CHAMPIONS!

Talking to some fellow Sox fans the past few days, a few of them mentioned their desire to see the Red Sox win at Fenway. They actually wanted the Rockies to win two games in Denver just so the Sox could celebrate winning a World Series at home. These people are stupid, and very forgetful. Could you imagine going back in time to 1986 or 1975 or 1967 or 1946 or 1932 and telling a Red Sox fan "I won't be 100% happy unless the Sox win it in Fenway." You'd get slapped in the face.

This is the first time the Red Sox have won multiple World Series in the same decade since the 1910s. That is also the only decade during which the Sox won it multiple times. The three year gap in between the 2004 title and this one is the shortest title gap since the two year gap between the 1916 and 1918 championships.

This is unreal. It just doesn't feel like it actually happened. It's not supposed to happen. A fluke World Series in 2004 was maybe possible, but to win two out of four? That can't happen, right?

But then one looks at how this team was built, and one realizes that it is very possible. Josh Beckett was a failure last season, but he still had amazing stuff. He became more of a pitcher this year, and if he doesn't win the Cy Young it will be a joke considering the performances of Carmona and Sabathia in the playoffs (I know that awards are voted on before the playoffs, but it will still be funny if Sabathia or Carmona get it). Behind Beckett were question marks, but they were deep in question marks. Matsuzaka, Wakefield, Schilling, Bucholz, Lester, and Tavarez all had impressive stretches of starts.

Then there was that bullpen. The best bullpen in baseball. It wasn't the deepest, and there were lots of guys in there who should seriously consider playing percussion instruments as their first job instead of playing baseball. However, the back end of it was extremely good.

Moreover, the bullpen was managed beautifully by Francona and Farrell. After Papelbon ran out of gas last season, the Sox used him carefully throughout 2007. They never had him pitch more than 2 days in a row, and they tried to keep his workload as regular as possible. Okajima was a huge help in this matter, as he was able to close out games when Papelbon was unavailable. Okajima also allowed the Sox to keep Papelbon in the pen until the 9th inning. Mike Lowell was the MVP of the team, but Okajima was a very close second. Dollar for dollar, Okajima was the best investment on the Sox. The amount of energy Papelbon still had in October is a credit to Francona and Farrell.

When the Yankees came surging back, many fans in Boston moaned about the Red Sox resting Okajima, Youkilis, Manny, and Ortiz. But the post-season performances of these guys more than justified the rest they were given.

The Red Sox offense also deserves a great deal of credit. It was not the best offense we've seen in Boston, not by a longshot. But it still had the potential to score sufficient runs to win any kind of game. Mike Lowell's contributions behind Manny and Ortiz were invaluable. Youkilis' hot stretch in May fueled the Sox for more than a month. Pedroia was the Rookie of the Year. And even though Drew and Lugo sucked in the regular season, they are still good players, and both came through in the post-season, Drew more than Lugo.

Then there were the youngsters. Pedroia, Bucholz, Papelbon, Delcarmen, and Ellsbury were phenomenal. Lester was also very solid. And these guys will be contributing to the Sox for years to come.

After tomorrow's parade, and a few weeks of afterglow, an interesting off-season will begin to draw the attention of Red Sox Nation. Mike Lowell and Curt Schilling will both be free agents. The aging Tim Wakefield has an option that may or may not be renewed. Alex Rodriguez will be a free agent. Coco Crisp will probably be traded after the emergence of Jacoby Ellsbury. The Red Sox bullpen needs a serious overhaul in middle relief.

But I have faith. This ownership group has built two championship teams. The '04 and '07 squads have very little in common. New first-baseman, new second-baseman, new short-stop, new third-baseman, new center fielder, new right fielder, new closer, new set-up guy, new #1 pitcher, new #3 pitcher, new #5 pitcher(s). But both teams had similar professional attitudes of going to the ballpark and just playing the game. That is a credit to the manager and the general manager.

