Super Bowl XLIV @ Miami, FL

My Prediction: Colts 40, Saints 35

Colts 10, Saints 0 END 1^st Quarter
Colts 10, Saints 6 HALFTIME

Ballsy decision by the Saints to call an onside kick to open the second half. Good thing they recovered the ball...

Colts 17, Saints 16 END 3^rd Quarter
Saints 31, Colts 17 FINAL

Recap & Box Score

QB Drew Brees, MVP (32/39, 288 YDS, 2 TD, 0 INT)
[32 completions ties Super Bowl Record - Tom Brady, Super Bowl XXXVIII]

Congrats to the New Orleans Saints, Super Bowl XLIV Champions.

Green's 2009 NFL Predictions

A brand new National Football League season starts tomorrow night with one game, thirteen games on Sunday and two games on Monday Night Football, one of which is my beloved New England Patriots. This is also the 50^th Anniversary season of the AFL. All of the original AFL teams will be wearing throwback uniforms during certain games this season. I think when ever two original AFL teams play each other is when they'll break out the retro unis. For example, the Patriots will be dressed in red and white with old Pat Patriot on the helmet, as you see on the left, for their Monday Night game vs. Buffalo.

With the start of a new season, I thought I ought to give you my predictions (some of which more than likely will be wrong). Prognosticating is a tuff biz, but I can handle it. Someone's gotta do it - may as well me moi.
Last year I predicted good things for my Patriots and gave my thoughts on the reality that unfortunately came to pass, with #12 going down for the season less than halfway through the first quarter of the opening game against Kansas City. They still finished 11-5 but missed out on the playoffs due to the NFL's complicated but fair tiebreaker rules.

I gots news for y'all. Some of you may like it, others not so much.

Tom Terrific looked well, terrific, during the preseason and the record setting offense of 2007 is essentially in tact. So, NFL, you've been warned. Will Brady throw for 50 touchdowns again? Not likely. 35-40 is a distinct possibility. Will the Patriots offense break its NFL record 589 points scored from 2007? Possibly. They'll give it a run, anywhoo. This will be a hard team to defense and will give teams fits.

Here we have my predictions:

AFC EAST
1. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS ----> Brady's back. MVP redux. Comeback Player of the Year.
2. Miami Dolphins ----> Will slip back to reality at or near .500
3. Buffalo Bills ----> T.O. gets the damn ball but it's not enough.
4. New York Jets ----> Sanchez' new favorite old TV show: Growing Pains.

AFC NORTH
1. Pittsburgh Steelers ----> Because they're the defending Champs, obviously.
2. Baltimore Ravens* ----> Tough D. Just a bit short on O.
3. Cleveland Browns ----> Could make a run at the division title if...
4. Cincinnati Bengals ---->Sadly, Head Coach Marvin Lewis 1^st to be fired in 2009.

AFC SOUTH
1. Indianapolis Colts ----> They'll be good as long as it's Peyton's place.
2. Tennessee Titans* ----> Was last years' record a fluke or are they really good?
3. Jacksonville Jaguars ----> Probably will win 9 or 10 games but miss playoffs.
4. Houston Texans ----> I can realistically see 8-8 this season but probably 7-9.

AFC WEST
1. San Diego Chargers ----> In a weak, rebuilding division, still finished 8-8 in '08.
2. Kansas City Chiefs ----> Cassel's dream '08 season redux? Not quite. Maybe 6 wins ~ sorry Matt.
3. Oakland Raiders ----> Better with Richard Seymour but still bad.
4. Denver Broncos ----> Chaos reigns in Denver. 5 wins max.

SEEDS
1. NEW ENGLAND
2. Indianapolis
3. Pittsburgh
4. San Diego
5. Baltimore
6. Tennessee

Wild Card Games:
3. Pittsburgh over 6. Tennessee
5. Baltimore over 4. San Diego

Conference Semifinals
1. New England over 5. Baltimore
3. Pittsburgh over 2. Indianapolis

Conference Championship
1. NEW ENGLAND over 3. Pittsburgh

NFC EAST
1. Philadelphia Eagles ----> How will they use Michael Vick?
2. Dallas Cowboys* ----> Will they win a playoff game this year?
3. Washington Redskins ----> Another late season collapse.
4. New York Giants ----> Just not good enough in a tough division.

NFC NORTH
1. Chicago Bears ----> Monsters of the Midway? No, but good enough.
2. Green Bay Packers* ----> some say QB Aaron Rodgers will be MVP in '09. Not me.
3. Minnesota Vikings ----> Favre should have stayed retired. Sorry Brett, it's time.
4. Detroit Lions ----> Lions win! Lions win! Only 3 games but it's an improvement.

NFC SOUTH
1. Atlanta Falcons ----> Matt Ryan leads Falcons to 2nd Super Bowl appearance. Same result.
2. Carolina Panthers ----> Just not enough in a tough division.
3. New Orleans Saints ----> Surprising late season collapse ruins the Brees.
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers ----> Should never have fired Jon Gruden.

NFC WEST
1. Arizona Cardinals ----> Courtesy pick for Super Bowl XLIII loser. Seattle is better.
2. Seattle Seahawks ----> Could easily win this division by three games.
3. San Francisco 49ers ----> Better, but still need work.
4. St. Louis Rams ----> Lowlight of season - losing to Detroit to break their streak.

SEEDS
1. Atlanta
2. Philadelphia
3. Chicago
4. Arizona
5. Green Bay
6. New York Giants

Wild Card Games:
3. Chicago over 6. New York Giants
5. Green Bay over 4. Arizona

Conference Semifinals
1. Atlanta over 5. Green Bay
3. Chicago over 2. Philadelphia

Conference Championship
1. Atlanta over 3. Chicago

SUPERBOWL XLIV at Miami
1. NEW ENGLAND (AFC) over 1. Atlanta (NFC)

For the record, here are ESPN's expert predictions.

Super Bowl XLIII - 2008 NFL Playoffs

#2 Pittsburgh Steelers (-7; 46½ OU) v. #4 Arizona Cardinals: Believe it or not, this is a very intriguing match up for several reasons. This is the first Super Bowl trip for either head coach, but Cardinals head man Ken Whisenhunt and Assistant Russ Grimm used coach for the Steelers and were passed up when Mike Tomlin was hired to replace Bill 'The Chin' Cowher a few years ago. Both QB's, Kurt Warner for the Cardinals and Ben Roethlisberger for the Steelers have won a Super Bowl in their career and this would be #2 for each. It would seem to be a match up of Arizona's resurgent offense vs. the Steelers' superb defense.

I'll guarantee you this: No one thought that we'd have this match-up for this game. The Steelers are one of the AFC's best teams and hardly anyone should be surprised that they are representing the AFC. Even long suffering, die-hard Cardinals fans would not have predicted that their team would represent the NFC in the Super Bowl this year. I definitely didn't see it coming.

I never thought that the Cardinals would beat Atlanta at home, let alone a road game at Carolina and another home game vs. Philadelphia to get here. I would absolutely love to see the Cardinals win this game. Absolutely love it. But I really don't see it happening, because I believe the Steelers are that good. Will it be a close game? Probably, since Warner is a former Super Bowl MVP, and Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald can dominate a game all by himself and is playing his butt off during the playoffs, so far.

However, the one thing that bothers me about the Cardinals, is this. The Boston Globe's superb sports columnist Bob Ryan even wrote a great piece about it a few weeks ago, is that this Cardinals team, once they won their division, tanked a few games at the end of their schedule. For proof, look no further than that 47-7 December drubbing at the hands of the far-superior New England Patriots. As Ryan said in his column, the Cardinals didn't even bother to show up for that game in the snow.

