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.

Full Circle Sports Chowdah Update- Red Sox Clinch Postseason Berth With Complete Game Gem From Lackey; Yankee's Pettitte Announces Retirement; Top Ranked Football Teams Coming to New England This Weekend; BC Women's Volleyball Sweeps Columbia Tourney

Jim Rogash- Getty Images

RED SOX- What a difference a year makes.

On a night when the Red Sox win total for 2013 matched their loss total from the awful 2012 season, Boston clinched their first postseason berth since 2009 [almost to the day when I started up this crappy blog- NANESB!] thanks to an outstanding complete game thrown by starter John Lackey against the Baltimore Orioles.

The O's came into town on Tuesday night in dire need of wins to keep afloat in the very tight American League Wild Card race and helped their own cause considerably by taking the first two games- despite the Red Sox jumping out to an early 2-0 lead each time. Interestingly, this was the first time in nearly a month that Boston had been dealt back-to-back losses.

Like the first two games of the series, Boston got out to a quick 2-0 lead when SS Stephen Drew belted a 1-out two-run homer off of O's starter Chris Tillman. This was followed up by a double from Jackie Bradley Jr who them came home on a Dustin Pedroia single to make it 3-0 Boston. The early lead on Thursday night held up thanks to this:



Unlike other starts by Lackey earlier this season, the starter had some run support early on. Not only was Lackey cruising, he took a no-hitter into the 7th inning before Adam Jones broke up the no-no bid with a solo homer over the Monster seats.

That would be all Baltimore would get, however, as Boston clinches their first playoff berth since 2009 with a 3-1 win. Lackey would give up two hits, one earned run, two walks and strike out a total of eight batters on 113 pitches in Thursday night's complete game, giving the bullpen a much-needed night off after Wednesday night's 12 inning Orioles win. Despite the loss, Baltimore is still only two games out of the Wild Card chase and the Red Sox will see them at the end of the month to wrap up the regular season at Camden Yards- [even by then we may not have a clearer picture of who has a Wild Card berth in the American League- NANESB!].

For Friday night, the Red Sox will host the Blue Jays for the final series of the regular season at Fenway. Earlier this week, the Jays delivered a crippling blow to the Yankees already-dim playoff hopes by taking two out of three from the Bronx Bombers at the Rogers Centre. Esmil Rogers [5-7; 4.47 ERA] will get the go-ahead against Jon Lester [14-8; 3.75 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 ET and will be televised on NESN [lately, we had been enjoying an embarrassment of riches as far as nationally televised games go- NANESB!].

NEW YORK YANKEES- Yankees starter Andy Pettitte announced on Friday afternoon that he would be retiring at the end of this season. The 41 year old was coaxed out of retirement by the Yankees after 2011 and his last start at Yankee stadium will likely be on Sunday against the San Francisco Giants.

This season, Pettitte is 10-10 with a 3.93 ERA while he has a career 3.86 ERA and 19-11 record in the postseason, making him the winningest pitcher in postseason history. Petite is also slated to make his final start of the 2013 season against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park, the only other team he played for besides New York.

NCAA FOOTBALL- Not a particularly good week for the FBS schools in New England, although this was somewhat expected with Boston College now coming into a particularly difficult stretch of their schedule. Last weekend, the Eagles were dealt a 35-7 loss in their west coast road trip to USC. They will have a full week to prepare themselves for their next contest, which the Eagles could probably use. Although they return home, the will face the #8-ranked FSU Seminoles at Chestnut Hill on Saturday, September 28th. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 PM ET.

The Eagles won't be the only New England FCS team facing a top ranked opponent. UConn was bested by Maryland by a 31-21 final last week and will be playing host to the #15 Michigan Wolverines at East Hartford this weekend. This one will actually be aired in prime time with an 8:00 PM ET kickoff while the game will be on ABC in many markets.

Like one time Yankee Conference archrival UConn, the UMass Minutemen are in search of their first win of the season after losing 37-7 to Kansas State last weekend. This weekend, the Minutemen will host the Vanderbilt Commodores at Gillette Stadium. That game kicks off at noon eastern time.

BC Eagles Photo

NCAA VOLLEYBALL- The Eagles volleyball season is off to a good start with the women sweeping last weekend's Columbia tournament- already the second time they've gone undefeated in a tournament this season. Senior Melissa McTighe led the eagles with 8 kills against the Binghamton Bearcats for the finale of last weekend's Columbia tournament. Boston College started out the New York tourney in promising fashion on Friday the 13th by taking down Fordham in three straight sets before besting host Columbia 3 sets to 2.

The strong showing at the Columbia tournament gives the Eagles volleyball team and 8-2 record, good for 5th place overall in the ACC as they head into this weekend's New England Challenge tournament against Northeastern and Harvard.

Long Overdue Kickoff Sports Chowdah Update- Buffalo Nickeled and Dimed in Pats Season Opener; BC Wide A-Wake vs Deacons; Sox Offense Explodes in the Bronx; IOC Big in Japan

From Thursday night's Bronco's blowout of the defending Super Bowl champion Ravens to Monday night's [technically Tuesday morning's- NANESB!] stunner in San Diego where the Texas bested the Chargers 31-28 as time expired, it's good to see that football is back at long last.

Donald Huepel- Reuters

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS- New coach, new QB, new receivers- but pretty much the same results for Buffalo on kickoff Sunday.

Although New England had to punt on their first possession of the game, they'd get the ball back when DT Tommy Kelly recovered a CJ Spiller fumble at the Buffalo 11 yard line and Brady would connect on 3rd and goal to give the Patriots an early 7-0 lead.

On their next possession, the Patriots started out with great field position thanks to a 15 yard penalty on Buffalo's punt coverage tacked onto a 16 yard return by Edelman, giving New England the ball at mid-field to start off with. However, the Patriot's drive would sputter once inside the Bill's 30 yard line and New England would have to settle for a 48-yard Gostkowski FG to put them up 10-0.

Buffalo's defense would get the Bills back in the game in the 2nd quarter when safety D'Norris Searcy recovered a fumble from Stevan Ridley inside the Bills 30 and returned it 74 yards for paydirt, making it a 10-7 game.

With less than 4 minutes to go before halftime, Pats DE Rob Ninkovich recovered a Marquise Grissom fumble on the Bill's own 35 yard line, giving Brady a short field to work with. On the first play of the drive, RB Shane Vereen went 21 yards before Brady once again connected with Edelman to make it a 17-7 game.

However, with 1:03 remaining in the half and the Patriots getting the ball back on their own 25, Bills CB Justin Rogers picked off Brady at the Pats 37 yard line, giving EJ Manuel a short field to work with. It took all of two plays for the Bills to hit paydirt, with Manuel hooking up with WR Robert Woods to make it a 17-14 game.

Buffalo would then take the lead on their opening possession of the second half, with CJ Spiller and Fred Jackson getting most of the work done on the ground after the Bills started out on their own 20. The drive was capped with an 18 yard TD pass from Manuel to WR Stevie Johnson to put Buffalo up 21-17 for their first lead of the day.

Although the Buffalo was able to keep Brady out of the end zone on their first possession of the 4th quarter, a 33 yard Gostkowski FG made it a one point game with Buffalo still on top 21-20.

After Buffalo went three and out on an offensive series where they just needed a few first downs and keep the clock moving, New England would get the ball back with just over four and a half minutes remaining. Brady would move the Pats down the field thanks mostly to short passes to Vereen and Danny Amendola that would drive New England down inside Buffalo's red zone with less than a minute remaining. With less than a minute to go in regulation, New England was content to just run down the clock before Gostkowski kicked a 33 yard FG to put the Patriots up with 5 seconds remaining in the game.

Nothing would come of Buffalo's next possession after the kickoff and the Patriots would go on to win by the final of 23-21. Tom Brady would go 29 of 52 with 288 yards, 2 TDs and an interception while Buffalo's EJ Manuel went 18 of 27 with 150 yards and two TDs. Julian Edelman was the recipient of both of Brady's TD passes and had 79 yards on the day.

The Patriots have a pretty quick turnaround this week with their next game on Thursday night against the Jets, which will be the New England home opener. The Pats may have to do it without Vereen and Amendola, though.

The Jets themselves are coming off a win decided by a FG in the waning seconds of the game against Tampa Bay. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:25 ET and the game will be televised on the NFL network.

Bill Kostroun- AP

RED SOX- Since Wednesday night, the Red Sox have scored a grand total of 57 runs- with 37 of those runs being scored against the Yankees.

