Friday, October 31, 2014

College Football 2014: Week Ten Australian Foxtel / ESPN TV Guide


With baseball in the rear-view mirror, it's a return to a packed Sunday of games as we enter the tenth week of the 2014 season, and there are some really good contests to look forward to, featuring the new College Football Playoff's Top Four. Auburn vs. Ole Miss seems like the pick of the action on Sunday, and Florida State open things on Friday morning. You might also want to check out Wisconsin's RB Melvin Gordon, who will probably gash Rutgers on the ground early on Sunday morning.


All Times AEDT

Friday October 31

College Football Countdown (10.00am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)
No. 2 Florida State vs. Louisville (10.30am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)

Saturday November 1

Cincinnati vs. Tulane (11.00am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)

Sunday November 2

College GameDay (12.00am; ESPN/ESPN-HD)
Wisconsin vs. Rutgers (3.00am; ESPN/ESPN-HD)
No. 10 Texas Christian vs. No. 20 West Virginia (6.30am; ESPN/ESPN-HD)
No. 4 Auburn vs. No. 7 Ole Miss (10.00am; ESPN/ESPN-HD)
Arkansas vs. No. 1 Mississippi State (10.00am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)
No. 14 Arizona vs. No. 25 UCLA (1.30pm; ESPN/ESPN-HD)
Wyoming vs. Fresno State (1.45pm; ESPN/ESPN-HD)

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Opinion: College Football's Week Nine Villains

Another weekend of college football is in the books, so let’s go through who let themselves down on the gridiron with my Week Nine Villains:

Texas Tech: The Red Raiders were on the wrong end of a huge drubbing from Texas Christian, going down 82-27, and perhaps signalling that the Kliff Kingsbury experiment is headed for an early end in Lubbock. Tech were jumped on right from the outset, giving up a school-record 785 yards defensively (including a school-record 7 touchdowns to Horned Frogs QB Trevone Boykin) and turned the football over four times when they were on offense. There aren’t many positives coming out of this.

Texas: The Longhorns were shut out 23-0 by Kansas State in Manhattan for the first time since October of 2004. The ‘Horns lost to the Wildcats for the fifth time in six games, and the programs are obviously headed in opposite directions at the moment. A rough campaign for Charlie Strong, and it doesn’t figure to get any easier. Looking through the remaining games on their schedule – Texas Tech next week, then West Virginia, Oklahoma State and Texas Christian – and I can’t say I’d decisively pick UT in any of them. A 3-9 season would be a major disaster in Austin.

Maryland: Their inaugural Big Ten campaign took a turn for the worse on Saturday afternoon at the hands of a rampant Wisconsin running game, which rolled up 311 yards and five touchdowns. The Terrapins didn’t get much support offensively, failing to crack the 200-yard barrier for total offense. It was a forgetful 52-7 game that was 52-0 inside the final minute of the game.

Ole Miss: At least until the last few weeks, it was always ‘Good Bo’ or ‘Bad Bo’ when you spoke about Rebels QB Bo Wallace. We’ve seen ‘Good Bo’ recently – until Saturday night in Death Valley, where the Rebels fell 10-7 to LSU and saw their chances at an undefeated season go up in smoke.  Wallace threw an ill-advised pass that was intercepted in the end zone by safety Leonard Martin, choosing the riskiest pass when he had a few other options to get the Rebels in range for a game-tying field goal attempt.

To be fair, the Rebels’ first loss of the season isn’t all on Bo Wallace. Not hardly. The defense, which has been sensational up to this point, didn’t do it’s part, giving up a surprising 264 rushing yards (including 113 to star back Leonard Fournette) when they’d allowed only a paltry 97.1 per game coming in. Not a good showing on either side of the ball.

Virginia: Somehow, the Cavaliers were hit with a substitution penalty coming out of a time-out. That’s bad however you look at it, but worse when you consider that this penalty came with North Carolina holding the ball, holding a slim 28-27 lead with 1:17 left to play, and facing a fourth-down-and-two field goal attempt. The ensuing penalty gave the Tar Heels the first down, allowing them to ice the clock. An absolute back-breaking coach killer for the Cavaliers there. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a team pilfer away a chance at a win like that.

Michigan: Lost for the sixth time in seven games to Michigan State – you know, formerly their ‘little brother’ in football – and watched the Spartans run the score up late because, according to MSU coach Mark Dantonio, a Wolverine player threw “a stake or dagger” on the Spartan Stadium turf in the pre-game. So, the Michigan players are horrible at football and bad sportsmen, too? Not a good look for the maize and blue.

Opinion: College Football's Week Nine Heroes

Another weekend of college football is in the books, so let’s go through who was great on the gridiron with my Week Nine Heroes:

Boise State: scored 55 points to put the cleaners through Brigham Young University on Friday night in Boise, and the Broncos look to be the best team in the Mountain West Conference at the moment. One thing is for certain: QB Grant Hedrick had his best game as a Bronco, throwing for 410 yards and four touchdowns. About the only blemish all night was Hedrick’s pick-6. Other than that, everything he touched turned to gold.

Lane Kiffin: the always-controversial Alabama offensive coordinator returned to the scene of his infamous one-year run as Tennessee head coach (before taking the USC job) and had the last laugh, masterminding an offensive that rolled up 469 yards against a hapless Volunteer defense. More about the Tide’s impressive offensive performance below.

Texas Christian University: Well, the Horned Frogs sent a message – and what a message, absolutely throttling Texas Tech 82-27 behind a school-record seven touchdown passes from QB Trevone Boykin. On a good day for records, TCU scored the most points in program history – and announced themselves as the best team in the Big XII conference – as Boykin connected on big play after big play against a Horned Frogs defense that had no answers for what they were seeing, including a 92-yard touchdown strike to Deante’ Gray. An ominous performance.

Connor Halliday: No running game up at Washington State, so the Cougar quarterback is routinely asked to throw the ball more times per game than some quarterbacks throw it in three games. He had 79 passing attempts on Saturday and completed 56 of them for 489 yards and four scores. Of course, without some semblance of ground offense, it’s hard to win football games, and the Cougars fell to Arizona. Halliday’s numbers have been immense all season, though.

