Monday Recap: NFL Playoffs, Thurgood vs Dunbar, BCS Championship, Gus Maker to Dayton?

We here at SportsEffectLive.com would like to wish you a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

     As we kick off 2013 we will be bringing you MORE DAILY from SELive Hot 5 posts;
But to start off the new year heres the lowdown on last weekends highlights and lowlights:

(1) NFL PLAYOFFS: Bengals lose to Texans again; RG3 nearly leads Skins to victory on 1 leg 

Texans lasso Bengals - again;  Cincy grabbed a early lead on a Leon Hall INT, but Andy Dalton simply couldn't get on track with his recievers, as the Texas rode Arien Foster and JJ Watt to a 19-13 win. There were opportunities for the Bengals to win and get some "Getback" for last years loss to Houston, but a off target passing game, that was climaxed with a missed wide open AJ Green in the end zone on 3rd down in the decisive last series, that doomed the Bengalians. Next up for Houston:  @ New England

Packers repay Vikings; Ponder doesn't play:
 When Adrian Peterson ran roughsod to almost grabbing the single season rushing record held by Eric Dickerson, the Vikings seemed to have the Packers on edge. However, with Christian Ponder not playing, the onus would fall on backup Joe Webb to try to get the job done...However Webb, after the first two series, turned into Joe Schmo and was dominated by the Packers D en route to a easy victory. Up next for Green Bay: @ San Francisco

Ray Ray, Ravens turn up heat on Luck, Colts
    When Ray Lewis announced that he would be retiring effective after this season, the sports world was shocked...How could the leagues most feared defensive player would be hanging it up after this year? Man he only had a triceps tear!...Nevertheless, he came out, with a torn arm, and delivered a signature W in Baltimore vs Indy and Rookie sensation Andrew Luck; 13 tackles, spearheading the D, doing his signature intro (he did it at the end too) and bringing home a playoff W, in classic fashion. Lewis is the greatest defensive player in the NFL in the past 20 years. And possibly the most influential EVER. Can he do it one more time?...Up next: @ Denver

Seahawks rookie QB Wilson outlasts RG3, Seattle wins
  Before Seattle had gotten off the plane, they were down 14-0 and en route to getting ran off the field; However, a re-injured RG3, a lucky recovered fumble by Marshawn Lynch, & a formidable D led the Seahawks back into the game, and Wilson helped finish the Skins' off by scoring the last 24 points of the game in the comeback win. Seattle seems to win, with a little help from above, in some classic finishes this season. Will it continue? Up next: @ Atlanta


Is this the YEAR OF THE IRISH?

(2) BCS TITLE  Tonight; Will IRISH EYES be smilin or ROLL TIDE be the theme of the night?
  Notre Dame will try to secure a national title since the Lou Holtz days (80 or 90's) as Coach Kelly and his troops will battle the defending national champions tonight. With Nick Sabans squad being in this position before, you have to give them a advantage; but one thing is for sure; Notre Dame has the horses and formula to run this race with Alabama, with the same type of squad that beat the Bama team this season (Texas A&M); A dynamic QB, who can outright befuddle a defense; a Defense led by Heisman runner up in Manti Te'o; and a coach who has a gamblers mentality, and will not be afraid to match wits with the best coach (Alabama Nick Saban) in the country right now.
Who wins?
                                         Alabama 24-20


(3) Thurgood throttles Dunbar in early season marquee matchup
High School basketball in the Miami Valley is as big as its ever been, and with 2 of the top teams in the State in D 2 basketball matching up, albeit undefeated - it provided for a classic matchup. Thurgood Marshall beat Dunbar 81-62, although the game was closer than the score indicated. Thurgood was better at both ends of the court, as they were led by Fab Frosh Derrick Daniels 20 & Mark Alstork (16) and Rachunn Martin (17), while the Wolves were led by Super Soph AJ Harris with 18. Coach Darnell Hoskins feels like the Thurgood -Dunbar rivalry is like OSU - MICHIGAN in the Miami Valley. And he's probably right, considering the talent, and what the teams have done in the last ten years.


(4) Daequan Cook signs with Bulls
  Local legend and NBA 3-pt shooting champion Daequan Cook has signed a deal with the Chicago Bulls for the remainder of the season. Cook will likely give the Bulls a 3-pt boost the are sorely lacking with the departure of sharpshooter Kyle Korver. Cook could definitely help, and will get the opportunity to get his looks. If he can shoot with confidence, he will be a diamond in the rough for the Bulls come playoff time.


(5) Gus Macker back to Dayton Ohio for 40th Anniversary?
There have been rumblings throughout that the KING OF 3 on 3 is coming back to the city...Gus Macker, in its 40th season, is looking to come back to the city, and there are numerous reports that it will be back dowtown come July....This would be a welcome addition, since the last big sporting event that made it way downtown helped the city profit a million dollars off of it (NCAA FIRST FOUR) and just signed a 3-year deal through 2016. One only wonders if the magic of what the infamous GUS MACKER would do....Look for more on this story as the early year progesses.



