Bullied Around - Boston 96, Chicago 80

The kids aren't all right. Derrick Rose led a youthful Chicago Bulls team into the TD Banknorth Garden last night with their heads held high. Expectations for the Bulls this season are high, with their sights set on a return to the postseason. If they're going to reach that goal, they need to develop a bit of chemistry first.

I'm not going to sit here and call this a "game," because in many respects, it wasn't. This was a tutorial given by the defending World Champions. It looked like young undergraduates attending a senior seminar. Professors Garnett, Allen and Pierce taught them quite a lesson, with the help of T.A. Rondo. This was the type of contest that, as a Boston fan, you love to watch. You knew from the opening tip that the entire night was in the Celtics' hands. They established control by dominating the boards. Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins had ten rebounds apiece, and the Captain added nine of his own. Seem impressive? Take into account that Garnett and Perkins played a combined 54 minutes. Neither man eclipsed the 30-minute mark -- that's how early this game was over.

As a result, the bench got some solid playing time. Though, by the looks of how they played, you'd never know they were reserves. Last night was another coming-out party of sorts for guard Tony Allen and big man Leon Powe. Allen seems to have shed his mental issues following a knee surgery of 2006, and Powe seems to develop a bit more inside presence every time he steps foot on the parquet floor. Know who else made his season debut? The Celtics' resident ginger, Brian Scalabrine, whom the Boston crowd screams for whenever his hands touch the basketball. Everyone in that arena wanted "Scal" to drop 30 points out of nowhere. He didn't end up scoring a point. Good job, Brian.

The Celtics will now hit the road and take on the Pacers in Indianapolis. The young club, led by a newly-re-signed Danny Granger, has started the season 0-1 and will look to pick up their first win.

Final Score: Boston Celtics 96, Chicago Bulls 80
Player of the Game: Kevin Garnett (18 Pts, 10 Reb, 3 Ast)
Tommy Talk Quote of the Game: "Oh, wow! What was THAT? Was that a 'Scal Wrap-Around' Pass?!" -- Regarding a fancy Brian Scalabrine pass in the second half.

-- Dan Zappulla, Relaxing on a Saturday.

NFL Picks Week 9

Here we go again sports fans! Another full slate of football and the VendorBall staff is all over it again. For those who didn't follow - last week Tim, Dan, and Kyle all lost to a lowly coin flip. Well not looking good for those of us who try and pick 'em, but we're coming back with a vengeance this week. Coin, you're going down! But first, Tim lays his unbeaten record on the line with FIVE picks this week! Sweet Brady!

Tim's Picks of the Week

Tim's Record: 2-0-1

Arizona at St. Louis
1:00 on FOX
Commentators: Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick
Line: Arizona -3

So the Rams win 2 straight, then go into Foxboro and hang tough with the Pats for 55 minutes, and now they’re back home and getting no respect once again. The public is all over Arizona with almost 3 out of every 4 bets coming in on the Cardinals, yet the line is starting to weaken off the key number of 3 indicating heavy sharp plays on St. Louis. Arizona is 1-3 on the road and is giving up, on average, 30 points per game away from the desert. Yikes. Sure, it’s Kurt Warner’s homecoming, but I’ll take the Rams +3 to play the spoiler role.


Miami at Denver
4:05 on CBS
Commentators: Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf
Line: Denver -3.5

Denver, look, it’s like this: Until you prove to me that you can stop a pee wee team, I’m going to keep fading you. Miami could line up with the Icebox running the Wildcat this weekend and she’d run all over you. You made Matt Cassel look like Bart Starr on Monday night. For Miami, Chad Pennington is having a pretty productive season so far. Whether or not anyone decides to notice is another story. Of course Jay Cutler and the Broncos offense are no slouches either, but this game may come down to whoever has the ball last. 2/3 of the action is on Denver here, mainly because the public perception is that Miami is still the worst team in the league. I’ll take the Dolphins +3.5 and make Denver prove to me they can stop them.


