Yet, if there is one thing Rex Ryan taught us this week (unless you remained stuck on Bill Belichick fourth-and-2 overload), these brawny, intimidating and ferocious professional sports personnel can have a soft spot underneath their body armor.

One day after the Jets‘ 24-22 loss to the Jaguars on Sunday, Ryan let his emotions get the best of him as he cried in front of his players during a team meeting Monday morning. Known for the fierce and resilient defenses he has coached in the NFL, Ryan surprised football fans around the country with his tears. Coming from a man who earlier in the year pronounced he was “not intimidated by New England or anybody else,” Ryan’s crying could be interpreted as an outburst of passion or a revelation of weakness.

But Ryan is not the only one to go from putting on a relaxed and confident front to experiencing an emotional outbreak. Here is a look at recent athletes who could not hold back their tears.

Terrell Owens

This may explain why T.O. was offended when he complained that quarterback Tony Romo favored Cowboys tight end Jason Witten over him as his No. 1 receiver. After losing to the Giants in the 2007 playoffs, Owens allowed the tears to pour below his sunglasses as he defended Romo to the assembled media. Asked how the loss would affect Romo, Owens immediately began to sob, telling reporters not to lay the blame on his quarterback. One year, a reality show and an offseason trade later, Owens now finds himself on an underachieving Buffalo Bills squad, though he has yet to comment about the firing of Dick Jauron or the benching of quarterback Trent Edwards.

Glen Davis

On Dec. 5, 2008, Kevin Garnett ripped into Big Baby and the rest of the Celtics bench as the team was on the verge of blowing a 25-point lead to the Portland Trail Blazers. Living up to his childlike nickname, Davis was spotted trying to fight back tears for the remainder of the game, obviously hurt by Garnett’s harsh criticism. Even though the Celtics ended up winning, Davis let KG’s words affect him, as he was seen whining to his teammates while the game was in progress.

Roger Federer

In one of the most epic tennis matches of all-time, Roger Federer lost in five sets to rival Rafael Nadal in the final of the 2009 Australian Open. Having suffered his third straight defeat to the world’s top-ranked player, Federer broke down in tears after Nadal sealed the championship. Citing how finishing in the runner-up position was “killing” him, Federer was consoled by Nadal, who sympathized with his opponent. Since then, Federer battled back from injury and reclaimed the No. 1 spot, which he holds today.

Mark Cuban

The fiery, outspoken Dallas Mavericks owner has never be one to shy away from voicing his opinion. So when Dirk Nowitzki was named the winner of the 2007 NBA MVP award, Cuban demonstrated just how overwhelmingly proud he was of his 7-foot forward by praising his work ethic in the midst of tears. Maybe he should have spoken more warm-heartedly when he inappropriately told Kenyon Martin’s mother her son was a “thug.”

Adam Morrison

The floppy-haired Morrison was a ball of emotions in the closing seconds of Gonzaga’s 2006 NCAA tournament Sweet 16 matchup with UCLA. After the Zags blew a 17-point lead, Morrison was outwardly crushed by the defeat. Once Gonzaga missed a final opportunity to tie the score, Morrison dropped to the floor, bawling in the the middle of the court. Consoled by his coach in front of reporters, Morrison was stunned his team enabled UCLA to rally and steal a 73-71 victory. It would be the last game Morrison would play in a Gonzaga uniform, as he declared for the NBA draft.

FOOTBALL: Chris Price has Five Things to Watch For Sunday as the Patriots play the Jets. Price also writes about the contributions the Patriots have been getting from their rookies. Mike Petraglia writes about why things will be different than the first time these teams met.

Dan Guttenplan recalls his first visit to Foxboro as a member of the media. D.J. Bean has his can’t-pass-up matchups for fantasy football fans.

In the Thursday night game, Ricky Williams led the Dolphins past the Panthers. The Vikings signed coach Brad Childress to an extension. The wife of former NFL player Chris Spielman died after a lengthy battle with breast cancer.

BASKETBALL: The Celtics get a shot at the defending Eastern Conference champion Magic tonight at the TD Garden. Kevin Garnett spoke to Dale & Holley yesterday. Michael Holley has his NBA power rankings.

Paul Gasol returned to the Lakers and helped them beat the Bulls. The Jazz won in San Antonio for the first time in a decade. The Wizards knocked of the Cavaliers. Allen Iverson cleared waivers, and the Knicks reportedly have some interest. Former NBA player Jayson Williams today is expected to plead guilty of lesser charges in the accidental shooting death of his driver.

In college action, Syracuse crushed No. 13 California. No. 6 North Carolina held off No. 15 Ohio State. No. 5 Villanova edged George Mason.

HOCKEY: The Bruins gave up a last-minute goal but won in a shootout over the Thrashers. In his Hat Trick of Things We Learned, Graig Woodburn sees positives signs.

The Hurricanes rallied from three goals down, then allowed the go-ahead goal with 29 seconds left, then came back to force overtime with 2 seconds left and beat the Leafs in a shootout. Carolina placed Eric Staal and Cam Ward on the injured list. The Ducks blew a three-goal lead but won in overtime vs. the Lightning. The Penguins lost again, this time to the Senators.

Canadian health official said Canucks players jumped the line for H1N1 vaccinations.

BASEBALL: David Ortiz met with the media yesterday and said he wants another big bat in the lineup. Tim Lincecum won the NL Cy Young Award in a very close vote. Yankees lefty Andy Pettitte filed for free agency. Commissioner Bud Selig said some teams lost money this season.

SOCCER: Ireland is demanding a replay with France after the controversial hand-ball goal by Thierry Henry knocked the Irish out of World Cup consideration. Landon Donovan of the Los Angeles Galaxy was named MVP of Major League Soccer. The Galaxy meet Real Salt Lake in Sunday’s MLS Cup.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Nov. 20, 1958, which Red Sox player was named American League MVP?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I have the ultimate respect for Tedy [Bruschi] and everything he’s done for this organization, but he’s not in this locker room at this point in time so he doesn’t know the feeling that this defense or this team has. We still have our confidence, we still have our swagger and we’re gonna go out Sunday and show … the media, I guess.” — Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo, on Bruschi’s comments about the defense being disrespected by Sunday’s fourth-and-2 call

STAT OF THE DAY: 7 — Consecutive wins over the Thrashers by the Bruins, who prevailed in shootout last night

AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED TRANSCRIPT OF THE DAY: Doc Rivers made his weekly appearance on Dennis & Callahan yesterday morning. When talking about his coaching philosophy, he touched on a number of subjects, according to the automatically generated transcript:

“Well I don’t remember Olympic committees do. — yet to be — to — different. Mood inept and Labatt blue and ineptitude of government.”

What he actually said: “Well, I think the number one thing for me is you have to remain agenda-free. Meaning, It has to be about them, and it has to be about winning.”

‘NET RESULTS: Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi gives a speech, and, according to this translation, he’s complaining about the Chicago Bears.

TRIVIA ANSWER: Jackie Jensen

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Joe Walsh is 62 today.

If LeBron James wants to give football a try, the Browns would welcome him. So said Browns coach Eric Mangini, who has nothing to lose.

“I think he should come on down,” said Mangini, whose team is 1-8. “I know he’s pretty busy right now, but if he wants to give it a shot, the guy is gifted.”

FOOTBALL: Chris Price writes about Tom Brady’s resurgence. Jets coach Rex Ryan talked about crying in the locker room in front of his players, and he had some kind words for Bill Belichick.

Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown was placed on IR, ending his season. The Bills reportedly are pursuing Mike Shanahan to be their next coach. Browns quarterback Brady Quinn was fined for his chop block on Baltimore’s Terrell Suggs, who will miss a game for the first time in his career due to a sprained knee ligament injured on the play. JaMarcus Russell is being benched by the Raiders, who turn to the immortal Bruce Gradkowski.

Fred Smerlas is explaining himself after his basketball team made up of former Patriots apparently played a little too rough in a charity game against some local high school kids.

Dan Rowinski writes about Boston College seniors who are preparing for their final game at The Heights.

BASKETBALL: The Celtics pulled away from the Warriors. Jessica Camerato has the Three-Pointer of Things We Learned from the game. Camerato also talks to former Piston Rasheed Wallace on the fifth anniversary of the Palace Brawl.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 41 points and lifted the Mavericks over the Spurs in overtime. Joe Johnson (30 points) and the Hawks are on a roll. The Nets are 0-12. Cavaliers center Shaquille O’Neal might miss another couple of games with a strained shoulder. Trail Blazers forward Charles Outlaw is out 3-5 months with a stress fracture in his left foot.

Magic Johnson is OK with LeBron James’ idea to retire No. 23 league-wide in honor of Michael Jordan.

The woman in the Rick Pitino extortion case faced an additional charge yesterday.

HOCKEY: The Bruins reportedly are talking to center Marc Savard about a seven-year contract extension. Graig Woodburn has the return of the NHL power rankings, with the Devils in the top spot and the Bruins down at No. 22.

Ryan Smyth’s upper-body injury will have him out of the Kings’ lineup for a few weeks.

Sidney Crosby ran with the Olympic torch in Halifax, Nova Scotia, which is near his hometown.

BASEBALL: Terry Francona chatted with Dale & Holley — and listeners — yesterday at Fenway Park. Mike Scioscia (Angels) and Jim Tracy (Rockies) were named Managers of the Year. Tracy also got a new three-year contract from his team. Commissioner Bud Selig is working on reducing the length of the postseason by eliminating some of the off days.

SOCCER: Elizabeth Lambert, the New Mexico player who was suspended after her rough play in a game against BYU, spoke to the New York Times for a feature in which she shares her thoughts about her behavior.

France qualified for the World Cup and eliminated Ireland with a 1-1 tie, but France’s goal came on a hand-ball assist from Thierry Henry. The controversy is rocking the soccer world.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Nov. 19, 2000, which player became the Patriots’ all-time leader in games played with 207?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “There’s no getting into a jawing match or trash talk with Randy Moss. My reaction was everybody saw the game. He’s supposed to say that. He got shut out and he was frustrated. And I was cool with it.” — Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis, on Randy Moss devaluing Revis’ effort after Moss was held in check during the teams’ first meeting this season

STAT OF THE DAY: 48 — Paul Pierce’s rank on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, after he passed Isiah Thomas (18,882 points) during the Celtics’ win over the Hawks last night

AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED TRANSCRIPT OF THE DAY: Terry Francona visited with the Dale & Holley show yesterday at Fenway Park and took calls from WEEI listeners. When asked about the voters’ process for deciding which players deserve Gold Glove awards, Francona said, according to the automatically generated transcript:

“They kind of wanna make emergency over time it’s almost like — Arctic.”

What he actually said: “They kind of want to make him earn it and see it over time. It’s almost like making the All-Star team.”

‘NET RESULTS: Here’s Swedish hockey player Henrik Andersen celebrating a goal by jumping into the glass. Only, the glass doesn’t hold up. Awkward.

And here’s Miami of Ohio basketball coach Charlie Coles after Monday night’s heartbreaking loss to fourth-ranked Kentucky responding to a question about how the game got away from his team. Great stuff.

TRIVIA ANSWER: Offensive lineman Bruce Armstrong

SOOTHING SOUNDS: On Nov. 19, 1990, Milli Vanilla was stripped of its Grammy Award because neither of the group’s two singers sang on the winning album. Here’s the Jonathan Papelbon/Manny Delcarmen Red Sox rain delay version of “Blame It On the Rain.”

Here’s Milli Vanilli’s performance:

FOOTBALL: Kerry Byrne separates myth from fact concerning the Patriots. Chris Price has a lengthy Patriots mailbag.

Browns coach Eric Mangini is getting more heat, this time because one of his best players, wide receiver Josh Cribbs, got hurt on a meaningless final play during Monday night’s 16-0 loss to the Ravens.

Massachusetts native Dick Jauron was fired as coach of the Bills and replaced by Perry Fewell on an interim basis. The Bengals signed former Chiefs running back Larry Johnson. Chiefs receiver Dwayne Bowe was suspended four games Tuesday for violating the NFL’s policy against performance-enhancing substances. Jets receiver Braylon Edwards pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge stemming from an incident earlier this season when he played in Cleveland. Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown will miss tomorrow night’s game vs. Carolina with an injured shoulder. Quarterback Chad Pennington has begun his comeback with some uncertainty if he’ll ever play again.

Finally, reality TV star Tila Tequila filed a $1.5 million lawsuit against Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman alleging domestic violence.

In college news, another University of Tennessee player is facing charges. Charlie Weis doesn’t think Notre Dame has decided his future. Coach Mark Mangino is dealing with some issues at Kansas.

BASEBALL: Zack Greinke of the Royals won the American League Cy Young Award.

BASKETBALL: Doc Rivers isn’t happy with the Celtics’ effort.

The Nets are 0-11 after losing to the Pacers. Magic point guard Jameer Nelson needs more surgery.

In college action last night, Boston College routed St. Francis. UConn rallied past Hofstra in the Preseason NIT quarterfinals. No. 1 Kansas edged Memphis. No. 2 Michigan State held off Gonzaga. Tennessee squeaked past UNC-Asheville, 124-49, recording a school record for points. Isiah Thomas got his first win at Florida International, beating a school called Florida Memorial.

HOCKEY: Alex Ovechkin scored in his return to the Capitals, who beat the Rangers. Brendan Shanahan announced his retirement.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Nov. 18, 1997, the Red Sox acquired Pedro Martinez from the Montreal Expos for a player to be named later and which pitcher?

BONUS TRIVIA: On Nov. 18, 1987, this individual who would later play for the Red Sox became the first player on a last-place team to be named league MVP. Who is he?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “You read your team, and if you like your team, you take risks. That’s what you do. But you don’t get do-overs in coaching and that’s the difference. Everything else, you get to sit around and talk about it after the fact. In coaching, you make your decision — you make it and you live with it and you don’t apologize for it.” — Celtics coach Doc Rivers, on Bill Belichick’s fourth-and-2 call in the Patriots’ Sunday night loss to the Colts

STAT OF THE DAY: .818 — Tyler Roche’s 3-point percentage after Boston College’s first two games of the season, after his 5-for-6 effort in last night’s rout of St. Francis

AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED TRANSCRIPT OF THE DAY: Tom Brady appeared on the Dennis & Callahan show to talk about Sunday’s loss to the Colts. Discussing the controversial fourth-and-2 play and asked if the referee’s spot of the ball after Kevin Faulk’s reception might have been short, Brady said, according to the automatically generated transcript:

“That’s what I thought to remain weak through enemy units and it’s a terrible secret the 31 yard line on point so.”

What he actually said: “That’s what I thought, too. I mean, we threw it, I thought Kevin’s feet were at the 31-yard line at one point, so …”

‘NET RESULTS: Here’s a memorable finish to a high school football playoff game Saturday in St. Louis. Trailing Webster Groves by eight points with 47 seconds left, Chaminade scores a touchdown but misses the conversion (not shown). Chaminade then recovers the ensuing kickoff and kicks a 48-yard field goal — good by about an inch — to take a one-point lead with six seconds remaining. After the kickoff went into the end zone, Webster Groves had the ball at its 20 and promptly threw an 80-yard touchdown pass as time expired.

This brings back memories of the greatest comeback ever that ultimately ended in heartbreak. We speak of the 1994 Texas playoff game between Plano East and John Tyler, in which Plano East trailed by 24 points with three minutes left and somehow managed to take the lead only to … well, take a look if you haven’t seen it.

The announcing on this is priceless, ending with: “God bless those kids. I am sick. I want to throw up.”

And here’s yet another tremendous finish from this past weekend, this time a college playoff game that featured an NCAA Division 2 record 64-yard field goal as time expired in regulation and an incredible touchdown run in overtime — on fourth-and-5 — followed by a game-winning two-point conversion.

TRIVIA ANSWER: Carl Pavano was the pitcher, and Tony Armas was dentified as the player to be named later on Dec. 18.

BONUS TRIVIA ANSWER: Andre Dawson, then with the Chicago Cubs

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Kim Wilde is 49 today. Sorry, it was a slow day.

While Bill Belichick is being questioned and defended for his fourth-down call Sunday night, another coach was coming under fire for a different reason. The legendary Isiah Thomas, who is guiding the basketball team at Florida International, yelled at Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik for not emptying his bench early enough in Sunday’s rout.

Thomas didn’t address the issue after the game, but Wojcik did: “I’ve never seen anything like that. It was very bizarre.” At least he didn’t go for it on fourth down.

FOOTBALL: Fourth-and-2 dominated the airwaves yesterday. Check out the It Is What It Is blog for transcripts including Belichick’s lengthy visit with The Big Show as well as his press conference earlier in the day. Chris Price has an interesting piece on those in academia who support Belichick’s aggressive style. Dan Guttenplan says to stop hating on the coach.

The Ravens blanked the hapless Browns in the Monday night game.

Chiefs castoff Larry Johnson is meeting with the Bengals.

Titans owner Bud Adams was fined $250,000 for making obscene gestures at the Bills toward the end of Tennessee’s victory Sunday. The NFLPA is looking into Eric Mangini’s practice situation with the Browns.

The University of Michigan program is coming under more fire. UNLV fired coach Mike Sanford. Tiger Woods will be the honorary captain for his alma mater, Stanford, for Saturday’s Big Game against Cal.

BASKETBALL: Paul Pierce sat out Celtics practice yesterday to rest his bruised left knee. Paul Flannery writes that the Celtics need to show more respect for the opposition.

Dirk Nowitzki hit a jumper at the end of overtime to give the Mavericks a win over the Bucks.

Stephen Jackson finally got his wish, getting traded from the Warriors along with Acie Law to the Bobcats for Raja Bell and Vladimir Radmanovic. Allen Iverson parted ways with the Grizzlies.

Dennis Rodman was detained in Germany for failing to pay a hotel $5,100 for beverages consumed at a party he hosted following a basketball legends exhibition game.

Heralded freshman John Wall hit the winner as Kentucky edged Miami (Ohio). UCLA fell in double overtime to Cal State Fullerton. UConn turned away Colgate.

HOCKEY: The Bruins lost to the Islanders. Graig Woodburn has a Hat Trick of Things We Learned from the loss. B’s coach Claude Julien has had enough.

The Flyers ended the Devils’ eight-game winning streak. Bill Guerin revived the struggling Penguins.

Peter Forsberg is staying in Sweden.

BASEBALL: The Red Sox announced 2010 ticket prices, with some modest increases. Reliever Billy Wagner is drawing some interest around the league, according to his agent.

Marlins outfielder Chris Coghlan and A’s closer Andrew Bailey were named Rookies of the Year. Catcher Ramon Hernandez will stay with the Reds. Controversial former Mets infielder Wally Backman will manage a Mets minor league team.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Nov. 17, 1975, the Red Sox sent Juan Beniquez, pitcher Steve Barr and a player to be named (pitcher Charlie Skok) to the Texas Rangers for which future Hall of Fame pitcher?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I was excited. I was ecstatic. To trust the defense so much to give Peyton Manning the ball on the 20-yard line, or better yet, go for it to win the game right there, you’ve got to be excited. You’ve got to be behind him 100 [percent]. Whenever Bill makes a decision like that, we’re always behind him, That’s the Bill Belichick everybody knows.” — Patriots defensive back Brandon Meriweather, speaking yesterday on the Dale & Holley show about the fourth-and-2 call with 2:08 remaining in Sunday night’s loss to the Colts

STAT OF THE DAY: 22 — Consecutive penalty kills for the Bruins, who nonetheless lost night to the Islanders

AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED TRANSCRIPT OF THE DAY: Bill Belichick visited with The Big Show yesterday to talk about his fourth-and-2 call in the waning minutes of Sunday night’s loss to the Colts. When asked if he would have changed the call had it been the AFC championship game, he offered a telling response, according to the automatically generated transcript:

“Again. — on on the island me situations different on have to violate.”

What he actually said: “Again, the only thing I can answer is what happened yesterday. That was the situation, and that’s what we did.”

‘NET RESULTS: Celtics fans looking for reasons to smile after the lost weekend can enjoy the fact that the Lakers also have lost two straight. In fact, the Lakers were booed on their home court during Sunday night’s blowout loss to Houston. And in case you thought Ron Artest has dialed down his craziness, here he is taking Rockets forward Trevor Ariza’s sneaker and throwing it toward the stands.

TRIVIA ANSWER: Ferguson Jenkins

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Gordon Lightfoot is 71 today.

It was no surprise when last week’s football talk was dominated by nothing but Tom Brady-Peyton Manning comparisons, the difference from playing indoors as opposed to outdoors, who had the edge, who was the better team, and, most importantly, who would win the intense battle between arguably the two best teams of the decade: the Patriots and the Colts.

For 57 minutes and 52 seconds, it had appeared the Patriots had answered that question and were on their way to locking up their seventh victory of the season, handing the Colts their first loss at the same time. Yet, Bill Belichick, the Jedi mastermind of the Patriots, opted to take the gamble of the season and go for the first down on fourth-and-2 from his team’s own 28. It was a risk he was willing to take and it was also what cost him the game.

Boomer Esiason deemed the decision “reckless.” Brady backed Belichick, insisting that he will “never second-guess” his coach. Rodney Harrison was quick to assert that it was “the worst coaching decision” he ever saw his former coach make. Tedy Bruschi admitted the call would make his “blood boil for weeks.” The Colts defense saw the move as a sign of disrespect while Patriots defensive back Brandon Meriweather was “ecstatic” that Belichick was confident enough to trust his defense to prevent Manning from scoring with only 20-plus yards to spare. Would Belichick himself make the call again?

“You only get one chance,” Belichick told reporters outside of Gillette less than 24 hours after making a decision that would cause e-mail boxes to overload and blogs to overflow around the country. Though many may question his fourth-down strategy, especially those who are reluctant to execute trick plays and make risky decisions, it is not the first time Belichick defied traditional standards and gambled while behind enemy lines.

Earlier this season, on Sept. 27 against the Falcons, Belichick challenged Atlanta’s defense by going for a fourth-and-1 on New England’s 24 in the third quarter with his team up 16-10. This time, instead of relying on Brady to complete a pass for the first, the Patriots handed the ball to Sammy Morris, who rushed ahead to the 26-yard line to move the chains forward. Later in that drive, the Patriots converted another fourth down from the Falcons’ 37, leading to a Stephen Gostkowski field goal. While the Patriots would end up winning the game, 26-10, Belichick ran the risk of shifting the momentum to the Falcons’ side if the initial conversion had not been successful.

In the 2004 AFC championship game against the Colts, Belichick made the decision to go for it on fourth-and-short from Patriots territory on the first drive of the game. The decision stood in defiance of football conventional wisdom. But the Patriots converted and marched down the field for a touchdown. Later, the decision to go for it was credited as having played a significant role in the Patriots reaching the Super Bowl. Belichick’s gutsy call — based on his embrace of the studies of economists — was deemed by the New York Times as an indication of his genius.

Maybe it’s the overwhelming level of trust Belichick has in his offense’s ability or perhaps it is the lack of confidence in his defense’s capability. Either way, Belichick has made some head-scratching fourth-down decisions that have not gone in his favor before. In the third quarter of Super Bowl XLII, with his team up 7-3, Belichick opted to go for a fourth-and-13 from the Giants‘ 32 instead of allowing Stephen Gostkowski to attempt a 49-yard field goal. Putting the ball in Brady’s hands, Belichick watched as Brady made an incomplete pass to turn the ball over on downs to the Giants, who eventually hoisted the Lombardi trophy after a 17-14 decision.

Still, while there certainly will be plenty of opinions circulating in the next few days by fans, analysts, experts, players and anyone else who wishes to add their two bits, there are also the cold, hard numbers and statistics that rely on quantitative data to either support or reject the decision.

According to the Lawrence-Journal blog, there is a 56 percent level of success when teams go for the first down on fourth-and-2. However, when it comes to choosing whether to pass or run, teams who make the call to pass experience a success rate of 44.1 percent as opposed to a 68.3 percent success rate when rushing. In addition, as Advanced NFL Stats points out, a successful fourth-and-2 conversion wins the game for the Patriots, leading those who like to play with numbers to side with Belichick. Add the fact that Brady and Randy Moss are better than your average quarterback-wide receiver tandem and it would seem the logical call would be to give the ball to your best guys on the field.

With all the frenzy and speculation that is sure to surround Bill Belichick this week, it will not come as a surprise if he chooses to make another daring decision in the team’s next game. Though we will never fully understand what goes on in his brilliant mind, one thing is for sure: He must be glad he won’t get the same treatment as Grady Little.

Sure, maybe Boras, as Curt Schilling says, “has no shame.” He certainly has no problems hyping players beyond their value, constantly painting them as a grand prize to be won and a gift to be blessed with. If Boras had his way, tapping into Johnny Damon’s stem cells would come close to discovering the fountain of youth and Matt Holliday — a potential target of the Red Sox — would serve as the poster-boy for the definition of a complete player.

Still, despite his crafty and cunning reputation, his sly fox persona, and his devious business tactics, Boras is still the leading agent in the world of negotiations. He attracts love from the players who are all about the Benjamins and draws anger from the general managers who are all about the luxury tax.

When it comes to the Red Sox, Boras has had quite a topsy-turvy history with the Fenway front office. From allowing Boston icons to become modern-day Benedict Arnolds to allegedly failing to advise his client he could make more money by accepting arbitration, Boras had made it clear that any deal that involves exchanging numbers with him is sure to spark some level of controversy. Here’s a look at recent events in the past few years between the customers of Boras and the Red Sox executive staff.

Johnny Damon

The Caveman himself vowed to never play for the Yankees. Yet when New York offered Damon a couple of million a year more than the Red Sox, Damon listened to his agent’s advice and took the money and ran. (With all that hair, a trip to the barbershop is worth more than a pretty penny.) After the 2005 season, Boras proposed his client with a weak throwing arm was set to receive a six-year, $72 million contract or  seven years at $84 million. Stunned by the ludicrous request, the Sox instead, offered Damon a four-year, $40 million deal with the possibility of raising the salary to the $44 million range. To the shock of Red Sox fans around the country, Damon let the money talk when he signed with the rival Yankees for four years and $52 million, prompting an unprecedented press conference by the then-Theo-less Red Sox to discuss the departure of a free agent in a deal that had not yet been announced by the team that signed the player.

Daisuke Matsuzaka

After missing the postseason in 2006, the Sox knew they needed a bold offseason. When Japanese right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka declared he wanted to pitch in America, the Sox brass won a $51.1 million posting bid just to open up talks with the former Seibu Lions ace. The Sox were given a 30-day deadline to strike a deal. If a contract was not in place by then, the Sox would forfeit their rights and Matsuzaka would have to return to Japan for the season.

Of course, Boras had no intention of taking the easy route to grant his client his dream to pitch in the United States. When talks stalled just days before the deadline, many speculated that Boras and the Red Sox would fail to settle on a deal since Boston figured the posting fee would play into the contract. Finally, the Sox brass flew across the country to Boras’ office in Southern California, where they reached an agreement at last on a six-year, $52 million deal along with plenty of extras and bonuses included in the package.

J.D. Drew

When J.D. Drew opted not to sign with Philadelphia after the Phillies selected him as the second overall pick in the 1997 draft, Drew instantly became a target for jeers and sneers in the City of Brotherly Love. After spending a few season in the St. Louis Cardinals outfield, Drew played one season for the Atlanta Braves before signing a five-year, $55 million pact with the Dodgers. Two seasons later, Drew decided to exercise his opt-out option in November 2006, becoming a free agent.

With the Sox in need of an outfielder, Drew seemed like a natural fit to replace some of the power that was lacking in the lineup. Though both parties reached an agreement early, it took 52 days for the five-year, $70 million deal to be finalized in January 2007. Concerned about his health, the Sox were adamant about constructing an insurance clause in case Drew’ right shoulder prevented him from playing a certain number of games. Boras obviously thought the right fielder was worth a tick over $14 million.

Mark Teixeira

Teixeira’s gold glove and World Series ring could have been engraved with a Red Sox ‘B’ instead of a Yankees ‘NY.’ When the Red Sox announced they were prepared to offer Teixeira a deal that would be the longest and the richest in the seven-year history of the John Henry ownership group, many thought Boston would be the landing spot for the marquee free agent. Yet, as was the case with Damon, the Yankees lured Teixeira away, inking him to an eight-year, $180 million deal. Boras spoiled Christmas for the Sox once again.

Jason Varitek

Boston fans were thrilled when Varitek made a rare move by remaining with the Red Sox at a lower price at four years for $40 million after winning the 2004 World Series. But in the last offseason, Boras convinced Varitek that despite his declining numbers, he deserved more than the Red Sox were willing to give. When the Red Sox offered their captain arbitration, Boras advised his client to turn down the acceptance. Unaware (according to a report a year ago) that if he had accepted arbitration he would be guaranteed a raise, Varitek ended up saving the Sox a couple of million after agreeing with Boston on a one-year, $5 million deal with an option for 2010 that Boston could pick up for $5 million or Varitek could pick up at $3 million. Varitek chose to exercise his player option last week, yet the $8 million he’ll earn over his two years in Boston is less than he would have received in 2009 alone had he accepted arbitration.

Indianapolis Star columnist Bob Kravitz uses words such as “hubris” and “stupidity.” Sports Illustrated’s Peter King said: “It smacked of I’m-smarter-than-they-are hubris.”

Of course, they’re talking about Bill Belichick’s decision to go for it on fourth-and-2 from the New England 28-yard line with 2:08 left in last night’s loss to the Colts.

For what it’s worth, Brian Burke in the New York Times has a statistical analysis that shows that based on league averages, going for it actually was the right decision. And NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders said: “I like the swagger.” So, there.

Either way, you can be sure of one thing. Belichick not only will never admit to making a mistake, he will respond to the criticism by choosing to be even more risky with his decisions. Watch, he’ll go for it on fourth-and-2 from his own 10 against the Jets, get it, and then make some condescending comment in his postgame press conference next Sunday. After all, he answers to no one but himself, and, as we saw last night, he already has given himself a vote of confidence. For better or worse. On to the links:

FOOTBALL: In case you had no access to the outside world until now, the Patriots lost to the Colts, 35-34, in an epic collapse. Chris Price has 10 Things We Learned from the disaster. Kirk Minihane calls Belichick’s decision to go for it on fourth-and-2 with just over two minutes remaining the third-worst call ever by a Boston coach.

D.J. Bean has the fantasy football realizations from Week 10.

The Jaguars beat the Jets with a field goal as time expired. Kyle Orton hurt his ankle and the Broncos lost to the Redskins. The Bengals held off the Steelers to sweep the season series. The Saints edged the Rams. The Chargers turned away the Eagles. The Falcons fell to the Panthers. The Packers stifled the Cowboys.

TCU remained fourth in the BCS standings. USC fell to No. 22 in the AP top 25 after being routed by Stanford on Saturday. The three Tennessee players charged with armed robbery are suspended indefinitely.

Dan Rowinski has Five Things We Learned from Boston College’s victory over Virginia on Saturday.

BASKETBALL: The Celtics turned in a forgettable weekend, with losses to the Hawks on Friday and Pacers on Saturday. Jessica Camerato looks at the rivalry with Atlanta.

Brandon Jennings scored a team-rookie-record 55 points for the Bucks in a victory over the Warriors on Saturday.

The Boston Globe reports that the Celtics will have their own charity license plate, after a three-year search to find the 1,500 commitments required.

Ian Tasso has A Three-Pointer of Things We Learned from Boston College’s season-opening win over Dartmouth on Friday that came with three players suspended. He also has a season preview for the Eagles.

HOCKEY: The Bruins, coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Penguins on Saturday, host the Islanders tonight. Graig Woodburn has the Hat Trick of lessons from Saturday’s shocking loss.

The Hurricanes ended their 14-game winless streak with a win over Wild yesterday.

BASEBALL: Dustin Pedrioa checked in with Mut & Bradford on Saturday to give an update on his offseason. Alex Speier writes about how Jason Bay’s agent is marketing the outfielder.

The Mariners signed shortstop Jack Wilson to a two-year $10 million contract. The Rockies declined an option on reliever Rafael Betancourt, and he filed for free agency. Righty Braden Looper also is a free agent, after the Brewers bought him out. Vernon Wells had surgery on his left wrist, but the Blue Jays outfielder is expected to be ready by spring training.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Nov. 16, 1926, which Bruins legend made his debut in a 4-1 win over the Canadiens?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “We thought we could win the game on that play. That was a yard I was confident we could get.” — Bill Belichick, on the Patriots’ unsuccessful fourth-and-2 play with two minutes remaining

STAT OF THE DAY: 17 — The largest fourth-quarter lead blown by the Patriots under Bill Belichick, occurring last night in Indianapolis

AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED TRANSCRIPT OF THE DAY: Patriots offensive lineman Logan Mankins appeared on the Dale & Holley show Friday to talk about the Patriots-Colts game. When asked about playing at Indianapolis’ stadium with the roof open, he said, according to the automatically generated transcript:

“It was a it was a nice Natan — roof opens the the health with the noise to — and the Thompson is that.”

What he actually said: “It was a nice night, and they had the roof open, so, that helps with the noise, too, it goes right out the top.”

‘NET RESULTS: In case you missed this Dwyane Wade dunk over Anderson Varejao from Thursday night, here it is. LeBron James said it’s “probably top 10 all-time.”

And here’s another clip from last week. It’s a couple of soccer goalies with some odd pre-shot rituals during a shootout to decide the winner of the America East semifinals.

TRIVIA ANSWER: Eddie Shore

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Here’s a clip in recognition of Bob Dylan, who performed in Boston over the weekend.

FOOTBALL: Chris Price has Five Things to Watch For Sunday night when the Patriots visit the Colts. Price also discusses how the Patriots hope to generate a pass rush on Peyton Manning. Dan Guttenplan wonders if Bill Belichick will ever dominate Manning again, the way he did early in their rivalry.

Jay Cutler threw five interceptions as the Bears lost to the 49ers last night.

D.J. Bean has his Week 10 fantasy can’t-pass-up matchups.

Browns running back Jamal Lewis is the latest to criticize coach Eric Mangini. Falcons coach Mike Smith was fined $15,000 for his role in a sideline brouhaha on Sunday vs. the Redskins.

Three University of Tennessee freshmen were arrested for attempted armed robbery. Dan Rowinski has a feature on Boston College receiver Rich Gunnell.

BASEBALL: Red Sox outfielder Jason Bay won his first Silver Slugger award.

Righty Tim Hudson re-signed with the Braves for three years and $28 million.

The ESPN production assistant who had an affair with Steve Phillips broke her silence yesterday. Roger Clemens wants Brian McNamee’s defamation lawsuit dismissed.

BASKETBALL: Rasheed Wallace had some interesting things to say during his interview with Dale & Holley yesterday. Kevin Garnett talked about his connection with Rajon Rondo.

The Lakers cooled off the Suns. LeBron James scored 34 and helped the Cavaliers beat the Heat, who got 36 from Dwyane Wade.

Byron Scott was fired by the Hornets, who named general manager Jeff Bower coach. Celtics coach Doc Rivers talked about the firing. Stephen Jackson still wants to be traded from the Warriors, and he says he’s not the bad guy everyone is making him out to be. Or something like that.

Duke freshman Mason Plumlee broke his wrist in practice and is out indefinitely.

HOCKEY: The Bruins returned to their offensively challenged ways in a 1-0 shootout loss to the Panthers. Graig Woodburn has the hat trick of things we learned from the game.

The Devils won their ninth straight road game, beating the Penguins.

Ilya Kovalchuk returned to the Thrashers after missing six games with a broken foot. Mike Komisarek is out of the Maple Leafs lineup for about three weeks with a quadriceps injury.

Outgoing MLB Players Association executive director Donald Fehr will help the NHLPA find a new boss. Ducks owner Henry Samueli was reinstated by the NHL after a year-plus suspension.

MISC.: Mike Tyson is in trouble again.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Nov. 13, 1978, which pitcher left Boston and signed a free agent contract with the Yankees?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “People want to pan me out to be the bad guy. People want me to be somebody to point the finger at and say, ‘He ain’t doing this, or he’s not humble, or he’s not doing this.’ I just want to win.” — Disgruntled Warriors guard Stephen Jackson, who is lobbying for a trade

STAT OF THE DAY: 172 — Consecutive minutes without allowing a goal by Bruin Tim Thomas

AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED TRANSCRIPT OF THE DAY: Rasheed Wallace was on Dale & Holley, and he talked about Kevin Garnett and friends visiting his home to recruit him in the offseason. According to the automatically generated transcript, Wallace said:

“While on the main thing he was found with the active veterans groups. You know of course that played against Barack when he was going his way — in over the years are currently no detained for it would darkness.”

I can see why Wallace joined the Celtics with a persuasive pitch like that. But what he actually said was:

“Well, the main thing he was telling me was Doc is a veterans coach. You know, of course I played against Doc when he was on his way out. And over the years, I kind of became friends with Doc on the sidelines.”

‘NET RESULTS: Classic clip from February’s NBA All-Star festivities: The Milwaukee Bucks’ mascot, Bango, is standing on top of the basket, then another mascot shoots a halfcourt shot that hits him in the crotch and goes through the basket, and then Bango slips through the rim and falls to the ground (tearing his ACL in the process). The end.

TRIVIA ANSWER: Luis Tiant

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Every get a song stuck in your head and you can’t figure out why? Welcome to my world. This is the tune I’ve been humming flugelhorning all week.

FOOTBALL: Chris Price has his five favorite moments from the Patriots-Colts rivalry. Our It Is What It Is blog has the participants and analysts talking about Sunday’s showdown.

In his weekly NFL picks, Dan Guttenplan says the Colts win this battle.

Brady Quinn will start for the Browns in Week 10.

BASEBALL: Jason Varitek exercised his option and will return to the Red Sox. The Sox are rumored to be interested in Yankees World Series MVP Hideki Matsui. Ken Griffey Jr. re-signed with the Mariners.

National League Gold Glove winners were announced. Jim Riggleman reportedly will return as Nationals manager. The mother of former MLB pitcher Victor Zambrano was rescued from kidnappers in Venezuela. Here’s the latest on the McCourt battle in Dodgerland.

WEEI.com writers Alex Speier and Rob Bradford will chat with the masses today at noon.

BASKETBALL: The Celtics pulled away from the Jazz, and Paul Flannery has a Three-Pointer of things we learned from the win.

Michael Holley has his NBA power rankings, with the Suns soaring to the top.

The Cavaliers beat the Magic in a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference finals. The Nets are 0-8 after losing to the 76ers.

Isiah Thomas is receiving positive press for a change, for signing three recruits to Florida International. Tim Hardaway Jr. (son of the former NBA star) signed a letter of intent to play at Michigan.

HOCKEY: Graig Woodburn writes about the Bruins needing a contribution from David Krejci.

The Hurricanes have lost 13 straight, following last night’s loss to the Kings.

Forbes magazine rates the Maple Leafs as the most valuable franchise in the NHL, worth $470 million. The Bruins come in sixth at $271 million.

MISC.: Kirk Minihane has his weekly mailbag.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Nov. 12, 1970, who replaced Clive Rush as coach of the Patriots?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “It feels good to be healthy. It feels good to run. It’s like running free in a cornfield.” — Kevin Garnett, after the Celtics’ win last night over the Jazz

STAT OF THE DAY: 7 — Celtics who scored in double figures last night

AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED TRANSCRIPT OF THE DAY: Bruins legend Ray Bourque talked with Dale & Holley yesterday. He told a funny story about his youngest son:

“My wife calls me and she says, ‘Ryan didn’t want to get up this morning for his 6 o’clock game.’ And I said, ‘What do you mean.’ She says, ‘Yeah, he said he was sick.’ My wife was telling him, ‘Well, you’ve got to get up.’ And he says, ‘No, no, no, I don’t feel good.’ She says, ‘Well, come on Ryan, let’s get dressed, let’s go to practice.’ He says, ‘No, no, I just want to retire, like Cam Neely.’ So, Ryan took a little more time to get used to the early hours. But he got going and is doing very well for himself right now, too.”

It wasn’t as funny after it went through the automatically generated transcript:

“or couples and Serbs. Random — up the born who is 6 o’clock again. There simply means is you are certain respect. And like crystal — you gotta get out. Reliable shall — so as well. Come on line at the construction school practice since warlords or garlic and really the — Tokyo war time to. Get used to be literally hours and but the he Garko and and do very well and so for now to.”

‘NET RESULTS: And they say there’s no scoring in soccer. It took this guy just two seconds.

TRIVIA ANSWER: John Mazur, who compiled a record of 9-21 before being fired nine games in the 1972 season

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Neil Young is 64 today. I would have preferred going with “Lotta Love,” but this will have to suffice.

We’ll lead off with Chicago Tribune writer Rick Morrissey literally eating his words. Morrissey criticized Joakim Noah when the former University of Florida standout was drafted by the Bulls in 2007 and said Noah’s game was not good enough for the NBA. Morrissey promised to eat his column with salsa if he was wrong. Here’s the video of Morrissey owning up, with Noah alongside. You first have to put up with five minutes of Morrissey talking about himself and enjoying the moment a little too much before he finally takes a bite of the newsprint.

FOOTBALL: With the Patriots preparing to face the Colts, Kerry Byrne breaks down the Brady-Manning rivalry. Chris Price has his weekly Patriots mailbag.

A federal appeals court judge ruled that Michael Vick can keep his $16 million in bonuses from the Falcons.

California running back Jahvid Best is back home after being released from the hospital following his concussion.

More details are coming out regarding last month’s stabbing death of UConn defensive back Jasper Howard.

BASEBALL: Rob Bradford has all the updates from the general managers meetings in Chicago, including agent Scott Boras talking Red Sox and more. Baseball will not expand instant replay. No Red Sox players won Gold Glove awards.

BASKETBALL: Jessica Camerato has a piece on Celtics sharpshooter Eddie House.

Michael Jordan’s oldest son, Jeff Jordan, was suspended two games for playing in an unsanctioned event last summer.

HOCKEY: The Bruins blanked the Penguins. Graig Woodburn has a Hat Trick of observations from the win.

NHL general managers opened their meetings in Toronto and discussed possible rule changes.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Nov. 11, 1999, who was named Manager of the Year for guiding the Red Sox to the American League wild card?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “The Boston Red Sox had a chance to sign Mark Teixeira before the New York Yankees did, because we gave them an offer. That’s the best I can do for owners, it really is. When you give them a chance to sign a player, that’s … the player was earnest in coming there at the time and he presented them with an offer they could have accepted.” — Agent Scott Boras, at the general managers meetings in Chicago

STAT OF THE DAY: 6 — Number of Celtics on the NBA All-Star ballot; the C’s are the only team with two centers listed (Kendrick Perkins and Rasheed Wallace)

AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED TRANSCRIPT OF THE DAY: It was a slow day, so we turn to our own Rob Bradford, who talked baseball on the Dale & Holley show while at the general managers meetings in Chicago. According to the automatically generated transcript, Bradford said about the Red Sox:

“I think offensively to Egypt by right now. Bye — I don’t think they’re going to be able again featuring Google.”

What he actually said: “I think offensively they can get by right now. But I just don’t think they’re going to be able to get Adrian Gonzalez.”

‘NET RESULTS: In honor of Veterans Day, here’s a look at legendary Braves lefty Warren Spahn, who, like Ted Williams, lost part of his Boston career to World War II.

TRIVIA ANSWER: Jimy Williams

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Marshall Crenshaw is 56 today.

On April 22, 2004, former Arizona Cardinals safety Pat Tillman was killed during a firefight near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Giving up the glamor and the luxury that comes with being a star in the NFL, Tillman had decided shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, that he wished to devote his life to becoming an Army Ranger.

Though it was originally concluded that Tillman was gunned down by an enemy, many of his closest friends and family became outraged upon learning that Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal lied about the specifics of his death. He actually died from friendly fire. Tillman’s brother, Kevin, who served alongside Pat in the war, sharply criticized the Bush Administration and the entire war. In addition, Tillman’s mother, Mary, appeared on an episode of “60 Minutes” to discuss her frustration with the Army for withholding further details of her son’s death.

Though Tillman’s death came under tragic circumstances, he exemplifies the true meaning of an American hero. In the past century, there have been numerous athletes who have served their country and put on hold the possibility of professional stardom. While Tillman’s service represented a rare modern case of an athlete sacrificing a multimillion-dollar contract for a military badge, there have been many players who spent the primes of their careers on the battlefield.

During World War II, many future Hall of Famers signed up for the armed and naval forces, resulting in a vastly different world of Major League Baseball and an exploration of America’s pastime by women, who soon learned there was no crying in baseball (thanks to Tom Hanks). In 1943, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was formed to share the spotlight with men’s baseball.

After the men returned home from the war, attendance at women’s games dwindled as MLB players resumed their roles on the field having already gallantly served their country.

