NFL: Week 13, Standings & Uncertainties; Broncos @ Chiefs // NBA: Breakaway Days.

sports-notebook.blogspot.com . . . FOR MORE ANALYSIS, GO TO "MILE HIGH SPORTS RADIO," AM1510 or FM93.7, and to Denver’s best sports blogging team---milehighsports.com. SPORTS NOTEBOOK posts its columns Tuesday and Friday each week. Ed., Publ., Marvin Leibstone; Copy & Mng. Ed., Gail Kleiner .  

NFL--- THE National Conference East’s 9-3 Philadelphia Eagles are now a win above the NC East’s currently 8-4 Dallas Cowboys and so the division’s leading team, and the NC West’s Seattle Seahawks are at 8-4 after defeating the now 7-5 S.F. 49ers yesterday, the Seahawks therefore one win below the NC West’s leading franchise, the 9-2 Arizona Cardinals.

Meanwhile, the NC North’s 8-3 Green Bay Packers and the NC North’s 8-4 Detroit Lions have gone to first and second positions respectively, while the NC South’s 7-4 Atlanta Falcons and 7-4 N.O. Saints are tied at division first position.

Surely the above-cited division leading edges are fragile with regard to final NFL-2014 regulation outcomes and for preferred playoff spots.

It’s different, however, for the American Conference East’s 9-2 N.E. Patriots, three wins above the 6-5 Miami Dolphins, but less so for the AC West’s number one franchise, the 8-3 Denver Broncos, the latter one win above the 7-4 K.C. Chiefs and the 7-4 S.D. Chargers.

And division leadership is now at risk for the AC North’s 7-3 Cincinnati Bengals, in that the AC North’s 7-4 Baltimore Ravens are directly behind them, while a better though still uncertain lead belongs to the AC South’s 7-5 Indianapolis Colts over second place team, the 5-6 Houston Texans.

Best within the NC, then, are the NC West’s 9-2 Cardinal’s, this by one less loss over the NC East’s 9-3 Eagles, while the Patriots dominate the AC, though tied with the Cardinals for best within the two leagues.

Unmistakably, Week 13 can make the difference for smoother slides into where today’s division, conference and league leading teams are hoping to be for post-season billeting.

So---to maintain dominance all-around, the Cardinals need to defeat the Falcons on Sunday and hope for a Seahawks loss to the Eagles during Week 14 (Sun., Dec. 7), while the Patriots will seek dominance over the Packers on Sunday and then hope to bury the Chargers in the following week.

Meanwhile, a Broncos loss to the Chiefs this Sunday will place both teams at the number one slot along with the Chargers if the Chargers can defeat the Ravens during the same day.

Also, a likely Bengals win on Sunday over the NC South’s last place franchise, the 2-9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, will keep the Bengals atop the AC North, though a Ravens win on Sunday, plus the AC North’s 7-4 Pittsburgh Steelers punishing the Saints, and simultaneously the AC North’s 7-4 Cleveland Browns crushing the AC East’s 6-5 Buffalo Bills, such will definitely continue the AC North’s three-way Ravens/Steelers/Browns tie for second position behind the Bengals.

Meanwhile, the AC South’s Colts will probably defeat the NC East’s last place team, the 3-8 Washington Redskins, on Sunday, holding onto division leadership.

Within the NC, an expected Cardinals win over the Falcons should keep the Arizona franchise at the very top, and the AC Patriots losing to the NC North’s Packers on Sunday could mean its loss of AC conference dominance and upkeep of a tie for such with the AC West’s Broncos should the latter take down the Chiefs.

Looking back from Week 1 to the present, each of the NFL teams vying now for post-season slots have experienced an unpredicted loss, e.g., the Broncos defeated by the now 4-7 St. Louis Rams, and so the current NFL season’s Week 13 could reflect musical chairs, for some “13” seeming to indeed be the unlucky number.

Broncos, Chiefs--- THE now 8-3 Denver Broncos defeated the currently 7-4 Chiefs during Week 2 of NFL-2014 regulation, 24-17, and since then they’ve lost three games, giving away a total of 91 points to opposing franchises, while from Week 1 on the Chiefs have lost four matches, allowing 96 points to opposing teams.

And from the eight games won to date by the Broncos, 284 points have been gained, from the seven Chiefs wins, 197. Two of the Chiefs losses were to teams well below .500, to the AC South’s fourth position team, the 2-9 Tennessee Titans, during Week 1, score 26-10, and to the AC West’s last place team, the 1-10 Oakland Raiders, Week 12, score 24-20.

Also, two of the Broncos three losses were to teams holding first and second positions within their respective divisions, to the AC East’s first place 9-2 Patriots and to the NC West’s second spot team, the 8-4 Seattle Seahawks, the Chiefs most embarrassing loss being that to a then 0-10 last place Raiders, the Broncos most embarrassing loss to the St. Louis Rams, 22-7, Week 11, a team that the Chiefs defeated, 34-7, Week 8.

While games won/lost comparisons seem to favor the Broncos for a win versus the Chiefs on Sunday, left is some room for doubt, and data-comparisons regarding field and player accomplishments fail to reduce that room for doubt considerably, for instance, while today the Broncos total number of receiver TD’s for the year is 34 compared with the Chiefs 13, the total Broncos rush TD’s total eight, the Chiefs rush TD’s twice that, 16, and though to date for 2014 the Broncos QB Peyton Manning has completed 301 passes and the Chiefs QB, Alex Smith, 213, Manning’s were from 442 attempts, Smith’s from 327 attempts, the success rate difference between the two QB’s being quite narrow, Manning’s 68.1 percent, Smith’s 65.1 percent.

Nor is there significant difference between the Broncos and Chiefs re. average time-of-possession, the Broncos 29 minutes per game, the Chiefs 30 minutes, nor is the number of first downs achieved by the two teams of a wide gap, Broncos 259, Chiefs, 226.

But surely a Broncos advantage exists from its top two receivers totaling more than 2,300 yards from Weeks 1 through 12, vs. the Chiefs top receivers gaining around 1,230 yards during the same weeks, a gap much wider than the Broncos rushing yards gained being around 1,100 and the Chiefs, 1,508.

Moreover, the Broncos are 3-2 for its last five games, the Chiefs 4-1 with a victory vs. the now 8-4 Seahawks, a team that the Broncos lost to, 26-20, Week 3.

Yes, the Broncos 24-17 win over the Chiefs during Week1 was the fifth of five Broncos/Chiefs matches in a series across seasons, the Broncos having won each of the five, and Week 13’s match will be a second Broncos/Chiefs encounter during NFL-2014. But---it’s an illusion to think that the same teams that met before are really the same as they were, for as a season moves on all teams change, some dramatically and for the better. Even with data advising a Broncos win, anything could happen from either team having failed to recognize how the other has transformed.

NBA---THE NBA Western Conference Southwest’s 13-2 Memphis Grizzlies are atop the NBA now along with the National Conference Atlantic Division’s Toronto Raptors, also 13-2, directly behind them the WC Northwest’s 13-3 Portland Trail Blazers, while at the Trail Blazers heels are the WC Pacific Division’s 12-2 Golden State Warriors.

Two other teams that have reached double-digit wins to date are the WC Southwest’s second place 12-3 Houston Rockets, and the WC Pacific’s 10-6 Phoenix Suns, the latter back of the Warriors by two wins.

Of the above-listed NBA franchises, the Raptors own the best lead, seven wins over the EC Atlantic’s 6-8 Brooklyn Nets, second best lead belonging to the WC Northwest’s 12-3 Trail Blazers being five wins above second place team, the 7-8 Denver Nuggets.

Still above the EC Southwest are the 9-5 Washington Wizards, and leading the EC Central are the 9-6 Chicago Bulls.

