College of Sports Media Game of the Night:

Big game tonight in the NFL Thursday night-er. The Indianapolis Colts (13-0) take their perfect record into Jacksonville to take on the division rival Jaguars (7-6). Earlier these two teams met in Indy and obviously the Colts won that contest, squeaking by with a 14-12 win. The Colts have won four of the last five meetings between the two teams and hold an overall 13-4 edge in the series. Just don’t count out the Jaguars just yet. Out of all the teams that in the Indy’s division Jacksonville gives them the most problems and the games typically come down to the last minute. Offensively the Jags are led by quarterback David Garrard and running back Maurice Jones-Drew. Garrard is having an average season by his own standards. He’s close to 3000 yards passing and would need only just over 600 yards over the next three weeks to eclipse his own personal best. Whats impressive about his stats is that he has a very young receiving core and is still building that bound between QB and wide out. For Jones-Drew, this is the first season he has been the feature back in the Jags attack. One time starter Fred Taylor was released in the off season and was picked up by the New England Patriots. Jones-Drew has thrived with the new role. He’s already set a career high in rushing yards (1136) and touchdowns (14). For the Colts the big question is whether or not to sit players and start resting up for the play offs. Indy has already secured the top spot in the AFC and home field advantage throughout the post season. Indy struggles with it’s running game (30th in the league) so a lot of the offensive load has been on the shoulders of quarterback Peyton Manning. Which isn’t a problem for the 12 year vet. He leads the league in passing yards (3905), attempts per game (38.6), yards per game (300.4) and trails only Drew Brees in touchdowns thrown (Manning has 29). Manning may attempt the most throws but he is also well protected. He’s only been sacked 10 times.  Manning too has dealt with receiver turnover. 13 year Colt Marvin Harrison was let go and he was replaced by second year man Pierre Garcon and rookie Austin Collie. Along with Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark they make up a formidable receiving core.

There’s a thought process out there that sitting players for the play offs is a mistake. In fact Indy has first hand experience. There have been at least two seasons when the team sat players in preparation for the post season and were knocked out early. The year the Colts had to player their starters until the end of the season they went on to win the Super Bowl. It will be interesting to see what philosophy rookie coach Jim Caldwell follows.

College of Sports Media Game of the Night:

The Toronto Raptors (11-15) make their first trip into Miami as they go toe-to-toe with Dwayne Wade and the Heat (11-11) tonight. The Raptors are coming off one their best defensive effort of the season. On Sunday they held the Houston Rockets to only 36.8 percent from the floor, rolling to a 101-88 victory. Hedo Turkoglu had his best performance as a Dino, scoring a season high 23 points, pulling down six boards while adding five assists. Chris Bosh continued to lead Toronto. He had 27. Jose Calderon missed another game with a hip injury and it’s highly unlikely he’ll be in the line up tonight. Jarrett Jack continues to start in his place. Since stepping in as the starter, Jack is averaging 14.8 points and 6.5 assists per game. Miami on the other hand is coming off their worst home loss this season. They got pummeled 118-90 by the Memphis Grizzlies (yes, you read that correctly – Memphis Grizzlies). The Heat are on a two game losing skid and have dropped four straight at home. To make matters worse they’ve lost three in a row to Toronto in Miami.

College of Sports Media Game of the Night:

