Long Overdue Championship Weekend Sports Chowdah Update- Nevermore! Patriots Rally Past Ravens, Advance to AFC Title Games; Kung Fu Gripping, Red Sox Sign Pablo Sandoval; Pedro, Big Unit Biggio and Smoltz Heading to Cooperstown; B's Blank Blueshirts; Rondo Heads to Dallas

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS- Heading into the playoffs, the Patriots weren't looking particularly sharp. After thrashing the Miami Dolphins in weeks 15- avenging their season-opening loss and New England won the division in convincing fashion. However, the Patriots barely bested the Jets in the Meadowlands in Week 16 thanks to a 17-16 win over New York and fell to Buffalo by a 17-6 final after starting most of their second-stringers.

After a first round bye, the Patriots were set to host Baltimore after the Ravens upended the AFC North champion Steelers in the first round. This would be the fourth time since the 2009 season that the Ravens and Patriots met in the playoffs, with Baltimore winning two out of the first three matchups.



Early on, it looked as though it appeared the Ravens would add to their all-time playoff lead against the Patriots. Ravens QB Joe Flacco took their first two possessions and marched down the field for two quick TDs to take a 14-0 lead while the Ravens defense held New England to a couple of three-and-outs in the first quarter.

However, late in the first the Patriots put together a good-looking drive that included a 40 yard completion from Brady to Gronkowski and was capped by a 4 yard TD run by Brady on 3rd and goal. New England got on the board with 48 seconds left in the first and it was now a 14-7 game.

Despite increased pressure on the pocket from the Ravens defense, a fired-up Tom Brady managed to find the end zone late in the 2nd quarter on a 15 yard completion to Danny Amendola- with the WR fighting for key extra yardage to get into the end zone to tie the game at 14-14 after Stephen Gostkowski's point-after. However, almost as soon as the momentum was swinging the Patriots way, the Ravens came up with a key pick at mid-field with just over a minute to go in the half. Joe Flacco and company made the most of that thanks to a pass-interference call against Patriots CB Darelle Revis. With only 10 seconds to go, the Ravens quieted the crowd at Foxborough with an 11 yard TD pass from Flacco to TE Owen Daniels to put Baltimore back on top, 21-14.

In the second half, the Ravens managed to get a pass-interference call on 4th and 6 to set them up inside the New England red zone- altho they were pushed further back to the 16. However, Flacco connected with RB Justin Fosett for a 16 yard TD reception and give Baltimore a 28-14 lead and giving New England a bigger hole to climb out of. However, that's exactly what Brady and company did, with the Patriots QB connecting with Gronkowski on a five yard TD pass to make it a 21-28 game with 6:48 to go in the 3rd. After holding the Ravens to a 3 and out, Baltimore was forced to punt and the Patriots were able to start from their own 30.

What happened next could undoubtedly be considered the highlight of the game. After moving the ball to midfield on two quick plays, Brady quickly lateralled the ball to WR Julian Edelman. Edelman then threw the ball to a wide open follow WR Danny Amendola for a 51 yard TD pass to tie the game at 28-28.

On Baltimore's next possession, DB Devin McCourty picked off Flacco at the Ravens 37, giving New England a short field that they were unable to capitalize on. On the Ravens' next possession, they managed to march down the field pretty efficiently, including converting on a 4th and 1 along the way- but were shut out of the end zone, forced to settle for a FG with 10:17 left in the 4th quarter. With the Ravens back on top by a 31-28 score, New England couldn't afford any more three and outs.

Starting on their own 26 yard line with 10:10 remaining in regulation, the Patriots offense managed to get big chunks of yards while burning off some of the clock. With 5:13 left in the game, the Patriots took their first lead of the day on a perfectly thrown 23 yard TD pass from Brady to WR Brandon LaFell, putting the Patriots on top 35-31. Flacco once again put together a solid drive, getting to midfield in time for the 2 minute warning. However, with 1:38 left, Flacco went long from the Patriots 36 yard line only to be picked off in the end zone by Patriots SS Duron Harmon. The Ravens still had a timeout left, which prevented New England from simply kneeling down three times in the victory formation and running out the clock, so Ryan Allen had to punt. The Ravens got the ball back on midfield with just 4 seconds left, giving Baltimore just enough time for a hail-mary pass that the Patriots managed to bat out of the end zone.

The Patriots would only lead for just over five minutes, but it was all they'd need as they go on to win by a 35-31 final in what many are already calling an instant classic.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NFL PLAYOFFS- The New England Patriots will be facing the Indianapolis Colts and starting QB Andrew Luck in the AFC championship game this weekend at Foxborough. As rusty as the Patriots looked in the first quarter, the Broncos looked almost as bad for their entire game after their first round bye. Denver Broncos QB Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos fell to his former team, losing by a 24-13 final at Denver. So demoralizing was the loss that the Broncos fired head coach John Fox within days and many are openly speculating that this may be the end of QB Peyton Manning's career, if not his tenure with the Broncos.

Meanwhile, in what was dubbed 'Ice Bowl II', the Cowboys made their first postseason visit to Lambeau Field in Green Bay, WI since the 1967 NFL Championship Game. While the temperatures were much more mild than in 1967, like the original title game the Packers ultimately prevailed- although what looked like a 32 yard completion from Cowboys QB Tony Romo to receiver Dez Bryant on 4th and 2 that would've put the ball on the Green Bay 1 yard line was overturned after challenged by Green Bay. The Packers would go on to win by a 26-21 final and will face the Seattle Seahawks in the Pacific Northwest for the NFC title next week. Seattle beat NFC South champions Carolina by a 35-17 final.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NFL- With the end of the regular season, a number of new coaching vacancies and hirings have been announced. On Friday, the Chicago Bears announced that recently-dismissed Denver head coach John Fox would be their new head coach. Meanwhile, former Jets head coach Rex Ryan will be staying within the AFC East as the Buffalo Bills named him their new head coach after Doug Marrone opted out of his contract.

The biggest news came earlier this month when- after weeks of speculation- San Francisco 49ers and head coach Jim Harbuagh parted ways at the end of the regular season. By December 30th, the University of Michigan announced Harbaugh as their head coach, replacing Brady Hoke after a disappointing 2014 campaign.

RED SOX- The Red Sox have been letting no grass grow under their feet in the offseason. After signing Koji Uehara to a two year contract extension, Boston signed free agent 3rd baseman Pablo Sandoval to a five year, $100 million contract. During his 2014 championship run with the San Francisco Giants, Sandoval batted .279 with 16 homers and 73 RBI. The same week as the massive Sandoval deal was announced, Boston announced that one-time prospect Hanley Ramirez was signed to a 4 year deal worth an estimated $80 million.

Another former Red Sox farmhand returning home is Justin Masterson, who Boston signed to a one year contract worth just over $9 million in December. The Red Sox also ended up trading OF Yoenis Cespedes, RHP Alex Wilson and a prospect to the Tigers for starting pitcher Rick Porcello who was 15-13 with a 3.43 ERA with Detroit last year. Within a day of the Porcello deal, the Red Sox also sent starters Rubby De LaRosa and Allen Webster to Arizona in exchange for pitcher Wade Miley.

De LaRosa and Webster weren't the only Red Sox to make their way to the NL West- shortly before Christmas, the Red Sox announced that they had sent 3B Will Middlebrooks to the San Diego Padres in exchange for C Ryan Hanigan.

BASEBALL HALL OF FAME- The 2015 Baseball Hall of Fame inductees have been announced and Red Sox fans can expect a familiar face among the honorees.

Pitchers Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson and John Smoltz were first-ballot hall of famers while former Houston Astros 2B Craig Biggio made it to Cooperstown after his 3rd year of eligibility. Martinez, who has an ERA of 2.93 over his 17 year MLB career, has played for the Dodgers, Expos, Red Sox, Mets and Phillies. However, Martinez's career highlights (and lowlights) were in Boston. During the 1999 ALDS, Martinez came into the game in the 4th inning against the Indians and threw five no-hit innings of relief. The 2004 World Series was one of only two World Series appearances for Pedro- he threw a shutout in Game 3 at Busch Stadium against the Cardinals and even drew a walk in one of his at-bats.

Martinez was an 8 time All Star and has three Cy Young trophies to his name and led the AL in strikeout in 1999, 2000 and 2002.

The lanky Randy Johnson- dubbed "Big Unit"- had a slightly longer career, breaking into the bigs with the Expos in 1988 before playing nearly a decade with the Seattle Mariners. After a single season with the Astros, Johnson then signed with the newly-formed Arizona Diamondbacks in their second season and is best known for his performance in the 2001 World Series where he was credited with three wins in the dramatic 7-game series against the Yankees. In the deciding game 7, then-manager Bob Brenly pulled Curt Schilling in the 8th with one away before bringing in Miguel Batista to get out one batter [who happened to be Derek Jeter- NANESB!] and having Johnson- who started Game 6- come in to pitch relief. Johnson got all four batters he faced out and was credited with the win after Mariano Rivera loaded the bases and Luis Gonzales hit a single past a drawn-in Derek Jeter in the bottom of the 9th.

BOSTON BRUINS- Let's face it- it's been a pretty rough couple of weeks for the Bruins, but not too long after the calendar flipped over to 2015, something seems to be clicking for the B's.



