Next book - The President’s TeamClick here

1. Dolphin talk:

* Leads the NFL in associated personnel endorsing Nutrisystem
* Pet Detective and Hootie and the Blowfish connection only interest in program last 15 years
* Only one Dolphin QB who has thrown over 200 passes and has completed at least 60% of his passes - Chad Pennington
* Punter Brandon Fields only has one touchback
* Jason Taylor is on pace for 13 sacks this year
* Dolphin offense has great third down efficiency of 50.5%

2. Hats off to the Yankees

* They were the best team in baseball
* Is Matsui the only positional player ever to get MVP and only start half the games
* Yankees by month: April 12-10 / May 17-11 / June 15-11 / July 18-9 / August 21-7 / September 19-9
* Rivera appeared in twelve of the postseason games and went longer than one inning six times

3. Red Sox top second round draft picks:

2002 - Jon Lester
2004 - Dustin Pedroia
1973 - Fred Lynn
1993 - Jeff Suppan
1969 - Rick Miller

4. The two first baseman’s in this year World Series: Ryan Howard & Mark Teixeira combined in the postseason: 26-115 (.226) / 38 K (1 every 3.03 AB)

5. Why did Julien go with Recchi on the shootout with a 1-10 historical success factor (Miss Kessel in shootouts)

6. Strength of schedule of some top 25 teams (teamrankings.com):

6. TCU………………..53
5. Cincinnati…………55
22. Notre Dame…….58
11. Penn State……..75
7. Boise State………77
14. Utah……………..80
16. Ohio State………81

7. Amazing Stat - Mariano Rivera postseason stuff:

* Jay Payton hit a home run off Mariano Rivera in Game 2 of the 2000 World Series. Since, the Yankee closer has gone 72.1 innings without giving up a home run
* In 70 postseason appearances: 8-1 / 39 saves / 0.74 ERA
* 107 K to 21 BB = 5.09 postseason

8. Old School - Since 1970, only three Bruins coaches have coached in four consecutive seasons: Don Cherry 5 / Gerry Cheevers 5 / Pat Burns 4

9. Just a Little Bit Outside - Total Gross receipts - Batman, X Man vs. Spider Man Movies (boxofficmojo.com)

Batman Movies (six)………………….$1,442mm
Spider Man (three)……………………$1,114mm
X Men (four)……………………………..$786mm

10. Randomocity

* Posed on August 20th this year…………..This year of pain isn’t leading to a Yankee World Series after the Lakers and the Steelers won - is it?”
* Madison Park soccer should be banned from MIAA competition for a year for their behavior in the city championship Wednesday (glad to see they pulled out of the state tournament)
* Fenway isn’t built for Matsui so don’t even think about it
* College Football upset of the week: U Conn over Cincy
* Old dark, dive - Boston Garden Iron Horse with the elevated train tracks casting a crazy shadow across the dirty windows
* Squish the Fish was a fun time in Patriot history
* Still surprised that Bob Griese was suspended for mentioning taco when speaking of race driver Juan Pablo Montoya - how is that a bad enough comment to get someone with no such history suspended? So if he mentioned a Nordic person and white perch he would have been suspended? Russian and borscht? Irish and boiled dinner?
* Matt Ryan should drop the deoderant commercials and get back to work - 18th ranked QB
* How come Ray Kinsella didn’t punch out his brother in law when he knocked his daughter to the ground?

Thanks to all who attended, donated or assisted to make the Blanket Fund Dinner a huge success and mostly Tom Curran of Comcast New England who hit a grand slam for the cause - long night so I’m stealing below on some of the Top Ten using trivia and spelling bee for tonight’s top Ten.

1. World Series

* Phillie Players who have thrown up Dean Wormer - Ryan Howard .158 / Matt Stairs .143 / Victorino .167 / Blanton 6.00 / Cole Hamels 10.38
* Yankee Players who will be fielding offers from Depends for endorsements - Hughes 16.20 / Burnett 7.00 / Pettitte 6.00 / Teixeira .105 / Cabrera .154 / Cano .167 / Swisher .167

2. Bruins

* 17% of the season completed and on pace to win 35 games
* Sturm is on pace to score 12 goals which isn’t exactly replacing Kessel’s 36 goals
* 0-3 on power plays

3. From 2001 - five of the nine MVP’s of the World Series have Red Sox connections: 2001 - Schilling / 2003 - Beckett / 2004 - Manny / 2006 - Eckstein / 2007 - Lowell