Anyway, knowing my luck and my horrible predictions so far in this year's playoffs, if I pick Pittsburgh, that's gotta give the Cardinals a legitimate shot to win. So I'll go with Pittsburgh winning, in hopes that I'll be wrong again.Prediction: Pittsburgh 28, Arizona 20 Actual result: Pittsburgh 27, Arizona 23 Wow, what a game! I didn't watch all of it. I had to listen to the first half on the radio and turned it off when it looked like Pittsburgh was set to go up 24-7 in the 3rd Quarter. Then when I turned back to it, Arizona had taken the lead with under 3 minutes to go, 23-20. I then watched Pittsburgh's come from behind win. Two plays were the difference. At the end of the first half, Arizona was on the verge of scoring the go ahead touchdown, which would have given them a 14-10 lead at halftime. Instead a bizarro interception and 100 yard return for a Pittsburgh TD gave the Steelers the 17-7 edge after two quarters. Then that final drive and Pittsburgh WR (and game MVP) Santonio Holmes incredible game winning touchdown catch sealing the deal for the Steelers. I said to my nephew J that if the Steelers won on that phenomenal catch then they deserved to win. He agreed with me. Even though Arizona lost, I'm happy they made it a competitive game, where for a while it looked like the Cardinals were going to get blown out.

So I picked correctly the straight up winner but lost vs. the point spread. A truly inglorious end to my miserable playoff game picking. Eegads.

Super Bowl XLIV will be played in Miami on February 7, 2010.

Football season is here!

College football games started last weekend.

The NFL season started tonight with Washington losing to the New York Giants, 16-7, at the exit 7W Meadowlands in the wilds of New Jersey. There's also a full slate of games on Sunday and a Monday night doubleheader.

Now it's time to officially put the Patriots heartbreaking Super Bowl loss in the rear view mirror and focus on the new season.

Do I think the Patriots will go 16-0 in the regular season again?

No.

But with a soft schedule, a 13 win or better regular season record is a real possibility. Home field advantage in the AFC goes through Foxboro until further notice.

With that, here are my predictions for another wonderfully glorious, highly emotional NFL season:

Division Champions

AFC East- New England Patriots
AFC Central- Pittsburgh Steelers
AFC South- Indianapolis Colts
AFC West- San Diego Chargers

AFC Wild Card teams- Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars

NFC East- Dallas Cowboys
NFC Central- Green Bay Packers
NFC South- New Orleans Saints
NFC West- Arizona Cardinals

NFC Wild Card teams- Seattle Seahawks and Philadelphia Eagles

SEEDINGS:
AFC:

1. New England
2. San Diego
3. Indianapolis
4. Pittsburgh
5. Cleveland
6. Jacksonville

NFC:

1. Dallas Cowboys
2. Green Bay Packers
3. New Orleans Saints
4. Arizona Cardinals
5. Seattle Seahawks
6. Philadelphia Eagles

Wild Card Playoffs
AFC- Cleveland over Pittsburgh and Indianapolis over Jacksonville
NFC- Seattle over Arizona and New Orleans over Philadelphia

Conference Semis (Divisional Round)
AFC- New England over Cleveland and San Diego over Indianapolis
NFC- Dallas over Seattle and Green Bay over New Orleans

Conference Championships
AFC- New England over San Diego
NFC- Dallas over Green Bay

Super Bowl XLIII @ Tampa, FL
New England over Dallas

Seriously people, did you really think I'd pick against the Patriots? When you come as close to perfection as they did in 2007 and not get it leaves you with a big chip on your shoulder and a super bad taste in your mouth. I don't care if you hear that they've put that devastating loss behind them. They're human and want to prove that they can regain the mantle of champions. Afterall, it has been three years since the last one. Plus, no one plays the us vs. them card better than Coach Bill. Nobody. Even if he never shows emotion in public or in the press, you can bet he does with his team. He'll drill it into their heads until they're repeating it in their sleep.

Yankees - Red Sox @ Fenway part II

Any time the Yankees and Red Sox play, it's good entertainment.

Such is the case this weekend, as the Yanks make their 2^nd of three trips to Fenway this season. So far this year the Red Sox hold a 5-4 series edge and are three games ahead of the Yankees in the standings entering tonight's action.

The pitching matchups for the weekend (results updated throughout the weekend):

July 25: Yankees 1, @ Red Sox 0
WP= Chamberlain (3-3), LP= Beckett (9-7), SV= Rivera (26)


July 26: Yankees 10, @ Red Sox 3
WP=Pettite (12-7), LP=Wakefield (6-8)


July 27: @ Red Sox 9, Yankees 2
WP=Lester (9-3), LP=Ponson (6-2)


After this series, the Sox will travel to New York for games August 26-28 and then Yankees will close out the regular season at Fenway, September 26-28.

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Plus, Patriots Training Camp opened on Thurdsay, in preparation for the 2008 season. Providing it doesn't rain, V, M and I, aong with my dad will be traveling to Foxboro on Sunday morning to check out the situation.

Brett Favre, BB9 and Friends

I've never been a Green Bay Packers fan. If you read here regularly you know or can guess what team I root for. But because I love football and am a football fan, except for one instance (Super Bowl XXXI), I have been a Brett Favre fan. So it was also somewhat of a surprise this week when Favre announced his retirement from the NFL after 17 seasons. After the excellent season the Packers had in 2007, I, like many other fans, assumed that Favre would want to come back in 2008. As a fan of the game, you have to appreciate and respect the high character and level of play of arguably one of the NFL's greatest players ever and certainly one of the top ten quarterbacks of all time. Watching Favre over the years and at his televised farewell press conference this afternoon, I'm impressed by his humility and emotion. It's no surprise that Favre was considered one of the nicest people in the league. Good luck, Brett. Thanks for the memories.

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If you missed any BB, you can catch up on episode 9, episode 10 and episode 11.

Last night's episode was really good. I was a bit surprised that the warning buzzer meant that the couples were going to be split up. I really don't think it was the intention of the shows producers to split them up - or at least not so soon into the season and with so many players left. I mean, why pair them up in the first place if you're just going to undo it later on? It also wouldn't surprise me if, in a few weeks, they resume the couples game but not necessarily with the same pairs of people. I think this greatly depends on who gets evicted in the next three weeks or so.

I was not surprised to see Allison get evicted by a 6-0 vote, since she had the whole house turned against her. I was also glad to see Ryan escape eviction and win the first solo HoH. It will be interesting to see who he decides to put on the block this week, since I don't see that he has conflicts or drama with anyone in the house. My guess is that it will be two of the other guys, since they might prove to be his strongest competition later on. On the same token though, whomever he puts up for eviction that stays in the house might turn against him.

I can't stand Joshuah and think he's just as big of a drama queen and attention seeker as Allison was, so would love to see his butt get evicted next Wednesday. Wouldn't it be sweet if Amanda or Allison get voted back into the house if/when Josh gets evicted?

On the viewer voting, I can't see one of the guys getting voted back in but I'd pick either Parker or Alex. Jacob doesn't have a chance. I think one of the women will be voted back into the house and I really can't see it being either Allison or Amanda, which leaves Jen. Of course I'll vote for her as many times as I can between now and when the polls close on the 11th.

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Would you believe that during its 10 year run on television, that I never once watched an episode of "Friends" ?


