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Well, well another big week just gone – let’s have a very rapid-fire recap:

• NFL – High scoring Thanksgiving Day games, Texans win consecutive OT games, 49ers quarterback controversy
• NBA – Hawks run hot, Wizards brutally cold, Knicks cooling off, Denver and Miami heating up
• NCAA – Notre Dame top of the heap, K-State and Oregon go down & Alabama back in the title game!

Ok, enough chit-chat let’s do this!

NFL

Must Watch Game

Green Bay Packers (7-3) @ New York Giants (6-4)

Time & Date:  Monday November 26, 12.25pm
Coverage:  LIVE on ESPN and ESPN HD w/Replay at 7:30pm on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD (See TV Guide for info)

This is a great matchup of last year’s Superbowl champions vs the team that felt it should have been champions.  Two of the top five QBs in the league clash, with the passing game set to take centre stage.  The Giants, come into this game on a two game losing streak and a third loss here will put them firmly back into the divisional clutches of the chasing Redskins and Cowboys.  The Packers are red hot – on a SIX game win streak.

The Packers:  The offence is now up and flying which is unsurprising given all their weaponry (Rodgers, Nelson, Cobb, Jones and Finley).  The Packers have two big problems though – rushing the ball and defending the pass in the absence of Charles Woodson.

So far the Pack have scored only TWO rushing touchdowns all season – that’s not good.  And in their last three games, they’ve given up over 300 yards to Blaine Gabbert and John Skelton and then 266 to Matthew Stafford.

The Giants:  Eli has cooled off his early season MVP form and the G-Men have started to struggle.  Similarly to Green Bay, the other big problem is their pass defence.  They rank 25th in total pass yards conceded per game (257.8) and 29th in yards conceded per passing attempt (8.1!).

Watch Out For:  Blitzes and hurries.  This game will be a story of passing offences vs the passing defences.  I’ve just got this feeling that one of these two teams will manage to play much better defence than we expect by pressuring and getting to the QB.

My Tip:  Tough one!  I like the Giants to bounce back here and end the Packers nice mid-season run.  New York 27-17.

Other Big Games:

Minnesota Vikings (6-4) @ Chicago Bears (7-3)

Time & Date:  Monday November 26, 5:00am
Coverage:  LIVE on Fox Sports 3 and Fox Sports 3 HD w/Replay at 9:30pm on Fox Sports 2 and Fox Sports 2 HD (See TV Guide for info)

The surprising Vikings travel to Soldier Field to see what they can manage against the Bears.  The Bears defence will be good and angry after having their worst loss off the year, giving up 32 points to the 49ers.  Also, Jay Cutler should be back to relieve the ummm – lets’s try and put this politely…..underwhelming Jason Campbell/Josh McCown tandem.

The Vikings:  They continued to surprise by stopping their two game losing skid with a convincing win against the Lions in Week 10 before their bye last week.  Adrian Peterson is amazing – coming back stronger than ever from the knee injury, AP has 1128 yards and 7TDs on the year.

The Bears:  With Cutler back, there’s no doubt they’ll look like a different team.  The defence will want to pack the box and try and shut down Peterson.

Watch out for:  Percy Harvin to have a big game.  With the Bears focused on the run, it will force Ponder into looking for his best target.

Final word and prediction:  Bears angry, Bears back at home, Bears 21-7.

St Louis Rams (3-6-1) @ Arizona Cardinals (4-6)

Time & Date:  Monday November 26, 8:30am
Coverage:  LIVE on Fox Sports 3 and Fox Sports 3 HD w/Replay at 11:30pm on Fox Sports 2 and Fox Sports 2 HD (See TV Guide for info)

Two teams reeling after great starts to the season.  The Cardinals started 4-0 but have now lost their last SIX games and the Rams have four losses and a tie in their past five games.  The Rams won this game 17-3 in Week 5.

The Rams:  An uninspiring season so far for St Louis.  Bradford has been serviceable, without doing anything speciala and S-Jax has only had 2 TDs so far this year.  Despite installing Jeff Fisher as coach, it still feels like St Louis is a team without a real identity and way to win games consistently.

The Cardinals:  Oh my, Arizona’s offence really stinks.  How does a team intercept the opposing QB FIVE TIMES but still lose a game?  It’s really hard not to feel badly for Larry Fitzgerald – a superstar who seems to be wasting his prime years with characters like Kevin Kolb, John Skelton and Ryan Lindley throwing balls in his vague direction.

Watch out for:  Rams rookie Kicker Greg Zuerlein to make an impact.  The rookie has had limited opportunities in the past three weeks, but he’s nailed 18 of 22 FGs so far.  That includes five from 50 yards or more, with the longest being a franchise record 60 yarder in Week 4 against Seattle.

Final word and prediction:  Despite having the worse record, playing away from home and being the underdog, the Rams feel like the better team to me.  I see them getting it together enough to win in an ugly game, 15-7.

NBA

So, since the last column, the Lakers fired Mike Brown and hired Phil Jacks…..ermmm…I mean – hired Mike D’Antoni.  The Association is starting to find it’s groove now and we’re learning more about a few teams.

Who’s for real:  In the West, Memphis (being big and nasty works), San Antonio (No, we’re not old yet), the Clippers (we’ve depth going 12 players deep) and OKC (No Harden, no worries) look like they’re getting their feet under them and answering some questions.  In the East, Brooklyn (Who cares if we didn’t get Dwight) and Milwaukee (Fear the Deer again) are the surprise packets.

Who’s not:  The Wizards, Pistons and Hornets are just terrible.