The Red Sox are champions again! Go nuts, people!

RED SOX BREAK RECORDS, AND ROCKIES

Were the Rockies just rusty after over a week off? Or were the Red Sox just better than them last night. I think it was a combination of both.

This game was very similar to Game 1 of the ALCS against Cleveland. Beckett pitched a gem, and the Sox bats touched up a good pitcher. The Rockies might have been coming off a lengthy lay off, but the Red Sox deserve most of the credit for their 13-1 thrashing last night.

Beckett was amazing, striking out the first 4 men he faced, and 5 of the first 6 Colorado batters. He allowed a run in the 2nd off a pair of doubles, but that was all the significant offense the Rockies could muster against him. He struck out 9 in 7 innings, leaving with a pitch count of 93. Had the game been close, he could have gone another inning, but there was no need.

Dustin Pedroia led off the offensive assault for the Sox with a leadoff Monster shot. Then Youkilis crushed a double. Ortiz moved him to 3rd with a groundout, then Manny knocked Youk in with a single. After Lowell flew out, Varitek singled, Drew doubled, and Manny scored. It appeared as though Varitek also could have scored, but he was held up a la Kenny Lofton. However, it didn't really matter. The game was already over.

The Rockies and Sox each got runs in the 2nd inning. Francis appeared to settle down in the 3rd, allowing only a bunt single by Lugo. But with 2 outs in the 4th, he loaded the bases. Varitek hit a ground rule double, and the Sox scored 2 more.

The Sox had another 2 out rally in the 5th. Youkilis had another double, as did Ortiz. Manny had an RBI single, Lowell had a double, Varitek walked, Drew had an RBI single, Lugo walked with the bases loaded, then Ellsbury walked with the bases loaded, then Pedroia walked with the bases loaded. The 7 run 5th inning was the death knell of the Rockies.

Everybody on ESPN is saying that the Rockies were just rusty. And maybe they were. Then again, it wasn't like Francis just didn't have it. He made some horrible pitches in the 1st, but he was still throwing strikes. The rallies the Sox put together were almost entirely with 2 outs. The Sox scored 11 runs with 2 outs.

The fact that Colorado got 6 hits and a run off Beckett doesn't necessarily mean they were rusty. The man is pitching like a god this post-season. If anything, getting a run and 6 hits was a major achievement for Colorado's offense.

Anyway, the Red Sox set a record for runs scored in Game 1 of a World Series. They also have scored 10+ runs in three straight playoff games, which is unprecedented. The 8 doubles the Sox had last night is the most in a World Series game since 1925.

COLORADO'S ADVANTAGES

If I were a betting man (and the odds weren’t 2:1), I’d probably put my money on the Red Sox to win the World Series. But my optimism is countered by a massive pessimism, built up from years of watching the Sox fail.

The Red Sox are the favorite, but not by much, in my mind. Anything can happen in the playoffs, and any team can beat any other team, as the Cardinals demonstrated last year.

The Rockies have several advantages in their favor.

The long lay off:
Everybody is saying that the long break the Rockies have had to “endure” will leave them cold, and out of rhythm. This is possible, but it could also prove to be an advantage for them. They are physically and emotionally fresh. It isn’t as if they’ve been lying around all day long in their Denver home, watching TV and drinking Coors Light. They’ve been practicing and playing intrasquad games. They haven’t been worn down by flights to and from Cleveland, 5 hour games, and nerve racking tension.

And how long do cobwebs last when they’re shaken loose? If the Rockies are rusty, they will probably find their form after a few innings. And they might all be rusty at the plate, but if Francis is on his game, what will that matter? And don’t starting pitchers have lay offs in between EVERY start?

Pitching Depth:
The Red Sox will be putting Josh Beckett on the mound in Game 1, followed by Schilling, then Matsuzaka, then Jon Lester. Beckett has been lights out this post-season, but after that, performances have been (I can’t resist) rocky.