Many ballplayers, such as Joe DiMaggio and Bob Feller, took a leave from baseball during years considered to be the prime of their careers. Choosing  to hang up their hats for helmets, future Hall of Famers including Yogi Berra, Warren Spahn, Phil Rizzuto, Stan Musial, Hank Greenberg and Ralph Kiner risked not only their baseball careers but also their lives while stationed on battlefields around the globe. (For a complete list of Hall of Fame veterans, click here.)

On this Veterans Day, as New Englanders remember all the brave men and women who put their country before themselves, let’s take a look at some of our very own Red Sox greats who dedicated themselves to the armed forces during World War II.

Ted Williams

In 1941, Teddy Ballgame became the last MLB player to bat over .400 with an average of .406, (however, he lost the MVP to Joe DiMaggio and his 56-game hit streak). The following season, Williams hit for the Triple Crown, slamming 36 home runs with a .356 AVG and 137 RBI. Originally classified in the draft as 3-A by Selected Service, Williams’ classification was later changed to 1-A, a move that he would seek to appeal. After drawing much criticism, Williams decided to enlist with the Navy on May 22, 1942. He served as a naval aviator, attending the same training program as teammate Johnny Pesky. Before being released from active duty in January 1946, Williams received his wings and was commissioned into the Marine Corps on May 2, 1944. He returned to baseball in 1946 to win the MVP and lead the Red Sox to the World Series, which they would end up losing in seven games. In 1947, Williams won another Triple Crown, batting .343 with 32 home runs and 114 RBI. In 1952-53, Williams took another leave of absence from the game to serve his country in the Korean War.

Dom DiMaggio

Like his Yankee brother Joe, Dom DiMaggio enlisted in the military during WWII, missing the 1943-45 MLB seasons. Still the owner of a franchise-record 34-game hit streak, DiMaggio served in the Navy during three seasons of his prime years that many, including Bobby Doerr, believe may have cost him entrance into the Hall of Fame. Returning to baseball in 1946 to help the Red Sox win the AL pennant, ”The Little Professor” batted .316 and finished ninth in the MVP voting. A stellar center fielder, DiMaggio passed away at age 92 earlier this year on May 8, 2009.

Bobby Doerr

Considered to be the best second baseman in Red Sox history, Bobby Doerr was only 19 when he made his major league debut in 1937. In 1944, while Williams and DiMaggio were already off to war, Doerr finished in first place in the league with a .528 slugging percentage and second in the AL with a .325 average. After the season, Doerr joined the Army in 1945, missing the entire season at age 27. Returning to the team in 1946, Doerr batted .271 with 18 home runs and 116 RBI as part of the Sox AL pennant run. Though he retired from baseball at the early age of 33 due to back problems, Doerr was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 1986 and is still viewed by many as one of the best second basemen of all time.

Johnny Pesky

Pesky’s rookie campaign in 1942 for the Red Sox was nothing short of a booming success after hitting .331 to lead the AL with 205 hits. However, before the season ended, Pesky entered the Navy to serve in Amherst, Mass. Missing three years of baseball, Pesky found his way back to the Red Sox along with Williams, DiMaggio and Doerr in 1946 to help the team reach the World Series. That year, the shortstop batted .335 with a .401 on-base percentage. Though he sacrificed what could have been some of his best years statistically, Pesky will forever serve as an icon to both Red Sox faithful and baseball fans around the country. Having his number retired by the Red Sox in 2007, his name will remain immortalized whenever anyone refers to the right field pole as “Pesky’s Pole.”

Despite Johnson’s declining numbers in recent years, it is widely held that present-day LJ is still solid, or behind a good guard and tackle, can be the LJ of 2006, when he rushed for more than 1,700 yards on 416 carries. The question now: What team will take a chance on him? In recent history, the New England has become a place where players can spend some time competing for championship rings as well as rehabilitating their image. Since Bill Belichick took over the reins, several players have benefited from spending time at the “New England Patriots Image and Career Rehabilitation Center.”

Randy Moss is a player that immediately comes to mind. Moss’ issues began in college when a full scholarship to Notre Dame was rescinded when he got into a fight and ruptured the spleen of a student. Then coach of Notre Dame, Lou Holtz recommended Moss to Florida State, but he was kicked out of FSU for violating the terms of his work-release probation. Despite putting up school-record numbers at Marshall, Moss was drafted late in the first round because of the character issues he exhibited in his college career.

Let’s not forget the “Straight cash, homey” incident either — Moss’ refusal to obey traffic laws led to that memorable line and a few others. It was only a matter of time before he was traded to the Raiders from the Vikings in 2005. At the time, Minnesota appeared to be fed up with his antics, which included pretending to moon Green Bay fans and walking off the field with two seconds left in a regular season game loss against the Redskins. In Oakland, he was remembered for letting people know when he’ll play.

Yet when he came to New England, suddenly we saw a Randy Moss that reminded us of the player from the Vikings. He and Tom Brady not only torched opposing defenses but also set the record for most touchdown receptions in a season. You remember the catch in the regular-season game against the Giants, right?

At this point, not only is Moss considered one of the better wide receivers playing the game, but he also has the reputation of being a team player, something he was cultivating in Minnesota and never had in Oakland.

How about Brandon Meriweather? Here’s a player who had much potential coming out of the University of Miami. Then there was that on-field brawl with Florida International.

Meriweather is No. 19, prominently seen stomping a FIU player who is on the ground. While the incident hurt his draft stock, it wasn’t enough to deter the Patriots from picking him as the 24th overall selection. Obviously, the Pats know what they’re doing. Meriweather has been an excellent addition to the secondary and worth the accolades he has received.

While Moss and Meriweather generally benefited from playing in New England, Corey Dillon had a career resurgence upon arriving in Foxboro. The definition of a disgruntled player, Dillon is (in)famous for demanding to be traded to Dallas during a media session in the Bengals locker room. The beauty here, is that once he got to New England, he was no longer the petulant star but the hard-working team player, devoid of all the ego seen in Cincy.

Perhaps LJ can have the same type of resurgence as Dillon. With injuries to Fred Taylor and Sammy Morris, a tough-running, punishing back could be the perfect balance to Laurence Maroney’s scat-back style and Kevin Faulk’s third-down consistency.

As for the Patriots, why not turn another malcontent into a happy camper by putting him on a team with realistic Super Bowl aspirations? It’s not like Belichick is opposed to the idea, right?

FOOTBALL: Steve DeOssie has his Patriots report card, and only one unit gets an A. Joe Zarbano has the NFL power rankings, with the Patriots at No. 5.

The Broncos have lost two straight, the latest last night to the Steelers. Ty Law made his debut for Denver.

The NFL is investigating a brouhaha in the Redskins-Falcons game. Bengals receiver Chris Henry is out for the season after breaking his arm. Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis (torn ACL) also is done for the year. Larry Johnson was cut loose by the Chiefs. Bears defensive lineman Tommie Harris apologized for punching Deuce Lutui of the Cardinals Sunday and getting ejected. The Buccaneers won Sunday, but safety Sabby Piscitelli wasn’t celebrating after returning home to discover he’d been robbed. Former Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor was arrested after leaving the scene of a car accident.

Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount, he of the postgame punch to a Boise State opponent in the season-opener, has been reinstated. Memphis fired coach Tommy West after a 2-7 start.

BASEBALL: Rob Bradford addresses the Sox’ early offseason moves with Tim Wakefield, Victor Martinez and Jason Varitek, and how it sets them up going forward. Get caught up on all the moves at the GM meetings at our Full Count blog.

The Rays exercised their $10 million option on Carl Crawford. The MLB drug list case is still caught up in the courts.

BASKETBALL: Paul Flannery compares and contrasts the paths taken by Rasheed Wallace and Allen Iverson. Dan Guttenplan says the Celtics shouldn’t consider making a run at 72 wins.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is being treated for leukemia.

North Carolina beat up on Isiah Thomas’ Florida International squad. Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim won his 800th game.

HOCKEY: Michael Ryder missed practice for the Bruins, who play the powerful Penguins tonight.

Captials star Alex Ovechkin said he was joking about being out a month and will probably miss about a week.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Nov. 10, 1968, this Patriot became the first AFL player to top the 1,000-point plateau. Who is he?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I’m like, ‘Hey, if you’re going to talk, back it up. Because at the end of the day, the spotlight is going to be back on you. You did all the trash-talking through the course of the week, let me see what you gone [and] done.’ ” — Patriots defensive lineman Vince Wilfork on Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter, who did not make a major contribution on Sunday after popping off leading up to the game

STAT OF THE DAY: 8 — Number of college basketball coaches with 800 career victories, after Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim reached the milestone last night

AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED TRANSCRIPT OF THE DAY: Tom Brady appeared on the Dennis & Callahan show yesterday morning. Talking about center Dan Connolly, he said, according to the automatically generated transcript:

“Consists of Oprah and you’ve got athletic ability would put another pull back you obviously think that if he can do things that politically for yeah so strong it can be so he’s. He’s — government.”

What he actually said: “… consistent player for us. He’s got athletic ability, and when you put him in at fullback, you obviously think that he can do things athletically for you. And he’s strong as can be. So, he’s great to have on the team.”

‘NET RESULTS: A couple of Rhode Island high school girls soccer teams became national news, and not for a good reason. They brawled on Sunday, and because there’s video, there is a story.

TRIVIA ANSWER: Gino Cappelletti, who passed the thousand-point mark on a 19-yard touchdown catch from Tom Sherman in  27-17 loss to the Chargers at Fenway Park.

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake and Palmer is 62 today. Here’s ELP’s version of “Nutrocker” for all you Bruins fans.

LaGarrette Bount throws a knockout punch

You remember this one, right? The irony here is two-fold. Leading up to the game, Blount bragged about his team and predicted a win for the Oregon Ducks. While not a terrible thing, it seems odd in light of the sportsmanship ceremony that was held during the coin toss of the game, an event that Blount participated in. Skip to the end of the game and Blount is punching out Boise State linebacker Byron Hout for returning the favor and talking a little smack of his own after his team won the game.

Judging from Blount’s reaction, Hout probably had some choice words for him. But what’s the point of being a part of a sportsmanship ceremony if you’re going to punch someone for talking no more smack than you did, but had the ability to back it up? Blount apologized for his actions but was still suspended for the year. However, there has been some recent talk about reinstating him.

Brandon Spikes auditions for WWE

This was a bit ridiculous. Spikes claims that Georgia’s Washaun Ealey had done something similar to him and his actions were simply retaliation. When did that become OK? The game of football is a violent sport with enough chances to be injured unintentionally. Perhaps Spikes missed that lesson about not retaliating because you always get caught.

This leads to another issue. Florida officially suspended him for one half of football against Vanderbilt. Really? That’s the going rate for an eye gouge these days? Kudos to Spikes for lengthening his own suspension. It shows character to not only fess up to wrongdoing but to also suggest an appropriate punishment.

Women’s football gets chippy
I know this a soccer game, but some of the stunts that took place between New Mexico and BYU seem more suited to a football field. The idea of a completely non-contact sport these days is far-fetched. All labeled non-contact sports have some aspect of physicality, but this is a bit much. I’ve never seen hair-pulling used with such effectiveness.

Despite all of that, New Mexico defender Elizabeth Lambert only received one yellow card, for tripping inside the box. Of all her actions that day, the trip was the least violent, and that is what got her a penalty.

We’ve all played in games where the heat of the moment has gotten the better of us and do something against the rules. It just seems like there has been a sudden increase in poor sportsmanship across the board. We need to remind ourselves and those athletes we love to watch that competition should be the driving pursuit of sports. And winning, winning is important, too, but not at the cost of sportsmanship.

FOOTBALL: The Patriots held off the Dolphins, 27-17. Chris Price has 10 Things We Learned about the win. Kirk Minihane looks at the big picture. Check out the It Is What It Is blog for audio from the Patriots locker room plus more from the game.

The Colts edged the Texans to stay unbeaten as they await the Patriots Sunday. The Saints also are still perfect after rallying to beat the Panthers. The Giants lost their fourth straight, a heartbreaker in San Diego. Rookie quarterback Josh Freeman led the Buccaneers to their first win, over the Packers.

In the Bengals’ win over the Ravens, Chad Ochocinco thought it would be funny to pretend to bribe an official by pulling out a dollar bill and offering it to one of the referees.

D.J. Bean has the Week 9 fantasy football wrap-up.

TCU moved into fourth place in the BCS standings and the AP Top 25.

BASEBALL: Alex Speier looks at the Red Sox’ chances of landing Padres slugger Adrian Gonzalez. The Sox declined the option on shortstop Alex Gonzalez, making him a free agent.

BASKETBALL: The Celtics bounced back from their first loss of the season by beating New Jersey Saturday night. Paul Flannery has Three Things We Learned.

Allen Iverson is taking some time away from the Grizzlies. Spurs guard Tony Parker sprained his ankle and could miss a week.

Isiah Thomas’ Florida International squad opens the season tonight vs. defending national champion North Carolina. Boston College won its exhibition vs. St. Michael’s.

HOCKEY: Joe Haggerty has some thoughts from the Bruins’ impressive win over the Sabres Saturday night.

Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward could miss a month after having his leg cut by a skate.

The Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremonies are tonight, with former Boston College star Brian Leetch among the inductees.

SOCCER: The Revolution are out of the MLS playoffs.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Nov. 9, 2002, which Celtic tied his own team record with nine 3-pointers in a game at Minnesota?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “It’s always nice for a quarterback when you see the back of 81 sprinting down the field once he gets by them. There are not too many guys that can catch him.” — Tom Brady, on his touchdown pass to Randy Moss in the Patriots’ victory yesterday over the Dolphins

STAT OF THE DAY: 27 — Career 300-yard passing games for Tom Brady, setting a team record (passing Drew Bledsoe)

AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED TRANSCRIPT OF THE DAY: Junior Seau was on The Big Show Friday and talked about Sunday’s game against Miami. He was on a cell phone and the reception wasn’t sharp. That’s a bad combination for the automatically generated transcript, which apparently decided Seau’s answer should be shortened quite a bit.

When asked about defending the Wildcat, Seau said, according to the automatically generated transcript:

“It, it, it, it. Use yeah oh on the line. With Erica. Much. How is that you know when you’re. Out. In the — There on ground. And and in pain and now. It.”

What he actually said: “It’s only complicated if you obviously overrun the play. But if you have everyone with gap control and be disciplined with their gap control. you pretty much have it locked down. It’s just that, when you have a rare talent like Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams in the backfield, and without a quarterback back there, Ronnie Brown makes a lot of great decisions. To be back there and disrupt his angles and his downhill running is going to be a big key.”

‘NET RESULTS: Nope, we’re not linking to that New Mexico women’s soccer player beating up on BYU players. You’ve seen that already, we’re sure. Instead, here’s Andre Iguodala beating up on the rim with a monster dunk Friday night against the Nets.

Fine, here’s the New Mexico player so you can watch it again. Sicko.

TRIVIA ANSWER: Antoine Walker

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Peter, Paul and Mary singer Mary Travers, who died on Sept. 16 of leukemia, would have been 73 today.

In the past few years, Rollins has become a present-day Nostradamus of baseball. Never shying away from the pressured spotlight of having to live up to his word, Rollins has assumed a prophet-like role forecasting the triumph and success that he expects his Phillies to accomplish. Prior to the 2007 season, he declared the Phillies as the “team to beat” in the NL East over the New York Mets. Not only did the Phillies use a late-season surge to take the division during the Mets’ titanic September collapse, but Rollins walked away with the NL MVP award as well.

In the months leading up to the 2008 season, Mets center fielder Carlos Beltran attempted to one-up Rollins by noting that New York and not Philadelphia was the team to beat after the Mets acquired left-handed ace Johan Santana from the Minnesota Twins in the offseason.

Beltran’s comment struck a nerve with the overly confident shortstop as Rollins once again stepped up to the plate by publicly announcing that the Phillies would win 100 games in 2008, accusing Beltran of plagiarism along the way. Rollins stayed true to his word as Philadelphia went on to win the 2008 World Series, carrying with them 103 victories (including the 11 games they won in the postseason).

Rollins continued to bat 1.000 on the prediction scale when he prophesied that the Phillies would meet the Yankees in the 2009 World Series. After the two teams squared off in a three-game interleague set in May, Rollins told Playboy magazine that he expected to see the highest-paid team in baseball face off against the defending champion Phillies in the Fall Classic. So it was said, so it was done.

Fast forward to Oct. 26, when Rollins appeared on “The Jay Leno Show” and made his notorious nationwide prediction that the Phillies would be the victors in five games, or six if they were feeling generous. Unfortunately (at least for the Philadelphia shortstop), Rollins’ legacy as a faultless fortune-teller came to an end when the Yankees sealed their 27th championship with a 7-3 win over the Phillies in Game 6.

After batting a mere .217 in this year’s six World Series games, Rollins may have learned if he is going to play Joe Namath, he needs to be prepared to face the music if he is unable to back up his claim. (At least he can take anything thrown in his way.)

Rollins certainly isn’t the only athlete to be audacious enough to guarantee a title or victory and fall short of turning their opinion into a cold, hard fact. Last March during the NCAA women’s basketball tournament, Oklahoma center Courtney Paris promised that if the Sooners did not win a national title, she would pay back the entirety of her four-year scholarship to the school. For a while, it seemed like Paris might be able to keep her piggy bank full until the Sooners lost in the Final Four to Louisville in a 61-59 contest.

Then-Steelers safety Anthony Smith guaranteed a Pittsburgh win over the undefeated Patriots when the two teams met on Dec. 9, 2007. New England ensured that Smith would be incorrect in his assessment as the Patriots offense totally dismantled the Pittsburgh defense, with Tom Brady throwingfor 399 yards and four touchdowns to win by a final score of 34-13.

The victory upped the Patriots’ record to 13-0 en route to a perfect 16-0 regular season and a trip to Super Bowl XLII. However, when the Patriots finally did reach the Super Bowl and faced the New York Giants, they heard a familiar proclamation when Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress predicted New York would win 23-17 over the 18-0 squad. Many laughed and shrugged off Burress’ comments. Though the final score read 17-14, it did so in favor of the Giants, giving Burress at least partial credit for his fortune-telling.

For a while, Rollins was in the company of players such as Burress and Petr Sykora, the former right winger for the Pittsburgh Penguins. During a break in Game 5 of the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals, Sykora accurately told a sideline reporter that he would score the game-winning goal. In triple-overtime, Sykora delivered a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings.

With Wednesday night’s blemish on his once-perfect prediction slate, Rollins may need some coaching himself.

FOOTBALL: Sunday’s game between the Patriots and Dolphins should be a good one. Chris Price has Five Things to Watch For in this key divisional battle.

Adalius Thomas said rumors of a players strike during the playoffs are “totally absurd.”

Colts cornerback Marlin Jackson will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. The National Organization for Women called for Raiders coach Tom Cable to be suspended.

D.J. Bean has his fantasy football can’t-pass-up matchups.

Dan Rowinski has Five Questions for Boston College during its off week. Oklahoma State receiver Dez Bryant lost his final appeal with the NCAA.

BASEBALL: The Red Sox traded for Marlins outfielder Jeremy Hermida. Alex Speier delves into the thinking behind this low-risk/potentially high-reward transaction.Curt Schilling was on Dennis & Callahan yesterday, and he revisited the Pedro Martinez-Red Sox prima donna controversy.

The Angels signed Bobby Abreu to a two-year deal. Tim Hudson and the Braves are closing in on a three-year deal.

Dan Guttenplan says the key to the Yankees winning was Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter learning how to get along. Yankees manager Joe Girardi stopped to help a car crash victim on his way home from Yankee Stadium after his team won the World Series. Jamie McCourt’s bid to get her job back with the Dodgers was denied by a Los Angeles court. Giants ace Tim Lincecum was cited for possession of marijuana.

BASKETBALL: The Celtics are No. 1 in Michael Holley’s NBA power rankings. Wyc Grousbeck says the Celtics are not having financial problems. Gary Marbry has some stat nuggets from the Celtics’ wins this week. LeBron James was denied on a final shot and the Cavaliers lost to the Bulls.

HOCKEY: The Bruins finally scored a goal, but they lost to the Canadiens in a shootout. David Krejci was sent home after testing positive for H1N1.The B’s signed goalie Tuukka Rask to a two-year extension.

The Penguins finally lost a road game.

The Sharks put defenseman Rob Blake on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. Kings forward Andres Nocioni was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving. According to a business report, Columbus will have trouble keeping the Blue Jackets due to financial problems.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: The offseason following the 1976 season marked the first time for free agency as we know it in Major League Baseball, following an arbitrator’s ruling the year before. On Nov. 6, 1976, the Red Sox made the first and biggest splash in that year’s free agency, signing which pitcher?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “We scored. Obviously, that’s a positive we can take out of the game.” — Forward Blake Wheeler, after the Bruins ended a 192-minute scoreless streak last night in a 2-1 shootout loss to Montreal

STAT OF THE DAY: 27 — Consecutive quarters scoring 20 or more points by the Celtics until they scored 19 in the first quarter Tuesday night (thanks to Gary Marbry for that stat)

AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED TRANSCRIPT OF THE DAY: Paul Pierce appeared on the Dale & Holley show yesterday. When asked about the Rajon Rondo-Chris Paul incident, he said, according to the automatically generated transcript:

“In the people’s — as if there was this transcript of the technology called open you know to look closely from the rights. As — in the view of — the minister of Soviet.”

What he actually said: “Hey, it’s up to you to be able to just concentrate and focus on the game and not get caught up in that, because people are going to say things some nights, and if it throws you off your game and gives us an advantage, so be it.”

‘NET RESULTS: On Monday, we showed the video of San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobli swatting a bat out of the air during a game. The website Mental Floss came up with 10 instances of animals delaying sporting events. Here’s No. 1:

TRIVIA ANSWER: Bill Campbell, who previously pitched for the Twins

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Eugene Pitt of the Jive Five is 72 today. Here the 1965 hit “I’m a Happy Man” (recorded at a reunion show in 1982) to get you in a good mood for the weekend.

BASEBALL: The Yankees won. Hideki Matsui was MVP. Alex Rodriguez finally has a title. Fans celebrated. Blah, blah, blah. Alex Speier rates the last 10 World Series winners.

Rob Bradford writes about what the future holds for Josh Beckett. Former Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette will participate in a WEEI.com chat today at noon.

Dodgers pitcher Vicente Padilla is recovering from a bullet wound in his leg after a shooting accident in Nicaragua.

FOOTBALL: Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter doesn’t like the Patriots. Again.

Colts starting linebacker Tyjuan Hagler is out for the rest of the season with a ruptured biceps.

Dan Guttenplan has his Week 9 NFL picks.

The University of Florida upped the suspension of Brandon Spikes to a full game. Police made another arrest in the stabbing death of UConn cornerback Jasper Howard.

BASKETBALL: The Celtics finally had a close game, edging the Timberwolves, 92-90. Jessica Camerato looks at Three Things We Learned from the win.

The Suns became the latest team to fall from the ranks of the undefeated, losing handily to the Magic. The Nuggets stayed perfect, using a 44-point third quarter to pull away from the Nets.

Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy was released from jail. Nancy Lieberman will be the first woman to coach an NBA Development League team.

Isiah Thomas made his debut as coach of Florida International and lost an exhibition game to Northwood, an NAIA team coached by Rollie Massimino. UConn crushed Division 2 AIC in an exhibition in Hartford. At the University of Central Florida, Michael Jordan’s son Marcus cost the school a shoe contract with adidas by insisting on wearing Nike Air Jordans.

HOCKEY: Bruins fans, it could be worse — Carolina’s winless streak reached 10 games last night. The Sharks won their sixth straight.

MISC: Kirk Minihane has his weekly mailbag.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Nov. 5, 1946, for the first time in pro basketball history, a player shattered a backboard — albeit with a shot instead of a dunk. Which Celtic did the honors?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Look, a lot of people ran the other way. My teammates and coaches and organization stood right next to me. And now we stand together as world champs.” — Alex Rodriguez, after the Yankees won the World Series

STAT OF THE DAY: 6 — RBI for Yankee Hideki Matsui last night, tying a World Series single-game record

AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED TRANSCRIPT OF THE DAY: Celtics boss Danny Ainge appeared on The Big Show yesterday. When talking about the C’s bench, he said, according to our automatically generated transcript:

“And KG they have mystical city night last night that we get a database at the Sheldon.”

What he actually said: “And KG and Ray have miserable shooting nights last night but we get it out of Eddie and Shelden.”

‘NET RESULTS: Al Jefferson played well against the Celtics last night in Minnesota. Maybe it was revenge for the way Paul Pierce treated him when Jefferson was a rookie in Boston in 2004.

HISTORIVIA ANSWER: Chuck Connors, who was better known for starring in the TV show “The Rifleman”

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Herman’s Hermits lead singer Peter Noone is 62 today.

We all know how that game ended, but it opens up an interesting subject. How often have we seen athletes make game-changing mistakes that cost their team wins? We decided to list some of the more (un)forgettable moments.

Chris Webber calls a timeout
Webber, while maybe not one of the all-time NBA greats, was a good big man and a contributor for the teams he played for. However, he will always be known for calling a timeout in the 1993 NCAA championship game between Michigan and UNC. In retrospect, there was plenty of time left in the game for Michigan to set up a play and if the Michigan guards, who usually handle the ball, had helped after the rebound, we might only talk about how Michigan collapsed and not how Webber lost the game for his team.

Andres Escobar scores own goal
Escobar was a defender on the Columbian 1994 FIFA World Cup team. Despite a celebrated career, he cemented himself in sports history when he scored an own goal in a match on June 22 against the United States while attempting to redirect a shot from U.S. midfielder, John Harkes.

The result of the own goal was the U.S. winning the match, 2-1. Columbia failed to advance past the first round in the tournament, and helped propel the U.S. into the second round, where they lost a 1-0 match to Brazil. The win over Columbia put U.S. soccer on the map in terms of World Cup play. For Colombia and Escobar, the result was far more harrowing. On July 2, 1994, Escobar was shot and killed in front of a bar. His death is widely believed to be punishment for the own goal.

Jim Marshall runs the wrong way
As a football player, this is one of those situations that you hope never happens to you.
It was an athletic play to pick up the ball on one bounce, but you have to pay attention to where you are! Even to this day Marshall can’t live it down. But at least Roy Riegels has company.

Bill Buckner 

Need I say more?

Merkle’s Boner

The granddaddy of all brain cramps in U.S. professional sports, which has been immortalized in culture and literature. Fred Merkle, a rookie making his first-ever big-league start, was on first base when one of his Giants teammates lined an apparent walkoff single against the Cubs, with whom New York was in a heated pennant race. Rather than touching second, however, Merkle sprinted straight from first base to the Giants clubhouse, located in centerfield, to avoid a flood of fans on the field. Johnny Evers of the Cubs somehow retrieved the ball (or a ball), brought the umpires back on the field as he stepped on second for a force out, and insisted that Merkle was out. Instead of a Giants walk-off win, the game was declared a suspended tie that the Cubs ultimately won, a pivotal moment in their claiming the pennant and their last World Series triumph in 1908. 

These plays and others like them will live on in infamy because of how much fans cherish sports and their favorite teams. These plays gain significance over the years because they are often deciding factors in what makes an individual, a team or game memorable.

NBA legend Bill Walton announced this week that he will not return to ESPN to provide NBA analysis, saying, “It is time to dedicate the rest of my life to service.” Here’s a clip of him playing horse vs. Will Ferrell. Coincidentally, this video shows the Larry Bird behind-the-backboard shot that’s being compared to Rajon Rondo’s shot last night.

BASEBALL: Pedro Martinez knows he has the support of Red Sox Nation tonight as he faces Andy Pettitte at Yankee Stadium. Phillies sparkplug Shane Victorino is still hurting after being hit on the hand by a pitch in Game 5, and he’s questionable for tonight.

Josh Beckett plans to talk to the Red Sox brass about his future.

FOOTBALL: Chris Price has his weekly Patriots mailbag. Price also writes about Dolphins speedster Ted Ginn Jr., who comes to Foxboro Sunday. D.J. Bean has his Week 9 Living With the Bye fantasy football column

The Seahawks cut running back Edgerrin James, who ranks 10th in NFL history in rushing. The Chiefs picked up tight end Chris Chambers, who was waived by the Chargers.

Browns owner Randy Lerner met with some disgruntled fans. Meanwhile, his team reacted to the departure of general manager George Kokinis. Redskins owner Daniel Snyder talked publicly about his frustration with his team’s woes.

In college news, Georgia running back Washaun Ealey, the victim of Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes’ attempted eye gouge, said he doesn’t think Spikes should be suspended. At Syracuse, three players were suspended for violating team rules. Longtime Florida State defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews will retire after the season.

BASKETBALL: The Celtics routed the 76ers, 105-74. Paul Flannery writes about how the C’s are making it look easy.

The Magic lost to the Pistons, and the Heat were felled by the Suns, leaving the C’s as the only undefeated team in the Eastern Conference. The Nuggets are 4-0 and off to their best start in 24 years. The Lakers survived the Thunder in overtime.

Cavaliers guard Delonte West faces additional weapons and traffic charges in Maryland. Clippers owner Donald Sterling paid a $2.7 million fine to settle a housing discrimination dispute.

Syracuse lost to Division 2 Le Moyne in an exhibition game at the Carrier Dome. Duke guard Nolan Smith was suspended two games for playing in an unsanctioned summer league.

HOCKEY: The Bruins dropped a 2-0 decision to the Red Wings.

Former Bruin Phil Kessel made his debut with the Maple Leafs in a losing effort.

HISTORIVIA: On Nov. 4, 1986, which Red Sox bench boss was named named American League Manager of the Year?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I don’t want to die and then hear everybody say, ‘Oh, there goes one of the best players ever.’ If you’re going to give me props, just give them to me right now.” — Pedro Martinez, as he prepares for tonight’s Game 6 of the World Series in New York

STAT OF THE DAY: 132 — Consecutive scoreless minutes for the Bruins

AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED TRANSCRIPT OF THE DAY: Ken Rosenthal appeared on the Dale & Holley show yesterday and talked about the situation in the Phillies clubhouse after Game 5, when Brett Myers confronted teammate Cole Hamels.

According to our automatically generated transcript, Rosenthal said:

“I just bought our used joke you know look at the big deal at all. It back when I woke up the border learned that the fluid in Britain.”

What he actually said: “I just though Myers was joking and it wasn’t a big deal at all. And in fact, when I woke up this morning to learn that the story had been written …”

‘NET RESULTS: Comedian Stephen Colbert is sponsoring the US Olympic Speedskating team.

HISTORIVIA ANSWER: John McNamara

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Harry Elston is 71 today. He sang with “Friends of Distinction,” which you know from their version of “Grazing in the Grass.” The group was “discovered” by football legend Jim Brown in the late 1960s, or so the story goes.

James LaShoto of Arlington Catholic is being charged with assault and battery after hitting Abington’s Daniel Curtin on Sept. 19. Curtin missed 10 days of school and two football games while recovering.

No penalty was called on LaShoto as officials did not see the incident (it was away from the ball). LaShoto was suspended two games by Arlington Catholic, and his lawyer, Ronald Martignetti, said the punishment was discussed with Abington High School school and team officials before being delivered.

However, the Curtin family was not satisfied and decided to seek a legal remedy.

“We see this as an appropriate venue,” Curtin’s mother, Paula, told The Boston Globe from Cambridge District Court in Medford on Friday. “We’re hoping that by doing this, this doesn’t happen again to anybody.”

Said Curtin lawyer Fran McGee: “There are rules and there are rules. In this case here, the issuing of the complaint indicates that perhaps a line was crossed here, but we’ll find out when there’s a trial. … This case suggests a broader issue. High school football is mimicking the NFL and becoming more and more violent every week, it seems to me.”

Martignetti called into D&C Tuesday morning to defend LaShoto and insist that it’s not appropriate for this to become a legal matter. Here is what Martignetti had to say.

Ronald Martignetti: My name’s Ron Martignetti and I’m an attorney and I represent young James LaShoto, and I wanted to get a couple of ideas out there

John Dennis: All right, we should point out that LaShoto is the young man charged with the misdemeanor count of assault and battery.

RM: Yes, the Arlington Catholic former captain, football player, yes. The LaShoto family and James in particular wanted to apologize immediately after the incident, but as what happens with some of these matters is they take on a life of their own. Immediately, there were legal implications and essentially what happened is the family was frozen to speak, to talk, to do anything. So they were quiet, they have since apologized, both to Arlington Catholic, to Abington High School, and James has apologized to his coaching staff, to the coaching staff of the other team, to his league, to the Curtin family, and specifically to young Daniel Curtin, who was injured on the play. It seems as though everyone has accepted the apologies with the exception of the Curtin family has rebuffed Daniel’s apology, so that is probably first to be known.

Secondly is that it seems as though as I listened to the conversation between your callers and thank them for voicing their opinions, but it seems as though we have on one side perhaps a consensus that the suspension was too short, on the other side it seems as though had the suspension been longer, and there seems to be varying degrees on how long it is, that people would have been satisfied with the outcome. And I think that expresses the points of the Curtin family as well. But I don’t think that if we can’t agree on whether or not we have a two-game suspension being too short or a year being too long, that if we can’t come to an agreement between those two parameters, that we should get the criminal law, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, involved in the case.

And that’s been my point with this matter. I’m not going to get involved in whether or not two games was too short, four games just right, the rest of the season perfect — that all seems to be an appropriate conversation, but that’s a matter of opinion between the people who run the respective leagues, the MIAA, whoever else was involved. But because we can’t agree on that, the right answer is not because someone had a lapse of judgment in a football game, in a play, before the whistle, with equipment that he was provided. This isn’t a knife that was taken off the field, I think all those fact patterns really are red herrings.

Gerry Callahan: Can you confirm, counselor, it’s two games, right, and it’s already been served?

RM: Yes, it was two games, it was served.

GC: And he lost his captaincy, is that what you just said?

RM: He did lose his captaincy. This is a kid with a 3.5 GPA, member of the National Honor Society, a kid with a stellar, stellar record at Arlington Catholic. He is under consideration to play football at a small college. The whole play was under two seconds. This is a kid that this play is going to affect his life. He’s being talked about right now Boston radio, he’s on the news, on television. Imagine what this would be like for a high school senior. This was supposed to be a great year for LaShoto, it was supposed to be a great year for Curtin. There’s no defending the injury to the Curtin kid, it’s unfortunate, I don’t think that we get involved in football that we either want our children to come off the field bloodied by a dirty play, nor do we want our kid to come off the field in handcuffs. I think the bigger question here is: Are we a society that really needs to give more power to the police and the government? Is that what’s wrong with us?

JD: Well I think the discomfort factor, counselor, and this is just my opinion, came with the idea that not enough was done. And we can sit here and go back and forth and negotiate two games vs. a year, but that’s not the point. The fact of the matter is both these kids, and the rest of their teammates, by the way, went to that game on September 19, I believe that was, with a reasonable expectation of what their risk would be. And if you’re a running back or a quarterback it might be that your knee gets caved in or it might be if you’re a wide receiver that you take a blow to the head going over the middle that you get a concussion. This would not have risen to the level of anybody’s reasonable expectation of your risk on the field, thus, that’s why I think law enforcement, in this case, has a reasonable chance of getting involved.

RM: Well, law enforcement clearly is involved, the boy’s been charged, and there will be a criminal trial moving forward. So that isn’t really any longer in the balance. The issue, though, is given the fact that these are very rough sports and given the fact that sometimes emotions become overblown, and sometimes someone has a mistake, a lapse in judgment, this is not a premeditated grudge match between these two boys, that “I’m going to get that kid the next time I see him,” [or] “I’m going to stalk him down and chase him,” these are kids that were faced off against each other at the line of scrimmage and one kid’s helmet comes off and can be kicked around, how it came off, it’s my guy’s position that it came off in the play, and my guy’s view was that, “I tried to get in his face and say, ‘Stop cut-blocking me.’ ”

GC: Who suspended him? The coach, the school, the superintendent?

RM: The head of school of Arlington Catholic suspended him, but the head of school at Arlington Catholic, along with his athletic director and his coaching staff, conferred with Abington High School and conferred with the administration and the athletic department and coaching staff of Abington High School and all of the adults at Arlington Catholic and Abington High School were in agreement that the suspension was appropriate. So you have opposing teams agreeing that this is an appropriate suspension. The losing of the captainship and the two-game suspension was appropriate.

JD: Counselor, let me ask you this, and I understand, and you’re sort of stating the obvious when you say football is a rough and violent game, things get heated during the course of  a game, sometimes things happen, sometimes they don’t. Fact of the matter is, and I understand that your client is going through a tough time here and he’s looking at the rest of his life being affected, whether he does get to play in college or not, and this stay and this stigma will be on him, my question would be, and I think it’s almost rhetorical in nature: Do you think if he does go to play in college that James Lashoto would ever do this again?

RM: Oh, God no.

JD: Of course he would not. And do you think anybody on the Arlington Catholic High School football team or the Abington High School football team for that matter, in the heat of some moment down the road, would think that it was a good idea, even in the heat of the moment, to either take a guy’s helmet off or see a guy’s helmet off and head-butt him.

RM: Of course not.

JD: Of course not, but if this had not risen to the level of all the attention of criminal case and maybe there’s a one- or two-game suspension, my guess is this teaching moment would not have been so profound.

RM: I disagree with your conclusion in that the two-game suspension definitely would have made LaShoto never do this again and it would have been a good lesson for everyone else.

JD: I’m not talking about LaShoto, I’m talking about the other kids on the team.

RM: Let me add to what you’re saying. The issue is not whether or not a half or a two-game or a four-game would have done it. The issue that you put forward is how to get the boy’s attention and how to get other players’ attention so this doesn’t occur. And in order to do that, a suspension is as important to these kids as anything else they’re doing. They work very hard to play these sports, it’s their life, it’s their dream, they view themselves as going much further in sport than any of them will realistically go.

JD: Do you think any other SEC football player will gouge an eyeball based on Urban Meyer’s punishment of Brandon Spikes?

RM: I must ask forgiveness at this point, I don’t know anything about the Urban Meyer incident.

JD: My point is a suspension, long, short or in this case ridiculously short, I don’t think has that much of a deterrent for people other than the ones involved.

RM: Well, let me say this. I think that deterrent is different to different people. And I’ve watched the criminal law now for 25 years as an attorney and I don’t want to pull rank over the young law student that called in a moment ago, but I was that young law student some 25 years ago. Deterrent is very much in the eye of the beholder. I don’t know the other professional or college players involved in their incidents. I’ve heard discussions of incidents where people have gotten involved in heinous acts off the field, people who it sounds to me from your description has proclivity to get involved in criminal behavior. We’re now dealing with a kid who’s an exemplary kid and very well raised from a very good school [for whom] just the accusation has been much, much more of an impact on his life than the suspension. … You may call it short, and I would not be on the phone with you had there been a year suspension, a season suspension, it just wouldn’t be a matter. It would have been a matter of the administrators. But to lose track of a suspension from sport vs. a criminal charge, these are completely different realms, and I think this matter is really poorly placed.

GC: Can you tell me how and why the apology was rebuffed? Is this a legal matter now, is the Curtin family going to sue? Will you be presenting LaShoto in a civil trial?

RM: Well, I don’t know what they’ll get from young James LaShoto. I imagine his football equipment belongs to Arlington Catholic. The idea of suing him is foolish, he doesn’t have anything. But the idea of putting him in criminal jeopardy, I don’t think that this matter has helped the LaShoto boy — it certainly hasn’t. I don’t want to be so presumptuous as to tell the Curtins how to raise their son — my wife and I are raising eight of our own, and I know it’s a formidable task — I just think that they’re not doing anything for the Curtin boy either by pursuing this. I think that this should have been handled [by] the leagues — an argument can be placed that it should have been handled more firmly by the leagues — but it’s grossly misplaced to have this in the criminal court.

JD: And I would suggest to you, and I don’t want to open up another end of conversation because we’re up against the clock here, but I would think that James LaShoto should be very, very thankful that [he] didn’t lose his temper or temporarily go insane at a high school dance where he encountered this guy.

RM: My coaches used to say that dancing is a contact sport, and football is a collision sport. … To say that this is the same had it happened at a high school dance or in line at a Dunkin’ Donuts, I would hope that people who go to high school dances don’t have the same level of adrenaline and the same emotional input as they do when they’re playing contact sports. This is a contact sport where he crossed the line. I think to take the other facts is just to skew the argument.

WEEI’s Ian Tasso contributed to this report.

BASEBALL: Maybe the Philadelphia Inquirer knew something. Yesterday, the paper apologized for accidentally running an ad for Phillies World Series championship gear. Last night, the Phillies beat the Yankees, 8-6, to close to within a game.

Not all is well with the Phillies, as there’s a report that Brett Myers and Cole Hamels got into a dispute after last night’s win. Apparently, Myers instigated the argument by saying something to Hamels in reference to a comment Hamels made after Game 3 about wanting the season to end.

Red Sox farm director Mike Hazen reportedly turned down an offer to be Jed Hoyer’s assistant general manager with the Padres.

FOOTBALL: The Patriots are getting ready for the Dolphins and their wildcat offense. Tom Brady spoke on Dennis & Callahan about playing for a long time to come. Bill Belichick loosened up a bit during the bye week, or so he told The Big Show. Meanwhile, the Patriots continue to bring in free agents for workouts.

Joe Zarbano has his weekly NFL power rankings, lead by the Saints, who beat the Falcons last night to remain undefeated.

The Chiefs cut Larry Johnson’s suspension in half after discussions with the NFL Management Council and NFL Players Association. The Raiders will investigate coach Tom Cable after ESPN aired a report accusing him of abusing women. Browns owner Randy Lerner will meet with the organizers of a fan protest against the team for its incompetence. Meanwhile, Browns general manager George Kokinis is out. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell testified before a congressional subcommittee as he seeks more power to suspend steroid users.

University of Florida coach Urban Meyer suspended linebacker Brandon Spikes for an incident Saturday in which Spikes gouged the eyes of Georgia running back Washaun Ealey while he was on the ground. At Syracuse, leading receiver Mike Williams left the team, which means more of a struggle for quarterback Greg Paulus, who has been getting booed by the home crowd. Former Boston College quarterback Dominique Davis is transferring to East Carolina.

BASKETBALL: Paul Flannery examines the ramifications of the Rajon Rando signing. Rondo said: “I’m thankful for what I’m signing for.” Meanwhile, the NBA is reviewing Sunday night’s Rondo-Chris Paul incident.

Larry Bird and Magic Johnson spoke to the press to hype their forthcoming book some more.

Notre Dame’s Luke Harangody heads the AP preseason All-America team.

HOCKEY: A judge approved the sale of the Coyotes to the NHL.

SOCCER: David Beckham will return to AC Milan on loan in January.

MISC.: New York Post media critic Phil Mushnick and WFAN radio host Mike Francesa took their feud to another level yesterday. Based on the evidence, Francesa isn’t looking too good.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Nov. 3, 1942, the results of the American League MVP voting were announced. Despite hitting .356 with 36 home runs and 137 RBI, Red Sox left fielder Ted Williams lost out to a Yankees infielder who hit .322 with 18 homers and 103 RBI. Which Yankee won the award?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “He’s earned what he has, but this can’t be the defining moment of his career.” — Celtics coach Doc Rivers on Rajon Rondo’s new contract

STAT OF THE DAY: 5 — Home runs in the 2009 World Series by Chase Utley, tying the record set by Reggie Jackson in 1977 for the Yankees against the Dodgers.

AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED TRANSCRIPT OF THE DAY: Tom Brady was on Dennis & Callahan yesterday morning, and he was talking about Brett Favre. According to our automatically generated transcript, he said:

“Gingrich Pollack passed away in mount Drobo has touched on — Oakland he’s just he’s really got kind of Portland.”

What he actually said: “I always remember the game when his father passed away and he came out and threw all those touchdowns against Oakland. He’s really that kind of player.”

‘NET RESULTS: In honor of the Revolution winning their playoff opener, here’s Frenchman Remi Gaillard with some amazing soccer tricks. The scenes at the start are of him celebrating in the locker room with 2002 French champion Lorient after sneaking in.

TRIVIA ANSWER: Second baseman Joe Gordon

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Lulu is 61 today. She’s best known for “To Sir With Love,” but here she is with fellow Scot Gilbert O’Sullivan singing his 1973 hit “Get Down.” Is it just me, or does O’Sullivan look a little bit like John Kerry here?

Revving his engine while sitting in a car with a cougar painted across the hood, Ricky Bobby’s return to the racing world was greeted by a mixture of cheers and encouragement from his crew team, jeers and gibes from Jean Girard (the Frenchman who orchestrated his descent from the top) and taunts and teases from his former best friend, Cal Naughton Jr., who was now married to his ex-wife and living in his million-dollar mansion.

Still, Ricky Bobby did not allow his emotions to get the best of him. He did not walk away with a first-place finish, but his return to NASCAR was one he will surely never forget (though he may want to).