Atlanta at Oakland
4:15 on FOX
Commentators: Matt Vasgersian and J.C. Pearson
Line: Atlanta -3

If there’s one team out there that everyone loves to bet against, it’s the Raiders. They might be the most dysfunctional organization in pro sports right now. But hey, if you want to give them up as a home underdog every week, I’ll most likely take you up on the offer. Everyone has seemingly fallen in love with Atlanta with Matt Ryan and Michael Turner (hey, look, a guy named Turner running things in Atlanta) taking charge of the offense, but let’s not forget this team is pretty bad on the road. 1-3 straight up and against the spread and they’re 1-3 when playing on grass. (3-0 on turf). It’s their second road game in a row, coming cross-country after putting up a fight in Philly last week. They also have a huge divisional home game next week vs New Orleans so my guess is they might be looking past lowly Oakland here. I’ll take the Raiders +3.


New England at Indianapolis
8:30 on NBC
Commentators: Al Michaels and John Madden
Line: Indianapolis -6

What looked in August to be the marquee regular season matchup of the year has turned into each team desperately trying to figure out some semblance of an identity. More so for Indy who limps home after a beatdown in Tennessee on Monday night. Can you believe the Colts sit at 3-4? If they lose Sunday night they could be in last place in the AFC South. The Patriots can breathe a little easier as they enter at 5-2 but are still tied atop the division with the upstart Buffalo Bills. It’s been a long time since the Pats have been 6-point underdogs but I think this line is where it should be. I hate to do it again, but I think Peyton is going to have a field day throwing all over the Pats secondary (who are some of these guys the Pats trot out there on defense?!?). Philip Rivers picked them apart on Sunday night two weeks ago and I think we’re going to see a repeat performance from Manning this week. I don’t like to lay chalk but I’ll do it here in what is an absolute must-win game for Indianapolis. Colts –6

Pittsburgh at Washington
8:30 Monday on ESPN
Commentators Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, Tony Kornheiser
Line: Washington -2

Monday Night Football in our Nation’s capital on the eve of the Election. Now there’s a pretty significant betting angle in this game that I’m sure most of you are not aware of. The final Redskins home game before an election can be pretty revealing. You see, dating back to 1936, if the Redskins win their final home game before a presidential election, the incumbent party wins the election. If the Redskins lose, the new party takes office. It’s a remarkable trend that’s been accurate 17 out of a possible 18 elections (94.4%). The only time the theory didn’t hold true was in 2004 when the Redskins lost to the Packers on MNF, but George Bush won the election keeping the Republicans in office (Kyle's note: Did Bush really win that election?). With that said, I’ll take Pittsburgh +2. Obama looks like a winner, so keeping with the trend, Pittsburgh should come out of D.C. with the W.


Staff Picks (and that damn coin)

Standings

Coin 6-6-2
Tim 5-7-2
Kyle 5-7-2
Dan 4-8-2


New York Jets +6 @ Buffalo

Tim: Buf -6. Bills regain first place with a win.
Dan: Buf -6. Favre gets torched by Bills' secondary.
Kyle: Buf -6. They won't lose two division games in a row. Welcome back Brett "3 INT" Favre
Coin: Buf -6.


Detroit +13 @ Chicago

Tim: Chi -13. If it’s possible for the Lions to score negative points, today’s the day.
Dan: Chi -13. Like Cincy, points are never enough with the Lions.
Kyle: Chi -13. Detroit has allowed a 118 passer rating this year: Happy Birthday Kyle Orton.
Coin: Det +13.


Jacksonville -7.5 @ Cincinnati

Tim: Cin +7.5. Ohio teams make it back to back covers vs the Jags.
Dan: Jac -7.5.Points are never enough with the Bengals.
Kyle: Jac -7.5. Allowing 150 rush yards per game will not help you beat a good running team.
Coin: Cin +7.5.


Baltimore +1.5 @ Cleveland

Tim: Bal +1.5. McGahee’s topped 100 yards in 3 of 4 vs Cle.
Dan: Bal +1.5. Browns haven't learned to win yet.
Kyle: Bal +1.5. Did you know Cle allows only 17.6 points per game? I'll take the under here too, please.
Coin: Bal +1.5.


