The Cincinnati Bengals moved to 8-3 and took a firm grip on the AFC North by defeating the Cleveland Browns 16-7 on Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium. The win puts them at 6-0 inside the division, marking the first time in franchise history that the team finished divisional play with a perfect record.

THE GOOD
Running Attack – Playing without their top rusher, Cedric Benson, for the second straight week, the Bengals got solid efforts from their backup running backs. Newcomer Larry Johnson led all rushers with 107 yards on 22 carries. Rookie Bernard Scott added 87 yards on 18 attempts.

Rush Defense – For the game, the Bengals outgained Cleveland on the ground 210 yards to 58 yards. It marked the seventh straight game (franchise best) that the team ceded less than 100 rushing yards.

Special Teams – The Bengals took Cleveland’s best weapon, return man Joshua Cribbs, out of the game. Rookie punter Kevin Huber did a good job keeping the ball away from him. How about the crushing blow delivered by Maurice Purify. Kicker Shayne Graham hit three field goals, including a huge 53-yarder with no time left on the clock at the end of the first half.

Steelers Lose – With Pittsburgh losing to Baltimore on Sunday night, the Bengals now have a two-game lead over both of their division foes and have a tiebreaker advantage over both teams.

THE BAD
Pass Protection – The offensive line struggled to keep Cleveland’s pass rushers off of quarterback Carson Palmer all day long.  The Browns’ no-name defense provided consistent pressure and had Palmer out of whack all day long.

Penalties – If the Bengals are going to make some noise during the playoffs they’ll need to clean up their penalties. The yellow flags came out early and often as the team was penalized 10 times for 75 yards. Against good teams, that’s enough to beat you.

THE UGLY
Scoring Offense – The team is still struggling to put opponents away.  If you allow teams to stick around late in games, anything can happen. Since scoring 45 points against Chicago on October 25, the offense has fizzled. They have scored less than 20 points in six of their last seven games and eight times this season.

QUOTE TO NOTE
“Well, I wish it would give us something, but it doesn’t give us anything. It’s one of our goals, to always win the games in the division, and this football team has a great understanding of that. It’s a good accomplishment. I thank you, and we should take the praise because it is an accomplishment, but it just moves us on to another opportunity next week. We’ve got to move on and get ready for the Detroit Lions.” – head coach Marvin Lewis on sweeping the division

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Here are some of the injuries from Sunday to keep your eyes on:

QUARTERBACKS
Mark Sanchez (leg) - suffered leg injury, but returned to game
Eli Manning (foot) - stress reaction threatening season

RUNNING BACKS
Michael Turner (ankle) - reaggrevated earlier injury
Bernard Scott (toe) - battling turf toe

WIDE RECEIVERS
DeSean Jackson (head) - knocked out of game with concussion

TIGHT ENDS
Brent Celek (thumb) - sprained thumb; x-rays negative

DEFENSE
DL Shaun Rogers (leg) - will miss rest of season
LB Shawne Merriman (foot) - forced from game; status unclear
DB Charles Tillman (head) - knocked out of game; did not return

MORE INJURY NEWS (Rotoworld.com)

Fantasy Football, NFL nfl injuries, injury report, week 12

QB Game Ball - Vince Young, Tennessee - 27/43, 387 yards, 1 TD
Don't look now but the Titans are creeping their way into the playoff race. They have now won five in a row with Young at the helm. The latest win came with no time left when Young found Kenny Britt in the end zone to top the Cardinals. This was the first game, though, that Young put the team on his shoulders and easily set a season high in yardage. Chris Johnson still did a solid job with 154 yards and a score and the Titans D held Arizona to just 17 points.

QB Honorable Mention - Brett Favre, Minnesota - 392 yards, 3 TD (Season totals - 24 TDs, 3 Int, 10-1 record - MVP?)

RB Game Ball - Justin Forsett, Seattle - 22 carries, 130 yards, 2 TD
No one has run the ball well for the Seahawks since the depature of Shaun Alexander. But Forsett did his best impersonation against the Rams on Sunday. The second-year back actually ran for more yards than Matt Hasselbeck threw. Of course, St. Louis does not have much of a defense. But Julius Jones may not have a job when he returns from injury.

RB Honorable Mention - Larry Johnson, Cincinnati - 22 carries, 107 yards (not bad for the second game with his new team.)

WR Game Ball - Donald Driver, Green Bay - 7 catches, 142 yards, 1 TD
Driver won a big Turkey award thanks to his big game against the Lions on Thanksgiving. While Greg Jennings seems to have fallen off the map, Driver has not missed a beat since the depature of Favre. The Packers are also in the running for a Wild Card spot and will count on the veteran heavily during the stretch run.

