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NFL Playoff Madness

By: Jamal Smith 
Sports Editor

And now there are four: four teams remain in the hunt for the Vince Lombardi Trophy, the most prestigious prize in the National Football League (NFL). The NFL Divisional rounds concluded on Sunday, Jan. 17 with no surprises or upsets.

In the AFC and the NFC, both top seeds, who earned a first-round bye, outclassed the lower seeds to advance to the NFL Conference Championships.

The AFC Conference Championship game will pit the No. 1 Denver Broncos against the No. 2 New England Patriots. Kickoff is set for 12:05 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 24.

Last week, in the AFC Divisional round, New England knocked off the Kansas City Chiefs 27-20, and Denver defeated the Pittsburg Steelers 23-16.

The most intriguing storyline for the AFC Conference Championship is the heated rivalry of New England quarterback Tom Brady and Denver’s quarterback Paton Manning, whom many consider to be two of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the NFL.

These two future Hall of Famers have battled each other 16 times in their illustrious careers. Of their 16 meetings, Brady has won 11 compared to Manning’s five. Brady also holds almost every statistical advantage over Manning, including four Super Bowl rings compared to Manning’s one.

While both quarterbacks are nearing the end of their carriers, Manning is having by far his worst year statistically of his career. Old age, injury troubles, and an inability to throw the deep ball, have many sports analysts thinking this could be Manning’s final year.

Another key storyline going into the AFC Conference Championship is Denver’s No. 1 ranked defense going up against New England’s prolific offense. Denver’s defense, which has come up big throughout the regular season and into the playoffs, created a huge turnover in the fourth quarter against the Steelers, which all but sealed Denver’s victory.

New England’s offense is loaded with weapons that provide Brady multiple viable options. Tight end Rob Gronkowski leads all of New England’s receivers with 1,176 yards for the season, despite having missed multiple games due to injury.

The NFC Conference Championship game will see the No. 1 Carolina Panthers host the No. 2 Arizona Cardinals. Kickoff is at 3:40 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 24.

In the NFC Divisional round, Arizona knocked off the Green Bay Packers 26-20 in overtime and Carolina squeezed by the Seattle Seahawks 31-24.

This Carolina-Arizona NFC matchup has many interesting ties. Both teams’ quarterbacks – Panther’s Cam Newton and Arizona’s Carson Palmer – are former Heisman Trophy winners.

Also, according to ESPN, the matchup is the first time in the current Super Bowl era that two teams will face each other that each have averaged 30+ points a game in the regular season. Carolina had the No. 1 ranked offense in the NFL and Arizona the No. 2 ranked offense.

Newton, who led the Panther’s to a league-best 15-1 regular season record, was just awarded the 2015 NFL Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year by the Professional Football Writers of America.

Now in his fifth season in the NFL, the Conference Championship is easily the biggest moment of Newton’s promising career.
“I don’t get nervous,” said Newton, Wednesday in an interview with ESPN. “I’ve been playing football for too long for me to get nervous. I used to dream of being in this type of position.”

Carolina’s defense will see its biggest test of the year, matching up against Palmer and Arizona’s powerhouse offense. The Panthers face a difficult test in containing Arizona’s receivers Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd, John Brown, and others.

The AFC and NFC Conference Championships pit the best two teams of the regular season and the playoff against one another. When the dust settles after the game plays itself out the two remaining teams with have their shot at Super Bowl immortality.

Rams return home, others may follow

By: Conner Williams 
Editor in Chief

After more than two decades without a professional football team in the country’s second-largest market, Los Angeles is about to get NFL crazy.

Recently, NFL owners approved the Rams’ request – which cost owner Stan Kroenke a small fee of $500 million – to move back home to L.A. in a vote of 30-2. The organization will build a $3 billion stadium in Inglewood, California.

Several other teams have shown interest in moving to the Southern California metropolitan area, including the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers. The two teams submitted a bid to build a stadium in Carson, California that they would both use as their home stadium.

However, the Chargers have been given a one-year option to decide if they want to relocate and join the Rams in Inglewood. The Chargers have until the end of the owners meetings that take place between March 20-23 to decide if they will remain in San Diego or move to L.A. for the 2016 season.

Perhaps the biggest factor affecting that decision is a vote to request public funding to replace Qualcomm Stadium – a request that would cost the taxpayers $350 million.

As of Jan. 13, the Raiders decided to withdraw their application to move, and instead wish to work with the league to find a new stadium. If the Chargers don’t move to L.A. with the Rams, then the Raiders can take the same deal the Chargers were offered.

