Qucikie Sports Chowdah Update- BC Kicks Off Season With Bay State Battle; Johnny Gone Lately- Post Manziel Aggies Run Roughshod Over Gamecocks;

NCAA FOOTBALL- And just like that, the college football season is upon us [Yay!- NANESB!].

Thursday night marked the beginning of the first season in which the champions of college football will be decided by a playoff format instead of polls and sportswriters.

This also marked Texas A&M's first game since quarterback Johnny Manziel was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft earlier this year. Texas A&M started off the season ranked #21 and faced #9 South Carolina on the road in Columbia, SC on Thursday night.

Coming into the season opener, the Gamecocks could boast 18 consecutive home wins- the longest active streak on Division 1 Football. Aggies fans worried about A&M football post Johnny Manziel had to like what they saw from sophomore QB Kenny Hill, who had Texas A&M up over the Gamecocks 31-14 at halftime. In the second half, South Carolina had no answers for Hill who would go on to throw for 511 yards and complete 44 of 60 pass attempts and three TDs as the Aggies blew South Carolina out of the water by a 52-28 final. According to the USC press guide- which keeps records as far back as 1962- the previous record for passing yards allowed by the Gamecocks was 485 prior to Thursday night.

ACC- The 2014 Boston College Eagles football season got underway on Saturday with an all-Massachusetts melee, travelling to Gillette stadium to take on the UMass Minutemen.

After a scoreless first quarter, BC took a 6-0 lead on field goals from Alex Howell and Joey Launceford. After halftime, the Eagles managed to pad their lead thanks to a running TD from RB Myles Willis followed by a rushing TD from QB Tyler Murphy to make it a 20-0 game before UMass got on the board with 2:28 to go in the 3rd with a TD pass from QB Blake Frohnapfel to Tajae Sharpe.

However, in the 4th, the Eagles would put the game out of reach with a 43 yard TD completion from Murphy to WR Josh Bordner to open up the quarter and Launceford capped the BC scoring with a 21 yard FG to make it a 30-7 final.

Although Saturday's game took place about 40 miles from Chestnut Hill, the home opener for the Eagles will take place on Friday, September 5th when they host the Pitt Panthers.

ELSEWHERE IN THE ACC- Defending national champions Florida State travelled to Texas on Saturday night to take on Oklahoma State. The Seminoles were ranked #1 heading into Saturday night's game and were able to get by a very game Cowboys [currently unranked- NANESB!] by a 37-31 final. 2013 Heisman trophy winning QB Jameis Winston went 25 for 40 with 370 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.

AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE- The Brigham Young Cougars managed to spoil the UConn Huskies home opener and debut of new head coach Bob Diaco on Friday. Thanks to four TD passes from BYU QB Taysom Hill, the Cougars cruised to an early lead and led UConn 28-7 at the half. BYU would go on to win by a 35-19 final at East Hartford.

UConn's homestand at E. Hartford will continue for the next two weeks as they host Stony Brook and Boise State [in that order- NANESB]. Both games are scheduled for a 12:00 PM ET kickoff.

BIG 12- Defending Big 12 Champions Baylor kicked off the 2014 and debut of their new stadium in Waco, TX in style with a convincing win over Southern Methodist University on Sunday night. With former president George W Bush and Heisman winner and Washington Redskins QB Robert Griffin III in attendance, the #10 ranked Baylor Bears routed the SMU Mustangs at newly-completed McClane Stadium by a 45-0 final. Bears starting QB Bryce Petty went 13-23 with 161 yards and 2 TDs before leaving Sunday night's game at halftime and being replaced by Seth Russell who also went 13-23 with 124 yards, a TD and an interception.

NFL- Just a quick reminder that the NFL season gets underway on Thursday, September 4th. The defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks will host the Green Bay Packers with kickoff scheduled for 8:30 PM ET on Thursday night- the game will be televised on NBC.

The Patriots will open up the 2014 season on the road in Miami on Sunday- that game is scheduled to kick off a 1:00 ET and will be broadcast on CBS.

PATRIOTS- The New England Patriots sent backup QB Ryan Mallet to the Houston Texans in exchange for a conditional 7th round draft pick in the 2016 NFL draft. Earlier in the week, new England traded G Logan Mankins to Tampa Bay in return for TE Tim Wright and a 4th round draft pick in the 2015 NFL draft.

BOSTON RED SOX- After the shock of trading Lester [and most of the starting rotation from the 2013 World Series team- NANESB!] away wore off, the Sox had a pretty decent road trip to the Midwest and West Coast where they took two out of three from the Angels and swept the Cincinnati Reds during a brief two-game series at the Great American ballpark.

However, the disastrous homestand that took place once the Sox returned to Fenway was enough to make even the most die-hard and optimistic Sox fan write off the 2014 season as auditioning for the 2015 season. The series began with a split of the 4-game series with the Houston Astros before going 0-7 against the Angels and Mariners.

Boston bounced back somewhat on the road in the AL East, with the Sox taking two out of three from the Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre before heading to Tampa Bay. The Red Sox won the Friday night series opener before being shut out in Saturday night's game by a 7-0.

On Sunday, Boston bounced back nicely by shutting out the Rays by a 3-0 final thanks to a complete game 3-hit shutout by Clay Buchholz. Clay struck out six batters and walked none while getting run support in the form of RBI singles from Christian Vazquez, Mookie Betts and Big Papi throughout the game.

After Boston took two out of three from the Rays over the weekend, Tampa is hoping to salvage a split on Labor Day. To that end, they'll send Drew Smyly [9-10; 3.31 ERA] to the mound to face off against Rubby de LaRosa [4-5; 3.81 ERA]. First pitch for this Labor Day game is scheduled for 1:05 ET and the game will be televised on NESN.

OTHER RED SOX NEWS- Boston 2B Dustin Pedroia may be missing at least a week after suffering from 'concussion-like symptoms' after a collision with Logan Forsyth during Saturday's 7-0 loss. With the rosters expanding on September 1, the Red Sox may not even have to put Pedroia on the DL although if it is a concussion, he will probably miss at least a week's playing time.

EVEN MORE RED SOX NEWS- The Red Sox and Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo have agreed to terms on a 7 year, $72.5 million contract last week. The sought-after Cuban defector became eligible after obtaining his US P-1A work visa and arrived at the team's Ft Meyers facility last Wednesday to begin workouts.

Although the regular season for the Red Sox minor-league affiliates is nearly over, Castillo may end up seeing time in the playoffs for the Ft Meyers Red Sox in the Gulf Coast League or the Portland Sea Dogs of the AA Eastern League or Pawtucket Red Sox of the AAA International League.

Trade Deadline Sports Chowdah Update- So Long Jon, Lester, Lackey Dealt at Trade Deadline; The Price is Right

RED SOX- Never mind remaining members of the 2004 or 2007 World Series team on the Boston Roster- after the July 31st trade deadline, the 2014 iteration of the Boston Red Sox is now quite unrecognizable from last season's World Series champions.

After getting out to a 4-0 start immediately after the All Star break- including a sweep of the resurgent Kansas City Royals- the Red Sox fleetingly looked like contenders in the AL East. However, after a convincing 14-1 win against the Toronto Blue Jays last week, the Red Sox lost eight of their last nine games- all of them within the AL East. On Saturday, the Red Sox traded starter Jon Lester to San Francisco for minor league pitchers Heath Hembree and Edwin Escobar. Following that, Boston sent Felix Doubront to the Chicago Cubs for a player to be named later.

But the Peavy and Doubront transactions were mere appetizers to the main course for Thursday. The first big deal of the MLB non-waiver trade deadline had the Red Sox dealing ace pitcher Jon Lester and OF Jonny Gomes to the Oakland A's for outfielder Yoenis Cespedes [.256, 17 HR and 67 RBI] and Oakland's competitive balance pick in the 2015 MLB draft. The trade sends Boston's homegrown ace to Oakland as what is essentially a rental for the AL West leader's pennant run and raises questions to where Lester will end up at the end of the season when he becomes an unrestricted free agent. Currently, the A's [who have a number of former Red Sox players and prospects on their roster before this transaction even took place- NANESB!] lead the AL West over the Angels by two games and have the best record in the big leagues at 66-41. Earlier in the week, there were reports that the Mariners, Pirates, Orioles and Cardinals were in talks with Boston to acquire Lester, all of them given even more credence when Lester was scratched from Wednesday night's game against the Blue Jays and Brandon Workman made the start in his place.

However, the wheeling and dealing by Cherrington wasn't done yet. After the Lester deal was announced, starter John Lackey and minor league pitcher Corey Littrell were sent to the St Louis Cardinals- their opponent in the 2004 and 2013 World Series- for right-handed starter Joe Kelly [2-2; 4.37 ERA] and outfielder Allen Craig [.237, 7 HR and 44 RBI].

Following that up, the Red Sox sent relief pitcher Andrew Miller to Baltimore in return for minor league pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez and SS Stephen Drew was sent to the Yankees in return for infielder Kelly Johnson, who is currently on the DL but is expected to play at 3rd while Bogaerts may end up moving back to shortstop.

The Miller and Drew transactions surprised me not so much that they departed, but that Cherrington was willing to trade within the division- although Johnson represents a slight upgrade offensively from Drew. With Jeter playing the rest of the season (his final season, no less) at shortstop for the Yankees, Drew is expected to play second after the Yankees after the Bronx Bombers designated 2B Brian Roberts for assignment.

