Good morning! It is a chilly one today in Philadelphia with a high of 48 degrees with clouds in the morning but sun in the afternoon. The Sixers are in action tonight at the Wells Fargo Center at 7 pm against the New York Knicks. The Eagles are on national television tonight as they visit New Orleans to take on the Saints at 8:30 pm on ESPN.
The Sixers kicked off a busy Sunday yesterday at noon when they went up to Madison Square Garden in the first game of a home-and-home against the Knicks. The Knicks shot nearly 51% from the field and hit 11 3-pointers en route to a 100-84 win. J.R. Smith was 4-for-5 from beyond the arc to fuel his 20 points off the bench. The Sixers committed 18 turnovers, six from Jrue Holiday. Holiday added 27 points, seven assists, and two rebounds. Guard Nick Young was -29 on the day. More here.
For those Eagles fans who want Andy Reid fired and can't think of a good replacement, yesterday brought great news. Sean Payton, suspended head coach of the New Orleans Saints, had his multiyear contract extension voided by the league making him a free agent at the end of the year. There are no indications whether Payton is interested in leaving New Orleans or would be interested in heading north to a place like Philadelphia. More here.
The new BCS standings are out. Alabama remains the top team after a major scare from LSU on Saturday. Kansas State solidified their No. 2 seed and Oregon's big win over USC moves them up one spot to No. 3. Notre Dame, who needed three overtimes to top Pitt, fell from No. 3 to No. 4 and Georgia rounds out the top 5. Full standings here.
The Giants and Steelers matched up in the marquee afternoon game. The Giants jumped out to a 14-7 behind some very questionable calls in their favor. The Giants held a 20-10 edge heading into the fourth quarter. Less than a minute into the fourth quarter, Ben Roethlisberger found Mike Wallace across the middle of the field who absolutely burned the Giants secondary to cut the lead to 20-17. The Steelers had the ball on the 3 yard line and, instead of kicking the field goal to tie the game, they ran a fake and were stopped by the Giants defense. Later the Steelers moved the ball down the field and Isaac Redman scored the go ahead score. They left a lot of time on the clock for Eli Manning but unfortunately he could not get it done. The loss drops the Giants to 6-3. More here.
The Cowboys faced off against the undefeated Atlanta Falcons on Sunday Night Football last night. The Cowboys got on the board first with a field goal and added a second in the first quarter. The Falcons' Matt Bryant missed his first field goal attempt. The Cowboys lead 6-0 after the first. The Falcons got two field goals in the second quarter to tie it up at six and halftime. Following a scoreless third quarter, the Falcons took a 13-6 lead on a Michael Turner three yard rush. They would go up 10 after a Bryant field goal. The Cowboys would cut into the lead on a Kevin Ogletree touchdown with five minutes remaining but it wasn't enough as the Falcons would hold on for a 19-13 win. The Falcons move to 8-0 while the Cowboys fall to 3-5. More here.
Reigning Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III and the Redskins sported throwback uniforms in hopes of pulling closer to .500. Former Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton and the Panthers had other ideas. Despite falling behind 3-0 the Panthers would got on to outscore the Panthers 21-3 before the 2 minute warning in the 4th quarter. Newton threw for 201 yards and one touchdown. Griffin threw for 215 yards and was sacked four times and no touchdowns through the air or on the ground. More here.