Thursday, January 26, 2012

Peyton Manning's Future With Colts, Super Bowl Brief: Your Sports First NFL

Follow me on Twitter @curtisshawflagg

Hello my Avenue,

Welcome back to another edition of Your Sports First on BlvdAve. This week brought us a conclusion to the NFL Conference Championship games, giving us a repeat of the 2007 Super Bowl match-up between the New England Patriots and the New York Football Giants.


Peyton's Future In Indianapolis


Is Peyton done? Or is there more in the tank?
Eli Manning and the Giants will travel to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN, but he won't be the only Manning in discussion over the next few weeks. Lucas Oil is the home of the Indianapolis Colts, a team led by Manning's older brother and future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning. Peyton sat out this season with a neck injury, the Colts went on to win just two games, earning the No. 1 overall draft pick.

Peyton Manning has meant more for the Colts over the past decade then any other athlete in professional sports. Manning turned a 3-13 Colts team into a 13-3 within a season. And the Colts never looked back, finishing with no less than 10 wins twice in over 13 season's. Not only has Peyton turned the Hoosier state into a football state, he has emblazoned his name on the local Indianapolis Children's Hospital, now named the "Peyton Manning Children's Hospital". To say that Peyton Manning is the Indianapolis Colts is a true understatement.

Which makes this situation none like any other of it's kind. For the first time in football history we have a quarterback of Manning's elite level potentially up for grabs. Why you ask? Manning's neck injury has been the most perplexing of injuries of the 2012 season, and with the potential of landing a young quarterback like Stanford's Andrew Luck or Baylor's Robert Griffin III, and Peyton Manning approaching his 36th birthday, the Colts are stuck between a rock and hard place.

It has been widely asserted that a 36yr old, 60% Peyton is still better than taking a shot on a rookie QB to develop. With Manning on the field, Colts offensive coordinators have an easier job drawing a game plan, because they practically don't have to. Manning has long ran the offense from the line of scrimmage, being allowed to audible at his own volition. The Colts offense has been ran almost solely by Manning for over the past decade. Which makes this situation a little more volatile. Since the Colts are "blowing up" the franchise in light of "change", do they include Manning and his cerebral approach to the teams offense. Without Manning it is without doubt that the organization would have to go another route with the way they approach the offensive side of the ball.

The Colts, who have been a staple of stability in the NFL, have completely overhauled the organization. From the firing of team president and GM Bill Polian to the axing of head coach Jim Caldwell, the team clearly is taking a step in the next direction. Now with the hiring of Ravens defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano, it seems that the Colts are clearly going in the other direction. It is presently unclear whether or not Peyton Manning is apart of those plans moving forward.

Then there is the $28mil owed to Peyton.

The Colts will owe Manning over $28mil this season, due to contract language. A well deserved amount of money for a leader and face of the organization. It can be argued that the site of the 2012 Super Bowl Lucas Oil Stadium is the "house that Peyton built", as he has brought millions of dollars in ticket sales and ad revenue to the team that enabled them to launch the $735mil construction. No Peyton Manning, no 2012 Indianapolis Super Bowl. Period.

Note to Colts: In this situation you can have your cake and eat it too.


Until We Meet..... Again.
The New England Patriots are a clear definition of a modern day dynasty. In a time where free agency, trades, and a win now attitude shape the way business is conducted in the NFL, it is hard for teams, even Super Bowl winners, to repeat success. That hasn't been the case for the New England Patriots over the past 11 seasons, have reached the playoffs eight times, of those eight appearances they won 3 Super Bowls. All of this under head coach Bill Belichick and with quarterback and future Hall of Famer Tom Brady.

The duo own the records for most playoff wins by a head coach/quarterback combo, and also are positioning for the all-time Super Bowl record for a HC/QB combination. The Pats have went to the Super Bowl 4 times under the evil empire. losing only to the team in which they face in two weeks, the New York Giants in 2007. The Patriots at the time were 18-0, looking to complete a historic season.

The Giants sacked Tom Brady 5 times, the most he had been touched in an entire undefeated season. Eli Manning was money when it mattered, scoring two touchdowns in the 4th quarter and executing perhaps the most memorable play in Super Bowl history, hitting David Tyree on the Giants final drive, sticking the ball literally on the receivers helmet is what is now called the "Gum-helmet catch".