On Saturday night the Leafs battled the team out of the nation’s capital south of the border, Washington, tonight they take on the team out of their nation’s capital, Ottawa. This is game three of the Battle of Ontario. Both game one and two were won by the the Senators, but in each case it was only a one goal margin. On Saturday night the Leafs got off to a typical slow start against the Capitals. Toronto trailed 2-0 going into the second period. That lead was quickly erased and by the time the horn blew to end the game, the Leafs won 6-3. The line of Phil Kessel, Matt Stajan and Alexei Ponikarovsky combined for eight points in the win. Goaltender Vesa Toskala was pretty good as well. He stopped 34 of 37 shots to earn his fourth win of the season. The Senators are coming off a big Saturday night win as well. They doubled up the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 in front of their home crowd. Off season acquistion Alex Kovalev was the big star in this one. He had a hat trick to lead his team. The first goal for Kovalev was his 400th career goal. Now both teams are dealing with goaltender injuries. For the Leafs Jonas Gustavsson is still recovering from a procedure to correct an accelerated hate rate. While in Ottawa starting goalie Pascal Leclaire is still out with a broken jaw. Brian Elliott has taken over the starting role. This season, Elliott is 8-6-3 with a 2.77 goals against average. So the Leafs are looking for a couple of first tonight: a W against the Sens and a four game winning streak

College of Sports Media Game of the Night:

It was a night of firsts for the Toronto Raptors last night. The Toronto Huskies paid a tribute to the NBA’s roots, be unveiling their Toronto Huskies retro look for the first of six games this season. Back on November 1, 1946 the Toronto Huskies played the New York Knickerbockers at Maple Leaf Gardens in the first game of the Basketball Association of America. The Raptors beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 94-88, winning their third straight game for the first time this season. Guard Jarrett Jack got his first start of the season, replacing an injured Jose Calderon. Jack filled in nicely scoring 17 points and dishing out eight assists. Tonight Toronto (10-13) is back at it again. They’re in Milwaukee to take on rookie sensation Brandon Jennings and the Bucks (9-11). Milwaukee sits two games in front of Toronto in the East, but the Bucks are on a four game losing skid. Last night they were in Boston and they lost 98-89. If the vote for rookie of the year were today, Jennings would win by a land slide. He’s averaging 21 points per game and just over 5 assists per game. Back on November 14, he lit up the Golden State Warriors for 55.

On the ice, the Toronto Maple Leafs are at home to take on the New York Islanders. On Monday night, the Leafs had five even strength goals in the second period and cruised to a 5-2 win over the Atlanta Thrashers. Now the last time the Leafs played the Isles, they peppered goaltender Dwayne Roloson with 61 shots and lost in overtime 4-3. Don’t look now, but since their horrible start the Leafs have been gaining ground in the East and are only five points back of the eight seed. The Islanders are one team of five teams that stand in their way. New York played last night and they took a beat down from the Philadelphia Flyers, losing 6-2. John Tavares scored his teams lone goals. Tavares leads all rookies with 13 goals and 23 points, but has yet to register a point at the ACC.

College of Sports Media Game of the Night:

There is a Klingon on proverb that ‘revenge is a dish best served cold’. You can be sure the Toronto Raptors have some revenge in mind as they take on the Washington Wizards in the nation’s capital south of the border. Three nights ago the Wizards were in TO and they edged the Raptors 106-102. The very following night Toronto was in Hot-lanta and they were pummeled 146-115, their worst lost this season and fifth worst in franchise history. The Raptors porous D has given up a hundred points in 11 straight games and have sunk to the very bottom of the league in points allowed (111). Chris Bosh was held to only two points in the loss. Following the slaying, reports began to surface that the players (Jarrett Jack and Antoine Wright) were unhappy with coach Jay Triano and how the lack of criticism he has for select players (maybe Andrea Bargnani, Jose Calderone and Hedo Turkoglu?), especially on the defence side of things. On the other hand Washington played Milwaukee the next night and they squeezed out another close one, beating the Bucks 104-102. Gilbert Arenas lead the team with 22 points and 9 assists, but it was 5-5′ Earl Boykins who was the star. The game was tied and was one second away from going to overtime. Boykins was fouled and he drained both free throws to ice the game. Tonight will be a true test to see what the Raptors are made of and if they can bounce back from adversity.

In the things that make you go huh category, former Raptors coach Sam Mitchell watched the Atlanta game from the second row. Mitchell resides in the ATL so it’s not that odd, right? Well one year ago the day of the game with Atlanta, the Raptors were blown out in Denver 132-93 and Mitchell was fired the very next day, December 3, 2008.

