NFL Prospect Michael Sam Comes Out As First Openly Gay Player Heading Into NFL Draft

Michael Sam, an All-American defensive lineman from the University of Missouri, revealed over the weekend that he is openly gay. This creates the possibility he’ll be the first publicly known gay player drafted in the NFL, and the revelation has created quite the stir in the media. Sam said that he told his Missouri teammates in August about his sexual orientation, and the team certainly did not suffer any repercussions from it as the Tigers went 12-2  earning their first-ever SEC East championship and a No. 4 overall ranking — the highest ever at Missouri. Sam played a huge role on the team as he was a first-team All-American and earned the SEC’s top defensive player of the year award. Despite all of these accolades, it appears that Sam’s stock in the NFL is dropping due to his unsolidified defensive position at the next level. And with this recent announcement involving his personal life, it will be interesting to see the fate of Michael Sam as the NFL Draft approaches. 

Super Bowl XLVIII Preview: Denver Broncos vs. Seattle Seahawks

The big day is finally here as New York (technically New Jersey) plays host to Super Bowl XLVIII as the Denver Bronco’s will take on the Seattle Seahawks. This heavyweight match-up has many storylines to it as the best offense in the league (Denver) will be squaring off against the NFL’s best defense (Seattle). From Peyton Manning’s legacy to Richard Sherman’s big mouth (which he backs up on the field), there has been no lack of anticipation leading up this championship game. The Meadowlands will be the venue and it seems like the outdoor/cold weather weather potential will have little impact, a topic that was covered ad nauseam this past week. Let’s take a look at what to expect in Super Bowl XLVIII and offer a preview. 

NFL Conference Championship Previews

The NFL has received an ideal pairing of games for Sunday’s conference championship match-ups. The AFC Championship game could be the final postseason showdown between two of the best quarterbacks of all time in Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. Meanwhile, two of the most promising young passers in the game face off against the respective tough defenses of the 49ers and Seahawks. Both games have the potential to be classics and there are multiple story-lines that have dominated the topics of endless TV/radio talk shows this week. Let’s take a look at each match-up and preview what to expect. 

NFL Divisional Round Preview

It is needless to say that last week’s slate of Wild Card games provided us with a highly entertaining weekend of football. From the Colts miraculous comeback against the Chiefs to the 49ers hard fought win on the freezing tundra of Lambeau Field vs. Green Bay, all NFL fans were on the edge of their seats throughout each contest. We now have eight teams remaining in the playoffs and four match-ups that should prove to keep us locked in on our TV screens. Let’s preview each game and an idea of what to expect from the NFL Divisional Round. 

NFL Wildcard Weekend Preview

NFL Wild Card Weekend is always an interesting and unpredictable once as the lower seeds fight to move on in the playoffs. After a wild week of regular season finale games, the match-ups are set in what should should be an exciting four games. Let’s take a look at these Wild Card contests and offer a preview of what we can expect.

Thanksgiving Day Football Preview

It wouldn’t be right to let Thanksgiving go by without a preview of today’s NFL football games. As we all stuff our face of turkey today and have football on in the background, let’s take a look at today’s match-ups and what to expect. Even if you start to fall asleep from the food coma, at least you’ll have some idea of what’s going on!

Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions (-6, 50)

The Packers have struggled greatly since losing star QB Aaron Rodgers to a broken collarbone injury earlier in the season. Green Bay needs a win to keep pace in the NFC North and are currently one win behind the Bears and the Lions. Matt Flynn will get the call for Green Bay today in Rodgers absence and the Lions definitely haven’t forgotten when he torched them for 6 TD passes in the 2011 regular season finale. While the Packers are win-less in the past 4 games, rookie RB Eddie Lacy has been a workhorse doing his best to carry the team without their star QB. The Detroit Lions have not been playing their best football lately as they have committed 8 turnovers in back-to-back losses. The offense looks great otherwise and the defense has been keeping opponents running game in check, but this team is prone to making stupid mistakes at any given time. Lean towards the Lions in this one as Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson give the fans a show.

