a season ago, and will probably be seeing more of the same again from him this year. Peter Rodriguez will be seeing a bit more ice time this season and plans on trying to make the most of it. So there is talent back on the team from last year up front, but still with losing a lot due to graduation, there are still some holes to fill.

Enter the new guys. In total, there will be 16 newcomers to the Lakers offense, three of whom are transfers from Division I schools. First is Sophomore Morgan Bonner, coming over from Sacred Heart University, then we have Sophomore Brandon Adams, coming over from Holy Cross, and finally there's Junior Mike Montagna, who played last year at Vermont. Bonner didn't get much of a chance to shine at Sacred Heart, after putting up good numbers in juniors, but he should get some good playing time with Oswego this year. With Adams, he could be used in more of a defensive role on this hockey club. Finally Montagna, who's a local kid from Fulton NY, will bring speed and good passing ability to this team.

That's just the transfers, we still have 12 new freshman forwards to add to the team. Matt Galati, Krystian Yorke, Shawn Hulshof, Evan Schultz, Manny Gialedakis, Eric Witzel, Brian Hennessey, Chris Raguseo, Alex Botten, Kenny Neil, Dylan Smith, Andrew Barton, Josh Timpano and Chris Waterstreet are all going to try and fight for playing time this season, not only among themselves, but with the upperclassmen as well. Some of this new guys have real offensive upside, so it looks like the scoring touch that was lost from last year will be replaced without a problem.

The blueline for Oswego is also going to need to be rebuilt, with the loss of Zach Josepher, Tim Carr, Taylor Farris, and Jesse McConney. but fear not, there is still solid defenders on the blueline returning from a year ago. Bobby Gertsakis and Nick Rivait are both back for their junior years, and both have been given the honors of being named Alternate Captains, joining Badham and Titanic as the team leaders.Also returning on the blueline is Denton King, who after playing in 14 games last year, will be seeing more playing time this year. He is going to have some pretty big skates to fill this year. Aside from those three guys, the Oswego State defense is getting a big boost, in the form of seven new defenseman. Two of the defenseman transferred in from Division I schools. First we have junior Mike Willis, who transfers in from Merrimack, who has some offensive upside. Next we have Mac Scott, a Sophomore from Canisius College, who appears to be a stay at home defenseman who can shut down the opposition. Joining these guys on the blue line are five freshman: Stephen Johnson, JJ Hart, Chris Raguseo, Beau Orser, and Andrew Barton. Much like the new crop of forwards, the defenseman are going to be fighting for playing time this season.

Finally the goaltending is going to be a bit of a question mark for me. The top two netminders in Andrew Hare and Dan Jones are also gone due to graduation. So now it appears, on paper at least, that Sophomore Justin Gilbert will be the number one man in the nets for Oswego. But he will have two freshman competing with him for the starting job. Simon Jasmin and Matt Zawadzki bring experience and talent to the nets, giving Oswego three very solid netminders between the pipes this season.

In total, there are 33 players on the roster right now, which is a good thing for Head Coach Ed Gosek, because it means there's plenty of depth and talent on this hockey club. There is plenty of tough competition for Oswego this year. Of course there is two games against SUNYAC Power in Plattsburgh, as well as the rest of the conference. There's also some interesting, and highly entertaining games against non conference opponents like Elmira, Nazareth and Utica. To see the full Oswego schedule for this season, you can find it right here.

So with a bunch of new faces in the lineup, Oswego is poised to make another run at an NCAA National Championship!

(Photo and parts of the story provided by Oswego State Athletics)