On Thursday night, Tukka Rask turned aside all 30 shots he faced while Boston got goals from Bergeron in the first, Krejci in the second and Eriksson in the 3rd to get by the Rangers 3-0 in a nationally televised contest. The win puts the Bruins back in the playoff picture with about a week to go until the NHL's All Star break.

The win over the Rangers is the Bruin's 5th straight (this includes two shutouts) and Boston hopes to keep the momentum going on Saturday when they travel to Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets. Puck is scheduled to drop at 7:00 ET and the game will be televised on NESN.

2014 NHL WINTER CLASSIC- The 2015 NHL Winter Classic has come and gone- taking place at Nationals Park in Washington DC on New Years day with the Capitals hosting the Blackhawks.



The Capitals got out to a pretty quick 2-0 lead with tallies by Eric Fehr and Alex Ovechkin, but thanks to goals by Patrick Sharp and Brandon Saad, the Blackhawks were able to tie the contest up at 2-2 in the second. It looked as though the contest would be headed to overtime, but a late penalty on the Blackhawks led to a Caps power play and with 12 seconds left in regulation, Troy Brouwer was able to give Washington a 3-2 lead with a late goal on the man advantage. The Capitals would hang on to win in the remaining 11 seconds of regulation by a final of 3-2.

According to ESPN.com and TSN's Bob McKenzie, Boston is reportedly the front-runner to host the 2016 Winter Classic. Fenway Park was the host for the 2010 Winter Classic where the Bruins hosted the Flyers. However, there has been no official word from the NHL and other venues such as Denver or the Twin Cities are also reportedly under consideration. An announcement from the league is expected by February.

NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL- Regrettably, I missed most of the Volleyball season- although I was able to catch some of the finals back in December.

The Brigham Young Cougars women's volleyball team holds the distinction of becoming the first NCAA women's volleyball program to advance to the finals after upending #14 Nebraska and #2 Texas. However the Lady Cougars were swept by defending champions Penn State. This would be the Nittany Lions 2nd consecutive women's volleyball title, giving Penn State an NCAA record total of seven volleyball titles and their sixth in the last eight years.

BYU fell in three sets (21-25, 24-26 and 14-25) to the Nittany Lions at Oklahoma City's Chesapeake Center. Nittany Lion juniors Megan Courtney and Aiyana Whitney led the offense with 11 kills each while senior Nia Grant had nine kills to her credit.

NCAA FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP- With the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl serving as a playoff for the first ever NCAA FBS Championship playoff, the Oregon Ducks made quick work of the Florida State Seminoles on New Year's Day [with Ducks fans and players mocking QB Jameis Winston by chanting "Noooo means Noooo!" to the tune of the Seminoles fight song after the game- NANESB!] after beating FSU by a 59-20 final. The loss was Florida State's first in 29 games- including last year's NCAA Championship game, which was the last under the old system.

Later on that day, the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans would determine who the Ducks faced in the NCAA title game. This one turned out to be much closer, with the Ohio State Buckeyes prevailing over Alabama by a 42-35 final. This set up a Jan 12th meeting between the Ducks and Buckeyes at AT&T stadium in Arlington, TX for all the marbles [for the first time ever, no less- NANESB!]. Early in the matchup that featured Heisman-winning QB Marcus Mariotta against the Buckeye's 3rd string quarterback was going Oregon's way early on, with the Ducks getting out to an early 7-0 lead before Ohio State seemed to find their footing and go on to win by a 42-20 thanks in large part to Ezekiel Elliot's 4TD and 246 yard performance.

NCAA FCS CHAMPIONSHIP- After holding off a late rally by Illinois State, the North Dakota State Bison have won their fourth straight FCS title last weekend. The NDSU Bison were trailing the Redbirds 27-23 late before re-taking the lead on a 5 yard rushing TD from Carson Wentz to give North Dakota State a 29-27 lead. Just to make the final minute of regulation more interesting, the point after attempt was successfully blocked by the Redbirds.

With less than a minute to go, Illinois State was able to put together a drive that got them to midfield, but with just 8 seconds left, Redbirds QB Tre Robertson threw an interception to seal the win for the Bisons.

NBA- It's the end of the era for the Boston Celtics as the last of the Big Three from the 2008 Championship team was traded away to the Dallas Mavericks. In return for Rondo, Dallas will send Brandan Wright, Jae Crowder and Jameer Nelson to the C's and Boston will also receive a conditional first round pick in the 2015 draft and a second round pick in the 2016 draft.

Rondo, who had spent his entire NBA career in a Celtics uniform prior to the December 18th trade, returned to the Garden on January 2nd and had a season best 29 points as the Mavericks cruised to a 119-101 win over the Celtics.

Long Overdue Sports Chowdah Update- Trojan Horseplay, Boston College Upends #9 USC at Chestnut Hill; Feeling Minnesota- Patriots Thump Vikings; Pirate Booty- Pittsburgh Sweeps Red Sox As Rusney Castillo Makes Boston Debut.

NCAA FOOTBALL- Without a doubt, the biggest upset of week 3 was what took place on Chestnut Hill Saturday night when the BC Eagles hosted the USC Trojans. Heading into last weekend, USC was coming off of a triumphant 13-10 win over the Stanford Cardinals while BC was coming off of a 30-20 loss to the Pitt Panthers at Chestnut Hill.

Last weekend's game was 'Red Bandana night', which honored former BC Lacrosse player Welles Crowther who was killed in the September 11th attacks while rescuing others at the South Tower of the World Trade Center.



The heavily favored Trojans got out to a quick 10-0 lead in the first before Boston College got on the board with a 4 yard catch and carry TD run from RB Tyler Rouse to open up the 2nd quarter- however, Launceford would miss the PAT and it was a 10-6 game. USC quickly responded with a TD catch and run from Cody Kessler to Javorious Allen to give the Trojans a 17-6 advantage.

On the next possession, though, BC would put together a 75 yard drive that took all of 3:48 before Jon Hillman hit paydirt on a 3 yard TD run. After a couple of three and outs for each side, BC got the ball back with 1:48 at their own 46 when Sherman Alston ran 54 yards to give Boston College their first lead of the day, putting them up 20-17 before halftime.

For the second half, BC's defense really clamped down on the USC offense [Kessler was sacked five times on the night- NANESB!] and Jon Hilliman would make it a 10 point BC lead, punching it in with 7:35 to go in the third to make it 27-17. With under nine minutes to go in the game, Joey Launceford kicked a chip shot FG to make it a 30-17 contest.

But USC wasn't done yet- with 4:57 left in the game, Cody Kessler connected with Nelson Agholor for a 10 yard TD pass to make it a one score game as the clock ticked down. However, a minute later the Eagles jumped out to a 37-24 lead thanks to a 66 yard TD run by Tyler Murphy. However, the Trojans weren't done yet and after getting the ball back, Kessler connected with Darrius Rogers for a 14 yard TD run to cut Boston College's lead to 37-31. After closing to within 6 and with less than two minutes to go, USC went for the onside kick which was immediately recovered by the Eagles.

QB Tyler Murphy had a better night rushing the ball than passing it, rushing for 191 yards and a TD on 13 carries while ging 5 of 13 through the air for 54 yards.

Boston College's homestand continues this weekend with the Eagles hosting the University of Maine Black Bears. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 ET and the game will be streamed on ESPN3.

NFL- After a lackluster season opener in Miami in which the New England Patriots were outmaneuvered in the second half and lost by a 33-20, New England took their show on the road to Minnesota to take on the Vikings at TCF Bank stadium on Sunday.

With former Patriots backup Matt Cassel under center, the Vikings got out to an early 7-0 lead before New England answered with 30 unanswered points. Stevan Ridley managed to tie the game up with a TD rush from the Vikings 1 yard line before Gostkowski put the Patriots up 10-7 with a 48 yard FG with 30 seconds to go in the first. In the second quarter, Brady found Julain Edelman for a 14 yard TD pass to make it a 17-7 game. With time running out in the first half, Cassel managed to get the Vikings close enough to try a 48 yard FG attempt with 9 seconds left, but that was blocked by DE Chandler Jones who immediately returned it 58 yards for a TD to put the Patriots up 24-7 at the half.

The only scoring in the second half would come from two Gotskowski FGs and the Patriots would go on to thump Minnesota by a 30-7 final for their first win of the 2014 regular season. Tom Brady would go 14-21 with 149 yards and a TD while Cassel went 19-36 with 202 yards, a TD, four interceptions and 6 sacks. Stevan Ridley led the Patriots ground attack with 25 rushes for 101 yards and a TD.

This Sunday will be the Patriot's home opener when they host the Oakland Raiders. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 and the game will be televised on CBS.

OTHER VIKINGS NEWS- The Patriots didn't have to face RB Adrian Peterson on Sunday. Peterson is facing felony child abuse charges in Texas after punishing one of his kids by hitting him with a tree branch. The boy's mother took him to a doctor where he described some of the marks as open wounds.

Although he was cleared to play in this weekend's game at New Orleans, the front office quickly did an about face and exepted him from team activities.