If you know me its really not that hard to believe. I'd much rather pop in a DVD of some kind than watch what is currently on the tube (not counting baseball and football games!). There are only a few shows that I watch regularly and they are few and far between, with "ALIAS" and this season's "Big Brother" being the most recent exceptions. Usually when I get into a show, I do so once it has reached syndication, is available on DVD or both. One early example is "Beverly Hills 90210" which was on regularly but never watched when I was in college and that I watched religiously in my early married days in the mid 1990's and would have K tape for me when I would miss it. "ALIAS" was another example of this. As longtime readers of this blog know, I started watching "ALIAS" at the start of season four and had to go back and watch the first three seasons on DVD. I'd like to get into "CSI: Miami" but would rather start from the beginning, rather than pick up the show in the middle of the current season six.

I digress: regarding "Friends", thanks to my sister owning the entire series on DVD, in the last few days I've now watched the first half of season one and am sufficiently amused to continue watching and watching and watching...

Super Bowl XLII

New York Giants (13-6) vs. New England Patriots (18-0) (-12, 54 1/2 O/U) at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona 18:30 - FOX.



The New York Giants enter this game as only the third team in NFL history to win three playoff games on the road to reach the Super Bowl, joining the 1985 Patriots and the 2005 Steelers. The Patriots enter this game as the only team to reach the Super Bowl undefeated at 18-0 and could become only the second team to end the season absolutely perfect, joining the 1972 Dolphins (17-0). The Patriots are 3-2 all time in Super Bowls and tie for the second most Super Bowl appearances (6 with Denver and Pittsburgh. Dallas leads with 8). The Giants are 2-1 in Super Bowls and are 4-11 in NFL Championships prior to the Super Bowl era.

These two teams played in Week 17 at the Meadowlands, where the Patriots eeked out a come from behind 38-35 victory. Even though the Giants lost, they played a superb game and it gave them tremendous momentum in the playoffs. The Giants need to get pressure on Patriots QB Tom Brady and make him throw before he wants to. They also need to contain WR Randy Moss who had 6 catches for 100 yards in that game, by jamming him in the first five yards. If the Giants double team Moss then look for WR's Stallworth, Welker, Gaffney, Brown, TE's Watson and Brady, RB's Maroney and Faulk to have huge games.

On offense, QB Eli Manning needs to continue to play mistake free football as he has in the Giants three playoff wins. It would be helpful if the Giants could control the line and run the ball, chew up clock and keep the Patriots offense on the sidelines. The health of Giants WR Plaxico Burress is huge. He's a big threat and could have a huge impact on the outcome if his balky knee can handle it. No one expected the underdog Giants to be playing in this game so they should be loose and laying it all out.

What can you say about the Patriots? Most prognosticators and football "experts" (including yours truly) picked them to not only play in this game but win it handily... back in April. The Patriots are gunning for their fourth championship in seven years. They are the epitome of cool.

Here's a comment I made on another blog this week. The blogger stated that the Giants were the only team to give the Patriots a close game all season:

Ahhh, how they forget that, in addition to the New York Giants, the Patriots also came from behind late at Indianapolis and also had trouble with Baltimore and Philadelphia before winning. The Patriots are no stranger to winnning close games.

As for predictions:

Well, let's see, Giants WR Plaxico Burress predicts a 23-17 Giants win, which is totally insane considering the Patriots scored 38,38,38,34,34,48,49,52,24,56,31,27,34,20,28 and 38 for a league record 589 regular season points. Add in 31 and 21 so far in the playoffs (a 26.0 ppg average) which leads one to the conclusion that Burress is drinking some delusional kool-aid this week if he thinks the G-men will hold the Patriots to only 17 points.

Let me remind you of what came of Anthony Smith's (Pittsburgh) and Igor Olshansky's (San Diego) guarantees for a victory. {umm, nothing.}

Plus you're talking about a coach who is 15-3 in the playoffs (as a head coach - not including two SB wins as a Giants assistant) and a QB who is 14-2 in the playoffs. Brady lives for big games like this and rivals hero Joe Montana for cool under pressure.

Despite a close game in Week 17, my prediction is:

New York Giants 31
New England Patriots 41

... and at least 7 of the Giants points will come in garbage time, when the outcome has long been decided.

Sorry Eli.

ACTUAL RESULT: New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14: Wow, what a downer that was for Patriots nation. But if you're a football fan and you wanted a great game, you definitely got what you asked for. It certainly was one heck of a football game, no questions about it. The key was the Giants defense getting pressure on Tom Brady and preventing the Patriots from getting into any kind of offensive rhythm early on and for most of the game. Eli Manning played a clutch game, especially in the fourth quarter when championships are won. As hard as it is for me to write, I must give credit where it is due - the Giants fought hard and made the plays that they had to to win. I do think it's neat that the Manning brothers captured back to back Super Bowl MVP honors.

2008 NFL Playoffs - Conference Championships

{You didn't really think I would leave you pick-less for this weeks games, now did you? Of course not...}

It was the best of times and it was the worst of times. I do believe it's true.

Last week I went 3-1-0 SU but only 1-3-0 ATS. With three meaningful football games to go in these playoffs, I'm 6-2-0 SU and a blah 3-5 ATS. I need wins across the board this week, especially picking games against the spread. Good thing for me that I don't actually wager any money on these football picks of mine.

This week we have a pair of Week Two rematches for our Conference Championship games. Waaaay back in September, the Patriots kicked the Chargers butts at Gillette Stadium, 38-14 and the Packers came in to New York and stomped on the Giants, 35-13. How will the games play out this weekend, with reservations to Arizona for Super Bowl XLII on the line?

Let's take a look at the match-up in the AFC:



Sunday, January 20^th @ 15:00 CBS - San Diego Chargers (13-5) @ New England Patriots (17-0) (-14, 46 o/u): The main story for San Diego is injuries. Both QB Philip Rivers and RB LaDanian Tomlinson sustained knee injuries last week at Indy. Tomlinson has practiced this week while Rivers has not; this leads to speculation that Rivers' knee is more seriously hurt than the Chargers are letting on. If Rivers can't go, backup QB Billy Volek will be pressed into duty. He did an admirable job leading the Chargers to (and scoring) the game winning touchdown. Because Tomlinson has been able to practice, he likely will play but the Chargers don't lose much when RB Michael Turner fills-in. Super TE Antonio Gates had two catches for 28 yards and was basically a non-factor. He's clearly still hampered by the toe injury from the Titans game two weeks ago. How effective these players are will largely determine how long San Diego stays competitive in this game.
On the Patriots side, players and coaches have stated unanimously that WR Randy Moss' legal issue will not be a factor for the team. You'd be hard pressed to find a more focused team than the Patriots under Bill Belichick. That's why they are only focusing on the Chargers and not this 17-0 business. Many of the veterans on this team have won Super Bowls and all but a few players participated in last year's AFC title game stunning loss to the Colts. The weather will be clear and cold with some wind. It remains to be seen how this will affect the game, especially the Chargers (game time temperature 23 deg. F, 11 deg. F windchill factor). Brady and Belichick are 7-0 in home playoff games. Make that 8-0 after this game. The Patriots will get out to an early lead making Tomlinson/ Turner useless and forcing Rivers/Volek to beat them throwing. The Chargers aren't designed to win shootouts and they won't be able to keep up with all of the Patriots offensive weapons. Sorry, Norv. My Prediction: @ New England 41, San Diego 17. Actual Result: @ New England 21, San Diego 12. This was a much lower scoring game than I thought on the Patriots side. The keys to the game were Patriots QB Tom Brady's three interceptions (one in the end zone) to San Diego QB Philip Rivers two interceptions and holding the powerful San Diego offense to four field goals. Rivers played on bad knees but RB Tomlinson only was able to contribute on three plays early in the first quarter. On to Glendale, Arizona two weeks from tonight.

