The Belarussians stunned #1 seed and previously unbeaten Sweden 4-3 when a shot by Vladimir Kopat from behind the blue line deflected off Swede goalie Tommy Salo's glove and mask before landing behind him and sliding past the goal line with less than 4 minutes left.
The Swedes, who got another strong game from captain and the world's hottest player, C Mats Sundin, are finished for the Olympics due to the single-elimination format. Several Swedes were on the verge of tears following the game.
In the brief NHL Olympics era, this is easily the greatest upset, but in my opinion this tops the Miracle on Ice win by the US over the Soviet Union in 1980. Unfortunately, due to media homerism, all you'll hear about this one is that it's the greatest upset "in the current format." Tsk, tsk, media homerism.
The USA is disposing of Germany as I type this, despite the rugged North American style of the Germans. G Mike Richter has only been tested a couple of times thus far.
Later tonight, it'll be Team Gretzky...errr...Canada vs. Finland in the final quarterfinal matchup. Apparently, G Martin Brodeur will get the nod, and it looks like Curtis Joseph, CuJo, is going back to Toronto with his tail between his legs. Expect the Canadians to win in a tough one...perhaps in a shootout (hopefully). If Canada prevails, they'll get a gift matchup with Belarus in the semifinals and should cruise into the Gold Medal game on Sunday. SHOULD.
Looks like we'll get a USA-Russia rematch Friday night...there is a God. I'm upset the Czechs didn't win, but a USA-Russia rematch on the 22nd Anniversary of the aforementioned Miracle on Ice is just too good for the game of hockey and national exposure to not look forward to. Maybe some of these newfound patriots will fall in love with the coolest game on earth. I don't expect them to understand the game, though....
--As for my Huskers, well...I never actually thought they were going to win, but I expected alot more out of them. Sure, it took Osborne a couple of decades, but in the modern era of college football, his teams did not lose big games. In the post-refs win one for Bobby Bowden-era (from 1994 til now), the Huskers have beaten several teams with supposedly more talent, including 2/3 of the Florida triumvrate (Miami, 1994; Florida, 1995). Osborne simply found a way to get it done. Frank Solich has not. The only big games he has won are the 2000 Fiesta Bowl against Tennessee, that season's Big XII Championship against Texas and this year's victory over Oklahoma. Losses, meanwhile, have piled up. Loss to Colorado this season. Losses to Kansas State and Oklahoma last year. Loss to Texas in that 2000 season, where the Huskers led by 14 in the second half but fumbled it away in the 'Horns red zone...had they hung on that day, they would have faced FSU in the championship game...course Solich would have found a way to lose that game anyway. Loss to Arizona in the 1998 Holiday Bowl. Oh, by the way, he lost 4 OTHER games that year, including a home loss to Texas...the only home loss for the Huskers in nearly 10 years. It goes on and on. I'm not saying Solich should be fired, I just wish Nebraska would have hired Charlie McBride instead.
For the hell of it, let's take a look ahead at next year...
--Miami should come in the undisputed #1 team, returning QB Ken Dorsey and somewhere between 13-15 starters (depending on who leaves early). Also in the top five will be Florida (especially if they can reign in Stoops), Texas (though you can bet on them losing at least twice with Simms at QB and losing alot of talent on defense), and any one of the following: Oklahoma (with Jason White getting a full season and perhaps the return of SS Roy Williams), Florida State (you can't deny the talent was far too young this year to do much, but next year...watch out...I'm a huge fan of QB Chris Rix and LB Michael Boulware), Tennessee (unless both WRs Donte' Stallworth and Kelley Washington bolt for the Draft...and I'm crossing my fingers they do) and Washington (with budding star QB Cody Pickett and budding superstud WR Reggie Williams). Nebraska doesn't belong in the top 15. Oregon, without QB Joey Harrington, should plunge to the teens.
--Potential come-from-nowhere teams: USC, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Penn State
--I don't think anyone will argue about Miami's strength of schedule next year. They'll play at Florida, vs. Florida State, at Tennessee, vs. Virginia Tech and at Syracuse.
--As I did last season, I'll take a shot in the complete dark and predict next year's title game (last year I said Texas vs. Oregon State in the 2002 Rose Bowl)...
2003 Fiesta Bowl: Washington vs. Florida State
Ok, back to random ramblings...
--College basketball has become so meaningless to me until March comes around. Four top ten upsets used to make for an incredible day, but Saturday I just said "big deal" to myself. None of this matters until March anyway. And besides, who is going to pay the refs more than Duke this year? No one. It's anticlimatic, really.
--Michael Jordan has done more than I thought he could do, and I wasn't one of those guys saying he shouldn't come back...his return has me actually keeping up with the NBA this year. That is, until he gets eliminated from the playoffs in the first round and then the media will go into full "jump all over the LA Lakers bandwagon" mode. Screw that.
