Quickie Sports Chowdah Update- The Butler Did It! Patriots Win 4th Super Bowl on Malcom Butler's Late Pick; Say Clay- Buchholz Hurls Gem in 2015 Season Opener

SUPER BOWL- I know I'm more than 2 months behind on this, but WOW.

All you need to know about Super Bowl XLIX took place in the second half. After the Patriots defense gave up an 11 yard TD pass from Russell Wilson to WR Chris Matthews in the closing seconds of the first half, Seattle and New England headed into the 3rd quarter tied at 14-14.

Glendale, AZ's University of Phoenix Stadium has been home to some cringe-worthy moment for Patriots fans in the past and in the 3rd quarter, it appeared to be happening again as the Seahawks took a 24-14 lead.

About 7 minutes into the 4th quarter, the Patriots cut Seattle's lead to 3 point thanks to a TD pass from Brady to Danny Amendola to make it 24-21. Just before the two minute warning, New England would take a 28-24 lead thanks to Brady connecting to Julian Edelman for a 4 yard TD pass.

However, Patriots fans had that sinking feeling when Seahawks QB Russel Wilson connecting with WR Jermaine Kearse for a 33 yard completion- it was bobbled and appeared to be incomplete as Kearse scooped it up, but a video review from the officials showed that the ball had never touched the ground, giving the Seahawks the ball on the Patriots 5 yard line with 1:06 to go in regulation. After a timeout, Wilson handed off the ball to RB Marshawn Lynch to put the ball on New England's 1-yard line and giving the Seahawks no fewer than three shots at the end zone as the clock ticked down.

For whatever reason, Pats head coach Bill Belichick declined to take a timeout as the clocked ticked down to less than 30 seconds. Instead of handing the ball off to Lynch, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll opted for a short pass with 20 seconds remaining in the game. It would not turn out well for Seattle.



Obscure and unheralded cornerback Malcom Butler singlehandedly sealed the win for New England thanks to his pick of Wilson's short pass attempt to give New England the ball back at a pivotal juncture in the game. The Patriots were flagged for excessive celebration and penalized half the distance to the end zone- basically putting the ball on the one foot line and giving the Seahawks a pretty good shot at a safety, but after a scrum between Bruce Irvin and Rob Gronkowski, the Seahawks were penalized fifteen yards, which gave New England some more wiggle room. After a kneeldown by Brady, the Patriots 28-24 win was official.

Tom Brady was named the Super Bowl MVP [the third time he garnered the award in the four Super Bowl titles New England has won in the Brady/Belicheck era- NANESB!]. After the game, Brady gifted Butler a brand new pickup truck from a Chevrolet dealership in Butler's Mississippi hometown.

Carroll- who was the Patriots head coach before his USC tenure- was questioned for his decision to go for a pass play after Marshawn Lynch had easily picked up four yards on the previous play. Some less-than-kind Patriots fans joked that at long last Carroll had followed through on winning a championship for New England some 15 years after he left.

While some sour grapes Seahawks fans wanted to use New England's championship to gripe about 'Deflategate', the Super Bowl XLIX shold be considered by many NFL fans to ba an 'instant classic'.

MLB OPENING DAY- The Red Sox got it done with the longball and a solid outing from Clay Buchholz in his first-ever opening day start as Boston opened up the 2015 MLB season on the road in Philadelphia.

The Red Sox got on the board early with a 362ft solo shot off the bat of Dustin Pedroia to give Boston a 1-0 lead. Outfielder Mookie Betts belted another solo homer to deep left field off of Phillies starter Cole Hammels in the top of the 3rd. Buchholz would go on to throw even complete shutout innings as the Red Sox added to their lead with solo homers from Pedroia and offseason acquisition Hanley Ramirez in the fifth inning.

Junichi Tazawa would come on and get all three of the Phillies batters he faced out in order in the 8th inning and Hanley Ramirez would belt a grand slam to give Boston an 8-0 lead and Tommy Layne closed things out in the bottom of the 9th.

Through his 7 innings of work, Buchholz allowed a total of three hits and struck out nine while walking one batter. Meanwhile, Hammels only lasted five innings, giving up four earned runs on five hits.

With Tuesday off, the Red Sox will put their undefeated record on the line against the Phillies on Wednesday. Offseason acquisition Rick Porcello will get the start for Boston against Philly's Aaron Harang. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 ET and the game will be televised on NESN and ESPN2.

Quickie Super Bowl Weekend Sports Chowdah Update- Seahawks, Patriots set to Square off in Super Bowl; King-Sized- Bruins take on Defending Stanley Cup Champions at the Garden

NFL- Well....at least one of the Championship games was an instant classic.

Surprisingly the NFC title game on the West Coast got underway first, with the Green Bay Packers jumping out to an early 16-0 lead over the Seahawks up in Seattle in the first half thanks to three first half interceptions. However, Seattle's defense stiffened after those turnovers and more than once the Packers had to settle for a FG instead of getting 7 points.

In the seconds half, the Seahawks came roaring back and with just 1:25 to go in regulation they managed to take their first lead of the day on a 24 yard Marshawn Lynch TD run to put Seattle up 22-19 before the Packers managed to tie the contest up with 14 seconds to go on a 48 yard Mason Crosby field goal, forcing overtime.

After winning the coin toss, the Seahawks took the ball and won the game on a 35 yard TD pass from Russell Wilson to Jermaine Kearse, sending the Seahawks to their second consecutive Superbowl.


NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS- The late game on Championship Sunday wasn't quite as close.

For the first time since 2006 and the first time since Manning departed for Denver, the Patriots and the Colts faced off in the postseason. In what would be the start of a trend, LeGarette Blount put New England on the board early after Josh Cribbs fumbled a punt that was recovered by New England inside the Colts 30 yard line.

The Patriots would get out to a quick 14-0 lead before the Colts got on the board with about five minutes to go in the first half from a short TD run from Zurlon Tipton to make it 14-7. However, the Patriots would add to their lead thanks to a Gostkowski FG with 9 seconds left in the half.

The second half was all New England as they would go on to score 28 unanswered points in the second half, including two more TD runs from Legarette Blount. The Patriots go on to win by a 45-7 final and advance to face the Seahawks in the Superbowl.

However, in the weeks leading up to Superbowl 49, the talk amongst the media has been about how the footballs used in the AFC title game were examined by the NFL and found to be underinflated. This created a unusually protracted media firestorm dubbing the scandal 'deflate-gate'- as though slightly underinflated balls were somehow responsible for the Colts defense collapsing like a house of cards whenever LeGarette Blount was carrying the ball.

Anywhoo, I've pretty much been embargoing the media and their vapid fixation on deflated balls in the runup to Superbowl 49. What I do know is that the big game kicks off Sunday night at 6:30 and will be televised on NBC

NHL- From one defending national champion going up against a New England team to another. After stumbling out of the gate, the Boston Bruins are having a pretty good 2015 so far.



Coming off a 5-2 win on the road against the Islanders on Thursday, Saturday night saw the Bruins hosting the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings. It looked as though the Bruins got on the board early in the closing seconds of the first period, but that goal was waved off when officials determined the clock was at 00:00 before the puck was in the net.

Even with the goal waved off, the Bruins managed to get on the board thanks to a Brad Marchand goal in the closing minutes of the second period to give Boston the 1-0 lead. Seven minutes into the third, Jordan Nolan got Los Angeles on the board and tied the game with a goal. However, 90 seconds later Chris Kelly put the Bruins back on top with a goal to make it 2-1 Boston and as the Kings pulled goalie Jonathan Quick late in the 3rd for an extra attacker, Marchand would get an empty-netter, his second of the night to make it 3-1 in favor of Boston.

The Bruins go on to win by the final of 3-1 with Rask stopping 30 of the 31 shots he faced on Saturday night while Quick ended up turning aside 30 of 32.

Boston will get the next couple of days off, with play resuming on Thursday night when they take on the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Puck drops at 8:00 ET and the game will be televised on NBC Sports Network.

Quickie Sports Chowdah Update- Peverly Collapses on Stars Bench, Rushed to Hospital; Bruins Have Fruitful Road Trip In Florida; Buyer Be-Ware, NFL Free Agency Begins

DALLAS STARS- Former Boston Bruins forward Rich Peverley collapsed on the Dallas Stars bench in the first period of Monday night's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets before being rushed to a local hospital with what doctors are calling a 'cardiac event'.

Shortly after Columbus took a 1-0 lead thanks for former Bruin, there was a commotion by the Dallas bench as Stars head coach Lindy Ruff called for medics to tend to the fallen Peverley. There was several moments of confusion among the broadcasters and the crowd as they attempted to identify the downed player and the reason medics were tending to him [I heard the Stars play-by-play live on the radio; the arena was as quiet as a mausoleum after Peverley had collapsed- NANESB!].

After Peverley was rushed to UT Southwestern Hospitals, the officials conferred and it was announced that the game would be suspended with the makeup date to be announced later.

On Wednesday, after the forward briefly addressed the media, it was announced that Peverley would miss the remainder of the season after undergoing a heart procedure this upcoming weekend. When he first arrived in Dallas after the trade with Boston, team doctors were reportedly aware of Peverley's atrial fibrillation- a common heart condition- and gave him the option of a less invasive procedure or surgery that could cost him several months of playing time. After missing the first game of the regular season, Peverley opted for the less invasive procedure and played in 60 consecutive games before complaining of discomfort last week. After missing a game, Peverley played in two more games prior to his Monday night collapse.

OTHER STARS NEWS- Although Dallas is largely in control of their own destiny when it comes to securing one of the remaining Western Conference playoff berths, the Stars were having problems with injuries to their starting players even before Peverly's cardiac event on Monday night. After a pregame ceremony on Saturday night against the Minnesota Wild in which Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach were on hand, the Dallas Stars retired Mike Modano's #9 jersey.

With the game tied at 3-3 with just over six and a half minutes to go in regulation, goalie Kari Lehtonen was knocked out of the game after a collision with Minnesota's Erik Haula in which Lehtonen hit his head on the crossbar of the goal. Fresh off the trade from Florida, former Bruins netminder Tim Thomas came into the game- complete with pads still in Florida Panthers colors- and turned aside all six shots he faced as Erik Cole put Dallas up for good with a breakaway goal with just under 5 minutes to go in regulation, giving Dallas the 4-3 win.

On Monday, it was confirmed that Lehtonen suffered a concussion from the Haula hit, making Tim Thomas the Stars starting goalie within days of his arrival. Between coming in with 6 minutes to go in regulation and Monday night's postponed game after the Peverley scare, Tuesday night marked the first start (and complete game) for Tim Thomas when the Stars travelled to St Louis to take on the Blues. The goalie matchup seemed a little reminiscent of the Northeast Division anytime between 2006 and 2012, with ex-Sabre Ryan Miller getting the start for St Louis.

