East Rutherford, NJ - The defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants were coming off their opening night loss against the Dallas Cowboys in a game that seemed like it took place last year. Big Blue faced a surprising Tampa Bay Bucs team that was coming off an impressive Week 1 win over the Carolina-led quarterback, Cam Newton. It was a homecoming of sorts for former Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano who has a history with the Giants, the team he rooted for while growing up in North Jersey.

Tampa Bay wanted to set the tone right from the start as it decided to let its defense take the field after winning the coin toss. The move backfired as Eli Manning connected on 2 passes to Hakim Nicks for 48 yards leading to a Lawrence Tynes 37-yard field goal. The Bucs bounced right back with a field goal of their own as quarterback Josh Freeman completed a 41-yard pass to wide receiver Vince Jackson. It began a first half that saw Freeman lead Tampa Bay to a 24-13 lead as their defense picked off Manning three times. The last pick returned 60 yards by Eric Wright. Manning committing the cardinal sin for a QB looking directly to the receiver he was trying to connect with.

Not helping matters were injuries to David Diehl, (knee) Domenik Hixon (concussion) and Ahmad Bradshaw (neck).

Said head coach Tom Coughlin about losing three key players on the offense, "it puts you in a state for a while where you're trying to settle down. It happened so quick. You gotta give people credit. People really did step forward and play very, very well under the circumstances and gave us a chance to win."

When the Bucs extended the lead 27-13 it looked like the Super Bowl Champions would start the year losing their first two games. New York crept within eight after two more Tynes field goals (36, 38) ending the third and starting the 4th quarter. Like the game against Dallas, they could not get in the end zone the two times they were within the Tampa Bay 20. Then, just like he did all of last year, Manning engineered a 4th quarter comeback leading to a 41-34 victory.

Down 27-19, Manning finds Victor (Salsa) Cruz down the right side for an 80-yard touchdown catch and run. Cruz played with a heavy heart losing his grandmother earlier in the week. His customary Salsa Dance in the end zone had a special meaning.

"Right as I was done, I kind of looked up and held my hands up to her, letting her know that one was for her," he would say after.

Manning did not stop there and the defense, sparked after safety Kenny Phillips blasted Vince Jackson on a pass attempt over the middle, got the offense the back quickly.

The Giants took the lead (34-27) when Manning marched them downfield as tight end Martellus Bennett came up big catching 2 passes for 47 yards. The last, a 33-yard touchdown grab. The lead was short-lived as the Bucs tied the game on a spectacular catch by wide receiver Mike Williams. With Tampa's QB Josh Freeman in the no-huddle, shotgun offense, he hauls a pass to the end zone in the left corner. Williams jumps over cornerback Justin Tryon and brings down the 41-yard touchdown. With 1:48 left and staring at the potential of overtime, Manning made sure that would not happen.

Eighty yards away did not deter Manning and the offense. In order, Manning hits Ramses Barden for 24 yards. Hakeem Nicks was next catching a 50 yarder to the Bucs 11. Andre Brown scampers down to the 2-yard line, falling down before crossing the end zone in order to keep the clock running. The Bucs allowed Brown to score on the next play giving the Giants the lead but also giving the Bucs one more chance to score with 31 seconds left. It almost happened.

Freeman, who finished his day throwing for more than 240 and two touchdowns, finds Jackson again for 19 yards. Williams strikes again, making what looked like a completed pass that would have given the Bucs the ball on the Giants 16. The play was reversed and ruled incomplete and Freeman's next pass was picked off by linebacker Michael Boley ending the game.

It was a tale of two halves for the entire team. Three Manning interceptions led to a 24-13 deficit as the defense struggled. Then, sparked by the Phillips blast, the whole team woke up. Manning finished throwing for 510 yards the second most in Giants history. Nicks and Cruz caught a combined 378 yards. All this after losing three important parts of the offense.

Said Coughlin: "the first half was very disappointing. A lesser group of men I think would have had trouble. I'm just happy to be one and one."

Lovie Smith was fired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after two seasons as head coach. The Bucs ended the season with a 6-10 record. The six wins recorded was more than the two acquired during the Smith’s first year in Tampa Bay. The firing came as

The firing came as a surprise for most, as the Bucs with rookie quarterback Jameis Winston, seemed to be on an upswing despite the losing record.

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In Episode 56 of What's The 411Sports, there is a discussion about the NFL Wild Card playoffs: Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Texans; Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals; Seattle Seahawks and the Minnesota Vikings; and Green Bay Packers and Washington.

The Brooklyn Nets fired its head coach Lionel Hollins and reassigned General Manager Billy King.

in baseball news, Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza are elected into the 2016 class of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fired head coach Lovie Smith by telephone.

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Reportedly, the UFC will announce that Holly Holm will defend her bantamweight championship against Miesha Tate on March 5, 2016, in Las Vegas.

Maverick Carter, CEO, LRMR announced that the company dropped its representation of Cleveland Browns quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner, Johnny Manziel.

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No Real Surprises with the Top Five 2015 NFL Draft Picks

With the No. 1 pick at the 2015 NFL Draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Florida State University quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner, Jameis Winston

Many in the media predicted that because of Winston’s off-the-field issues that he would slip out of the No.1 NFL Draft pick position. However, Buccaneers coach Lovie Smith and general manager Jason Licht stuck with their reported game plan. They said repeatedly over the past two months that they were comfortable with the prospect of taking Winston.

Winston generated negative headlines when he was cited for shoplifting crab legs from a supermarket and later suspended for one game last season after climbing onto a table in the Florida State student union and shouting an obscenity.

Additionally, Winston was accused of sexual assault during his freshman season at Florida State; however, prosecutors felt they did not have enough evidence to bring charges against the football phenom.

Below are the Top Five 2015 NFL Draft Picks and their respective NFL teams:

Jameis Winston   Tampa Buccaneers
Marcus Mariota    Tennessee Titans
Dante Fowler       Jacksonville Jaguars
Amari Cooper      Oakland Raiders
Brandon Sherff    Washington Redskins