Louisiana State: The Tigers, with a ferocious home environment to lean on, pulled out a surprise 10-7 victory over Ole Miss on Saturday night and undoubtedly played for their coach, Les Miles, whose mother died less than twenty-four hours earlier. The Tigers rolled up 264 rushing yards (including 113 to star back Leonard Fournette) against an Ole Miss defense giving up, on average, just 97.1 per game. Big win for LSU after a few weeks in the national wilderness.

Ameer Abdullah: the Nebraska running back seems to get better as the season gets older and during Saturday’s 42-24 victory over Rutgers in Lincoln, accounted for a school-record 341 all-purpose yards, including 225 yards and three touchdowns(of 53, 48 and 23 yards respectively) on the ground. The performance has pushed Abdullah back into the frame as far as Heisman Trophy candidates go.

Elijah McGuire: Probably the best performance of the day that no one noticed on a national level. Nor did I, until a friend in Louisiana pointed it out, and it deserves highlighting: McGuire, the Louisiana-Lafayette running back did his best imitation of Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon, carrying the ball just nineteen times for a whopping 265 yards and five touchdowns in a 55-40 win over Arkansas State. That’s 19.3 yards per carry, and it sounds like the Ragin’ Cajuns needed every single yard they got from their workhorse.

J.T. Barrett: the Ohio State quarterback was thrust into the starting spot when Braxton Miller went down with a year-long injury before the season began, and after a slow start to his career in Columbus, Barrett is ensuring that the Buckeyes offense isn’t missing a beat these days. They’re back in the AP National Top 25 rankings and will remain there this weekend after a double-overtime victory against Penn State, one that included two Miller touchdown runs. Impressively, he did it whilst hobbled by a knee injury. That takes a fair amount of guts. The Buckeyes eventually prevailed 31-24.

Amari Cooper: the Alabama wide receiver broke a school record on Saturday night hauling in nine passes for two touchdowns and 224 yards as the Crimson Tide flexed their offensive muscle for the second week in a row, rolling through, across and around Tennessee for a 34-20 win in Neyland Stadium.

Michigan State: Remember when the Spartans were the so-called ‘little brother’ in their rivalry with the University of Michigan? Well, not anymore. Sparty pulled away late to record a 35-11 win over the flailing Wolverines, for their sixth victory in the last seven games against Big Blue.

Impressively, the Spartan defense held the offensively anaemic Wolverines to just 186 yards of total offense. No, you didn’t read that wrongly. Yes, the balance of football power in Michigan has definitely shifted from Ann Arbor to East Lansing.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

College Football 2014: Week Nine Australian Foxtel / ESPN TV Guide


The good news is baseball season is just about over - and although the World Series continues across the weekend, there are games in all three of Sunday's usual broadcast windows, as well as a few condensed replays late on Sunday afternoon. No GameDay (from Baton Rouge this week) due to ATP tennis and football replays, but a few good games to keep you going across the weekend. Hopefully we'll be back to full coverage next week!

All times AEDT

Friday October 24

Miami-FL vs. Virginia Tech (11.00am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)

Saturday October 25

College Football Countdown (11.00am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)
Brigham Young vs. Boise State (12.00pm; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)
South Florida vs. Cincinnati (9.00pm; ESPN/ESPN-HD) Same Day Delay

Sunday October 26

Texas vs. No. 11 Kansas State (3.00am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)
Michigan vs. No. 8 Michigan State (6.30am; ESPN/ESPN-HD)
No. 22 West Virginia vs. Oklahoma State (6.30am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)
No. 13 Ohio State vs. Penn State (11.00am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)
No. 3 Ole Miss vs. No. 24 Louisiana State (4.00pm; ESPN/ESPN-HD) Same Day Delay
No. 4 Alabama vs. Tennessee (6.00pm; ESPN/ESPN-HD) Same Day Delay

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Photo Gallery: Las Vegas, Nevada


Images from my Las Vegas, NV trip in December 2013

McCarran International Airport Las Vegas
Poker machines everywhere. This is the scene at McCarran International Airport, pretty much the first thing you see getting off the plane in Las Vegas, and it sets the tone nicely for what's to come.

Hilton Elara
Early morning sunshine from my room at the Hilton Elara Grand Vacations. This is actually taken from inside the whirlpool tub. Pretty awesome views of Las Vegas, which manages to look pretty peaceful at this time of the day.

Paris Las Vegas
Night time on Las Vegas Boulevard - "The Strip" with Paris, Planet Hollywood and Bally's all visible.

Bellagio Las Vegas
Between Caesar's Palace and Bellagio

Stratosphere Las Vegas
On Stratosphere Tower. Incredible views. You can literally see for miles and miles in all directions.

X-Scream Las Vegas
X-Scream at sunset. Sat on the front row of this. Equal parts exhilarating and terrifying!

Excalibur Las Vegas
Excalibur Hotel & Casino
Paris Las Vegas
Beneath the Eiffel Tower replica at Paris Las Vegas
 Las Vegas
Moonlight over Las Vegas, Nevada

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Opinion: College Football's Week Eight Villains

Another weekend of college football is in the books, so let’s go through who let themselves down on the gridiron with my Week Eight Villains:

Texas A&M: What do you say about a team that went down 59-0 to a rampant Alabama, except to say that they were as awful as any ranked team I’ve seen take the field in years. It went from bad to worse to downright horrendous very quickly in Tuscaloosa, and Kevin Sumlin’s men had no answers. As far as capitulations go, this was up there with the best of them. Worse, it happened on national television.

The numbers are downright scary: the Aggie offense managed only 168 total yards (including a woeful 27 rushing yards) whilst their defense surrendered 602. Alabama had 30 first downs, Texas A&M had eight. Where to from here for an Aggie team who, at the beginning of the season looked like a legitimate threat to win the conference, and now seem little more than a punching bag. I certainly didn’t see today’s result coming.

The Big XII: Baylor lost for the first time, Oklahoma lost for the second time, and there are suddenly zero undefeated teams out of that conference. Peculiarly, Kansas State is undefeated in conference play, but lost an early-season matchup to Auburn. K-State might be the Big XII’s best chance of getting a team into the playoff, but they’re going to have to hope that Auburn don’t lose any further games in the SEC and not lose any themselves in their conference. That’s always dicey. The Big XII might be the Power 5 conference on the outside looking in come Selection Sunday.

Florida: How on earth did Florida lose a game where their opponent, Missouri, amassed only 119 total yards. The Gators had more than twice that many – 283 to be exact – but gave up a 96-yard kick-off return touchdown, an 82-yard punt return touchdown and a 21-yard fumble return touchdown.

