Happy Halloween from the Minnesota Vikings

As expected, the Minnesota Vikings coming to Gillette yesterday was similar to the circus coming to the TD Garden.

There was plenty of media coverage and in the end, the team with more substance (the Patriots) beat a team loaded with way more talent (the Vikings) but completely held back by their joke of a quarterback (Brett Favre) and powerless, enabler of a head coach (Brad Childress).

New England (6-1) won their fifth straight game overall, 28-18 over Minnesota (2-5) and surprisingly Favre (22 of 32, 259 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT) didn't cost them the game. However, since he couldn't win, he still had to get some attention and he successfully did that by acting like he was dead after a fourth quarter hit.

His pathetic 41-year old body was dragged off the field and he was laid on the training table. My buddy compared it to the Undertaker of WWF fame cause once the Vikings scored on the next play after he left, he raised his arm then sat up like nothing happened. Sure, he had a nasty laceration on his chin (which required eight stitches) but I feel no pity for the biggest fraud in sports and possibly on the planet.

Nobody with the Vikings has the balls to sit him down when he clearly can't help this Super Bowl contender as they fade faster than Randy Moss (1 catch, 8 yards) in crunch time.

Ah yes, it was Moss' return to Gillette after his surprising trade four weeks ago. The only thing more predictable than Favre's attention whore tendencies are seeing Moss completely disappear against our average secondary. Moss is done, over the hill, case closed.

He opened the field up for his teammates but he can't be counted on to do anything other than that anymore. It's all reputation with him now, his skills have really diminished. Seeing him reflect on his days as a Patriot after the game was strange but that's typical for his post-game stream of consciousness diatribes.

Adrian Peterson (92 yards rushing, 50 yards receiving) is still the best running back in the NFL, sorry Chris Johnson, but for the most part, the Pats contained him. He started off the scoring with a 1-yard touchdown run to start the second quarter. It's a moot point since he probably would have gotten in on the next play (third down) but it didn't look like he broke the plain since Jerod Mayo (14 tackles) met him in the air and sent him flying back with a shoulder thump.

New England answered on the next drive with a 3-yard touchdown run by everybody's favorite folk hero Danny Woodhead (58 yards).

Childress had a chance to take a 10-7 lead into halftime but decided to predictably run up the gut with Peterson on fourth down late in the second quarter and he was stuffed.

Ryan Longwell gave the Vikings a 10-7 lead on their first drive of the third quarter with a 24-yard kick.

That's when the luck and bounces started to go the Patriots' way. Brandon Tate caught a 65-yard touchdown pass from Brady on a broken play. Brady had absolutely nobody to throw to but he bought time with a spin move and then found Tate (101 yards receiving) wide open on the sideline after his defender bit on a short pass.

After that, Percy Harvin (6 catches, 104 yards) had a reception ripped from his hands by Devin McCourty, who returned it 37 yards. How much of a stud is McCourty? Nobody knew who he was when he was drafted late in the first round this April but he's proven to be a solid all-around football player: he can cover, tackle and play special teams. What's not to like about him?

From there, it was the BenJarvus Green-Ellis (career-high 112 yards rushing) show. He used the short field to get a 13-yard TD run which put the Pats up 21-10 late in the fourth quarter.

Minnesota was in the red zone halfway through the fourth quarter when Favre got crushed by bum Myron Pryor. On the next play, Tavaris Jackson threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Naufahu Tahi and then found Harvin for a nice grab in the corner of the end zone on the two-point conversion.

I'm not dumb enough to say Tavaris Jackson is the answer but how long can the Vikings stick with Favre? This season is pretty much a wrap already unless they win out or go on a crazy run (which is quite unlikely).

The Pats iced it with a long, clock-killing drive, including a 16-yard catch and run by Woodhead on third-and-12. Green-Ellis put it away with a 2-yard touchdown run, his first two TD game of his career.

Don't look now but New England is in first place in the AFC East, thanks to the Packers' shutout of the Jets, and they have the best record in the NFL. That doesn't mean anything in the middle of the season but it's crazy how much progress they've already made this season.

