Lackluster Sports Chowdah Update For 9/2- Sox Start off With Whimper Vs Rangers; They Might Be Giants in Preseason Finale; UMass Ready to Move on Up?

RED SOX: Well, the last couple of days had been pretty anti-climatic, with the Sox dropping two out of three to the Yankees at Fenway before the Rangers came into town. For Friday night's game, if there was a mercy rule, it would've been invoked by the 6th inning. After pitching 6 innings of shutout ball in Texas, the Rangers chased Andrew Miller from the game early after the Boston starter gave up 6 earned runs in 1 ⅓ innings.

With plenty of run support, Rangers starter Derek Holland allowed all of two hits- both singles- while on the hill for Texas. Texas outfielder David Murphy went 4-5 with a home run on the night while Jacoby Ellsbury and Adrian Gonzalez tallies the only hits for Boston in a 10-0 spanking at the hands of the Rangers.

For Saturday afternoon's game, Colby Lewis (11-9; 4.19 ERA) gets the start against Erik Bedard (4-9; 3.45 ERA). First pitch will be at 4:10 PM ET and the game will be televised on FOX.


NFL: What time is it? Why, it's almost time for me to start giving a damn about the NFL once again. The regular season gets underway on Thursday night with the Packers and Saints at Lambeau Field.

Still, there was some preseason ball to be played.

While Tom Brady saw about a quarter's worth of action (going 5-9 and 116 yards), NY Giants head coach Tom Coughlin decided to rest his starters and go with his reserves in the preseason finale at the Meadowlands on Thursday.

While New England went in at halftime up 17-3, the Giants would come back in the second half and score 15 unanswered points to win by a 17-18 final. BC Alum Mark Herzlich, now #58 for the New York Giants, sacked QB Ryan Mallet for a 9 yard loss late in the 4th quarter.

The games actually count from here on out and New England's regular season gets underway in Miami at 7 PM ET as part of ESPN's season opening Monday night doubleheader on September 12th.

NHL: Nashville Predators Winger Wade Belak was found dead in a Toronto condo earlier this week. A police spokesman said that foul play was not suspected, but investigators have not released a cause of death yet.

Belak had retired in March of 2011 and had taken a job with FOX Sports Tennessee doing interviews and postgame shows for the Predators.

This would be the second NHL player to be found dead in Canada this month. Former Canucks Center Rick Rypien was found dead by a fmaily member in his Alberta home on Aug 15th. Rypien had signed a 1 year contract with the Winnipeg Jets in July and according to family members, has suffered from depression on previous occasions.

NBA: Former Lakers Guard Javaris Crittendon was arrested by the FBI in California on August 26th in connection with a homicide in Atlanta.

Police in Atlanta had obtained an arrest warrant for Crittendon after 22 year old Julian Jones was shot to death in a drive-by shooting. The young mother was gunned down outside her Atlanta home and died in surgery after the shooting. According to his lawyer, Crittendon had offered to turn himself in before being arrested at Orange County's John Wayne International Airport while attempting to board a flight to Atlanta.

Crittendon was involved in a locker-room incident with Washington Wizards teammate Gilbert Arenas in 2010 where the two players threatened each other with pistols over a card game from an earlier team flight. Both players were suspended and Crittendon wound up on the Dakota Wizards of the NBA D-League.

AP Photo- Jessica Hill

NCAA FOOTBALL: College football is already underway in New England, with the UMass Minutemen taking care of the Holy Cross Crusaders 24-16 on their Thursday night season opener at Fitton Field in Worcester, MA.

This officially marks the beginning of the Minutemen's tenure with the Colonial Athletic Association. Starting in 2012, UMass will be joining the Mid-America conference, becoming eligible to play in the MAC championship game as well as a bowl game. The impending move to FBS (formerly Division I-A) means that UMass will be ineligible to participate in the FCS (formerly Division I-AA) championship regardless of their record.

However, it's worth noting that the Minutemen will reportedly play their 2012 and 2013 'home' games at Gilette stadium in Foxboro- a two hour drive from the Amherst, MA campus.

The Minutemen have next week off and will begin play within the CAA with a September 17 home game against Rhode Island.

To the south, UConn gets underway with a home opener against Fordham at noon ET on Saturday while in Chestnut Hill, the BC Eagles will play host to the Northwestern Wildcats.