Throughout late last week and the weekend, the Red Sox bats feasted on Yankees pitching including an improbable 5-run rally in the top of the 7th after trailing 8-3, followed by a 4-run top of the 8th to put them up 12-8 on Friday night. Although the Red Sox would end up losing Sunday afternoon's contest by a 4-3 final, the Red Sox would take three out of four from the Yankees over this weekend's four game series. The skid puts the Yankees three games behind Tampa Bay the final Wild Card berth in the AL. Baltimore and Cleveland also leapfrogged past the Yankees with the Yankees loss to the Orioles on Monday night.

Interestingly, since all but two of Boston's remaining games will be against AL East opponents, this means that the Yankees, Orioles or Rays will need an assist from the Red Sox if they want to clinch one of the remaining Wild Card berths [It's a tight race between the Rangers and A's in the AL West, so it's likely that the runner-up in that division will get the other Wild Card berth- NANESB!]. In other words, Rays, O's and yes...even Yankees fans...will likely be rooting for the Red Sox at some point between now and the end of the regular season.

Subtle imagery courtesy of Getty Images

As much as I love the Red Sox taking three out of four from the Yankees when the Bronx Bombers are in dire need of W's, this weekend series in the Bronx was almost an afterthought.

The big news in Red Sox nation isn't the fireworks display from the Red Sox bats last wee, but the return of Clay Buchholz to the mount for the first time since June. In August, Buchholz appeared in rehab starts for both the Single-A Lowell Spinners of the New York-Penn league and AAA Pawtucket Red Sox. In his most recent start, Buchholz was limited to around 75 pitches and gave up 4 hits and 2 earned runs while walking two and striking out five in 3⅔ innings against the Rochester Red Wings in the first round of the International League playoffs. The start with the Paw Sox was actually pushed back a day so that Buccholz could be with his wife when she gave birth to the couple's second daughter last week.

After his rehab start in Pawtucket, Buchholz travelled with the team to Yankee stadium and threw a bullpen session over the weekend- reportedly the final step prior to his returning to the lineup.

For Tuesday night, the Red Sox will travel to Tampa's Tropicana  Field to take on the Rays. Clay Buchholz [9-0; 1.71 ERA] will be tested against David Price [8-7; 3.51 ERA] on Tuesday night. 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.

OTHER RED SOX NEWS- Outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury is sidelined with a compression fracture right foot after undergoing an MRI and returning to Boston over the weekend. Both his agent and Red Sox manager John Farrell said it was likely that he could return by the end of the regular season.

Ellsbury has been batting .299 with 8 homers and 52 RBI. He also leads the majors in stolen bases this season with 52, only getting thrown out four times. The All-Star center fielder becomes a free agent at the end of the season as well.

OTHER MLB NEWS- The Pittsburgh Pirates have clinched their first winning season in 21 years after coming out on top in a pitcher's duel in the Lone Star state. Gerrit Cole bested Rangers starter Yu Darvish and threw 7 shutout innings against Texas while Pedro Alvarez brought ex-Rangers outfielder Marlon Byrd home for the game's only RBI.

Currently the Pirates are one game behind the St Louis Cardinals in the NL Central pennant race and one game ahead of the Cincinnati Reds in the Wild Card chase- although it appears likely that the two NL Wild Card berths will come from the NL Central.

PAWTUCKET RED SOX- With a little help from none other than Clay Buchholz, the Paw Sox managed to best the Rochester Red Wings in the first round of the International League playoffs. The defending International League champions will next take on the Durham Bulls at the Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, NC at 7:05 ET.

Michael Dwyer- AP

NCAA FOOTBALL- Only the second week into the regular season and the Boston College Eagles have already matched their win total from 2012. Not only that, the Eagles managed to match their conference win total on Friday night when they played their first ACC match of the season against Wake Forest.

BC got out the the early lead after Eagles DB Spencer Rositano recovered a Deacons fumble at the Wake Forest 30 yard line on Wake's opening possession of the game. Eagles QB Rettig then made a quick strike to WR Alex Amidon on a 26 yard catch and carry to hit paydirt and go up 7-0 just 40 seconds into the game.



Trailing 17-7 late in the second, Wake had a golden opportunity to get back in the game when a Nate Freese punt was blocked at the Eagles 28 yard line and recovered by Wake at the Eagles 3 yard line. Wake would try and punch it in with 50 seconds remaining, but would be denied on 4th and goal with only 10 seconds to go in the half.

The Eagles would pad their lead in the second half thanks to a TD pass from Rettig to WR Spiffy Evans and an Andre Williams rushing TD and go on to win by a 24-10 final.

The next couple of weeks look somewhat difficult for Boston College as they travel to the west coast to take on the USC Trojans before hosting the #10 Florida State Seminoles on Chestnut Hill on September 28th.

UMASS MINUTEMEN- While the Eagles improved to 2-0 on the season, an FCS school and one-time Minuteman rival bested UMass in Gillette Stadium over the weekend.

The Maine Black Bears trailed early, but would score 21 points to surge past UMass and win by a final of 24-14, giving them a 2-0 record for a share of first place in the Colonial conference- the Minutemen's former conference before jumping up to the FBC and MAC.

The Minutemen will travel to Manhattan, KS next week to take on Kansas State [interesting side note- Kansas State has already lost to defending FCS champion North Dakota State in their season opener- NANESB!]. However, Kansas State won last weekend's contest against Louisiana-Lafayette by a 48-27 final.

AP- Shizuo Kambayashi

OLYMPICS- The International Olympic Committee named the host city for the 2020 summer Olympiad with Tokyo garnering more votes than Istanbul. This would be the fourth time that Tokyo has hosted the Olympics and the fourth time overall that Japan has hosted the Olympics. Tokyo hosted the 1964 Summer Games and the mountainous cities of Sapporo and Nagano played host to the winter games- in 1972 and 1998, respectively.

Despite choosing venues such as Sochi, Russia or Rio de Janerio, Brazil, considered potentially risky by some, observers say the IOC opted to play it 'safe' with the Tokyo selection and go with a city that has already hosted the games once and should have little problems accommodating another summer Olympiad.

In 2011, the IOC announced that the mountainous South Korean municipality of Pyongchang would be hosting the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Sports Chowdah Update- Red Sox Figure Out Max (Scherzer) Factor; Patriots Wrap Up Preseason, Cut Tebow; FCS Schools Come Up Big In College Football's Opening Weekend

Elise Amendola- AP

RED SOX- After another hard luck John Lackey loss on Labor Day [i.e. where he pitched reasonably well, but the Red Sox were shut out- NANESB!], the Red Sox had the even more formidable task of trying to figure out a way past Detroit's Max Scherzer for Tuesday night's game.

The difficulty of this endeavor was compounded when the Tigers got out to an early 1-0 lead thanks to a Jose Iglesias RBI double against his former team in the top of the second, although Brayan Peña made an ill-advised decision to try and come home and was thrown out by a relay that arrived at the dish 6 or 7 paces ahead of him.

Although Boston starter Jon Lester wasn't working as efficiently as Scherzer, he was still pretty effective- limiting Detroit to just the one run over seven innings of work. In the bottom of the fifth, Jonny Gomes hit a 1-out single followed by a Stephen Drew ground-rule double to deep right center [that actually took a run off the board for the Red Sox at the time- NANESB!]. David Ross then struck out swinging and it was up to Will Middlebrooks to bring the runners home with two away in the bottom of the 5th, which he did with a 2-RBI single to center field before Victorino struck out to end the inning.

Lester would end up striking out nine before leaving the game in the 7th inning and turning the game over to the bullpen. Workman, Breslow and Tazawa would hold the Tigers scoreless and Koji Uehara would get all three batters he faced in the 9th out [including striking out Peña and Iglesias to end the ballgame.

Wednesday night's series finale will feature Ryan Dempster [7-9; 4.75 ERA] going up against Rick Porcello [11-7; 4.44 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 ET and the game will be televised locally on NESN and nationally on ESPN.

OTHER RED SOX NEWS- Red Sox announcer and former second baseman Jerry Remy announced that he will not return to the broadcast booth for the remainder of the 2013 season. Remy has been absent since August 15th, the night his son Jared Remy allegedly murdered his girlfriend, Jennifer Martel.

The 34 year old son of the former Red Sox second baseman, a bodybuilder with a lengthy domestic violence rap sheet is accused of stabbing Martel to death on the patio of their home.

