What a weekend
Joel Blank: Sunday's Saints-Vikings game reminds us of why we love football
Joel Blank
Jan 15, 2018, 8:06 am
For those of you old enough to remember ABC's Wide World of Sports, the voice of legendary sportscaster Jim McKay would echo in the head of every sports fan who has ever been on either end of a nail biter: "The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat." It's never really that simple is it? There's always an explanation and a reason (or reasons) one team fell apart or the other team got on a roll. But it's a roller coaster ride no one minds enduring. We can pick a side, back our favorite team, bleed our team's colors and live and die with the results on a game by game basis -- and no matter what, we will keep coming back for more. The NFL games this weekend provided the latest evidence to back these clams and prove these points again and again.
The results of the NFL Divisional Round games Saturday and Sunday proved once again that nothing is a given, no slam dunk is ever a guarantee and after all is said and done, "that's why they play the game." The Jaguars taking it to the Steelers in Pittsburgh and winning in the cold, with Blake Bortles at the helm as a 7.5 point underdog, had to be the shock of the weekend -- or was it? Just when we thought we had witnessed the unthinkable and experienced the improbable, along comes the Saints and the Vikings and the whole weekend was turned on its ear one more time. In a game that was truly a tale of two halves, the Saints and Drew Brees were awful in the opening 30 minutes and looked dead to rights and done for the year. Then, in the second half, New Orleans played almost perfectly and turned the tide and flipped the script. After a field goal with less than a minute to play, the team looked to be advancing to the NFC Championship game in the second largest comeback in NFL playoff history. Next to the Falcons' collapse and the Patriots comeback in last year's Super Bowl, the Saints win would be the latest and greatest comeback in the history of the league. That is until Case Keenum, Stefon Diggs and the Vikings pulled victory from the jaws of defeat and shocked the football world for one heck of a finish and a walk off win for the ages in Minneapolis. Even if you weren't a fan of either team, you felt a pit in your stomach for the Saints and their fans and a bit euphoric for the Minnesota faithful and their beloved Vikes. When Diggs broke free after a last second, desperation heave from Keenum and after a missed tackle that allowed him to run to daylight and answer the prayers of Vikings fans everywhere, NFL fans around the world were left gasping for air, shaking their heads and muttering under their breath that they could not believe what they had just witnessed. For fans of the game and a league that has had to endure massive amounts of criticism and a drop off in TV ratings and attendance league wide, it was just what the doctor ordered and a great finish to another entertaining weekend of NFL playoff football. Did it save the season? No, at least not yet, but there are two more weeks to be played. Did it make us forget the anthem protests, controversy and negative publicity? Not even close. But what it did do is give the league a much needed shot in the arm as it reminded fans and critics that THIS is why we love NFL football and why it is the most popular sport in the country and some say the world. The drama, the stress, the emotions and the athleticism are just the start and when you throw in the sudden death of the playoffs and the story lines like the rags to riches tales of Keenum, Diggs and Adam Thielen, you have the recipe for another storybook finish and maybe even the next Cinderella story? The final chapters remain, but if this weekend is any indication of what lies ahead, I'm all in!
For the Saints and Steelers -- and for that matter the Titans, Falcons and the rest of the league -- there's always next year. For the Vikings, Patriots, Eagles and Jags the dream is still alive and they live to fight another day. The teams that are still alive will prepare for their respective conference championship games next Sunday as we all recover from the emotions of the weekend that was and count the days with anticipation until we can do it all again,
Ain't Sports grand?
Emanuel Sharpe scored 26 points, LJ Cryer had 20 and second-ranked Houston stifled No. 17 BYU in a 74-54 victory Friday night that moved the Cougars into the Big 12 Tournament championship game for the second consecutive season.
Milos Uzan added 14 points and Mylik Wilson pulled down 13 rebounds, helping the tournament's top seed jump to a big early lead and roll into Saturday night's matchup with Arizona on a 12-game win streak.
Houston (29-4) played without J'Wan Roberts, its leading rebounder, after he sprained his ankle early in the second half of the Cougars' quarterfinal win over Colorado. Roberts watched from the bench with his right foot in a walking boot.
He got to watch quite a defensive show by one of the nation's best.
Houston forced BYU to miss its first nine shots, including seven from beyond the arc, where coach Kevin Young's team had set a Big 12 Tournament record with 18 made 3s on its way to 96 points in a quarterfinal win over Iowa State. That nearly seven-minute lull allowed Houston to roar to a 15-0 lead that it spent the rest of the game protecting.
BYU trimmed its 40-21 halftime deficit to 13 midway through the second half but never threatened to come all the way back.
Keba Keita had 14 points and 12 rebounds for BYU. Dawson Baker scored 11 points and Richie Saunders had 10.
BYU still has not won a conference tournament title since 2001 in the Mountain West.
Houston lived up to its billing as the nation's No. 1 team in defensive efficiency.
Sharpe converted a four-point play with 13:40 left in the first half to give Houston its 15-0 lead.
Houston has beaten BYU by an average of 25.5 points in their two games this season.
Houston will play the Wildcats for the Big 12 title.