Even though Talledega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is a fictional but inspirational comedy, many athletes have had to deal with returning to a place where they were once hailed as heroes and now looked upon as a modern-day Benedict Arnold.

Yesterday, Brett Favre finally made his long-anticipated return to Lambeau Field, returning to his football home of 16 years, where he was once heralded as one of the greatest to ever put on a Green Bay Packer uniform and play in front of some of die-hard Cheeseheads. As soon as he trotted onto the field in a Minnesota Vikings jersey, Favre drew an immediate chorus of boos as if he was being attacked by ghosts lingering from the previous night’s celebration of Halloween.

Not only did a plane fly over the field carrying a banner that read “Retire 4 Good,” but a multitude of fans showed their displeasure with the quarterback by wearing shirts calling him names such as “Judas,” “Traitor” and “Drama Queen,” including one fan who held a Fredo-Favre sign to illustrate his dissatisfaction with his deal with the Vikings. Much to the dismay of Packers fans, however, Favre got the last laugh as his team overpowered the Packers, 38-26, in a game in which Favre threw for four touchdowns and 244 yards to give him a 128.6 quarterback rating.

While fans in Wisconsin were disappointed by the outcome, Patriot fans can empathize with them. On Nov. 5, 2006, Adam Vinatieri, perhaps the greatest clutch kicker in the history of the NFL, returned to Gillette Stadium after leaving the Patriots to join the rival Indianapolis Colts. Winning three Super Bowls with New England, Vinatieri was hailed with boos and jeers. Later in the game, the kicker heard the cheers he was accustomed to at Gillette only after missing a 37- and a 46-yard field goal for his first two misses of the season. He did, however, connect on two other kicks  for 23 and 31-yards to help secure the Colts’ 27-20 victory.

On the baseball end, Phillies fanatics got a taste of what Red Sox fans felt when they watched Johnny Damon advance from first base to third in the top of the ninth inning to give the Yankees the go-ahead run to win Game 4 of the World Series, 7-4. As a free agent following the 2005 season, Damon signed a four-year contract worth $52 million with his former AL East, rival leaving Red Sox fans flabbergasted and stunned. Previously stating that he would never sign with the Yankees, Damon was greeted back at Fenway on May 1, 2006, to a combination of boos and applause.

Like Favre, Damon was the target of “Judas” comparisons (though he actually looked like him before he shaved away his caveman persona). Tipping his helmet before his first at-bat, Damon received a welcoming shower of dollar bills as fans who were not in attendance were quick to resort to other extravagant public displays of disaffection.

Damon did not get the opportunity to enjoy beating his former team, as he went 0-for-4 in the Yankees 7-4 loss. Yet Damon may soon obtain his first World Series ring as a Yankee as his former teammate Pedro Martinez will have to wait at least another year to continue his quest to win another World Championship on the Phillies’ bench.

Leaving the Red Sox after the 2004 Championship season, Pedro inked a four-year, $53 million contract with the other New York team when he chose to sign with the Mets instead of remaining in Boston. Unlike Damon, Pedro was the recipient of a warm welcome when he took the mound as a member of the Mets during an interleague game on June 28, 2006. The fans had other reasons to cheer for Pedro that night, as the ace surrendered eight runs (6 earned) in only three innings as the Red Sox defeated the Mets 10-2.

Not all former Boston players cozy-up to the fans the same kindhearted way Pedro did. On July 12, 1997, Roger Clemens made his return to Fenway Park as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays just months after former Red Sox GM Dan Duquette proclaimed that the ace was “in the twilight of his career”. While on the mound, Clemens glared directly into the owner’s box where Duquette was sitting, still angered by the general manager’s comment. If Clemens had any disdain for Duquette he clearly used it for further motivation as he pitched a memorable game, striking out 16 batters in eight innings and only allowing one earned run in Toronto’s 3-1 victory.

Players come and go. Whether it be via trade or free agency, many treat their respective sport as a business first and a game second. Players are cheered, others are booed, and some just can’t seem to find their seat, just like Stephon Marbury.

FOOTBALL: The Patriots were off, but it was a big day in the NFL. Denver suffered its first loss, getting routed at Baltimore. Brett Favre frustrated Green Bay fans by leading Minnesota to a win. The Dolphins completed a sweep of the Jets. The Eagles rolled past the Giants. The Titans got their first win, overpowering Jacksonville. The Colts rallied past the 49ers in a low-scoring affair to remain unbeaten.

Christopher Price has a story about former Patriots lineman Joe Andruzzi’s ongoing fight against cancer. According to an ESPN report, Raiders coach Tom Cable has been accused of abusing his ex-wife and a former girlfriend.

D.J. Bean has the fantasy football Week 8 wrap-up.

Dan Rowinski has Five Things We Learned from Boston College’s victory over Central Michigan Saturday.

BASEBALL: The Yankees closed to within a game of their 27th World Series title, as Johnny Damon and Alex Rodriguez keyed a three-run rally in the ninth inning for a 7-4 victory last night in Philadelphia. Phillies closer Brad Lidge was left looking for answers after coming within a strike of ending the inning unscathed. A.J. Burnett will start against Cliff Lee tonight.

Derek Jeter and Albert Pujols were named winners of the Hank Aaron Awards.

Dustin Pedroia talked about Halloween and watching the World Series in an appearance on WEEI’s Mutt & Bradford show Saturday.

Kirk Minihane has a look at the best and worst of the decade for the Red Sox.

BASKETBALL: The Celtics pulled away late for a 10-point victory over the Hornets. Jessica Camerato has Three Things We Learned, which includes at item on the Rajon Rondo-Chris Paul feud.

Camerato also has Rondo talking about his future, saying he doesn’t think it’s likely he’ll be a Celtic forever.

A couple of offbeat items from the weekend. First, Spurs guard Manu Ginobli swatted a bat out of the air during Saturday night’s game in San Antonio.

Second, Stephon Marbury returned to Madison Square Garden Saturday night after buying a courtside ticket, but the former Knick (and Celtic) left early because he was in the wrong seat and he apparently didn’t like being asked to move.

HOCKEY: The Bruins could not follow up Saturday’s victory with another, dropping a 1-0 decision to the Rangers yesterday. Joe Haggerty has Three Things We Learned, leading with a lack of offense again being a problem.

SOCCER: The Revolution doused the Fire, 2-1, in their playoff opener yesterday in Foxboro.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: On Nov. 2, 1946, the Celtics played their first-ever road game. They didn’t have far to travel, as which New England team was the opponent?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “There’s no question — I’ve never had a bigger hit,” — Alex Rodriguez, after his go-ahead double sparked the Yankees’ 7-4 win last night in Game 5 of the World Series in Philadelphia

STAT OF THE DAY: 14 — Consecutive successful penalty kills by the Bruins

AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED TRANSCRIPT OF THE DAY: Dustin Pedroia joined Saturday’s Mutt & Bradford show, and when asked if he was watching the World Series, he said this, according to the automatically generated transcript:

“Torrealba I watch actually watch every watch every game every pitch some. You know still will — in in Antigua those — don’t.”

His actual comment: “Oh, yeah, I actually watch every game, every pitch, I’m still learning and seeing what those guys are doing.”

‘NET RESULTS: On Wednesday, we linked to ImprovEverywhere’s “Grocery Store Musical,” in which members of the improv group “spontaneously” broke out into a musical at the supermarket. Here’s another offering from the troupe, called “Suicide Jumper.”

TRIVIA ANSWER: The Providence Steamrollers, who beat the Celtics, 59-53 (the Steamrollers folded after the 1948-49 season)

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Jay Black of Jay and the Americans is 71 today.

Oakland Raiders - Black Hole

You have to respect a fan base that dresses in football pads with spikes on them, skulls and black and silver face paint. Their “Black Hole” is infamous and notorious for making opposing kickers miss chip shot field goals. It’s just too bad they don’t have a better team to cheer.

Denver Broncos - Barrel Man

You have to love this. Quick breakdown: Cowboy hat, check. Megaphone to lead cheers, check. Winter gloves, check. No shirt, check. The mark of a true fan is how few clothes you wear depending on how cold the weather is. The Barrel Man is clearly a true fan. It takes a special commitment to only wear a barrel to a game played a mile above sea level.

Green Bay - Pope of Packerland

This fan pays attention to the details. First, he has the appropriate vestments for a Roman Catholic pope. Notice the years listed on the stole, years the Packers won a championship. His mitre (pointy hat) has an image of Vince Lombardi. If you worship the Packers, is Lombardi the messiah? One question. Where do you get a “cheese” bra?

Cleveland Browns - Dawg Pound

Face paint is a mark of a true fan. A mask is along the same lines. The Dawg Pound is much like the Black Hole in its rowdiness but with less of an effect. Much respect to those who count themselves among the Dawg Pound, but when you cheer for the Browns it’s understandable why they wear masks.

Washington Redskins - The Hogs

Men in dresses wearing pig snouts. There is not much more to say about it. The origin of the Hogs actually has nothing to do with fans. It refers to their famous offensive line from the early 80s. These days the hogs in the stands seem to be more entertaining than those on the field.

New York Jets - Fireman Ed

He might be the ultimate fan. His costume is simple, a Jets jersey and a Jets-themed firefighter helmet. But his influence is legendary. Fireman Ed, who is actually a fireman, leads the famous Jets cheer “J-E-T-S, Jets! Jets! Jets!” In fact he’s so well known for his role in cheering the team that Coach Rex Ryan recognized his work after the week two win against the Patriots.

Super Fans can often add to the experience of going to a game. It’s interesting that the most memorable super fans cheer for teams that don’t do well, but perhaps when your team is in the cellar, you have to find other ways to entertain yourself. Did we miss a super fan? Let us know!

Many say a pitcher naturally functions with a short-term memory, erasing any negativity lingering from a dismal outing. An ace is groomed to always look on the bright side, set his sights on the start ahead, and carry an optimistic outlook for the future. There is no dwelling on the past, no need to rekindle the discontent.

Yet, Pedro is an exception to that generalization. When Martinez took the podium before Game 1 of the World Series in front of a crowded room of reporters and media personnel, Pedro did not hesitate to refresh everyone’s memory of how the media battered and beleaguered his character, painting him as “the man New York loves to hate.” He showed no reluctance addressing the infamous Don Zimmer incident, nor did he stutter in the least when he denoted himself “the most influential player that ever stepped in Yankee Stadium.”

Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig, and even Derek Jeter may have a degree of difficulty agreeing with that. But, hey, as Pedro says, “Go wake up the damn Bambino, maybe I’ll drill him in the [behind]. 

Still, Pedro has certainly left a sizable portion of his legacy permantly embedded in the old Yankee Stadium. His name will forever be engraved in the century-long history of the revered franchise. His memory will be passed along from generation to generation of Yankee fans. And some of his most controversial moments involving the fans, the players, and the coaches of New York will never be forgotten (and maybe never forgiven).

To the gratifying recollection of Boston fans, Pedro’s one-hit, 17-strikeout brilliance on Sept. 10, 1999, against the rivaled Yankees remains one of his finest moments as a member of the Red Sox. Allowing only a solo home run to Chili Davis, Pedro shrugged off the long ball and went on to turn in one of the best starts of his career. That year, Pedro was honored with the second of his three Cy Young Awards, winning the AL Triple Crown in pitching and finishing second in the AL MVP voting. Pedro was at the top of his game. He was arguably the most dominant pitcher of the era and continued to be a menace to the Yankees causing fans to despise his ability to so effortlessly silence the most lethal offense in all of baseball.

Then, in 2003, the tides began to shift. In the 2003 ALCS between the Red Sox and the Yankees, Pedro would be at the epicenter of brawls and the target of criticism. During Game 3, Pedro launched a fastball behind the head of Karim Garcia. From there, Pedro was Public Enemy No. 1. Among the shouts of dissatisfaction from the Yankee bench, Jorge Posada was one of the most vehement protesters, causing Pedro to single out the catcher by pointing to his temple with his right index finger. The Yankees interpreted this gesture as a foreshadowing of a future beaning, but Pedro meant that he would remember Posada’s objections, not necessarily fire a 95-MPH heater at his helmet.

Later in the game, Roger Clemens threw a ball high to Manny Ramirez, who overreacted to a ball that was over the plate and started approaching the mound accusing Clemens of intending to hit him. Benches cleared and the sight that would remain fixed in everyone’s mind was the image of Pedro tossing the 72-year-old Zimmer to the field.

New York would have its revenge. Taking the mound for Game 7, Pedro entered the 8th inning only six outs from securing a trip to the World Series for the Red Sox. Everyone knows the story. On fumes, Pedro was unable to hold a 5-2 lead, sending the game into extra innings, which would eventually end on an Aaron Boone walk-off in the bottom of the eleventh off of Tim Wakefield. Manager Grady Little would lose his job and some wondered if Pedro lost his confidence.

The next year, Pedro finally let out his built-up frustration with the Yankees by calling them his “Daddy” late in the season after back-to-back disappointing outings. Since then, a tirade of banners, shirts, and teases have flooded the stands of Yankee Stadium ridiculing the pitcher that once owned their team for years.

Last night, Pedro made his first appearance at the new Yankee Stadium. In the first six frames, the right-hander held the Yankees to two solo home runs courtesy of Mark Teixeira and Hideki Matsui before Charlie Manuel pulled a Grady Little and sent out Pedro one inning too long.

Still, upon his departure, Pedro left in high spirits, warmly smiling as he made his way back to the visitor’s dugout in the midst of a few “daddy” chants from the crowd at Yankee Stadium. He made sure to take in all the jeers and the cheers echoing throughout unwelcoming atmosphere. It was a start Pedro will never forget.

Before we get to the links, here’s a reminder that there will be football (futbol) at Gillette Stadium Sunday afternoon, as the Revolution host the Chicago Fire in the opening game of the MLS playoffs. Tickets are still available.

BASEBALL: The Yankees beat Pedro Martinez and the Phillies, 3-1, in Game 2 of the World Series. Dan Guttenplan is impressed by Pedro’s performance but not surprised, as he predicted the stat line quite accurately (at the bottom of his NFL picks Wednesday). Curt Schilling talked to the Big Show about the World Series ad Pedro.

Derek Jeter was given the Roberto Clemente Award for on- and off-field excellence.

After some confusion and a Major League Baseball ruling, the Red Sox retained the rights to Reynaldo Rodriguez, a first baseman they acquired from the Yuma Scorpions of the independent Golden Baseball League earlier this month. Red Sox left fielder Jason Bay checked in for a chat on WEEI.com yesterday.

FOOTBALL: Wes Welker has become the ultimate security blanket for the Patriots. Tom Brady was named AFC Offensive Player of the Month.

Green Bay is eagerly awaiting Brett Favre’s return Sunday. Browns fans are preparing a protest for a Nov. 16 game.

In New Orleans, former Patriots fullback Heath Evans is done for the season with a torn right knee ligament, and another former Patriot, Kyle Eckel, has been signed as his replacement. Seahawks linebacker Lofa Tatupu had his season ended during surgery for a torn pectoral muscle. The Titans are switching to Vince Young at quarterback.

Dan Guttenplan presents his Week 8 NFL picks. D.J. Bean has his fantasy football can’t-pass-up matchups.

North Carolina knocked off No. 14 Virginia Tech on a field goal with no time left. Boston College is preparing for Central Michigan and talented quarterback Dan LeFevour.

BASKETBALL: The deadline for the Celtics to sign Rajon Rondo was moved to Monday. Michael Holley debuted his NBA power rankings and put the Lakers ahead of the Celtics. Doc Rivers appeared on Dennis & Callahan yesterday and talked about the Celtics’ early success and Glen Davis’ woes.

The NBA says it will investigate the allegations made by rogue referee Tim Donaghy.

Kansas is ranked No. 1 in the AP preseason Top 25. Bob Knight will not attend his induction into the Indiana University Hall of Fame.

HOCKEY: The Bruins lost to the Devils, 2-1, on a goal with 1:26 remaining. Joe Haggerty has Three Things We Learned from the loss.

WEEI.com’s latest NHL power rankings are out, and the Bruins land at No. 17.

NHL scoring champion Evgeni Malkin of the Penguins will miss 2-3 weeks with a strained right shoulder.

HISTORIVIA: On Oct. 30, 1980, the NBA announced its 35th Anniversary All-Time Team. Red Auerbach was named the greatest coach, and three Celtics players were on the 11-man team. Who were the players?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I know they really want to root for me. It’s just that I don’t play for the Yankees, that’s all. They love the fact that I compete. I’m a New Yorker, as well. If I was on the Yankees, I’d probably be like a king over here.” — Pedro Martinez, after pitching six innings in Game 2 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium

STAT OF THE DAY: 14 percent — The Bruins’ performance on the power play this season (6-for-42)

AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED TRANSCRIPT OF THE DAY: On yesterday’s Dennis & Callahan show, Doc Rivers was asked if Wednesday night’s blowout win was useful. He got all political in his response, at least according to our automatically generated transcript:

“Apparently some sort mobile solutions didn’t who didn’t look so much. How little Americans — work or and so. And Obama didn’t want to social work most of the — set out. They’re running out by the principally blue moon did obviously.”

His actual response:

“It’s always useful this early in the season. We have a lot of things to work on. They didn’t play well, Charlotte, especially in the first half. It’s funny, I thought defensively we were really good, obviously.”

‘NET RESULTS: In honor of Halloween, here’s a mummy throwing out the first pitch/body part at a Dodgers game.

HISTORIVIA ANSWER: Bob Cousy, John Havlicek and Bill Russell, who was named the greatest player of all-time.

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Otis Williams of the Temptations is 68 today. That’s Otis at the 1:32 mark singing his one line in this song.

Portions of disgraced referee Tim Donaghy’s book, “Blowing the Whistle,” have been published on the web, and this makes for some compelling reading. The book has been shelved by the publisher, apparently due to the threat of legal action by the NBA. But Deadspin printed a number of excerpts, including this:

Studying under Dick Bavetta for 13 years was like pursuing a graduate degree in advanced game manipulation. He knew how to marshal the tempo and tone of a game better than any referee in the league, by far. He also knew how to take subtle — and not so subtle — cues from the NBA front office and extend a playoff series or, worse yet, change the complexion of that series.

Donaghy accuses Bavetta of routinely making calls against teams that were building leads for the sole purpose of trying to keep games close.

Also:

To have a little fun at the expense of the worst troublemakers, the referees working the game would sometimes make a modest friendly wager amongst themselves: first ref to give one of the bad boys a technical foul wouldn’t have to tip the ball boy that night. … After the opening tip, it was hilarious as the three of us immediately focused our full attention on the intended victim, waiting for something, anything, to justify a technical foul. If the guy so much as looked at one of us and mumbled, we rang him up. Later in the referees’ locker room, we would down a couple of brews, eat some chicken wings, and laugh like hell.

And:

If Kobe Bryant had two fouls in the first or second quarter and went to the bench, one referee would tell the other two, “Kobe’s got two fouls. Let’s make sure that if we call a foul on him, it’s an obvious foul, because otherwise he’s gonna go back to the bench. If he is involved in a play where a foul is called, give the foul to another player.”

Donaghy goes on to make specific allegations of biased refereeing — sometimes for reasons as silly as the officials betting each other to see who could go longest without making a foul call. Any player who ever disagreed with a referee is going to have a field day with this.

BASKETBALL: Even Donaghy would have had a difficult time keeping last night’s game close. The Celtics dominated the Bobcats to the tune of 92-59. Paul Flannery has Three Things We Learned, leading off with Rasheed Wallace fitting in nicely at the start of the season. Mike Petraglia has Charlotte coach Larry Brown admiring the Celtics’ effort. Kevin Garnett left midway through the third quarter after hitting the floor but is fine.

The Cavaliers fell to 0-2 with a loss in Toronto. Tuesday night, TNT had its most-watched opening night ever, thanks to the Celtics-Cavaliers and Lakers-Clippers doubleheader.

BASEBALL: Chase Utley hit two home runs and set a postseason record by reaching base for the 26th consecutive game, and Cliff Lee pitched a complete-game gem to give the Phillies a 6-1 victory over the Yankees in Game 1 of the World Series. Alex Rodriguez struck out three times, in case you were wondering. Lou Merloni checks in with his analysis.

Yankees fans can take solace in the news that George Steinbrenner made a rare appearance at Yankee Stadium. And tonight they can vent their frustration by yelling at Phillies Game 2 starter Pedro Martinez, who yesterday talked about the 2003 Don Zimmer incident and his return to the Bronx.

Terry Francona appeared on Dale & Holley yesterday and talked about Brad Mills leaving his side and heading for Houston. Red Sox left fielder Jason Bay checks in for a chat on WEEI.com at noon today.

The McCourt saga in Los Angeles continues to get uglier, with Frank now accusing Jamie of adultery.

FOOTBALL: Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week.

The Chiefs suspended Larry Johnson until Nov. 9.

Boston College players expressed surprise at the decisions by Josh Haden and Justin Tuggle to transfer.

HOCKEY: Patrice Bergeron is emerging as a quiet leader of the Bruins.

HISTORIVIA: On Oct. 29, 1977, this Celtic became the second player in NBA history with 10,000 field goals. Who is he?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I don’t know if you realize this, but because of you guys in some ways, I might be at times the most influential player that ever stepped in Yankee Stadium. I can honestly say that.” — Pedro Martinez, talking to reporters yesterday in New York

STAT OF THE DAY: 18 — The most points the Bobcats scored in any quarter last night against the Celtics. Charlotte scored 13 in the first quarter, 18 in the second, 10 in the third and 18 in the fourth for a total of 59, a franchise record for fewest points.

AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED TRANSCRIPT OF THE DAY: Here’s a new feature we’re debuting. In WEEI.com’s audio on demand section, we have an automatically generated transcript feature for radio interviews. As it notes, the automated transcript “may not be 100 percent accurate.” In fact, often times it’s way off. But it’s interesting nonetheless.

Yesterday, Red Sox manager Terry Francona appeared on Dale & Holley and was asked what kind of manager Brad Mills will be with the Astros. According to the automated transcript, Francona replied:

“The auto mall. I’d don’t want Big East he could not complete recaps coaches don’t. Have a war on that you know you don’t want to be.”

For the record, Francona actually said: “You know, I don’t know. I know one thing, he’s cheap. He’s not going to pay for any cabs for his coaches. You’re going to have start working on that.”

‘NET RESULTS: Here’s Pedro Martinez with his good luck charm from the 2004 playoffs, 2-1/2-foot Nelson de la Rosa. The mini Dominican passed away in 2006, so Pedro must have found a new lucky friend considering how well he and the Phillies are doing this postseason.

HISTORIVIA ANSWER: John Havlicek, who reached the milestone during a 103-98 loss at Cleveland

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Cedric Maxwell was called “Cornbread” in his younger days, but in his prime with the Celtics we also knew him as the “Rubberband Man.” So, to honor Max, here’s a memorable clip of Lynda Carter, aka Wonder Woman, performing “Rubberband Man” on “The Muppet Show.”

And here’s the real version, by the Spinners.

The Celtics overcame a slow start and roared past the Cavaliers in their opener last night, 95-89. Check out our Green Street blog for bits about the game plus Glen Davis’ fight/injury and Rajon Rondo’s contract talks, which are ongoing.

BASKETBALL: Mike Petraglia has Three Things We Learned from the Celtics’ victory. Paul Flannery notes that the Big Three era previously has been free of distractions such as Davis’ fight. Owner Wyc Grousbeck appeared on The Big Show yesterday and was candid about his disappointment with Big Baby. Rondo and the C’s talked about a new contract but are far apart. The C’s return to action tonight at home against the Bobcats.

The Lakers received their rings and then beat the Clippers. Sacramento’s Omri Casspi, the first Israeli player in the NBA, is set to make his debut tonight.

A Hampton University player was killed in a shooting at a nightclub.

FOOTBALL: Kerry Byrne examines the Patriots season as we head into their bye week. Christopher Price has a piece called Upon Further Review in which he takes another look at Sunday’s game. Price also has his weekly mailbag. Bill Belichick appeared on The Big Show and talked about the London crowd.

D.J. Bean has his fantasy football report, Living With the Bye.

Larry Johnson apologized for his offensive comments, but the Chiefs told the running back to stay away.

Boston College quarterback Justin Tuggle and running back Josh Haden will transfer.

A Connecticut man was charged in the stabbing death of UConn cornerback Jasper Howard. Iowa running back Adam Robinson is expected to miss the rest of the regular season with an ankle injury. Oklahoma State receiver Dez Bryant remained suspended by the NCAA for lying to investigators about his Deion Sanders meeting.

BASEBALL: The World Series begins tonight in New York, with former Indians teammates Cliff Lee and CC Sabathia facing off. Pedro Martinez will start Game 2 for the Phillies. Dan Guttenplan makes his series predictions.

Red Sox bench coach Brad Mills is the new manager of the Astros. Jamie McCourt fired back at her husband by filing for divorce and asking for reinstatement as Dodgers CEO.

HOCKEY: Bruins forward David Krejci continues to show improvement after a slow start following an injury.

MISC: Andre Agassi has a book coming out, and in it he admits to using crustal meth and lying to tennis officials to avoid a suspension following a failed drug test.

HISTORIVIA: On Oct. 28, 1958, which infielder, in his first year with the Red Sox, was named Comeback Player of the Year after finishing second to Ted Williams for the highest batting average in the American League?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “You’re not supposed to do that stuff when you’re a professional basketball player.” — Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck on Glen Davis’ fight

STAT OF THE DAY: 11 — Losing streak in Cleveland the Celtics snapped last night

‘NET RESULTS: With Halloween coming up, maybe this can help get the kids to eat more healthy.

HISTORIVIA ANSWER: Second baseman Pete Runnels, who his .322 (second in the AL to Ted Williams’ .328) after coming over from the Washington Senators, for whom he hit just .230 in 1957

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Just to show we can keep it (somewhat) current once in a while, Dave Tirio of Plain White T’s is 30 today. Here’s the song he wrote about a Columbia University track star he had a crush on.

And here’s the parody “Hey There, Trent Edwards” for all you Bills fans.

9. Marbury loses it on the Internet

What started as a 24-hour look into his personal world turned into a summer-long escapade of bizarre behavior over the Internet. Stephon Marbury’s streaming video kept basketball fans entertained, confused, and slightly disturbed during the offseason. After turning down a one-year offer from the Celtics, Marbury professed his greatness in the NBA while eating Vaseline and having emotional breakdowns along the way. In the end, the guard ended up isolating himself and failing to secure a job this season.

8. Celtics draft … who?

Second-round draft picks, let alone the 58th overall selection, are hardly guaranteed to pan out. But the Celtics hope to have found a sleeper in the University of Tennessee-Martin’s Lester Hudson. The relatively unknown combo guard broke on to the college basketball scene when he recorded the first quadruple-double in NCAA history. Hudson had a bumpy road to the NBA and is embracing his opportunity in the pros by playing aggressive basketball. Will he one day join Ryan Gomes and Leon Powe as another one of Danny Ainge’s late-draft sleepers?

7. Leon Powe signs with Cavs

Leon Powe wanted to stay and he was under the impression the feeling was mutual. This summer, however, a blown knee came in between the C’s and the dedicated bench player. The Celtics reportedly told Powe they could not afford to wait for his recovery and declined the option on his contract. In turn, Powe gave his word to the Cavaliers and kept it when the C’s made him a late offer. Instead of jeering Powe for signing with the Celtics rivals, many noted his hard work and felt it was the Celtics, not Powe, who made the wrong decision.

6. Big Baby re-signs (and gets injured)

Glen Davis re-signed with the Celtics in August before a supposed bidding war could begin. In fact, the only real fanfare about the deal was a reported string of tweets from Davis’ twitter account complaining about the lack of progress on his contract. Of course, those turned out to be fake. If that weren’t enough attention for Davis, the recent altercation, which left him with a broken thumb and out of commission for 6 -8 weeks, won’t raise his stock in Waltham, especially in the “no non-sense” system the Cs maintain.

5. Marquis Daniels signs

The addition of Daniels directly benefits Paul Pierce. Not only does Daniels allow Piece to play fewer minutes and therefore be fresher down the stretch, his size also means he can defend or even play small forward. He can effectively fill the a role that was missing when James Posey left. Plus he can rap.

4. Is this Ray Allen’s last season with the C’s?

That is a sub-question under the larger question of whether or not this is the end for the “Big Three.” While each player is at a different stage in his individual contract, the fact that the players’ collective window for winning championships is closing is obvious. With Allen, his contract ends after this season. Of course, there are rumors about a contract extension and there isn’t anyone who would mind seeing Jesus Shuttlesworth throw on that green number 20. However, with the amount of young talent on the Celtics bench, the time might come after this season for Allen to step aside.

3. Rasheed Wallace joins the Celtics

Kevin Garnett’s injury at the end of the season, last year, showed the lack of depth in the Celtics front court. The addition of Rasheed Wallace changes all of that. Wallace brings an excellent outside shot as well as a big body who can also spell Garnett. Moreover, you have to love the way the Celtics pursued Wallace. Danny Ainge, Doc Rivers and the the Big Three all went to Detroit to sell him on joing the C’s. How could anyone say no to that? As Garnett said, “It’s a perfect fit.”

2. The Rajon Rondo Contract and Trade Saga

This has the makings of an epic serial movie. Picture this: A young point guard with raw talent. He is thrust into a starting position on a pro team making a run at the championship. He performs admirably as the team goes all the way and wins everything. But, the success goes to his head. He breaks some team rules like being on time for meetings. Then there are the trade rumors, and he can’t understand why the team would want to ship him elsewhere. Then there is the contract dispute. Will he sign before the season starts? What happens if he goes to free agency? Stay tuned to find out!

1. KG’s road to recovery

It’s been a long five months for Kevin Garnett, during which he was on the sidelines watching the C’s lose to the Magic in seven games, which was followed by surgery and months of rehab. Now, exactly five months to the day of his surgery, Garnett gets to play in games that count. He’s expressed fatigue with the questions about his knee and excitement at the prospect of playing with Wallace and other players who joined the team this year. He’s even adjusted to a later practice schedule. All that being said, we learned from the preseason that he is ready. So let’s get to it.

The Celtics open the season tonight in Cleveland. We’ve got plenty of coverage, leading off with 25 questions facing the team and the league for 2009-10. Find a list of all our coverage at the Green Street blog. Checking out reports from Cleveland, it seems the Cavaliers aren’t as excited about tonight’s opener, as they would prefer more time to get ready.

FOOTBALL: Chris Price examines the Patriots’ season to date and tries to figure out just how good this team is. Joe Zarbano has his weekly NFL power rankings, with the Patriots remaining at No. 6.

The Eagles handed the Redskins, 27-17, on Monday Night Football. The Cowboys signed linebacker DeMarcus Ware to a six-year, $78 million deal. Jets running back Leon Washington is out for the season with a broken leg. Jets wide receiver Braylon Edwards was charged with assault stemming from an incident in Cleveland when he played for the Browns. Chiefs running back Larry Johnson continues to offend with his poor choice of words.

BASEBALL: Jason Bay’s agent discusses his client’s free agent possibilities and says Bay’s defense is not as bad as some have been making it seem. The Red Sox front office congratulated Jed Hoyer on being named Padres general manager. Mark McGwire joined Tony La Russa’s coaching staff in St. Louis.

Ally Mielnicki looks back at the Red Sox’ 2004 World Series championship, which was clinched five years ago tonight.

BASKETBALL: The Celtics will be without Glen Davis for 6-8 weeks after Big Baby broke his hand in an off-court incident. Rajon Rondo and the team talked about a contract extension but don’t sound close to completing a deal. Gary Marbry offers up a statistical look at the C’s.

No. 1 draft pick Blake Griffin has a broken kneecap, and the Clippers forward could miss six weeks. The Heat will retire Tim Hardaway’s jersey Wednesday night. Cavs guard Delonte West is having some domestic issues with his wife. Ally Mielnicki recaps LeBron James’ interesting offseason.

HOCKEY: Thrashers star Ilya Kovalchuk will miss 3-5 weeks with a broken foot. The Devils lost defenseman Paul Martin and forward Jay Pandolfo for 4-6 weeks due to injuries. Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes agreed to sell his bankrupt franchise to the league.

HISTORIVIA: On Oct. 27, 2004, the Red Sox won the World Series for the first time in 86 years, finishing a sweep of the Cardinals in St. Louis. Which Sox pitcher completed the trifecta of picking up wins in the closing games of the ALDS, ALCS and World Series?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “It’s up to Mark how he wants to handle it. What we want him to do is coach our hitters, and if he does that well, we’re going to be happy.” — Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, on how new hitting coach Mark McGwire will address questions about steroid use

STAT OF THE DAY: 16 — Consecutive games between the Celtics and Cavaliers that have been won by the home team

‘NET RESULTS: Here’s a video a guy took walking through Davis Square in Somerville five years ago tonight. For some reason, there were a lot of people hanging out in the street celebrating.

HISTORIVIA ANSWER: Derek Lowe

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Simon Le Bon, lead singer of Duran Duran, is 51 today.

Perhaps the only dream that went unfulfilled for Lebron this offseason was his passionate desire to dunk on former President George W. Bush’s behind, as he said in an interview with Maxim magazine. Even so, perhaps one day soon James will be able to purchase the right to do just that — with free agency on the horizon, there could be a contract that exceeds the treasure of all kings (and Bushes?) combined in the not-so-distant future.

James’ offseason was anything but uneventful. After losing to the Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals, LeBron knew he needed a reinforcement. Contrary to popular belief, he was not a one-man show who could single-handedly defeat the Superman known as Dwight Howard and his Magic to deliver a championship to Cleveland. LeBron sought help and his request was granted.

On June 25, the Cavaliers sent Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, a 2nd-round pick, and $500,000 to the Phoenix Suns for O’Neal — arguably the most dominant center in NBA history. It was a trade that was fit for a King. To be partnered with one of the best of all-time was exactly what James had ordered. He faced Shaq multiple times throughout his career and now he was one-half of the dynamic duo. Hey, he doesn’t even have to dance off against him anymore:

That would only be the beginning of LeBron’s frenzied offseason activites. Although the next saga of his summer proved more amusing to others than it did to James.

On July 6, during a night session at the Nike LeBron James Skills Academy in Akron, Ohio, Xavier’s Jordan Crawford did the unthinkable and dunked on the King himself. A freelance photographer named Ryan Miller caught the two-handed jam by the college basketball player on the NBA MVP on tape, then watched as Nike officials confiscated the film. Whether it was an attempt to shield James from the embarassment of having an amateur dunk on His Highness or cover up any sign that the King has a kryptonite, Nike attempted to hide the video before the report was eventually released.

However, Crawford wasn’t the only one to challenge King James. In the early morning hours on Oct. 5, former Browns‘ wide receiver Braylon Edwards angered LeBron when he reportedly took a swipe at his friend, Edward Givens, in a Cleveland night club. Calling Edwards “childish” for his actions, LeBron suggested that some jealously existed between Edwards and his friends. In the days that followed, Edwards was traded from Cleveland to the Jets … although head coach Eric Mangini claimed it had nothing to do with the alleged punch.

If anyone happened to watch Ohio State’s Terrelle Pryor throw for 239 yards with two touchdowns and rush for 104 and a touchdown in the Buckeyes’ win over Minnesota, then they may want to applaud LeBron (unless they are Michigan fans) for his remarkable mentoring skills. James took the young quarterback under his wing after suffering through a sophomore slump. Guiding Pryor on how to deal with balancing a celebrity lifestyle with on-the-field performance, LeBron made may have given Pryor the confidence he needs to excel going forward into the season.

Yet LeBron’s call to inspire did not cease there. Playing in a theater near you, “More than a Game” is a documentary narrating the story of LeBron James and his “Fab Five” in their improbable journey to claim a high school championship. Through all sorts of obstacles, James was able to rise from rags-to-riches and sit atop of the basketball world as “The Chosen One.” (For the trailer, if you so desire, click here.)

When Lebron squares off against the Celtics in the 2009-2010 season opener on his home court on Tuesday, all of the memorable offseason affairs and events that surrounded him will be pushed aside. When he opposes the Big Three and sees the shadow of a 2008 Championship glistening in the eyes of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, his entire focus will center on delivering his first championship trophy to the city of Cleveland. 

LeBron has seemingly gotten everything else he’s wanted since the end of the last basketball season. Will the Larry O’Brien Trophy be next?

In case you are wondering how Sunday’s Patriots game went over with the locals in London, check out this London Times article here. The author, Nick Szczepanik, says he doesn’t think the league won over many converts. He also points out that the NFL’s new international website has a formula to help fans pick teams for which to root. You answer some questions and then the site suggests a team. Try it here, to make sure your allegiance is correctly placed.

FOOTBALL: To no one’s surprise, the Patriots routed the Buccaneers, 35-7, in London. Chris Price has Ten Things We Learned, leading off with the steady Wes Welker. Kirk Minihane says the blowouts are nice, but the real tests await after next week’s bye. Check the It Is What It Is blog for more notes and quotes from the Patriots.

Elsewhere in the NFL, the Cardinals knocked off the Giants at the Meadowlands, the unbeaten Saints rallied from an early 21-point deficit to beat the Dolphins by 12. The Steelers scored two defensive touchdowns and handed the Vikings their first loss of the year. Peyton Manning did not pass for 300 yards for a record-tying sixth straight game because he didn’t need to in the Colts’ rout of the Rams.

D.J. Bean has his fantasy football realizations from Week 7.

In college news, Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford will have season-ending shoulder surgery and then plans to enter the NFL draft. Florida regained the top spot in the AP Top 25. Dan Rowinski has Five Things We Learned from Boston College’s tough loss at Notre Dame. The funeral for UConn cornerback Jasper Howard is today in Miami.

BASEBALL: The Yankees closed out the Angels in the ALCS for their 40th league title.

In other Yankees news, there’s an investigation into why the concrete in the ramps at the new Yankee Stadium is cracking.

The Phillies said Cliff Lee will start Game 1 of the World Series. The Indians named Manny Acta manager. Acta was fired by the Nationals in July. Japanese 18-year-old pitcher Yusei Kikuchi decided to stay in his home country after meeting with the Red Sox and seven other MLB teams.

ESPN fired Steve Phillips as a baseball analyst. Tony La Russa is considering his future with the Cardinals, and reportedly wants to bring in Mark McGwire as hitting coach.

BASKETBALL: Paul Flannery wonders if this is the last shot for the Celtics’ Big Three. Ray Allen received five stitches above his left eye after being accidentally elbowed by Kendrick Perkins at practice on Saturday.

NBA referees officially are headed back to work.

The ACC held its media day Sunday, and North Carolina and Duke were named co-favorites. Boston College was tabbed ninth of the 12 ACC teams.

Michael Jordan’s son Marcus, a freshman guard at the University of Central Florida, is making some waves by refusing to wear adidas sneakers despite the school’s contract. Jordan wants to wear his father’s signature Air Jordans.

HOCKEY: Joe Haggerty examines the Bruins’ early season struggles and has Three Things We Learned from the B’s impressive comeback Saturday night against the Senators.

SOCCER: The Revolution earned a playoff spot Sunday night, as Jeff Larentowicz scored in the 79th minute for a 1-0 victory over the Columbus Crew in the MLS regular-season finale.

HISTORIVIA: On Oct. 26, 1980, the Bruins tied the Winnipeg Jets, 7-7. Which Bruin scored a pair of goals, including the 200th of his career (which was spent entirely in Boston)?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I think it’s a privilege to come over here and get to enjoy this type of experience. It will probably never happen again for us, so we’ll retire 1-0 internationally.” — Tom Brady, after the Patriots’ victory over the Bucs in London

STAT OF THE DAY: 11 — Consecutive losses by the Buccaneers, their worst streak since the franchise started with 26 consecutive losses in 1976 and ‘77.

‘NET RESULTS: Here’s a collection of top 10 plays from the NBA preseason, with former Celtic Mikki Moore getting posterized at No. 1.

HISTORIVIA ANSWER: Don Marcotte, who finished with 230 career goals, which currently ranks 10th on the Bruins’ all-time list

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Natalie Merchant is 46 today.

Isiah Thomas, showing the grace, maturity and professionalism that allowed him to be so successful as coach of the New York Knicks (that’s sarcasm, in case you don’t recognize it), ripped Magic Johnson yesterday. Thomas did his best to drive a wedge between Magic and Larry Bird, who co-wrote a forthcoming book with Jackie MacMullan. In the book, Magic criticizes Isiah. There are a couple of new allegations — such as Isiah questioning Magic’s sexuality after the Lakers star contracted the HIV virus — but a lot of it’s been reported before. What’s interesting is we haven’t heard it before from Magic, who was one of Isiah’s best friends — and one of his few friends, based on the apparent widespread dislike of Isiah by other NBA stars.

Here’s part of Isiah’s response from an interview with Sports Illustrated.

“Let’s be real. I’m not going to say the things Magic said in private about Larry, but I do know the public stance he’s taken [in becoming Bird's friend],” Thomas told SI.com. “I know that’s not how he felt about Larry Bird. Magic hated Larry, and he tried to make other people hate Larry. Magic was no friend of Larry Bird’s during that time. And his Laker teammates will tell you that. And I’m sure they’ve got to be disgusted with the way he’s carried on with this whole me-and-Larry bull.”

Isiah now will return to focusing on his current job, setting an example for the basketball players at Florida International University as coach.

BASEBALL: The Yankees were not able to close out the Angels, dropping a 7-6 decision and sending the ALCS back to New York for Game 6 Saturday night. Yankees starter A.J. Burnett feels he let down his team.

Finally, Major League Baseball has responded to complaints about umpiring, with an announcement that it will use only veteran umpires in the World Series.

Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein’s comments on Dennis & Callahan yesterday morning have been drawing a lot of interest. He’s taking some heat for his defense of J.D. Drew, insisting Drew has been a good value. Alex Speier further explains what Epstein was saying and shows how the stats back up the GM’s argument.

Hitting coach Dave Magadan chatted with WEEI.com readers yesterday. Tim Wakefield said his Wednesday surgery went well.

Dodgers owner Frank McCourt fired his estranged wife, Jamie, as CEO of the team.

FOOTBALL: The Patriots spoke before departing for London, where they will face the Buccaneers on Sunday. Chris Price has his Five Things to Watch For Sunday.

Raiders coach Tom Cable will not face charges for breaking the jaw of assistant coach Randy Hanson. A Nevada judge refused to dismiss a lawsuit against Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who was accused of raping a woman at a Lake Tahoe hotel.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill allowing the construction of a 75,000-seat stadium that developers hope will lure an NFL team back to the Los Angeles area.

Dan Rowinski previews Saturday’s Boston College-Notre Dame game. UConn is trying to prepare for Saturday’s game against West Virginia, a week after the stabbing death of cornerback Jasper Howard.

The University of Minnesota apologized for its mascot making fun of a Penn State player who was praying in the end zone prior to Saturday’s game. Here’s the video, in case you’re bored. Not much to it.

HOCKEY: The Bruins picked up a point in a shootout loss to the Flyers. Joe Haggerty has his hat trick of Things We Learned.

Mark Recchi was named to a four-player committee that will conduct an investigation of the NHLPA’s internal operations.

Ducks forward Evgeny Artyukhin was suspended three games by the NHL for a slew-footing incident in Wednesday night’s game against the Stars.

The Kingston Frontenacs, a junior team in Ontario, normally wear uniforms that are similar to the Bruins’, as the original Frontenacs franchise used to be affiliated with the B’s a half-century ago. On Wednesday, as part of Military Appreciation Night, the team paid tribute to former Bruins coach and legendary television analyst Don Cherry with uniforms that honored Cherry’s taste for loud sport coats. Take a look. And you can purchase one of the jerseys as part of a charity auction.

BASKETBALL: Paul Flannery takes a look at Five Things We Learned from the Celtics preseason.

According to a report, the Celtics are unlikely to offer Michael Sweetney a guaranteed contract.

Hawks forward Al Horford followed up his Tuesday radio interview — when he accused Paul Pierce of reneging on a $10,000 wager on the 2008 playoffs — by Tweeting that it was a joke. Ha ha.

SOCCER: The Revolution are one of a few teams fighting for an MLS playoff spot as they head into the final weekend of the season.

MISC.: Dan Guttenplan says Deadspin went too far in its attacks on ESPN following the Steve Phillips suspension.

HISTORIVIA: Game 1 of the 2004 World Series was played five years ago today. The Red Sox took a 7-2 lead, but the Cardinals rallied to tie the game at 9 in the eighth. Which Red Sox player hit the game-winning two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth for the 11-9 victory?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “From a straight objective standpoint, what he contributes offensively and what he contributes defensively, and add in baserunning so it’s the total value of the player, on a rate basis he was outstanding and there aren’t too many outfielders who compare to what he did.” — Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein on the Dennis & Callahan show, talking about J.D. Drew

STAT OF THE DAY: 1 — Longest winning streak this season for the Bruins, who dropped to 4-4-1 with last night’s shootout loss to the Flyers

‘NET RESULTS: Here’s an inside look at London’s Wembley Stadium, where the Patriots will play the Buccaneers on Sunday.

