The New York Jets had dropped eight straight games to the New England Patriots on their own turf... until yesterday, when the Jets broke the streak and beat the Patriots 16-9. We take a look around both the regular and fantasy football leagues with Wall Street Journal sports reporter Nando Di Fino.

The Takeaway's sports contributor, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, joins us to talk about one of the NFL's key matchups this week: the New York Giants' visit to the Dallas Cowboys in an NFC East showdown. We are also joined by Jeff Blank, a big Giants fan, and Chad Muller, a huge Cowboys fan, both of them here to talk some trash.

The Takeaway's sports contributor, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, is ready to talk football: specifically, the biggest game in the AFC East. Tom Brady and the New England Patriots hope to win the ninth game in a row at the Meadowlands against their bitter rivals, the New York Jets.

The regular baseball season is winding down, but the excitement for fans is far from over. Both the American and National League teams are making their big push for the playoffs and then (hopefully) a run at the World Series. The Takeaway's sports contributor Ibrahim Abdul-Matin gives us his picks for teams to watch.

Also on Ibrahim's agenda? For years, Native American groups have been trying to change the name of professional sports teams such as the Braves, the Cleveland Indians, and the Florida State Seminoles. Now, Native American activists are focusing on the Washington Redskins, and they are trying to take the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Our very own sports contributor, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, brings us up to speed.

One of the best tennis players of all time, Roger Federer, was defeated by Argentinean Juan Martin del Potro in a heated US Open match last night. This week also saw the kickoff of Monday Night Football with a series of fierce regional rivalries, including the Buffalo Bills and the Patriots. Breaking it down for us is Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, our own sports contributor.

Watch Juan Martin del Potro's winning point at his first US Open win against Roger Federer:

Week one of this year's NFL season is over and we want to know which teams and players to watch for. Our own sports contributor, Ibrahim Abdul Matin, gives us the rundown, along with some thoughts on Serena Williams' confrontation with a line judge at the U.S. Open over the weekend.

D. FENCE! D. FENCE! It's that time of year again. Pull out your hoodies and foam fingers; your beer cozies and the ability to clap in sync. It's the first day of the season for the NFL and everyone is talking quarterbacks: Tom Brady, Brett Favre, and...Michael Vick. The best competitors at the U.S. Open continue towards the final rounds, but American teenager tennis phenom Melanie Oudin lost last night. Here to tell us what to watch out for out on the field is The Takeaway's sports contributor Ibrahim Abdul-Matin. And he's even got some gossip for those of you that don't take a liking to men in helmets and shiny pants. (Gasp!)

Today we look at sports upsets that dominated games over the weekend. Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, the Takeaway sports contributor joins us to talk about the U.S. Open, where we saw a slew of top seeds get eliminated. Most dramatically, seventeen-year-old Melanie Oudin stunned thousands of spectators as she beat top seed Maria Sharapova. Other casualties included Andy Roddick, Venus Williams, James Blake and women’s number one player, Danira Safina. Tennis wasn't the only sport that saw upsets; in college football, BYU defeated number one Oklahoma.

The Michigan Wolverines football team is in a heap of trouble. Not just because they had a deplorable 3-9 record last year that was an embarrassment to both the university and the state, but also from new allegations that surfaced this weekend in the Detroit Free Press. Ten current players, writing anonymously, asserted that the culture of off-season practice is beyond the legal NCAA limits. Former players also corroborated this. ...(continue reading)

Tom Brady sustained injuries during a game between the New England Patriots played a pre-season game against the Washington Redskins last Friday. Sports contributor Ibrahim Abdul-Matin talks with us about the game and the possible decline of Brady and the Patriots. We also talk to Ibrahim about the U.S. Open starting today. How will the Williams sisters fare, will the Bryan brothers sweep the doubles matches, and will Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal meet to battle it out?  

Former New York Giants wide-reciever Plaxico Burress accepted a plea bargain yesterday which will send him to prison for 2 years after pleading guilty to a weapons charge.  As you might remember, Burress walked into a nightclub in New York City last November with a gun tucked in the waistband of his sweat pants. The gun slipped, and as Burress grabbed for it, he accidentally shot a bullet into his own leg.  Burress' Florida gun license was expired; he had no license to carry a gun in New York.

Also making headlines is Jamaican runner Usain Bolt, who broke his own world record in the 100m dash. Again.

Joining us is Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, The Takeaway's sports contributor, along with New York Giants fan and family-law attorney Jeff Blank.

The salaries of sports players have for many decades caused non-athletes' jaws to drop, but owners have always justified the expense as an investment. Way back in 1869, for example, members of the Cincinnati Red Stockings were payed $11,000: around $175,000 in today's dollars and many times more than the average income at the time. So how much would you invest in a fantasy sports league? Some insiders estimate fantasy sports attracts close to $800 million annually. With all that money floating around, it seems natural that people would want to protect their assets. Fantasy Sports Insurance is a new company dedicated to insuring the top players on your fantasy team in case of injury. Real money, real players, real injuries: still a fantasy.