EVEN MORE RED SOX NEWS- Clay Buchholz threw 3⅓ innings for the Paw Sox at McCoy stadium over the weekend in what's supposed to be his second of three rehab starts. Buccholz allowed one earned run and struck out two after throwing 53 pitches against the Syracuse Chiefs on Aug 31st.

Assuming Buchholz makes his third rehab start with Pawtucket, it will most likely be on the road in the International League playoffs against the Rochester Red Wings starting this week.

PITTSBURGH PIRATES- The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired former Twins first baseman Justin Morneau via a waiver trade over the weekend. The Bucs will send outfielder Alex Presley to the Twin Cities in exchange for the 4-time all star.

Although Morneau had reportedly been battling concussion-like symptoms, he's been hitting .259 with 17 home runs and 74 RBI in 2013- 10 of those homers coming after the All Star break this season.

The Morneau trade comes just days after the Pirates acquired Marlon Byrd from the New York Mets. Byrd- who's also done time with the Red Sox, Nationals, Phillies, Rangers and Cubs- was batting .285 with 21 homers and 71 RBI for the Mets this season. Ironically, the Mets dealt Byrd on what was scheduled to be Marlon Byrd T-shirt night at Citi Field.

The Pirates currently lead a very tight NL Central pennant race by a game and a half while Cincinnati and St Louis are going head to head this week. The Pirates are in search of their first winning season and playoff berth in 21 years.

NCAA FOOTBALL- As it turned out, Wofford's road victory over UConn was just the beginning.

For opening weekend, more than a half dozen NCAA FCS [formerly division I-AA- NANESB!] teams left the home crowds in stunned silence as they would go on to beat their hosts.

Defending FCS champion North Dakota State opened up their season against the Kansas State Wildcats in Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan, KS, defeating the defending Big 12 champions by a 24-21 final on Saturday.

Perhaps the biggest upset of the entire weekend was Eastern Washington's 49-46 win over #25 Oregon State at Corvallis- the first time a FCS/Division I-AA school beat a ranked FBS opponent since Appalachian State upended #5 Michigan by a 34-32 final in the Big House for the opening game of the 2007 season.

Other victories included McNeese State trouncing South Florida by a 53-21 final, Northern Iowa getting past Iowa State by a 28-20 final, the Eastern Illinois Panthers thumping the San Diego State Aztecs 40-19, Samford getting by Georgia State 31-21 and Southern Utah beating South Alabama 22-21 [although Georgia State and South Alabama are making their respective Sun Belt conference debuts and not that far removed from the FCS themselves- NANESB!].

With more than 30 FCS teams scheduled to take on FBS opponents this weekend- including #7 Texas A&M, #4 Clemson and #8 Louisville- we'll see if this opening weekend was an aberration or a sign of things to come.

TEXAS A&M- Heisman-trophy winning QB Johnny Manziel was suspended for the first half of Saturday's season opener against the Rice Owls. Manziel reportedly violated NCAA rules after reports circulated he was receiving monetary compensation for signing autographs. Instead, Manziel was found in breach of a minor NCAA bylaw and given a lighter suspension.

Hardly coming across as repentant or apologetic, Manziel instead spent the second half of Saturday's 52-31 win over the Owls by taunting players with money-counting or autograph signing gestures after completing big plays.

The Aggies will host FCS Sam Houston State this upcoming weekend

BOSTON COLLEGE- The Eagles are already halfway towards their 2012 win total after taking the home opener against Villanova on Saturday. Boston College trailed 14-7 in the first quarter, but would go on to score 17 unanswered points against the Villanova Wildcats [which some polls have as ranked 9th in the FCS- NANESB!] of the FCS Colonial Athletic Association in the second half. QB Chase Rettig tied the contest up on a 50 yard catch and carry to WR Alex Amidon for a TD on the opening drive of the 3rd quarter before RB Andre Williams gave Boston College their first lead of the day with a 26 yard TD run to make it 21-14 Boston College.

The Eagles would get some insurance with a Nate Freese 39 yard FG to make it 24-14 late in the 3rd, and that would be the final as the Eagles win in their season opener.

The Eagles will host their first ACC opponent of the season on Friday night when the 1-0 Wake Forest Demon Deacons head to Chestnut Hill. The game kicks off at 8:00 ET and will be televised on ESPN2.

UMASS- While there were a number of massive upsets in the works, UMass beating #23 Wisconsin wasn't one of them as the Badgers shut out the Minutemen by a 45-0 final. Even though UMass made the transition to FBS last season, Saturdays game still had the air of a hapless FCS/Division I-AA opponent being served up to a vastly superior opponent...which is kind of reflected in Saturday's final.

This weekend, the Minutemen will host former Colonial rival Maine in the UMass 'home' opener. The Black Bears are coming off a 23-6 win against Norfolk State to open their season.

NFL- Are you ready for some Football? Now that the games will actually count, I think I am.

The regular season kicks off Thursday night with the Broncos hosting defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore in Denver. The game will be televised on NBC and kickoff is scheduled for 8:30 ET.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS- The Patriots wrapped up their preseason with a 28-20 win over the New York Giants. Brady had the night off, so the QB duties were split between Mallet and Tebow. Mallet went 10-16 with 116 yards, a sack, a TD and an interception while Tebow went 6-11 with 91 yards, two TDs, four sacks and an interception.

However, Tebow was saving his best for last, with a 9 yard TD pass to WR Quentin Sims with 6 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter to give the Patriots a 28-20 lead.

As it turned out, this would be Tebow's final play as a Patriot, with the team cutting the former Broncos and Gators QB on Saturday. Coach Belichick was non-committal when asked about the possibility of the quarterback returning to the Patriots roster later on this season.

The Patriots will open the regular season on the road in Buffalo this Sunday with a 1:00 ET kickoff. The game will also be televised on CBS.

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.

BREAKING- 3 KILLED, MORE THAN 100 INJURED AFTER MULTIPLE EXPLOSIONS AT BOSTON MARATHON FINISH LINE

 

John Tlumacki/Getty Images

Boston police are reporting that at least 2 people have been killed and 23 injured after multiple blasts at the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday afternoon. However, that is just a preliminary estimate and some media outlets are reporting a much higher number of fatalities.
The first explosion took place at the finish line across the street from the Boston Public Library while the second explosion took place 10 seconds later and about 500 feet to the west on Boylston Street- the final approach to the Marathon's finish line. Smoke hung in the air and blood was visible on the sidewalk as runners, spectators and marathon officials scattered and first responders rushed to evacuate the wounded. Spouses, family members and friends of the wounded rushed to area hospitals to try and reunite with their loved ones.

The race had already finished about three hours earlier [Ethiopia's Lelisa Desisa Benti was the men's winner while Kenya's Rita Jeptoo won the women's race- NANESB] but thousands of runners had yet to cross the finish line when the explosions took place. The Red Sox, who traditionally play a day game to coincide with the running of the Boston Marathon, rallied in the bottom of the 9th to beat Tampa Bay some 40 minutes before the blasts.

There were reports of additional explosions after the area had been cleared Boston Fire and Boston Police, although a police spokesman said that at least two of those were controlled blasts designed to disable suspicious devices that were found in the area. EOD units were called to the UMass-Boston's JFK center for reports of an incendiary device found there. The Boston Police is treating the UMass-Boston device and that devices at the marathon as related. Police have also advised people in the area to stay off cellphones, concerned that additional devices could be triggered via cellphones.

Meanwhile, the MBTA announces they were suspending service on the B and C lines, which runs underneath Copley Plaza. Reports were circulating that an unnamed 20 year old person of interest was under guard at an unnamed Boston-area hospital and that authorities are also searching for a Penske rental van that was reportedly turned away from the area shortly after the blast. The FAA has established a no-fly zone over the site of the explosion.

The FBI is treating the marathon explosions as a terrorist incident and the NYPD has reportedly beefed up security around New York area landmarks. A White House official said that the President was being appraised of developments in Boston and has offered Gov Patrick and Mayor Menino any neccesary federal assistance as the Secret Service and National Parks Police stepped up security around the White House and other government installations in Washignton DC.

The fact that the bombing took place on April 15th has led some media pundits to speculate the explosions were the work of unspecified right-wing groups. However, between the marathon and Red Sox day game, Boston is virtually shut down for Patriot's Day. Patriot's Day takes place on the third Monday in April and commemorates the Battles of Concord and Lexington- it just happened to fall on April 15th this year.

