The Sports Mac: The Daily Fives For September 13th, 2010

Top Five Stories From Yesterday

1. Week 1 of the NFL season got underway with 13 games on Sunday, and featured big home wins by the Texans, Redskins, Titans, Patriots, Steelers, and Seahawks.

2. The Giants beat the Padres to end their four-game series tied on top of the NL West as Colorado has now flown up behind them just 1.5 games out of first.

3. Led by Kevin Durant, the U.S. Men’s National Team wins the FIBA World Championship and automatically qualifies for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

4. For the third year in a row, rain postpones the U.S. Open Men’s Final, and Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic wait an extra day to play for the championship.

5. Tiger Woods fails to reach the Top 30 in Fed Ex Cup points, and will not play in the Tour Championship next weekend.

Top Five Games From Yesterday

1. NFL: Steelers 15, Falcons 9, Overtime: Rashard Mendenhall broke out for a 50-yard game-winning TD run in extra time to give Pittsburgh a big opening week win over the Falcons.

2. MLB: Rockies 4, Diamondbacks 2: Jason Giambi hit a walk-off two-run HR to lift Colorado to the win, and get them within 1.5 games of the lead in the NL West.

3. NFL: Redskins 13, Cowboys 7: A potential game-winning TD pass from Tony Romo to Roy Williams on the last play is negated by a holding penalty by Alex Barron, which cost Dallas the win.

4. MLB: Blue Jays 5, Rays 4: Adam Lind hits a walk-off two-run HR to rally Toronto to the come-from-behind victory and deny Tampa Bay first place in the AL East.

5. NFL: Bears 19, Lions 14: Chicago escapes with a victory after what looked to be a go-ahead TD catch by Detroit’s Calvin Johnson was ruled incomplete and confirmed by replay.

Top Five Performances From Yesterday

1. Arian Foster, Texans RB: 33 carries for 231 yards and three TDs in HOU’s 34-24 win over IND.

2. Roy Oswalt, Phillies SP: 0 runs on four hits with six K’s and the CG shutout in PHI’s 3-0 win over NYM.

3. Peyton Manning, Colts QB: 40-of-57 for 433 yards, and three TDs in IND’s 34-24 loss to HOU.

4. Paul Konerko, White Sox 1B: 3-for-4 with two HR and five RBI in CHW’s 12-6 win over KC.

5. Chad Ochocinco, Bengals WR: 12 catches for 159 yards, and a TD in CIN’s 38-24 loss to NE

Five Performances That Weren’t So Good From Yesterday

1. Buffalo Bills offense: only were able to manage 50 yards rushing and 166 yards of total offense in their 15-10 loss to Miami.

2. Mitch Talbot, Indians SP: three runs on two hits, only facing three batters in CLE’s 6-2 loss to MIN.

3. Frank Gore, 49ers RB: had only 38 yards on 17 carries, and no TDs in SF’s 31-6 loss to SEA.

4. Sean O’Sullivan, Royals SP: five earned runs on eight hits in three IP in KC’s 12-6 loss to CHW.

5. Lucas Harrell, White Sox SP: six runs on nine hits in 3.1 IP in CHW’s 12-6 win over KC.

Top Five Events To Follow Today

1. MLB: Yankees (87-56) at Rays (86-56), 7:00 PM: New York starts this huge series with a half-game lead over Tampa Bay in the AL East. (CAN’T MISS MATCH-UP: (Sabathia (NYY) vs. Price (TB))

2. NFL: Ravens (0-0) at Jets (0-0), 7:00 PM, ESPN: Two of the favorites in the AFC meet to kick off the new season of Monday Night Football.

3. MLB: Phillies (83-61) at Marlins (73-69), 7:00 PM: Philadelphia starts the night with a one game lead over Atlanta in the NL East. (Blanton (PHI) vs. Miller (FLA))

4. MLB: Padres (80-62) at Rockies (79-64), 8:30 PM: San Diego tries to hold off hard-charging Colorado in the NL West. (Luebke (SD) vs. Francis (COL))

5. NFL: Chargers (0-0) at Chiefs (0-0), 10:15 PM, ESPN: The second half of the Monday Night doubleheader features two longtime AFC West rivals facing off.