4. Celtics still on a pace to go 82-0 shot 64.3% from the free throw line but 70% from three point land

5. According to baseballreference.com – who is the lightest betwen Ortiz, Vaugn and George Scott? - Ortiz 230 , Vaughn 230, Scott 215

6. How many receptions did JR Redmond have in 2002 Super Bowl - 3 / How many points did Glen McDonald score in third OT - 6

7. Amazing Stat - In 2003 postseason - ERA of Alan Embree, Todd Jones, Scott Sauberback, Mike Timlin over 10.2 innings – 0.00

8. Old School - Who did the Sox trade for Bill Buckner? Mike Brumley, Dennis Eckersley

9. Just a Little Bit Outside - From last nights Spelling Bee at the Blanket Fund Dinner - could you have spelled these last names right? Ben Roethlisberger, Mel Stottlemyre, Carl Yastrzemski, Marius Czerkawski, Doug Mientkiewicz, Nikolai Khabibulin, Mike Krushelnyski, AJ Pierzynski, Clayton Weishhuhn, Nick Buoniconti

10. Randomocity

* That father who comes out of the stands to talk to Cole Hamels because he has a Phillies hat on should pull a Don Corleone on Johnny Fontaine
* Another year of over-exposed College Hoops on the way
* Cream puffs with whip cream are the best
* With three years of eligbility left, I’m surprised no school has tried to recruit Thorton Mellon.
* What if the troughs freeze at Fenway - it will be like Hans Brinker in there
* Celts are destroying teams in 3rd quarter

Next book - The President’s TeamClick here

ONE more day to the Blanket Dinner at Hennessy’s across from Boston City Hall (11/3 @ 6 :00 / Validated Parking Parcel 7 lot) - Dinner, sports trivia, silent auction and guest speakers Joe Amorosino and Tom E. Curran!

Auctions Items Include:

* Wes Welker signed football
* Two pairs of Boston Bruins Tickets
* Boston Bruins signed stick
* Yaz Signed Bat
* Boston Doubletree Inn Night’s Stay and Breakfast
* Eddie House Signed picture
* Gift Certificates - Harrow’s Chicken Pot Pies, Ruth’s Chris, Hennessy’s

1. World Series

* Phillies aren’t as good as the Yankees so they had to express urgency by sending Cliff Lee to the mound three times instead they threw Matt Stairs out there on the mound (6 innings / 4 runs)
* Cole Hamel went from star to blinded by the light of stardom - playboy chick, commercials, SI articles, etc
* Victorino was compared to Ellsbury - not even close
* Derek Jeter is 6-14 leading off for the Yankees in the post season
* Outrageous that Fox had a camera hanging over the field of play - but you can’t reverse the A Rod double and make it a HR. It wasn’t indisputable that the ball would have cleared the bar or fence
* Yankees are up 3-1 with: A Rod hitting .143 / Teixeira hitting .071 / Cano hitting .133 / Cabrera hitting .154

2. Around the NFL

* Broncos off week came at a bad time
* Jets aren’t the same team after beating Pats
* The Colts and Saints are the only teams left to keep Mercury Morris and those other Dolphin dopes from toasting their undefeated season (hello Patriots 2007)
* Magini is 2-11 coaching his last 13 games
* What’s the odds that a Bengal didn’t get arrested on their off week
* Gotta give Brett Fav-re credit

3. Around College Football

* In the 10th week - Iowa, Boise St, TCU and Cincy are all in the top seven
* As reader David H. pointed out what an amazing trio to represent College Football this year (all of which returned to play the sport at its most enjoyable level) - Colt McCoy, Tim Tebow and Sam Bradford
* I am pained for U Conn the way they have lost games late and the death of their teammate
* Chip Kelly of Oregon might be onto the NFL at this rate
* Iowa is the worst 9-0 team in college football history while Notre Dame is the worst 6-2 team in history
* Most interesting playoff game on SI.com’s playoff bracket this week: #1 Florida vs. #16 Utah
* ESPN had a stat that going into the game against Oregon Pete Carroll was 13-1 against teams in the top ten on the ROAD

4. Celtics

* On pace to go 82-0
* Rondo could be a rich man by the end of Monday (not bad for a guy with a CYO jump shot)
* Garnett averaging under 30 minutes (not bad for a guy who gets paid $200,000 a game)
* Points in the paint last night: Celts 56 / Hornets 26
* Pierce is a long way from his Indiana press conference