Tampa Bay -8.5 @ Kansas City

Tim: TB -8.5. Herm won’t be playing to win the game.
Dan: TB -8.5. Despite loss in Big D, Bucs have looked strong. They take down KC by a wide margin.
Kyle: TB -8.5. Not biting here - Tyler Thigpen goes back to sucking against a tough TB Defense.
Coin: TB -8.5


Houston +4.5 @ Minnesota

Tim: Hou +4.5. Offense is hitting on all cylinders right now.
Dan: Hou +4.5. The Vikes are expected to get past the Texans' D with no QB?
Kyle: Hou +4.5. Minnesota is strong against the run, so Matt Schaub will have to beat them... which he will.
Coin: Min -4.5


Arizona -3 @ St. Louis

Tim: StL +3. (see above)
Dan: StL +3. Showed a lot of heart last week against the Pats. Cards should be no match.
Kyle: Ari -3. If you don't know who Tim Hightower is, then your ass better CALL SOMEBODYYYYYY!!!!
Coin: StL +3.


Green Bay +4.5 @ Tennessee

Tim: GB +4.5 The old “team that covered on MNF doesn’t cover next out” angle
Dan: Ten -4.5. Love the Pack, but the Titans are too hot, playing especially well at home.
Kyle: Ten -4.5. Tennessee is a force, and I don't see GB to be the team to break it up.
Coin: GB +4.5.


Miami +3.5 @ Denver

Tim: Mia +3.5. (see above)
Dan: Den -3.5. Dolphins coming off a big win, but can't handle Mile High just yet.
Kyle: Den -3.5. Denver at home - they better not disappoint me.
Coin: Den -3.5.


Dallas +9 @ New York Giants

Tim: Dal +9. I’ll take 9 points in a rivalry game even if Quincy Carter were taking the snaps.
Dan: NYG -9. Without Romo, this is no contest. G-Men take care of business.
Kyle: Dal +9. Giants D looks good, but it is a rivalry. This should be close.
Coin: Dal +9.


Atlanta -3 @ Oakland

Tim: Oak +3. (see above)
Dan: Atl -3. Ryan marches the troops into the black hole and comes out alive.
Kyle: Atl -3. Yes I'd like to hop on the Falcons bandwagon, please.
Coin: Oak +3.


Philadelphia -6.5 @ Seattle

Tim: Sea +6.5. East Coast teams going West haven’t fared well.
Dan: Phi -6.5. Seahawks have looked miserable this season. McNabb & Co march out of Qwest with a W.
Kyle: Phi -6.5. Seattle's defense isn't even playing well.
Coin: Phi -6.5.


New England +6 @ Indianapolis

Tim: Ind -6. (see above)
Dan: NE +6. Seriously? The Colts are giving points in this one?
Kyle: NE +6. I'm starting to think Indy just isn't that good.
Coin: Ind -6.


Pittsburgh +2 @ Washington

Tim: Pit +2. (see above)
Dan: Pit +2. Redskins are no match for the AFC's second-best club.
Kyle: Pit +2. O-BA-MA! O-BA-MA! O-BA-MA! O Barrack me Obamadeus!
Coin: Was -2.

Random Post-Series Thoughts

Dear Rays Fans: Welcome

This blog has been pretty hard on the Rays fans throughout the season. Their inability to show up to games, cheer on their team, and to fail to do so throughout the season, even when their team was presenting themselves obviously as a winning team. And now, a semi-heartbreaking World Series loss. Does it hurt, Rays fans? Good, then allow me to officially welcome you to MLB fandom. It's a long and painful relationship, but overall it's worth it, and you have a great team to root for. Glad to welcome you aboard. Now, as apart of your inauguration you need to show up for April games, buy paraphenalia, and have at least half your fan base think one of your star players is a "bum" (I pick Scott Kazmir, but you can choose your favorite)


Scott Van Pelt

On ESPN2 today, Scott Van Pelt made an interesting observation. He made a commercial with Ben Rothturdberger and BOOM - Steelers win a championship. He makes a commercial with the "Boston Three Party" and the Celtics win a championship. He then makes a commercial with Jimmy Rollins and the Phillies win a championship. It's an intersting correlation, but I'm thinking about signing up Petrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara for a "This Is SportsCenter Commercial"

*I promise to find these videos once I get home


Phillies Celebration

Seemed a little weak to me. Maybe I'm used to the Boston players going nuts a la the Riverdancing Papelbon, but they just seemed to not have the celebration thing down. Did the fans even get champagne sprayed all over them? Just curious. I'm not bashing Phillies fans - I think Philadelphia is one of the great sports towns left in this country (along with Boston and Chicago, with a couple nods to New York, St. Louis, and Seattle [really, fuck the NBA for what they did to the Sonics]), but the celebration wasn't what I expected.