St Louis got out to a 1-0 lead in the first after Alex Pietrangelo beat Thomas with about 7 minutes to go in the first. With the game tied at 2-2, the contest headed to overtime and Jamie Benn broke the deadlock to give Dallas the OT win with 1:18 to go. Tuesday night's loss was also notable in that it was the Blue's first loss since acquiring Ryan Miller from Buffalo earlier this month.

BOSTON BRUINS- You know it's been a pretty crazy week if I'm giving the Bruins second billing to a team from the Lone Star state on a blog called Not Another New England Sports Blog!

And it's been an eventful week for the Boston Bruins- particularly their 2-0 road trip through Florida over the weekend. After coming from behind to force overtime, the Bruins eventually came out on top against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night after Reilly Smith got the only goal of a 7-round shootout.

On Sunday, the Bruins managed to down the Florida Panthers by a 5-2 final, setting up a key game in Montreal where the Bruins were hoping to get their first win against the Habs this season while continuing their win streak and pulling to within a point of the Penguins.



I'll be honest...Wednesday night's game wasn't everything I thought it would be. It was so much better!

After a scoreless first period, Carl Sodeberg put the Bruins on the board just 93 seconds into the second period. A Patrice Bergeron tally around the halfway point of the period would give Boston a 2-0 lead while Milan Lucic beat Peter Budaj with less than 90 seconds to go in the 2nd to give Boston a 3-0 lead.

There have been instances when such a seemingly commanding lead fosters a sense of complacency which in turn leads to sloppy play and squandering once-considerable leads. That wasn't happening on Wendesday. Just 23 seconds into the 3rd, the most hated man in Montreal- Zdeno Chara- gave Boston an insurmountable 4-0 lead. Although David Desharnais would get a tally for Montreal and ruin Tukka Rask's shutout bid, the Bruins would go on to win by a 4-1 final at the Bell Centre on Wednesday night.

The win is Boston's 6th in a row and puts the Bruins within one point of Pittsburgh for the top spot in the Eastern conference while Montreal goes on to lose their third straight game after coming off a west coast road trip where they went 1-4. Rask turned aside 35 of 36 shots faced while Budaj allowed 4 goals on 32 shots. Neither team scored on the power play tonight, with Boston having two opportunities and Montreal having three.

The Bruins head back to Boston for their first home game since March 6th when they will face off against the Phoenix Coyotes at TD Banknorth Garden. Puck is scheduled to drop at 7:00 PM ET and the game will be televised on NESN and the NHL Network.

NFL- The NFL Free Agency period has begun and already there have been a few significant moves.

Wide receiver Golden Tate has left the defending Superbowl Champion Seattle Seahawks after agreeing to a 5 year, $31 million contract with the Detroit Lions. The deal took place after media reports indicated that Tate would be open to a 'hometown discount' with the Seahawks.

Other departures include both former Cowboys DE DeMarcus Ware and former Patriots cornerback Aquib Talib were signed by the Denver Broncos, the team announced on Wednesday.

Super Sports Chowdah Update- Seattle Slew in the Meadowlands, Steamrolls Denver; Bruins Cruise Past Canucks; Former Red Sox Ace Announces Cancer Diagnosis

SUPER BOWL XLVIII- Wow. Here I was thinking that it was against federal law to slaughter Broncos en masse.

This one was pretty much over on the first play from scrimmage, and I mean literally. Although it didn't necessarily decide the game right then and there, Denver started out the game on their own 14 with a botched snap that flew over Manning's head and into the end zone for a safety, giving Seattle an early 2-0 lead.

Right away, Broncos fans were fretting whether or not that safety would come back to haunt them later on in the game. As it turned out, that was a non-issue as that would be as close as the game would get. Although the Broncos defense would manage to keep the Seahawks out of the end zone in the first quarter, Seattle did manage to get two FGs from kicker Steven Hauschka to make it an 8-0 game- still a one score game, but one that seemed increasingly out of reach with each offensive drive by Denver that sputtered and couldn't get past the 50 yard marker.

Still, Seattle didn't make the lead seem truly insurmountable until the second quarter when Hawks RB Marshawn Lynch capped a drive that began on the Broncos 37 with a one yard TD run- the first of the day- to put Seattle in front 15-0. The Broncos looked like they had managed to regain their composure and after starting out on their own 16, got as far as the Seahawks 44 before LB Malcolm Smith picked off Peyton Manning and returned it 69 yards for the second Seahawks TD with just under 3 and a half minutes to go in the half.

A shellshocked Denver headed into the locker room down 22-0 and things wouldn't get any better for them in the second half, when Seattle return man Percy Harvin returned the opening kickoff 87 yards for another Hawks TD to put them up by a score of 29-0. After adding on with a 21 yard TD pass from QB Russell Wilson to WR Jermaine Kearse to make it 36-0, the Broncos finally got on the board with a 14 yard TD pass from Manning to Demaryius Thomas and a successful 2 point conversion to make it 36-8.

However, it wasn't even that close- and to emphasize that point, the Hawks got another TD on their opening possession of the 4th quarter to make it 43-8, and that would be the final for Super Bowl XLVIII. Don't let the score fool you, though- it wasn't even that close. Malcom Smith was named Super Bowl MVP while Seahawks QB Russell Wilson went 18 for 25 with 206 yards and 2 TDs

Sunday's Super Bowl win marked the first big league sports championship to come to Seattle since the 1979 Supersonics brought home an NBA title after beating the Washington Bullets 4 games to one.