HISTORIVIA ANSWER: Mark Bellhorn, hitting against reliever Julian Tavarez, homered off the Pesky Pole.

SOOTHING SOUNDS: What are the chances the fans will break into the soccer anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone” at Sunday’s Patriots game? One can only hope. Here’s Gerry and the Pacemakers performing the song at Wembley.

Instead, it will be Tom Brady & Co. who will take to the field at Wembley Stadium to engage in a physically aggressive, hard-hitting, vigorously dynamic game of football. No, not futbol, but the great American sport itself. And the Patriots will not be opposing Peter Griffin’s London Silly Nannies, either.

For the third consecutive year, London will host a regular-season football contest with a matchup of the Patriots and the Buccaneers. With a sold-out crowd already guaranteed, who knows what London has in store for both professional clubs.

When the NFL made its regular-season London debut in 2007, the New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins had no idea what they would be getting themselves into. Playing in front of a crowd of excessively passionate, wild, and enthusiastic British fans, the Giants defeated the Dolphins 13-10. However, they were not the only entertaining contributors to the international affair. At the beginning of the second half, Mark Roberts, a legendary British streaker, stormed the field with nothing but a football concealing his privates. Stripping down from a referee uniform and leaving on a hat and knee socks, Roberts paraded the field fiddling his feet to an Irish jig before being removed by  security.

That was quite the welcoming party, but not the first instance of Roberts’ British invasion in American sports. At Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston, where the Patriots defeated the Carolina Panthers 32-29, Roberts successfully performed his first North American streak when he kicked off the second half by running to midfield barely covering his genitals with a g-string.

It was Patriots linebacker Matt Chatham who eventually leveled Roberts before he was carried off the field by security. Roberts, who is considered by the Guinness Book of World Records for being the most recognized streaker, was later fined but received no jail times for his outrageous actions. It was a Super “Bowel” no one will forget. (Roberts was overshadowed by Janet Jackson’s halftime wardrobe malfunction that occurred just minutes prior to the streaking).

In January 2007, the MLS’ Los Angeles Galaxy announced that America would have a front-row to watch David “Bend it like” Beckham. Instead of signing an extension with Real Madrid, Beckham agreed to a $250 million, five-year deal with the Galaxy, bringing his wife Victoria “Posh Spice” with him. That’s some couple competition for Tom and Gisele (at least now that there is no more Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson).

Although game shows do not fall in the same category as contact sports, “The Weakest Link” was an instant hit when host Anne Robinson debuted the English television program in the United States. And it did not take long for the English quizmistress to become acquainted with the sports world when she appeared on “The Tonight Show” with NBA great Shaquille O’Neal on April 11, 2001. Never shy about embarrassing dumbfounded participants on her show, Robinson became notorious for her sarcastic and witty remarks going along with the infamous phrase “You are the weakest link, goodbye!” (Just like the Tennessee Titans this past week.)

When the Beatles stole the hearts of rock fans of all ages around the country, the British Invasion did not limit itself to concerts, TV guest appearances, and on-stage performances. Even though only half of the members of the beloved Liverpool band survive (Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr), the rock sensations are now featured in their own video game entitled “The Beatles: Rock Band” which was released on Sept. 9.

Ah, London. So much to see, so little time for the Patriots. Hey, maybe in their spare time they can play some cricket, watch an intense rowing competition, or have a morning jog with Mark Roberts.

While Major League Baseball continues to stick its head in the sand regarding mistakes by its umpires, at least one college football conference is being proactive. The Southeastern Conference yesterday suspended an officiating crew following two horrendous calls this month. The most recent blunder was a personal foul (a late hit) that set up a Florida touchdown in the Gators’ 23-20 victory over Arkansas Saturday. We linked to the video on Tuesday, and here it is again.

It’s time for baseball to get the message as well.

BASEBALL: The Phillies punched their ticket to the World Series with a 10-4 victory over the Dodgers in Game 5. Ryan Howard was named NLCS MVP. The Yankees look to close out the Angels tonight.

Manny Ramirez is taking some heat for not sticking around in the dugout and supporting his Dodgers teammates after he was lifted in the ninth inning of Game 4. Peter Gammons appeared on The Big Show yesterday and talked about Manny, A-Rod and the playoffs.

The Padres reportedly are set to give their general manager job to Red Sox assistant GM Jed Hoyer.

Alex Speier writes about how David Ortiz turned around his season with the help of hitting coach Dave Magadan. Magadan will be on a WEEI chat today at noon. Check the Full Count blog for more information.

Speier also lists Red Sox players with contract options and discusses the possibilities. Tim Wakefield had successful back surgery yesterday at Mass. General.

Steve Phillips was suspended from ESPN for his role in a sex scandal.

FOOTBALL: Patriots linebacker Adalius Thomas stepped in front of the microphones and offered a little insight into his situation. Mike Petraglia writes about the Patriots’ maiden voyage to England for Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers. Tom Brady was reminded that he did play a football game in London — at least, a cartoon version of him did in an episode of “Family Guy.” Chris Price writes about receivers Brandon Tate and Terrence Nunn, who have a chance to contribute now that Joey Galloway is gone and Julian Edelman is hurt.

Titans coach Jeff Fisher is defending himself after giving a speech at a fundraiser in Indianapolis while wearing a Peyton Manning Colts jersey — lighten up, it was a joke (he was introducing former Colts coach Tony Dungy). Bengals running back Cedric Benson says his former team, the Bears, tried to blackball him.

Dan Guttenplan makes his Week 7 NFL picks.

BASKETBALL: Despite giving the Big Three the night off, the Celtics defeated the Cavaliers, 96-82. Paul Flannery has some observations from the game.

The Trail Blazers are reportedly close to signing LaMarcus Aldridge to a five-year contract extension.

HOCKEY: First, the bad news: Bruins forward Marc Savard will be out 4-6 weeks with a broken foot. Now, the good: The B’s edged the lowly Predators, 3-2. Joe Haggerty has some thoughts about the much-needed win. And here’s what the Bruins had to say about it. Former Boston University star and Nashville rookie Colin Wilson scored his first NHL goal.

Penguins defenseman Sergei Gonchar will be out 4-6 weeks with a broken wrist. The Islanders beat the Hurricanes in a shootout to record their first win of the season.

HISTORIVIA: On Oct. 22, 1975, the Red Sox and Reds finished up one of the best World Series ever with an exciting Game 7. Joe Morgan broke a 3-3 tie by singling in Ken Griffey with the game-winning run in the ninth inning. Which Red Sox reliever took the loss?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Bill makes the decision. It is what it is. Whether you like it or not, that’s what it is. I live with it. I’m a professional. I come here, do my job and then go home. That’s basically it.” — Patriots linebacker Adalius Thomas, commenting on coach Bill Belichick’s decision to make him inactive for Sunday’s win over the Titans

STAT OF THE DAY: 25 — Consecutive postseason games reaching base for the Phillies’ Chase Utley, who walked last night to tie Boog Powell’s MLB record.

‘NET RESULTS: Patriots offensive  lineman Sebastian Vollmer is getting recognition for his solid play in place of Matt Light. Here’s an early sign that the Pats were on to something with the rookie from Germany (via the University of Houston). He catches a punt at the end of a training camp practice to allow the team to avoid extra conditioning.

HISTORIVIA ANSWER: Rookie left-hander Jim Burton

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Leslie West of Mountain is 64 today.

Lastly, a warm welcome to Boston’s newest sports fan, Lily Burke.

In the odd story of the day, a couple of Atlanta Hawks accused Celtics captain Paul Pierce of failing to pay off a $10,000 bet Pierce allegedly initiated during the team’s 2008 playoff series.

Al Horford alleged Pierce followed up some on-court trash-talking with the bet, but he didn’t pay off after the Hawks pushed the series to the full seven games.

FOOTBALL: Chris Price breaks down the strange week for Patriots linebackers, leading with Tully Banta-Cain’s release and re-signing. Price also has the Patriots moving on without receiver Joey Galloway. Fellow receiver Julian Edelman reportedly broke his arm during Sunday’s game. Bill Belichick discusses the team’s recent moves and says that linebacker Eric Alexander was never released, despite reports to the contrary. Special teams ace Sam Aiken signed a contract extension.

Steve DeOssie has his Week 6 Patriots report card, and to no one’s surprise, the team grades out well across the board. Kerry Byrne dissects the information supporting Tom Brady’s dominance in wintry-weather games.

Even Rolling Stone magazine is critical of Browns coach Eric Mangini.

UConn held its first practice since the weekend stabbing death of cornerback Jasper Howard.

BASEBALL: The Yankees closed in on another World Series appearance by routing the Angels, 10-1. The umpires had another tough night. Meanwhile, Yankees closer Mariano Rivera is denying accusations that he spit on the baseball in Game 3, after a video clip made it appear so.

Ned Colletti agreed to a long-term extension as general manager of the Dodgers.

BASKETBALL: The Celtics dropped a 108-103 preseason decision to the Knicks in New York, as Doc Rivers focused on getting the bench plenty of action.

Jessica Camerato write about how music is a driving force for new Celtic Marquis Daniels.

The NBA and its regular referees are apparently close to ending their dispute.

HOCKEY: The Bruins traded a pair of 2010 draft picks for Sabres forward Daniel Paille. Joe Haggerty presents the weekly NHL power rankings.

HISTORIVIA: On Oct. 21, 1975, the Red Sox beat the Reds, 7-6, in an epic Game 6 of the World Series. The game was best remembered for Carlton Fisk’s game-winning home run off the foul pole in left field in the 12th inning. The other dramatic Red Sox home run came off the bat of pinch-hitter Bernie Carbo, a game-tying three-run shot with two outs in the eighth-inning. Tough question: For whom was Carbo pinch-hitting?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I don’t think it’s anybody’s fault or anything you can just pinpoint. It’s just one of those things that just didn’t work out. Anytime you sign a player, you expect he’ll come in and be a productive player for you.” — Patriots coach Bill Belichick on receiver Joey Galloway, who was released yesterday

STAT OF THE DAY: 14 — Number of times Tom Brady has been named AFC Offensive Player of the Week, including two this season after this week’s honor.

‘NET RESULTS: Here’s a gem from the summer that only recently showed up on the web. An entertainer named Durwood Fincher, who goes by the alias “Mr. Doubletalk” when conducting fake interviews, got some Red Sox in front of the camera when they were in Atlanta and had some fun with the unsuspecting players. The video is 8 minutes, 32 seconds long, but it’s worth it. Especially the parts where the interviewer repeatedly refers to Jonathan Papelbon as “Bobby” until Papelbon threatens to hit him.

HISTORIVIA ANSWER: Roger Moret, who pitched the eighth inning in relief of starter Luis Tiant

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Manfred Mann is 69 today.

FOOTBALL: Tully Banta-Cain is apparently out but soon to be back in with the Patriots. Bill Belichick says linebacker Adalius Thomas still is a key part of this team despite being inactive Sunday. Thomas told Deion Sanders that he’s upset but will “work it out with his coach.” Amid swirling trade rumors, Belichick denies he’s up to something. Tom Brady talked about Sunday’s big win on WEEI yesterday, as did Belichick. Ty Warren shared some interesting stories about his youth when he visited with Dale & Holley.

Joe Zarbano has his weekly NFL power rankings, and the Patriots have jumped to No. 6.

Eddie Royal returned a kickoff and a punt for touchdowns, and the Broncos remained undefeated with a 34-23 victory over the Chargers. Jets nose tackle Kris Jenkins is out for the season with a torn ACL. Jim Zorn lost play-calling responsibilities with the Redskins, as Sherm Lewis will take over.

UConn wide receiver Brandon Parker also was stabbed in the fight that led to the stabbing death of cornerback Jasper Howard, according to sources on campus. Meanwhile, arrests are imminent.

BASEBALL: The Yankees finally lost, although the Angels tried their best to blow this one before finally winning in the 11th inning on Jeff Mathis’ two-out double. In the NLCS, Jimmy Rollins hit a two-out, two-run double in the ninth inning to give the Phillies a 5-4 win over the Dodgers and get them one win away from the World Series.

Takashi Saito is a free agent, but he may consider re-signing with the Red Sox.

HOCKEY: Joe Haggerty says the Chuck Kobasew trade sends a message to the Bruins. Winger Milan Lucic is out 4-6 weeks after having surgery on his broken finger.

The Rangers’ seven-game winning streak is over, courtesy of the Sharks.

HISTORIVIA: Five years ago today, the Red Sox beat the Yankees, 10-3, in Game 7 of the ALCS to cap a comeback from a three-game deficit. Derek Lowe started and got the win for the Sox. Who started for the Yankees?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Man, that was one of the craziest games. It was an emotional roller coaster, man. We were up, we were down. I’ve got a headache right now, but it was a lot of fun.” — Torii Hunter, after his Angels beat the Yankees, 5-4, in 11 innings in Game 3 of the ALCS

STAT OF THE DAY: 8 — Consecutive postseason games with an RBI by the Phillies’ Ryan Howard, tying Lou Gehrig’s MLB record.

‘NET RESULTS: OK, Patriots fans, you thought that unsportsmanlike penalty on Brandon Meriweather in the Broncos game was bad? Check out this call from Saturday’s Arkansas-Florida game.

HISTORIVIA ANSWER: Kevin Brown, who was pulled in the second inning

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Tom Petty is 51 today.

FOOTBALL: Chris Price has 10 Things We Learned from the Patriots’ record-setting rout of the Titans. Kirk Minihane says to remember this game when things aren’t going so well for the Pats. Joe Zarbano has cornerback Darius Butler talking about playing the same day he learned of the death of his former teammate at UConn, Jasper Howard. For more Patriots coverage, check our It Is What It Is blog.

Elsewhere in the NFL, with the Bills beating the Jets in overtime, the Patriots have reclaimed first place in the AFC East. In Sunday’s showdown of undefeated teams, the Saints dominated the Giants. In Minnesota, the Vikings remained undefeated after some more Brett Favre last-minute heroics and a missed field goal in the final seconds by the Ravens. The Raiders surprised the Eagles. And Kansas City won its first game by beating the Redskins in a game that featured zero touchdowns on either side.

D.J. Bean writes about the day in fantasy football.

Dan Rowinski has Five Things We Learned from BC’s 52-20 rout of NC State on Saturday.

BASEBALL: The Phillies routed the Dodgers, 11-0, to take a 2-1 lead in the NLDS. In New York, the Yankees are reveling in another clutch hit from Alex Rodriguez as they prepare to meet the Angels today in Game 3 of the ALCS.

HOCKEY: After falling to 3-4 over the weekend, the Bruins made a trade Sunday, shipping forward Chuck Kobasew to the Minnesota Wild for minor league forward Craig Weller, the rights to Harvard freshman Alexander Fallstrom and a 2011 second-round draft pick. Milan Lucic is out indefinitely with a broken finger.

In Thursday night’s Avalanche-Canadiens game, the Habs could not score the equalizer in the final seconds despite having a 7-on-4 advantage. Yes, 7-on-4. With Colorado short-handed, Montreal pulled its goalie, and apparently defenseman Hal Gill did not leave the ice when he was supposed to, so the Canadiens had seven skaters. I guess only the Bruins can get penalized for too many men on the ice in Montreal.

BASKETBALL: Ray Allen regained his touch and the Celtics crushed the Raptors, 101-82, Sunday in Toronto. It was the Celtics’ fifth straight win, and Paul Flannery examines what we learned. Ray Allen says he would consider politics when he’s finished playing.

Strange scene in New York yesterday. The Knicks beat Maccabi Tel Aviv, 106-91, and the Israeli team’s coach, Pini Gershon, was ejected for arguing with the refs. After a foul was called FOR his team. And then he wouldn’t leave. And then a rabbi intervened, trying to convince the (replacement) referees to “forgive him.” Finally, after an eight-minute delay, Gershon departed.

HISTORIVIA: On Oct. 19, 1986, the Red Sox won Game 2 of the World Series, 9-3. The game was billed as a showdown between two heralded young pitchers, but one was shelled and the other couldn’t last five innings for the win. Who were the starters?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I have been playing sports since I was 8 and never in any sport have I experienced anything like this.” — Titans linebacker Keith Bulluck after the Patriots’ 59-0 domination

STAT OF THE DAY: 619 — Total yards for the Patriots Sunday, setting a franchise record

‘NET RESULTS: From an English soccer game, Sunderland beat Liverpool 1-0 when a ball bounced off a balloon and into the goal. UPDATE: The video has been removed from YouTube, but you can see it here.

HISTORIVIA ANSWER: Rogers Clemens and Dwight Gooden

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Keith Reid of Procul Harem turns 64 today.

It’s finally time to get back to work.

After agreeing to recommence his quest for his first career Super Bowl ring, the 40-year-old linebacker was immediately ready to go, taking part in his first practice of the season on Wednesday. The 12-time Pro Bowler makes his return to the Patriots in the midst of a 3-2 season that has been plagued by key injuries and inconsistent play.

Sure, Seau’s homecoming has not generated nearly as much excitement as the return of past greats to their respective sport. His arrival to Gillette Stadium and reclaiming of his No. 55 won’t quite replicate the enthrallment Chicago Bulls fans exhibited when Michael Jordan ended his short-lived baseball career to rejoin the team late in the 1994-95 NBA season.

Though he started out donning No. 45 for a brief period, Jordan eventually had his legendary No. 23 restored to his jersey and led the Bulls to three more NBA championships.

Seau’s return does not fully possess the knockout punch that George Foreman brought to the boxing ring when coming out of a 10-year retirement. The Lean Mean Grilling Machine, who lost his heavyweight title in the “Rumble in the Jungle” on Oct. 30, 1974, to Muhammad Ali, stopped fighting after a 1977 loss to Jimmy Young. He returned 10 years later and eventually regained his crown by defeating Michael Moorer in a 1994 match to become the oldest fighter (45) to be heavyweight champion. That was surely one well-done piece of meat.

And how can any reporter sharing the news of Seau’s return possibly top the call of WCBS-AM’s Suzyn Waldman when Roger Clemens appeared at Yankee Stadium to announce his comeback to New York in 2007?

Seau’s return to Foxboro may not have the same fireworks, elation, enthusiam nor crazy exclamation that other monumental homecomings have experienced, but his presence surely will bring a magnitude of cheers and standing ovations when he takes the field against the Titans on Sunday.

And yet, while Seau is the latest retiree to wake up one morning and decide there is more left in the tank and some unfinished business to be taken care of, he is not the only professional athlete this year to put a hold on an extended vacation and suit up to compete for a chance to win a championship.

It seems like Brett Favre should be the poster child for comebacks. Calling it quits after a historic run to the NFC championship game in 2007, Favre announced later in the offseason that he wished to return to the Packers for another season after Green Bay had already planned on handing the quarterback duties to former first-round draft pick Aaron Rodgers.

Tired of his retirement antics, the Packers opted to trade him to the New York Jets, where he spent the 2008 season on a team that fell short of obtaining a playoff berth. Despite announcing that he was retiring after the season came to an abrupt end, Favre pulled a Favre and signed a contract with the Vikings in August to give football another go-around. This time, Favre was given the opportunity to square off against his former team when Minnesota hosted the Packers in the fourth game of the season. Favre had the satisfaction of sticking it to the Packers when he defeated them on Monday Night Football, 30-23, at his new home in the Metrodome.

In September 2008, the cycling king himself, Lance Armstrong, made it known that he planned to come out of retirement to take part in another Tour de France in 2009. At age 37, the seven-time Tour champion climbed aboard his bike to tackle the rough terrains of the 2,200-mile course, and he finished third. Armstrong said he intends to compete in the race again in 2010. He should have no problem finding ways to train for the event.

Belgian tennis star Kim Clijsters took a break from maternity leave to get back into the swing of things on the tennis court. Following a two-year absence from the WTA, Clijsters announced on March 26, 2009, that she would begin what she referred to as her “second career.” She competed in the Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open in Cincinnati in August, losing to top-ranked Dinara Safina in the quarterfinals.

A month later, Clijsters made her comeback complete by becoming the first unseeded woman to win the U.S. Open and the first mother to win a Grand Slam title by defeating Caroline Wozniacki in the final. Clijsters opposed Serena Williams in the semifinals, a match made memorable by Williams’ epic blowout when she allegedly threatened to shove a tennis ball down the throat of a line judge.

However, not all returns can be glorious. With the rotation in need of a boost, the Red Sox telephoned Paul Byrd, urging him to leave retirement behind and rejoin the pitching staff. On Aug. 5, Byrd reached a minor league deal with the Sox with hopes to make a run at a World Series title. Though the Angels swept away the Sox postseason by clinching the ALDS last Sunday, Byrd made seven appearances (six starts) in which he went 1-3 with a hefty 5.82 ERA for the club. Not exactly the return the Kelsey Grammer lookalike had anticipated.

With all the hype generated around a star’s long-awaited return from exodus, it makes you wonder just when a highly successful athlete will finally know when to call it quits.

One thing is for sure, when it comes to age limitations, Rocky Balboa certainly does not have any.

FOOTBALL: Chris Price catches up with Tom Martinez, the Bay Area quarterback guru who has coached and advised Tom Brady for years. Martinez said Brady’s problems can be fixed. Price also tracks down former NFL linebacker Clay Matthews, who has advice for Junior Seau.

D.J. Bean has his Can’t-Pass-Up-Matchups for fantasy fans.

Rush Limbaugh isn’t happy about being excluded from owning an NFL team, and he passes out the blame. A Bay Area animal rights group plans to protest Michael Vick before the Eagles play the Raiders on Sunday in Oakland.

BASEBALL: Red Sox amateur scouting director Jason McLeod conducted a chat with WEEI.com readers yesterday. Takashi Saito remained with the Red Sox yesterday, despite a report to the contrary in a Boston newspaper.

Carlos Ruiz and Raul Ibanez hit three-run home runs and the Phillies opened the NLCS with an 8-6 victory over the Dodgers. Manny Ramirez hit a big two-run home run in the fifth inning but left runners in scoring position in the seventh and eighth. Pedro Martinez starts for the Phils tonight. In the ALCS, Mark Teixeira get set to face his former team tonight as the Yankees meet the Angels in Game 1.

HOCKEY: Joe Haggerty looks at three things the Bruins need to do to jumpstart their season. Nicklas Lidstrom became the first European defenseman to reach the 1,000-point plateau.

BASKETBALL: LeBron James has the flu. Antawn Jamison will miss the rest of the Wizards’ preseason with a shoulder injury.

MISC.: Dan Guttenplan looks forward to a better weekend for Boston sports fans. Sort of.

HISTORIVIA: On Oct. 16, 2004, the Yankees crushed the Red Sox, 19-8, in Game 3 of the ALCS. The Red Sox lost the first two games in New York, despite sending their co-aces, Curt Schilling and Pedro Martinez, to the hill. Who started Game 3 for the Sox?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: Don’t tell Bill Belichick the 0-5 Tennessee Titans are not a good football team. “I think anybody that would say that about the Titans obviously hasn’t seen them play,” Belichick admonished at yesterday’s press conference. “I don’t know how you could watch them on film and possibly think that unless you were sleeping while the film was rolling. I don’t know how you could possibly think that.

STAT OF THE DAY: 78 — Career postseason RBI for Manny Ramirez, three short of breaking the all-time record held by former Yankees outfielder Bernie Williams

‘NET RESULTS: From the Bruins’ Mini 1-on-1 competition, this amazing goal by 9-year-old Oliver Wahlstrom of Portland, Maine, is making the rounds.

HISTORIVIA ANSWER: Bronson Arroyo

SOOTHING SOUNDS: C.F. Turner of Bachman Turner Overdrive is 66.

FOOTBALL: Chris Price has a look at where Junior Seau will fit in on this Patriots defense. Mike Petraglia has Bill Belichick pumping up Sunday’s opponent, the winless Titans.

Dan Guttenplan has his Week 6 NFL picks. Running back Maurice Jones-Drew isn’t happy with the Jaguars offensive strategy. Steelers defensive end Aaron Smith is out for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury. Kicker Adam Vinatieri is out 4-8 weeks after arthroscopic surgery.

A Bay Area pit bull advocacy group says Michael Vick turned down a chance to visit some of his old dogs. And Rush Limbaugh is no longer part of a bid to buy the Rams.

Dan Rowinski has some midterm grades for Boston College.

BASEBALL: Lou Merloni takes a look at how the Red Sox lineup could look for 2010. Curt Schilling checks in with a blog entry looking at the makeup of the Red Sox.

Terry Francona was on the Dale & Holley show yesterday. He talked about his disappointment with the season being over and defended his Game 3 strategy. Pitching coach John Farrell will stay with the Sox. According to a report, the Sox plan to meet with a Japanese high school phenom.

The NLCS starts tonight in Philadelphia, with the Dodgers sending Clayton Kershaw out against fellow lefty Cole Hamels. John Smoltz wants to return to the Cardinals. Former Red Sox Carney Lansford is out as hitting coach of the Giants.

HOCKEY: Joe Haggerty has his first NHL power rankings, and the Bruins rate No. 12. The Rangers won their sixth straight, knocking off the Kings.

BASKETBALL: Aside from a cold-shooting night from Ray Allen, the Celtics looked sharp offensively in a 106-90 win over the Raptors in Hartford. Bobcats coach Larry Brown was fined $60,000 for criticizing replacement refs. Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins was fined $25,000 for a similar offense.

SOCCER: The U.S. national team scored in extra time to tie Costa Rica, while showing support for injured forward Charlie Davies.

HISTORIVIA: On Oct. 15, 1947, this Bruins rookie scored his first career goal. After playing 10 years in the NHL, he went on to be more well-known as the coach who led the Edmonton Oilers to four Stanley Cups. Who is he?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Bill doesn’t kick around tires and say, ‘I’m just going to go grab a guy that’s 40 years old off the surf board and say come and join us.’ He has a plan. — Linebacker Junior Seau, after officially rejoining the Patriots yesterday

STAT OF THE DAY: 1,515 — Career tackles by Seau, a 12-time Pro Bowler

‘NET RESULTS: On Oct. 15, 1989, Wayne Gretzky, playing for the Los Angeles Kings against his former team, the Edmonton Oilers, broke Gordie Howe’s career scoring record of 1,850 points.

HISTORIVIA ANSWER: Glen Sather, who is now the president and general manager of the New York Rangers

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Barry McGuire is 74. In 1965, he sang about the “Eve of Destruction.”

FOOTBALL: In his weekly stat-based analysis, Kerry Byrne says that Bill Belichick has lost hs mojo, at least when it comes to shutting down opposing quarterbacks. Chris Price checks in with his weekly Patriots mailbag, in which a reader questions the Pats’ play-calling.

Left tackle Matt Light has no ligament damage, according to a report, but his return date is unclear. It appears that Junior Seau is a Patriot again, although Bill Belichick continues to be coy for some strange reason.

Colts owner Jim Irsay said he would not support Rush Limbaugh’s bid to buy the Rams.

D.J. Bean has his fantasy football Living With the Bye Week 6 feature over at our Reality Bites blog.

University of New Mexico coach Mike Locksley was suspended 10 days by the school for fighting with an assistant coach.

BASEBALL: The Yankees might go with a three-man rotation against the Angels in the ALCS, which starts Friday. Joe Torre said he plans to manage one more year, until his contract expires.

BASKETBALL: The Celtics rallied past the Nets, 91-88, last night in Newark, N.J. The C’s play Toronto tonight in Hartford. Jessica Camerato looks at the win, which was fueled by Rajon Rondo’s near-triple-double and the play of the reserves, as the Big Three took the night off.

To no one’s surprise, replacement NBA referees are coming under fire. Ex-Celtic Delonte West resurfaced with the Cavaliers after taking a week off to hopefully get things in order. Washington’s Gilbert Arenas was fined $25,000 for not speaking to the media.

SOCCER: U.S. national team forward Charlie Davies, a native of Manchester, N.H., who played at Boston College, was in serious condition last night after being injured in a car accident.

MISC.: Dan Guttenplan takes a look at what would happen if he were King of the Sports Universe.

HISTORIVIA: On Oct. 14, 1986, the Red Sox evened the ALCS with the Angels at three games apiece, getting to Kirk McCaskill early and often in a 10-4 victory. McCaskill has some area ties, as he was a standout baseball and hockey player at which New England college?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: It was a slow day in Boston, so we’ll head out West to see what volatile Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Jackson said after returning from a two-game suspension and relinquishing his captaincy. “I don’t want to be a role model,” he said. “Being captain was overrated to me, anyway. You don’t do anything but go out before the game and talk to the refs. I don’t want to do that, anyway.”

STAT OF THE DAY: 0 — Minutes played last night by the Celtics’ Big Three of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in their exhibition game at New Jersey. Sorry, no refund, no exchange.

‘NET RESULTS: The legendary John Wooden turns 99 today. Here he is on a Gatorade commercial.

HISTORIVIA ANSWER: McCaskill played baseball and hockey at the University of Vermont from 1979-83 before embarking on a 12-year Major League Baseball career with the Angels and White Sox.

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Thomas Dolby is 51. You probably haven’t heard this song in a while.

When Aybar settled into his stance opposing Jonathan Papelbon with two strikes and his team down 6-4, he knew that he could be the last out of Game 3. He also understood that while he could not be the tying or winning run for the Angels, he could at least prolong the inning and give the Halos a chance for a comeback with the top of the order due up.

And he did just that.

After reaching on a two-out single, Aybar made his way to second on defensive indifference before Figgins drew a full-count walk. Abreu then plated Aybar with a RBI double to left to put the Angels within one run. Following an intentional walk to Torii Hunter to load the bases, Guerrero smoked a Papelbon offering to center to score both Figgins and Abreu and give the Angels a 7-6 lead they would not relinquish.

The bitter memory of watching Aybar serve as the rally-starter and Guerrero play the role of David Ortiz will certainly stick in the minds of Red Sox fans around the country for seasons to come. Yet, while both Aybar and Guerrero will most likely be the recipients of a loud ensemble of boos the next time they come up to bat at Fenway, they are not alone in the society of players who crushed the hearts of Boston fans and shattered their postseason faith.

Calling the Red Sox Spoiler Society to order, here is the executive board, consisting of players who make Red Sox fans cringe every time they hear their name.

Babe Ruth

Yes, George Herman Ruth passed on from this world decades ago, but the story goes that his ghost haunted the Red Sox until Boston claimed its first World Series title in 86 years in 2004. There are few who are oblivious to “The Curse of the Bambino” that supposedly accounted for the multiple mishaps that prevented the Red Sox from winning a championship since 1918. A star for the Red Sox both as a pitcher and a hitter from 1914-19, Ruth was part of three of the team’s first five World Series titles in 1915, 1916, and 1918.

Prior to the 1920 season, greedy Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold Ruth to the Yankees for $125,000 allegedly in order to finance his Broadway theatrical productions. Frazee also received a $300,000 loan in exchange for player many consider to be the greatest to ever play the game.

Since the deal, Red Sox fans witnessed the Yankees win 26 World Championships while Boston failed to win one until the curse was lifted in 2004.

Bill Buckner

It is the nightmare that plays over and over in Red Sox fans’ heads.

In the 10th inning of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, the Red Sox were one out away from being crowned champions until the New York Mets rallied to tie the game. After reliever Bob Stanley was summoned from the bullpen by manager John McNamara, Mookie Wilson stepped up to the plate for the Mets. A wild pitch pitch allowed Kevin Mitchell to score from third, knotting the game at 5 and Ray Knight to move into scoring position at second. Faced with a full-count, Wilson hit the 10th pitch of the at-bat in Buckner’s direction at first base. Red Sox fans were stunned as they watched the grounder slip under the glove and through the legs of Buckner, enabling Knight to score from second. The Mets’ 6-5 victory tied up the series at three games apiece, and New York went on to win Game 7.

Bill Buckner Play - 1986 World Series - Funny blooper videos are here
Once the Red Sox did win the World Series in 2004, fans carried around signs citing that they were forgiving of Buckner’s infamous error, though the memory of the blunder lives on.

Bucky Dent

In 1978, if anyone was to make a guess which Yankee would hit a three-run home run over the Green Monster in a one-game playoff to determine the victor of the AL East, chances are slim that he or she would pick Bucky Dent over the likes of Reggie Jackson, Thurman Munson or Lou Piniella. After blowing a 14-1/2-game divisional lead in July, the Sox were forced to play the Yankees in a tiebreaker. Entering the contest with a .243 average and four home runs on the season, Dent was the unlikely hero for the Yankees after he hammered a 1-1 pitch off Mike Torrez in the seventh inning to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead in their ultimate 5-4 victory over the Sox en route to another World Series title.

That Bucky “Bleeping” Dent.

Secretary: Aaron Boone

It was the game that got manager Grady Little fired. Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS against none other than the Yankees. No one will forget the fateful decision Little made to leave his ace Pedro Martinez in the game in the eighth inning which cost the Red Sox a 5-2 lead when the Yankees rallied to tie the score and send the game into extra innings.

Acquired by the Yankees from the Cincinnati Reds on July 31, 2003, Boone struggled during his stint in New York, hitting just .254 with six home runs in 54 games. Yet, on the first pitch of the 11th inning of Game 7, Boone smashed a Tim Wakefield knuckleball into the left field stands that sent the Red Sox packing and the Yankees into the World Series with a 6-5 victory (though Josh Beckett and the Florida Marlins made sure the Yankees would not claim their 27th title).

Boone would never see the Red Sox while in a Yankee uniform again as he would suffer an injury in the offseason that eventually led to the Yankees’ acquisition of Alex Rodriguez to fill the vacancy at third.

As the Red Sox clean out their lockers after another heartbreak, the Angels look to carry their momentum into Yankee Stadium to continue their quest for a World Series title. Both teams know what it feels like to be loathed by Red Sox fans, not that any players will shed a tear, however. So, congratulations Aybar, Guerrero and the rest of the 2009 Angels. See you next year.

PS. Red Sox fans know what it’s like to be surrounded by haters as well.

BASEBALL: It was moving day for the Red Sox, and they stopped packing long enough to discuss the long offseason that began a little too early for everyone’s liking. Manager Terry Francona and GM Theo Epstein held a press conference to discuss a number of topics. Jason Bay talked about his future as a free agent. Josh Beckett wants to see Jason Varitek return. Boston’s coaches will interview for managerial openings. There’s much more at our Full Count blog.

Rob Bradford analyzes each player’s future (story to be posted shortly). Kirk Minihane has a Red Sox report card.

In the last division series to be finished, the Rockies blew a two-run lead in the ninth inning (Sound familiar?) and fell to the Phillies, 5-4. It was a rough couple of days in Denver. In Sunday night’s Game 3, there were more blown calls by the umpires that affected the outcome in the Phillies’ one-run win.

The Cubs filed for bankruptcy as part of their plan to be sold by the Tribune Co. to the family of billionaire Joe Ricketts.

FOOTBALL: Bill Belichick and Tom Brady made appearances on WEEI on Monday to talk about Sunday’s 20-17 loss to the Broncos. From the locker room, Sammy Morris said the offense’s problems can be fixed. Left tackle Matt Light was spotted on crutches in the area of the locker room.

Chris Price his a look back at the game he calls Upon Further Review. Steve DeOssie has his Week 5 Patriots report card. Joe Zarbano presents his NFL power rankings, with the Patriots dropping out of the top 10.

It was worth staying up for the end of the Dolphins-Jets game last night, as the teams played an entertaining and surprisingly high-scoring fourth quarter. Miami scored in the final seconds for a 31-27 victory.

Adam Schefter hinted about this during his appearance on the Dennis & Callahan show Friday: Browns coach Eric Mangini is being investigated by the NFL concerning an incident in which Mangini allegedly made rookie running back James Davis practice without pads — against players who were wearing pads. Davis is out for the season with a shoulder injury.

Rush Limbaugh’s interest in being an NFL owner does not sit well with some.

HOCKEY: The Bruins ended their season-opening five-game homestand by dropping a 4-3 decision to the Avalanche. In his Three Things We Learned, Joe Haggerty examines the defenseless B’s.

The Blackhawks tied an NHL record by rallying from a 5-0 deficit to beat the Flames in overtime, 6-5.

According to a soon-to-be-released book, the owners of the Oilers and Maple Leafs discussed trading their entire teams in 1980, just as the Wayne Gretzky era was beginning in Edmonton.

BASKETBALL: Jessica Camerato has a piece on birthday boy Paul Pierce, who isn’t showing his age (32). Kevin Garnett threw one down at practice Monday, another step in his return to form.

At his team’s tipoff luncheon Thursday, University of Louisville coach Rick Pitino claimed he was having a great year despite the recent controversy surrounding his adulterous behavior.

“Don’t succumb to being a critic,” he told his supporters. “Don’t become part of that negative environment that just knocks and constantly says things that tear things down. Build things up. That’s what positive people do.”

Two days later, two of his players, including co-captain Jerry Smith, were arrested in southern Indiana. Looking at the positive, at least it was only a misdemeanor charge (resisting law enforcement).

Over at Binghamton, school officials suspended off-campus recruiting after the latest revelation of misbehavior.

SOCCER: In case you missed this story (and I don’t know how that’s possible), Major League Soccer organizers are considering shifting the season to align with European professional soccer. The only problem? The new season would run from August through May. Yes, right through the winter.

HISTORIVIA: On Oct. 13, 1999, the Red Sox and Yankees met in the postseason for the first time ever. The Yankees took a 4-3 decision when Bernie Williams hit a home run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Who was the Sox closer who surrendered the hit?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I just showed up this morning at 11 with my little briefcase that doesn’t have much in it. It was the normal time to play a game and we’re not playing a game and I’m having a little bit of a hard time dealing with that. I’m a little confused, but health-wise, I’m probably better than I have been in a while.” — Red Sox manager Terry Francona, on dealing with the letdown of the season being over

STAT OF THE DAY: 0-for-5 — The Bruins’ result on the power play in yesterday’s 4-3 loss to the Avalanche. Colorado went 2-for-3 with the man-advantage.

‘NET RESULTS: You’ve probably heard about it by now, so here’s Owen Schmitt of the Seahawks bashing open his head with his own helmet on Sunday.

HISTORIVIA ANSWER: Rod Beck

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Paul Simon is 68 today. Here’s “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard,” with a 1988 video that features cameos from Spud Webb, Mickey Mantle and John Madden.

Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard

zanimal|MySpace Videos

However, it’s probably not even the worst day in Boston sports this year. Consider that on May 14, the Bruins were eliminated by the Hurricanes in overtime of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Celtics dropped Game 6 of their Eastern Conference semifinals to the Magic, and the Red Sox, despite amassing 15 hits, lost a 5-4 decision in 12 innings to the Angels in Anaheim. In that game, David Ortiz went 0-for-7 and left 12 runners on base, tying a team record.

In an article from earlier this year, Bleacher Report presented its list of top 10 worst days in Boston sports history, although all of these are based on single events.

Anyhow, here’s the rundown of today’s stories.

BASEBALL: Angels 7, Red Sox 6. Rob Bradford looks at what happened and what’s ahead for the Red Sox. Alex Speier writes about the Sox’ big arms failing to deliver. Jonathan Papelbon talks about letting down his team, and Jon Lester questions those fans who booed the closer as he walked off the field. General manager Theo Epstein says the Sox simply got outplayed. Dustin Pedroia considers the season a failure. Jason Bay looks ahead to an uncertain offseason. Bobby Abreu again won the battle against ex-teammate Billy Wagner. Read more about the Sox at our Full Count blog.

To make matters worse, the Yankees finished off their sweep of the Twins with a 4-1 win last night at the Metrodome. In last night’s late game, the Phillies edged the Rockies in chilly Denver.

FOOTBALL: Broncos 20, Patriots 17, OT. In his Ten Things We Learned, Chris Price writes about how much this win meant to Broncos coach Josh McDaniels. Price also has the Patriots kicking themselves for letting this one slip away. Read more about this frustrating loss at our It Is What It Is blog. And listen to Tom Brady on the Dennis & Callahan show at 9 a.m., multiple Pats players on Dale & Holley mid-day, and Bill Belichick on The Big Show at 5 p.m.

Get the rest of the NFL results here, including the Colts, Vikings and Giants remaining undefeated, and the Bengals knocking off the Ravens. D.J. Bean writes about what we learned in fantasy football in Week 5.

Dan Rowinski has Five Things We Learned from Boston College’s 48-14 loss at Virginia Tech on Saturday. Alabama moved past Texas to No. 2 in the AP Top 25, just behind Florida.

HOCKEY: Lost in this disastrous weekend, the Bruins posted a dramatic win Saturday night vs. the Islanders, rallying from a 3-0 deficit with just over eight minutes remaining in the third period and picking up the win in the shootout. Mike Petraglia discusses the B’s resilience.

Vancouver’s Daniel Sedin will miss 4-6 weeks with a broken foot.

BASKETBALL: The Celtics beat the Nets, 100-93, on Sunday in their third exhibition game. Paul Flannery discusses the progress the Celtics are making. Jessica Camerato has a couple of former Magic players talking about how much better the Celtics look. Camerato also has a piece on how football is a popular topic in the C’s locker room.

The Warriors suspended disgruntled swingman Stephen Jackson for a couple of exhibition games after his behavior in the team’s last game.

Last week, we linked to a story about former NBA player Rumeal Robinson, who scammed his mother out of her house in Cambridge. The Miami New Times did a more detailed story that explains how Robinson squandered millions of dollars and is now broke. Here’s a preview: Strip clubs played a big role in his demise.

HISTORIVIA: On Oct. 12, 1986, the Red Sox pulled off a miraculous win over the Angels in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series. Boston trailed by three runs entering the ninth inning. After a two-run home run from Sox DH Don Baylor, the deficit was one. With the Angels one strike away from winning the series, Dave Henderson launched a two-run home run to center field. However, what’s not as well-remembered is that the Angels tied the game in the bottom of the ninth, forcing extra innings. Who hit the game-winning sacrifice fly in the 11th inning for the Sox?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “It was 0-2, two outs, just waiting and planning on playing tomorrow. Then all of a sudden, one thing led to another and you look back and it was like, ‘Whoa, what just happened?’ ” — Jason Bay, after yesterday’s collapse against the Angels that ended the Red Sox’ season

STAT OF THE DAY: 0.00 — Jonathan Papelbon’s career postseason ERA entering yesterday’s game against the Angels, before he coughed up the lead with three ninth-inning runs that cost the Red Sox the game and ended their season.

‘NET RESULTS: Here’s a funny commercial with a Red Sox-Yankees theme to try to cheer you up.

HISTORIVIA ANSWER: Dave Henderson came through again in the 11th, driving home Don Baylor with the winning run. Henderson threw out the first pitch before yesterday’s ALDS Game 3 but could not provide the Sox any luck.

SOOTHING SOUNDS: On Oct. 12, 1997, John Denver died at the age of 53 when the plane he was piloting crashed off the coast of California. Here he is singing “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” This is the song that will be stuck in your head the rest of the day. No need to thank me.

Not surprisingly, both Youkilis and manager Terry Francona shared their discontent with Bucknor about the blown calls.

This year, players have regularly expressed their dissatisfaction with umpires. Whether it be arguing balls and strikes, claiming that a slide into home beat a tag, or disputing that a hit was fair or foul, players and coaches have been quick to make public their displeasure with MLB umpires. Thursday night was not the first time an umpire missed a call, nor will it be the last.

You would think that umpires would be more vigilant after drawing a whirlwind of criticism following the Red Sox-Angels game. On Friday night, the umpiring crew officiating Game 2 of the Twins-Yankees ALDS blundered in another key call. Left field umpire Phil Cuzzi declared that Joe Mauer’s hit was a foul ball when it should have been ruled a ground-rule double.

With no outs in the top of the 11th inning, Mauer launched a ball down the left field line that skimmed the glove of Melky Cabrera and then bounced fair before one-hopping into the stands. Cuzzi messed up on both counts and ruled it a foul ball, sending Mauer back to the plate. Though he ended up singling, Mauer certainly would have scored from second base on the next two Twins hits. The Twins ultimately concluded the inning leaving the bases loaded and failing to score before Mark Teixeira hit a walk-off home run in the bottom half of the frame to give the Yankees a 4-3 win.

Yes, it may be just a tad bit embarrassing to become the first team in MLB history to blow a three-game divisional lead with only four games remaining in the regular season. Yet, after dropping a 6-5 defeat in 12 innings in Tuesday’s one-game playoff loss to the Twins, the Tigers were not quite ready to walk out of the Metrodome for the last time without having a couple of things to say about the umpiring.

Detroit manager Jim Leyland not only shamed his own team, but also showed his frustration with the umpiring crew, noting that a missed hit-by-pitch call with Brandon Inge up and the bases loaded in the top half of the 12th would have given the Tigers a 6-5 advantage.

