Divisional Weekend Sports Chowdah Update- No Such Luck, Colts Fall to Pats; Star-Crossed, Bruins Travel to Big D for First Time Since Seguin Trade

Matt Slocum/AP Photo

NFL- The New England Patriots are going to the AFC championship game, and oddly enough it was done without any TD passes from Tom Brady.

The Patriots came off of their bye week hosting the Indianapolis Colts and QB Andrew Luck who were coming off a seemingly impossible comeback against the Kansas City Chiefs who led 38-10 to open up the second half.

Saturday's game was a different story, however. On the third play from scrimmage, Patriots CB Alfonzo Dennard picked off Andrew Luck on the Colts own 28 yard line and brought it all the way to the Colt's 2 yard line. Barely two minutes into the game, RB LeGarrette Blount punched it in on first and goal from the 2 yard line to put New England up on top 7-0.

The Patriots would add to their lead thanks to a five minute drive that started out on New England's own 26 and was capped by another short Blount to run to put New England up 14-0.

However, a quick strike by Andrew Luck to LaVon Brazil for a 28 yard TD pass on the Colt's next possession to cut the New England lead in half. New England and Indianapolis would trade three and outs towards the end of the first before the Patriots held on to the ball for nearly 7 minutes before Blount was once again able to punch it in and give New England a 21-7 lead.

Midway through the 2nd quarter, the Colts would get inside the New England red zone, but have to settle for a FG from the foot of former Patriot Adam Vinatieri to make it a 21-10 game. The Colts would get two more points on a bizarre play with just over two minutes left in the first half in which Indianapolis got a safety. On Indianapolis' next possession, they were able to move the ball inside the Patriots 40 before Luck was picked off by LB Dont'a Hightower, neutralizing the Colts threat and sending the teams into the locker room with the score 21-12 in favor of New England.

The second half got off to a better start for Indy as the Colts defense held the Pats to a 3 and out on their first possession, then Luck and the Colts offense got as far as the Pats 3 yard line before deciding to settle for a Vinatieri chip shot FG after being unable to punch it in on 3rd and goal from the New England 3. That put Indy within a touchdown, despite the inauspicious start.

The Patriots would start off their next drive pinned back on their own 12 yard line, but Brady connected with Danny Amendola for 53 yards, moving New England our from the shadow of their own goalposts. The Pats offense would get as far as the Colts 22 before a Colts penalty on 3rd and 8 moved the ball to the Indy 5 yard line. To change things up a little, it was Stevan Ridley who would hit paydirt for New England as they went for and got the 2 point conversion- thanks again to Ridley as New England extended their lead to 29-15.

But within the blink of an eye, the Colts made it a one-score game again. Indy started out on their own 20, but quickly moved the ball to New England territory on 2nd and 11 from their won 19 with a 46 yard completion from Luck to WR T.Y. Hilton. On the Very next play, Luck found Brazil again for a 35 yard TD reception to once again pull the Colts to within a TD as it was now a 22-29 game with five minutes to go in the third quarter.

However, whatever momentum the Colts had gained late in the 3rd seemingly evaporated when the Patriots started out with the ball on their own 27 for their first possession in the 4th quarter. On the very first play, it was none other than LaGarrette Blount who ran 73 yards for a TD to make it a 36-22 New England lead. To add to Indy's woes, Luck once again threw an INT deep in the Colts' own territory. After getting the ball back on the Colt's 18, Brady completed to WR Austin Collie for a 15 yard pickup on 3rd and 10, and it would Stevan Ridley to bring it home on 2nd and goal, giving New England the 43-22 lead with more than 11 minutes to go.

The Patriots would go on to win by the final of 43-22 on Saturday and await the winner of the Chargers vs Broncos game to see whether or not they'd host San Diego or travel to Denver for the AFC title game this weekend. New England opened up their ground game and had six rushing TDs- four from Blount and two from Ridley. Blount had 166 yards on 24 carries while Ridley had 52 yards on 14 carries. For the QBs, Brady went 13 for 25 with 198 yards and was sacked twice with no picks or TDs while Luck was 20 for 41 with 331 yards, 2 TDs, 4 interceptions and was sacked three times.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NFL- On Sunday, AFC West foes San Diego and Denver went head-to-head for the third time this season. The last time the Chargers were at Mile High, they stunned the Broncos by beating them 27-20 on Thursday night in Week 15- what would be the first of many 'must win' games for the Bolts if they were to make it to the playoffs.

Sunday's game didn't have quite the same feel as the Broncos shut San Diego out in the first half 14-0. However, after the Broncos added to their lead with a long Prater FG to make it 17-0 in the 3rd, the Chargers showed signs of life- getting on the board thanks to a 16 yard TD pass from QB Phillip Rivers to WR Keenan Allen to make it a 10 point game with 13 minutes to go in regulation.

However, the Broncos came right back and marched the ball down the field from their own 19 thanks to Peyton Manning, former Patriot Wes Welker and pretty big penalty against San Diego. Broncos RB Knowshon Moreno took care of the rest on the drive, getting three straight carries from the Bolts' 24 yard line, including his 3 yard TD run to make it a 24-7 ballgame.

That seemingly put the game out of reach for the Chargers, but with just over 8 minutes to go and starting off on their own 20 Rivers was able to keep the San Diego drive going after connecting with Allen for 49 yards on 4th and 5 from their own 25. Inside the Broncos' red zone, Rivers once again found Allen for a 16 yard TD pass to make it 24-14 with just under 6 minutes to go. To make things even more interesting, San Diego successfully recovered an onside kick at their own 40. Rivers was able to get as close as the Broncos 12 yard line, but on 4th and 5 the Chargers opted to settle for a Nick Novak FG, now making it a one-TD game with 3:53 to go.

In Lieu of another onside kick, the Chargers kicked the ball off and were hoping to corral the Broncos offense before too much time bled off the clock. However, the Broncos were able to successfully convert on 3rd and 17 inside their own 20 and keep the clock moving while forcing San Diego to burn their remaining timeouts. The game was essentially clinched when Moreno picked up a first down on 3rd and 1 on the Chargers 37 with 1:12 remaining and the Broncos would go on to win by a 24-17 final. The win sets up a Brady-Manning rematch for the AFC title game in Denver this weekend. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:00 PM ET and the game will be televised on CBS.

MEANWHILE, IN THE NFC....- This weekend's NFC title game will be an all NFC West affair as the 49ers bested the Carolina Panthers by a final of 23-10 while the Seattle Seahawks came out of their bye week and beat the New Orleans Saints by a 23-15 final.

This has set up a situation where the Seahawks have blocked ticket sales to credit cards with billing addresses from California in a bid to make the NFL's loudest stadium even more partisan. According to the organization, only buyers from Washington state, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, Hawaii, Montana and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta will be authorized to purchase tickets from the team's website and ticket exchange [The Broncos organization has reportedly taken similar measures to block ticket sales to addresses out side of the Rocky Mountain states- NANESB!]

Kickoff for the NFC title game is scheduled for 6:30 PM ET and the game will be televised on FOX.

NHL- Having met once already in the Garden, the B's travelled to Dallas to take on the Stars after salvaging one game out of their 3-game California road trip and losing to the Maple Leafs at the Garden. After a scoreless first period, the Burins got on the board in the closing seconds of the seconds thanks to a David Krejci goal with all of four seconds to go in the second. However, Erik Cole would get the equalizer for the stars just 1:18 into the third on a power play goal.

But the Bruins didn't have to wait long for the tiebreaker as Brad Marchand got the go ahead goal exactly two minutes later. After that, Milan Lucic broke a ten game streak without a goal with a power play tally 15:46 into the 3rd. However, Jamie Benn made it once again a 1-goal game with less than 90 seconds to go (ex-Bruin Tyler Seguin was credited with an assist) making it 3-2. However, the Stars would pull Keri Letonen for the extra attacker, but Patrice Bergeron would seal the game for Boston by a final of 4-2 thanks to an empty-netter with sixteen seconds remaining.

Chad Johnson got the start between the pipes for Boston and turned aside 32 of 34 shots faced while Kari Lehtonen stopped 37 of 40 that he faced. Boston was 1 for 4 on the power play while Dallas went 1 for 6 with the man advantage.

The season series between Dallas and Boston is evened up at 1 game apiece, with the Stars winning in OT back in November. From the Lone Star State, the Bruins will travel to the Windy City for a rematch of last season's Stanley Cup finals. Puck drops at 12:30 ET on Sunday afternoon and the game will be televised on NBC and the NHL Network for Canadian viewers.

MLB- The Los Angeles Dodgers and starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw have agreed to a 7 year deal worth more than $215 million, avoiding arbitration. The deal is said to be the most lucrative deal involving a single pitcher and the estimated $30 million annual salary for Kershaw will reportedly be the highest in the MLB.

Kershaw had a 16-9 record last season with a 1.83 ERA and won the NL Cy Young award in 2011 and 2013.