Ratings?

Grasso: "I haven't watched one game of this World Series, I mean, I'm not a hardcore baseball fan, I'm a Sox fan. But this thing is so weird that I'm going to watch it. I mean it's only like two innings right?"

Well it was 3 innings, but I wonder how this snafu effected the ratings. We'll have more on that tomorrow or Friday. But something tells me this wacky situation will have the ratings for this third-of-a-game much higher than any of the other games. But we'll see, and get those numbers to you later.


My last night in Chicago so tomorrow (that would be Thursday) at 9:00 PM:



Written by Kyle "Dropkick" Baxter

Green with Envy - Boston 90, Cleveland 85

Wondering where LeBron James was during the ring ceremony and banner-hoisting last night? In the visiting locker room of the TD Banknorth Garden. He, along with his Cavalier teammates, chose not to stand on the floor to watch the 2008 NBA Champion Celtics receive their hardware. Take a short trip with me back to April of 2005. The scene was Fenway Park, and our beloved Red Sox were receiving their first championship rings in 86 years. Who was standing at the top step of the visiting dugout? The team they had defeated in the 2004 League Championship Series, the New York Yankees. That's right LeBron, I'm saying that the Yankees have more class than you do. They had respect and humility enough to honor the team that defeated them. As a Red Sox fan, it's hard to say this, but LeBron should learn something from those gentlemen.

But enough with last night's microscopic downside. The rest of the evening was unbelievably fulfilling. It started with the annual monologue from Commissioner David Stern, congratulating the franchise, the city, blah blah blah. I've already heard the same speech four times in San Antonio alone. What followed, though, was one of those "Oh yeah, I remember it well" sequence of events. In what seemed like an endless line of basketball majesty, Celtics heroes from generations past ushered the Larry O'Brien trophy out to center court, where captain Paul Pierce was waiting to greet it one more time. In that very instant, it seemed Pierce was inducted into the "Hall of Celtic Greats," so to speak. Tom Heinsohn, Bob Cousy, Cedric Maxwell and others embraced the captain as if he was now one of their own. Pierce teared up, and proudly displayed the championship trophy above his head.

Next came the presentation of the rings, and you guessed it, more tears were shed. Looking back on it, it was intended to be a celebration of the Celtics' championship season, but it ended up being a coronation and appreciation night for The Truth. Pierce was the last one to receive his new piece of jewelry -- which featured white gold and about 90 diamonds, by the way -- and delicately displayed it to the crowd as if presenting the baby Simba to the pride. It was emotional, touching, and well-deserved. I'm not sure that I've ever been happier for an athlete. As the team gathered together to raise the new banner to the Garden rafters, something dawned on me: there was still a game to be played. I'd totally forgotten about the Cavs.

The Celtics didn't suffer from the same memory loss. After quickly falling behind in the first quarter, the Champs snapped back to their old selves, with the help of some new role-players. With James Posey flying the coop for New Orleans in the off-season, the door was opened for Tony Allen and Leon Powe to show what they can do. Judging from their performances last night, the C's will be just fine. Allen showed quickness that's been missing from his game for years, and Powe proved to be a legitimate scoring and rebound threat inside. Apparently his monster display in Game 2 of last year's NBA Finals was no fluke. Allen and Powe, combined with Pierce, led the Celtics to a 90-85 victory over Cleveland, a game that always seemed securely in the Celtics' hands in the second half. Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen had off shooting nights, and their team still beat one of their most formidable Eastern Conference foes. You have to feel good about that.

Now that the banner is raised, the rings have been handed out, and tears have been shed, it's time to go full-force into the 2008-09 campaign, and I can't wait. I'm anxious to see the evolution of players like Glen "Big Baby" Davis, Bill Walker and Gabe Pruitt. I can already tell that the hunger is still there, too, if you were wondering. There was no lack of emotion from the Big Three last night, and I get the feeling that motivation won't be an issue all year. I picked the Celtics to repeat as champions last week, and Game 1 of the 2008-09 season made me feel very good about that choice. If the Celtics do end up hoisting banner eighteen to the rafters next October, LeBron will hopefully have the humility to stand there and watch.