Patriot's Day is a state holiday in Massachusetts and a huge sports holiday in Boston with a morning Red Sox game followed by the Boston Marathon wrapping up- with the occasional Boston Bruins home game at night [this would normally be time for the Stanley Cup playoffs, but that was delayed due to the NHL lockout- NANESB!]. The Bruins announced that Monday night's home game against the Ottawa Senators at the TD Garden has been postponed.

UPDATE 1- WHDH is reporting that at least one of those killed in the explosions is an unidentified 8 year old.

UPDATE 2- FOX News is reporting that ball bearings were found at the blast sites at the finish line, indicating that the devices were designed to maximize casualties in the immediate area.



UPDATE 3- The Boston Globe posted this video of the explosions taken from the finish line. The second blast is briefly visible in the background at the 21 second mark.

Finished #BostonMarathon in 4:08:03! Congrats to the other runners, & thank you to our MA veterans, the #TrueHeroes bit.ly/112meBE
— Gabriel Gomez (@GomezForMA) April 15, 2013

UPDATE 4- Gabriel Gomez, the Republican Candidate for the US Senate seat left vacant when John Kerry resigned to serve as Secretary of State, ran the Boston Marathon today and reportedly crossed the finish line shortly before the first blast.

UPDATE 5- Boston police and federal agents are now combing through surveillance videos and asking witnesses and survivors for any footage that they may have filmed at the time. Bomb sniffing dogs from the Air Force and Amtrak Police department have been brought in to help clear the remainder of the marathon route of any suspect parcels.

UPDATE 6- Police and federal agents from the DHS and Immigration are searching an apartment in nearby Revere, MA. Eyewitnesses report crime scene technicians from the Boston police were hauling away potential evidence in bags. A Revere fire engine and ladder was also on hand at the complex. Authorities declined to specify whether or not the raid was related to the Marathon bombing.

Tryptophan Post Thanksgiving Sports Chowdah Update- Failure to Launch, Patriots Demolish Jets in Turkey Day Laugher at Meadowlands; Irish Eyes Smiling- #1 Notre Dame Remains Unbeaten

(AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

NFL- The Thanksgiving Day NFL tripleheader wrapped up on Thursday night with the defending AFC East Champion Patriots travelling to the Meadowlands to wrap up their season series with the New York Jets. However, Jets fans had little to be thankful for that evening.

Although the first quarter went by with no score, the Patriots were driving and Brady connected with Welker for a short 3 yard pass to open up the 2nd quarter and put New England up 7-0.

A little later was a series of events that could almost be described as comical as the Patriots managed to score three TD's in less than 52 seconds- all of them either directly off of turnovers or made possible thanks to a short field from turnovers. With 9:43 to go in the first, Jets RB Shonn Green fumbled the ball on 4th and 1 from the Pats 31 yard line. The fumble was recovered by New England Safety Steve Gregory and on the very next play, Brady made an completion to RB Shane Vereen for 83 yards and a TD.

On the ensuing Jets possession, Zoltan Mesko booted the ball into the end zone for a touchback and after getting the ball out to their own 31 yard line, hilarity ensued as Jets QB Mark Sanchez attempted to rush for the first down marker, only to run into one of his own blockers, get knocked down and have Steve Gregory once again show up and recover the ball for New England, this time running it 32 yards to paydirt to give the Pats a 21-0 lead and undoubtedly creating one of the best animated GIFs that doesn't involve a bouncy Carrie Keagan.

Immediately following that opportunistic TD, Jets return man Joe McKnight fumbled the ball. It didn't even hit the ground, obligingly landing in Julian Edelman's arms as he returned it 22 yards for the 3rd Patriots touchdown in 52 seconds of playing time.

On New England's next posession, they were able to find their way to the end zone without any help from the Jets offense of special teams, capping off their drive with a 56 yard pass from Brady to Edelman to make it 35-0 in the 2nd quarter. The 35 point second quarter tied a franchise record for most number of points scored in a single quarter and New England headed into halftime up by a score of 35-3.



The second half wasn't much better, and even though the Jets were able to get some points on the board, the Patriots basically continued spanking them like they were some unruly brats. Although the Jets played the Pats tough in Foxbourough last month, forcing OT in a 29-26 New England win, the Thanksgiving turkey shoot at the Meadowlands was a different story as a 35 point 2nd quarter helps propel the Patriots to a 49-19 win over the Jets.

Tom Brady went 18-28 with 323 yards and 3 TDs- including one rushing touchdown. Julian Edelman had 67 yards and two TDs on the day while on the defensive side of the ball, Dont'a Hightower and Jerod Mayo each had a sack.

For this upcoming weekend, the Patriots will travel south to Miami to take on the 5-6 Dolphins. This would be the first time New England has played Miami this season, and a win could clinch the AFC East title for the 8-3 Patriots.

Keith Nordstrom- Attleboro Sun Chronicle

OTHER PATRIOTS NEWS- After 13 seasons with the New England Patriots, running back Kevin Faulk has announced his retirement last month. Drafted by New England in the 2nd round of the 1999 NFL Draft, Faulk became known among fans and teammates as the go-to guy for key 3rd downs during the Patriots championship seasons. Faulk retires as New England's all-time leader in all-purpose yards (12,349), return yards (5,041) and kick return yards (4,098).

Faulk saw increasingly limited playing time after an ACL tear in 2010 and announced his retirement in an October press conference.

EVEN MORE PATRIOTS NEWS- Third year defensive end Jermaine Cunningham recieved a 4-game suspension from the NFL for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

Although the banned substance in question wasn't publicly disclosed, the league announced their decision on Monday. Cunningham- who's credited with two and a half sacks this season- will be eligible to return to the active roster in time for the regular season finale against Miami.

Cunningham is the second Patriot to recieve a suspension for taking prohibited substances this month. RB Brandon Bolden also recieved a 4-game suspension earlier this month.

Jeff Gross/Getty Images

NCAA FOOTBALL- After travelling to Los Angeles for a showdown with the USC Trojans, the top ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish finished the regular season perfect for the first time since 1988.

All eyes were on the Collesium as the Irish jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter. The Trojans seemed game after heading into the half trailing 10-13. However, in the second half, Notre Dame began to pull away and with 5 minutes to go in the second half, the Irish turned away the Trojans on their own 1 yard line.

Notre Dame goes on to win by a 22-13 final and will advance to the BCS championship game in Miami in January. Their opponent will be determined over the weekend- over in the SEC, Alabama remains in the #2 spot after shutting out Auburn 49-0, #4 Flordia got past the #13 FSU Seminoles while Georgia moved up in the standings to #3 after demolishing Georgia Tech 42-10 during Rivalry weekend. Formerly undefeated #7 Kansas State had the weekend off but has one game remaining against the #23 Texas Longhorns this weekend. Despite the one loss and doubling up in-state rival Oregon State by a 48-24 final, #6 Oregon will be sitting out the Pac 12 title game. Instead, the Pac 12 championship game will be between #8 Stanford and #17 UCLA.

BIG EAST- Out of all the FBS schools in New England, UConn is the only one that has a shot at a bowl game this season. After getting out to a 10-0 lead against Louisville thanks to a rushing TD from WR Nick Williams and a 39 FG from Chad Christen, Louisville tied the game in the 2nd half to force overtime. The Cardinals and Huskies traded FGs in the first OT while UConn had a brief 20-13 lead after a Johnny McEntree TD pass to WR Shakim Phillips before Louisville got 7 of their own to force a 3rd OT.

To start off the 3rd OT, Huskies Cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson picked off Louisville QB Teddy Bridgewater and UConn kicked the game winning FG to win the game 23-20. The Huskies wrap up their regular season next week against the 8-3 Cincinnati Bearcats. Should UConn win, they'll finish the season with a 6-6 record, making them bowl-eligible....although that doesn't necessarily guarantee an invite.

MID AMERICA CONFERENCE- Once again taking a lead into the 3rd quarter, the UMASS Minutemen were up 21-14 on the Central Michigan before the Chippewas scored 28 unanswered points to go on to win by the final of 42-21.

Despite the 1-11 record, UMass actually hasn't finished dead least in the MAC- their sole win came against the Toledo Zips who also finished with a 1-11 record. Toledo didn't win any games against a MAC opponent, while the Minutemen went 1-7 with their sole win against the Zips.

The MAC title game will take place on Friday and pit #21 Northern Illinois and #17 Kent State.

ACC- The Boston College finished up their dissappointing 2012 season and cemented their last place finish in the Atlantic Coast conference with a 27-10 loss to the NC State Wolfpack. The BC Eagles finish up with a 2-10 record with their only wins coming against Maine and Maryland.