RED SOX- The Boston Red Sox and catcher AJ Pierzynski have agreed to terms on a 1 year, $8.25 million contract. After making his MLB debut with the Minnesota twins in 1998, Pierzynski played a single season for the San Francisco Giants before joining the Chicago White Sox from 2005 to 2012. Last season, Pierzynski and the Texas Rangers agreed to a 1 year contract and the veteran catcher hit .272 with 17 homers and 70 RBI in 134 games. The deal comes after Jarrod Saltalamacchia became a free agent and signed a 3-year, $21 million contract with the Miami Marlins.

Wild Card Weekend (and then some) Sports Chowdah Update- 'Nole and Void, Late FSU Drive Caps BCS Title Game; Wild Wild NFL Wild Card Weekend Sets Up Some Familiar Opponents

Without a doubt, the football gods have certainly been smiling down on both the NFL and NCAA over the last couple of weeks. When I wasn't travelling for the holidays, I was doing my best to watch some of these instant classics.

Chris Carlson- AP Photo

NCAA FOOTBALL- This was supposed to be the final year of the BCS format, and if you're a fan of the game you couldn't have asked for a much better finish than the BCS Championship game from Pasadena's Rose Bowl on Monday night.


The title game pitted SEC's Auburn Tigers- no stranger to unlikely late-game heroics- against ACC Champion Florida State and Heisman winning freshman QB Jameis Winston. The Seminoles got on the board first with a 35 yard FG from Roberto Aguayo five minutes into the first quarter before Auburn responded with a drive that was capped by a 12 yard TD pass from QB Nick Marshall to RB Tre Mason with three and a half minutes to go in the first, making it 7-3.


The Tigers would score two more TDs in the second quarter to give Auburn a 21-3 lead before the Seminoles found the end zone for the first time thanks to a 3 yard rushing TD from 'Noles RB Devonta Freeman to make it 21-10 Auburn with less than two minutes in the half.


The 3rd quarter was pretty uneventful, with the 'Noles chipping away at the Auburn lead thanks to another Aguayo FG, making it 13-21 Auburn. This merely set the stage for a wild 4th quarter as Jameis Winston connected with Chad Abram on the 'Noles opening drive to put Florida State within one. Nursing a 21-20 lead and with the momentum starting to swing FSU's way, the Tigers had to settle for a chip shot FG from Cody Parkey after getting as far as the Seminoles 6 yard line with just over 5 minutes remaining, expanding the Auburn lead to 24-20.
That Auburn lead quickly went by the wayside on the ensuing kickoff when Levonte Whitfield went the distance- returning the kickoff 100 yards to give the Seminoles their first lead since the first quarter, 27-24.

Starting out on their own 25 with four and a half minutes to go, the Tigers were able to march down the field to FSU's 37 before Tre Mason was able to break free for a 37 yard TD run on 2nd and 15.

The good news for Auburn was that they were back out on top 31-27. The bad news was that there was still a minute and nineteen seconds to go for Winston and FSU to take the lead. After getting the ball back on their own 20, Jameis Winston connected with WR Rashad Greene for 49 yards, giving FSU the ball on the Tigers 23 with 1:05 left. A pass interference call on Auburn gave FSU the ball at the Tigers own 2 yard line. With 21 seconds to go, Winston connected to WR Kelvin Benjamin to put FSU back on top by 34-31.


There would be no last second heroics for Auburn as FSU's kickoff was returned to the Tigers 17 as Auburn lateraled the ball with before the game ended. Florida State breaks the SEC's winning streak in the FBS by going on to win by a 34-31 final. The last time a non-SEC team won the FBS title game was the Texas Longhorns in 2006.


This also marked the last game of the current BCS format before it goes to a playoff format in which the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl act as a semifinal in which the winners will advance to a BCS title game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX.

ELSEWHERE IN NCAA FOOTBALL- Here are the finals from the other bowl games:

Gildan New Mexico Bowl-
Washington State 45 Colorado State 48

Las Vegas Bowl-
Fresno State 20 USC 45

Idaho Potato Bowl-
San Diego State 49 Buffalo 24

R+L Carrier New Orleans Bowl-
Tulane 21 LA-Lafayette 24

Beef O'Brady's Bowl-
Ohio 20 East Carolina 37

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl-
Boise St 23 Oregon St 38

Little Caesar's Bowl-
Pitt 30 Bowling Green 27

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl-
Utah State 21 Northern Illinois 14

Military Bowl-
Marshall 31 Maryland 20

Texas Bowl-
Syracuse 21 Minnesota 17

Fight Hunger Bowl-
BYU 16 Washington 31

New Era Pinstripe Bowl-
Rutgers 16 Notre Dame 29

Belk Bowl-
Cincinnati 17 North Carolina 39

Russell Athletic Bowl-
Miami (FL) 9 Louisville 36

Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl-
Michigan 14 Kansas State 31

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl-
Middle Tennessee 6 Navy 24

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl-
Mississippi 25 Georgia Tech 17

Valero Alamo Bowl-
Oregon 30 Texas 7

National University Holiday Bowl-
Arizona State 23 Texas Tech 37

Advocare V-100 Bowl-
Arizona 42 Boston College 19

Hyundai Sun Bowl-
Virginia Tech 12 UCLA 42

Auto Zone Liberty Bowl
Rice 7 Mississippi State 44

Chick Fil A Bowl-
Duke 48 Texas A&M 52

Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl-
Nebraska 24 Georgia 19

Heart of Dallas Bowl-
UNLV 14 North Texas 36

Capital One Bowl-
Wisconsin 24 South Carolina 34

Outback Bowl-
Iowa 14 LSU 21

Rose Bowl-
Stanford 20 Michigan State 24

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl-
Central Florida 52 Baylor 42

Allstate Sugar Bowl-
Oklahoma 45 Alabama 31

AT&T Cotton Bowl-
Oklahoma State 31 Missouri 41

FedEx Orange Bowl-
Clemson 40 Ohio State 35

BBVA Compass Bowl-
Houston 24 Vanderbilt 41

GoDaddy.com Bowl
Ball State 20 Arkansas State 23

PENN STATE- Former Nittany Lions head football coach Bill O'Brien announced that he would be leaving Penn State to fill the head coaching vacancy with the Houston Texans. O'Brien, Penn State's first new head coach since 1966, took over from the late Joe Paterno amid allegations his successor and Penn State officials attempted to cover up sexual abuse committed by former offensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky between the late 1990s and 2009.

Under O'Brien, the Nittany Lions went 14-10- including 8-8 against Big Ten opponents- over the last two seasons. O'Brien fills the head coaching vacancy left in Houston when the Texans fired Gary Kubiak in December. After winning their first two games of the 2013 season, the Texans would go on to lose 14 consecutive games.

Meanwhile, Penn State officials are reportedly set to announce Vanderbilt's James Franklin as their new football head coach over the weekend.

Elise Amendola- AP

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS- As far as both week 17 and the first round of the playoffs went, the NFL couldn't have asked for much more than what took place.

The Patriots came into week 17 after a satisfying 41-7 win over the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens, essentially knocking Baltimore from playoff contention before wrapping up the regular season with a home game against the Buffalo Bills. With New England clinching a playoff berth by winning the AFC East, all that was left to play for on Dec 29th was a first round bye.

New England would go on to beat Buffalo by a 34-20 final in a rainy Gillette Stadium to secure a first round bye (along with Denver) in the playoffs. They had to wait for the outcome of the games for the Wild Card weekend to see who their opponent would end up be- they get a somewhat familiar for in the Indianapolis Colts, but this is the first time the two teams have met in the postseason since Peyton Manning's departure from Indy.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NFL- I cannot stress how much week 17 in the NFL exceeded expectations. The day started with the Ravens, Steelers, Dolphins, Chargers, Bears, Cowboys, Packers, Eagles and Cardinals with an outside shot at making the playoffs. By the end of the first round of games the Ravens and Dolphins were eliminated while Pittsburgh took care of Cleveland but still needed things to break Kansas City's way in the afternoon game to punch their ticket into the postseason.

In the NFC, a couple of long-standing division rivalries essentially became de-facto conference championship games- Green Bay bested the Chicago Bears in a surprisingly high-scoring game at Soldier Field to clinch the NFC North title while Philly bested the Cowboys by a 24-22 final in Dallas to be the lone NFC East representative in the postseason in the last primetime game of the regular season on Sunday night.

Meanwhile, it was an all AFC West Week 17 out west as the Broncos ran roughshod over the hapless Oakland Raiders and the San Diego Chargers dodged a bullet when the Chief's Ryan Succop missed a 41 yard FG attempt with the game tied at 24-24 with 8 seconds to go in regulation. The Chargers would end up punching their own ticket into the postseason and eliminating the Steelers when Nick Novak nailed a 36 yard FG with five and a half minutes remaining in overtime.