BATLIMORE RAVENS- In another high-profile domestic abuse incident, was cut by the Baltimore Ravens after video from his February 2014 arrest in Atlantic City on assault charges surfaced. Earlier surveillance video from an Atlantic City hotel and casino had shown Rice dragging his unconscious fiancée- Janay Palmer- out of the elevator by her hair, but TMZ was able to obtain video from inside the elevator that showed him knocking Palmer unconscious. Initially Rice was suspended for the first few games of the 2014 season before being indefinitely suspended and outright cut by the NFL.

BOSTON RED SOX- Perhaps the most noteworthy event [at least from Boston's presepctive- NANESB] from this week's sweep of the Red Sox by the Pittsburgh Pirates is the MLB debut of Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo on Wednesday night, who went 1-4 in Boston's 9-1 loss to Pittsburgh. After the 3-game sweep the Pirates are just 2 and a half games behind St Louis in the NL Central and three and a half games ahead of Milwaukee for the second and final NL Wild Card berth. The Buck-os will host a pretty important series this weekend as the Brewers come to town to try and close the gap as time is running out on the regular season.

OTHER MLB NEWS- With just under two weeks to go, three teams have already clinched their respective divisions. The Nationals clinched the NL East with a 3-0 shutout over Atlanta while Baltimore clinched the AL East pennant with an 8-2 win over Toronto- both of these wins coming on Tuesday night.

The following night, the Angels shut out the Seattle Mariners by a 5-0 final- that alone wasn't enough for them to win the pennant, but players and savvy fans stuck around to watch the rest of the Rangers vs A's game on the stadium's jumbotron. The A's were nursing a 1-0 lead heading into the top of the 9th, but the Rangers scored 6 unanswered runs to go on an win by a 6-1 final. The loss gives the Angels the win and right now the best Oakland can do is hope for one of the remaining Wild Card spots [the Royals are a game ahead in the Wild Card chase while the Mariners are only a game behind the Athletics- NANESB!].

Super Bowl of Sports Chowdah Update- Ravens Survive Lights Out Superbowl XLVII; Son of 77 Comes Up Huge in Toronto

SUPER BOWL XLVII- Wow- who that plunging the stadium into darkness mid-game would turn out to be a winning formula? That's exactly what happened on Super Bowl Sunday when the Louisiana Superdome experinced a 34 minute power outage in the 3rd quarter of the championship contest between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers.

It was probably a blessing in disguise, though, since up until the Superdome was plunged into darkness, the Ravens were firmly in charge with a commanding 28-6 lead.

By the close of the 3rd quarter, the 49ers had managed to whittle the Ravens lead down to 5 points thanks to a 31 yard reception and TD run from Kaepernick to Crabtree, a Frank Gore rushing TD and a 34 yard David Akers FG. What once had all the appearences of a Ravens blowout was now a 28-23 game heading into the fourth quarter.

Baltimore would get some of their mojo back early in the 4th, starting off the quarter in the 49ers red zone and getting as far as the 1, but the Ravens would have to settle for a short FG after getting stopped on 3rd and goal. While they managed to extend their lead and burn precious time off the clock, San Francisco appeared to have the momentum going their way.

On their next posession, the 49ers got big plays from Frank Gore and Randy Moss to move the ball deep into Baltimore territory before Kaepernick took off for a 15 yard TD run with just under 10 minutes to go in the 4th. However, San Francisco's 2 point attempt failed and Baltimore still led by a score of 31-29.

Upon getting the ball back, the Ravens started off on their own 21 and thanks to some penalties by the 49ers that kept the drive going, took more than five and a half minutes to move the ball down the field. Baltimore was stopped on 3rd and 2 at the 49ers 20 yard line, but that suited them just fine as they got three points off the boot of Justin Tucker to put them up 34-29.

The 49ers had one more drive in them and thanks to some big plays by Gore and Crabtree, they made it inside the Baltimore 7 yard line with less than 2:40 remaining in the game. However, San Francisco ended up turning the ball over on downs after Kaepernick's 4th down pass fell incomplete. This was not without controversey as Crabtree and Ravens CB Jimmy Smith pushed off of each other as the 49ers WR was going for Karpernick's pass. The pass landed out of bounds and there was no call from the officials.

By this point, Baltimore's main concern was running out the clock and they were willing to cede a few points to San Francisco- so long as it wasn't a TD. After going three and out deep in their own territory and with the game clock winding down, Ravens punter Sam Koch actually held onto the ball for a few seconds, scrambling around in the end zone before almost casually sauntering out of the end zone for a safety with 4 seconds remaining in the game. San Francisco now trailed by a 34-31 margin and needed  less than 4 seconds to come up with some sort of score on the kickoff- but that wasn't going to happen as the ball was lateraled to the Ravens bench on the ensuing kickoff.

The Ravens win Super Bowl XLVII by a final of 34-31, their second Super Bowl since moving to Maryland from Cleveland in the 1990s. Their first was a 34-7 rout of the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV in 2001.

Baltimore QB Joe Flacco went 22-33 for 287 yards and 3 TDs and was also named Super Bowl MVP. San Francisco's Colin Kaepaernick went 16-28 with 302 yards, an interception, a TD pass, a rushing TD as well as 62 yards rushing. And in case you missed it earlier in the postseason, this was Ravens LB Ray Lewis' final NFL game- he had announced this would be his final NFL season heading into the playoffs in late December.

Beyonce- reportedly NOT the cause of Sunday's blackout. Christopher Polk/Getty Images

OTHER SUPER BOWL NEWS- The 3rd quarter blackout left both the city of New Orleans and Louisiana-based utility Entergy [NYSE- ETR] red-faced and officials are still trying to determine what caused the power failure.

In a series of memos dating back to October 15th, both the Superdome Engineering Staff and Entergy officials expressed concerns that feeders connecting the stadium with incoming power lines were showing signs of significant decay and a chance of failure.

The memo said Entergy and the Superdome's engineering staff "had concerns regarding the reliability of the Dome service from Entergy's connection point to the Dome."

The memo was prepared for the Louisiana Stadium & Exposition District, the state body responsible for the Superdome.

Authorities subsequently authorized spending nearly $1 million on Superdome improvements, including more than $600,000 for upgrading the dome's electrical feeder cable system, work that was done in December.

"As discussed in previous board meetings, this enhancement is necessary to maintain both the Superdome and the New Orleans Arena as top tier facilities, and to ensure that we do not experience any electrical issues during the Super Bowl," said an LSED document dated Dec. 19.

Superdome commission records show a $513,250 contract to replace feeder cables was awarded to Louisiana-based Allstar Electric. Arthur Westbrook, Allstar's project manager for the job, referred all questions to the management company.

A lawyer for the LSED, Larry Roedel, said a preliminary investigation found the replacement work in December did not appear to have caused Sunday's outage.

And meters showed the 76,000-seat stadium was drawing no more electricity than it does during a typical New Orleans Saints game, according to Doug Thornton, vice president for the Superdome's management company, SMG

Apparently Beyonce's halftime show was NOT to blame, accoring to the NFL. The singer reportedly used a seperate generator that was not connected to the Superdome's grid for her performance.

Canadian Press, Frank Gunn

NHL- The Bruins got off to a less than stellar start against the Northeast Division after squandering a 3-1 lead against the Buffalo Sabres Thursday night. After heading into the 3rd period tied at 3-3, the Bruins briefly pulled ahead on a David Krejci goal before the Sabres tallied three unanswered goals to make it a 7-4 Buffalo victory [this included a Thomas Vanek hat trick- NANESB!]. The loss was the Bruins' first regulation loss all season.

Saturday night went a little better for Boston as the travelled north of the border for the first time this season, taking on the Toronto Maple Leafs. A number of fairly notworthy firsts took place during Saturday's game as well. LW Chris Bourque, son of legendary Bruins defenseman and Hall of Famer Ray Bourque, notched his first Bruins goal at 8:54 in the first [contrary to what some on social media was saying, it was not his first NHL goal. That came during the 2008-2009 season when he was coming up through the Washington Capitals system- NANESB!]. That would be the only tally that Leafs netminder James Reimer would allow on Saturday, stopping 33 of 24 shots, but that would be enough for Boston as G Tukka Rask had his first successful shutout bid of the season, turning aside all 21 shots faced in the 1-0 win.

So Bourque made his first goal with Boston count, and the Bruins get their first win against a Northeast Division opponent on the season [despite the loss, Reimer was actually named the #1 star of Saturday's game- NANESB!]. Currently, the Bruins are in sole posession of first place in the Northeast Division at 6-1-1 and will take on the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Center on Wednesday Night. Puck drops at 7:30 ET and the game will be televised on NBC Sports and TSN. Coming into Wednesday night's contest, Montreal has a 6-2-0 record and is in 3rd place in the Northeast Division behind Boston and Ottawa.

Half A Sports Chowdah Update- Nevermore, Ravens Second Half is Patriots' Undoing in AFC Title Game; Something Bruin in the Air- B's Begin Shortened Season

Usually in October, I enjoy a phenomenon that I like to refer to as the 'joyous overlap' where more than one of my favorite sports are playing concurrently- the end of the regular season for baseball as well as the start of the playoffs, about a month into the NFL and NCAA Football season and the very beginning of the NHL season.

Of course, this past October was a different and this less enjoyable for myself and many other New England sports fans. While the Patriots ended up winning the AFC East, the Red Sox were wrapping up their worst season in 50 years and the NHL was in the very beginnings of a prolonged labor dispute that cut the season in half and resulted in the cancellation of the New Year's Day Winter Classic and the All Star Game.