Interestingly, Drew won't even have to leave Boston right away- just use the visitor's clubhouse at Fenway for this weekend's upcoming series between the Yankees and Red Sox. Game 1 gets underway on Friday night and will have former Red Sox reliever Chris Capuano [1-1; 4.30 ERA] going up against PawSox callup Anthony Ranaudo, who is making his MLB debut for Boston. Ranaudo has spent the entire 2014 season in Pawtucket and has a 12-4 record and 2.41 ERA with the PawSox. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 ET and the game will be televised on NESN as well as the MLB network in some markets.

ELSEWHERE IN MLB- Not to be outdone by the A's acquisition of Jon Lester, the Detroit Tigers acquired Tampa Bay Rays starter David Price in a 3-way deal that was announced with less than 40 minutes to go before the trade deadline.

In return for getting David Price, the Tigers sent OF Austin Jackson to Seattle and left handed pitcher Drew Smyly and minor league infielder Willy Adames to Tampa Bay. Seattle sends 2B Nick Franklin to Tampa to complete the deal.

The acquisition of Price gives Detroit no fewer than three Cy Young winners in their starting rotation with Price, Verlander and Max Scherzer. Since Price isn't a free agent until after the 2015 season, this also gives Detroit some flexibility with Scherzer, who becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season.

Quickie Sports Chowdah Update- Mild Wings, Bruins Close out Series Against Detroit; Rays the Roof- Lackey Hurls Another Gem Against Tampa Bay; Cano Place Like Home- Cano Returns to Bronx as Visitor; Sterling Clipped- Audio of LA Clippers Owner Making Racist Remarks Results in NBA Ban

BOSTON BRUINS- It was a busy Saturday for Boston sports- besides the Red Sox heading north of the border to take on the Blue Jays for the first time this season, the Bruins had an opportunity to close out the Red Wings in Game 5 at TD Garden on Saturday afternoon.



Boston got on the board first thanks to a power play goal from Loui Eriksson just 3 and a half minutes into the first to make it a 1-0 game. Of course, no lead is as hard to maintain as a one goal lead and at the 14:41 mark of the second period, Pavel Datsyuk notched a power play goal to tie the contest up at 1-1. But with less than 5 seconds remaining in the second and the Bruins on a 4 on 3 power play, Zdeno Chara blasted one past Gustavsson to give Boston the lead back heading into the second intermission.

Just four and a half minutes into the 3rd, the Bruins added to their lead with a goal from Milan Lucic to make it 3-1- but the Red Wings weren't done yet. As the crowd at TD Garden started reserving seats for the Boston/Montreal series, Detroit pulled to within one after Henrik Zetterberg got one past Tukka Rask with 3:52 to go in regulation. Inside of two minutes, the Red Wings pulled Gustavsson for an extra attacker, but with less than a minute to go Jarome Iginla made it a 2-goal game once again when he tallied an empty-netter to make it a 4-2 game. Boston would go on to win by a 4-2 final and take the series 4 games to one. Tukka Rask turned away 31 of 33 shots he faced while the Bruins went 2 for 6 on the power play. For his part, Gutavsson stopped 29 of 32 shots faced while Detroit went one for seven with the man advantage.

This sets up another all Original-6 matchup as the B's will take on the Montreal Canadiens on May 1st. Puck is scheduled to drop at 7:30 ET and the game will be televised on NBC Sports and CBC.


ELSEWHERE IN THE NHL- While the Canadiens made quick work of the Lightning, the same can't be said for three other playoff series.

Wednesday night will feature no less than three game 7s to close out the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. At 7:00 ET, the Flyers and Rangers will face off in Madison Square Garden for their decisive Game 7- that game will be televised on NBC Sports while Game 7 of the Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche series gets underway at 9:30 ET from Denver- that game will be broadcast on CNBC. Things will wrap up on the West Coast when the Los Angeles Kings- who fell into an early 0-3 hole against the Sharks- will play a decisive Game 7 in San Jose starting at 10:00 ET (7:00 PT)- that game will be televised on the NBC Sports network and the CBC.

No matter who wins that Game 7, the next round in the Western Conference Semifinals will feature an all-California matchup. On Sunday night in Dallas, the Anaheim Ducks came from 2 goals down in the 3rd to tie the game with 24 seconds left in regulation to force OT, where Anaheim's Nick Bonino scored less than 3 minutes into sudden death overtime to give Anaheim the series win.

BOSTON RED SOX- After taking two out of three from the Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre [I'm not sure what the bigger surprise was- Clay Buchholz settling down after giving up an early 3-0 lead and getting the win on Saturday or Lester and the bullpen getting lit up on Sunday- NANESB!] the Red Sox returned home to take on yet another AL East opponent in Fenway on Tuesday night.

Amid chilly temperatures and strong winds at Fenway on Tuesday night, the Red Sox faced off against the Tampa Bay Rays for the first time this season. With Lackey facing off against former Red Sox and Oriole starter Eric Bedard, the early innings had the makings of a pitcher's duel with batters struggling to reach base- or score on the few times they did get on base.

However, the Red Sox worked Bedard's pitch count up to over 100 in just five innings, forcing Rays manager Joe Maddon to go to the bullpen early. In the bottom of the 5th, Middlebrooks led off with a walk, followed by a Jackie Bradley Jr double. Pedroia lined out to 3rd thanks to a great play made by Rays 3B Evan Longoria, nearly catching Middlebrooks off-base as well. However, Shane Victorino hit a fly ball deep enough to center for Middlebrooks to come home on for the second out of the inning.

In the top of the 6th, the Rays would get on the board thanks to a 1-out Longoria sac fly to center to bring home Desmond Jennings and make it a 1-1 game After Napoli and Gomes walked to lead off the bottom of the 6th, Xander Bogaerts popped out to shallow left for the first out of the bottom half of the inning. With one away, AJ Pierzynski brought Napoli across home plate with an RBI single while Gomes came home on a Middlebrooks double. Jackie Bradley Jr then brought Middlebrooks and Pierzynski home on a 2-RBI double off of Rays reliever Juan Oviedo and advanced to 3rd on a wild pitch. Although Oviedo got Pedroia to ground out to short for out number two, Victorino came to the plate and his a ground-rule double to bring JBJ home and make it a 6-1 Red Sox lead. The Rays got a run back in the top of the 7th to make it 6-2 but Big Papi would hit a 1-out RBI single with runners on 1st and 2nd to make it 7-2 Boston.

However, after Mujica took the mound in the top of the 9th and Tampa got two more runs, John Farrell sent for Koji Uehara to close out the game, striking out Ben Zorbist to end the ballgame and give Boston the 7-4 win.

The two teams will go back at it tomorrow (weather permitting) with Chris Archer [2-1; 4.11 ERA] going up against Felix Doubront [1-3; 6.00 ERA] with first pitch scheduled for 7:00 on ESPN.

ELSEWHERE IN THE AL EAST- Amid completely self-unaware chants of "You sold out!", former Yankees 2B Robinson Cano returned to the Bronx for the first time since leaving for Seattle after signing a 10 year, $240 million deal with the Mariners.

Cano went 1 for 5 with an RBI, two strikeouts and a stolen base in Tuesday night's game as the Seattle Mariners rallied from a 2-0 deficit to go on and win by a 6-3 final.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS- Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper is expected to be out until July after tearing a ligament in his last week. Harper was batting .289 with a homer and 9 RBI so far this season. Harper underwent surgery on Tuesday and even tweeted a picture of himself from the hospital room.

On the road to recovery..Everything went great and I'll be back soon! Thank you to all the fans for the support! pic.twitter.com/66Wn7sxHQ9

— Bryce Harper (@Bharper3407) April 29, 2014

Harper made his MLB debut in 2012 at age 19 and has a career .273 batting average with 43 homers and 126 RBI in just under two whole seasons. Last week, manager Matt Williams benched Harper because he didn't run out a groundball to first.

NBA- Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling has received a lifetime ban from the NBA and a $2.5 million fine from NBA commissioner Adam Silver on Tuesday. Sterling was recorded by his mistress asking her not to bring black people to Clipper's home games and upset that she posted an instagram photo of herself and NBA hall of famer Magic Johnson. The recordings were made public by gossip website TMZ and have been replayed over multiple networks all weekend, sparking outrage and planned protests.

Former Celtics head coach Doc Rivers had reportedly declined a meeting with Sterling and was reportedly looking for ways out of his contract with the organization before Silver's press conference on Tuesday. Sterling, a California real-estate mogul, reportedly lost a civil rights lawsuit a few years ago in which the plaintiffs allege he discriminated against black and Hispanic tenants. Up until fairly recently, Sterling ran the Clippers on a shoestring budget frequently resulting in last place finishes, but savvy draft picks like Blake Griffin and key free agent signings like Chris Paul had reversed the Clippers fortunes in recent years.

On the hardwood, the Clippers returned to the Staples Center for the first time since the recordings of Sterling was made public, beating the Golden State Warriors by a 113-103 final on Tuesday night. Earlier in the series, Clippers players had worn their practice jerseys inside-out and donned black wristbands a s a means of protests when the recordings first came out.