Plaxico Burress aka. "Cheddar Bob" ended up scoring the game winning touchdown that lifted the Giants over the Patriots 17-14, giving the Giants organization their first Super Bowl win in over 17 years. And fueling the debate on who is the more successful Manning, Peyton or Eli.

The Pats' and Giants will meet on February 5, 2012 at 6:29pm ET.


When Twitter Goes Wrong.....
Twitter has now become for many the primary source for information by the minute. When news breaks, it is typically Twitter that gets the information before the Associated Press. From Rob Lowe to Jessica Capshaw and T.O., many celebs are using the platform to expell information to their fans and followers first, then the national media.

But there is another side to Twitter, the vulnerability of an account, that has some people raising their eyebrow. In the case of San Francisco 49er Kyle Williams, that couldn't be more evident. The second year players was the most recent victim of Twitter-hate, receiving death threats and personal attacks after two consecutive miscues during the NFC Championship Game that seemed to have cost San Francisco an opportunity to play in the Super Bowl. Williams muffed a punt and fumbled another, both costing the 49er's the ball and leading to two scores, icing the game for the Giants.




Williams received Tweets like,

@KyleWilliams_10. I hope you, youre wife, kids and family die, you deserve it"
"@KyleWilliams_10 HOPE U RUN n2 A BULLET DA WAY U RAN INTO DAT BALL..."
"Jim Harbaugh, please give @KyleWilliams_10 the game ball. And make sure it explodes when he gets in his car." 


 Williams has since seen a multitude of support ranging from Deion Sanders to 49er President Jed York. However the outlash from followers may change the way he Williams looks at Twitter forever.


Stay tuned to BlvdAve for more sports updates and NBA news!
Also read more from me @ www.chicagonow.com/asiseeit

Weekend Box Office Results January 20, 2012 - January 22, 2012





Sorry for delivering this so late in the week guys, but here it is.
Heres the # 1 movie at the box office last week:







TW
Title Studio Weekend
Total Week
1
Underworld Awakening Screen Gems (Sony)
$25,306,725

$25,306,725
1
2
Red Tails 20th Century Fox, Lucasfilm
$18,782,154

$18,782,154
1
3
Contraband Universal Pictures
$12,039,605

$45,937,525
2
4
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close Warner Bros. Pictures
$10,045,332

$10,737,239
1
5
Beauty and the Beast 3D Walt Disney Pictures
$8,779,676

$33,588,056
2
6
Haywire Relativity Media
$8,425,370

$8,425,370
1
7
Joyful Noise Warner Bros. Pictures
$5,917,437

$21,745,419
2
8
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol Paramount Pictures
$5,554,254

$197,363,441
6
9
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Warner Bros. Pictures
$4,515,497

$178,321,726
6
10
The Iron Lady The Weinstein Company
$3,684,279

$12,585,958
2
11
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Columbia Pictures (Sony)
$3,528,514

$94,553,582
5
12
War Horse DreamWorks Pictures
$3,150,502

$72,285,180
5

Sunday, January 22, 2012

In theaters NOW





Alright ladies and gents, we normally do this on fridays, but its been a busy week. Below is a couple movies that came out this weekend that you hopefully had a chance to go see, despite Jack Frost finally starting to rear its ugly, chilly head here in the states . As always we'll post box office results on either monday or tuesday. Peace !!!

- BlvdAve STAFF

Follow us on twitter @noemimediagroup

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close




Haywire


Red Tails


Underworld Awakening

The Hundreds Spring 2012 Lookbook

Mike P here. 
The Hundreds lookbook came out sometime last week but it has taken me a minute to post it up on here.  Pretty good looking stuff in my opinion - a lot of pastels, bright colors, and some real decent looking outerwear. Look out for their website to be updated in the next month or so, or if you're by one of their stores, check it out soon.

As always, follow me on twitter.

Friday, January 20, 2012

NFL Playoff Recap & Predictions: Your Sports First

Follow me on Twitter @curtisshawflagg
Also read more at www.chicagonow.com/asiseeit

Back at it again on the avenue. Another crazy week in sports, both NFL and NBA are in full effect. This weekend brought you crazy finishes, down right disrespectful blowouts, and flat out jaw dropping knockouts.

This week on BlvdAve, we bring you the top plays and stories of the week that was.....


Your Week In Sports




NFL Playoffs: Divisional Series


The NFC and AFC Divisional playoffs series were meant to be watched. If you look at my predictions for last week, you will clearly understand why. The way it works is like this, take everything you know about football, shine it up real nice, turn it sideways, and.... well you know the rest.