This year, the 'overlap' phenomoenon lasted barely 24 hours.

Steven Senne photo

NFL- There was no 'hand of Myra' this time around. After taking a 13-7 lead into halftime, the Patriots were shut out of the second half of the AFC Championship Game on Sunday by the Baltimore Ravens.

The Patriots got on the board first on a Gostkowski FG in the 1st before Baltimore countered with a Ray Rice TD run to put the Ravens up 7-3 in the 2nd quarter. On the next posession, the Pats started off on their own 21 and the 5 minute drive was capped by a short TD catch and run from Brady to Welker to put New England back on top. The Patriots ended the first half with another Gostkowski FG to make it 13-7.

But the second half belonged to Baltimore, taking the lead on a Joe Flacco TD pass to TE Dennis Pitta. The Ravens would add to that lead late in the 4th thanks to another TD pass from Flacco to open up the 4th as well as no less than three Patriots turnovers [this includes a Vereen funble recovered by Baltimore at the Patriots 39 and an incompletion from Brady on 4th and 4 at the Ravens 19- NANESB!].

Baltimore scores 21 unanswered points in the second half of the AFC Championship game to win it by a final of 28-13 and secure their first Super Bowl berth since 2001. Linebacker Ray Lewis, who announced his retirement after this season last month, is the only remaining link to the 2001 team.

Fellow Ravens LB Terrell Suggs [who I'm pretty sure will be begging the Patriots (or anybody else) for a shot at making the roster in a few short years- NANESB!] took the high road in victory, calling New England arrogant, accusing them of cheating and taunting opposing players by shouting 'Have fun at the pro-Bowl! at the end of the game.

Ravens QB Flacco was 21-36 with 240 yards and 3 touchdowns- all three of them coming in the 2nd half while Brady went 29-54 with 320 yards, a TD and two interceptions.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NFL- The NFC Championship Game, which took place at the Georgia Dome, was a much closer affair, but also didn't end well for the home team.

After jumping out to an early 17-0 lead against the San Francisco 49ers in the first half, Atlanta Falcons fans watched nervously as their one-time NFC West opponents whittled away the lead, making it a 14-17 game with just under two minutes to go in the first half. However, with less than 30 seconds to go in the half, Boston College alum Matt Ryan gave the Falcons some breathing room after competing a 10 yard TD pass to TE Tony Gonzalez to give Atlana a 10-point lead at the half.

Like the game that would kick off after it, the home team was shut out in the second half, with San Francisco once again closing it to within 3 points on a Frank Gore rushing TD in the 3rd before San Francisco took their first lead of the day on a another Gore TD run to make it 28-24 49ers.

The Falcons would get the ball back with 8:23 left in the 4th quarter and advance as far as the San Francisco 10 with just over a minute remaining, but Ryan threw an incomplete pass on 4th and 4, giving the 49ers the ball back.

The 49ers would go on to win by a 28-24 final, earning them their first Super Bowl appearence since the Steve Young era.

NHL- The NHL season is pretty young, but so far the Boston Bruins are off to a good start.

AP Photo/Kathy Willens

After winning their home opener against New York Rangers, the Bruins last two games went to OT, with the black and gold beating the Winnipeg Jets at the Garden in a shootout on Monday and then falling to the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night.

Their 2-0-1 record currently has them in 2nd place in the Northeastern Conference, one point behind undefeated Ottawa. The B's will return to the Garden to face the New York Islanders on Friday evening at 7PM ET.

Interesting side note- usually at the start of the MLB, NBA or NHL season, their respective league provides a free preview of the out-of-market games avaialble if you sign up for some sort of season-long package. I was on the phone with my sattelite provider (DirecTV) for an unrelated matter on Wednesday and I asked how long the free trail/preview of the NHL season would go on. After the woman on the other end checked around, she told me that it was good for the rest of the month.

Given the damage done to the NHL brand after the lockout, I would be very surprised if DirecTV was the only cable or sattelite provider that was doing so this season- it might be worth a call to check and see about your provider.

Somewhat Overdue Sports Chowdah Update for Jan 18th, 2012- Houston, You Have A Problem; Ravens Double Down on OT; Tall Te'o- Notre Dame Star Involved In Elaborate Online Hoax; Vicious Cycle- Armstrong Admits Doping

NFL- No matter how you slice it, last weekend was a pretty good one for the NFL.

REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi photo

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS- Well, it wasn't quite as lopsided as last month's regular season matchup on Monday Night, but the end result was the same.

After besting the Cincinnati Bengals in a lethargic affair at Relialnt Stadium in Houston on Wild Card Weekend, the Texans advanced to play New England for the second round of the playoffs. A well-rested New England was coming off of their first-round bye with Rob Gronkowski coming off the DL.

The first half of Sunday's playoff game went a little differently than December's Monday Night blowout, with the Texans drawing first blood thanks to a 27 yard Shayne Graham FG on the Texans' opening possession. The Texans would maintain their 3 point lead throughout most of the first quarter as both offenses seemed to sputter but with just under four and a half minutes to go The Patriots got good field position and put together a 3 minute drive, hitting paydirt on a 1 yard TD run from RB Shane Vereen putting New England on top 7-3.

Thanks to a Gostkowski FG and another Vereen TD, the Patriots took a 17-3 lead with just under 4 minutes to go before halftime. The Texans were able to return the kickoff to midfield, giving Houston great field position for RB Arian Fosterto singlehandedly run the ball down the field for a Houston TD....which is exactly what happened with 1:15 to go in the first half to make it 17-10 New England.

After the Patriots went 3 and out on their own 30, they punted with 24 seconds left in the half- time enough, it turned out, for Texans QB Matt Schaub to make 3 quick completions for a total of 30 yards- good enough to move the ball down the field for a 55 yard FG attempt from Shayne Graham. And of course, I wouldn't be bringing this up if Graham's field goal attempt was no good- but it went through as time expired, and a much more game Houston trailed the Patriots by 17-13 at the half. It should also be worth noting that Graham's FG attempt was the longest successful FG in the playoffs at Gilette Stadium.

The second half, however, was another story as the Patriots began to pull away thanks to a Stevan Ridley rushing TD and a TD pass from Brady to Brandon Lloyd to make it 31-13 New England in the 3rd quarter. And while the Patriots would get another TD thanks to a 33 yard reception and run by Vereen to make it 38-13, the Texans would score twice in the 4th quarter to make it a 10 point game before Gostkowski kicked a FG with a little over a minute to go to make it a 41-28 win for New England.

ELSEWHERE IN THE AFC- The good news is that the Road to the Superbowl once again goes through New England. The bad news is that the Patriots will have to deal with the pesky Baltimore Ravens to get to the Super Bowl.

The Ravens advanced to the AFC Championship after a wild affair in Denver on Sunday evening that required double OT after an improbable pass from Baltimore's Joe Flacco was snagged by WR Jacoby Jones to tie the game at 35-35 with 31 seconds left in regulation. After a scoreless OT, the game at Denver headed into a second OT where the Ravens broke the deadlock thanks to a 47 yard FG by Justin Tucker.

Since Denver had clinched a first round bye and home field advantage, their elimination by Baltimore means that the Patriots now have the best record of the remaining teams and will host the AFC title game on Sunday.

The AFC Championsip Game between New England and Baltimore is set for Sunday evening at 6:30 ET and will be televised on CBS.

MEANWHILE IN THE NFC- Although we were about 30 seconds away from an all NFC West Championship game, there was no overtime on the NFC side of things. However, there was still one hell of a finish for one of the games.

Atlanta looked as though it wasn't getting off their playoff schnide after blowing a late lead against the visiting Seahawks on Sunday. After taking a 20-0 lead in the first half, Atlanta saw Seattle steadily chip away at their lead, finally going ahead thanks to a TD run from Marshawn Lynch with 31 seconds remaining in regulation toput Seattle up 28-27 and quieting down the home crowd at the Georgia Dome.

After getting the ball back on their own 28 with 19 seconds remaining, Matt Ryan managed two completions- a 22 yard completion to Harry Douglas and another completion to Tony Gonzalez good for 19 yards. Matt Bryant then kicked a 49 yard FG attempt to put Atlanta up 30-28 with 8 seconds remaining.

The Falcons escape by the skin of their teeth to win by a final of 30-28 and host this weekend's NFC championship game which is set to take place at 3:00 ET on Sunday and will be televised on FOX. The Falcons will be hosting the San Francisco 49ers who beat the Green Bay Packers pretty handily by a 45-31 final.

NCAA FOOTBALL- In what has to be one of the most bizarre off-the-field events in college football in recent years, Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o was caught up in an elaborate online hoax after admitting that his girlfriend, 22 year old Lennay Kekua, had never existed.

Kekua had supposedly passed away from complications due to leukemia within hours of Manti's grandmother passing away on September 12th, 2012.

In a shocking announcement, Notre Dame said Te'o was duped into an online relationship with a woman whose "death" from leukemia was faked by perpetrators of an elaborate hoax. The goal of the scam wasn't clear, though Notre Dame said it used an investigative firm to dig into the details after Te'o disclosed them three weeks ago.

