Geelong and Greater Western Sydney rightfully take premiership favouritism after what can only be described as one of the most incredible first round of finals football witnessed.The Cats came from 17 points down in the second half on the back of some midfield dominance lead by Cam Guthrie, Joel Selwood and Patrick Dangerfield then held on as the Hawks running machine Isaac Smith squandered a kick after the siren that would have sent them to a prelim.It was a fiery contest all evening, Scott Selwood went to Sam Mitchell to get under his skin and attempt to quell the influence of the former captain, while Jordan Lewis put in a stunning performance.At the momentous all-Sydney clash at ANZ stadium over 60 thousand were in attendance to see the Giants in full stride. Jeremy Cameron (four goals), Stephen Coniglio and Lachie Whitfield the ones who inflicted the damage in a complete performance.However, Shane Mumford and Stevie Johnson will both have nervous waits for the Match Review Panel with two separate incidents that saw Kurt Tippett and Josh Kennedy subsequently leave the field.HEROES Eddie Betts, again: How good is this man? He was the star again against North Melbourne on Saturday night, with a return of seven goals and countless acts of brilliance. Betts - who now has 72 goals for the season -- has made Adelaide Oval his playground, but can he make this entire finals series his grand touring show? He was the match-winner, but the return of two other star Crows, Brodie Smith and Rory Sloane, helped ensure Adelaide cruised through to week two of the finals series. They returned to their best scintillating form after what now looks like just a costly aberration against West Coast in Round 23. If they can overcome the Swans in Sydney, what a clash it will set up again against former Crow Patrick Dangerfield and Geelong in a preliminary final.GWS outmuscling big brother: The Giants hunted the Swans from the get-go on Saturday afternoon. At the long break, despite the close margin, the Giants had laid a season-high 53 tackles for a half. The pressure allowed them to hurt the Swans on turnover, scoring more than 11 goals from intercepts, delivering the Swans a big blow in their first finals appearance as a team. The Sydney medicos were working overtime with Josh Kennedy and Kurt Tippett both needing to be assessed for concussion after some strong-arm tactics from GWS. With no real push back, this was not only a momentous win for the little brother but an ominous message to the rest of the competition. With a home preliminary final secured, GWS are now in the box seat to be playing on the big stage of grand final day with that sort of ruthless execution.The Pressure Dogs: The Western Bulldogs were the team of the mighty West as they pressured the life out of the Eagles in their elimination final on Thursday night. Despite making an incredible five changes leading in, it was the Dogs who looked composed and ready for the do-or-die game. The visitors quickly silenced the usually vocal Domain Stadium crowd and then steadily drew away from their highly fancied opponents. With Luke Dahlhaus, Liam Picken, Caleb Daniel and the recalled Tom Liberatore hunting the ball with ferocity, the Dogs?obliterated the Eagles at the contest to help secure the clubs first interstate finals win. Could they shock the Hawks and win their way through to a preliminary final?VILLAINSIsaac Smith: Such a pressure moment. Many would dread having the ball in hand facing an after-the-siren shot to win a final, but good players like Smith love taking the opportunity to elevate their team and their stature in the game. Unfortunately, the Hawk seemed to shorten his run-up and rush his kick and the ball was tugged to the right of the goal post, sending Geelong players and fans into raptures. Another chapter is now written in this illustrious and now fabled rivalry and Smith will have to witness it replayed in years to come. Dont just write off the Hawks yet though, with a game at the MCG against the Dogs and a potential trip to Spotless Stadium vs. the red-hot Giants. They will reassess and prepare like the professionals they are and will still be confident of notching an historic four-peat.Clipped wings: The Eagles failed to fire and the Swans had no answers in the second half against GWS. Both teams entered their matches as favourites and both were found out against fiercer opponents. The Swans famous tackling pressure was nowhere to be seen as the Giants smashed their cross-town rivals with a 95-63 tackle count. With Kurt Tippett and Callum Mills to miss this weekends semifinal against Adelaide, the Swans are suddenly in grave danger of crashing out in straight sets. West Coast meanwhile, have plenty to think about during the offseason after another disastrous final, with key players such as Jack Darling, Elliot Yeo, Sharrod Wellingham and even Josh