Sports Chowdah Update for October 30, 2011- 11th Title in the Cards for St. Louis; If You Sell It, They Will Come? Pats Get Steel Toed Boot

Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images

WORLD SERIES: It seemed to have that air of inevitability around it almost as soon as David Freese's bat made contact with the ball in the bottom of the 9th of Game 6 with 2 outs and a 1-2 count.

Despite Texas getting out to the early 2-0 lead in the top of the first, the Cardinals- unsurprisingly and inevitably- came back to tie the game up in the bottom half of the 1st frame on a 2 out, 2 RBI double from none other than David Freese.

Cards outfielder Allen Craig put St Louis up for good with a solo homer in the bottom of the 3rd. In the 5th, the Cardinals would get some insurance when catcher Yadier Molina drew a 2 out bases-loaded walk, followed up by Rafael Furcal getting hit by a pitch with the bags STILL loaded to make it a 5-2 game.

Although Texas would get the occasional leadoff runner on, the 2 runs they got in the first inning would be it, and Molina would get another RBI- this time in the form of a single that plated Berkman- to put St Louis up by 6-2. Jason Motte, who put the 2 Rangers baserunners on in Game 2 that ultimately cost St Louis the game, came on for a one two three top of the 9th to seal the Cards 6-2 win and the World Series.

Chris Carpenter went 6 complete innings for the win for St Louis while Matt Harrison was hung with the loss for the Rangers. Molina went 2-3 with 2 RBIs for the Cards while local hero David Freese went 1-2 wirh 2 RBIs and 2 walks. Thanks in large part to his role in both Game 6 and Game 7, Freese was named the 2011 World Series MVP.

Game 6 was such a difficult act to follow- even though I knew better, I was a little disappointed that Game 7 didn't end in a similar manner. I remember the last time the Cards were in the World Series (2006), all the East Coast sports figures and yammering heads on ESPN were bemoaning that it would be an all-Midwest World Series, thus boring.

Unfortunately Detroit proved them correct by basically air-mailing a bunch of pivotal innings away. I haven't been watching or listening to alot of the 'personalities' on ESPN, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if they were saying the exact same things five years later.

As a Red Sox fan, I'm not particularly passionate about either one of the teams in the 2011 World Series [lest anybody forget, Red Sox Nation had their day against St. Louis 7 years ago- NANESB!] but the quality of the games was something to behold- well, most of the games at least.

It seemed as though I found myself asking 'What can they do to one-up this?' every time I was watching or listening. Even in the one true blowout, viewers got to see Albert Pujols put himself in some very distinct company. Texas kept themselves in it with some small ball in Game 2 and a heroic outing by Derek Holland in Game 4 as well as Napoli's bat in Game 5.

But all that was left in the dust once Game 6 wrapped up.

Congratulations to the 2011 World Series Champion St Louis Cardinals and congratulations to both teams for treating us to some very exciting October baseball.

OTHER BASEBALL NEWS: The family farm complete with a baseball diamond hewn from a cornfield in Dyersville, IA that was used for filming the 1989 film Field of Dreams will be sold.

The land, which has been in the Lansing family since 1906, had been on the market since May 2010 with an asking price of $5.4 million. The parcel includes the baseball diamond, a two bedroom farmhouse, a half dozen other buildings and 193 acres- primarily cornfields.

The Lansing family said they were committed to finding a purchaser that would maintain the legacy of the site. Although the exact amount wasn't disclosed, the northeastern Iowa farm and baseball diamond will be sold to Go the Distance Baseball LLC, operated by Mike and Denise Stillman.

The property is about 20 miles west of Dubuque, IA and has been open to visitors during the summer months for the past 20 years.

Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

NFL: Damn- is it too late for me to blame the porn starlet that Gronkowski (allegedly) hooked up with?

I can't even say New England came out of the bye week looking rusty, because it was hard to make an informed statement on how the looked with Pittsburgh dominating time of possession. The Steeler had the ball for just under 40 minutes while New England had possession for just over 20- not really a winning formula.