Let's take a look at this last week's NFL games and take a peek at the games that will determine who plays at Lucas Oil Stadium for Super Bowl XLVI:


NFC


San Francisco 49'ers 36 - New Orleans Saints 32


The Saints turned it over five times, end of story. No it was much more intriguing than that. The San Francisco 49'ers have played lights out defense for 17 weeks now, still holding opponents to no rushing touchdowns. The Saints ran for only 34 yards on 14 attempts, abandoning for Drew Brees to do what he does best, gun the ball. And that's what Brees did, passing for 462 yards, 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, something happened, but it wasn't Brees playing bad.

Alex Smith happened, and in a major way. The former No.1 overall draft pick has been long forgotten, lost in the wave of over 5 offensive coordinators, multiple head coaches, and no stability whatsoever in the front office. Alex Smith ignited a 49'ers offense that hadn't seen as much offense as they produced against the Saints ( 299yds passing, 3TD's ) since Week 11 against the Cardinals. Smith was automatic, hitting a struggling Michael Crabtree ( 25yds, 1TD, 3 drops ) and Vernon Davis ( 7 receptions, 180yds, 2TD's) to catapult the 49'ers to a sizzling last minute victory.

Shout out to oatmealninja123 for putting this together:






Denver Broncos 10 - New England Patriots 45


To say the Denver Broncos were treated would be an understatement. The New England Patriots put the Denver Broncos in a place where many thought they should have been at to begin with. Tom Brady looked like he set the clock back 10 years, the New England defense looked like they actually played football this season. The Patriots held the Broncos to season-best lows, by in some categories, more than 50yds off the season average ( 252yds passing (season avg 294), 103yds rushing (season avg 117 ).

Tim Tebow-time stood still in this match-up, as he was sacked 5 times, fumbled twice, and was overall frustrated by Bill Belicheck's chess like approach to game-planning against the unorthodox Broncos offense. Rob Gronkowski got 3 opportunities to try and pop burst the football on the ground, reaching pay-dirt against the Broncos 3 times for over 145yds. This was an all out drubbing of Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos, but at the end of the day, hats go off to Denver for pulling an improbable season and making this season one to remember.

And to send off Teb's properly:







 Baltimore Ravens 20 - Houston Texans 13


This was undoubtedly the most uninspiring game of the match-ups over the weekend, in my opinion. The Balitmore Ravens struggled offensively - and like expected - defensively held the Texans to 13pts. Ray Lewis had his Baltimore team fired up defensively, scoring 4 turnovers against the Texans, limiting Arian Foster (but not stopping) to 132yds and a touchdown.

Joe Flacco and the Baltimore offensive played mistake free football. Relying on the defense and managing a clock efficient game. Flacco did not throw an interception, the Ravens skill players didn't turn the ball over one time, and the Baltimore Ravens owned the time of possession against the Texans 31:20 to 28:40.

Bottom line, this was a good ol' fashioned football game.


New York Giants 37 - Green Bay Packers 20


If the games were played on paper, the Green Bay Packers would have already won the Super Bowl. Good thing you actually have to play the game. It is widely agreed that the bye-week tends to help teams who need a rest after a hard fought regular season. Although statistically many winners of their respective divisions in the regular season rarely win the Super Bowl, typically they make the Super Bowl. However, Super Bowl repeats are the most uncommon of the scenarios.

This makes the outcome of the Giants and Pack so titillating.

The Green Bay Packers came out to Lambeu Field as the underdog, having the week off and merely cruising into the playoffs, many had forgotten the dominance that carried this team to a near perfect 15-1 record. Maybe even they forgot. The Giants looked to regain their '07 form, bringing a ferocious four-man rush, making the soon-to-be crowned leagues MVP Aaron Rogers appear to be rattled and out of his comfort zone (outside the pocket).

Eli Manning and the Giants offense looked to continue their dominance, with a little help from a divine intervention. Manning out-threw Rogers 330yds to 264yds, slicing the suspect Packers offense for 3 touchdowns and one interception. However, it was a hail mary pass to Hakeem Nicks that sealed the Packers fate and gave the Giants a ticket to the dance, before the dance by the bay against the San Francisco 49'ers.

So as far as the paper champ Packers, you can take your regular season stats, shine it up real good, turn it sideways and.......