Currently, the Clippers hold a 3-2 series lead over Golden State in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

Wings N Things Sports Chowdah Update- Red Sox Jump Out to 2-0 ALDS Lead; Bruins Motor Past Red Wings; Eagles Come Out On Top of Joust With Black Knights

My my...the Red Sox, Bruins and Boston College all winning on the same day? Say- Did I mention already how much I LOVE this time of year?

Charles Krupa- AP

BOSTON RED SOX- In Friday's game one of the ALDS, the Red Sox went from being no-hit through the first three innings to scoring 12 unanswered runs to take the first game of the series by a 12-2 final and give Jon Lester his first postseason win 2008- also Game 1 of the ALDS.

Game 2 didn't get off the quite the promising start as Game 1, and Lackey was clearly struggling early on. The Red Sox gave him some run support early by getting an RBI sac-fly from Pedroia and solo homer from David Ortiz to make it a 2-0 Boston lead. Tampa Bay cut the lead in half in the top of the 2nd thanks to an RBI sacrifice fly from Delmon Young.


The Red Sox added to their lead in the bottom of the 3rd after David Ross led off the inning with a double before coming home thanks to an Ellsbury double. The speedy outfielder then advanced to third on a Victorino single. Pedoira then hit what looked like a sure double play ball to short, but Victorino took out Rays 2B Ben Zorbist with a clean slide- breaking up the double play and allowing Ellsbury to come home and make it 4-1. However, Rays starter David Price would get the double-play he was after when Big Papi came to the plate and did exactly that. The Red Sox added another run in the bottom of the 4th with a 2-out RBI triple from Stephen Drew.

In the top of the 5th, former Red Sox and Dodgers first baseman James Loney belted a 2-RBI double to deep center field to cut the Red Sox lead to 5-3. Pedroia would then get an RBI double to make it a 6-3 Boston lead. After watching Boston jump all over Tampa Bay for 12 unanswered runs, the crowd at Fenway was getting a little nervous when the Rays once again cut into Boston's lead with a Yuniel Escobar RBI single that chased Lackey from the mound.

David Price would stay in a bit longer but get yanked in the bottom of the 8th after giving up a solo homer to David Ortiz to make it 7-4 Boston. Price apparently objected to Papi standing at home plate and admiring the trajectory of his solo shot- this would actually be Big Papi's first multi-homer playoff game of his career.

The Red Sox bullpen (Bresolow, Tazawa and Uehara) held the Rays scoreless for 3⅔ innings, and although Lackey struggled for a bit, he stayed in the game long enough to get the win. Boston takes a 2-0 series lead in the ALDS as the series heads to Tampa Bay on Monday. Game 3's scheduled starters are Clay Buchholz [12-1; 1.74 ERA] will go up against Tampa Bay's Alex Cobb [11-3; 2.76 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 6:07 ET and the game will be televised on TBS.

ELSEWHERE IN MLB- Game 2 of the ALDS between Detroit and Oakland was an absolute pitching gem. Justin Verlander threw seven complete innings, allowing four hits and striking out eleven, but he didn't factor into the decision. Oakland starter Sonny Gray went eight complete innings, striking out nine. A's closer Grant Balfour got credit for the win after pitching a 1-2-3 top of the 9th before Oakland catcher Stephen Vogt drove in the winning run- the game's only run- with nobody out in the bottom of the 9th. This evens the series at 1-1 before the ALDS moves back to Detroit.

As a matter of fact, both series in the NLDS are knotted up at a game apiece. Game 3 of both the Dodgers-Braves series and Cardinals-Pirates series will get underway on Sunday from Los Angeles and Pittsburgh, respectively.

Joe Camporeale- USA Today Sports

NHL- As the Red Sox and Rays were getting underway, the Bruins and Red Wings were going head to head for the second game of the season at TD Garden on Saturday.

Torey Krug got the Bruins on the board early with a power play goal about midway through the first period before the Red Wings tied things up at 1-1 thanks to a Henrik Zettiberg tally.

Boston would take a 2-1 lead not even forty seconds into the second thanks to a Brad Marchand goal. Jordan Caron would add to the Boston lead at the 7:58 mark of the second and the scoring in the 3rd consisted of a Zdeno Chara had a power play goalto give Boston a 4-1 win. Tukka Rask turned aside 36 of the 37 shots he faced and the Bruins were 2 for 4 on the power play in their first Original 6 matchup of the season.

The Bruins next game won't be until Thursday night when they host the Colorado Avalanche. Puck is scheduled to drop at 7:00 ET and the game will be televised on NESN.

NCAA FOOTBALL- It was the game the Obama Administration didn't want played.

The Boston College Eagles have managed to surpass their win total from last season in a game that the federal government had threatened to shut down earlier this week- and on homecoming, no less.

Eagles RB Andrew Williams stood out with a 263 yard, 5 TD afternoon, tying a school record in Saturday's 48-27 win over the Army Black Knights. Williams came into Saturday afternoon's game leading the ACC in rushing at 515 yards and will tack Saturday afternoon's impressive numbers onto this season's totals.

The Eagles will have their work cut out for the next week when they head down to the Palmetto State to take on #3 Clemson in a nationally televised game. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 ET and that game will be broadcast on ABC or ESPN 2, depending on where you're located.

Political Football Sports Chowdah Update- Army, Navy And Air Force Football To Continue Despite Government Shutdown; Bruins Get It Done Shorthanded; Red Sox Await Rays in All AL East ALDS

NCAA FOOTBALL-Pretty busy night for a Thursday, but more on that in a bit.

After some speculation that they wouldn't even take place this weekend, both the Air Force vs Navy and Army vs Boston College games are set to kick off at their scheduled times.

Despite the majority of costs being paid in advance by private booster clubs, reports were circulating that this weekend's football games involving the US Service Academies in West Point, Annapolis and Colorado Springs would be cancelled or postponed due to this week's government shutdown.

However, in what some critics are calling 'Shutdown Theater' [in which the government cuts the most visible and public services as opposed to the most redundant or non-essential- NANESB!] the Pentagon announced that the decision for each academy to play would be subject to review beforehand. The fact that the Air Force vs Navy game was sold out this weekend and the Army Black Knights would likely have to pay a fine for breach of contract undercut most arguments that shutting down the football teams is the most economically prudent thing to do.

The Naval Academy announced that all varsity sports aside from football were cancelled through Sunday as well.

BOSTON COLLEGE- Well, the Eagles managed to bookend their bye week with two relatively difficult games and went 0-2, although given what a train wreck the USC program has become I'm a little disappointed they didn't perform better against the Trojans.

Last weekend, the Eagles actually had a first-half lead against the 8th-ranked Florida State Seminoles, but the defense was clearly outmatched and the 'Noles would go on to win by a 48-34 final on Chestnut Hill.

This weekend's upcoming game at Chestnut Hill has garnered all sorts of attention from the non-sports world, and it has nothing to do with the fact that its Boston College's homecoming.

The BC Eagles will play host to the Army Black Knights, who are sporting a 2-3 record and are [almost literally- NANESB!] being used as a political football due to this week's ongoing government shutdown.

Here is the ESPN3 link to watch Saturday's Army-BC homecoming game http://t.co/b0wosLcU0b #ARMYvsBC pic.twitter.com/TWc0XkbSO8
— BC Football News (@BCFootballNews) October 3, 2013

Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 ET and according to BC Athletics, the game will be streamed for free over ESPN3.

ELSEWHERE IN NCAA FOOTBALL- After a bye week, the UMass Minutemen are looking for their first win of the season. The Minutemen will head to Bowling Green, OH to take on the 4-1 Bowling Green Falcons on Saturday at 3:30 ET.

The UConn Huskies, after coming up short against the #15 Michigan Wolverines, lost to Buffalo by a 42-12 final last weekend and will host South Florida on October 12th.

BIG 12- The Texas Longhorns rallied late in Ames, IA and held on to win by a 31-30 final as DE Jackson Jeffcoat picked off Iowa State QB Sam B Richardson with 31 seconds left in the 4th quarter.

PAC 12- Although Utah got out to a 14-7 lead in the first quarter of their Thursday night game against #12 UCLA, the Bruins came roaring back late and would go on to win by a 34-27 final. The win give the Bruins a record or 4-0 while the Utes are now 3-2.

ELSEWHERE IN THE PAC 12- The USC Trojans fired head coach Lane Kiffin after the team's 62-41 loss to Arizona state last Saturday. Despite an above .500 record, the loss was reportedly the final straw for some who wanted Kiffin gone. There reportedly has been some interest in interviewing former Jacksonville Jaguars head coach and current Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio to fill the vacancy left by Kiffin's dismissal. However, Del Rio has said he's not interested in the position.

AP- Michael Dwyer

NHL- And just like that, the puck has dropped on the Bruins season.

Not only did the 2013-2014 season get off to a good start, the Bruins managed to make history by becoming the first NHL team to score their first goal of the season on a penalty shot.



Chris Kelly got the Bruins on the board with a penalty shot at the 8:21 mark that beat Tampa Bay goalie Anders Lindback- it also counts as a shorthanded goal since the Lightning had 31 seconds remaining on the power play as well.

Valtteri Filppula got the Lightning on the board with a goal around the 10 minute mark of the second period, but with a minute to go in the second, Milan Lucic put the Bruins back on top. The Bruins then extended their lead with a shorthand tally from Patrice Bergeron just after four minutes into the 3rd period.