Schilling had a great start in the ALDS, then a poor Game 2 in the ALCS. He pitched well in Game 6, but how difficult is it to pitch when your teammates give you a big lead? Matsuzaka’s 5 innings of work in Game 7 was stellar compared to his previous playoff outings. And what the hell is Jon Lester going to do? You want to talk about rust, Lester hasn’t started a game since September 26.

Jeff Francis had a solid ERA (4.22 ERA in Colorado, not too shabby) and has been the best pitcher on the Rockies this post-season, winning both of his starts, which were both on the road. He doesn’t have the playoff pedigree of Beckett, but he matches up well. Moreover, he’s pitching better than Sabathia or Carmona were. Much better.

Ubaldo Jimenez has also pitched well in 2 starts. Unlike Schilling, Jimenez has been consistent this post-season.

Josh Fogg (from Lynn, MA) is 2-0, with a relief appearance for a win, and a win in his first start of the post-season. He’s allowed 1 run in 8 innings. He’s also kept his pitch count low at 13.75 pitches per inning. This is essential to do when facing the Red Sox

The Red Sox bullpen has been carried by Papelbon-Okajima-Timlin. Apart from this trio, the Sox bullpen has been dreadful. Gagne sucked, Delcarmen was inconsistent, Lopez was atrocious, and Lester struggled. The Sox lose Lester to the rotation, and Kyle Snyder takes Tim Wakefield’s roster spot; but most of the bullpen is still the same. Lights out at the top, crap at the bottom.

In their 7 post-season wins, the Rockies have not had their starting pitcher go 7 innings or more. They’ve gotten quality starts, but they’ve relied on their bullpen extensively.

Closer Manuel Corpas has allowed 1 run in 8.2 IP. He’s recorded 5 saves, has struck out 6, and has walked a big fat 0.

Latroy Hawkins has pitched 3 scoreless innings of relief. Brian Fuentes had one bad outing, but has otherwise pitched very well. Ryan Speier has allowed 1 hit in 2.1 innings of work. He also got a Save. Matt Herges has pitched 3.1 scoreless innings.

These are all small sample sizes for the Rockies, but that’s the point. They’re small because they’re undefeated in the playoffs. And they’re undefeated because their starting pitchers have done well, going 6+ innings, and turning it over to a bullpen that has been next to untouchable.

D-Fense! D-Fense! D-Fense!
The Rockies do not give you extra outs. In the ALCS, we saw the Indians make some great plays early in the series and keep the Red Sox bats stymied. Then their gloves left them and the Red Sox capitalized.

The Red Sox have a very opportunistic lineup. Extra outs will lead to extra runs.

The Sox, on the other hand, have some defensive liabilities. Manny Ramirez in a spacious Coors Field outfield might be one of the most entertaining things on television this October. And Julio Lugo sucks.

Home Field Advantage
Everybody is talking about the atmosphere at Fenway Park, and how much of an advantage that is. Folks, this ain’t football. Croud noise doesn’t disrupt the snap count, or cause false starts. And the Rockies are professional athletes. They’re not intimidated.

The Rockies might have the biggest home field advantage when the series goes to Denver. The Red Sox will have to sit one of their three best hitters EVERY night. Either Youkilis, the guy who hit .500 in the ALCS; Ortiz, the biggest clutch hitter on the team; or Lowell, the most consistent hitter for the Sox this season. This is a massive edge for the Rockies.

The Red Sox outfielders will also have to deal with fly balls that travel farther than they normally would. A well struck ball at Coors Field travels about 7 to 10% more than at sea-level. JD Drew has experience playing the outfield there, and Jacoby Ellsbury has speed to make up for misjudging a fly ball, but what about Manny Ramirez. All I can say is “Yikes!”

Nobody Knows Them:
Not only do you get the whole “World vs. Us” mentality that sports teams thrive in, but the Red Sox just aren’t that familiar with these guys. The Sox do much better (especially at the plate) against familiar competition. These guys are not familiar.