Even with that disparity in time of possession, the Patriots headed to the locker room at halftime trailing by 17-10 thanks to a 46 yard Gostowski FG with 29 seconds remaining in the half.

While the Pats would keep Pittsburgh out of the end zone for the 2nd half, Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger would manage to move the ball fairly effectively while eating up the clock and the Steelers were still able to come away with FGs on two trips inside the red zone.

After being stymied for much of the game, Brady would drive New England down to the Pittsburgh red zone where he would connect with Rob Gronkowski, where no doubt driven to distraction thanks to his tryst with Bibi Jones [just kidding...jeez], he was stopped just shy of the goal line. Now while he had possession of the ball and both feet appeared to be in the end zone, Gronkowski was ruled down inside the 1 yard line with 4:15 to go in regulation.

With all three time outs remaining, instead of throwing out the challenge flag, Belichick decided to punch it in from there on 3rd and 1. Kevin Faulk was knocked back for no gain, and while New England got a fresh set of downs on 4th and 1 after a Pittsburgh holding penalty, precious time was burning off the clock. Although Brady would complete a pass to Aaron Hernandez in the end zone, there was all of 2:38 remaining on the clock.

Even if The Patriots had demonstrated an ability to hold Roethlisberger and the Steeler offense to a 3 & out, that rosy scenario STILL would've left the Patriots with precious little time. Also worth noting that the last time the Patriots had a successful onside kick was 1994- and after today, the last time the Patriots had a successful onside kick was....1994.

As it turns out, the Steelers got a first down, bleeding off precious seconds from the clock and forcing New England to use up their time outs. New England did manage to sack Roethlisberger twice before the Steelers had to punt from mid-field, but that was a day late and a dollar short.

The Patriots got the ball back on their own 22 with all of 8 seconds left in regulation, only to have Steelers DE Brett Keisel strip the ball from Tom Brady and batted into the end zone by shaggy Safety Troy Polamalu for the safety.

Pittsburgh wins this one by a 25-17 final. Brady went 24-35 with 198 yards and two TDs while Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger would go 36-50 with 365 yards with 2 TDs and an interception. New England's offense was held to just 213 yards altogether on the day.

This sets up a showdown with the NFC east leading New York Giants next week at Foxborough. The Giants are coming off come-from-behind victory against the winless Miami Dolphins at the Meadowlands on Sunday.

NBA: With no deal in sight between the player's association and the owners, the league has cancelled two more weeks worth of regular season games, leaving most of November with no scheduled regular season NBA contests.

NHL: OK....so a couple of weeks in and its becoming apparent that the Bruins need to come up with something else aside from pointing out that they won the Stanley Cup and hoping their opponents are sufficiently dazzled.

So far, the Canadiens have shown themselves to be underwhelmed. Saturday night was the away half of a home-and-away series against Montreal. Les Habs got off the the quick start in the 1st with goals from Brian Gionta and Lars Eller for the early 2-0 lead. Dave Desharnais would make it a 3-0 lead in the 2nd period on a power play goal before the Bruins got on the board thanks to a Milan Lucic tally.

About 55 seconds into the 3rd period, Boston would make it a 1-goa game thanks to an even strength Tyler Seguin goal, but late in the 3rd, when the Bruins pulled Rask for the extra attacker, Tomas Plekanec managed to get the empty-netter for the 4-2 win.

The Bruins will head back to the TD Banknorth Garden on Tuesday to take on the scalding-hot Ottawa Senators, who have won their last 6 consecutive games. Puck drops at 7PM ET.

NCAA FOOTBALL: Understandably lost in a couple of great games Saturday night was the fact that the struggling BC Eagles had managed to notch their first win against a non FCS team this season- not only that, but an ACC opponent!

The Eagles came into a snowy College Park, MD to take on a marginally better Maryland Terrapins. Eagles RB Rolandan Finch drew first blood as Boston College managed to score on their opening drive to take the early 7-0 lead.