One of the first incidents this season that resulted in a suspension from arguing a call came unsurprisingly from none other than the contentious Milton Bradley. On April 16, Bradley was ejected in his Wrigley Field debut with the Cubs after vehemently disagreeing with a called third strike in his pinch-hit at-bat in the sixth inning. Two days later, Bradley received his punishment in the form of a two-game suspension and an undisclosed fine. He appealed the punishment and got the suspension reduced to one game. Chicago fanatics may have applauded his passion and furor then, but now they have a different outlook after his ill-advised comments about the team earned him an indefinite suspension despite Bradley offering an apology.

The captain of the Yankees, normally known for keeping his composure, expressed his dissatisfaction this season as well. On July 6, Derek Jeter had some not-too-kind words to share with umpire Marty Foster after Foster ruled Jeter out on his attempt to steal third in a 7-6 loss to the Blue Jays. The shortstop correctly insisted that he slid around the tag, but Foster replied, “He didn’t have to tag you. The ball beat you.” This comment sparked even more controversy than the blown call, since Foster essentially disregarded the rules of the game. After the game, even Foster’s crew chief, John Hirschbeck, questioned his fellow ump’s judgment.

When the final out or the winning run of a game comes down to an umpiring decision, a blown call becomes even more controversial, especially in the eyes of the losing team. On Sept. 16, the Angels were outraged when Red Sox batter Nick Green was granted a bases-loaded walk with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to tie a game that the Sox would eventually win 9-8.

With the game on the line, Angels closer Brian Fuentes thought he got Green out on a swinging strike three, but it was ruled that Green held his bat to a check swing. Later in the at-bat, Fuentes delivered a full-count fastball to Green that was knee-high and down the middle. When home plate umpire Rick Reed failed to ring up Green, manager Mike Scioscia and the Angels protested vehemently.

The next day, however, the Angels were not the only ones complaining. The umpires took issue with the verbal abuse they received from the Angels as they walked off the field. Stating that the Angels acted “unprofessional and unbecoming,” the umpires struck back by filing a grievance.

Even when umpires do seem to get calls right, still there are critics. On May 17, Rays manager Joe Maddon mistakenly listed both Evan Longoria and Ben Zobrist as playing third base on the lineup card. Maddon intended to give Longoria a day off from the field, but accidentally wrote third base next to his name instead of DH. The Rays were forced to forfeit the DH and have the pitcher bat as a result. However, the mix-up worked to their advantage as starting pitcher Andy Sonnanstine hit in place of Longoria and contributed quite nicely with an RBI double in the 7-5 win over the Indians.

Even though the correct ruling was made, the umpires came under some criticism for taking 13 minutes to make their decision. Even Mike Port, MLB’s executive in charge of overseeing the umps, questioned the delay. To make matters worse, later in the game the umps messed up a call that gave the Rays a big break. In the eighth inning, Cleveland’s Ryan Garko hit a deep drive to left with one out. It was ruled that Rays outfielder Carl Crawford caught the ball for an out, but replays indicated the ball went off the padding first and should have been called a hit.

There are a magnitude of close calls that can go either way in every game that is played. A team loves an umpire when a ruling falls in its favor, and despises one when the decision goes against it. With so many plays occurring in a blink of an eye, it’s difficult for an umpire to make the correct call 100 percent of the time.

After all, they do pay attention … right?

BASEBALL: The Red Sox offense got an early start to the holiday weekend in a 5-0 loss to the Angels in Game 1 of the ALDS. Alex Speier has Five Things We Learned from this debacle. Rob Bradford says Victor Martinez will catch Josh Beckett in Game 2 as the Sox need offense, not sentimentality.

After a frustrating night, Jon Lester tipped his cap to his counterpart, John Lackey. Daniel Bard got a chance to get a taste of postseason play. Terry Franonca had a tough night, starting with an upset stomach after eating Mexican fast food. Here’s what the Angels had to say.

Yesterday on WEEI, Curt Schilling ripped the umpiring crew assigned to this series.

“It is embarrassing,” Schilling said. “Listen, Joe West, I think he is an ass and I have had problems with him forever, but here is the thing: Joe West is a pretty decent umpire. Greg Gibson and C.B. Buckner? They suck. They’re horrible, horrible.”

And what happened last night? Bucknor made a negative impact on the game, blowing a couple of calls.

Elsewhere in postseason play, former Red Sox second baseman Mark Loretta singled in the winning run shortly after Matt Holliday dropped the third out in left field, and the Dodgers stunned the Cardinals, 3-2. The Rockies evened their series with the Phillies, taking a 5-4 decision. And Pedro Martinez wants to start Game 3 for the Phils.

Dan Guttenplan compares cheering for the Phillies this year to the uneasiness Red Sox fans felt following Boston titles.

TBS announcer Chip Caray is taking a lot of heat for his poor calls, especially his gaffe on a key play in Tuesday’s Tigers-Twins playoff game.

FOOTBALL: Patriots running back Fred Taylor had surgery on his right ankle, and Chris Price examines what’s ahead for the New England running game. Price also takes a look at what to watch for Sunday against the Broncos.

Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey talks about his team’s dramatic improvement on defense this season. Here’s the audio from the Broncos.

In case you missed this yesterday, while hyping Sunday’s game against the Ravens, Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco said that he would hit a) Ray Lewis in the mouth, b) challenge Terrell Suggs to a fight, and c) perform a touchdown celebration dance he calls the Ricky Bobby, in honor of Will Ferrell’s character in the movie “Talladega Nights.”

Said Ochocinco: “When I score, which you know I will do, I have a special thing. It’s called the Ricky Bobby. It should be really nice. It’s a rule-breaker. I did send the NFL the fine money ahead of time.”

At the other end of the spectrum, here’s some must-reading for this weekend: Alexander Wolff’s Sports Illustrated story on Jackie Robinson’s two UCLA football teammates who broke the NFL’s color barrier in 1946 but whose names are mostly unrecognized today.

Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez called Jonathan Vilma to apologize for the quarterback’s low hit during an interception return Sunday against the Saints.

Iraq War veteran and hopeful NFL rookie Tony Fein died of as-yet-unexplained causes. The 27-year-old linebacker from Ole Miss was cut by the Ravens in the preseason.

Dan Rowinski has a preview of Boston College’s game Saturday at sixth-ranked Virginia Tech.

HOCKEY: The Bruins forgot to show up in a 6-1 shellacking at the hands of the Ducks. Joe Haggerty has Three Things We Learned. And here’s the audio of a disappointed Claude Julien & Co.

BASKETBALL: The Phoenix Mercury and Indiana Fever play a fifth and deciding game in the WNBA finals tonight. Just thought you should know.

HISTORIVIA: On Oct. 9, 1967, In Game 5 of the World Series, Sox ace Jim Lonborg outdueled a young Cardinals pitcher who went on to a Hall of Fame career — but spent most of it as a member of a different National League team. Who is he? Bonus question: In the Sox’ 3-1 win, St. Louis’ only run came courtesy of a home run from a famous slugger who, like the pitcher previously mentioned, is more well-known as a member of a different team. Who is he?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “It wasn’t like a game of missed opportunities. We really didn’t have any.” — Jason Bay, after last night’s 5-0 Game 1 loss to the Angels

‘NET RESULTS: Here’s a Canadian football-themed commercial worth a chuckle.

HISTORIVIA ANSWER: Lonborg and the Sox beat Steve Carlton, who was traded after his first 20-win season in 1971 to the Phillies. Carlton went on to play 15 seasons in Philadelphia and 24 years in the majors, winning 329 games. The player who homered off Lonborg was Roger Maris, who broke Babe Ruth’s single-season home run mark in 1961 during his second straight MVP season as a member of the Yankees.

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Jackson Browne is 61 today. Here’s his biggest hit, made famous in the 1982 movie “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.”

BASEBALL: The Red Sox open their ALDS against the Angels tonight at 9:37. Paul Byrd will be in the Sox bullpen and Manny Delcarmen will not. Jason Varitek is focused on the team and not worried about his playing status. Billy Wagner knows he hasn’t pitched well in previous postseason action. Keep up to date on all the Sox news throughout the day at our Full Count blog.

Alex Speier writes about Victor Martinez, and how he helped save the Sox’ season. Rob Bradford breaks down how the trade for Martinez came about.

WEEI’s Lou Merloni explains the Red Sox’ formula for ALDS success.

Terry Francona had some interesting things to say about David Ortiz, Victor Martinez and umpire/country singer Joe West in his interview with Dale & Holley yesterday.

In yesterday’s playoff action, CC Sabathia brought the Twins back to earth in a 7-2 Yankees win. In the NL, Cliff Lee and the Phillies stifled the Rockies, and the Dodgers turned away the Cardinals.

Tigers manager Jim Leyland is disappointed that umpires won’t admit they blew a call that would have given Detroit the lead in the 12th inning of their loss to the Twins on Tuesday (and he’s right).

And a 12-year-old Florida girl sued the Phillies to get back a Ryan Howard home run ball she caught at a game in July. UPDATE: Below is a video interview with the girl and her lawyer, and here’s more on the story.

FOOTBALL: Kirk Minihane checks in with his weekly mailbag and finds the Pats pessimists are slowly coming around. Dan Guttenplan has his Week 5 picks.

Tom Brady won’t apologize for supporting the new rules designed to protect quarterbacks. Meanwhile, the parody site Sports Pickle had a little fun with the issue, posting a story under the headline: “Tom Brady Draws Emotionally Roughing the Passer Penalty.”

Patriots defensive lineman Mike Wright is have a strong season, and he talks about which defensive formation suits him best. Chris Price introduces us to the newest Patriot, linebacker Bruce Davis, who was signed yesterday to the practice squad.

In case you missed it yesterday, the Jets moved to improve their offense by acquiring receiver Braylon Edwards from the Browns. First-round draft pick Michael Crabtree ended his holdout with the 49ers.

HOCKEY: Milan Lucic appeared on Dale & Holley to talk about his new three-year contract with the Bruins. Mark Stuart appears to be set as the team’s NHLPA rep, taking over for Andrew Ference. Zdeno Chara posed in the buff for ESPN the Magazine’s body issue.

The Maple Leafs were fined for tampering for expressing early interest in Vancouver’s Sedin twins. Patrick Roy’s son pleaded guilty to assault for last year’s on-ice attack of an opposing goalie in a junior hockey game and wrote a check for $5,000 to clear his conscience.

BASKETBALL: The Celtics opened the preseason with a 96-90 loss to Houston. Kevin Garnett had six points and five rebounds in his return from a knee injury. Jessica Camerato breaks down how each player did, and Paul Flannery offers his thoughts about the game — and the replacement refs (who handed Rasheed Wallace a technical).

NBA general managers picked the Celtics as the league’s best defensive team and predicted they will win the East. Delonte West needs a little more time away from Cavaliers training camp. Allen Iverson has a partial tear of his left hamstring. He hurt it in practice. Not a game, not a game, not a game — we talkin’ ’bout practice:

MISC.: WEEI is partnering with ESPN Radio and will pick up broadcasts of Major League Baseball playoff games, NBA regular season and playoff action, and college football’s Bowl Championship Series. WEEI also will syndicate ESPN’s AllNight with Jason Smith from 1-5 a.m. Monday through Friday, and have call-in appearances weekly from ESPN insiders Peter Gammons and Adam Schefter, among others.

HISTORIVIA: On Oct. 8, 1967, the Red Sox lost Game 4 of the World Series to Bob Gibson and the Cardinals. Which 19-year-old Red Sox reliever pitched a scoreless eighth inning and, in the process, became the youngest player ever to pitch in a World Series game?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I think there’s a lot of people that actually owe David an apology.” — Red Sox manager Terry Francona on yesterday’s Dale & Holley show, talking about criticism of David Ortiz earlier this season

‘NET RESULTS: As the Metrodome prepares for its farewell performance, here’s a time-lapse video of the facility as it hosts three Twins games, changes over for a University of Minnesota football game, and then goes back to baseball.

HISTORIVIA ANSWER: Teenager Ken Brett, older brother of Royals Hall of Fame third baseman George Brett, was a late replacement on the Red Sox’ 1967 World Series roster for the injured Sparky Lyle.

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Happy 69th birthday to Fred Cash, who had the tall task of stepping in for Jerry Butler as a member of the Impressions in 1960. That’s him on the right, with Curtis Mayfield (left) and Sam Gooden.

The Twins and Tigers gave us a memorable lead-in to the playoffs with their 12-inning AL Central playoff thriller. Minnesota kept the Metrodome in business for at least another week with a 6-5 victory.

The hype has begun for the ALDS, and the Red Sox and Angels will get an extra day of it, as their series doesn’t start until Thursday night (9:37 EST). Curt Schilling analyzes the series. WEEI’s baseball writers make their playoff predictions. Rob Bradford says to watch out for Bobby Abreu. But Dan Gutteplan says Abreu isn’t clutch, as part of his reasons you should hate the Halos. Guttenplan also has an MLB postseason joke book.

Josh Beckett says his back is fine. Angels center fielder Torii Hunter isn’t concerned with his team’s past failures vs. the Sox. Boston Game 1 starter Jon Lester looks back on last year’s ALCS Game 7 vs. the Rays. Shortstop Jed Lowrie will be on Boston’s ALDS roster.

For regular Red Sox updates, check our Full Count blog throughout the day.

Baseball’s other three playoff series start today, with Rockies-Phillies at 2:37, Twins-Yankees at 6:07 and Cardinals-Dodgers at 9:37. All is not well in New York, as Yankees catcher Jorge Posada isn’t happy that his manager chose to sit him for Game 1 2.

On to football: Chris Price says that even though the Patriots have not piled up a lot of sacks, stats show that they are putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Price also has his weekly mailbag. Kerry Byrne has a statistical analysis as the Patriots hit the season’s quarter pole. The Junior Seau watch is on full alert, following a report that the linebacker worked out for the Patriots yesterday.

D.J. Bean writes about living with the bye week in his fantasy football report.

Rush Limbaugh wants to buy the St. Louis Rams, and he’s teaming up with Dave Checketts, owner of the NHL’s St. Louis Blues, to make a bid.

Joe Haggerty says Milan Lucic and the Bruins are a perfect fit after the big winger signed a new three-year deal. Lucic returned to Bruins practice yesterday after a day off to tend to a minor health issue.

Celtics coach Doc Rivers made an appearance on the Dennis & Callahan show and discussed a number of topics, including how the talkative Rasheed Wallace will fit in on this team of talkers.

HISTORIVIA: On Oct. 7, 1995, this Bruins forward scored three goals in a season-opening 4-4 tie vs. the visiting Islanders. In the process, he became the first player in NHL history to record a hat trick on opening night twice in his career. Who is he?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I’m a prime-time, lean machine.” — Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell, when asked how he felt yesterday as the Sox prepared for the ALDS against the Angels in Anaheim

‘NET RESULTS: Injured Revolution star Taylor Twellman was named the hottest bachelor in Massachusetts by Cosmopolitan magazine. Twellman tells Cosmo: “I’m looking for a girl who’s about being with me, not about being with the soccer player.” OK, then. Here he is with a bicycle kick for a goal against Chicago in the 2007 playoffs.

HISTORIVIA ANSWER: Cam Neely

SOOTHING SOUNDS: On Oct. 7, 1952, “American Bandstand” debuted in Philadelphia. The singer with the most appearances on the show? Revere native Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon with 110 (at least according to various websites).

Chris Price writes about Bill Belichick preparing to meet former assistant Josh McDaniels, who has the Broncos at 4-0. Steve DeOssie has his Patriots report card, with the linemen at the head of the class.

Yesterday’s big story was the Rodney Harrison-Tom Brady feud that wasn’t. The former teammates knew Harrison was teasing in his comments Sunday night, but not everyone else did. Both Harrison and Brady appeared on WEEI yesterday and calmed the masses.

Belichick also made an appearance on WEEI. Among other things, the coach confirmed that yes, Junior Seau could soon again be a Patriot.

Brett Favre got the best of his old team last night, leading the Vikings past the Packers and becoming the first quarterback to beat all 32 teams.

Giants quarterback Eli Manning is day to day with plantar fasciitis. Raiders running back Darren McFadden will miss 2-4 weeks after surgery today for torn cartilage in his knee.

Joe Zarbano has his Week 5 NFL power rankings, with the Patriots moving up one spot to No. 5.

LeBron James expressed his disappointment with Browns receiver Braylon Edwards, who allegedly took a punch at one of James’ friends at a nightclub early Monday morning. And Raiders coach Tom Cable, who allegedly punched one of his assistant coaches, may face charges.

The Red Sox departed for Anaheim yesterday. With the regular season complete, Alex Speier, Rob Bradford, Lou Merloni and Curt Schilling compile their season-ending awards. Speier has a feature on Daniel Bard, whose career prospects are strong after he bottomed out three years ago. Bradford writes about Daisuke Matsuzaka preparing for any role in the postseason and Manny Delcarmen trying to be ready to pitch after a car accident Saturday.

The Tigers and Twins meet today at 5 p.m. to decide the AL Central winner. Detroit first baseman Miguel Cabrera took some heat after it was revealed that he was arrested while drunk and involved in a domestic situation early Saturday morning despite the fact that his team was battling for the division title all weekend.

Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter and Blue Jays infielder Aaron Hill were named Comeback Players of the Year.

Joe Haggerty checks in from Bruins practice and notes that Milan Lucic was absent.

HISTORIVIA: On Oct. 6, 1985, in the final game of the regular season, this player went 2-for-5 to finish the season with 201 hits. In the process, he became just the fifth player to record 200 hits in both the AL and NL. Who is he?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “This guy’s directly responsible for me having two Super Bowl rings on my fingers, and you think I’m going to call him out?” — Rodney Harrison on WEEI, defending his joking comments about former teammate Tom Brady

‘NET RESULTS: As today could be the final game at the Metrodome, here’s a look at one of the Twins’ commercials promoting the move to their outdoor stadium next season.

HISTORIVIA ANSWER: Bill Buckner

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Happy 63rd birthday, Millie Small. As a teenager in 1964, the Jamaican singer had a big hit with “My Boy Lollipop.”

Isn’t that right, Rick Vaughn?

In recent years, some of the most notorious brawls have stemmed from a batter’s irritation with a pitcher. After getting drilled with a 98 mph fastball, hitters sometimes seek retribution instead of simply taking their base.

Who can forget the July 24, 2004 confrontation between the Red Sox and Yankees that featured Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez consuming a mouthful of Red Sox catcher Jason’s Varitek’s glove after being nailed by a Bronson Arroyo delivery.

Nor will Chicago fans soon erase from their memories the image of Cubs catcher Michael Barrett heaving his fist into the face of White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski. The fight started after Pierzynski barreled Barrett to the ground when attempting to touch home plate on May 20, 2006, in an interleague matchup between the crosstown rivals. Barrett received a 10-game suspension.

Though players are fully aware of the punishments that will be handed to them in the form of fines and suspensions (and sometimes apologies, too, i.e. Kenny Rogers), they still have had no hesitations this season in starting an on-the-field altercation.

Perhaps the most memorable brawl of the season occurred on Aug. 11, when Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis angrily charged the mound to tackle Tigers rookie pitcher Rick Porcello. After Junichi Tawaza hit Miguel Cabrera in the first inning, Porcello retaliated the following inning by pounding Youkilis with a fastball. Both players were ejected, but not until after Youkilis and the young pitcher took their dispute to the ground.

That was not the only squabble the Red Sox partook in this season, nor was it the first. On April 12, Josh Beckett instigated a bench-clearing incident when he threw a high fastball that nearly plunked Angels outfielder (and former Yankee) Bobby Abreu in the head.

HD QUALITY - Josh Beckett Throws High And Inside - More free videos are here
Abreu requested a timeout during his at-bat, and the umpire granted the request while Beckett was starting his windup. Beckett followed through and sent the pitch up high and tight as Abreu backed away. Angels manager Mike Scioscia was ejected along with Torii Hunter, Justin Speier and hitting coach Mickey Hatcher in the ensuing debate. In the days that followed, Beckett was stunned to receive a six-game suspension. The right-hander appealed and got the sentence reduced to five games.

The Yankees had their share of confrontational moments as well this year. On Sept. 15, Yankees catcher Jorge Posada and Blue Jays pitcher Jesse Carlson each hit the showers with a three-game suspension awaiting for them after their in-game quarrel. After two Blue Jays batters were nailed by Yankees pitchers, Carlson launched a fastball behind Posada. After scoring a run later in the inning, Posada threw his arm in Carlson’s direction, which led to both teams storming the field.

And most recently, on Oct. 1, Twins outfielder Delmon Young did not take his frustration out on Tigers pitcher Jeremy Bonderman when drilled in the leg, but on his own teammate, Jose Mijares, because the rookie threw behind Adam Everett in the previous frame. After rising from the turf, Young pointed his finger and screamed at Mirajes instead of challenging the player who actually hurled the pitch in his direction.

Not enough action for you? Don’t worry, there’s still a month of baseball left to be played, and tensions are running as high as ever as the eight remaining teams fight to be crowned World Series champion.

Don Zimmer knows that much.

Today on WEEI’s Patriots Monday, check in with Dennis & Callahan at 9 a.m. to hear Tom Brady discuss yesterday’s 27-21 victory over the Ravens, and listen to the Big Show at 5 p.m. for an interview with coach Bill Belichick. Dale & Holley will have their usual quartet of players midday.

Chris Price has his 10 Things We Learned from yesterday, led by a strong effort from the New England defense. Mike Petraglia reports on Wes Welker’s successful return and tries to sort out what happened on the fake field goal.

Rodney Harrison wants Brady to toughen up, telling him to “Take off the skirt” after drawing a few calls against the Ravens, who lodged plenty of complaints about the refs.

Kirk Minihane says it’s time to again consider the Patriots a Super Bowl contender. And there’s more good news: Junior Seau will sign with the Pats as soon as this week.

In other NFL action yesterday, the Saints turned away the Jets despite another impressive defensive effort from New York. The Dolphins picked up their first win at the expense of the Bills. The Bengals kicked a field goal on the final play of overtime to keep the Browns winless. The undefeated Broncos rallied late to thwart the Cowboys. And the Steelers turned away the Chargers.

DJ Bean draws realizations from the week in fantasy football.

Dan Rowinski has Five Things We Learned from Boston College’s 28-21 victory Saturday over once-mighty Florida State. Meanwhile, at least one Florida writer is calling for legendary Seminoles coach Bobby Bowden to step down. In the AP Top 25, Auburn moved into the ranking at 17 after its 5-0 start, while the top 10 did not have much movement.

In baseball, the Red Sox swept the Indians in their final series of the regular season, capped with a 12-7 victory on Sunday. Alex Speier has Five Things We Learned, beginning with the Sox announcing a rotation of Jon Lester, Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz. Tim Wakefield will not be on the roster for the opening round.

Speier writes about Dusty Brown’s long road to Fenway, Jed Lowrie’s pain hitting left-handed (despite his grand slam), Jason Varitek’s reduced role, and how Alex Gonzalez is indispensible. Jessica Camerato has a touching piece on Gonzalez’ concern for his 3-year-old son, who has been in a coma for the last two years.

The Tigers will visit the Twins tomorrow in a one-game playoff to determine the AL Central champion. The Twins are trying to become the first team in baseball history to win the division after being down three games with four to go.

Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez set an AL record with seven RBI in one inning yesterday. The Brewers announced Ken Macha will be back for a second season in 2010.

Joe Haggerty has Three Things We Learned from the Bruins’ revenge-fueled pummeling of the Hurricanes on Saturday night. Haggerty also writes about defenseman Matt Hunwick learning to stay within his game.

The informative site Mental Floss has an entry explaining how all 30 NHL teams got their nicknames.

One week into Celtics training camp, Kevin Garnett says his knee is fine.

From the Cambridge Chronicle, here’s a shocking story about former basketball star Rumeal Robinson scamming his mother out of her own home in Cambridge.

HISTORIVIA: On Oct. 5, 1950,the Celtics participated in a lottery with two other teams to determine where the top three players from the disbanding Chicago Stags would land. Which future standout did the Celtics acquire?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Head-to-head with Ray Lewis, I certainly wasn’t thinking of that one going to bed last night.” Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, referring to his 1-yard touchdown run right at the Ravens’ standout linebacker

‘NET RESULTS: With the one-game playoff tomorrow between the Tigers and Twins, let’s take a look at the crazy ending to the last MLB playoff game. In 2007, the Rockies came back from two runs down in the 13th inning for an incredible win over the Padres. Matt Holliday scored the game-winner on a sacrifice fly, despite the fact that he never touched home plate. And then he was knocked out. Said Padres announce Ted Leitner: “If that had been a Yankees-Red Sox game, it would be considered one of the greatest of all time.” He’s undoubtedly correct. This fan’s video of the final play will give you a feel for the excitement.

And that led to this commercial for the Rockies.

HISTORIVIA ANSWER: Bob Cousy

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Happy 68th birthday to Arlene Smith, former lead singer of the pioneering female R&B group the Chantels. Here’s Smith performing the group’s 1958 hit “Maybe” at a “Doo Wop Gold” reunion show.

The great experiment that was Milton Bradley’s career with the Chicago Cubs could be over. The Cubs suspended Bradley last month for “conduct detrimental to the team” for the remainder of the season. For the Cubs, it will be a costly move. They signed Bradley last winter for three years and $30 million because they needed a left-handed bat to balance their lineup. The thought was that Bradley could put up similar numbers to what he did in Texas the year before (.321 average, .436 on-base percentage, .563 slugging) and protect the rest of the Cubs’ right-handed power hitters who were exploited by the Dodgers in the National League Division Series last October. Bradley did not do nearly so well on the North Side of Chicago, hitting .257 with a .378 OBP and .397 SP in 124 games for the Cubs.

Cubs general manager Jim Hendry explained his reasoning for suspending Bradley.

“Recently, it’s become intolerable to hear Milton talk about our great fans the way he has,” Hendry said. “We pride ourselves on having the greatest fans in baseball, so at this time we felt it was best to send him home for the rest of the season,” Hendry told reporters.

The thought was more like a dream from the very beginning. Now it’s a nightmare. The rationale behind signing Bradley was flawed in the first place. Bring in a blowhard whose only real talent is with the bat and put him in right field in one of the hardest places to play in the league with a manager known as a hothead on a team full of hotheads. Not to mention he had not played 100 full games in the outfield since 2004 and had done it only six times in the nine previous years.

It was a pipe dream. With a short fuse.

And now it has exploded.

It was bound to happen given Bradley’s volatile history. Buster Olney from ESPN breaks down the Bradley’s history of blow ups here. Here is Olney’s summary:

Spring 2004: The Indians trade Bradley after a series of disagreements with manager Eric Wedge.

June 2004: Bradley is ejected by an umpire, has to be restrained by Dodgers manager Jim Tracy and then throws a bunch of baseballs on the field on his way to the clubhouse.

September 2004: Bradley picks up an empty bottle that was thrown by a fan, approaches the stands and has to be calmed by teammates; he rips off his jersey on his way back to the dugout and is pulled off the field by coach Jim Riggleman. The Dodgers suspend him for the final five games of the season.

June 2007: After a series of internal incidents, the Athletics finally get fed up with Bradley and designate him for assignment.

September 2007: Bradley performs well for the Padres, but in a game on Sept. 23, umpire Mike Winters speaks words that are later deemed inappropriate by Major League Baseball — words for which Winters is suspended — and Bradley reacts angrily. As that confrontation plays out, Bradley suffers a season-ending knee injury as he is restrained by manager Bud Black.

Pretty impressive list, huh? I thought this was pretty good, too:

Have you ever tried to break a baseball bat over your knee? Not so easy.

To be fair to Bradley, apparently there has been some extenuating circumstances regarding his unhappiness in Chicago. The problem about this particular piece of information, though, is that neither the media nor the Cubs knew anything about it. It took Bradley’s mother, Charlena Rector, to explain the actions of her son. Bradley is a 31-year-old man, does he really need his mother to explain his actions? Given his history as an iconoclast, would it really matter what the excuse was? If the reports about his kid are true then it is sad. However, most people learn early in their professional careers that if you cannot keep your personal life and your job separate then it will be difficult to ever function as proper employee should.

Bradley operates with a chip on his shoulder. Check out this video from “Best Damn Sports Show” after the run-in with umpire Mike Winters in 2007.

Seems like a surly guy, huh?

The MLBPA was considering filing a grievance on Bradley’s behalf, though it later came out that the outfielder would accept his suspension and fade into the shadows … for now. We’ll see.

The sports writers of the nation are alive with the Bradley issue. Rob Neyer of ESPN’s Sweet Spot has two blog posts on it here and here. Al Yellon from Bleed Cubby Blue dishes on it here. Nick Friedell is not surprised. Ed Nickow from ChicagoNow has a haiku.

For my own part, I created a slideshow of some of Bradley’s greatest moment in bombast history.

Yet, one day after Vick’s agency, BEST, announced that a new deal was struck between the disgraced player and the company, Nike was quick to refute the report, claiming that it had only agreed to supply its products to Vick and not have him serve as a sponsor or spokesman.

Guess there will be no “The Michael Vick Experience, Part 2″ in the near future.

Even though Nike reiterated that it has not offered an endorsement to Vick, the company has a long history, dating back to the 1970s, of teaming up with controversial players and running contentious campaigns.

In 1978, Nike teamed up with tennis legend John McEnroe to launch the “Rebel With a Cause” campaign designed to sell its tennis paraphernalia. McEnroe, notorious for his outbursts, was featured in commercials and billboard advertisements, many of which portrayed him as the quick-tempered, hot-headed player he was.

Despite McEnroe’s tantrums and disorderly conduct, Nike still retains him as one of its primary endorsers in the tennis department, for which it released the Nike Air Zoom Tennis Trainer last fall.

On Sept. 11, Nike had to be thrilled to watch its star spokesman Michael Jordan achieve basketball immortality with his NBA Hall of Fame induction. Still, despite being arguably the greatest player in NBA history, Jordan faced some controversy during his career due to his endorsement deal with Nike.

Nearly signing a deal with Nike’s archrival Adidas after being drafted by the Chicago Bulls out of the University of North Carolina in 1984, Jordan ultimately chose to endorse Nike even though he had never worn the brand’s shoes before. A few months later, in 1985, Nike released the Air Jordan signature brand that still is highly popular today.

However, the red and black sneakers did not sit well with NBA commissioner David Stern, who banned the shoes from the game because they did not comform with the league’s uniform guidelines. With encouragement from Nike, Jordan ignored the ruling and continued to wear them, accruing a fine of $5,000 per game — which Nike was happy to pay in exchange for the publicity.

While “Just do it” may have a catchy ring to it, some of Nike’s other slogans have sparked debate and opposition. During the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Nike introduced an advertising campaign with the slogan: “You don’t win silver — you lose gold.”

Many Olympic athletes and coaches were offended by this, claiming that it showed bad sportsmanship and demeaned a competitor’s accomplishments. In response to the overwhelming criticism from individuals who said it damaged the spirit and integrity of the Olympic Games, Nike pulled the campaign.

Nike, however, never appeared to be fazed by its “bad boy” image. In 2003, just days before he was accused of raping a woman in a Colorado hotel, NBA phenom Kobe Bryant signed an endorsement deal with the Oregon company.

Event through the entire sexual assault trial, Nike opted not to part ways with the Los Angeles Lakers superstar, though the brand did not use Bryant’s image in any of its commercial or billboard advertisements. It would take more than 2-1/2 years before Bryant’s first Nike television commercial aired. It featured the release of the Zoom Kobe I sneaker.

Nike has a knack for promoting the rebels and the renegades, as well as the respected, on campaign advertisements. There are those such as McEnroe, Bryant and Vick who are just as notorious as they are famous, and then there those such as Jordan, Tigers Woods and Mia Hamm who are idols in so many young athletes’ eyes.

So will there be a Michael Vick Nike commercial? At least Jimmy Kimmel thinks so.

Or maybe it’s how the game lends itself to last-minute heroics such as this:

Of course, when it comes to the Patriots, “In Bill, we trust,” but maybe Belichick kept the wrong player.

Greg Lewis‘ catch sparked some discussion about other phenomenal “circus catches” made in football. With only three weeks gone by, the NFL season still has plenty of time to offer up more sweet catches, though Lewis’ will be difficult to top.

Some research revealed some other memorable catches made in football, at all levels.

This catch, from Oregon State’s Jordan Bishop in his team’s 23-21 victory over UNLV on Sept. 12, is great because it involves two of the best facets of football. It was a great hit by the defensive back and a great catch by Bishop. He shows fantastic concentration in fulfilling that old adage: “You’re going to get hit, you might as well catch the ball.”

How about this catch by Morgan State’s Edwin Baptiste last season?

You have to love this. The player lays out completely for the ball, with no regard for his body. It’s a great catch, but perhaps if the player hadn’t cut his route short he could have made the catch in stride.

To be fair, awesome catches aren’t limited to pro and college football. These stars have to start somewhere.

Football allows us to escape, if ever so briefly, and enjoy watching the performance of elite athletes. These catches and plays confirm and renew our love for the sport and give us one more thing to talk about as we await the next game.

Let’s start with the bizarre, as there is a book coming out next week claiming that Red Sox legend Ted Williams’ body was abused at a cryogenics facility in Arizona.

Jon Lester looked strong while testing out his bruised knee, pitching shutout ball for 6-1/3 innings in the Red Sox’ 3-0 win over the Indians at Fenway Park. In his Five Things We Learned, Alex Speier says Lester’s performance provided a big lift for Boston. And in another dose of good news, the Sox are optimistic that Billy Wagner could be able to pitch on back-to-back days. However, Nick Green still is struggling with his leg injury.

Speier also has a look at how Jason Bay has proven himself and examines how Daisuke Matsuzaka has worked his way back into the fold.

Dan Guttenplan looks ahead to a Red Sox-Yankees ALCS.

Curt Schilling lists ways you can help Samoans who have been devastated by a massive earthquake.

When the Cardinals and Reds met up Wednesday night in Cincinnati, it was a battle of former Red Sox pitchers.  John Smoltz did not fare so well in St. Louis’ 6-1 loss, and he blamed his uncharacteristic lack of control on the baseballs not being rubbed down with mud as they normally are before the game. But Bronson Arroyo had no such problems, which led to accusations from the Cards that Arroyo was putting pine tar on the ball. A closeup of the bill of Arroyo’s hat does show a black mark, but it’s hardly conclusive, and Arroyo denies the claim.

Meanwhile, there’s a video that shows Justin Mauer apparently stealing signs from second base and tipping off  teammate Jason Kubel in a game against the Tigers. Hard to understand why this is such a big deal, but you can watch it here so you’re up to date on all the silly baseball non-controversies.

The Bruins opened their season with a 4-1 loss to Alexander Ovechkin and the Capitals last night at the TD Garden. Joe Haggerty examines the Bruins’ sloppy start. Mike Petraglia has the audio interviews from last night.

Veteran forward Brendan Shanahan left the New Jersey Devils after he found out he wasn’t on one of the top three lines.

Christopher Price has Five Things to Watch For on Sunday afternoon when the Patriots host the Ravens. Price also checks in with 6-foot-8, 355-pound behemoth Terdell Sands, who will help plug a hole on the Patriots defensive line. Joe Zarbano provides audio from the Ravens.

DJ Bean steps into our fantasy football spot and offers a look at matchups you can’t pass up.

On Wednesday, it was reported that Michael Vick had signed a sponsorship deal with Nike. Yesterday. Nike said it only was providing footwear to the Eagles quarterback, and that there is no sponsorship.

Delonte West reported to Cavaliers training camp.

HISTORIVIA: On Oct. 2, 1949, the Red Sox lost the American League pennant on the final day of the season, one year after bowing out in a one-game playoff vs. the Indians. Who was the Red Sox manager who presided over both teams in his 2-1/2-year stint as Sox bench boss?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “This will not be the team that you’re going to see night after night this year. That much I can guarantee you.” — Bruins coach Claude Julien, after last night’s loss to Washington

‘NET RESULTS: To get you ready for the Patriots’ matchup Sunday against the Ravens and their dominating defense, here’s Ed Reed’s NFL-record 108-yard interception return last season against the Eagles.

Here’s Reed playing for the University of Miami and breaking Boston College hearts in 2001. The Eagles were 9 yards away from the go-ahead touchdown in the game’s final minute when Reed took the ball the other way to clinch the win and keep the top-ranked Hurricanes undefeated.

HISTORIVIA ANSWER: Joe McCarthy, who is more well known for his time managing the Yankees from 1931-46

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Today is Don McLean’s 64th birthday. Rather than going with the old standard  “American Pie,” here’s the mellow “Vincent,” the singer’s haunting homage to Vincent van Gogh. “They would not listen, they’re not listening still. Perhaps they never will.”

One night after clinching the wild card, the Red Sox gave most of their starters the day off. With Roy Halladay on the hill for Toronto, it wasn’t a big surprise that hits were hard to come by in a 12-0 shellacking. I’m sure the fans at Fenway were thrilled when they saw that the Sox were fielding a spring training lineup, but at least they got to see catcher Dusty Brown pitch an inning.

In his Five Things We Learned, Alex Speier says to forget about the embarrassing end of the regular season, because it won’t matter once the playoffs start. Speier also has a piece on Halladay plunking David Ortiz to get some revenge for the previous night. Mike Petraglia discusses Halladay’s interesting season and upcoming offseason.

The Boston Globe sent a food critic to review Big Papi’s Grille in Framingham, and the reviewer says the place is about as impressive as Ortiz’ three-strikeout performance last night. She did like the Big Papi En Fuego hot sauce, though.

The Indians, who are at Fenway to close out the season with a four-game series that starts tonight, fired manager Eric Wedge, which leads to more speculation about Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell.

Elsewhere in MLB, the Tigers held off the Twins and can clinch the AL Central today, the Phillies celebrated their third straight NL East crown and the Rockies closed in on the NL wild card.

On to football: Chris Price notes that the Patriots offensive line has done a great job protecting Tom Brady from being sacked.

Kirk Minihane checks in with his mailbag and talks about the accusations that Randy Moss has been dogging it.

Nike signed Michael Vick to an endorsement deal, and the struggling Browns demoted quarterback Brady Quinn and reinstated Derek Anderson as the starter.

Over at Boston College, standout linebacker Mark Herzlich made an appearance and announced that he is “99 percent cancer free.”

The Bruins open the season tonight at the TD Garden against the Washington Capitals. Joe Haggerty says the rest of the NHL is gunning for the Bruins. B’s general manager Peter Chiarelli, appearing on the Dale & Holley show yesterday afternoon, continued to insist Phil Kessel forced his way out of town.

Mats Sundin announced his retirement after nearly two decades in the NHL. A bankruptcy judge rejected two bids (one from the league) to buy the Phoenix Coyotes.

The NBA banned players from using Twitter during games.

HISTORIVIA: On Oct. 1, 1978, the Red Sox beat the Blue Jays while the Yankees lost to the Indians, forcing a one-game playoff for the American League East title. Lost amid the Red Sox’ historic collapse that season (blowing a 14-1/2-game lead) is the fact that Boston made an impressive season-ending charge to come back from a 3-1/2-game deficit with two weeks left. How many games in a row did the Sox win to close out the regular season?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I don’t know what they’re thinking there. If it had been any other pitcher besides [Roy Halladay], they’d get tossed. I think it’s a little bush league, but it’s the way it is,” — Red Sox reliever Billy Wagner, on the Jays plunking David Ortiz to get retaliation for the night before

‘NET RESULTS: You have to feel for the kid who makes a stunning mistake to cost his team the win in this clip of highlights from a Vermont high school football game. It’s gone national already, including an appearance on Sports Illustrated’s website.

HISTORIVIA ANSWER: The Red Sox won their final eight games (and 12 of the last 14) to catch the Yankees and force the playoff.

SOOTHING SOUNDS: John “Bootsie” Wilson died last week at the age of 69. He was the last surviving member of the Silhouettes, although he didn’t join the group until 1961, three years after their biggest hit: “Get a Job.”

The Red Sox dropped an 8-7 thriller to the Blue Jays despite an impressive comeback, but the Rangers cooperated by again losing to the Angels, handing Boston the wild card. In his Five Things We Learned, Alex Speier says the Sox, who held a private, late-night celebration in the locker room, offer no apologies for the way they advanced to the postseason.

The Sox announced their minor league award-winners, led by Pitcher of the Year Casey Kelly and Offensive Player of the Year Ryan Kalish.

In baseball’s only close pennant race, the Tigers came back to earn a split of yesterday’s doubleheader with the Twins and keep their AL Central lead at two games.

Dan Guttenplan presents his Baseball All-Stink Team.

Nomar Garciaparra said he will consider his options — including retirement — after a disappointing year in Oakland. Former Yankee Chuck Knoblauch was charged with assaulting his wife.

Chris Price drops in with an international Patriots mailbag. Kerry Byrne says Patriots fans should have been more pleased with Sunday’s win, especially considering what expectations should be for this team.

Former (and future?) Patriot Junior Seau suffered only minor injuries after being run over by a bull (video below). More information was revealed concerning the situation involving cornerback Jonathan Wilhite, who apparently strained his groin running from two suspicious people at his house and had to miss Sunday’s game.

In college football news, USC running back Stafon Johnson is recovering from his weightlifting accident that crushed his neck and larynx and will cost him the rest of the season.

Joe Haggerty has Part 1 of his Bruins season preview. This article focuses on the forwards. Dan Rowinski puts the spotlight on Marco Sturm, who is back after sitting out most of last season with a knee injury.

There are no problems in the Bruins locker room regarding union issues, says player rep Andrew Ference, responding to a report that indicated otherwise.

In the NBA, troubled guard Delonte West missed the Cavaliers’ first day of practice, with Cleveland general manager Danny Ferry saying the former Celtic is addressing a personal matter.

In college basketball news, Jim Calhoun reportedly is discussing a new contract with UConn.

Dan Guttenplan offers a Most Wanted List, led by Patriots running back Laurence Maroney.

HISTORIVIA: On Sept. 30, 1969, this player singled for the 55th pinch hit of his Red Sox career, a team record. Who is he?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “You play an entire season, spring training included, to get to this point. One night, you get to throw champagne around and have a little bit of fun. I think that everyone is entitled to that.” — Outfielder Jason Bay on last night’s Red Sox celebration

‘NET RESULTS: Here’s Junior Seau losing his battle with a bull.

HISTORIVIA ANSWER: Dalton Jones

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Josh Beckett blamed his bad back in part on “crappy beds” on the road. Maybe he should look into a bed like the one in this video. It had to be comfortable, considering how long John and Yoko were in it.

The Red Sox lost a rain-shortened game to the Blue Jays last night, 11-5, but the Rangers lost to the Angels, so the magic number is down to 1. Rob Bradford, in his Five Things We Learned, wonders if we should be worried about recent developments at Fenway and examines the injury situation in detail.

Patriots: Steve DeOssie has his report card, and he’s impressed with the New England defense. Chris Price has a feature on Fred Taylor, who is the go-to guy in the New England backfield. Price also introduces us to safety Brandon McGowan. The Pats made a move yesterday, signing defensive tackle Terdell Sands and releasing recently acquired Prescott Burgess.

Down in Miami, quarterback Chad Pennington was diagnosed with a dislocated shoulder and may miss the rest of the Dolphins’ season. WEEI’s Joe Zarbano has his weekly NFL power rankings.

The Celtics had their media day yesterday in Waltham, before heading to training camp in Newport, R.I. Doc Rivers hinted that he would be careful not to overwork his team, especially with players such as Kevin Garnett returning from injuries. Garnett, however, said he was going “full blast.”

The Bruins also had their media day yesterday at the TD Garden. David Krejci is expected to play in Thursday’s opener vs. Washington. The team announced that there will be a ceremony to honor the late Fred Cusick between periods of Saturday’s game.

In soccer news, Revolution captain Steve Ralston is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.

HISTORIVIA: On Sept. 29, 1968, the Red Sox ended the season with a 4-3 loss to the Yankees. Despite going 0-for-5, Carl Yastrzemski won the American League batting title with an average of .301. The Red Sox also had the league’s RBI leader. Who was it?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I just like to have fun. That’s the whole thing, you let loose because you go through so much throughout the season, so many ups and downs, the stress, and travel, to accomplish something, so when you do, it’s no holds barred.” — Jonathan Papelbon, talking about the Red Sox’ impending celebration for clinching a playoff spot

‘NET RESULTS: I wanted to post a video from the ESPN reality basketball show “Knight School” showing Dustin Richardson, who made his Red Sox debut last night. But when I searched for “Knight School” video, all I found was this.

HISTORIVIA ANSWER: Ken “Hawk” Harrelson had a league-leading 109 RBI in his only full season with the Red Sox.

SOOTHING SOUNDS: If you’re going to have a holiday lighting set-up this elaborate, you’d better start now.