On Wednesday, the city of Seattle held a parade in which about 700,000 fans and revelers crammed into the downtown area of the Emerald City to honor the newly-crowned Super Bowl champions- something that was probably unthinkable when this July 2013 Forbes article crowning Seattle as America's Worst Sports City was published.

BOSTON BRUINS- In a rematch of the 2011 Stanley Cup final at the TD Garden on Tuesday night, the Boston Bruins came out on top, handing the Vancouver Canucks their 5th straight loss- quite a reversal of fortune when the Canucks blew away Boston by a 6-2 final on Boston's western Canada road trip back in December.

Milan Lucic opened up the scoring a little over 5 minutes into the first while Jarome Iginla would give Boston a 2-0 lead on a power play tally 8 minutes into the second. Rafael Diaz would make it a one-goal game for Vancouver with a goal at the 11 and a half minute mark,, but Danny Paille would give the Bruins some insurance with about 3 minutes to go in the second to make it 3-1- and that would be the final after a scoreless 3rd period.

Tukka Rask stopped 27 of 28 shots faced and the Bruins were 1 for 3 on their power play opportunities.

Wednesday is a travel day for Boston and on Thursday, they will face off against the St Louis Blues. The Blues come into Thursday night's game with a 37-12-6 record, good for 2nd place in the Central Division. Puck is scheduled to drop at 8:00 ET and the game will be televised on NESN.

RED SOX- Former Red Sox and Diamondbacks ace Curt Schilling announced that he has been diagnosed with cancer. Schilling pitched in the big leagues for 20 years with the Orioles, Phillies, Diamondbacks and Red Sox. His career highlights came in huge postseason games against the Yankees- such as Game one of the 2001 World Series when he was with the Diamondbacks and Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS against the Yankees as a member of the Boston Red Sox. Undoubtedly, Schilling's most famous moment with the Red Sox was game 2 of the 2004 World Series against St Louis- better known as the 'bloody sock game' after injuring his tendon earlier in the ALDS before having it surgically stabilized.

Schilling- along with then-teammates Pedro Martinez, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Johnny Damon, Kevin Millar and Jason Varitek- became affectionately known as the 'Idiots' and the team became the first to win an MLB postseason series after losing the first three game.

Schilling would struggle with injuries later on in his tenure with Boston but was still effective during the 2007 postseason when the Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians in the ALCS and swept the Colorado Rockies to win their second World Series in three years. In March 2009, Schilling announced his retirement from baseball and took on work as a analyst for ESPN and started up his own gaming studio. As a player, Curt Shilling also started up an organization that provided support for sufferers of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS- AKA Lou Gherig's disease) called Curt's pitch for ALS.

There was no immediate word from Schilling of ESPN on the type of cancer or his prognosis. ESPN has reportedly given Schilling medical leave.

State of the Sports Chowdah Update- Mile High Clubbed, Broncos Stifle Pats in AFC Title Game; Take it Outside, NHL Kicks Off Stadium Series; Vonn-ed Farewell, Downhill Skiier Lindsey Vonn to Miss Sochi Games

Doug Pensinger- Getty Images

NFL- After trailing 24-0 at the half of their first meeting, trailing by 10 points against Denver at Mile high during halftime if the AFC Championship game might not have seemed so daunting at the half for New England- at least on paper.

However, outside of a 47 yard Gostkowski FG with just under 3 minutes to go in the half the Broncos managed to shut out New England. Even more worrying for the Patriots was the loss of CB Aqib Talib early in the game, which seemed to open up Peyton Manning's air attack even more.

Denver started the scoring late in the first quarter with a 27 yard Prater FG to make it 3-0. The Broncos then capped a 7-minute, 93 yard drive in the 2nd quarter with a rushing TD from TE Jacob Tamme to take a 10-0 lead with just under 8 minutes to go in the 2nd quarter. Inside of the two minute warning, the Patriots defense managed to keep to Broncos out of the end zone, but Denver got another 3 points thanks to a 35 yard Prater FG to make it 13-3 at the half.

After halftime, Denver added to their lead with another time-consuming drive that shaved more than 7 minutes off the clock and took the Broncos 80 yards. The drive was capped with a 3 yard completion from Manning to Demaryius Thomas for another Broncos TD to make it a 20-3 lead.

In fact, New England wouldn't manage to find the end zone until the 4th quarter and only after the Broncos had managed to tack another 3 points on to make it a 23-3 game. With just under 9 and a half minutes to go in regulation, Brady found Julian Edelman for a 7 yard TD reception and make it a 23-10 game.

On their next drive, the Broncos would get as far as the New England 36 and seemingly put the game out of reach thanks to a 54 yard Prater FG, giving Denver a 26-10 lead with 7 minutes to go.

The Patriots would get the ball back on their own 20 and Brady would cap the drive by making a 5 yard TD run himself but the subsequent two point conversion attempt failed, leaving it a 10 point game with just over 3 minutes left. All Denver really needed to do is get a few first downs and run out the clock- and that's exactly what happened as the Patriots burned their remaining timeouts to try and preserve the clock.

The win propels the Broncos to their first Super Bowl since the 1998 season (and Peyton Manning's first since 2006). Manning went 32-43 and threw for 400 yards on the day while Brady went 24-38 with 277 yards and one passing and one rushing TD. Although the Pats mostly kept Knowshown Moreno in check, but that made little difference as Manning's air attack seemed to open up even more after Talib's early departure.