Now let's look at the match-up in the NFC:



Sunday, January 20^th @ 18:30 FOX - New York Giants (12-6) @ Green Bay Packers (14-3) (-7, 40 o/u): For the G-men, this game is going to be all about controlling the line of scrimmage and running the ball with RB's Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs and allowing Eli Maning to manage the game, as he has the last three weeks. In the last three games, Manning has completed 70% of his passes with eight touchdowns and only one interception. The Giants defense compiled the most sacks in the regular season and will be key if they can pressure Green Bay QB Brett Favre into mistakes. For the Packers, they will compliment Favre's excellent passing and WR's Driver, Jennings, Robinson and Jones with former Giants practice squad player Ryan Grant, who ran for 201 yards in last weekend's win over Seattle. Likewise, the Packers excellent defense will need to pressure Eli Manning into rushed throws and INT's. This game will also feature very cold temperatures (game time temp 3-4 deg. F with -9 deg. windchill factor). I think this will be a real close game (within 7 points) most of the way. Both teams will play well but Packers K Mason Crosby puts the game out of reach with a late FG. My Prediction: @ Green Bay 30, New York 21. Actual Result: New York Giants 23, @ Green Bay 20 OT. Well, this game was as close as I thought it would be, just that the wrong team won. The story of the game is K Lawrence Tynes missing 43 and 36 yard field goals in the 4^th quarter of a tie game, then winning it with 2:35 gone in overtime with a 47 yard FG. The Giants owned a massive edge in time of possession and total yardage. QB Eli Manning once again played turnover-free football. Giants become 3^rd Wild Card team to win three road games to advance to the Super Bowl (1985 Patriots, 2005 Steelers). On to Arizona in two weeks.

Awaiting the next storm

I'd say we got anywhere between 10-12 inches of the white fluffy stuff today, though I have not listened for the actual snowfall totals. The storm began in earnest around 04:00 and didn't let up until mid afternoon. I figured that V and M would not have school today. I did get up at 05:15 to look on this New Hampshire radio station's web site to get an early look at the cancellation list. When I saw that the schools in the town where V and M live were listed right at the top, I turned off my computer and blissfully went back to sleep. Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z.

I told K on Saturday that if V and M didn't have school today because of the storm, that I would keep them until whenever we could arrange to meet, since there was no way I was going out driving when the snow was falling the hardest. That turned out to be 17:45 at our usual meeting spot.

The secondary roads for the most part were decent, considering the amount of snow that fell. The highways were fantabulous, right down to the bare pavement. It made the drive to get to our meeting place all the easier.

For most of the day, V and M played with their video games, leaving me to go outside and shovel, etc. Naturally, it was around 15:00 that M declared that he was bored and wanted to watch a movie of over 2 hours in length. When I told him no because we were going to leave in an hour or so, he was disappointed. I had wanted to give myself plenty of time to do my errands and get there without having to rush and without knowing what the roads or traffic would be like. We got there fifteen minutes early.

It turned out to be a heavy, sticky snow - perfect for making a snowman.

Or for just plain getting clogged in the chute of the snowthrower I was using to clear the driveway, over and over and over and over and over again.

Now the weather gnomes are predicting another storm for Thursday into Friday. Early reports on one Boston area TV station says we should expect more of a mix than just straight snow.

And best of all.... it's going to be mighty cold this weekend in Foxboro for the AFC Championship Game. Hardly advantageous for a visiting football team from southern California...

2008 NFL Playoffs- Conference Semifinals

Don't be confused, the NFL officially calls this round of playoffs the divisional round, which makes no sense to me. I call it what it is, the conference semifinals because Winners from each game this weekend will play in their respective conference championship games next Sunday @ 15:00 (AFC) and 18:30 (NFC).

I was roaming around the web this week, as I often do, and found this amusing piece from columnist Norman Chad. He may hate the Patriots, and you might too, but don't even tell me that there aren't 26 other NFL cities (with the notable exceptions of Indianapolis, Dallas or Green Bay) that would love to have such a dominant team as their hometown NFL franchise. That's why I hated the 49ers of the 1980's and the Cowboys of the 1990's so much, because they won the majority of their games and got to the playoffs every year (and won Super Bowls) while the Patriots mostly were horrible or incredibly average.

And if you like football related statistics, as I do, you'll like this from the Indianapolis Star.

Anyway, I digress.

I did put in a good showing last weekend, picking 75% SU (3-1-0) and 50% ATS (2-2-0; which could have been 75% ATS if the Jags had gone for the late touchdown instead of settling for the winning field goal). Let's see how well I do for this weekend's games:



Saturday, January 12^th @ 16:30 FOX - Seattle Seahawks (11-6) at Green Bay Packers (13-3) (-7½, 42½ o/u): The main storyline in this game is Green Bay QB Brett Favre opposing his friend and old coach, Seattle's Mike Holmgren. Both have considered retirement over the last few years. Will either or both call it quits after this season? The Packers are the youngest team in the NFL based on average age and have very little playoff experience. Favre is enjoying one of his best seasons for the Packers. Not many people outside of the local fandom expected a 13-3 season. Seattle had much more playoff experience, getting to and losing the Superbowl two seasons ago. With a healthy group of Wide Receivers, including former Superbowl MVP Deion Branch, this game will come down to the Packers secondary stopping one of the most underrated group of receivers in the league. The last time these two teams met in the playoffs, the game ended on an overtime interception return for a touchdown by Green Bay. I expect a close game in this one too, possibly to be decided in overtime. My Prediction: Green Bay 27, Seattle 24. Actual Result: @ Green Bay 42, Seattle 20. What happened Seattle? After a phenomenal start, capitalizing on two Green Bay turnovers to take a 14-0 lead barely four minutes into the game, Seattle's offense went into deep freeze, getting outscored 42-6. What can you say about Brett Favre? Snow or not, simply one of the best QB's in NFL history. If Dallas wins tomorrow, Green Bay will play in Dallas. If New York wins tomorrow, they will travel to Green Bay.



Saturday, January 12^th @ 20:00 CBS - Jacksonville Jaguars (12-5) at New England Patriots (16-0) (-13, 49 o/u): The Jaguars have been anointed the team du-jour to upset the Patriots quest for perfection and have as good a chance as any with their star running back duo of Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew. Experts are touting the Patriots giving up huge games to Steelers and Ravens RB's near the end of the season as a sign of a weakened and old defense. While it is true that the Patriots Linebackers are old by NFL standards, they have the experience factor on their side and arguably the best front three on the defensive line in football in Wilfork, Seymour and Warren to clog the middle of the field. But the main question is, how do you slow down the Patriots passing game? With temperatures expected to be in the mid 30's by game time with no precipitation and little wind in the forecast Patriots QB Tom Brady will not be hindered with his trio of WR's Randy Moss, Donte' Stallworth and Wes Welker. Add in an effective but not often utilized RB in Laurence Maroney and all purpose RB Kevin Faulk, the Jaguars secondary will be tested severely. Sorry Jags, this is not your night. My Prediction: Patriots 35, Jacksonville 14. Actual Result: @ New England 31, Jacksonville 20: 26 for 28, 262 yards, 3 Touchdowns, no Interceptions. Patriots QB Tom Brady broke Phil Simms playoff record of 88% completion percentage, completing 92.6% of his passes to 8 different receivers. WR Randy Moss only had one catch for 14 yards. RB Laurence Maroney had a huge game rushing for 122 yards and had 2 catches for 40 yards. Jacksonville played a great game despite only producing 66 yards combined for RB's Taylor and Jones-Drew. Their defense just could not contan the Patriots, who punted once in the whole game (with 40 seconds left). The winner of tomorrow's Chargers-Colts game will visit the Razor next Sunday at 15:00.



