NFL unveils schedule, Thursday expansion
The NFL took the shrink wrap off its 2012 schedule Tuesday, unveiling a 256game regular-season slate that will permeate the primetime lineup more than ever before.
By expanding its presence on Thursday nights, the league will offer at least two weeknight games in the schedule’s first 15 weeks. However the defending champion New York Giants will host the Dallas Cowboys on September 5, a rare NFL Wednesday night, to kick off the season and avoid a conflict with US President Barrack Obama’s address at the Democratic National Convention the following night in a move the league had previously announced.
The opening weekend also will feature Peyton Manning’s debut with the Denver Broncos, who will host the Pittsburgh Steelers (ousted by Manning’s predecessor, Tim Tebow, in last season’s playoffs) on Sunday Night Football. Both games will air on NBC.
Week 1 will conclude with ESPN’S annual Monday Night Football doubleheader (Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens; San Diego Chargers at Oakland Raiders).
NFL Network’s Thursday night package kicks in the following week as the Green Bay Packers host the Chicago Bears in the league’s longestrunning rivalry. With the exception of a Thanksgiving tripleheader in Week 12 (November 22), NFL Network will air 13 contests between Weeks 2 and 15, ensuring all 32 teams will appear in prime time.
“You enjoy those moments when you have the opportunity to be the only show in town – that’s what you live for,” says NFL Network analyst Bucky Brooks, who played in the league from 1994 to 1998, of the added Thursday night games.
“And it’s like a mini-bye – you have 10 days before the next game.”
The New Orleans Saints’ schedule is sure to be scrutinized in the wake of the team’s bounty program scandal.
The club’s bye week lands in Week 6, meaning interim head coach Joe Vitt’s sixgame suspension won’t be completed until after the team’s Week 7 date at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on October 21.
GM Mickey Loomis’ eightgame suspension will be served after the team hosts the Philadelphia Eagles on November 5, a Monday night.
In what have become standard features, two international matchups are on the docket with the St. Louis Rams “hosting” the New England Patriots in London on October 28, while the Buffalo Bills will welcome the Seattle Seahawks to Toronto on December 16.
For the third consecutive year, Week 17 (December 30) will be composed of divisional matchups in an effort to maximize playoff ramifications in the regular-season finale.
Flex scheduling again will be implemented in Weeks 11 to 17 to maximize the best prime-time matchups.
Super Bowl XLVII will be played in New Orleans on February 3.
(USA Today/mct) NEW YORK – Carmelo Anthony continued his dominant play, registering his first triple-double as a Knick, but he also got the help he needed from his teammates Tuesday night to beat a quality playoff team.
Anthony had 35 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in the Knicks’ 118-110 win over the Celtics on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. But three other Knicks scored at least 20 points, including a career-high 25 from Steve Novak, who was huge in the fourth quarter.
Novak drilled back-to-back threepointers after the Celtics’ trimmed a 21-point deficit to six. The Knicks, who scored 72 points in the first half, hit 19 three-pointers. Novak had eight and J.R. Smith, who scored 25 points, made seven three-pointers. Tyson Chandler, who played despite a sore left knee, had 20 points and seven rebounds in 41 minutes.
The win kept the Knicks’ slim hopes of capturing the Atlantic Division alive. They’re 31⁄ out with five games to play.
“This is a big game for us,” Chandler said. “Not only are we still trying to catch the Celtics, we’re jockeying for playoff position ourselves. Every game is important.”
The Knicks have five games remaining. Four are on the road, starting Wednesday night at the Nets. The Knicks are in Cleveland on Friday, at NEW YORK KNICKS forward Carmelo Anthony (left) is fouled by Boston Celtics defender Kevin Garnett as he goes up for two of his 35 points in the Knicks’ 118-110 home win on Tuesday night. Anthony also added 12 boards and 10 assists. Atlanta on Sunday, home for the Clippers next Wednesday and end the regular season in Charlotte on April 26.
The Knicks need to win out and have Boston drop its final four games to capture the division. That’s not likely, but the Knicks are getting closer to a playoff berth and the seventh seed.
They moved one game up on eighth-place Philadelphia, but essentially are two ahead since the Knicks own the tiebreaker. The Knicks also have a 21⁄ -game lead on the Bucks.
Paul Pierce had his best scoring game of the season, leading everyone with 43 points. Kevin Garnett added 20 and Rajon Rondo had 13 points and 13 assists for the Celtics, who were without Ray Allen (sore right ankle).
Anthony picked up his fifth foul and went to the bench with 6:26 left in the fourth and the Knicks up 12. When he returned with 3:37 remaining, they led 112-104. The Celtics cut it to six moments later on two Pierce foul shots. But Novak buried back-toback threes for a 118-108 lead with 2:05 remaining.
Anthony and the Knicks could have additional help by the weekend. Mike Woodson said it’s possible Amar’e Stoudemire will return from his back injury Friday in Cleveland. Woodson said he would start Stoudemire when he’s back but hasn’t decided whom he would put on the bench.
There will be an adjustment period for the Knicks, but having Stoudemire should strengthen the team overall. (Newsday/mct)