Not for the first time this season, I can report that QB Jeff Driskel was absolutely horrible, but this week was particularly bad: he went 7-19 for 29 yards, two interceptions and the fumble. About the only thing he didn’t do was throw a pick six to a Missouri team who are probably still scratching their heads and trying to work out how the hell they won that game.

There were loud “Fire Muschamp” chants going around the Swamp, which was about as full as Florida Panthers NHL home games are full – hint: basically empty – by the time the Gators got on the board late in the third quarter, by which time Driskel was riding the pine. If Muschamp survives this week, it’ll be by the very skin of his teeth.

Kentucky: The Wildcats, carrying a 5-1 record coming in, looked like they were primed to bust into the national rankings and at least be competitive against an inconsistent Louisiana State outfit, but instead were blown out 41-3. Mark Stoops’ men were ineffective offensively and horrible defensively against the run, letting the Tigers roll up 308 yards on the ground. Terrence Magee will give Kentucky nightmares for days, after notching 127 yards on just nine carries.

Stanford: Didn’t put up much of a fight against Arizona State, and didn’t get much from their inconsistent quarterback Kevin Hogan, who completed less than 50% of his passes (19-39 for 212 yards and no scores) as the Cardinal lost to the Sun Devils 26-10. Surprisingly, Stanford are 4-3 on the year. Didn’t see that coming.

Brigham Young University: Watched QB Christian Stewart (39-63 for 408 yards and four touchdowns) tear up the Nevada defense throughout, but the Cougars defensive players were similarly monstered, unable to stop the Wolfpack in the second half, allowing the Wolfpack to come from 28-13 down to snatch a 42-35 win in Provo, Utah. Gaudy offensive numbers aside, the program misses injured QB Taysom Hill. They just haven’t been the same since.

Opinion: College Football's Week Eight Heroes

Another weekend of college football is in the books, so let’s go through who was great on the gridiron with my Week Eight Heroes:

Cody Kessler: The USC quarterback broke a school record – held by his illustrious predecessor, Matt Barkley – on Saturday, throwing for seven touchdown passes (five of them in the first half, which is also a school record) as the Trojans celebrated Homecoming with a strong 56-28. Kessler completed 19-26 for 319 and his seven scores. USC were up 35-7 at the half, and 42-7 after on the second play of the third quarter, where Kessler hit receiver Nelson Agholor for 75 yards. It was over well before that.

Florida State’s Defense: Fitting that one of the games of the season so far came down to the last minute, and to a crucial goal-line stand for the Seminoles defense. Yes, they were aided by a somewhat-questionable offensive pass interference call that negated a game-winning touchdown for Notre Dame, but the FSU defense came up with some giant plays late in the contest to stall the Irish…and eventually come up with the game-sealing interception.

As good as the ‘Noles offense was in the second half, their defense was better. When it mattered the most, they stood up. Famous 31-27 victory for Jimbo Fisher’s squad, and a genuine team effort.

Ameer Abdullah: The Nebraska running back pretty much single-handedly beat Northwestern in Evanston. He carried the football 23 times for 146 yards (at 6.3 yards were carry, if you don’t mind!) and four scores as the Cornhuskers kept the Wildcats scoreless in the second half, en route to a 38-17 win.

Devontae Booker: The Utah running back had 229 yards and three touchdowns – including the game-winning score in the second overtime – as the Utes eked out a tight 29-23 victory over Oregon State on Friday night. Booker’s effort is the fifth-best rushing total in Utah football history.

Minnesota: The surprise packet of the Big Ten keeps on surprising. The Gophers outlasted Purdue 39-38 to take command of the Western division of their conference, and they’re Bowl eligible after only seven games. Jerry Kill should be in line for Coach of the Year honours the way he’s got his team – and especially it’s running game – going. The only game the Gophers have dropped this year was against TCU, which isn’t a bad loss, is it?

Alabama’s Offense: All week – actually, for the last few weeks – we’ve been hearing about how Lane Kiffin has killed the Crimson Tide’s offense. Well, Kiffin and his players sent one hell of a message to the rest of the college football world in Tuscaloosa on Saturday afternoon, where Blake Sims, T.J. Yeldon and Amari Cooper helped the Tide to a 59-0 annihilation of Texas A&M. Yeah, Alabama are back in town, and if Kiffin’s offense produces like that every week, be very afraid.

Nick Chubb: A star unearthed here. Pressed into starting duties for Georgia following the suspension of star back Todd Gurley, Chubb had himself a day out against Arkansas, notching 202 yards on 30 carries (7.1 yards per rush) and two scores as the Dawgs survived a late Arkansas rally for a 45-32 win on the road. For the second week in a row, it’s a case of, No Gurley, No Worries for Georgia.

Clint Trickett: The West Virginia quarterback led his unranked and mostly-unheralded team to a surprising victory over previously-undefeated Baylor and out-duelled Bryce Petty as the Mountaineers recorded a 41-27 win. Trickett was 23-35 for 322 yards and three scores. The maturation of the Florida State transfer has been impressive.

Jake Waters: The Kansas State quarterback led his Wildcats into Norman, Oklahoma and came out with a 31-30 victory over warm favourites Oklahoma. Nearly everything K-State did offensively came via Waters. He was 15-23 for 225 yards and two touchdowns through the air, and added 51 rush yards on ten carries, and a further touchdown. Big win for the Wildcats who might be the best team in the conference at the moment.

Rakeem Cato: The Marshall quarterback set an FBS record on Saturday, throwing a touchdown pass for the thirty-ninth consecutive game. Oh yeah, and the Thundering Herd remain undefeated, ousting Florida International 45-13.

Notre Dame: The Irish were beaten by Florida State in Tallahassee but far from disgraced in the process. Right now, they’re on the outside looking in as far as sneaking into the four-team playoff goes, but with the sort of carnage we’ve seen in the national rankings over the last few weeks, a one-loss Irish yet might get a slot in the playoff. Brian Kelly’s squad lost no admirers on Saturday night.

Nelson Agholor: The USC receiver benefited from Cody Kessler’s record-setting day, snagging 6 catches for 128 yards and 3 touchdowns, including a 75-yard effort to open the second half.