Boston goes on to win their home opener by a 3-1 final. The homestand continues through the weekend when the Bruins will host the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday. Puck is scheduled to drop at 7:00 ET and the game will be televised on NESN and the NHL Network.

OTHER BRUINS NEWS- The Bruins celebrated opening night on the Causeway by announcing a 4-year contract extension with defenseman Dennis Seidenberg. The extension is said to be worth about $16 million over the next four years.

BOSTON RED SOX- It's been a very busy week in the MLB postseason, yet the Red Sox haven't played a single game all week. Instead, Boston was awaiting the winner of the American League Wild Card tiebreaker game followed by the one game play-in. As it turns out, Boston will face the Tampa Bay Rays after the Rays beat the Texas Rangers by a 5-2 final on Monday and shut out the Cleveland Indians by a 5-0 final on Wednesday- both of those wins coming on the road.

With the ALDS matchup set, game one will take place on Friday afternoon at Fenway with Jon Lester [15-8; 3.75 ERA] getting the start in Game one against Tampa Bay's Matt Moore [17-4; 3.29 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 ET and the game will be televised on TBS.

ELSEWHERE IN MLB- The Pittsburgh Pirates won their first playoff game since 1992 as Francisco Liriano pitched 7 complete innings and allowed just four hits in the Pirates 6-2 win over Cincinnati in the National League Wild Card play-in game on Tuesday night.

The win means the Pirates advance to play another NL Central team, the division champion St Louis Cardinals. St Louis took game one of the series by a 9-1 final on Thursday night with Game 2 set for Friday afternoon. Game two of the NLDS gets underway from Busch Stadium at 1:00 ET with the Bucs Gerrit Cole [10-7; 3.22 ERA] will get the start against the Cards Lance Lynn [15-10; 3.97 ERA] and the game will be televised on the MLB network.

In the other NLDS matchup, the Dodger jumped out to a 1-0 series lead against the Atlanta Braves thanks to Clayton Kershaw's 7 innings of 3-hit baseball while striking out 12 Atlanta batters. Former Red Sox and Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez broke the game open with a 2-run homer in the top of the 3rd and the Dodgers would go on to win by a 6-1 final. Game two is scheduled for Friday at 6:07 ET and will feature LA's Zach Gerinke [15-4; 2.63 ERA] going up against Mike Minor [13-9; 3.21 ERA]. Game 2 will also be televised on the MLB network.

The last series to get underway will be the Tigers and A's from Oakland on Friday night. Game one will feature Detroit's Max Scherzer [21-3; 2.90 ERA] and Oakland's Bartolo Colon [18-6; 2.65 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 9:37 PM Eastern time (6:37 Pacific) and the game will be televised on TBS.

Under the Dome Sports Chowdah Update- Falcons Rally Late, But Get Their Wings Clipped; Because 162 Isn't Enough- Rangers and Rays Head Into One Game Playoff;

Have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE this time of year?

Kevin Cox- Getty Images

PATRIOTS- In their second prime-time matchup since week two, New England found themselves facing off against an NFC South opponent for the second straight week.

If last week's game against the Buccaneers was any indicator, Brady seemed to be settling into a groove with his corps of new receivers and vice-versa. However, they would have their work cut out for them in Week 4 on the road in the Georgia Dome against Boston College alum Matt Ryan and two of the NFL's best receivers.

The Falcons got on the board first with a Matt Bryant FG in the first before New England capped a 75 yard drive with a Brady to Matt Mulligan completion to put New England up 7-3. A 48 yard FG from Gostkowski made it 10-3 New England before Atlanta tied the contest up at 10-10 thanks to a 21 yard reception from Matt Ryan to TE Tony Gonzalez with just 38 seconds to go in the first half.

After another FG from Gostkowski in the 3rd quarter put the Patriots back on top, New England looked as though they were going to blow this one wide open at the start of the 4th quarter thanks to a 47 yard TD run from LaGarrette Blount to make it 20-10. Although the Falcons managed to drive down into New England's red zone, Michael Buchanan sacked Matt Ryan on 3rd and 5 from the New England 18 yard line, forcing Atlanta to settle for three points but still making it a 1-score game at 20-13.

The Patriots struck back quickly, thanks to two long completions from Brady to Edelman before Brady connected with WR Kenbrell Thompkins for an 18 yard TD pass. On the very first play of Atlanta's next possession, CB Aquib Talib managed to pick off a Matt Ryan pass and got as far as the Falcons 31 yard line before settling for a field goal, making it a 30-13 game with just over 6 minutes remaining in the 4th.

However, Atlanta would not go quietly and closed the gap thanks to an 11 yard TD pass from Ryan to Gonzalez before recovering the onside kick at mid field. Ryan got the Falcons as far as the Patriots 7 yard line, but Atlanta would have to settle for a field goal. New England successfully recovered the ball on Atlanta's next onside kick attempt and was simply looking to wind the clock down and get a first down on 4th and 1 at the Falcons' 37, but Brady fumbled the snap and although he recovered it, the Patriots turned it over on downs. Ryan looked as though he would make the Patriots pay when he found Julio ones for a nearly flawless 49 yard completion. However, with 36 seconds left and on 4th and 7 from the Patriot's 10, Aquib Talib broke up a Matt Ryan pass attempt to Roddy White in the end zone. New England got the ball back and Brady took a knee to run out the final seconds of the game.

New England moves to 4-0 for the first time since their 2007 dalliance with perfection. Next week, the Patriots will travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals. The game is scheduled for a 1:00 PM kickoff on Sunday and will be televised on CBS Sports.

MLB- WILD CARD- It looks as though 162 games wasn't enough for the Texas Rangers or Tampa Bay Rays.

On the final day of the regular season, the Indians managed to leapfrog both Texas and Tampa Bay after winning 10 straight games to conclude the 2013 regular season to take the first Wild Card berth. This is Indians manager Terry Francona's first trip to the postseason since 2009 when he was still with the Red Sox. This is also Francona's first season as the Indians manager. The Tribe will await the winner of Monday's Rangers/Rays game.

First pitch for the Rays and Rangers Wild Card game is scheduled for 8:07 PM ET and will be televised on TBS.

Alan Diaz- AP

MIAMI MARLINS- And just like that the regular season is in the books, and it wasn't exactly uneventful.

While the Miami Marlins won't be going to the postseason, the end of their regular season was pretty noteworthy as starter Henderson Alvarez threw a no-hitter. Not only did the 23 year old Venezuelan starter get his no-hitter against the defending AL Champion Detroit Tigers, but he got it in an unorthodox manner and saw the game clinched when he was in the on deck, not the mound.

It was still a scoreless tie in the bottom of the 9th when Giancarlo Stanton came home on a wild pitch with the bases loaded for Miami's 1-0 win. The no-hitter was the Marlin's first since September 2006 when Anibal Sanchez no-hit the Arizona Diamondbacks.


RED SOX- The regular season for Boston ended on a less-than-glorious note after dropping two out of three to the Orioles over the weekend. Despite the losses, the Red Sox finish the season tied with St Louis for the best record in MLB with 97 wins and 65 losses.

This means that not only will Boston wait until Friday for their next game, they won't know who their opponent is until after two separate play-in games starting on Monday night. The Oakland A's finished one game behind Boston and will host the AL Central champion Detroit Tigers for the ALDS.

LA Story Sports Chowdah Update- Red Sox Escape From LA With Series Win; NCAA Football Set to Kick Off This Week

Mark J. Terrill- AP

RED SOX- In a matchup that some of the more hyperbole-prone broadcasters were dubbing a World Series Preview, the Red Sox dealt the Los Angeles Dodgers their first series loss in more than two months. The TV coverage seemed to reflect some of this hype, with two out of the three games in the weekend series getting national TV coverage.

Despite John Lackey pitching a complete game and allowing only three hits in Friday night's series opener, one of those hits was a 2-run Hanley Ramirez homer and Dodgers starter Ricky Nolasco managed shut out the Red Sox. LA took the series opener by a 2-0 final.

In Saturday afternoon's game, the Red Sox jumped all over Hyun-Jin Ryu in the first thanks to a Mike Napoli RBI single and Johnny Gomes 3-run homer to give the Red Sox a 4-0 lead. Ryu would settle down, and that would be all the Red Sox offense would get. However, Lester would go 7⅓ innings and giving up three hits, an earned run [that Junichi Tazawa inherited when he gave up a 2-RBI double to former Red Sox infielder Adrian Gonzalez in the bottom of the 8th- NANESB!]. After Craig Breslow struggled, Koji Uehara came on in the bottom of the 8th for a 4-out save, sealing the Red Sox 4-2 win.

Sunday's series finale was nationally televised on ESPN and had Jake Peavy go up against Springfield, MA native Chris Capuano. Mike Napoli got the Red Sox on the board in the first with a ground rule double, and despite loading the bases, Capuano was able to escape the first without any further damage. Another run came home in the 3rd on a Pedroia sac fly and in the top of the 4th, Xander Bogaerts was credited with his first big league RBI after doubling to right center to make it 3-0.

However, Gonzalez would get the Dodgers on the board with a solo homer, but that would be all LA was getting. Not only was Peavy Dealing, he was getting plenty of run support in his complete-game gem in Los Angeles.