Wild Card weekend got underway with the Colts matched up against the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday. The Colts fell into a seemingly insurmountable 31-10 hole at halftime and an early turnover quickly made it 38-10 Chiefs in the early part of the second half. However, after giving KC the short field and capitalizing on the turnover with 13:39 to go in the 3rd, the Colts would keep the Chiefs out of the end zone and came roaring back to win by a 45-44 final.

Meanwhile, the Saints racked up a road win over the Phillies at Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday night, going on to win by a final of 26-24.

Interestingly, the only contest of Wild Card weekend that wasn't close was the Bengals hosting the Chargers on Sunday afternoon. Cincinnati went into the locker rooms at halftime with a 10-7 lead but San Diego would go on to score twenty unanswered points to make it a 27-10 win and set up a rematch with division rival Denver on Sunday.

Wild Card weekend wrapped up with the 49ers travelling to Lambeau Field to face the Packers. San Francisco seemed undaunted by the cold temperatures and frozen tundra, going on to beat Green Bay by a 23-20 final.

This weekend's matchups are set- on Saturday, the Seahawks are coming off of their bye week to host the New Orleans Saints. That game kicks off at 4:35 PM ET, 1:35 PT and will be televised on FOX. Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, the Patriots will host the Colts after their first round bye. This prime time matchup is scheduled to kick off at 8:15 PM and will be televised on CBS.

On Sunday, the Panthers will host the 49ers at Bank of America stadium at 1:05 PM ET and can be seen on FOX while the Divisional weekend wraps up with the Broncos hosting the San Diego Chargers in the Mile High city with kickoff at 4:40 ET and can be viewed on CBS.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS- The Indianapolis Colts announced this week that they have signed former Patriots receiver Deion Branch. Branch, who was named MVP of Super Bowl XXXIX has also logged time with the Seattle Seahawks and had worked out with the Colts in the previous month.

Late Drama Sports Chowdah Update- Big Papi Adds to His October Legend With Clutch Grand Slam; Brady Being Brady- Patriots Top Undefeated Saints In Final Seconds; Bruins Shed Jackets

Yowza! What a Sunday! Looked as though I'd be trying to sugar-coat two high-profile, nationally televised New England losses today, but I don't mind being wrong. Turned out today was EXACTLY the kind of day I had longed to blog about when I started up NANESB! four years ago. Instead of writing for the umpteenth time how much I LOVE this time of year, I'll do my best to let Sunday's events speak for themselves.

Charlie Riedel- AP

RED SOX- On Saturday, the ALCS opened up with the AL Central champions holding the Red Sox to zero hits through 8⅓ innings in Game 1. Detroit starter Anibal Sanchez went 6 innings, striking out 12 and walking 6 batters before the bullpen took over with a 1-0 lead thanks to an RBI single by Jhonny Peralta off of Jon Lester. Daniel Nava broke up the Tiger's no-hit bid with one away in the bottom of the 9th and the Red Sox put pinch-runner Quentin Berry, who stole second with two away to give Boston a runner in scoring position, but after a lengthy battle between Tigers closer and Red Sox rookie Xander Bogarts, the Boston shortstop flew out to end the game and give Detroit the 1-0 win.

Sunday's Game was starting to look like more of the same as Tigers starter Max Scherzer picked up where Sanchez and the Detroit bullpen had left off. This was the pitching matchup alot of baseball fans wanted earlier in the regular season with Scherzer going up against Clay Buchholz. The Tigers got out to an early 1-0 lead thanks to an RBI single off the bat of Alex Avila.

If you thought a 1-0 lead was insurmountable while being no-hit, then imagine how daunting a 5-0 lead would be. The Red Sox didn't have to imagine as Miguel Cabrera added to Detroit's lead in the top of the 6th with a 1-out solo homer, followed by a Prince Fielder double, an RBI from Victor Martinez and a 2 run homer from Aivla to give the Tigers a seemingly insurmountable 5-0 lead- all before Boston got their first hit of the night.

Shane Victorino broke up the Scherzer's no-hit bid with two away in the bottom of the 6th and one batter later, Dustin Pedroia ended the shutout with an RBI wall ball double that brought Victorino home before Big Papi struck out to end the inning.

After Buchholz allowed the four runs in the 6th, the Red Sox bullpen did a good job of keeping the Tigers hitless. Still, the Red Sox found themselves six outs away from heading to Detroit down 0-2 and facing a resurgent Justin Verlander in Game 3. After Drew led off the inning with a groundout, Will Middlebrooks doubled and Ellsbury followed that up with a walk. Victorino struck out swinging, but Pedroia singled to load up the bases with 2 away.

With David Ortiz coming to the plate, Tigers manager decided to go to closer Joaquin Benoit for a four out save. On the very first pitch Ortiz saw from Benoit, this happened:



Tigers outfielder came close to running Big Papi's grand slam down, but he hit the bullpen wall while running full tilt, tumbling into the Red Sox bullpen and needed a moment to shake it off. After the Detroit starters and bullpen notched more than 30 strikeouts against Boston hitters in the first two games of the ALCS, David Ortiz tied the game with one swing of his bat to make it a 5-5 contest.

Koji Uehara came on in the top of the 9th and retired the Tigers batters in order, bringing on reliever Rick Porcello. Johnny Gomes led off with an infield single and advanced to second when former teammate Jose Iglesias' throw got by Prince Fielder. Meanwhile, Jarrod Saltalamacchia battled with Porcello, staying alive after Prince Fielder attempted to catch a foul ball in the seats on the first base side only to have it clang off his glove.

A wild pitch from Porcello allowed Gomes to head to third and after working the count to 3-1, Saltalamacchia ended the ballgame in dramatic fashion.



Saltalamacchia's RBI single drives in the winning run and ties the series up at 1-1. Koji Uehara gets the win and Porcello is hung with the loss. The series resumes at Detroit's Comerica Park on Tuesday night- John Lackey is scheduled to get the start against Justin Verlander. First pitch is scheduled for 4:07 ET on Tuesday and the game will be televised on ESPN.

PATRIOTS- Fenway Park wasn't the only Massachusetts venue that was home to some late heroics.

New England was coming off of their first loss of the season with the rather daunting task of taking on the undefeated New Orleans Saints at Foxboro. Thanks to a Gostkowski FG and two Stevan Ridley rushing TDs, the Patriots got out to a 17-7 lead in the first half of Sunday's game. But the Saints started to chip away in the 3rd quarter, tying the game at 17-17 on their second possession of the second half. The Pats managed to briefly re-take the lead thanks to a 54 yard Gostkowski FG with 1:36 to go in the 4th.

Drew Brees was then picked off by Kyle Arrington on the Saints first possession of the 4th quarter. The Patriots would get as far as the New Orleans 4 yard line but ultimately have to settle for a FG to make it 23-17.

The Saints then got the ball back and took 5 minutes off the clock with an 81 yard scoring drive that had Saints QB Drew Brees hit paydirt on 3rd and 20 from the Patriots 34 yard line with three and a half to go in regulation. The Patriots would get the ball back but promptly turn it over on 4th and 6 after an incomplete pass from Brady. The Saints then added to their lead to make it 27-23 thanks to a 39 yard Garrett Hartley FG with 2:24 left in the game.

With 2:16 to go, the Patriots would get the ball back on their own 20, but would be picked off on a long pass to the Saints 30. All New Orleans needed was a first down to seal the ballgame, but ended up going three and out. With a rapidly emptying Gillette Stadium, New England got the ball back with 1:13 to go and nothing less than a TD would do it for the Patriots. Yet Brady put together an improbable drive- including two big completions to WR Austin Collie. With no timeouts and the two minute warning long gone, Brady spiked the ball after a big 4th and 4 completion to Collie, setting up 2nd and 10 at the Saints 17 yard line. Theoretically, that would give Brady time for two attempts, but all he'd need is one after finding Kenbrell Thompkins in the corner of the end zone with 5 seconds left on the clock.

What was left of the crowd went wild and the PAT made it a 30-27 Patriots lead with less than 5 seconds left. New England still needed to kick off- Darren Sproles fielded the punt but fumbled. Even though New Orleans recovered, it was a moot point as time expired.

One week after their disappointing loss to Cincinnati, New England rallies late to beat the undefeated Saints on Sunday in what would be Act 1 of a fast-paced Sunday in which New England prevailed late.

Next Sunday, the Pats will travel to the Meadowlands to take on the Jets. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 PM ET and the game will be televised on CBS.

Interestingly, the New Orleans loss whittles down the total number of undefeated teams in the NFL to two- both of them in the AFC West; the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs.

BOSTON BRUINS- The Bruins rallied late in Ohio's capital on Sunday afternoon after falling behind 1-0 to the Blue Jackets. Boston would score three unanswered goals starting with Chris Kelly in the 2nd followed by Loui Eriksson less than a minute into the 3rd and an empty netter from Milan Lucic with less than 30 seconds to go in the 3rd.