--Ah yes, the Olympics are coming very, very soon. If you guys don't like hockey (and other than Song, Eugene and my brother I don't think I know anyone who gives a damn about it...and shame on you people, you're missing the best sport not called football) then the Olympic tournament filled with NHL superstars should convert you. Four years ago, the games were tape delayed and not given their proper stage. This year, hopefully, NBC will show several live games and hopefully countless others on CNBC or MSNBC or satelitte. Canada vs. USA. Russia vs. Czech Republic. Sweden vs. Finland. This is what it's all about, people. Anytime you can have three goalies like Martin Brodeur, Ed Belfour and Curtis Joseph on your roster like Canada does, or forwards like Mike Modano, Tony Amonte and Doug Weight like the USA does, forgettabouddit! A hockey fan's dream. The All-Star Game in World Cup format. I can't wait. Oh yeah...then there's that little thing called the NHL Playoffs two months later. What a great few months it will be for hockey fans.
--Well, Sunday's slate has all of about four meaningful games. Yawn. Oh well, it's football and it's Sunday. Like Eugene said last week, you can't beat that.
--Watch for the Rams to score at least 50 points and possibly 70 in a Mike Martz-statement game. This game is such a video game playcaller, just throwing and scoring no matter how far the situation is out of hand. He's the only real-life coach who acts like he's playing Madden 2002 out there, kicking onside kicks up 17 points and the like. He's also hell-bent on getting the MVP for either Kurt Warner or Marshall Faulk...but you have to think someone like Brett Favre, Kordell Stewart, Jeff Garcia or Curtis Martin (assuming they make the playoffs) deserves it more.
--Brett Favre at the Meadowlands against the Giants. Talk about a huge stage for the best cold weather QB ever..
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--Troy Aikman is, in my opinion of course, the second-best color commentator on any NFL broadcast, next to only Madden. He knows everything he is talking about, and calling alot of NFC East games this season, he also knows almost all the players he's talking about. Next year he should not have to share a booth with Moose Johnston...but kudos to Fox for their confidence in Aikman by playing him on the #2 team in the preseason.
--Does anyone else thinking watching an NFL game on CBS is a total beating? The presentation is just so dull compared to Fox and the commentators are lifeless and the crowds seem completely piped down. The whole Gumbel-Simms #1 team thing kills me too...
--Some wild card and divisional playoff games are going to be played in primetime this year...a great move by Taggs and his NFL executive cronies.
--As a Viking fan, I am completely in "can't wait for the NFL Draft" mode...sad, eh?
(I'll do my game-by-game complete NFL playoff bracket predictions sometime later this week...be sure to check it and then come back after the Super Bowl and laugh at how badly I butchered it like last season's....)
--The best game was that Eagles-Giants game...if you aren't convinced Donovan McNabb isn't a championship caliber QB, think again. He wins the NFC East in his second year as a starter (yes, I know, the division does suck) and does so with recievers as green as their jerseys (WRs Todd Pinkston and rookie Freddie Mitchell). His go-to guy is Redskin castoff WR James Thrash, who should never be considered more than a No. 2 WR in the NFL, and his RB Duce Staley has had somewhat of a disappointing, injury-spoiled season. Yes, the defense is great...(you gotta love free-agent-to-be MLB Jeremiah Trotter)...but without McNabb this team had no shot. The only other QB of recent recollection that could have won with that group is Steve Young.
--Who's gonna bet me that the Bucs won't lose their first playoff game? They will...because they travel to Philly...AGAIN...like last year's first round game...and oh yeah, they play in Philly this coming Sunday as well. ARGH. That makes for some lackluster football this week.
--Poor Carolina. Arizona embarrassed the Panthers at home Sunday, leaving fans to wonder how bad their team really is. 1-14 is no mirage in this case. QB Chris Weinke threw the ball over 60 times, but didn't even get 300 yards. Weinke, however, is not the problem. It's the fact the team has no RB, no WRs other than Mushin Muhammed and a mediocre offensive line. The defense, assuming they grab John Henderson in the draft, will be fine. The offense needs a few years.
--QB Daunte Culpepper and the #6-8 pick for the #1 pick in the first and second round. I'd do it. Then the Vikes could grab DT John Henderson and QB Joey Harrington or Kurt Kittner.
--I guess the NFL D-Coordinators didn't get my memo about LB's covering RB Marshall Faulk. MLB Rob Morris, some spare white guy, (and somehow first round pick of a few years back) looked like Rocky trying to catch the chicken today...
--I don't care how good Edgerrin James is, Faulk is worth more than what StL gave Indy. My good buddy Dick Vermeil is a shrewd genius. He built that team and now that asshole Martz is getting all the credit. Who brought in Warner? Hakim? Holt? Faulk? Wistrom? It goes on and on. Go Chiefs! (Please re-sign, Tony G!)
