Line 'em up, knock 'em down

The extra hyped game between the Patriots (5-0) and the Cowboys (5-0) lived up to the endless slobbering......for three quarters anyway. The Pats faced their first second-half deficit of the season (24-21) but they simply turned it up a notch-that the Cowboys couldn't match-and outscored Dallas 27-3 to close it out. Tom Brady tossed five TD's (a career high) and the funny thing is that it could have been seven. Randy Moss had one TD but another two were called back due to a shaky offensive pass interference call and a nearly impossible catch that was overturned.

No matter, Wes Welker stepped up and had his best game in the NFL (2 TD's, 11 catches and great kick returns) while Donte' Stallworth continued his fine work from last week with another long catch and run for a score plus a 100-yard receiving game. Kyle Brady caught the other TD. We're quickly seeing how each wideout brings his own skills and abilities. Combine them all together and you basically have an All-Pro team. Moss dominated the first few weeks. Teams have started to double him the last two games and now the supporting cast has really stepped up. There's no defense that can stop all of these weapons, led by Tom Brady.

Sammy Morris was ineffective before getting hurt early in the second half meaning that the wily veteran Kevin Faulk saw the most action of the last few years for him. He was decent and the truth is that these Pats are so high-powered, they don't even really need a running game. Now I realize that in the playoffs you need to be able to grind yards and hopefully Maroney and Morris will be healthy by then. Who knows how hurt either of them are?

Ben Watson also left with an ankle injury, hopefully he bounces back soon since he's such a beast. Marcellus Rivers and Kyle Brady do not possess any of the physical talents of Watson. The Pats defense easily faced its stiffest test with the Cowboys solid offense. Romo had a good game but he didn't make the big plays consistently. The Cowboys had a lot of success with Julius Jones and Marion Barber but they couldn't run much as they quickly fell behind by more than one score.

If this was the class of the NFC, the Patriots have nothing to worry about come Super Bowl time. The Cowboys are pretty good but the Pats and Colts are on another planet this season. New England travels to Miami this weekend. The Dolphins always play them tough, especially down there but this year's team (0-6) is probably the worst team in the NFL or at least the AFC (Rams in the NFC). You can't help but feel like the Patriots first unit could put up 40 in the first three quarters or so. Let's just hope its not 100 degrees down there or worse, a pouring rain, slopfest. No matter, nothing can slow this team down.

Bizarro World: BC edition

Without a doubt, this college football season has been the most unpredictable I can ever remember. As #1 LSU fell at Kentucky on Saturday while #2 Cal choked against Oregon State, I could only laugh as I realized that BC (27-14 winners over Notre Dame) would move up to #3 in the country.

The polls that came out on Sunday had BC #3 in the BCS, #3 in the AP poll and #2 in the USA poll.

The victory over the pathetic Fightin' Irish was a forgone conclusion. It wasn't a question of who would win, rather how much would BC hang on ND. Give Notre Dame some credit. They're just awful this year but they hung around a much more talented Eagles squad. They simply couldn't make the plays or get the stops when they needed them. Now, BC's out of conference (joke) schedule is over, it's five ACC games between BC and dare I say, the BCS title game in New Orleans. Can you imagine that?

Trying to predict what'll happen a few months down the road is completely useless this season. Its best to take it week to week and try to anticipate where the biggest challenges lie. With that said, BC's toughest game is the next one: a week from Thursday at suddenly rejuvenated Virginia Tech. It'll be a national game and the Hokies are always great on Thursday nights, especially at home. We'll reassess things after that game.

Smell ya later Angels

Well that was pretty easy huh? Thanks to a combination of factors: Beckett's dominant game one performance, the Angels rash of injuries/lack of hitters and the Ortiz-Ramirez duo (baseball's undisputed best 1-2 punch), the Sox rolled in Game 3, 9-1 in Anaheim. Curt Schilling proved once again that he's a big game pitcher, even though he lacks the power stuff from most of his career. Big Schill pitched seven scoreless innings, giving up six hits, with one walk and four strikeouts. His postseason record is now 9-2 with a 1.93 ERA.

Ortiz and Manny capped off a great series for both as they went back-to-back in the fourth, giving the Sox a 2-0 lead that they'd never relinquish. Ortiz had the big two-run homer in the first game and Manny provided the walk-off three-run bomb on Friday night. For the short series, Papi was 5-for-7 with 5 runs, 6 walks, 2 HR's and 3 RBIs. Manny was 3-for-8 with 3 runs, 5 walks, 2 HR's and 4 RBIs. It seems like they both were never in the zone at the same time during the season. Ortiz battled myriad injuries all season and Manny took most of September off. It looks like both of them are tearing the cover off the ball at the exact same time which is bad news for opposing teams.