The Terps would reply with a FG to get on the board just inside the 10 minute mark. Boston College would take a 21-3 lead to halftime, and although the Terps would get on the board once again in the second half, it would turn out to be not nearly enough.

Boston College goes on to win by a 28-17 final and Finch gets 39 carries for 243 yards and 2 TDs in his productive afternoon. The Eagles are getting ready to host the Florida State Seminoles on Thursday night at 8 PM.

BIG EAST: Earlier this week, in leiu of being treated to World Series Game in St Louis, those of you inclinced to watch some college football were treated to the UConn Huskies getting stomped by Pitt by a 35-20 final after getting picked apart by Junior QB Tino Sunseri. UConn was held to a field goal for the first half, trailing 21-3 at halftime. The Huskies did manage a couple of big plays in the 2nd half, but it wasn't nearly enough.

OTHER BIG EAST NEWS: West Virginia made it official this weekend that they would be leaving the Big East conference for the Big 12, likely replacing the Missouri Tigers who are finalizing plans to join the SEC.

Like Syracuse and Pittsburgh (who announced their plans to join the ACC), Big East plans on retaining the Mountaineers until 2014.

Joe Mahoney/ Richmond Times-Dispatch

COLONIAL: UMass rebounded from their loss at Foxbourough's Colonial Clash versus New Hampshire last week with a very convincing win over the Richmond Spiders in the Old Dominion State by a 28-7 final. Three of those TDs against Richmond came in the 1st quarter and three out of the 4 were from RB Jonathan Hernandez, who had 3 of the UMass TD's on the day and 103 rushing yards.

The Minutemen will next play host to Villanova this coming Saturday.

ELSEWHERE IN NCAA FOOTBALL: In case you missed it, some of the late games Saturday night actually lived up to the hype.

Granted it wasn't as time expired like last week against Michigan State, but the Wisconsin Badgers had their hearts ripped out for the second week in a row with less than a minute left on the clock. Trailing 14-26 late in the 4th quarter, the Badgers came back to score two TD's and take a 26-29 lead on a successful two point conversion.

The Buckeyes had gotten the ball as far as mid-field when Ohio State QB Braxton miller heaved a 40 yard pass with 43 seconds left in regulation. The pass looked a little wobbly, but somehow managed to find freshman Ohio State WR Devin Smith in the end zone for the TD and the 32-29 lead with less than 45 seconds to go.

That would be the final, as the Badgers couldn't score with their final possession.

Meanwhile, out west, the Stanford Cardinals needed triple OT to get past the USC Trojans. Stanford had already scored and successfully pulled off the 2 point conversion in their half the the third OT when USC got the ball back. However, on the Trojan's first possession, RB Curtis MacNeal fumbled and Stanford recovered, giving them the 56-48 win.

Super Bowl of Sports Chowdah Update- NFL Packs it in For the Season;

NFL: As you might've already known, I didn't pay any attention to the pregame hype leading up to the Superbowl all week. Deciding to keep a good thing going, I figured I might as well sit out Bill O'Reilly's pregame interview w/President Obama and Christina Aguilera butchering the national anthem. Hell....at least I didn't get a Super Bowl ticket and travel all the way to North Texas only to be told that I couldn't get in.

Although as it turns out I missed some very worthwhile pregame events like the NFL's tribute to President Reagan's 100th Birthday or a reading of the Declaration of Independence.

But as it turned out, there was a game to be played and it turned out to be a nearly prototypical 'tale of two halves' [and not just because I caught the 1st half on a fading AM radio station and the second half in (sort of) glorious hi-def on a plasma screen- NANESB!].

The Packers got out to a 21-3 lead (two of those the end result of turnovers from Ben Roethlisberger) late in the 2nd quarter before the Steelers were able to find the end zone on an 8 yard Roethlisberger to Heinz Ward TD pass to make it a 21-10 game at the half.

However, the Packers would have to continue in the second half without star cornerback Rod Woodson, who went down in the second quarter with what was initially classified as a 'left shoulder injury' but turned out to be a broken left collarbone.