Meanwhile this year's ACC Title game will take pleace between #13 Florida State and 6-6 Georgia Tech on Saturday at Bank of America Stadium in Charoltte, NC at 8:00 PM.

ELSEWHERE IN THE ACC- The ACC chancellors are expected to vote this week on wether or not to add the Louisville Cardinals to the conference. UConn and Cincinnati are also reportedly under consideration for further expansion of the ACC, but decision regarding Louisville moved to the forefront after Maryland's announcement that they would be leaving for the Big Ten conference starting in the 2014 academic season.

The ACC will also be adding Pitt and Syracuse in 2013.

Sports Chowdah Update- Colts Out of Luck in Foxborough; Oregon, Kansas State Losses Leave Fighting Irish Sole Undefeated FBS Team; Got Melk? Toronto Does

AP Photo/Steven Senne

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS- This weekend's matchup between the Colts and the Patriots marked the first time that the Indianapolis had played New England without starting QB Peyton Manning on the Colts roster since 1998. While Manning was recovering from spinal fusion surgery this time last year, the Colts struggled mightily under QB Kerry Collins and the final weeks of the Colts' season were referred to as the 'Andrew Luck Sweepstakes' as the bottom NFL teams were vying for the Stanford starting QB Andrew Luck.

Prior to the game, one of the broadcasters observed that as Tom Brady (not to mention current Colts teammate Adam Vinatieri) made his first Super Bowl appearence in February 2002, Andrew Luck was in the 6th grade. And despite getting out to the quick start in the first quarter, with the Colts getting out to an early 14-7 lead. The Pats would end up tying the game at 14-14 on a Julian Edelman punt return early in the second quarter. New England would take the lead for good when Pats cornerback Aquib Talib picked off Andrew Luck two plays into the Colts' next drive, returning it 59 yards for a pick-six.

The Pats and Colts would then trade field goals, giving New England a 17-24 lead at halftime. However, the seconds half was pretty much all New England as Brady connected with Julian Edelman and then Rob Gronkowski to make it 38-17 at the end of the 3rd and CB Alfonzo Denard intercepted an Andrew Luck pass and returned it 87 yards for paydirt. Although this was followed up by a 43 yard TD pass from Luck to Colts WR TY Hilton, the Patriots would get rushing TDs from Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen to tie a franchise scoring record with 59 points [I'm wondering the the guys dressed up as minutemen who fire off a volley from their muskets brought enough powder Sunday- NANESB!].

New England wins this one going away by a 59-24 final on Sunday. Tom Brady went 25-35 with 3 TDs and 331 yards while the rookie Luck went 27 for 50 with 334 yards, 2 TDs and 3 interceptions (two of them run back for TDs).

However, the victory came at a cost as TE Rob Gronkowski suffered a broken forearm with less than 4 minutes to go in Sunday's contest. Gronkowski reportedly had surgery on his forearm on Monday and is expected to miss anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks.

The Patriots only have a couple of days off as their next game will be on Thanksgiving against the Jets at the Meadowlands. New England has won 15 out of the last 19 regular season contests against their AFC East rival, although the Patriots needed overtime to get past the Jets at Gilette Stadium earlier this season. The prime-time matchup is set to kick off at 8:20 ET and will be televised on NBC.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NFL- A couple of rather noteworthy developments from week 10 that I failed to mention.

- Somewhere in Miami, there's champagne corks popping as the Atlanta Falcons, the NFL's last undefeated team, suffered their first loss of the season at the Louisiana Superdome to Drew Brees and the resurgent New Orleans Saints by a 31-27 final. This Sunday, the Falcons managed to squeak past the Arizona Cardinals by a 23-19 final despite QB Matt Ryan throwing 5 picks.

- The NFC West leading San Francisco 49ers and the St Louis Rams had the NFL's first tie under the league's revised overtime rules after the teams headed into OT knotted at 24-24 and swapped missed FG attempts.

- Week 10 saw at least four teams lose their starting QBs- three of them due to concussions. Colin Kaepernick came in for San Francisco's Alex Smith in their game against St Louis while Nick Foles had to come in for Michael Vick in Philadelphia's loss to the Cowboys. In prime time games from Week 10, Bears QB was knocked out of Sunday night's game against the Houston Texans while Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger left Monday night's contest with Kansas City.

- Week 11 saw three overtime games (none of them ending in a tie) with the Cowboys needing OT to get past the Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay getting past Carolina 27-21 in the extra quarter and the Houston Texans rallying past the Jacksonville Jaguars by a 43-37 final in OT.

AP Photo/Dan Ryan

NCAA FOOTBALL- Almost concurrently, two of the top-ranked teams in the polls were dealt their first losses of the season Saturday night.

Baylor jumped out to a 28-17 lead over #1 Kansas State in the First half and opened it up from there, upending the Wildcats hopes for a shot at the BCS title game after the Bears dealt them a 52-24 loss.

While that was going on, #2 Oregon and #13 Stanford were locked in a tight, low-scoring game with the Ducks up 14-7 late in the 4th when Stanford managed to tie it up on a 9 yard TD pass from Kevin Hogan to Zach Ertz with 2:17 to go and forcing OT, where Stanford's Jordan Williamson clinched the game with a 37 yard FG.

The Ducks loss could set up a scenario where they may not even be playing in the Pac 12 title game. Should Stanford beat #17 UCLA, then both the Cardinals and Bruins will meet in a rematch the following week in the Pac 12 chamionship game. Oregon has one remaining regular season game- their intrastate rivals, #15 Oregon State. If the Bruins and Ducks win their respective games this weekend, they'll meet in the December 1st Pac 12 title game.

The loss comes as good news for Notre Dame, who after shutting out Wake Forest 38-0, will travel to Los Angeles to take on the USC Trojans for their regular season finale. USC is coming off of a 10-point loss to crosstown rivals UCLA.

Meanwhile, Kansas State's remaining game is against the Texas Longhorns on December 1st. Should Notre Dame lose and Kansas State, Oregon and Alabama win out, that will once again murky up the FBS championship picture as there would be a number one-loss teams vying for a spot in the National Championship- the Georgia Bulldogs and Florida Gators have entered some chamionship conversations as well pending the outcome of their 'rivalry weekend' games; Alabama has Auburn to cap off the regular season while Georgia has the Georgia Tech Yellowjackets and Florida has the 10th ranked Florida State Seminoles.

BOSTON COLLEGE- While it's been an off year for Virginia Tech, it's been even more of an off year for the BC Eagles. Although the Eagles got off to a 13-3 lead at halftime, the Hokies clawed back and the second half was a back and forth affair that saw Boston College take a 23-20 over the Hokies with 5 minutes to go in regulation before Virginia Tech tied it up with a late FG with 1:10 remaining.

The Hokies got the ball first in the OT and scored a TD on their opening posession, meaning that BC needed a touchdown of their own just to extend the overtime. However, the game ended when Chase Rettig's completion to RB David Dudeck was only good for 8 yards on 4th and 12 from the Hokies 27 yard line. Eagles lose by a final of 30-23 in OT at Chestnut Hill.

The Eagles will wrap up their disappointing football season with an away game against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at Raliegh on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 ET.

ELSEWHERE IN THE ACC- The University of Maryland Board of Regents has accepted an invitation from the Big 10 conference and will start playing there starting with the 2014-2015 academic season. Maryland was a charter member of the Atlantic Coast Conference during its 1953 founding.

This followed reports over the weekend that Rutgers was set to join the Big 10, exiting the Big East conference. Maryland will become the furthest south member of the Big 10 conference as well.

The move has also sparked speculation on whether or not there would be any movement from either UConn or UMass to fill the vacancies left in eithethe Big East and ACC left by Rutgers and Maryland's respective departure [Although the ACC announced last year they would be adding the Pitt Panthers and Syracuse Orangemen beginning with the 2013 season- NANESB!].

UMASS- Despite shutting out Buffalo 13-0 in the first half, the Bulls came roaring back in the second half and capitalized on some UMass special teams errors to get on the board and take the lead.

Buffalo got on the board with a blocked punt attempt returned for a touchdown, slicing the UMass lead in half. The Minutemen then took a 19-7 lead on a 3 yard rushing TD from RB Micheal Cox. However, the two point attempt failed and the Bulls would go on to score three unanswered TDs to go on and win by a 29-19 final.

UMass wraps up their MAC debut season with one final home game this Saturday at 3:00 PM against the Central Michigan Chippewas at Gilette Stadium.

