and so it continues..........my daughter's hot pulling trend!

The kids and I were in town on business and on the way home my daughter asks if we could stop at Denny's (LCS- Clark's cards & Creations) since we were going by his place. So we stopped and when we went inside we saw sitting on the floor was 3 cases of 2011 Topps Platinum football. I figured we would try out a pack or two first but Denny did not have any opened yet and told us to pick a case to open. Now my chances of picking things is like NO LUCK AT ALL. So instead I let Caty pick which case since she usually has the hot hand. She ended up picking the middle case and when we opened it she picked a box from the middle of the case.

Here's what we pulled for our first 2 auto's:

Okay.......John Clay........undrafted rookie.........signed to the Steelers practice squad.........not exactly top talent here folks. As for Rahim Moore......at least he's starting for the Denver Broncos.

Then we move on to our relic/auto pull and I ended up pulling this:

 

Jamie Harper rookie autograph with a nice thick 3 colored patch. It's the number off of the shoulder pads. He has a total of 4 carries for 12 yards and 1 reception for 21 yards this season. No telling how he might turn out.

Then Caty opens the last pack in the box. She looks at me and says, "Hey Dad, here's an autograph of newton's panthers." Here's what she pulled:

Yeah.......I fell out of my chair as well after seeing what she pulled. Somebody at TOPPS gave us a Christmas bonus! SICK!

I'm letting my daughter pick lotto numbers for the next powerball drawing!

What's that you say boys and girls? A Cam Newton Rookie card contest? Ya don't say!

So..........................who feels like winning a Cam Newton Rookie card (and it's no basic rookie card)? I'm so happy that the NY GIANTS won again this week that I feel like giving away a Cam Newton ********************** (try and decipher that code- ha!) rookie card that I pulled recently. The contest and entry details will be up on thursday night..........stay tuned for more details to come!!!

Thought for the day:     Who really wins when you fish at a nudist colony?

Down to the Wire Sports Chowdah- Lavranway or the Highway in Baltimore; Buffalo Shuffles Off to 3-0 Start After Upsetting Pats

RED SOX: After dropping two out of three at Yankee stadium (their sole win in that series being decided by a Jacoby Ellsbury 3-run homer in the 14th inning late Sunday night) the Red Sox headed headed down to Baltimore for the final series of the regular season. Only the way the Red Sox had been playing in September, it could very well end up being their season finale altogether. Monday night was pretty gruesome, with the Tampa Bay Rays closing the gap, the O's roughing up Beckett and Saltalamacchia leaving the game after taking a foul ball off the throat.

Tuesday night saw ex-O Eric Bedard get the start against his former team, only lasting 3 and ⅓ innings against a persistent Baltimore offense. However, the Red Sox were even rougher on O's starter Zach Britton. In the top of the 3rd, Jacoby Ellsbury let his bat do the arguing for him in the AL MVP discussion, belting a 2-run homer to take a 2-1 lead. However, in the top of the 5th, with Big Pappi and Adrian Gonzalez on base, Red Sox rookie catcher Ryan Lavarnway would increase the lead with a 3-run shot to make it 5-1 Boston- his first big league home run. As sizeable a lead as theat turned out to be, the Red Sox would need even more as Baltimore would counter with a 2 run homer off the bat of catcher Matt Wieters to make it a 2-run game.

In the top of the 6th, Carl Crawford's 1-out triple was followed by a homer off the bat of Marco Scutaro to increase the lead to 7-3 in favor of Boston. Baltimore would respond with a solo homer off the bat of Adam Jones in the bottom of the 6th to make it 7-4.

Leading off the 8th, Lavarnway would double his career homerun total with a solo shot to make it 8-4. After 3 and ⅔ innings, Alfredo Aceves was replaced by Daniel Bard on the mound to face Baltimore. The O's managed to get two runs with two away in the bottom of the 8th to once again make it a two-run game with Boston now leading 8-6.

Things would get even more tense in the bottom of the 9th when Papelbon came on to close out the game and gave up a single to JJ Hardy. Hardy would make his way to 2nd on a Markakis groundout and then to 3rd on a Vlad Guerrero single, reaching home on a Matt Weiters bunt that Lavarnway threw to 1st for the out. Papelbon would then get JJ Hardy to ground out to end the ballgame by the final of 8-7.

It was a win they would need, too, as the Tampa Bay Rays managed to hold off a late rally by the Yankees to preserve the tie for the AL Wild Card (the Angels were eliminated from contention on Monday night).

Wednesday's game- the final of the regular season- will have Jon Lester (15-9; 3.49 ERA) going up against Alfredo Simon (4-9; 4.85 ERA). The Red Sox need a win to at least force a 1-game playoff with the Rays on Thursday- Tampa is going up against a Yankees team that's already clinched the AL East and aside from determining who makes the playoff roster doesn't have alot to play for.

OTHER RED SOX NEWS: According to gossip site TMZ.com, Red Sox starter John Lackey and his wife are filing for divorce. Court papers were reportedly filed in Texas last month citing 'conflict of personalities'.

ELSEWHERE IN MLB: Over in the National League, the Wild Card there hasn't been determined either. The St Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves are deadlocked for the NL Wild Card with one game remaining for each team (Atlanta has the Phillies while St Louis has the Astros). If the deadlock in the standings remains unbroken by tomorrow night, then there will be a 1-game playoff in St. Louis on Thursday night.

Reportedly, if a one game playoff is required for the AL or NL Wild card, the game will be televised on TBS. First pitch would be 4:07 PM ET in Tampa for the Red Sox and Rays and 8:07 PM ET in St. Louis for Braves/Cardinals.

WHITE SOX: White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen was released from his duties by the White Sox this week. There had been speculation that Guillen wasnt long for the organization as well as rumors that he was interested in becoming the manager of the Florida Marlins. This seemed to be confirmed by Guillen himself via twitter as he informed followers about his arrival in Miami.


NFL: For the first time since 2003, the Buffalo Bills have managed to defeat the New England Patriots. Although the Patriots managed to get out to a 21-0 lead early in the 2nd quarter, the Bills managed to whittle that down to 21-10 by halftime. Buffalo would come back to tie the game at 24-24 early in the 4th before taking the lead when CB Drayton Florence ran back a Brady INT for a quick 6 on New Engalnd's following possession.

The Patriots would then take nearly 7 minutes to march down the field, tying the game up on a 6 yard pass from Brady to Welker on 4th and goal with 3:25 left in the 4th. However, that would be enough time for Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick to engineer an 80-yard drive that sputtered at the one, but all that was needed was a chip shot FG from Bills kicker Rian Lindell as time expired to give Buffalo the 34-31 win.

So heading into week 4, Buffalo stands alone atop the AFC East (Sunday's meeting was the Bills 1st matchup of the season against an division opponent). As a measure of consolation, the Jets would go on to lose against the Oakland Raiders that afternoon as well.

Speaking of Oakland, the Patriots will travel to the East Bay to take on the Raiders this Sunday. The game will be televised on CBS and kicks off at 4:15 PM ET, 1:15 PM PT.

