1. Red Sox:

* Sox In five games
* I hate watching games in a dome
* Never seen so many grown men waving towels - sort of goofy
* I love Wakefield in this series
* Tito like to introduce you to Sean Casey

2. Manny talk

* I hope we face the Dodgers and Manny, Nomar, Lowe, Torre
* How hasn’t anyone hit Manny in the head?
* I am praying that the Yankees sign him

3. Bruins are on pace to go 82-0

4. Chargers 28 - Patriots 13: Teams are looking for payback

5. Check Monday’s top ten - I noted the potential fix of the Kimbo Slice fight

6. Hope Kevin Garnett didn’t stay in Marcus Camby’s room when they were up at UMass - he’d get a free #5 gold necklace and other services

7. The local teams have all won their last game (except the Boston Lobsters)

8. Who will die first Pacman Jones or a Bengal

9. Falling faster than the stock market:

* Nomar
* Andruw Jones
* Barry Bonds
* Sammy Sosa
* George Bush (I voted for him twice)
* Marvin Lewis
* Al Davis

10. Randomocity:

* Great weekend - great weather - look out for those out of towners peeking at leaves (if they want they can come and rake my yard for free)
* Big high school football game this weekend: BC High vs. Everett. Could Everett lose two games in one season?
* Vermont is nicer than New Hampshire
* Harvard football and Tim Murphy don’t get enough attention around here
* Can’t watch an event with a woman announcer (sorry)
* Dave O’Brien best since Ned Martin
* At the Oklahoma vs Texas game they bring a portable jail to the stadium - should be a great game
* Derek Lowe made two mistakes last night and they were both hit out to the park
* Deer hunting started be careful looking at leaves

Blanket Fund Dinner 100 sold / 100 left - to benefit four homeless shelters (100% of proceeds) set for November 13th / 6:00 @ Irish Ale House in Dedham - $60 a ticket includes dinner and entertainment. Theme will be the Sports Reporters featuring Steve Bulpett - Herald’s basketball writer and Tom Curran from NBC.com football. Send money to Northern Bank and Trust, Blanket Fund 215 Lexington Street, Woburn, Ma 01801. Make check payable to Blanket Fund - make sure you include name to be put on list.

1. Terry Francona’s Red Sox teams have won 7 of 8 playoff series

2. Tom Brady’s fourth game starting: Vs the Colts 16 for 20 and 3 TD in a 38-17 win

3. Red Sox are favored to win the World Series on Vegasinsider.com - I love the Sox in five against Tampa.

Red Sox………8-5
Tampa…………5-2
Dodgers……….3-1
Phillies………..3-1

4. Cam Neely the year before the Bruins traded for him with Vancouver (1985-1986): 73 Game / 14 goals / 126 Penalty Minutes / Minus 30

5. From my favorite website Baseballreference.com - postseason walk off home runs for and against Red Sox:

For

1975 - Carlton Fisk vs Reds - Game 6 World Series
2003 - Trot Nixon vs Oakland - Game 3 ALDS
2004 - David Ortiz vs. Angels - Game 3 ALDS
2004 - David Ortiz vs. Yankees - Game 4 ALCS
2007 - Manny vs. Angels - Game 2 ALDS

Against

1995 - Tony Pena of Cleveland off Zane Smith - Game 1 ALDS
1999 - Bernie Williams off Rod Beck - Game 1 ALCS
2003 - Aaron Boone off Tim Wakefield - Game 7 ALCS

6. Hall of Fame players the Celtics acquired at the end of their career:

* Dominique Wilkins
* Dave Bing
* Pete Maravich
* Bill Walton
* Tiny Archibald
* Clyde Lovellette
* Andy Phillip
* Arnie Risen

7. Amazing Stats - Julio Lugo in Tampa Bay DEVIL Rays lore:

* Third highest career batting average…….287
* Second highest career OBP………………350
* Fourth highest slugging %…………………421
* Third in runs…………………………………..283
* Fourth in hits………………………………….550
* Second in stolen bases………………………88

8. Old School - Whats the difference - greed!

* Game 6 of 1975 World Series…12 Innings / 12 Pitchers - Game Time 4:01
* Game 2 of 2008 ALDS………….12 Innings / 12 Pitchers - Game Time 5:19