NFC CHAMPIONSHIP- The Broncos would have to wait a little while to find out who they'd be playing at the Meadowlands in Super Bowl XLVIII. As it turned out, the NFC title game between Western division rivals Seattle and San Francisco would be much more competitive than the earlier AFC Championship game.

With Seattle taking a 20-17 lead on a TD pass from Russell Wilson to Jermaine Kearse earlt in the 4th, there was still plenty of time for the 49ers to come back- even when the Seahawks added to their lead with a 47 yard FG to make it a 23-17 game with just under four minutes to go.

The game-deciding drive got underway when the 49ers started out from their own 22 with just over 3 and a half minutes remaining. After moving the ball downfield and getting inside the Seattle Red Zone, Seahawks All Pro cornerback Richard Sherman tipped Colin Kaepernick's pass attempt to teammate Malcom Smith to clinch the game with 22 seconds left.

Of course, the actual game seemed to pale in comparison to Sherman's postgame interview with FOX Sports' Erin Andrews where he ripped Michael Crabtree as a 'sorry' receiver [it apparently was one of the few times Kaepernick attempted to throw to a receiver covered by Crabtree that day- NANESB!].

The win sets up a Big Game matchup between teams from two cities that- as others have pointed out- have recently legalized marijuana, lending new significance to the phrase Super Bowl.

Kickoff for Superbowl XLVIII is scheduled for Sunday, Feb 2nd at 6:30 PM ET from the Meadowlands in E. Rutherford, NJ and the game will be televised on FOX.

Elise Amendola

NHL- It's been a busy week for the Boston Bruins- a week in which good things come in sixes, apparently.

Over the weekend, they travelled to Philly where they beat the Flyers by a 6-1 final before heading to Uniondale, NY on Monday night and beat the Islanders by a 6-3 final. Tuesday night marked the Bruins return to the Garden as well as a homecoming of sorts for former Bruin and Catamount and 2011 Vezina and Conn Smythe trophy winner Tim Thomas, who resumed his NHL career earlier this year with the Florida Panthers.

The Bruins jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first thanks for goals by Milan Lucic and Zdeno Chara before doubling their lead in the second with another Lucic tally and a power play goal by Reilly Smith to make it 4-0. The Panthers were able to get on the board in the closing seconds of the 2nd period thanks to a Bard Boyes tally. Four minutes into the 3rd period, the Panthers were able to cut the Boston lead in half thanks to a Dmitri Kulikov goal, making it a 4-2 game. However, that would be as close as the Panthers would get as Shawn Thornton and David Krejci would score for Boston to put the B's up 6-2.

Things got kind of testy towards the end of the game when Tim Thomas delivered a stick to defenseman Carl Soderberg's head in the closing seconds of the game. Thomas was given a high-sticking minor with only a few seconds to go when the game was already decided and Boston goes on the cruise to a 6-2 win over Florida.

This sets up an Original 6 matchup for Thursday night with the Bruins hosting the Montreal Canadiens at the Garden. Puck is scheduled to drop at 7:00 PM ET and the game will be televised on NESN and the NHL Network.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NHL- For the 2013-2014 season, the New Year's Day Winter Classic didn't end with the Red Wings vs Maple Leafs game from the Big House in Michigan.

On Saturday night, the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings faced off in Dodgers Stadium for the first-ever warm weather outdoor regular season NHL game. The host LA Kings ultimately fell to their Orange County rivals by a 3-0 final.

But the outdoor games didn't end in the city of Angels. The very next day on the other side of the country, the New York Rangers began what would be the first of two games [interestingly one 'home' and one 'away'- NANESB!] at Yankee stadium. On Sunday afternoon, the Blueshirts were trailing the Devils 3-1 in the first period when they managed to score six unanswered goals on Martin Brodeur. On Wednesday night, the Rangers took on the Islanders as the 'away' team and broke a 1-1 deadlock in the 3rd with a go-ahead goal from Dan Carcillo in the 3rd to help the Rangers win and sweep the series at Yankee stadium.

There remains two more outdoor for the NHL this season- a Feb 1st matchup at Chicago's Soldier Field that pits the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks against the Pittsburgh Penguins and a March 2nd all-Canada contest between the Vancouver Canucks and Ottawa Senators at the BC Palace Stadium in Vancouver, BC.

SI Photo
WINTER OLYMPICS- Downhill Skier Lindsey Vonn announced that she will not be competing in the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, saying that an earlier right knee injury she suffered is taking longer than she anticipated to heal. Instead, the 2010 Gold Medalist will travel to Sochi as a correspondent for NBC and a spokesman said earlier this month that she is expected to undergo surgery.

Vonn took gold Gold in the downhill event at the 2010 Winter games in Vancouver as well as a Bronze in the Super G event. Lindsey also has gold medals in Super G and downhill from the 2009 Alpine World Skiing Championships in Val d'Isère, France.

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.

Meet Me In St Louis Sports Chowdah Update- Red Sox Take Series Lead on Strong Start by Lester; Ram Tough- St Louis Defense Stout, But Seahawks End Up Winning on Monday Night

Elsa- Getty images

WORLD SERIES- After going through six pitchers- including starter John Lackey- during Sunday night's series-tying Game 4, Red Sox manager Jon Farrell needed a strong start from Jon Lester for Monday night's Game 5 while St Louis starter Adam Wainwright was looking to put his disastrous Game 1 start behind him.