NBA: With players not reporting to training camp at the usual time due to the lockout, the NBA has postponed training camp indefinitely and cancelled 43 preseason games. Meetings between the league and player's association ended without a collective bargaining agreement last week, putting the preseason games and possibly the start of the regular season in doubt.

Cup Half Empty Edition of Sports Chowdah- Pats Withstand Late Charge; O No! Sox Swoon Against Baltimore; Mo Sets Record; Star Sets on Modano's Career

NFL: Well now- the home opener was almost as gratifying as the season opener in Miami. The San Diego Chargers managed to keep Tom Brady to under 500 yards on Sunday, but not by much.

After a pre-game ceremony honoring the late Myra Kraft, New England was able to march the ball down the field for a TD on their opening posession. San Diego quarterback Phillip Rivers was able to answer in kind on the Chargers second posession.

With things knotted up at 7-7 early in the 2nd, New England was once again able to drive deep into Chargers territory, although the San Diego defense would hold them to a Gostkowski FG to make it 10-7 New England. On the following posession, the Chargers started out on their own 39 yard line and managed to move all the way down to the goal line, but were unable to punch it in, turning the ball over on 4th and 1. That set up a situation eerily reminiscent of Monday night's game in Miami where Brady connected with Welker, although this time around it was a pickup of a mere 12 yards. That would be the beginning of a 10 play, 5 minute and 99 ½ yard drive culminating in a 10 yard pass from Brady to TE Rob Gronkowski to put the Patriots up 17-7.

What happened on San Diego's next posession when they had moved the ball down to the New England 29 yard line was undoubtedly the highlight of the game for many.



330 lb Defensive Tackle Vince Wilfork got a paw on a Rivers pass and managed to bring it in, rumbling back for nearly 30 yards before being brought down (altho' 10 yards would be brought back on a penatly after the INT). And as a Patriots fan, do you know what the best part was? There was more to Wilfork's INT and runback than the novelty of seeing one of the big linemen running like the chuckwagon was on the other end of the field and he just happened to have the ball. Nope- thanks to two very quick strikes from Brady with 9 seconds left in the half, New England was able to move to within FG range. And as time expired in the 1st half, Gostkowski nailed a 47 yards FG attempt to put San Diego up 20-7. So as novel as Wilfork's INT and return was, the pivotal thing was that the Patriots got points off of his efforts.

After a scoreless 3rd quarter, the Chargers pulled to within a touchdown after Rivers connected with TE Vincent Jackson to make it a 20-14 game. After moving the ball to midfield on the ensuing posession, the Pats failed to convert on 4th and 4, handing the ball back to San Diego mid-field. Three plays into the San Diego drive, the Chargers coughed up the ball on a Mike Tolbert fumble at the Pats 39 yard line.

Brady would then connect with Deion Branch and Wes Welker to move the ball to the San Diego 17 before connecting with Gronkowski again for a 17 yard TD reception. Danny Woodhead would then go on to make good on a 2 point conversion to put New England up 28-14.

The Chargers would then start off from their own 20 and march downfield to find paydirt on a 3 minute drive where Rivers connected with Vincent Jackson on a 26 yard pass to make it 21-28 New England and to bring San Digo to within a TD.

Not merely content to let the clock run out on a long, sustained drive, the Patriots started off from their own 20 and handed off to the Law Offices of Ben Jarvus Green Ellis more than once as well as a 29 yard connection between Brady and Gronkowski to put the ball on the Chargers 24. After a short run from Green-Ellis and a Chargers penatly, the running back of many names (all of them his) would go on to find the end zone from the Chargers 16 to make it a 35-21 game.

And that is the final the Patriots in their 2011 home opener by. Tom Brady went 31-40 with 423 yards and 3 TDs and was sacked twice while on the other end of the ball, Phillip Rivers went 29-40 with 378 yards, 2 TDs, 2 sacks and 2 INTs. Deion Branch had the most yardage for a New England reciever (10 catches for 172 yards), while Rob Gronkowski hauled in 4 catches for 86 yards and two TDs.

Next week, the 2-0 Patriots will travel to Orchard Park, NY to take on the 2-0 Buffalo Bills who are coming off a dramatic 4th quarter win against the Oakland Raiders at their home opener in Orachard Park last weekend.

Currently, three out of the four teams in the AFC East are off to a 2-0 start this season, as the NY Jets manhandled the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

MLB: The way the Red Sox have been playing in September, I almost want to go on forever about the Patriots first two games.

After Beckett's strong start on Friday night, the Red Sox dropped two straight to the Tampa Bay Rays to close out the season series, with Tampa closing the gap in the Wild Card chase. The gap narrowed even further when the Red Sox split a doubleheader on Monday between the Baltimore Orioles (Boston won game 2 by a 18-9 margin) before the offense squandered a number of offensive opportunities and the bullpen imploded, including Papelbon coming on early only to give up a bases-loaded double in the top of the 8th in Tuesday night's 7-5 loss to the O's.

Wednesday night's game will close out the regular season at Fenway with Beckett (13-5; 2.50 ERA) going up against Baltimore's Tommy Hunter (4-4; 4.81 ERA) with first pitch at 7:10 ET.



ELSEWHERE IN MLB: The Yankees pursuit of the AL East pennant was almost an afterthought on Monday when Mariano Rivera closed out a 6-4 win over the Minnesota Twins for career save #602. That save put him past former San Diego Padres and Milwaukee Brewers closer Trevor Hoffman for all-time saves. In 2010, Hoffman became the first MLB closer to reach the 600 saves mark, closing out a 4-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on September 8, 2010. Rivera's save against the Twins on Monday in the Bronx is the 43rd of the season.

NCAA FOOTBALL: Where have you gone, Steve Aponavicius? As bad as September has been for the Red Sox, at least they've won a few games. However, I cannot say the same about the Boston College Eagles, who were trailing late against Duke University at Chestnut Hill 20-19 on Saturday afternoon. With 2:32 left in regulation, the Eagles managed to drive down the field all the way to the Duke 5 yard line where they failed to convert on a 3rd and 1. With 47 seconds left, the field goal unit came on for a chip shot FG attempt- bascically a point after attempt- which subsequently bounced off the upright, giving the Blue Devils the ball back to run out the clock for their first win of the season.

This sets up an intra-state meeting with the 2-0 UMass Minutement in Chestnut Hill on Saturday. The Minutemen are coming off a 36-21 road win against Rhode Island on Saturday.

NHL: The puck drops on the Boston Bruins preseason Wednesday night north of the border. The Ottawa Senators host the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins at Scotiabank Center at 7:30 PM ET.

OTHER NHL NEWS: After 21 years in the NHL, former Dallas Stars C Mike Modano has called it a career. With 561 career goals and 1374 points, the Michigan native was the highest scoring American born player in the NHL. Modano was the last active member of the Minnesota North Stars to play in the NHL- the team moved to Dallas in 1993 and won the Stanley Cup with Dallas in 1999.


Modano married singer/songwriter Willa Ford in 2006 and opened up a resturaunt in Dallas with former teammate Brett Hull in 2008. In 2010, Modano played briefly for the Detroit Red Wings- for the first time, departing the Stars/North Stars organization.