The Patriots go to Cleveland next Sunday afternoon to play the Browns. I'm not going to break out my Super Bowl DVDs quite yet but this season is quickly starting to feel like one of those magical years.

"Thank you Kessel!"

As I said last week after I attended the Boston Bruins' season opener, their fans get it and that's what makes going to their games the best experience offered by the four Boston professional teams at the moment.

Another tangible example of this is the chant the TD Garden crowd came up with last night after Tyler Seguin gave Boston a 2-0 lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"Thank you Kessel!" Over and over, they sarcastically serenaded the former Bruins forward who was in town with his new team. Trading Kessel to Toronto last season, gave Boston the Leafs' first round pick in 2010 which turned into Seguin.

Getting rid of Kessel was a no-brainer, since he's a one-dimensional, enigmatic player that will always fail on the big stage when the games really matter. I'm not going to induct Seguin into the Hockey Hall of Fame just yet but for just 18 years old, the kid is filthy.

Seguin received the good news after the game that he won't go back to Juniors this season, he's with the big club to stay this season.

In seven games against the Bruins, Kessel has one point (an assist) and he's a -6. How do you spell fraud?

Oh yeah, the B's (5-2-0) shutout the Leafs (5-3-1) 2-0. The other big story line was Tim Thomas (5-0-0), who right now is the NHL's best goaltender. He only had to make 20 saves in his second shutout of the season, which is a credit to the outstanding defense in front of him.

Dennis Seidenberg looked like the guy the B's stole from Florida last season, leading Boston with six blocked shots. He also assisted on Seguin's goal.

Patrice Bergeron opened the scoring with a power play goal with 41 seconds left in the first period. The one-timer was Bergeron's first goal of the season and the 100th of his career. Zdeno Chara and Milan Lucic assisted on that one.

Seguin's goal was also a pseudo one-timer as he snapped home a pass from Seidenberg. Michael Ryder also had an assist.

Nathan Horton was tossed out of the game in the second period after he fought Leafs defenseman Dion Phaneuf. Horton was upset that Phaneuf punched him while they were sprawled out on the ice. So Horton can score a ton of goals, he's tough and not afraid to throw down with fighters? Somebody order me a Horton t-shirt jersey!

Boston goes to Ottawa tomorrow night and you have to believe that Thomas will get the start. Bruins head coach Claude Julien has to ride the hot hand while he has it. Clearly, Thomas will come back to earth at some point but let's get his trade value as high as possible since he's one of the few pieces they can move and will bring interest around the NHL.

The J.J. Hickson/Byron Scott era truly begins in Cleveland

After Tuesday's spectacle vs. the Heat on Opening Night, the Celtics predictably succumbed to the trap game in Cleveland last night.

At Quicken Loans Arena, the Cavs (1-0) began the post-LeBron era with a nice comeback win over the Celts (1-1). Over the course of the season, one of the biggest story lines to focus on for Boston will be how they hold up over back-to-back nights (a ubiquitous part of NBA life).

Mo Williams was out with a groin injury and Antawn Jamison was coming off the bench so I guess the newest marketable star in Cleveland is J.J. Hickson? He did play well, with a game-high 21 points.

Daniel Gibson (haha Boobie) added 16 points off the bench, Ramon Sessions had 14 points while Jamario Moon, Anthony Parker and Ryan Hollins all had 10 points.

Rajon Rondo led the C's with 18 points (never a good sign) while Glen Davis had 14 points off the bench. Looks like the few younger guys on Boston were less fatigued as Paul Pierce (13 points), Ray Allen (12 points) and Kevin Garnett (9 points, 15 rebounds) were not as sharp as they played against Miami.

Boston was up 23-21 after the first quarter and 47-46 at the half. With a decent third quarter (26-22), the C's looked poised to go 2-0 but they had a meltdown in the fourth quarter (27-14).