The hoax was disclosed hours after Deadspin.com posted a lengthy story, saying it could find no record that Kekua ever existed. The story suggests a friend of Te'o may have carried out the hoax and that the football player may have been in on it — a stunning claim against a widely admired All-American who led the most famed program in college football back to the championship game for the first time since 1988.

Te'o had reportedly known about the hoax prior to the Deadspin.com report, but was reluctant to go public with it out of embarassment or being accused of manipulating sentiment prior to the Heisman voting.

CYCLING- Cyclist Lance Armstrong admitted to doping during all 7 Tour De France bids in an interview with Oprah Winfrey this week.

During part 1 of the two-part interview, Armstrong seemed devoid of any emotion of remorse, but teared up during part two when mentioning how his son defended him at the time, unaware the doping allegations were true.

The admission may have sponsors such as the US Postal Service wanting some or all of their money back. In 2006, Armstrong sued Britain's Sunday Times for libel after their head sports writer accused him of doping- Armstrong and the paper settled out od court for more than $500,000. Now the paper may be suing Armstrong to recoup some of their money.

NHL- Just a quick reminder, the NHL season begins on Saturday- the Bruins will be hosting the NY Rangers at the TD Garden at 7PM ET on the NHL Network.

Quickie Sports Chowdah Update- Homer Delivers Bail of Goods; Astros Say Goodbye to National League, Hamilton; Refs Ready For Some Football

Gene J. Puskar/AP

MLB- Amidst a tightening wild card race, Cincinnati starter Homer Bailey stole the baseball spotlight on Friday night by throwing the Reds' first no-hitter in nearly 24 years.

Having clinched the NL Central pennant nearly a week ago, the Reds didn't have much to play for other than postseason positioning. Despite the torrid start earlier this season, the Pittsburgh Pirates were playing to finish above .500 for the first time in 20 seasons.

Although Cincinnati jumped out to an early 1-0 lead thanks to a sac-fly from outfielder Todd Frazier, that would be all the scoring Pirate's starter AJ Burnett would allow in the early going. However, on the strength of Bailey's no-hitter, it would be all the Reds would need.

Bailey would total a relatively efficient 115 pitches in the Friday night contest. The only baserunners allowed came on an error in the bottom of the 3rd where SS Clint Barmes reached 1st and a walk to Bucs outfielder Andrew McCutchen in the bottom of the 7th. In what would be the 7th no-hitter of the 2012 MLB season, Homer Bailey matched a career high 10 strikeouts in what would turn out to be only his third complete game in the majors. Curiously, Bailey's other two complete games were against the Pirates.

The last pitcher to throw a no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates was St Louis Cardinals Hall of Famer Bob Gibson on August 14, 1971. That took place back in the days when the Pirates played in the old Three Rivers Stadium- Bailey's no-hitter was the first ever to take place in PNC Park, which opened during the 2001 season.

The last Reds starter to throw a no-hitter was Tom Browning, who threw a perfect game against the Dodgers in September 1988. Prior to Friday night in Pittsburgh, the most recent no-hitter thrown in the majors was Seattle's Felix Hernandez in what would turn out to be another 1-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

AP Photo/Pat Sullivan

ELSEWHERE IN THE NL CENTRAL- Wednesday night marked the end of an era on a couple of different levels in Houston. The 2-0 shutout win over the wild card-contending St Louis Cardinals marked not only the last home game that Astros announcer Milo Hamilton called before his retirement, but also the last home game before the Astros move over the the American League. Starter Bud Norris [6-13; 4.82 ERA] threw 7 and ⅓ shutout innings and had the honor of being the last pitcher to bat at Minute Maid Park barring some sort of League-wide rule change [Remember this- it will probably be a trivia question at some point in the future- NANESB!].

Meanwhile, the 85 year old Hamilton- who is best known for calling Hank Aaron's 715th career homer as an announcer for the Braves- will reportedly make a cameo via remote during the Astros regular season finale and appear on the weekly offseason 'Astroline' show this upcoming fall and winter.

NFL- Thursday night's game between the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens marked the return of the regular NFL officiating crews to the field since the end of Superbowl XLVI- and perhaps the only time in NFL history that the officials took to the field to a standing ovation and thunderous applause.

AP Photo/Nick Wass

Unlike most of the game on Monday night in Seattle, Thursday night's game passed without incident until the 4th quarter. With the Ravens leading by 13 heading into the 4th, the Brown managed to cut the lead down to 23-13 with just over 12 minutes to go before another Browns drive into Baltimore territory netted another long FG to make it 23-16. With 1:05 remaining, the Browns got the ball back on their own 10 and managed to move the ball down the field pretty quickly, getting as far as the Ravens' 33 with 23 seconds remaining.

Although Browns QB Brandon Weeden couldn't convert on 4th down with 10 seconds to go, Baltimore drew a 15 yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty with 2 seconds on the clock giving the Browns another shot from the Baltimore 18 and setting up a situation thst was eerily similar to Monday night's debacle in Seattle. However, instead of the Hail Mary pass being fought for in a scrum of defenders and receivers, Weeden's pass sailed unambiguously beyond the end zone and out of bounds to end the game and close out the Ravens' 23-16 win over the 0-4 Browns.

BC Women's Volleyball Vs Virginia Cavaliers at Power Gym Thursday Night- BC Athletics Facebook Page

For the first time since Aug 25th, the Boston College Volleyball team played a home game in Power Gym on Thursday night when they hosted the Virginia Cavaliers. While they played in the New England Challenge earlier this month, Northeastern acted as the host venue. This also marked the first home game against an ACC opponent in the 2012 season.

Virgnia Cavaliers Libero Emily Rottman

After a wild first (and third!) set that required overtime, the Eagles managed to sweep the Virginia Cavaliers 3-0 on Thursday night, winning 27-29, 25-15 and 25-27 respectively. Current ACC Freshman of the Week Katty Workman led the Eagles effort with 15 kills- her 14th match this season with 10 or more kills- while captain Krystle Higgins contributed with 10 and Melissa McTighe chipped in with 7.

Defensively, Lauren Fields had 10 digs while Courtney Castle had 7 of her own in the back-and-forth match with the Cavs. The hard-fought win brings the Lady Eagles back to .500 with an overall 8-8 record and 2-2 record against ACC opponents.

Their next match will be on Sunday at noontime in Power Gym against the 10-4 Virginia Tech Hokies.

Sports Chowdah Update, Intercep-ticon Edition- Last Second Calls in Seattle, Baltimore Cause Stir; Mighty MAC has 'Big' Weekend; Northeastern Sweeps All New England V-Ball Tourney

 

ESPN.com Photo

NFL- Three weeks into the regular NFL season and I've apparently made little to no mention to the fact that the league is operating with replacement referees due to an NFL lockout. Rather naiively, I thought it was a non-issue that would be quietly resolved before anything substantial could take place.

However, after Monday night's game it looks as though I was wrong on both counts. The nationally televised game from the Emerald City pitted the host Seattle Seahawks against the Green Bay Packers.

It was a low-scoring affair, and Seattle's defense punished Green Bay QB Aaron Walker by saking him 8 times in the first half. Despite the relentless harrassment of Rogers, the Packers were leading 12-7 late in the 4th and pinned deep in their own territory with less to two minutes to go. After going three and out, Green Bay was forced to punt from their own 4 yard line. The ensuing kick gave the Seahawks the ball at mid-field with 46 seconds to go in the 4th quarter.

Seahawks rookie QB Russel Wilson got the ball as far as the Packers 24 yard line as the clock ticked down. As time expired, Wilson threw a Hail Mary pass to WR Golden Tate in the end zone where the ball was momentrally lost among a sea of defenders and when everybody hit the ground, one official was signalling touchdown while another had signalled interception & touchback [shown above- NANESB!].



A further review of the replay showed that Packer's safety MD Jennings had snatched the ball out of the air as Tate was pushing off, but the touchdown call was upheld and after 10 minutes, the Packers were summoned out of the locker room for the point-after attempt to seal the Seahawk's controversial 14-12 win over Green Bay.

Before the game had even technically ended, the replacement officials game-deciding call had prompted fans, coaches, players and sports columnists to demand the NFL bring the ongoing lockout with the original officials to a close. Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach John Gruden and former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Steve Young- both working as commentators for ESPN- voiced their displeasure with the in-game officiating right away both in-game and on the Monday Night Football postgame shows.

There is still a considerable gap between the NFL and the locked out referees over the issue of salary, but the call to close out Monday Night's game could prove to be the catalyst to take it off the back burner. Reportedly some of the replacement officials used by the NFL this season had been dismissed by the Lingerie Football League [a league which by rights I should probably know more about but am only marginally aware that it even exists- NANESB!] earlier this year.

It's also worth pointing out that the call on the field by the replacement referees was subject to review by NFL replay officials who weren't replacements. Earlier in the game there had been a number of penalties that kept what would turn out to be scoring drives alive.

The replacement officials issue will no doubt be revisited countless times before Thursday night's game between the Browns and Ravens.

Nick Wass/ AP Photo

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS- Should Monday Night's game proved to have been uneventful, the sports media would no doubt still be discussing New England's Sunday Night Game against the Baltimore Ravens and the officiating that was done there.

