All Talk Sports

No. 19 Clemson had the best team in the country on their heels the entire night.  Heading into overtime, Clemson had their home crowd behind them, as they look poised to upset No. 1 ranked North Carolina.  Holding Tyler Hansbrough to just 12 points, the Tigers were leading the Tar Heels 88-87 with just 5.4 seconds left in OT.  North Carolina’s Wayne Ellington was the hero of the game however, as he hit a 3-pointer, putting the Tar Heels up for good 90-87.

Clemson  played North Carolina as good as any team could possibly play them.  Not only was their play impressive, but holding Tyler Hansbrough to just 12 points is an amazing feat in itself.  Unfortunately for the Tigers, Wayne Ellington put the Tar Heels on his back.  The game winning 3-pointer gave Ellington a career high 36 points.

Looking to avenge their loss to the Detroit Pistons last month, the Boston Celtics came into Detroit’s home on Saturday and came out with a victory, defeating the Pistons 92-85. After watching both meetings between the two teams, it makes me proud to say that we NBA fans will finally have a legit rivalry in the NBA.

This growing rivalry features two of the best teams in the NBA going all out in the regular season, as if it were the playoffs. The games are close, and go back and forth, often with the game being decided in the last few minutes.  The only thing it lacks is bad blood between the two teams, which will undoubtedly change once the teams meet in the playoffs.

What I like most about the rivalry is the amount of talent on the floor when the two play each other. There is a total of seven NBA All-Stars playing in these games, which makes the games exciting to watch. I also like the player match-ups as well.  Garnett against Wallace is a joy to watch.  Not only that, but you have Pierce abusing Prince, and Billups abusing Rondo. Let’s not forget the Allen and Hamilton match-up as well. The two former Connecticut Huskies got into a small scuffle the first meeting.

The Celtics and the Pistons are going to be thorns in each other sides each and every  season.  Every time they face each other, the rivalry is going to get better and better.  I can’t wait for the playoffs.

With the Jacksonville Jaguars defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC wild-card game on Saturday, the Jags proved that they are going to be a handful match-up wise for any team that faces them in the playoffs. Thanks to the play of David Garrard, Jacksonville defeated Pittsburgh 31 to 29. The last time the Jags won a postseason game was in 1999, when they defeated the Miami Dolphins.

I really like the makeup of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Their run game is the second best in the league, thanks to the thunder and lighting combination of Taylor and Jones-Drew.  Taylor is having an amazing year, and ran with great power against the tough defense of the Steelers.  Jones-Drew is steadily becoming one of the most dynamic players in the league. He has the speed to gain yards on the outside, but also possesses the power to run inside the tackles.  Jones-Drew is tough to contain on kick off returns as well. 

While their run game deserves a lot of credit, their quarterback David Garrard can not get enough praise. Garrard stole the show from the run game, as he led the team in rushing with 58 yards. 32 of those yards came on a crucial 4th and 2 late in the game, that ultimately lead to a Jacksonville touchdown, giving them the lead for good.

Although the Jags did blow an 18 point lead against the Steelers, it was a great game with a great finish, with the better team coming out on top.