Hop in the Paladin power armor, seize melee weapons from the demonic invaders and dish out a taste of their own medicine! Mercenary Kings: Reloaded Edition Craft your arsenal to avenge your fallen comrades and save the world from the fearsome forces of CLAW. Tribute Games is a Canadian independent video game developer and publisher located in Montreal, Quebec. It focuses on retro games for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita.
Sunday Night Football flex...
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Though the NFL instituted its flexible scheduling policy in 2006, they didn't technically start to 'flex out' of games until the 2007 season. Back in 2006, from Week 10-17, the NFL didn't schedule any games for Sunday Night Football, instead winging it on a weekly basis. Since then, there have been 26 games moved from the prime-time slot.
1. Bears-Seahawks — Week 11, 2007
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The 2006 NFC divisional playoffs rematch was a dud as the Bears were 4-5 and Seattle was 5-4. Patriots-Bills was flexed into, and Randy Moss caught four touchdown passes in a 56-10 win.
2. Buccaneers-49ers — Week 16, 2007
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The 49ers were 4-10 as the Buccaneers were trending towards the playoffs. The NFL flexed to Washington at Minnesota instead as the two NFC clubs were in a battle for a wild-card spot.
3. Chiefs-Jets — Week 17, 2007
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Kansas City and New York were bottom feeders in their respective divisions. There wasn't anything compelling to go to in Week 17, so, Tennessee Titans at the Indianapolis Colts was the replacement. All Tennessee needed to do was win, and they did because the Colts rested their starters as they had the No. 2 seed locked up.
4. Patriots-Seahawks — Week 14, 2008
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Seattle was 2-10 going into this matchup. Instead, Washington at Baltimore was flexed into, which was a battle between two teams vying for a spot in their respective wild-card races.
5. Chargers-Buccaneers — Week 16, 2008
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While both San Diego and Tampa Bay were in a race for the playoffs themselves, Carolina at New York for battle of the No. 1 seed in the NFC had way more on the line.
The Chargers would get their Sunday night game back though. 2008 was the first year the league decided not to schedule a Week 17 Sunday night game; instead, letting the schedule play out and find the most compelling matchup. San Diego got the Denver Broncos at Qualcomm Stadium and thumped them 52-21 to wrest control of the AFC West and go to the playoffs.
6. Dolphins-Patriots — Week 13, 2009
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The Dolphins were trending downward in 2009, and the Patriots weren't as dominant as they were prior to Tom Brady tearing his ACL. Meanwhile the Arizona Cardinals and Minnesota Vikings were battling for a first-round bye.
7. Chargers-Bengals — Week 16, 2010
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It might have been better had the NFL stayed with Chargers-Bengals, even though neither team had a shot for the playoffs. Instead, there was a Michael Vick redemption story that was playing out with the Philadelphia Eagles, who were also on the verge of winning the NFC East.
The league postponed the Sunday night game at Lincoln Financial Field on Dec. 26 due to a blizzard and played it that Tuesday night.
8. Patriots-Colts — Week 13, 2011
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In April, even amid the lockout, the prospect of flexing out of Patriots-Colts would be preposterous. However, Peyton Manning's neck surgery recovery and the Colts' 0-11 record made it untenable to keep the game. Lions-Saints, a preview of the NFC wild-card, was moved into the slot.
9. Chargers-Jets — Week 16, 2012
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New York and San Diego were awful and nowhere near playoff contention. The budding 49ers-Seahawks rivalry was flexed into prime time. However, fans were treated to Seattle blowing out San Francisco 42-13.
10. Packers-Giants — Week 11, 2013
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The Giants were 2-6 and the Packers were on a two-game losing streak with Aaron Rodgers out with a broken collarbone. Meanwhile the 9-0 Kansas City Chiefs, with Andy Reid on the sidelines and Alex Smith under center, were taking on the Denver Broncos.
11. Falcons-Packers — Week 14, 2013
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Another Packers game was flexed out because Green Bay was 5-6-1 and Rodgers was still out. Panthers-Saints, a battle for the NFC South, was placed in the Sunday night slot.
12. Patriots-Ravens — Week 16, 2013
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New England was doing what they always did with Tom Brady and locking up a first-round bye while Baltimore wasn't going to make the playoffs. Bears-Eagles was put into prime time as both were vying for their respective divisions, but Philadelphia demolished Chicago 54-11.
13. Chiefs-Chargers — Week 11, 2015
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San Diego and Kansas City were trending towards missing the playoffs while the Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals were close to getting first-round byes. Plus, there was the storyline of Carson Palmer going against his old team.
