Category: Regional Sports

BUFFONE: Super Bowl Showdown

by John Buffone

For football fans in New York, New England and cities everywhere, all eyes will be glued to the action Sunday night when the Giants take on the Patriots (-3) in Super Bowl XLVI. The Patriots will try to avenge their 2007 Super Bowl loss the Giants in which New York ruined the Patriots’ aspirations at a perfect undefeated season. To the chagrin of Pats fans everywhere though, the Giants are primed to once again defeat the Patriots become champions. When it comes down to brass tacks, New York simply has a better football team than New England. The Giants come into this game on a hot streak that they have been riding since the playoffs started and have the mental edge after they were able to defeat the Patriots back in November by a score of 24-20. Though the Patriots offense gets all the limelight (most concerning the ankle injury to tight end Rob Gronkowski), the Giants offense consisting of quarterback Eli Manning and receivers Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz and Mario Manningham have posted more points than New England in the postseason and have a better bolstered running game with a healthy Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs. As far as the defenses go, it isn’t even close. The New York defense is at last, fully healthy and is much better equipped than the Patriots defense that ranked 31st overall this season. That being said, the Giants are just better in more aspects of the game right now and will hoist their fourth Lombardi Trophy.

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categories BUFFONE - Sports Zone | February 3, 2012 | comments Comments (0)

BUFFONE: West Shamokin Losing Streak Will End in 2012

by John Buffone

Home school preferences put aside, I’m making the prediction that the West Shamokin football team will triumphantly end their losing streak in 2012. The Wolves have lost a record 44 games and haven’t tasted victory since 2007. The 2012 WPIAL football schedules were recently released with West Shamokin moving down to Class A. The Wolves will face the likes of Leechburg, Wilkinsburg, Riverview and South Side Beaver that combined for a total of three wins in 2011. Unfortunately for the Wolves, they open up the season against Springdale who is widely regarded as one of the most solid Class A teams in Pennsylvania. The Wolves also face tough foes in Northgate and Avonworth in the first month of their 2012 campaign. The West Shamokin program has had a boost of interest since the class change was announced, reportedly having close to eighty 9th-11th grade students sign a preliminary sign-up sheet for football. What will be interesting to see however, is how the WSHS players and fans react if the Wolves stumble out of the gate in 2012 and find themselves in familiar waters. It will be vital for the WSHS faithful to keep spirits up as they fight through a front-heavy schedule on their way to a less challenging back end of the season where they face Wilkinsburg, South Side Beaver and Leechburg in consecutive weeks. Despite the status of their psyche in the middle of the season, I’m calling it right now that the four years of misery will end in 2012 and I’ll be one of the first to storm the field if it happens at Jack E. Boyer Stadium.

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categories BUFFONE - Sports Zone | February 2, 2012 | comments Comments (0)