Just because the Red Sox and Tigers have Monday off for a travel day doesn't mean there's no Detroit vs Boston action on Monday. For the second time this young season, the Bruins will host the Detroit Red Wings at TD Banknorth Garden. The puck for this Original 6 matchup drops at 1:00 PM on Monday and the game will be televised on NESN and the NHL Network for viewers in Canada.

Sports Chowdah Update- Patriots Deal Texas-Sized Ass Whuppin' to Houston; Napoli, Flyin' Hawaiian Land In Beantown; Navy Survives Late Army Rally; Duck Duck, Longhorn!

Jerry Brown: 1987-2012. AP File photo

NFL- A week after the highly publicized murder-suicide involving Kansas City linebacker Jovan Belcher, Dallas Cowboys linebacker Jerry Brown was killed in a single car accident in Arlington, TX. The car was being driven by nose tackle Josh Brent, who was a teammate of Brown's both in Dallas and at the University of Illinois.

According to police, Brent and Brown were speeding west in the 1400 block of the East State Highway 114 service road around 2:21 a.m. Brent’s car “hit the outside curb” and traveled about 900 feet before coming to rest upside down in the middle of the road.

“Our investigators are certain that they were traveling well above the posted speed limit, and they base that on the physical evidence that is out on the scene — gouge marks, skid marks, where the vehicle initially impacted the curb and where the vehicle came to rest,” said Irving police spokesman John Argumaniz. The posted speed limit was 45 mph, he said.

Arriving officers saw Brent trying to drag his teammate from the burning car. Brown, unresponsive, was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The small fire was quickly extinguished.

Brent had minor injuries, mostly scrapes, police said. He failed field sobriety tests and was taken to a hospital. He was later booked into the Irving jail on the second-degree felony charge, which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine

The Dallas Morning News is also reporting that Brent had a DUI dating back to his college days in Illinois. Court records from Champaign county, IL show that in February 2009, Brent was arrested for DUI, driving without a valid liscence and speeding near the University of Illinois campus and was sentenced to 60 days in jail, 200 hours community service and two years probation.

Born and raised in St Louis, Brown was on the roster when Vashon High School won three Missouri district titles and rivals.com had him ranked among the top 100 best defensive ends in the country before he accepted a scholarship to Illinois. During the Illini 2007 run to the Rose Bowl, Brown had 2 and a half sacks in 13 games.

Although he was initially undrafted by the NFL in 2011, he did play for the Jacksonville Sharks of the Arena Legue and was on the practice squad for the Hamilton Tigercats of the CFL. In 2012, Brown worked out for the Texans, Jets and Eagles before being signed to the Indianaplos Colts practice squad. After he appeared in one game- the Colts 35-9 loss to the Jets on Oct 14th- he was waived and then signed to the practice roster once again before being cut. Later that month, Dallas picked him up off of waivers and assigned him to the Cowboys practice squad where he reportedly was recieving consideration for a move to the active roster.

Brent is charged with DUI and intoxicated manslaughter.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS- Former NFL Comissioner Paul Tagliabue overturned current comissioner Roger Goddel's suspension of four New Orleans Saints defensive players who were accused of participating in the Bountygate scandal.

In a surprising rejection of his successor's overreaching punishments, former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue threw out "all discipline" current Commissioner Roger Goodell had imposed on two current Saints, linebacker Jonathan Vilma and defensive end Will Smith, and two players no longer with the club, Browns linebacker Scott Fujita and free-agent defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove.

Tagliabue, appointed by Goodell to handle player appeals in the matter, essentially absolved Fujita, but agreed with Goodell's finding that the other three players "engaged in conduct detrimental to the integrity of, and public confidence in, the game of professional football."

The 22-page ruling Tuesday allowed both sides to claim victory more than nine months after the league first revealed the Saints' bounty scandal to shocked fans, describing a performance pool operated by former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams that, among other things, rewarded hits that injured opponents.

The four players punished by Goodell have maintained they were innocent of taking part in bounty program from the beginning, saying they never intended to injure anyone on the field. Vilma even has filed a defamation lawsuit against Goodell in U.S. District Court in Louisiana, and his lawyers, Peter Ginsberg and Duke Williams, said they intend to continue to pursue those claims "vigorously."

The NFL alleges that defensive players from the 2009-2010 New Orleans Saints paid each other off-the-books bonuses for knocking out or injuring players from opposing teams throughout the season. During the 2009-2010 season, the Saints defensive players would've had the opportunity to tee off on quarterbacks such as Brett Favre, Tom Brady, Eli Manning, Kurt Warner, Peyton Manning and Matt Ryan.

However, while Tagliabue's ruling allows the players to get back on the field without further NFL sanction, he also made clear that he holds the Saints coaching staff culpable for allowing the bounty program to continue.

AP Photo/Elise Amendola

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS- In what was only their second prime-time game of the 2012 season, the Patriots delivered a Lone Star state-sized beatdown of the Houston Texans on Monday night football.

In all honesty, I expected the Patriots to win in a fairly close contest where they started to pull away in the 4th quarter. However, Monday night's game in Foxborough seemed to be decided by halftime with the Patriots jumping out to a 14-0 lead on their first two posessions.  Wes Welker's 31 yard punt return and 25 yard reception set the tone early, leading to a 7 yard TD pass from Brady to Aaron Hernandez to open up the scoring. The TD came despite Stevan Ridley being stripped of the ball while rushing for the end zone on 1st and goal.

Trailing 7-0, the Texans were looking to get on the board and put together a nice looking drive until QB Matt Schaub's pass into the end zone was picked off by CB Devin McCourty who ran it back to the New England 19. On the following posession, Brady connected with a wide open Brandon Lloyd for a 37 yard TD reception.

New England went into the locker room at the half up 21-0, but with the Texans inability to get anything going offensively [along with a couple of iffy calls that went New England's way and the fortuitous fumble recovery early on by Hernandez- NANESB!] it felt like much more than that. To emphasise this, the Patriots opened up the scoring in the second half with a 63 yard pass reception and TD run from Brady to WR Donte Stallworth to put New England up 28-0. The Texans finally got on the board late in the 3rd, but New England won this one going away by a 42-14 final.

Brady went 21-35 with 4 TDs and 296 yards on Monday night. This is his 18th career game with 4 or more TDs, moving him past Johnny Unitas to 4th all-time on the list. TE Aaron Hernandez had 8 receptions- two of them for TDs- and 58 yards while Donte Stallworth's 63 yard catch and TD run was his lone reception of the night.

Although Houston lost bad, they still maintain the best overall record in the AFC at 11-2. However, two out of Houston's three remaining games are against the 9-4 Indianapolis Colts- the next closest team in the AFC South, so even though the Texans may have clinched a playoff berth before heading into Foxborough on Monday, clinching the division still isn't a given this late in the season.

New England's next game will be its last scheduled prime-time matchup of the 2012 season- a Sunday Night matchup at Gillette Stadium against the NFC West leading San Francisco 49ers. The game kicks off on Sunday night at 8:20 ET, 5:20 Pacific [no word on whether or not Bob Costas will deliver another patronizing lecture during NBC's halftime show- NANESB!]. After that, the Patriots will take on two Florida teams-  the Jacksonville Jaguars and a home game against AFC East foe Miami to wrap up the regular season.

RED SOX- The Red Sox have been pretty busy during the winter offseason. So far this month, they've reportedly acquired C/1B Mike Napoli [although FOX Sports is reporting that the contract has yet to be finalized, implying that the deal has hit some sort of snag, most likely pending the physical- NANESB!]. The deal- if and when it is finalized- is for three years and will be worth $39M. In 100 games with the Texas Rangers last season, Napoli started as catcher in more than 70 of them, batting .227 with 24 HR and 56 RBI. During the 2010 season, the Red Sox attempted to claim Napoli when the Angels placed him on waivers- although there was speculaton that was a move by Boston to pre-empt the Yankees from picking up Napoli. The Angels then pulled back Napoli from waivers and he remained with the Halos for the remainder of the season before being traded to Texas.

AP Photo/Elise Amendola

This week, the Red Sox also held a press conference to announce the signing of former Phillies and Dodgers outfielder Shane Victorino to a contract of similar duration and monetary value as Napoli's contract. Victorino- a native of the Aloha State- recieved the monicker 'The Flyin' Hawaiian' from his Philadelphia days and was traded by the Phillies to the Dodgers at the trade deadline last season. In his 101 games with Philly last season, he hit .261 with 9 HR, 40 RBI and 24 stolen bases. After being traded to LA, Victorino had 15 stolen bases, 15 RBI and batted .245 with 2 HR.

On Thursday afternoon, the AP was reporting that the Red Sox and starting pitcher Ryan Dempster were close to reaching an agreement reportedly worth $26.5 million for two years. Dempster was also moved during the 2012 trade deadline, going from Chicago to the Texas Rangers. Between the North Side and the Lone Star state, Dempster was 12-8 with a 3.38 ERA last season- that was broken down to a 5-5 record with a 2.25 ERA with the Cubbies and a 7-3 record with Texas and a 5.03 ERA.