Kennedy struggling on the big stage.West Coasts selection committee: The Eagles entered the finals series with serious momentum after beating Adelaide and GWS (both away from home) and Hawthorn in the last three rounds of the premiership season. But they were nowhere near it against the Bulldogs. While it wouldnt have been the difference between winning and losing, the decision to select key defender Mitch Brown as a replacement for the injured Lewis Jetta was puzzling to say the least. The Bulldogs boast one of the deepest and flexible engine rooms in the league, meaning West Coast needed all the options they could muster through the midfield. Strange to think Adam Simpson and Co. decided to replace the speedy Lewis with a key tall, and its something theyll be reviewing during a long off-season.Wholesale Basketball Jerseys Authentic . -- Stanford squashed Oregons national championship hopes again, schooling the Ducks in power football. Cheap NBA Jerseys China . Self was acquired from the Buffalo Bandits in a trade for Alex Hill midway through last season, and made his debut in Rochester on March 16, 2013. http://www.wholesalechinajerseys.net/ . -- Stanfords Kevin Danser knelt on one knee and hardly moved on the sideline as Michigan State celebrated its Rose Bowl victory and his Cardinal teammates made their way to the locker room. Wholesale Jerseys Authenitc . Darren Helm scored on Detroits sixth attempt in the shootout and then Jonas Gustavsson stopped Andrew Shaws shot, lifting the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night. Wholesale Jerseys From China . The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Lions have not announced the hiring, which was first reported by ESPN. Lombardi, the grandson of former Green Bay Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi, has been an offensive assistant on Sean Paytons New Orleans staff since 2007.TROY, Ala. -- The Troy Trojans face a big challenge to their first national ranking just four days after cracking the Top 25.The 25th-ranked Trojans (8-1, 5-0 Sun Belt Conference) host Arkansas State (5-4, 5-0) Thursday night in Troys second straight battle of teams with perfect league marks.The Trojans survived the first such challenge with a 28-24 win over Appalachian State. Now, the stakes are potentially even higher.Troy is the first ranked Sun Belt team and also the only one to start a season 8-1. The Trojans havent joined fellow Group of Five teams Boise State (No. 20) and Western Michigan (No. 21) in the playoff rankings.It sets up an exciting opportunity for us, Troy coach Neal Brown said. It is a good opportunity to measure ourselves to what has been the premier program in the Sun Belt over the last five years.The Red Wolves have indeed been the leagues team to beat in recent seasons, a mantle once held by Troy. They havent lost since starting out 0-4 and have won 14 consecutive conference games and 17 of 20 road contests within the league.Arkansas State is the only FBS program to win four league titles over the past five seasons.No Sun Belt team has been hotter than the Trojans, who have won seven straight since a 30-24 loss to No. 5 Clemson. None would be bigger than the Appalachian State victory, when Jordan Chunn scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:02 left.I dont know if I expected them to be 8-1 but I surely expected them to be in the mix in the conference race, Arkansas State coach Blake Anderson said.The result of both teams hhot streak is the first Sun Belt game between teams with 5-0 league records or better.dddddddddddd---Some other things to know about the Arkansas State-Troy game:SUN BELTS BEST? Troy once dominated the Sun Belt much like Arkansas State has lately. The Trojans havent won a league title since capturing their fifth in a row in 2010, when Brown was offensive coordinator.PROTECTING QBS: Which team will be able to pressure the quarterback best? No team in the nation has given up fewer sacks this season than the three allowed by Troy, and the Trojans defense also leads the Sun Belt with 25 sacks. Arkansas State has strong pass rushers in JaVon Rolland-Jones (7.5 sacks) and Chris Odom (7.0).PICK ARTISTS: Arkansas States Money Hunter, the Sun Belt defensive player of the week, just set the league record with his fourth career interception return for a touchdown. Troys Blace Brown has six interceptions and leads the nation in picks per game.TOP RUSHERS: The game features two of the leagues top four rushers. Troys Chunn is tops with 1,028 yards and 10 touchdowns; Arkansas State counters with Warren Wand, who is averaging 67.4 yards per game.JUSTICE DEPARTMENT: Arkansas State quarterback Justice Hansen is second in the league in pass efficiency. Taking care of the ball will be huge in this one since hes facing a defense with 16 interceptions.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 ' ' '