Sports Blog of the Day

After seven seasons and an 85-27 regular season record and one Super Bowl title, Indianapolis Colts’ head coach, Tony Dungy said “the time is right” and is walking away from the sidelines.

Dungy will be replaced by assistant head coach Jim Caldwell who has been waiting in the wings waiting for a final decision.

Caldwell is extremely familiar with Dungy’s system having worked under him in Tampa Bay in 2001 then traveling to the Colts’ organization in 2002 as quarterback coach.

Dungy has had an illustrious career being the only NFL head coach to ever compile six straight 12-win seasons and 10 consecutive playoff seasons.

Caldwell signed a four-year deal. You can see his video press conference here.

 When the Philadelphia Eagles and Donovan McNabb went into New York and upset the top seeded New York Giants 23-11, history was made. For the first time ever, all three top seeds failed to make it to the championship game.

The Eagles will travel to Arizona to take on the Cardinals who, like the Eagles have been surging these playoffs. The Cardinals upset the Carolina Panthers who were 10 point favorites by converting 6 turnovers into 23 points and coasting to a 33-13 win Saturday.

The Eagles managed to find a way to win with their star RB Brian Westbrook picking up only 46 total yards, 36 rushing and 10 passing.

One key to the game was the Eagles defense stopping the Giants twice in the fourth quarter on 4th down, causing the Giants to turn over the ball on downs at a crucial point of the game.

Sunday’s NFC Championship kickoff in Arizona is scheduled for 3 p.m.

Eric Mangini has pulled a full circle after landing the head coaching job with the Cleveland Browns, the same team he started with as a ball boy at the age of twenty-three.

Mangini was fired by the New York Jets last month after his team dropped the final game of the season at home against the overachieving Miami Dolphins, knocking the Jets (9-7) out of the playoffs.

On that same day, the Browns (4-12) handed Romeo Crennel his pink slip creating the opening for Mangini.

The 37-year-old Mangini who compiled a 23-25 record and one playoff appearance over three years with the Jets, signed a four-year contract with his new team.

See Mangini’s video press conference here.

The Philadelphia Eagles have won 5 out of 6 games since five-time Pro Bowl quarterback Donavan McNabb was benched November 23rd during a 36-7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

McNabb bounced back from that benching with a vengeance, leading the Eagles on a hot streak beating improbable odds and snagging the final NFC wild-card spot.

After going into Minnesota last weekend and winning a playoff game with another strong performance, completing 23 of 34 for 300yds and one TD, Eagles owner Jeff Lurie said in an interview with ESPN, “All signs point to McNabb being back next season”.

McNabb’s agent said McNabb is interested but some items need to be ironed out during the offseason, specifically McNabb’s desire to get a new deal and an extension to include new guaranteed money.

The Eagles travel to the Big Apple to take on the NFL Champion New York Giants on Sunday. The Eagles won the last meeting between these two rivals 20-14 at the Meadowlands on December 7. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.

Baltimore Ravens rookie quarterback Joe Flacco and rookie head coach John Harbaugh became the first rookie QB/coach duo to ever win an NFL playoff game when their team went into Miami and defeated the overachieving Dolphins 27-9.

Flacco picked the perfect time to have a statistically-weak game.

The Ravens stellar defense forced five turnovers, including four interceptions, dominating Chad Pennington and the Dolphin offense. Prior to the game, the ‘Fins have only turned the ball over a total of 13 times all season and Pennington only had thrown 7 interceptions over 16 regular season games.

Flacco and Harbaugh will try to continue their streak when the Ravens travel to Tennessee to face the Titans on Saturday January 10.

 Is the economy really this bad or are NFL fans tired of overinflated playoff ticket prices?

The NFL almost got caught with their pants down but avoided an embarrassing situation when the final 20,000 tickets for the Minnesota Vikings playoff game were scooped up, lifting the local blackout of today’s first-round playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Vikings organization had sold out the past 115 games and not had a local blackout since 1997 but this time only about 55% of the Minnesota Vikings season ticket holders purchased their seats causing tens of thousands of additional seats to become available. The NFC North division winners needed not one, but two extensions by the league office to allow them time to sell out and lift the local blackout.

Expect to see some green clad fans in the stands though. According to sources, Philly fans were snagging up the remaining seats and getting packed up to travel to the Metrodome to cheer on McNabb and the Eagles.