Sports Chowdah Update- Yaroslavl Crash Probe Continues, Two Survivors in Coma; NFL Season Opens up With Pack Attack; Woe Canada, Sox Drop 3 to Toronto

RUSSIA: Officials probing the plane crash site along the banks of the Volga river in Yaroslavl Russia have recovered the flight data recorder from the downed Yak-42 aircraft that was carrying members of the team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl hockey team of Russia's KHL.

The team was enroute to the Belorussian capital of Minsk for their season opener against Minsk Dinamo when the plane went down on Wednesday. Russian investigators from the Moscow-based Interstate Aviation Committee have recovered the black box, but caution that the device had gotten wet after being submerged after the crash. Even with the damaged black box, officals said they had been able to recover some data.

So far it is known that the plane's engines were running at the time of impact and that the crash took place on a clear day. The runway at Yaroslavl's Tunoshna airport was about three times longer than necessary for a Yak-42 to reach takeoff speeds, but investigators are looking at insufficient takeoff speed as one of the factors. Early reports claimed that the doomed flight was overloaded and struggling to reach altitude shortly after takeoff before clipping a nearby communications antennae.

Officials allowed Tunoshna airport to reopen on Thursday, but planes were prohibited from purchasing local fuel as investigators haven't ruled out the possibility that low-grade fuel led to the crash.


In Minsk, a requiem mass was held on Thursday at the arena where the KHL season opener was slated to take place.



The deceased include the following:

Lokomotiv Players and Personnel:
Vitaly Anikeyenko
Yury Bakhvalov
Aleksandr Belyayev
Mikhail Balandin
Aleksandr Vasyunov
Josef Vasicek
Aleksandr Vyukhin
Robert Dietrich
Pavol Demitra
Andrei Zimin
Marat Kalimulin
Aleksandr Karpovtsev
Aleksandr Kalyanin
Andrei Kiryukhin
Nikita Klyukin
Igor Korolyov
Nikolai Krivonosov
Yevgeny Kunnov
Vyacheslav Kuznetsov
Stefan Liv
Jan Marek
Brad McCrimmon
Sergey Ostapchuk
Vladimir Piskunov
Karel Rachunek
Evgeny Sidorov
Karlis Skrastins
Ruslan Saley
Pavel Snurnitsyn
Daniil Sobchenko
Ivan Tkachenko
Pavel Trakhanov
Igor Urychev
Gennady Churilov
Maksim Shuvalov
Artyom Yarchuk

Flight Crew
Andrey Solontsev
Igor Zhevelov
Sergei Zhuravlev
Vladimir Matyushkin
Yelena Sarmatova
Nadezhda Maksumova
Yelena Shavina

There are two survivors of the plane crash include player Alexander Galimov and flight engineer Alexander Sizov. Both of them were airlifted to Moscow for further treatment, with Galimov sustaining burns on more than 80% of his body.

The KHL plans on resuming play on Tuesday, September 13. Officials from the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl organization say they intend to rebuild after Wednesday's tragedy and claimed to have already received calls from former players offering to come back and skate for the club once again. The KHL will fund the roster for Lokomotiv under the league's current option.

RED SOX: The Red Sox continued to limp through September, dropping the final two games of their 4-game series in Toronto.

Tim Wakefield's quixotic quest for elusive win #200 continues as the bullpen squandered an 8-5 lead on Wednesday night, with Toronto coming back in the 8th inning to score 5 runs before going on to win by a 11-10 final.

On Thursday, Andrew Miller allowed 5 earned runs and 8 hits and two walks in 5 innings of work against the Blue Jays. Toronto's Ricky Romero went 6 and ⅔ innings giving up 5 hits, 3 earned runs and three walks, striking out 7 for the win.

So far, the Red Sox have only won two games in the month of September and now 3B Kevin Youkilis was not posted in the lineup for this weekend's series at Tampa Bay. There was no immediate word on why Youkilis wasn't in the Friday night lineup.

Friday night's game at Tropicana Field will feature Wade Davis (9-8; 4.5 ERA) going up against John Lackey (12-11; 6.11 ERA). First pitch is at 7:10 PM and the game will be televised on NESN.



NFL: Are you ready for some football? So was I, as it turns out.

After a prolonged, contentious and highly public feud between the NFL players association and owners, the 2011 NFL season got underway Thursday night in a contest that pitted the previous two Superbowl champions against each other.

In a little noticed move immediately after President Obama's groundbreaking jobs speech, the NFL had scheduled their season opener for Thursday night in Lambeau Field, pitting the New Orleans Saints against the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers. Packers QB Aaron Rogers went 27 of 35 attempts with 312 yards and 3 TDs in Green Bay's 42-34 win at Lambeau.

New Orleans QB Drew Brees actually had the better night statistically (32-49, 419 yards and 3 TDs) but the Packer's D was able to limit a number of New Orleans drives deep into their territory to field goal attempts.

OTHER NFL NEWS- INDIANAPOLIS: Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning underwent neck surgery, his third such procedure in 19 months and will miss the season opener at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Doctors and team officials from the Colts have been very ambiguous about a timetable for Manning's return. Some of the less optimistic (but still unconfirmed) reports claim he could miss the entire season.

Manning hasn't missed a start in 14 seasons, starting in 227 consecutive games for Indianapolis.

Veteran QB Kerry Collins, who most recently saw action with Indy's AFC South foe Tenessee Titans, will be starting for the Colts while Manning is out.

OTHER NFL NEWS- CHICAGO- The NFL has no plans to sanction or fine Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs for wearing cleats and gloves adorned with the colors of the US flag. Although technically a uniform violation, the league said that players could wear customized shoes and gloves for Week 1.

NCAA Football: Possible future conference-mates Oklahoma State and Arizona met at Stillwater, OK Thursday night. The 9th ranked Cowboys (2-0) handeled the Wildcats (1-1) fairly easily, winning by a 37-14 final.

Games on tap for Friday night include Arizona state vs #21 Missouri and Louisville hosting Florida International Univ.

ELSEWHERE IN THE BIG 12: After SEC presidents and chancellors welcomed a possible move to the SEC conference by Texas A&M, the move faces a roadblock in the form of Baylor university.

Bayolr is threatening to sue if the Aggies depart the Big 12 and the SEC must reportedly obtain waivers from each school before any such move, according to an e-mail from Big 12 commisioner Dan Beebe. One SEC chancellor said that Texas A&M must resolve any pending legal disputes within the Big 12 before becoming the 13th team in the SEC.

Sports Chowdah Update for September 6- Sox Jay-Walk Away In Toronto; North by Northwest- BC Drops Season Opener in Chestnut Hill; Coming Soon- PAC 14?

9/7 UPDATE: At least 40 people are feared dead after a Russian jet carrying players from the KHL hockey club Lokomotiv Yaroslavl crashed while taking off from the Yaroslavl airport Wednesday. The team was flying to Minsk, Belarus for their KHL season opener against Minsk Dinamo on Thursday.

A spokesman from the Russian Emergency ministry said that the Yak-42 crashed shortly after takeoff from the city of Yaroslavl some 150 miles north of Moscow. Authorities haven't determined a cause of the crash yet.