College of Sports Media Game of the Night:

Coming off a huge win in Montreal on Tuesday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs continue their road trip as their in Columbus tonight to take on the Blue Jackets. It will be the only meeting between the two teams this season. Last year this one-time-a-year affair was played in Toronto and Columbus earned a 4-3 shootout win. Goaltender Jonas Gustavsson will not be available for tonight’s tilt. He left Tuesday game with an accelerated heart beat. Joey MacDonald will get the call. MacDonald came in against the Habs in the second period and preserved the shut out. Matt Stajan had another strong game. He notched his eighth goal of the season. In the last ten games he’s scored five and added five assists. Phil Kessel continues to impress. Against the Canadiens he had a couple of helpers and has 13 points in the last 14 games. Columbus got off to a got start at home, but have struggled as of late. They only one once in their last seven. The answer to their recent woes lies between the pipes. Steve Mason has struggled this season and over his last eight games has only won twice. Rick Nash continues to lead the Blue Jackets offensively. He has 15 goals and 14 assists already this season.

College of Sports Media Game of the Night:

The Toronto Raptors have lost three straight and the last seven of nine. Tonight they welcome Gilbert Arenas and the Washington Wizards to the ACC. Arenas has been dealing with numerous ankle injuries and has missed the last seven games against the Raps. While injured Arenas was very vocal about the possibility of Raptor’s guard Jose Calderone being included on the all star team. Check out his blog here: http://www.wonderday.ca/2008/02/14/gilbert-arenas-disses-jose-calderon/ Washington’s last game was on Saturday night when they lost to the Charlotte Bobcats 92-76. Arenas scored six points and was held to under ten points for the second consecutive game. On Sunday, the Raptors’ defensive futilitycontinued. They were smoked 113-94 by the Phoenix Suns. Adding to Toronto’s woes was a brutal 1 for 20 performance from behind the arc. Chris Bosh was the lone bright spot. He poured in 30 points and pulled down 17 boards.

On the ice, the NHL’s oldest rivalry continues as the Toronto Maple Leafs are in Montreal to take on the Canadiens. This is a huge week for the Montreal franchise. On Friday the team will celebrate their 100 year anniversary. Both teams are coming off loses. The Leafs were shut out 3-0 by the Buffalo Sabres, while the Habs lost 4-3 in the shootout to the Washington Capitals.

College of Sports Media Game of the Night:

It’s turkey day across the border and that means one thing: a full plate of NFL football. Three games on the docket today. The Green Bay Packers (6-4) take their show on the road as their in the Motor City to take on the Detroit Lions (2-8). Both teams are coming off big week 10 wins, but both got are dealing with some serious injuries. The Pack dumped the 49ers 30-24 and in the process lost both defensive end Aaron Kampman and corner back Al Harris for the season. Kampman leads the team in sacks and Harris is a great cover corner. The Lions beat the Browns 38-37 i n the final seconds of their game. Quarterback Matt Stafford dislocated his shoulder at the end of the game, but he’s toughing it out and will be behind centre today. Who knows how effective he will be.

Next up the Oakland Raiders(3-7) are in Dallas to take on the Cowboys (7-3). At first glance this one looks like it’ll be one-sided. Oakland is coming off a monster win over the AFC North leading Cincinnati Bengals last week and the Cowboys have struggled mightally on offence. The Raiders finally benched JaMarcus Russell and gave Bruce Gradkowski the starters job. He responded with two touchdown passes, including a last second score leading to the upset win. Over the last two weeks the Cowboys offence has been less then effective. Over the last two weeks the ‘Boys have scored two touchdowns. If they don’t get things together they may end up being the turkey in a Raider’s feast.

