NFL: BRONCOS DEFEAT THE CHIEFS // COLLEGE FOOTBALL: WINS, LOSSES, THE TOP 12 // WORLD: BOXING 

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            STARTING NOVEMBER 14, 2011, “SPORTS NOTEBOOK” WILL POST NEW EVERY MONDAY INSTEAD OF ON TUESDAY, continuing with a new post every Friday.  Editor, Marvin Leibstone. Comments to: mlresources1@aol.com

NFL ---- OUT of the ditch, onto the road---this is one way to look at Sunday’s Denver win versus Kansas City. The 17-10 victory lifted the Broncos toward a .500 rating and a chance for post-season play should they beat the San Diego Padres two weeks from now, defeat the Chiefs again on January 1, 2012, and if the Chiefs, Padres and Raiders lose all of their games between now and the end of the NFL season, positioning the Broncos atop the American Conference’s Western Division.

Though there’s a less than 40-60 chance of the above happening for the Broncos, stranger outcomes have occurred in the last half of a football season. Closer to reality is that the Broncos win vs. the Chiefs posted a 4-5 record for a team that had lost three games straight in September and October, embarrassingly to Detroit, 45-10, on October 30, thus seemed a lost cause.

Denver’s Sunday win was from an aggressiveness, smart tactical choices and skillful applications rarely seen in past games, with starting quarterback Tim Tebow making up for some early season failures. A lot of Tebow’s critics are eating proverbial crow now, uncooked. Yes, Tebow was sacked four times by the Chiefs big slammers, yet from his number of yards gained per play, superb rushing and a 56 yard pass to receiver Eric Decker, Tebow maintained Broncos dominance during each quarter, steered two TD’s and got kicker Matt Prater in position for field goal insurance.

Denver’s points evolved mostly from the rushing option; there were 54 Denver rushing plays compared with eight passing plays. Also, and without question, the Denver defense kept up its pressure on K.C.’s QB Matt Cassell when it mattered most, an exception being a high flip for a catch and TD against Denver. Moreover, Denver’s defense showed improved speed and timing, which walled off key K.C. rushes and also blocked K.C. pass attempts that Matt Cassell seemed forced to launch because of Denver’s tight encirclement around him in the pocket.

Next up for the Broncos are the N.Y. Jets, Thursday, November 17, a big threat being the Jets QB Mark Sanchez/receiver LaDainian Tomlinson connection.

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL ---  AFTER beating Navy in October, then Army last week, therefore accruing the coveted Commander-In-Chief trophy that is presented annually by the American president, Air Force’s Falcons lost to Wyoming, 25-17, on Saturday. Wyoming is now 6-3 and a bowl contender. Air Force is one future loss away from any chance of a bowl appearance, which means that Air Force has to win its last two season games (vs. Las Vegas next week, Colorado State the week after) if it’s to be a bowl team this season. A downside for Air Force was QB Tim Jefferson suffering a concussion on Saturday, unable to finish the vs. Wyoming game, which can impact Air Force’s chances of winning its next two games.

And Penn State lost to Nebraska, 17-14, when the team’s school needed a boost after the horrific revelations about Penn State’s football leadership. It’s better to think about the University of Colorado Buffaloes beating the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday, uplifting for a 2-9 college team. By winning, CU’s Buffs avoided being the school’s worst football team ever. Another first was Michigan State (No. 13 of the nation’s top 25 college teams, at 8-2); they whipped Iowa for the first time in 22 years, 37-21.

Elsewhere on Saturday, and as predicted, high ranking LSU (number one among the top 25 college teams from a 9-0 record) beat Western Kentucky, 42-9, and, not predicted, Oregon smashed Stanford, 53-30, not good for Stanford QB Andrew Luck hoping to be selected as the year’s Heisman Trophy winner.  .  . Of particular note is that 12 of the country’s top 25 college football teams won their challenges this past week, 10 of them by margins greater than six points, the biggest point spread Arkansas vs. Tennessee 49-7, the tightest spread, West Virginia 24, Cincinnati, 21.  .  .   As of Saturday, the top 12 college teams for the current season are—

1.      LSU                                          7.  Oklahoma U.

2.      Oklahoma State                        8.  Arkansas

3.      Stanford                                    9.  Clemson

4.      Alabama                                   10. Va. Tech.

5.      Boise State                               11. Houston

6.      Oregon                                     12. Penn State

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WORLD/BOXING ---       IT’s rare when the same professional boxers meet in the ring every three or four years and each makes it extremely difficult for the other to prevail, and when during the off years each maintains a nearly identical record. On Saturday, at Las Vegas, there occurred a third fight across a seven year preiod between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez, for the WBO Welterweight Championship title. Before the bout, Pacquiao claimed 53 career wins, 38 of them knockouts, compared with Marquez’ 53 wins, 39 knockouts.

In 2004, Pacquiao and Marquez fought to a draw, in 2008 they finished with a split decision, and, on Saturday, Pacquiao beat Marquez by a slim margin, with one of the three judges awarding each 114 points, the other two judges favoring Pacquiao by only four and two points respectively. Pacquiao surely won from his first-strike landings outnumbering the effective counter-punches thrown by Marquez. However, the former’s work in the ring was less artful than the manner in which Marquez worked his fight strategy. Were style and clever + timely counter-punches worth more in points, Marquez could have been picked as the winner by all three judges.  

END/ml