Playoff Match-Up Outlook 


NFC Championship Title Game


                      San Francisco 49'ers @ New York Giants

This game will reinforce the creed that 'defense wins championships'. The San Francisco 49'ers come into this match-up as not only the playoffs best defense, but the NFL's as well. Holding every team that lined up against them to one or fewer touchdowns rushing. On the offensive side, not only is the 2006 No.1 overall pick quarterback Alex Smith didn't just lead one San Francisco game-winning drive in the final three minutes against New Orleans, he led two. A 28yd run for score and the enigmatic, clutch pass to Vernon Davis with 9secs left on the clock.

The Giants are hitting their stride at the right time as well. Not even being expected to make the playoffs, they have help teams to 2 touchdowns or less in each of their last four games coming into this contest. Eli Manning and the Giants offense are firing on all cylinders as well. Although the rushing game was a league's worst coming into the playoffs, but in the last two games they have rushed for a total of 267yds, the highest two game total of the entire season. The two-headed beast of Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw were instrumental in the Giants Super Bowl win in 2007.

Prediction: New York come into the Bay with much swag and confidence. However San Fran has been playing this brand of football all season against the NFL's best. 49'ers defense proves too tough and Alex Smith and the Niners' offense keeps rolling.

San Francisco 49'ers 27 - New York Giants 20




AFC Championship Title Game


Baltimore Ravens @ New England Patriots
The New England Patriots obliterated the Denver Broncos defense, which stacked with the league's best throughout the season and in the defeat of the Pittsburgh Steelers. They dominated Denver in every phase of football in the AFC Divisional contest. Tom Brady threw a playoff record tying six touchdown passes, the Pats defense held the Tebow offense to 252 total yards of gain. The Patriots are playing playoff football at the right time.

On the contrary, the Baltimore Ravens are an opponent unlike many in the NFL. The most physical, smash-mouth team in the NFL, led by Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, two former Super Bowl champions who look to finish their distinguished careers on top with another. It's hard to tell what you will see in the offense, Ray Rice (21 attempts against Houston, season avg 17.1 attempts) needs to get the Ravens ground game going if quarterback Joe Flacco (176yds passing, 2TD's, 0INT) to effectively use the passing game against a suspect Patriots defense that seems to finding it's form at the perfect moment.


Prediction: The Baltimore Ravens have all the right pieces to beat the red-hot Patriots. However, every playoff game gives Tom Brady a chance to set himself apart on a historical perspective.With a win against the Ravens his playoff record would move to 15-4, the most by one player on a single team in NFL history. He is currently tied with first ballot Hall-of-Famer's Joe Montana (14-5 49'ers), Terry Bradshaw (14-5 Steelers), and John Elway (14-8 Broncos). 


Look for something spectacular from Tom Brady, but a hard fought game has seasoned New England head coach Bill Bellicheck out-witting Ravens coach Jim Harbaugh, putting the Patriots back in the Super Bowl to continue their dominance of this generations NFL. 


Baltimore Ravens 27 - New England Patriots 34








Either way this is going to shape up to be another great weekend in the NFL. Check out Your Sports First next week to see how these predictions stacked up with the weekends games!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Weekend Box Office Results January 13, 2012 - January 16, 2012






Alright y'all, here's the box office results for this past holiday weekend. Going into the second weekend of January, the four-day Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, it seemed like it might be a close race between two very different movies, an adult crime thriller and a Disney 3D rerelease, but on Friday, it became quite clear that Mark Wahlberg's Contraband, which he co-produced and starred in with Kate Beckinsale, Giovanni Ribisi and Ben Foster, would win the weekend and that it did with $28.8 million in 2,863 theaters over the four day Martin Luther King Jr. weekend.After the successful rerelease of The Lion King 3D last September, Disney gave it another go with Beauty and the Beast 3D, a 3D conversion of the Oscar-winning film which had already been released on DVD and Blu-ray. That didn't matter to family audiences who went out to see it over the extended holiday weekend, amassing $23.5 million in over 2,600 theaters. This is added to the nearly $400 million the film already made in its theatrical runs since opening over 20 years ago.
The Tom Cruise action movie Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol continues to do big business as it took third place with $14.2 million over the four-day holiday, bringing its own total to $189.5 million.
Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton teamed for the musical comedy Joyful Noise, which ended up in fourth place with $13.8 million in 2,735 theaters, averaging roughly $5,000 per site.
Guy Ritchie's period action sequel Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, continued its run as the second-strongest holiday rerelease, bringing its running domestic total to $172.1 million with the $10.5 million it made for fifth place.