Unable to climb back yet to previous season high-end status are the WC Northwest’s Oklahoma City Thunder, now 4-12 and division fourth place, and within the EC Atlantic the 4-12/fourth position N.Y. Knicks. Add the EC Southeast’s third place 8-7 Miami Heat and the EC Central’s 6-9/fourth place Indiana Pacers.

 Of the 2103/14 top teams, perhaps rising for a long spell are the WC Southwest’s 10-4/third place San Antonio Spurs, now three wins behind first place team, the Grizzlies, while two back of the 12-3 Houston Rockets.

The EC Atlantic’s Philadelphia 76ers have continued to hover at Zero, they are currently 0-15, while all other division last placers have won three or more NBA 2014/15 games.

END/ml  

NFL: Week 12, Outcomes & Analysis; The Broncos Win Against the Dolphins // NBA: Fast & Steady Turnarounds.

sports-notebook.blogspot.com . . .  FOR MORE ANALYSIS, GO TO "MILE HIGH SPORTS RADIO," AM1510 or FM93.7, and to Denver’s best sports blogging team---milehighsports.com. SPORTS NOTEBOOK posts its columns Tuesday and Friday OR SATURDAY  each week. Ed., Publ., Marvin Leibstone; Copy & Mng. Ed., Gail Kleiner .  

NFL---THE American Conference East’s 9-2 N.E. Patriots and the National Conference West’s 9-2 Arizona Cardinals are still leading their respective conferences and divisions as NFL-2014 moves into its final four or five regulation games for play by the league’s 32 franchises. The Patriots have a three game lead over the AC East’s second place franchise, the 6-5 Miami Dolphins, and the Cardinals are two wins ahead of the NC West’s second position team, the 7-4 Seattle Seahawks.

Presently, one of the remaining six NFL divisions includes a tie at first position, the NC East’s 8-3 Philadelphia Eagles and the 8-3 Dallas Cowboys, and the AC South’s 7-4 Indianapolis Colts now have a two game edge over second place team, the 5-6 Houston Texans, while the league’s other remaining divisions are seeing first and second place teams only a game apart, the AC West’s 8-3 Denver Broncos being above the 7-4 K.C. Chiefs, the AC North’s 7-3 Cincinnati Bengals atop the 7-4 Pittsburgh Steelers, and the NC North’s 4-6 Green Bay Packers ahead of the 7-4 Detroit Lions, the NC South’s N.O. Saints leading the 4-7 Atlanta Falcons.

Way behind within the full league still are the AC West’s 1-10 Oakland Raiders, the AC East’s 2-8 N.Y. Jets, the AC South’s 1-10 Jacksonville Jaguars, the AC South’s 2-9 Tennessee Titans, the NC East’s 3-8 Washington Redskins, the NC South’s 2-9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

And as Week 13 approaches, the 16 teams of the AC have a total of one more win over the NC’s 16 team tally, 87 above 86, with the AC North and AC West having the most wins division-wide, 27 each. Also, the AC North is still the only division inside which all teams are at .600 or higher. Lowest total number of division wins, that’s the AC South’s 15 wins, no member team above .400.

Of note is that, except for the AC South’s 2-9 Tennessee Titans and the NC East’s 3-8 N.Y. Giants, third division position teams are but one or two games behind their respective second position holders, therefore the four or five games left to the current season per team could see third place-slotted teams reverse position with their division number twos, e.g., today the NC West’s third place 7-4 S.F. 49ers could rise above the NC West’s now second position 7-4 Seattle Seahawks, and the AC West’s third spot 7-4 San Diego Chargers could replace the 7-4 K.C. Chiefs that are now at second behind the Broncos.

Except for the Eagles 43-24 win over the Titans on Sunday, Week 12’s games ended without final scores being very far apart, implying near-parity for the 30 competing teams, that is, on that day.

As to Week 12’s big surprise, that was the Chief’s loss to the Raiders, 24-20, on Thursday. 

How pivotal will Week 13’s early match-ups be? Should the Cowboys defeat the Eagles on Thursday night, they’ll replace the Eagles atop the NC East, and if the 49ers prevail against the Seahawks on Thursday, they’ll replace them at second position within the NC West.

Broncos, Dolphins---UNABLE to establish the points needed for a significant first-half lead versus the then 6-4 Miami Dolphins on Sunday, the then 7-3 Denver Broncos appeared to have leveled off in the third Q but came from behind in a fourth Q to defeat the Dolphins, 39-36.

Yes, it’s points that make the win and it’s the win that can get you to playoffs and the SB, therefore to Broncos fans the first three Q’s of Sunday’s vs. Dolphins game were certainly disappointing---7-3, 21-17, 28-17, Broncos behind in each.

But---there’s more than points for defining a quality NFL franchise, and the Broncos are definitely a class act, demonstrated by the Broncos maintaining better numbers than the Dolphins on Sunday in nearly all of the NFL game categories that define a high performance team.

While behind the Dolphins until the fourth Q, those game category edges had kept the Broncos always within reach of leap-ahead moments for surpassing its already vs. Dolphins 17 points for another victory. Proof of life: endgame showed that the Broncos were ahead in time-of-possession with 34 minutes over the Dolphins 25, allowing for 29 first downs vs. the Dolphins 25, and for a total of 450 yards gained above the Dolphins 313, which included 201 rushing yards gained vs. the Dolphins 97, with the Broncos average gain in yards per rush 5.7, the Dolphins 4.5.

Meanwhile, the average gain per pass play had the Broncos ahead from 6.9, above the Dolphins 5.8.

Too, the Broncos accrued 149 return yards, the Dolphins, 57.

Were NFL teams rated at the end of a game in the manner that Olympic athletes are rated after a showing for Gold, with all performance factors reviewed the Broncos would have finished Sunday’s event close to a nine, the Dolphins with a six, and largely from several outstanding Broncos player-achievements, for example, QB Manning’s four TD passes, RB C.J. Anderson gaining 167 yards and a TD, his average gains per rush being 6.2., also WR DeMaryius Thomas receiving for 87 yards and three TD’s, WR Emmanuelle Sanders receiving for 125 yards, and WR Wes Welker catching a virtual bullet from Manning for a TD.

And, how about Broncos safety T.J. Ward’s interception in the fourth Q and his 37 yard rush that made it possible for a Manning’s TD pass to exist and so the three-point edge for the Broncos eighth season takeaway over three losses.

Rating the QB’s, Manning completed 28 passes from 35 attempts, the Dolphins QB, Ryan Tannehill, 26 from 36.  .  . The Dolphins QB was nearly equal with Peyton Manning, but not because Manning wasn’t at his best, or that the Broncos defense was half asleep. Fact One, Ryan Tannehill is a class act QB, with the Dolphins O-Line above the margin. Fact Two, the Broncos D executed the right maneuvers but hadn’t the speed or power for each in the first three vs. Dolphins Q’s, tightening up in the fourth Q so that the Broncos offense could come from behind for the win. The Broncos still need a D that can read any O-line early in a game and prevent a high-scoring first Q opposition, this to cancel the need for difficult comeback runs, for which no QB, not even Peyton Manning, could always rise to the occasion.

NBA---THE Denver Nuggets have won four games in a row, jumping to 6-7 from 2-6 and last place 10 days ago, to the number two spot inside the NBA Western Conference’s Northwest Division, now four wins behind the division’s number one team, the 11-3 Portland Trail Blazers, the latter now at second position within the entire NBA and within the WC, a game back of the WC Southeast Division’s 12-2 Memphis Grizzlies and one behind the NC’s number one franchise, the NC Atlantic’s 12-2 Toronto Raptors.

Tonight, the Nuggets have an opportunity to extend its streak of wins to five and to add a team to a list of top franchises sent down by them, vs. the EC’s Central Division leading team, the now 9-5 Chicago Bulls.