Thursday, October 16, 2014

College Football 2014: Week Eight Australian Foxtel / ESPN TV Guide


A few more games this week than last, but not the world's most inspiring line-up, but some football in amongst baseball is better than nothing. I suppose we'll have to get used to less games during October now that ESPN have MLB's playoffs. Sadly, we won't get the marquee Notre Dame vs. Florida State game, but at least you can sample the atmosphere form Tallahassee, because that's where College GameDay is originating from this weekend. 

All times AEDT 

Wednesday October 15

Louisiana-Lafayette vs. Texas State (11.00am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD) 

Saturday October 18

College Football Countdown (10.30am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)
Fresno State vs. Boise State (11.00am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)

Sunday October 19

College GameDay - Tallahassee, Florida (ESPN/ESPN-HD)
No. 14 Kansas State vs. No. 11 Oklahoma (3.00am; ESPN/ESPN-HD)
Iowa vs. Maryland (3.00am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)
Rutgers vs. No. 13 Ohio State (6.30am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Opinion: College Football's Week Seven Villains

Another weekend of college football is in the books, so let’s go through who let themselves down on the gridiron with my Week Seven Villains:

Todd Gurley: There’ve been plenty of recent examples of the NCAA suspending and sanctioning players for making money from their own names throughout their college careers – a cynical view might be that the NCAA prefers keep that privilege for themselves, especially if you browse through the number of jerseys available at their website – but it seems that some players never learn.

Count Gurley, the star running back of the University of Georgia, amongst that number. He was suspended indefinitely this week for an alleged violation of NCAA rules. Specifically, he’s supposedly sold autographed memorabilia through a dealer who may or may not have then reported it.

Look, I don’t think the way the NCAA does things is fair, but rules are rules, and the rules, as they stand, make doing what Gurley’s alleged to have done illegal. He knew the risks and now he’s paying the price. Moreover, his team are left without their best offensive weapon, possibly for the entire season. Selfish actions by an individual in a team sport. Not cool.

Arizona: The got back into the game against USC late, failed on a two-point conversion, recovered the ensuing onside kick, drove to within 36 yards of a game-winning field goal and kicker Casey Skowron pushed his attempt wide right, giving the Trojans a desperate 28-26 victory. There are now no unbeaten teams in the Pac-12.

University of California: Consistently one of the more exciting teams in the nation, averaging 50 points per game, and responsible for some epic shootout games so far this year. Where was all of that on Saturday? They managed just 7 points against Washington, falling 31-7 to the Huskies, whose defense hasn’t been that great this year. A head-scratcher for Sonny Dykes’ squad.

Texas Christian University: Had their chances against Baylor. Boy oh boy did they have their chances, and, you know, when they picked off Bryce Petty and took the football in for a defensive score, their lead was 58-37 and you figured they’d run the ball and waste time. Wrong. They continued to come out throwing, which became their downfall. Give the ball back to Petty and that Baylor offense, and they’re gonna score. Bad game management by the Horned Frog coaches. Should’ve been better.

Will Muschamp: The under-siege Florida Gators coach had the good sense to sit his starting quarterback Jeff Driskel midway through another uninspiring performance last week, and Florida went on to win, erasing a 9-0 deficit. Pretty compelling reason to go with the guy who got you the win, right?

Wrong, apparently. Instead, Muschamp elected to go back to Driskel, and the infuriating quarterback repaid the faith by tossing two interceptions. His second was returned to the Florida 36-yard line that set up a 50-yard field goal by LSU kicker Colby Delahoussaye with three seconds left. Not sure how or why it happened, but fairly certain that Muschamp will have some tough questions to answer this week.

Florida State: Their 38-20 win over lowly Syracuse  was hardly an inspiring victory for the ages, and considering how well Mississippi State are going, chances are good that the ‘Noles will lose their No. 1 spot atop the AP rankings when they’re released tomorrow because, right now, although both teams are undefeated, the Bulldogs would be favourites if they were playing FSU tomorrow. And, with yet more drama swirling around QB Jameis Winston, there might be some testing times ahead in Tallahassee. Not undeserved, mind you.

Missouri: At home against a Gurley-less Georgia, the Tigers were warm favourites with many pundits – including myself – and unleashed one of the more epic flops we’ve seen in recent years. QB Maty Mauk was just 9-21 for 97 yards and four turnovers. A golden opportunity goes begging for the Tigers, and they’ll be feeling this one for a while.

Opinion: College Football's Week Seven Heroes

Another weekend of college football is in the books, so let’s go through who was great on the gridiron with my Week Seven Heroes:

Melvin Gordon: The Wisconsin running back became the fastest Badger to pass the 1,000 rushing yard mark, doing so on just his sixth game as Wisconsin held off Illinois 38-28. Gordon had a relatively quiet day – at least compared to some previous outings – amassing 175 yards and four touchdowns against the worst rushing defense in the Big Ten. Gordon should be right amongst the Heisman candidates.

Mississippi State: Despite four turnovers on a rainy day, Hail State got the job done against Auburn, defeating the Tigers 38-23 in Starkville, thanks to two rushing and one passing touchdown from QB Dak Prescott, who probably furthered his Heisman chances by taking down the second-best team in America. The Bulldogs become just the fifth team since the 1983 season to beat Top 10 teams in three consecutive weeks.

Ole Miss: The second consecutive wonderful Saturday for teams from Mississippi was capped by the Rebels going into Kyle Field to knock off Texas A&M. Ole Miss weren’t exactly favourites in this one, yet they dominated the Aggies for the best part of the game.

The final score line of 35-20 flattered A&M far more than they deserved. The Rebels open the season 6-0 for the first time since 1962. QB Bo Wallace was sensational, accounting for three touchdowns, and his defense capitalised on three turnovers. Hugh Freeze has a good football team in Oxford.

Bryce Petty: The Baylor quarterback threw a pick-six with 11:38 remaining in the fourth quarter, one that extended TCU’s lead to 58-37. Then, Petty went out and calmly threw two touchdowns and drove his team down the field, setting them up for the eventual game-winning field goal. It was an epic recovery for Petty and Baylor, who beat TCU 61-58 in an epic game that well and truly lived up to all the hype. This might’ve been Petty’s Heisman moment. 