Even without Rasheed Wallace, odds are the Celtics will be the clubhouse leader in the NBA for technical fouls. They got off to a rousing start last night with two in crunch time (fourth quarter) by Shaq (7 points) and Nate Robinson (8 points). It all started because Robinson kneed Hollins in the balls and Shaq argued the call after Nate picked up a technical foul. Refs are quicker to pull the trigger now on technicals and the Celts will have to adjust somehow since they love to run their mouth after every play/call.

Boston comes home tomorrow night to face the New York Knicks. A team that they've owned in the last couple years but they'll get their first look at Amare Stoudemire.

The most hyped season opener in NBA history was great theater

It's only fitting that a league that is basically built on glitz and glamour (style over substance) would have a season opener last night that was more suited to be an NBA Finals game.

In the debut of the Miami Heat's new big three (LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh), the Boston Celtics showed that their older Big 3 still has something left in the tank.

The Celts (1-0) got up by as much 19 points but held off a furious Heat (0-1) rally to win 88-80 at a sold out TD Garden.

Thinking that the Heat would be a finished product immediately was beyond dumb and Boston proved that teamwork, defense and depth are more important than star power and Q ratings.

The best player on the court had four points. His name is Rajon Rondo and while he still doesn't shoot 3s or can't consistently hit jumpers, he is one of the top point guards in a league full of them (Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, etc.).

Rondo had 17 assists (or two more than the Heat as a team) while Ray Allen (20 points), Paul Pierce (19 points) and Kevin Garnett (10 points, 10 rebounds) displayed the chemistry they've forged over three plus seasons together.

LeBron had a game-high 31 points but Wade was the only other Heat in double-figures (with 13 points on a pathetic 4-for-16 shooting).

Mike Miller, their sixth man, being out for the first few months is a huge setback for Miami since bums Joel Anthony and Carlos Arroyo started last night. Udonis Haslem and Eddie House (8 points apiece) were the top options off the bench and this is supposed to be a championship team?

Boston's marquee pickup, Shaq, did pretty much what you'd expect in his Green debut: nine points and seven rebounds in 18 minutes. He had a couple sweet dunks off assists from Rondo (an alley-oop and a two-handed slam when he trailed on a fastbreak).

Glen Davis (13 points, 5 rebounds) was huge off the bench for the Celts and even Marquis Daniels had eight points, showing his fine preseason might not have been a mirage. This was all without Delonte West, serving his 10-game suspension, who will surely be one of their top reserves.

The first quarter must have made Dr. James Naismith roll over in his grave as Boston led 16-9. The Celts was up 45-30 at the half but in the NBA, every team makes a run and double-digit leads in the first half mean nothing.

LeBron heated up and Miami made it a game with a strong third quarter (27-18). Boston squeezed out the fourth quarter (27-25) with Pierce knocking down two clutch 3-pointers and three free throws after he was fouled taking another 3. Allen hit 3-pointer that was the real dagger with 30 seconds left, which put the C's up 86-80.

Boston shot 46.4% to Miami's 36.5%. The Celts had only three more rebounds (42-39) but ten more assists (25-15) thanks to Rondo.

I'd love to see the Heat crash and burn but the NBA revolves around its stars and they'll be fine. If they can stay healthy (a huge if with this bunch of old-timers), the Celts should go deep into the playoffs once again.

Seems like the offseason was over in the blink of an eye since the Celts went seven games with the Lakers in an epic NBA Finals but it's nice to have this fun, well-coached team back.

Boston goes to Cleveland tonight for the Cavs' first regular season game post-LeBron.

Chargers can't get out of their own way, hand game to the Patriots

You'll never see a more bizarre display of NFL football than the Patriots-Chargers game yesterday afternoon at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

The Chargers (2-5) gave up four turnovers in the first half: an interception, a fumble and then two crazy plays that are more likely to be seen on a Pee Wee field.

Still, the Patriots (5-1) played well when they had to (namely on a 79-yard touchdown drive to start the second half) and most importantly, the defense continues to improve by leaps and bounds from earlier in the season. No doubt about it, this was a game that the 2009 Patriots would have found a way to lose.