ELSEWHERE IN MLB- In a move that easily eclipsed all other rumored deals and transactions on Thursday was the Angels reported signing of free agent outfielder Josh Hamilton. The deal is reportedly worth $125 million and would have Hamilton playing his home games in Orange county through 2018.

Former Angels outfielder Torii Hunter, who left for Detroit as a free agent this offseason, tweeted mockingly that Angels owner Artie Moreno must've had found some money hidden under a mattress after the Halo's front office failed to come up with a qualifying minimum $13.3 million offter to retain Hunter.

Hamilton was batting .285 with 43 HR and 128 RBI for Texas last season.

Earlier this week, the New York Yankees and former Red Sox 3B Kevin Youkilis had reportedly agreed to a 1-year, $12 million deal. Youkilis was traded from the Red Sox to the White Sox in June immediately after an emotional win against the Atlanta Braves where the crowd at Fenway gave him a standing ovation upon leaving the game- before the trade was even announced.

Youkilis is expected to fill in for big money 3B Alex Rodriguez, who will be recovering from hip surgery and isn't expected to return to the Bronx Bomber's lineup until at least June 2013.

NCAA FOOTBALL- With a long overdue victory against Navy in sight, the Army Black Knights broke out the heavy artillery late in the 4th quarter and proceeded to immediately shoot themsleves in the foot with a fumbled handoff that was recovered by the Midshipmen.

Unlike recent Army-Navy games, this one was pretty close with the teams heading into the locer room at halftime tied 10-10. However, late in the 3rd, Navy was able to successfully keep the Black Knights out of the end zone and Army had to settle for a short FG. Although that gave them a 13-10 lead over Navy, it would prove to be short-lived as the Midshipmen took the lead once and for all with 5:17 to go in the 4th quarter. However, even though Army was able to put together a sustained drive deep into Navy territory after starting on their own 17, Army RB fumbled the handoff at the Navy 14 with 1:27 to go and the Midshipmen pounced on the ball and were simply able to run out the clock from there.

Navy hangs on to win by the final of 17-13 and wins the Commander in Chief trophy- Army hasn't won since 1996. That wraps up the season for 2-10 Army while 8-4 Navy will face off against the Arizona State Sun Devils in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl on Dec 29th in San Francisco.

ELSEWHERE IN NCAA FOOTBALL- Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel- dubbed by Aggies faithful and some in the press as 'Johnny Football'- made history over the weekend by becoming the first ever freshman to win the Heisman trophy.

Manziel averaged for more than 284 yards per game in 2012 and had 24 TD's versus 8 interceptions. This was also A&M's first season in the SEC, garnering attention in November when they upset undefeated Alabama by a 29-24 final.

Manziel recieved a total of 474 first place votes in the Heisman balloting- Notre Dame's Manti Te'o came in a distant second with 321 first place votes.

Nathan Goldsmith- Daily Texan photo

NCAA VOLLEYBALL- The final two teams for this year's NCAA women's volleyball tournament are set and defending women's champions UCLA will not be participating after getting knocked out by Michigan State.

In fact, UCLA didn't even advance to the semifinals this week- instead, thie year's NCAA women's volleyball title game will be between a team that hasn't won since 1988 and another that is making their first-ever trip to the finals.

Oregon upended Penn State's bid to return to the title match by defeating them 3 sets to one to advance to their first ever women's volleyball championship berth. Meanwhile, the Texas Longhorns defeated the Michigan Wolverines 3 sets to 2 for their first finals appearence since 2009 when they lost to Penn State. The last time Texas women's volleyball won a national title was in 1988.

The game is set for Saturday, December 15th and will be televised on ESPN2 and streaming on ESPN3 beginning at 7:00 ET from the KFC/Yum! Center in Louisville, KY.

Sports Chowdah Update: Feat of Clay- Buchholz Throw Complete Game; Dutch Treat- Holland Takes Gold in Women's Field Hockey; Misty-May Calls it a Career; Manchester United Goes Public

RED SOX- The Red Sox came into Firday night's game at Cleveland's Jacobs Field losing losing seven out of their last nine games- including Thursday night's series opener.

However, Clay Buchholz stopped the bleeding with an outstanding performance, going the distance on Friday night. After allowing an early solo home run to Asdrubal Cabrera in the bottom of the first, Clay settled down, allowing just one other hit and striking out six in Boston's 3-2 win over Cleveland. Clay got run support from a Dustin Pedroia RBI single in the top of the 4th and a 2-run Cody Ross homer in the top of the 6th. The Tribe would pull to within one in the bottom of the 6th thanks to a Ezequiel Carrera sac fly, but that would be it as far as runs scored off of Buchholz went.

Saturday's game will feature Franklin Morales [3-2; 3.14 ERA] starting for Boston while Zach McAllister [4-4; 3.60 ERA] gets on the bump for Cleveland. The game gets underway from Jacobs/Progressive Field at 6:05 ET. Naturally, the game will be televised on NESN.

OTHER RED SOX NEWS- 3B Will Middlebrroks suffered what turned out to be a broken right wrist after getting hit by a 95 MPH fastball in the top of the 9th on Friday night's game.

Early reports indicate that Middlebrooks is likely to miss the remainder of the season. The Red Sox have recalled light hitting infielder Danny Valencia from AAA Pawtucket to take Middlebrooks' place on the roster.

OTHER MLB NEWS- Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Derek Lowe was formally released bt the team on Friday. Lowe had am 8-10 record with a 5.52 ERA this season. Boston and Baltimore had reportedly expressed interest in getting Lowe when the Indians placed him on waivers earlier this week, but neither team had followed through on their rumored interest.

Lowe is best known for being the Red Sox pitcher of record in the clinching games of the American League Division Series, the ALCS and the 4th and deciding game of the 2004 World series- thie first pitcher to do so. The Red Sox 2004 World Series championshi was also his last with Boston and he has since played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves before re-joining the AL with the Indians earlier this season.

OLYMPIC VOLLEYBALL- The women's beach volleyball gold medal game was an all-USA matchup pitting the duo of Misty-May Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings versus Jen Kessey and April Ross.

Treanor and Walsh swept Ross and Kessey two sets to none in the Gold medal game in what Treanor adamantly insisted were her final Olympics. The duo of Walsh and Treanor have won gold in Athens, Beijing and now London- this is in addition to three FIVB beach volleyball titles. If Walsh wants to compete in the 2016 Olympics in Rio, she will need to look for a new partner.

The postgame celebrations were marred somewhat by the partial collapse of the floorboards backstage at the Horse Guards Palace- Treanor, reportedly still wearing her gold medal, slid halfway into the hole but was uninjured along with some of the The venue had to be built from scatch after the Queen's diamond jubilee celebration earlier this summer, but completed in time for the opening ceremonies.

The Chinese duo of Zhang Xi and Xue Chen won the bronze medal match, besting Brazil's Juliana Silva and Larissa Franca. After a dissapointing start to the 2012 campaign, Xi and Chen rebounded to take their second consecutive Olympic bronze medal.

For the indoor women's volleyball, the USA Women's team once again bested South Korea to advance to the gold medal game, which sets up a rematch of the 2008 Olympic gold medal game between the USA and Brazil. South Korea will face Japan in the Bronze medal game.

OLYMPIC SOCCER- It was a rematch of last year's women's World Cup, only with different results.

Japan was attempting to become the first team to win consecutive World Cup and Olympic championships while Team USA was hoping to repeat their success in Beijing from four years ago.

Before a crowd of more than 80,000 at Wembley Stadium, Team USA got out to a relatively early lead thans to midfielder Carli Lloyd who hit paydirt about 8 minutes in. After the opening goal, Japan then dominated as far as time of posession went, but their quality scoring chances were either blocked by USA goalie Hope Solo or went off the post.

Lloyd would then give the USA some insurance with a second goal to make it 2-0 team USA early in the second half, but Yuki Ogimi cut the lead in half and put Japan on the board in the 63rd minute. Japan would get some quality scoring chances late and threaten to knot the contest up at 2-2, but Team USA managed to fend off the late rally and outlast Japan.

USA wins the gold medal game thanks in large part to Carli Lloyd. Goalie Hope Solo officially faced 7 shots on goal, stopping six of them. The women's national team has already planned a barnstorming victory tour, facing Costa Rica in forward Abby Wambach's hometown of Rochester, NY and Australia in Carson, CA in September.

Over on the men's side of the pitch, Mexico's national team stunned the heavily favored Brazilian team, going on to win by a 2-1 final for Mexico's first ever gold medal in soccer. Curiously, depsite winning five World Cup titles, Brazil has yet to win Olympic gold in the event. Mexico got on the board early with a goal from Oribe Peralta in the opening minute of the match- the quickest Olympic goal since FIFA started tracking such statistics 36 years ago.