--That reminds me, Tony Gonzalez wants to try out for an NBA team. He'll make it one way or the other for two reasons: the team that signs him will sell more tickets, and David Stern is so desperate for TV ratings and attention he'll probably let the team break all kinds of cap rules in the process.
--Call me a sucker, but I love it when a kicker redeems himself to win a game late or in OT. You see all the offensive and defensive stars come out and mob him and you just have to feel good for the guy...unless of course today you were a Steeler fan (sorry, Eugene). After Rackers FINALLY hit a kick, I saw two guys you know were cussing him out in regulation (maybe not to his face, per se') Peter Warrick and Takeo Spikes join the team mob of him. Geniune feel-good story.
--Finally, my fantasy team fulfills its potential. RB Eddie George gets 130 and 2 TDs and WR Torry Holt gets 7 for 200+ and 2 TD. Too bad RB Ricky Williams choked on Sunday night...72 yds and a fumble lost. Oh yeah, and somehow the Vikes held QB Brett Favre to 0 TDs and 2 fantasy points.
--Speaking of the Vikes defense, it was a better unit this season than the offense. Who'd of thought. If they can re-sign CB Dale Carter, I like the prospects of a defense with him and SS Robert Griffith in the secondary and hopefully some fresh young blood on the line with that high first round pick.
..
The Eagles and Falcons should have solid if not spectacular supporting casts by then (both almost do now), and if they can keep their defenses on the right track they're on now, it will be a great rivalry for the NFC crown over the next few seasons. The Falcons' have much more pressing needs...RB Jamal Anderson will almost surely be gone by then (very possibly before next season) and WRs Terrence Mathis and Tony Martin both may be gone after this season. The Falcons will have plenty of great talent to choose from in the mid first round, but it'll be interesting to see if they go WR, OL or even RB (the possibilty of drafting Boston College RB William Green has been brought up by The Sporting News). But by 2004, the Falcons will be ready to head back to the Roman Numeral Classic. The Eagles are almost ready NOW, but by 2004, forgeddaboudit. Their most immediate need is re-signing Trotter. The secondary will be considerably older in 2004, but the style of defense they play lends itself to big plays no matter who is back there. Still, I don't think any team can beat the CB tandem of Bobby Taylor and Troy Vincent right now.
--Washington WR Reggie Williams is the newest freak. Anyone who can shake Texas CB Quentin Jammer off the line like Williams did in the second quarter on a quick slant route is an NFL prospect, and this guy is only a FRESHMAN...though someone on ESPN radio said this, and I agree, there is no such thing as a "true" freshman...he's either a freshman or a redshirt freshman. Look for Williams to make a serious Heisman run next year, with promising QB Pickett throwing him the ball...
--If Mack Brown doesn't win this game....
--Ok, so I'm off to a slow start on my predictions...1-4 or something like that...but here's hoping I can turn it around with the New Year's bowls and of course the weekly BCS-bowl-a-night fiasco afterwards...
--Oh yeah, that reminds me, I'll also do my annual NFL predict-the-entire playoffs bracket after the teams are locked into their seedings...last year I had the Raiders and the Bucs in the Super Bowl...oops
--Man, did Major take (have) Simms' number, too? I just thought about that...no wonder Simms is a jealous bastard...
--As each day passes, I feel better and better about the Big Red rolling on the Canes' D. Now, the Blackshirts will decide whether or not the Huskers can win the game...I still don't know.
--Reggie makes another catch on Jammer.
--The SEC continues to "underachieve"...they've never won a Music City Bowl...that's the freakin' Big East they can't beat...ridiculous for a conference that is SUPPOSEDLY the best in the country. The Big East has two great teams and two good teams...I thought the SEC was supposed to have two great teams and eight good teams (excluding lowly Kentucky and Vandy). But none of them can beat the Big East #4 team...
--Well, it looks like Texas is going to blow another big game...but I still have faith in Major.
--How bout them Aggies. I already am predicting a Nebraska loss in Kyle Field next year...and I don't feel too bad about it...
--I wish Notre Dame would just hire somebody...ANYBODY.
--Who says these bowls are meaningless? Watching the emotion of the guys playing in this game (and I hate it when commentators like Herbstreit calls them 'kids') speaks volumes about how much they care...and the only ones who should care are the players, coaches and fans of the respective schools involved. Hell, Montana fans hauled a damn goalpost across the country after winning the D-1AA title last week. How cool is that...
--Maryland-Florida, Orange Bowl 2002. What a joke.
--Applewhite throws another strike, boy has he been d-ed over by his tight end...cost him two picks.