Sure it took a missed 50-yard field goal by Kris Brown with 22 seconds left (after a 5-yard false start penalty by San Diego) to escape with a 23-20 win but this looked like the type of unlikely victory that the Patriots were famous for during their Super Bowl days. They outcoached (for the most part) and their players didn't make the myriad mental mistakes that the Chargers did.

Brown gave San Diego a 3-0 lead in first quarter on a 32-yard field goal. From there, it was one fatal mistake after another for the home team. With Malcolm Floyd and Legedu Naanee out with injuries and Antonio Gates hobbled with turf toe, the Chargers were forced to give playing time to scrubs and it cost them.

Kris Wilson fumbled (recovered by Jerod Mayo), giving the Pats a short field which they took advantage of when Tom Brady (159 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT) hit rookie tight end Rob Gronkowski with 1-yard touchdown pass. It was 7-3 New England after one quarter.

In the second quarter, Chargers rookie wide receiver Richard Goodman made his first NFL catch then put the ball on the field without being touched. Patriots safety James Sanders alertly fell on it. Later, Philip Rivers (336 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) threw a deep pass which was picked off by rookie cornerback Devin McCourty. There was also a backward pass from Rivers to Jacob Hester that the fullback missed and then walked away from. Patriots linebacker Rob Ninkovich picked it up and raced down to the San Diego 8-yard line.

Even with those two gifts, New England was only able to add six points on a 40-yard kick by Stephen Gostkowski and a 35-yard field goal by Gostkowski, who has regained his touch after early season struggles. The Pats offense only had 38 yards in the first half and they were 0 for 6 on third down.

The Patriots seemingly put the game away with a drive which covered 79-yards in 8:25 to start the third quarter. BenJarvus Green-Ellis dove in from a yard out to give New England a 20-3 lead over lifeless San Diego.

Things went haywire in the fourth quarter as Brown started the rally with a 28-yard field goal to start the fourth quarter. Gostkowski answered with another 35-yard kick which proved to the final points for the Patriots.

Gates (50 yards receiving) woke up in the fourth quarter and caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Rivers. After recovering an onside kick, Mike Tolbert plunged in from 1-yard out to make it 23-20 New England.

On the next drive, Bill Belichick opted to go for it on fourth and 1 at midfield but Green-Ellis was dropped for a one-yard loss. Images of the soul-crushing defeat to the Colts last season were front and center as it looked like San Diego might get the comeback triumph that turns around their season.

Well almost. They got in field goal range but the 45-yard field goal turned into 50 yards and that was enough to make Brown squeeze it to the right.

Aaron Hernandez (5 catches, 54 yards) was the only Patriots receiver to have a decent day while Patrick Crayton (7 catches, 82 yards) and Darren Sproles (9 catches, 70 yards) took advantage of way more touches than they're used to.

Mayo (11 tackles, 10 solo) had his third straight game with double-digit tackles as he continues to show the beast mode he had his rookie season two years ago. McCourty is also looking like a very solid first round pick and just maybe, the Pats have the No. 1 corner they've been sorely lacking since they didn't pay Asante Samuel.

Brett Favre & Randy Moss limp into Gillette Stadium on Halloween as the Vikings (2-4) can't afford another loss this early into the season. They choked in Lambeau Field last night and it should be nothing short of a circus atmosphere with Moss' return and all the drama surrounding the ol' gunslinger.

Let's hope this trend from last season doesn't continue

One of the reasons the Bruins struggled so much last season (besides the fact that they couldn't score, which is kind of a big deal) was the fact that they always played down to competition and struggled to beat the teams that they should handle.

Last night at the TD Garden vs. the New York Rangers was the first instance in this young season that the B's (4-2-0) haven't quite gotten over that disturbing trend. They were lethargic and lost 3-2 to the Rangers (3-2-1).

Tuukka Rask (0-2-0) got his first start in two weeks and it wasn't a good one. He stopped 27 shots but was victimized by two fluke goals in the first period by the offensively-challenged Rangers.

Artem Ansimov (power play) and Alexander Frolov scored 37 seconds apart in the first period, giving New York an early 2-0 lead. It was a strange period based on the goals and all the fighting: Sean Avery squared off vs. Marc Stuart, Shawn Thornton took on monster Derek Boogaard and Milan Lucic and Brandon Prust tangled for a second before it was broken up.