WOMEN'S FIELD HOCKEY- Even before the first game got underway, the Dutch women's Field Hockey team has gained attention from observers worldwide by exclusively rostering of stunning women clad in bright orange dresses.

This is not just a case of having attractive women out there as a sort of publicity stunt. The Dutch women, as it turned out, were quite good at Field Hockey.

'How good?' you might be asking? Try undefeated throughout the 2012 Olympics.

In the preliminary round, the Dutch women blazed a day-glo orange swath through Japan, Great Britain, South Korea, China and Belgium- shutting out the latter two.

The Dutch would need a shootout at the end of regulation to get past New Zealand in the semifinals. In a match that no doubt brought unwarranted comparisons to the Falkland Islands war, Argentina and Great Britain faced off in the semifinals for their respective pool. However, unlike the Falklands campaign, Argentina would come away victorious and face the Dutch in the gold medal game.

On Friday's gold medal game, Carlien Dirkse van den Heuvel would put the Dutch on the board with a tally in the second half while Maartje Paumen would give Holland a 2-0 lead. Goalkeeper Joyce Sombroek kept Argentina off the board altogether and the Netherlands Women's team would go on to win their second straight Olympic gold medal after beating China 1-0 in the gold medal game at the 2008 games in Beijing.

Brendan McDermid/Reuters photo

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE- Shares of one of the most widely recognized professional sports clubs went public on Friday afternoon.

Manchester United Football Club [NYSE: MANU] traded flat for much of Friday, closing out at $14 per share, down slightly from the openeing price of $14.05.

The venerable British football club was purchased by American businessman Malcom Glazer in 2005, who also owns the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The purchase reportedly saddled Man U with close to a billion dollars in debt and high interest payments.

The Glazers will maintain control of the club by way of a tiered structure. The Class A shares available to the General Public providing one vote per share held while Class B shares would translate to 10 voted per share held. The Glazers would own both Class A and Class B shares, but retain the majority of their holdings in the more influential Class B shares. This makes it more difficult for an outside entitity to launch a hostile takeover over Manchester United through the publicly traded shares.

The Initial Public Offering makes Man U the most valuable sports franchise in the world, putting its estimated worth at around £1.5 billion- or US$ 2.3 billion, more than the Los Angeles Dodgers were sold for earlier this season.

NFL PRESEASON- The New England Patriots got their first win of the preseason with a low-scoring affair against the New Orleans Saints at Foxboro on Thursday night. Tom Brady saw limited starting time, going 4 for 7 with all of 30 yeards while backup QB Brian Hoyer went 8 for 15 with the game's ony TD in the 7-6 win over New Orleans.

The Patriots will next take on the Philadelphia Eagles at Foxboro on Monday night in a nationally televised game that gets underway on ESPN at 8:00 ET.

NBA- The Los Angeles Lakers have acquired Dwigt Howard fromt he Orlando Magin in a 4-team 11 player megadeal. The deal sends Andrew Bynum from Los Angeles to Philadelphia while Andre Iguodala goes from Philly to Denver.

Howard had earlier demanded a trade from Orlando and refused to start in some games, demanding that the magic fire head coach Stan Van Gundy

Summertime Sports Chowdah Update- Sox Snap Skid Vs Minnesota, Corral Rangers; USA's Phelps Set for Golden Retirement;

RED SOX- This past week has pretty much personified the 2012 Red Sox- with the struggling club taking two out of three from the Yankees or the Detroit Tigers, but dropping the first three of a four game series to the Minnesota Twins- who aren't quite in the basement of the AL Central, but certainly sitting on the basement steps.

After getting shut out 5-0 in the series opener on Thursday and blowing a 5-1 lead on Friday's 6-5 loss, the Red Sox made it three in a row with Saturday's 6-4 loss. On Sunday, the Red Sox got out to a 2-0 lead thanks to a Carl Crawford RBI groundout and an Adrian Gonzalez RBI single in the bottom of the 3rd.

The Twins would get a run back in the top of the 3th on a Ben Revere RBI sac fly to cut Boston's lead in half, but the Red Sox would add to their lead thanks to a 2-run Adrian Gonzalez homer in the bottom half of the inning to make it 4-1 Boston.

The Red Sox would add to their lead with a Cody Ross single in the bottom of the 7th and a Jacoby Ellsbury RBI sac-fly in the bottom of the 8th.

As it turned out, Boston would need those insurance runs as Vincente Padilla led off the top of the 9th by allowing a solo homer to Josh Willingham, followed by a walk to Justin Morneau before giving up a homer to Ryan Doumit to cut the Twins defecit to 6-4. Alfredo Aceves came out to relieve Padilla and got the next three batters out to end the ballgame and halt the Red Sox losing streak at four games.

Franklin Morales went six complete innings for the Red Sox, allowing just three hits, one earned run and striking out four batters. Gonzalez went 2 for 3 with a homer and 3 RBI and Aceves came out for his 23rd save of the season.

On Monday night, the Red Sox hosted the Texas Rangers. After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the first, the Red Sox began to get to Texas starter Yu Darvish, taking a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the 3rd thanks to RBI doubles from Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez. The Red Sox would then add to their lead in the bottom of the 4th on an RBI double from Jacoby Ellsbury, a Carl Crawford sac fly and RBI double from Dustin Pedroia, making it a 5-1 lead.

Steven Senne/AP

After David Murphy got to Aaron Cook for an RBI single in the top of the second, Cook threw five shutout innings before handing things over to Junichi Tazawa in the 8th while the Red Sox continued roughing up both Darvish and the Rangers bullpen, getting one run in the bottom of the 7th and three more in the bottom of the 8th.

Although Tazawa allowed a leadoff solo homer to former Red Sox 3B Adrian Beltre, followed by a Nelson Cruz single, Tazawa would get the next three batters in order and the Red Sox would go on to win convincingly by a 9-2 final.

Adrian Gonzalez would go 3-5 with 3 RBI while Carl Crawford would go 2-4 with 3 RBI and Dustin Pedroia would go 3-4 with an RBI. Aaron Cook went 7 complete innings allowing six hits, three walks and one earned run.

For Tuesday night, Jon Lester [5-9; 5.36 ERA] gets the start against Ryan Dempster[5-5; 2.82 ERA]. In his Rangers debut, Dempster only lasted four and two thirds innings against the Angels, allowng eight earned runs on nine hits. The game gets underway at 7:10 PM Eastern time and will be broadcast on NESN.

OTHER RED SOX NEWS- With the trade dealing having come and gone, the Red Sox mostly stood pat on July 31st. The did send outfielder Scott Podsednik and RHP Matt Albers to Arizona for reliever Craig Breslow and sent 1B Lars Anderson to Cleveland for RHP Steven Wright.

Josh Beckett left after pitching less than 3 innings in Tuesday night's game against the Detroit Tigers. Although he wasn't placed on the DL, he missed his next scheduled start on Sunday and is expected to go back onto the mound on Wednesday afternoon's game against the Rangers.

DH David Ortiz, out of action since July 16, is still reportedly sore from an achilles strain. Manager Bobby Valentine is uncertain when Ortiz will be returning to the starting lineup.

MLB TRADE DEADLINE- Although the Phillies broke the bank to keep starting pitcher Cole Hammels in the city of brotherly love earlier in July, two-thirds of their outfield were gone by the trade deadline last week.

The Phillies had sent outfielder Shane Victorino to the LA Dodgers in exchange for relief pitcher Josh Lindblom and minor league pitcher Ethan Martin while Hunter Pence went to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for outfielder Nate Schierholtz, minor league pitcher Seth Rosin and catching prospect Tommy Joseph.

Meanwhile, in the American league, the Texas Rangers won the Ryan Dempster sweepstakes, sending minor league infielder Christian Villanueva and pitcher Kyle Hendricks to the Cubs. Dempster had reportedly vetoed a proposed trade with the Atlanta Braves while the Dodgers and Yankees had reportedly sought the services of the 35 year old right handed starter.

NFL- The 29 year old son of Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid has been found dead in a dormitory room at the team's preseason facilities at Lehigh University.

Police said the death was not suspicious, and the cause was under investigation. The coach's oldest son had a long history of drug problems, once admitting "I liked being a drug dealer" and went to prison for a heroin-fueled car crash.

Owner Jeffery Lurie met with the team Sunday and told reporters afterward he expected Reid back this week. The Eagles host Pittsburgh in their preseason opener on Thursday night.

The police chief at Lehigh, Edward Shupp, said a 911 call was made at 7:20 a.m. about Reid, and that the 29-year-old was dead when a policeman arrived at the campus dormitory. The police and Northampton County coroner were investigating.

Reid had been staying at the camp where he assisted the Eagles' strength coaches at camp in an unofficial capacity, a not-uncommon sort of role for NFL coaches' sons. He was frequently seen on the sideline at practices and in the locker room after games. Many of the coaches and staff stay in the Lehigh dorms.