--So, Ohio St. QB Steve Bellasari is off suspension and is going to play in the Citrus Bowl. Ok...why? Didn't the backup win the Michigan game...and somewhat easily I might add?
--The worst commercial ever is the Toyota one with Aerosmith's "Just Push Play" absolutely blazing in full volume...this burst my brain into mush every time it comes on. Nothing makes me madder than hearing those opening chords...
--Well, ESPN got the NBA for next season I believe...who knows, maybe I'll actually WATCH it now. It's so hard to know when it's on TNT and TBS b/c every time I browse through those channels, it's either "Cliffhanger," a "Rocky" movie, or "Fresh Prince." Not that there's anything wrong with that...
--Every time the Lakers lose I get overjoyed...I really, REALLY don't want them to break the 72-10 mark set by the Bulls in '95-96. Anyone outside the city of Los Angeles who does ought to be beaten.
--Let's play gay/not gay. Barry Bonds. Isiah Thomas. Jeff Garcia. Josh Heupel. Ok, so none of them may actually be gay, but you know you stopped and thought a little bit about each one. But, hey, not that there's anything wrong with that, either.
--WR Terrell Owens wore a shirt Wednesday with the picture of him standing on the Dallas Cowboys' star at midfield posing to the sky in anticipation of returning to Texas Stadium this Sunday...he told the reporters he wasn't going to talk about last year...how cool is that? I'd do a Moss and Carter for Owens trade in a second these days...but hey, if the 49ers threw in, say, LB/DE Julian Peterson or DE Andre Carter, I wouldn't mind.
--Why, why, why would you go for two up 19 with more than a quarter left to play??? Jammer picked it off...Neuhiesel got a little too confident in his offense there...
--Pitino and Louisville roll into Rupp Arena tomorrow...here's hoping the Cardinals win by 20 and the idiotic fans who booed Pitino at the beginning of the game (presumably) will give him a standing ovation. Well, he deserves a standing O win or lose...
--How big is that 2-pt conversion I wrote about an hour or so ago ^^^ up there. Washington would be up 4, forcing a touchdown from the Horns for the game.
--There has never been and there will never be a bad Holiday Bowl. The Pac10 and the Big 12 are the best two conferences in the country...what do you know, Herbstreit just vindicated my statement. Thanks, Kirk, now go put some more makeup on, pretty boy. And learn how to spell college players' names...(remember the "Grant Knowell" and "Quentin Portis" fiascos of early this season) Eh, I still like him, though.
--Major has done it again. He's closing in on 450 yards.
--Texas scores. Again, the missed 2-pointer in the 3rd quarter looms extremely large. The Huskies would only need a FG...now they need a touchdown. 47-43
--That is what a call Major Magic. What a game. Screw Flutie Magic, I wish I could buy stock in "Major Applewhite coming into an NFL game as a backup and dramatically winning to cause a QB controversy."
Stars
Wild
From the Associated Press
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- Manny Fernandez made 24 saves to shut out his former team and the expansion Minnesota Wild beat the Dallas Stars 6-0 Sunday for their most lopsided victory.
Darby Hendrickson scored twice for the Wild.
A record crowd of 18,834 watched the Stars return to the state where they played until the franchise moved in 1993.
It was Fernandez's second shutout this season, and the first time the Stars had been blanked since a 1-0 loss at Carolina on Nov. 20, 1999.
Fernandez was with Dallas last season as Ed Belfour's backup.
The Wild scored twice in less than a minute in the first period. Jeff Nielsen made it 1-0 with a slap shot from the top of the left faceoff circle. On the next shift, Ladislav Benysek's low shot from along the boards hit the stick of Wild forward Marian Gaborik and deflected into the upper right corner of the net with 10 minutes gone.
Dallas failed to convert four power plays in the second period, and trailed 4-0 after 40 minutes of play.
Minnesota's Peter Bartos scored 11:42 into the second period, intercepting Brett Hull's clearing attempt and firing it into the upper left corner of the goal.
Two minutes later, Belfour attempted to clear the puck himself, but it was picked off by Minnesota's Antti Laaksonen behind the net. With Belfour out of position, Laaksonen passed to Hendrickson, who tapped the puck into an empty net.
Hendrickson and Lubomir Sekeras added third-period goals.
Despite all the scoring, Minnesota continued to struggle on the power play. The Wild went 0-for-6 Sunday in man-advantage situations and have failed to score on 38 consecutive power plays, dating to a 4-1 loss at San Jose on Nov. 28.
Game notes
Belfour made 22 saves for the Stars. ... Former Minnesota Gov. Arne Carlson, who led a task force to get NHL hockey back after the Stars moved to Texas in 1993, dropped the ceremonial first puck before the game. ... It was the Wild's 17th straight sellout, tying Nashville for the record by an expansion team.