Weekend Games Info From MVP....

> NFL Week 14
>
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> ---------------------------------------------------------------
>
> The matchups:
>
> 49ers (8-4) at Cowboys (5-7): San Francisco is closing in on its 14th
> division title since 1980, holding a commanding three-game lead over
the
> St. Louis Rams in the NFC West. Dallas has had some extra time to
prepare
> for this game after posting a 27-20 victory over Washington on
> Thanksgiving Day. The Cowboys, who have won consecutive games, are
seeking
> their first three-game winning streak since opening the 1999 season
at
> 3-0.
>
> Rams (5-7) at Chiefs (6-6): The Rams meet the coach who led them to
their
> only Super Bowl title when they travel to Arrowhead Stadium for a
matchup
> with Kansas City. The Chiefs, who are desperately trying to stay in
the
> AFC West race, are coming off a 49-0 rout of Arizona. Ranked last in
the
> NFL in total defense, Kansas City held the Cardinals to 122 total
yards
> and 10 first downs.
>
> Texans (3-9) at Steelers (7-4-1): Pittsburgh, who will have
quarterback T.
> Maddox back in the lineup, is closing in on its 9th division title
since
> 1980. Houston failed in its bid to win consecutive games for the
first
> time in franchise history last week, suffering a 19-3 loss at
> Indianapolis. The Texans' offensive line continued to provide little
> protection for rookie David Carr, who was sacked six times against
the
> Colts.
>
> Bengals (1-11) at Panthers (4-8): The Bengals, the NFL's worst team,
have
> lost four straight games since their lone win of the season. During
its
> latest losing streak, however, Cincinnati has come close to wins.
Like
> Cincinnati, Carolina has had its share of tough defeats, losing four
games
> by three points or less.
>
> Giants (6-6) at Redskins (5-7): Since beating the Redskins three
weeks ago
> for their third straight win, the Giants have dropped two straight to
fall
> three games behind first-place Philadelphia in the NFC East and two
games
> behind New Orleans for the second wild card spot.
>
> Bills (6-6) at Patriots (7-5): Drew Bledsoe returns to Foxboro, only
now
> he is the enemy. After spending his first nine seasons in New
England, and
> leading the team to one Super Bowl, Bledsoe was traded to the Bills.
> Although the Patriots may be the favorites to win a second straight
> divisional title, playing three of their final four games at home,
Bledsoe
> showed last week he is still in top form, throwing for 306 yards and
three
> TDs in a 38-21 victory over Miami.
>
> Colts (8-4) at Titans (7-5): First place is on the line Sunday when
the
> Colts meet Tennessee in a pivotal AFC South rematch. A win would give
the
> Colts a two-game lead over Tennessee with just four remaining.
However, a
> win by the Titans puts them in the driver's seat since they would own
the
> tiebreaker by virtue of sweeping the season series.
>
> Falcons (8-3-1) at Buccaneers (9-3): The NFL's most electrifying
> quarterback gets another crack at the league's top defense when the
NFC
> South Division rivals meet with first place on the line. In the first
> contest on October 6 at the Georgia Dome, the Bucs shut down, then
knocked
> Michael Vick from the game with a sprained right shoulder in the
third
> quarter of a 20-6 victory. Vick completed just 4-of-12 passes for 37
yards
> and ran once for one yard.
>
> Browns (6-6) at Jaguars (5-7): The Browns have won 4 of 5 games,
including
> impressive road victories against the Jets and Saints The playoff
picture,
> however, is now bleak for Cleveland since the Steelers' next two
games are
> against Houston and Carolina. The Jaguars' loss to Pittsburgh just
about
> ended their playoff hopes and pushed the Browns 1 1/2 games back in
the
> AFC North.
>
> Lions (3-9) at Cardinals (4-8): The Lions are tied for the worst
record in
> the NFC, but no team has been worse over the last month-and-a-half
than
> the Cardinals, who have been outscored by the whopping margin of
220-82 in
> their six-game losing streak. Perhaps a crowd of just over 20,000
will
> attend spacious Sun Devil Stadium to witness Sunday's game between
Detroit
> and Arizona.
>
> Saints (8-4) at Ravens (6-6): New Orleans trails the first-place
> Buccaneers by one game and the Falcons by one-half game in the NFC
South.
> However, the Saints hold the tiebreaker advantage over the Bucs after
> sweeping the season series and have a two-game lead over the New York
> Giants in the race for a wild card spot.
>
> Eagles (9-3) at Seahawks (4-8): Using their 3rd quarterback in as
many
> weeks, the Eagles have a 3-game lead over the Giants in the NFC East
and
> can clinch a 2nd straight divisional title with a win and a Giants'
loss
> at Washington. Seattle, which already has been eliminated from
playoff
> contention, is coming off a 31-24 loss at San Francisco.
>
> Broncos (7-5) at Jets (6-6): Brian Griese and Shannon Sharpe are
expected
> to return Sunday when the Broncos visits New York. The Jets were
riding a
> four-game winning streak before falling, 26-20 at Oakland on Monday
night.
>
> Raiders (8-4) at Chargers (8-4): AFC West first place is on the line
in
> the Raiders and Chargers clash. The Chargers are built around
LaDainian
> Tomlinson , who is the NFL's second-leading rusher with 1,318 yards.
It
> seems the Raiders have lived through a tale of 3 seasons. They
started the
> year with 4 wins, followed with 4 losses, and followed that with a
4-game
> winning streak.