14. Seahawks-Ravens — Week 14, 2015
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The Ravens weren't threatening to make the playoffs while the Seahawks were vying for a wild-card spot. Patriots-Texans seemed interesting, but New England mopped up Houston 27-6.
15. Bengals-49ers — Week 15, 2015
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The Bengals were losing their grip on the AFC North, and the 49ers were a shell of their former selves under coach Jim Tomsula. Cardinals-Eagles went into prime time with Arizona crushing Philadelphia 40-17.
16. Steelers-Ravens — Week 16, 2015
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Because of how non-competitive Baltimore was for playoff positioning, it moved the AFC North rivalry out of prime time. New York versus Minnesota may not have been a better choice as Vikings toppled the Giants 49-17.
17. Patriots-Jets — Week 12, 2016
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Fitzmagic alone wasn't enough to keep the Jets in prime time. The AFC West rivalry of Kansas City versus Denver was more interesting, and turned out to be a better game with the Chiefs prevailing 30-27 in overtime.
18. Bengals-Steelers — Week 15, 2016
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The Bengals were 5-7-1 and the Steelers were on the verge of winning the division. The Dallas Cowboys had a dynamic rookie pair with Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott, and decided to flex into their Week 15 matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
19. Rams-49ers — Week 7, 2018
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Sure, the Niners were struggling due to Jimmy Garoppolo being out for the year, but the Bengals were 4-2 and hadn't made the playoffs in the past two seasons. Maybe it was because the league couldn't get enough of second-year quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who would be playing his second straight Sunday night game.
20. Steelers-Jaguars — Week 11, 2018
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The Steelers were 7-2-1, but the Jaguars' 3-6 record spoiled the 2017 AFC divisional rematch, and forced a flexing of Vikings-Bears into prime time.
21. 49ers-Seahawks — Week 13, 2018
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San Francisco was 2-9 and the Seahawks weren't threatening to win the division. Chargers-Steelers went into prime time.
22. Steelers-Raiders — Week 14, 2018
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Pittsburgh was 7-4-1 and didn't have Ben Roethlisberger healthy. The Raiders were 2-10. Rams at Bears seemed better, and it was a fascinating matchup as Chicago stifled Los Angeles' potent offense 15-6.
23. Seahawks-Eagles — Week 12
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The Seahawks were 8-2 and the Eagles were 5-5 in the horrendous NFC East. Green Bay versus San Francisco, a preview of that season's NFC Championship Game, was far more interesting, though it was a blowout in favor of the Niners, 37-8.
24. Vikings-Chargers
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The Vikings were merely in the hunt for a wild-card spot while the Chargers were 5-8. Buffalo at Pittsburgh, even with Devlin Hodges under center, was more fascinating as both teams were in the AFC wild-card race.
25. Buccaneers-Raiders — Week 7, 2020
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Would the league want to see the same old guy, but with a new team, or rather a youngster who had his team 4-2 and coming off a big Monday night win? Arizona versus Seattle did not disappoint as the Cardinals bested the Seahawks 37-34 in overtime.
26. 49ers-Cowboys — Week 15, 2020
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For the 49ers, this is the fifth time they have been flexed out of the Sunday night slot. For the Cowboys, this will be the first time. Now that the league has moved Dallas out of Sunday night for the first time since 2006, will they do it again?
© Associated Press- Paul VernonPerhaps the team felt and heard the concerns of Buckeye nation following their closely fought 74-64 win over UMass-Lowell, or maybe Chris Holtmann made his concerns evident at practice last week. Regardless, the Ohio State men's basketball team responded in a big way last Wednesday, thumping Morehead State 77-44 inside the Covelli Center.
They didn't blow the barn doors off by any means, shooting a respectable 44.3% from the floor and 38.5% from beyond the arc, but it was a step up from the dry shooting they showed in their previous game. All five starters scored double digits, and Chris Holtmann will need that balance to continue this evening and for the rest of the season if Ohio State is going to make noise in the Big Ten.
Preview
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The Buckeyes were surgical on Wednesday evening, forcing 17 turnovers while only committing seven themselves. They improved their overall field goal percentage and three-point percentage between the two games, and used size to their advantage against an overmatched and overwhelmed Morehead State squad. Hell, Kyle Young even connected from three-point land.
