Roll Tide: Alabama Wins National Championship

This will go down in the history books as one of the greatest National Championship games ever played in College Football. Alabama and Clemson went back and forth all night long, before finally pulling away with the 45-40 victory to claim the title. Here's the full story from the game, courtesy of ESPN:

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The last step toward making Alabama's run of championships under Nick Saban the greatest in college football history was the toughest.

The Crimson Tide needed all their power and speed. They needed all their talent and steely resolve. When that alone couldn't do it, it was up to one gutsy trick to help win the fourth national title of the Saban dynasty. Derrick Henry, O.J. Howard and Kenyan Drake hit No. 1 Clemson with long touchdowns, and No. 2 Alabama outlasted the dynamic play Deshaun Watson to win the College Football Playoff championship 45-40 on Monday night.

The Crimson Tide (14-1) won their three previous championship game appearances in runaway fashion. This game was an instant classic -- a relief for fans who had sat through the blowouts that turned the New Year's Six lineup into a dud. They finally broke open on perhaps the boldest call of Saban's career.

With 10:34 left in the fourth quarter and Alabama having just tied the game at 24-24, Saban took a gamble to try to keep the ball away from Watson. He called for an onside kick called "pop kick" from Adam Griffith, and Alabama defensive back Marlon Humphrey caught it over the shoulder at midfield. Tide turned. 

"It was tough. It really was," said Saban, who now has more national titles than every other coach but Bear Bryant, the man who first made Alabama synonymous with college football greatness.

"I made the decision to do it because the score was [tied] and we were tired on defense and weren't doing a great job of getting them stopped and felt like if we didn't do something or take a chance to change the momentum of the game that we wouldn't have a chance to win," Saban said.

Moments later, Alabama took back the lead for good. For the second time, Clemson (14-1) lost track of the tight end Howard in coverage, and Jake Coker hit him in stride deep for a 51-yard touchdown to make it 31-24 with 9:45 left. Clemson and Watson proved to be every bit Alabama's equal. The Tigers just kept coming.

Watson led Clemson to a field goal to make it 31-27, and boom! Another Alabama big play. Drake broke free and streaked down the sideline for a 95-yard kickoff-return touchdown, diving the last 5 yards to the pylon. Watson threw his third touchdown pass to make it 38-33 with 4:40 left, and then Alabama went back to its workhorse Heisman Trophy winner. Henry plunged into the end zone for his third touchdown of the game to make it 45-33 with 1:07 left.

"We stand toe-to-toe with everybody in the country," coach Dabo Swinney said. "This program doesn't take a backseat to anybody."

Watson threw another touchdown pass to cap a wild 40-point fourth quarter, but would not get another chance. Clemson's onside kick went out of bounds. Coker took a knee, and after a two-year drought that felt like eternity in Tuscaloosa, Alabama was back on top. After a loss to Ole Miss in mid-September, there were doubters. Saban used them to fuel his team.

"There weren't many people earlier in the year who thought they could do it," he said.

The Crimson Tide became the second team in college football's poll era, dating back to 1936, to win four titles in seven seasons. Alabama joins Notre Dame, which won four titles from 1943-49, but those Fighting Irish never even played in bowl games, nevertheless two playoff games. For Saban, it is his fifth national championship -- four in his nine seasons at Alabama -- leaving him only one short of Bryant for the most titles in history.

Watson gave the Tide all they could handle, throwing for 405 yards and four touchdowns, and conjured up memories of Vince Young's miraculous performance for Texas in the 2006 Rose Bowl that derailed Southern California's dynasty.

The sophomore, who finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting, had 478 total yards against a loaded Tide defense and bested Young's 467 yards against the Trojans. But Watson couldn't finish the job the way Young did in Pasadena, California, and win the national title.

"All the stats don't really matter to me," Watson said. "I just wanted to get the win and do something that we haven't done in 34 years."

 Instead, Saban and the Tide raised another trophy, their first in this new playoff system, and got another confetti shower. It is the Tide's 11th national title in the poll era -- 10 AP and one coaches' poll -- and more than any other school. Alabama was a unanimous No. 1 in the final AP poll and Clemson finished No. 2. The Tide hit Clemson early with Henry, who scored the game's first touchdown on a 50-yard burst through the middle. He finished with 158 yards on 36 carries. Howard was the offensive player of the game with five catches for 208 yards, including a 63-yarder that set up Alabama's final score. After Watson and walk-on Hunter Renfrow hooked up for two touchdowns to give Clemson a 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter, Henry tied it up with a 1-yard plunge. Back and forth it went. Alabama had never been challenged like this in a championship game under Saban. Alabama pulled away from Texas for Saban's first Tide title to end the 2009 season. Alabama blanked LSU for the next in 2011 and crushed Notre Dame to repeat in 2012.

Trying to become the first FBS team to go 15-0, Clemson did not crumble under the force of Alabama's might. But all those five-star recruits and future NFL players who dot the Alabama roster showed they also have plenty of resiliency and toughness. And Saban, the quintessential CEO coach, showed he had a little riverboat gambler in him.

That onside kick stunned the stadium and Clemson, and brought a big grin to the face of the country's most serious coach. The Tide will send another batch of players to the NFL this year, as Saban always does. There is another wave ready to roll.

 "I think as long as he's in Alabama," Coker said," Alabama is going to be up at the top."


So here's what I took from this game. DeShaun Watson did everything in his power to keep the Tigers in this football game. 478 yards of total offense is ridiculous, pure and simple. I've never seen a guy (outside of what Vince Young did against USC), carry a team in a game like this one. That being said, a couple of things went against him. Eddie Jackson making that Pick of Watson, setting up one of Henry's touchdowns was the only mistake that Watson made all day. The guts of Saban to call the onside kick and have his team recover it, was huge. Kenyan Drake kick return for 95 yards for a Touchdown was a back breaker. Jake Coker hitting O.J. Howard for 53 yards for, when there wasn't a defensive back within a mile of him, hurt the Tigers chances. I'm not taking anything away from what Clemson did this season, they had a fantastic year. Its just on this day, Alabama was better.

Congrats to the Alabama Crimson Tide, the 2015 College Football National Champions!