The Red Sox jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when Dustin Pedroia hit a 1-out double in the top of the first and came home when David Ortiz followed that up with a double of his own to put the Red Sox on the board. Wainwright then got Gomes and Nava to strike out to end the Boston threat.

Jon Lester got out to a strong start and was cruising until the bottom of the 4th when he gave up a solo homer to deep center off the bat of Matt Holliday to tie the contest up at 1-1. Carlos Beltran then hit a ball to deep left that looked like it was on its way out of the park before Johnny Gomes was able to run it down. Yadier Molina then grounded out to end the inning with the game knotted up at a run each.

The game would remain deadlocked at 1-1 until the top of the 7th inning when Xander Bogaerts hit a one out single followed by a walk to Drew from Wainwright. That brought David Ross into the batter's box and on a 1-2 count, this happened:



The Red Sox got the go-ahead run on Ross' ground rule double, and manager John Farrell had to decide whether or not to leave Lester in to bat or remove him for a pinch hitter. He stuck with Lester, although the decision didn't pay off immediately as he harmlessly grounded out without advancing the runners. That brought Jacoby Ellsbury to the plate and he singled up the middle, bringing Drew home to make it a 3-1 game. Ross attempted to add to the lead, but he was thrown out at the plate to end the top half of the 7th.

Meanwhile, Lester managed to cruise easily through the bottom half of the second, getting Holliday, Beltran and Molina to hit into outs. In the bottom half of the 8th, Lester got the first two outs before Farrell decided to bring Uehara in out of the bullpen for a 4-out save, getting pinch hitter Matt Adams to strike out and end the inning.

There would be no pickoff throw to end Game 5. Instead, Uehara would get Carpenter, Jay and Holliday out in order to win the game for Boston by a 3-1 final and take a 3-2 series lead over St Louis.

Just like Game 1, Lester goes 7⅔ innings- unlike Game 1 of the World Series, Lester actually gave up a run. Monday night's Game 5 would actually be the first time Lester gave up an earned run in a World Series start.

The series heads back to Fenway on Wednesday night for Game 6 with the Red Sox getting a chance to clinch the World Series at home for the first time since 1918. Although St Louis has a recent history of persevering in Game 6s and will send undefeated rookie hurler Michael Wacha to the mound in Game 6, the series shifts back to an American League park where Farrell can start both Napoli AND Big Papi instead of slotting in Ortiz at first and bringing on Napoli as a pinch hitter or late-inning defensive replacement. Aside from Lester, Farrell has a stable of fairly well-rested arms at his disposal should Game 6 get to an 'All Hands on Deck' type situation.

John Lackey gets the start against Wacha and the first pitch is scheduled for 8:07 PM ET. The game will be televised on FOX and carried on ESPN Radio.

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL- Meanwhile, across town from the new Busch Stadium, the St Louis Rams were playing host to the Seattle Seahawks. In a game that many were expecting to be a one-sided blowout, the Rams defense was quite stingy and didn't give up that many first half yards and even took an early 3-0 lead.

However, Seattle was successfully able to keep the Rams out of the end zone and their more promising drives ended with field goals instead of TD's as Seattle goes on to win by a 14-9 final over St Louis.

Today's Train of Thought- Safe(Co) At Home, April 14, 2013

My oh my!

One does not necessarily need to be a Mariners fan or resident of the Pacific Northwest to know about some of the quirks of Seattle's SafeCo Field. Opened in 1999, the ballpark features a massive retractable roof that can be closed so that the ballgame can continue in the event of one of Seattle's infamous rainy days. The roof slides open and closes on massive tracks and on the east end of the ballpark. Of course, abutting the east end of the ballpark is the BNSF mainline through downtown Seattle, with the roof hanging over the line when its fully open.

This has led to broadcasters, including Ford C Frick award winner Dave Niehaus, having to pause their play-by-play not just for a word from their sponsors or station ID but also the air horns of passing trains from the BNSF, Amtrak's Cascade service or Seattle's Sounder commuter rail service. On a clear day or night, the sound of passing trains carries with the roof open since the gantry supporting the tracks the roof opens and closes along overhangs a stretch of the line where the trains have to blow their horns for the South Royal Brougham Way crossing (immediately north of the stadium). Some of the right-field seats reportedly offer a more commanding view of the tracks than they do the field, depending on which way you're facing.

So with that in mind, today's Train of Thought takes us to the Emerald City. Here, railpictures.net contributor John Ryan caught BNSF ES44AC #7598 leading a trio of GE's trundling southbound past the ballpark (and the Seahawk's Qwest Field in the background) with a double stack train destined for the Port of Seattle just to the south on September 11, 2008. The Mariners beat the Rangers by an 8-7 final the night before and will be on the road in Anaheim later on that night. Just to the right is the tower of the ex Great Northern and Northern Pacific King Street Station, which was completed in 1906 and still sees regular use from Amtrak's regional Cascades as well as the Empire Builder or Coast Starlight in addition to Seattle's Sounder commuter rail

Interesting footnote is that the western end of I-90 is just to the east of the ballpark and BNSF line. Up until the 1990s- the easternmost end of I-90 was the Mass Pike which passees right by Fenway Park. After completion of the Big Dig, I-90 was extended further east to Logan International Airport.

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.