The 2008 Lions were not the only team in the league’s history to scratch their claws trying to grasp a victory in any way, shape or form. In 1976, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made their franchise debut, hiring USC legend John McKay as coach and naming current University of South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier quarterback of the expansion squad.

In their inaugural 14-game season, the Buccaneers were consistently tormented by defeat after defeat. To the distress of fans, players and coaches, Tampa Bay’s disastrous rookie campaign would lead to an unlucky sophomore slump. Losing the first 12 games of the 1977 season, the Buccaneers finally were relieved from their misery when they won the final two contests to end the year with a 2-12 record.

Detroit fans have experience with their home team being declared one of the worst of all time. Though the Tigers reached the World Series in 2006 and are in a position to clinch the AL Central and make another postseason run this year, they toiled through a brutal 2003 season in which their 119 losses gave them the disreputable record of most ever by an American League club. Tigers lefty Mike Maroth reached the mark that no pitcher wishes to attain by compiling an MLB-record 21 defeats to post on the Wall of Shame.

While Yankees fans are partying after capturing the AL East title Sunday, their crosstown counterparts are reeling after the Mets finished up an utterly inauspicious opening season in their new Citi Field. However, as quickly as their season plummeted from the good to the bad to the ugly (think Luis Castillo), the 2009 Amazins’ are not nearly as depressing as Casey Stengel’s 1962 Mets.

An expansion team like the Buccaneers, the Mets managed to win only 40 games and lose a modern-day record 120 while dwelling 60 games out of first in the division standings. (The 1899 Cleveland Spiders lost a record 134 games).

What could be even worse than failing to reach double digits in wins in an 82-game season? The 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers will be the first to relate among the teams of losers after going 9-73. They began the season dropping their first 15 contests and ended 59 games behind the Eastern Division champion Celtics. The 76ers won consecutive games on only three occasions. Air Bud could have lent this team a hand (or paw).

The 1970s seemed to bring an array of worst teams. On the ice, the 1974-75 Washington Capitals joined the Buccaneers and the 76ers in the League of Extraordinary Losers by sliding to an 8-67-5 mark that still ranks among the worst ever in the NHL. An expansion club like the Mets and the Bucs, the Capitals had trouble motivating crowds to attend their frustrating games, managing to turn in only an .131 winning percentage and a revolting 1-39 record on the road.

Even though the Lions are finally able to exhale, they will forever be remembered as the first team to lose all 16 games in a regular season. Of course, they share the company of several other sports teams that are considered the worst in their sport, yet those are the few friends that no one wants to be on the same Top 10 list with.

Congratulations on the win, Detroit. Hopefully, it will not be another 19 games until the next.

Tom Brady misfired a few key passes, and his receivers dropped a few others that were on target, but the Patriots still managed to pull away for a 26-10 victory over the Falcons yesterday at Gillette Stadium. Chris Price has his 10 Things We Learned, leading off with the Patriots using a fourth-and-1 conversion at their 24-yard line in the third quarter as a character-building moment. Kirk Minihane says this is the Randy Moss game you should remember. Mike Petraglia talks to Matt Ryan about suffering the loss in his return to the Bay State. Check out the postgame interviews and more at our It Is What It Is blog.

The players will be all over the WEEI airwaves today. Listen to Tom Brady on the Dennis & Callahan show at 9 this morning, tune in for Ty Warren, the injured Vince Wilfork (hopefully), Sammy Morris and Chris Baker during Dale & Holley, and catch Bill Belichick during the Big Show this afternoon.

For the Week 3 wrap-up in fantasy football, check out our Reality Bites blog, where Greg Levy discusses trends he’s noticed in the early part of the season.

On to baseball. So much for the Red Sox clinching a postseason berth this weekend. Instead, the Yankees swept the Sox to clinch their first AL East title since 2006. Alex Speier has Five Things We Learned from yesterday’s game, leading with the Sox focusing on themselves and trying to look past the fact that the Yankees have owned them in the second half of the season. Speier also has an item about pitching coach John Farell having a clause in his contract that prevents him from leaving for a managing job next season.

In the upstate New York town of Baldwinsville, a Red Sox fan who teaches fourth grade is taking a heat for making a student turn his Yankees shirt inside-out. The kid’s father said the 9-year-old “was distraught” and that his First Amendment rights were violated. That’s going to be a fun class tomorrow morning. My guess is the kid will show up in a “2009 AL East Champions” shirt.

The Bruins wrapped up the preseason with their third game in three nights, a 4-2 loss to Columbus at the TD Garden on Saturday night. In his Five Things We Learned, Joe Haggerty says forward Blake Wheeler is looking to return to form after tiring late last season.

In case you missed Boston College’s 27-24 overtime win over Wake Forest on Saturday at Alumni Stadium, Dan Rowinski brings you Five Things We Learned about the resilient Eagles. In national news, Heisman Trophy favorite Tim Tebow is recovering at home after being knocked out of Florida’s win at Kentucky on Saturday. And the top three teams in the AP poll held their spots in a week when a number of highly ranked teams were upset.

HISTORIVIA: On Sept. 28, 1960, Ted Williams hit a home run in his final career at-bat. When he went out to left field for the start of the next inning, he was replaced by this player, who is better known for having been the only player to pinch hit for both Williams and Carl Yastrzemski. Who is this journeyman outfielder?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I don’t really give a crap about what they’ve done.” — Jason Varitek, after the Yankees celebrated the AL East title by sweeping the Red Sox in a three-game series over the weekend.

‘NET RESULTS: Here a soccer goalie in Sweden with an interesting style of cheating. He lifts up the goal posts and moves them in a few inches. Not surprisingly, he got caught.

HISTORIVIA ANSWER: Carroll Hardy

SOOTHING SOUNDS: In honor of U2’s appearance at Gillette Stadium last week, here’s “With or Without You.”

After a week filled with trash-talking, expensive fines and suspensions, there are a few professional athletes and coaches who could use a day such as this to reflect on their less-than-honorable behavior.

I’m sure Chad Ochocinco has no regrets about performing his rendition of the Lambeau Leap in front of a sold-out crowd of Packers fans last Sunday. To the aggravation of the Cheeseheads, the Bengals wide receiver backed up his pregame trash talk when he jumped into a small crowd of Bengals fanatics after scoring a touchdown in Cincinnati’s 31-24 win. However, those in Green Bay likely feel No. 85 has some atoning to do, especially after it was revealed that Johnson purchased tickets for the Bengals backers so that he would have a safe landing in the enemy’s home stadium.

While icing his bruised quadriceps, Red Sox ace Jon Lester probably wouldn’t mind hearing some contrition from Yankees outfielder Melky Cabrera. On Friday night, the Melk Man hit a line drive directly into the right knee of the hard-throwing lefty.

Earlier in the week, longtime Braves manager Bobby Cox announced that he will retire after the 2010 season. There aren’t too many umpires who have fond memories of the hot-headed Cox stored away in their heads.

Though he ranks fourth on the all-time win list for managers with 2,409 victories in 24 seasons with the Braves and four with the Blue Jays, Cox also owns the record for career ejections with 150, including seven this year. Maybe with some self-reflection, Cox will sit back and count to 10 the next time he has the urge to storm out of the dugout screaming his head off.

Milton Bradley surely will want to seek a reconciliation with the Cubs after he demonstrated several episodes of unruly conduct that led to an early vacation in the form of a season-ending suspension. Though he offered his sincere apologies, Bradley will be watching the remainder of the season from the comfort of his home after the Cubs decided to cut ties with him during his first year with the club.

In the football spectrum, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and his wife, Gisele Bundchen, found a $1 million lawsuit on their doorstep after two photographers sued the couple Tuesday. Citing that security guards fired shots at them during Brady’s post-wedding party in early April, the photographers claimed that they suffered both physical and mental harm as a result. That’s quite a hefty medical bill for the three-time Super Bowl winner to cover.

Brady’s dynamic passing partner Randy Moss had an exchange of not-so-pleasant words with Jets linebacker Bart Scott. Instead of sharing the sportsmanlike attitude after the Jets’ victory over the Patriots on Sunday, Scott decided to be a sore winner by telling Moss to “man up” the next time the AFC East rivals oppose each other.

Giants defensive end Justin Tuck expressed some strong sentiments about the Cowboys after being injured when he was tripped by Dallas lineman Flozell Adams in New York’s 33-31 victory Sunday night during the opening of the new Cowboys Stadium. The former Notre Dame player’s initial reaction was to say that the hit makes him “hate the Cowboys a little bit more.” Maybe the holiday will inspire him — and other athletes — to forgive and forget. And atone. It’s not too late.

By all accounts, it was a good game that the Mercury could have won, but the tenaciousness of the Sparks defense kept Los Angeles in the game, forcing a deciding Game 3. Of course, it’s a West Coast game, so it started late — perhaps too late. But that’s OK, because the early game was a come-from-behind victory the Indiana Fever pulled out over the Detroit Shock to tie that series up as well. You should check out the recap.

It’s interesting to watch other forms of major televised sports. Even though I don’t follow the WNBA with any regularity, the few times I’ve seen the women play, the games have been good. OK, so they don’t dunk, and because of that many of the fast-breaks seem a bit anticlimactic. But no one can cast doubt on the intensity with which they play.

It’s a bit unfortunate that one of the only times the WNBA got some traction in the news was for a brawl that broke out during a game. You probably remember it, as it involved LA’s Candace Parker, arguably the face of the WNBA.

That incident received a lot of play on various sports news outlets. Now, the league’s conference finals are going on and there doesn’t appear to be much interest. It’s disappointing that the positive achievements of these female athletes are less noteworthy because they come at a time when most sports fans are concerned with baseball pennant races and NFL football.

Please, don’t confuse this — there is nothing wrong with reporting on the sports that people want to see and hear about. We’re all concerned and interested to see how the Patriots will defend Tony Gonzalez. It doesn’t mean there isn’t space to hear more about Lisa Leslie’s final season and her push to capture one more title, right?

Perhaps there is a local upside to all of this. With Shelden Williams being signed by the Celtics, we may see more of Candace Parker in the city, which can’t be a bad thing.

Let’s just hope the next time a female sporting event makes a headline, it’s for athletic ability and sportsmanship. Like Western Oregon and Central Washington.

The Red Sox head into New York on a high note after beating the Royals, 10-3. Rob Bradford has his Five Things We Learned, leading off with Clay Buchholz providing the team some peace of mind after a solid performance last night.

Alex Speier has David Ortiz talking about heading back to New York, where on his last visit he held a press conference to discuss steroid allegations in the midst of a nightmarish sweep at the hands of the Yankees.

Rob Bradford has an interesting piece about Jason Bay’s base-stealing prowess. Lou Merloni breaks down the Red Sox-Yankees head-to-head matchups and makes a prediction about the ALCS.

The Boston Herald’s Sean McAdam reports that the Sox plan to start Jon Lester in Game 1 of the ALDS, followed by Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz.

Following up on a bizarre story, an incarcerated Red Sox fan in Iowa returned to prison after being given a pass so he could see the Sox play the Royals Wednesday night in Kansas City.

On to football: Chris Price has Joey Galloway comparing Tom Brady to other quarterbacks he’s played with during his long NFL career. Price also reports on Wes Welker returning to practice.

Dan Guttenplan comes up with the answers in his Week 3 NFL picks.

Over at Sports Illustrated, Michael Rosenberg wonders what happens if Tom Brady never returns to form.

On the ice, Patrice Bergeron lifted the Bruins to a 2-1 shootout win over the Canadiens. From totalprosports.com, here’s some interesting video from Sunday night’s game in Quebec. Bruins youngster Jeffrey Lovecchio pushes a Canadiens player into the boards and the glass becomes dislodged, landing right in the nose of a woman in the front row.

Wayne Gretzky resigned as coach of the Phoenix Coyotes, replaced by Dave Tippett. And Canadiens defenseman Patrice Brisebois tearfully announced his retirement after 18 NHL seasons, and then said he plans to become a driver in NASCAR’s Canadian Tire Series.

Jessica Camerato has a nice piece on new Celtic Shelden Williams and his wife, WNBA star Candace Parker.

Kirk Minihane presents his list of the best coaches in the history of Boston pro sports. Ally Mielnicki discusses recent stadium debuts that have not gone so well.

HISTORIVIA: On Sept. 25, 1965, Satchel Paige, reportedly 59 years old, came back for one last game after a 12-year hiatus from the majors. Pitching for owner Charles O. Finley’s Kansas City Athletics, Paige pitched the first three innings against the Red Sox and gave up just one hit. Which player got that hit?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I think you guys are spoiled up here, because Tom is different than probably 99 percent of the guys I’ve played with.” — Patriots receiver Joey Galloway, talking about quarterback Tom Brady

‘NET RESULTS: Our “historivia” question focuses on the great Satchel Paige. Here’s Paige in 1971 making an appearance on the game show “What’s My Line?” and discussing his age.

And while we’re on “What’s My Line?” here’s Ted Williams’ appearance in 1954.

HISTORIVIA ANSWER: Carl Yastrzemski hit a first-inning double in the Sox’ 5-2 victory.

SOOTHING SOUNDS: In honor of Jacoby Ellsbury getting stolen base No. 66 last night, here’s Nat King Cole performing the classic “Route 66.” Come on, just click play. We’re trying to learn you something about music history here.

OK, fine. Here’s the Rolling Stones’ version.

Enjoy your weekend. See you Monday, after the Patriots get everyone back on the bandwagon.

Thursday’s Morning Mashup

Wednesday’s Morning Mashup

On Sunday, Jerry Jones unveiled his box-office masterpiece of the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium, replacing the old Texas Stadium that was home for so many years to greats such as Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, Tony Dorsett and more. Yet, he did not receive what he had bargained for.

Despite the flashy lights, high-definition television screens, retractable roof and luxury suites, the Cowboys’ NFC East rivals spoiled the inauguration and left Jones and coach Wade Phillips speechless when Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes launched the game-winning, 37-yard field goal straight through the posts to give the Giants a 33-31 victory.

Dallas quarterback Tony Romo threw three interceptions — all resulting in Giants touchdowns — in the stadium debut. The Cowboys quarterback completed 13-of-29 passes for 127 yards. One pick, in particular, was quite amusing, as Romo attempted to complete a pass to tight end Jason Witten that ended up in the hands of Kenny Phillips after bouncing off Witten’s shoe. One can only wonder whether somewhere, Jessica Simpson was in a skybox engaged in a victory dance.

Yes, Jones’ much-anticipated grand opening ended in a dud, but he should carries no long-term worries — yet, that is.

The Yankees and Mets celebrated the opening of their new home turfs this past April, bidding farewell to the old Yankee Stadium and the middle-of-nowhere Shea Stadium, respectively.

As with every New York event, the induction of both ballparks, the “new” Yankee Stadium and Citi Field, received an array of lights-camera-action coverage, including the momentous — and at times controversial — buildup. (There was that small incident where one of the construction workers, who was an avid Boston Red Sox fan, buried a David Ortiz jersey in the cement sealing in the restaurant section of the stadium. The jersey was dug up and removed days later, though the hole remains as something of a new Yankee Stadium monument.)

Yet, to New York fans’ dismay, the Yankees’ and the Mets’ home openers were overshadowed by losses. In fact, most fans found themselves questioning several aspects and features of the stadiums instead of focusing on their home team.

What is going on with that short porch in right field in Yankee Stadium that has turned Johnny Damon into a home run basher? Why are there more shrines and engravings dedicated to the Brooklyn Dodgers and Ebbets Field than the Mets? How much do these box seats actually cost, Mr. Steinbrenner? Wait, why is Dwight Gooden getting reprimanded for carving his autograph in Citi’s bathroom?

Dimensions and artistic differences aside, on April 16 the Yankees suffered a humiliating 10-2 opening defeat to the Indians in their $1.5 billion home investment. CC Sabathia (and his freshly inked $161 million contract) was tagged and proved unable to escape the sixth frame.

Earlier that week, on April 13, the Mets had flopped in their $800 million home, inaugurating the facility with a 6-5 loss to the San Diego Padres. From the moment Jody Gerut lead off the game with a home run off Mets starter Mike Pelfrey, fans have been convinced that the new park is doomed to failure, especially with the Mets owning a better record than only the miserable Washington Nationals in the NL East.

Back to football: Indianapolis Colts fans could not have been more ecstatic last year when the team kicked off the season in the new Lucas Oil Stadium on Sept. 7 against the Chicago Bears. Determined to avenge their Super Bowl defeat, however, the Bears rained on Peyton Manning and the stadium’s parade, winning 29-13. Though Manning manage to pass for 257 yards with one touchdown, the Bears limited the Indy rushing game to 53 yards.

While the Colts finished the season with a reputable 12-4 record, they were ousted in the first round of the playoffs by the Chargers. The Yankees currently are preparing for another postseason run, owning the best record in baseball while their subway counterparts dwell in fourth in the NL East.

What is now in store for the Cowboys? Only the future can tell.

And the award for Best New Home Stadium Opener goes to … Taylor Swift?

The Red Sox knocked off the Royals, 9-2, last night in Kansas City. Josh Beckett gave up 12 hits, but the large majority of them weren’t hit hard, which bodes well for Beckett’s prospects heading into the postseason, explains Alex Speier in his Five Things We Learned column. If you saw the game, that Sox lineup may become a familiar one, says Rob Bradford.

The other big news in Red Sox Nation yesterday? NESN hired another beauty queen to deliver us details about the hometown team. Newton native Jade McCarthy joins the station in January.

Nationally, Braves manager Bobby Cox announced that he will retire after the 2010 season. That sound you heard was the party in the umpires’ locker room. And suspended Cubs outfielder Milton Bradley apologized for being Milton Bradley.

On to football. Chris Price says Tom Brady isn’t stupid, and he’ll figure out a way to adjust to the problems in Foxboro. Price also talks to Sam Aiken about the Patriots’ special teams troubles. In case you missed it yesterday, Kerry Byrne of Cold, Hard Football Facts breaks down the Patriots’ mistake in relying too much on Tom Brady while ignoring the run game. Mike Petraglia checks in with a piece on Sunday’s opponent, the Falcons, led by former Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan.

Speaking of BC, Dan Rowinski previews the Eagles’ game Saturday against Riley Skinner and Wake Forest.

In basketball news, Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov is buying the New Jersey Nets, making him the first individual from outside North America to own an NBA team.

Yesterday in Washington, a documentary about Len Bias debuted, six weeks before a scheduled Nov. 3 showing on ESPN. “Without Bias” details the life and death of the University of Maryland star who died of a cocaine overdose two days after being drafted second overall by the Celtics in 1986. Bias’ mother, Lonise, attended the screening.

HISTORIVIA: On Sept. 24, 1998, this Red Sox reliever set a major league record by converting his 42nd consecutive save without a blown opportunity, on a night when the Sox clinched a wild card berth. Who is he?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “We’re still feeling each other out. Obviously, you can’t expect him to go out there and he and I to be like me and Jason for three years now.” — Josh Beckett, on pitching to Victor Martinez instead of Jason Varitek

‘NET RESULTS:

A day late on this, but here’s Jennifer Garner coming through (with one gaffe) by reciting the Red Sox’ starting lineup on “The Jay Leno Show.”

The host was far more forgiving with Garner than “Jeopardy” host Alex Trebek was with Cliff Clavin in this classic “Cheers” clip. “Who are three people who have never been in my kitchen?”

HISTORIVIA ANSWER: Tom Gordon, who finished the season with a Red Sox-record 46 saves and continued his streak into the next season, finishing at 54 consecutive saves without a blown opportunity.

SOOTHING SOUNDS: With the Yankees winning in Anaheim yesterday, the Red Sox can forget those hopes of a stirring comeback to win the AL East, and instead start planning on playing the Angels. So, here’s “Send Me An Angel,” with a freaky video from the Australian new wave band Real Life.

Also see: Wednesday’s Morning Mashup

The Red Sox went down with a whimper against Zack Greinke in a 5-1 loss to the Royals. In his “Five Things We Learned,” WEEI’s Alex Speier says the bright spot last night might have been the ability of Michael Bowden to pitch well in back-to-back games, an accomplishment that may lead to a postseason roster spot. Meanwhile, the Yankees beat the Angels to clinch a playoff spot and move six games ahead of the Sox.

Former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, a WEEI blogger, finally made his decision about his candidacy for the open U.S. Senate seat: He’s out.

And another former Red Sox pitcher just can’t let it go: Roger Clemens filed an appeal of his dismissed defamation suit against Brian McNamee in Houston.

Fans are still recovering from the Patriots’ 16-9 loss to the Jets on Sunday, and Chris Price gives them a chance to vent in his inaugural Football Mailbag. The Patriots made a move yesterday, acquiring linebacker Prescott Burgess from the Ravens, a team they play a week from Sunday.

If you missed it yesterday, Steve DeOssie handed out low grades to the Pats for their Week 2 debacle, and Joe Zarbano broke down the league’s contenders and pretenders in his NFL Power Rankings.

Tom Brady was in the news for another apparent communication problem. This time, two photographers are suing him and his supermodel wife, Gisele Bundchen, for $1 million. The photographers claim they were shot at by bodyguards during Brady and Bundchen’s post-wedding party in Costa Rica in April, and they accuse the bride and groom of hiring improperly trained security guards.

In other NFL news, former New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress started his two-year prison sentence for violating New York’s gun laws.

The Bruins are taking a look at some promising youngsters as they continued their preseason last night with a  6-5 shootout loss to the Blue Jacket in Columbus, Ohio. One such youngster is 22-year-old Czech center Vladimir Sobotka. Joe Haggerty tells Sobotka’s story in the Big Bad Blog.

Right here on LEEINKS, you can learn more about the best father-son combinations in Major League Baseball history. Wondering who the top three are? Here’s a hint: Of the three, two of the sons are still playing, and one wishes he was.

HISTORIVIA: On Sept. 23, 1970, groundbreaking ceremonies were held in Foxboro for Schaefer Stadium, which would serve as the new home of the Patriots starting in 1971. Where did the Patriots play their homes games in 1970? (Answer below.)

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I have a very difficult time believing there is anybody better in the major leagues, that’s as good a pitcher as Zack Greinke is in the year 2009.” — Royals manager Trey Hillman last night, after Greinke shut down the Red Sox in a 5-1 Kansas City win

‘NET RESULTS: If you haven’t yet seen this video of amazing basketball shots, take a look. It’s the third in a series by a bunch of college kids in Texas going by the name Dude Perfect.

And here’s their latest entry: “The World’s Longest Basketball Shot”:

HISTORIVIA ANSWER: Harvard Stadium, which served as the team’s third home stadium in three years, following Fenway Park (1963-68) and Boston College’s Alumni Stadium (1969).

SOOTHING SOUNDS: After Sunday’s forgettable performance, the best advice for the Patriots this week might be: Don’t Look Back.

In the midst of a week that contained bickering and whining from a Los Angeles Angels squad over a called ball four, a threat stemming from the potty-mouth of Serena Williams after a questionable foot foul, and an exchange of profanities between tennis star Roger Federer and the chair umpire in the U.S. Open final, a Philadelphia Phillies season ticket-holder named Steve Monforto, who hails from Mt. Laurel, N.J., showed the sports world that in the end, it’s just a game and the love is what counts.

On Tuesday night, Monforto, 32, caught his first foul ball ever when the Phillies took on the Washington Nationals at home. Filled with excitement and euphoria, Monforto high-fived and kindly handed over the ball hit by outfielder Jayson Werth to his 3-year-old daughter, Emily, while he traded fist bumps and received congratulations from the fans around him.

Almost instantly — to the apparent shock of Monforto — Emily tossed the ball off the rail into the stands below. But in that moment, all Monforto could do was affectionately lock his daughter in a warm and heartening embrace in a stirring moment that took everyone’s mind off the game.

In baseball, there have been numerous father-son duos who have been lucky to live the American dream together. Former MLB players have been fortunate to watch as their sons have carried the family tradition living in their father’s footsteps.

Red Sox manager Terry Francona grew up watching his dad Tito play first base and the outfield for several teams, including the Phillies, whom he would one day manage. In 15 seasons, Tito compiled a career .272 average while his son went on to win two World Series as manager with the Sox.

Former Chicago Cub and New York Met outfielder Moises Alou received the rare opportunity to play for his father Felipe during his time with the Montreal Expos and the San Francisco Giants.

Sandy Alomar was able to witness two of his sons go on to exhibit highly successful big-league careers. Sandy, a switch-hitter, raised his sons Roberto (who is considered one of the best second baseman in history) and Sandy Jr. (an All-Star catcher) while still managing in the big leagues following a 15-year playing career.

In present day, St. Louis pitching coach Dave Duncan was able to coach his son Chris while on the Cardinals and scan the New York box score to see how his other son Shelley was doing with the Yankees. (Chris, of course, was acquired by the Red Sox in exchange for Julio Lugo … and then subsequently released after a short stint with the PawSox.)

Dave LaRoche, famous for his “La Lob” pitch, had no trouble finding a seat at PNC Park to watch his sons Adam at first and Andy at third donning Pirates jerseys. Adam eventually spent a short stint with the Red Sox before being dealt  to the Atlanta Braves.

Bob Boone could not have been more proud when his son Aaron hit the game-winning home run off knuckleballer Tim Wakefield in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS to launch the Yankees into the World Series. Bret, a former Seattle Mariner, got to call his brother’s monster hit from the Fox broadcast booth. The Boones represent the first three-generation family to all make it to the All-Star Game, after Grandpa Ray first was selected in 1954 while with the Tigers.

Although there are many more famous father-son combos to enter the league — such as Gary Matthews and Gary Jr., Gus, Buddy and Dave Bell, and Yogi and Dale Berra — here are three of the most successful duos to take the field:

Bobby Bonds and Barry Bonds

Though Barry owns the title of “Home Run King” after launching 73 long balls into the stands in 2001 and ending his career (at least temporarily) with a record 762, Bobby turned in a successful career, becoming the first player ever with 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in five seasons. Barry would ultimately match his father’s mark. Both Bonds men played a large portion of their careers with the San Francisco Giants. Together, the two of them have combined to hit a total of 1,094 home runs, steal 975 bases, and drive in 3,020 runs.

While Bobby received three All-Star selections and three Gold Glove awards in right field, Barry managed to win seven Most Valuable Player awards while being named an All-Star 14 times and winning eight Gold Gloves.

Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr.

The first father-son tandem to play on the same team — with the Mariners in 1990 — the Griffeys each enjoyed several memorable seasons playing with the Cincinnati Reds and Seattle. Though his son has yet to win a championship ring, Griffey Sr. won two World Series, in 1975 and 1976 while on the Reds. After finishing his career with a .286 average and 206 home runs, Griffey Sr. watched his son surpass his numbers despite suffering through numerous injury-plagued seasons. Griffey Jr., currently in his second stint with the Mariners, earned an MVP Award in 1997. Only the sixth player in history to reach the 600 homer plateau, Griffey Jr. took career marks of a .285 batting average  with 627 home runs and 1,822 RBI into Tuesday’s action.

Cecil and Prince Fielder

Who would have ever guessed that Prince was a vegetarian? Cecil and Prince are the only father-son duo to both hit at least 50 home runs in a single season. Like the other two combos above, Cecil has not had quite the success his son has enjoyed during his time in the majors. Finishing his career posting a .255 average with 306 home runs, Cecil attempted to have an influence when negotiating Prince’s contract with the Brewers, demanding that he receive some of the earnings since he helped Prince make it to MLB. Hostility between the two followed, and the Fielders have not been on speaking terms the past few years.

Prince holds a .283 average since 2005 and has launched 154 home runs in that span. He added an All-Star Game Home Run Derby title to his resume in 2009.

Williams had not been playing her best tennis, and the ensuing fit she pitched is on par with some of the best athlete meltdowns.

The best part is when she yells out, “Are you serious?!” It’s the perfect homage to another well-known outburst by a tennis player.

The rest of this entry could be filled with John McEnroe outbursts — please believe the idea was debated. However, that would be unfair to other athletes, coaches and personalities who have lost their cool in the heat of the moment. Take, for example, Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy.

At least we are now clear on whether or not Gundy is a man.

When your meltdown involves defending your players, that’s OK, but the blowups are much more memorable when your team has just lost a game it should have won.

The beauty of that meltdown is the person saying, “Thanks coach.” How do you continue with a press conference after that? More importantly, what more could you possibly want in a sound bite? Maybe this:

To be fair, not all of the best meltdowns happen in sports. Celebrities and personalities have the ability to command the meltdown spotlight, such as Ellen DeGeneres over a puppy.

Wow, so that was a bit emotional. Let’s lighten the mood.

As fans — of sports stars or celebrities — we often hold those we follow to a higher standard of excellence. We yearn to get closer to them, to see them as regular people. However, the meltdown is what we really look for. It shows, if ever so briefly, a crack in the made-for-TV image that we are fed on a daily basis. It lets us know that these people are, in fact, human and, like the rest of us, have bad days.

Now, with the christening of the 2009 Monday Night Football season beginning tonight when the New England Patriots take on the Buffalo Bills at 7 p.m. at Gillette Stadium, T.O. will most likely make his presence known in his Bills debut. Yet, contrary to Owens’ egoism, T.O. will not be the only player on the field that the cameras will be focused on.

No, this is not VH1. “The T.O. Show” does not air on prime-time tonight. (At least, not the way it is portrayed on reality television with T.O. as a low-key, unobtrusive Southern boy misunderstood in the world.)

Aside from quarterback Tom Brady’s much anticipated return and T.O’s hyped-up antics, the Bills open the season with only their third Monday night game on Kickoff Weekend. In their 50th season as a professional football franchise, the Bills have previously hosted the opening Monday night festivities twice before owning a 1-1 record in the contests.

Buffalo’s first ever Monday night kickoff resulted in a close 21-20 victory against Oakland Raiders on Sept. 16 1974. In an exciting thriller, the Bills managed to barrel through Oakland’s defense and stun John Madden’s club in the final two minutes of regulation thanks in part to wide receiver Ahmad Rashad’s two touchdown catches from quarterback Joe Ferguson.

In their second Monday night opener on Sept. 13, 1976 against the Miami Dolphins, the Bills had no choice but to sparingly play running back Hall of Famer O.J. Simpson (who held out all of preseason after demanding a trade to a west coast) in the match-up. Missing Simpson’s rushing potency, the Bills dropped the game 30-21 in front of a packed home crowd of 77,683 at Rich Stadium. Simpson was limited to 5 carries collecting only 28 yards with his longest running merely totaling an 8-yard gain.

During the contest, Bills kicker John Leypoldt missed all three of his field goal attempts- the only attempts he would be given that season since he was released later on- which inevitably made the difference in the game. Buffalo finished the disappointing year with a 2-12 record.

Fast forward to tonight and the Bills return to the Monday night opening limelight determined to turn around their struggles in the past. Since defeating the Patriots on Kickoff Weekend 2003, a victory in which the Bills absolutely crushed New England’s defense (to the joy of former safety Lawyer Milloy) 31-0. Since then, however, the Bills have failed to put a tally in the win column against their AFC East rivals losing 11 straight contests against the Patriots.

The last time the Bills countered the Patriots on Opening Weekend occurred in 2006 when Buffalo suffered a 19-17 loss. Quarterback J.P. Losman completed 15-for-23 passes throwing for 164 yards, yet could not match Brady’s two touchdown performance despite playing without wide receiver Deion Branch, who later was traded to the Seattle Seahawks.

The Bills have seen their share of upsetting Kickoff Weekends in the past. On September 9, 2007 against the Denver Broncos, tight end Kevin Everett suffered a life-threatening, season-ending injury. On a kickoff, Everett attempted to tackle Dominick Hixon, but injured his neck in the process that resulted him being transported off the field with his life in question as to whether he was ever be able to walk. Doctors concluded Everett was hit with a cervical spine injury that ended his football career. Everett, however, did regain movement and despite the initial prognosis has been able to walk again.

Shaken by the incident, the Bill ultimately lost the game 15-14 holding Everett close to their hearts and in their prayers.

Now, with the addition of the boisterous T.O., a no-huddle offense engineered by quarterback Trent Edwards, and Head Coach Dick Jaurons at the realm, the Bills aim to end their win-less Patriot drought and prove they can compete within the talented AFC East. Both teams will wear their traditional throwback jerseys to commemorate the 50th year celebration in the contest tonight.

You know for sure T.O. will have his personal camera ready to go.

Although he did successfully help the Looney Tunes defeat a group of aliens in a marquee match-up that would determine the freedom of the entertaining cartoonists, the Space Jam competition (and that catchy beat) was not the reason for Jordan’s decision to come out of retirement (and the minors) to rejoin the Bulls in the Windy City.

Maybe it was the .202 batting average in which he struck out a total of 114 times in 436 at-bats. Maybe it was the 11 errors in 127 games, where he turned singles into doubles and outs into singles. Or perhaps it was those uncomfortable tight pants, high socks, and gray button-up shirt instead of the loose shorts, Air Jordan’s, and red #23 jersey that ultimately convinced Jordan to hang up his helmet, stow away the batting gloves and pick up the basketball once again.

Whatever the actual reason, Michael Jordan decided to end his dreams of becoming a star Major League Baseball player and resumed his title as the greatest basketball star in NBA history.

Following the 1992-1993 season, in which the Bulls won the Championship for the third consecutive year, Michael Jordan announced his retirement from the NBA, saying he wished to pursue a career in baseball. When Jordan’s father tragically was murdered in July 1993, Michael felt in tribute to his name he would sign with the Chicago White Sox Double A Affliate Birmingham Barons, since his father always envisioned him growing up to one day play on the baseball diamond.

Jordan played under now Red Sox manager Terry Francona that year. “That was the best experience I could have ever had,” Francona said. “I couldn’t believe how he handled things. He was put in some horrendous situations, unfair situations and he always handled it with grace. It amazed me how he did that.”

Baseball and Michael Jordan did not mix though. Following his lone season in the minors, Jordan opted to return to the sport he excelled in by re-signing with the Bulls and leading them to another three Championships.

Now, inducted into basketball immortality alongside former Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, all-time assist leader John Stockton, Spur great David Robinson, and Rutgers women’s coach C. Vivian Stringer, Jordan will be crowned as the greatest player to ever set foot on a court.

His number 23 will be hailed the same way Wayne Gretzky’s 99 is worshipped in the NHL, and George “The Babe” Ruth’s 3 is revered by baseball fans everywhere.

Though Jordan may have been the most prominent name to switch professional sports during one’s career, there are several other athletes who gave up playing one game to shine in another — even without counting Tony Romo’s attempt to qualify for the PGA Tour or Shaquille O’Neal’s “Shaq vs…”

Here is a list of a few recent sports figures who grew tired of playing one sport and chose to give another a try. Not all of them may ring a bell at first glance, but they still carried with them a never-give-up attitude that enabled them to cross sports.

Deion Sanders

“Neon Deion” managed to not only compile a successful football career as a nine-time Pro Bowler and two-time Super Bowl Champion, but also carried an impressive resume in his nine years as an outfielder in the MLB. Drafted 5th overall by the Atlanta Falcons in 1989, Sanders did not allow the overlapping seasons to hinder his opportunity to become a professional two-sport athlete. In 1989, Sanders remarkably hit a home run with the New York Yankees and scored a touchdown for the Falcons later that day.

Sanders found himself in quite a few scuffs over the years in the MLB. In 1990, Carlton Fisk, then with the Chicago White Sox,  became aggravated after Sanders drew a dollar sign in the dirt with his bat. Fisk, who held great reverence for the game, called Sanders out, which led to a shouting match in the middle of the game. A few years later, during a postseason run with the Braves,  Sanders poured a buckett of ice over the head of announcer Tim McCarver after McCarver questioned Sanders’ loyalty to both his MLB and NFL squad.

Even so, the talent and ability were apparent. Making a World Series appearance with the Atlanta Braves in 1992, Sanders became the only player in history to reach both the Super Bowl and the World Series. Though football was his primary sport, he finished his baseball career in 2001 with a .263 batting average, 558 hits, and 186 stolen bases. After retiring in 2006 from the NFL, Sanders left behind a legacy with 52 interceptions, returning a record 19 of them for touchdowns.

Known for many of his famous quotes, Sanders had a memorable conversation with Sports Illustrated about a dual-sport track in 1989: “I’ve always said I love football and that baseball is my girlfriend,” he told the magazine. “Well, that girlfriend is really getting friendly now.”

Greg Paulus

In his four years as point guard of the Duke Blue Devils, Greg Paulus enjoyed a successful run engineering the team’s offense under the brilliant coaching of Mike Krzyzewski. Paulus helped lead Duke to a spot in the Elite Eight his freshman season alongside three-point master J.J. Reddick, with Paulus compiling 187 assists to rank third on the all-time freshman list. However, in his senior season this past year, Paulus’ inconsistency forced him to only start five games while he averaged only 16 minutes of play.

Instead of entering the NBA draft with a slim chance of being selected, Paulus decided to enroll at Syracuse University and participate in the Orange football program instead of continuing his hoop career. Paulus lost his NCAA football debut to Minnesota 23-20, throwing for 167 yards while completing 19-of-31 passes with one touchdown and one interception.

Drew Henson

Henson began his professional career after getting drafted by the New York Yankees in 1998. In college at the University of Michigan, Henson served as Tom Brady’s back-up before taking over at the helm his junior year. After a long journey in the minors, Henson finally made his major-league debut with the Yankees in 2002, yet was given only one at-bat (a strikeout) in three games. (He actually once was acquired by the Yankees in a deal that sent former Red Sox outfielder Wily Mo Pena to the Cincinnati Reds.) The following season, Henson appeared in five games with New York, going 1-for-8 in his brief call-up with the club.

After the season, Henson decided to return to his college sport by offering his services to the Dallas Cowboys to play under Bill Parcells. Like his baseball career, however, Henson was limited. Starting in the Thanksgiving Day game in 2004, Henson had a poor showing, completing only four passes in 12 attempts for 31 yards. Henson went on to be listed as the third quarterback behind Drew Bledsoe and Romo. He was later assigned to play in NFL Europe in 2006 before he secured a one-year deal with the Minnesota Vikings in 2007, but was cut prior to the season opener.

One year later, Henson would receive another shot when he inked a contract with the Detroit Lions. Though he only played one game, Henson was cut by the Lions this past April and is still hunting for a job as a free agent.

Jeff Samardzija

After agreeing to play baseball for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Jeff Samardzija was best know for his impact during Saturday football games while catching long passes from quarterback Brady Quinn. Although he served as a reserve in his first two seasons, Samardzija set several team-records his junior and senior years, including receiving yardage (2,593) and touchdown receptions. After his senior season in 2006, Samardzija was named one of the top three finalists for the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver. Though he was scouted by many NFL teams, Samardzija backed away from football when he signed a five-year, $10 million deal with the Chicago Cubs.

On July 25, 2008, Samardzija made his MLB debut, striking out the first Florida Marlins batter he faced. Two days later he recorded his first career save. Though his fastball is clocked consistently between the 96-99 mph range, Samardzija was optioned back to the minors prior to the 2009 season. This past year, in 17 games (1 start) Samardzija is 1-2 with a 7.81 ERA as he continues to develop into a major league pitcher.

Will he one day resume his football duties, too? Only time will tell.

Bo Jackson

Arguably the greatest natural two-sport athlete in history, Jackson was the 1985 Heisman Trophy winner at Auburn University. Anchoring the team at running back, Jackson currently ranks fourth all-time in the SEC Conference with 4,303 total yards. That same year, Jackson batted .401 with 17 home runs and 43 RBIs for Auburn’s baseball team. (In fact, Jackson was teammates with former Chicago White Sox designated hitter Frank Thomas in both Auburn sports.) During his already impressive collegiate career, Jackson qualified in track & field in the 100 meter dash which made him eligible to join the U.S. Olympic team, but that undertaking did not provide the financial incentives Jackson sought in football or baseball

In 1986, Jackson was selected as the first overall pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL Draft. Yet Jackson decided to join the Kansas City Royals (for whom he was a fourth-round pick), where he first began his MLB career. In 1989, he was voted to the All-Star game and received the honor of being named MVP of the game. Most known for his frustration when he had a poor at-bat, Jackson would snap the wooden bat over his knees or his helmets breaking it into two.

Though he did not sign with the Buccaneers, Jackson re-entered the draft in 1987 as he was selected in the seventh round by the Los Angeles Raiders. In his four seasons with the franchise, Jackson rushed for a total of 2.782 yards and 16 touchdowns. He also holds the Monday Night Football record for most rushing yards in a single game with 221 when he ran over the Seattle Seahawks (quite literally, in the case of a memorable bulldozing of linebacker Brian Bosworth) in 1987 with two rushing and one receiving touchdown.

An injury during his NFL career cost Jackson the 1992 MLB season. Now with the Chicago White Sox, Jackson would go on to play one more season with the team in 1993 where he was awarded the AL Comeback Player of the Year. In 1994, Jackson joined the Los Angeles Angels for his final season in MLB, where he finished his career with a .250 batting average, 141 home runs, and 415 RBIs.

Perhaps more than any other modern athlete, Bo knew dominance in two sports…and then some:

Here are some highlights of the show:

To listen to the first segment click here

To hear the second segment click here

If you have a flight and a stop in Memphis, are you comfortable?

I’m good. I have a few critics in Memphis. I have them everywhere it seems to be, but I have a ton of friends. I was there nine years, so I got a lot of love there for people and I think all in all it’s pretty good.

How about here? We all read Dan Shaughnessy’s column in yesterday’s Globe…

(Laughs) What did he write? Did he say I have some critics?

Do you have people like Dan Shaughnessy who don’t think you’re welcome in Amherst?

No, my daughter just graduated from Amherst. I’ve been back there. Kelloggs, their new head coach, played there for me. From professional and different people that are there, I had a great relationship with then. Even now, we’re doing a function a the UMass club tonight and there’s going to be all my friends and supporters. In the profession I’m in, you’re going to have critics, and you’re going to have family, friends, and supporters. I mean I deal more with the good stuff, I don’t get mad when someone’s a critic and they write mean and nasty stuff. They have an opinion. If they like me, don’t like me, it’s how it is.

This book is a chance to give back and help. I’m listening to you guys coming in and the 9/11 stuff struck me before going into New York because we signed yesterday in New York and did some interviews and stuff, but we went to the sight and it was amazing. One: how big it is. Two: what they’re trying to do in some parts.

I’m wondering, John, has your resolve about this country changed in 8 years? Has your outlook and rage gone away?

It’s still raw with me. I still remember the anger first that you wanted to fight and then the second thing was the emotion of compassion of the children, of wives, and of the families.

Based on how many things you have to do to get ready for this upcoming basketball season, what would incent you to sit down and write a book?

A lot of the money is going back to the charity Calipari Family Foundation for Children. This book has been in the works for 2 1/2 years. I was fired in New Jersey by the Nets and I’m going to tell you, it knocked me on my knees. It was tough for me to get out from under the covers.

When you’re world is rocked, when you’re knocked, it’s a gut-wrenching thing. We all deal with it the same. It’s almost like you’re grieving and coming through. When I got the Memphis job and I was called by coaches, I said, “You know what? I got to write down what I went through and what it was like and how I felt.”

Are you born made for college, kind of like Petino? Were you miscast in the NBA?

Well, I think I’m a coach and I don’t know what that means, but I enjoy what I do, I enjoy helping. In this book, basically I’m coaching people through Bounce Back and I say right up front what I’ve gone through and had to overcome, may not even rate on the Richter scale of what other people were doing and having to deal with and go through. But there’s still that pattern, that blueprint of what you have to do.

Did you have a moment in the NBA when you said these guys are not coachable or at least not coachable enough?

No, it was never about that. They fired me that’s why I was out.

Who fired you? Was it the players that fired you?

You could say yes. In this book, it’s not to feel sorry, it’s not my life story, it’s not a sports book. In here, I talk about it and take responsibility. First of all, I wish I had been an assistant in the NBA so that I would have a better idea because I was going from the seat of my pants. I wish my demeanor was a little bit different because there demeanor matters because they’re professional. The other thing is you do more in practice and less in the games and I worked for Larry Brown that year and learned all that.

How many covers did your wife have to pull off you after losing a 9-point lead with 2:12 to go in the National Championship to Kentucky?

Because of the New Jersey situation, I was able to better deal with it. It wasn’t about me, it was about everybody else, it was about my team, they were devastated.

If Memphis was a step up from UMass and New Jersey was in between and Kentucky is a step up from Memphis, what is a step up from Kentucky?

I think the jobs in our profession that eearn the most whatever you want to say are Notre Dame football, Yankee baseball, you have to say Boston Red Sox baseball, you have to say the Dallas Cowboys, the Manchester whatever in England. So, I think I have one of those positions.

Did you have any inkling as to what Marcus Camby was up to at UMass? Why didn’t you know?

No, when you are the head of an organization or business and you have a lot of stuff underneath you, you are responsible when anything happens, buts it’s hard to be held accountable.

Did you know he was up to something?

