The Ravens certainly hope so.

In case you’ve been living under a rock lately, the 2009 NFL playoffs are underway with the final eight teams from the two conferences in the NFL finally complete. Arizona, San Diego, Philly and Baltimore all won their respective wild card playoff games to advance to the divisional round and face Carolina, Pittsburgh, the Giants and Tennessee respectively and as far as Tennessee is concerned, their AFC rivals this weekend are hoping it’ll be 2001 all over again.

The Baltimore Ravens will be facing the no.1 seed Tennessee Titans in the AFC divisional playoffs in a contest the Ravens are hoping to be eerily similar to their 2001 affair. You see, the last time the Ravens won the Super Bowl, it was back in 2001 when they got a ticket to the postseason through a wild card entry.

Who faced Baltimore in the divisional round? Yes, it was the Tennessee Titans, also seeded at no.1 then, hosting the Ravens in what was then known as the Adelphia Coliseum.

The Baltimore Ravens won that divisional playoff game, 24-10, coming up with an upset win over the top seeded Titans on their way to win the Super Bowl in… GET THIS… Tampa, Florida. And since this year’s Super Bowl will be in Tampa again, we are looking at the possible sequel of Baltimore’s Super Bowl title run.

Creepy huh?

Is this a precursor to the Ravens celebrating the Super Bowl XLIII win in…

Read More » Is it 2001 all over again for the Ravens and the Titans?

And it’s on January 6, at the Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama.

The 2009 GMAC Bowl will mark the second straight year the Tulsa Golden Hurricane will play in this BCS bowl game. Last season, Tulsa handily beat Bowling Green, 63-7, to win that year’s GMAC Bowl.

It was the largest margin of victory in BCS bowl history, as the Tulsa Golden Hurricane erased the record set by the Alabama Crimson Tide back in 1953 when they dominated Syracuse, 61-6, to win the Orange Bowl.

Tulsa is going back to the GMAC Bowl and will face a team that won its first 12 games this season, the Ball State Cardinals. Although Ball State ended the regular season with a disappointing 42-24 loss to Buffalo, the Cardinals still got the invite for the GMAC bowl.

The question now is, are they mentally prepared for the Golden Hurricanes, a team going for their second straight GMAC bowl win.

Ball State started this season 12-0 before losing 42-24 against Buffalo in the Mid-American Conference championship game. Ball State was ranked No.12 in the Associated Press top 25 poll. But after losing to the Bulls, the Cardinals dropped to No.23 in the rankings.Ironically, Tulsa also…

Read More » Ball State plays Tulsa in the 2009 GMAC Bowl

Because the Sooners probably figured pissing off the Gators, more specifically, Tim Tebow, will give them a better shot of beating Florida.

After all, the Sooners need all the help they can get coming to the 2009 BCS national championship game. This is the biggest college football game of the season and the Sooners certainly don’t want to end up losing out on the opportunity to bag the big one.

However, the Oklahoma Sooners calling Florida quarterback Tim Tebow the ‘’fourth-best quarterback in the Big 12′’ was a HUGE mistake. I mean, Tebow has strong legs to go with his rocket of an arm, meaning, he can beat you as bad on the ground game as well as in the air, like he usually does, and pissing him off was a bad judgment call on Oklahoma’s part.

So who made that mistake for the Oklahoma Sooners? Dominique Franks. Franks started stirring things up for the BCS title game over the weekend when he had the audacity to call Tebow a distant no.4 among quarterbacks in the Big 12.

Dominique Franks said Tebow ranks behind their Oklahoma Sooners quarterback AND 2008 Heisman trophy winner Sam Bradford, (figures…) Texas Longhorns quarterback Colt McCoy and Texas Tech Red Raiders quarterback Graham Harrell.

‘’I think our quarterbacks are better,'’ Dominique Franks said. ‘’Just the way they conduct themselves and how they play on the field. I just think, playing against those guys, it’s a lot harder to…'’

Read More » The Oklahoma Sooners run their mouths coming into the 2009 BCS National Title Game against the Florida Gators

Yep, in case you haven’t noticed, both teams have birds for names and it just so happened that both soared past their rivals to advance in the NFC.

The 2009 NFL playoffs kicked off over the weekend with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Arizona Cardinals both staying true to their moniker, soaring past the competition to advance to the NFC divisional round this weekend.

