Week 12 Football Recap

Browns 24, Panthers 23

Whew. That was way too close. I know Cleveland has nothing to play for anymore, but blowing a game like that, against a 1-9 team, still would have hurt. The Browns need to learn to tackle for 60 minutes, since this is the third game in a row the D gave up a big play late due to poor tackling. Colt McCoy better be back soon because Delhomme has a 1/6 td/int ratio with a pick 6 in EACH* of his three starts. (*In week 1 the defender returned it 64 yards to the 3 and they scored a TD on the next play, so I’m counting it.) Can the MVP come from a 4-7 team? My new favorite Peyton ran for 131 yards and three first half touchdowns and is 39% of the offense for the season and first in receptions as well. Before I get his jersey, he needs to at least make a pro bowl, so please vote for my coolness sake.

Cavaliers 7, Hokies 37

Well that was a giant thud to end the season. The outcome is about what you would expect from a team with only two D1 wins against one that had won nine straight. I would have liked to have seen some more heart to make the second half watchable. I know it’s a new coach and our offense went from 118^th to 41^st in the country, etc, but outside of the Miami win and USC loss, there wasn’t much to cheer for this year and many games were unbearable blow outs. Not sure if I’ll get season tickets again. Is it spring yet?

Redskins 13, Vikings 17

Any chance Washington had at a wild card berth disappeared after this game. The injuries and lack of a running game caught up to the Skins. At least they keep most games close and entertaining in true .500 team fashion. But to lose on old man Favre’s scramble, on a broken ankle with no Peterson at home to a team that just fired their coach, is pretty disappointing.

Colts 14, Chargers 36

I know Indy matches up poorly with San Diego and struggled recently against them, but I was not expecting four ints and Manning’s worst loss at home. Obviously the injuries are mounting in the O Line and receiving corps, and Reggie Wayne is not having his best year. Once again, they ran the ball under 20 times compared to 49 passing attempts, continuing the losing trend. Luckily though, the Jags lost to the Giants, so the Colts can still get healthy and win the division.

On a more personal note, my only cousin’s Miami of Ohio team is headed to the MAC Championship game on Friday night. Luckily, the Redhawks played nationally televised games on ESPN the last couple weeks so I was able to watch him play. First it was the fog bowl winning field goal against Bowling Green, then a victory over Akron, with a red shirt freshman quarterback making his first start. Finally Miami manhandled Temple last week and benefited from Ohio blowing their chance against Kent State to make the title game in Detroit against Northern Illinois. After going 1-11 last year, the Redhawks are 8-4 (7-1 in the MAC), the largest turnaround in the country. Maybe their second year coach Mike Haywood will join the Cradle of Coaches one day.

The Real MVP of Sports: Dr. James Andrews

Before Brett Favre made his third return from retirement this week, he had to consult with a very significant person. No, not his wife Deanna, nor his children, nor his coach Brad Childress, not even his Viking teammates. The 40-year-old indestructible gunslinger needed the blessing of one of the most influential men in sports, 68-year-old orthopedic surgeon of the athlete superstars, Dr. James Andrews.

The renowned doctor started off in Alabama in the early ‘70s and after successfully operating on Roger Clemens’s torn labrum in the early ‘80s, both careers took off. On his way to 40,000 lifetime surgeries, including 2,500 Tommy John operations alone, Dr. Andrews has treated Bo Jackson’s broken hip, Michael Jordan’s shoulder and Peyton Manning’s knee. Similarly to Clemens, in 1991 Troy Aikman’s career began after going under Andrews’s skillful knife. More recently, the Saints should give the surgeon an honorary Super Bowl ring after repairing Drew Brees’s shoulder before he signed with New Orleans.

Even this month, if you search his name under Google news, 1,000 article hits come up noting his procedures. Speaking of Google hits, in a testament to his influence, if you just Google his name, he gets 7.3 million hits, compared to 208k and 390k for the super-agents for his clients, Scott Boras and Tom Condon, as well as only 700k or less for three of the four commissioners of the sports he repairs. So next time your starting quarterback tears his ACL or ace pitcher blows out a shoulder, the following day you better hope to hear the familiar name of the man behind the curtain.

Further reading:

Much longer bio pieces from ESPN and FastCompany.

Slideshows of a team of future MLB Hall of Famers made up of his recovered players and twelve star QB patients.