Capuano left the game after five innings and the Red Sox batters would just tee off of Dodgers reliever Chris Withrow. Saltalamacchia would belt a 2-run homer in the 6th, followed by a solo homer from Victorino in the 7th to make it 6-1 Boston. For good measure, Mike Napoli tacked on a 2-run homer in the top of the 9th and Peavy decided to give the bullpen the night off and close out the Dodges himself in the bottom of the 9th.

So for the first time since mid-June, the torrid Dodgers have lost a series. Although Boston missed Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers didn't get to see Clay Buchholz, this series still had a number of sports commentators hinting that this was a 'World Series in August' matchup. Interestingly, Big Papi was only in one of this weekend's games, going 0-3 in Friday night's loss while playing first base.

Monday was a travel day, but for Tuesday night, the Red sox will return home to face the Baltimore Orioles. Felix Doubront [9-6; 3.79 ERA] is scheduled to get the start against Baltimore's Wei Yin Chan [7-6; 3.19 ERA] with first pitch scheduled for 7:10. The game will be televised on NESN.

ELSEWHERE IN THE AL EAST- While the Red Sox were travelling on Monday afternoon, they got a little help from the Kansas City Royals. The Tampa Bay Rays had to fly out of Kauffman Stadium to play a game against the slumping Royals that was postponed in early May due to snowfall. Kansas City got off to an early 1-0 lead on a Billy Butler RBI single off of Rays starter Jeremy Hellickson in the first and broke it open in the 4th before going on to win by an 11-1 final. The win is only the Royal's second in 7 games, but put Tampa Bay an additional ½ game behind the Red Sox in a tight race for the AL East pennant.

NEW YORK METS- Mets phenom pitcher Matt Harvey is likely to miss the remainder of the season after being diagnosed with a partial ligament tear in his right shoulder. Harvey has a 9-5 record this season with a 2.27 ERA, although he was outduelled by Tigers starter Max Scherzer in his last start.

The struggling Mets are 58-71 and next to last in the NL East, meaning that even if Harvey's injury wasn't as serious as feared, he still would be sidelined as a precaution since the Mets are well out of any pennant or wild card chase.

NCAA FOOTBALL- College football in New England gets underway a little earlier than usual with UConn hosting FCS opponent Towson at East Hartford's Rentschler Field on Thursday night with a 7:30 kickoff

The other two New England FBS programs will kick off on Saturday, Aug 31st, with the UMASS season opener likely drawing the most national eyes as they open on the road against the #23 ranked Wisconsin Badgers in Madison's Camp Randall stadium.

Meanwhile, the BC Eagles will host Villanova from the FCS's Colonial Conference on Saturday at noon on Chestnut Hill.

Phoning It In Sports Chowdah Update- Lester Shuts Out Birds as Papi's Bat Does the Talking

Nick Wass- AP

RED SOX- Sunday's game turned out to be the rubber game of a quick 3-game weekend series against the Orioles at Camden Yard, perhaps garnering a little more attention than usual due to DH David Ortiz's shennanigans in the dugout on Saturday.

Having allowed a total of 38 runs in nine games this season against Baltimore, the prospect of a shutout looked fairly remote- although Boston still had some momentum after Saturday night's win. After getting out to a quick 1-0 lead thanks to a 2-out EBI single off the bat of Mike Napoli, Red Sox starter Jon Lester gave up a leadoff single to O's outfielder Nick Markakis before getting the next three batters out.

It looked as though both Lester and Baltimore starter Jason Hammel were settling in by the time the second inning rolled around. However, with two away and Ellsbury on 2nd in the top of the 3rd, Hammel might as well have been throwing phones at Big Papi as Big Papi cranked a 2-0 offering from Hammel into the seats in left field for his 20th homer of the season and put the Red Sox up 3-0.

Meanwhile, Lester was cruising- not allowing anyone to get past second in seven innings of work. Hammel lasted 5⅓ innings before TJ McFarland came on in relief. The Red Sox got some additional insurance in the top of the 8th when Saltalamacchia hit a 1-out 2 RBI single after McFarland had loaded up the bases with an intentional walk of Jonny Gomes to put the Red Sox up by a score of 5-0.

Matt Thorton gave up a leadoff single to Markakis after coming out of the bullpen in relief of Lester, but got Manny Machado to hit into a double play before getting Chris Davis to strike out swinging. Pedro Beato came on in the bottom of the 9th and got the Baltimore batters out in order, giving the Red Sox a 5-0 win and taking two out of three from the birds in Camden Yards.



Big Papi went 4-4 with a homer and 2 RBI on the day while Lester went 7 complete innings, allowing just four hits and two walks while striking out eight batters. I gotta say what really left an impression on me for the last two games was the RBIs with two out- a total of six from Saturday and Sunday's games.

The Red Sox are in the middle of an unusual and unplanned part of their schedule where they'll have three opponents in two ballparks over the span of three days after Thursday's game against Tampa Bay at Fenway was postponed due to rain. Currently the Red Sox maintain a tenuous half game lead over the Rays for the AL East lead after Tampa Bay lost to the Yankees in the bottom of the 9th at Yankee Stadium on Sunday.

Monday evening's matchup at Fenway will have Tampa Bay's David Price [5-5; 3.75 ERA] going up against Felix Doubront [7-4; 3.78 ERA] with the somewhat unusual start time of 7:10 ET. Monday night's game will be televised on NESN. After the makeup game against Tampa Bay, Boston will then host the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night with a start time of 7:10 ET- Joe Saunders [9-9; 4.48 ERA] is slated to get the start against Brandon Workman [0-1; 4.40 ERA].


NCAA VOLLEYBALL- The Boston College Eagles have released their official 2013 schedule this weekend, with the season getting under way at the Western Carolina Invitational Tournament at the end of August where they'll face off against University of South Carolina-Upstate, UNC-Asheville, Western Carolina and Wright State.

Intra-conference play will begin on September 28th when the Eagles host Miami at Chestnut Hill- but even some matches against ACC opponents will have the feel of out-of-conference matches, as Notre Dame, Syracuse and Pittsburgh's volleyball programs will be making their Atlantic Coast Conference debut this season.

Well Rested Sports Chowdah Update- Lester Looking Sharp After Having Start Pushed Back; Laser Show Here To Stay; K-Rod to Charm City;

Elise Amendola-AP

RED SOX- After being shut out by the white-hot Rays on Monday night, the Red Sox saw their lead in the AL East whittled down to merely half a game heading into Tuesday night's contest.

Jon Lester- who was originally slated to start the Sunday night game against the Yankees- had his start pushed back two nights so he could get some additional rest. After opening up the game with a 1-2-3 inning, Lester gave up a leadoff homer to Will Meyers to give the Rays the early 1-0 lead in the top of the second. The Red Sox came back with a run of their own in the bottom of the 2nd thanks to a Mike Carp single after Rays starter Roberto Hernandez gave up singles to Ortiz and Napoli to start off the inning (although Big Papi was thrown out trying to advance to third), tying the game at 1-1. The Red Sox would take the lead in the bottom of the 3rd with runners on first and third and Big Papi at the plate. Pedroia would steal second and Rays catcher Jose Molina's throw hit Pedroia, allowing Victorino to score and giving Boston a 2-1 lead.

The Red Sox would pad their lead with a Pedroia sac fly in the bottom of the 5th to make it 3-1, which is just as well, since Evan Longoria blasted a solo homer to lead off the top of the 6th for the Rays to once again make it a one-run game. However, Boston would get some run support in the bottom of the 8th with two outs and two on when Stephen Drew hit an RBI single followed by a Jose Iglesias single that managed to clang off the gloves of Rays 3B Evan Longoria and SS Yuniel Escobar as two more runs came in for the Sox to give them a 6-2 lead [Even though it was officially scored a 2-RBI single, Iglesias alertly moved to third on the throw home which rolled to the dugout- NANESB!].

Koji Uehara came out in the top of the 9th and had a 1-2-3 inning to preserve the Boston win, and one night after being shut out by the Rays, the Olde Towne Team goes on to win by a 6-2 final. Lester goes 6⅓ innings, allowing 7 hits and two earn runs while striking out 8. Jose Iglesias went 1-4 with 2 RBI and Dustin Pedroia was 0-2 with 1 RBI on Tuesday night. The win by the Red Sox snaps a 6 game winning streak for Tampa Bay that carried over from the All Star where the Rays leapfrogged past the Yankees and Baltimore for 2nd place in the AL East.

The series continues Wednesday night at Fenway with Felix Doubront [7-3; 3.76 ERA] taking the mound against Tampa Bay's David Price [4-5; 4.03 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 ET and for the second time since Sunday, the game will be nationally televised on ESPN while the MLB Network and NESN will carry Thursday night's season finale.

Elise Amendola-AP

OTHER RED SOX NEWS- It's official.

Prior to last night's game, the Red Sox announced last night that Dustin Pedroia has signed an 8 year, $100 million contract extension that would keep the hard-charging second baseman in a Red Sox uniform through 2021. Peroia's current contract would have expired at the end of the 2014 season. The former Sun Devil was named AL Rookie of the Year in 2007 and AL MVP in 2008 in addition to two gold gloves and being selected to the All Star game twice.

Currently, Pedroia is batting .306 with 6 homers, 58 RBI and 14 stolen bases. Throughout his career, Pedroia has a .303 batting average with 96 homers and 116 stolen bases.