This never really seemed like a series. Beckett was lights out in game one and game two was close but you had the feeling the Sox would pull it out in Fenway. Yesterday was a forgone conclusion with Schilling against one of the Weavers (albeit the better one, Jered). The Sox move on to the ALCS, which begins Friday in Boston. The Yankees staved off elimination last night with a win but it's hard to see them beating Cleveland two more times (particularly if they have to face Sabathia/Carmona again). My gut instinct is I'd rather see the Sox face the Indians. It's time for someone else to make the ALCS, not just the Yankees and Sox. As fans we certainly eat up the rivalry but something different would be nice. Bigger picture, I think the Sox matchup better with the Indians since the Yankees owned us the second half of 2007 and they'd have big momentum if they can come back from down 2-0. We'll see how it plays out but you have to be happy if you're a Red Sox fan, they look very balanced and solid at the perfect time.

the Song Remains the Same

The Patriots beat the Browns, 34-17 at Gillette yesterday in a game that shouldn't have been that close. It was 20-0 at halftime. The funny thing is that the Pats played their worst game of the season and still won comfortably, improving to 5-0. Brady threw 3 TD's, making it the fifth straight game (tying Steve Young's record to start a season) with at least three touchdown passes.

The theme of yesterday for the Patriots was showing off the other weapons. Randy Moss has deservedly gotten the lion's share of the credit (along with Brady) for the first four weeks. The Browns chose to double cover him which left among others, Donte' Stallworth and Ben Watson open. Stallworth had his easily his best performance for New England, catching four passes for 65 yards (including a nifty 34-yard catch and run for a score) plus a 12-yard run on a reverse. Watson had his first career 100-yd game (6 catches, 107 yards) and two touchdowns.

The ageless Junior Seau had two first-half picks and Asante Samuel added another. Randall Gay had a bad game as he was beaten for a touchdown catch by Kellen Winslow and slipped in coverage which led to another Browns score. Gay redeemed himself with a garbage time strip and 15-yard fumble return for a TD.

Sammy Morris had his second straight 100-yd game (21 carries, 102 yards) subbing for Laurence Maroney. It is still incredible how Belichick and the Patriots can turn retreads like Morris and Seau into guys making big contributions on championship-caliber teams. Next week looks like New England's first big test: at the unbeaten Cowboys. Dallas has been on a roll and that should continue tonight at hapless Buffalo. It'll be exciting to see how the Patriots matchup against such a dynamic offense while also being put up against a talented defense. Plus its at Texas Stadium. Is it too early to say it could be a Super Bowl preview? That has probably never been said in Week 6 of a NFL season but as long as Romo doesn't get hurt tonight, it'll be the plot for next Sunday. I can't wait.

BC Football, #4 in both polls

Boston College at 6-0 is ranked No. 4 in both polls, after stomping Bowling Green, 55-24 on Saturday in Chestnut Hill. It just goes to show you how crazy this college football season has already been. The Eagles-thanks to a bad conference, three straight easy home games and a Heisman-caliber QB-have reaped the benefits. Let's make this clear though: the season is half over and BC has six games left that could all end up losses (OK, maybe not at Notre Dame next weekend, although the pathetic Irish got its first win, at UCLA on Saturday).

After ND, BC has its toughest game of the season: a Thursday night showdown at Virginia Tech (who moved up to no. 10 after a nice win over Clemson). The next week, Bobby Bowden's team of thugs and criminals travels to Boston and the Seminoles are currently ranked 21st. Who knows what to expect from them though? They've been the classic talented but woefully underachieving team in recent years, coincidentally coinciding with Bowden's increasing senility. The last three games are at Maryland, at Clemson and home to Miami. All three teams are certainly beatable for BC, especially this year. Still, the Eagles Achilles heel in recent years has been losing the late-season games that would put them in good bowls. We'll see if Coach Jag can reverse that trend. Early returns show that he was a great hire. He's opened up the BC offensive playbook and the defense has played well despite battling a ton of key injuries. Tom O'Brien isn't exactly setting the world on fire down at NC State. The Wolfpack is already one of the worst teams in the ACC which is saying something.

It's time to let the Superfrauds enjoy their lofty (unearned) ranking and see what they're made of over the last six games. Truth be told, they really haven't been tested and the marquee wins against Wake Forest and Clemson get worse by the week as both teams continue to struggle.

16-0? Really?