Other NBA teams have jumped upward recently from middle or low division status. They are the WC Southeast’s San Antonio Spurs rising from a recent below .500 record to 9-4, though a third place team, and the EC Central’s Milwaukee Bucks lifting from 1-2  and division fourth position to 7-7 and second place during the same period.

As to the downward slide, it’s being experienced by the NC Atlantic’s 4-11 N.Y. Knicks having dropped from first place to fourth position, and the NC Central’s now third position team, the 6-7 Cleveland Cavaliers.

Consistency within the overall rankings, such has belonged to the NBA 2014/15’s low position occupiers, no change in status from a month ago for the Thunder, the WC Southwest’s 7-5 N.O. Pelicans, the WC Pacific’s 3-11 L.A. Lakers, the EC Atlantic’s 0-14 Philadelphia 76ers (lowest within the NBA), the EC Southwest’s 4-11 Charlotte Bobcats, the EC Central’s 3-10 Detroit Pistons.

END/ml  

NFL: Analysis, Week 12; Broncos Vs. Dolphins // NBA: Update; Denver Nuggets, Rising.

sports-notebook.blogspot.com . . . FOR MORE ANALYSIS, GO TO "MILE HIGH SPORTS RADIO," AM1510 or FM93.7, and to Denver’s best sports blogging team---milehighsports.com. SPORTS NOTEBOOK posts its columns Tuesday and Friday OR SATURDAY  each week. Ed., Publ., Marvin Leibstone; Copy & Mng. Ed., Gail Kleiner .  

NFL---AFTER 16 losses since October, 2013, 10 during the current NFL season, the American Conference West’s last place Oakland Raiders got a win, against the AC West’s K.C. Chiefs last night, 24-20, pushing the Chiefs to 7-4 and second position behind the AC West’s leading franchise, the 7-3 Denver Broncos.

Though still a last place team, the Raiders are now 1-10.

Still leading the AC East are the 8-2 N.E. Patriots, with a two game lead atop second place franchise, the 6-4 Miami dolphins. Presently, the Patriots are the number one AC franchise and also second within the entire NFL, behind the National Conference West’s 9-1 Arizona Cardinals.

On Sunday, the Patriots will face the NC North’s leading team, the 7-3 Detroit Lions. Meanwhile, the Dolphins will be challenging the Broncos. Though unexpected, a Patriots loss to the Lions, and a Dolphins win vs. the Broncos, also unexpected, would put the Dolphins back of the Patriots by one win, and for Week 13 the Broncos could be tied at first within the AC West with the Chiefs, both then being 7-4.

Yes, given that the Raiders began Week 12 last night with an upset, anything could happen come Sunday. 

The AC North could see current leading team, the 6-3 Cincinnati Bengals, lose to the AC South’s second position 5-5 Houston Texans during Week 12, dropping behind the now second place 7-4 Pittsburgh Steelers, though the latter is at Bye on Sunday; and, the AC South’s leading team, the 6-4 Indianapolis Colts, will be facing the AC South’s last place franchise, the 1-9 Jacksonville Jaguars, also on Sunday, the Colts expected to win and to stay atop the AC South.

Within the NC, the NC West’s leading franchise, the 9-1 Cardinals, could lose to the 5-4 Seattle Seahawks on Sunday and still maintain its three game edge over second place team, the S.F. 49ers, providing that the 49ers lose to the NC East’s last place 3-7 Washington Redskins on Sunday. The Cardinals and Seahawks contest could be Week 12’s tightest, possibly won in OT

 And, right now the NC East’s Philadelphia Eagles and the division’s Dallas Cowboys are tied at first place, each 7-3. The likelihood of an Eagles win over the AC South’s 2-8 Tennessee Titans on Sunday seems greater than that of the Cowboys defeating the NC East’s fourth place 3-7 N.Y. Giants come Sunday, and so the Eagles would be staying ahead by a win.

Moreover, the NC North will remain contentious if the Lions take down the Patriots during Week 12, and if the now NC North second place team, the 7-3 Green Bay Packers, defeats the division’s last place team, the 4-6 Minnesota Vikings, to which many analysts have argued that the Packer’s QB Aaron Rodgers will dominate from first Q on.

So, too, will the NC South remain up for grabs when Week 13 appears, today’s NC South leading team, the 4-6 Atlanta Falcons, probably prevailing over the AC North’s last place 6-4 Cleveland Browns on Sunday, and the 4-6 N. O. Saints winning a battle vs. the AC East’s third place 6-4 Baltimore Ravens during Week 12’s Monday night game.

Were the Super Bowl this weekend, it would be the Patriots vs. the Cardinals. Among others out of the race for a playoff shot, that’s the 1-10 Raiders, the 2-8 N.Y. Jets, 2-9 Jaguars, 2-8 Titans, the 3-7 Washington Redskins and the 2-8 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Broncos, Dolphins---FOR the one team that runs ahead of the pack smoothly from being, say, 11-0 during Week 12 of an NFL season, there are numerous other above-the-margin teams for which progress remains two steps forward and one back after one step ahead and two back. The Broncos have won seven of 11 games this season so far, the team’s losses separated by one or two weeks between wins, the team’s worst loss last week being to the now NC West’s last place team, eh 4-6 St. Louis Rams, 22-7, which defied lots of data saying the opposite should have occurred, in that the Broncos still are far ahead of the Rams in just about every meaningful offense and defense game categories, from owning the most TD’s Weeks 1 through to today, to most yards gained and most first downs accrued.

Against the Miami Dolphins stats from Week 1 until now, the Broncos are also way ahead, example, the Broncos having a total of 30 receiver TD’s, the Dolphins, 17, the Broncos having purchased 4,129 net yards going into Week 12, the Dolphins, 3,484. And, Broncos QB Payton Manning has thrown for 3,301 yards, the Dolphins QB, Ryan Tannehill, for 2,354.

Win determinants for the Dolphins will depend on how well the Dolphins could disorient Manning and get between Manning and top Broncos receivers Julius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, and also if the Dolphins could stop Broncos RB Montee Ball in place after a handoff, and if they can prevent Broncos pass rush maestros, Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware, from causing the Dolphins QB, who has a pass completion rate almost as good this year as Manning’s, to lose all QB synchronicity with WR’s and RB’s.

It’s likely, however, that the Broncos will defeat the Dolphins on Sunday.

Yet last week the Rams managed to accomplish what seemed impossible, so it could surely happen for the Dolphins, a team that in eight of the 10 games it has played this season hadn’t left the field without having scored 10 or more points, not one of its wins of fewer than 22 points, within those wins two with more than 30 points.

But if QB Manning is “on game,” Dolphins fans won’t be celebrating after dark.

NBA---Noteworthy today is that no team within the Western Conference Southwest Division is below .500---the division’s last place team, the N.O. Pelicans are at 6-4 today, about to meet the WC Northwest’s 4-7 Denver Nuggets tonight. The Division has won a total of 41 games since NBA 2014/15 began, its second and third place teams, the Dallas Mavericks and the Houston Rockets both at 9-3.

Leading the WC Southwest, that’s the 10-2 Memphis Grizzlies, first this season to reach double-digit wins among the NBA’s 30 franchises. The Grizzlies are now the WC and league leading team.

Second within the entire league, that’s the Eastern Conference Atlantic Division’s 9-2 Toronto Raptors, holding a five game lead over the division’s second place franchise, the 4-6 Boston Celtics.

And only three other teams are in the same .800+ range as the Grizzlies and the Raptors, the WC Northwest’s leading franchise, the 8-3 Portland Trail Blazers, the WC Pacific’s leading team, the 8-2 Golden State Warriors, one win ahead of the 7-4 L.A. Clippers, and the EC Central’s leading team, the 8-3 Chicago Bulls.