Sunday night's game between two perennial division leaders would be the Patriots' first prime-time contest of the 2012 campaign. After the Patriors got out to a 13-0 lead in the first quarter, the Ravens came back to briefly take the lead in the 2nd thanks to two lengthy, sustained drives led by QB Joe Flacco to give Baltimore a 14-13 lead with less than two minutes to go in the opening half. However, after getting the ball back on their own 19 with 1:41 left in the 2nd quarter, New England hit paydirt on a short Brady pass to WR Julian Edelman with 2 seconds left to make it 20-14 at the half.

The Ravens opened up the second half by re-taking the lead on a three and a half minute drive that was capped by a short TD rub by RB Ray Rice to make it 21-20. The Patriots replied in kind, taking nearly 5 minutes off the clock as they marched down the field thanks mostly to relatively short passes by Brady or short runs by RB Danny Woodhead who was finally able to punch it in from the Ravens three yard line and give the Patriots the 27-21 lead. Although the Patriots would make a return trip to the Ravens end zone on their next posession, they would have to settle for a short Gostkowski FG to make it 30-21. The score would remain that way until the 4:01 mark of the 4th when the Ravens managed to punch it in for a TD after starting off on their own 8 yard line, making it a 28-30 Patriots lead.

New England would get the ball back and advance as far as midfield before Brady was sacked and the Patriots had to punt right around the 2 minute warning. With just under a minute to go in the game, Patriots CB Devin McCourty was called for a pass-interference penalty, giving the Ravens the ball inside the Patriots 10 yard line with the clock ticking. After calling one timeout in an attempt to freeze Ravens rookie kicker Justin Tucker [his first kick DID unambiguously split the uprights, too- NANESB!], Tucker's next kick soared over the right upright and was ruled good, giving Baltimore the 31-30 win as time expired.

Unsurprisingly, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was unsatisfied with both the officiating and result of the game, leading him to track down an official and grab him while asking for a review of whether or not Tucker's kick was good. Much was made of the on-field confrontation until Monday Night's 'Touchdeception' in Seattle. Both Belichick or Ravens head coach John Harbaugh had made clear their displeasure with the officiating from the replacement referees during Sunday night's game as well. Belichick can reportedly expect a fine and some sort of reprimand from the league this week.

Sporting a rare losing record, the Pats will travel to Orchard Park, NY next Sunday to take on the 2-1 Buffalo Bills- their first AFC East matchup of the 2012 season. The game gets underway at 1:00 PM ET and will be televised on CBS.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NFL- Although there was one overtime game in week 1, Week 3 of the NFL season featured no less than three contests that went to overtime. The Tennesee Titans made a key stop on 4th and 1 to get their first win of the season- a 44-41 victory over the Detroit Lions at Nashville on Sunday. The Miami Dolphins scored late in the 4th to tie the game up at 20-20 before the Jets would get the Game winning FG with just over 6 minutes remaining in OT. And the Kansas City Chiefs stunned New Orleans by scoring 11 unanswered points in the 4th quarter to climb out of a 24-13 hole to beat the Saints on a 31 yard Ryan Succop FG with 6 and a half minutes to go.

This has been the first time there has been two or more overtimes since the NFL modified the rules for OT. Beginning this season, there will be no more sudden death overtime- each team will have at least one posession. If a team scores on their opening posession, the other team will have the opportunity to match or beat that score. If neither team has managed to score, then the next team to score will win [unless the clock runs out, meaning the game will end in a tie- NANESB!] making it 'sudden death' of sorts.

Charlie Niebergall/AP Photo

NCAA FOOTBALL- Saturday turned out to be a good day for much of the supposedly lowly Mid America Conference. The Central Michigan Chippewas pulled off what was easily the biggest upset of the day. Trailing the Iowa Hawkeyes 23-31 with less than a minute to go at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, the Chippewas managed to score nine unanswered points in the final 50 seconds- including a 13 yard TD pass from QB Ryan Radcliff to WR Titus Davis followed by a 47 yard FG from David Harman with 3 seconds left to give Central Michigan the narrow win over the Hawkeyes. Prior to the game, the Hawkeyes had been favored to win by as much as two touchdowns.

The Chippewas wouldn't be the only MAC team from Michigan to take down a favored oppoenent on Saturday. The narrowly-favored UConn Huskies fell to the Western Michigan Broncos thanks to a 4th quarter sack and strip of Huskies QB Chandler Whitmer. The loose ball was picked up by Broncos LB Desmond Bozeman and returned all the way for a TD to make it a 30-17 lead for Western Michigan.

The visiting Huskies would score a late TD with just 1:15 left in regulation, but UConn would fall to Western Michigan by a 30-24 final.

Over in DeKalb County, IL the Northern Illinois Huskies staged a come-from-behind win over the Kansas Jayhawks. Kansas opened up the 4th quarter by running back a Jordan Lynch interception for 54 yards for a touchdown and a 23-13 lead over the Huskies. However, Northern Illinois would go on to score 17 unanswered points and pin the Jayhawks deep in their own end to close out the game and 30-23 win.

Of course, not all the games went so swimmingly for teams in the MAC on Saturday. While Eastern Michigan managed to keep the Michigan State Spartans out of the end zone for the first half and headed into the locker room with a 7-3 lead, the Spartnas scored 20 unanswered points in the second half to cruise to a 23-7 win over the Eagles. Meanwhile, in Knoxville, TN, the Akron Zips looked like they were too much for the Tennesee Volunteers to handle for most of Saturday night's contest, heading into the locker rooms tied 23-23 at the half before the Vols pulled away in the 4th quarter to make it a 47-26 final.

The UMass Minutemen's debut in MAC intraconference play was a little less noteworthy. They travelled to Oxford, OH to take on the Miami of Ohio Redhawks. While the final score was a bit more respectable than losing their first three games by a composite 145-19, the Minutemen still remain winless after their latest trip to the Midwest, falling to the Redhawks by a final of 16-27. This upcoming weekend, the Minutemen will host the undefeated Ohio Bobcats at Foxbourough. The Bobcats are currently favored in by as much as 24 points.

In fact, all three New England FBS teams will be playing at home this upcoming weekend. 2-2 UConn will host the 1-2 Buffalo Bulls at noon eastern time in East Hartford while Boston College comes off their weekend off to host the Clemson Tigers in ACC play. Kickoff in Chestnut Hill gets underway at 3:30 ET.

Georgia Tech Yellowjackets Librero/Defensive Specialist Nicki Meyer- Photo via Georgia Tech Volleyball on Facebook

NCAA VOLLEYBALL- After an all-New England tournament hosted at Northeastern earlier this month, most of the participating schools- UConn, Boston College, Northeastern and Harvard- began intraconference play in earnest [altho BC already has a win over Maryland from the Spring Hill Suites at Arundel Mills Invitational earlier this month- NANESB!].

Although Boston College dropped the first two contests to Northeastern and UConn, they managed to salvage a win in the New England Volleyball Challenge Tournament over Harvard on the final day.

The Eagles opened up ACC play against the Georgia Tech in Atlanta last Friday, challenging the Yellowjackets early but ultimately getting swept in 3 straight sets. BC Outisde Hitter Katty Workman- who had already garnered Freshman of the Week honors from the ACC had 13 kills in the losing effort for Boston while Ramblin' Wreck Librero Nicki Meyer (daughter of Ohio State Buckeyes head football coach Urban Meyer) was uncharachteristically quiet as Senior Bailey Hunter had 9 kills, leading the Yellowjackets. The Eagles then travelled to Clemson the following day, only to once again get swept, leaving them with a 7-8 record and 1-2 in ACC play.

This weekend, the lady Eagles will play host to Virginia (5-8) and Virginia Tech (9-4)at Chestnut Hill.

Meanwhile, the Northeastern Huskies managed to sweep the New England Volleyball Challenge Tournament defeating Harvard, Boston College and UConn before going on to face opponents from the Colonial Athletic Association. The 12-3 Huskies are 1-0 in CAA play (defeating Hofstra immediately after the New England Challenge Tournament) and will host UNC Wilmington and William & Mary at Solomon Court in Boston this upcoming weekend. Currently, only the 14-3 Towson Tigers sport a better record in CAA Volleyball.

UConn came away from the New England Classic with a 2-1 record and has gone 3-0 since then, defeating Sacred Heart, Villanova and Georgetown. Their overall record is 11-6, good for 3rd overall in the Big East behind Seton Hall and St John's- their upcoming opponent this weekend, as it turns out.

MLB- While nobody in the American League has clinched a playoff berth yet, at least two Division pennant winners came through this weekend.

Over on the West Coast, the San Francisco Giants secured the NL West pennant after taking two out of three from the San Diego Padres while the Cincinnati Reds secured the NL Central title after shutting out the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-0 at the Great American Ballpark- their only win in the 3 game weekend series against LA.

There will be no less than two playoff teams coming from the NL East as the Washington Nationals- sporting the best record in the league with 93 wins- are four games up on the Atlanta Braves who still aren't mathematically eliminated frmo winning the NL East pennant. The worst case scenario for the Braves currently is thet they'll secure the next-to-last playoff spot.

With just under a week to go in the regular season, the St Louis Cardinals currently hold the lead for the final NL Wild Card berth. With eight games to go for each team, the LA Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers are 4 and a half games behind St Louis.