College Football Championship Preview

Its time. After 14 regular season games and a national semifinal battle, we are down to two teams left standing. This is the way it should be for a game of this magnitude. Last year, the National Championship was decided when #3 took on #4. Now its a true battle of the top two teams in the country. Nothing else matters in college football, it all comes down to tonight. One game, forty eight minutes of football ti truly decide who is the best team in the land in 2015. These two programs are separated by over 300 miles, but tonight they converge on University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Winner will be known as the 2016 National Champion in College Football.

The #1 ranked Clemson Tigers will be taking on the #2 Alabama Crimson Tide, winner will be the best team in college football for this year. Alabama comes into this game at 13-1 on the year, the only loss coming against Old Miss way back on September 19th. Alabama got here by totally whitewashing Michigan State 38-0 in the Cotton Bowl. During postseason play, the Crimson Tide are 35–24–3, and now are 1-1 under the new College Football Playoff Format. In total the team has claimed 15 national championships (1925, 1926, 1930, 1934, 1941, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978, 1979, 1992, 2009, 2011, 2012). Those last three have come under the guidance of current coach Nick Saban. As for the top seeded Clemson Tigers, they come in unbeaten at 14-0. In order to play in tonight's national championship game, they beat Oklahoma 37-17 in the Orange Bowl. When it comes to bowl games, Clemson is 20–18 all time and 1-0 in the new College Football Playoff format. Clemson has one National Championship (1981) to its credit. Alabama leads Clemson 12-3 in the all-time series between these two teams. The last matchup between the Tigers and Crimson Tide took place in 2008, as Nick Saban’s team won 34-10 in a neutral site game in Atlanta to open the season.

Lets take a look at how these two teams stack up, shall we. First, we have the two offenses. Deshaun Watson is going to be expected to do a lot for Clemson in this football game. Watson threw for 3,699 yards and 31 scores this year and added 1,032 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground. Look at what happened last time out against Oklahoma. He rushed for 145 yards (second on the team that day behind the 150 yards Wayne Gallman rushed for ). Watson also threw for 187 yards and a touchdown (although he did get picked off once). Watson helped pwoer that offense to pile up 550 yards total against Oklahoma. Beyond the obvious of Watson and running back Wayne Gallman, there might not be a more valuable player for the Clemson Tigers on offense than receiver Artavis Scott. Leading the team in receptions and yards by a wide margin, the sophomore is clearly Watson’s top target, and that isn’t likely to change in the title game. So if Alabama wants to stand a chance in this football game, they have to find a way to shut down those three guys.

From an Alabama point of view, the stud is Heisman Trophy running back Derrick Henry. Henry finished the year with 2,061 rushing yards, leading the country and helping him walk away with the highest individual honor in College Football. Henry was kept in check in the Michigan State game, 20 carries for 75 yards. He did however score twice, which was a big impact. When Henry couldn't get it really going on the ground, Quarterback Jake Coker was relied on more as the game went on and boy did he produce. He threw for a career best 286 yards last time out, and managed to hit Calvin Ridely twice. If he can repeat his Cotton Bowl performance against Clemson, it could be hard for the Tigers to keep up.

A defensive battle could take place on this field tonight. Alabama shut out Michigan State on New Years Eve. That's an impressive stat to think about. The last two games against Florida and Michigan State, Alabama allowed a net total of 44 yards on 47 carries. They have been able to shut down a run game, something that might potentially hurt Clemson, who used the rush attack with great effectiveness last time out. With the Clemson defense, they shut out Oklahoma in the 2nd half of the football game and held them to 121 total yards in that football game. Its really going to come down to a battle of attrition and who's going to want it more and make the bigger play at the right time.

If Clemson wants to win their first national title since 1981, they need to win the battle at the line of scrimmage, press the tempo, allow quarterback Deshaun Watson to make plays with his legs. Clemson needs to force the Crimson Tide to win by going to the air and not grinding it out with running back Derrick Henry. Also, Clemson can’t afford to lose the turnover battle or consistently take field goals instead of touchdowns once it reaches the red zone. Alabama’s gameplan for Monday night is simple. Win the battle at the line of scrimmage, contain Watson and get Henry on track to open up downfield shots for Coker and Ridley. Will Clemson claim its first title since 1981? Or will the Crimson Tide add another title to the trophy case in Tuscaloosa?

Pick: Clemson Tigers!

NFL Wild Card Weekend Preview

It's Time! After seventeen long weeks of doing battle, we have our 12 teams that are left standing. All have one goal, to be hoisting the Vince Lombardi trophy over their heads on February 7th. Since this is Wild Card Weekend, four teams have their bye's. Denver, New England, Carolina and Arizona get a week off to rest and wait to see who they will play next. So lets not waste any time and get right to it. Here's what were looking at for Wild Card Weekend in the National Football League. First up we have our Saturday Games!

Starting off the Weekend Saturday at 4:05 its the Wild Card Winning Kansas City Chiefs heading to NRG Stadium to take on the AFC South Champions the Houston Texans. Kansas City is the Wild Card winners finishing the season with an 11-5 record. This marks the 2nd time in three years that the Chiefs have not only made the playoffs as a wild card team, but have won eleven games in a season. Kansas City is looking for its first playoff win since beating the Houston Oilers in the 1993 Divisional Round. Kansas City has won two AFL championships, played in two Super Bowls, winning one. All time the Chiefs are 8-15 in the post season. As for the Texans, they finished the year winning the AFC South with a 9-7 record. This marks the 3rd division title for the Texans, having won in both 2011 and 2012. Those years are also the only times the Texans have ever made the playoffs. Houston has never made it to a Super Bowl and are 2-2 lifetime in the Post Season. These two teams have never faced eachother in the playoffs. During the regular season Kansas City beat Houston 27-20 in week one.

Heading into this game, you can't get any hotter than the Kansas City Chiefs. KC has come in winning ten straight games, having not lost a game since October 18th. This was coming after KC started the year 1-5, the only win at the start of the year coming over Houston in the first game of the year in Houston. Alex Smith and Jamaal Charles have been helping power this KC offense to what it has been able to do over the last ten weeks. Kansas City hasn't allowed more than 22 points in any loss they've had this season. But here's something to take into consideration from the KC perspective. The Chiefs did not face a playoff opponent in their final seven games of the season. The 1-5 start to the season came agaist teams with a combined winning percentage of .625. Over the final stretch of games, KC went 10-0 versus teams with a combined winning percentage of .419.

