looking at my weekend picks

i tried to get to university to return some library books today, but the snow had other ideas. god damn that snow. but it's not just me who's been affected by the weather, as my weekend picks show...

1) er, well, this one got snowed off didn't it. along with 3 other games, fiorentina v milan will now be played on january 27th. apparently the pitches were fine, but the creaking terraces (a feature which is particularly present in a lot of ancient serie a stadiums), were way too icey for the ultras to run up and down on.

2) no snow in new orleans, and boy was this game worth the 4.50am bedtime. i said it could be a stormer, and (cue tooting of own horn), it really was. the cowboys completely dominated the 1st half, tony romo played a career game as the americans say (it means he was really, really, really good), and it set up a fantastic 4th quarter, where the saints attempted to chase down the deficit. but the cowboys held on, and put themselves in prime position for a playoff spot. for new orleans, the defeat wasn't as bad as it might have been, as their main rivals for home advantage in the playoffs (minnesota) also lost this weekend. here's the nfl standings after this weekend. the nfc looks pretty sewn up, but the afc is crazy tight, with 8 teams gunning for the 2 wildcard spots.

3) weather also hit the clasico, with the estadio da luz resembling a swamp by the end of the game. the result was a very 'english' match, played at a high speed, with a lot of questionable tackles and a lower technical level than both teams are capable of. that said, benfica will be ecstatic with the win, as it aids their head-to-head record against porto, which could be crucial later on (standings in the table are decided by head-to-head, not goal difference). david luiz, their young brazilian centre-back, was outstanding, and i wouldn't be surprised to see big offers coming in for him next summer. porto were uninspiring and played pretty negatively for much of the game, and hulk was again substituted. he's talked up a lot over here, but has yet to perform this season.

with italy, spain and portugal taking winter breaks, i thought i'd go through the current standings for each league, and take a look at how the teams have been doing so far. there was also a TNA PPV last night, so expect a blog on that this week as well.