ELSEWHERE IN THE AL EAST- The Baltimore Orioles took a big step towards addressing one of their (few) weaknesses on Tuesday by acquiring Milwaukee Brewers closed Francisco Rodriguez in exchange for infielder Nick Delmonico from the Frederick Keys- Baltimore's Carolina League affiliate.

Rodriguez- aka "K-Rod"- is 1-1 with 1.09 ERA and has had 10 saves for the Brewers this season. K-Rod has been with Milwaukee since 2011

PITTSBURGH PIRATES- The resurgent Pirates got a scare in the 9th inning of Monday when closer and NL Saves leader Jason Grilli left the 9th inning of their game against the Washington Nationals. While the injury may not be as severe as the Pirates organization had feared, Grilli was put on the 15 DL with a strained right forearm on Wednesday.

On Monday night's game, Grilli allowed a leadoff walk to Washington's Adam La Roche in a 6-3 contest. This was followed up by a Jason Werth homer that made it a 1-run game. With one away, the Nationals Denard Span doubled off of Grilli before the Bucs closer got Nats catcher Wilson Ramos to strike out and was then pulled from the game. Vin Mazzaro then came on for Grilli and managed to get the final out, preserving the Bucs 6-5 win on Monday night.

After missing the playoffs for more than 20 straight years, the Pittsburgh Pirates have gotten off to a strong start both this season and in 2012. However, the second half of the Bucs 2012 campaign saw them gradually fade from playoff contention by Labor Day. Fans are hoping to avoid a repeat of last season's swoon in the Steel City. Currently, the Pirates are only a game and a half behind the St Louis Cardinals for the lead in the NL Central.

Doubleheader Sports Chowdah Update- Rask Shines in Game 3; Double Trouble- Ortiz, Doubront Stand Out Seperately in Sweep of Fenway Doubleheader

Harry How/Getty Images

STANLEY CUP FINALS- With the series heading to Boston for Game 3, the Bruins looked to build on some of the momentum they picked up from their overtime win in Chicago on Saturday night- despite the lackluster first period in which they were outshot 19-4.

Even before the puck dropped for Game 3 on Monday, the Bruins got an unexpected assist in the form of Chicago head coach Joel Quinnville scratching forward Marian Hossa from the lineup.

All the scoring for this one took place in the second period, and- fortunately- it was all Boston. Fresh from scoring the overtime game winning goal in Game 2, Danny Paille got the Bruins on the board just over two minutes into the second frame.

Then, with 5:55 remaining in the period, the Bruins got their second power play goal of the series thanks to Patrice Bergeron, with Jarg and Chara getting the assists. Time had just expired on a 5 on 3 man advantage for the Bruins [interestingly, the Bruin's penalty kill unit successfully killed a 5 on 3 penalty for 1:17 against Chicago for Game 1- NANESB!]. While the Blackhawks managed to pressure Rask and the Boston D much more effectively (including a shorthanded opportunity), Rask turned aside 10 shots on goal in the 3rd period, including this one from Andrew Shaw from point blank range on a Blackhawks power play in the 3rd. Boston goes on to win by a final of 2-0 and takes a 2-1 series lead against Chicago. Tukka Rask turned aside all 28 shots faced while Chicago's Corey Crawford stopped 33 of 35 faced on Monday night. The Bruins will look to take a commanding 3 game lead over Chicago tomorrow night. Game 4 will get underway from Boston on Wednesday night at 8:00 ET and will be televised on NBC and CBC.

AP Photo/Elise Amendola

RED SOX- With Baltimore taking three out of four games from Boston over the weekend series at Camden Yard, the Red Sox returned to Fenway on Tuesday for another divisional matchup on Tuesday- a day/night doubleheader against the Rays. Game one was the makeup date for the April 18th game that was rained out at Fenway. In a bit of irony, Tuesday's makeup game was delayed for nearly 3 hours by.....wait for it........rain.

In Game 1, Dustin Pedroia got the Red Sox on the board in the 1st inning with a sac fly. Big Papi got it done for Boston in Game 1 with singles, including a 2-RBI single to make it 3-1 Boston in the bottom of the 3rd. Ortiz then drove home Victorino with an RBI single in the bottom of the 5th to make it 4-1 before the skies really opened up.

When play resumed nearly three hours later, Junichi Tazawa came on in relief of starter Alfredo Aceves and retired the side. In the bottom of the 6th, Jacoby Ellsbury had a 2-out triple and came home on a Victornio triple to make it 5-1 Red Sox- that would end up being the final for Game 1.
While Game 2 starter Felix Doubront has a winning record, his high ERA was cause for some concern amongst Red Sox faithful. Daniel Nava got the scoring started pretty early for Boston with a solo homer that landed in the Red Sox bullpen in the bottom of the 2nd. Doubront, as it turned out, pitched a gem for Game 2, going 8 complete innings- his longest outing of the season- while giving up three hits and walking six batters. Unfortunately, Doubront would not get a decision as Andrew Bailey would come out of the bullpen and give up a solo homer to Rays LF Kelly Johnson to tie the contest up at 1-1. Johnson was he first batter Bailey faced in the 9th, but he would get the next two batters out before walking Ben Zobrist and getting Evan Longoria to ground into a fielder's choice. With the game tied at 1-1, the Rays sent Joel Peralta out to try and get the game into extras. That wasn't meant to be as after walking Nava to open up the inning, he had to face former Ray Johnny Gomes, setting up this.

The Red Sox win it by a 3-1 final thanks to Gomes' walkoff two run blast in the bottom of the 9th. The win gives the Red Sox the sweep of the doubleheader and gives them some breathing room against the O's, who handily beat Detroit on Tuesday.

Wednesday's game will have the Rays' Jeremy Hellickson [4-3; 5.67 ERA] go up against Ryan Dempster [4-7; 4.21 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 ET and the game will be televised on NESN.

Sports Chowdah Update For September 20th- Cardinals Have Pats Seeing Red; UMass Gets Rolled Big Time in the Big House; Fading Rays? Sox Show Signs of Life vs Tampa

AP Photo/Tony Ding

NCAA FOOTBALL- To hardly anybody's surprise, the UMass Minutemen walked into the Big House at Ann Arbor last weekend and got slaughtered by #17 Michigan. The Wolverines jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter before UMass got on the board thanks to a Brendon Levengood FG to make it 14-3. After the Wolverines made it a 21-3 game, Minutemen Freshamn DB Christian Brit picked off Michicgan QB Denard Robinson and ran the ball back for 32 yards for what would be the Minutemen's only TD of the game.

Although Levengood would get another FG before the half, there was just no stopping the Wolverines offense and that would be all the scoring UMass could muster as the Wolverines cruised to an easy 63-13 win.

I seem to remember not too long ago that UMass was capable of putting up a much more spirited game in the face of overwhelming odds at Ann Arbor while the Minutemen were still in the Colonial Athletic Association. For now, however, their promotion to the FBS and the Mid-America Conference has gotten them an 0-3 record and 'home' games on the opposite end of the Bay State from the Amherst campus. In their first three games as an NCAA FBS program, the Minutemen have been outscored 145-19.

This upcoming weekend, UMass will play yet another road game in the Midwest as they travel to Oxford, OH to take on the 1-3 Miami Redhawks. Kickoff will be at noon eastern and the game will be streaming on ESPN3. Saturday's game also marks the Minutemen's Mid-America Conference debut.

ELSEWHERE IN NCAA FOOTBALL: BOSTON COLLEGE- Turns out UMass wasn't the only FBS team from the Bay State that could only muster 13 points against an opponent in the Midwest last weekend. Althought the Boston College Eagles briefly took the 10-9 lead against the Northwestern Wildcats in the 2nd quarter of Saturday's game at Evanston, IL, Wildcats special teams kept the Eagles pinned deep in their own end late in the game. With Boston College trailing late in the 4th by a score of 15-13 and after a three and out with the ball on their own 1 yard line, Northwestern got the ball back on the Eagle's 44 and managed to capitalize on their excellent field position thanks to a Mike Trumpy 27 yard TD rush with less than two minutes to go in the 4th to make it 22-13. That was actually the only touchdown on the day for Northwestern as they go on to sport a 3-0 record. The Eagle's only TD came late in the first half when QN Chase Rettig connected with Jonathan Coleman for a 31 yard pass and run.

The 1-2 Eagles have this upcoming weekend off before hosting the (currently) undefeated Clemson Tigers on Chestnut Hill on September 29th.

AP Photo/Patrick Semansky
UCONN HUSKIES- So out of all the FBS teams in New England, currently the UConn Huskies are the only ones with a winning record after their weekend trip to College Park, MD.

The Huskies Scott McCummings and Lyle McCombs each rushed for a TD, while Nick Williams returned a punt for a TD and Chad Christen's 34 yard FG would prove to be decisive in Connecticut's 24-21 road win over Maryland on Saturday. The Terrapins had closed to within a FG and got the ball back on their own 42 yard line with 3:37 to go, but the drive fizzled on the UConn 40 when Terps QB Perry Hills was unable to convert on 4th and 18.

Next week, the Huskies will travel to Kalamazoo, MI to take on the 1-2 Western Michigan Broncos- their second Mid-America conference opponent of the young season. Kickoff is at 2:00 PM Eastern time.

OTHER UCONN HUSKIES NEWS- The Boston Globe and the New London, CT The Day are reporting that officials from both UConn and the University of Notre Dame may be interested in playing a regular season game at Fenway Park during the 2014 season [might as well, since its not as though they're currently playing baseball at Fenway- am I right? NANESB!].