Houston too had a struggle during the course of the season. During the course of the year, Houston has gone through nine quarterback changes, the most recent handful out of necessity rather than indecision. Throw in the fact that star back Arian Foster hasn't been a factor most of the year due to injury, it has meant that the Houston offense have been winning with a smoke-and-mirrors offense. Meaning they rely on gadget plays, a patchwork backfield and DeAndre Hopkins' ability to physically beat defensive backs at the catch point. A plus for the Texans though has been their defense. Since Week 8, the Texans have held five of nine opponents (Titans twice, Bengals, Saints, Jaguars) to exactly six points. The Texans gorged on the toothless AFC South to the tune of a 5-1 record while managing an uninspiring 4-6 record against opponents outside the division.

Kansas City's current eight-game playoff losing streak is tied with Detroit for the longest in the league. Its going to be put to the test in this game. It's going to be a low scoring, hard hitting football game that's for sure. As good as the Houston defense is, and trust me they are very good, I just don't think the offense can match it. Look at what happened in week one. Alex Smith threw three TDs, two to tight end Travis Kelce and his teammates sacked Brian Hoyer four times and intercepted him once. Pus I think the fact that the Chiefs have gotten as hot as they have are going to play a factor in this football game.

Pick: Kansas City Chiefs!

The night game on Saturday is a AFC North Divisional Matchup. Kickoff is at 8:25 as the Wild Card Winners the Pittsburgh Steelers travel to Paul Brown Stadium to take on the AFC North Champions the Cincinnati Bengals. Pittsburgh comes in after locking up the last wild card spot with a 10-6 record. This marks the 2nd straight year and 4th time in the last six seasons that the Steelers are in the playoffs. Pittsburgh is looking for its first win in the playoffs since beating the Jets in the 2010 AFC Championship game. The Steelers have six Super Bowls to their credit and are 33-22 lifetime in the post season. Cincinnati has won the AFC North with an 11-5 record. Its the 2nd division title in three years and the 5th straight year the Bengals have made the post season. Cincinnati is in search of their first playoff win since beating the Houston Oilers in the 1990 AFC Wild Card Game. The Bengals have never won a Super Bowl (having played in two of them) and they are 5-13 lifetime in the playoffs. This marks the 2nd ever meeting between the teams in the playoffs (Pittsburgh beat Cincinnati in the 2005 Wild Card Game), and the teams split the two regular season meetings this year, with each team winning on the road.

Cincinnati had a fast start to the season, kicking the year off by going 8-0. Since then, however, they have come back down to earth a little, closing out the year going 4-4. Since Andy Dalton went down to injury, it's put pressure on AJ McCarron. Dalton was looking to break an 0-4 playoff record, but due to a broken thumb, won't be able to play against Pittsburgh. So the pressure of play falls on AJ McCarron. He's no slouch of a QB, but at the same time he's not at the same level as Dalton. With six touchdowns to two picks, McCarron hasn't been afraid to throw downfield to wideout A.J. Green and his fellow playmakers. With a lower pick percentage than Dalton, the former Alabama star isn't a massive downgrade from The Red Rifle, but McCarron still has just three starts to his name.

Now there's the Steelers. Pittsburgh went 4-2 in the final six games, and have played pretty well this year, despite the fact that they've had two big keys to the offense missing time. Big Ben has played in only 12 games this year due to injury. And there is question marks with the run game right now. Think about this, the Steelers have been without Le'Veon Bell for a good chunk of time with a knee injury (he won't be back) and DeAngelo Williams is dealing with an ankle injury he suffered the last day of the season. If Williams can't go on Saturday night, Fitzgerald Toussaint is going to be getting the carries, something which Steelers fans have to be worried about. If the Steelers can't run the ball, then Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant are going to be relied on heavily.

The Steelers have won four of the last five meetings, including the past two in Cincinnati. Cincinnati has looked average the last month and half of the season, while the Steelers are gelling at the right time. Losing Williams would be a major loss for Pittsburgh, but the NFL's top stars shine in games like this, and Roethlisberger and Brown will be the two finest playmakers on the field come Saturday.

Pick: Pittsburgh Steelers!.

Now for the Sunday games. First up, at 1:05 its the NFC Wild Card Winners the Seattle Seahawks heading to TCF Bank Stadium to take on the NFC North Champions the Minnesota Vikings.  Minnesota won the North with an 11-5 record making it the first division title for the Vikings since 2009. This marks the Vikings first playoff appearance since 2012. Minnesota is looking for its first playoff win since beating the Dallas Cowboys  in the Wild Card round in 2009. Minnesota has never won a Super Bowl, having played in four of them, and the team is 19-27 all time in the playoffs. As for the Seahawks, they come in having won the wild card at 11-5. Seattle is the two time defending NFC Champions. In fact, Seattle has missed the playoffs only once in the last six years. Seattle has been to three Super Bowls, winning one. Seattle has a 14-13 lifetime mark in the post season. This marks the first ever playoff meeting between the two teams. Seattle beat Minnesota 38-7 during their lone regular season meeting this year, played in Minnesota on December 8th.

Not too many people are giving the Vikings much a chance in this football game. Lets face facts, from an offensive perspective, the Vikings really rely on Adrian Peterson. AP finished the year with 1,85 yards which lead the NFL. There is a downside to this offense. Minnesota has the 32nd ranked pass attack during the regular season. Teddy Bridgewater finished the year with 3,231 passing yards, his favorite target being Stefon Diggs, who finished the year with 720 receiving yards. The defense has been OK. Here's a surprising stat about the Vikings defense. The Vikings are 0-4 when allowing more than 20 points and 10-0 when allowing less than 20 points. So it makes you wonder what's going to happen against Seattle.