Sports Chowdah Update- Tiger Trap in ALCS; Hawk Heaven- Seattle Rallies Late Against Pats; New England FBS Schools 0 for October; Navy Thinks Big (East);

AP Photo/Elaine Thompson

NFL- This one you can't blame on the replacement officials.

Unlike last week's home game against Denver, the first half of the Patriots road game against the Seahawks was a back-and-forth affair with a couple of lead changes before the Patriots went in front by a 17-10 score late in the first half and had a chance to break the game wide open after Seahawks punter Jon Ryan mishandled a snap deep in Seattle territory on 4th and 4, giving the Patriots the ball back on the Seahawks own 24 yard line with 40 seconds to go. Brady got the Patriots down to the Seattle 3, but couldn't punch it it in. However, with two seconds to go and before New England could bring Gostkowski out for the FG attempt, the [full time] referees huddled and decided that Brady was guilty of an intentional grounding penalty with less than 6 seconds remaining. This included a 10 second runoff of the clock, meaning there would be no FG attempt and Seattle dodged a HUGE bullet.

At the time, any New England fan worth their salt was wondering exactly how the penalty at the end of the first half would come back to haunt them as the teams headed into the locker room with the Patriots up 17-10.

I get the feeling its a matter of 'when', not 'if', that intentional grounding penalty @ the end of the half will bite #Patriots in tucchus
— Fen Wei (@Fenway_Nation) October 14, 2012

As it turns out, we wouldn't have to wait very long to find out. Seattle's defense would hold the Patriots to two Gostkowski FG's, giving the Pats the 23-10 lead.

With less than 10 minutes to go in the 4th, Seattle quickly got themselves back in the game thanks to WR Golden Tate's 51 yard run on the following posession plus a 15 yard penalty against New England tacked on to the end of the run, followed by converting 4th and 3 thanks to a 10 yard TD pass from QB Russel Wilson to WR Braylon Edwards to cut into New England's lead by a score of 23-17.

The Seahawks would get the ball back with 2:38 to go with a good field position thanks to a 25 yard Leon Washington punt return and on 1st and 10 from mid-field, Wilson connected with WR Sidney Rice for a 46 yard catch and run to give the Seahawks a 24-23 lead- and the dire warning from myself and others at the end of the first half loomed large as the Patriots got the ball back with 1:08 left, but weren't able to do anything with it, going 4 and out deep in their own territory and turning over the ball with rougly 50 seconds to got. From there, Seattle got the ball back and simply took a knee to run out the clock.

Former Patriots head coach Pete Carroll gets a measure of revenge against his former team as the Seahawks won on Sunday by a 24-23 final.

Brady went 36-58 and had 395 yards along with 2 TDs and 2 interceptions while Seattle's Russel Wilson went 16-27 with 293 yards and 3 TDs, so those of you who had Wilson on your fantasy team (and didn't bench him) were in for a pleasant surprise. This is New England's second loss to an NFC West team by less than two points in the closing minutes of a game- all three of New England's losse have been by a margin on one or two points so far.

Seattle goes on to play the San Francisco 49ers on the NFL Network's Thursday night game while New England hosts the Jets in Foxbourough on this Sunday. Kickoff is set for 4:25 PM ET and the game will be televised on CBS.

The loss puts the entire AFC East in the unusual position of having every team hold a 3-3 record. This actually puts the Patriots in 2nd place behind the Jets. Sunday's game is sure to break the deadlock one way or the other.

OTHER NFL NEWS- Baltimore Ravens Linebacker Ray Lewis is expected to miss the remainder of the season with an injury to his triceps in his right arm. This is Lewis' third stint on the DL in ten seasons. Lewis turns 38 next spring, and the season-ending injury has cast some doubt on his future in Baltimore.

The Ravens will face the Houston Texans this Sunday- the Texans are coming off of their first loss of the season, leaving the Atlanta Falcons as the NFL's only undefeated team so far this season.

DENVER BRONCOS- Monday Night's game between the Broncos and San Diego Chargers gave Patriots fans reason to think that their team was fortunate to be 3-3 after fending off a 2nd half Denver rally in hindsight.

Despite an atrocious 1st half in which the Chargers jumped out to a 24-0 lead, the Broncos staged a remarkable comeback in the second half in which the defense not only kept the Chargers off the scoreboard, but ran up 35 unanswered points for the 35-24 win. Like New England, the win gives Denver a 3-3 record.

NCAA FOOTBALL- Well, not quite 2 weeks into October and I'm going to make the bold prediction that none of the BCS schools in New England will be appearing in any bowl games this season.

The only reason the UMASS Minutemen didn't lose this weekend was because it was their bye week. Despite playing the undefeated Bobcats well in a 37-34 loss at 'home' [i.e. Foxbourough- NANESB!] in Week 5, the following week was a dramatically different story as the Minutemen were on the losing end of a 52-14 thumping in Kalamazoo.

This weekend, the Minutemen will take on the 4-3 Bowling Green Falcons at Gillette Stadium.

BOSTON COLLEGE- UMASS isn't the only FBS school in Massachusetts to have allowed 50 or more points against their last opponent.

Boston College had a tough road game in Tallahassee against 12th ranked Florida State and looked as though they would make a game of it on their opening posession as they took the football and marched down the field to the Seminoles 1 yard line before getting shut out of the end zone on 4th and goal. From there on out, it was all Noles all the time as they cruised to a 51-7 over Boston College.

The Eagles travel to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech- who currently sport a woeful 2-4 record- on Saturday at 3 PM ET.