Among slow starting teams for the current season, and surprisingly so, are the WC Northwest’s last place 3-10 Oklahoma City Thunder, the WC Southwest’s 7-4 San Antonio Spurs, the EC Atlantic’s 3-10 N.Y. Knicks, EC Southwest’s 6-6 Miami Heat, and the EC Central’s 5-7 Indiana Pacers, while the teams with better season starts than expected have been the EC Southeast’s leading franchise, the 7-3 Washington Wizards and EC Southeast’s second place team, the 5-5 Atlanta Hawks.

Still at the bottom of its division, and lowest within the entire league---the 0-11 Philadelphia 76ers.

Denver Nuggets---AFTER a weak start that included six losses in a row, the Nuggets have turned it around, they are now 4-7 and third within the NBA Western Conference’s Northwest Division, after a 107-100 win this week over the WC Northwest’s 3-10 Oklahoma City Thunder, next up for the Nuggets a game tonight vs. the WC Southwest’s last place but 6-4 N.O. Pelicans, a win that with a subsequent win vs. the L.A. Lakers on Nov. 23 could lift the Nuggets in skills, spirit and confidence for a match sure to be most tense and close vs. the Eastern Conference Central’s number one, the 8-3 Chicago Bulls,  Tuesday, Nov. 25.

The above-cited Nuggets wins could move the Nuggets up from third to second position within the WC Northwest, maybe better than that if the now 8-3 Portland Trail Blazers and 5-7 Utah Jazz lose their next three or four games.

Note that in five of the Nuggets six losses, the team scored 100 or more points. Significant 2014/15 gains for the Nuggets now are four of the team’s starters scoring, on average, 10 or more points per game, guard Ty Lawson ahead at 16 ppg, Arron Afflalo next with 12, plus a total of more than 200 assists to date, Lawson ahead here, too, with 76 assists.

Also, the Nuggets are leading all teams they have met since the current season began regarding the important offense-rebound, 120 over 99, and they are 84 beside 84 completed three- pointers with those teams, and just 10 assists behind that of all teams matched with since October 29.

END/ml

NFL: Analysis, Weeks 11 & 12; Rams Over Broncos.

sports-notebook.blogspot.com . . . FOR MORE ANALYSIS, GO TO "MILE HIGH SPORTS RADIO," AM1510 or FM93.7, and to Denver’s best sports blogging team---milehighsports.com. SPORTS NOTEBOOK posts its columns Tuesday and Friday OR SATURDAY  each week. Ed., Publ., Marvin Leibstone; Copy & Mng. Ed., Gail Kleiner .  

NFL---WITHIN the National Conference South, and from a 19-17 win over the now 3-7 Carolina Panthers, the currently 4-6 Atlanta Falcons jumped from third to first position, becoming the only change of position among NFL-2014’s eight division leading teams, all headed for NFL Week 12.

And still leading the NC West, the NC and the entire NFL are the 9-1 Arizona Cardinals, after punishing the Detroit Lions, 14-6, which allowed the now 7-3 Green Bay Packers to be tied at NC North’s first place with the Lions, also 7-3, this after the Packers defeat of the NC East’s 7-3 Philadelphia Eagles, 53-20, leaving the Eagles tied at number one with the NC East’s 7-3 Dallas Cowboys.

Within the American Conference, the 8-2 N.E. Patriots are leading the conference and so the AC East above the 6-4 Miami Dolphins, having defeated the currently 6-4 Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, 42-20, while Miami defeated the 5-5 Buffalo Bills on Thursday, 22-9.

Meanwhile, the AC West experienced the Denver Broncos still being at first position but tied there with the K.C. Chiefs, 7-3 each, this after dropping a game on Sunday to the NC West’s St. Louis Rams, 22-7, and the Chiefs beating the NC West’s third place 6-4 Seattle Seahawks, 24-20.

Also, the AC North’s Cincinnati Bengals have kept its lead at 6-3 over the division’s remaining three teams.

And, though taken down on Sunday by the Patriots, the 6-4 Colts are still the AC South’s number one above the 5-5 Houston Texans.

Of the eight division leading teams, only one has a commanding lead today above a second position team, plus likelihood of three games being won Weeks 12 through 16. That’s the NC West’s Cardinals already having three wins over the 6-4 S.F. 49ers. Except for a game versus the Falcons, the Cardinals won’t be facing any other currently first place teams through the rest of the season, but will be facing two second place teams, the Chiefs and the 49ers. The only other team to have won 80 percent of NFL-2014 games played to date are the Patriots, and they will be facing first place team, the Lions, during Week 12, and second place team, the Packers, during Week 13.

Unique after Week 11 is the AC North, in that back of the division’s first place team, the 6-3 Bengals, the three remaining teams have accrued the same win/loss records---Baltimore Oriole, Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns, each at 6-4/.600.

Again being worst in the NFL this week, that’s the AC West’s Oakland Raiders, 0-10 (Ugh!) after a loss on Sunday to the AC West’s third place and 6-4 San Diego Chargers, 13-6.

Broncos, Rams---FOR the NFL team that cares about winning and being thought of as skillful and worthy on and off the field, a fallback in spirit always accompanies an unexpected loss. The AC West’s first place 7-3 Broncos are not happy about their 22-7 loss to a last position team, the NC West’s 4-6 St. Louis Rams, on Sunday.

But the shroud of shame, the cloth of indignity, that isn’t what any professional sports team allows near. Even the 0-10 Oakland Raiders keep their heads high.

The Broncos are still an NFL-2014 leading franchise, with games ahead that could pave the way to a conference championship, but many questions have to be answered if that is going to happen, surely surrounding Sunday’s Broncos performance, which was the team’s worst in three seasons, too the Broncos loss to the N.E. Patriots during Week 9, and the Broncos devastating loss to the Seattle Seahawks at last February’s Super Bowl.

Among questions, Is there too much dependency on QB Manning being at his best for the team to win? Is there sufficient pass protection for Manning to reach his high performance level? During a Broncos drive forward, is there proper shielding for WR’s, RB’s and a tight end to be where Manning needs them for the pass or run? Why is it that the progress attained over past seasons by the Broncos defense is, at best, two steps forward and one back and sometimes one forward and two back? What’s causing Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware to be marginal in a particular week, then amazingly powerful and accurate for the pass rush in the next week?

The Broncos began their game against the Rams on Sunday with the better stats in nearly every NFL game category, yet scored the fewest number of points among all NFL teams that played on the same day, except for the AC South’s third place 2-7 Tennessee Titans, which lost to the Baltimore Orioles, 21-7. In addition, the Broncos rushed for less than 30 yards throughout the vs. Ram game, while the Rams rushed for 131 yards. And, time of possession, usually that held best by the Broncos, went to the Rams, 35.5 minutes above the Broncos 24.1 minutes.

However, from looking at total number of passing yards accrued by the Broncos, the game would seem to have deserved a different outcome. The Broncos passed for 389 yards, the Rams for 220, and QB Manning completed 34 passes, Rams QB Shaun Hill, 20. The Broncos also gained more first downs than the Rams had, 21 over 16.

But football games are won from conversion of gains into TD’s and field goals. From fewer gains, the Rams got the big numbers.

END/ml

SATURDAY REVIEW: NFL Week 11; Broncos vs. Rams // NBA Teams Flying High, Flying Low // MLB, Awards-2014 //“the Notebook.”

sports-notebook.blogspot.com . . . FOR MORE ANALYSIS, GO TO "MILE HIGH SPORTS RADIO," AM1510 or FM93.7, and to Denver’s best sports blogging team---milehighsports.com. SPORTS NOTEBOOK posts its columns Tuesday and Friday OR SATURDAY  each week. Ed., Publ., Marvin Leibstone; Copy & Mng. Ed., Gail Kleiner .  