Lokomotiv had won three previous championships, the most recent being in 2003. Their 2011-2012 roster includes former NHL-ers Ruslan Salei, Pavol Demetria and Josef Vasicek as well as Canadian head coach Brad McCrimmon.


RED SOX: Determined to prove that the outcome of the late August series against Boston in Arlington, TX was a fluke, the Texas Rangers came into Boston and took two out of three from the Sox before the Olde Towne Team was slated to head north to Toronto for a 4-game series that began on Labor Day in the Rogers Centre.

Monday's game seemingly ripped the heart out of the Sox, with Josh Beckett leaving the scoreless game in the 4th inning due to an ankle sprain. While the bullpen stepped up tremendously- including 3 ⅔ innings from Alfredo Aceves- the Jays were throwing shutout baseball behind starter Henderson Alvarez. The game would remain scoreless until the bottom of the 11th inning when Dan Wheeler gave up a 2-out walkoff solo homer to Jays 3B Brett Lawrie for the 1-0 Toronto win.

Tuesday was a slightly different story with Jon Lester getting plenty of run support early and often while striking out 11 Jays batters and allowing just 3 hits and one walk in 7 complete innings of work. The Sox jumped all over Toronto starter Luis Perez for 4 runs in the top of the first and seemingly never let up afterwards. After just 2 and ⅔ innings, the Red Sox jumped out to an 8-0 lead and chased Perez from the mound. SS Marco Scutaro went 4-5 with 4 RBI and Big Papi went 4-6 with 2 RBI on the night. The Red Sox win this one going away by a final of 14-0.

Prior to Tuesday night, the Red Sox had only won one out of their last 5 games, putting them two and a half games behind the Yankees for 1st in the AL East. After a lengthy rain delay on Tuesday night, the Yankees beat Baltimore by a 5-3 final in Yankee Stadium to keep the gap at two and a half games

Wednesday night's game will have Tim Wakefield (6-6; 4.95 ERA) going up against Brandon Morrow (9-10; 4.78 ERA). Wakefield, as you may recall, is stuck on career win #199 and has been on a Groundhog Day-esque quest for #200 for the last month or so.

OTHER RED SOX NEWS: While He's expected to miss a start for the Sox, an MRI on Josh Beckett's ankle found no serious damage. Beckett returned to Boston on Tuesday to have his ankle examined by team doctors.

Right-handed rookie Kyle Weiland (8-10; 3.58 ERA with AAA Pawtucket this season) is expected to get the start on Saturday against the Rays in Beckett's place.

PAW SOX: The Pawtucket Red Sox clinched their first playoff berth in three seasons and their first IL-North division title since 2003 with a 12-7 win over the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees on Saturday night. They then closed out the regular season at McCoy Stadium with a 7-3 victory over the Rochester Red Wings.

The Paw Sox will travel to Allentown, PA to take on the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs for Game 1 of the first round of the IL playoffs.

EVEN MORE RED SOX NEWS: Perhaps looking to close their budget shortfall, Hall of Famer and Red Sox slugger Ted Williams will be featured on a postage stamp to be issued by the US Postal Service next year.

The set of stamps will also feature Larry Doby, Willie Stargell and Joe DiMaggio and be denominated in the 'Forver' rate (i.e. it would cost 44 ¢ at the time of issue, but could still be used if there were any rate increases). Ted Williams was the last hitter to have a single-season batting average above .400- hitting .406 in 1941- and although he missed several seasons while serving as a Marine Corps pilot in WWII and the Korean War, Williams was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 1966.

As a rule, the US Postal Service doesn't issue stamps depicting an individual until a decade after their death. An exception to the rule is made for former US Presidents.

OTHER MLB NEWS: Washington Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg made his first MLB start in over a year on Tuesday night, going 5 scoreless innings and allowing just two hits in a 7-3 loss to the LA Dodgers in the Nation's Capitol. The Nats rookie left mid-season in 2010 with shoulder problems and had Tommy John surgery in the offseason.

Strasburg began his rehab assignments with the Class A affiliate Hagerstown Suns in the South Atlantic League in August and allowed just one hit in six shutout innings with the AA affiliate Harrisburg Senators of the Eastern League.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: In a surprise move, the New England Patriots cut safety Brandon Merriweather. The two-time pro bowler will likely be replaced by Josh Barrett or Sergio Brown. RB Sammy Morris, WR Brandon Tate, DT Ty Warren and TE Alge Crumpler were among the 15 players released by the Pats at the end of preseason.

Warren was picked up by the Denver Broncos while Merriweather was signed by the Chicago Bears.

The NFL regular season starts Thursday night with the Defending Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers hosting the New Orleans Saints. New England's season doesn't begin in earnest until Monday night, where they travel to Miami to take on the Dolphins in Game one of a Monday Night Football doubleheader.


OTHER NFL NEWS: NFL Hall of fame Defensive End Lee Roy Selmon passed away from a stroke on Sunday, September 4th at the age of 56. Selmon was born and raised in Eastern Oklahoma and played for the Oklahoma University Sooners with his two brothers in College.

In 1976, Selmon was the first-ever draft pick for the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and remained with the team until his 1984 retirement, notching 742 tackles and 78.5 career sacks.

After his playing days, Selmon remained in Florida and participated in a number of charities and started up a chain of sports bars in the Tampa area.

BOSTON COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Well- that could've gone better. Although both teams headed into the lockers at the half toed 10-10, The Northwestern Wildcats would come back out and get two TDs to put them up 24-10.

Boston College would pull to within a touchdown after Andre Williams capped an 80 yard BC drive with a 1-yard TD run, but that would be it for the offense. Andre Williams would have 22 carries for 106 yards and 2 TDs while Eagles QB went 24-44 with 351 yards and an interception.

The Wildcats' QU Kain Colter would go 17-24 with 197 yards and one TD, but no turnovers either. The Wildcats would also get TDs from RB Mike Trumpy and Adonis Smith in Northwestern's 24-17 win.

The Eagles will next travel to Orlando, FL to take on the University of Central Florida Knighs at 8 PM ET.

UCONN FOOTBALL: To nobody's surprise, the UConn Huskies rather handily defeated the Fordham Rams in their E. Hartford home opener by a 35-3 final. This sets up a meeting in Nashville with Vanerbilt on Saturday wit a 7:30 ET kickoff.

OTHER NCAA NEWS: The Texas A&M Aggies are expected to officially announce that they will be moving to the SEC beginning in 2012. The move would make the Aggies the third school in 15 months to depart the Big 12, with Colorado going to the Pac 12 (formerly Pac 10) and Nebraska going to the Big 10.

Oilman and Oklahoma State booster T Boone Pickens the demise of the Big 12 conference within a few years, claiming that Oklahoma State and Oklahoma might be departing for what's now the Pac-12 conference. Oklahoma university officials in Norman, OK are expected to make a decision on whether or not to remain in the Big 12 conference in the next couple of weeks.