9. Just a Little Bit Outside: Gene, Gene the Dancing Machine was better talent than the Unknown Comic

10. Randomocity:

* C’mon jinx - Manny is on the cover of SI this week “See Manny Run”
* Fonzie was never the same after his failed dare devil attempt
* Jim Burton (and in turn Darrell Johnson) gets too much grief for the Joe Morgan hit he allowed in 1975 - it was a soft pop up that landed in front of Fred Lynn
* Can’t believe the Milwaukee Brewers went with cheerleaders
* Luke Walton was being stalked? Must be a crazy woman who loves slow forwards with adequate handle and limited range
* Will the bailout by Congress include the Lugo contract?

Buy Now - Buy Often - Rebound - December 2008 release (click on second HTTP below)

http://

http://

1. Red Sox win

* Good call by Joe Castiglione on the radio “Can you believe it”
* Jordan’s Furniture just gulped
* Red Sox live to entertain us for another week
* Jason Varitek didn’t make his first trip to the mound until two outs in the third
* No question the league talked to the umpires about breaking up those meetings faster
* Speaking of the trips to the mound - how did Masterson and Varitek get crossed up when he’s out to talk every other pitch (huge play)
* One step closer to the Manny Reunion

2. Lester

* Lester hasn’t given up an earned run in his last 22.2 postseason innings
* Didn’t find his curve ball until the sixth inning
* I think he needs to come out for the eighth. He had retired the last eight hitters he faced and only threw 12 pitches in the 7th and seemed to be getting stronger.

3. Fenway Park

* Went to the game last night and won in seat roulette - all civil people in my splash area
* The people selling chowder covered the price on their pin they wear and wrote in with pen $6.50
* Can the crowd really be chanting MVP when Pedroia was 0-fer for the series?
* Vendors were selling stupid Red Sox rally Monkey’s - leave that yahoo stuff for the yahoo cities
* Pedroia made a nice running play and scoop to get a runner at first and they couldn’t show the replay at Fenway
* New rule at Fenway - if a fan leaps from their seat and yells “get out of here” on a fly ball and that ball lands more than twenty yards from the fence - they have to buy a round for their whole row
* Do the peanut vendors stretch out before the game with some long toss and then have someone follow them during the game with a clicker to monitor their pitch count?

4. I don’t have that warm comfortable feeling anymore when Ortiz comes to the plate. Instead I have the same negative doubt as if Varitek was up. Since 8/30 Oritz is hitting .241 (27-112)

5. If a pitcher ever throws Jason Bay anything but a curve ball I would fine him

6. Next year should Youkilis and Mike Lowell switch positions?

7. Here goes the late nights again for us New Englanders - could be some accidents on the roads and grumpy people at work

8. Angels -

* They seemed to have no urgency - Aybar played a ball off the side at short / Garrett Anderson didn’t even think about crashing into the wall for the Lowrie hit / Rivera doesn’t run out a ground ball / with the winning run on second they never moved in their outfielders
* Squeeze was the play - Aybar just choked

9. Just a Little Bit Outside: Walk this way with Aero Smith and Run DMC was as historical as Gorbachev and Reagan reaching an accord of partnership

10. Reasons Tampa Bay can’t win

* Cat walks
* Alumni - Ice Williams, Tanyon Sturtze, Ryan Rupe
* Idiot fan next to the visitors on deck circle who yells the entire game
* Joe Maddon’s glasses
* They sell Red Sox gear in their pro shop

Blanket Fund Dinner 100 sold / 100 left - to benefit four homeless shelters (100% of proceeds) set for November 13th / 6:00 @ Irish Ale House in Dedham - $60 a ticket includes dinner and entertainment. Theme will be the Sports Reporters featuring Steve Bulpett - Herald’s basketball writer and Tom Curran from NBC.com football. Send money to Northern Bank and Trust, Blanket Fund 215 Lexington Street, Woburn, Ma 01801. Make check payable to Blanket Fund - make sure you include name to be put on list.