NFL---ALL of the remaining NFL-2014 regulation weeks can be pivotal for the league’s eight division leading franchises and their runner-ups. For Week 11, which began on Thursday, not one of the eight has an edge that’s commanding enough for being at first place when Week 16 arrives and conference championship title games + the SB are near.

The best leading edge for this Sunday’s round of games belongs to the National Conference West’s 8-1 Arizona Cardinals over the NC West’s 6-3 Seattle Seahawks, plus the American Conference East’s 7-5 N.E Patriots above the AC East’s 5-4 Buffalo Bills, and the AC South’s Indianapolis Colts 6-3 atop the AC South’s 4-5 Houston Texans. That leaves five division leading teams that have only one win more than their respective second place teams, the AC West’s 7-2 Broncos ahead of the 6-3 K.C. Chiefs, the AC North’s Cleveland Browns atop the 5-3 Cincinnati Bengals, the NC East’s 7-2 Philadelphia Eagles over the 7-3 Dallas Cowboys, the NC North’s 7-2 Detroit Lions ahead of the 6-3 Green Bay Packers and the NC South’s 4-5 N.O. Orleans over the 3-6 Carolina Panthers.

Unique about Week 11 is that of the 16 first and second place NFL-2014 teams, 11 are playing one another as if a separate league from the rest of the NFL, for instance, the Patriots are playing the Colts on Sunday---either could slip to a one game lead over second position within their respective divisions, same with regard to a Cardinals and Lions match, in that at stake is the Cardinals falling to a one game division lead.

Another turnabout example is the Lions possibly losing to the Cardinals on Sunday and being replaced at first position should the Packers defeat the Eagles on the same day.

Meanwhile, other Week 11 match-ups involving first and second position franchises are the Browns vs. the Texans, Bengals vs. the Saints, and the Seahawks vs. the Chiefs, their outcomes sure to affect what the top half of NFL-2014 will look like as regulation ends and playoffs begin.

Not that a status quo can’t prevail for most of the eight divisions. However, when first and second place teams meet during a Week 11 of an NFL season, there’s greater likelihood of changes within the league’s upper level standings than when top teams are matched against third and lower position teams.

Broncos, Rams---GIVEN that since NFL-2014 began the AC West’s now 7-2 Denver Broncos (a) scored 36 touchdowns and the NC West’s currently 3-6 St. Louis Rams obtained 17, and that (b) during its 2014 losses the Broncos gave away 69 points and the Rams during their losses allowed 198 points, well, it’s hard to believe that (c) the Rams could walk away on Sunday as perpetrators of a Broncos third 2014 loss.

Also, each but one of the Broncos seven wins of Weeks 1 through 10 have been by 10 or more points, while the Rams three wins of the season have been by only two and three points.

Moreover, the Broncos QB, Peyton Manning, has completed more passes this season than the Rams QB, Austin Davis, has attempted. That’s 239 Manning completions vs. 284 attempts by Davis.

Too, the Broncos have purchased 820 more passing yards since Week 1, than the Rams now own.

And, while the Rams have completed a few more rushing yards than the Broncos have this year, 877 over the Broncos 871, the Rams defense has allowed opposing teams to accrue 1,118 rushing yards, the Broncos but 603.

In addition, the Rams have achieved 169 first downs this year, the Broncos above that with 209 first downs plus a better than 30 percent likelihood of the Broncos first downs becoming TD’s and/or field goals.

Yet the three 2014 wins by the Rams include a victory over the NC West’s now 6-3 Seattle Seahawks, which defeated the Broncos 26-20 during Week 3, and the Rams win over the S.F. 49ers during Week 9 kept the 49ers to 10 points, while a Broncos win vs. the 49ers during Week 7 yielded 17 points to the 49ers.

So, there’s a chance that the Rams may not lose to the Broncos as devastatingly as had the AC West’s last place 0-9 Oakland Raiders last week, 41-17.

NBA---THE Denver Nuggets are at 2-6 and at last place within the NBA Western Conference’s Northwest Division, the San Antonio Spurs last within the WC’s Southwest Division, the L.A. Lakers at the very bottom of the WC’s Pacific Division, while within the Eastern Conference the currently 3-7 EC Central Indiana Pacers are a last position team.

None of the above was expected to have come about, even this early during the NBA 2014/15 season.

Yet the six division-first place teams of the two NBA conferences are close to where  expected to be off of the now eight or nine games that ach has played of the 82 scheduled to exist for each prior to an April into June playoff scene, in that leading the WC Northwest today are the 6-3 Portland Trail Blazers, while atop the WC Southwest are the 8-1 Memphis Grizzlies, and leading the WC Pacific are the 6-2 Golden State Warriors. Add that the EC Atlantic are being led today by the 7-2 Toronto raptors, the EC Central by the 7-2 Chicago Bulls, with a surprise within the EC being the 6-2 Washington Wizards atop the EC Southeast, the EC Southeast’s 5-4 Miami Heat in third position behind second place team, the 5-3 Atlanta Hawks.

But turnabouts are near, an example being that a few days ago the WC Northwest’s Oklahoma City Thunder were at 1-3 and a last place franchise, today they are 3-7 and third place division-wide, and last night the WC Northwest’s Nuggets dumped a six game losing streak with a 108-87 win over the EC’s Pacers, a game in which seven Nuggets players scored in double digits, guard Arron Afflalo scoring 17 points during 23 minutes of play, rookie Gary Harris 13 within 18 minutes of play.

And though the Nuggets sixth straight loss on Wednesday night, 130-113 to the now 6-3 Trail Blazers had analysts and fans thinking that the Nuggets could extend its losing streak into double-digits, glimmers of a Nuggets upturn were present, e.g., guard Ty Lawson scoring 32 points along with six assists and J.J. Hickson 14 points within half the number of minutes that Lawson was afield.

MLB---SUMMARY of top MLB-2014 awards: Managers of the Year, American League and Orioles Mgr., Buck Showalter, and National League and Washington Nationals Mgr., Matt Williams, each having led his team to the season’s playoffs from 96-66 win/loss records. . . MVP’s, AL’s OF Mike Trout (L.A. Angels) from a .287 BA, 36 HR’s and 111 RBI’s, and NL’s starting hurler/LH Clayton Kershaw (L.A. Dodgers) of 21 wins and three losses for the year.  .  . CY Young awards went to AL starting hurler/RH Corey Kluber (Cleveland Indian), 18 wins/nine losses, a 2.4 ERA, and to NL’s Clayton Kershaw from, in addition to his 21-3 record, a 1.7 ERA and 239 strikeouts .  .  .  World Series MVP, that’s S.F. Giants hurler, RH Madison Baumgarner, of four wins/one loss, a 1.0 ERA + 45 strikeouts.

the NOTEBOOK--- HAS LeBron James returned to his higher basketball self? Last night, James scored 41 points against the EC Atlantic’s third place 3-5 Boston Celtics, lifting the EC Central’s second place Cleveland Cavaliers to 4-3 behind the 7-2 Chicago Bulls. The Cavaliers defeated the Celtics barely, however, 122-121.  .  . Best in the NHL today, that’s the NHL Eastern Conference’s Atlantic Division leading team, the Montreal Canadiens, at 12-4. Next best, the EC’s Metropolitan Division’s leading team, the 11-3 Pittsburgh Penguins, tied with the Western Conference’s Pacific Division number one team, the 11-3 Anaheim Ducks. Worst record in the NHL to date belongs to the EC Atlantic’s 3-13 Buffalo Sabers, second worst being the WC Central’s 5-8 Colorado Avalanche.  .  .  The Klitschko/Pulev heavyweight boxing championship title bout will be aired on Saturday/HBO, 2:45 pm. Wladimir Kitschko’s record includes 62 wins, three losses, 52 knockouts, Kubret Pulev’s comprises 20 wins, no losses, 11 KO’s.