To find out more about the money and the fans behind this we talk to Paul Charchian, president of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association and the host of Fantasy Football Weekly, a radio show on KFAN in the Twin Cities; and to Anthony Giaccone, president of Intermarket Insurance and the inventor of Fantasy Sports Insurance. 

The Minnesota Vikings welcomed a new star quarterback yesterday... but their new quarterback is an old enemy. 39-year-old Brett Favre just came out of retirement (again) and signed a $12 million contract to play for the Vikings this season. This is the second time in two seasons that the famed quarterback has retired and then...unretired. Many Vikings fans have lived with nothing but disdain for Favre in the fifteen years he played for their rivals, the Green Bay Packers.  Are they ready to root for him, now?

Joining us to talk about Favre's latest career move is The Takeaway’s sports contributor, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, and two Favre fans: Rick Stratton, a Green Bay Packers fan who runs the Packer Backer blog, and Mike Rice, a Minnesota Vikings fan who is the general manager for Gabe’s Roadhouse, which is, ironically, a Green Bay Packers Bar.

Here's Favre at the press conference announcing his return to football:

Are our children being herded into sports as a career track rather than an activity that fosters health and well-being? Takeaway contributor Ibrahim Abdul-Matin weighs in with a story about his father.

Read his blog post here

On Wednesday this week, we speculated on what would happen next in the career of former NFL star-turned-rehabilitated-felon, Michael Vick. Coincidentally, on Thursday his next step was announced: he will return to professional football after signing with the Philadelphia Eagles. The Takeaway's sports contributor Ibrahim Abdul-Matin joins us to forecast how the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback will fare in his new job, along with some notes on the PGA.

Before he was an NFL MVP, Kurt Warner, with no NFL team to sign with, played for the Iowa Barnstormers in the Arena Football League for three seasons. He finally reached the NFL in 1998 and won Super Bowl XXXIV and multiple MVP awards. The Arena Football League announced this week that it will shut down, just as the new kid on the block, the United Football League, announced its upcoming schedule for its very first season. From the USFL, to the World Football League, to the XFL, and now, the Arena Football League, leagues have been unable to escape the shadow of the NFL. Does the UFL have a fighting chance? Joining us to talk about that and other news in sports is The Takeaway’s sports contributor, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin.

For more from Ibrahim, check out his blog post Baseball Rivalries Live; Football Leagues Die.

Michael Vick, the NFL star convicted of running a dog fighting ring, is released today from two months of house arrest, after an 18-month stint behind federal prison bars. Is he heading back to the NFL or will he be shut out? To talk about what is in store for Vick is The Takeaway Sports Contributor Ibrahim Abdul-Matin.

Former NFL quarterback and MVP Steve McNair was found shot to death on July 4th. Police have ruled it a homicide, but while the cops sort through the clues, The Takeaway looks at McNair's athletic achievements. He brought speed, agility, accuracy and leadership to the field, and will be remembered for his toughness, playing through endless injuries. Joining us to talk about Steve "Air" McNair's legacy is The Takeaway’s sports contributor, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin.

Fans are already putting together tributes on YouTube. Here's one:

Oh Spain! You won 35 straight games. And Oh Spain, in the Confederation Cup, (a prelude to the World Cup, both in South Africa), you kept other teams scoreless with a passing style that wore down defenders until, lulled to sleep, they're not prepared when you strike hard and fast. Until, of course, you played the United States who matched you with defense of their own, blanking the Spanish and vaulting themselves into a final game against the powerful Brasilians.

So, who cares?

Lots of people. Stop waiting for soccer to arrive: it's already here. The USA players are all homegrown talents. If you peruse the roster, you’ll see. These are American born or American raised. You don’t get elite talent that can compete with the best in the world if soccer had not arrived long ago. These are the kids whose moms were the famous “soccer moms.” Yes, I know that they are only role players, but they stepped into the spotlight this week. You can compare this soccer to the same way U.S. hockey was, just before the historic upset of the Russians. They have the talent, they have the heart, they just have to get that big win to put them over the top. ... (continue reading)

The NFL Draft took place this weekend. The focus was on the big spending Detroit Lions, who after going 0 and 16 last season, ponied up a guaranteed $41.7 million for Georgia quarterback Matt Stafford. Also making headlines? The New York Jets, who traded with Cleveland (whose coach they fired in January) to move up to the fifth spot to take Southern California quarterback Mark Sanchez. Blogger and Takeaway contributor Ibrahim Abdul-Matin joins The Takeaway with his thoughts on these and other draft picks.

See what Matt Stafford has to say about being the first pick in the video below.