On Sunday, the two NFL conference championship games were played. They continued to be quite entertaining. In the first game, the Cincinnati Bengals completed one of the biggest comebacks in NFL history. Down 21-3 in the second quarter, they came back and beat the favored Kansas City Chiefs. It was a game of two halves.
In the first half, the Chiefs were going up and down the field and seemingly dominating the game. The whole game changed in the last two minutes of the first half when the Bengals were able to score on a 44-yard run for a touchdown to cut the lead to 11 points at halftime. With under a minute to go in the half, the Chiefs were in the red zone with a great chance to score another touchdown, but it didn’t happen, and the Bengals took all the momentum from there. I was cheering for the Chiefs to make it to the Super Bowl because of Chiefs coach Andy Reid's connection with the Eagles, but I am happy for the Bengals because they haven’t made the Super Bowl since 1989.
In the other game, the Los Angeles Rams beat the San Francisco 49ers by the score of 20-17. The Rams also came back from a 10-point deficit, winning on a field goal deep in the fourth quarter and a game-ending interception.
With how great the championship games were, I hope that the Super Bowl is an exciting and close game. I don’t have a favorite team. I will preview the Super Bowl in next week's article.
Over the last two weeks, the Australian Open tennis tournament was contested. The two champions for men and women singles were well-known names, but one was expected and one wasn’t. On the women’s side, Ashley Bardy of Australia is the No. 1-ranked player in the world, and she was one of the favorites to win the tournament from the start, and she didn't disappoint. Ashley was the first Aussie woman to win the title since 1978. For you trivia buffs, she beat U.S. unknown Danielle Collins in straight sets.
Rafael Nadal was not expected to even contend for the tournament title because he had serious knee surgery after last year‘s French Open and hadn't played in a big tournament for about six months. Everyone knows the situation with Novak Djokovic. I personally do not understand his logic. Why would you want to miss a grand slam tournament that you have won nine times? Let’s just say it was fitting that Nadal won the tournament to break the tie for career grand slam wins with Djokovic and Federer at now 21 and counting. So far, nobody knows whether Djokovic will be allowed to play in the French Open or Wimbledon.
The Winter Olympics have officially started. I’ll be watching as much as possible, like I always do. The games will be broadcast on NBC, USA and the Peacock streaming service. Go USA!
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A 2002 Cape grad and 2007 UD grad, Lewes resident Sumner Spence is one of the Cape area's biggest sports fans. Although he’s used a wheelchair his entire life, he has lived vicariously through his sports-playing father, brother, and friends, who gave him his love of sports. He hopes to provide new and interesting perspectives on the sports stories and issues of the day. Email Sumner at sumspence@gmail.com.