Georgia: No Gurley, no worries against Missouri. The Bulldogs looked like their old selves, and are sitting in the box seat in the SEC East after routing the Tigers 34-0 on the road in Columbia. In place of Gurley, Nick Chubb ran for 143 yards and a score, whilst the Bulldog defense held Missouri to a paltry 147 total yards, and forced four turnovers from QB Maty Mauk.

Michigan: The needed a win badly, and they got it against Penn State at home to at least take a little pressure off of Brady Hoke’s shoulders. The 18-13 victory was set up by stifling defense from a unit that’s been much-maligned this season. A safety with 1:43 to play sealed an important victory for the maize and blue.

Duke: The Blue Devils beat Georgia Tech for the first time in ten years, securing a 31-25 win over the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta. Another milestone for the surging Duke program on the back of their defense causing three huge second-half turnovers.

Josh Lambert: The West Virginia kicker won his team the game on Saturday, knocking over a 55-yard field goal with 0:03 to play in the fourth, giving the Mountaineers a tight 36-34 victory over Texas Tech. He kicked three on the day: from 55, 38 and 42 yards away. Not a bad day out!

Minnesota: Quietly, the Golden Gophers are 4-1, and looking pretty good in a weakened Big Ten. Their latest scalp was Northwestern, thanks to QB Mitch Leidner, who ran for two scores, and thanks, also, to Jalen Myrick, who returned a fourth-quarter kick-off for an even 100 yards. The Gophers won 24-17.

Marcus Mariota: When you’re good, you’re real good. The Ducks QB was running a read option play against UCLA and kept the football as the defense locked down on the running back. Problem was, he didn’t hold onto it. Nope, he fumbled…then recovered and ran into the end zone from twenty-three yards away. Not UCLA’s day, but clearly it’s Oregon’s. The Ducks won impressively, 42-30.

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Opinion: 54 Things I Love About Hockey



Alongside AFL, hockey is my favourite sport in the world. There’s no sport in the world that mixes the physicality, skill and rabid fanaticism from players and supporters alike that few other sports can claim.

A few days ago, someone asked me what it is that has so endeared the game to me. I could’ve sat down and listed a hundred reasons. Below, in no particular order, are 54 reasons why I love the great game:


1.    Wayne Gretzky. The Great One. There will be no better player to grace an NHL rink.
2.    Walking into an arena for the first time after a long time away, getting that first glimpse of the sheet of ice. It’s magical.
3.    The feeling that hockey is the world’s best kept secret. In most parts of America, it really is.
4.    Don Cherry. Polarising, but a hockey icon. Glad ‘Grapes’ is still around.
5.    Olympic hockey. As good as it gets.
6.    Henrik Lundqvist. All Hail The King!
7.    Tradition. There’s so much of it around hockey today. Franchises do a wonderful job of honouring past players and triumphs.
8.    Bravery. A guy will lose multiple teeth to a puck in the face and, more often than not, hardly miss a shift. Compare that to the diving you see so often in soccer.
9.    Alexander Ovechkin. The Great Eight has all the intangibles. I love watching him.
10.    The moment when the lights in the arena go dark and the crowd roars because we all know that the pre-game video (and, sometimes, pyro and laser light) spectacular is about to begin.
11.    A deke that completely undresses a defenceman.
12.    Hearing 20,000+ fanatical fans screaming throughout the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ at United Centre in Chicago.
13.    The Miracle on Ice. One of the game’s defining moments. Mark Johnson, Jim Craig and Mike Eruzione will be remembered fondly for a long time to come – okay, well, maybe not in Russia, but elsewhere.
14.    The shootout. Some hate it, I love it.
15.    ‘Badger’ Bob Johnson’s immortal words “It’s a great day for hockey!”
16.    Watching Nicklas Kronwall hit someone. They call it getting “Kronwalled” for a reason. If he hits you, you stay hit.
17.    The goal horn after the Rangers score.
18.    Walking into Madison Square Garden – there’s so much history in that place you can almost reach out and touch sporting and entertainment greatness.
19.    Bars and restaurants around any downtown arena, where there’s no shortage of hockey opinion and camaraderie. Hockey people are great people.
20.    The final buzzer – and the ensuing celebrations – at the end of the final game of the Stanley Cup Final.
21.    Unlimited playoff hockey. They keep playing until someone scores, and there’s epic desperation throughout.
22.    Jack Edwards. You love the NESN Bruins announcer or you hate him. There’s no middle ground. I love him.
23.    A goalie robbing a shooter. Happens often. Never fails to amaze.
24.    Capitals fans “rocking the red” in Verizon Centre.
25.    A curl-and-drag move.
26.    Steven Stamkos. Absolute gun.
27.    Vancouver fans going nuts when one of the Sedin twins score.
28.    The Rangers’ goal song – not big on words, but the one I love the most.
29.    Canada’s obsession with the World Junior Championship.
30.    Hockey in non-traditional markets. In particular, Los Angeles, where the atmosphere is comparable to Chicago, Pittsburgh or Minnesota.
31.    The octopus on the ice in Detroit at the commencement of another Red Wings playoff run.
32.    Hockey in Canada. You’ve seen an NHL game in America? You haven’t lived til you’ve seen one in Canada.
33.    Lake Placid, New York. The town seeps hockey history. Definitely worth the pilgrimage.
34.    The Toronto Maple Leafs. So many fans, so much disappointment.
35.    Listening to the booming tenor voice of Jim Cornelison at United Centre. The man does the best rendition of the American national anthem that I’ve ever heard and is as beloved in the Windy City as Hull, Toews or Savard ever was/is.
36.    The legendary Rangers fan known only as “Dancing Larry” doing his thing from the fabled blue seats at Madison Square Garden. So bad it’s good!
37.    Vancouver’s ability to chew up and spit out goaltenders. It’s an art up there.
38.     “Chelsea Dagger” being belted out by 20,000+ fans at United Centre in Chicago. It’s the second-best goal song in the NHL.
39.    Being in the house for a Boston vs. Montreal clash – the game’s greatest rivalry is best seen live, in either city.
40.    Rene Rancourt singing the national anthem in Boston. More specifically, his post-song exhortations to the Bruins crowd.
41.    Vintage jerseys. You see them at every game, some decades old, and it’s great to see fans paying homage to the building blocks of their franchise.
42.    Playoff hockey.
43.    A giant hit that rattles the glass and makes everyone in the crowd wince
44.    Two players dropping their gloves to settle the score in an old-fashioned manner
45.    Patrick Kane. I’m a Rangers fan, but Kane’s my favourite player. Ridiculous talent.
46.    The final buzzer when the Rangers win.
47.    The Joe Louis Arena. One of the last-remaining great hockey coliseums.
48.    Herb Brooks. Coached the US to the most unlikely of victories against the USSR in 1980. Did it by galvanising a divided team by making himself the enemy. It worked. The Miracle on Ice won’t be soon forgotten.
49.    Booing Sidney Crosby. If you’re not a Pens fan – or Canadian during the Olympic campaign – you love doing it. Admit it!
50.    The LA Kings mascot, Bailey: easily the most enthusiastic mascot there is
51.    The great Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick calling games on television. There’s no one better in America, and perhaps not anywhere else in the hockey world. He brings the game to your home like no one else can.
52.    A goalie making a sprawling save.
53.    The Winter Classic – because outdoor hockey is the most romantic part of this great sport. Seeing a game live at Mariucci Arena in Minnesota – the University of Minnesota has so much history behind it, and the best fans in all of college hockey
54.    The first puck drop in the Stanley Cup Final.