The jury is out:  On the Lakers (is offence >> defence?), Boston (we might be too old and too young at the same time), Minnesota (Love + Rubio = massive improvements to come?) and Dallas (Rick Carlisle can get any roster playing well).

Must Watch Game

Denver Nuggets (7-6) @ Los Angeles Lakers (6-7)

Time & Date:  Saturday December 1, 2:30pm
Coverage:  LIVE on ESPN and ESPN HD w/Replay at 8:00pm on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD (See TV Guide for info)

The Denver Nuggets are new and fresh and have a point to prove…

The Lakers are older, but still cocky and talented…

So, this should be a brilliant game between two Western Conference teams that have the playoffs as their goal.  Both also have significant questions and know that asserting themselves early in the season is important.

My Tip:  The LA are just plain better at home than on the road – Kobe just wills them to win at the Staples Center.  Give me the Lakers by 6.

NCAA Football

This past two weeks in College Football have been insane.  This is the precise reason that College Football is so much fun, the whole season can wildly change shape in the space of a few hours.  So, let’s recap!

Week 10
The impossible happened – Alabama was beaten AT HOME in Tuscaloosa!  At the hands of Texas A&M and its quarterback, Johnny ‘Football’ Manziel, the Crimson Tide lost 29-24 in a fantastic game.  Against Alabama’s feared defence, A&M raced out to a 20-0 lead in the 1st Quarter.  After the inevitable comeback the Aggies held on for the win, thanks to a couple of critical errors and some big plays by Johnny Football.

So, it was Armageddon and Alabama fell to No. 4 in the BCS Poll.  This left Kansas State, Oregon and Notre Dame as the last three undefeated teams at the top of the polls.  Alabama now needed to win its last three games and have two of the three teams in front of it to lose a game to have any chance of making it to the National Championship Game.  There were a lot of tears down South.  But, let’s fast-forward to:

Week 11
The impossible happened again – within 20 minutes of each other, the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country had their National Championship game chances shattered and their hearts broken.  Firstly, the top ranked Kansas State Wildcats got spanked by the Baylor-we don’t have RG3 any more-Bears.  Then more shockingly, the unstoppable Oregon Ducks offence was held in check by Stanford all the way into and through overtime.  After several chances, the Ducks eventually lost the game 17-14 leaving the BCS in chaos.

So, what does this all mean for the National Championship Game?  Who’s going to play in it?

The Big Three

No. 1 – Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-0)
Notre Dame are the equivalent of the AFLs Collingwood Magpies or the NRLs Parramatta Eels or St George Illawarra – a huge supporter base that’s always hungry for any sniff of success.  The problem for the Irish was that they have totally sucked since 1993.

Now they have the best defence in the country and an improving offence and the Notre Dame faithful are going bezerk.  All the Irish have to do is win their last game of the season (see’Must Watch Game’ below) and they get their shot at the title in Miami on January 7.

No. 2 – Alabama Crimson Tide (10-1)
Lazarus.  The Crimson Tide went from absolute disaster and despair back to controlling their own destiny in the space of seven days.  Most people (myself included), don’t think the Tide will waste their second chance.  This week they should beat their bitter rivals, the Auburn Tigers (3-8) who are having a horrific year.  If they manage that, then it’s on to the SEC Championship game which will be like a National Title Semi-final for them where they’ll most likely play….

No. 3 – Georgia Bulldogs (10-1)
Georgia have been quietly going about their business all year.  Their only problem was that their one loss was a 35-7 mauling at the hands of conference rival South Carolina.  The Bulldogs are similar to Kansas State – very, very solid in all facets of the game and that might just be enough to see them to the National Title.

Now, this week is rivalry round so there’s lots of great games (e.g. No. 4 Florida vs No. 10 Florida State, No. 4 Oregon vs No. 15 Oregon State, No. 13 Oklahoma vs No. 21 Oklahoma State), but there’s really one game that’s a must watch.

Must Watch Game

No 1. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-0) @ USC Trojans (7-4)

Time & Date:  Sunday November 25, 12:00pm
Coverage:  LIVE on ESPN and ESPN HD w/Replay at 8:00pm on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD (See TV Guide for info)

It’s the last week of the regular season and one of these two teams is the Number  One ranked team in the USA and the other is unranked – exactly as everybody thought it would be at the start of the season…but the teams are the wrong way around!

The Irish have built their year around a stifling defence lead by superstar linebacker Manti T’eo.  They certainly were lucky to escape disaster three weeks ago when they took THREE overtimes to beat lowly Pittsburgh.  However, their offence is coming along with exciting young QB Everett Golson hitting his stride.

USC have had a nightmare year – they’ve just lost three of their last four games.  They were everyone’s favourite to win everything, but QB Matt Barkley (who critically is out injured for this game) has been nowhere near as good as last year and their talented defenders have been terrible as a unit.  Add this little fact:

• Lane Kiffin is the USC head coach.  Nobody likes him.  He’s considered an immature little man.
• Monte Kiffin is Lane’s father – he also happens to be the USC Defensive Co-ordinator
• Most people are calling for Lane to fire Monte
• Anybody not calling for Lane to fire Monte think that they should BOTH be fired!

I’ll bet Thanksgiving dinner at the Kiffin house was fun!

My Pick:  Notre Dame to win 28-14 and book their spot in the National Title Game.  The Irish’s defence is too good and now that Barkley is out injured, I don’t see USC putting up enough points.

So, that’s it for now – drop us a line in the comment box below and tell us what you’re watching!