Are You Ready For Some Sports Chowdah Football?

The Patriots' Stevan Ridley rushed for 125 yards and 1 TD in the Patriot's regular-season opener against the Tenessee Titans at Nashville, TN on Sunday. ESPN Boston photo

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS- After a 1-3 preaseason, the 2012 regular season started up for the New England Patriots in Nashville in fine form on Sunday. The Titans led early in this one, getting out to an 3-0 lead before the Patriots came storming back to take a 21-3 halftime lead, capping off their first half with a Brady to Gronkowski TD pass right at the 2 minute warning.

Showing hardly any signs of slowing down, Tom Brady passed for more than 200 yards although he was sacked in the 2nd quarter by Titans DE Kamerion Wimbley, who may or may not have broken Brady's nose [the quarterback was seen with a bandage on his nose in the 2nd half and postgame but it was reportedly gone by Monday afternoon- NANESB!]. Brady completed TD passes to Rob Gronkowsi and Aaron Hernandez in the first half while LB Dont'a Hightower managed to recover a fumble after DE Chandler Jones sacked Titans QB Jake Locker deep in Tennesse's own end and run it back for paydirt.

While the Titans would score thanks to a 29 yard TD pass from Locker to Washington on their first possession of the second half to make it 21-10, that would be as close as they would get as the Patriots began to pull away in the second half after starting on the Titans side of the field and capping off the drive with a Ridley TD to make it 28-10. The Titans and Pats would trade field goals in the 4th and New England goes on to win their season opener by a 34-13 final.

Tom Brady went 23-31 with 236 yards and two TD passes while Ridley rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown on Sunday. This weekend, the Patriots will kick off the 2012 season at Gillette stadium against the Arizona Cardinals. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 PM ET.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NFL- The season is a little over a week old, with kickoff taking place on September 5th with the New York Giants losing to the Dallas Cowboys by a 24-17 final at E. Rutherford, NJ on September 5th.

Perhaps the most noteworthy was Robert Griffin III's regular-season NFL debut on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints. Griffin went 19-26 and more than 320 yards at the Superdome in the Big Easy, holding off the Saints by a 40-32 final.

Sunday night also marked Peyton Manning's debut as a Denver Bronco. The high mountain air in Denver apparently did little to slow down the elder Manning brother as he pretty much dismantled the Steelers D going 19-26 with 253 yards as the Broncos cruised to a 31-19 win over Pittsburgh.

Former Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens owner Art Modell passed away on September 6th at the age of 87. Modell had gained infamy in the late 1990s for moving the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore after a protracted battle with the city of Cleveland over the stadium. The Browns returned to Cleveland in 1999 as an expansion team and ended up in the same division as the Ravens. In 2004, Modell sold most of his share in the Ravens to Maryland businessman Steve Biscotti.

NCAA FOOTBALL- After losing in a 41-32 track meet to the University of Miami Hurricanes at Chestnut Hill over Labor Day weekend, the Eagles played host to the Maine Black Bears.

Despite looking not particularly sharp with some fumbles in the early going and the Black Bears getting out to an early lead, the Eagles cruised to a 34-3 rout of Maine on Saturday. Eagles QB Chase Rettig went 16-32 with 219 yards, 3 TDs and no interceptions. The win beings BC's record to 1-1.

On Saturday, Boston College will travel to Chicago to take on the Northwest Wildcats who are currently undefeated. Kickoff is set for 3:30 ET.

ELSEWHERE IN NCAA FOOTBALL- The UMASS Minutemen made their 'home' debut at Gilette stadium in Foxbourough, MA [on the opposite end of the state from their main Ahmerst, MA campus- NANESB!] against the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday.

Indiana quickly jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the 1st with a rushing TD from QB Tre Robertson. Although UMass responded with a sustained drive and rushing TD from quarterback Mike Wegzyn, the point after attempt was no good making it a 7-6 game. That would be as close as the Minutemen got as the Hoosiers rolled to an easy 45-6 over the MAC's newest team- this comes despite Tre Robinson having to be carted off the field early in the second quarter with a broken leg.

The Minutemen have an even steeper challenge before them this Saturday as they travel to the Big House in Ann Arbor to take on Michicgan [If this were a hockey game, I'd give Massachusetts even odds against Michigan- NANESB]- this is the second straight week UMass will face a Big Ten opponent

UCONN HUSKIES- The Huskies now sport a 1-1 record after coming up short in a low-scoring game at East Hartford against the North Carolina State Wolfpack. RB Lyle McCombs scored the Huskies lone touchdown fairly late in the game in the Wolfpack's 10-7 road win. On Saturday the Huskies will head to College Park, MD for their first road game of the season- taking on the Maryland Terrapins at 12:30 PM ET.

Championship Weekend Sports Chowdah- Nevermore! Pats Superbowl Bound, Survive Late Ravens Drive; Penn State's Joe Paterno Passes Away At Age 85

NFL: Holy crap, what a day! Two Championship games coming down to the wire (and then some!) for the right to play in Superbowl XLVI. Neither one of them disappointed.

PATRIOTS: Unlike some of the AFC Championship games involving New England in the prior decade, today's affair in Foxborough was a taut, down-to-the wire affair.

For the first half, both teams seemed by be fostering a 'bend but don't break' mindset. However, for every score that New England managed to put up, Baltimore seemed to come right back. Stephen Gostkowski got the Pats on the board first with a chip-shot FG to make it 3-0. Baltimore would then tie the contest up at 3-3 early in the 2nd.

New England got the ball back on their own 25 and move the ball down the field in less than four minutes, with RB Ben Jarvus Green Ellis punching it in from the Ravens 7 before pointing to the MHK patch on his jersey.

The Ravens, however, would answer right back with some deep passes from QB Joe Flacco and passing the ball to Dennis Pitta for the TD to tie the contest up at 10-10.

New England would get another Gostkowski FG before the half to make it 13-10. However, in the second half, after the Patriots had to settle for another Gostkowski FG, Baltimore took the lead for the first time on the day late in the 3rd when Flacco found WR Torrey Smith on 3rd down and Smith scrambled for 29 yards to hit paydirt and the 17-16 lead.

New England managed to re-take the lead early in the 4th after Baltimore thwarted two previous attempts to punch the ball into the end zone from inside the Ravens 1-yard line. Finally, Tom Brady managed to break the plane to put New England up 23-17.

With just over 7 minutes to go in regulation, it appeared as though the Patriots could put the game away once and for all when LB Brandon Spikes picked off Joe Flacco and returned the ball to mid-field. However, on New England's first play after the INT, Brady went deep and after an impressive tip drill by Bernie Pollard in the end zone to keep the ball aloft, CB Jimmy Smith came up with the ball for Baltimore and returned it to the Ravens own 39, giving Baltimore excellent field position with 7:07 to go in the 4th. However, while the Ravens managed to get the ball as far as the Patriots 33 yard line, they turned it over thanks to an incompletion on 4th and 6 with 2:33 to go.

While the turnover on downs gave New England great field position, the Patriots weren't able to do anything more than go 3 and out, giving the Ravens the ball back on their own 21 with 1:44 in regulation while trailing 23-20.

In that short timeframe, Flacco and the Baltimore offense seemed to be able to move the ball at will, at times carefully painting the sideline to preserve the clock. This was accomplished with such apparent ease on the part of the Ravens that it looked as though they would score the go-ahead TD inside of a minute, let alone notch the game tying FG. This was made abundantly clear when the Ravens advanced as far as the Patriots 14 yard line with less than 30 seconds to go.

On 2nd and 1, Flacco found WR Lee Evans open in the end zone, only to have Patriots CB Sterling Moore rip the ball out of Evans' grip to bring up 3rd and 1 (also incomplete, but well short of the end zone) so with 15 seconds remaining, the Ravens went for the tie with what was considered a chip shot FG from the 32 yard line. Baltimore Kicker Billy Cundiff had already hit a pair from the 20 and 39 earlier on the game.

With all eyes fully expecting the contest to OT, Cundiff's kick inexplicably sailed wide left of the uprights, giving New England the ball back with 11 seconds. Brady simply took a knee and that was the ballgame.

Patriots survive a late scare from the Ravens to win 23-20 and the more superstitious among us think that the late Myra Kraft might've sent an opportune gust of wind to aid her husband's team in the final seconds of the 4th.

By his own admission in the postgame comments, Tom Brady 'sucked'- going 22 for 36 with 239 yards, two interceptions, one sack and that quarterback sneak on 4th an goal form the Ravens 1 yard line [is it REALLY a sneak when the whole world knows what's going to happen?- NANESB!]. Eerily enough, Joe Flacco also went 22 for 36 but had 306 yards, two TDs three sacks and an interception on Sunday. RB Ben Jarvus Green-Ellis had 15 carries for 68 yards and the TD on Sunday.

On the defensive side of the ball, Nose Tackle Vince Wilfork came up huge [come on now- you think that dude does ANYTHING small?- NANESB!], pressuring Flacco and coming away with 6 tackles- including a sack- on the day. No interceptions run back on Sunday, but hey! There's still one more game for New England.