The Day has learned that the schools are in negotiations to play again in 2014, but this time at Fenway Park in Boston.

Discussions between both schools could produce a football game between the University of Connecticut and Notre Dame at Fenway Park in Boston in 2014, two UConn sources said told The Day on Monday.

The sources said that personnel changes in both athletic departments have slowed talks somewhat, but that "there's definitely some traction there," alluding to a potential Notre Dame-UConn game.

Red Sox general manager Larry Lucchino told the Boston Globe the Red Sox are "actively" looking for a game at Fenway as early as 2013. Lucchino said he wasn't aware of specific talks with either UConn or Notre Dame, but that's the type of game in which they are interested.

Sources from both schools reportedly agreed that if it happens, this would be considered a 'home' game for Notre Dame. A number of Notre Dame 'home' games have taken place away from South Bend, including this year's season opener against Navy at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland.

In recent years, Fenway Park has played host to concerts, English Premier League soccer, the 2010 NHL Winter Classic and NCAA Hockey matches. Throughout its 100 year history, Fenway has also played host to football games from the Patriots, Redskins, Boston College, Boston University, Dartmouth and Holy Cross. The last time Fenway Park hosted football was the 1968 regular season finale of the then-Boston Patriots where they beat the Cincinnati Bengals by a 33-14 final- one of only four wins that season.

If UConn and Notre Dame do agree to play on Yawkey Way, this would not be the first time a purpose-built ballpark hosted a college football contest. In 2010, the University of Illinois and Northwestern Wildcats played at Wrigley Field. In the Bronx, Yankee Stadium played host to a regular season game between Notre Dame and the Army Black Knights- this is in addition to hosting the Pinstripe Bowl at the end of December. On the West Coast, San Francisco's AT&T Park was home to the Cal Golden Bears during the 2012 season as the on-campus stadium was undergoing rennovations and also hosts the Kraft Foods Fight Hunger Bowl at the end of December.

MLB- On the major-league level, there really hasn't been alot taking place since the Red Sox had their disastrous 1-8 road trip that effectively ended any lingering notion of sneaking into the playoffs- despite the expanded format this year. The subsequent homestand was just as unkind, with the Blue Jays coming in and sweeping Boston and the Yankees taking two out of three. Despite standing on the bottom rung of the ladder to the AL East cellar, the Sox seemed to snap out of life over the last week, taking two out of three from the Blue Jays at Toronto's Rogers Centre and winning the first two of a four game set with the struggling Tampa Bay Rays. However, after shellacking Boston by a 13-3 final on Wednesday, the Rays have a shot at salvaging a splot of the series and reviving their rapidly wilting playoff aspirations- currently the Yankees and Orioles are within a half game of each other for the AL East lead while Tampa Bay trails by 6 and a half games.

Thursday night's contest will see Clay Buchholz [11-6; 4.33 ERA] against David Price [18-5; 2.54 ERA]. The Game gets underway at 7:10 ET and will be televised on NESN.

NFL- It's not often that New England loses early in the season, let alone at Gilette stadium, but that's exactly what happened at Foxbourough in Week two when the Pats plaed host to the Cardinals.

This was a constest that was largely won and lost on FGs, with the Cards getting on the board early on a 38 yard Jay Feeley FG. Brady's first pass of the game was picked off at the 36 and although the Pats kept them out of the red zone, Feely was able to nail another long FG to make it 6-0 Arizona. Gostkowski was able to put New England on the board with a 46 yard FG of his own late in the 1st and then tie things up at 6-6 with a 34 yard FG in the 2nd. While the Pats took a 9-6 lead on a 51 yard Gostkowski FG to open up the second half, the Cardinals were able to take advatage of a blocked punt on the Pats 11 yard line and punch it in from there for the game's first TD. The Cardinals then closed out the 3rd quarter marching the ball down a much longer field where QB kevin Kolb rushed up the middle for another Cards TD to make it a 20-9 game. With just under 8 minutes to go and good field position, the Pats got as far as the Arizona 35 yard line before Gostkowski made good on a 53 yard FG attempt to make it 20-12.

After forcing Arizona to go three and out on the next posession, one almost had the feeling that Brady and the Patriots offense had something special in the works as the methodically marched down the field from their own 18 and hit paydirt with a pass from brady to Gronkowski with just over 2 minutes remaining- although the 2 point conversion failed, it was still a two point game.

Still, what are the odds New England would get the ball back? I mean, one first down frmo Arizona and it was all over- right? Except big Vince Wilfork recovered a fumble from Cards RB Ryan Williams. With a little over a minute to go and the ball on the Cardinals own 30, the Patriots ran a couple of plays to pick up 6 yards. That brought in Gostkowski once again- who had already made FG's from 51 and 53 yards- to try and give the Pats a 1-point edge with just one second left. However, his 42 yard FG attempt sailed wide left and the Cards- who had led the NFL in blocked FG attempts in the last three seasons- came away with the 18-20 win.

New England will next travel down to Baltimore to take on the Ravens for this weekend's Sunday night game. Both teams head into the contest sporting an identical 1-1 record after the Ravens' Sunday afternoon loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. The game kicks off at 8:20 ET Sunday night and will be televised on NBC.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NFL NFL Films producer Steve Sabol passed away from terminal brain cancer on Tuesday at the age of 69. Steve and his father Ed were both New Jersey natives who started out as cameramen for the National Football League. The father and son duo got their break in 1962 when they secured the rights to the NFL Championship Game between the Packers and the Giants. In his college years, Sabol was an all Rocky Mountain Conference running back who majored in Art History. An avid film buff who studied cinematography and art history and wanted to portray the best values represented in the game, Ed says his son was 'uniquely qualified' to helm what would eventually become NFL films. In the early years of NFL Films, Steve would serve as camerman, editor, head writer and narrarator [I own a couple of the Patriots Super Bowl DVDs and I must tell you the production values are top notch- doesn't hurt that they're narrarated by the late Harry Kalas, too- NANESB!].

Featuring montage editing, dramatic soundtracks and slow-motion film or video, Sabol's NFL Films Presents productions were sometimes more compelling than the actual games they highlighted. Sabol's NFL films also pioneered wiring coache sand players for in-game audio, the best of which would be featured in an NFL Films Presents production. These were some of the innovations that helped Sabol win more than 30 Emmys throughout his career at NFL Films. At the very beginning, ESPN signed a contract with NFL films to gain access to their archives while Steve Sabol himself played a role in the 2003 founding of the NFL Network.

The NFL announced that each stadium in the league will play a brief tribute to Steve Sabol before kickoff in Week three.

Quickie Sports Chowdah Update for 7/15- Red Sox Start Second Half Off Winning Weekend Series in Tampa

AP/Boston Herald photo

RED SOX- Josh Beckett rebounded from a tough first inning where he gave up three runs to Tampa Bay to throw five more shutout innings to give the Red Sox their second win of the weekend in Tampa Bay.

The Red Sox tied the game up in the top of the 2nd with a 2-run homer by Mike Aviles off of Rays starter James Shields to make it 3-3.

Although they were able to get Will Middlebrooks as far a 3rd base with nobody out in the top of the 4th, he would be stranded after a strikeout and then having the inning end on a double play. However, Boston would then take the lead on a Daniel Nava solo homer to lead off the top of the 5th, followed by Shields loading the bases before Will Middlebrooks drove home Adrian Gonzalez and Cody Ross to give the Red Sox a 6-3 lead.

Unlike the 4th inning, the Red Sox would manage to take advantage of a leadoff baserunner in the top of the 6th when Jacoby Ellsbury started things off with a single off of Reliever Jake McGee. McGee would then load up the bases- walking Nava and giving up a single to Big Papi- before striking out Adrian Gonzalez. Burke Badenhop would then relieve McGee allow a fly ball to center field off the bat of Cody Ross deep enough to bring Ellsbury home to make it 7-3.

Tampa Bay would make some noise with Alfredo Aceves on the mound and the bases loaded and two away in the bottom of the 9th, but DH Hideki Matsui would fly out to deep right to end the game and give Boston the 7-3 win.

I was pretty much dead on in my answer to a Navajo vendor in Teec Nos Pos, AZ who wanted to know when Ellsbury was coming back when he saw my Red Sox cap. Even though the organization was playing the nature of his injury- let alone his possible return date- close to the vest, I told him 'Look for him to come back to the lineup sometime around the All Star game'. To be honest, I was just guessing and repeating the closest thing to a credible rumor I had heard at the time...yet I was pretty much dead on. Ellsbury went 6 for 14 over the weekend with two strikeouts and a run scored in his first three games back in the lineup.

The Red Sox start off the second half of the regular season by taking two out of three from the Rays in Florida and will return home to face the White Sox and Kevin Youkilis. Since being traded to the south side of Chicago, Youk has gone 16-61 with 3HR and 15 RBI and while his season batting average is still right around .251, he's hitting .295 while wearing the pale hose. Carl Crawford could be starting in the outfield for Boston as early as Monday night as well.

Aaron Cook [2-2; 4.37 ERA] gets the start for Boston on Monday while Dylan Axelrod [1-2; 6.16 ERA] takes to the mound for the ChiSox. The game will be televised on NESN and gets underway at 7:10 ET from Fenway Park.

