Throughout the course of the 2010 season, the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons were unquestionably the best teams in the NFL, dominating their divisions and securing the top seeds in their respective conferences. Unfortunately for both teams, however, the calendar turned from 2010 to 2011 and from the regular season to the playoffs,…
Read More »In recent weeks, the San Francisco 49ers (Jim Harbaugh), Cleveland Browns (Pat Shurmur), Carolina Panthers (Ron Rivera), and Denver Broncos (John Fox) have introduced new head coaches. In a sense, it represents a fresh start for each of these once-proud franchises that have fallen far from the heights of the NFL’s elite. In another sense,…
Read More »The NFL playoffs began last Saturday with what was expected to be the least interesting and most predictable game of the playoffs— the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints versus the woeful, 7-9 Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks, of course, are the first team in NFL history to go make the playoffs with a losing…
Read More »I love watching the maturation process of a young quarterback. For example, watching Colt McCoy develop this year has been an encouragement to Browns fans everywhere. At the start of the season, it seemed unlikely that McCoy would get any playing time at all this year, but, with injuries taking the top two guys out,…
Read More »With the conclusion of the St. Louis-Seattle game Sunday night, the NFL playoff teams are now set. The slate consists of some familiar faces (New England, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis) and some newcomers (or returnees) to the festivities (Kansas City, Seattle). But, whether it is a perennial playoff power or a team making their first appearance in…
Read More »Last night in Philadelphia, an NFL game was played between the Vikings and the Eagles. Now, there is nothing unusual about NFL games being played in Philly—what was unusual was that it was played on a Tuesday. This was the first NFL game played on a Tuesday since the 1940s, and that is what is…
Read More »Join us for our Christmas Day weekend edition of Sports Spectrum as we talk about the “Greatest Gift of All.” Don’t miss our conversations with University of Michigan assistant basketball coach, Jeff Meyer, former NFL wide receiver, Irving Fryar, and sports chaplain, Tom Rust. You’ll also hear the moving story of TNT broadcaster, Ernie Johnson,…
Read More »As we approach the final two weeks of the NFL regular season, the focus is on the teams that are setting themselves up for a Super Bowl run—and rightly so. The Patriots, Falcons, Eagles and others have had terrific seasons and they all want to cap off the campaign by hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in…
Read More »When Sports Spectrum comes your way, we’ll talk about Dealing With Change. Now, you may have been on the receiving end of change in this past year in ways you weren’t expecting and really didn’t want. Buffalo Bills head coach, Chan Gailey, and Indy Racing League driver, Davey Hamilton, have experienced a great deal of change in…
Read More »It can be awfully difficult when life changes dramatically. When I think of dealing with difficult change in sports, I think of it, I guess, in ways that are mostly negative, I’m afraid. I think of Baltimore Colts fans, who, in March of 1984 discovered that their team had been moved to Indianapolis; of Browns fans…
Read More »