5. Bruins are still on a pace to win 36 games with 16% of the season complete

* Since the second game - the Bruins are 2 for 36 on the Power Play
* Patrice Bergeron is on pace to lead the Bruins in points this year with 50
* Just throwing this out - Drew Bledsoe played with a wire sticking out of his finger and Lucic is out for 15 games?
* Chara is 0-29 on shots on net
* Right now Rask’s goals against and save % is better than Thomas’
* I thought Ference was good at moving the puck - he has one point in 13 games

6. As College Day pointed out - the worst league in College Football the Big 12 North and their rankings coming into this weekend (teamrankings.com):

* Kansas State…..57
* Nebraska………..61
* Iowa State……..62
* Kansas…………..65
* Missouri………….58
* Colorado…………91

7. Amazing Stat - Sam La Grassa’s from Province Street in Boston was on the Food Network this weekend. They sell 1,400 sandwiches a DAY (best looking is the Pastrami Traveler - Rumanian Pastrami, Dijon Mustard, Cheddar Cheese, Tomato, Onion, Pumpernickle)

8. Old School - The last time Boston wanted a Philly team to beat someone was 1982 when the “Beat LA” chants started:

* Lakers won in six
* Andrew Toney led the Sixers with 26 points a game but the balance of the Lakers with six players averaging double figures was too much
* Magic came up big playing center when Kareem went down: He averaged for the series 16.2 points / 10.8 rebounds / 8 assists

9. Just a Little Bit Outside - At Arlington Catholic a football player’s head butt of an opponent has gone from the field to the police - what plays in local history deserved intervention by the police:

* Dale Hunter lighting up Craig Janney
* Jack Tatum on Daryl Stingley
* Guy LaFluer if his clear in shot hit Milbury in the head as intended
* Grady staying with Pedro
* Marty McSorely on Brashear
* McHale on Rambis

10. Randomocity

* Yellow Starburst are the worst
* Knicks are allowing 119 points a game
* Love the Wendy commercial in the office when the Whopper is left on the desk
* Another Saturday with rain - but two great days. New England seasons have changed with Spring eliminated and Autumn extended to 11/15

Next book - The President’s TeamClick here

FOUR more days to the Blanket Dinner at Hennessy’s across from Boston City Hall (11/3 @ 6 :00 / Validated Parking Parcel 7 lot) - Dinner, sports trivia, silent auction (donate an auction item) and guest speakers Joe Amorosino and Tom E. Curran!

1. Yankees - Phillies:

* Absurd that home plate umpire Jeff Nelson gave Burnett and then Rivera the breaking pitch that worked around the outside of the plate all night
* I’m cheering more passionately against the Yankees than I did for the Red Sox
* Joe Buck is excellent - loved him noting that Rudy Guiliani needed to be consoled
* Speaking of commentators - Joe Morgan should not allowed to do radio when you have no idea whats going on in the game as he abuses the English language
* I’m a Jeter fan but he is very aware of the camera being on him

2. John Stockton had 33 games with 20 assists or more

3. For those into the college football recruiting - some nuggets from recent Rivals.com list:

* Boston College currently have two 4 star players committed but are ranked 46th in the country overall
* Texas is #1 with 16 four star players (then Penn State, LSU, Oklahoma, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia)
* USC has two five star players

4. Since the draft in 1965, the Yankees best #1 draft picks:

1. Derek Jeter - 1992
2. Thurman Munson - 1968
3. Mark Prior - 1998
4. Carl Everett - 1990
5. Joba Chamberlain - 2006

5. Red Sox opening day salaries (Cot’s)

2007 - $143,026,214
2008 - $133,390,035
2009 - $121,745,999

6. From 1999-2005, Kevin Garnett only missed 3 games over the six seasons. In two seasons with the Celts he has missed 36

7. Amazing Stat - Yankees are already committed to $151mm next year which includes $95mm for Jeter, A Rod, Sabathia, Teixeira

8. Old School - In 123 games for the Patriots, Vincent Brown averaged 5.99 tackles a game

9. Just a Little Bit Outside - Items from the Silent Auction - Tuesday at the Blanket Fund dinner:

* Yaz signed bat
* Wes Welker signed football
* Bruins signed hockey stick
* Eddie House signed picture
* Red Sox memorabilia in route
* Gift Certificates from Ruth’s Chris, Harrow’s Chicken Pot Pies (unbelievable),

10. Randomocity

* Bruins’ season is already 13% complete
* When baseball was on TBS we had to be overwhelmed by commercials for George Lopez’s show now on Fox we’re getting killed by Wanda Sykes commercials
* Crazy excerpts from Tim Donaghy’s book
* Off week - show your wife and kids extra attention this weekend - rake the yard, flowers, volunteer to do things with in laws…..