Final Score: Boston Celtics 90, Cleveland Cavaliers 85
Player of the Game: Paul Pierce, BOS (27 Pts, 4 Ast, 3 Reb)
Tommy Talk Moment: None, Game Aired on TNT

-- Dan Zappulla, Joyfully Weeping.

Picks Results: Week 8

Good day, faithful readers. So my absence from the blog this week is due to the fact that I'm in Chicago and my laptop died, so Dan has been admirably holding down the fort and getting some comments (which we encourage). Anyhow, I'm spending my lunch to do a quick update on our NFL picks & competition, and if we don't pick it up, we'll be letting the coin write an article.

Standings
Coin: 6-6-2
Tim: 5-7-2
Kyle: 5-7-2
Dan: 4-8-2

Coin sitting at exactly .500 is perfectly expected for a coin and we got our asses kicked. Notably, SanFran's meltdown, Cleveland remembering how to play defense, a bad snap in the Pittsburgh game, and the Saints offensive show of force screwed the three humans over for 4 losses apiece. In hindsight, SanFran's new coach should have been something to look at, the SD game was going to be a shootout, and Fast Willie did not return. Big upset this week. However on the bright side:

Tim's Featured Picks: 2-0-1 and if Washington didn't kick a junk field goal at the end of the game he would have been 3-0. A rock solid first showing for the Timidator.

Next week: we try to make up some ground on the coin - picks and my triumphant return to Boston on Friday.

--Kyle Baxter's Prostate

Oh, the Suspense.

Remember in my last blog, when I said I'd fall asleep in the sixth inning? Turns out I wouldn't have missed anything. Last night's Game 5 in Philadelphia was suspended in the middle of the sixth due to inclement weather, and they're going to (try to) finish it up tonight with the game knotted at two runs apiece.

So, with not much to write about, I thought I'd comment a bit more on this year's World Series television ratings, since it seemed to be yesterday's hot topic, along with the declining aura surrounding the Fall Classic. 2008 has been, by pretty much every standard possible, the lowest-rated World Series ever. I understand that modern telecasts are handicapped by the fact that there are simply more viewing options. In 1985, there was basic, basic cable, and pretty much nothing else. Now, it's almost a given that each household will have some sort of special paid service, be it HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, etc. On top of that, ESPN *alone* has five channels (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, ESPN Classic...did I miss one?). Throw in all those random channels that start up in the 200's...Sundance, Oxygen, G4TV, GSN, all that stuff...the World Series doesn't garner nearly the attention it used to. However! With that said, this year's numbers are still pitiful. Let me elaborate. (Also, if you need to read more on what "ratings" and "share" numbers are, please visit Wikipedia's Neilsen Ratings page, located here: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nielsen_Ratings)

Onto the landmark lows: this year marks the first time EVER that Games 2 and 4 have dipped into single-digit ratings. (Games 1 and 3 traditionally garner the lowest numbers of a series. Why? No idea. Just a trend I've noticed.) Game 2 came in at a 8.1 (13 share) and Game 4 at a 9.3 (15 share). Those are each three whole points below the previous all-time lows. As I said, this can partially be attributed to increased viewing options, but the individual franchise markets have to take some of the blame. Last year's series featured a similar dichotomy of home team disparity. It featured a strong, dedicated fanbase in Boston that will always bring huge ratings regardless of the game's magnitude, pitted against the Denver market, which is new to baseball but brings at least some ratings to the table, since the area had never experienced October baseball before. (See the similarity with Philadelphia and Tampa Bay?) Games 1-4 of last year's series (which turned out to be the entirety of the series, as well) averaged a 10.675 rating with an 18 share. Not amazing, yet solid numbers. Games 1-4 of this year's series? An 8.175 average rating with a 14 share. That's the first time that a World Series has had an average rating of under 10.