Former Jayhawks coach Don Fambrough with teammate Marvin Small at Reunion in 2008. Photo- Nick Krug

ELSEWHERE IN THE BIG 12: Former University of Kansas Jayhawk player and coach Don Fambrough died after sustaining injuries from a fall while working on his Lawrence, KS home.

Frambrough played for the Texas Longhorns for two seasons before joining the US Army Air Corps in WWII. After serving in the military, one of his Army buddies coaxed him to go to Kansas after the war. There he was on the first Jayhawk team to be invited to a Bowl game- the 1947 Sugar Bowl where they lost to Georgia Tech 24-10.

Fambrough also coached the Jayhawks from 1971 to 1982 where he amassed a record of 37-48-5 record and remained active with the program after his coaching days, often delivering firey anti-Missouri pep talks before the annual 'Border War' games against Mizzou.

Fambrough was 88.

Chicken Scratch: David Garrard Edition

The so called "fools" of upper management and Jack Del Rio at the Jacksonville Jaguars thought it was best to sever the ties to David Garrard and put all of their hopes and dreams of a Super Bowl into the hands of  a craptastic QB named "Cool Hands Luke" McCown. Was it over money? Perhaps. Was it over inconsistency of David's health? Hmmmmm.......let's see how they match up:


"Cool Hand Luke":
TD-INT: 9/10
Passing Yds: 1,619
QB Rating: 74.4
Salary: $250,000/yr

David G:
TD-INT: 89/54
Passing Yds: 16,003
QB Rating: 85.8
Salary: $7,975,000/yr

I'm quite sure he will not stay unemployed for long as there are several teams in need of a veteran QB. What's really disgusting is how the Jacksonville staff used him today to sell season tickets and opening season tickets at a Jaguars fans experience and then after the show is done they cut him off the team with less than a week till the first game of the season. CLASSLESS ACT ON THEIR PART. David deserved better!

As for David's autograph let us take a look at what we have:

 

I for one do enjoy the layout and design of the Topps Pristine cards. What I like the most about them is that his autograph is "on card". As for David's signature you can easily make out the first "D" and the last "d" in his first name. It looks as if the "avi" part is a straight line. As with his last name you can clearly again make out the first and last letters in the last name portion of the autograph: the "G" and "d". The "arrar" part seems equivalent to a curved and straight line. David has also added his jersey number to his signature and it is a clearly visible number. For his auto we give him 3 out of 5 sharpies!

Why Topps........WHY do you FAIL?

2011 Topps finest football is out and there is already a an error.

(this pic was borrowed from the blowout forums only to prove a point)

How can Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen both have the same jersey number on the cards? Did they not proof read the cards before they went through the manufacturing process? Is this a prank pulled by the rookies at the photo shoot? Aye Aye Aye!

Random thoughts of pointless jibberish....and some beach girls perhaps!

This is the "Mini Mind" of the Big Kahuna greeting you once again for another round of "Pointless Jibberish". The Big Kahuna has had a rough couple of weeks and decided to take a day off and get some well deserved rest and do nothing but sleep. Whenever he lets that happen I'm allowed to come out and play while he snores away!!! Ok ok.....you know the drill. Here's some random thoughts that I pulled out of the Big Lug's head:

1. Why would you advertise a card contest to your customers and not have the site ready to go when your product goes live? SEE TOPPSLEGENDS.com for details. Once again......Topps fails.

2. Tim Tebow = funny article on usatoday. One should not bring religion into sports and say it's GOD'S will for me to be the Team Starting Quarterback/Starting Forward/Starting Pitcher/Starting Jockey/Starting Goalie/Starting Fluffer.

3. Topps needs to let go of the monopoly! SERIOUSLY!!!

4. Big Kahuna loves the NY Giants and hopes that the QB Eli Manning will come off of the drugs that made him say, "I'm in the same class as Tom Brady" on ESPN.com. Meanwhile, mild mannered Rex Grossman had milk come flying out of his nose from the bowl of Wheaties from which he was eating. The painful traumatic episode occurred while reading the article about what Manning had said. Meanwhile back at the Halls of NFL Justice, Tim Tebow said it was God's will for him to prepare a peanut butter and jelly sandwich because he was hungry.

5. Why does it seem like Penn State can never have a successful NFL career player? 2009 First round pick Aaron "Hasbin" Maybin was cut from the Buffalo Bills after mounting an astonishing 24 tackles and no sacks in a total of 22 games in 2 years. He had signed a 5 year contract with the team when he was drafted.
(P.S.-don't even say Kerry Collins was good. yes he may have had the numbers but his off field antics were despicable)

6. Anybody wanna bet that Chad Johnson does not make the opening day roster?

7. The smartest move in the history of the Chicago Cubs would be is to let Carlos Zambrano go away for good.

8. Guys who move to a new team for bigger money turnaround and end up playing like crap: see Vernon Wells, Jayson Werth, Adam Dunn, Andrian Beltre, JD Drew, Andrew Jones, or Jason Bay.

On to bigger and better things now! 

oh....oh my......this is good
 

I know the Big Kahuna is going to the beach next month but I didn't know he was thinking of Natalya Neidhart. What I do know is that the Big Kahuna doesn't like "wishbone ladies" and prefers muscular ladies. Natalya makes his id, ego, and himself very happy!

Aaaahhhh yes.......here is another lovely lady that the Big Kahuna really likes: TARA

Oh my...this next thought that I pulled out was of a hot girl before she drove herself deeper into the bar/drugs/lesbian scene. She actually has some meat on her bones in this pic. Too bad she doesn't now.  Regardless this is one redhead he's always liked: Lindsay Lohan

Let me see what else I can pull out of his mind. I know he really wants to get to the beach to just chill out and fish.....

or ride a jet ski.....

or relax in a hot tub.......

OH NO......I pulled Caroline Wozniacki out of his mind again......I'm gonna be making a mess if I don't put this thought away immediately.

I guess after all of the mess and hoopla in his mind all I could find was this: For some odd reason he calls her "nickles"

So much for Fishing!

Sports Chowdah Update- More than One Way To Skin a Cat: Pats Dominate Jags In Preseason Opener, Sox Sink Mariners in SafeCo Series Opener;

NFL: After much consternation and legal wrangling in the offseason, the NFL's preseason kicked off on Thursday night with a slate of games across the country, including Foxborough.



Tom Brady was the spectator for all of Thursday's matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Gilette, with former Michigan State undrafted free agent Brian Hoyer calling plays for the first half and New England's 3rd round draft pick from Arkansas, Ryan Mallet, making the most of his time in the 2nd half.



Although Jacksonville got on the board first with a pair of field goals (one from Scobee and one from Swank, the Patriots would take the lead for good starting with a short TD run from RB Stevan Ridley. The Pats would have a 19-9 lead by halftime, and score two more touchdowns before Jacksonville even got on the board in the second half.



New England pretty much wins this one going away by a 47-12 margin. In the first half, Brian Hoyer went 15 for 21 with 171 yards and a TD while Ryan Mallet went 12 for 19 with 164 yards in the second half and one TD.



Next week, the Patriots will travel to Raymond James stadium in Tampa, FL to take on the Buccaneers for week 2 of the NFL preseason. Kickoff will be 7:30 PM ET.



