Sporting Rants and Raves: October 3, 2009

Happy 50th Birthday to Mr. Freddy Couples, an American pro golfer who competes on the PGA Tour. Born in Seattle, WA, Couples learned how to golf at the nearby Jefferson Park golf course. He rose to prominence in the early '90s with his one and only major championship.

Trivia of the Week
Name the major championship Couples won. Extra Credit: Which university did Couples attend?

Answers to September 26's Trivia of the Week
Serena and Venus own part of this NFL franchise. Miami Dolphins
Extra Credit: In which year did Serena turn pro? 1995

Today in Sports History
It was 58 years ago today that Bobby Thompson hit the 'Shot Heard Round the World'. The 'Shot' won the New York Giants the pennant against the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Hughes’ TD run in OT give Notre Dame a 37-30 win
The CEO of our company is a huge Notre Dame fan. And then you have multitudes of UW fans in the office. That amounted to significant smack talk this past week. Well, I'll give it to the Huskies for showing up in South Bend today. They gave Notre Dame a run for their money. Interesting that this is the fourth time in the past four games that the Irish won in the final 60 seconds.

Cuddyer homers to lift Twins over Royals
Could this limp to the finish for the Tigers and the Twins be any more excruciatingly mediocre? This race should have finished about a month ago. Instead, it will go to the final day. And only Tigers, Twins, and Yankees fans care.

NHL Season Begins
Yeah, I don't have much to say about this. Go Whalers!

And now for...
TD's NFL Picks - Week 4
Let the byes - and the fantasy nightmare - begin...

Detroit @ Chicago
Detroit wins its first game since 2007. Woo hoo! I think it shows that they're improving. And how bad Washington really is. I don't think they're going to pull anything like that off at Soldier Field. TD chooses: Chicago Bears

Cincinnati @ Cleveland
The first Battle of Ohio in 2009. Cleveland's changing QBs. But I'm not sure how much that's going to help. Hopefully, they can get it to Edwards with more consistency, but I don't think he'll be any kind of savior. Meanwhile, the Bagels are playing with more cream cheese than they have in recent years. NueveCuatro seems to have a spark. TD chooses: Cincinnati Bengals

Oakland @ Houston
Whatever I saw from Oakland on their opening night seems to have vanished into the ether. The concentration on basics just isn't the answer for Russell's terrible play. And Houston has a QB and receivers that make plays. TD chooses: Houston Texans

Seattle @ Indianapolis
Before the season began, I had the Seachickens winning this one. Now that we're three games in with Hasselbeck hurt and Indy playing inspired football, TD chooses: Indianapolis Colts

Tennessee @ Jacksonville
Jacksonville came back and played a good game last week against the Texans. A surprise to me. Which means they have a chance. What has happened to the Titans, I can't say. Other than the fact that they've faced the Steelers, Texans, and Jets. They risk falling way behind the Colts if they don't win this one. TD chooses: Tennessee Titans

New York Giants @ Kansas City Chiefs
A perfect trap game for the Jints, though from what I've seen Coughlin is pretty good at ensuring that people don't get too comfortable. TD chooses: New York Football Giants

Baltimore @ New England
Here you have 1 of 3 games that I can't decide. Baltimore's off to a good start. Flacco looks better. The D is doing what they do. New England isn't operating on all cylinders. Brady seems to be a little off. The defense is not as good as it once was. In my opinion, there's one guy that could put New Enlgland over the top this weekend, if he plays. Wes Welker. He's the guy Brady finds when there's no one else. And that could make the difference. At this point, Welker's questionable. Who do I choose? TD chooses: Baltimore Ravens

Tampa Bay @ Washington
The 'who cares' game of the week. This one promises to be a bit of a sleeper. So I won't waste time on it. TD chooses: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Buffalo @ Miami
Chad Pennington may have seen his last snap as a professional football player. Too bad. And somewhat sad. Miami, of course, didn't rely entirely on Pennington at QB with their Wildcat offense. But, they lost a heck of a leader. That's what I think will lose them this game. TD chooses: Buffalo Bills

New York Jets @ New Orleans
Here's the second game I can't choose. Thus far, I've chosen against the Jets every week, thinking that someone will bring them back to earth. But it hasn't been happening. Does New Orleans have the ability to do it? With their offense, yes. With their defense? Not so much. Well, I promised last week that I would go with the Jets if they won. So, TD chooses: New York Jets

Dallas @ Denver
Denver has beaten Cincinnati on a ridiculous last second play, Cleveland, and Oakland. This does not impress me at all. I still don't think they're very good. Dallas, however, always has that ability to be explosive on both offense and defense. I say they bring it even on a short week. TD chooses: Dallas Cowboys

St. Louis @ San Francisco
How bout them Niners? Singletary has them playing well. Spags still has a lot of work ahead of him in Ram country. Not to mention they lost one of their few wide receivers to injury for the remainder of the year. TD chooses: San Francisco 49ers

San Diego @ Pittsburgh
This is an interesting game between teams that have a bit of history. San Diego has some good offensive weapons. And they have a decent defense. Pittsburgh has home field, a good defense (though obviously weaker with Polamalu out), and a decent offense. I think home field makes a difference in this one. And Tomlin will have the Steelers ready after that loss to the Bagels last week. TD chooses: Pittsburgh Steelers

Green Bay @ Minnesota
And here's the third. The first meeting of the rivals with Favre on the other side. Yes, Favre has a sore foot, but that won't stop him from playing. Let's not forget Peterson as well, who could very well be the star of the show. Green Bay, however, has a reason to play this with everything they have. To stick it to the guy who wanted so badly to play for the rival. The question is who comes out victorious. TD chooses: Minnesota Vikings

There you have it, sports fans. Chalk another one up. Until next I write, happy sporting...