Thursday, October 9, 2014

College Football 2014: Week Seven Australian Foxtel / ESPN TV Guide



A lean weak of college football upcoming. Due to playoff baseball, European soccer qualifiers and preseason NBA, we'll only see three live games this weekend: Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The good news is that Sunday's live contest is the anticipated Ole Miss vs. Texas A&M clash. Unfortunately, College GameDay has also been pre-empted by soccer coverage. Don't forget ESPN3.com, which all Foxtel sports package providers have access to for streaming games, especially when there are slim pickings on TV!

All times AEDT

Friday October 10

College Football Countdown (10.00am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)
Brigham Young vs. Central Florida (10.30am; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)

Saturday October 11

Washington State vs. No. 25 Stanford (12.00pm; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)

Sunday October 12

No. 3 Mississippi vs. No. 14 Texas A&M (12.00pm; ESPN2/ESPN2-HD)

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Opinion: College Football's Week Six Villains

Another weekend of college football is in the books, so let’s go through who let themselves down on the gridiron with my Week Six Villains:

Louisiana State: Somewhat unbelievably, the Tigers have dropped their first two SEC games for the first time in the decade that Les Miles has been coach down in Baton Rouge. They were outplayed by Mississippi State in their first conference outing, and were even worse on the road against Auburn. The Tigers were down 31-7 at half time in front of a hostile crowd, and gave up a whopping 247 yards in the first quarter alone. Remember when LSU had those great defenses?

Oregon: Perhaps we should have expected the Ducks to lose to Arizona on Thursday night after their narrow escape against Washington State in their last game. It’s not often we write that the Ducks were dominated, but – for the second straight year – they were, and it started up front, getting nothing from their offensive line, who gave up five sacks.

College Football Playoff Committee: A carnage-filled first Saturday of October makes it unlikely that the inaugural four-team playoff bracket will be filled with undefeated teams, which opens things right up.

Let’s just say the schools that lost today don’t lose again all year. That means there’s going to be an incredible amount of jockeying for position between a host of very good one-loss teams – Alabama and Oregon lead that list, Oklahoma not far behind – and the committee can pick just four teams.

For example, do you put an undefeated Baylor squad out of a weaker Big XII conference in over, say, a one-loss Oregon team? There are questions like that to be answered right across the country, and there’s almost certain to be controversial admissions. Combing the form guide as it is, I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes.

Michigan: Reeling, the Wolverines have lost their third straight game, going down to Rutgers on a late blocked field goal by the Scarlet Knights after Michigan lost to Minnesota and Utah in their last two starts. They were shredded through the air, giving up a career-high 404 yards (and three touchdowns) to Rutgers QB Gary Nova.

After a week of controversy surrounding backup QB Shane Morris and a possible concussion, the Wolverines badly needed a win to take some of the pressure off of embattled head coach Brady Hoke. They didn’t get it, instead falling into a 2-4 hole that they won’t climb out of. It’s the worst start for the Wolverines since opening 2-7 under Rich Rodriguez in 2008. Shocking to see the state of this program.

The Pac-12: Touched on Oregon’s problems above, but there are wider-reaching issues for the west-coast conference, who, aside from seeing the Ducks succumb on Thursday night, had other big problems suffer reputation-tarnishing losses. UCLA lost at home to Utah and Stanford lost on the road in Notre Dame after giving up an Everett Golson touchdown from a fourth-and-eleven situation with less than a minute to go.

Aside from losses, the fact that the conference seems to be eating itself from the inside out isn’t a good sign as far as getting a team into the playoff. Let’s see: UCLA beat Arizona State, Arizona beat Oregon, USC beat Stanford, Arizona State beat USC. Arizona beat Oregon. USC beat Stanford. Washington State beat Utah. Utah beat UCLA. The way things are going, the Pac-12 will be lucky to have one one-loss team left.

Jeff Driskel: The Florida quarterback was benched and watched his back-up bring the Gators back for an ugly 10-9 victory over Tennessee. It was a deserved benching, for Driskel completed just 11-23 for 59 yards and three interceptions. It doesn’t help that he had little to no pocket protection, but still, it’s been one bad performance after another for Driskel, who has 5 touchdowns and 6 interceptions on the year, and is completing just 55% of passes. On those numbers alone, I won’t be surprised if Driskel doesn’t take another snap for Florida.

Wisconsin: Their star back Melvin Gordon had a career-high 258 yards at nearly ten yards a carry but the Badgers got next to nothing – other than turnovers – from their quarterbacks, and lost 20-17 to Northwestern. That was a game the Badgers should’ve won. They dominated offensively, but the four turnovers between two quarterbacks, Tanner McEvoy and Joel Stave, and a complete lack of any offense through the air doomed them to a bad road loss.

Brigham Young University: The Cougars lost their superstar starting QB Taysom Hill to a leg fracture late in the second quarter of Friday night’s home game against Utah State, and had to slot backup Christian Stewart into the contest.

The problem was, Stewart had thrown only two passes all season prior to his enforced appearance, and that didn’t bode at all well for the No. 18 Cougars, who saw their undefeated record go up in smoke, falling to the Aggies 35-20.