Chris Holtmann should laminate Wednesday's game notes and plaster them on the locker room walls, because that's how the Buckeyes are going to win this year. Even when they get Seth Towns back, this team is not going to light it up from downtown. However, they have pretty good size up and down the roster (eight players who are 6-foot-6 or taller), and seem to have the same high-motor/high-hustle identity that every Holtmann-coached team has. Kyle Young, E.J. Liddell, Justice Sueing, and Zed Key aren't massive, but they're all big enough to cause problems, and they all grind out every single possession with unmatched intensity.
Because of that, the Buckeyes are able to overcome the lack of a 'true' center and replace it with contributions from several guys, resulting in success scoring in the paint. And once Ohio State establishes the paint, outside shots are going to start falling a bit more. It sounds trivial, but the team was not doing it in their near-loss to UMass-Lowell. Wednesday was different, and we saw the blueprint of how the Buckeyes will win games with or without Towns.
Ohio State's guard duo of CJ Walker and Duane Washington Jr. not only scored on their own on Wednesday (11 points for each of them), but they were also dishing it, with each guy recording four assists while only turning the ball over once. Washington Jr. is generally more of a shooter (averaging 1.3 assists per game in his career), but if he can get his teammates more involved it'll create more opportunities for both himself and Walker.
Ohio State enters their matchup with Notre Dame well-rested after their game vs Alabama A&M on Saturday was cancelled due to positive tests in the A&M program. They've had five days to practice and prepare for the Fighting Irish, who will not be nearly as rested or prepared as Ohio State. They defeated the University of Detroit Mercy 78-70 on Sunday evening, giving them one day to prepare for the Big Ten-ACC Challenge.
Notre Dame is 1-1, having lost to No. 8 Michigan State 80-70 on the opening night of the season before having their next two games cancelled. Their scheduled game against Western Michigan on Dec. 2 was cancelled due to WMU 'not having enough available players' but the reason for their absence was not specified. Their game against No. 13 Tennessee scheduled for Dec. 4 was cancelled due to COVID issues within the Tennessee program. Because of this, Mike Brey's ND squad will be playing just their third game of the season on Tuesday evening.
Before the season started we went in-depth about the Fighting Irish and their history in the B1G-ACC Challenge, to show the type of opponent Ohio State is getting. The jist of that piece, which you can read here, was Notre Dame's sterling home record in the B1G-ACC challenge since joining the ACC full-time in 2012. They're 4-3 overall, including a loss on the road to Maryland last season. But they're 3-0 at home in the cross-conference challenge, winning by an average of 5 points.
This Notre Dame team is balanced, but by no means deep. In their loss vs the Spartans, all five starters played 30+ minutes. Only one other player on the team, backup guard Nikola Djogo, played more than six minutes.
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The starters were relied on even more heavily against Detroit, as four out of five starters played at least 36 minutes. Juwan Durham, the lone senior on the roster, drew his fourth foul during the second half and therefore played 'only' 30 minutes.
The Buckeyes will be challenged by Notre Dame's versatility, as all of their starters beside Durham average 10 points per game or more. Upper Arlington native Dane Goodwin, who was an Ohio State commit before Thad Matta left, is averaging 13.5 points and nine rebounds per game for the Fighting Irish. Starting point guard Prentiss Hubb is averaging 20.5 points per game along with five assists, and 6-foot-10 junior forward Nate Laszewski is averaging a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds per game.
But beyond their starting five, Notre Dame is extremely bare. If the guys I talked about earlier — Liddell, Young, Key, and Sueing — can get Durham and Laszewski in foul trouble early, Notre Dame simply does not have the depth to keep up with the Buckeyes. Chris Holtmann can mix and match those four guys, plus Eugene Brown and perhaps even Seth Towns, all night. Notre Dame does not have that luxury, so Ohio State will need to go at them early and often to force Mike Brey's hand.
Prediction
Obviously, this will be Ohio State's toughest opponent yet. Due to COVID cancelling some marquee events during the season's first week, the Buckeyes' nonconference schedule did not challenge them like it normally would. Notre Dame's starting five excels at all aspects of the game, and all five of them can be the 'go-to' guy on any given night.
While Notre Dame may have the tallest two players on the court (Laszewksi and Durham are 6-foot-10 and 6-foot-11, respectively), Ohio State is a deeper and more talented team. Playing their starters for 38 minutes may have worked against a small school like Detroit Mercy, but if Mike Brey follows that same blueprint against the Buckeyes, he's going to have issues.
This could be a game where the Buckeyes fall behind early, but be patient. Ohio State's talented bench will be the difference when they cap off their fourth win of the year.
ESPN BPI: Ohio State 56.6%
7:30 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2
LGHL Score Prediction: 71-64 Ohio State