I try not to be the biggest homer on the block (which is hard in Massholeland where seemingly everyone drinks the Red Sox/Patriots kool-aid on a daily basis) but it's hard to find anything negative about the 4-0 New England Patriots. They make it look too easy. Last night, they went to Cincinnati and beat an average Bengals team, 34-13. Brady had three more TD's, including two to Moss.

Normally when people bring up a modern team going undefeated in the NFL, it cannot be taken seriously at all. It's nearly impossible to go 16-0 in today's league because each game exists solely upon itself. Every week there's upsets and parity has been a key theme of the last 10 years in the NFL. The Patriots seem intent on putting all conventional wisdom aside as they trample hapless opponents, one after another. Looking ahead, a few games stand out as the ones most likely to trip up the Pats (if possible): at the Cowboys (Oct. 14), at the Colts (Nov. 4), at the Ravens (Dec. 3) and vs. the Steelers (Dec. 9). Thus far, the Colts and Patriots appear to be the teams to beat league-wide. The Cowboys are really starting to come on strong but one has to wonder how much that is a measure of them and how much it highlights the inferiority of the NFC.

The Dolphins, Jets and Bills are all god-awful. Miami is 0-4 (possibly the worst team in the league) while the Jets and Bills both check in at 1-3. You can print the AFC East Champs t-shirts right now. There's not a more sure bet in sports. These teams have all had some good games against far superior New England squads in recent years so it wouldn't be surprising to see one of them hang around a game before the Pats put them away.

Even when the Pats went 14-2 in 2004 and won the Super Bowl, it didn't resemble this powerhouse. That year they always came out on top thanks to many small plays and general coaching advantages. Now, it looks like it'll be hard to find teams that can make a game of it. Sammy Morris had a 100-yard game last night as Maroney sat with a groin injury. The Pats have scored 38 in their first three games and then 34 last night. They've given up 14, 14, 7 and 13. For the 2007 New England Patriots, the sky is the limit as the late, great Notorious B.I.G. once rapped.

October Dreams

Well it took some unexpected help (thanks Orioles) and longer than expected but the Sox finally clinched the AL East (for the first time since 1995) on Friday night as they defeated the Twins while the Orioles made a comeback and then beat the Yankees in extra innings. The next night, Cleveland lost-insuring the Sox would have the best record in the AL and home-field throughout.

The Angels come to Fenway tomorrow to open up the five-game ALDS while the Yankees travel to Cleveland. On the NL side, the Phillies host the red-hot Rockies (absolutely sick game vs. the Padres) and the Cubs go to Arizona. I'm no fan of cliches but here's one anyway regarding postseason baseball: you can throw the regular season out the window. Sure all those games seemed important at the time but the end (getting to the playoffs) was for more important than the means. If you get to October these days, whether it be by Wild Card or winning a division, you're golden. Anything can happen. That being said, the Sox did themselves a big favor by getting home-field advantage. Fenway as anyone could tell you gives the Sox a huge edge in any series.

As the playoff picture started to come into focus late in the regular season, I was genuinely scared of the Angels. They hit, they run and they pitch. They don't score a ton of runs but they have two real good starting pitchers (Lackey and Escobar) and one of the best closers in the game (K-Rod). Not to mention the fact that Vlad Guerrero is one of the most feared hitters in baseball. Nonetheless, at this moment it looks like Boston is catching a break by playing the Angels in the first round and not the Indians. The Indians have been on a roll and the Angels limped into the playoffs. More importantly, a bunch of Angels are banged up: Vlad, Gary Matthews, Figgins and Escobar. Obviously, by October every baseball player is in rough shape since the season is such a grind but it seems like those guys just mentioned aren't anywhere near 100%.

Beckett gets the ball to face Lackey tomorrow, followed by Dice-K vs. Escobar on Friday and then Schilling vs. Weaver on Sunday in Anaheim. The Red Sox have owned Lackey this year and while putting Dice-K ahead of Schilling seems a little strange, you have to be confident that Curt can step up once again in the postseason.

After having a bunch of key contributors (Manny, Coco, Youkilis) out in September, Boston started to get everyone back in the last few games. And even more surprising, J.D. Drew finished off a torrid September. Meanwhile, Lowell is having a career year (he set the RBI record for Red Sox 3B) and Ortiz has been absolutely ripping the ball lately.

What does it all means? Who knows. The four teams in the AL particularly are so evenly matched. I have confidence the Sox will get by the Angels, I'm saying in 4. The playoffs are all about momentum and winning game one would be huge for the Sox. As for the other series: Yankees in 5, Cubs in 4, Rockies in 4.