The Red Sox have a mere 41 career at-bats against Jeff Francis. JD Drew has 10 of them.

The Sox are hitting 1.000 off Jimenez, but it was a single by Julio Lugo in 1 at-bat.

The Sox have seen Fogg 98 times, but 5 of those were Matt Clement, 2 were Josh Beckett, 21 at-bats were by Drew, 19 by Lugo, and 11 by Cora.

The Sox have 7 at-bats against Manny Corpas.

The Sox have more at-bats against Latroy Hawkins (66), than they do against any Colorado pitcher that isn’t named Josh Fogg.


So as we all know, the Red Sox are the favorite, but it isn’t by much. The Rockies have a great deal of things going for us, and they can definitely beat us. They can even sweep us.

2007 AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONS

Can you believe it? The Red Sox are in the World Series. AGAIN!!!! For the second time in four seasons, the Sox are the best team in the American League.

This is something new for the Red Sox. We're used to long droughts in between World Series. It was 18 years in between 1986 and 2004. Eleven years in between '75 and '86. Eight years in between '67 and '75. Twenty-one years in between '46 and '67. Twenty-eight years in between 1918 and '46. For the first time since the 1910s, the Red Sox will be playing in a World Series multiple times in a decade. By the way, we won 4 World Series in that decade.

Game 7 last night was a nerve racking duel until both bullpens were in the game. Westbrook got out of tough jams with the double play ball. Matsuzaka also escaped trouble thanks to the double play. All in all, Matsuzaka pitched a solid game. He went 5, allowing 2 runs. He sputtered at the end, but he gave us a great chance to win the game.

Something we did reminded me of the 2004 team. We kept piling on. In Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, we got a nice lead, then sat back as Jason Giambi chipped away at us, then the Yankees rallied and won the game in extra innings. In Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS, we got out to an early lead, but kept adding on. We did the same thing last night.

The MVP of the series was Josh Beckett. That was a no brainer. He went 2-0, pitching 14 innings, allowing 3 runs off 9 hits and 1 walk. He struck out 18. His 8 inning, 1 run performance in Game 5 was perhaps the turning point of the series. It forced a return to Fenway Park and seemed to bedazzle Cleveland's hitters for the remaining games.

An honorable mention should go to Kevin Youkilis, who hit .500 in the series. That is not a typo, he hit .500, going 14 for 28. He scored 10 times and knocked in 7. His OBP was .576, and he slugged .929. He hit 3 homers, a double, and a triple. He only struck out 3 times.

Another honorable mention should go to Manny Ramirez, who went .409 with 2 homers, 10 RBI, and an OBP of .563. Manny also had a big outfield assist of Lofton in Game 7. Although Lofton appeared safe, the throw was good enough to help fool the umpire.

Toward the end of the series, David Ortiz and Mike Lowell cooled off a bit. Ortiz had 3 RBI in the series and wound up with a .292 average. He did get on base, though, and was able to score 7 runs.

Lowell wound up with a .333 average for the series. He had 8 RBI, but only scored 3 runs, mostly due to ineffectiveness by the hitters behind him.

Dustin Pedroia and JD Drew started off slow, but picked up the slack at the end. Pedroia exploded last night and finished the series at .345 with 8 runs scored and 5 RBI. Drew had the big hit in Game 6 and wound up hitting .360 with 6 RBI in the series.

The bullpen trio of Papelbon-Okajima-Timlin performed perfectly. Combined, these three had 13.1 innings pitched, all scoreless. They allowed 8 hits, 4 walks, and struck out 9. Our other bullpen pitchers, well, they didn't do so good.

