Kennedy shuts down Pirates, earns 20th win

Ian Kennedy allowed one hit against the Pittsburgh Pirates over 8 innings as Arizona beat the Bucs, 1-0. The three most valuable players for the Diamondbacks played well tonight: Kennedy got win #20, Upton hit his 31st homer of the year (the only run of the game), and closer JJ Putz notched his 42nd save of the season. The magic number is now at 4 with 8 games remaining.

New York Giants top St. Louis, 28-16

After an undefeated preseason, the St. Louis Rams had two weeks in a row to prove Sam Bradford had playoff hopes in the gateway city. So far, they don't look like legitimate NFC contenders as they dropped to the Giants in the Meadowlands, 28-16. Coach Steve Spagnuolo, the former defensive coordinator for New York, could never get the ball moving efficiently against his former team. The run game was non-existent, partly due to the absence of All-pro RB Stephen Jackson, who left in week 1 against the Eagles due to a strained quadricep. Jackson should return as soon as possible, because St.Louis plays Baltimore, the upstart Redskins, at Green Bay, at Dallas, New Orleans, and at Arizona; all important games for St. Louis' playoff bid this season. On the other hand, Eli Manning was his old self: passing the ball for a meager 200 yards, throwing 2 TDs, and tossing a pick just to ruin his QB rating. The G-men managed to move the ball on St. Louis relatively well. They also had better defense than last week, which gives head coach Tom Coughlin some breathing room with the New York media and fan base for the rest of the week till they play at Philadelphia.

Altlanta tops Philly, 35-31. Vick leaves early with a neck injury and concussion

It wasn't pretty, but Matty Ice proved he was the man in Atlanta tonight. Ryan passed for 4 TDs including two to Tony Gonzalez. Atlanta scored 14 points in the final quarter as Michael Turner ran for the go-ahead touchdown with 4:48 to go. Second year back-up QB Mike Kafca led Philadelphia to the Redzone with 1:45 to go, but Jeremy Maclin dropped the 4th down conversion. Atlanta moves to 1-1 in a wild game at the Georgia Dome as Falcon fans left happy after seeing their old QB in Michael Vick and their new QB in Matt Ryan.

Pitt and Syracuse added to ACC

The Big East has boasted basketball supremacy for the past few seasons. The ACC can know officially join the conversation as they added Pitt and Syracuse to a list of solid basketball programs. UCONN and Kansas have also showed interest in the conference, which could potentially become a super conference with 16 teams. As it is now, the ACC will have North Carolina, Duke, Wake Forest, Clemson, Florida State, Syracuse, and Pitt; all teams participated in the NCAA tournament last year.

Detroit demolishes Kansas City, 48-3. Charles carted off with injured knee

We all knew Detroit would be good this year... But not this good. With Matthew Stafford healthy so far this season, the Lions ripped apart the reigning AFC West champs as they dismantled their defense and possibly all hopes for this season. Jamaal Charles left the game with what appeared to be an ACl injury, which would sideline him for the rest of the season. Matthew Stafford tossed for 294 yards and 4 TDs as he hooked up with Calvin Johnson twice. Detroit will look to improve their record as they travel to Minnesota next week; Kansas City will travel to San Diego next week. The Lions have been extremely efficient on offense after racking up 75 points in their two games. KC has only scored 10 points this season but they've been bullied on defense after letting up 89 points in only two games.

Cards give Hightower a reunion present, hand the game to the Redskins

During the week, Tim Hightower guaranteed the Washington Redskins would beat his former team, the Arizona Cardinals. The Richmond running back had 96 rushing yards against the Cards as tHe Redskins scored 12 points in the final quarter for a 22-21 win. The Cardinals intercepted Washington QB Rex Grossman twice in the first quarter but trailed 10-7 at the half. A stable running game from Beanie Wells and a 73-yard Kolb to Fitzgerald TD pass gave Arizona a 21-13 lead in the fourth quarter. Washington would come back to score an 18-yard TD to Santana Moss (failed 2pt conversion) and a 34-yard field goal punched in by Graham Gano. With about a minute left, the Cardinals came out rolling but the momentum was suddenly stopped when Chansi Stuckey fumbled at midfield and Washington closed out the game in a victory formation. The Redskins are a surprising 2-0 as they continue their dominance over the Cards by winning the past 8 match-ups. Arizona falls to 1-1 with a game against Seattle next week at Qwest Field.

Luck and Skill, Stanford punishes Arizona 37-10

Andrew Luck passed for 325 yards and 2 TDs as the Number 6 Cardinal routed the Wildcats 37-10. Arizona showed fight after trailing 16-10 at the end of the first half. The Wildcats could've taken the lead and the momentum when Foles passed to Juron Criner in the end zone, but a Stanford secondary would ensure the pass wouldn't be caught by committing pass interfence. Jaime Salazar would miss the ensuing field goal and Stanford would run away with the game behind the legs of Stepfan Taylor(235 rushing yards) and the arm of Andrew Luck(325 passing yards). The Cardinal will likely move to No. 5 after the Noles lost to OU. Arizona head coach Mike Stoops is now on the hot-seat after falling to 1-2 this season.