Oakland Raiders at Dallas Cowboys (-10, 46.5)

The Cowboys are tied atop the weak NFC East and are off the momentum of a 24-21 road win against the NY Giants. They can keep the pressure on with a win today and Dallas has been a solid team at home with a 4-1 record. QB Tony Romo is a big reason why Dallas has been better at home and he has thrown 17 TD’s in six Thanksgiving Day games. While the offense is still inconsistent, having RB DeMarco Murray back to full strength will help in giving it some balance. The Raiders are 4-7 and undrafted rookie QB Matt McGloin will get another start as he has passed for 457 yards and thrown 4 TD’s in the past two games. With the injuries this team is facing, McGloin will have to be at his best today to go into Dallas and get a win. Lean toward the Cowboys getting another home victory, but the score may be closer than people expect depending on how McGloin handles the Thanksgiving Day national scene.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens (-2.5, 40)

Both of these teams started off very slow this season but they have regained their focus and have moved forward to be in playoff contention. The Steelers have won 3 games in a row as they travel to Baltimore in a game that could have major implications come playoff time. Pittsburgh defeated Baltimore earlier this year in a nail biter as the Steelers won with a field goal as time expired. The Steelers started 0-4 and no one had much faith in them after their awful 55-31 loss to the Patriots a couple weeks ago, but head coach Mike Tomlin has righted the ship and his team has come alive especially on the offensive side of the ball. QB Ben Roethlisberger has limited his interceptions and WR Antonio Brown is having a career year. Meanwhile, the Ravens are hoping to get to a .500 W/L record tonight in a game that will be played in below freezing conditions. QB Joe Flacco became the league’s highest paid player after the Ravens Super Bowl win, but he certainly hasn’t been playing like someone worthy of that contract, already throwing a career-high 14 interceptions. RB Ray Rice has also had a down-year and is no where near as dominant as we’ve seen in the past. Lean toward the Steelers in this match-up as I like the way they are playing recently…Baltimore will need to show some heart and play mistake-free football in order to get this win.

Patriots Rally from 24 Point Deficit and Defeat Broncos

Last night in Foxboro was a historic and frigid one, as the New England Patriots came back from 24 point deficit at halftime and defeated the Denver Broncos 34-31 in OT. The hype behind another classic Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning match-up was fulfilled, but not in the way most people expected. The first half of the game was painful for Pats fans to endure as running backs Stevan Ridley and LeGarrette Blount couldn’t hold onto the ball while the defense had no answer for Knowshon Moreno. Peyton Manning was held in check due to the severe wind conditions at Gillette Stadium, but that did not stop Denver from gaining a commanding 24-0 lead at halftime.

Despite the embarrassing performance early in the game, there was no panic in the Patriots locker room and the momentum completely changed in the second half of the contest. The Pats scored 31 unanswered as Brady got in a groove with WR Julian Edelman who had a great night as all of the pregame chatter consisted of Broncos receiver Wes Welker and his return to Foxboro. The defining moment of the game came late in overtime as Welker chose not to fair catch a punt and the ball ended bouncing off teammate Tony Carter with the Patriots recovering with prime field position for kicker Stephen Gostkowski’s game-winning field goal. While some may have questioned Coach Bill Belichick’s decision to defer the coin toss and give Manning the ball first in overtime due to the wind conditions, it proved to be the right choice in what was the largest comeback in Patriots franchise history.

The dramatic victory had important playoff implications as New England maintains its one-game lead over the Cincinnati Bengals and Indianapolis Colts for a first-round bye. Tom Brady came through with his 39^th career-game winning performance when down in the 4^th quarter and improved to 25-5 when the temperature is 32 degrees or lower at game-time. Once again, Brady got the best of Manning in an insta-classic regular season game and we can look forward to a potential rematch in the playoffs.

Final Consensus: Wow. This had to be one of the best regular-season football games I have ever seen and one of the more improbable victories in Patriots history. Usually fans who leave early deserve to be ridiculed, but I don’t blame anyone who escaped from the misery that was the first half of that game. Before this game, teams that had trailed by 24 points or more at halftime were 5-485….think about that for a second. Everyone was wondering how the weather would impact the offensive attack of each team and it certainly made a difference. Although Manning is a Hall of Fame quarterback and one of the best ever, the guy does just not do well in the cold especially with a hurt ankle. It is not very often that you can turn the ball over the way the Patriots did and still come out with a win, especially against one of the best teams in the league. But New England is a team that never gives up and preserves one play at a time. Their schedule softens up for the rest of the year and the team should be in a solid position come playoff time. The Patriots are far from perfect and still have concerns they need to address…but they do enough to win and that is all that matters.