END/ml

NFL: Week 10/11; Broncos Defeat of Raiders // NBA: First Run // the NOTEBOOK: F1 Motor Racing; Boxing-status.

sports-notebook.blogspot.com . . . FOR MORE ANALYSIS, GO TO "MILE HIGH SPORTS RADIO," AM1510 or FM93.7, and to Denver’s best sports blogging team---milehighsports.com. SPORTS NOTEBOOK posts its columns Tuesday and Friday of each week. Ed., Publ., Marvin Leibstone; Copy & Mng. Ed., Gail Kleiner .  

NFL--- SEVEN or eight games to go for NFL-2014’s 32 franchises before another NFL post-season dominates the American sports horizon, and it appears from Week 10’s results that NFL playoff competition for a shot at the Super Bowl will be super contentious, highlighted by three facts, (1) Week 10’s final scores were mostly double-digit for the losing as well as winning teams, implying improved teams that could rise in the standings; (2) In Week 10’s few low-scoring games the points differential remained meager, suggesting some close races for higher rankings in the coming weeks, and (3) There were only two runaway victories among all games played during Week 10, Denver Broncos against Oakland Raiders, and the Green bay Packers win over the Chicago Bears.

Summarizing Week 10, within the National Conference West the leading team, the 8-1 Arizona Cardinals, reaffirmed its position as the year’s more likely playoff occupant after defeating the NC West’s St. Louis Rams during Week 10, 31-14.  

Also in the NC, the NC North’s 7-2 Detroit Lions beat the now AC East’s third place 5-4 Miami Dolphins, 20-16, keeping a lead over division second place team, the possibly as formidable 6-3 Green Bay Packers, which defeated the now 3-6 NL North last place Chicago Bears on Sunday, 55-14.

And, in spite of its Sunday loss to the NC West’s 5-4 S.F. 49ers on Sunday, 27-24, the NC South’s 4-5 N.O. Saints are still the division’s number one, aided by Monday night’s Carolina Panthers loss to the NC East’s leading team, the now 6-2 Philadelphia Eagles, 45-21, leaving the Panthers as number two behind the Saints.

Within the American Conference, on Sunday the AC West’s now 7-2 Broncos defeated the AC West’s last place team, the Raiders, 41-17, holding on to division first place over the 6-3 K.C. Chiefs. The AC East numero uno, that’s the 7-2 N.E. above the 5-4 Buffalo Bills, which lost on Sunday to the Chiefs, 17-13. As for the AC  North, it’s the 6-3 Cleveland Browns on top, the 5-3 Cincinnati Bengals directly behind them, after the former punished the latter on Thursday, 24-3.

Within the AC South, leading team the 6-3 Indianapolis Colts maintained its edge over the 4-5 Houston Texans, both at Bye during Week 10.

So, surely the conservative guess from observing the results of Week 1 through Week 10 is that the Cardinals, Eagles and the Lions will be the front-runners for a go at the year’s NC title, and that the Broncos, Patriots, Colts and maybe the Browns will by vying for the AC title. BUT---Weeks 11 and 12 could alter thoughts about winners and losers quickly, e.g., the NC West’s Cardinals will be facing the Lions this Sunday and then will face a recovering NC West 6-3 Seattle Seahawks (the Seahawks beat the N.Y. Giants during Week 10, 38-17). The Seahawks are the number two NC West team behind the Cardinals.

Also during Weeks 11 and 12, the Patriots will be facing the comparable-in-strengths Colts, and then the hard-charging Lions, while the Denver Broncos will be facing less formidable competition, vs. the Rams and then the Dolphins. 

For more about NFL Weeks 11 and 12, see this page on Friday, Nov. 14.

Broncos, Raiders---WHAT appears to be an easy sweep, a game that the winning side could have sent in by UPS and gone to watch other NFL teams play, a win that looked as if the winning franchise could have won with its number two quarterback and an array of old timers, isn’t necessarily that, though a 41-17 score would indicate so. On Sunday, the Oakland Raiders, at 0-9 the only “winless” NFL-2014 franchise, lost to the Broncos from a fight they needn’t be ashamed of.

Yes, against the Raiders the Broncos put up five TD’s but the Broncos points that made the difference occurred in a single period, the Third Q. Were it not for that Q, the outcome could have been a game from which the Broncos would still be mulling over and wondering what went wrong, even if they still walked away as victors. In the first, second and fourth Q’s of Sunday’s Broncos/Raiders match, the Raiders showed that indeed the team can show up with sufficient respect from fans, focused and NFL-qualified, though ranked low.

More than one professional football analyst has said that the real NFL season happens between games, when each team examines what went wrong in the week before; further, that the teams that learn best and that can repair from its lessons has the best chance of gaining a playoff slot. Though the Raiders defense showed some improvement versus the Broncos on Sunday, it couldn’t react consistently enough to stop linkages between Broncos QB Manning and Broncos RB C.J. Anderson or a Manning-WR Julius Thomas duo. The Raiders have played one game nine times since NFL-2014’s Week One, a few degrees better on Sunday vs. the Broncos, while during Week 10 the ever-learning/ever-improving Broncos had lapsed some but recovered brilliantly and showed why the team will remain high-end contenders “beyond regulation.”

NBA---THE Denver Nuggets might have given away bonuses last year to be able to be listed side-by-side numerically in the standings with the San Antonio Spurs, NBA 2013/14’s championship franchise. Not so this year—so far. The Nuggets are at 1-5 and last place within the NBA Western Conference West, and the Spurs are at 2-3 and last place within the WC Southwest, which isn’t the only reversal of fortune showing up at this early phase of NBA 2014/15: the WC West’s 2-5 Oklahoma City Thunder are at fourth position just above the Nuggets, and within the Eastern Conference Central the 2-6 Indiana Pacers, a top team last season, are a last place holder.

Among teams that finished well in the past season and have been expected to do same this year are the WC Northwest’s 4-3 Portland Trail Blazers, WC Southwest’s 6-1 Memphis Grizzlies, WC Pacific Division’s 5-1 Golden State Warriors, and EC Atlantic’s 6-1 Toronto Raptors, EC Atlantic’s 5-2 Miami Heat and EC Central’s 6-2 Chicago Bulls, “all division leading franchises.”

Not surprisingly from the addition of Superstar and MVP Le Bron James, the 3-3 Cleveland Cavaliers are at second position within the EC Central, though three wins back of the Bulls. A surprise is the EC Southeast’s 5-2 Washington Wizards tied with the division’s number one team, the 5-2 Heat.

the NOTEBOOK---OF the 18 year-2014 Formula One Grand Prix motor races held since the F1 circuit began at Australia on March 16, 15 have been won by a single team, Team Mercedes, driver Lewis Hamilton at the lead for 10 of those races, Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg for the remaining five. Winning team for the remaining three F1 races held, that’s Team Red Bull-Renault, with Daniel Ricciardo the driver for all three. Final race of the F1-GP season will be at Abu Dhabi this weekend, no doubt as to Mercedes and Hamilton being car and driver champions for the year, win or lose at Abu Dhabi. Winner of the F1-USA event held Nov.2 at Austin, Texas, that was Mercedes/Hamilton. Winner at the famous Monaco F1 GP, again Mercedes, this time w/Rosberg. At the British F1 race, again Mercedes/Hamilton, and at Russia’s first participation during the F1 circuit (at Sochi), Mercedes/Hamilton. . . BOXING---IN decades past, this Friday’s world championship bout among heavyweights being held at Hamburg, Germany, would have been on the minds of many sports fans. Today, it’s an event anticipated by few. Current world heavyweight boxer, Vladimir Klitschko, will be challenged for the title by Kubret Pulev (Who?). Also, a long ago popular welterweight boxing title will be sought at Westbury, New York on Thursday, the contenders Tommy Rainone and Carl McNickles (Of course, you’ve heard of both.). It’s been said that boxing promoters, fighters and their managers like less limelight than existed in the past, boxing analysts say it’s allowed for more quiet professionalism, there being less public pressure for boxers at the top of the rankings to add showbiz antics to their regimen, at the expense of training and preparation. But the impression is that the sport is going to leave the planet as MMA begins to take center stage in the body-contact/one-on-one realm---this may not encourage Golden Glove and Olympic winning boxers to pursue professional status. Only massive power-punchers like Klitschko, or windmill-throwers like so many of the current bantam and lightweight fighters have become, will fill the rings. Don’t know if it’s true or not, but from the vantage point of normal sports fans in America, there’s no next Ali, no next Sugar Ray Leonard, no master of the sport’s many skill-sets even on the far horizon.