>
> Vikings (3-9) at Packers (9-3): Everything is going against the
Vikings
> heading into Sunday night's game with the Packers. Venturing away
from the
> Metrodome has been anything but pleasant for Minnesota, which has
lost 16
> straight road games. Green Bay should have revenge on its mind after
> losing at the Metrodome last month, and Packers quarterback Brett
Favre is
> unbeatable in the cold.
>
> Bears (3-9) at Dolphins (7-5): The Dolphins will have starting
quarterback
> Jay Fiedler back Monday night. Getting Fiedler back is critical for
the
> Dolphins, who are tied with New England for 1st place in the AFC
East. The
> Bears will be shorthanded with running back Anthony Thomas expected
to
> miss the rest of the season with a broken right index finger. He
leads the
> team with 721 rushing yards and six touchdowns.
>
>
>
> College
>
Football------------------------------------------------------------------
> ---------------------------------------------
>
> Several schools have accepted bowl invitations so far. Florida and
> Michigan accepted invitations Tuesday to play in the Outback Bowl on
Jan.
> 1. The No. 11 Wolverines (9-3) and 20th-ranked Gators (8-4) never
have
> played. Penn State is going to the Capital One Bowl. Florida closed a
> disappointing regular season with a 31-14 loss to Florida State last
> Saturday. Coach Ron Zook will start practices for the bowl game
Thursday.
> Pittsburgh accepted an invitation Tuesday to play in the Insight Bowl
Dec.
> 26 at Bank One Ballpark. The 24th-ranked Panthers (8-4) finished
third in
> the Big East. They will face a Pac-10 team that has yet to be
determined,
> pending the outcome of Saturday's Washington State-UCLA game.
Minnesota
> accepted an invitation to play in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30.
Purdue
> accepted an invitation to play in the Sun Bowl for the second
straight
> year on Tuesday. In other news, Texas A&M fired R.C. Slocum on
Monday,
> ending the 14-year tenure of the winningest football coach in Aggie
> history.
>
>
>
>
NBA-----------------------------------------------------------------------
> -----------------------------------------------------
>
> The NJ Nets' Mutombo was diagnosed Tuesday with a torn ligament in
his
> right wrist. He will have surgery Thursday and will be sidelined at
least
> two months. Hornets guard Baron Davis, who missed the first game of
his
> career Sunday in the Hornets' 95-86 loss at Boston after playing in
262
> consecutive games, might sit Tuesday night because of back spasms.
The
> Knicks activated first-round draft pick from Illinois Lavor Postell
on
> Monday, he marks his return two months after his arthroscopic knee
> surgery. Bucks forward Toni Kukoc could miss up to six weeks after
right
> thumb surgery. Kukoc tore a ligament in his non-shooting hand Nov.
15,
> during the Bucks' overtime loss at the Indiana Pacers. The Pacific
> Division-leading Kings signed free agent guard Jim Jackson on Sunday
to
> fortify their depleted roster. The Dallas Mavericks welcomed back two
key
> players on Saturday, activating forward-center Raef LaFrentz and
guard
> Nick Van Exel from the injured list. Michael Jordan, playing his
final
> season, made his first start of the season Saturday night as
Washington
> tried to snap a five-game losing streak against Philadelphia, but
fell one
> point short.
>
>
>
> College
>
Basketball----------------------------------------------------------------
> ---------------------------------------------
>
> Junior guard Blake Stepp scored a career-high 33 points Monday night
to
> lead Gonzaga to a 95-89 overtime victory over Washington. The
Bulldogs
> (3-2), who dropped out of the Top 25 this week, trailed for much of
the
> game. Boston College senior forward Uka Agbai will miss at least six
weeks
> after injuring his neck in Sunday's 71-70 loss to Holy Cross.
Michigan
> dismissed junior guard Avery Queen from the team Wednesday for
violating
> unspecified team rules. St. John's forward Grady Reynolds was charged
with
> pushing a female student against a wall in a dormitory bathroom and
> throwing her to the ground. Reynolds, who played in a game nine days
after
> his arrest, is due in court Friday. Jason Keep scored 30 points and
San
> Diego got two 3-pointers in overtime to upset No. 14 UCLA 86-81
Tuesday
> night. Chris Duhon matched his career high with 20 points and added
10
> assists as sixth-ranked Duke needed a strong finish to beat Davidson
for
> the 16th straight time, 95-80 Monday night.
>
>
>
>
Hockey--------------------------------------------------------------------
> -----------------------------------------------------
>
> Boston center Joe Thornton, whose seven points and NHL-best +9 rating
in
> three games helped the Bruins extend their winning streak to five
games
> while advancing to first place in the League's overall standings, has
been
> named NHL Player of the Week. Brian Gionta scored at 2:51 of overtime
and
> Martin Brodeur posted his third straight shutout over Philadelphia as
the
> Devils beat the Flyers 1-0 Monday night. The Devils moved into first
place
> in the Atlantic Division. The best matchups on the ice this week:
Ottawa
> at Chicago (Wednesday), The Senators are unbeaten in their last 10
> (8-0-2). RW Marian Hossa has points in his last 13. Atlanta at Boston
> (Thursday), G Byron Dafoe got signed in time to face the team he led
to a
> division title last season. N.Y. Rangers at Philadelphia (Thursday),
> Former Flyers captain Eric Lindros returns during a tough
goal-scoring
> slump. Toronto at N.Y. Islanders (Friday), Michael Peca's first game
> against the Maple Leafs since Darcy Tucker injured the Islanders
captain's
> knee in the playoffs.