FOLLOW US ON TWITTER:  @thesportseffect
ADD US ON FACEBOOK:  SportsEffectLive FAN PAGE / SPORTS SHOW

Weekend Review: NFL Week 1 Recap; Knox Indy vs Ohio Challenge;

SportsEffectLive.com brings you the hottest events going down this past weekend.....With NFL week 1 goin down, the Knox vs Indy Challenge along with the Dayton Revival Festival, there was plenty of great things to do in the Miami Valley and beyond. 

                      Heres our SELIVE HOT 5 SPORTS WEEKEND RECAP

• 1st Annual Knox Pro Am Indy vs Ohio Challenge a HUGE Success

   With local NBA ballers such as Norris Cole, Daequan Cook, and Chris Wright flexing their hoop games, the hoop challenge at Trent Arena was a battle down to the finish. With thousands in attendance, the people was treated to great basketball from not only the Ohio legends, but from the Indy ballers as well. There were live music performances, raffles and giveaways from all of the NBA players in between TV timeouts, with Wolfie Mr. Sportsknowitall providing the commentary. President Carlos Knox felt like that it was a success as well, and looks forward to this being a yearly event in the city.
Look for the SELive TOP 5 plays from the event coming this weekend.


NFL Week 1 goes down 
   NFL week 1 is over, and it brought some of the biggest suprises - and dissapointments - to ever start a season in history. Here are some of the highlights and lowlights of the week:

•   Highlights: Cowboys set the tone: Dallas is the one franchise who has supposedly wasted the most money and talent in trying to get to the elusive Super Bowl. However, with a revamped secondary, they shut down the Giants and won 24-17. Can they do it at the end of the season when it counts?

•  Highlights: Mark Sanchez, Jets  - Sanchez, who has been ridiculed to no end since having a sub-par last season, and pre-season; However Sanchez led the Jets to a 48-point outburst, leaving the haters in the rear view, for a week at least.

• Lowlights: Bengals get smashed by Ravens

  This is the season that the Bengals can change their culture, but if they play like they did against the Ravens Monday night,  the only thing that will be changing is their fanbase. Now granted, the Ravens are Super Bowl contenders, but even without Terrell Suggs in the lineup the Ravens snatched the Bengals up and tossed them around like a fresh salad. The Bengals will have to bounce back next week. Or they could be in some real trouble this season.

• Lowlights: Browns Rookie QB Brandon Weeden 

   I guess you could say that Weeden looked lost from the start, as he inexplicably got swallowed up under the Flag on the field during the pre-game ceremonies. Once the game actually started, looks like Weeden never found his way out. His stats? 12 -34, 4 INT's and a fumble. And when he had a chance to take the Browns down for a Game Winning FG? No chance. Management feels he will get better. I hope so. Because you have a better QB (Colt McCoy) sitting behind him wondering why he didn't get the chance.

• Highlights: RG3 lights up scoreboard, beats Saints

  The only thing Robert Griffin III didn't do on Sunday was wear his Sunday's best at the press conference; He decided that his first interview would be done in his Skins uni, which was fine considering the day he had in it; 19-26, 320 yards, 2 TD's and 0 INT's, and most importantly, leading the Skins' to a 40-32 win over the Saints. In watching RG3 you seen a confident, cool customer who looks like a franchise QB. And yes he will have bad days, but on this day? He showed his worth, outlasting future hall of famer Drew Brees. Redskin fans are foaming at the mouth right now....He definitely outshined #1 pick Luck and his other rookie QB counterparts...And was the only one to get a W as well.

• Highlights: Referees do a good job.

   When it was first announced that there would be "scab" refs due to discussions about the new agreement for the refs, most thought it would be settled by Week 1. Not so. And after all the complaining and whining, it seems that Principal - I mean Commissioner -  Goodell is deciding to stick with the new blood. Although everybody and they mama feels like the old refs are better, the new refs (which includes female refs as well) have been steadily getting better. Question is, how long will Goodell go with the newcomers, as the longer it goes, the more antsy the other refs, along with the coaches and players, get?

• Lowlights: Referees do a bad job.

   Although some of the refs did a good job, there were a few instances that were not as good. Like Victor Cruz being held on a obvious play in the Cowboys game, which might have cost them a TD; like the refs giving the Seahawks a extra timeout during crunch time against the Cardinals; And so on; The point is this: The refs are HUMAN, therefore they will make mistakes. It happens. As long as they man (or woman) up, and don't make any amazingly bad mistakes, then the replacement refs will and are doing a good job.

• Highlights:  Fantasy star RB's get their money

 
   If you took one of the 3 best RB's in the game (Arien Foster, Matt Forte, Adrian Peterson) you did well....All three of those performers did their thing and scored TD's and ran for a lot of yards, and caught for plenty of yards. Look to add Maurice Jones-Drew to that list for next week.

• Lowlights: Fantasy Star QB's dissapear

 
  If you took the likes of Mike Vick, Matt Stafford, or Eli Manning in fantasy, then it was a uneasy day for you. Although Stafford and Vick were in Top 5 in yards, they both threw too many INT's for you to capitalize on it. And although Eli was solid, he wasn't spectacular. Vick and Stafford tled their teams to comeback W's, so they will probably come back with vintage games. I'd definitely play em.