OTHER PATRIOTS NEWS: Guard Logan Mankins and the club agreed to terms on a contract extension this week after acrimonious negotiations in the offseason. The deal is for 6 years and could reportedly be worth as much as $51 million.



The deal was made a few days after defensive end Shaun Ellis departed the New York Jets after 11 seasons and signed a one-year contract with New England. The two-time pro bowler had 36 tackles and 4 and a half sacks last season.





RED SOX: After taking two out of three from the Minnesota Twins in Target Field (where Wakefield missed another opportunity for win #200), the Red Sox travelled to the Pacific Northwest to take on the Seattle Mariners in a 3 game series this weekend.



John Lackey had something of a rough start, giving up two runs in the bottom of the first inning, but was eventually able to settle down and get some run support as the game went on. David Ortiz started off the Sox offense with a solo homer, followed by a Mike Aviles RBI sac-fly in the top of the 2nd.



Trailing by a 4-3 margin in the top of the 6th, Josh Reddick put the Sox up for good with a booming 2 run homer and Big Papi provided some insurance in the form of an RBI single in the top of the 7th. Papelbon allowed a 2 out baserunner but was able to close out the game, giving Boston the 6-4 win over Seattle.



The two teams will go right back at it tomorrow night with Felix Hernandez (10-10; 3.31 ERA) going up against Josh Beckett (9-4; 2.17 ERA) at 10 PM Eastern, 7 Pacific. On Sunday, Tim Wakefield will try and reach the 200 career win milestone.



Third Baseman Kevin Youkilis was a late scratch from Friday night's game reportedly due to stiffness in his back.

Sports Chowdah Update- Are You Ready For Some Football? So Is the NFL; Ain't it Grand? Lucky #1000 For Papi, Francona

PATRIOTS: The philanthropist wife of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft passed away last week. Myra Kraft, 68, had been fighting cancer for an extended period of time.

The daughter of Lithuanian immigrants who settled in Worcester in the 1930s, Myra Kraft was active in the United Way of Massachusetts Bay, Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston and Boys & Girls Club of Boston and managed the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation and Kraft Family Foundation. For the past two years, Myra had served as chair of the board of directors for the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley.

In leiu of flowers, the Kraft family has asked that donations be made to the Myra & Robert Kraft Giving Back scholarship fund for the Boys & Girls Club of Boston.

NFL: Almost as an afterthought, the NFL lockout has come to an end. The final major obstacle appeared to be the implementation of a wage system for rookie players, which was cleared last week and approved by the NFL player's association.

Since then, this has set off a flurry of trades, free agent signings and transactions that had been building for months, since free agents couldn't be signed while the lockout was still in effect.

The New England Patriots acquired Defensive Tackle Albert Haynesworth from the Washington Redskins in exchange for a 5th round pick in the 2013 draft. The Redskins signed Haynesworth to a big money contract in 2008 that included a then-NFL record $41 million in guaranteed money.

The Pats also signed flamboyant former Bengals WR Chad Ochocinco to a 3 year deal, although it wasn't immdiately disclosed what the Bengals got in return [aside from peace & quiet- NANESB!]

Other noteworthy transactions in the past couple of days include the Miami Dolphins reportedly finalizing a trade deal that would New Orleans Saints RB Reggie Bush to South Beach. Free agent quarterback Matt Hasselbeck left Seattle after signing a multi-year deal with the Tennessee Titans after they cut Vince Young.


MLB: Red Sox Manager Terry Francona notched career managerial win #1000 in Saturday's 3-1 win over the Seattle Mariners. True to form, the understated manager downplayed the milestone in the postgame press conference.

[On a personal note, I sometimes shudder to think where the Red Sox might've ended up without Francona. Not just the 2004 and 2007 World Series, but bouncing back from that atrocious 2-12 start this season- NANESB!]

The Red Sox managed to sweep the Mariners over the weekend before playing host to the Kansas City Royals. During that series, another milestone was reached.


On Wednesday's game against the Royals, David Ortiz scored his 1000th RBI with Boston in memorable fashion as he belted a Bruce Chen offering into the bullpen with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 5th to break the game wide open for Boston. The grand slam ties Papi with SS Rico Petrocelli (1963-1976) for 2nd all time in Red Sox history- Ted Williams has 17 to his name.

Dustin Pedroia also extended a career-best hitting streak to 24 games and John Lackey didn't have to worry about much in the way of run support in Wednesday night's 12-5 win over the Royals.

However, the series was bookended by close losses to Kansas City, with Monday night's 14-inning 3-1 loss and Thursday's 4-3 loss. Josh Beckett Gave up a 3-run homer to KC DH Billy Butler and an RBI double by 3B Mike Moustakas to give KC the 4-2 lead in the top of the 4th during Thursday's day game that would turn out to be the game-winner. Dustin Pedroia made it a 1-run game and kept his hitting streak alive with a solo homer in the bottom of the 8th, but Joakim Soria was able to close out the game for KC in the bottom of the 9th after giving up a 1-out single, preserving the Royal's 4-3 win.

The Red Sox will next travel to Chicago from some Sox on Sox action when they take on the White Sox Friday night. Tim Wakefield (6-3; 5.15 ERA) gets the start against Gavin Floyd (8-9; 4.11 ERA) and the game will start at 8:10 PM ET, 7:10 Central.

ELSEWHERE IN MLB: Former Yankees and Expos pitcher Hideki Irabu was found dead in his Southern California home on Wednesday afternoon. Irabu was billed as 'Japan's Nolan Ryan' when he signed with the Yankees in 1997. The San Diego Padres had originally purchased his contract from the Chiba Lotte Marines, but he refused to join San Diego, insisting he would only play for the Yankees.

Irabu had been playing in Japan and for Long Beach in the independent Western League after falling well short of the high expectations for him in New York. Between 2008 and 2010, Irabu was also arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct and suspicion of DUI by police in both California and Japan.

ANGELS: After giving up an unearned run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 1st inning, the Angel's Ervin Santana threw a no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field on Wednesday afternoon. Santana struck out 10 and walked one (the batter in the 1st inning reached on an error) in nine no-hit innings of work. Santana pitched the 1st complete game no-hitter for the Angels since 1984 behind Mike Witt and their first no-hitter since 1990- 7 no-hit innings from Mark Langston and the final two hitless innings from Mike Witt, again.

The win was Santana's first against the Tribe in 11 starts and the first no-hitter thrown at Jacobs/Progressive Field.

NATIONAL LEAGUE: The San Francisco Giants have acquired Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran for righty prospect Zach Wheeler. Boston, Texas, Atlanta and Philadelphia were among the rumored destinations where Beltran would end up by the trade deadline, but Wednesday's trade ended that speculation.

On Thursday, the Chicago Cubs dealt outfielder Kosuke Fukudome to the Cleveland Indians for minor leaguers Abner Abreu and Carlos Smith. This season, Fukudome had a .279 batting average with three homers and 13 RBI in 87 games with the Cubs.

NCAA FOOTBALL: Former Boston College linebacker and cancer survivor Mark Herzlich was signed as an undrafted free agent by the NY Giants last week.