Julio Lugo had one of the worst playoff series I ever seen for a winning team. He was 5 for 25, somehow hitting .200. His OBP was .231, and he slugged .280 for an anorexic .511 OPS. Coco Crisp also had a disappointing series at the plate, but at least Coco fields his position, and fields it well. Lugo made what could have been a gigantic error in a 3-2 game last night, then he had that double clutch that prevented a double play being turned. He looks horrible.

The World Series begins on Wednesday at Fenway Park. Josh Beckett goes against lefty Jeff Francis. These are two of the hottest pitchers in baseball right now. It should be a hell of a game and a hell of a Series.

THESE ARE NOT THE 2004 RED SOX

The Red Sox face elimination tonight in their first must win game of the season. If victorious, they will face elimination again on Saturday. They need to win three straight games against Cleveland in order to continue the season.

In 2004, the Red Sox were down 3-0 against the Yankees. In Game 4, the Red Sox staged a 9th inning rally and eventually won the game in 12 innings. Game 5 required an 8th inning rally and a 14 inning effort. Games 6 and 7 were slightly easier, and the rest is history.

Listening to Boston sports radio, the 2004 team was alluded to at a rate of about once every 100 seconds. “In ‘04, we came back against New York.” “We were down 3-0 to the Yankees and still won.” “Tell Cleveland to ask Torre and the Yanks about what happened in 2004.” And so on.

There are two major problems with comparing the peril of the 2007 Sox with the near doom of the ‘04 club. These Red Sox are not the same as those Red Sox. And these Indians are not the same as those Yankees.

The four consecutive games won by the Sox in ‘04 were started by Derek Lowe, Pedro Martinez, Curt Schilling, and Derek Lowe again. The three games the Red Sox need to win this year will be started by Josh Beckett, Curt Schilling (3 years older than in ‘04, of course), and Daisuke Matsuzaka. The ‘04 Sox had two Aces in the hole, the ‘07 Sox have an Ace, an aging Jack, and a wild card.

The bullpen work in ‘04 was handled by Mike Timlin (4.1 IP in those last 4 games), Keith Foulke (5 IP), Allan Embree (3 IP), Bronson Arroyo (2 IP), Pedro Martinez (1 IP), and Tim Wakefield (3 IP). That bullpen was very deep. Mike Myers got the tough lefties, and Curtis Leskanic had 1.1 innings of work in Game 4 to get the win.

The bullpen for the ‘07 Sox is strong up front with Jonathan Papelbon (37 Saves, 1.85 ERA), Hideki Okajima (2.22 ERA), and a suddenly resurgent Mike Timlin (3.1 IP this series with 1 hit and no walks allowed). But after that, things get messy. Manny Delcarmen has allowed 3 runs in 1.2 innings. Jon Lester has yielded 2 in 3.2 innings. Javier Lopez gave up 4 in a single inning. Eric Gagne shall never again pitch in a Red Sox uniform. Papelbon, Okajima, and Timlin have combined for 8.1 scoreless innings in this series, but unlike in ‘04, there is a steep drop in performance as one goes down the list of bullpen pitchers.

The 2004 Red Sox had a complete lineup from 1 to 9. Johnny Damon led off, followed by Orlando Cabrera. Then came the big bats of David Ortiz, and Manny Ramirez. Kevin Millar, Trot Nixon, Jason Varitek, Bill Mueller, and Mark Bellhorn rounded out the lineup, a lineup which scored 949 runs in the regular season (5.9 per game) and 90 runs in the post-season (an astonishing 6.4 runs per game).

The 2007 Red Sox lineup is nowhere near as complete as the ‘04 club’s. The leadoff spot has been passed from Coco Crisp to Julio Lugo to Kevin Youkilis to JD Drew to Jacoby Ellsbury finally to Dustin Pedroia (and perhaps back to Ellsbury). Whereas the 2004 Sox had some hitters at the bottom of the order to continue big innings, make pitchers work harder, put up a few extra runs, and turn over the lineup; the 2007 team has four holes in Drew, Jason Varitek, Crisp, and Lugo, all of whom hit .270 or below this year. The Four Horsemen of the Pop Out have combined to go 12 for 60 (.200) this series. The Red Sox scored 867 runs this season (5.4 per game), and have scored 40 runs in the post-season (5.7 per game). However, 19 of those 40 runs came in two games. In the other 5 games, they’ve averaged 4.2 runs per game.

