Giants Bigger Than Brady

Manning celebrates following his
fourth quarter touchdown pass.

Eli Manning one-upped New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady once again.

In their first regular-season meeting since Super Bowl XLII, where Manning handed Brady and Co. their first loss of the 2007-'08 football season, scoring in the final minute to seal an improbable Super Bowl win, the New York Giants did more of the same Sunday in New England.

After the first scoreless game at the half so far this year in the NFL and New England being shutout for the first two quarters for the first time in 74 games, the scoring picked up and the Patriots found themselves down 17-13 in the fourth quarter.

Despite the Giants' defensive line dictating much of the game, Brady orchestrated his 35th comeback in the game's final period or overtime with a 14-yard strike to tight end Rob Gronkowski on fourth and eight with 1:36 to play in regulation.

It looked like Brady, who mounted a fourth quarter come from behind win against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 6, was going to add to his legend, instead it was Manning furthering his legacy as the last-minute magician against the Pats. The eight-year veteran out of Ole Miss conducted an 8-play, 80-yard drive, capped off by a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jake Ballard, who hauled in a 28-yard pass from Manning earlier in the drive that helped set up his third touchdown reception of the season.

The drive also included a season long 12-yard first down run from Manning.

New York's touchdown was the fourth and final lead change of the quarter, as Brady was unable to do much with the generous 15 seconds Manning left him.

When referring to himself as an elite quarterback at the beginning of the season, many shook their head in disagreement, but Manning has done his best to prove the doubters wrong.

Manning tossed 2 touchdown passes in the game's final three minutes and three seconds, giving him 15 on the season, compared to his 6 interceptions. He has racked up 2,377 yards and a career-high 98.8 quarterback rating through his team's his eight games. The Giants are now 6-2 on the year, tying themselves with the Detroit Lions for the second-best record in the NFC.

Also representing their conference proudly, New York becomes the first NFC since 2002 to win game in Gillette Stadium, ending an 18-game losing streak.

As for New England, the loss snaps at 20-game regular season home winning streaking, dating back to November of 2008 when then-quarterback Matt Cassel, who was filling in for the injured Brady, lost in Foxborough to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 33-10.

It also ends the longest home winning streak by a quarterback in NFL history. Prior to Sunday, Brady had won 31 consecutive regular season games in Foxborough. However, Brady has lost each of his last two postseason games at home.

Much like in Super Bowl XLII, Brady found
himself pressured and on his back Sunday.

The loss drops New England to 5-3 at the half way point in the season, putting them in three-way tie atop the AFC East, joining the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets, who host Bill Belichick and Co. next week on Sunday Night Football.

History repeated itself Sunday like it almost always tends to do, while Manning proved once again he is an elite quarterback in the NFL.

Defense Tells The Story In Tuscalossa

Broyles Out For The Year

Broyles, right, is one of the greatest
receivers in NCAA history.

A week after losing Dominique Whaley for the rest of the season to a fractured ankle, the Oklahoma Sooners and quarterback Landry Jones have lost another key offensive component.

All-American wideout Ryan Broyles suffered a torn ACL Saturday in the Sooners' 41-25 victory over Texas A&M , following a 30-yard third quarter completion from Jones, ending his season and well decorated collegiate career.

Despite the severity of the injury not being immediately disclosed, Broyles face on the sideline told a somber story, breaking out in tears.

Broyles, 23, finishes the season with 83 catches, 1,157 yards and 10 touchdowns. He had been leading the nation in yards per game, averaging 133.8 and second in receptions (10.1). The hometown kid caught 349 passes in his four-year career at Oklahoma, while racking up 4,586 yards and 45 touchdowns. Just three weeks ago Broyles was surpassing former Purdue standout, Taylor Stubblefield's, 316 career receptions, making his 349 a Football Bowl Subdivison record, but now his future is in doubt.

Broyles also finds his name third on the all-time list for receiving yards in NCAA history. It didn't hurt that the 5-foot-10 receiver had the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner and last year's NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, Sam Bradford, tossing passes his way each of his first two seasons at Oklahoma and another Heisman hopeful in Jones the last two years.

A Bilenitkoff finalist a year ago, arguably the best wide receiver in college football and the 2012 NFL Draft class, Broyles has a long road ahead of him.

As for his team, the Sooners came into the game as ranked as the sixth best team in the nation. With the win, Bob Stoops team's improve to 5-1 in the Big 12 Conference and 8-1 overall.

If Oklahoma is to appear in their fourth BCS title game in the last nine years, Jones and Co. will need to overcome the injuries to Whaley, who had been their leading rusher, and Broyles and continue to play Sooners football.

Back In Philly

Quade Out In Chicago

With Epstein and Jed Hoyer in, Quade is out
in the Windy City.

Just when the dust began to settle in Chicago, newly appointed team president of baseball operations, Theo Epstein, conducted his first order of business and it comes at the expense of second-year manager, Mike Quabe.

Quade was relieved of his managerial duties Wednesday before they really ever got started.

The 54-year-old now former manager replaced the always entertaining Lou Pinella at the end of the 2010 season and was given a 37-game audition to impress Cubs brass, which he did, going 24-13, good enough for a .649 winning percentage.

He would eventually have the"interm" label removed from his job title as he was hired by then general manager John Hendry. Quade was rewarded with a two-year contract with a club option for a third. But after the sudden resignation of Hendry in August and Chicago increasing their infamous Curse of the Billy Goat to 103 years with a fifth place finish in the National League Central, Quade's future was in doubt.

Overall, Quade finishes his stint in Chicago with a 95-104 record in 199 games.