The Packers would open up the second half by going three and out deep in their own territory, leaving the Steelers with the ball at mid-field on the ensuing punt. From there, the Steelers closed the gap to make it a 21-17 game with a quick-strike drive that relied exclusively on the rushing game.

While the Green Bay offense would continue to sputter, the Packers D would limit the Steelers to a missed 52 yard FG attempt from midfield after Roethlisberger was sacked on a lengthy drive of 4 and a half minutes. Green Bay wasn't able to do much with the ball at midfield other than pin the Steelers deep in their own territory on the ensuing punt.

The two teams would close out the 3rd quarter by trading 3 and outs. Pittsburgh got the ball back in good field position at the very end of the 3rd, but on the first play of the 4th quarter RB Rashard Mendenhall fumbled the ball and Green Bay linebacker Desmond Bishop recovered on the Packer's own 33 yard line (the runback gave Green Bay the ball on their 45 yard line). The Packers took advantage by marching down the field and going up by 6 when Aaron Rogers connected with WR Greg Jennings- this came after Rogers made key completions of 12 and 38 yards on 3rd and 7and 3rd and 10.

The Steelers would come right back with a lengthy drive and cash in on 3rd and 3 from the GB 25 yard line (after picking up 15 on 2nd and 18) before successfully completing a 2 point conversion to make it a 3-point game, with the Packers still on top 28-25 with just over 7 minutes left in regulation.

Green Bay would respond with a lengthy, time consuming drive that took a little over 5 minutes off the clock and put them deep in the red zone before deciding to kick a FG and make it a 31-25 advantage.

Pittsburgh would be assessed a penatly on the ensuing kickoff and have to start from deep in their own territory. Roethlisberger would be able to get the ball out to the Steelers 33 yard line, but that's as far as they would go because after failing to convert on 4th and 5 with 49 seconds remaining in the game.

So the Green Bay Packers come away victorious in their first Superbowl appearance since 1998- when it was Favre against Ellway.

Packers QB Aaron Rogers went 24 for 39 with 304 yards and 3 TDs and was named Superbowl XLV MVP....I'm not sure if they still do the 'I'm going to Disneyworld' thing, tho'.

Pretty good game, all in all. I thought it would be a complete blowout after the first half, but the Steelers made it interesting for a while in the second. The turnovers simply killed the Steelers, with 21 points coming off of turnovers.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NFL: Shannon Sharpe, Deion Sanders and Marshall Faulk have been named to the NFL Hall of Fame by the Veteran's Committee this weekend.

Tom Brady was named the regular-season MVP by all 50 panelists since the AP began using a nationwide panel of media members who cover the league. This is the first time ever a player had been unanimously selected for the MVP award.

NHL: The Bruins were dealt their first loss since the All-Star break on Saturday when they hosted the San Jose Sharks. Sharks netminder Antti Niemi stopped all 26 shots faced while Tim Thomas stopped 16 of 17 shots faced in the 2-0 loss (the 2nd San Jose goal came on an empty-netter later in the game).

Boston's next game will be on Wednesday at home against the Canadiens- this one will be televised on VS at 7PM Eastern, 4PM Pacific. The Habs are coming into TD Banknorth Garden off of a 4-1 loss to New Jersey on Sunday.

NBA: The Celtics didn't do much better on Friday night in Dallas, falling to the Mavericks 101-97 after a late rally by Dallas.

All in all, Sunday afternoon was a pretty good day for the Rajon Rondo, scoring 26 points in Boston's 91-80 win over the Orlando Magic. Paul Pierce had 18 points and Kevin Garnett had 16 on Sunday while Dwight Howard had 28 of his own in a losing effort for Orlando.

The Celtics will travel to Charlotte for a Monday Night tipoff against the Bobcats at 7PM Eastern.

PA Water Authority issues water shortage notice due to the Steelers

ATTENTION: WATER SHORTAGE ISSUED: Please stock up on any necessary drinking water you may have as the STATE has issued a water shortage for the mid-state/west-state area. There will be water shortages due to the excessive use for cleaning up from Steelers fans throwing up in/on their toilets, sinks, tubs, couches, chairs, dogs, wives, children, and mother-in-laws when the watching the PACKERS win tonight.