He was cleared to play after a routine checkup on Monday. Interestingly, Herzlich is one of 14 players to have an NFL Flims camera crew follow him as the league is documenting their transition from pre-draft workout to their first NFL game.

Ding Dong Bin Laden's Freakin' DEAD Sports Chowdah Update- Weaver Unraveled @ Fenway; Heat Scorch C's in Game 1; B's Shipping Up to Boston w/ 2-0 Lead

MLB: After a fairly unimpressive continuation of their West Coast road trip where they dropped 2 out of 3 to the Orioles, the Red Sox made their way back to Fenway on Friday to start off an 11-game homestand. That didn't go too well, either- although struggling OF Carl Crawford got his 3rd RBI of the season at Fenway (7th overall) to break a 2-2 deadlock in the bottom of the 9th for a 3-2 Boston win.

AP Photo

On Monday, the Red Sox continued their homestand against one of the few teams they had early success against this season as they played host to the Angels.

However, despite the 4 game sweep on the Angels on the road the Red Sox had yet to face Jered Weaver, who was coming into Monday night's game undefeated in his 6 starts and with a 0.99 ERA.

The Angels took the 2-1 lead in the top of the 5th inning off of Clay Bluccholz but after a 1-out double from the Carl Crawford [should I use the adejctive 'struggling' anymore?- NANESB!] and walking Varitek, Jacoby Ellsbury hit into a fielder's choice ('Tek was out at second). With 2 away, Ellsbury managed to steal second while 2B Dustin Pedroia was fouling pitch after pitch from Weaver off in a tenacious 13-pitch at bat that culminated in a 2-RBI single to put the Red Sox up for good.

Adrian Gonzalez added some considerable insurance with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 7th with a bases-clearing double, followed by Youk bringing in Gonzalez with another RBI double and Big Papi cranking one into the Monster seats to make it 9-2 Boston. The Angels would get a couple of runs back in the top of the 8th and 9th, but Hideki Okajima would close things out and Boston wins by a final of 9-5.

Tonight's matchup will feature Jon Lester (3-1; 2.52 ERA) getting the start against Dan Haren (4-1; 1.23 ERA). First pitch will be at 7:10 ET on NESN.

NHL: After winning game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals by a 7-3 final, the Bruins would need overtime for the 4th time in this year's playoffs.

Philly took the early 2-0 lead on two goals from James Van Riemsdyk about nine minutes apart in the first before the Bruins would tie it up on goals from Chris Kelly and Brad Marchand to close out the first at 2-2.

And that was all the scoring there was in regulation, believe it or not. Philly netminder Brian Boucher would leave halfway through the second with some sort of injury and have Sergei Bobrovsky fill in for him between the pipes until returning in the 3rd period- Bobrovsky would stop all 6 shots faced.

Tim Thomas, on the other hand, stayed in net throughout the entire game stopping 52 out of 54 shots faced, including all 46 shots sent his way by the Flyers after allowing goal #2 in the first.

David Krejci would break the deadlock 6 minutes into the OT, getting one past Boucher even though the lineman signalled 'no goal' and play continued for another 18 seconds. The play was then reviewed by video and Kejci's shot was ruled a goal.

This puts Boston ahead 2 games to none with the series heading back to Boston on Wednesday ngiht. As glad as I am they're up, it's still pretty early to bust out the champagne and start drunkenly slurring 'Na na na na Hey hey hey.....good byyye!' in light of what happened in last year's eastern conference finals and- more recently- the fact that Montreal started off the last series with back to back wins on the road.

The series resumes on Wed, May 4 at the garden at 7PM ET. The game will be televised on the VS network.

Mike Ehrmann/Getty

NBA: With a whole week off before facing their next opponent, it probably wouldn't be too surprising that there would be some rust as the Celtics took on the Miami Heat.

Dwayne Wade had a 38 point night for Miami while Guard James Jones came off the bench for 25 points on Sunday afternoon's game.

Ray Allen led the Celtics scoring with 25 points in the 99-90 loss to Miami in Sunday's game- Paul Pierce had 19- everybody else was held to single digits.

Game 2 will get underway Tuesday Night in Miami at 7PM ET and will be televised on TNT.

NFL: Looks like the on-again off-again NFL lockout is back on again less than a week after a federal judge in Minnesota had it overturned. An appeals court in St. Louis had issued a temporary ruling in the NFL's favor. The 3-judge panel had ruled 2-1 in favor of the league pending a June 3 hearing.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: The Patriots selcted Colorado University tackle Nate Solder with their first round pick of the 2011 draft. Virginia's Ras-I Dowling at cornerback and Cal RB Shane Vereen picked up in the 2nd round. Of course, there's the whole question of whether or not there's going to be a 2011 season for the Class of 2011, let alone how much playing time they'll get...



OTHER PATRIOTS NEWS: The Daughter of former BC/Patriots QB Doug Flutie has managed to land a spot on the 2011 New England Patriots cheerleading squad (although again- with the lockout looming, whether or not there's a 2011 season will depend on the labor situation).

Flutie, a Miss Massachusetts finalist as well, is currently a resident of Natick, MA



Alexa and the other finalists will be introduced at an event in Foxbourogh on Tuesday night.

Luck O'The Irish Sports Chowdah Update- B's Working Overtime; C;s Pick Up the Pace; Madness Begins; NFL Lockout Looming?

It's been awhile since I've done one of these, huh? Well, not too surprisingly, events elsewhere had caught my undivided attention and no matter how much I love my teams, I didn't give sports that high a priority in the grand scheme of things. NHL: Coming off their come-from-behind shootout win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday with Tukka Rask 'twixt the pipes, the Bruins travelled to Music City on Thursday night to take on the Nashville Predators.

The Bruins got on the board first with a tally from Tyler Seguin in the first, but Nashville (presently 3rd in the Central Division and on the outside looking in for the 8th and final playoff spot for the Western conference) would come right back to tie it thanks to a Sergei Kostitsyn before taking a 2-1 lead on a Colin Wilson tally early in the 2nd. A David Krejci goal made it a 2-2 game heading to the 2nd intermission and Patrice Bergeron was able to get one past Preds netminder Pekka Renne not even 2 minutes into the 3rd to make it a 3-2 Boston lead.

However, Boston would be unable to hold onto the lead and at around the 10 minute mark, David Legwand was able to beat Tukka Rask to tie the game up at 3 and force overtime. At the 3 minute mark in OT, Nashville would get the power play on a holding minor on Steve Kampfer, where Shea Weber would capitalize and get the game winning tally in sudden death OT. The 4-3 OT win means that Nashville manages to stay within 1 point of the Calgary Flames and 2 points of the Dallas Stars and Chicago Blackhawks (both Dallas and Calgary won tonight as well).

After making 34 saves (and stopping all 3 shootout shots faced) on Tuedsay against the Blue Jackets, Rask made 27 saves on Thursday night while Nashville's Pekka Renne stopped 35 of 38 shots faced on the night.