The real losers in this whole debacle are not the two cities. The loser, despite the poor ratings, is not the FOX network. The people who suffer are those who comprise the broad fanbase of Major League Baseball. We wait all year for the drama and suspense of the Fall Classic, and we get the Phillies and the Rays? Please. Yes, they're deserving, and yes, this is how is needed to be. But don't sit there, as a baseball fan, and tell me that you didn't want to see a Game 7 between Manny's Dodgers and Papi's Red Sox. There's a reason why Game 7 in 2001 between the Yankees and Diamondbacks got huge viewership. It held the hearts of a beaten and battered New York fanbase against a young, up-and-coming Arizona crowd, and took the attention of the rest of the nation in the balance. The Rays and Phillies are a mockery of what the 2001 series was. They're a mockery of the 2003 series which featured the emergence of the Marlins' young guns (Josh Beckett, A.J. Burnett and Carl Pavano). 2008 can't hold a candle to the weight being lifted off of a city's shoulders in 2004. We miss the moments that evolve into memories. Beckett tagging out Posada, Foulke lobbing the ball to first, Gonzalez's bloop single over Jeter's head.

I miss the series that made me fall in love with baseball, and I haven't seen it in quite awhile. Ratings aside, baseball needs its majestic, historic stage back. We all do.

-- Dan Zappulla, Sadly Nostalgic.

Phils One Win Away from Title

Yeah, so you may have noticed the lack of an update surrounding last night's World Series Game 4. Why? Who the hell cares, that's why. Outside of Philadelphia, no one watched this thing, including the St. Petersburg market. No one cares.

That said, the Phillies have a chance to wrap the series up this evening after last night's 10-2 blasting of Tampa Bay. (Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria are now a combined 0-25 at the plate in the World Series. That warms my heart.) Cole Hamels is on the mound tonight for Philadelphia, so you can pretty much put this one in the books. We'll have a nice, extensive update and/or coronation piece tomorrow afternoon.

-- Dan Zappulla, Probably Falling Asleep in the Sixth Inning.

Happy Fourth Anniversary!

In my mind, Foulky's still lobbing the ball to first.


-- Dan Zappulla, Quietly Reminiscing.

NFL Week 8 - Patriots 23, Rams 16

I haven't missed a Patriots game since the infamous "Bledsoe Injury" game of 2001. I can often tell you the 53rd man on their 53-man roster. I remember what color hoodie Bill Belichick wore during Super Bowl XXXIX. And yet, there were at least three instances in yesterday afternoon's game when I turned to my girlfriend and said, "I have no idea who the hell that is."

Her response was usually, "I bet they dragged him off the street this morning." They could have done exactly that, and it wouldn't have made a difference. Why? They somehow keep on winning. The Patriots are under an injury cloud the likes of which I've never seen before. They've lost perennial MVP -- and the best quarterback in the history of the game -- Tom Brady for at least this entire season, maybe more. Starting running back Laurence Maroney has been placed on Injured Reserve. Backs Sammy Morris and LaMont Jordan were both inactive for yesterday's game. As a result, Matt Cassel -- whose name still makes me shudder a little -- has been your starting quarterback. Yesterday's starting running back? BenJarvis Green-Ellis, who I'm 83% sure played Alfonso Spears on "Silver Spoons."

All of this aside, they had to deal with the red-hot St. Louis Rams yesterday in Foxboro. The Rams have been a team who's apparently remembered how to play fundamentally sound football. Since new head coach Jim Haslett took the helm three weeks ago, the Rams have gone 2-0, handily beating playoff-bound clubs Washington and Dallas. Yet, with Deltha O'Neal and Ellis Hobbs missing the vast majority of the contest, the Patriots defense managed to shut down the Marc Bulger-led Rams offensive attack.

Matt Cassel, somehow, managed to throw for almost 300 yards, and Randy Moss eclipsed the 100-yard mark on his own, while also grabbing his 800th career reception. The Patriots offense overcame a few of its own inconsistencies, as Moss and Wes Welker both dropped simple passes.