UCONN- Interestingly, after already having one in late October, this is another bye week for the Huskies. Their most recent game was a 24-17 home win over the Pitt Panthers at East Hartford and on Saturday, they'll travel to Papa John's Cardinal Stadium in Louisville to take on the 9-1 Louisville Cardinals at Noon eastern before wrapping up the regular season at home against the Cincinnati Bearcats at home on Dec 1st.

Although this has been a disappointing year for UConn Football, the 4-6 Huskies still have an outside shot at a bowl game if they somehow manage to win their final two games of the season.

NEW HAMPSHIRE- Even though they were blown out by the Towson Tigers by a 64-35 final on Saturday (including Towson running the score by a 34-7 margin in the second half), the 8-3 UNH Wildcats have made the NCAA FCS bracket.

The Wildcats- who finished 3rd in the Colonial conference- will face off against the Wofford Terriers at Spartanburg, SC on December 1st. The game will kick off at 2:00 ET and will be streaming on ESPN3.

Villanova and Old Dominion have also made the tournament.

MLB- The Toronto Blue Jays have followed up their acquisition of Jose Reyes, Mark Buerligh and Josh Johnson from the Florida Marlins by signing free agent outfielder Melky Cabrera to a 2 year, $16 million deal this week.

After playing the first half of the 2012 season with the San Frnacisco Giants, Cabrera recieved a 50 game suspension earlier this season for testing positive for performance enhancing drugs after the All Star Game. Although he was eligible for the postseason roster, the Giants declined to bring Cabrera back after serving his suspension.

The Blue Jays also announced the return of Josh Gibbons as the team's manager after John Farrell left for Boston last month.

Belated Sports Chowdah Update- UMASS Zips It Up For 1st FBS Win; Bills Just About Due For Patriots; Tigers Land Big Game Hunter;

Minutemen LB Jovan Santos Knox seen celebrating a game-clinching turnover late in the 4th quarter that sealed Massachusetts first-ever FBS win AP Photo/Akron Beacon Journal, Phil Masturzo

UMASS FOOTBAL- First and foremost, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the UMass Minutemen for their first-ever FBS win on Saturday afternoon.

The win came at Akron's InfoCision Stadium on Saturday, November 10th [take notes- this may show up as a trivia question at some point in the future- NANESB! and actually gives the 1-9 Minutemen a better intra-conference record than the Akron Zips who are currently 1-10 and winless against MAC opponents.

Thanks to a trio of Blake Lucas FGs and a TD pass from QB Mike Wegzyn to RB Alan Williams, UMass took a 15-0 lead heading into halftime. But Akron got on the board in the second half and made it a one TD game with a rushing touchdown from RB Jawon Chisolm with 9:55 to go in the 3rd.

The Minutemen looked as though they had the game as good as put away when the Zips were pinned deep in their own end zone and with 6:11 to go in regulation, Umass safety Joe Colton picked off Zips QB Dalton Williams, giving the Minutemen the ball on Akron 1 yard line. Wegzyn then ran it in to make it a 22-7 game with 4:44 remaining, but the Zips weren't done yet.

Akron responded to what should've been a knockout blow by the Minutemen by starting off with the ball on their own 24 with just under 4 minutes to go and moving it downfield in 1:10 to hit paydirt when Williams connected with WR Marquelo Suel for a 19 yard TD pass to make it a 22-14 game with 2:40 remaining.

After a touchback, the Minutemen went three and out and burned a mere 30 seconds off of the play clock, deciding to punt on 4th and 1 from their own 34 with just under 2 minutes to go.

The Zips got the ball as far as mid-field, but UMass DL Ryan Delaire evaded an Akron blocker and lunged at Williams, knocking the ball free before it was scooped up by fellow DL Kevin Byrne with 1:28 to go. That sealed the 22-14 win for Massachusetts, causing the UMass sideline to erupt in celebration and dump a cooler of Gatorade on head coach Charley Molnar.

With two games remaining in the season, the Minutemen will see if they can try and keep their newfound winning streak intact against the 3-7 Buffalo Bulls this Saturday at Foxborough. Kickoff is a 3:00 ET

BOSTON COLLEGE FOOTBALL- Of course, all eyes were on a different Bay State football program on Saturday night as Boston College and #4 Notre Dame faced off in the 'Holy War'.

Although the undefeated Fighting Irish had survived a late scare against the Pitt Panthers the week before, hanging on to win by a 29-26 final in triple OT. However, there was no such drama against Boston College in Saturday's prime-time, nationally televised matchup from Chestnut Hill.

While much of the first half was a fairly tight defensive battle with the Irish taking a 7-0 lead on an Everett Golson TD in the first half and a Nate Freese FG to make it 7-3 early in the 2nd, the Irish started with the ball on their own 13 yard line with just over 9:03 to go and methodically marched the ball down the field before hitting paydirt with 45 seconds left to go in the half to give the Irish a 14-3 lead.

It would be all they needed as the only offense Boston College could muster was another Nate Freese FG in the second half. Notre Dame goes on to win by a final of 21-6 and will face another ACC team- Wake Forest- this weekend while Boston College will play host to the 4-6 Virginia Tech Hokies at Chestnut Hill this Saturday at 12:30 PM ET.

ELSEWHERE IN NCAA FOOTBALL- All eyes were on Chestnut Hill Saturday night in part because of an earlier contest in the SEC that whittled down the ranks of the undefeated.

In their first year as an SEC team, 7-2 Texas A&M marched into Tuscaloosa and shocked #1 Alabama by hanging on to win by a final of 29-24 on Saturday. The loss knocked Alabama down to #4 in the standings while the Irish leapfrogged past the Crimson Tide to take #3 in the AP Top rankings.

The Oregon Ducks in the Pac 12 and Kansas State Wildcats of the Big 12 also remain undefeated, earning them the #1 and #2 spots in the AP poll [Ohio State is undefeated, but is bowl-ineligible due to NCAA sanctions from Jim Tressel's final year there- NANESB!]. Besides a matchup against Wake Forest, Norte Dame closes out the regular season with a matchup against the #18 ranked USC Trojans at the Collesium on November 24th. Notre Dame also would be playing one fewer game than either Oregon, Kansas State or Alabama since the Pac 12 and SEC also have a conference championship game as well. Oregon's remaining games will be a road game against #13 Stanford and a rivalry weekend game against the #16 Oregon State Beavers as well as (in all likelyhood) the Pac 12 title game.

Alabama's two remaining games are against the 1-9 FCS Western Carolina and Auburn as well as a likely appearence in the SEC title game. With the last Big 12 Championship game taking place in 2010, Kansas State's final two games will be against Baylor and #15 Texas.

COLONIAL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL- With woeful performances by Boston College, UMass and to a lesser extent, UConn, pretty much the only shot for a New England football team to be playing well into December is if they did well in the NCAA's Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)- formerly known as Division I-AA.

With a few exceptions, most of the FCS schools in New England play in the Colonial Athletic Association [with the notable exepctions of UMass, who moved on to the FBS and Northeastern, who discontinued their Football program- NANESB!]. The Colonial was very well represented in the FCS playoffs last season with New Hampshire, Maine, Towson, Old Dominion and James Madison earning berths (although none of them would advance to the final four).

Although Old Dominion leads the Colonial with a 9-1 record, New Hampshire is a close second with an 8-2 record with one game to go against Towson. However, it's also worth pointing out that New Hampshire's two losses were against Minnesota and none other than Old Dominion back in September. After coming off a 28-25 win against William & Mary earlier this month, the UNH Wildcats could bolster their chances for a return to the FCS Championship bracket with a win over Towson this weekend [they actually qualified last season with three losses- NANESB!].

AP Photo/Elise Amendola

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS- Well it sure was messy, but it will go down as a win for the Patriots.

After getting out to an early 10-0 lead in the first quarter against the Bills at Foxbourough on Sunday, but Buffalo came roaring back in the second and after heading into the halftime with New England clinging to a 24-17 lead. Although it appeared as though the Patriots would start to pull away in the 3rd, the Bills and QB Ryan Fitzpatrick would not go away, cutting a ten point lead to 34-31 with just under 8 minutes to go. With just over 2 minutes in the 4th, Gostkowski added to the Patriots lead, making it a 37-31 game with Buffalo getting the ball back on their own 20.

Although Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick managed to put together a quick drive that jeapordized the Patriots' lead, the game was sealed when Safety Devin McCourty picked him off in the end zone with 23 seconds remaining in the 4th, preserving the 37-31 lead for New England.