At the end of this day, one shall stand, one shall fall!

PRIME SAYS:





OVER THOSE LAME PITTSBURGH STEELERS 33-27

Mr. Roethlisberger meet Mr. Mendenhall and watch as he loves you!

I think Mr. Mendenhall should retain a lawyer. This was caught on national tv. Now Ben knows what it feels like to have that done to him.

Championship Chowdah Update- Train Rex Averted in Steel City; Green Bay Sends Bears Packing; Wizards Solve C's; B's Clear Avalanche

NFL: Screw the conference championship games, Tom Brady had surgery on his right foot this week! The surgery, performed on Thursday by team physician George Theodore, involved inserting a screw into Brady's problematic right foot. If all goes well, Brady's recovery timetable should be around three months or so, in time training camp in late July or early August.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NFL: Oh yea- it also happened to be Championship Sunday this weekend, so without any further ado:

AFC: I'd be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying the final few minutes of the AFC Championship game, even if it was alot closer then it should've been.

The Pittsburgh Steelers took a 24-3 lead into halftime for the AFC Championship game in Pittsburgh on Sunday evening. It didn't look like it for awhile in the 4th quarter, but that was all the Steelers would need to get by the Jets- despite New York scoring 16 unanswered points in the second half (their first 3 came with only 9 seconds to go before halftime).

The Jets made it a 5 point game with just over 3 minutes to go in regulation, capping off a 4 and a half minute drive with a short pass from QB Mark Sanchez to WR Jerricho Cotchery to make it a 24-19 game. The Steelers would get the ball back with just under 3 minutes remaining- meaning that if the Jets could force a 3 and out, they would have enough time for a 2 minute drill. Roethlisberger managed to get the Steelers as far as the Jets 40 yard line at the two minute warning, bringing up and important 3rd and 6 in which Big Ben made a 14 yard completion to Antonio Brown, sending all sorts of headgear flying off of Rex Ryan before crashing to earth as the Steelers simply took a knee and iced the game from there.

NFC: Well....these guys probably had a heart attack. I mean.....well....a bigger one than usual:

I came in a little late on this one- by the time I tuned in, Cutler was already on the bench [let the speculation abound- NANESB!] and the Packers were up 14-0.

Things would get interesting when Bears backup QB Todd Collins was benched in favor of Caleb Hanie late in the 3rd, which paid dividends right away when the Bears started a TD drive from their own 33 to cut the Packers lead in half. However, pinned deep in their own territory, Haine would be picked off by Packers nose tackle BJ Raji, who rumbled into the end zone to put the Packers up 21-7. The Bears would strike again on a quick drive where Hanie connected with WR Earl Bennett for a 35 yard TD reception to once again make it a 1-score game with just under 5 minutes in regulation left.

Chicago's defense forced a fairly quick 3 and out from the Packers, giving the Bears the ball back with just under 3 minutes in regulation on their own 29. However, Green Bay would put the game away when Hanie was picked off by Packers CB Sam Shields deep in Green Bay territory ith 37 seconds remaining.

Green Bay wins the first postseason meeting of the Bears and Packers since the outbreak of WWII by a final of 21-14. Although Caled Hanie acquitted himself reasonably well (13-20, 153 yards, 1 TD but two costly interceptions), Aaron Rodgers is the quarterback that will be going to north Texas for the Superbowl. The Packers QB was 17-30 with 244 yards on the day and two INTs.

This means Superbowl XLV will feature a matchup between two vintage NFL clubs (Packers go as far back as 1919 while the Steelers date to '33). Superbowl XLI is scheduled to kick off from Cowboys Stadium at 6:30PM ET on Saturday, Feb 6th on FOX.

NBA: The Celtics had their 5 game winning streak come to a halt on Saturday night in Washington DC. Wizards rookie John Wall banked in a pivotal 3 pointer in the games final minute to help beat Boston by an 85-83 final.