Now as for the Seahawks, they look like they are starting to return back to form. Seattle went 4-4 at the start of the year, but finished up going 6-2 down the final eight games. One of those six wins down the stretch was that 38-7 blasting of the Vikings in Minnesota just over a month ago. Leading the way for Seattle has been Russel Wilson. Wilson became the first player in NFL history to record 4,000+ passing yards, 30+ touchdown passes and 500+ rushing yards in a single season. On defense, you normally think of the Legion of Boom, and for good reason. That secondary has garnered the majority of the headlines during the greatest run in franchise history. This year it's the front seven that has dominated. Seattle is the only defense yet to allow an individual 100-yard rusher this season, ranking No. 1 against the run at 81.5 yards per game.

I know Minnesota is coming in riding their three game winning streak. But Seattle is clicking at the right time. The bottom line, though, is that they are still trying to reach the level the Seahawks have attained for three years. Seattle simply has a marked advantage in too many categories, not the least of which is January success.

Pick: Seattle Seahawks!

Last game of the weekend kicks off at 4:40 on Sunday as the Wild Card Winning Green Bay Packers head to FedEx Field to take on the NFC East Champions the Washington Redskins. Green Bay came in with a 10-6 record, good enough to lock up a wild card spot. This marks the 7th straight year the Pack are in the postseason. In that span, Green Bay has been bounced in the first round three times. Green Bay comes in with 13 Super Bowl crowns to their credit, and are 31-20 lifetime in the playoffs. Meanwhile, Washington comes in having won the NFC East with a 9-7 record. This marks the first division title, and playoff appearance for that matter, for Washington since 2012. Washington is looking for its first playoff win since beating Tampa Bay in the 2005 Wild Card Game. The Redskins have five Super Bowls to their credit and are 23-18 lifetime in the post season. This marks the 3rd all time meeting between the franchises in the playoffs, Green Bay won in 1936, with Washington getting the victory in 1972. These two clubs didn't face eachother during the regular season.

After struggling through parts of the year, Washington has really turned it on, winning their final four games of the regular season. The rise of Kirk Cousins took incredible patience from head coach Jay Gruden, especially considering that he was benching Robert Griffin III, a quarterback beloved by ownership and the subject of a blockbuster draft-day trade that plucked the Redskins of a treasure trove of draft picks. This simply wouldn't fly in other places, and it didn't fly in Washington for quite some time. Gruden and the Redskins may very well lose on Sunday, but for the first time in a long time, we're not discussing the Redskins as a surprise candidate to fire their coach and start over. Cousins has been good in getting the ship righted and getting this team back on track and back on their winning ways late in the year. He finished the year with 4,166 passing yards. The only thing that worries me is the run game.

Green Bay is a bit of a different story. This is the first time in half a decade that the Packers have had a better scoring defense than scoring offense. Capers has turned Clay Matthews into one of the best all-around defensive players in the NFL, and Morgan Burnett is playing great at the safety spot this year, not to mention an encouraging second year from Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. Now don't get me wrong, Green Bay has a good offense. Aaron Rogers has done some fantastic things this year without his top target in Jordy Nelson, who's been out all year with a knee injury. Eddie Lacy has had a down year by his standards, finishing the season with only 758 rush yards. At times, he has shown bursts of brilliance but more often he has been a pedestrian back at best.

The Packers have won five of the past six games in this series. But the Pack stumbled in the 2nd half of the year, going 4-6 to close out the year and lost their final two games. Washington has won four in a row to close out the year. Sure the Skins played in a weak NFC East, but they are getting hot at the right time and I don't have much confidence in Green Bay, something I didn't think I'd be saying at the start of the year.

Pick: Washington Redskins!

Hall Makes The Call

It means so much when you hear those magic words, being called a Hall Of Famer. By definition, a hall of famer is a group of individuals in a particular category (as a sport) who have been selected as particularly illustrious. It means that you were one of the very best to ever play the game. In order to get inducted into the hallowed halls in Cooperstown New York, you need to earn 75% of the votes on the ballot to be elected. This year two men will take their place among the greatest of all time. The Mariners made Ken Griffey Jr. the first overall pick in the 1987 Draft. The following year, the Dodgers selected Mike Piazza with the 1,390th pick, in the 62nd round. Both men will now end up in the same place in July. Griffey is the first No. 1 pick to make it, while Piazza is the lowest pick to do so.

Ken Griffey Jr. was named on 99.3 percent of ballots (437 out of 440 cast by Baseball Writers' Association of America members), breaking the Hall of Fame record of 98.84 percent, set by Tom Seaver in 1992. It was with good reason that Griffey was voted in on as many ballots as he was. During a 22 year career in the Majors, which spanned from Seattle (13 years), Cincinnati (9 years) and Chicago (1 year w/ White Sox), Griffey was a .284 lifetime hitter, with 630 home runs and 1,836 RBI's. He hit 40 or more home runs seven times in his career, including five in a row (1996-99). He played in 13 all star games, was a ten time gold winner (one of only three outfielders to ever win that many), and won seven silver sluggers, among many of his career honors. Griffey will be the first player inducted into the Hall of Fame who'll wear a Mariners cap on his plaque.

There are several things that made him great. As a fielder he could get to anything that was hit in his general direction. The ten gold gloves is evidence of his greatness in the field. His defense in center field was widely considered the standard of elite fielding during the decade, exemplified by his streak of 10 straight Gold Gloves from 1990-1999. His impressive range allowed frequent spectacular diving plays, and he often dazzled fans with over-the-shoulder basket catches and robbed opposing hitters of home runs by leaping up and pulling them back into the field of play. Then there was what he did at the plate. The home runs are what most people talked about, and rightfully so. Lets not forget that he collected 2,781 hits, 524 of which were doubles. He knew how to run the basses, stealing 184 of them in his career. One of the most memorable moments of Griffey's career, at least with the Mariners, came during the 1995 American League Division Series. Seattle was going up against the New York Yankees. After losing the first two games, the Mariners and Griffey were on the verge of elimination, but came back to win the next two games, setting up a decisive fifth game. In the bottom of the 11th inning of Game 5, with Griffey on first base, teammate Edgar Martínez hit a double. Griffey raced around the bases, slid into home with the winning run, and popped up into the waiting arms of the entire team.