Looking at the bigger picture, Friday night ended everything that the Cougars had been hoping to achieve in 2014: an undefeated season, a Heisman shot for Hill and a slot in a major Bowl game. It’s all gone, and it’s a shame, because BYU with Hill at the offensive controls were a great team to watch.

Opinion: College Football's Week Six Heroes

Another weekend of college football is in the books, so let’s go through who was great on the gridiron with my Week Six Heroes:

Arizona: The unranked Wildcats accomplished one of the toughest jobs in college football by going into Autzen Stadium to beat No. 2 Oregon on Thursday night. The 31-24 victory will likely be remembered as one of the most unlikely – not to mention epic – wins in the 2014 season, and it was one thoroughly deserved by a Wildcat squad who dominated on both sides of the football.

Crucially, Arizona brought huge pressure on Ducks QB Marcus Mariota – who fumbled twice and was sacked five times – and limited a powerful Oregon ground game to a paltry 144 yards. In contrast, the Wildcats ripped Oregon’s defense on the ground, amassing 208 yards, as part of 495 total on the night. Their up-tempo offense looked like something from the Oregon playbook, and kept the Ducks off balance the whole night, like Oregon’s own up-tempo speed has done to other teams for years.

Quite the role reversal, a famous win for the still-undefeated Wildcats and a little vindication for coach Rich Rodriguez, who just couldn’t get things rolling at Michigan. In a different – and probably tougher – environment, he’s posting results. Big ones.

Texas Christian University: Once more on Saturday, an unheralded challenger beat a highly-fancied team. The Horned Frogs got some nice offense from Trevone Boykin and a timely Pick-6 of Oklahoma QB Trevor Knight to beat the Sooners 37-33. Big plays and giant momentum swings characterised this game, and it was brilliant.

Dak Prescott: You might not really have known his name before Saturday, but you should now. As far as quarterbacking performances go, Prescott was almost unblemished as Mississippi State pounded Texas A&M 48-31. He was 19-25 for 259 yards and two touchdowns passing, and added 77 yards and three scores on the ground. Pretty much everything Prescott touched turned to gold, whereas his counterpart, the more-hyped Kenny Hill, had a bad game.

Prescott vaults right into Heisman Trophy contention now. His game against the Aggies is exactly the sort of performance that makes the voters sit up and take notice. He was instrumental in probably the biggest moment in Mississippi State history. Hail State, indeed.

Nick Marshall: The Auburn quarterback is absolutely flying right now, and single-handedly sought out and destroyed a Louisiana State team that’s reeling. In the battle of two teams with the same mascot, Marshall had 207 passing yards and two touchdowns, and ran for 119 and two more scores, as Auburn pounded LSU 41-7. The Auburn Tigers seem set to benefit from the chaos around them this weekend.

Utah: Led early, were challenged late and managed to hold on to beat UCLA in the Rose Bowl. Sure, they were aided by a missed field-goal late, but the Utes kept a Bruins offense that had exploded for 60+ points last week against Arizona State in check, allowing them only 28 points and just 138 rushing yards. Despite a 55-yard field goal attempt sailing wide, a shocking flop from the UCLA kicker, Ka'imi Fairbairn, got a second shot, but, justly given the obvious dive, the second attempt fared no better, and Utah took a bug win.

Melvin Gordon: The Wisconsin running back – himself a Heisman Trophy candidate – had a career day on Saturday, gashing the Northwestern defense for 259 yards and a touchdown on just 27 carries. That’s a monster 9.6 yards per carry, but it wasn’t enough for Wisconsin, who were doomed by four costly turnovers to a 20-14 loss.

Ole Miss: They were challenged at home, and all the knockers who said the Rebels offense, led by Bo Wallace, couldn’t stand up and win the game when it was there to be won will be eating humble pie now. Huge day for the Rebels, who handed Alabama it’s first loss on the season and I must admit that, although I thought it would be a close game, I didn’t see Ole Miss beating Nick Saban’s squad. 

Wallace was 18-31 for 251 yards and three touchdowns, playing a breakout game against one of the best squads in the nation. He threw the go-ahead score ten yards to Jaylen Walton with 2:59 left in the fourth, and it took an end zone interception to preserve probably the biggest win in the program’s history. There’s a lot of that going around Mississippi at the moment.

Utah State: Big Friday night win on the road in Provo against the previously-undefeated No. 18 Brigham Young. The Aggies outlasted a Taysom Hill-less BYU outfit 35-20, thanks to a twenty-one point blast in the second quarter on the army of their own backup quarterback, Darell Garretson. The Aggie defense forced BYU quarterback Christian Stewart into three interceptions as they improved their season record to 2-2.

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Chicago PD: Season 2 - Episode One - "Call It Macaroni"




Written By: Matt Olmstead
Directed By: Mark Tinker


The Plot: To sync up with Chicago Fire – which had it’s own jaw-dropping premiere a night ago – events have jumped six weeks forward from when Voight and Stillwell found Sheldon Jin lying dead in a snowy park. Voight is being grilled about the circumstances of the murder. For reasons unknown, Intelligence have been forbidden to look into the case, but they do anyway. Voight’s worried that CPD are coming for his badge and roars down Ruzek in a tense scene.

Halstead receives a letter that’s taken six weeks to come across from his old precinct. It’s a note and a USB from Jin, which Halstead hands to Voight. On it is evidence that implicates Stillwell in Jin’s murder. Voight goes to the IA cop and Stillwell suggests Voight bury the case or Stillwell will bring Voight down as well, based on recordings of all their conversations – presumably including the ones where Voight spoke about a partnership that sounded pretty corrupt – and it appears that Voight decides to do just that.

Until he meets with Jin’s mother, who tells Voight that her son’s greatest wish was to do the sort of work he did with Voight’s team, and that chances the sergeant’s mind. He turns the information that incriminates Stillwell over to the department and watches from afar as the IA cop is arrested for Sheldon Jin’s murder.

The rest of the squad are working on an armed truck heist from a CI who is known to Olinsky from the old days, and as the squad is trying to unravel that mystery, Nadia, now working as the receptionist, gets a series of calls from someone called Bunny, who wants Lindsay. There’s obviously something going on there, judging by the look that comes across Lindsay’s face when she hears who is on the other end of the line.

It turns out that the heist was aimed at getting back a piece of DNA evidence, a t-shirt, but CPD wasn’t made aware of it due to suspected corruption. The shirt was being independently transported to a non-PD lab for independent testing, and, clearly, the whole thing was set up to remove a piece of evidence that could put a murderer away.