Sunday, January 13^th @ 13:00 CBS San Diego Chargers (12-5) at Indianapolis Colts (13-3) (-8½, 46 o/u): I think this is the most intriguing game of the weekend. Colts QB Peyton Manning threw 6 INT's and Mr. Clutch K Adam Vinatieri missed a chip shot game winning field goal in a mid season loss at San Diego. San Diego has also beaten the Colts in Indy too, most recently in 2005 when the Colts were shooting for a 14-0 record. I've got no worries about the Colts offense which is always excellent in the playoffs under coach Tony Dungy. This game will be in the hands of Chargers QB Philip Rivers. The Colts will attempt to minimalize the effects of RB LaDanian Tomlinson and force Rivers to beat them with his arm, throwing to WR's Chris Chambers and Vincent Jackson and RB Tomlinson out of the backfield. A big loss for San Diego is TE Antonio Gates, who hurt his toe last week against Pittsburgh and likely won't play. These are two excellent teams, but the Colts win indoors. My Prediction: Indianapolis 33, San Diego 23. ACTUAL RESULT: San Diego 28, @ Indianapolis 24: Turnovers taste real good. I like either raspberry or blueberry. Oops, wrong kind of turnovers. The playoff kind are bad. Especially when you throw two interceptions to halt scoring drives and fumble once to stop another. This is what derailed the Colts today, negating a 400 yard passing day by Colts QB Peyton Manning. Give San Diego credit. TE Antionio Gates played with a sprained/broken bigh toe and lost RB LaDanian Tomlinson and QB Philip Rivers due to injury. Backup QB Billy Volek and RB Michael Turner came in and carried the load. San Diego plays at New England next Sunday.



Sunday, January 13^th @ 16:30 FOX New York Giants (11-6) at Dallas Cowboys (13-3) (-7½, 47 o/u): This is the Terrell Owens bowl. When he plays, the Cowboys have a much more fearsome offense than they do with out him. Dallas QB Tony Romo still had TE Jason Witten to throw to and an underrated pair of running backs in Marion Barber and Julius Jones. The Giants are brimming with confidence with QB Eli Manning played well in two losses to Dallas and is playing the best he's played all season in the last two games. The Giants defense led the league in QB sacks this season. The Giants look to avenge their only road loss of the season, Week 1 in Dallas. These fellow NFC East rivals know each other well and it will come down to turnovers and controlling the clock in this one. It's hard to beat a divisional opponent three times in one season. I'd love to see the 'boys win, but they won't. My Prediction: Giants 27, Cowboys 20. ACTUAL RESULT: New York Giants 21, @ Dallas 17: I don't know how the Giants won this game, but they did. They were outgained in yards by 106 and held the ball for 13 less minutes. They did not turn the ball over and Eli Manning managed the game brilliantly. The key drive for the Giants was at the end of the 2nd quarter when they scored a touchdown with less than a minute left after Dallas held the ball for over ten minutes prior. This allowed the game to go into the half tied instead of the Giants being down by 7. The Giants will travel to Green Bay next Sunday @ 18:30.

Let the real football season begin

As nice as the regular season was, what with my Patriots setting all kinds of offensive NFL Records, becoming the fourth team in NFL history to achieve an unblemished record (and first perfect 16-0 record). The real season begins tomorrow with the start of the 2008 NFL Playoffs, known as Wild Card Weekend. The top two seeds in each conference (AFC: Patriots and Colts, NFC: Cowboys and Packers) have byes this weekend.



With my 12^th successful season predicting straight up winners (2007: 171-85-0 .668) and winners vs. the point spread (2007: 132-111-14 .541) in the books, I'm ready to offer you my thoughts on this weekends games:



Saturday, January 5^th @ 16:30 NBC - #6 Washington Redskins (9-7) at #3 Seattle Seahawks (10-6) (-3, 40 o/u): Washington leads the all-time series, 9-5 and are 4-2 lifetime @ Seattle. These teams haven't played each other since the 2005 playoffs (@ Sea 20, Was 10). The Seahawks were very good at home this year, losing only by three to Cincinnati in September. Washington may be the hottest team in the NFC bracket, winning four straight to earn their playoff spot, despite the tragic shooting death of S Sean Taylor in November. Both coaches have won Super Bowls, so coaching is not a concern. Quarterbacks are the story here. Washington QB Todd Collins hadn't played a meaningful game in 10 years until replacing injured starter Jason Campbell in week 14. Since then the Redskins are 4-0 and have played impressive football. Seattle QB Matt Hasselbeck has had a career year under the radar in the Pacific Northwest, setting career highs in yards (3,966) and touchdown passes (28) while only throwing 12 INTs. Washington will play at Dallas next weekend if they can win this game, sending the winner of the Giants-Bucs game to Green Bay. Expect a real close game the whole way through in this one. Prediction: @ Seattle 21, Washington 17. Actual Result: @ Seattle 35, Washington 14. Ahhh, turnovers, the great equalizer. Redskins QB Collins' threw two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns late in the 4th quarter to turn a close game into a blowout. Next week: at Green Bay



Saturday, January 5^th @ 20:00 NBC - #5 Jacksonville Jaguars (11-5) (-3, o/u 39½) at #4 Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6): Jacksonville leads the all time series 11-8-0. Jacksonville is favored in this game due largely to their impressive 29-22 win at Heinz Field on Dec. 16. Since then the injury bug has bitten the Steelers, most notably RB Willie Parker and a pair of Smiths, one on offense and one on defense. A healthier Steelers team still gave up 421 total yards (224 rushing) to the potent Jags offense. With RB's Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew playing great right now plus an efficient passing game, it's hard to see the Steelers stopping the Jags offense. And that means that Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger might have to throw lots of passes in order for this game to stay close. The Steelers want to avenge their only home loss of the season. Expect a close game only because the Steelers play well at home, but the Jags will win. If the Chargers beat the Titans on Sunday, the winner here gets the bonus prize of playing the Patriots on Jan. 12. I'd like to see the Steelers win, but I can't pick them here. Prediction: Jacksonville 27, Pittsburgh 21. Actual Result: Jacksonville 31, @ Pittsburgh 29. As I predicted, the Steelers made a competetive game of it, coming back from an 18 point deficit to take a brief 29-28 lead. The story of the night though is Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger - sacked six times, intercepted three times and lost one huge fumble to seal the deal for the Jaguars. You just can't commit turnovers in the playoffs and expect to win. Next week: at New England



Sunday, January 6^th @ 13:00 FOX - #5 New York Giants (10-6) at #4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7) (-3, o/u 39½): New York leads the all-time series 10-6-0. This is the first playoff game between these teams. Giants last win @ Tampa was in 1999. The Giants and Eli Manning are coming off an impressive loss against the Patriots in the regular season finale. Manning threw for 251 yards and four TD passes with one INT. Which Eli Manning will show up? If the Bucs defense can put pressure on Manning he should revert to Mr. Inconsistency and that will help the Bucs. Make Eli beat you with his arm. The Bucs offense has sputtered the last four weeks, losing three of their last four. Tampa QB Jeff Garcia is 2-3 as a playoff starting QB but both wins have come against these Giants. Expect a low scoring, defensive game. Prediction: Tampa Bay 20, New York 17. Actual Result: New York Giants 24, @ Tampa Bay 14. Tampa Bay scored the first and last touchdowns of the game. Problem was that the Giants scored 24 unanswered points in between the Bucs' scores. Jeff Garcia played a flat, uninspiring game and Eli Manning, for the second straight week, played excellent, error free football. Tampa Bay lost the turnover battle, 3-0 on two interceptions and a critical fumble. What did we discover yesterday about turnovers? Next week: at Dallas