1. Red Sox

GAME THREE

* I’ve said this before - major league baseball should include catchers’ visits to the mound as a trip and restrict them
* First two innings took over an hour
* Youkilis ventured too far off first twice similar to the way Kevin Millar used to making it a tough feed to the pitcher covering first
* Napoli are you kidding me flipping the bat after your home run - fat, dumb and stupid is no way to go through life son.
* Loved Mike Scioscia’s face when Juan Rivera swung 3-0 with the bases loaded
* Tip of the hat to Coco Crisp for hustling all the way from first despite the pop up by Ellsbury
* Thought Tito went to long with Beckett
* Papelbon career post season numbers - 19.2 innings / 0 runs
* Pedroia is approaching Mo Vaughn / Jose Canseco 0-fer territory
* Thought umpire Kerwin Danley was great behind the plate but stuck it to Ellsbury with a called third strike for showing him up the pitch before
* 5:19 / average of 26.6 minutes an inning

GAME TWO

* Dice K five postseason starts - hasn’t got past the fifth inning yet
* JD - you keep hitting clutch playoff home runs you can sit all 162

2. Patriots beat Niners

MISC

* On the first play from scrimmage Dick Enberg miscalled the carrier stating it was Faulk when in was Maroney
* Randy Cross and Dan Fouts (do we need both of them doing color?) stated that the direct snap to Faulk was the Patriots adapting to the Wildcat offense of the Dolphins not knowing that the Patriots have run that exact play at least three or four times over the last five years
* Great game plan by the coaching staff
* Anti-Patriot football: Delta O’Neal intercepts a ball on fourth down when he should have batted it down. The Pats would have got the ball at the line of scrimmage 22 yards upfield. Padding his numbers?

OFFENSE

* If one play stood out to me in the entire game, it was Laurence Maroney stepping out of bounds before the first down marker - that should be a fine!
* Aren’t Sammy Morris and Kevin Faulk more than sufficient?
* I like that they rolled Cassel out to buy him time and allow him to get the ball down field
* A couple of times under pressure I thought Cassel went Tony Eason
* Welker is a magician
* Gostkowski is money
* Three drives of 5:40 or more

DEFENSE

* Delta O’Neal was toast all day giving up two touchdowns and picking up a big penalty
* Both Chris Hanson and Randy Moss had more tackles than Richard Seymour (1 to 0)
* Is Mike Vrabel getting old real fast
* Rodney Harrison who had a great game takes the worst angles to the quarterback on the blitz
* Niners 1-9 on third down

MISC II

* Niners’ Punter Andy Lee had a punt that traveled over a 100 yards
* JT O’Sullivan is nifty
* I think the league should charge triple for a football when a player keeps the ball for a non milestone play
* Time of Possession: Pats 39:52 / Niners 20:08

3. Around the Playoffs

* With over 35,500 attending the Tampa Bay game trailer parks must have been quiet down there
* Love the exchange between Orlando Cabrera and Balfour - “sit down!”
* How about Manny going first to home on a double the other night and then tagging up at first on a long fly ball

4. Around College Football

* It is conceivable that Boston College will not be favored in any of their seven remaining games: home - V Tech, Clemson, Notre Dame, Maryland / Away - Florida State, North Carolina, Wake Forest
* Alabama has never had a player win the Heisman
* University of Wisconsin band, which is best in College football, was suspended Saturday because of booze, “inappropriate” behavior and hazing
* CBS announcer Gary Danielson referring to Kentucky wide receiver Dicky Lyons “he’s just not a white possession receiver.” He followed that with a save “as people like to stereotype him”
* When was the last time - Boise State, Utah, Brigham Young, Texas Tech and Vanderbilt were in the top 15 six weeks into the season?