The Celtics had finished up a homestand where they managed to beat the Kings, Bobcats, Magic, Pistons and wrapped up a 110-86 win over the Utah Jazz the night before travelling to Washington. They will next take on the Cleveland Cavaliers at home on Tuesday night.

NHL: After completing the home/road sweep against the Carolina Hurricanes, the Boston Bruins had one more home game (where they lost to the Sabres on Thursday night) before their road trip out West got underway.

The change of scenery apparently did them some good as they came away 6-2 winners in Saturday night's game at Denver's Pepsi Center against the Colorado Avalanche. Although Colorado's Paul Stasny scored first, Milan Lucic and Brad Marchand had two goals each (Mark Recchi and Patrice Bergeron would have goals as well). Tim Thomas stopped 32 of 34 shots faced on the night while the Avs pulled goalie Craig Anderson before the start of the 3rd.

The Bruins will next travel to the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Monday night to take on the LA Kings. Puck drops at 10:30 ET, 7:30 PT.

MLB: There's a 2004 Red Sox reunion of sorts taking place in the AL East, although not at Fenway Park. Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez have each agreed to separate one year deals with the Tampa Bay Rays this past week. SI.com reported that Damon's contract was worth $5.25 million with incentives while Manny's was in the neighborhood of $2 million. Both deals are pending a physical.

The Rays had lost Carl Crawford and Matt Garza to free agency earlier in the offseason.

Omnibus Sports Chowdah Update- Pats Suffer From Gang Green Infection; Something Magic in the Air; B's Weather Category 0 Hurricanes

POLL CLOSED: Thanks to those of you that voted. To hardly anybody's surprise, the Red Sox coming back to win the 2004 ALCS against the Yankees was the runaway winner for 'Most Memorable New England Sports Moment: 2000-2010.'

NFL: My highly placed sources indicate that there were some sort of football games that were played over the weekend, which was capped off the the New York Jets 28-21 win over New England at Foxboro on Sunday afternoon....wait.....*looks at paper*...that can't be right, can it?

*Re-examining newspaper*

What? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! Damn it to hell! I hope Rex Ryan chokes on a hooker's big toe...

Actually, I got to see the whole thing unfold in not-so-glorious hi def from start to finish. I had entertained thoughts of jumping off a bridge, but the nearest one is actually one of those little Japanese bridges that isn't too high, which kind of defeats the purpose. It's not like the Tobin bridge is right around the corner.

Tom Brady was sacked five times and had two turnovers on the day, going 29 for 45 with 299 yards and 2 TD passes. The weird thing is that more often than not, he'd have all the time in the world to throw, but most of the receivers downfield would be covered. This was somewhat offset by reasonably productive days from Ben Jarvus Green-Ellis and Danny Woodhead, but promising looking drives would sputter midfield as the Jets defense tightened up. After trailing 14-3 at the half, the Patriots were kept out of the Jets end zone until the very end of the 3rd quarter on a short pass from Brady to Alge Crumpler.

New England successfully converted the 2 point attempt to make it 14-11 heading into the 4th, but the Jets came right back with a quick strike on the next possession and went up by a 21-11 margin. Shortly after Shayne Graham kicked a short FG to make it a 14-21 game, the Jets recovered the onside kick and ran the next play into the end zone to seemingly put the game out of reach at 28-14 (when they could've just gotten a first down and bleed out the clock from there, no less). The Pats would get the ball back on their own 41, and Brady would take all of a minute and 11 seconds to find Deion Branch in the end zone to make it a 'hold the phones' 28-21 game as Gillette stadium was rapidly emptying out [way to represent, Pats faithful- NANESB!], but once again, the Jets would recover the onside kick and take a knee wit 23 seconds to seal the win.