Last week, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said that the league would provide $100 million to both the Chargers and Raiders if they remain in their home markets.

So what does this all mean?

It means that the NFL really could not care less about its fans. Once again, the owners hold the taxpayers hostage and demand public money for new facilities, and if that request isn’t fulfilled, they pack up and move.

The massive empty market in L.A. doesn’t hurt either, but the league doesn’t actually need to sell tickets in order to make money. According to a Jan. 19 article from the Washington Post, the NFL’s television deals bring in nearly $5 billion in revenue annually, far outpacing all other professional sports.

But the upheavals to L.A. mean tons of new marketing techniques like TV spots, merchandise, and local advertisements – and that’s big money. The Washington Post also reports that Forbes expects the value of the Rams’ organization to double to nearly $3 billion, joining some of professional sports’ most valuable franchises, including the Dallas Cowboys (worth $4 billion), Real Madrid (worth $3.26 billion), and the New England Patriots and New York Yankees (both worth $3.2 billion).

This shows a blatant lack of loyalty from a team to its hometown; if the money isn’t there, they just up and move somewhere else. I get that the NFL is a business and operates for profit, but maybe show some class and work to become a more successful franchise rather than leave for somewhere else.

NFL Playoff Madness

By: Jamal Smith 
Sports Editor

Now there are eight. Eight teams remain in the NFL playoff picture and will face off this weekend to determine who will advance to the conference championship games.

The Wild Card play-in games lived up to the hype. For the first time in the history of the NFL playoffs, all four road teams advanced and will play the top-two teams from the AFC and NFC, who earned a first week bye and got an extra week of preparation.

The first game of the weekend pits last year’s champions, the New England Patriots, against the red-hot Kansas City Chiefs. The game will kick off on Saturday, Jan. 16 at 1:35 p.m.

The Chiefs are the hottest team in the NFL. After going 1-5 at the start of the season, Kansas City won their last 10 games and is coming off a 30-0 beat down of the Houston Texans in the Wild Card play-in game.

New England on the other hand, won their first 11 games, but since then has gone 2-4 in their last six, dropping their last two games of the regular season. Although Kansas City appears to have the advantage, New England has three things that the Chief’s lack: Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and four NFL Championships in the last 15 years.

The Saturday evening game, which has a start time of 5:15 p.m., is an NFC rematch between the Arizona Cardinals and the Green Bay Packers. In that week 16 matchup, Arizona destroyed the Packers 38-8, sacking Packer’s quarterback Aaron Rodgers eight times; two of which resulted in fumbles returned for Arizona touchdowns.

Green Bay defeated the Washington Redskins 35-18 last week in the Wild Card round, while Arizona had a first round playoff bye.

On Sunday, Jan. 17 at 10:05 a.m., the Seattle Seahawks travel to Carolina to face off against Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers. Seattle was victorious in their Wild Card play-in game, barley squeezing by the Minnesota Vikings in sub-zero temperatures because of a last-second field goal miss from 27-yards out by Viking’s kicker Blair Walsh.

The Panthers dominated the regular season, only losing one game the entire season and earning a first round playoff bye. Don’t count Seattle out though; they won the championship two years ago and would have been victorious last year if not for a controversial play call in the final minute of last year’s Super Bowl.

The Divisional Playoff Rounds close out on Sunday, Jan. 17 at 1:40 p.m. when the Denver Broncos host the Pittsburg Steelers. Pittsburg is coming off an 18-16 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in last week’s Wild Card match.

Payton Manning is slated as Denver’s starting quarterback after replacing backup Brock Osweiler late in Denver’s final regular season match up. The big question coming into the game is whether Manning has one last playoff run.

All questions will be answered by Sunday. Eight teams will turn to four, and the weak will be separated from the strong.

Alabama comes out on top … again

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By: Jamal Smith 
Sports Editor

The Alabama Crimson Tide are at the top of the mountain in college football once again after beating out ACC powerhouse, the Clemson Tigers, 45-40 on Monday, Jan. 11.

Alabama becomes only the second team in college football history to win four national titles in a seven-year span. Equally impressive are the five National Championship rings held by the Crimson Tide’s head coach Nick Saban, who has won four with Alabama and one with LSU.

Saban’s five undisputed national titles, places him second in championship hardware among past and present coaches, only one title away from the record set by another Alabama coach, Paul “Bear” Bryant.

