FOOTBALL NFL - FASE FINALE

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Iniziano stasera le partite che contano veramente e si parte con le semifinali di AFC per proseguire domani con le due di NFC.
A Foxboro i PATRIOTS aspettano (ore 22.30 it, splendido) i KANSAS CITY CHIEFS e non senza qualche apprensione, dovuta ai troppi incidenti di alcuni giocatori chiave ma anche alla serie di vittorie infilate dai Chiefs.
Nell'altra semificale penso che ARIZONA possa dominare GREEN BAY.
Per i Patriots sara' dura coprire il 5,5 di spread mentre i Cardinals dovrebbero farcela col 7,5 assegnato.
Riporto qui, cosi si capisce meglio, quanto scritto ieri a proposito della partita di NEW ENGLAND da un commentatore.

HEY’RE ON TO KANSAS CITY: The Patriots have certainly made their fair share of news this week. Head coach Bill Belichick showed up to his press conference Tuesday morning, sporting a black eye. It continued with the report that defensive end Chandler Jones had a bad reaction to synthetic marijuana earlier in the week, and culminated (we think) with the news that Rob Gronkowski missed two practices this week due to knee and back injuries. It’s as though the wheels are coming off the Patriots bandwagon at the worst possible time..
Don’t expect Belichick to be distracted though. He was in fine form when he met with the media Thursday, writes Dan Shaughnessy.
“Capping a wacky few days of playoff-week “distraction,’’ Belichick finally appeared before the local media and did what he does best: He stayed the course and behaved as if nothing unusual is going on around his football team.
We’re on to Kansas City. No problem. No explanation. No questions answered. Nothing to see here. Kickoff against Kansas City is Saturday at 4:35.”
WHAT ABOUT THE CHIEFS? Kansas City has its own walking wounded heading into Saturday’s game, writes Julian Benbow. Wide receiver Jeremy Maclin suffered a high ankle sprain in the win over Houston, while defensive lineman Justin Houston returned to action for the game against the Texans after missing the previous five weeks with a left knee injury.
On Thursday, coach Andy Reid said both players have been making progress. Maclin participated in stretches, while Houston went through warm-ups. Reid classified both players as game-time decisions.
Offensive linemen Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and Mitch Morse did not practice Thursday. Both have been out all week, having not passed the league’s concussion protocol, and on Friday were declared out for Saturday. Linebacker Tamba Hali, who’s been dealing with swelling in his knee, also sat out, but is listed as questionable for the game.
Rachel G. Bowers takes a comprehensive look at the tendencies of Alex Smith and the Chiefs. Benbow has a story on Reid leading the Chiefs resurgence.

Naturalmente ci provo e punto sui Patriots con -5,5, anche se capisco sia molto impegnativo come hp, ma Tom Brady puo' fare "tutta la differenza del mondo" come dicono i nostri cronisti di NBA.

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p.s.
niente di grave riguardo Chandler Jones, defensive end della massima importanza. Solo una caxata che lui stesso ha definito tale scusandosi pubblicamente in una conferenza stampa.