Check the list below for the rest of the weekend results and come back on friday to see the latest group of new films in theaters !!

Peace,

Tazo C - follow BlvdAve on Twitter at @noemimediagroup and @legendkillerzo

TW
Title Studio Weekend
Total Week
1
Contraband Universal Pictures
$28,816,000

$28,816,000
1
2
Beauty and the Beast 3D Walt Disney Pictures
$23,507,000

$23,507,000
1
3
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol Paramount Pictures
$14,200,000

$189,446,790
5
4
Joyful Noise Warner Bros. Pictures
$13,785,000

$13,785,000
1
5
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Warner Bros. Pictures
$10,505,000

$172,104,600
5
6
The Devil Inside Paramount Pictures
$9,175,000

$47,521,800
2
7
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Columbia Pictures (Sony)
$8,100,000

$89,280,850
4
8
Alvin and the Chipmunks - Chipwrecked 20th Century Fox
$7,825,000

$120,806,300
5
9
War Horse DreamWorks Pictures
$7,166,000

$67,337,900
4
10
We Bought a Zoo 20th Century Fox
$6,800,000

$65,288,500
4
11
The Iron Lady The Weinstein Company
$6,474,000

$7,061,600
1
12
The Adventures of Tintin Paramount Pictures
$5,225,000

$68,930,200
4


Saturday, January 14, 2012

In theaters NOW






Ok ladies and gents, its a new year but we're still on it !! Here's the latest movies to arrive in theaters this week. As always, we will deliver the box office results to you either monday or tuesday to let you know how these movies faired with the competition. Have a good weekend !!

Peace,

- Tim aka Tazo"Legend Killer" C

Follow us on twitter !


Contraband


Joyful Noise


The Divide


Loosies


Beauty and the Beast 3D

Thursday, January 12, 2012

NFL Playoff Predictions & NBA Notes

Follow me on Twitter @curtisshawflagg


Hello my avenue, welcome to a jam packed edition of Your Sports First on BlvdAve. Today we are going to cover the last couple weeks in the world of sports and take a look at a wild weekend ahead. So strap in, grab a coffee, soda, or energy drink and enjoy this week's edition of YSFOB. 



NBA


Rose Gold In Marketing Game


DRose is blooming icon
Derrick Rose was a miracle to Chicago. With only a 1.7% chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 draft the Bulls got a gift from a higher power, enabling the rebuilding team to land the hometown product, hailing from Chicago's Englewood neighborhood. Now he is set for life, recently signing a 5yr/$95mil contract extension with the Chicago Bulls. And it doesn't appear to be stopping there for the young star, Marc Stein reports that Adidas is positioning to offer Rose a $250mil "lifetime" contract for somewhere around ten years.

In 4 seasons, the 23 year old point guard has earned almost every accolade obtainable and isn't looking to stop anytime soon. Earning two All-Star nods, Rookie of the Year, and currently the reigning NBA MVP, Derrick even has a clause in the NBA's new Collective Bargaining Agreement, settled during the NBA Lockout. This enables young players such as Rose, entering the final years of their respective rookie contract, to earn a higher percentage of the teams salary if they earn MVP or All-NBA honors in the duration of the initial contract period.


*Special report on Rose injury, according to Yahoo Sports Court*, 
Reports are that Derrick Rose's injury is a sprain and not a potentially serious case of turf toe. He's officially day-to-day but was in a walking boot Wednesday and has to be considered questionable for Friday's game in Boston.


ATL-Hawk Down..

The Atlanta Hawks season may be in serious jeopardy, not even a full month into the season. Former Florida Gator national champion and All-Star Hawks center Al Horford went down with a diagnosed torn pectoral muscle. It is expected to sideline Horford for the next three months. 
Al Horford to miss 3 months

The Hawks now look to Zaza Pachilia to handle the bulk of the load in the frontcourt for the Hawks for the duration of Al's injury. I would expect Atlanta to make some small moves to coddle the blow of losing a player of Horford's level, as Puchilia doesn't appear to be the answer for nothing other than a temporary stop-plug. 