5. Around the NFL

* Colts should be 0-4
* Detroit and the Bengals should call an end to the season

6. Why Belichick is a genius reason #4,621: Gostkowski vs. Vinatieri last three years:

Gostkowski: 51-60 (85%)
Vinatieri…….52-63 (82%)

7. Old School - Patriots with multiple kick off returns for touchdowns:

Raymond Clayborn………3
Larry Garron……………….2
Ellis Hobbs………………..2
Bethel Johnson…………..2
Jon Vaughn………………..2
Kevin Faulk………………..2

8. Amazing Stats - In 1980, Los Angeles Kings forward Charlie Simmer scored 56 goals on 171 shots

9. Just a Little Bit Outside - A smart tour group would offer the same trips and challenges as seen on the Amazing Race or Survivor

10. Randomocity

* Saw the Bucket List Saturday night - strong B to a B+
* Still trying to determine which vehicle is more likely to be going the speed limit in the speed lane - Subaru or minivan
* Ultimate fighting - Kimbo Slice goes Tony Eason.
* What happens more: A helmet flying off a football player’s head or a broken bat
* Hey Youk, Yukon Cornelius called - he wants his beard back

Buy Now - Buy Often - Rebound - December 2008 release (click on second HTTP below)

http://

http://

Blanket Fund Dinner to benefit four homeless shelters (100% of proceeds) set for November 13th / 6:00 @ Irish Ale House in Dedham - $60 a ticket includes dinner and entertainment. Theme will be the Sports Reporters featuring Steve Bulpett - Herald’s basketball writer and Tom Curran from NBC.com football. Two hundred tickets available (150 left). Send money to Northern Bank and Trust, Blanket Fund 215 Lexington Street, Woburn, Ma 01801. Make check payable to Blanket Fund - make sure you include name to be put on list.

1. Red Sox - Players in Game 1 that made their way through the Red Sox system: Lester, Masterson, Papelbon, Ellsbury, Youkilis, Pedroia, Lowrie

2. What will drop faster this weekend - Morningstar’s ratings of mutual fund or Matt Casell’s QB rating?

3. Post season record of our three coaches (Sorry Claude):

Tito Francona…….23-9
Bill Belichick……..15-4
Doc Rivers……….24-24

4. In 169 carries, Sam Cunningham fumbled 12 times in 1975 (once every 14 carries)

5. Teams Boston College Football havs struggled against:

* Miami……….4-23
* Penn St…….4-19
* W. Virginia..11-20
* Tennessee….2-8
* Michigan…….0-4
* Ole Miss…….0-3
* Syracuse…..17-27

6. Around the playoffs:

* There’s gonna be a lot more goat talk in Chicago
* Both teams from Chicago lost
* In Tampa 35,041 attended the teams first ever playoff game. That would be the smallest crowd at Fenway all year
* Be careful signing Sabathia next year - this abuse of his arm has to take a toll
* Eric Gagne has pitched 9.2 innings of shutout ball allowing two hits

7. Amazing Stats: In famous Game 5 in Anaheim in 1986, Rich Gedman was 4 for 4 with a home run, hit by a pitch and threw out both runners who tried to steal on him

8. Old School: Rookie Evan Longoria’s two home runs in a post season game reminded me of Rookie Gene Tenace in 1972:

* Game 1 - 10/14/72 Oakland vs. Reds
* A’s won 3-2
* Game time 2:18
* Tenace hit two home runs and knocked in all three runs while throwing out the only runner who tried to run on him
* Vida Blue got the save throwing 2.1 innings

9. Just a Little Bit Outside: Game times of Dice K last five starts:

* 9/28 - 3:16 vs Yankees
* 9/21 - 2:43 vs Toronto
* 9/15 - 3:20 vs Tampa
* 9/09 - 3:40 vs Tampa
* 9/03 - 3:03 vs Baltimore

10. Randomocity

* If you have two hours to read Bill Simmons mammoth piece on ESPN.com regarding Manny, its interesting
* It has rained ten more inches than average this year
* Bill Laimbeer’s Detroit Shock are in the Finals again in the WNBA - Other team should sit Robert Parish on their bench
* Chinese gymnast cleared of age fraud at the Olympics - in exchange China will eliminate lead from toys
* The Top Ten needs some of that $700 billion
* Proposition for the Patriots game on sportsbook.com - longest Touchdown 39.5 yards over or under?
* I hope someone gets Papelbon off the Mad Tea Cups for the night’s game
* How many times before the debate, did the combatants handlers discuss glasses, makeup, handshake, wardrobe color
* Will Dice K’s turn on the mound finish before my Saturday paper hits my front walk?
* Don’t forget to read yesterday’s blog on Game 1

Buy Now - Buy Often - Rebound - December 2008 release (click on second HTTP below)

http://

http://