END/ml     

NFL: Week 10, Analysis; Broncos & Raiders // NBA: Repeat from earlier posting, “Q&A w/Denver Nuggets Coach, Brian Shaw;” NBA’s Current Standings // the NOTEBOOK.

sports-notebook.blogspot.com . . . FOR MORE ANALYSIS, GO TO "MILE HIGH SPORTS RADIO," AM1510 or FM93.7, and to Denver’s best sports blogging team---milehighsports.com. SPORTS NOTEBOOK posts its columns Tuesday and Friday of each week. Ed., Publ., Marvin Leibstone; Copy & Mng. Ed., Gail Kleiner .  

NFL---WHEN following the 16 week NFL season + Bye weeks, an observer could wonder if after the first eight or nine games are played the rest of the season will be one week repeated eight or nine more times, in that there’s very little change today from last week and the week before among first and second position teams of each of the league’s eight divisions. It’s the American Conference West’s 6-2 Denver Broncos atop second place team, the 5-3 K.C. Chiefs, and the AC East’s 7-2 N.E. Patriots leading the 5-3 Buffalo Bills, and the AC South’s 5-3 Indianapolis Colts above the 5-4 Houston Texans. The only AC North division leading change from Week 9 is the 5-3 Cincinnati Bengals dropping from first to third position behind now first position team, the 6-3 Pittsburgh Pirates, which evolved out of last night’s first Week 10 game and unexpected 24-3 Bengals loss to now AC North second place team, the 6-3 Cleveland Browns. Within the National Conference West, it’s the 7-1 Arizona Cardinals ahead of the 5-3 Seattle Seahawks, NC East’s 6-2 Philadelphia Eagles atop the 6-2 Dallas Cowboys, NC North’s 6-2 Detroit Lions leading the 5-3 Green Bay Packers and NC South’s 4-4 N.O. Saints above the 3-5 Carolina Panthers. Leading the AC, then, are the 7-2 Patriots, best winning record as NFL-2014 enters Week 10, and best in the NC as Week 10 actualizes are the 7-1 Cardinals. So, which of the two conferences are best as each enters Week 10? The AC can boast of 11 franchises being at or above .500, the NC but eight, and the AC includes the only division that has all four of its teams above .500, which is the AC North, with its last place team, the 5-4 Baltimore Ravens, holding at .566. Meanwhile, the NC owns the division with only one franchise above .500, the NC South, which is led by the Saints, now at the margin---.500. BUT---except for the two-game leads held by the AC East’s Patriots, the AC South’s Colts and the NC West’s Cardinals, no other division leading franchise has more than a one-game lead over a second position franchise. Week 11 could therefore look different from Week 10, with the Patriots dropping to a one game lead from being at Bye on Sunday and the AC East’s Bills prevailing against the AC West’s K.C. Chiefs, while the Colts will maintain its lead in that the Colts and the AC South’s second place team, the Texans, will be at Bye on Sunday. Moreover, the NC West’s Cardinals probably will maintain its two-game lead from a win vs. the NC West’s last place team, the 3-5 St. Louis Rams. That the AC West’s 6-2 Broncos will lose to the 0-8 Raiders on Sunday seems unlikely, so, too, the NC East’s 6-2 Eagles losing to the NC South’s 3-5 Panthers on Monday night, and it’s unlikely that the NC East’s number two and 6-3 Cowboys will lose to the AC South’s last place team, the 1-8 Jacksonville Jaguars at the Sunday game being played at London, England. Most contentious will be Sunday’s NC North’s Detroit Lions vs. AC East’s 5-3 Miami Dolphins match, in that the Dolphins much-improved offense/defense balance has been a standings threat, maintaining at 5-3, same win/loss record as that of the AC East’s second place and hard-challenging Bills. A Lions loss to the Dolphins and a Green Bay Packers win vs. the NC North’s 3-5 Chicago Bears on Sunday could result in a NC North Lions/Packers tie at first position, the 4-5 Minnesota Vikings then at second position above the Bears even from their Sunday Bye.

            Broncos, Raiders---ARGUABLY today’s best NFL-2014 franchise, even after a crushing loss to the 7-2 Patriots during Week 9, the 6-2 Denver Broncos losing to the AC West, AC and NFL last place franchise, the 0-8 Oakland Raiders, seems just as unlikely as Muhammad Ali losing a match to anyone while in his prime. It’s a well-informed guess that to defeat the Broncos on Sunday, the Raiders will need the X-Men, Superman, Iron Man and Batman disguised as football players. In three of the Raiders last five games, the secondary allowed more than 30 points to opposing teams, and only twice during the current season have the Raiders given away fewer than 20 points, 19 to the N.Y. Jets, 16 to the N.E. Patriots. To some credit, however, must go the fact that only in one of its eight losses have the Raiders failed to lose by a single digit, which was the nine points taken from the Patriots. This year’s Raiders, they try and they try hard, in spite of the team’s narrow sphere of influence for winning an NFL game, that is, the team’s insufficiencies among the three S’s when their fusion was most needed---Smarts, Speed and Slam, not even in ways for a win against this year’s poorly-performing Jets. Too, the Broncos are at the far and positive edge of the other side of the NFL’s win/loss spectrum and they have beaten the Raiders during the last five Broncos/Raiders battles, the last of their contests being Broncos 34, Raiders 14. If the Raiders cannot initiate a fast and harsh ground game for successive first downs and TD’s, and also penetrate the Broncos pass protection unit in ways disorienting Broncos QB Peyton Manning, the same result will surely repeat, the Broncos winning by more than 10.

            NBA: Q&A w/Nuggets HC, Brian Shaw  (Re-printed from Mile High Sports Magazine-Online Issue) ---

 MHS & Sports Notebook writer/editor, Marvin Leibstone – WHAT were the hardest among challenges that you faced at the start of your being head coach for the Denver Nuggets?

COACH SHAW – Actually, the first days were about the standard necessities for preparing an NBA team for regular and post-season play. This included setting up schedules for practice and for observations of each player’s strengths and vulnerabilities, for my analyzing their skills and where they might need improvement, and from that building the right criteria for the right rotation of players during game time, a process that’s crucial for any coach.

ML – How would you portray the Nuggets in your first season with them, as the season progressed?

SHAW – We began strong and healthy enough for some good wins, which started to happen. We had those nights that pointed to the possibility of another post-season slot, but injuries occurred. We already had forward Danilo Gallinari injured. Then it was guard Ty Lawson getting injured. Then others were down, and so the Nuggets became a new team every so many nights, a less experienced team. When this happens, you have to make ‘adjustments on the fly’ and it could be too late for that to make a difference for you in the standings.