Atlanta is currently 6th in the Eastern Conference as a whole. They own the most wins against divisional opponents at 4-1. Their schedule is also favorable for the next month as they only play two teams with a record above .500 (San Antonio Spurs, Philadelphia 76'ers). If they have any hope of competing in this condensed schedule, they will have to capitalize on this month of ease in scheduling. 


Howard Breaks Wilt's Chamberlain's Record, With Help From Warriors

Birth of Hack-A-Howard?
Dwight Howard continues to prove his historical dominance in the NBA. Howard broke Wilt Chamberlain's nearly 50-year-old NBA record for most free throw attempts in a game, making 21 of 39 in the Orlando Magic's 117-109 victory over the Golden State Warriors. To much chagrin of Golden State, the Warriors did intentionally foul the notoriously bad free throw shooter throughout the contest. 


Howard however, made over 50% of his free throw attempts, which proved to be a major player in the Magic win. The hack-a-Shaq-esque technique was frustrating at moments, but also comical, as Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy stated, 


"I'm looking at them like, 'We're not going to run a play. He's going to foul him," Van Gundy said. "What are we going to bother with diagraming a play? Make the free throw, play some defense."

Howard finished with 45 points and 23 rebounds, but the mystique of his free-throw ills didn't shake the future Hall of Famer, 


"I just tried to be aggressive and get to the line. I didn't care if I missed 30," Howard said. "I was still going to go up there and shoot the next one with confidence."



NFL Playoff Preview 


AFC Match-up


                     Denver Broncos vs New England Patriots 


A changing of the guard?
The AFC undoubted has the most marquee match-up of the weekend, with the Denver Broncos heading into New England to face the Patriots for the divisional title. The Denver Bronco/Tim Tebow story has captivated the nation. Their stunning upsetting of the Pittsburgh Steelers just added to the resume of improbable, against all odds wins that the team has seemed to pull out. Regardless of all the criticism, Tim Tebow seems setting records and leads the No.1 rushing attack, as well as the No.1 most popular tag, a poll ran by ESPN named the quarterback as the most popular athlete in all of sports. 


But with all the aesthetics aside the New England Patriots could care less about the heroic game endings and the likability poll. The Pat's met the Broncos in week 15 and dismantled the Tebow train, ending the Broncos 6 game winning streak. The Patriots also herald the worst defenses remaining in the post-season. According to Elias Sports Bureau, no team with a defense ranked outside of the top 25, have ever went on to win a Super Bowl. 


Something to keep your eye on when you watch what will undoubtedly be the highest rated playoff game in NFL history. 


Prediction: Denver 27 - New Engand 25





                New Orleans Saints vs San Francisco 49ers

Can Brees keep the magic in a bottle?
This match-up is by far the most perplexing of all the match-ups this weekend. The New Orleans Saints roll into this game as the NFL best offense, and the 49'ers come in as the undoubted best defense still in the playoffs. The Saints had the best statistical season offensively in NFL history and quarterback Drew Brees surpassed great Dan Marino as the single season leader in passing yards ever with 5,476yds.

The 49'ers finished the season with record pace as well. Allowing fewer rushing touchdowns than any other team in the Super Bowl era. They also only allowed 77ypg on the ground against opponents, good for first in the NFL. So the age old question will be raised in this game, does defense win championships? Or is this a new era in the NFL and teams must put points on the boards in spades in order to advance to big dance?

Stay tuned for the answer......

Prediction: Saints 30- 49'ers 23






NFC Match-up


                     Houston Texans vs Baltimore Ravens


Is this Ray Lewis final round?
This should prove to be an old school defensive battle between two of the leagues better defenses. The Texans had the leagues best defense for the majority of the season, leading many to say that the acquisition of Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips was the single most pivotal front office signing of the season. Phillips took a Texans defense from middle of the pack to the leagues best in just one season. The Houston Texans also fought through adversity, losing starting quarterback Matt Shaub - and help from Indianapolis - to take control of the AFC South and making the playoffs for the first time in their short existence. 


The Baltimore Ravens on the other hand have a tradition of defense. Winning Super Bowl XXXV in 2000, the Ravens defense is historically great, and historically historic. Ray Lewis (36) and Ed Reed (33), to pillars of the Super Bowl Ravens team are one of few remaining and both are aging in a league where youth is taking to experience. But with production not seeing any signs of dropping I expect these two to play three more high caliber seasons before they gracefully exit into the analysts booths. 


This one is for the ol' school football heads. 