So this marks the second straight year that New England has lost at home in the playoffs....one and done. And perhaps with the hasty departure of the defending SuperBowl champions to a team that finished the regular season 7-9 and the team with the NFC's best record also making an early exit, the Jets win shouldn't come as a huge shock.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NFL: The Steelers looked a little rusty in their Saturday game against Baltimore, but came back from a 21-7 halftime deficit to go ahead 24-21 before the Ravens would manage to tie it back up at 24 on their 1st possession of the 4th quarter. However, Baltimore would turn it over on downs late in the 4th and Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger managed to convert for a 58 yard completion to rookie WR Antonio Brown on 3rd and 19. The Steelers would take the 31-24 lead with just ver a minute and a half remaining in the 4th- that would be the final from Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. This sets up an AFC Championship game in the Steel City between the Jets and Pittsburgh on Sunday the 23rd at 6:30PM ET.

I gotta say, the NFC matchups weren't nearly as close as I anticipated. Granted, I didn't think the Seahawks had another rabbit to pull out of their hat either. They lose by a 35-24 final at Soldier Field in Chicago on Sunday, and believe me, that was more a byproduct of the Bears defense taking the final 5 minutes off than it being an actual close game.

On Saturday, the Green Bay Packers simply ran away with it at the Georgia Dome as the Falcons laid an egg and lost by a 48-21 final coming off of their bye week. This sets up a good old fashioned black & blue Packers and Bears matchup for the NFC Championship game at Chicago- Sunday the 23rd at 3:00 ET. Interestingly, this will be the first time the Bears and the Packers have met in he postseason since Dec. 14th, 1941- exactly a week after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

NBA: He's baaaaaaaaack! And man oh man, did he come in handy on Monday night.

The C's had Saturday and Sunday off after a surprisingly close 99-94 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday. Monday night's home game against the Orlando Magic marked the return of Kevin Garnett for the first time in nearly 3 weeks after being sidelined with a right calf injury, and his presence was felt with 19 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and that pivotal steal with 17 seconds remaining and the Magic down by 3.

Boston would go on to win by the 106-109 final- Ray Allen led the scoring with 26 points on the night, followed by KG's 19 and 'Big Baby' coming off the bench with 15. This would make it 3 wins in a row for the C's, and they will next face the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night at the Garden during this lengthy homestand.

NHL: Seems like the Bruins and the Celtics are doing their utmost to make me realize that even after Sunday's debacle in Foxboro, it's still a mighty damn good time to be a New England sports fan.

The Bruins came into Monday night's home game against the Carolina Hurricanes winning three of their last four games (including a Patrice Bergeron hat trick in a 6-0 dismantling of the Senators last Tuesday)- although their most recent game was a 3-2 loss to the struggling Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.

So not quite a week after Bergeron's first career hat trick, what could one possibly do for an encore?
How about Zdeno Chara's first career hat trick? The big Slovakian defender's first tally came almost literally right when he stepped out of the penalty box in the 1st period to make it a 2-0 game with 8 and a half minutes gone by in the 1st period. This was followed by a power play goal (5 on 3) four and a half minutes later and another power play goal with just over 6 minutes remaining in the 3rd period.

Truth be told, the Bruin's could've won with just Chara's offensive contribution alone- Tim Thomas made 31 saves in the B's 7-0 shutout of the Hurricanes. Patrice Bergeron, Gregory Campbell, Mark Stuart and Michael Ryder also had goals in last night's game.

The B's will travel down to Raleigh for a rematch on Tuesday night in the away portion of the home-and-away series against Carolina.

Steely Sports Chowdah Update- Pats Steel the Show in Pittsburgh; Sens Oust B's; BC Bests the Blue Devil They Know

NFL: What loss in Cleveland?

You had a feeling that New England would bounce back in some way shape or form from their embarrassing 34-14 loss to the Browns, but to be honest, I didn't think it would be this quickly, this convincingly and against such a quality opponent [That's not to say I wasn't confident they'd win, I just thought the might outlast Pittsburgh and hang on to win by 3 or 4 points- NANESB!].

Tom Brady connected with TE and 2nd round 2010 draft pick Rob Gronkowski not one, not two, but three touchdown passes on Sunday night while the shaggy QB even managed to rush for one of his own. As an added bonus, the Pats D (and Pittsburgh O, now that I think about it) managed to keep the Steelers out of the end zone until the beginning of the 4th quarter.