True to his word, Stillwell forwards his information to the Chicago PD and Voight is called in for a hearing. Before he goes, he addresses his team, admitting that he was working with IA, posing as a dirty cop, but that he never went after police. The team are shocked for different reasons. Halstead seems to approve, and shakes Voight’s hand, and Dawson seems the same, but Lindsay is horrified, and appears to take the revelation as a betrayal. At least judging by the look on her face.

Ruzek and Burgess are a couple, but keeping things very low-key at work. Burgess is working with a new cop called Roman, who seems capable but is very steadfast in his hatred of working with female partners, and we later learn it’s because he fell in love with his previous partner, and apparently she didn’t feel the same way in return. Ruzek seems less interested in hearing his girlfriend’s complaints about her new partner than getting Burgess into his bedroom.

The bad guys are – of course – apprehended, but not before there’s a huge shootout and Halstead is forced to kill one of the brothers who are working together to extort money for the evidence. Later, Olinsky is visited by a CI, who reveals that the surviving brother has put a bounty on Halstead’s head of one hundred thousand dollars.

Voight is called to CPD headquarters. Prior to heading there, Voight wanted a particular high-ranking cop there on the panel, and Voight asks for a quiet word with that man. It turns out that Jin had a lot of dirt on a lot of cops, including the gentleman now having a conference with Voight. Hence, Voight wiggles out from a seemingly impossible jam, and, later at Molly’s, his team exalts.

The identity of Bunny is revealed as Lindsay goes to a bar: it’s her estranged mother, and Lindsay is none too pleased to see her.


My Thoughts:
Well, I had a feeling Jin had been offed by Stillwell, and it was good to see Voight manage to get Stillwell locked away for the murder and avoid being taken down himself. That, thanks to Jin.

It’s obvious now that Voight has the ability, like so many headlining characters, to escape just about any situation that he’s in, even vaguely illegal ones. We don’t know how doctored the evidence was from Stillwell, but it doesn’t matter.Voight is back. Thank God, too, because it seems like there’s even more bad guys in Chicago this season than last.


Only because there’d been reports that Lindsay’s estranged mother would make an appearance this season did I think that ‘Bunny’ was her mother, and you can tell that there’s some serious friction between the two. Also, it’s eerie how similar Markie Post and Sophia Bush are alike.


Not sure how to feel about Ruzek and Burgess. The one scene between them was awkward because Ruzek seemed more interested in going into the bedroom than listening to the problems Burgess has with her new partner, Roman, who looks like he’s going to be an interesting one.


As for Halstead and his death mark…that’s pretty serious. One hundred thousand grand is nothing to sneeze at. A great opening episode that sets up a few very interesting stories for the coming season. Looking forward to seeing how Halstead deals with having a price on his head.

Chicago PD: Season 1 - Episode Fifteen - "A Beautiful Friendship"





Written By: Michael Batistick
Directed By: Mark Tinker

The Plot: The fifteenth and final episode of the season. Lindsay finds herself being railroaded by Charlie Pugliese, who has some sort of information that would make her life (and that of her best friend’s) very difficult. Exactly what the info is, so far, we're not made aware, but from the look on Lindsay's face, it's damaging.

Dawson comes back to work early, and his wife isn't happy about it. So much so that they have a heated argument on the phone.

On the job, the Unit is investigating the theft of water-gel explosives from a construction site. A tip from a CI of Halstead’s identifies that Charlie, Lindsay’s friend, is involved, but Halstead decides not to tell his partner that yet. Instead, Halstead helps Ruzek and Atwater on another job that provided them the name of the  behind the construction site robbery (and the murder of the security guard), a man named Kevin "Red" Radner and Charlie is involved.

Halstead encourages Lindsay to tell the truth, so she reveals the whole truth to Voight, and Charlie and his compatriots are arrested, and the water-gel explosives are secured. At that point, Charlie reveals the ace up his sleeve: he claims to have information about a murder, one that implicates Lindsay’s best friend, Annie – who is also the mother of Charlie’s young son. Lindsay counters, promising to protect her friend, and suggests to Charlie that if he wants any future with his son, he’d be wise to stop.

To that end, Charlie reveals that Radner was the triggerman on the security guard murder, and gives up his location.  But Nadia makes a timely reappearance, and remembers the warehouse in question – Voight’s squad don’t – from her days as a prostitute. The team swoop in, but are spotted and a shootout ensues. Lindsay and Halstead pursue in their car and Lindsay shoots out the tyres, and kills Red whilst Halstead takes care of the driver.

Voight learns that Jin is the mole and confronts the tech wizard about it. Voight is seething, though Jin reveals that Stillwell is using him, blackmailing him and threatening to expose his father’s gambling debts, so Voight lets him go.

Dawson goes home and finds that Laura has left with their children, presumably as a result of their earlier argument.

As Atwater joins Intelligence, Burgess is partnered with a lazy and disinterested partner who would prefer to sleep on the job rather than catch crooks.  She requests Platt to assign her a better partner, and when Ruzek goes to Burgess’ apartment, to console her after missing out on intelligence, things escalate between them and look set to end in the bedroom.

The final scene of the season is Voight arriving at a snow-covered location, presumably a park or something, where Stillwell is looking over Jin’s dead body.

My Thoughts: It wasn’t a huge surprise to learn that Lindsay’s old friend was a bad guy. What we know of her life – drug-addled teenager than Criminal Informant for Voight – before she became a cop, but the interesting thing was what he had on her. Turns out, it was information on a murder that Lindsay's best friend committed years before.

Lindsay sticking up for a friend, but it’s another example of how loyal she is. Sophia Bush does a great job balancing her steely edge as a cop with her empathy for her friends. I thought we’d maybe see Severide make an appearance, but alas, the crossovers will have to wait for another year.

Epic ending. Didn’t see Dawson’s wife leaving – it sort of came out of nowhere, off the back, presumably, of that one argument – and I certainly didn’t think we’d see Jin’s dead body at the very end. I figured he’d be flipped by Voight to look into Stillwell. So the real question now is who killed him? Hopefully we don’t have to wait too long into the premiere of Season Two to find out! If it’s gotta be a choice between Stillwell and Voight, I’m leaning towards the IA guy, but it could, of course, be completely unrelated.