Prediction: Houston 17 - Baltimore 23 (safety)






                   New York Giants vs Green Bay Packers

Smooth sailing for Rogers?
This NFC match-up is a repeat of the 2007 game where the Giants went on to win and advance to win the Super Bowl. That team however, was the leagues most dominant defensively, not the case this season. The defense is middle of the pack but backed by Eli Manning and a passing attack the rivals 2/3 of the NFL. Manning's 4,933yds would have lead the league in any other season, but five other quarterbacks passed for over 5,000yds, the first of it's kind in NFL history. 


Maybe it's because the Packers had a bye for the first round of the playoffs that many forget that the Packers HAD A BYE for the first week of the playoffs. And flirted with an undefeated season in the process. Aaron Rogers pretty much wrapped up the MVP voting by season's midpoint, despite Drew Brees making history. The Packer's offense rolled but it's defense never really found stride, and they suffered key injuries down the stretch marring a near perfect season with playoffs doubts.

Sounds alot like last year......

Prediction: Giants 24 - Packers 42



Monday, January 09, 2012

stfuMikeP on the AVE: Strapped: The Nike SB Dunk Mid Strap Returns!

Oh what a glorious day!

Mike P here for yet another Nike SB update.

If you know me, my favorite SB Dunk model has, and always will be, the strapped Mid.  The first SB Dunk I ever bought was a Mid with the strap.  The strap on the Mid is what separates it from looking like a dwarfed version of the Dunk Hi and gives it that extra boost of character and uniqueness.

Like many, I was extremely disappointed when Nike SB decided to temporarily do away with the strap on the Mid.  It was said that they scrapped the strap to lower production cost.  Well, as it seems, the Mid sales must have been shit without the strap because this so-called strapless mid didn't make it very long.  Lasting around a year, the Nike SB Dunk Mid has returned to their roots with their first look at the newest "strapped" model.  Take a look:

If you take a closer look at the enlarged version of this shot, you really get to see the detail that is going into this shoe.  As being dubbed on the N-SB forums as the "Blue Lobster" Mid, this is one beautiful pair of kicks.  The buttery-soft suede sits on the toebox, midpanel, and heel, while some kind of detailed leather takes over the swoosh, strap, around the toebox, up the eyelits, and down the back strap.  The midsole comes in at a nice dark blue sitting on top of the light blue outsole (extremely resembling the Blue Lobsters).

I think it is safe to say that the return of the strap on the Nike SB Dunk Mid is going to be welcomed with open arms, especially with this bomb colorway.

AS ALWAYS, FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER AND CHECK OUT THE TUMBLR!
(catch my drift?)

No official release date set yet for these, however, they are part of the Fall 2012 line, so expect Belmont Army and Uprise to be getting these in fall!

photos courtesy of n-sb.org

Weekend Box Office January 6, 2012 - January 8, 2012




Ok ladies and gents, here we are with another recap of this weekend's box office results. The film "The Devil Inside" took the throne from the latest installment of the "Mission:Impossible" films, raking in $34.5 Million at the box office. The aforementioned M:I movie took the number 2 position and Robert Downey's "Sherlock Holmes" sequel continues to do very well at box office. Check back this friday for the latest movies in theaters as we here at BlvdAve get back into the swing of things to continue to bring our faithful BlvdAve viewers the latest and greatest news on fashion, sports, and entertainment !!!
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TW LW Title Studio Weekend
Total
1 - The Devil Inside Paramount Pictures
$34,500,000

$34,500,000

2 1 Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol Paramount Pictures
$20,500,000

$170,200,900

3 2 Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Warner Bros. Pictures
$14,055,000

$157,415,000

4 4 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Columbia Pictures (Sony)
$11,300,000

$76,836,000

5 3 Alvin and the Chipmunks - Chipwrecked 20th Century Fox
$9,500,000

$111,588,400

6 5 War Horse DreamWorks Pictures
$8,603,000

$56,828,200

7 6 We Bought a Zoo 20th Century Fox
$8,450,000

$56,544,100

8 7 The Adventures of Tintin Paramount Pictures
$6,600,000

$61,880,300

9 - Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy Focus Features
$5,700,000

$10,418,400

10 8 New Year's Eve New Line Cinema (Warner Bros.)
$3,265,000

$52,025,800

11 9 The Darkest Hour Summit Entertainment
$3,140,000

$18,706,300

12 10 The Descendants Fox Searchlight Pictures
$2,525,000

$43,941,500

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