A Not-So-Titanic Sports Chowdah Update- Fireworks at the Fens Continues; Capital Deadlock- Bruins, Caps Series Tied at 1-1

AP Photo

RED SOX- After a pair of big 8th innings on Friday and Saturday's wins, the Red Sox got off to a fairly quick start on Sunday at Fenway Park when Kevin Youkilis led off the top of the 2nd with a single followed by a double from DH David Ortiz to put two on with nobody out and OF Cody Ross in the Batter's Box. Long story short, Ross got all of Matt Moore's pitch and simply belted it over the Monster Seats to make it a 3-0 ballgame as the ball bounced around somewhere on the Mass Turnpike [not much of an exaggeration, by the way- NANESB!].

A day after his logging his first-ever stolen [and a trainwreck of a slide at that- NANESB!] C Kelly Shoppach belted an RBI double to make it a 4-0 game. However, the Rays would get to starter Felix Doubront in the top of the 5th to make it a 1-run game before a 6th inning Luke Scott solo homer tied the contest up at 4-4.

However, in the bottom half of the 6th, the Red Sox would re-take the lead on an RBI double by Big Papi. Sox SS Mike Aviles led off the bottom of the 7th with a solo homer to make it a 6-4 game.

Valentine would have to go to his bullpen early, but the pen managed to preserve the 6-4 lead thanks to a 1-2-3 top od the 9th from Alfrdo Aceves. Red Sox take the first three games of this weekend's 4-game series.

Tomorrow's Patiots Day game gets underway at 11:05 AM with Daniel Bard getting the start against James Shields. The game will be televised on NESN.



BOSTON BRUINS- The 1st round of the playoffs for the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins are heading to Washington DC's Verizon Center with the series tied at 1 game each thanks to a tie-breaking tally from Niklas Backstrom less than 3 minutes into a second overtime on Saturday afternoon.

The Caps got on the board first with a goal from RW Troy Brouwer late in the second before the Bruins were able to figure out a way past Washington's Braden Holtby midway through the 3rd, with Benoit Pouliot knotting up the contest at 1-1. The first OT passed without any scoring before Backstrom netted the game-winning goal easly in 2 OT.

Niether team scored on the power play on Saturday- Boston had 2, the Caps had 3. Tim Thomas turned aside 37 of 39 shots faced while Braden Holtby stopped all but one of the 44 shots he faced.

Game three will take place Monday night at 7:30 PM ET and will be televised on the NBC Sports network.

ELSEWHERE IN THE STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS- A pair of teams with a strong regular-season showing now find themselves on the brink of elimination Sunday night.

The Phildelphia Flyers roughed up the Pittsburg Penguins, winning by an 8-4 final in a game that saw 72 total penalty minutes assesed. To add insult to injury, Penguins wingers Aaron Asham and Craig Adams face automatic suspensions from the league for cross-checking and instigating fights with Flyers Scott Hartnell and Braden Schenn.

Over on the West Coast- back-to-back President's Trophy winners Vancouver were shut out by the Los Angeles Kings at LA's Staples Center after the Kings won two games in Vancouver- including two shorthanded goals from Dustin Brown in Friday Night's Game 2.

Brown also accounted for the only goal in Game 3, beating Marblehead, MA native Cory Schnieder who was between the pipes for Roberto Luongo late in the 3rd on Sunday night.

NBA- The Celtics went 2-1 on a 3-game 3-night road trip to Toronto, New Jersey and Charlotte over the weekend.

After a 94-82 win against the Nets Saturday night, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce were given Sunday night off and didn't even make the trip to Charlotte. Even without the C's Big 3, they were still able to handle the Bobcats fairly easily with Rajon Rondo having 20 points and 16 assists on the night. Curiously, the C's beat the Bobcats by the exact same score they beat the Nets on Sunday night- 94-82.

Guard Mickael Pietrus returned to the C's lineup on Friday night after suffering a concussion when he fell and hit his head on the floor in Philadelphia back in late March. Pietrus had 11 points and 6 rebounds in Sunday night's game against the Bobcats.

Centennial Sports Chowdah- Beckett Rebounds in Red Sox Home Opener; B's Open Up Playoffs By Working OT; Razorback's Edge- Arkansas Fires Petrino

Getty Images

BOSTON RED SOX- After a forgettable 1-5 start in Detroit and Toronto, the Red Sox returned to Boston on Friday for not just any ordinary opening day, but to christen the 100th season of Red Sox baseball in Fenway Park.

Fenway is the oldest active ballpark in the major leagues and was officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places last month.



With pregame ceremonies that included the national anthem as sung by the Boston Pops, a flyover of F16s from the Vermont Air National Guard as well as cermonial first pitches being tossed out by recently-retired Red Sox Tim Wakefield and Jason Varitek, the game against the Tampa Bay Rays got underway from Boston on a beautiful Friday afternoon.

Last Month, Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine announced that Josh Beckett would be the starter for the Red Sox for their Friday the 13th home opener. Six days prior, Beckett had allowed 5 home runs in a 10-0 loss to the Detroit Tigers on the second game of the season.

Although Beckett would allow an RBI double off of Rays 2B Jeff Keppinger in the top of the second for the game's first run, he would get plenty of support in the bottom of the third when the Red Sox got on board thanks to an Adrian Gonzalez RBI single after Rays starter David Price struck Sox catcher Kelly Shoppach with a pitch to lead off the inning. 3B Kevin Youkilis would bring in another run on a sac-fly and David Ortiz would get an RBI single off of Price to make it a 3-1 Red Sox lead. In the bottom of the 4th, Kelly Shoppach would add on another run with a 1-out double to make it 4-1.



After giving up the run to Keppinger, Beckett would pitch 6 shutout innings and the Red Sox would explode for 8 runs off the Rays bullpen in the bottom of the 8th to make it 12-1. While Mark Melancon would allow a solo homer off the bat of Ben Zobrist, he would close out the game and seal Boston's 12-2 win.

In eight innings of work, Beckett would allow five hits, one walk, one earned run and strike out one batter. Kelly Schoppach would go 3-4 with 2 RBI on the day while 3B Kevin Youkilis would go 2 for 4 with 3 RBI. Center Fielder Jacoby Ellsbury had to leave the game in the bottom of the 4th after sliding into second base attempting to break up a double play. Ellsbury was examined at Mass General, although the team still hasn't announced the full extent of Ellsbury's injuries or whether or not he's expected to return anytime soon. Ryan Sweeney came in for the injured Ellsbury and went 1 for 3 with 2 RBI.

Saturday's game will get underway at 4:05 ET and will feature Clay Buccholz. Tampa Bay is expected to send Jeremy Hellicson onto the mound. The game will be televised on NESN tomorrow afternoon.

AP Photo

BOSTON BRUINS- The Bruins defense of their Stanley Cup title got underway on Thursday night in the Garden when they hosted the #7 seed Washington Capitols. Heading into the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Caps held a 3-1 advantage over Boston in the regular season.

The scoring summary on this one was mercifully brief. After a scoreless regulation, Chris Kelly scored the game-winner for Boston 1:18 into OT.



Prior to Kelly's shot on goal, Washington goaltender Braden Holtby had turned aside 29 shots while Tim Thomas turned aside all 17 shots that he faced. During the regular season, Holtby was 4-2 in the 6 games he started in. The Caps didn't capitalize on their two power plays while the Bruins went 0-3 with the man advantage.

A rather bizarre incident took place shortly after Kelly's game-winner. As the Bruins were still celebrating the win on the ice, some fans pushing against the plexiglass panel in front of their rinkside seats had managed to dislodge it.



The large pane of glass then hit C David Krejci on the head as it fell, sending him to the ice. Fortunately, Krejci was still wearing his helmet an although he still had a sore neck on Friday, he was expected to appear in game 2 on Saturday.

Game two will be televised on NBC on Saturday from Boston with a 3:00 PM faceoff.



NCAA FOOTBALL- Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Bobby Petrino has been fired by the school's administration after lying about a motorcycle accident he and his mistress- 25 year old Jessica Dorrell- were involved in earlier this month.

In public statements, Petrino said that he was alone at the time of the accident but an Arkansas State Police accident report released a few days later contradicted his version of events and the married 50 year old coach admitted to having an affair with Dorrell.

"Just a few more questions about the accident, coach..."
"Go away! Leave me alone!"

Cellphone records indicate that Petrino and Dorrell exchanged 4300 texts and more than 300 phone calls over a 7-month span.

Petrino also reportedly gave Dorrell a $20,000 'gift' which she used to purchase a new Acura. On Petrino's reccomendation, Dorrell was offered a position as student development coordinator with the football program last month, but after being hired she has since been suspended by the University. The 2008 graduate and four time letter winner with the Razorbacks volleyball program was also engaged to marry the director of swimming operations for Arkansas.

I have to say that the only entity I really feel bad for in all of this is the Razorbacks volleyball program- seems as though the only reason people are even tangentially interested in the topic is because of somebody who hasn't played with them for nearly 4 years.

NBA- After back-to-back wins in which they bested the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks earlier this week, the Celtics pretty much laid an egg against the Toronto Raptors, losing by a 79-84 final on Friday Night. However, they still remain 3 games up on both the 76ers and Knicks for first place in the Atlantic Division.

On Saturday night, the Celtics will travel to New Jersey to take on the 22-38 Nets. Tip off starts at 7:30 and the game will be televised on CSNE.