Bruins captain Zdeno Chara answered with a power play goal for the second straight game. With five seconds left in the period, his blast from the point was assisted by Mark Recchi (his partner on the back line on the power play) and Nathan Horton.

Mark Staal scored on a breakaway 48 seconds into the second period and that's all the scoring that the Rangers would need thanks to their star goaltender Henrik Lundqvist (35 saves).

Horton cut it to 3-2 later in the second with his fifth of the season, from David Krejci and Dennis Seidenberg.

The third period went by without any scoring, Boston couldn't find the tying goal and New York escaped with a gift two points.

The B's are off until Thursday when Phil Kessel and the Maple Leafs come to the TD Garden.

Johnny Boychuk left the game last night with a wrist injury after being slashed, so hopefully Chara's defensive partner is ok. He really came into his own in the spring during the playoffs and he would be a big loss.

Jump aboard the Black & Gold bandwagon while there is still room

If the Boston Bruins go on to do something special in the spring (namely end a 39 year drought for a Stanley Cup), I can proudly say that my buddy Rick and I were on the ground floor of some history.

One of my best friends from college and I were in Loge 7 last night for the Bruins' home opener against the Washington Capitals and it was a great time to be a Masshole as the B's (4-1-0) won convincingly 4-1 at the TD Garden.

It was Boston's fourth straight victory as Tim Thomas (38 saves, 4-0-0) was in between the pipes for the fourth game in a row and he looked like the Vezina trophy winner of two seasons ago, rather than the hobbled bum that was stapled to the bench last season behind Tuukka Rask.

Washington (4-3-0) has been one of the most high-octane offenses in the NHL the past few seasons but as their postseason chokes attest, that formula falls apart when the game changes in the playoffs (just ask the San Jose Sharks). It's all about goaltending, defense and timely scoring in that order when the results really count.

If I could bottle up any crowd in professional sports around here, no doubt it would be the Bruins. The prices get hiked up every season, the B's continue to epically fail in the playoffs and yet the residents of South Boston, Winthrop, Revere, etc. continue to eat it up. They love their predictable hard rock soundtracks and you can't accuse people that go to Bruins games of being frauds.

You go to Patriots games to drink in a parking lot, to Red Sox games to be seen (and scope out smokeshows in the summer temps.) and to Celtics games for the party atmosphere. There's nothing sexy about Bruins fans, quite the opposite when you see most of them up close, but it's all authentic blood, guts and cheap light beer (that they'll gladly spill on you after a goal). Kind of like they just stepped off the set as extras for The Town, I can't say enough about it.

Even in the home opener, we'll boo Blake Wheeler and Michael Ryder for being underachieving (former) and overpaid (latter) bums but we'll still cheer Ryder for potting a sweet power-play goal in the first period last night from Patrice Bergeron and Tyler Seguin. That came with 28 seconds left in the first period, a turning point heading into the locker room.

Rookie Jordan Caron, who is playing out of his mind, made it 2-0 at 2:22 into the second period. Bergeron found him with a pretty no-look feed from behind the net and he roofed it over Sergei Varlamov (30 saves). Matt Hunwick also assisted.

Besides Seguin and Caron, the other real notable Garden debut was for Nathan Horton. He continued his torrid start with a power-play goal at 12:16 in the second period. Mark Recchi and Milan Lucic assisted the ex-Florida Panther, who skated into a soft spot in the Caps' defensive zone and fired a slap shot that had just enough oomph to trickle into the net.

Thomas' shutout was erased in the third period as he cleared it right to Washington forward Jason Chimera but nobody really minded. Boston captain Zdeno Chara added his club's third power-play tally (after coming into the game with one as a team while Washington hadn't allowed one PP goal) with 16 seconds left in the game. Blake Wheeler and Johnny Boychuk assisted on Chara's thunderbolt that sent an already tipsy Garden crowd back to the surrounding bars after the game for more opening night merriment.

The Rangers come to the Garden on Saturday night.