No, absolutely not.

So you weren’t mad at Marcus Camby?

You know what, I was disappointed. But you know what, I love Marcus Camby. And that stuff you hope they learn from it.

Part of this book is overcoming stuff that is thrown at you.

Do you consider yourself to be a lucky guy?

You’re responsible when you’re head of an organization. I’m proud of my guys.

Was it unfair for the NCAA to wipe UMass out of the record book?

The rules changed now because of that case five years later and here’s why. They came back and said if the university, if the staff did not know, we will not vacate. Five years it has happened to other schools, same exact thing, same exact money, a bigger name, and they were not vacated. Why? Because they didn’t know. But when we did it, it was cut and dry when we went through that in ‘96.

Is building a program in which you are a master at have the same set of rules no matter where you are and how does that apply now that you are going to the University of Kentucky?

Well, it does. I mean you got to walk in and it really depends on where the program is. The programs I have taken over all been down. You’ve got to go in and start to change the culture of how you do business, you got to set standards on what we do, you got to make sure the young people know what you accept and what is not acceptable and then you walk that line and make sure you are consistent and fair in what you do.

When you walk out of a recruit’s house, what is the one sentence you want Mom and Dad and whoever else is there to remember?

The hardest place you can go and play basketball is with us because you are going to go to every class, you are going to go to study hall. You’re going to be on a team with other good players, and train physical because you are going to be in the best shape of your life. You are going to be given skills that are going to add to your game.

I hope they say, “Well, if you’re going there, it’s not going to be easy.”

All right, now that is funny. You know what is not funny? This:

Yeah. That was a Matt Cain 94 mph heater to David Wright’s dome on Aug. 15. The Mets’ star third baseman received a concussion, a trip to the hospital and a couple of weeks on the disabled list.

The new ‘do is the Rawlings S100 batting helmet (check out the Billy Mays-like pitchman from HomeRunMonkey below . . . three-year warranty? I’ll take five). Rawlings and the MLB have distributed six of these super-lids to each major league team and will be forcing all minor league players to wear them next year.

David Wright always has been cooler-than-thou. He can hit better, he can field better and gosh darn it, people like him. It is a cruel joke the baseball gods played on the man, turning him from a guy this cool:

into this guy:

“If it provides more safety, then I’m all for it,” Wright told the Associated Press before trying it in a game. By the middle of last week, Wright had switched back to his old helmet. It’s not clear how much of his decision was based on fit and how much was due to the ridicule he received.

In a line from the Philadelphia Inquirer: Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster wore it and said it felt like “my own bobblehead day.”

I actually would love my own bobblehead day, but alas, sports journalists usually do not merit their own emoticons on the grand scale of the baseball viewing public. Perhaps luminaries such as Vin Scully or Harry Caray (men whose heads were built to bobble) — or our own Rob Bradford — but not so much for the rest of us.

plusequals:

Who knew?

Anyway, the helmet may be atrocious, and the thought of watching a team full of minor leaguers wearing them seems like a cruel jape on the fans (like those old magnetic baseball or football games where you hit the switch and the little players just kind of shook on the board). But really, I am all for safety as well. It would be a shame for one of the rising superstars in the baseball world to have his career truncated by a hit-by-pitch/concussion, especially while the sport is still searching for the new level of post-steroid-era star to carry the torch. For a while, it seemed that the successors to the Mark McGwires, Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmeiros, Sammy Sosas et al. were going to be the Wrights, Ryan Brauns, Evan Longorias and Ryan Zimmermans of the world. If Wright is ever going to be the same (especially considering his swing does not really fit with the dimensions of the Mets’ new Citi Field) then there becomes a gaping hole in the up-and-coming major league superstar class that will be tough to fill.

Though, we know what that is like in Boston, don’t we?

The funky-looking Rawlings S100 may be the wave of the future, which is good or bad depending which side of the aesthetic vs. utilitarian argument you fall on, but it is not the first time that baseball players experimented with helmets for better protection. In 1978 Dave Parker tried a few looks after he fractured his cheek and jawbone when he collided with Mets catcher John Stearns. First he tried the hockey mask look before going to the football helmet look, courtesy of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ equipment manager.

Oh, and who could forget the Ellis Valentine half-jawbone football-style helmet?Even in the 1970s, these men were not at the height of fashion, though it does make for an interesting chapter in the pantheon of quirky baseball lore.

Now, if players do not want to end up like the “Saturday Night Live” sketch from the mid-1990s where Mike Myers plays the hyper hypo Phillip tethered to the monkey bars with his goofy red helmet and Nicole Kidman, they might want to consider going the Flight of the Conchords route and getting a hair helmet.

Throughout all of his professional coaching accomplishments with the Patriots, however, Belichick has had to face numerous occasions that resulted him bidding farewell to both a fan favorite and a homegrown franchise player in order to dump salary or shed experience for youth.

The latest farewell bid came Sunday when the Patriots traded away defensive end Richard Seymour, who was entering the final year of his three-year contract, to the Oakland Raiders for their 2011 first-round draft pick.

The 29-year old Seymour was originally drafted by the Patriots as the sixth overall selection  in the 2001 draft. He was part of all three championship titles won under Belichick and his consistency and dominance on the field led him to be named to five straight Pro Bowls. Though he dealt with injuries during the 2006 and 2007 seasons, Seymour returned in 2008 to end the year recording his usual productive numbers with 63 tackles and eight sacks.

Belichick, though he did not showcase the same tearful, emotional display he exhibited when speaking in reaction to Tedy Bruschi’s retirement, conveyed his respect and appreciation to Seymour for all he had contributed to the team.

“From nearly the day he arrived in 2001, Richard Seymour established himself as one of our premier players for nearly a decade. His presence has been felt as a force on the field, a respected man off it, and a multi-year champion,” Belichick remarked Sunday (as relayed in the It Is What It Is Blog).

Now with another franchise player departing from the fields of Foxboro as the most recent victim of Patriot Roulette, only Tom Brady, Matt Light, Kevin Faulk, and Stephen Neal remain as the lone members of all three championships in the Belichick era.

So with the sudden flight of Seymour from the cold New England weather to the mild Bay Area, here is a list of several other key players originally drafted by the Patriots who were either dealt away or left via free agency during the Belichick reign:

Drew Bledsoe: Receiving the honor of being the first overall selection in the 1993 draft, Bledsoe enjoyed a successful career with the Patriots, leading them to the 1996 Super Bowl XXXI though New England lost to the Green Bay Packers. After suffering an injury in the second game of the 2001 season, Bledsoe was replaced by second-year quarterback Tom Brady. Though he never recaptured the starting job, Bledsoe filled in for Brady after he left the AFC Championship game against the Pittsburgh Steelers and didn’t get in the way of New England’s trip to the Super Bowl.

Despite inking a 10-year contract prior to the 2001 season, Bledsoe was traded to the Buffalo Bills in 2002 for  their 2003 first-round draft pick (the Patriots would later trade up with the Chicago Bears taking defensive end Ty Warren 13th overall). Brady turned out to do a pretty decent job for the Patriots. Bledsoe, meanwhile, went on in 2002 to compile one of his best seasons ever, throwing 24 touchdowns for 4,359 yards to earn a trip to the Pro Bowl.

Though Bledsoe never made the playoffs while with the Bills, he was eventually reunited with Bill Parcells in Dallas in 2005 where he led the Cowboys to a 9-7 season, one game short of clinching a playoff berth. In 2006, Bledsoe began the season as the starting quarterback before losing the spot to Tony Romo, who like Brady, took over for him during the season as Bledsoe never regained the starting role.

Deion Branch: An alumni of the University of Louisville, Branch was drafted by the Patriots in 2002 in the second round and was an important contributor to the 2004 and 2005 championship seasons as Brady’s favorite target. Named MVP of Super Bowl XXXIX, Branch and the Patriots would fail to agree on a reconstructed contract prior to the 2006 season, causing the Pro Bowler to hold out from camp.

The Patriots, instead of meeting Branch’s demands, traded him to the Seattle Seahawks in September that year where they received a first-round draft pick in return, who would eventually become safety Brandon Meriweather. The Pats would miss the talents of Branch as they would miss reaching the 2007 Super Bowl, with bug-eyed Reche Caldwell making a couple of memorable drops in the AFC Championship Game.

In response, New England signed free agent receiver Wes Welker and traded for the dynamic Randy Moss in the off-season, both of whom would contribute to Brady’s MVP season and the incredible 18-1 run.

Since joining the Seahawks, Branch has been plagued by injuries. He was limited to only 11 games in 2007 and 8 in 2008.  He did, however, compete in the Seahawks’ playoff games in 2006 and 2007, but has yet to make it to the Super Bowl.

Matt Cassel: A year ago, Cassel’s departure would have been just another unnoticed move by the Patriots. After having a breakout 2008 season filling in for Tom Brady and leading New England to an 11-5 record, Cassel received a franchise tag — quite a bump up after being drafted in the seventh round in 2005. The Patriots tagged then traded him along with Mike Vrabel to the Kansas City Chiefs, since Brady was expected back. Though this season concerning Brady’s health will tell if it was, indeed, a good move, Cassel gets the opportunity to continue starting at his position instead of sitting on the bench — whenever he gets healthy after a camp knee injury, that is.

Ty Law: Drafted 23rd overall in 1995 out of the University of Michigan, Law established himself as one of the premier cornerbacks in the NFL. A nemesis of Peyton Manning, Law was most known for his three interception game off the Colt quarterback in the 2003 AFC Championship game. After missing the final nine games of the 2004 season, Law was cut prior to 2005 due to the salary cap and the $12 million-plus he was owed.

After being cut, Law signed a one-year deal with the Jets, where he collected a career-high 10 interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown. That same year, the Patriots would lose Pro Bowler Rodney Harrison to season-ending surgery as well as Tedy Bruschi, who suffered a stroke and missed half of the season. The Patriots struggled with a depleted defense, yet still managed to win the division.

Law later went on to play for Kansas City for two seasons, including a playoff appearance in 2007, where the Chiefs were ousted in the first round by the Indianapolis Colts. Law ended up returning to the Jets in the middle of last season, appearing in seven games.

Willie McGinest: The fourth overall pick in the 1994 draft, the linebacker McGinest holds the record with 16 career postseason sacks. Owner of three Super Bowl rings with the Patriots, McGinest reached the Pro Bowl in 1995 and 2003 while establishing himself as a leader of the New England defense. Due to a $7 million dollar cap he was owed before the 2006 season, the Patriots decided to cut the aging veteran, enabling McGinest to reunite with former Patriot defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel on the Browns. While he is currently a free agent, McGinest has said as recently as July that he would like to end his career in New England.

Lawyer Milloy: A safety selected in the second round  of the 1996 draft out of the University of Washington, Milloy quickly established himself as a force on the field, starting the final 10 games of his rookie campaign as well as the three playoff games. Part of the 2001 championship team, Milloy was named to the Pro Bowl four times in 1998, 1999, 2001, and 2002. Yet five days before the start of the 2003 season, Milloy was released after failing to strike a new deal with the team and eventually signed a contract with the Buffalo Bills.

The loss of Milloy shocked Patriot fans everywhere. Not only was Milloy the captain and leader of the defense, but many questioned who would fill the empty defensive spots. Several negative reports emerged concerning the turbulant relationship between Milloy and Belichick. Like Seymour, the sudden and unexpected departure of Milloy raised serious doubts as the season opener foreshadowed Doomesday after Milloy and the Bills ran over the Pats in a 31-0 roast. The struggle did not last long, however, as New England ended the season with a 14-2 record, ultimately winning the Super Bowl thanks in part to newcomers such as Rodney Harrison and Ted Washington, who helped to define a smothering New England defense. Milloy never did reach the playoffs with Buffalo and watched as the Patriots won two Super Bowls in his absence.

In 2006, Milloy became a member of the Atlanta Falcons and consistently played through the team’s struggles and controversy surrounding Michael Vick before finally making the playoffs in 2008.

On Sunday, the 35-year old Milloy inked a new contract with the Seattle Seahawks.

Asante Samuel: A stellar cornerback drafted in 2003 out of the University of Central Florida, Samuel was part of the 2004 and 2005 Super Bowl Championships with New England and received a Pro Bowl selection in 2007 . Placing the franchise tag on him prior to the 2007 season, Samuel turned in another spectacular season despite the team losing to the New York Giants in the 2008 Super Bowl XLII. Following the loss, Samuel became one of the most highly sought-after free agents as he signed a six-year, $56 million dollar deal with the Philadelphia Eagles. Though the Patriots and their fans knew they could not retain him with his exorbitant contract demands, injuries to key defensive players like Rodney Harrison in 2008 left many wondering if the right decision was made.

Adam Vinatieri: Who can forget the incredible game-tying kick in the blizzard of the 2001 AFC playoff game against the Raiders or the 48-yard field goal to give the Patriots the 2001 Championship? In 2004, he repeated the trick by kicking the game-winning goal with four seconds remaining in the game to secure the win. Yet, Vinatieri crushed Patriots fans’ hearts when he made the decision to sign with the rival Indianapolis Colts in 2006 after the Patriots opted not to put the franchise tag on him. Vinatieri had signed in 1996 with the Patriots as an undrafted free agent and his kicking contributions earned him the reputation as the greatest clutch kicker in history.

To replace Vinitieri, who became known as Mr. Automatic, New England drafted K Stephen Gostkowski out of Memphis in 2006. Vinitieri helped boot the Colts to the 2006 Super Bowl, in the process defeating New England in the AFC Title game. Of course, Gostkowski was perfect in that game and earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2008. Even so, observers were left to wonder whether Belichick still would have gone for it on 4th-and-13 at the Giants’ 31 in Super Bowl XLII if he’d had Vinitieri rather than Gostkowski as his kicker.

Highlights from the conversation are below.

Click here for the full audio version.

Coach, what are your nerves like the day before your first game running the helm at Boston College?

Well, I think it’s the normal apprehension, making sure all the T’s are crossed and the I’s are dotted and, you know, what I did I think of what didn’t I think of, blah, blah, blah.

I got a lot of great assistants helping me out, so we are ready to go.

Was there ever a point throughout this preseason or throughout this whole process since January, when you were hired, when you felt overwhelmed?

No. Never. I think there’s two ways to go with new jobs; you’re either overwhelmed or energized and I was the latter.

Coach, so far in the preseason and training camp overall with a guy like Mark Herzlich going down, how has your defense been able to step up? How have the guys reacted to his absence?

Well, you know, Steve, you played. There is a reaction and we’re going to miss these guys but it’s life, it’s sports, it’s whatever it is. But, you know, certainly going to miss him but we’ve got to go on. We’ve got to play Saturday at two o’clock and when it gets down to it, you know, you’ve got to do it, you’ve got to move on and make the best of it and somebody’s got to pick up the sword and move forward.

Who are your most pleasant surprises over the last month in camp?

Well, we’ve had, a lot of the younger guys, you know, this class that we had coming in they look like they are real prospects and a lot of the younger guys that have had to step up have done a good job. But the biggest surprise has been how well everybody’s adapted to the new staff, the players and making progress. I mean, we’re getting better everyday, believe me, we have a long way to go, but we are getting better everyday.

You look at the two-deep (depth chart) coach and there is redshirt freshman and true freshman. It’s all around that two-deep and I know that might be daunting for some coaches but you feel that you are well armed because have Gary Tranquill running your offense and you promote Bill McGovern to run the defense, what does that mean for your team?

Well, first of all, Gary is a Hall of Fame coach. He might be one of the best football coaches I have ever been around. Well, he certainly is, let me say that. He’s one of the best coaches in the country. He’s been through a lot of things and if there is anybody who can handle the issues over there on offense it’s Gary. I mean he’s not going to be thrown off-kilter by anything we have over there. 

And Billy, I’ve worked with Billy for 10 years, you know, the system’s in place and, you know, Billy’s getting his chance to do what he can do.

Deossie wanted the gig, I think.

Well, he’s uh. . . we’ll let him play. . .

How do you see the ACC stacking up this year? It’s going to be pretty good competition this year across the board.

Well, the thing about the league is, well, you know, we had our conferences meetings down there early on, and this year a lot of the teams have better quarterback situations. Not us withstanding. But, most of the teams have quarterbacks coming back, they’ve played for a while and usually that’s a good sign for a league.

You talked about the quarterback situation. Does that keep you up at night and how do you think it sorts itself out over the next few weeks and the first part of the season?

Well, a lot of things keep me up at night and that might be the 1:30 or two o’clock feeding but it’s going to sort itself out. We have young men there and they each have redeeming qualities and we would have hoped that it would have been a little clearer right now but that’s not the case, so we have to play and see how it sorts itself out and hopefully these guys will separate from one another and we will be a little more solid at that position.

You’re going to start Justin Tuggle tomorrow. . . first career start, redshirt freshman. . .

We are?!

Is that the word? You tell me. You tell me. My sources indicate.

Sources?! You’re talking to the source!

What we have is that either Dave (Shinskie) or Justin (Tuggle) is going to start the game and Mike (Marscovetra) is going to plan. I mean, that’s the plan right now. And, once again, it’s a game and, you know, we have to win. So, we are going to do what’s best for the team but we have to keep in mind that winning is what’s best for the team.

Hey, Uncle Dave Shinskie, you mention him. If he does start tomorrow it will be his first snap in seven years. What do you like about him?

First of all Dave is, obviously, Dave has some maturity on him. He’s been around the block a little, done some things. And, he has the skills, he has the physical talent to be a quarterback at this level. Once again, what he hasn’t done is taken snaps and we have to find that out about him. Unfortunately he missed a couple scrimmages so the evaluation process was set back a little.

Coach, your take on what happened in Tampa yesterday and your predecessor with coach Jags being let go by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers yesterday?

Well, let me just say this, I don’t really have a take on it but my thoughts are with Jeff and his family because anytime you have that anxiety or that kind of turmoil, it’s your personal issues and your family that need to be addressed first.

Fair, unfair, that a guy like Rahim Morris calls him a guy that wasn’t a details guy or a guy that wasn’t precise? Did you see anything like that in your time with him at Boston College?

Well, once again, the situation with Boston College and the situation at Tampa . . . I’m not at Tampa. All I know is that we won a lot games here at Boston College with Jeff as the head coach.

Tom O’Brien’s (N.C. State) Wolf Pack lose last night to South Carolina 7-3. I talked to you early and you thought it would be a pretty high scoring game. What do you think went wrong for them?

That’s what happens when you predict. That’s why you guys do what you do and that’s why I did what I do.

I know for the ACC, it’s a pride thing. They had a stat last night, SEC 237 wins, ACC 114 wins head-to-head. What does that tell you?

I don’t know what that tells me. Master of the obvious, that the SEC has won more games than the ACC. It’s all individual basis and it’s all about what’s happening now and sports and that’s why you play them. I don’t read much into it really. I don’t have time to. Once again it’s great for the fans, it’s great for the media. Gives you something to talk about, right?

How about, who’s starting at outside linebacker for me?

Dominick LeGrande? There’s some young guys at linebacker though?

There certainly are. I had to write letters to all their parents to get permission.

We saw that also Herzlich was on campus again this week. Any good word out of that camp there?

Yeah. Best as I can determine just talking with Mark is that everything is going just like they want, they get the results that they want. He’s getting some of his treatments here and he’s going to be around the squad as much as his doctors allow. And, that’s great for us and more importantly great for him.

He’s a special kid and a special player and he’s certainly redefined that position for us over there beyond my wildest imagination. We’re just hoping that the best can come out of the whole deal and we will see him back in uniform.

CHESTNUT HILL – One of the best lines from the 1995 movie Four Rooms comes in the fourth of the four rooms when Quentin Tarantino’s character says “those who make declarative statements are more likely to look foolish in retrospect.”

Not that Boston College head coach Frank Spaziani fears to look foolish, it is just that when it comes to his quarterback situation, he deigns to make any declarative statements.

With Saturday’s season opener against Northeastern looming, Spaziani has yet to name his starter and there is a good probability that we will not know until the first snap is taken.

In the conversation are three very different types freshman: 25 year old former minor league baseball player David Shinskie, redshirt freshman Justin Tuggle and true freshman Mike Marscovetra. Shinskie has complicated the discussion from last week (when it looked like a Tuggle versus Codi Boek battle) by coming back from a cracked rib to practice this week. He has been taking reps in practice along with Tuggle.

“We’re still deciphering it. Hopefully Uncle Dave (Shinskie) will be out here practicing again and he can get a good practice in and it will be Tuggle and Uncle Dave and Marscovetra third,” Spaziani said. “Now, who’s going to start the game? One of those three guys is.”

The guess is that Tuggle and Shinskie will both play significant amounts against Northeastern as the coaching staff looks to separate the two on the depth chart.

“We’ve scrimmaged and now we put guys in the game. We hoped that they would have separated themselves but that hasn’t happened. So now the next place to separate themselves is on the field,” Spaziani said.

Shinskie told reporters today that his side is “still a little tender” but that he is ready to go. When asked if was pushing himself for the opener he offered and enthusiastic yes.

“Oh my god. I had to do it, I don’t care what kind of pain I was in. If I had to take six ibproufen instead of four, I was going to do it. Even my highschool coach called me up and told me ‘get out there.’ So, it was very important, you know, just to be able to stand on the sidelines, you know,” Shinskie said. “Just to be out there is something that I really want to do.”

 Outside the quandary at quarterback, there is a buzz around the Citadel on Chestnut Hill. The offense, now with a solidified depth chart at every other position, is excited to get the ball rolling. Spaziani seamed pleased with the progress they have made during the last week.

“They’re making progress every day. Offense is doing really well. They’ve got to be ready to go and they will be ready to go. Now, are they going to be as good as they’re going to be? No,” Spaziani said. “They’ve got a ways to go but obviously we get a quarterback that we’re solidified in that position, that’ll help.”

 With the dynamic sophomore duo of Montel Harris and Josh Haden at running back and captain wide receiver Rich Gunnell poised for a big senior season, there is reason for excitement. But the real reason for the buzz is the fact that the Eagles are returning four of their five juggernauts on the offensive line and the fifth (red-shirt freshman Emmett Cleary) is a titan at 6-foot 7-inches and 297 pounds. Boston College has a history of good offensive linemen and the beasts in the trenches are throwing around the “O-Line U” tag line to help describe this years bunch.

“What people are kind of expecting, kind of saying — O-Line U. A lot of people are starting to say this is turning back into O-Line U. With the four returning starters that we do have, just with the size up front, being able to move people around up front, goes back to the old offenses, just the old offensive scheme, being able to move the ball around the field,” Junior right guard Thomas Claiborne said.

Claiborne, like some of his offensive teammates, exuded confidence, flashing sneaky smiles at the thought of pummeling opposing defenses. Tuggle, for one, shares this sentiment.

“The guys in front of you are veterans, they’ve been around and they help you out as much as they can. And they’re the solid O-Line U. Everyone knows about them all around the country, it’s good to know that you got five guys in front of you who are ready to protect you each and every play,” Tuggle said.

Joining Claiborne and left guard Cleary are two All-ACC Preseason Team members are junior left tackle Anthony Costonzo and senior center Matt Tennant. Hulking junior Rich Lapham, all 322 pounds of him, mans the right tackle position. There is a lot of size and experience to like.

“So, it helps,” Spaziani said. “The more experience you have the better off you are because you can’t coach experience.”

Harris’s eyes lit up when talking about the big boys in front of him. 

“Real confident. A lot of offensive line coming back from last year, we are able to relax more and be comfortable on the field, so, it should be fun this year,” Harris said. “Thomas Claiborne. Every play before he tells me to follow behind him cause he’s going to throw me a block.”

So, with the bedrock offensive line and talent at running back, it is understandable that Spaziani does not seem too worried about who will start at quarterback against Northeastern, a team not normally known for its football prowess (2-10, 1-7 in CAA play last year).

“The reason it’s vague (the quarterback position) is because we don’t have one. We don’t have one yet so it doesn’t make a difference in my mind. I know everybody wants it, who is it, make a decision. It it was going to make a big difference we would make a decision but it’s not going to make a difference,” Spaziani said.

With two games against lesser out of conference opponents at home to start the season (Northeastern then Kent State on September 12th) Spaziani has time to sort things out under center, whichever flavor of freshman he decides to go with.

The Boston College linebacker and 2008 ACC Defensive player of the year, who had the NFL in his sights like another quarterback target, was blindsided in May when he disclosed that he had been diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma.

Suddenly, he wasn’t as busy thinking about the NFL as he was surviving. But after a summer of chemotherapy and radiation treatment on the malignant cancerous tumor, the senior believes he will be back on the field for B.C. in 2010.

“There’s no doubt in my mind,” Herzlich said on Wednesday at The Heights. “There’s doubt in other people’s minds. It’s basically once we find out in November how the chemotherapy finished up and how I react to running and lift, then we can make a final decision. I’m very confident in how it will turn out.”

So, three days before the team opens their 2009 season at home against Northeastern, the coaching staff just got an addition.

“I’m going to be on the field, helping to coach the guys, the linebackers,” he added. “Hopefully, be moral support and inspiration to the other guys and just be a leader. I can be a leader in the same way as I would on the field. I just won’t be in uniform.”

“What it does for me, it makes me feel real good,” added head coach Frank Spaziani. “Just sitting around there and it’s real positive. He’s just a great kid and I’m sure it affects the players just like it affects me.”

(Herzlich spoke with WEEI.com’s Mike Petraglia on Wednesday about the uphill battle he faces and about being determined to overcome cancer.)

Herzlich said just being around the team has lifted his spirits and the spirit of his once and future teammates.

“I’ve been out to practice the last two days,” Herzlich said. “I’ve still felt it, just getting out there and being around the defensive schemes. It’s a mental game for me now, and it has been before, too. Without the physicality, I can just focus on mentally getting better. In the game of football, if you ask anyone who plays at a high level, if you play mentally before you play physically, you get that much better.

“They’re excited to have me back and I think they’re excited to get the season started off and ready for Northeastern. I know it’s been a long summer. I’ve got a lot of good friends on this team and I know they’re excited to see me as well I am them.”

Herzlich won’t mislead. He admits this summer has been anything but pleasurable. Much like the rest of New England, it’s been a summer not filled with a lot of sunny days. Only for Herzlich, the clouds haven’t quite passed over yet.

“It’s been alright,” Herzlich said. “It’s been a lot of chemotherapy and radiation. But also I’ve had time to learn how to play golf, swim and go work out at the gym and all of those things have been fun. I think you have to take everything with a little grain of salt with the chemotherapy. It gave me time to do stuff that I had never done before at home and time to be with my familiy, which was nice.”

Herzlich’s most inspirational message is found on the inside cover of the 2009 BC football media guide. It’s entitled “Turning Points” by Mark Herzlich. It is eight paragraphs that describe what he’s learned about passion since his freshman year in high school in 2002 and the latest test of his will.

“It was basically something that I had learned as a freshman in high school,” he said. “It came in a meeting with my dad after a football game. He basically said, ‘It’s fine if you don’t want to play football. But if you do want to play football, you need to play with heart and love the game.’ And that is really some that I’ve carried over into my life away from football.

“You need to do anything in life with your heart. If you don’t have everything into it, then there’s no point in doing something. I’ve tried to implement that with my family, my friends, my football, school. Up until I got diagnosed with the cancer, I had been doing a great job of that. When I was diagnosed with the cancer, it was a big test of my will. I just used that same philosophy to push through and to get through to where I am now.”

Inspiration is something that pours from Herzlich like his trademark eyeblack on gamedays. He showed on Wednesday that he still can lead the team, even when not in uniform.

“This team can be great,” Herzlich said. “People have doubts on the team because we’re young and have inexperience. My thing is everybody starts out with inexperience and this is where people shine and get an opportunity. We have all the physcial ability to do that. This is going to be the chance to come out on Saturday and really show them what they’re all about.”

It’s that time of year again, time to go back to school. For college students, it’s that time again to get that dorm room straightened out, and buy those outrageously expensive textbooks.

However, it’s not a great time to be a collegiate coach, especially if your name is a marquee one.

This guy refused to lose...and in efect play by the rules.

Newly minted Kentucky Basketball coach John Calipari has done once again what he does best, leave before the house is set ablaze. Memphis has been forced to vacate their 38-win 2007-08 Final Four season due to an SAT cheating scandal.

First, how is it even possible to cheat on the SAT, when it’s part of the plot of an MTV Films movie starring one-time Celtic Darius Miles? Allegedly, former Memphis guard Derrick Rose used a stand-in to take the SAT in 2006.

The NCAA allegations also state that Robert Dozier had a crazy spike in SAT scores and was eventually denied admission to the University of Georgia.

Secondly, doesn’t this story sound a little too familiar? Let’s hop in to the time machine and go back to 1996.

Back then Calipari became the virtual patron saint of Bay State Basketball miracles in turning the laughingstock UMass Minutemen into a national powerhouse, virtually overnight. The key to that team’s success was National Player of the Year, Marcus Camby.

Camby reportedly took gifts consisting mostly of money and women. The university out in Amherst was forced to vacate its best basketball season in history due to the scandal.

What did Calipari do? Why, he left the college ranks for a plum job coaching the NBA’s New Jersey Nets, right as the 1996 scandal was breaking.

We’ve all heard the statement that practice makes perfect while growing up. Clearly Michigan’s head football coach, Rich Rodriguez has made that old adage a cornerstone to life. Allegedly, the coach made his team practice much more than the 20 allotted hours set forth by the NCAA.

This was first reported in Sunday’s Detroit Free Press, as former players say the program has repeatedly violated the NCAA regulation limiting the amount of time college gridders spend on the field. Former Wolverines wideout Toney Clemons backs up the allegations, saying that he was on the field for over twelve hours.

“On Sunday it was lifting, film, dinner, and practice,” Clemons told ESPN’s Joe Schad this week. “I usually got out around 10:20. I truly don’t want to be associated with the program back there. But I am going to help benefit my teammates back there by speaking and giving testimony.”

As much as the above mentioned Derrick Rose would argue, these student-athletes are students first. It was wrong of Rodriguez to hold practices that lasted this long, but it allegedly happened.

But, seriously, what are we talking about here? Allen Iverson can tell us for sure.

Along with other social media tools, Twitter has blown up this year, increasing its membership to as much as 15 million earlier this year. As such the college and professional ranks are having to come to grips with the Tweeterpocalypse. The NFL just released its social media policy, which states that coaches, players and personnel are “permitted under league policy and with club permission to use social media on game day during specific time periods before and after games.” That “window” exists 90 minutes before kickoff until after the post game player interviews.

For the most part, this policy extends solely to persons associated with the NFL. Yet a handful of teams, including the Patriots, have restricted what members of the media can tweet during practice. The purpose of this is to keep injury and game-plan related information from leaving the practice field into the internet ether where any opposing scout / coordinator can pick it up and use it for an advantage. Also, for a league that is doing its best to guard its image, restricting player tweets is another way to keep the dirty laundry in the hamper. Even innocuous tweets, such as Chargers cornerback Antonio Cromartie’s jibe at the team’s food spread, have been met with negative reactions (Cromatie was fine $2,500 for his remarks and probably told to keep his trap shut in the future).

This is a policy that most players can probably get down with, excepting the truly outspoken such as Bengals receiver Chad Johns. . . err, Ochocinco, who has threatened, via his twitter account, to travel with his mariachi band if he cannot tweet during games. It is understandable that players like social media. It is a way for them to bypass the traditional media and bring information and opinion straight to the fans and prevent them from feeling they are being misquoted or misconstrued (whether or not they actually are) and provide an outlet for their often exuberant personalities.

This is not just about the control of information though. Yes, The Hoodie would love to keep a death grip on all information leaving Patriots camp, but the reality is that the NFL needs the media to promote their brand and optimize revenue streams. 

This was almost the exact same thinking when the Southeastern Conference announced its controversial social media policy earlier this month. The initial policy, now twice revised, was so broad that it restricted just about every type of social media interaction from SEC football games, presupposing fans and bloggers pictures and tweets in the process. The backlash was immediate, mostly from mainstream media sources outside of the SEC/ESPN/CBS partnership that the policy was trying to protect. The revisions in the policy have since left the fan and most media outlets more leeway concerning social media policies while still protecting video clips (though most bloggers will likely object or ignore the restriction to putting the clips on their sites) but the SEC’s proactive approach towards the restrictions is likely just the tip of the iceberg in the social media. For a audio good interview from SEC Associate Commissioner of Media Relations Charles Bloom, go here. For an an opinion on the ACC social media policy, check out Heather Dinich’s July column for ESPN.com.

Their idea is simple enough: protect content. The television and radio contracts that college and professional sports have drive revenues and the leagues, understandably, want to push eyeballs towards their partners. At the same time, with the rise of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr, they might be missing out on a huge part of their branding opportunities concerning social media. The goal is to go “viral” and get the internet buzzing, thus bringing more eyeballs that would normally not see your product to your website or their nearest television.

It’s not just the leagues and their personnel that are coping with the new Twitter news cycle. Last month the story broke that reporters at ESPN will not be able to break stories and opinion through Twitter but rather through the more traditional sources of the website and television for news. Ken Fang from FangBites has the memo from the policy in an August 4th blog post along with some interesting commentary on the ESPN Twitter blackout. The conclusion is basically the same as it is with the SEC and NFL policies: protect our image, protect our content and thus protect our revenue streams.

The ESPN policy has another tangible benefit. Now that the news craving public knows the restrictions on ESPN reporters it makes it less likely that some wahoo out there will try to create a fake Twitter account and tweet erroneous reports under a respected journalist’s name (such as the incident earlier this summer when someone tried to break a “story” with a fake WEEI Twitter account).

Social media is still in its infancy and it is going to have to have a significant adjustment period before the mainstream media and various sports leagues learn to coexist. In the end what drives that relationship is what drives all other media relationships: the bottom line. The fight to protect copyrights, protect content and keep noses clean is just the beginning. With every new website and innovation the debate will be transformed. For now though? The fight has just begun.

Tedy Rules the LEEInks today!

How does one go about ranking the top five moments of such a storied career? Bruschi himself couldn’t do it at Monday’s’s press conference.

The LEEInks will take on such a daunting task in an effort to put Bruschi’s career in perspective. Without further ado, here are some of the LEEInks favorite moments during 13 great years from Bruschi in reverse order:

5.) Fun in the Snow

Let’s face it: some of the best moments in recent Patriots memory have happened on a cold New England winter day with the white, fluffy stuff falling from the sky.

Some of Bruschi’s best moments came in the snow too. Who can forget Tedy’s interception against Miami? How about his heroics in the 2003 AFC Championship Game against the Colts?

Whether it was stopping a crucial third-and-one against the Raiders in the “Snow Bowl” last game ever played at Foxboro Stadium or that interception against Miami, Bruschi brought it during the winter precipitation.

4.) Super Bowl Heroics

Throughout Bruschi’s career the linebacker has been able to stand on the sport’s highest stage as a Super Bowl champion three times. Bruschi also played in the Patriots two Super Bowl losses.

Bruschi had an interception in Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville to help the Patriots en route to a win. He was a mainstay in Belichick’s 3-4 dynastic defense.

In terms of interceptions, Bruschi’s best years were those Super Bowl years. In seasons where the Patriots won the Super Bowl, the University of Arizona-product snagged eight interceptions. Check out the rest of his statistics here.

Just looking at the numbers, Bruschi has made an impact on a team that has certain made an impact on professional football.

3.) Making One Little Wish Come True

We here in New England have known for a long time about the caliber of player Bruschi is  both on and off the field. His efforts off of the gridiron had as much, if not more of an impact on his community. Just ask young Andrew Geracoulis. Geracoulis had heart surgery as an infant, and looked to Bruschi as his favorite player because of the hulking linebacker’s own surgery.

ESPN captured the meeting between the two as a part of July 2006’s My Wish series.

2.) The Family Man

As earlier stated, Tedy Bruschi made an indelible mark on his career by playing in the Super Bowl. Before Super Bowl XXXIX, one of Bruschi’s best moments was caught on film.

Prior to that game against the Eagles, Tedy Bruschi made his mark as the ultimate family man when he played with his kids on the Alltell Stadium turf.

That moment would become a big part of the Bruschi legacy when Bruschi’s biggest health scare hit weeks later. Days after the Pro Bowl, Bruschi suffered a minor stroke which sidelined him for much of the ensuing season.

1.) He’s Back!

It was October of 2005, and the Patriots were about to go into their bye week after playing against the Denver Broncos. Two weeks later, Bruschi became the first player to ever come back from a stroke to play professional sports.

Bruschi triumphantly came back against the Buffalo Bills two weeks later. Bruschi was already a hero in these parts, but with is valiant comeback, that heroism was amplified.

After coming back Bruschi helped make PSA’s about his comeback and stroke awareness like this one.

Bruschi embodied much of what sports fans believe as the ideal sports hero. The man won a lot of football games but ultimately won the collective hearts of football fans in each of the six New England states.

The LEEInks gives its best and  most heartfelt wishes to Tedy as he embarks on his retirement! Thanks for these and many more memories over the years, Tedy.

CHESTNUT HILL — The quarterback carousel at Boston College continues. After their fourth intra-squad scrimmage of camp the Eagles are not yet ready to determine the primary man underneath center come the season opener September 5th against Northeastern.

Head Coach Frank Spaziani has an interesting dilemma. The probable front-runner, 25-year old Dave Shinskie, is on the shelf with a cracked rib. His absence had redshirt freshman Justin Tuggle and junior Codi Boek leading the offenses in the final tune-up of camp.

At the start, it was Tuggle who was the star. Running the firstteam offense, Tuggle started off on fire, going 7-10 for 115 yards in the first half. The crowning moment was a nifty 41-yard touchdown bomb to top receiver Rich Gunnell on the first drive of the game.

But it was downhill from there. He did not complete a pass in the second half, going 0-9 with erratic passes sailing over or bouncing to intended receivers. Yet Tuggle has placed himself in the quarterback discussion, which was not a sure thing at the beginning of camp.

“In the beginning of this whole debate he was somewhere else on the ladder and he took a licking he come back ticking, right? He could have went two ways and he went the positive way. So that means a lot and he made progress,” Spaziani said. “Tuggle has made a lot of strides, a lot of strides and you’ve got to project. But he has made strides.“

Boek ran the second-team offense and had his moments mixed with embarrassments. He fumbled the first snap of the scrimmage on the exchange from center and later had a tipped pass at the line intercepted by junior Domik Scafe. Boek finished the day 7-9 for 94 yards with the interception and a touchdown. The score was more a product of red shirt freshman Clyde Lee’s 45-yard burst through the secondary after a catch on a short crossing route than on Boek’s prowess, but the junior will take what he can get.

“Codi, showed some flashes, showed some flashes,” Spaziani said.

Spaziani would probably like to see Shinskie step up and take the job, but until the trainers clear him, the coach’s hands are tied.

“If you’ve got a solidified one, then the second gets less reps. It looks to me now with talking to [offensive coordinator Gary Tranquill] that we’re probably going to have to play two quarterbacks,” Spaziani said.

Here are the other lessons we learned from Wednesday’s scrimmage. 

Defense Still Looking For Its Leader

The other big news on campus for the day was the return of star middle linebacker Mark Herzlich to campus. Herzlich, a Butkus Award finalist for the nation’s top linebacker last year, was diagnosed with cancer in his leg and will miss the entire year. He plans on finishing his degree this fall and looks forward to a comeback next year.

As much as he and the rest of the BC team looks forward to his return,, his absence this year leaves a gaping hole in the middle of the Eagles’ defense. Senior captain Mike McLaughlin is still out and sophomore incumbent Will Thompson has been nursing injuries, leaving the duties to true freshman Luke Kuechly. Like the offense, the situation is not ideal but Spaziani will work with what he’s got.

“Plus we have the middle linebacker nowhere to be seen yet. The quarterback position is more solidified than the middle linebacker,” Spaziani said.

Kuechly recorded three tackles during the scrimmage.

“Once again you’ve got a true freshman over there and Will Thompson’s been out. That’s a big order for a guy to do, true freshman quarterbacking the [defense],” Spaziani said. 

Ground Game Will Have to Carry the Load

If there is anything set on this team, it is the running back position. Sophomore Montel Harris, coming off a team freshman record 900 yards last season, will be looked upon to carry the load. Yesterday he got the bulk of the carries with 12 attempts for 53 yards and a touchdown. He also fumbled once.

Behind him, fellow sophomore Josh Haden is coming off a 479-yard freshman campaign. Haden logged six attempts for 26 yards on the day.

With injury and inexperience bogging down both sides of the ball, the ability of this dynamic duo to put up big numbers (and stay healthy) will be a huge factor in determining how much success BC is going to have this fall. 

Defensive Line Looking to Step Up

It is tough to lose your top defensive players to the NFL and come back the next year with any semblance of firepower. With B.J. Raji in Green Bay and Ron Brace up the road in Foxborough, the Eagles are looking for players to step up.

Yet, injuries are once again an issue, forcing Spaziani to move senior Austin Giles inside to nose tackle and patch around from there. The move is probably not permanent but, like so much else, in the short term it is a matter of necessity.

“We always focus on the quarterbacks here but there are a lot of other uncertainties over there on defense. [Kaleb] Ramsey not practicing, [Nick] Rossi not practicing,” Spaziani said.

Who needs to step up?

“Everybody,” Spaziani said. “We need Ramsey to step up, we need [Damik] Scafe. Scafe has been a part-time player. Ramsey has not played at all, suddenly Rossi has helped us over there but, you know, he being injured and stuff.”

Junior Brad Newman, a career second-unit man, looked decent in the scrimmage, logging two sacks on six tackles. He, among others, will be relied upon in the regular season to help make up for the losses to the pros and the injury ward. 

Adventures In Special Teams

Redshirt freshman punter Gerald Levano had an up-and-down day. He looked good placing the ball inside the 20, spiking two directly on the 13-yard line, yet did not show good distance when kicking from his own end zone. On two attempts he had trouble clearing the 50-yard line and did not look good in the process.

On the same note, the extra-point attempt on Gunnell’s touchdown was blocked by sophomore cornerback Donnie Fletcher. Spaziani said that Thursday’s practice would focus on the kicking game while the rest of the week will be devoted to finalizing the depth chart and tuning up for Northeastern.

The List Is Dead! Long Live The List!

Really, this is getting old. The List is driving me crazy. It is death by 104 paper cuts seasoned with lemon juice and sea salt. It is like Steve Carell getting his chest waxed in The 40 Year Old Virgin, slow and agonizing ripping of flesh … 104 times.

You know what list I am talking about. It is THE List. The 2003 MLB “anonymous” steroid test results list.

Now it appears that the list has met its match: The MLB players union and the 9^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. According to the Associated Press, the federal appeals court ruled “that agents had no right to seize baseball’s anonymous drug-testing results from 2003.”

So, the players union has won. Theoretically, so has baseball. The union now has control over the list, which leads one to believe that it will be destroyed in the very near future — barring and appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, that is. Now, can this madness end?

The guess here? Probably not. Whoever has been leaking The List knows the names that are on it. You can shred paper, set fire to servers and blow up databases, but outside of a Men In Black style neutralizer, I am not yet aware of a way to wipe the contents of a person’s brain. The names on The List have been oozing out, so the thought is that there are journalists out there who know who the leak is. Presumably, these journalists will press this source for more names, whether the source legally controls The List or not. If I knew the source, I would do the same thing. It’s good journalism.

Good journalism aside, the appeal court decision is a step in right direction. Whoever the leak source is, it seems they have a vendetta against the game of baseball (not just the MLB, but the entire game, Little League on up). The slow trickle has been wicked. It has been cruel. What it really comes down to is: Do we really want to know? I can understand how players in the big leagues who stayed clean and members of the media (who thrive on this stuff — right, Mr. Ortiz?) want the list out. Players want to know who beat them because of the juice, journalists want to see more juice in their paychecks and breaking big stories is the way to do that.

But, what about the fan?

I think the fan wants it to go away. Just look: Mannywood lives on. Sox fans still love Big Papi (especially after last night) and Yankee fans do not care, as long as their team is winning. For

the passionate fan, The List from six years ago is an annoying history that keeps popping up its ugly head and a media fixation that takes away from what they love: the game of baseball.

So, as of today, The List is dead. But, do not be surprised if it turns out to have the half-life of a particularly persistent zombie. It will jump out of the grave, bite a couple heads off and be put back down by the zombie-killing wing of the players union.

In an offseason in which $88.5 million came off the books for the Bronx Bombers, a combined $423.5 million was invested in Sabathia, Burnett, and Teixeria. Meanwhile, the Red Sox, rather than throwing the money they had planned to spend on Teixeira at another free agent, went the low-cost route. They traded fourth outfielder Coco Crisp, set to make $6,083,333 in ‘09, to Kansas City for reliever Ramon Ramirez, who is only costing them $441,000. To replace Crisp, they gave former first-round pick Rocco Baldelli a one-year deal worth half a million.

