Sports

[gardenman]

---

@soonersis wrote:

I wonder if they shouldn't have gone ahead and moved it to Monday night.  I worry about all of the fans going to the game Sunday night, even if it is above freezing and with only rain, if they have had freezing rain or ice earlier in the day on Sunday.  But I suppose that wouldn't be good for the players as the winning team would have one less day to prepare for the next game.

---

They may have to yet, depending on what the weather does. It wouldn't be a big deal. The championship games get played on Sunday so the team playing on Monday night would still have the nearly the same prep time a team that won last Sunday but plays on Saturday this week would have. You often have teams playing on six days rest in the playoffs.

Ice is the big, bad weather issue for playoff games. Snow's not so bad. Plows can move it and keep things reasonable. Ice has to melt and that's not something that happens fast. An inch or more of ice (as some are forecasting) with temps staying in the twenties to low thirties is a lot of ice to melt. I'm not counting on that game being played on Sunday night.

[Spurt]

---

@gardenman wrote:

Well, the Steelers/KC game on Sunday has now been moved to 8:20 PM from 1:00 PM. There's an ice storm bearing down on KC that may drop as much as an inch of ice on the area Sunday morning, ending around 1:00 PM. I'm not sure how warm it's supposed to get after that storm, but an inch of ice is a lot of ice to deal with and seven hours probably isn't long enough. Unless it gets up into the fifties after the storm there's likely to be a lot of ice still hanging around by 8:20 PM. 

Ice storms tend to tear down power lines too, so there may not even be power at the stadium for the game. I wouldn't be shocked to see that game get moved back to Monday night if things get messy there.

---

@gardenman

I agree, If the weather conditions are that dangerous for players and fans they should postpone the game for another day...JMHO.  Your right how are conditions suppose to improve after dark when the sun goes down and what if power lines are down....??????????????  According to the weather channel Sunday night is supposed to be 32 degrees so it seems to me any ice that was melted will freeze up again!!!  This is just a bunch of NFL BS.....I have no doubt they moved the game to PRIME TIME for the ratings.....and make up for the decline that the league experienced this year....its about the $$$$ not about safety....the NFL can spin whatever way they want!!!

  

And just to wrap up the SA/Jacksonville discussion....I bet the Jags will move to London very soon.....

[Spurt]

---

@gardenman wrote:

---

@soonersis wrote:

I wonder if they shouldn't have gone ahead and moved it to Monday night.  I worry about all of the fans going to the game Sunday night, even if it is above freezing and with only rain, if they have had freezing rain or ice earlier in the day on Sunday.  But I suppose that wouldn't be good for the players as the winning team would have one less day to prepare for the next game.

---

They may have to yet, depending on what the weather does. It wouldn't be a big deal. The championship games get played on Sunday so the team playing on Monday night would still have the nearly the same prep time a team that won last Sunday but plays on Saturday this week would have. You often have teams playing on six days rest in the playoffs.

Ice is the big, bad weather issue for playoff games. Snow's not so bad. Plows can move it and keep things reasonable. Ice has to melt and that's not something that happens fast. An inch or more of ice (as some are forecasting) with temps staying in the twenties to low thirties is a lot of ice to melt. I'm not counting on that game being played on Sunday night.

---

@gardenman@soonersis

We rarely get snow....but we do get ice storms and they are NOT fun....I remember chiseling....yes chiseling .....my sidewalk with a hammer and ice pick.....after the sidewalk was cleaned off I ended up with a mountain of ice....and it took a long time for the ice to melt on the grass and trees even though the sun came out and it was bright and sunny....the roads were a mess....and some areas were without power.....I'm glad this storm is going to miss us....will only get as far as north Texas.....we will just get sporadic rain and t-storms....  I like cold......I like snow (you can enjoy it here, it's pretty, it's fun we dont get it often and not much at that...doesnt stay long melts pretty fast)....but ICE---HECK NO!!!