To get this victory, Saban had to use all of his players’ talent. But that wasn’t enough, Saban also needed to pull a rabbit out of his hat; an onside kick, one of the most memorable and gutsy trick plays in a national championship game.

With 10:34 left in the final quarter and the score tied at 24-24 after an Alabama touchdown had just evened the score, Saban called for an onside kick. Crimson Tide kicker Adam Griffith surprised the Tigers’ defense with a perfectly executed onside kick that was caught over the shoulder by Alabama defensive back Marlon Humphrey to give Alabama the ball back.

“When the other team squeezes the formation like that, we call the ‘pop kick,’” said Saban after the game. “I made the decision to do it because the score was [tied] and we were getting tired on defense, and if we didn’t do something to take a chance and change the momentum of the game, we wouldn’t have a chance to win.”

Saban’s gamble paid off just a few minutes later when Alabama quarterback Jake Coker connected with his wide receiver, O.J. Howard for a 51-yard touchdown strike.

But even after the game’s momentum swung in Alabama’s favor, the Clemson Tigers would not back down and showed why they went undefeated in the regular season. Clemson’s quarterback, dynamic play-maker Deshaun Watson, calmly led his team downfield which led to a field goal and cut Alabama’s advantage 31-27.

Then both teams went on a scoring spree. First, on Clemson’s kickoff, Alabama’s return man, Kenyan Drake, exploded down the sideline for a 95-yard kickoff-return touchdown. Then on Clemson’s next possession, Watson threw his third touchdown pass of the game to bring the score to 38-33 with 4:40 remaining for the game.

“We stand toe-to-toe with everybody in the country,” said Clemson’s head coach Dabo Swinney. “This program doesn’t take a backseat to anybody.”

Alabama answered the Tiger’s scoring drive a minute later when the Crimson Tide’s running back, and 2015-16 Heisman Trophy winner, Derrick Henry, bullied his way into the end zone for his third touchdown of the game to bring the score to 45-33.

With the time ticking away, Clemson’s quarterback Watson threw his fourth touchdown pass but it was too little too late, and Alabama reigned victorious. Watson tallied 478 total yards, setting the record for the most total yards ever in the national championship game.

“All the stats don’t really matter to me,” said Watson at the press conference after the game. “I just wanted to get the win and do something that we haven’t done in 34 years.”

The national championship was close, hard fought, and satisfying, especially for Alabama.

Wolves go cold from the floor against Alaska Fairbanks

By: Jamal Smith 
Sports editor

The Western Oregon women’s basketball team traveled to Alaska and inevitably fell to the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) 55-75 on Saturday, Jan. 7.

The Wolves had two players score in double figures. Senior Michelle Bromagem (G) led the Wolves in scoring with 15 points on 5-10 shooting from the floor and went 3-6 from distance.

Sophomore Jasmine Miller (G/F) tallied 10 points on a perfect shooting night, shooting 5-5 from the floor.

Western got on the scoreboard first off with a Bromagem 3-pointer on the Wolves first possession of the game, but the Wolves went through a four minute scoring drought. The Nanooks took advantage of the Wolves’ cold stretch and scored 9 unanswered points.

UAF’s lead would balloon to a 16 point advantage with less than a minute remaining in the first quarter. The Wolves showed their never-say-die mentality and clawed their way back into the game, cutting Alaska’s lead to single digits at 30-38 going into half time.

In the third quarter, Western would again go cold from the floor. To make matters worse, UAF dropped 20 points in the quarter, and the Nanooks took a 58-41 lead into the final quarter.
UAF’s lead proved to be too much for the Wolves to come back from, and the fourth quarter played out like the rest of the game had.

The Wolves had a tough shooting night and finished the game shooting 0.396 from the floor and 0.222 from beyond the arch. Although Western outrebounded UAF 30-25, the Wolves committed 25 turnovers witch led to 27 UAF points.

The loss brings the Wolves overall record to 2-12 and 1-5 in GNAC conference play.

Next up, the Wolves host Montana State University of Billings at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 16. The Yellow Jackets currently sit in second place in the GNAC with an overall record of 9-5 and 5-1 in GNAC conference play.

You can purchase tickets online or at the box office on game day.

Avgi leads Wolves in victory over Saints

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By:Jamal Smith 
Sports Editor

1,100 fans packed the New P.E. Building on Saturday, Jan. 9 to watch the No. 13 Wolves defeat Saint Martin’s University (SMU) 74-61.