WR Honorable Mention - Terrell Owens, Buffalo - 5 catches, 96 yards, 1 TD (another Bills win, another big day for T.O

The Game Used Sock Award - Jake Delhomme, Carolina - 14/34, 130 yards, 0 TD, 4 INT
This isn't the first dirty sock for Delhomme and likely won't be his last. The Panthers seem to have a great mix with a solid rushing attack and good defense. But it is their QB that always seems to let them down. After Sunday's loss to the Jets Carolina might just be out of the playoff race. And even though Delhomme has plenty of wins under his belt he has quite a few stinky socks in his drawer.

Stinky Sock Honorable Mention - Brady Quinn, Cleveland - 15/34, 100 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT (no interceptions is a big improvement for any Browns QB.)

Fantasy Football, NFL game balls, fantasy advice, week 12

Even Charlie Weiss is now freely admitting that he should be replace in South Bend. So, of course the online bookmakers have seen this as a great betting opportunity. BetUs.com has set Cincinnati head coach Brian Kelly as the favorite to be leading the Fighting Irish in 2010. If you are looking for a great ROI on your bet, then I would suggest Kirk Ferentz at +1200. A $100 bet pays out $1200.

Who will be the coach of Notre Dame in 2010:

Urban Meyer +300
Brian Kelly -135
Jim Harbaugh +500
Chip Kelly +500
Kirk Ferentz +1200
Bob Stoops +450
John Gruden +3000
Mike Shanahan +3000
Chris Peterson +700

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The latest BCS Rankings and college football polls have been released and the Florida Gators still regin:

COMPLETE RANKINGS

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Looking for some good gift ideas, check out Wired's Wish List:

Archos 5 Internet Tablet
Could 2010 be the year of the tablet? If so, the Archos 5 is already the one to beat. Equipped with a juiced-up ARM processor and running Android, it's just a centimeter thick and boasts everything from Wi-Fi and 3.5G wireless to GPS. Throw in a growing fleet of apps and the ability to crank out 720p video and you have a potent portable.

COMPLETE LIST OF GIFTS

Just For Fun gift ideas, wish list

from CollegeHoops.net:

UK’s supremely-talented freshman point guard has more than lived up to his advance billing through the first month of the season. Suspended for the first regular season game, all Wall did in his debut against Miami (Oh.) was score 19 points, dish out five assists and register three steals. Oh yeah, and he also managed to hit the game-winning jumper with a hand in his face and less than a second on the clock. Not a bad start huh?

Since then, the Wall show has been in full effect. The Raleigh product is averaging just under 20 points per game so far, to go along with 6.6 assists and four rebounds.  He was named MVP of the Cancun Challenge, and has done nothing to dissuade talk of him being the top pick in next summer’s NBA Draft.

COMPLETE ARTICLE

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According to sources, a group of five owners approached the 75-year-old Selig about remaining on the job beyond the end of his contract, which expires after the 2012 season.

It was the same kind of approach that had been used to convince him to stay in charge at least two other times, the first being after he stepped in as head of the executive council to lead ownership after Fay Vincent was forced to resign as commissioner in 1992. Selig’s tenure most recently had been scheduled to end in 2009, but his deal was extended quietly in early 2008.

This time, according to sources, Selig told the owners he will step aside after 2012 — not because he is tiring but because he has other things to do while he’s able.

COMPLETE ARTICLE (Boston Herald)

MLB bud selig

MLBTradeRumor.com's Tim Dierkes projects where the top free agents will fall:

1.  Matt Holliday - Mets.  The Mets could grab headlines by signing Holliday to a six or seven-year deal for more than $100MM.

2.  John Lackey - Yankees.  Last winter's strategy of signing the best two starters and the best hitter available contributed to the Yankees' World Series title.  With rotation question marks after C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, it makes sense that the Yanks will pursue the best available starter in Lackey.

3.  Jason Bay - Red Sox.  It's been rumored the Red Sox are willing to offer four years and $60MM to Bay.  That seems to be a fair opening bid, given his defensive struggles.

4.  Chone Figgins - Angels.  The Angels have internal options at third base, but he'd be hard to let go after a career-high .395 OBP and excellent defense at the hot corner.

5.  Randy Wolf - Mets.  The Mets regrettably chose Oliver Perez over Wolf a year ago.  As the best available starter aside from Lackey, Wolf is primed to get a three-year deal worth more than $30MM.

MORE PROJECTIONS

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