And all you folks stay safe and inside anyone in the path of this storm....!!! 

[gardenman]

Yeah, ice is just brutal. They've got a pair of reporters in the KC parking lot on NFL channel and it's all ice. The worst overall storm we had here was probably 25 years ago when we had more than a foot of snow, followed by heavy freezing rain that then penetrated the snow, then bitter cold came in afterwards freezing everything solid.

I went out at six in the morning to clear the driveway and it was six at night before I finally had it done. The air temp was in the single digits and the wind was howling for a brutal wind chill. You couldn't shovel this storm. After multiple tries with a variety of approaches, the best option was a garden spade to slice through the frozen stuff and then lever it up and toss it aside. It was like making an igloo. When everything was finally cleared I started the car to move it only to find that it was being held up by snow/ice that had blown under it. I had to lie on the ground and chisel out the stuff under the car to free it up. I'd move if we got a lot of storms like that.

[gardenman]

Tha was a pretty good outcome for the Falcons considering how the first half started. Falling behind 7-0 to Seattle when they dominated on that first drive was not a good omen, then having Devin Hester have a big punt return, but the Seattle penalties and mistakes are killing them. The big punt return got called back and led to a safety when their backup guard stepped on Russell Wilson's foot. Then Atlanta came out and rolled down the field for a 19-10 lead. Now Atlanta gets the ball first in the second half and Seattle has to stop them then. Falling behind 26-10  would be disastrous.

[teganslaw]

Its nice to see that former Colts player, Dwight Freeney, is still a factor in the defense. I hope that Atlanta can maintain the lead. Wilson is known for comebacks, so the game is far from over. Atlanta needs to keep doing what they have been doing all along.

[gardenman]

Kudos to the Texans for their start against the Patriots. They're using a very clever strategy on defense. Tom Brady hates pressure up the middle, but the Texans strength is in edge rushing with Mercilus and Clowney as defensive ends. So, the Texans are rotating Clowney and Mercilus into the middle of the defensive line and adding in a blitzing linebacker on a fairly routine basis to pressure Brady right up the middle. It's working pretty well so far. We'll see what happens in the second half, but for now the Texans are playing pretty well.

[sunshine45]

first game on my wishlist is complete and a success!

i will say that this texans/patriots game is exciting to watch. hope my second wishlist game is a success also. lol

[LonestarBabs]

As a forever Chiefs fan, I am excited and anxious about today's game. While historically the matchup has gone in Steelers' favor, I like to borrow a phrase from the financial industry and say that past performance is not an indicator of future returns.

GO CHIEFS!  Arrowhead, even iced in, is an awesome home field. I think the teams are well matched this time around, so it's going to come down to clock management and avoiding penalties.

I think it was a smart move to push the game to a later start. Weather will not be a factor for the players, but it will be for the fans. KC will do a good job clearing and treating roads, though. But an ice storm is so unpredictable...

Oh well, I'll be home and toasty warm to cheer for victory!

[gardenman]

Kudos to the Texans coaching staff. They had a great gameplan to combat Tom Brady. Rotating their pass rushing defensive ends inside to attack Brady up the middle was a very smart strategy and quite effective at throwing him off his game. If the Texans had a competent QB they might have won that game. They just made too many mistakes to win.

So, Atlanta and New England move on and can relax a bit today while the Cowboys/Packers and Steelers/Chiefs battle it out today. (Assuming the weather cooperates in KC.)

Both of these games have potential to be close, hard fought games. I still like KC and Green Bay in those games. I just don't see anyone stopping Aaron Rodgers when he's playing at this level. The Cowboys' pass rush isn't great and unless you get instant pressure on Rodgers and contain him (easier said than done) he's apt to kill you.

Andy Reid is nearly unbeatable when given an extra week to prepare and the Chiefs have some good weapons. The Steelers are a good team with Antonio Brown and LeVeon Bell balancing the offense. This could be the best game of the week.