Defensive coordinator Juan Castillo and Offensive coordiantor Marty Mornhinweg will take over coaching duties from Reid until he's expected to return to the team on Thursday.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NFL- After beating the Arizona Cardinals 17-10 in the Hall of Fame Game on Sunday, the New Orleans Saints will next take on the Patriots on Thursday night in NFL Preseason action.

-38 year old free agent WR Terrel Owens has reportedly reached an agreement with the Seattle Seahawks after a tryout at the team's Renton, WA training camp.

Owens last played for the Cincinnati Bengals during the 2010 season, catching 72 passes for 983 yards and nine TDs.

SUMMER OLYMPICS- American swimmer Michael Phelps has capped off his career by becoming the winningest Olympic athelete in the history of the modern games. Phelps had already come into the games tying American swimmer Mark Spitz for total Olympic medals won after Phelps had won during the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Despite the slow start earlier in the London Games, Phelps won silver as part of the 4 X 100m freestyle relay and the individual 200m butterfly. Interstingly, the previous record holder for winning the total number of Olympic medals- a 77 year old Ukranian named Larisa Latynina who was a gymnast for the Soviet Union between 1956 and 1964- was present for Phelp's race when he broke her record; Latynina had reportedly offered to present Phelps with the silver medal herself, but that was reportedly against Olympic regulations to do so.

Less than 48 hours later, Phelps won the 16th and 17th gold medal of his Olympic career after edging out rival and team USA teammate Ryan Lochte in the 200m individual medley event and then the 100m butterfuly- his last individual event.

Heading into the London Summer Games, Phelps had stated that he would call it a career after the Olympics. With that in mind, the final event Phelps would be participating in would be the 4 X 100M medley relay in which Phelps and Team USA took gold.

Between the 2004 Athens games, the 2008 Beijing Olympiad and this year's London Olympics, Phelps retires with 18 gold medals, two bronze and two silvers. Phelps also holds a world record in the 100m and 200m butterfly event and 400m individual medley.

ELSEWHERE IN OLYMPIC SWIMMING- It isn't just Phelps who's having a good Olympics at the pool. Dana Vollmer, Missy Franklin, Rebecca Soni and Allison Schmidt brought home the gold for Team USA in record breaking fashion for Team USA in the women's 4 X 100m individual medley relay, clocking in at a new world record of 3:52.05. Overall, The USA women's swimming team has won 8 gold medals, 3 silver and 3 bronze medals in the individual and relay events in London.

OLYMPIC BASKETBALL- After surviving a late scare from Lithuania in which Team USA went on to hold on for a 99-94 win over the dimunitive former Soviet republic, the all-star American team would go on to face Agrentina- gold medalists in the 2004 Olympics.

After a back-and forth first half in which the USA went to the locker room with a 60-59 lead, the USA came out dominant in the second half- outscoring Argentina 42-17 in the 3rd quarter alone. Team USA would go on to win by a final of 126-97; Kevin Durant lead the scoring with 28 points. Things got testy in the 2nd half when Carmello Anthony took a knee to to the groin from Argentina when it was becoming apparent that Team USA was running away with it.

The Americans will face the Australian team next, with the match scheduled for Wednesday.

OLYMPIC SHOOTING- The USA has swept the skeet shooting events by taking gold in the men's skeet event.

After USA Shooting teammate Kimberly Rhode made history by becoming the first Olympian to win medals in five consecutive Olympics, United States Army Sgt Vincent Hancock took the gold in the men's skeet shooting event. The 23-year old was by far the yongest in the qualifying round and had hit a record-setting 123 out of 125 targets in the qualifying round.

WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL- The USA Women's volleyball team remains undefeated through the 2012 Olympics. On Tuesday, they swept the Dominican Republic team 3 sets to none to advance to the semifinals. Destinee Hooker again figured prominently in the win with 19 points for Team USA in the 25-14, 25-21 and 25-22 sweep of the Dominican Republic.

In the preliminary round, the USA women's team have bested South Korea, China, Brazil, Turkey and Serbia. The women will now await the winner of the Italy/South Korea match later on Tuesday to see who they will play next.

WOMEN'S SOCCER- The USA Women's Soccer team advances to the gold medal round to face the Japanese women's team in a rematch of last year's World Cup.

They had to rally against the upstart Canadian women's team on Monday- not only did Christine Sinclair get Canada on the board first, she accounted for all three of Canada's goals. The USA was able to tie the contest up on two goals from Megan Rapinoe and another from Abby Wambach to force extra time with Alex Morgan getting the Game winner for USA at the 120th minute for the 4-3 win.

Sports Chowdah Update- We're No Saints, NFL Hands Down Sanctions to New Orleans Over Bounties; C's Buck Milwaukee's Win Streak; B's Tank in San Jose

NFL- The league announced this week that Commissioner Roger Goodell handed down a 1-year suspension for New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton as a result of a 'bounty' program among the team's defensive players and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams between 2009 and 2011.

Williams has been suspended indefinitely by the NFL while Saints GM Mickey Loomis received an 8-game suspension and assistant coach Joe Vitt was suspended for 6 games.

Goodell also fined the Saints organization $500,000 and the team forfeits their 2-nd round draft picks for this year and 2013.

The bounty program dates back to their 2009 championship season where defensive players and Williams would award players cash prizes for hits on opposing players from a pool that was said to be as much as $50,000. Knocking an opposing player out of the game or injuring him to the point where they had to be carted off the field was reportedly worth $1000 to $1500. The first year New Orleans was thought to have the bounty program the Saints faced QBs Kurt Warner, Brett Favre and Peyton Manning in the postseason as well as Tom Brady in the regular season.


OTHER NFL NEWS- Shortly after Peyton Manning was introduced as the Broncos newest quarterback in a press conference on Wednesday, Denver announced a trade that sent Broncos QB Tim Tebow to New York Jets in exchange for a 4th round draft pick. For a few hours on Thursday, reports were circulating that the deal between the Broncos and Jets had hit a contractual snag and Denver was instead negotiating with the Jacksonville Jaguars, but the announcement was made official later on that day.

Tebow's arrival in New Jersey [seriously- the Jets and Giants should drop their 'New York' prefixes if they keep playing their home games in New Jersey. Right now, the Buffalo Bills are the ONLY NFL team that plays their home games in the state of New York- NANESB!] has fuelled speculation over the future of Jets QB Mark Sanchez. However, New York Jets head toe sucker coach Rex Ryan issued a statement on Friday reiterating that Sanchez would remain the Jets starter heading into the 2012 season.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS- Free agent RB Ben Javus Green-Ellis signed a 3-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday. Green-Ellis appeared in all 19 games of the Patriot's season last year and had 11 TDs and 667 rushing yards for the 2011 season.

As the law offices of Ben Jarvus Green-Ellis leave, the Patriots have signed free agent WRs Brandon Lloyd and Donte Stallworth while agreeing to a 1-year contract extension with Deion Branch.

Stallworth arrives from the Washington Redskins with 309 yards and 15 TDs in 11 games for the 2011 season while Brandon Lloyd split time between the Denver Broncos and St Louis Rams last year. Between the two clubs, Lloyd appeared in 15 games with 70 catches and 966 yards.


OTHER PATRIOTS NEWS- Former New England Patriots and New York Giants head coach Ron Erhardt passed away at the ago of 80 at his home in Boca Raton, FL on Wednesday.

Born and raised in North Dakota, Erhardt was North Dakota State's head coach, winning a number of NCAA Division II titles before he started out in the NFL with New England as a backfield coach in 1973. Erhardt retained that position until 1978 when he was promoted to head coach by then-owner Bill Sullivan after then-head coach Chuck Fairbanks was suspended by management for breach of contract after he agreed to serve as head coach at the University of Colorado.

Ernardt led the Patriots to a 9-7 record in 1979 and a 10-6 record in 1n the 1980 season, but missed the playoffs both years. Erhardt was dismissed after a dismal 2-14 campaign in 1981. The following season, he was hired as the Giant's offensive coordinator. He remained in that position with the Giants during their championship Run in Super Bowl XXI and Superbowl XXV.

After Giants Head Coach Bill Parcells retired [the first retirement of many, as it turned out- NANESB!] from the Giants in 1990, Erhardt left New York for Pittsburgh to become the Steelers offensive coordinator through 1996. He then briefly returned to the Meadowlands in 1998 for a 1 year stint as head co-ordinator during the Jets disastrous 1996 campaign where they had a 1-15 season before announcing his retirement.

NBA- The Celtics have won their second straight game on Thursday night, beating the Milwaukee Bucks by a 100-91 final. Paul Pierce led the scoring for Boston on Thursday with 25 points along with 9 rebounds and 2 assists. Kevin Garnett had 16 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists while Mickael Pietrus came off the bench for 13 points.

Boston's win snaps a 6-game win streak by the Milwaukee Bucks and puts the C's in good position for their Friday night matchup against the division-leading 76ers. Currently Boston is a half game behind Philadelphia for first place in the Atlantic conference.