Ten years after making his final playoff appearence for the New England Patriots [coming in for injured then-rookie Tom Brady of the 2nd Quarter of the 2001-02 AFC CHampionship game at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh to lead New England to a 24-17 win over the Steelers- NANESB!] for Patriots QB Drew Bledsoe was on hand to award the Lamar Hunt trophy to New England owner Robert Kraft.

OTHER PATRIOTS NEWS: Of some concern to the Patriots are apparent injuries to TE Rob Gronkowski and CB Kyle Arrington. Arrington left Sunday's game in the 2nd quarter with an apparent eye injury while Gronkowski departed in the 3rd to have an ankle injury examined, although he would later return to the sidelines.

Reports are circulating that Gronkowski will be cleared to play in time for the Superbowl.

NFC CHAMPIONSHIP: While the Patriots were celebrating after dodging OT and winning the AFC title, the game to determine who would face New England in Superbowl XLVI got underway from a rainy Candlestick Park in San Francisco between the NY Giants and the host 49ers.

After a first half in which Giants QB Eli Manning was starting to pick apart the 49ers defense, San Francisco would come out in the 2nd half and take the 14-10 lead on a 29 yard pass play from QB Alex Smith to WR Vernon Davis.

The Giants would then take a 17-14 lead after WR Kyle Williams had the Giants punt graze his leg, resulting in a live ball that the Giants return team pounced on- giving Manning and the offense a short field to work with at the 49ers 29 yard line. It appread as though San Francisco was set to dodge a bullet when when Eli Manning found WR Mario Manningham on 3rd and 15 and Manningham was able to run it in for the go ahead TD.

Williams would then return the subsequent Giants kickoff to mid-field, and the 49ers would get tantilizingly close to the Giants end zone before settling for a FG on 4th and 2 from the Giants 7 yard line.

That tied the contest up and unlike the earlier contest in Foxborough, MA, sent the NFC Championship game into OT. After each team had the ball and was seemingly unable to do anything with it, the Giants once again punted and once again, Kyle Williams turned it over, this time LB Jacquain Williams managed to punch the ball out and Giants reciever Devin Thomas fell on it at the 49ers 24 yard line. Although the 49ers stopped them on 3rd and goal from their own 8 (and the Giants got a 5 yard penalty afterwards), unlike earlier in the day, this crucial FG attempt was good, sending the Giants to Superbowl XLVI in Indianapolis and setting up a rematch of Superbowl XLII against the Patriots where the Giants last-minute drive put them on top 17-14.

Interestingly, this is the second consecutive NFC Championship game the Giants have appeared in that went to OT and the third NFC Title game in the last 5 years to go to OT.


NCAA FOOBALL: Former Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno passed away from complications from lung cancer at the Mount Nittany Medical Center in State College, PA over the weekend. The 85 year old Paterno played collegiate football at Brown University in the early 1950s and had been the Nittany Lions head coach from 1966 until November 2011 when he was forced to step down amid a child sex-abuse scandal involving his former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. While Paterno was accused of no wrongdoing himself, many accused the head coach of attempting to protect the Nittany Lions reputation by ignoring the more serious allegations against Sandusky.

On the field, Paterno is college football's all-time winningest coach, with a career record of 409-136-3 and going 24-12-1 in Bowl games. Joe Paterno is also the only coach to have won each of the 'major' Bowls- Rose, Orange, Fiesta and Sugar. In 2006, Paterno was named to the College Football Hall of Fame as a head coach.

In November, amid the media coverage of Penn State when the Sandusky scandal was breaking, Paterno's family reported that he was diagnosed with lung cancer. His health had been deteriorating in recent days and friends and family were called to his bedside.

Paterno leaves behind his wife Susan, five children and seventeen grandchildren.

RED SOX: The Boston Red Sox have dealt SS Marco Scutaro to the Colorado Rockies for pitcher Clayton Mortenson. Mortenson alternated between duty in the bullpen and as a starter for Colorado, going 2-4 with a 3.86 ERA last season.

The move gives the Rockies a veteran player in the middle infielder and frees up some money for Boston to pursue free agent starting pitcher Roy Oswalt or Outfielder Cody Ross, both of whom the organization has reportedly been aggressively courting in the past couple of days.


OTHER RED SOX NEWS: The Red Sox and Reliever Daniel Bard have avoided arbitration and reached an agreement to terms on a 1-year contract over the weekend.

ELSEWHERE IN MLB: The Texas Rangers have signed highly sought-after Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish to a 6 year contract thats worth a guaranteed $56 million.

Darvish has played for the Nippon-Ham Fighters since 2005 and has also appeared in the World Baseball Classic twice for Team Japan, closing out the final inning of the 2009 Championship game against South Korea to help Japan win it's second WBC tournament.

Last season, Darvish went 18-6 with an ERA of 1.44 for the Ham-Fighters of the Japanese Pacific League.



BRUINS: After a 3-2 loss in the dying sceonds of OT at home against the NY Rangers, braking a 7-game drought where the blueshirts went scoreless on the power play. Less than 24 hours later, the Bruins were heading for Philly for a Sunday afternoon game that was taking plast the same time as the AFC Championship match.

So while all eyes were seeminlgy elsewhere, there was plenty of this going on early in Philadelphia:



When all was said and done, 66 penalty minutes were assesed in Sunday's game [altho' some of them for more mundane infractions like too many men on the ice- NANESB!]/ The Bruins got out to the quick 1-0 lead 50 seconds in on a Patrice Bergeron goal while Maxime Talbot tied things up at 1 not quite 90 seconds later.

Tyler Seguin would get a PP goal at the 9 minute mark while Milan Lucic would get the puck past Bryzgalov some three and a half minutes later to make it 3-1 Boston.


Unlike the last time these two teams met at Philly, The Flyers weren't content to just roll over and die. The second period was all Philly, with them outshooting the Bruins 15-6 and Scott Hartnell getting the natural hat trick to put Philly up 4-3.

David Krejci would knot the contest up at 4-4 early in the 3rd while Greg Campbell would put the Bruins back on top a few minutes later to make it 5-4. However, Maxime Talbot would strike again and once again knot things up, this time at 5-5.

After a scoreless OT in which the B's were unable to take advantage of a holding penalty assessed to Kimmo Timonenen 3:20 in, the game went to a shootout where Tyler Seguin would tally the winning goal and Tim Thomas made the save on Wayne Simmonds to give Boston the 6-5 shootout win while everybody else was watching the Pats and Ravens, apparently [guilty!- NANESB!].

So once again, Boston is credited with 6 goals on the Flyers, but unlike their last meeting at the Wells Fargo Center, the Bruins needed every last one of them. Tim Thomas stopped 33 of 38 shots faced in regulation and OT while Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 32 of 37 faced.

From there, the Bruins will travel to Washington D.C. where they will face the Capitals in their final game before the All-Star Break. This will actually be the first meeting between the two teams this season. The puck will drop at 7PM ET and the game will be televised on NESN.



OTHER BRUINS NEWS: With the Bruins in Washington D.C., the team was scheduled to visit the White House and meet with President Obama on Monday, as is customary for championship teams to do.

However, Tim Thomas has declined to join the team on the visit citing political differences with President Obama. Thomas is staunchly conservative and has donated to conservative candidates and political action committees in 2010 and wears a variation of the Gadsden Flag [an unofficial symbol of the Tea Party] on his mask.

Thomas is not the first outspoken conservative to have played for a championship team in Boston. Shortly after winning the 2004 World Series, starting pitcher Curt Schilling threw his support behind President George W Bush who was running for re-election against Massachusetts Senator John Kerry at the time. Other players for the Bruins, Red Sox or Patriots have hinted at more conservative or libertarian political views, but otherwise held their political leanings pretty close to the vest while playing in dark-blue Massachusetts.

Thomas is one of two Americans on the current Bruins roster (Joe Corvo being the other). The overwhelming majority of players hail from Canada.

On a side note, knowing Bay State liberals like I do, I'm sure it will only be a matter of time before somebody starts digging up some dirt about Thomas [allegations of cheating on his wife, taking steroids, puppy-drowning and so on- NANESB!] now that he's dared to slight their god with the 44% approval rating.

OTHER NHL NEWS: Edmonton Oilers LW Taylor hall is back on the ice after suffering a rather gruesome injury where his face was acceidentally stepped on by the skate of teammate Corey Potter during warm-ups before a game agaist the Columbus Blue Jackets last week.

The gash required 30 stitches and a specially insulated helmet that wouldn't rub against or aggravate the stitches as well as a tinted visor, since one of his eyes is almost swolen shut.

Hall has 15 goals and 16 assists in 37 games played this season. Both Hall and the Bruins' Tyler Segiun were the top two picks in the 2010 NHL Entry draft.

NBA: After being held to their lowest total all season in Firday night's 71-79 home loss against the Phoenix Suns, the Boston Celtics hit the road for a quick 1-game trip down to Washington D.C. to take on the woeful Wizards on Sunday in a contest that got even LESS attention than the Bruins and Flyers.

Paul Pierce carried the C's with 34 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists for the Celtics in their 100-94 win over the Wizards, who are now 2-14.

Boston will next take on Orlando Monday and Thursday night in a home and away series. Monday Night's game will tip off at the Garden and be televised on Comcast sports New England and NBA-TV. Thursday night's road game will get underway at 8PM ET and be televised nationally on TNT.