the mad sports man

in group A, the U.S. beat Denmark 4-1 to finish second in their group. meanwhile Sweden just beat Canada 5-2 to finish group A. Sweden finishes first with 12 points, the U.S. with 9, then Canada with 5, then Denmark with three then Switzerland with one. in group B, Russia beat out Slovakia 2-1 and Finland won a good one over the Czech Rep 5-4. Russia finishes first with 11 pts, then Finland with 9, then Cezch Rep with 7, then Slovakia with three and Belarus with none. the quarter final matchups are set. the quarter finals are January 2nd and features: Denmark vs Russia at 5am, Sweden vs Slovakia at 7am, Canada vs Finland at 9am and United States vs Czech Rep at 11am. all times Edmonton time.

day five has come to an end and it ended with the United States thumping 10-1. Switzerland will be facing Belarus in a best of three relegation round. earlier in group A Sweden blanked Denmark 5-0 and will finish first in group A. the U.S. is second with 6 pts, Canadat with 5, Denmark with 3 and Switzerland will finish last with 1 point, now that their tournament is done. in group B, Finland beat Slovakia 8-3, while the Czech Republic beat Belarus 5-3. Russia leads group B with 8 points, then Czech rep with 7, Finland with 6, Slovakia with 3 and Belarus with none. Belarus is also done with their tournament. Switzerland and Belarus will play for relegation, and Sweden will be facing Slovakia in one quarter final match up. the rest of the matchups will be decided tomorrow in the last day of round robin. tomorrows schedule has Denmark vs United States, Canada vs Sweden, Russia vs Slovakia and Finland vs Czech Republic. gonna be an interesting day.

Canada beat a competitive Switzerland 3-2 in a shoot out. Switzerland played real well throughout and even went up 2-0 after fifteen minutes. Canada finally got their legs going afterwards, got one late in the first, then tied it in the second. Canada won it in the shootout. Sweden still leads group A with 6 points, then Canada with 5, then the U.S. snd Denmark with three then Switzerland with one. in group B, Russia beat Belarus 4-1. two powerplay goals helped the result. Russia leads group B with 8 pts, then Czech rep with 4, then Finland and Slovakia with 3, then Belarus with none. tomorrow has Sweden vs Denmark, USA vs Switzerland, Slovakia vs Finland and Czech Rep vs Belarus. until then, later.

the Denver Broncos are into the post season with a 20-17 win over Cincinnati. they were trailing 14-0 early, but made the come back. they set themselves up for winning the AFC West division with either a win or a Kansas City loss. but that is for Sunday.

what a day three. Sweden beats the United States 1-0 despite being outplayed and outshot. wow. Canada rounds out group A with a 6-1 win over Denmark. Sweden leads the group with 6 points. the U.S. Canada and Denmark are in a three way tie with 3 points and Switzerland is last with zero. in group B, Russia rallied from 1-3 down to hang on and beat Finland 6-4. Czech rep beat Slovakia 2-0 in the other group b game. Russia leads the group with 5 points. Czech Rep had 4, Finland and Slovakia have three and Belarus has none. tomorrows games has Canada vs Switzerland and Belarus vs Russia. that is it for today

the Minnesota Vikings are in the playoffs after a rather convincing 49-17 win over the N.Y. Giants that wraps up all the NFC playoff spots. the Vikings will play the Packers for the NFC North next Sunday night in Green Bay.

by beating Green Bay 38-8, the Arizona Cardinals earned the NFC's second and final first round bye. they join the Carolina Panthers with the first round bye. no playoff clinches this afternoon. Minnesota can earn the NFC's last playoff spot with a win over the Giants tonight.

with the Pittsburgh Steelers losing, the Cincinnati Bengals have claimed the AFC North title, themselves not playing until tomorrow. also with the Steelers loss, plus their win over the Cleveland Browns, the Kansas City Chiefs clinched a playoff spot in the AFC. that makes two divisions and three spots left there. we will see who else joins Kansas City and Cincinnati this afternoon.

Denmark just scored a huge win over Switzerland, winning 2-1. it is Denmark's second ever world juniors win. (first won was last year over Switzerland and first in regulation). Denmark is in a three way tie with Sweden and the U.S. with three points win and Canada and Switzerland have no points. Switzerland has played two games to Canada's one. in group B, Slovakia beat Belarus 4-2 and sits tied for first in that group with Finland. Russia has two points, Czech Rep. has one and Belarus has none. that's it for today. tomorrow has Sweden vs the U.S. and Canada vs Denmark in group A and Slovakia vs Czech Rep and Russia vs Finland in group B.

the Washington Redskins are NFC Eastern division champs after a 38-24 win in Philadelphia over the Eagles. all they had to do was win and they did that. that clinched the 4th seed in the NFC. congrats.

its opening day of the world junior hockey tournament. Canada loses to the U.S. 4-2 to cap the evening. pretty even. the last two U.S. goals were scored on a deflection of a Canadian stick and the goaltender not closing his legs quick enough. the U.S. had the play advantage i thought. the u.s. and Sweden lead group A with three points - Sweden beat Switzerland 8-3. Canada and Switzerland with no points. in group B, Russia beat the Czech Republic 2-1 in the shoot out and Finland blew out Belarus 6-0. Finland leads group B with three points, Russia with two, Czech Rep with one and Belarus with none. tommorow has Denmark vs Switzerland and Belarus vs Slovakia. that is it for day one

at 9:48pm MST, the beginning of winter will commence. the shortest daylight hours of the year. after today, the daylight hours will get longer and longer. and on Friday, there will be a full moon. a full Christmas moon. first full Christmas moon since 1977. the next one, if i heard it right, will be in 2039. wow.

the Arizona Cardinals are NFC West division champions after blowing out Philadelphia 40-17. wasn't much of a contest in this game. no first round bye for them yet. stay tuned for more clinches next weekend.

the Cincinnati Bengals are in the playoffs after beating San Francisco 24-14. pretty much all they had to do to get into the playoffs. meanwhile the Patriots picked up a first round bye after Denver lost to Pittsburgh 34-27. we are getting into the serious meat and potatoes of the playoff run. who will get in, who will win their division and who will just miss out? stay tuned

by beating Cleveland 30-13, the Seattle Seahawks are into the playoffs - coupled with Tampa Bay and the Giants both losing. they will get their chance to defend their NFC championship. more playoffs spots to come

the Green Bay Packers are in the playoffs without hardly playing. with the N.Y. Giants and Tampa Bay Bucaneers both losing, the Packers got in. (Giants lost to Panthers in a thriller by the way). hopefully more to come later.

the N.Y. Giants hand the Patriots an early Christmas gift by beating Miami 31-24 and giving New England their 7th straight AFC East title a Christmas card and a thank you card is in order. next week, more playoff scenarios and possibilities

the New England Patriots are in the playoffs with a 27-6 win in Houston over the Texans. not much of a doubt. the Patriots can win the AFC East with a Miami Dolphins loss to the N.Y. Giants tomorrow (in a strength of victory situation with the Jets - i don't get it). on top of this, the Panthers have a first round bye after blowing out the Atlanta Falcons this afternoon 38-0. so there.

in a tight game, the Arizona Cardinals are into the post season with a 23-20 win over Minnesota. the win was all they needed. they can win the NFC West with a Seattle Seahawks loss on Sunday.

the Carolina Panthers are NFC South champions, and they didn't have to play a down. that is because the Tampa Bay Buccaneers helped them out by beating the Atlanta Falcons 23-19 early this afternoon, before the Panthers kicked off. congrats to the Panthers.