To solidify a rotation that a year earlier couldn’t depend on Clay Buchholz as much as initially assumed, the Sox brought in future Hall-of-Famer John Smoltz and two-time NL All-Star Brad Penny. Both players came to Boston on one-year deals– Smoltz for $5.5 plus incentives and Penny for $5 plus incentives. To improve a bullpen that had already seen the addition of Ramirez, 39-year-old Takashi Saito was given a one year, $1.5 million deal that included both incentives and a club option for the ‘10 season. At the time, the signings of the three pitchers were applauded as great moves that cost the club very little and wouldn’t tie up their payroll in the future.

Hindsight’s 20-20, but at the time, who disagreed? In 20 seasons and 3395 innings, Smoltz had a career ERA of 3.26 to go with 210 winds and 154 saves. Of course, he was coming off shoulder surgery, but if anyone could come back in a big way, why not one of the game’s greatest pitchers?

Penny also was viewed as a reclamation project worth the money. When people think of the 2003 World Series, Josh Beckett is the first name that comes up, but a closer look could might surprise some. Though Beckett dominated in the series-clinching Game 6 for the Marlins, it was Penny who went 2-0 in the series while Beckett actually lost Game 3. Additionally, Penny had finished third in NL Cy Young voting in 2007.

Rounding out the trio of big names picked up on the cheap, Saito was the guy who stepped in for Eric Gagne when injuries and ineffectiveness took over for the ‘03 NL Cy Young winner. The Japanese-born Saito figured to fit in wonderfully with a pitching staff that already had Hideki Okajima and Daisuke Matsuzaka.

Playing up the chemistry angle, Dan Barbarisi of the Providence Journal wrote this spring of the unlikely friends and karaoke-mates that Penny and Saito have become since their years together in LA. Read it and you’re promised to be bummed that the two no longer share the same clubhouse.

This piece from Over the Monster is just one of the many expressions of approval of the inexpensive-but-potentially brilliant offseason. Posted in March, the piece contained the following praise of each of the signings:

On Smoltz: “If he can contribute on the level Braves fans had become accustomed to seeing over the last couple decades, the Red Sox may have found themselves one of the best bargain signings in all of baseball heading into 2009.”

On Penny: “With his veteran presence, Penny could be invaluable to the Red Sox pitching staff. It would be hard to find another back-end starter as efficient as Penny if he can regain the form that saw him go 16-4 in 2007 with a 3.03 ERA (Finished 3rd in Cy Young voting, voted to All-Star team). This could be a tremendous value signing for the Sox in 2009.”

On Saito:  “If Saito can return to his All-Star form, he should be an essential part of what is already considered one of the best bullpens in all of baseball.”

The reason I chose this post as an example of the positive reception given to these signings is because of the use of three words that were perhaps overlooked by fans and writers everywhere. The three words? “If,” “may,” and “could.”

Those three words have proven to sum up the 2009 Red Sox perfectly. If Smoltz and Penny were anything close to what they used to be, the Sox could be leading the division rather than being six games behind the Yankees. If the rotation had more stability for the entire season, Boston may not have had to call upon Junichi Tazawa so soon. Catch my drift?

This isn’t to say that the Sox had an awful winter. The belief out there is that no matter what they did, Teixeira was Bronx-bound. Additionally, Baldelli has produced at or above the level the Sox could have expected from Crisp (and outlasted him, considering the former Boston centerfielder is out for the season with a labrum tear). However, while the one-year deals to the pitchers were seen as great moves for the future (they would eventually open rotation spots for Buchholz, Tazawa, and Michael Bowden), perhaps not enough emphasis was placed on how it would impact the ‘09 club. What were considered “low-risk/high-reward” contracts have just proven to be low-reward. Too low for a division title.

Two of the three are already gone. Smoltz was designated for assignment on August 7 after eight starts, five losses, and an 8.32 ERA. Penny produced what a No. 5 starter should produce– seven wins and an ERA in the mid-to-upper-fours– through his first 19 starts, but since then, Penny has pitched like more of a No. 8ish starter. In his last five starts in a big and tall Red Sox uniform, Penny went 0-4 with a sky-high 9.11 ERA. When he asked for his release yesterday, it’s hard to think Sox GM Theo Epstein teared up.

Saito, on the other hand, has posted an 2.80 ERA that does nothing but reinforce the idea that looking at a reliever’s ERA as a barometer of effectiveness is like looking at Penny as a barometer of athletic builds. From watching the games you can tell that Terry Francona has little-to-no faith in the reliever. Here’s a stat that backs up the notion: In 45 appearances for Saito this season, he has entered only four tie games. Furthermore, he has been called into a one-run game just three times.

If that stat can prove how little he is trusted, let this one prove how ineffective he’s been. Saito– remember, the same guy who has a shiny 2.80 ERA– has allowed 67 percent of the runners he has inherited to score. Perhaps that can explain the lack of faith. Though Saito remains the only one of the three free agent pitchers signed to remain with the team, his performance to this point doesn’t justify a contract that was seen as wise at the time. Of course, the team won’t be hurt long-term by the fact that they gave $1.5 million to a reliever they’re unwilling to use in pressure situations, but it’s worth noting that the three seemingly smart signings have proven to be nothing but a very unsuccessful experiment.

If there is a bright side to the small contracts given out over the offseason, Alex Speier has found it. The lack of guaranteed money committed in the offseason made it possible for the Red Sox to add the salaries of Victor Martinez and Billy Wagner without thinking twice.

“And yet because of their offseason short-term deals that featured relatively modest guaranteed salaries, the Sox retained the financial flexibility to address their needs mid-year,” writes Speier. ”The incentive-laden structure of the deals to Smoltz and Penny also left the Sox in a position where, if the players did not perform up to expectations, the team’s financial commitments would be limited.”

As the team gears up for the final month-plus of the season, they do so having dealt with failed expirements and unanticipated contributions from both Buchholz and Tazawa. Long-term, last offseason won’t hurt the Red Sox. This season, however, is a different story.

[Quick rant: If I hear "With the, ah, 10th pick" again my head is going to explode. Is it a difficult script? "Amobi Okoye" is easy to say, but not "the 10th?" I digress...]

Goodell’s no-nonsense approach has given the league a muscle at the top that it never had with Tagliabue. There will be no shenanigans from anyone or anything that is connected to the NFL, at least not on his watch.

This is why I believe that Goodell is simply unaware of the state of his league’s merchandising.

In the very week that yet another type of Brett Favre jersey is being mass-produced for all fans comfortable enough with themselves to wear purple, the new Vikings jersey isn’t even the most noteworthy item for sale. The last time I saw a Michael Vick jersey prior to last week, a dog was going old-school bananas on it.

Now, not only are the Eagles selling Vick jerseys for people, but any fan deranged enough to want one is just a few clicks away from spending $39.99 on this: 

The Daily News first hit on this, and if there is anyone out there with 40 bucks to burn, nothing is stopping them from dressing a potential Vicktim in sickening style. This is the height of offensive gestures, and the league is willing to make a profit from it.

While the Vick dog jersey should evoke nothing but pure disgust, there is certainly plenty of NFL merchandise out there that should leave you laughing. Where to begin? Let’s start wit the Kansas City Chiefs rally monkey.

It all makes sense now. Of course the rally monkey is a Chiefs thing! Thank God for the internet, because I had to do some searching to disprove this insane idea I had that it was an Angels thing back in 2002. Now I see correctly. The rally monkey is, in fact, a Chiefs thing. Just like Scott Spezio is their starting third baseman.

If you just dropped $20 on that hideous doll and still feel the urge to spend, you’re in luck. Nobody knows what time it is more than the immortal Byron Leftwich, so grab your credit card and spend $36.99 on a Wincraft Jacksonville Jaguars Byron Leftwich clock!

$36.99. Really? Sure, there is leftover junk out there that teams and stores are trying to unload (I believe the Dolphins are selling autographed pictures of their cheerleaders for less than two bucks apiece), but even Flavor Flav himself couldn’t justify spending that kind of money on the merchandise of a man who is now on his third team since the Jaguars.

I have done some extensive research in preparing this presentation of overpriced crap with the NFL seal on it, but this next one might take the cake. You know those fake leather helmets that teams sell? I’m not making fun of those–they’re cool if you’re a football historian, so the throwback feel at least can win you some style points. However, the Redskins have put a twist on them that make Crocs look like Doc Martins.

Presenting the Redskins football head. They’ve taken the old-school helmet, added laces and made them look like they were a prop from the set of Coneheads.

How do you even begin to fathom the thought that somebody actually had the idea of this hat, brought it to their boss, and was told that it was a good idea? Has anyone bought one of these things? Does this make somebody look like they know about the game or give off the impression that they’re a die-hard? If even one of these has been sold, it does nothing but suggest that fans are under the impression that supporting their team means looking like a complete moron.

There are plenty more ridiculous items being sold by the league: from Steelers hand-sanitizer to Bengals Christmas stockings to Raiders jerseys (it’s true, they sell them), there is enough horrible merchandise out there to drive a man crazy.

The NFL works each and every day to paint a picture of the ideal professional sports league. Clearly, they’ve missed a spot.

Last night, as most you were likely fast asleep, top major league pitching prospect, Stephen Strasburg became the highest paid baseball draftee in the history of the game. Now the property of the Washington Nationals, the newly-signed hurler inked a record-high 4-year $15.1 million deal late last night.

Here's Lookin' at you, Strasburg!

Strasburg’s deal eclipsed the old record held by Mark Prior’s contract, a five-year $10.5 million deal back in 2001. With such a rich deal, it’s no wonder who Strasburg’s agent is, as super-agent Scott Boras helped get the deal signed, sealed, and delivered.

Even with how rich Strasburg’s deal is, he isn’t the first athlete to sign a lucrative deal before stepping foot on the field of play. As the ink is undoubtedly still drying on Strasburg’s contract, it’s time to take a stroll down memory lane and look at the some other young athletes who got well-paid long before they played.

The year was 2003, and the Cleveland Cavaliers were on the verge of selecting can’t-miss hoop prospect and Buckeye State product, Lebron James. James, who would later become an NBA superstar shortly thereafter, struck endorsement deals before he had even received his high school diploma from Akron’s St. Vincent-St. Mary High School.

Lebron inked a seven-year $90 million deal with Nike, and one with Upper Deck. James is reportedly being paid $1 million per year for his image to be on trading cards.

In the not-so-financially-powerful world of MLS, 14-year-old soccer phenomFreddy Adu became both the highest-paid and youngest player in the American soccer league. Adu’s rookie deal was for four years and $2 million deal.

Not exactly of David Beckham’s stature, but for MLS, it literally was a big deal. After all, he did appear on MTV’s Total Request Live shortly after signing that deal.

It’s not all fun and games with professional teams offering huge contracts to rookie players. In fact, this very practice has become controversial in the National Football League.

Last year, former Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan signed a six-year, $72 million deal with an Atlanta Falcons franchise still reeling from the outrage of Michael Vick’s dogfighting and head coach Bobby Petrino’s abrupt exit from the sidelines. With the deal, Ryan went from starring  on the gridiron at the Heights, to the heights of being one of the highest-paid players in the sport before even stepping on the Georgia Dome’s turf.

Money surely does talk in the NFL, as players like 49ers draftee Michael Crabtree are making their actions speak louder than words. The Texas Tech product has reportedly threatened to sit out this season and enter next year’s draft if he doesn’t get a contract that is to his satisfaction.

It has almost become unfathomable that athletes who have yet to prove themselves on a professional level, have truly hit the jackpot. Even Gordon Gekko doesn’t endorse that kind of greed.

Seattle sits at second in the Western Division and haven’t lost at home in Qwest Field since April, where they average about 20,000 fans per game. The travel and the new field will add an extra variable to the Revs game.

“It’s a problem,” head coach Steve Nicol said. “It’s a long trip but at the same time they have to do it as well. I think going there isn’t the problem. I think the biggest problem is Sunday, we’re going again on Sunday. Had we just been going there to play then have a free week, but I mean apart from Sunday, Thursday’s going to be a real tough game they’ve been great at home.”

Nicol will miss his second game in a row on Thursday because of the two-game suspension he received after being issued a red card on August 1 against Toronto FC at Gillette. Nicol will travel with the team but will not have any contact before or during the game with assistant coach Paul Mariner taking over for the second straight game.

The team also learned earlier in the week that forward Taylor Twellman will miss the rest of the season while recovering from concussive symptoms he suffered in a game a year ago this August. Twellman had been on the disabled list retroactive to June 26 after appearing in two games, including the one in which he scored his 100th career goal.

“We kind of had a feeling it was going to end up like that,” midfielder Steve Ralston said. “Obviously we were hoping for the better but we understand how important it is for him just to get healthy and if that means to wait and come back to play next year that’s great. The most important thing is his health. You can’t replace a player like that. We all try to step up, score some more g0als.”

The trip to Seattle is the only road game for the month of August. The Revs will play three home games in a row starting Sunday with Real Salt Lake followed by San Jose and Kansas City. New England still has games in hand against every team in the Eastern Division.

“Earlier in the season you can get away with a bad performances or missed chances,” Ralston said. “But we’re in the part of the season here where we need to be focused and everything needs to be better. We’ve done quite well at home this season so hopefully we’ll do good during that stretch but we usually don’t look that far down the road. Honestly we’re looking forward to Thursday and playing Seattle but it will be nice to be at home and play in front of our fans.”

In recent years, the world of sports has seemingly bought a time-share on the show. Steroid scandals polluting professional diamonds and America’s high schools, college football coaches aiming to help the community around their schools, a look at the impact the NBA’s most famous name has, and the controversial Michael Vick have all been recently examined by the country’s longest running prime-time television program.

On Sunday, 60 Minutes correspondent James Brown interviewed Michael Vick after the Virginia Tech alum signed a contract to return to the gridiron after being imprisoned on dogfighting charges. The interview was the first one-on-one that Vick had done since going to jail in 2007.

Vick appeared on the show with a representative for the Humane Society and his NFL-assigned advisor, former Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy. In case you missed last night’s piece, the interview can be seen below in two parts.

In March, LeBron James was interviewed for a segment on the show that examined the hardwood superstar. What most will remember from this piece was Lebron’s half court behind-the-back shot that was used in promos for the show.

Interviewer Steve Kroft even went to Lebron’s hometown of Akron, Ohio, to get a better sense of the athlete. James told Kroft that he wants to become a global brand like his NBA hero, Michael Jordan.

If you missed that piece,  check it out below.

Even former Patriots coach, Pete Carroll has appeared on the show. 60 Minutes correspondent Byron Pitts looked at the coach and his work on the mean streets of Los Angeles.

Carroll goes into some of the poorest neighborhoods of the City of Angels and aims to help decrease gang violence in Los Angeles. Here’s Pitts’ take on coach Carroll.

Makes you think he’s a better guy than those consecutive 10-6, 9-7, and 8-8 seasons would indicate, doesn’t it?

Finally, President Obama has even chimed in on the world of sports not long after his historic win in the 2008 Election. An avid sports fan in his own right, Obama told Steve Kroft that he would like to see a playoff system to determine a college football national champion.

Aside from meeting each and every champion thanks to visits to the White House, Barack Obama clearly looks like the first fan.

Exactly one year ago today, Usain Bolt and Tyson Gay were making history in Beijing at the 2008 Olympics.

Today, the two track stars find themselves in Berlin at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics – this time, reliving history.

While attending Ohio State University just before the '36 Olympics, Owens was known as the "Buckeye Bullet"

Both men cruised into the semifinals of the world championship’s 100 meters: Gay, the three-time world champion from the U.S., won his quarterfinal in 9.98 seconds while Bolt, the three-time Olympic champion from Jamaica, finished second in his heat at 10.03.

Still, as the week’s most prominent headline seems to be the matchup between these two running heavyweights, there’s no doubting the underlying historical significance of their competing in Berlin, where Jesse Owens won four gold medals during Hitler’s 1936 Olympics.

Hitler and his Nazi Germany anticipated the games that year to exhibit to the world at large the emergence of a new superpower and, above all else, the superiority of the Aryan race as demonstrated through athletic competition. But much to the chagrin of the ruthless dictator, Owens had other plans as he went on to win the 100-meter sprint, the 200-meter sprint, the 4×100-meter relay, and the long jump. The infamous moment coming when Hitler refused to acknowledge Owens’ accomplishments by neither applauding nor shaking his hand after the games.

However, Owens memorably conceded that it wasn’t Hitler’s snub that irked him most, but rather his own country’s lack of progress when it came to race issues. The Olympic-champion had this to say in an article by ESPN.com’s Larry Schwartz:

“When I returned to my native country, after all the stories about Hitler, I couldn’t ride in the front of the bus,” Owens said. “I had to go to the back door. I couldn’t live where I wanted. I wasn’t invited to shake hands with Hitler, but I wasn’t invited to the White House to shake hands with the President, either.”

Almost 30 years since his death, the U.S. is a different country from the one Owens described in the quote above. Civil rights have become a permanent institution in the country’s structure, and race relations in general are nothing near what they were in the 1930s. Owens, too, has received his due honor in the form of a Medal of Freedom from President Ford, the Congressional Medal of Honor from President Bush the first, and perhaps most notably, a street in Berlin re-named Jesse-Owens-Allee.

During the 2009 world championships, members of the U.S. team will wear “JO” on their uniforms in tribute to Owens.

“The JO on the uniform is basically just letting me know it’s bigger than me just going out and running for myself,” said LaShawn Merritt, the reigning Olympic champion in the men’s 400 meters, in a recent New York Time’s article.

As Bolt and Gay prepare to potentially face each other in what would be a global showdown for the ages, there’s no doubting Owens will be on everyone’s minds in Berlin. Bolt, he said, is going to use that for some inspiration:

“It’s going to be big because Jesse Owens made history here. I’m going to come here and try to do the same, try to make great things happen.”

 By DAN ROWINSKI

CHESTNUT HILL — Life is getting interesting for the football mavens over on Chestnut Hill. A new regime has begun as Frank Spaziani takes the reins of the Boston College squad after the Jeff Jagodzinski dismissal and the team looks forward to another campaign. Yet, nothing is settled in the Land Of The Eagle, especially at the most important position on the field; quarterback.

The Eagles are still trying to find the successor to Matt Ryan, who now plies his wares professionally in Atlanta, and the most experienced incumbent, Dominique Davis, has transferred after being suspended for academic reasons. That leaves four young men (well, one not so young) for Spaziani to work out and choose before the season opener against Northeastern on September 5th.

“We have a very cloudy picture at quarterback and we feel we are at the best position we can be at this point,” Spaziani said. “We have a few young men competing and we hope to get this thing sorted out relatively soon.”

The most interesting story of this group is Dave Shinskie, coming back to school at age 25 after playing seven seasons of minor league baseball, but he will also battle redshirt freshman Justin Tuggle, son of five-time Pro Bowler Jessie Tuggle, junior Codi Boek and true freshman Michael Marscovetra.

Shinskie is the misnomer. He has not been on a football field in six years after being the fourth round, 118th pick in the 2003 Major League Baseball draft by the Minnesota twins. He bounced around in their system for several years, never getting above the double A level before picking up with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats in the Blue Jays organization this year. He was cut from the team in early June and finished his pitching career with a 24-30 record with a 4.61 ERA in 162 games. He took a couple weeks before deciding to return to college to play football.

“I don’t think I was done playing a sport. I’m still in my prime and I always missed playing football when I was playing baseball,” Shinskie said. “This is a great opportunity to come in and do something great for this football team.”

Shinskie, who said he also had opportunities at Rutgers and Pittsburgh, chose Boston College for the city and the coaching staff.

“There’s something about this city, something about this team and the coaching staff that I loved,” he said. “I thought this would be a great fit for me.”

For his part, Spaziani likes what he sees out of the freshman in his mid-twenties.

“Dave has done a nice job so far. I mean, he’s learning well, it doesn’t really look like he’s been out of football for six years, which is pretty good,” he said. “You know, he’s been out there in the real world like the rest of us, fighting for a paycheck, trying to earn his living and make it somewhere . . . I’ve seen a mature 25-year old out on the field and he’s taking his responsibility seriously and trying to do the best he can.”

Though they are in competition with Shinskie, Tuggle and Boek are both playing the team game, trying to help the newcomers with Spaziani’s system and do what is best for the Eagles.

“It’s not really a personal competition. We’re not battling each other, we’re not rivals. We’re friends on and off the field. We know we have a job to do, there’s no hostility between us,” Tuggle said.

“We’re all competing, but it’s not like we’re enemies,” Boek said.

Tuggle is feeling more comfortable on campus after his redshirt year and is excited to see what play is like at the college level after a great senior season at Northview High School in greater Atlanta in 2007.

“It’s good to have a year under you belt. This time last year it was little more nerve-wracking, knowing what to expect,” Tuggle said. “Now I feel a lot more relaxed and feel confident with what I’m doing with the system we put in.”

Boek, along with Tuggle, were the only quarterbacks on the roster present for the spring and summer workouts when Spaziani put in the offense. In that regard, they are both helping the rest of the offense get comfortable with the new regime moving forward.

“Justin and I were both here in the spring when they put in the offense so we’ve been here when the offense was first put in through seven-on-seven in the summer and we have a little bit more of an understanding of the offense and just try to help these guys along,” Boek said.

Spaziani knows that the next Matt Ryan is not just going to fall in his lap and he has his work cut out for him in the next few weeks to get this grouped prepared for meaningful games on Saturdays in the ACC. It will be a work in progress but if he can cull an efficient game manager from this group the Eagles will be able to hold their own this fall.

“We’re going to manage the team and have a guy manage what we want,” Spaziani said. “We’re going to do what we can handle.”

New coach, new quarterback, new era. It remains to be seen what this squad can handle but it will be interesting to find out what this retooled Boston College team can do come the first week of September.

Five things we learned on the first day of the Frank Spaziani Era at Boston College:

SPAZIANI IS A MASTER MOTIVATOR

Just listening to him talk at Boston College’s media day on Friday will convince anyone of that. Now, he’ll need every bit of his inspirational skills to keep BC in the mix of the Atlantic Coast Conference and among the elite BCS programs.

He moves up to head coach after 10 years as a defensive coordinator and inherits a program that has no quarterback with starting experience at Division I. His team’s emotional leader is out for the year battling cancer. Another star linebacker is out for now, trying to hurry back from an Achilles tendon injury.

But don’t think Spaziani isn’t excited for his first college head coaching job at the age of 62.

“I’m real excited,” he said on Friday at Chestnut Hill. “Can’t you tell? It is very exciting. It’s invigorating, it really is. It’s a new job, new experience. It’s a lot of energy, a lot of energy. It’s like anything, writing a new story or covering something different, you’re energized by it.

“My personality is what it is. There’s obviously different timeframes with the players. By that I mean there’s just being with the defense more and more intimate as you are as a head coach. A lot of stuff has to be delegated but I think they’ll get my message,” he added.

All of this came after accepting the job in less than ideal conditions. It was on Jan. 12 that he officially replaced Jeff Jagodzinski, who was ‘allowed’ to pursue other employment opportunities when he interviewed for the Jets head coaching job.

But none of that kept the Eagles from their first full practice in pads on Friday as they point toward Sept. 5 and a date with Northeastern at Alumni Stadium.

“There are going to be problems with any job,” Spaziani said. “No one needs to feel sorry for us. What I inherited? What I inherited was a great job at a great university with great people and great players.

“Now, do we have our work cut out for us? Yes. Do we have a plan? Yes. Is the future bright? Yes. So, there’s a lot of positive things. Sometimes you have to manage the expectations. The problems are always there. Winning minimizes the problems. Losing magnifies them but the problems are ALWAYS there and we have to manage them and we’ll do the best we can.

“We expect to compete every week and we expect every Friday night when we go to bed before the game wake up expecting to win, simple. And we expect to be as good as we possibly can be,” he said.

ALL EYES ON ARE THE QB (POSITION)

In early June, 25-year-old Dave Shinskie, fresh from being released by the Minnesota Twins, announced he was coming to Boston College to compete for the starting QB job. He played at Mount Carmel High in Pennsylvania. He will compete with Codi Boek and Jesse Tuggle’s son Justin.

 Dominique Davis, the only other returning quarterback was dismissed from the team because of academic reasons earlier this year. 

 Others likely to get snaps here and there are Billy Flutie and true freshman Michael Marscorvetra.

“Obviously, the quarterback is an important part of a football team,” Spaziani said. “It’s like pitchers in baseball, when you’ve got good pitching, the whole team looks well. We have a very cloudy picture at quarterback. We feel that we are in the best position we can be in at this point.

“We have four young men competing and we hope to get this thing sorted out relatively soon because that’s what we need to do. As we’ve told the players, you’re evaluated on everything you do in this program, everything you do. We’re evaluating them, formulating opinions. You have to go out there and toe the rubber and see what happens.”

It’s hard to believe this program is just two years removed from Matt Ryan.

“Just common sense would say because of our inexperience there, we’re going to have to manage the team and have a guy manage what we want,” Spaziani said. “I’ve got some great offensive coaches and we’re going to do what we can handle. I don’t think I ever coached asking kids to do stuff they can’t do. The more they can handle, the more they’ll do.

“I’ve seen a mature 25-year-old that’s been out on the field and is taking his responsibility seriously and is doing the best he can.”

THE EAGLES WITH BE MOTIVATED BY BEING PICKED FOURTH IN THE ATLANTIC DIVISION OF THE ACC

“It’s kind of early,” Spaziani said. “We haven’t really done football. We’ve been teaching and some guys have surprised me by how much they’ve learned. We’ll see some surprises early on.

“I’ve always differed with the ‘overachieving’ (label). I don’t think anybody ever does more than they’re capable of doing. We have people that are capable of winning football games and it’s our job to get them to that point where they can win them. Prognosticating is for other people. We have to prepare ourselves to get ready to do the job.

“You guys look at the depth chart and you look at who we’ve lost, who we have coming in, where we’re at and make assessments. Our guys see the same thing but we expect a little bit different. Our guys understand where they are, why they’re there. They have a clear picture of where they have to go and we have to plan how to get there.  It’s now up to us to implement it and then to do it. Ultimately, it comes down to the players doing it and taking ownership of their team and they can accomplish whatever they want,” he said.

YOU SHOULD GET TO KNOW MONTEL HARRIS

The tailback could be the most important player on the team. If the sophomore can improve upon his freshman-record 900 yards rushing from last season, that will go a long way to taking the pressure of Shinskie or whomever is calling the signals. One huge advantage will be the offensive line he is running behind, which has five players returning including NFL prospects Matt Tennant, the center, and left tackle Anthony Castonzo.

“Obviously, it would help a lot,” Spaziani said. “Whenever you have to replace some area on the team, someone steps in and replaces that. Whether they’re 100 percent of the production that you used to have, or they’re 120 percent of the production or they’re 80 percent and if it’s below that percentage, then other people have to produce. I would expect Montel to, because he’s young, be a better player than he was last year and whatever percentage is will help offset whatever we’ve lost or whatever we need at other positions.”

MARK HERZLICH AND MIKE MCLAUGHLIN WILL INSPIRE FROM THE SIDELINES

The inside of the media guide is an open letter from Herzlich about his battle with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a malignant cancer of the soft tissue or bone and how his passion of football remains even in the light of the battle of his life.

“I just talked with him a couple of days ago. (Def. coordinator) Billy McGovern talks to him daily,” Spaziani said. “I call Mark once a week. He’s getting his treatment and it’s going well. I guess they’re waiting for this segment of it to be completed to re-evaluate what the next step is. I believe he told me he’s planning on being back here September 2nd, the sooner, the better for all of us.”

One of the best linebackers in the nation at the time of diagnosis, Herzlich is receiving treatment and is aiming for a return in 2010.

“It’s only got to be positive,” added the coach. “Exactly what it is, that’s hard to say. Just having him around, his confidence and encouraging guys is all part of the leadership we miss and we need.”

Meanwhile, another linebacker Mike McLaughlin is facing another battle, though certainly not life-threatening. BC’s second-leading tackler last season is recovering from a torn Achilles this spring and is hopeful to return in the first four-to-six weeks of the season.

“He’s doing exactly what he’s supposed to be doing and he’s where he’s supposed to be,” Spaziani said. “It’s a matter of him tolerating certain things and that will dictate when he gets back on the field and we’re all hoping that’s sooner than later. Because of our injury situation at linebacker, I would expect somebody, some younger person, to emerge over there. Now, what impact they’re going to have, I don’t know. But just because of the bodies over there, maybe defensive line.

“I think this is a nice group. They’re physically a nice group. Physically, they’re all there. Right now, it’s mental. It’s how you handle a lot of stuff.”

With Michael Vick set to return to the field for the first time since 2006– and everyone talking about it– it’s the only logical choice.

Vick has paid his price, but are fans ready to let it go?

After dogfighting charges in 2007 landed him behind bars and in home confinement for 23 months, Vick has signed a $1.6 million deal with the Eagles that at the very least will bring plenty of attention to Lincoln Financial Field. Tony Dungy says he’s a changed person, but is he really? More importantly, does it matter?

Earlier this morning, Philadelphia head coach Andy Reid sat at a podium with Vick and Dungy as the two legendary coaches discussed the reform that the scrambling quarterback has faced. As Dungy says that Vick wants to “be a role model for young kids,” how can one not shake their head? I’m not talking about writing off Vick’s quest to be a better person– everyone deserves a second chance, regardless of how many dogs they’ve neglected/killed– but is signing an NFL contract about being a good person?

This isn’t to say that the NFL is a league of criminals. Roger Goodell– love him or hate him– has done a fantastic job of flexing the league’s muscle on those who take advantage of their celebrity, but isn’t the game about what you do on the field? Philadelphia must have thought so if they were willing to take on the media storm that surrounds the acquisition.

Apparently the Eagles weren’t the only team that were interested in bringing in the ’01 top pick. The Bengals (shocker) were also willing to turn a blind eye to his criminal past and give Vick the second chance he had been looking for.

After losing out on Vick, the Bengals have turned their attention to fictional nemeses of Jack Bauer

How have these things worked out in the past? The Cowboys famously brought in Adam “Pac Man” Jones via trade in April of ‘08 and were burned when it turned out that he had more of a rap sheet than was initially thought. End result? Snip, snip. Last season, the Cowboys also took  chance on defensive tackle Tank Johnson, of DUI/weapons/you-name-it fame. Johnson has since signed with the Bengals, a safe-haven for NFL wrong-doers. Now for a run-down on Cincinnati’s history with law-breaking players.

The Benga– ah, forget it. I’m pretty sure they’re in contact with the creators of 24 to find the guy who played Habib Marwan just so they can be that more dangerous. 

In his introductory press conference, Vick said that prison helped him reach a turning point in his ways. Whether you want to believe that or not, it’s hell of a lot better than when Vick spoke in ‘07 about the sacrifices he was prepared to make regarding the company he keeps.

“If I’ve got to be fishing or playing golf every day to keep myself away from everybody else, that’s what I’m gonna be doing,” Vick said.

Poor guy. At the very least Vick is displaying what could at least be interpreted as remorse.

It would be naive to think that nobody– whether it be PETA, angry Falcons fans, etc.– will criticize this move. However, now that Vick’s in Philadelphia, he has the support of at least 52 people. As far as Atlanta goes, those who invested money on No. 7 jerseys are licking their chops as they wait for Dec. 6.

What will the future hold for Vick? Will he make contributions as a receiver/back? Will the Eagles exercise pick up his option for a second season? Will he end up falling into old patterns and be the next Adam Jones? The questions are flying, and Vick has given the most important answer.

“You only get one shot at a second chance.”

So let’s operate under the assumption that Vick is just a football player. The man has paid his price, filed for bankruptcy, and wants to start anew. He may not be able to be a quarterback, but let’s at least give him the opportunity to be a professional.

As WEEI’s Big Show listeners have heard on many a “Last Call,” Boston Herald columnist and frequent guest Steve Buckley has been promoting for months, the 16th annual Oldtime Baseball Game will take place on Thursday night in Cambridge. The game has been a summer baseball tradition in Cambridge since its inception in 1994.

That summer 15 years ago, Major League Baseball was mired in a work stoppage that even cancelled World Series. As enthusiasm for the professional variety of the game was waning, Buckley unintentionally got the ball rolling on what has become a local late-summer tradition.

As a host of a show on WEEI, Buckley very hastily suggested that he and his listeners have their own game to outweigh the negative effects of the strike. Little did he know that such a comment would strike a chord with so many in New England.

People called the show and pledge donations to take to the field. Paul Ryder of the Cambridge Park and Recreation even donated the use of St. Peter’s Field, which set the stage for baseball to played during the 1994 strike.

However, there needed to be a charitable cause to help fuel the game. The first charitable cause was to help pay for college scholarships for the children of Cambridge postal worker Eddie Fitzmaurice. Fitzmaurice was killed in a motor vehicle accident. The game’s proeceeds helped start a scholarship fund for the late postal worker’s two children.

This year’s charitable cause for the game is Hospitality Homes. The organization provides temporary housing for patients and families undergoing medical care in the Boston area.

The game’s charitable partner changes each summer. The Oldtime Game’s players, including former Red Sox infielder Lou Merloni, believe the charity tie-in gives the game some extra incentive for good play.

“Seeing as though it’s for a good cause, it’s not life or death and it’s not the big leagues,” Merloni said. “But the pressure is still there because you don’t want to be the guy kicking balls and striking out.”

In addition to the charitable donations of the monetary variety, many local citizens and companies, like Royal White Laundry, donate their time and services. It clearly takes a village to raise the annual game.

“Everyone sees it as something that’s parochial, provencial, and local,” said Buckley. “This is all people who love baseball.”

Merloni isn’t the only local luminary to lace up the spikes for this year’s contest, as Massachusetts State Senator Anthony Galluccio is also playing in the game. Like Merloni, this is Galluccio’s second consecutive appearance.

Aside from the charitable aspects of the contest, Senator Galluccio is playing in this year’s game to settle a small score with Cambridge native Bobby Fournier that dates back to last year.

“I had come back from vacation and I found out that he was going around the city saying that he was going to strike me out,” the Senator said. “I didn’t realize he had made this prediction, so it upped the ante a lot.”

Last year’s one at-bat showdown saw Senator Galluccio make contact on the first pitch he saw from the Salem State hurler. However, Senator Galluccio grounded out in his only at-bat last year.

Monday’s media day gave the local press a chance to see the players of tomorrow in the uniforms of yesterday. Merloni will be wearing the game’s oldest throwback uniform, representing the 1890 Boston Beaneaters .

Those uniforms made their debut during the 1998 game. According to Buckley, the uniforms were donated by Technical Personnel Services.

According to Buckley, the Beaneaters were an entrant of the Players League, and were the pennant-winning squad in the league’s only year of existence.

What began as a truly organic idea to deviate from the frustrations felt by baseball fans in the greater Boston area during one of professional baseball’s darkest and lowest points in its history, has turned out to become a summer tradition in the city of Cambridge.

If Steve Buckley and friends build it, history (much like that of the national pastime being celebrated at the game) has shown that many people will come.

For more information please visit the Oldtime Baseball Game official website.

He wasn't in '99 form, but No. 45 did something Wednesday he did 117 times with the Sox: won.

Martinez, who won Cy Young awards (and nearly an MVP award) with the Sox in ‘99 and ‘00, got his Phillies career off to a good start, as he tossed five innings in a win over the Cubs that was all-but assured after an eight-run Phillies fourth made the score 12-1. Working with less-dangerous a repertoire than he had in Montreal and Boston, Martinez struck out five and allowed seven hits on 99 pitches. Not quite up to par with his debut with the Red Sox in ‘98, in which he fanned 11 Athletics over seven shutout innings, or with the Mets (12 strikeouts through six), but it sure was pleasing to see No. 45 out there once again.

Though Andy Martino of the Philadelphia Inquirer described Martinez as being “spent by the fifth,” the game had much more to offer in terms of both offense and an ejected fan (throwing a beer on someone on a routine fly ball? Bartman made Cubs fans look like losers, but this guy just made them look like a-holes).

Meanwhile, just over an hour before the cameras began flashing on Martinez in Chicago, Josh Beckett continued what at this point is a serious campain for a Cy Young of his own.  Facing the Tigers in the third game of a four-game set, Beckett carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning and ended up lasting seven. Solo shots from Carlos Guillen and Marcus Thames provided the only offense for the Tigers as Becket improved to 14-4 with an ERA of 3.10.

While Wednesday night’s start paled in comparison to the domination displayed on June 3 in Detroit (7.2 IP, 0 ER, 9 SO), Beckett’s consistency since the beginning of May undoubtedly has the attention of the BBWAA. His low ERA (currently fifth-best in the American League) 145 strikeouts (also fifth), and majors-leading victory total stand a good chance at delivering Boston their first Cy Young winner since Martinez.

According to the Neyer/James Cy Young predictor formula, Beckett would indeed take home the distinction should the season end today. He would finish just ahead of Hernandez, who pitched seven shutout innings in a game that the Mariners won in 14 innings.

Is Beckett more deserving than the 12-4 Hernandez, who has tossed more innings (165.1), notched more strikeouts (158), and has a lower ERA (2.72)? It certainly helps that Beckett is pitching for a team that plans on competing when the leaves fall.

In fact, it is impressive that Hernandez has been able to win as many games as he has this season with the Mariners, considering that among AL pitchers who have tossed 100 or more innings, King Felix’ run support average of 6.10 ranks him 34th out of 42.

Even if Hernandez is second to Beckett this year in Cy Young voting, the 23-year-old’s future figures to see him compete for the award on a yearly basis. Might those years come in a Red Sox uniform?

It’s no secret that the Red Sox tried to make a blockbuster deal for Hernandez at the trade deadline, but were rebuffed after basically offering the Mariners their pick of the litter. After the deadline passed, however, Boston GM Theo Epstein spoke of how he felt “groundwork” had been laid for an offseason deal. Is the Hernandez deal the one of which he spoke? If so, it should come as no surprise.

Hernandez, who has been pitching in the majors since the ripe old age of 19, can become a free agent following the 2011 season, at which point he will be just 25 years old. Knowing that he will be able command quite the contract, it would be wise for the Mariners to evaluate their chances of retaining his services long-term. If their chances look bleak, trading him for a young core of future starters might be the right move. The Red Sox are obviously seasoned veterans in such deals, as they were able to get both Martinez and Beckett early on their careers from clubs that could not afford them down the road.

It might be reading too far into things, but with Beckett’s contract set to expire following next season, a deal for Hernandez would secure a young ace to pair with Jon Lester for years to come. Call it getting too excited about a deal that was turned down, call it wishful thinking, but I call it groundwork. That might be all the Sox need to land a stud via trade once again.

After a frustrating weekend in the Bronx, something needed to liven up the 2009 Boston Red Sox. Last night at Fenway Park, the team might’ve found their source for reinvigoration.

Last night became fight night at Fenway Park as Kevin Youkilis and Rick Porcello mixing it up after the 20-year-old Tigers righty hit the Sox first baseman during the second inning of last night’s game. In case you somehow missed last night’s slugfest, check it out below.

The stroll down memory lane with regards to Red Sox-related fights is a relatively short one. Last year during a game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Coco Crisp charged the mound against James Shields.

Crisp threw a haymaker at Shields and missed in the ‘08 scrum. This wasn’t the first fight between the Sox and the Rays — just ask Pedro Martinez and Gerald Williams.

Martinez, who also makes his first start for the Phillies tonight, plunked Williams, which caused the then Devil Ray to charge the mound against the lanky righthander.

Aside from Martinez using his glove as both a weapon and a shield, the LEEInks two favorite parts of this brawl comes courtesy of former Red Sox General Manager Dan Duquette. In interviews after the brawl, the Duke called Williams a “thug”, and Martinez channeled a little Tom Hanks and reminded us all that there’s no crying in baseball.

The LEEInks can’t help but find some similiarities between last night’s fight and the Alex Rodriguez-Jason Varitek fight on July 24, 2004.

On the fifth anniversary of that fateful game WEEI.com’s own Alex Speier took a look back at that afternoon’s events. Could last night’s brawl be the spark this year’s Sox need to mount a run to the World Series?

Brawling to help bond a team towards a playoff run wasn’t invented in 2004 though, as former Sox manager Dick Williams saw with his 1984 San Diego Padres in a game against the Atlanta Braves . The fight brought 13 ejections on the field and five off of it, and a shirtless Ed Whitson jawing with fans in Atlanta.

Walkoff Walk recounts the 25th anniversary of this fight on their blog today. They also have an embedded link to video of the fras on their site.

Brawling isn’t restricted to the big league version of the Red Sox either. In 2001, Red Sox farmhand Izzy Alcantara goes all Karate Kid on an opposing catcher before charging the mound in a game in Pawtucket.

Red Sox pitchers have been on the recieving end of mound charges as well. Just ask Aaron Sele, as Chicago’s George Bell charged the mound back in 1993.

Thankfully for Sele, Mo Vaughn did his best Andre Tippett impression and tackled Bell who, like Coco Crisp a decade and a half later, missed a haymaker. For more ”base-brawls” including a few mentioned in this space, check out Sportscenter’s top ten list here.

Last week Carolina also lost starting defensive tackle Maacke Kemoeatu for the season with a torn achilles. Over the weekend Tampa Bay Bucaneers receiver Antonio Bryant opted to get arthroscopic knee surgery after not being able to participate in practice because of a torn meniscus in his left knee suffered last season.

So as most teams head into Week 1 of preseason games, the question that is posed every August is posed yet again: should the NFL preseason be shortened to prevent more injuries?

As of Monday there were roughly 100 players listed with injuries, with about 65 on the physically unable to preform/injury reserve list. That’s only an average of three injured players a team but some teams like the Lions and Saints have as many as seven players listed with injuries. While most are minor hamstring strains or sore shoulders, it still leaves a player vulnerable for the unpredictability of the preseason game.

So what’s the resolution? Well Tom Brady didn’t play any of the Patriot’s four preseason games last year because of a right foot injury and we all know what happened in the first quarter of his first regualr season game last year. Yet Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer broke his nose in a game last preseason that required him to undergo surgery and Redskins defensive end Jason Taylor injured his knee in a blowout preseason loss last August.

Yes, the NFL is a contact sport. Yes, there are going to be injuries (Smith’s, after all, took place on a practice field). But can the NFL  prevent some preseason player losses by shortening the schedule? Does a pro-football player really need four preseason games to get adjusted to the game time situations even with the intensity of training camp and team scrimmages? While the scrimmages do not possess the same game time atmosphere and preparation, most starters don’t even enter the third quarter of a preseason game. If the NFL preseason were shortened to two games with a majority of starters on the field for the entire game, would it not create the same results as partially playing in four games albeit in a more efficient manner?

Boston athletes such as Randy Moss, Vince Wilfork, Paul Pierce and the ever-interesting Stephon Marbury have all been bitten by the Twitter bug. While most Tweets are meant to be fun and funny, last week the Boston Herald reported that Celtics forward ’Big Baby’ Glen Davis used his Twitter account to voice his frustrations with the team over his lack of a contract. Come to find out, Davis claimed the Tweets were posted from a fake Twitter account. Dun, dun, dun. Whether Big Baby was just being a big baby about his contract or not the bigger question is the validity of these athletes Twitter accounts.

Millions of fans have been following their favorite athletes on Twitter in order to feel closer to the athlete or to see what they do away from the field. Yet with fake accounts popping up all over the place Twitter could soon create more harm than good. From Shaquille O’Neal to Tony LaRussa fake Tweets have created quite the controversy. LaRussa filed a lawsuit against the web site because a Twittering imposter posted comments about his drunk driving incident and the deaths of two of players earlier in the season. The site does not currently have a way to detect fake accounts but may in the near future if such incidents continue.

Not only do the fake accounts hamper the purpose of the site but it seems only a matter of time before a team loses a game because of a Tweet posted by an overzealous athlete. Teams have started to enforce rules about how and when athletes can use Twitter. The ever insightful Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinc0 claims he plans to Tweet after his first touchdown this season (that is if Cincinnati can even make it to the endzone) but not if the NFL has any say in the matter. The league already has a rule in place banning electronic devices from cell phones to lap tops during game time. That probably won’t stop Ochocinco though. Recently players have been fined taking their Tweeting freedoms too far. Charger’s cornerback Antonio Cromartie was fined for $2500 by the San Diego for Tweeting about the team’s food spread and their Superbowl loss. The trend may continue if athletes decide to reveal too much information to fans and media alike.

It seems the media isn’t quite sure how to handle Twitter also known as the athlete’s public diary. Can a story be written about an athlete’s Tweets? Apparently not in Big Baby’s case. Athletes in one sense have made it easier if not interesting for the media who will pounce on a Tweet about a clubhouse disagreement or otherwise private contract negociations. Some web sites have even made it easier for the media and the obsessive sports fans by seeking out the real athletes on Twitter. But maybe some of the behind-the-scenes clubhouse discussions and player interactions should be left private. Now that decision is up to the athlete.