What is going to get talked about most with Griffey is his power. His 630 career home runs rank sixth in MLB history, with only two left-handed hitters ahead of him, that being Barry Bonds and Babe Ruth. One of the fondest memories of a Griffey home run that fans have didn't come during a regular season game. It actually came during the Home Run Derby. It came during the Derby in 1993, which was held at Oriole Park in Baltimore. Griffey hit the warehouse beyond the right field wall on the fly and, he is still the only player ever to do so. As with every home run that hits Eutaw Street, each feat is honored with a circular plaque, embedded horizontally onto the concourse's walkway, in the exact spot where the home run landed.

Griffey earned the highest voting percentage in the history of the hall of fame, at 99.3%. He is also one of only ten players in baseball history to get a voting percentage of 97% or higher. This list is pretty impressive:

Ken Griffey, Jr.: 99.32%
Tom Seaver: 98.84%
Nolan Ryan: 98.79%
Cal Ripken, Jr: 98.53%
Ty Cobb: 98.23%
George Brett: 98.19%
Hank Aaron: 97.83%
Tony Gwynn: 97.61%
Randy Johnson: 97.27%
Greg Maddux: 97.20%

Then there's the other guy who got elected into the hall of fame, Mike Piazza. Piazza played 16 season in the Majors, spending time playing for the Dodgers (7 years), New York (Mets 8 years), San Diego (1 year), Oakland (1 year) and Florida (1 week). During that time, he hit .304 lifetime, with 427 home runs, 396 of which were as a catcher, the most in Major League History. He also drove in 1,335 RBI in his career. Piazza won the NL rookie of the year in 1993, was a 12 time all star and a ten time silver slugger winner. Through such abilities, a career that began in obscurity has earned baseball's ultimate measure of fame, as the lowest drafted player to ever earn enshrinement. Selected in the 62nd round of the 1988 Draft as a favor to his father, a friend of Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, Piazza became the National League's Rookie of the Year after clubbing 35 home runs in 1993. Piazza proceeded to hit 346 homers over a 10-season span, which would have made him one of the greatest Dodgers ever if not for a pair of high-profile trades in the middle of his prime (MLB).

One of the biggest knocks on Piazza during his career was his defensive abilities. He wasn't the greatest defensive catchers ever, he was middle of the pack at best. What made him so great is what he was able to do with a bat in his hands. Piazza is known as among the best-hitting catchers of all time, hitting 427 career home-runs and having an OPS of .922. Only nine other players have ever had over 400 home runs with over a .300 lifetime average while never striking out more than 100 times in a season (Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Lou Gehrig, Mel Ott, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Vladimir Guerrero, Albert Pujols and Chipper Jones). That's some pretty elite company to be mentioned with. Among Catchers, he is hands down the greatest power hitting catcher ever. Among the all time greats, there's only two other catchers in the history of the game you could take above Mike, that being Yogi Berra and Johnny Bench. Piazza was the best catcher of his generation.

The two moments that will forever live on in Mets fans memories are two long balls that Piazza hit. One was the first game back in New York after the horrible attacks on New York on 9/11. The date of the game was September 21st, the Atlanta Braves were in town. With the Mets trailing in the bottom of the eighth, Piazza hit a moon-shot home run to center against Braves reliever Steve Karsay to put the Mets ahead. The other date that meant a lot for Piazza as a Met was June 30, 2000. Once again it was against the Atlanta Braves. The Mets staged an epic rally to come back from an 8-1 eighth-inning deficit against the Braves, with Piazza's home run against Terry Mulholland being the perfect capper.

Both men will be offically inducted to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown on july 24th!

NHL All Star Game Rosters Announced

It's where the best players in the game assemble for one weekend a year during the National Hockey League Season. Coming up at the end of the month, January 30-31 to be exact, the best players in the game converge on Bridgstone Arena in Nashville Tennessee for the 2016 NHL All Star Game. In the past, the NHL has had tried a few different looks for the game. They have had the two conferences play eachother, they have tried a North America against the World format, and even threw in a fantasy draft among the players to play in the game. This year, they are trying a new wrinkle to the Midseason Showdown.

As part of the new format for the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Game, the All-Stars will take part in a three-game tournament, played in a 3-on-3 format, and featuring teams representing each NHL division. The Atlantic Division, captioned by Jaromir Jagr of the Florida Panthers. They will play the Metropolitan Division, captioned by Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals. That's the 1st period. the 2nd period will see the Central Division, captioned by Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks, who will take on the Pacific Division, captioned by John Scott of the Arizona Coyotes. The Winners of the two periods will meet up in the 3rd period to determine a winner.

Here's what the official rosters for the All Star Game:

Atlantic Division:
Head Coach: Gerard Gallant (Florida Panthers)
F Patrice Bergeron (Boston Bruins)
F Jaromir Jagr (Florida Panthers)
F Leo Komarov (Toronto Maple Leafs)
F Dylan Larkin (Detroit Red Wings)
F Ryan O'Reilly (Buffalo Sabres)
F Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay Lightning)
D Aaron Ekblad (Florida Panthers)
D Erik Karlsson (Ottawa Senators)
D P.K. Subban (Montreal Canadians)
G Ben Bishop (Tampa Bay Lightning)
G Roberto Luongo (Florida Panthers)

Metropolitan Division:
Head Coach: Barry Trotz (Washington Capitals)
F Nicklas Backstrom (Washington Capitals)
F Claude Giroux (Philadelphia Flyers)
F Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins)
F Alex Ovechkin (Washington Capitals)
F Brandon Saad (Columbus Blue Jackets)
F John Tavares (New York Islanders)
D Justin Faulk (Carolina Hurricans)
D Kris Letang (Pittsburgh Penguins)
D Ryan McDonagh (New York Rangers)
G Braden Holtby (Washington Capitals)
G Cory Schneider (New Jersey Devils)

Central Division:
Head Coach: Lindy Ruff (Dallas Stars)
F Jamie Benn (Dallas Stars)
F Matt Duchene (Colorado Avalanch)
F Patrick Kane (Chicago Blackhawks)
F Tyler Seguin (Dallas Stars)
F Vladimir Tarasenko (St. Louis Blues)
F Jonathan Toews (Chicago Blackhawks)
D Dustin Byfuglien (Winnipeg Jets)
D Roman Josi (Nashville Predators)
D Shea Weber (Nashville Predators)
G Devan Dubnyk (Minnesota Wild)
G Pekka Rinne (Nashville Predators)