ML – Which Nuggets players have surprised you the most with their commitment and improvement of skills?

SHAW – I’d have to list center, Timofey Mozgov. His game improved immensely as the season continued—speed, transition to defense, that full package of a center’s intended skills. Also, guard Randy Foye, for his ability to lead, to improvise and as a shooter. Keep in mind that these players had to take up the slack from Gallinari and Lawson being out.

ML – How would you want the Nuggets to be for leading its division in the coming season, for leading the Western Conference, for being seeded for post-season play?

SHAW – Of course, we want to be a team that wins consistently. For this, you know, the Nuggets do not have a superstar, and surely the right superstar can make the difference that is desired, ‘which isn’t always the case.’ The superstar concept can be a detriment, in that all becomes dependent on the one or two stars, maybe a third.

ML – In other words, the rest of a team’s players just being supporting characters in the superstar’s movie?

SHAW – I’m an advocate of the complete team, the basketball team that is made up of competent players who breathe and live the idea of ‘teamwork.’ A fine example of this are the San Antonio Spurs teams coached over the years by Gregg Popovich, who doesn’t see superstar in any player; he sees skilled teammates. If the Spurs Tony Parker or Tim Duncan make mistakes in a game, Coach Popovich works with them as he would even a rookie and he might put in back-up players soonest, he may even start a back-up player next game and have Parker or Duncan sidelined. I lean in that direction, wanting a group of players skilled in more than their best quality, a guard who can defend well, a center who can also shoot, a forward who can suddenly execute the playmaking expected from a point guard. In other words, across the board expertise, everyone strong at the assist, the rebound and the block, at transitioning fast into and back from defense, all capable of sinking the three-pointer as well as the two, being fine at the drive and scoring. And, most important, are leadership and improvisation, Nuggets players who together can improvise out of a bad situation and exploit the good situation, turning it all into points.

ML – Can we say, then, that whoever has the basketball at any given moment has to be a leader and think quickly for what the next team move has to be, and then “execute?”

SHAW – The potential for that is definitely with the current Nuggets organization. Needed is for us to make sure that this potential becomes a reality for NBA 2014/15.

ML – Is there a coaching style that nurtures this floor leadership and the ability to improvise?

SHAW – I don’t think it’s in micro-managing, and it isn’t in being hands-off either, in just sticking to watching practice passively and relying on rostering-choices being correct. You need to guide players into thinking about leading and improvising and on improving that during practice sessions, but you have to give your players some leeway to also figure things out by themselves, especially so that the players coming to you from other teams and from college basketball can first undo their habits that can’t always work in the NBA.

ML – All this said, who will be the five Nuggets starters when the new season begins?

SHAW – Oh, it’s too early to get into that with precision, with a final statement, though some informed guesses have been made. I’ll be making that decision after the off-season, when the new season is about to commence.

ML – When you were assistant coach with the Indiana Pacers, you had several talks with Indiana player, Paul George, who confessed to you his appreciation for all that guard Kobe Bryant has meant to the NBA game, especially as a developer of skills for the L.A. Lakers. In those talks, you emphasized the enormous dedication that Bryant applies to perfecting his game, not only on-court but during practice sessions, this above that which other players normally offer up. Are you still an advocate of that kind of dedication?

SHAW – Dedication, focus, practice by any player above that which a coach asks for is always appreciated. It can inspire others greatly. .

ML – Which Western Conference and Northwest Division teams are, from your vantage point, the teams to beat?

SHAW – Conference-wise, certainly the Spurs, and this coming season we may see some extraordinary playing from the Phoenix Suns. As for our division, for the Nuggets it could be the Portland Trail Blazers, and there is always pressure from the Oklahoma City Thunder.

ML – Coach Shaw, you are suddenly King of the NBA for several days and can make any changes you wish. What would those changes be?

SHAW – I’d certainly want to downgrade, maybe end the excess seen in rewards given to some potentially super-excellent players before they have had the NBA court-time to prove that they are worth it, especially the financial end of rewards. Also, it’s a tight season of 82 games plus pre-season games from October through mid-April, so I’d probably consider ending the back-to-back games within that.

NBA Standings --- THE changes in standings among the 30 NBA franchises since last week haven’t been devastating except for the now 1-3 Denver Nuggets, this team having dropped from being number one within the Western Conference Northwest to fourth position in less than a week. Yet the Nuggets are above last season’s WC Northwest number one team, which is the division’s now last placer, the 1-4 Oklahoma City Thunder, meanwhile the Portland Trail Blazers leading the WC Northwest from its 2-2 record, while the WC Southwest’s 6-0 Houston Rockets moved to first above the 5-0 Memphis Grizzlies, holders of the two best records in the NBA to date, either conference. Within the WC Pacific Division, it’s still the Golden State Warriors, now 4-0, directly behind them the 4-1 Sacramento Kings. Inside the Eastern Conference’s Atlantic Division, the reading is musical chairs, the 4-1 Toronto Raptors now the number one team, the 2-2 Brooklyn Nets second, the 2-3 N.Y. Knicks third, which is a reversal from last week. And, the now EC Southeast first place 4-1 Washington Wizards and the currently EC Southeast second place 3-2 Miami Heat are also reverse-positioned from a week ago. Within the EC Central, the 4-1 Chicago Bulls are still first, but last week’s second place now 1-3 Cleveland Cavaliers are third, the replacement team being the now 2-3 Milwaukee Bucks. But, as noted on this page on Tuesday, the early weeks of an NBA season are largely experimental, teams feeling out various concepts for the win, we could therefore find the standings unrecognizable, say, three weeks from today’s rankings.

the Notebook --- LeBron, Cav’s:  JUDGING from the vantage point of reasonable expectations, and from the realities about a player that can be fathomed in the early weeks of an NBA season, it’s fair to say that the Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James is NOT being marginal, is NOT downright disappointing as a Cleveland Cavaliers star and bringer of hope for a Cavaliers post-season billet. Le Bron is shooting well above 20 ppg, and has had nearly five assists per game since the start of NBA-2014/15. Add, LeBron’s above 5.0 RB rating. Yet this hasn’t lifted the Cavaliers beyond a 1-3 record, no better than that of WC Northwest’s fourth place + 1-3 Denver Nuggets, a team that the Cavs will be challenging tonight. Evident is that the integration of LeBron, or, should we say, “the fusion of the rest of the Cav’s with LeBron,” has been wanting, it hasn’t, to say the least, “solidified.” So, can this necessary fusion occur? No Superstar is enough to win a post-season spot and a championship. If the Nuggets win tonight vs. LeBron and the Cav’s, it could very well be from the Nuggets knowing that a winning team is the team that transitions successfully from any one player shouting, “It’s all about ME,” to a resounding, “It’s about WE.” .  .  NHL:  ANYONE thinking that a professional hockey team has to be born, bred, trained and maintained inside “ice territory” or it’ll be filling the rear among rankings, hasn’t a slam-dunk argument. Yes, U.S.-south imports players from the far north but they are integrated with home-grown players, as well. Leading the NHL today are teams from Anaheim, California, St. Louis, Missouri, and Tampa Bay, Florida, respectively 10-3, 9-3 and 9-3. And, how come 4-8 Edmonton, Canada, is last place within the NHL’s Pacific Division, and how come none of the four other Canadian teams are holding a first place slot within their respective divisions, and why is that the snow country Colorado Avalanche are second from the bottom among the seven NHL Western Conference teams? That professional hockey is widespread geographically can only be interpreted as good for sports, especially for that kid from Miami, Florida, who has thrilled at seeing Montreal and Calgary games on TV and can’t wait until he can get his first pair of skates. What’s that? Cuban, Guatemalan and Dominican Republic baseball players switching to ice hockey?

END/ml