UCONN- The Huskies- who are the only New England FBS school to have been above .500 this season- are on a 2-game skid after losing a week 6 matchup to Big East for, #22 Rutgers, by a 19-3 final. Last weekend, the Huskies blew a late lead against Temple after giving up a late TD to the Owls with 42 seconds left to tie up the game 14-14.

Connecticut got the ball first in OT but missed a chip shot FG. Temple got the ball back and made their FG attempt from the 29 yard line, giving them the 17-14 OT win.

This week, 3-4 UCONN travels to the Carrier Dome to take on the Syracuse Orangemen. This will likely be the last time the Huskies face Syracuse as the Orange are set to jump to the ACC beginning in 2013. Currently Navy sports a 3-3 record and faces Army each December during the Army-Navy game. This will likely continue once Navy football is integrated into the Big East.

NAVY- The US Naval Academy Midshipmen football program has reportedly agreed to start playing in the Big East conference starting in 2015. Navy has been playing football as an independent since 1879.

The move would leave the Army Black Knights as the only service academy that plays FBS football as an independent- the Air Force Academy Falcons have been playing in the Mountain West conference since the late 1990s.

AP Photo/Paul Sancya

MLB- After nearly giving away Game 1 of the ALCS in the bottom of the 9th, the Detroit Tigers have taken a 3-0 series lead on the New York Yankees.

Tuesday night saw the series move to Detroit's Comerica Park and Tigers ace Justin Verlander on the mound. Verlander went through the first three innings without allowing a baserunner while he got some run support in the form of a line-drive solo homer from Delmon Young to make it 1-0. Detroit then added to their lead in the bottom of the 5th with an RBI double from Miguel Cabrera to make it 2-0.

Verlander would end up pitching 8⅓ innings before allowing a solo homer to Eduardo Nunez in the top of the 9th. Despite giving up 2-out back to back singles to Mark Teixera and Robinson Cano, reliever Phil Coke got ALDS hero Raul Ibanez to strike out to end the ballgame and give Detroit a commanding 3-0 lead in the ALCS.

The Yankees have been playing without team captain Derek Jeter since game 1 after he left Game 1 of the ALCS with a fractured ankle. The injury has left the Yankees without Jeter for the remainder of the season- this is the first time since the 1990s the Yankees have been in the postseason without Jeter, closer Mariano Rivera or catcher Jorge Posada.

Detroit took Game 1 of the ALCS in Yankee Stadium by a 6-4 final in 12 innings, despite blowing a save in the bottom of the 9th. On Sunday afternoon, Tigers starter Anibal Sanchez threw 7 shutout innings in Detroit's 3-0 win at Yankee Stadium.

Game 4 is set to take place on Wednesday night at Comerica Park, with CC Sabathia [15-6; 3.38 ERA] taking the mound for the Yanks while Max Scherzer [16-7; 3.74 ERA] will get the start for Detroit. First pitch is scheduled for 8:07 ET and the game will be televised on TBS.

NATIONAL LEAGUE- The St Louis Cardinals have advanced to the ALCS in the most heart-ripping-out-iest manner possible after a deciding Game 5 in the nation's capital Saturday night.

After jumping out to an early 6-0 lead, the Nationals seemingly thwarted a Cardinals rally in the bottom of the 5th that cut the Nats lead in half. Even though a Daniel Descalso solo homer in the top of the 8th made it a 1-run game for the Cards, the Nats got a run back in the bottom of the 8th to make it a 7-5 Washington lead. However, the Washington bullpen imploded in the top of the 9th, allowing a leadoff double to Carlos Beltran before issuing two out walks to Yadier Molina and David Freese. Descalso then hit a 2-RBI single to tie the contest up at 7-7 and suck the air out of Nationals Ballpark before Pete Kozma singled and drove in two more runs, giving them a 9-7 lead.

The Nationals were unable to get any kind of offense going in the bottom of the 9th and the Cardinals rally punched their ticket to the NLCS where they faced off against San Francisco.

After splitting the first two games at San Francisco, the series moves to St Louis Wednesday afternoon. Game 3 gets underway at 1:07 ET Wednesday afternoon and will be televised on FOX.

BC's Katty Workman has garnered ACC Freshman of the Week honors no less than three times this season. John Quackenbos/ BC Athletics Photo

NCAA VOLLEYBALL- After a successful road trip to North Carolina earlier this month where Boston College beat Wake Forest and swept the Duke Blue Devils, the Lady Eagles had a brief flirtation with .500 before falling back to a game under .500 after getting swept in three sets by #12-ranked Florida State and a hard-fought loss against the Miami Hurricanes on Chestnut Hill this weekend. Courtney Castle and Katty Workman both had double-doubles in the 5 set loss to Miami and finished up the match with more kills, assists and digs than the Hurricanes. Currently, the Eagles sport a 10-11 record, going 4-5 against ACC opponents.

This upcoming weekend will see BC Volleyball return to the Tarheel state for matches against the North Carolina Tarheels and NC State Spartans.

On Monday, the ACC named outside hitter Katty Workman and NC State middle blocker Alesha Wilson ACC volleyball players of the week.

ELSEWHERE IN NCAA VOLLEYBALL- Across town and in the Colonial conference, the Northeastern Huskies women's volleyball team is on a tear having won nine in a row, including six against CAA opponents. This upcoming weekend, the Huskies will face Delaware and current CAA leader Towson- whose volleyball team has won 12 consecutive games, and also sports a 6-0 record in the Colonial conference.

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.