igan State Spartans.They left town with a shockingly easy 45-7 win and kept their part of the Big Ten penthouse,only now sharing it with just one team-Penn State.
The Buckeyes led 28-0 at the half and cruised home from there.
Shawn's Thoughts
1) The Buckeyes only threw 11 passes,but they added the occasional deep ball to the toolbox and that made some difference as the Spartans could not get away with 8 and 9 men on the line of scrimmage.
The Terrelle Pryor to Brian Hartline strike of 56 yards forced Michigan State to respect the long ball and that relieves pressure on the ground attack.
2) The defense forced two fumbles that were returned for TD's and controlled Javon Ringer throughout with James Laurinaitis shadowing Ringer on every play.
The nations leading rusher finished with 67 yards and generally was a non factor making MSU a very ordinary offensive team.
3) Pryor's 32 yard run early set the tone for the game and took the crowd out of the game early.
The Buckeyes didn't score on the drive,but established the way the game was going to go.
4) Chris Wells finished with 140 yards on 31 carries.
A great game,but once the game was no longer in doubt,I would like to have seen him set down for the day.
With the bad foot,he is one bad step away from lost for the year,I would hate to see that happen in a 35-7 game....
5) James Laurinatis was the dominant player of the game with 11 tackles.
Ohio State has had many great backers,but the senior might get my vote as the best of them all.
6) Penn State comes to Columbus next week with the top spot in the conference on the line.
Should be a good one.
The New Jersey Devils were struggling on offense until a third period flurry turned a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead.
Washington managed to tie the game before the end of regulation,but Zach Parise beat Brent Johnson for the only goal in the shootout to lift the Devils to a 4-3 win.
Shawn's Thoughts
1) Zach Parise was the star of the game and the difference between these tea
ms.Parise scored the tying goal on the power play (3) and then assisted on the goal that gave New Jersey a brief lead before scoring the only goal of the shootout.
It is exciting to see Parise develop and perhaps be the top notch scorer that Devils fans have hungered for such a long time.
2)Petr Vrana scored the first goal of his NHL career in the first period as he re-directed a Patrik Elias shot past Brent Johnson.
The Czech rookie showed a lot of speed and hustle along with a willingness to hang out in the crease.
3) Andy Greene scored his first goal of the season in the third period and looked steady enough on the blueline.
Greene needs to show more of the player that was so promising late in 06-07 and less of the erratic and less than stern player of last season.
4) The Devils grabbed 3 of 4 games on the road trip and that is a stat that any team will take on the road.
5) Bobby Holik broke his right pinkie in the win and may miss some time.
Nothing concrete as of this writing.....
Bonus Round:
That means in two games,both of the Devils major off season additions have been injured.
Back to the same old....
Bernard Hopkins defeated Kelly Pavlik by a unanimous decision in Atlantic City in a non-title Lt Heavyweight fight.
Hopkins was gracious in his victory,which I didn't see.
Look for a replay next week on HBO.
Pavlik retains his Middleweight title,which was not on the line in the over the weight b
out....
The Cleveland Browns travel to Washington and a game against the Redskins.
This could tell the tale about the Browns having the goods to make a real run at the playoffs.
3-3 certainly beats 2-4.
The Browns will need to throw the ball effectively and protect Derek Anderson against a solid Washington pass rush.
The Seattle Seahawks will visit Tampa in the Sunday night.
Seneca Wallace will get the start for the hawks after a week of Charlie Frye taking the snaps.
Predictions: (record 6-4)
Browns over Redskins 28-21
Buccaneers over Seahawks 24-13
Photo Credits
OSU-MSU:Eric Seals-Detroit Free Press
Parise:Luis Alvarez-AP Photo
Boxing:Tim Larsen-AP Photo
Helmets:Helmet Project
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