Pacific Division:
Head Coach: Darryl Sutter (Los Angeles Kings)
F Johnny Gaudreau (Calgary Flames)
F Taylor Hall (Edmonton Oilers)
F Joe Pavelski (San Jose Sharks)
F Corey Perry (Anaheim Ducks)
F John Scott (Arizona Coyotes)
F Daniel Sedin (Vancouver Canucks)
D Brent Burns (San Jose Sharks)
D Drew Doughty (Los Angeles Kings)
D Mark Giordano (Calgary Flames)
G John Gibson (Anaheim Ducks)
G Jonathan Quick (Los Angeles Kings)

Mostly I think the coaches got the rosters right for this tournament. Of course, much like anything else in life, I think there's a few guys who got short changed. Was a little surprised that John Klingberg of the Stars was left off the list. The stat's that Klingberg have put up this year warrant him playing in the midseason showdown. He is the 2nd highest scoring defenseman in the NHL, behind only Erik Karlsson of Ottawa. I'm impressed that Dylan Larkin got the nod to represent the Red Wings over guys like Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk. Then again, the only guy who has more points this year in Detroit than Larkin is Zetterberg.

Just as surprising is the fact that John Scott was even voted a captain for the All Star Game. Keep in mind, this is a guy who has spent some time in the minor leagues this year. How he is going to the game instead of say Shane Doan (his Arizona teammate), Mikkel Boedker (the Coyotes leading scorer), and even Henrik Sedin is a bit of a shock. With the East, the fact that Zdeno Chara isn't playing, we also got no Victor Hedman or Dion Phaneuf is a bit of a surprise. That's not to say that the guys playing aren't deserving, because trust me they are. All I'm saying is it would have added a few more intersting notes to the dynamic of the game.

The 2016 Honda NHL All-Star celebration will mark the first time Nashville has hosted the NHL All-Star festivities, which will take place at Bridgestone Arena. Live television coverage of the League's midseason showcase during the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Skills Competition and 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Game will be broadcast by NBCSN in the U.S. and Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada. The 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Skills Competition will begin at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT on Saturday, Jan. 30, and the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Game will start at 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT on Sunday, Jan. 31.

Best And Worst Of NFL Week Seventeen

We have reached the end of our journey. Week Seventeen in the NFL gave us plenty to talk about. Peyton Manning came back to save the day in Denver, helping the Broncos lock up the top seed in the AFC in the playoffs. Pittsburgh gets in on the slimmest of margins, with a little help from the choke job by the Jets. The NFC North was decided by the last play of the game, with Minnesota pulling out the win and winning the Division. And so the 2015 regular season comes to a close: Out of 32 teams, only 13 finished with winning records. When the dust finally settled, Carolina and Denver held the conferences' top seeds, two teams make it into the playoffs with 9-7 records, and we avoid having division winners with under .500 records. With the playoff picture now fixed in place and four teams secured to enjoy their bye week, we get ourselves set for one wild ride in the playoffs, which start this weekend.

First things first. We will get into playoff breakdowns a little later. Here are some of the best and worst performances from the final week in the National Football League season.

Best:
Pittsburgh Steelers
The formula was simple in the steel city. Win and hope the Jets lose. That was it. Pittsburgh had their playoff hopes hanging in the air after getting beat by the Ravens in week sixteen, which opened the door for the Jets to grab the last playoff spot. They got the help they needed with the Jets chocking against the Bills, while Pittsburgh did what they had to do and put a beating on the Cleveland Browns, beating up on Cleveland 28-12. Big Ben and Antonio Brown were the two big reasons the Steelers slapped around the Browns (surprise, surprise right). Roethlisberger threw for 349 yards and three touchdowns to seal the win. Brown caught 13 of those passes for 187 yards and a TD. The only thing that might have even put a damper on the day was the injury to DeAngelo Williams. The running back got hurt with an ankle sprain in the 2nd half of the win over the Browns. Pittsburgh is hoping it's not serious and he can be ready to go in their playoff matchup with the Bengals on Saturday.

Worst:
New York Jets
I never knew it was possible for this Jets team to find new ways to tear the hearts out of their fanbase and stomp on them, but guess what? They found a way to do it. It couldn't have been an easier gameplan. Win and your in the playoffs. You were going up against a Buffalo Bills team that had nothing to play for after this game. But they couldn't even find a way to do that. They were outplayed from start to finish, losing 22-17 to Buffalo (ironically enough the same score the Bills won by when they met at MetLife Stadium in early November). The Jets lost hope in this game. Fitzpatrick lost some of his magic that he had in the weeks prior, throwing three picks late in the game that sealed the win for the Bills. The Jets did finish 10-6, which is still a fantastic record, but missing the playoffs is not what they wanted. To make matters worse, they finished dead last in the NFL draft order among non-playoff teams. They'll pick No. 20 this April. Wow.

Best:
Peyton Manning, Quarterback Denver Broncos
Welcome back Peyton Manning! He had been sitting as the backup QB the last few weeks, while Brock Osweiler had taken over while Peyton was hurt and struggling. With Brock at QB, the Denver offense had turned the ball over five times, falling behind early to the San Diego Chargers. Then Peyton comes back in, leading the Broncos on scoring drives in four of five possessions. That helped lead the Broncos to not only a 27-20 win over the Chargers, but it helped Denver lock up the #1 seed in the AFC for the playoffs. He didn't put up the best numbers, going only 5 of 9 for 69 yards, but just having him on the field was emotional enough to help lead the team to where they wanted to go.