Tom Brady went 23 for 28 with 237 yards and 2 TDs while Buffalo's Fitzpatrick was 27-40 with 337 yards, 2 TDs and was sacked three times along with a fumble and an interception.

Buffalo will continue facing off against the AFC East with a Thursday night game against the Miami Dolphins while the Patriots will host the Indianapolis Colts for the first time in the post-Peyton Manning era on Sunday afternoon with a 4:25 ET kickoff. The game will be televised on CBS.

MLB- The Toronto Blue Jays and Miami Marlins are reportedly on the cusp of a blockbuster deal that would send shortstop Jose Reyes and starting pitchers Mark Buehrle and Josh Johnson north of the border in exchange for shortstop Yunel Escobar, catcher Jeff Mathis, pitcher Henderson Alvarez and prospects Adeiny Hechavarria, Justin Nicolino, Anthony DeSclafani and Jason Marisnick.

Although the Marlins had made waves with a number of free-agent signings and the hiring of the mercurial Ozzy Guillen as manager last offseason in order to christen their new ballpark, Miami finished dead last in the NL East with their worst record since 1999.

Closer Heath Bell was traded to Arizona in late October and within days, the Marlins dismissed Guillen as manager even though they still owe him $7.5 million over the next three seasons. Earlier this season, Guillen had prompted a considerable backlash from Miami's Cuban community over laudatory remarks about Cuban dictator Fidel Castro in an interview. In fact, the Marlins brand new ballpark is located at the periphery of the Little Havana neighborhood.

The Reyes/Buehrle/Johnson trade is expected to free up nearly $190 million in salary for the Marlins, but has already triggered an angry backlash from fans accusing the front office of reverting to the 'fire sale' days of the 1990s where the ownership would quickly dismantle a championship-caliber team while the more talented players could fetch a premium price in transactions with other MLB teams.

The reported deal is still subject to approval from MLB comissioner Bud Selig, but analysts say that there is little reason for him to overturn the deal between the Marlins and Blue Jays.

DETROIT TIGERS- The Tigers and outfielder Torii Hunter have reportedly agreed to terms on a two year contract. The 37 year old outfielder returns to the AL Central after signing a 2 year, $26 million contract on Wednesday, according to USA Today.

This past season, Torii Hunter was batting .313 with 16 HR and 92 RBI for the Angels. Since his 1997 debut with the Minnesota Twins, Hunter has a career batting average of .277 with 297 HR and 1143 RBI. In 2008, Hunter left the Twins as a free agent and signed with the Anaheim Angels.

BOSTON RED SOX- WEEI is reporting that the Red Sox have reached a 2 year $6.2 million deal with former Atlanta Braves catcher David Ross. In 62 games with Atlanta last season, Ross hit .256 with 9HR and 23 RBI.

In an interview, Red Sox GM Ben Cherrington said that he expects Boston to have one of the highest payrolls in MLB starting next season. An August deal sent outfielder Carl Crawford, 1B Adrian Gonzalez, starting pitcher Josh Beckett and infielder Nick Punto to the Los Angeles Dodgers- LA is expected to absorb more than $260 million owed they players after the 2012 season while Boston has just $45 million in garunteed salary starting in 2013- meaning they have more money to pursue free agents or use for contract extensions with players already on the roster like David Ortiz, Jacoby Ellsbury and Andrew Bailey.

BC Sophmore Kellie Barnum setting up against Virgnia. John Quackenbos photo via Palasadian Post

NCAA VOLLEYBALL- Well, the Eagles volleyball team has been looking for a win ever since last month's road trip against Duke and Wake Forest. Since then, Boston College has gone 0-10 with three games remaining in the regular season, including #24 Miami in Coral Gables and #11 Florida State in Talahassee before wrapping up the regular season against Maryland at Chestnut Hill.

The Eagles also announced the signing of National Letters of Intent by three highly touted prep volleyball players Jackie Bowman, Madisen Lydon and Anna Skold.

Kevin Ahearn/Huntington News photo

Meanwhile, across town the Northeastern Huskies are getting ready to wrap up their regular season and start with the Colonial Athletic Association. Although they had their 9-game winning streak broken by Delaware [before losing to Towson, who has yet to lose to a CAA opponent this season- NANESB!], the Huskies won three out of their remaining four games and will begin the CAA tournament against James Madison.

The Huskies are currently in second place behind Townson and hold a 20-6 season record, going 9-3 against other Colonial teams.

Stephen Slade/UConn photo

Down in the Nutmeg state, while the UConn Huskies didn't have quite as good a regular season as Noertheastern did, their 10-5 in-conference rerord (19-11 overall) was enough for them to earn an invite to the Big East Volleyball tournament-finishing in 4th place behind Louisville, Marquette and Notre Dame.

Friday night's Big East tournament opener in Milwakee will feature a rematch between UConn and the Cincinnati Bearcats.Cincinnati won 3 sets to two in Storrs during the October 12th matchup.

Fall Classic Sports Chowdah Update- Jets Grounded by Pats in OT; Kung Fu Panda Flying High in Game 1 of World Series;

AP Photo/Stephan Savoia

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS- Between snatching defeat from the jaws of victory and snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, there was a whole lot of snatching going on late in Sunday's game at Foxbourough.

After the Jets got a TD on their opening posession, New England's Devin McCourty took the ball back 104 yards to tie the game at 7-7 on a kickoff return for a TD.

For the second straight week, it was looking as though the Patriots were going to pull away thanks to a 17 yard TD reception from Brady to Gronkowski late in the 1st and then got two more after Jets QB kicked the ball out of the back of the end zone after fumbling the handoff to RB Shonn Greene on the Jets own 12 yard line. The safety made it a 16-7 game, but the Jets were able to cut the Patriots lead to 7 thanks to a late 54-yard Nick Folk FG. The teams headed into the locker room for halftime with the Patriots up 16-10.

For their first possession of the 3rd quarter, the Jets were able to march the ball down into the new England Red Zone, but were unable to punch it in on 3rd and 2 from the Patriots 3 yard line, settling for a 21 yard FG to make it 13-16.

But on the next posession, the Patriots marched to ball 78 yards down the field to give them a 23-16 lead. The drive took 6:43 and was capped by a short TD pass from Brady to Gronkowski.

However, momentum began swinging the Jets' way when the 4th quarter got underway. With just under 6 minutes to go, New York closed the gap to 23-20 on a 7 yard TD pass from Sanchez to TE Dustin Keller. The Jets defense then held New England to a 3-and-out before getting the ball back and moving as close as the Patriots' 25 yard line. After being stopped on 3rd and 4, Nick Folk made a 43 yard FG to tie the contest up at 23-23.

Near-disaster struck on the following posession when Devin McCourty fumbled the kickoff return inside the Patriots' own red zone and the Jets covered on the New England 18. However, on 3rd and 7, Pats LB Dont'a Hightower came up with the second most important sack of the game [the most important? That was yet to come- NANESB!] dragging down Sanchez for a 10 yard loss and forcing the Jets to attempt a FG instead of going for it on 4th and 17. Still, Folk's 43 yard FG was good and the Jets took the lead for the first time since the 1st quarter, going agead by a 26-23 margin with 1:37 to go in regulation.

On the following kickoff, McCourty managed to hang on to the ball and got it as far out as the New England 21. This gave Brady and the Pats offense a little over 90 seconds to drive the ball down into FG range [or try and get the kill shot with a TD- NANESB!]. And that's exactly what happened as the Patriots marched down the field, getting as far as the Jets 25 with 16 seconds remaining. As time expires, Gostkowski kicked a 43 yard FG to tie the contest up at 26-26 and force overtime.

This was the first time the Patriots had to play under the NFL's revised OT rules and New England won the coin toss and got the ball to start off with. Starting from their own 16, the Patriots moved the ball thanks to a series of short passes to Welker, Woodhead, Hernandez and Deion Branch, advancing as far as the Jets 30 before bringing in Gostkowski for a 48 yard FG attempt which was good.

Under the old rules, that would've ended the ballgame right there, but the new format allowed the Jets a posession with which the could tie the game or go ahead with a TD for the win. However, after a couple of quick gains that brought New York from their own 15 to near mid field, Mark Sanchez was sacked by DE Rod Ninkovitch and then fumbled the ball. New England recovered the football, thus ending the game right there. After dropping the late lead, Patriots come from behind to force OT and shut the Jets out in OT, winning by a final of 29-26.

