It was a wild finish to the wild card game between the host Chicago Bears and defending super bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles at Soldier Field yesterday.
The game that came down to one field goal try by Chicago with ten seconds left, and from 42 yards out Cody Parker hit the left upright and then the crossbar, but could not send the ball through, and the Eagles came away with a 16-15 victory that keeps their hopes of a title repeat alive.
Nick Foles can seem to do no wrong when he quarterbacks the Eagles, even though Carson Wentz when healthy is considered the team's #1 quarterback. Foles of course was the signal caller for Philly when they upset Tom Brady and the Patriots in the super bowl last year, and yesterday filling in again for a not 100% healthy Wentz, Foles was again true in the clutch, finding Golden Tate in the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown on a fourth down and two with just 56 seconds left in regulation.
The other wild card game was not quite as thrilling, with both defenses playing well and limiting offense in the Los Angeles Chargers 23-17 win over the Baltimore Ravens in Charm City.
Kicker Michael Badgley was the biggest point producer for L.A., kicking five field goals in the win for 15 points, setting a Chargers franchise record for field goals in a playoff game. That sets up a showdown with the New England Patriots next weekend at Foxboro with two pretty good quarterbacks facing each other in Philip Rivers for L.A. and Tom Brady for New England. The Chargers have won their last two contests against the Patriots but given the home field for the Pats and what could be some difficult weather conditions for the team from sunny L.A., I'd take the pats in this one.
At the US Cross Country Ski Championships being held at Vermont's Craftsbury Outdoor Center, Burke Mountain Academy alum Ida Sargent took first place Friday in the women's classic sprint competition, winning the national title.
And coming in second in the 1.5K sprint race was Middlebury College alum Kelsey Phinney, who now skis with the Stratton Mountain Ski team. The competitions wrap up tomorrow at Craftsbury.
The University of Vermont men's hockey team went to overtime against Clarkson yesterday, and suffered a tough defeat when the Golden Knights scored with just 18 seconds left to go in overtime for a 3-2 win.
It was the last non-conference game for UVM before getting into a Hockey East schedule against more familiar opponents.
The UVM women played a strong game against 7th ranked Providence in Rhode Island yesterday, and lost 2-1 on two second period goals by the Friars. UVM made it a one goal game on a late strike with less than two minutes to go in the second period when Maude Poulin-Labelle cashed in for the Catamounts but there would be no scoring in a tight-checking third period and UVM falls to 6-11-4 with the loss.
Elsewhere in women's hockey Elmira blanked the Norwich Cadets 3-0, and The No. 2 Plattsburgh State women's ice hockey team opened up the New Year with a victory, avenging its only loss so far this season with a 2-0 win over division 3's top ranked team Adrian College.
Freshman forward Nicole Unsworth scored her first collegiate goal, while senior forward Courtney Moriarty netted the other goal for Plattsburgh, her seventh of the season.
One men's college basketball result to report. Cazenovia beat Northern-Vermont Lyndon 104-74, with the Hornets getting a team high 13 points from Zach Faulkenberg.