Worst:
Tom Brady, Quarterback New England Patriots
New England, much like Denver, was looking to lock up the top seed in the AFC. That didn't go as planned, as the Patriots got knocked off by Miami 20-10. Rather than trying to make a comeback, which the Patriots are pretty darn good at, head coach Bill Belichick opted to gamble with home-field advantage and surrender with a white flag. Brady was uncharacteristically off-kilter, and he failed to throw a touchdown for the first time all season. He was also dinged up after taking several hits, and in attempt to stay preserved, the quarterback attempted a season-low 21 passes. Brady’s five first-half passes were the least he has ever attempted during any first half in his career. I know you want to save your guys for the playoffs, but at the same time, wouldn't it make more sense to make sure your players are ready to roll and playing their very best at playoff time?

Best:
Philadelphia Eagles Offense
Maybe Chip Kelly leaving Philly was the best thing that could have happened. It wasn't a big secret that there was a riff between the coach and his players. On his first touch after Chip Kelly was fired, Murray ran 54 yards for a touchdown. You can’t even make this stuff up. The growing sentiment the past few weeks was that Kelly was holding Murray back somehow, even though Murray hadn’t played well all season. That run helps his case, for sure. His next 11 runs got 15 yards, but whatever, right? The entire Eagles offense seemed to be just fine without Kelly on Sunday. Sam Bradford was 30 of 38 for 320 yards, a great audition for him before he hits free agency. The Eagles scored 35 points in a win over the Giants. One has to wonder what Kelly was thinking when he saw it all.

Worst:
New York Giants
It was almost a given that Coach Tom Coughlin was heading out the door. He did finally step down as Giants Head Coach on Monday, this being sealed by the teams dismal performance on Sunday, falling to the previously mentioned Eagles, 35-30. The Giants have unfortunately had the untimely knack for blowing games in the last seconds of of the game this year. This has happened six times this season, including one overtime matchup. Sunday’s game classically followed suit when the Giants were looking to extend a 27-21 lead in the third quarter. Eli Manning took a sack by Connor Barwin and fumbled and the ball, which was recovered by Walter Thurmond who returned it for an 83-yard touchdown. I just feel bad for the coach that did so much for the Giants and to see him go out the way he did is a little upsetting. Now I have to wonder something out loud. Why does Jerry Reese still have the job as Giants General Manager?

Best:
Blaine Gabbert, Quarterback San Francisco 49ers
It's been strange. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have never really had it figured out how to pick Quarterbacks. They've tried everything in Tampa, from Josh Freeman, to Trent Dilfer, to Brad Johnson, the list goes on and on.  Tampa Bay quarterbacks went on to greatness once they left that wretched franchise. They were either established with other teams before coming to Tampa or they made a name for themselves once they leave Tampa. The success is never found in Tampa really. You can add Blaine Gabbert to that list. Gabbert, who bombed out with the Bucs, is now the San Francisco 49ers quarterback. On Sunday, he threw for 354 yards and a touchdown in the 49ers 19-16 win over the Rams. Gabbert has his critics, and they have valid reasons for their criticism, but hey, I'm just saying: Look at history.

Worst:
Sean Lee, Linebacker Dallas Cowboys

This one is purely money related. I'll give him credit, he did try and gut it out and play on Sunday during the Dallas 34-23 loss to Washington. Lee was declared inactive with a hamstring injury. Had he played he would have had a $2 million clause in his contract kick in. Ouch

Best:
Kirk Cousins, Quarterback Washington Redskins
Believe it or not, Cousins is finishing off the regular season as one of the hottest quarterbacks on the planet. In a near flawless first-half performance, Cousins completed 12-of-15 passes for 176 yards and three touchdowns against the Dallas Cowboys. And this all happened with eight minutes still left on the clock in the second quarter. As a result, Washington led the Cowboys 24-0, and Cousins found himself out of the game, benched due to his excellent performance. Cousins exiting the game early was all about keeping Washington’s star signal-caller healthy for the postseason.  I can't blame the coaches for pulling him out. Kirk did what he had to do to get the Redskins in a better position and he has the flow going at the right time into the playoffs. You got the game locked up why risk getting the guy hurt.

Worst:
Kenbrell Thompkins Wide Receiver New York Jets
I know we brought this up before but right now it has to be brought up again. The play that Jets fans will replay over and over and over and over this offseason came with less than 30 seconds left at Buffalo. The Jets needed a miracle to win and make the playoffs, and almost got it. Thompkins got open down the right sideline. Bills defensive back Mario Butler got turned around. Ryan Fitzpatrick delivered a nice pass that Thompkins caught in stride. It would have gone down in Jets history. Then Butler recovered and got his shoulder on the ball, popping it loose for an incompletion. Fitzpatrick was picked off on the next play. It went from a possible 73-yard miracle touchdown and a Jets playoff berth to an incompletion and the Steelers getting in the playoffs instead. Just like that. Even for the Jets, one of the NFL’s tortured franchises, that was too cruel. And we haven’t even mentioned it came against Rex Ryan.

Now that the regular season has come to a close, here's what the final playoff seeding looks like in the NFL:

AFC:
1. *- Denver Broncos (AFC West) 12-4
2. z- New England Patriots (AFC East) 12-4
3. z- Cincinnati Bengals (AFC North) 12-4
4. z- Houston Texans (AFC Sout) 9-7
5. y- Kansas City Chiefs (South WC) 11-5
6. y- Pittsburgh Steelers (North WC) 10-6

NFC:
1. *- Carolina Panthers (NFC South) 15-1
2. z- Arizona Cardinals (NFC West) 13- 3
3. z- Minnesota Vikings (NFC North) 11-5
4. z- Washington Redskins (NFC East)  9-7
5. y- Green Bay Packers (North WC) 10-6
6. y- Seattle Seahawks (West WC) 10-6

That's the end of the regular season. We'll see ya in the playoffs!

Black Monday Hits NFL

New year, new head coaches around the National Football League. After having subpar seasons during the year, coaches are usually axed by management if the year doesn't go as planed. It's not all on the coaches as to why teams don't perform as well as they should. But since you can't get rid of the players, somebody has to take the blame for the season and usually it's either the coach, the general manager or both. It means that some of the most coveted coaching jobs in the world have come open.

Before we get into what happened today, lets not forget that there are other teams that put coaches on the chopping block before the season even ended.