The same scenario occurred in one of the match-ups that were played on Saturday. The Arizona Cardinals defeated the Atlanta Falcons 30-24 Saturday afternoon and also needed two extensions by the league office to sell out.

Cardinals’ spokesman Chris Melvin said they had until 2:30 p.m. on Friday to sell the remaining 2,400 tickets and were able to accomplish the task.

 With the NFL playoffs starting this afternoon, it’s time to pick ‘em.

Atlanta at Arizona - The desert heat must be getting to these Cardinals. Over the last six weeks of the season, they lost 4 out of 6 and coasted to a 9-7 record, the worst of all the NFC playoff teams.

AP Rookie-of-the-Year Matt Ryan will quarterback his overachieving Falcons to a win on the road that will feature running back tandem Michael Turner (1699 yds)and Jerious Norwood running at will against the Cardinal sieve run-defense, keeping the ball away from passing specialist Kurt Warner (4583 yds). Pick: Falcons

Indianapolis at San Diego - The Colts take their 9 game win streak into southern California to take on a Chargers team who managed to win their weak division with an 8-8 record. In the 2007 playoffs, the Chargers upset the Colts 28-24, shocking Tony Dungy and the favorite Colts but it won’t happen this time. NFL MVP Peyton Manning will live up to his reputation and come out gunning. Pick: Colts

Baltimore at Miami - This game features two rookie head coaches Tony Sparano (Dolphins) and John Harbaugh (Ravens) who have rejuvenated two struggling teams and led their troops into the playoffs with 11-5 records. Rookie QB Joe Flacco is having an overachieving season and Chad Pennington will face a tough task of breaching the Ravens potent defense. Miami capitalizes on the home field advantage and Flacco finally plays like a rookie. Pick: Dolphins

Philadelphia at Minnesota - What Eagles team will show up, the team who won 4 out of the final 5 during the regular season to squeak into the final wild-card spot or the team that tied the lowly Bengals and lost to the Redskins?
Vikings have some key injuries on defense, A.P. has developed fumblitis and they still can’t get a consistent QB to take the snaps. Pick: Eagles

 The Associated Press Rookie-of-the-Year vote is in and after receiving 44 votes, Atlanta Falcon quarterback Matt Ryan won it by a landslide.

Second to Ryan was Titans’ running back Chris Johnson (3 votes), Broncos’ offensive tackle Ryan Clady (2 votes) and the Bears’ Matt Forte (1 vote).

In what many speculated to be a tight race, Ryan ran away with this year’s award after leading the Falcons, who were 4-12 last season, to a 11-5 record and a trip to the playoffs.

Baltimore Ravens QB Joe Flacco was ignored by the AP after starting all 16 games and leading his Ravens into a playoff spot. Others who had impressive seasons but neglected to receive a vote were Broncos WR Eddie Royal and Texans RB Steve Slaton.

 Three NFL coaches were axed on Monday morning, less than 24 hours after the regular season ended.

The firings of Rod Marinelli of the Detroit Lions (0-16) and Romeo Crennel of the Cleveland Browns (4-12) came as no surprise but joining them was a coach with a winning record, Eric Mangini of the New York Jets (9-7).

Mangini’s head ended up on the chopping block after Brett Favre threw for three interceptions and the Jets lost its final home game to division rival Miami Dolphins. With that win, Miami took the division title while eliminating the Jets and New England Patriots (11-5) from post season play.

Ex-Steeler coach and Super Bowl winner, Bill Cowher was contacted by the Browns and refused an interview but is said to be preparing to meet with the Jets in New York.

This weekend’s NFL line-up has NFL fans salivating as several teams still fight for a playoff spot. With so many teams still in the mix, final playoff match-ups will not be determined until the final seconds tick off the clock in the Denver Broncos at San Diego Chargers SNF game. The winner of that game wins the AFC West and advances to the playoffs.

In addition to the Chargers and Broncos, the Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets and Miami Dolphins all control their own destiny and will advance with a win.

Other teams like the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles need a win and some help from some of the other games on Sunday. If the Bears win and the Vikings lose, then the Bears advance. The Eagles need a win plus a Bears loss and a Tampa loss to advance.

In addition to the Chargers and Broncos playing for the division title, the winner of the Jets and Dolphins game wins the AFC East. Another division title not determined yet is the NFC South. If the Falcons win and the Carolina Panthers lose, the Falcons take over the top spot and receive a bye in the playoffs.

Teams coming off the bye week in the NFC are 16-4 in the first playoff rounds over the past 20 games.