Quade, who had been the third base coach in Chicago the past four seasons, was chosen over Hall of Famer and legendary Cubs player, Ryne Sandberg, for the job. Sandberg was thought to be the heir apparent to Pinella, but instead took a Triple-A managerial position with the Philadelphia Phillies following Quade's official hiring.

Sandberg has reportedly been ruled out by Epstein for the position, but names like Mike Maddux and Terry Francona, who knows Epstein all to well, have surfaced as possible candidates and front-runners for the position.

Whomever takes over in the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field, one thing is clear, they are in for one hell of a ride as Epstein is a man on a mission.

A BLUEprint For Sale

The most recent installment in the McCourt
ownership has his wondering where it all
went wrong.

After asking, begging and pleading for more than two years, Los Angeles Dodger fans are finally having their voice heard. Embattled owner Frank McCourt is ending his seven and half ownership with the club after reaching a settlement with Major League Baseball Wednesday, agreeing to put the team up for sale.

The settlement will end a six-month legal battle with baseball and it's commissioner, Bud Selig.

McCourt purchased the team in February of 2004 from the Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, for a sum of $421 million. It's been reported McCourt could now get anywhere from $800 million-$1.2 billion for the club, including the stadium, parking lot and media rights.

October of 2009 is when McCourt's castle came crashing down. It would be announced that McCourt and his wife of 30 years, Jaime McCourt, were putting their marriage to an end. She was fired as the club's CEO just days later and officially filed for divorce.

Fast-forward nearly two years, McCourt has seen a Giants fan get brutally beaten on his property Opening Night of 2011, put a dark cloud over the historic Los Angeles franchise and put the team in financial instability. In April, Selig and MLB stepped in and seized the day-to-day operations of the club, putting McCourt's ownership of the team further in doubt.

In June, Selig rejected a 17-year TV contract McCourt had arranged with Fox to keep the his team afloat. The deal was worth approximately 3 billion dollars. Weeks later, the New England native would file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a final effort to salvage his ownership with the Dodgers.

Most recently, October saw McCourt's ex-wife relinquish her partial ownership in the team after reaching a $130 million settlement. Later that month MLB revealed McCourt had looted $190 million out of the team for personal endeavors.

It has been a long and treacherous journey for McCourt, a journey that has had an entire city rally against him. But it wasn't all bad.

Before McCourt's arrival, Los Angeles had made two postseason appearances in the last 15 years and yet to win a playoff game since Game 5 of the 1988 World Series. McCourt oversaw four playoff teams during his tenure, including three National League West division titles, and back-to-back NLCS appearances, in 2008 and '09, losing both times to the Philadelphia Phillies.

In his seven seasons at the helm, the Dodgers accumulated a .521 winning percentage and even though the Paul DePodesta experiment didn't work out, McCourt pried Ned Colletti away from the division rival San Francisco Giants, naming him the tenth general manager in franchise history on Nov. 17, 2005.

McCourt is also responsible for hiring soon-to-be Hall of Fame manager Joe Torre prior to the '08 season, bringing in slugger Manny Ramirez, who could be look at as a savior or goat by Dodger fans, depending on how you remember his stint in "Mannywood".

Not to mention investing over $150 million in stadium designs and improvements, helping make Dodger Stadium thrive in the modern era.

However one wants to look his stay in on the West Coast, the inevitable has finally happened. McCourt will be portrayed as a villain until the end and an owner that was never fully embraced by his fan base that is getting their wish.

The Cashman

Cashman has served at the helm for the last
14 years with three years just added on.

A day after coming to terms on a contract extension with ace CC Sabathia, the New York Yankees they have agreed to bring back their longtime general manager, Brian Cashman.

He will also remain at his post as the club's senior vice president.

Cashman is coming a three-year $6 million deal he signed after the 2008 season, despite have New York miss the postseason that year for the first time in his tenure as GM. This contract is said to be worth about $9 million over another three years, a raise he well deserved.

In 2009, he was the architect of the franchise's 27th world championship team after hitting it big in the free-agent market, signing marquee players Mark Teixeira, A.J. Burnett and Sabathia. In 2010, New York returned to the American League Championship Series, where they would be dethroned by the Texas Rangers in six games.

2011 might have been Cashman's best work, but he won't say that as the Yankees came up short of their ultimate goal, a World Series title.

Even though the 44-year-old GM had to deal with the retirement of old reliable, Andy Pettitte, and watching prized left-hander Cliff Lee ink a deal with the Philadelphia Phillies, Cashman was able to mend together an overachieving pitching staff.

Cashman signed veterans Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon to Minor League contracts, both whom made the 25-man roster out of spring training and it didn't stop there. The right-handers played significant roles in New York's success this past season, including Garcia starting Game 2 of the ALDS and them combining for 20 wins during the regular season.

He is also responsible for signing backstop Russell Martin, who might be the steal of last winter, Eric Chavez and Andruw Jones, both whom had fantastic first years in pinstripes.

The Yankees went on to exceeded expectations and win their 17th AL East title, their 11th since Cashman took over as GM. Originally joining the organization as an intern in 1986 for the Minor League and Scouting Department. He was promoted to GM in February of 1998 when his predecessor, Bob Watson, decided to retire and since has been a staple atop the Yankee front office.

During his tenure, New York has made the postseason in 13 out of the last 14 seasons, racked up five 100-win seasons, six AL pennants and four World Series titles. Cashman also holds the highest winning percentage (.605) throughout Major League Baseball since '98, which is the highest of any GM since 1950 with at least five years of experience.

However, in Yankee Universe, those accomplishments are a thing of the past and Cashman is faced the daunting task of rebuilding New York's rotation once again.