The Wolves had three players in double figures. Redshirt-senior Andy Avgi (F) led Western in scoring with 24 points. Senior Jordan Wiley (G) filled up the stat sheet with 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists, and redshirt-sophomore Alex Roth (G) tallied 10 points on 4-6 shooting from the floor.

“Andy Avgi is a tremendous offensive force, and I thought Jordan Wiley really played like a senior with 7 rebounds and 2 assists with no turnovers,” said Head Coach Jim Shaw after the game. “I thought he did a good job and I thought some guys made progress off the bench. Kadeem Strickland did some good things and it was good to get Nick [Nestell] back.”

After the Saints scored the first basket of the game on the opening possession, Western answered by hitting their first two shots to take the lead; a lead the Wolves would hold the rest of the game.

Western hit seven shots from beyond the arch in the first half and took a 35-30 lead into half time.

In the second half, the Wolves buckled down defensively and Avgi, the 2014-15 GNAC Player of the Year, caught fire. Avgi had 16 second-half points and played tough defense against the Saint’s big man, seven foot center Fred Jorg.

“Usually I guard people that are taller than me, but he had more weight on me. I think that he is around three-hundred pounds to my two-seventy, and that was a real load on defense,” said Avgi after the game. “It really got me tired at times, but I just kept on going at him and I think he only shot one for three. If I can do that against bigger guys I think we will do great.”

Western’s lead ballooned to 20 points with 6:46 remaining for the game, but SMU chipped away at the lead, and looked to bring Western’s advantage to single digits. Avgi’s 3-pointer with just over two minutes remaining all but sealed the Wolves’ victory.

The Wolves shot 0.431 from the floor and 0.387 from long range and out-rebounded the Saints 36-34. Ball security and limiting turnovers were also a key factor.

“I thought that we didn’t have the level of energy in the first half that I thought we needed and I thought that we picked that up in the second half,” said Coach Shaw. “The best thing that we did today was not turning the ball over. We only had five turnovers for the entire game, which is hard to do.”

“We defended the interior better tonight than we have. I think that we need to improve our three point defense. They were 8 from 23, which I would have liked to see that about 6 for 23,” added Coach Shaw. “Overall I think we played solid, just not great.”

The victory improves the Wolves’ overall record to 12-2 and 5-1 in GNAC conference play.
After dropping two out of the last three games prior to the start of the week, the Wolves got back on track with a 96-90 overtime victory on Thursday, Jan. 7 against Seattle Pacific University and have now won three in a row.

Avgi’s 34 point performance on Thursday’s game combined with his 24 point performance against the Saint’s, earned Western’s big man the GNAC Player of the Week honor.

Up next, Avgi and the Wolves travel north to play Western Washington University on Saturday, Jan. 16. The next home game is on Thursday, Jan. 21 against the University of Alaska Anchorage at 7 p.m. in the New P.E. Building.

Wolves nearly pull out victory over Western Washington

By: Jamal Smith 
Sports Editor

The Western Oregon women’s basketball team nearly gave Western Washington University (WWU) their first GNAC conference loss, but inevitably fell short 59-61 on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016.

For the second consecutive game, senior Emily Howey (C) led the Wolves in scoring and finished with 12 points on 5-7 shooting from the floor. Sophomore Sydney Azorr (G) was the only other Western player to reach double figures in scoring with 10 points.

Fresh from Thursday’s 58-57 victory over Simon Fraser University, the Wolves started off the game in dominating fashion. In the first quarter, the Wolves shot a blistering .571 from the floor to take a 12 point advantage into the second quarter.

Western continued to press the Vikings in the second quarter and reached their highest lead of the game with a 14 point advantage and just 2:30 remaining until half time. WWU would score two unanswered baskets to close the lead to 32-22 going into the half.

WWU closed the scoring gap midway through the fourth quarter. The Vikings would chip away at the Wolves’ lead, scoring 12 unanswered points to put WWU up 51-50 with 4:44 remaining in the game.

With Western clinging on to a 1 point lead with less than a minute to go, WWU hit a dagger 3-pointer to crush the Wolves’ hope for a victory.

The loss brings the Wolves’ overall record to 2-10 and 1-3 in GNAC conference play.

Next up the Wolves head to Alaska to face the University of Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday, Jan. 9, 2016.

The next home game is on Tuesday, Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. in the New P.E. Building. Fans are asked to wear black to support their team. Tickets can be purchased online or at the box office on game day.

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