Cleaning Up the Mess...

So it is Monday, and that means it is time to Clean all the leftovers aka the mess from the week that was...

NFL NEWS:

- The Carolina Panthers suspended WR Steve Smith for 2 Games because of his fight with CB Ken Lucas during Training Camp

- Denver Broncos WR Brandon Marshall was suspended for 3 Games because of the league's personal conduct policy

- Ocho Cinco returned to full practice for th Bengals

- Brett Favre was reinstated!! ( a post to come on that subject)

- Packers RB Ryan Grant signed a 4-Year $30 Million Dollar deal

- The Redskins defeated the Colts 30-16 in the 2008 Hall of Fame Game

- Art Monk and Darrell Green were among inductees into the '08 Class

NBA NEWS:

- Sixers Guard Lou Williams resigned with the Sixers for 5 years and $25 million

- Ex-Magic Guard Carlos Arroyo went European and signed with an Israeli team

- Mavericks forward Josh Howard was arrested in a drag racing incident

- Luol Deng signed a 6 Year, $72-80 Million Dollar deal

- Disgraced referee Tim Donaghy was sentenced to 15 months in prison

MLB NEWS:

- The Trade Deadline came and went, check out the previous "Trader Rater" posts for all that dirt

- The Yankees signed P Victor Zambrano to a minor league deal

- 3B Eric Chavez is out for the season

- P Tim Hudson is also probably out for the season

- The Red Sox offered a minor league contract to P Joe Borowski

- Prince Fielder and Manny Parra got into a scuffle in the dugout which prompted a tag team match at Summerslam -- Prince Fielder & Ken Lucas versus Manny Parra & Steve Smith

GRAB BAG NEWS:

- The Coaches Poll came out and the Georgie Bulldogs are ranked #1

- Rafa Nadal will become number 1 in the Tennis rankings in the upcoming weeks

- Big Brown won his race at the Haskell Invitational

- Carl Edwards won the Pocono 400

- Vijay Singh won the Bridgestone Invitational

- Brit Andy Murray won the Cincinnati Masters

Anything I missed??

NFC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP

NFC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP:
NEW YORK GIANTS (12-6) V. GREEN BAY PACKERS (14-3)

INITIAL THOUGHT: With the temperature at gametime projecting to be about 0 degrees with a wind chill of -25 degrees, it could be an interesting game to watch and it is the way playoff football should be played.

SECOND THOUGHT: With how cold it is going to be, the game should be focused on the running games of Brandon Jacobs and Ryan Grant, but it would not surprise me if Brett Favre has another magical game and throws for a couple of touchdowns.

X-FACTOR: As mentioned earlier, the x-factors for each team will be the running backs, Jacobs and Grant. Whichever team can run the ball more effectively should be in a pretty good position to win this game. With Grant's performance last week and the size of Jacobs, I think both running backs should have strong games.

KEY MATCHUP: Eli Manning versus the secondary of the Packers. Which persona of Eli will show up for the game? Al Harris has elevated his game to be one of the best corners in the league and the matchup of Al-Ha and Plaxico Burress should also be something to watch.

PREDICTION: Packers - 31 Giants - 24

FINAL THOUGHT: I am still not a true believer in Tom Coughlin, but he has certainly earned himself a contract extention because of his improvements coaching and with the team. The Giants have just as good a chance to win this game, (even though I have countlessly written them off...my bad), but something about Favre getting another shot at the Super Bowl seems fitting.

...til next time

-E