Sunday, January 6^th @ 16:30 CBS - #6 Tennessee Titans (10-6) at #3 San Diego Chargers (11-5) (-9½, o/u 40): San Diego leads the all-time series 22-16-0. Chargers have not won a playoff game since 1995 and are 0-3 vs. Tennessee/Houston Oilers in the playoffs. The Titans however, haven't beaten the Chargers since 1992. The Titans beat Indianapolis backups last Sunday in order to get into the playoffs in a game that meant nothing to the Colts. Titans QB Vince Young hurt his knee in last weeks game so it remains to be seen how much of his mobility is lost. The Chargers are on a roll riding a six game winning streak (including a 23-17 OT win @ Tennessee on Dec. 9) going into this game. The Chargers rushing game, behind league Rushing champ LaDanian Tomlinson will be hard to stop. This is good, since Chargers QB Philip Rivers has been inconsistent this season. Tennessee's offense will have to score more than 16 points if they want any chance to win. It doesn't help Tennessee that their kicker, Rob Bironas, scored 44.2% of the Titans points this season (133 of 301). If the Titans win they travel to New England next Saturday and the Jacksonville/Pittsburgh winner goes to Indianapolis. Expect a physical game for the first three quarters but the Chargers, behind LT, will win this game handily in the end. Prediction: San Diego 33, Tennessee 13. Actual Result: @ San Diego 17, Tennessee 6. Well, I was right in that it was a close game until the 4th quarter, however it was a much lower scoring game than I thought it would be. San Diego QB Philip Rivers threw for 292 yards and a touchdown and the Chargers won their first playoff game since 1994. Next week: at Indianapolis.

World Series Champs

Someday, as a Boston sports fan, I'll look back on these days with pride and amazement. Pride in the fact that I'm a lifelong Boston Red Sox fan (since 1975) and amazed that this team won its second World Series (sweeps no less) in four seasons.

We're talking uncharted water here, folks. Even the powerhouse Red Sox in the 1910's (four World Series titles, no defeats in the decade) never accomplished this. Jayson Stark of espn.com agrees, pointing out some very interesting statistics along the way.

But for me and many Red Sox fans, winning this World Series had a much different feel to it than the win in 2004. In '04, the Red Sox had to conquer the mountain (86 years and four heartbreaking seven game world Series defeats between titles) which included coming back from a 3-0 deficit to the Yankees in the ALCS before steamrolling St. Louis. That World Series was all about redemption and the "Aren't World Series supposed to be painful experiences?" mantra of fans for more than a generation. This World Series was simply fun from the get-go. No pressure, no problem.

But, if you haven't lived and died with the Red Sox over the years, you probably wouldn't understand the difference in the two championships.

You'll note that I apparently gave the Rockies too much credit in my World Series prediction. My bad. Even I didn't expect the Sox to sweep the Rockies.

As game 7 last night was winding down I predicted, at least 15 minutes before the award was given out, who the World Series MVP would be on a team full of worthy candidates... Esther can back me up on this too, as she and I were talking on YM when the game finally ended around 12:15 AM.

And here's a stat I never thought I'd be able to legitimately write: In the 21st century so far, the Yankees are 0-2 in the World Series (losing in 2001 and 2003) and the Red Sox are 2-0 in the World Series (winning in 2004 and 2007).

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If that weren't a glorious ending to the sports landscape here in New England this weekend, we sure had a heck of a beginning. #2 Boston College did nothing in the first 56 minutes against Virginia Tech last Thursday, yet won the game, 14-10 in the last four minutes with two touchdown passes by QB Matt Ryan (being dubbed "Matty Heisman" recently around here, as one of the leading candidates to win that award this season).

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Exhibit C is the Patriots weekly dismantling of their opponent. This week's victim was the Washington Redskins lost 52-7. If ever there was a garbage-time touchdown in football, the score by the Redskins was it. Every week I say, "Can it get much better for the Pats?" and apparently it does. The Patriots have scored 331 points in 8 games and 204 more points than their opponents. Only two other NFL teams (Dallas, Indianapolis) so far have scored over 204 points for the whole season. The New York football Giants just miss out with 200 points scored.

There are only two unbeaten NFL teams left through eight weeks (Patriots, Colts). Those two teams will meet on Sunday in Indianapolis. The winner will, in all likelihood, have home field advantage for the playoffs. Right now, Indianapolis has the upper hand. They are the defending Super Bowl champs and have beaten the Patriots three straight times, including the epic AFC title game last January, 38-34. Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning. If you like American football, it doesn't get any better than this. The game will be nationally televised this Sunday on CBS @ 16:15. Tune in to see a great game.

Weekend Wrap-up

Wow, what a busy weekend.

Friday night I met K at Denny's in Nashua, where I picked up V and M. We drove to my parent's house after I completed a few errands.

Activity started early on Saturday morning as V, M and I got up early in order to be out the door by 8. K and the kids competed in a Tae-Kwon-Do tournament; with K meeting us at Tewksbury High School where the competition took place. They broke the athletes up by age and belt level, with the youngest kids competing at the beginning of the tournament. M and V, both green belts at 7 and 10 were among the first to compete. Both V and M only competed in breaking this time, opting not to do forms or sparring.

Every participant in the tournament medaled for participating. Mike won a bronze medal and V won a silver medal.

V and M wanted to see their mom compete which I had no problem with. The tiring part came with the wait, since the kids were done realtively early. K didn't get in the ring until 2:30ish in the afternoon. She competed in two events, earning a gold medal in forms and a silver medal in breaking.

We didn't get out of there until 3:15 or so; much later than I had anticipated.

Watching this tournament was neat and I have the feeling it won't be the last tournament I'll need to attend. Though one thing I know and it was reinforced while I was watching: I have no desire to take up any form of martial arts. I Advanced to an orange belt in karate as a youth but never carried it any further than that.

Good thing for me I brought a book to read during all of the down time, which made it bearable.

Today the kids and I went to church in the morning and afterwards headed up to K's house for M's birthday party. He'll turn 8 on Wednesday. M had invited six school friends to the party and four showed up. Aside from the standard cake, ice cream and unwrapping presents, all Mike wanted to do after was play with his friends. No cheesy "party games" here.

While I was at K's house, I turned on the Patriots game which had just started the third quarter with the score 42-7 in the Patriots favor. I was kind of surprised at that because the Pats have historically had trouble winning in Miami. Not today. The Patriots are that good and the Dolphins are that bad. QB Tom Brady threw 5 touchdown passes in the first half and had six for the game, eclipsing his personal best set last week and setting a franchise record for a single game in the process. They are now 7-0 and look unbeatable at present.

Boston College moved up to #2 in the Associated Press poll this week even though they were idle, mainly because the previous #2 team lost this past Thursday. If the college football season ended today, BC would play Ohio State for the National Champopnship.

The Red Sox have advanced to the 2007 World Series tonight by dispatching the Cleveland Indians 11-2, breaking the game open late and winning the series 4 games to 3. The opponent will be the Colorado Rockies. The World Series begins on Wednesday night at Fenway Park.

Spy games or gamesmanship?