New England was able to get a TD on their opening possession of the game and followed that up with a FG from freshly-signed kicker Shayne Graham. Aside from a 76-yard, five and a half minute drive that resulted in a FG, the Steelers hardly seemed able to move the ball in the first half. This was compounded by a number of dropped passes inside the end zone that would've brought Pittsburgh within striking distance. The Patriots ended up taking a 10-3 lead into halftime.

To start off the 2nd half, the Pats would march the ball 78 yards down the field for a TD to make it 17-3. After both teams went three-and-out on their subsequent possessions, the Steelers were able to sustain a long drive that started at their own 33 thanks to a pass interference penalty against Pats Safety Brandon Merriweather where the Steelers were able to move inside the New England 10 yard line- but that's as close as they would get after Pittsburgh's receiver's dropped short passes from QB Ben Rothlisberger. To make matters worse, Steelers kicker Jeff Reed would miss a FG from point-blank range and New England would march the ball back down for another TD (where Brady himself ran it in from the Steeler's 3) to make it a 23-3 game (although Graham would miss the point-after attempt).

Pittsburgh would put together a 71-yard drive of their own culminating in a TD to open up the 4th quarter, but on their next possession Rothlisberger would be picked off by Pats safety James Sanders, who would run it back 32 yards ro make it a 29-10 New England lead, and although Pittsburgh wasn't done scoring in the 4th, it was too little, too late. New England wins this one by a final of 39-26- and it wasn't even that close- to give them a 7-2 record.

Brady was outstanding, going 30-43 with 350 passing yards and 3 TD passes as well as a TD run of his own. Rob Gronkowski would have 5 receptions for 72 yards, including his 3 TD receptions. Deion Branch would get 7 receptions for 71 yards and Wes Welker 8 receptions for 89 yards. Ben Jarvus Green-Ellis had 18 carries for 87 yards on top of another 36 yards receiving on 4 receptions. In other words, firing on all cylinders. On top of that, the New England D was able to sack Rothlisberger 5 times on Sunday night.

Next week, the Patriots will host the Indianapolis Colts in Foxboro at 4:15 ET/1:15 PT.

NHL: Tim Thomas' unbeaten streak ended at 8 consecutive games on Saturday night at the the Garden. Sens goaltender Brian Elliot turned aside all 31 shots faced while Erik Karlsson and Daniel Alfredsson notched the only goals of the night in Ottawa's 2-0 win over Boston.

The loss gives Boston an 8-5-1 record as the Sens move past them for 2nd place in the division. The Bruins will next host the New Jersey Devils at the Garden on Monday night at 7 PM.

NCAA FOOTBALL: Try as they might to give away Saturday's game, the Duke Blue Devils weren't taking up Boston College on their generosity. Not 100%, at least.

Taking a 21-9 lead into the the start of the 4th quarter and looking for more, Boston College was knocking on the door inside Duke's 10 yard line. However, RB Montel Harris would fumble the ball at the Duke 5 and Blue Devils LB August Campbell would run it back 95 yards to make it a 21-16 contest.

With just under 5 minutes to go in the game and starting at their own 37, the Blue Devils were able to march it down as close as the 2 yard line, but BC was able to stop them on 4th and goal with 49 seconds left in the game to hang on and win by the 21-16 final.

Eagles QB Chase Rettig was 12-24 with 230 yards and two TDs while fumble notwithstanding, Montel Harris had a rushing TD of his own while racking up 109 yards on 23 carries.

BC's record is now 5-5 and they'll host the Virginia Cavaliers on Chestnut Hill next Saturday.

NBA: I was only marginally aware that the Celtics were playing on Saturday night, but they seemed to have survived a scare from the Memphis Grizzlies to go on and beat them 116-110 in OT. Kinda surprising Saturday's game was that close, given the way they jumped all over the Heat on Thursday.

The C's are idle until Wednesday night when they host the Washington Wizards at the Garden.