The last game is probably the best as the New York Giants (6-4) battle the Denver Broncos (6-4). Both teams limp into this one. Denver has lost four straight and they got pummeled 32-3 last week by the San Diego Chargers. New York has dropped four of five and needed overtime to beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-31. The Giants come into this one banged-up, on three days rest and have to play in the mile-high air. If Denver can take advantage they just might end their skid.

College of Sports Media Game of the Night:

On Sunday the Toronto Raptors hosted a former player and tonight will be no different. Both former Raptors help the team reach the play offs. Public enemy number one, Vince Carter and the Orlando Magic were in town over the weekend and showed Toronto how a team goes about finishing a game. At one point the Raptors led by double digits only to see Carter heat up in the second half and lead his team to the 106-94 win. It’s pretty evident why the Magic traded for Carter, making Hedu Turkoglu expendable. Carter had 18 points in the second half when his team was down. Turkoglu had 4 points (all on free throws), two missed lay ups, and three fouls in the fourth quarter when his team was trailing and needed a spark.

Tonight the Raps welcome TJ Ford and the Indiana Pacers to the ACC. Ford was in the middle of the guard controversy in Toronto when team president Brian Colangelo chose Jose Calderone to be his man. Ford was traded to the Pacers and the rest is history. There’s more six degrees of separation between the Raps and Pacers. Jarrett Jack and Rasho Nesterovic were in Indiana last season. Nesterovic was part of the Ford trade. Pacer’s centre Roy Hibbert was drafted by Toronto, but was included in the Ford deal as well. Jermaine O’Neal, who ended up in TO as part of the trade, has since been jettisoned to Miami. Indiana comes into this game losers of their last three, but they sit a half game ahead of Toronto in the East. For the Raptors, tonight is the first of a back-to-back games. Tomorrow night they welcome the Charlotte Bobcats. A W tonight and tomorrow would go a long way. Their next six opponents include Boston, Phoenix, Atlanta, Chicago and Washington (twice).

College of Sports Media Game of the Night:

For the second straight week the NFL Monday Night-er will feature a team that once represented the city it’s playing against. Last week it was the Baltimore Ravens (formerly the Cleveland Browns) taking on the ‘new’ Browns in Cleveland. This week the Tennessee Titans (formerly the Houston Oilers) are in Houston to battle the Texans. Unfortunately like last week this game also features two teams at the bottom of their   division. This time it’s the AFC South. The Texans are 5-4 and sit a game behind the Jacksonville Jaguars for second spot in the division. Last week Houston was on a bye, but in week nine they suffered a heart-wrenching 20-17 to the Indianapolis Colts. They played the Colts tough and that game could have gone either way. Quarterback Matt Schaub has stayed healthy this season and he’s put up some pretty good numbers. Schaub is top ten in the league for passing yards (2653), touchdowns thrown (17) and completion percentage (67.5). Tennessee started the season 0-6, but they’re on fire winning three straight. Their defence has been a lot better and quarterback Vince Young has been behind centre for all three wins, including a 41-17 week 10 pounding of the Buffalo Bills. The word in the locker room is Young has comeback from last season’s demotion more mature and a better teammate. He’s also a match up nightmare for most defences. In his last three starts he’s taken chances at throwing the ball deep which takes away from defences cheating against the run. That opens up the running game not only for himself, but also uber-stud running back Chris Johnson. Johnson is already at the one thousand mark in rushing yards (1091), has eight touchdowns and is gaining a gaudy 6.4 yards per carry. Not good news a Texans defence that’s giving up over a hundred rushing yards a game.

If you’d rather watch some puck tonight, there’s a good divisional battle between the Detroit Red Wings and Nashville Predators. Detroit’s been pretty good as of late (7-2-1 in their last 10), but they still sit in the three spot in the Northwest division. The Predators come into this one red hot. They’ve won five straight and trail the Red Wings by a point. Nashville has dominated Detroit as of late. Last season they finished 4-2 against the Red Wings and come into this one with a three game winning streak over their opponents.