This week has been rough for me as a fan of the New England Patriots, hearing my team be bad-mouthed and labeled as cheaters. Such is the case and being that they are my favorite team and were accused and found guilty, I felt the need to pontificate about it. DWI.

Even though the Pats won convincingly last Sunday against the Jets, they were caught doing something against the rules and are paying a stiff price for it. It is against NFL rules to have someone unauthorized by the league video record another teams defensive signals during a game. The obvious thinking behind this is that it would give a team an unfair competitive advantage. This is what the Patriots were accused of once last season and again last Sunday, when they were caught - turned in by former Patriots assistant coach and current Jets head coach Eric Mangini.

All week, I've read stories in the paper and on-line, listened to various talking heads spew about how this could give an advantage or not, how often spying goes on in the NFL in the name of gamesmanship (as it admittedly has been for years), and the whole range of possible penalties that Commisioner Roger Goodell could levy against a team for doing such a thing with videotape. As a result, BB was fined half a mil, the Patriots organization as a whole $250,000 (hello, Robert Kraft) and that the Patriots will forfeit their first-round draft pick in 2008 if they make the playoffs this year or second and third round draft picks if they don't.

But this issue raises a few questions in my mind:

The first was brilliantly echoed in Jackie MacMullan's column in yesterday's Boston Globe. Why would Belichick authorize this? He's clearly been regarded for years as one of, if not the best, coach in the NFL today and is a sure fire HOF'er when he retires, despite this black-eye.

The second question is this: What if one of the league's consistently bad teams was caught doing this? For example, teams such as the Texans, Browns, Cardinals or Lions? Would the penalty have been as stiff? Clearly, this is a precedent setting, statement punishment, which would make other teams think, "Hey, if the Commish can do that to them, imagine how such a punishment would affect my team?"

The severity of this punishment is most definitely due to the fact that the Patriots currently are one of the league's marquee teams and have some of the best players and coaches in the league. They are widely considered by the "experts" (including yours truly) not only an odds on favorite to get to the Super Bowl this year but win it handily, if there is such a thing as an easy win in the NFL.

However, the Commish clearly stated in his letter to the Patriots that this incident did not affect the outcome of last Sunday's game, and clearly it didn't. But it could have and that's the point of the discipline. It's one thing to steal signals but no matter how much information teams have, the players still have to go out and play the game on the field.

All of this is not to say that the Patriots should not have been disciplined, because clearly, rules were broken. Do I think that the penalty was too stiff, with the loss of a potential first round draft pick? Yes, I do. I would rather have seen the Commish suspend Belichick for one or two games this season, one in which the Pats have a legitimate chance to win it all and, I believe, such a punishment would have affected the Patriots playoff chances this year.


Here is the full text of the statement issued by Bill Belichick in response to the punishment handed down by the Commish:

"I accept full responsibility for the actions that led to tonight's ruling. Once again, I apologize to the Kraft family and every person directly or indirectly associated with the New England Patriots for the embarrassment, distraction and penalty my mistake caused. I also apologize to Patriots fans and would like to thank them for their support during the past few days and throughout my career. "

"As the Commissioner acknowledged, our use of sideline video had no impact on the outcome of last week's game. We have never used sideline video to obtain a competitive advantage while the game was in progress."

"Part of my job as head coach is to ensure that our football operations are conducted in compliance of the league rules and all accepted interpretations of them. My interpretation of a rule in the Constitution and Bylaws was incorrect."

"With tonight's resolution, I will not be offering any further comments on this matter. We are moving on with our preparations for Sunday's game."

And a statement from Patriots owner and CEO Robert Kraft:

"This has been an extremely difficult week for our organization. The most troubling part for me, personally, is the impact these actions have had on our fans. We have spent the last 14 years developing and building a franchise that people could embrace and support. The loyalty of our fans has been the most rewarding aspect of owning the team. I am deeply disappointed that the embarrassing events of this past week may cause some people to see our team in a different light.

"After reviewing the facts of the past weekend, the commissioner has made a determination that our franchise engaged in activities that violate the league’s rules. He has determined the punishment and I accept it.

"I believe that Coach Belichick always tries to do what is best for the team and he is always accountable for his decisions. He has been a very important part of what our organization has accomplished over the last seven years. In this case, one of his decisions has resulted in a severe penalty for our franchise. He has paid a heavy price and so has our organization. He has apologized for his actions. I accept his apology and look forward to working with him as we move forward.

"It has been a distinct privilege to be involved in the National Football League since 1994. I am passionate about the league because it represents the ultimate in competition. To this end, the integrity of the game and competition between the 32 teams is of paramount importance to me. Whenever the commissioner believes that the integrity of the league’s competition is compromised, he must act decisively to protect it.

"In addition to our fans, I also feel for our players. I know how hard our players work and prepare for every game and their accomplishments speak for themselves. I look forward to returning all of our focus and energy to the field.”

That being said, it's time to move on with the football season.

Bring on the Chargers on Sunday night!

Go Pats!!

Football Baby!

I love this time of year, as football season is in full swing, both on the college level and in the NFL.

My Patriots thrashed the New York Jets, 38-14 today, in a record setting performance. CB Ellis Hobbs returned a kickoff 108 yards for a touchdown to open the third quarter. The previous record of 106 yards was accomplished three times, but not since 1979. Randy Moss, the Patriots' much ballyhooed and controversial WR acquisition of the off season, had little impact on today's game, catching nine Tom Brady passes for 183 yards (a 20.3 yard per catch average), while Brady threw for 297 yards and three touchdowns.

While that was good, it gets even better for this proud dad.

M played his first flag football games this afternoon. Even though his team lost both games, 14-0 and 21-7, the important thing is not wins and losses but just learning the fundamentals of football and what it's like to play in an organized league for the first time. The games were 20 minutes long, with two ten minute halves. Each team was on offense and defense for one half at a time. There was a ten minute break between games.

M played well today. He played running back on offense and on the very first play of the season, M took the hand off from the quarterback and ran for 10 yards. Except for one play when he went backwards, M always got positive yards. On defense he was playing out on the edge where a corner back would play and pursued well, though he was chasing some bigger, faster kids.

If you know me you would not be surprised that I was cheering the loudest. Not just for M, but for all of the kids on his team and even when some of the other team's players made good plays.

Even the cool weather, overcast skies and misty rain during the second half of the second game couldn't dampen the fun atmosphere for the kids and the parents.

All in all it was a fun day.

Oh, yeah, the Red Sox won, today too. Icing on the cake, baby.

Green's 2007 NFL Predictions

Well here we are again at the start of another season of the National Football League (season #88 all told). And since I consider myself to be one of the "experts", I'm going to let you know how I think the season will unfold, by division, then I'll give you my predictions for the playoffs and for Super Bowl XLII in Glendale, Arizona, come February 3, 2008.

NFC East

1 Philadelphia Eagles (if Donovan McNabb stays healthy.)
2 Dallas Cowboys* (strong Dallas team, despite Wade Phillips coaching ineptness.)
3 Washington Redskins (improvement from last season, but not enough for playoffs.)
4 New York Giants (Poor Tom Coughlin. Good coach, bad team and he'll get fired for it.)

NFC South

1 New Orleans (despite last night's season opening beatdown, this is the best team in a weak division.)
2 Carolina Panthers* (rebounding nicely from off year in 2006.)
3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (poor Jon Gruden. Good coach, aging team and he'll get fired for it.)
4 Atlanta Falcons (questionable team with Michael Vick, no chance without him. Poor Bobby Petrino.)