Friday night's game gets underway in Philly at 8:00 PM ET and will be nationally televised on ESPN.

BOSTON BRUINS- The San Jose Sharks jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first of last night's game against the Boston Bruins thanks to a Joel Pavelski tally less than 4 minutes into the first. San Jose's Daniel Winnik made it a 2-0 game early in the third before Zdeno Chara got the Bruins on the board with just under five minutes remaining in regulation. However, Boston wasn't able to get anything else past netminder Antti Niemi and the Sharks hang on to win by a 2-1 final.

Tim Thomas stopped 25 of 27 shots faced and Niemi turned aside all but one of the 17 shots he faced. Neither team capitalized on their lone power play opportunity in Thursday night's game.

The Bruins West Coast road trip continues through Southern California this weekend as they play back-to-back games in Los Angeles and Anaheim. On Saturday night, the Bruins will take on the Kings at LA's Staples Center at 9:00 PM ET, 6:00 Pacific in a game that will be televised on NESN and the NHL Network.

For Sunday, the Bruins will travel down the I-5 to Anaheim to take on the Ducks at 8:00 ET, 5:00 Pacific. That game will be televised on NESN as well.

Leap Year & Then Some Sports Chowdah Update: O Captain My Captain- 'Tek Bids Farewell; The Devils- Owned; Saints Dogged w/Bounty Charges

RED SOX- After weeks of speculation and reports from the media, Red Sox captain Jason Varitek announced his retirement at a new conference in Ft. Meyers, FL on Thursday. The announcement comes less than two weeks after knuckleballer Tim Wakefield announced his retirement after 17 years with the Red Sox organization.



A graduate of Georgia Tech [where he and teammate Nomar Garciaparra won the 1994 College World Series- NANESB!], Varitek was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in 1994. After spending time in the Cape Cod League and the independent Northern League during the lockout, Varitek agreed to terms with the Mariners and entered their minor league system in 1995. Within two years, both 'Tek and teammate and starting pitcher Derek Lowe were traded by Seattle to Boston for releiver Heath Sloclumb. 'Tek made his big league debut in September 1997, collecting a single in his one and only at-bat that year and would go on to earn the starting spot at catcher from Scott Hatteberg in 1998.



For the Boston faithful, the most memorable Varitek moment was undoubtedly the July 24th 2004 fight between him and Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez. With the Yankees leading in the 3rd inning and an errant Bronson Arroyo pitch sailing up and hitting Rodriguez on the elbow, the Yankees infielder had some choice words for Arroyo while heading off to first base. Deciding he should stop talking and take his base, 'Tek reportedly told A-rod "We don't thrown at .260 hitters" before the two came to blows, with Rodriguez shoving the Red Sox catcher while getting 'Teks mit in his face. This cleared the benches, with DH David Ortiz nearly coming to blows with Yankees reliever Tanyon Sturtze as he was trying to pull teammate Gabe Kapler out of Sturtze's headlock.

After warnings were issued, a back-and-forth game resumed with the Red Sox coming behind to win 11-10 in the bottom of the 9th thanks to a walk off homer from 3B Bill Mueller. The game was viewed a turning point in the season that saw the Red Sox win their first World Series title since 1918, and the fight in turn was seen as a pivotal turning point in that game.



I'm usually loathe to quote the Boston Globe's Dan Shaugnnessey [AKA the Curly Haired Boyfriend- NANESB!] but I think he nails it with this quote.

We have the iconic photo of Jason Varitek smashing his catcher’s mitt into the face of Alex Rodriguez. Try to find a saloon in Greater Boston that does not have this photo somewhere behind the bar.

It is the image of defiance.

It’s a memory of stepping up for yourself and for your team. It’s a Red Sox captain saying “no more’’ to the bully of eight-plus decades.

It makes Jason Varitek immortal.

Also making Varitek immortal is the fact that he is the only catcher in the history of Major League Baseball to have caught four no-hitters.


This includes the following-
Hideo Nomo on April 4th, 2001 at Baltimore
Derek Lowe on April 27, 2002 vs Tampa Bay
Clay Buchholz on September 1, 2007 vs Baltimore
Jon Lester on May 19, 2008 vs Kansas City

After being the first catcher behind the plate for four no-hitters, Varitek's cather's gear was sent to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown on May 20th, 2008.

Interestingly, 'Tek is also one of two players to have ever played in a championship game for the Little League World Series, the College World Series and the MLB World Series [former Marlin's pitcher and Arizona alum Ed Vosberg was the other- NANESB!].

Varitek retires with a career batting average of .256 with 193 home runs and 757 RBI. In addition to the two World Series titles with Boston, he also won a gold glove and silver slugger in 2005 and was named to the MLB all-star game three times. His 11 postseason home runs are the most for any catcher in MLB.

Even as 'Tek's abilities as a catcher were in decline, he still was valuable in his experience behind the plate and coaxing consistent starts from Boston's younger and inexperienced starters when they were struggling. Like Wakefield's departure, the end of the Varitek era in Boston leaves a huge hole for Saltalamacchia to fill.

OTHER RED SOX NEWS- The Red Sox will open up their Grapefruit League tilt with a doubleheader against the Northeastern Huskies at 2:35 PM ET and a nightcap against the Boston College Eagles at 7:05 PM ET. The latter game will be televised on NESN.

OTHER MLB NEWS- The league announced that they were expanding the playoff format to allow two additional teams from both the AL and NL to vie for a postseason berth via a single elimination game. This means that 10 of the 30 MLB teams could get into the playoffs- still fewer than any other professional league. The new system will take effect starting this season and is the first significant change to the playoff format since 1995.


BOSTON BRUINS- After remaining fairly quiet at the trade deadline [the Bruins did pick up veteran Brian Rolston- once part of the Ray Bourque trade- from the Islanders and BC alum Mike Mattau from the Devils system on Feb 27th- NANESB!], the Bruins returned home earlier this week only to be shut out by Ottawa's sophmore goaltender Robin Lehner in a 1-0 game Tuesday night.

On Thursday night, the Bruins hosted the Devils at the Garden, wrapping up the regular season series with New Jersey. The B's got out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first with goals from David Krejci and Tyler Seguin. The Bruins would have an excellent opportunity to make it 3-0 when Krejci had a shorthanded breakaway eight and a half minutes into the first, but the Devil's Brodeur.

The Devils would not only get on the board, but take the lead in the second with goals from Zach Parise, Patrik Elias and David Clarkson to go up 3-2.

Early in the 3rd, however, David Krejci would get the equalizer from a tough angle to knot things up at 3-3 and eventually send the contest into OT. With two minutes to go in OT, Krejci gave Boston the go-ahead goal good for his second career hat trick and the 4-3 Boston win [altho' New Jersey gets a point for heading into overtime- NANESB!].

Brodeur made 21 saves on 25 shots faced while Tim Thomas stopped 28 of 31 shots faced. Both teams were 0-3 on power play opportunities.

The Bruins will be busy this weekend taking on the Islanders Saturday afternoon before travelling to Madison Square Garden on Sunday to take on the NY Rangers. Saturday afternoon's game gets underway at 1:00 ET and will be televised on NESN while Sunday's game will start at 12:30 and will be broadcast on NBC.

OTHER NHL NEWS- The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired head coach Ron Wilson on Friday, tapping Randy Carlyle as his replacement. Carlyle takes over with 18 games remaining for Toronto in the 2011-2012 camapaign.

The Maple Leafs were 4-9-1 in the month of February, losing six straight before Wilson was fired.

NCAA HOCKEY- #1 Boston College secured at least a share of the regular season title with a 5-1 win over the Vermont Catamounts Friday night.

Senior Barry Alalmedia scored twice and junior netminder Parker Milner made 29 saves for the Eagles in the next-to-last game of the regular season. The Eagles face off against the Catamounts on Saturday night at 7 PM for the regular seaosn finale two points ahead of archrival BU.

NFL- After reportedly being warned the the NFL against such action, defensive players and coaches from the New Orleans Saints maintained a 'bounty' program where players awarded themselves cash prizes for knocking out and injuring opposing players. Former Vikings QB Brett Favre and Cardinals QB Kurt Warner were reportedly among the targets with payouts doubling or tripling in the playoffs according to a report from NFL security.

Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, the Saints and the players involved are likely to face fines or suspension and the organization may end up forefeiting a draft pick, according to an AP report.

The Washington Post is also reporting that the Redskins maintained a bounty system with defensive players while Williams was assistant coach in Washington in the mid 2000s.

NBA- The second half of the abbreviated NBA season is off to a much better star for the Celtics on Friday night as they won their third straight game since coming out of the All Star break.

Firday night's 107-94 win over the New Jersey Nets puts them above .500 once again. They have Saturday off, but will take on the New York Knicks at the TD Banknorth Garden on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET- the game will be televised on ABC.