The Arizona Cardinals kicked off the weekend with a 30-24 win over the Atlanta Falcons before the Philadelphia Eagles concluded the wild card round with a 26-14 win over the Minnesota Vikings last Sunday. The NFC had more interesting match-ups than what the AFC offered, proving just how bigger the NFC is this season than their counterpart.

Kurt Warner and the Arizona Cardinals advance to the next round, beating the Atlanta Falcons, 30-24, last Saturday. Kurt Warner opened with a 42-yard touchdown pass to Larry Fitzgerald before connecting with Anquan Boldin on a 71-yard scoring play.

It was the Cardinals’ first home playoff game since the then-Chicago Cardinals beat Philadelphia to win the NFL championship back in 1947. Arizona will play the Carolina Panthers next and since both teams have two of the highest scoring offenses in the league, expect a shootout.

The wild card round concluded with the Philadelphia Eagles beating…

Read More » Eagles and Cardinals soar to the NFC Divisional Round

Yep, apparently, since he’s this new big shot property of basketball, he thinks referees should just let him run with the ball as much as he wants.

You read it, with the 2009 NBA basketball season now at the midway point with the start of the new year, Cavaliers superstar LeBron James started 2009 complaining to the officials on how they should just let him take extra steps with the ball just because he needs an extra step or two to do one of his ‘’signature moves.'’

The controversial ‘’LeBron James move'’ cost the Cleveland Cavaliers a game too when the self-proclaimed king of Cleveland basketball was called for a traveling violation while driving for what would’ve been a tying layup with 2.3 seconds left. The Cavs lost to the Washington Wizards, 80-77.

Understandably, LeBron James was shocked that the referees will slap him with a traveling violation for taking more than the two steps that the league rules allow. Of course, losing to the Washington Wizards, arguably the worst team in the Eastern Conference right now, should piss him off as well.

‘’Bad call,'’ LeBron James, who had 30 points, 10 assists and six rebounds, said. ‘’We all make mistakes, and I think I got the wrong end of the bargain. I watched it 10 times after the game, and it was clearly a good play.'’

Yes, LeBron actually thought he never traveled when in fact, the replay clearly…

Read More » LeBron James doesn’t want to be called for Traveling

It was a disappointing last hurrah for two quarterbacks in the AFC as Peyton Manning and Chad Pennington each took early exits this year.

In case you haven’t heard, the 2009 NFL playoffs kicked off this weekend as league MVP Peyton Manning saw his Indianapolis Colts lose to the San Diego Chargers while Chad Pennington’s Cinderella season was cut short for him by the Baltimore Ravens when his Miami Dolphins could only muster nine points to Baltimore’s 27.

Of course, Pennington’s mishap was nothing compared to what Peyton Manning had to endure.

He was coming into this AFC wild card game with the San Diego Chargers only a day after he was proclaimed as the 2008 NFL Most Valuable Player. To see him go out like that again to the same team was just unfair.

Darren Sproles scooted 22 yards for the winning score 6:20 into overtime and the San Diego Chargers beat the Colts 23-17 in an AFC wild-card game Saturday night, ending Indianapolis’ nine-game winning streak a day after Manning won his third Associated Press NFL MVP award.

Sproles came up big on a night when the Chargers played the final 2 ½ quarters without LaDainian Tomlinson, who stood on the sideline in obvious discomfort from what appears to be a serious groin injury.

Fifty years after the Baltimore Colts won the…

Read More » The Chargers and the Ravens beat the Colts and the Dolphins to advance to the AFC Divisional Round

Yes, it’s on again.

It seems it was only yesterday when the first ever Playboy Sexiest Sportscaster poll was put up.

It was back in 2000 when we had the first one with Sports Illustrated calling it ‘’the season’s second most discussed poll'’ behind only to the George Bush - Al Gore presidential race. During that inaugural poll, Jill Arrington of CBS walked away with first place honors.

Last year, we had the second Sexiest Sportscaster crowned via a landslide. Erin Andrews of ESPN won the award, dominating the polls like Shaquille O’Neal would Eric Gordon.

For the 2009 Playboy’s Sexiest Sportscaster poll, 30 nominees have been unveiled for you to vote for. Of course, last year’s winner Erin Andrews is one of the nominees, with the usual suspects like Lindsay Soto and Krista Voda.