As a result of this game, as a Pats fan, you have to feel good. I understand that this season is never going to feel right without Tom Brady. I've come to terms with that. However, considering all the mistakes and injuries they overcame yesterday (and the entire season in general), you can't help but feel a bit more confident today than you did after the Week 1 victory over Kansas City. Matt Cassel is maturing before our eyes as a legitimate NFL quarterback, the defensive unit is functioning well with some forcefully-injected youth, and Randy Moss hasn't quit on the team yet. That's got to be worth something.

Next Sunday night will be a big, big test: a nationally televised game in Indianapolis against the Colts, who haven't looked like themselves for one moment this season. Peyton Manning's offensive line has given him roughly half-a-second to think before throwing the ball, their running game is non-existent, and the defense is a shell of what they were during their Super Bowl run of 2006. The Colts are 3-3 as of this morning, and face 6-0 Tennessee on the road tonight. Indianapolis could very well be a sub-.500 team when the Patriots take the field six days from now. If Cassel can lead the New England boys to victory, we might have a reason to get excited again.

Player of the Game: Wes Welker (WR, New England). Without him, Cassel would've been in deep trouble. He's become the new Troy Brown.

-- Dan Zappulla, Feeling Optimistic.

World Series Game 3: Philadelphia 5 - Tampa Bay 4

An hour and a half delay with HEAVY rains in Philadelphia was not enough to discourage this fan (Don McCracken), nor was it enough to derail the Phillies as they took a 2-1 series lead against the Devil Rays in the 2008 World Series.

It was a throwback night for Jamie Moyer, as the 45-year old was tough to solve through 6.1 innings, and held the Rays to only 3 runs in an eventual Phillies 6-5 victory. As always, it's tough to understand exactly how he goes about being so effective with an 82 MPH fastball, 75 MPH change up and slider, and a curve that sits at 69. Even with the pinpoint accuracy he sometimes shows, it just doesn't seem like his stuff is enough to keep hitters off balance three times through the lineup. But what I noticed this time, was that even Moyer's fastball (although I think we should call it a not-necessarily-slow ball) has a ton of movement on it. So it becomes harder for hitters to determine exactly where that fastball is going to end up. He also cuts it and tosses a two-seamer which I'm beginning to believe is one of the best 1-2 combinations in the game.

On the other side, Matt Garza took a minute or two to regain his composure after the hour-and-a-half rain delay, and his control was never what it was when he looked like the best pitcher in baseball against the Sox, but he was mostly solid through his 6 innings of work. The obvious exception being back-to-back home runs he surrendered to Chase Utley and Ryan Howard in the 5th. Howard seemed to find his stroke in this game, which is a dangerous prospect to Rays fans (do you think they know there's still more baseball to play?). Actually, it was an odd "coincidence" (I don't believe in such things in baseball) that Maddon told the wonder-bitch announcers that he'd have the flaps of his hat down at "5 past midnight" due to the cold. Well, he didn't and at exactly 12:05, Chase Utley hit a home run. More proof that the Baseball Gods dislike people who don't keep their word - remember that Mr. Maddon.

The end of the game was a bit of an oddity for both clubs, as neither bullpen could keep the other team at bay, the way it had all year long. Granted, each team was helped out by some costly errors and great base-running, but these teams have become accustomed to shut down pitching from their bullpen guys. Ryan Madson allowed a run to score in the top of the eighth, and going into the bottom of the 9th with a tied game, I was gearing up for a long night (and it was almost 2AM by that point). However the Tampa bullpen could not hold down the Phillies, and a lead-off walk by Eric Bruntlett and his glorious beard was turned into a triple by a stolen base, and a throwing error on that steal. In a classic Maddon move, the next two guys were walked and he went with 5 infielders to try and get three outs. The first batter, Carlos Ruiz, hits a dribbler down the third base line, and Longoria could not make the play at home.

The weird thing was, and never mentioned by the Buck-McCarver failure, was that if he had let that ball go, it might have had a chance to roll foul. But at that point in the game, you need to try and make a play. So the Phillies go up 2 games to 1, and the question becomes “how will the Rays respond?” Well, this is been a most resilient team all year long. Every time they have been counted out (by me more often than anyone, I assure you), they have bounced back and kept themselves on track. Can they do it again? Well they have Andy Sonnanstine taking the hill against Joe Blanton tonight, so we'll have to gear up to find out.


Written by Kyle Baxter: Certified Silly Goose