Next book - The President’s TeamClick here

SIX more days to the Blanket Dinner at Hennessy’s across from Boston City Hall (11/3 @ 6 :00 / Validated Parking Parcel 7 lot) - Dinner, sports trivia, silent auction (donate an auction item) and guest speakers Joe Amorosino and Tom E. Curran!

1. Celtics Opener

* Good news - Rondo showed up on time
* Celtics bench is loaded
* How many times is Rondo going to drive to the hoop this year and have to pass the ball out?
* Celtics shot 43% on two point shots and 47% on three pointers
* Hey Danny - Just For Men
* Celts on pace to go 82-0 (I’m gonna up my win total after seeing that bench to 63 wins this year)

2. Patriot Tight End receptions:

Ben Coates………490……..5,471
Marv Cook………..210…….1,843
Russ Francis……..207……3,157
Ben Watson……..153…….1,920
Daniel Graham…..120…….1,393
Derrick Ramsey…118…….1,412
Lin Dawson………117……..1,233
Don Hasselbeck…99……..1,444

3. What I would consider Paranomal Activity or not of this world:

* JD Drew throwing his bat
* Kevin Youkilis with a dry t shirt at the end of a double header
* Joe Thornton taking over a playoff series
* Steve Phillips 20-20 vision
* Laurence Maroney barrelling over multiple defenders like Jim Brown
* Max Lane shutting down Reggie White
* Matt Young fielding a ground ball and throwing a strike to first

4. Top NBA scorers and their draft position in the NBA draft:

Kareem………………1st (1969)
Karl Malone……….13th (1985)
Michael Jordan…….3rd (1984)
Wilt Chamberlain……….(1959) - territorial pick by Philadelphia Warrors
Julius Erving………..12th (1972)
Shaq…………………1st (1992)
Dan Issel…………..122 (1970)
Elvin Hayes………..1st (1968)
Hakeem ……………1st (1984)
Oscar Robertson….1st (1960)
Dominque…………..3rd (1982)

5. In honor of Rasheed - Villians or rivals that came to Boston:

* Chris Nilan
* Kermit Washington
* Corey Dillon
* Carl Everett
* Ken Linesman
* Bob McAdoo
* Curtis Rowe
* Sidney Wicks
* Marvin Barnes
* Jean Ratelle
* Brad Park
* Eddie Shack
* Marty McSorley
* Guy Lapointe
* Duane Thomas
* Dominique
* Bryan Cox

6. In honor of Big Baby being a big baby - how about some other off court fun by the local teams:

* Terry Glenn peeing on the limo at the Palace
* Hart Lee Dykes and Irving Fryar in Rhode Island
* Irving Fryar crashing his car at halftime
* John Graham directing traffic
* Wade Boggs willing him some invisible
* Clemens at Bahama Mamas
* Kenyatta Jones with hot water
* Dave Meggett in Canada
* Patriots stage diving at Ever Clear

7. Old School - Bruins traded Geoff Courtnall, Bill Ranford and 2nd pick for Andy Moog in 1988

8. Amazing Stat- Paul Pierce update on leading scoring list for Celtics and Active NBA players and career:

* Celtics - 3rd - 18,626 (behind Hondo 26,395 / Bird 21,791)
* Active - 8th - 18,626 (behind Nowitzki 19,084)
* Alltime - 54th - 18,626 (behind McAdoo 18,787)

9. Just a Little Bit Outside - The below incidents are moments in which I wished the plane flew 150 miles past its desitnation while the pilots slept:

* Roseanne Barr to sing the National Anthem
* Martin Lawrence hosting SNL
* Mike Torrez, Jose Offerman, Jack Clark, Matt Young for their interview as free agent
* Rick Pitino to coach Celts
* Victor Kiam flight to buy Pats
* Grady Littles flight to New York
* Tony Eason’s flight to Denver
* Ben Dreith’s commute to Oakland
* Glen Wesley’s commute to the Garden for the Triple Overtime game with Edmonton

10. Randomocity

* Does that mean Tito won’t be saying Millsie anymore?
* NBA isn’t going to allow stupid music during play are they?
* Clippers are cursed - Blake Griffin broken knee cap
* What does Mark McGwire do when he asks a hitter about a bad at bat and the hitter says “I’m not here to talk about the past”
* Agassi on Crystal Meth - you don’t hear about that at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy
* Foxsports.com did an article fictionally written by Ted Williams head
* You know Jeremy Jacobs shops at Costco
* How did Hagler all of sudden decide to act in Italy when he couldn’t speak a word of Italian

Next book - The President’s TeamClick here