Can Erin Andrews win it again for the second straight year? Of course, she’ll have new competition this year, better ones too.

One of which is Michelle Beisner of the NFL Network. She sort of made a name for herself when she got involved in some text messaging incident with Stu Scott two years ago.

Another newcomer this year is Melissa Stark of MSNBC. This new MILF was nowhere to be seen after dropping her Monday Night Football gig. She resurfaced during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, covering the event for MSNBC.

Hot sportscasters like Bonnie Bernstein, Hazel Mae, Charissa Thompson and Rachel Nichols are also included in Playboy’s…

Read More » Vote for America’s Sexiest Sportscaster with Playboy

In case you haven’t heard, the league MVP, Peyton Manning, and his Colts are out. Who’ll be next?

Yes, the 2009 NFL playoffs continue this Sunday with the Ravens and the Dolphins playing to advance in the AFC while the Eagles and the Vikings settle their differences in the NFC. And since guys from SportsBetting.com have their own picks for this Sunday’s huge wild card playoff games, let’s see if those guys can win you all that dough to officially end the Holidays.

The Miami Dolphins were one of the best stories of the year, if not the best after one of the greatest one-year turnarounds in NFL history. The Fish went 9-1 SU in the final ten games of the regular season, but the big question is whether that will that translate into playoff success and profit for bettors. The Dolphins weren’t nearly as good against the line during that stretch, posting a 5-5 ATS mark.

On the other hand, this will be the second trip to South Florida this season for the Baltimore Ravens with the last trip resulting in a 27-13 win. However, sports bettors seem to like the Dolphin story, but SportsBetting.com claims you should not trust them with your money, as Baltimore has been their favorite from the time the line went up.

Currently Baltimore is seeing 75 percent of the betting volume and are now…

Read More » SportsBetting.com previews NFL Wild Card Sunday as the Ravens - Dolphins, Eagles - Vikings games heat-up

Too bad the Longhorns didn’t make it to the big dance eh?

Still, earning the invite to the Fiesta Bowl makes the Longhorns’ run in the 2008 NCAA college football season a successful one. And although they’re probably still reeling over the lost opportunity to play in the national championship game, winning the Fiesta Bowl will definitely fix that.

Yes, the two teams that will play in the 2009 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl are finally determined. The No.3 Texas Longhorns will play the No.10 Ohio State Buckeyes and since the Buckeyes did play for the national title last year, the Longhorns are in for a tough battle.

The Texas Longhorns had the best shot to earn the spot for the national title game among teams like the USC Trojans, the Penn State Nittany Lions and even the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Unfortunately for them, they finished in a three-way tie in the nation’s toughest division, the Big 12 South, with the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Tech Red Raiders, denying themselves of a national title game bid because of the tiebreaker. The Sooners advanced to the title game while the Longhorns could only settle for a Fiesta Bow invite.

Still, the Ohio State Buckeyes are no pushovers and if…

Read More » Texas and Ohio State to play in the Fiesta Bowl

In what would be the only BCS bowl game outside the United States, let’s hope these guys will be putting up a show.

The Buffalo Bulls and the Connecticut Huskies will be playing against each other in the 2009 International Bowl at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada. Two bowl newbies located not too far from Canada’s border, yes, Canadian college football fans (if they have some…) should like this one.

The Connecticut Huskies have achieved their first back-to-back bowl seasons since moving up to Division I-A in 2002. However, finishing the regular season with a 34-10 loss to then-No.23 Pittsburgh, dropping their record to 7-5 and 3-4 in the Big East, should be reason enough to be worried, especially if you are scheduled to play a very tough Buffalo Bulls unit.

The 2009 International Bowl will be UConn’s second consecutive bowl. The Huskies played in the Meineke Car Care Bowl last season, losing to Wake Forest, making this BCS bowl game an opportunity to redeem themselves.

The Connecticut Huskies have made three BCS bowl trips in the past five seasons, including the 2004 Motor City Bowl, so bouncing back up in Toronto shouldn’t be a problem.

‘’We are very excited to be playing in the International Bowl in the beautiful city of Toronto,'’ UConn head coach Randy Edsall said…

Read More » Buffalo V Connecticut in 2009 International Bowl