Highlights: Serena Williams, Andy Murray hoist US OPEN trophies

Serena Williams is showing why she could be considered the GREATEST FEMALE TENNIS PLAYER EVER. Williams continued her amazing season with a comeback win over #1 Ranked Victoria Azarenka, giving her another Slam this season.On the other side of the spectrum, Andy Murray held off former US champ Djokovic in five sets, giving him his first ever Major Championship, and second consecutive major victory (if you count the Olympics); when Murray lost Wimbledon to Federer, he told the English faithful "im getting close"...well he wasn't playing, and this could lead to Murray making his own spectacular run.

 
MORE INFO? go to sportseffectlive.com

Follow us on twitter:  @thesportseffect
follow us on Facebok: SportsEffectLive Sports Show

Top 5 Games in the NFL this week:

The NFL has been great this year, with a ton of storylines for the final regular season week....While some teams have already reserved tickets to some exotic island for a getaway, others are playing for playoff positions, and also draft positions. Which brings us to our SELive Top 5 NFL Games of the Week:

SELive Watch Factor Rating: 1-5                  
 1- Catch the highlights
 2- Sleep off and on but watch
 3- Flick back and forth but watch when important
 4- Im checkin this game out, hope i get to watch it all
 5- Miss this game? Are u CRAZY! Wheres the remote!
 WEEK 17 Games
(1)  Baltimore (12-3)       at      Cincinnati   (9-6)    (1pmET) -  Normally this game would be a playoff tuneup for the Ravens,  but not this season, as the Bengals have suprised everyone, including themselves, while now having a shot at the playoffs; However, RayRay and the Rave squad also need this game badly, as they are looking to get a bye and a top seed in the playoffs. The Ravens have never had that home field, so i'm sure the Ravens will be ready. The question is, which Bengals team will we see? Andy Dalton and AJ Green have been saviors for the team, and they will have to be in top form today to pull off the win. And on top of that, the whole nation wants to see if Cincinnati can prove the doubters wrong, especially the ones in Cincinnati. Note: Nice to see that Bengals fans decided to get tickets at a 2 for 1 sale price so this game would be on TV..
SELive Watch Factor: 5

Jerome Simpson flips over defender into end zone - LITERALLY

(2)  NY Giants (8-7)      at        Dallas   (8-7)    -  (830pmET)  In this NFC East battle, the winner of this game will move on to the playoffs while the loser goes home. Both of these teams have been inconsistent all year, bringing us to this point. Dallas held a late 12 point lead against the Giants at home three weeks ago, but couldn't seal the deal, while the Giants have been a mystery to most, winning tough games and losing to inferior opponents. Pro Bowler Eli Manning has been, for the most part, a one man show...But with RB Bradshaw healthy, Jacobs seemingly playing with more intensity, and the Defense ramping up its game (along with being at home), it will take a focused Romo for 60 minutes to snap a jinx against the Giants, who have had the Cowboys number for the last 3 or 4 years.   SELive Watch Factor:  4.5

Will Tebow-Mania ride into playoffs?

(3)  Kansas City  (6-9)      at     Denver   (8-7)  (4:15pmET)     -   All year, the Broncos fanbase had been craving for Tim Tebow. When current Chiefs / former Broncos QB Kyle Orton wasn't generating wins, Tebow was given the opportunity. In return he has led the Broncos to a 7-4 record, given life to a franchishe which was looking towards the draft earlier this season, and has become a impossible guy to not like or hate. Even John Elway has bought in to TebowMagic. But 2 losses in a row, and a guy who feels scorned by the way the Broncos treated him (Orton) makes this a magical game in the Mile High City. Orton would like nothing better but to send the Broncos on vacation, and best believe he will do EVERYTHING in his power to make that happen. Will Ortons rage be enough to stop Tebow and his magic touch?   SELive Watch Factor: 5

(4) Indianapolis   (2-13)     at     Jacksonville   (4-11)   - While Jacksonville already have started looking into next season, the Colts have not; Especially Peyton Manning. While it was noted that Manning bought the backup QB a new car after the win last week, they will still need another win to stay out of the Andrew Luck Sweepstakes. Now where there has been all type of scenarios, believe this; Those players want Peyton Manning as the starting QB next season. And they will play inspired ball this game to prove it. Manning doesn't want another QB in his Colts spot next year, but with a loss, he might be battling Luck next year for that spot; or he could be somewhere else, say Jets or Cowboys next year?   SELive Watch Factor:  2

(5)  Pittsburgh    (11-4)     at      Cleveland    (4-11)  (4pmET)    -  While to most fans this game will be nothing special, this has major implications in the Playoff Race. If Baltimore wins, then this game will have as no meaning. However, if the Ravens lose to the Bengals, then Big Ben (on his injured ankle) will try to get the Steelers a first round bye, the division championship, and a chance to rest his body for another week. Last year the Browns beat the Steelers in a late Thursday game, and this will be a battle. Depending on how the Bengals Ravens game play out, of course.
SELive Watch Factor: 2.5