Brady went 26-42 with 2 TDs and 259 yards while Rob Gronkowski had 6 receptions on the day, two of them for TDs.

This weekend, the Patriots will travel to jolly old England for a rematch of Super Bowl XXXVI against the St Louis Rams. This is actually considered a home game for the Rams and will kick off at 1PM Eastern time.

AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

WORLD SERIES- Perhaps the best baseball news as far as I was concerned came last Tuesday when the Detroit Tigers competed a sweep of the New York Yankees thanks to an 8-1 shellacking in Game 4 at Comerica Park in which Yankees starter CC Sabathia gave up 6 earned runs before getting pulled in the top of the 4th. Matt Scherzer pitched a gem through 5⅔ and the Tigers advanced to their first World Series berth since 2006.

And for awhile, it was looking as though it would be a rematch of the '06 World Series with the Cardinals taking a commanding 3-1 lead over the San Francisco Giants in the NLCS. However, the Giants would come roaring back and win the next three games by a combined total of 20-1, including shutouts thrown by Barry Zito in Game 5 and Matt Cain in Game 7.

For Game 1 of the World Series, the Giants appeared to have picked up right where they left off, taking an early 1-0 lead thanks to a Pablo Sandoval homer off of Tigers ace Justin Verlander in the bottom of the first. In the bottom of the 3rd, Giants Outfielder Angel Pagan reached when what looked like a routine ground ball took an odd bounce off of 3rd base and squirted into shallow left field with two away. Pagan then came home on an RBI double from former Red Sox infielder Marco Scutaro, who the Giants picked up from Colorado in an unheralded midseason transaction. Scutaro's base hit gave the Giants another run and brough up Pablo Sandoval to the plate where he once more went yard on Justin Verlander to give San Francisco a 4-0 lead.

As it turns out, that would be all they would need for Game 1, but starter Barry Zito helped his own cause by adding to the lead with an RBI single in the bottom of the 4th and Sandoval would get his 3rd homer of the night- another solo shot in the bottom of the 5th to make it 6-0 Giants. The Tigers would get a run on a Miguel Cabrera RBI in the top of the 6th, but Detroit would answer with RBI base hits from Buster Posey and Marco Scutaro.

San Francisco would cruise to the easy 8-3 win in Game one with Barry Zito getting his first-ever win in the World Series and Pablo Sandoval becoming the 4th big leaguer to hit 3 home runs in a single World Series game, joining Babe Ruth, Reggie Jackson and Albert Pujols.

On Thursday night, Game 2 of the 2012 World Series turned out to be more of a pitcher's duel with Giants starter Madison Bumgarner outlasting Detroit's Doug Fister- who took a line drive off of his noggin in the 2nd inning- in a 2-0 Tigers loss. Thursday night's win gives Detroit a 2-0 series lead. Fister was examined by doctors postgame and showed no additional symptoms of a concussion.

The series heads back to Detroit on Saturday, with Friday being a travel day for both teams and the media. Ryan Vogelsong [14-9; 3.37 ERA] gets the start for San Francisco against Detroit's Anibal Sanchez [9-13; 3.86 ERA] at Comerica Park. San Francisco backup catcher Hector Sanchez will reportedly be the NL Champion's designated hitter while playing in the American League ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 8:07 PM ET and the game will be nationally televised on FOX.

I think the image is pretty self-explanatory. AP Photo/Charles Krupa

BOSTON RED SOX- So barely a year after Terry Francona's departure from Boston, the Red Sox have decided to revisit the Francona epoch with the signing of Toronto Blue Jays manager John Farrell. Farrell was the Red Sox pitching coach between 2007 and 2010 before being hired on north of the border and was announced as the 46th manager in the club's history.

The Red Sox had also interviewed Brad Ausmus, DeMarlo Hale and Tim Wallach for the managerial spot. While this is sometimes done for show and the eventual favorite eventually gets hired anyway, there were some doubts as to whether or not Toronto would release Farrell from his contract. In his first season as the Blue Jays manager, the team had improved to 81-81, but in 2012 Toronto finished just a game ahead of the last place Red Sox and the Jays were more willing to part with him.

From the perspective of owner John Henry and GM Ben Cherrington, Farrell has the advantage of being familiar with some of the players and front office staff. The Red Sox had to part with infielder Mike Aviles in order to coax Toronto into releasing Farrell. The 50 year old former pitching coach still had a year remaining on his contract with the Blue Jays.

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS- Former San Diego closer Heath Bell has made his way back to the NL West in a surprise move announced over the weekend.

Just one year into his 3 year, $27 million contract with the Florida Miami Marlins, Bell was traded to Arizona in exchange for infielder prospect Yordy Cabrera who came to Arizona in a deal with Oakland that sent outfielder Chris Young to that AL Team by the Bay.

The Marlins will also reportedly pay $8 million of the $21 million still owed on Bell's contract. JJ Putz would remain the D-Backs closer while Bell would move into a setup role.

Earlier in the month, there had been widespread speculation that the New York Yankees were looking to deal Alex Rodriguez after a disappointing performance in the postseason. The Marlins were considered a likely candidate since Rodriguez was from the area and the Yankees were willing to eat a large portion of his contract in order to deal the high-salaried infielder. Dealing Bell could fuel speculation that the Marlins are getting ready to clear salary cap space for a possible A-Rod deal, although the fact that Bell went 4-5 with a 5.09 ERA for the Marlins could mean that Miami was just willing to get rid of a relief pitcher who wasn't working out for them.

NCAA FOOTBALL- Four former Louisiana State University football players, including 2011 Heisman candidate Tyrann 'Honey Badger' Mathieu were arrested by police in Baton Rouge, LA on drug charges.

Mathieu was dismissed from LSU's football in August after violating the University's substance abuse policy. Mathieu was arrested along with former starting QB Jordan Jefferson and former DB's Karnell Hatcher and Derrick Bryant on multiple counts of drug pesession as well as posession of marijuana with intent to distribute. Police were responding to a call about an individual- later identified as Jefferson- forcing his way through a gate at an apartment complex in Baton Rouge. After exchanging words with a maintainence man, the police were called and knocked on the door of an apartment where Mathieu answered the door. Officers noticed the strong smell of marijuana. A search of the apartment yielded 10 bags of high-grade marijuana and a digital scale.

BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES- Georgia Tech picked up their 3rd win of the season after a 37-13 thumping of Boston College in Atlanta last weekend. This was the first contest since the Yellowjackets fired defensive coordinator Al Groh.

The Yellowjackets had built up a 31-3 lead on Boston College before QB Chase Rettig connected on two TD passes, one to Alex Amidon late in the 3rd and another to TE Chris Pantale, to make it 31-17, but Georgia Tech got the last word in with a late rushing TD from RB David Sims with just over 5 minutes to go in the 4th.

This upcoming weekend, BC will host Maryland at Chestnut Hill and try and snap its ACC losing streak, this time against the 4-3 Maryland Terrapins.

UMASS- With the exception of one close game at Foxborough, the UMASS Minutemen haven't had much more luck with the Mid-America conference than they've had with the other FBS programs they've faced in their first season as a FBS program.

The futility continued last Saturday when they committed 4 turnovers against the Bowling Green Falcons, including a pick and 48 yard return from Bowling Green LB Dwayne Woods. Bowling Green shuts out the Minutemen by a 24-0 final.

UMASS will travel to Music City for their final non-conference game of the 2012 season on Saturday- taking on Vanderbilt in Prime Time. The 0-7 Minutemen come in to Saturday night's contest as 32 point uderdogs. Kickoff is at 7:00 ET and will be streaming on ESPN3.

BIG EAST- After last Friday's 40-10 loss to Syracuse at the Carrier dome, the Huskies are in their bye week. The Huskies are 3-5 overall and 0-3 against Big East teams heading into their off week and will face the South Florida Bulls. Presently USF is the only Big East football team with a worse record than UConn- also sporting an 0-3 record in conference. USF will play the Pitt Panthers this weekend before their home game against the Huskies.

ELSEWHERE IN THE BIG EAST The Cincinnati Bearcats have been knocked from the ranks of the undefeated. Coming into last weekend's game, Cincinnati was ranked #21 in the nation.

And it was a MAC team that spoiled the party for Cincinnati, with the Toledo Zips getting out to an early lead against the Bearcats. The Bearcats briefly took a 19-20 lead before Toledo's Bernard Reedy retuned a kickoff 91 yards for a Rockets TD to put Toledo on top for good as they went on to win by a final of 29-23