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Case of the Mondays: Saints, Chiefs Knocked Out on Crazy Championship


by - 1/21/2019

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes

Amazing plays. Bonehead mistakes. Controversial calls. One overtime. Another overtime…. The conference championships had just about everything on a Sunday evening that won't soon be forgotten by football fans or even general sports fans. When it was all said and done, the two home teams-New Orleans and Kansas City were sent packing…whether they deserved to be or not.

All odds provided by Bovada Sportsbook .

New Orleans Saints . A wild Sunday began with the Saints blowing a 13-0 lead at home and losing the NFC Championship to the Rams 26-23 in overtime. Of course, overtime should never have happened and New Orleans' collapse should never have been completed. What should have been a helmet-to-helmet pass interference call on Los Angeles cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman would have given the Saints a first down deep in L.A. territory to set up a potential chip shot game-winning field goal. Instead, head coach Sean Payton had to settle for a field goal with 1:41 left, the Rams had time to tie it on a Greg Zuerlein field goal, and Zuerlein eventually won it in OT with a 57-yard boot. "Obviously, it's a disappointing way to lose a game," Payton lamented. "Frustrating. And…man-there were a lot of opportunities, though. But that call puts it first-and-10, we're on a knee three plays, and it's a game-changing call…. So what do you do? You get back up and you got to work. This will be a tough one for these players, for the coaches.... We'll probably never get over it." The Rams are +3 underdogs in the Super Bowl against New England.

Dee Ford . The AFC Championship followed suit in similar fashion, with New England squandering a 14-0 lead en route to overtime against Kansas City. A roller-coaster fourth quarter featured four lead changes, as the Patriots twice recovered from brief deficits-first on a drive saved by an errant roughing the passer call and again following a Chiefs interception nullified by Ford lining up in the neutral zone. With the visitors trailing 28-24 in the final minute, Charvarius Ward's pick of Tom Brady would have ended the game but the down was replayed following Ford's offsides penalty that had no bearing whatsoever on the play's outcome. New England eventually prevailed 37-31 in OT. The over/under for the Super Bowl is 58.

Lonzo Ball . Although the Lakers would be out of the playoffs if the regular season ended today, they have done their best to stay afloat without LeBron James. With Ball balling (16.7 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 8.0 apg in the previous three games), Los Angeles is 2-1 in its last three with its loss coming in overtime at Houston. But now it is Ball who has joined LeBron and Rajon Rondo on the infirmary report after suffering a bad ankle sprain against the Rockets on Saturday. "It's just another moment for us to get stronger," head coach Luke Walton commented. "Another moment for other people to continue to step up. Zo is really finding himself a nice rhythm. We'll miss that and the continuity but we'll keep our heads up and keep grinding." The Lakers are +12 home underdogs against Golden State on Monday.

Toronto Maple Leafs . The Maple Leafs started the season 20-8-0, seemingly on par with the Lightning for the distinction of Stanley Cup favorite. They have since gone 9-9-2-11 losses in their last 20 games if you need help deciphering a hockey record. Toronto is 1-4 in its last five and 3-7 in its last 10, with all of the setbacks during this stretch coming in regulation. The Leafs are suddenly 16 points behind the Lightning in the Atlantic Division and only two points ahead of eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Toronto is a +700 third choice to win the Stanley Cup; Tampa Bay is a +260 favorite.

Virginia . With Michigan having lost to Wisconsin earlier on Saturday, Virginia was left as the only remaining undefeated team. That didn't last long. The Cavaliers faced a Tre Jones-less Duke team, but that still didn't help them-at least not enough-inside Cameron Indoor Stadium. The visitors finished 3-for-17 from three-point range and watched Zion Williamson and R.J. Barrett combine for 57 points en route to a 72-70 loss. Duke is a +170 favorite to win the National Championship.

Phil Mickelson . It was all right there for Mickelson to begin his season with a title at the Desert Classic in La Quinta, Calif. Little-known Adam Long had other ideas. After the 48-year-old seized control of the tournament with an opening 60 and took a two-shot lead into Sunday, Long stunned him with 7-under final round that included two chip-ins on the back nine and a 14-foot birdie putt on 18 to win it. Long finished at 26-under par, one stroke better than Mickelson. The five-time major champion is +3300 to win the Masters this spring; Tiger Woods is a +1000 favorite.

Roger Federer . The two-time defending Australian Open champion is out prior to the quarterfinals. Federer lost his fourth-round match to 20-year-old Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-7(11), 7-6(3), 7-5, 7-6(5) on Sunday night. The 37-year-old Swiss was 0-for-12 on break points, including 0-for-8 in the second set alone. "I have massive regrets," Federer admitted. "I felt like I have to win the second set. I don't care how I do it, but I have to do it; cost me the game tonight. There [are] always multiple factors that play into a match like this. "I lost to a better player who was playing very well. He hung in there, gave himself chances at some point, stayed calm. It's not always easy, especially for younger guys. Credit to him for taking care of that." Tsitsipas is a -130 favorite to beat Roberto Bautista Agut on Tuesday.

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