The Bruins have gone 5-2-3 in their last 10 games and 1-2-3 since their 6 game winning streak was snapped earlier this month. Their next game will take place in Toronto against the Leafs and will be televised on NESN and CBC's Hockey Night in Canada (and presumably the NHL network in the USA by extension) at 7PM Eastern time. I have to say, I'm supremely disappointed in the Nashville Predators (AKA Mr. Carrie Underwood's team) and their management for not following through on my concept of casting a wide net of aspiring hottie country music starlets in order to lure marginally talented and competent bloggers to Nashville. I mean if that was in fact the means with which they were attracting NHL talent to the Music City, it would stand to reason that bloggers with way too much time on their hands would be next, right?

OTHER NHL NEWS: The league had decided not to suspend Zdeno Chara after a hit against Max Pacioretty left the Montreal winger with a concussion and fractured vertebrae. NHL senior vice president of operations Colin Campbell- who usually hands down supplemental punishments for controversial hits like Chara's- had to recuse himself from any decision because his son Gregory Campbell and Chara are teammates. NHL executive Mike Murphy had decided not to suspend or fine Chara after reviewing video of the hit- Chara was given a major penalty and game misconduct in the 4-1 loss to Montreal last week.

MLB: Red Sox pitchers Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima have been in contact with their families back in Japan since last week's massive earthquake and deadly tsunamis. Their immediate families are with them in the states, while Matsuzaka's parents presently reside in the Tokyo area, some 200 miles south of the epicenter from last week's quake. Most of Hideki Okajima's family lives in the southern Kyodo reigon of Japan.

The two pitchers appeared in a videotaped appeal for donations towards the relief efforts in Japan that will be made via the Red Sox foundation. Along with Matsuzaka and Okajima, pitchers Junichi Tazawa and Itsuki Shoda collected donations from fans arriving at the home plate entrance of City of Palms park before the Monday night game against the NY Yankees.

NBA: The Celtics have hit something of a rough patch over the last week or so, dropping three out of their last 5 including games against the Clippers, Nets and 76ers. However, they were able to pick up a W at the Garden in Wednesday night's game against the Indiana Pacers. Acquired from the Oklahoma City Thunder, F Jeff Green came off the bench for Boston with 19 points and 3 rebounds, while Paul Pierce led the scoring for the starters with 20 points.

Although they trailed in the first quarter, the Celtics managed to get by the Pacers by a final of 90-82. Their next game is on Friday night at Houston- the game gets underway at 8:30 ET

NFL: You know what? Back when they were still playing, I thought any talk of a lockout was outlandish and farfetched. I mean surely the owners, league and players wouldn't be so tone-deaf to think that in this epoch of soaring food or fuel costs, record home foreclosures and high unemployment that some highly publicized melodrama between multimillionaires and billionaires would capture the public's attention or sympathy, would they?

Well- turns out I was wrong. Now it's too early to write off the 2011 season entirely, but all indications are that players and management are still miles apart when it comes to any sort of labor agreement.

NCAA HOOPS: OK, so my bracket-fu ranges from weak to nonexistent.

With that said, New England will be represented by a couple of teams as March Madness gets underway. To hardly anybody's surprise, the UConn Huskies handled Bucknell pretty easily, winning by a final of 81-52 on Thursday. The win sets up a meeting with another Big East team- the Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday the 19th.

The BU Terriers will have something of an uphill battle on Friday when they're scheduled to take on the #1 seed Kansas Jayhawks at the BOK Center in Oklahoma City at 6:50 PM ET

BRING BACK MUTANT LEAGUE FOOTBALL .....since the NFL is failing

Well now......it seems as if the 2011 NFL football season is in jeopardy. However with the season being denied to us fans that is not going to stop EA Sports from releasing Madden 2012 as anticipated. I wonder who will be on the cover this year? Perhaps that is what should be on the cover for Madden 2012:

Actually I think EA should be smart and bring back Mutant League Football with updated rosters and graphics. There's nothing more fun than shredding a quaterbacks to pieces and having the coach chew you out like this:

This game was the bomb! Nothing like having all kinds of crazy plays like "Hail Scary" or "Da Bomb" or the "Bash the Ref" audible and don't forget the "ball wired for death". How about some of the comments the players would make after sacking the QB to pieces or the "who killed who" notice:

One of my personal favorites was this one:

The best part was you didn't have to worry about cash bonuses, selling tickets, setting up vendors, or some whiny millionaire BIOTCH complaining about his contract. All you had to do was sit down, load up the game, pick a team and begin eating QB's for breakfast. The only worry you had was making sure you had enough players left on your team so you didn't have to forfeit the game!

I just wish they would have done a Mutant League Baseball in addition to the Mutant League Football and Mutant League Hockey. The hockey version of this game was just as good as the Mutant League Football game and it provided you with all the gore that you needed.

The NFL is shutting down?

Just released that the talks between the NFL and the Player's union have failed to come to an agreement. The NFL is looking at it's first work stoppage in a while. Heard via CNN and Foxnews.

Update:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6205936


I cannot support the players on this one.

THE BEST DAMN MADDEN FANTASY FOOTBALL TEAM that stunk in the NFL.

THE BEST DAMN MADDEN FANTASY FOOTBALL TEAM that stunk in the NFL.

Now that the 2010 NFL season has been completed I find myself already dealing with some minor "football withdraw" symptoms. The outlook for the 2011 season is up in the air as the owners and players try to come to terms of the business side of the game. So I've decided to give in to my football cravings and that I was going to create the "BEST DAMN MADDEN FANTASY FOOTBALL TEAM that stunk in the NFL". So I have created a list of two teams for Madden 2010 and I will be inputting the individual players ratings/points based upon their first year in the NFL stats. I may also consider using their last year of college stats as the basis for their current player ratings. Here is the listing for team A:

Quarterbacks:

Dave Klinger
Dave Brown
Akili Smith

Runningbacks:

Blair Thomas
Siran Stacy
Curtis Enis
Ron Dayne

FULLBACKS:

Roosevelt Potts
Dick Leftridge


WIDE receivers:

Kevin Dyson
Limas Sweed
Hart Lee Dykes
Troy Williamson

TightENDs:

Johnny Mitchell
Ken MacAfee

CENTER:
Eric Ghiaciuc
Ethan Albright

GUARDS:
Everett McIver
Kevin Allen

TACKLES:
Tony Mandarich
Kenyetta Walker
Eugene Chang

DEFENSE

DEFENSIVE ENDS:

Courtney Brown
Eric Curry
Andre Wadsworth


DEFENSIVE TACKLE:

Steve Emtman
Jimmy Kennedy
Ryan Sims


LINEBACKERS:

"Your Mom"
Trev Alberts
Brian Bosworth
Aundray Bruce


CORNERbacks:
Michael Booker
Bruce Pickens
Erik McMillan
Otis Smith


SAFETY:

C.C. Brown


KICK RETURNERS:

Ki-Jana Carter
Lawrence Phillips


PUNT RETURNER:

Peter Warrick


KICKER:

Happy Feller
John Lee

PUNTER:
Matt Dodge

This will complete team A: Polk High. Over the next few days I'll put the finishing touches on team B and post them up here as well. Is there anyone you can think of that should be added to the list? Shout em out!