NFC North

1 Chicago Bears (best team in weak division, despite QB Rex Grossman.)
2 Detroit Lions (best finish in long time, 8-8 is realistic but no playoffs yet.)
3 Green Bay Packers (swan song for one of NFL's all time greats in QB Brett Favre.)
4 Minnesota Vikings (young team with promise for 2008.)

NFC West

1 Seattle Seahawks (better than 2006 record due to horrific injuries to key players.)
2 San Francisco 49ers (Good coach, getting back to franchise respectability - look out in 2008.)
3 Arizona Cardinals (New Coach shines as does offense - scary thought from this team.)
4 St. Louis Rams (I'm just not impressed. This year's Carolina Panthers very underachieving.)

AFC East

1 New England Patriots (missed Superbowl XLI by a very narrow margin. Improved to scary good this year.)
2 New York Jets (Gang Green overachieved last year. 8-8 is realistic.)
3 Buffalo Bills (Offensive promise, defensive problems.)
4 Miami Dolphins (Defensive promise, offensive problems.)

AFC South

1 Indianapolis Colts (defending champs too good not to win weak division.)
2 Tennessee Titans (look out league, VY is scary good in year two.)
3 Houston Texans (will finish with between 6-8 wins, viable for playoffs in 2008.)
4 Jacksonville Jaguars (mutiny on the bounty... Jack del Rio loses control, gets fired.)

AFC North

1 Baltimore Ravens (underachieved in 2006 playoffs, best team in strong division.)
2 Cincinnati Bengals* (sleeper for playoffs this year. Could win division with a few breaks.)
3 Pittsburgh Steelers* (new coach = same Steelers.)
4 Cleveland Browns (poor Romeo Crennel. Good coach, bad franchise. Gets one more year in 2008 to prove he can win here.)

AFC West

1 San Diego Chargers (despite Norv Turner, still have the weapons to be scary good.)
2 Denver Broncos (miss playoffs on tiebreakers - what a shame.)
3 Kansas City Chiefs (Poor Herm Edwards. Good coach, bad and aging team.)
4 Oakland Raiders (NFL's version of hell ain't getting any cooler. Offense wanted.)

Playoff Predictions:

byes: Patriots, Colts, Saints, Bears. *-Wild Card team.
Wild Card- Chargers over Bengals, Ravens over Steelers, Panthers over Eagles, Seahawks over Cowboys.
Divisional- Colts over Chargers, Patriots over Ravens, Seahawks over Bears, Saints over Panthers.
Championship- Patriots over Colts, Seahawks over Saints.

Super Bowl XLII - Patriots over Seahawks.

Summer Update

With the start of the 2007-08 school year just under a month away I thought I'd bring you up to speed on a few small things that have made this summer special, aside from the fact that it's my favorite season.

Swimming in the pool: While conditions have to be perfect for me to take any extended time in the pool, V and M will go in in virtually any conditions. They continue to progress in their swimming ability by leaps and bounds. This year neither of them need a floatation device in order to safely enjoy the water. V is able to stand flat foot in the pool and the water is just over M's head, so that he has to keep bouncing around in order to stay above. They both have become adept at holding their breath and going under the water. It is evident that they are both feeling more at home swimming under the water, which is fantastic. I've always said my kids resemble fish this time of year.

M's interest in playing sports: Starting last summer when M first asked me to play catch with him, his interest in baseball has grown. He's able to throw a lot better this year, though sometimes he doesn't look where he's throwing and does so wildly. This year he's caught on (pun intended) to the proper way to hold his glove and his catching ability has improved substantially in a short period of time.

M's current baseball glove is kind of small and rather than buy him a new one (which would have been cheaper), I decided to have my (circa late 1970's Jim Rice model) old glove re-laced for him, since tanned leather doesn't go bad under normal circumstances (unless it's abused, which wouldn't be normal I guess...) and it makes the glove become an heirloom. This place did a wonderful job and was very efficient in getting the work done and sending the glove back to me. Total turn around was about 10 days from the time I mailed it off. If you have an old baseball glove in need of repair, I highly recommend checking them out for yourself. Unfortunately, M's hand is still a bit too small for the bigger glove, so he'll probably start using it in earnest next spring.

M's interest in football is growing as well. He wanted to participate in his town's flag football program this year. He's in a league and on a team of 1^st-3^rd graders. Twice a week practices started last Tuesday and the coaches are teaching the kids the fundamentals of the game. His league will play games on Sunday afternoons in September.

Like father, like son: Last fall M had more of an interest in watching Patriots games on television with me on Sundays. This season should be better because he's more able to understand how the game is played. He even knows some of the Patriots players by name, position and uniform number. M has had an interest in the Red Sox since the start of the baseball season back in April. He's wanted to watch many games with me and he asked me to teach him how to keep score. As with football, M's knowledge of the game is improving the more he watches and he also too knows some of the players by name, position and uniform number.

V's interest in playing baseball: While not as great as M's, V does enjoy playing catch with us on occasion. She even asked me if I'd get her a glove, which I did for her birthday in May. And she'll never have to share it because no one else in my family at present is a lefty. One more reason why V is so special.

One interest I'll never understand: This isn't particularly a summer thing, but both V and M love collecting and trading Pokemon cards with their cousins. They even like to play Pokemon video games. Harmless fun, I suppose, though I'll never understand the infatuation.

Patriots gather Moss on Draft Day

That's right boys and girls, one of the NFL's bad-ass boys now plays for my New England Patriots after a draft day trade with the Oakland Raiders today. Kudos to the Patriots brass, who, like with Corey Dillon in 2004, got a Pro-Bowl caliber player for virtually nothing.

So, is this a good or bad deal for the Patriots?

I say it is not just a good deal but a great deal. Moss comes to the Patriots with more baggage than a bellhop at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, we all know this. However, it's been widely reported that Moss has been informed by Bill Belichick from the get-go that past bad behavior will not be tolerated here and one incident, just one, and he's outta here. I think the best commment I read today was from ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli, referring to Belichick as a human haz-mat suit when dealing with "problem" players. Plus, an athlete with something to prove can be scary good as Moss no doubt will be.

And if winning the ring is all that really matters to players (aside from insane amounts of money athletes are paid) then what better a situation than to be in than to be traded to the team that has won three of the last six championships since 2001 (and one bad series from beating Indy and thus playing in the Super Bowl last season)? Getting out of the NFL's version of a black hole too (Oakland) can't hurt and should only improve Moss' attitude. As with Dillon in 2004, there are enough veteran leaders on the Patriots that they will not be awed by Moss. Nor will Moss have to be 'the guy' as he has been in Minnesota and Oakland. He'll have to earn respect on the Patriots. Reportedly he's already spoken to Pats QB Tom Brady, who is excited to play with Moss this season.

Plus, Moss had to drastically restructure his contract in order to come here, meaning he actually agreed to be paid less than if he had gone somewhere else. He wants to be here. Moss himself said as much in an interview after the deal was finalized and that we're going to see the Moss of old, who was a truly dominant player for Minnesota from 1998-2004.

The 2007 Patriots, on paper and regarded by most prognosticators already, are a favorite for Super Bowl XLII in Arizona. Adding this guy to an already talented and re-stocked team is a scary proposition for the thirteen opposing teams on the schedule for the fall. I, for one, can't wait.

As far as attitude goes, remember that Dillon too was considered a problem child when he came to New England and had no such issues in the three seasons he played here.

It's a shame that Dillon opted to retire after asking for and being granted his release from New England, when another Super Bowl ring is definitely a realistic possibility in 2007.

Now for the most important question... what number will Moss wear, since 84 (his number in Minnesota) and 18 (his number with the Raiders) are taken?

Too bad training camp doesn't begin until July...