Miami Dolphins fire Joe Philbin (October 5)
This happened way early in the year, coming after a 1-3 start for the Fish. This was after getting blasted by the Jets over in London. The Dolphins' high-priced defense, starring off-season score Ndamukong Suh, was an undisciplined, erratic wreck to start the year. Not surprisingly, defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle was handed his walking papers shortly after Philbin. Those were a pretty big factor as to why Philbin was dumped. I'll give credit where its do to Dan Campbell, he did a good job helping the Dolphins finish the year out at 5-7 under his watch. I could see Campbell come back in town next season if possible but who knows.

Tennessee Titans fire Ken Whisenhunt (November 3)
Yeah the Titans are that bad. Think about this. Tennessee was 3-20 under Whisenhunt before he was let go after week eight. To make matters worse, if you take out their week one wins last year and this year, the Titans are just 1-20. Even with a roster in need of significant rebuilding, that's a tough sell in this league. Marcus Mariota's arrival also could not save Whisenhunt, despite Whisenhunt's reputation as a bit of a QB guru. The Titans simply were not competitive, on either side of the football. It kind of became obvious that this team wasn't very good, when they could not gain traction in a downtrodden AFC South race, which we saw this year was one of the two most pathetic division races this year (the other being the NFC East). Mariota is the key to this franchise's future, and Titans ownership understandably wants to ensure it has the right guy running the show.

Philadelphia Eagles fire Chip Kelly (December 29)
He's a good coach, but I think the writing was on the walls in Philly. Kelly's Eagles made the playoffs in his first year as head coach. He manage to take this Eagles team to the NFC East title with a 10–6 record. They followed that up by finished with the same 10–6 record in 2014, but they took a step backwards by not winning the division and missed the playoffs. Philadelphia was 6–9 this year when Kelly was fired, apparently firing the team up, because Philly won in Week 17 against the Giants under interim coach Pat Shurmur. One thing that always stuck out to me from this whole situation was that Kelly wanted, and was given, almost complete control over the franchise's personnel decisions ahead of this season. The power grab negated any work Kelly had done as coach over the 2013 and ’14 campaigns. This year, he pissed away a lot of talented players and it cost him his job. I think a lot of his moves really alienated a lot of his players, which made it hard for them to play for him.

Now here's the list of guys who got their walking papers today.

Cleveland Browns fire Mike Pettine and Ray Farmer
There's no sugar coating this thing, the Browns flat out suck (sorry to break the news to you Cleveland, but come on you know its true). Pettine posted a 10–22 record over two seasons, including 3–13 this year. Yeah that's not very good. To be fair he didn't have the greatest talent in the world to work with. Farmer was promoted from assistant GM to GM prior to the start of that tenure. Take a look at this year for a moment. The Browns’ three wins this season came against the Titans, Ravens and 49ers, all of whom will hold top-10 draft picks. Arguably, the high point of the season was a 26–23 overtime loss to the then-undefeated Broncos. There were issues all over the roster and on up through the front office, but Pettine’s inability to coax anything out of Cleveland’s defense led to his undoing as much as anything else. He spent five years as a defensive coordinator before arriving in Cleveland, four with the Jets and one in Buffalo. What made me scratch my head this year is the fact that he could never keep a steady starting QB on the field. If he had a solid, set #1 Quarterback, then he MIGHT have saved his job (but I could be wrong).

San Francisco 49ers fire Jim Tomsula
I kind of think giving a guy only a year to turn a team around is short. Then again when your in a crappy situation like San Francisco, you might be happy to be out of the situation. The team finishing the year 5-11 is what helped get Tomsula out the door, but I think there's more to it than that. You had a team that had three deep playoff runs from 2011 to 2013. The management team that lead them there were let go, that being Jim Harbaugh, offensive coordinator Greg Roman and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. The 49ers also saw an almost unprecedented number of key retirements last off-season: Patrick Willis, Chris Borland, Justin Smith and Anthony Davis all stepped aside (though Davis has said he may return). Instead of going out and finding somebody you know who can run an NFL team, they hire the defensive line coach (who did have head coaching experience but it clearly wasn't going to be a good fit this year). The truth is, though, that Tomsula never stood a chance.

Tom Coughlin steps down as Giants’ coach
Only Bill Belichick and Marvin Lewis have longer head coach tenures with their current teams than did Coughlin, who took the Giants’ job in 2004. He won nine games and qualified for the playoffs in 2005, en route to 102 career regular-season wins with New York. Coughlin also delivered two Super Bowls (2007 and ’11), but the Giants have missed the playoffs four straight years since that second title. Maybe Coughlin’s approach grew a little stale after a decade, this is considered an eternity in NFL coaching circles these days. Maybe embattled GM Jerry Reese set up Coughlin to fail over the past two years by allowing the Giants' defense to evaporate into nothingness. Who knows the exact reason. It should also be noted that he walked away and he was not fired.

Tom Coughlin is going to go down as probably the 2nd greatest coach the New York Giants have ever had, behind only Bill Parcells. I mean the guy did win you 102 regular season games and a pair of Super Bowls. The following shows you the class of Tom Coughlin. Here's the full statement he released today:

“I met with John Mara and Steve Tisch this afternoon, and I informed them that it is in the best interest of the organization that I step down as head coach. I strongly believe the time is right for me and my family, and as I said, the Giants organization. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as head coach of the New York Football Giants. This is a not a sad occasion for me. I have spent 15 years with this organization as an assistant and head coach and was fortunate to be part of three Super Bowl winning teams. A Lombardi Trophy every five years is an achievement in which we all take great pride. Obviously, the past three years have not been what any of us expect, and as head coach, I accept the responsibility for those seasons.

I think it has been evident these last 12 years here how much pride I take in representing this franchise. I am gratified and proud that we were able to deliver two more Lombardi trophies to the display case in our lobby during that time. That is a tribute to our players and staff, and it was truly fulfilling to be the leader of those teams. I appreciate the support of John and his family and Steve and his family, and of Jerry Reese and his staff. I think our organization is a great representation of what I mean when I talk about ‘team’. Finally, I would be remiss if I did not thank my wife Judy and our four children and their spouses and our 11 (soon to be 12) grandchildren. None of this would have been possible without their unconditional love and support.”

So we will wait and see what happens among NFL coaches from here on out.