In the 2004 ALCS, the bottom of the order made major contributions. In the 9th inning rally of Game 4, Kevin Millar (hitting 7th that night) led off the inning by drawing a walk from Rivera. After pinch runner Dave Roberts stole 2nd, Bill Mueller (the 8 hitter) drove him in with a single. In Game 5, Jason Varitek (hitting 7th) knocked in the tying run in the 8th inning with a Sac-Fly. In Game 6, the big hit was by 9th hitting Mark Bellhorn, whose 3 run shot provided the Red Sox with what turned out to be the game winning runs. In Game 7, Damon knocked in 6 runs with 2 homeruns. Four of the men he knocked in were from the bottom of the lineup.

The 2004 Red Sox had Derek Lowe, Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez, Keith Foulke, Mike Timlin, Allan Embree, Tim Wakefield (in the pen), Bronson Arroyo, Mike Myers, and a strong bottom half of the lineup to fall back on. The 2007 Red Sox have Josh Beckett, a 40 year old Curt Schilling, and a very lost Daisuke Matsuzaka. When and if these guys fail to go enough innings, the likes of Manny Delcarmen and Javier Lopez come into pivotal situations with the game on the line. And the bottom of the order is an easy 1.1 innings for any pitcher to navigate through.

The 2007 Indians are not the 2004 Yankees. In Game 5, the Indians will have CC Sabathia on the mound. If there is a Game 6, it will be Fausto Carmona. Neither one looked sharp in Games 1 and 2, but both had amazing years. Combined they are one of the best 1-2 punches in baseball.

In Game 4 of the ‘04 LCS, the Yankees started the ancient Orlando Hernandez. In Game 5, it was Mister Mediocrity: Mike Mussina. The Game 6 starter was Jon Lieber. Kevin Brown started Game 7. I’ll take Sabathia-Carmona-Wetbrook-Byrd over the Yankees’ foursome any day of the week.

The ‘04 Yankees also lacked a strong middle-relief. Tom Gordon and Tanyan Sturtze set-up Rivera, but then there was the likes of Paul Quantrill (4.72 ERA in ’04) in the middle. Quantrill got the loss in Game 4. Esteban Loaiza (5.70 ERA in ’04) was the loser of Game 5. Javier Vasquez (4.91 ERA as a starter in ‘04) allowed 3 inherited runners to score in Game 7. He also allowed 3 more runs of his own, which let the Red Sox pull further away from the Yankees.

The Indians’ bullpen has Borowski at the end. Borowski has the highest ERA in the pen. But apart from him and Tom Mastny, every other bullpen pitcher had an ERA below 3.00 this year. Aaron Fultz was at 2.92, Jensen Lewis was at 2.15, Rafael Perez was at 1.78, and Rafael Betancourt had a 1.47 ERA and a WHIP of 0.76. Betancourt, Perez, Lewis, and Fultz, along with Borowski; spell much more trouble for the Red Sox than Paul Quantrill or Esteban Loaiza did.

What the 2004 Red Sox did was impressive. Maybe I’m just being pessimistic, but I don’t think the 2007 Sox can semi-repeat what that team did in ‘04. That team was very special. They were also very good from top to bottom. Moreover, the 2007 Indians are much harder to beat than the 2004 Yankees. I will be much more impressed with this year’s team than the 2004 team if they come from behind and win this series.

Even if the Sox pull it out, the Rockies aren’t going to lose a single game until 2012.

HOW BOUT THEM PATRIOTS?

The Patriots hadn't played a team with a winning record until yesterday. It was only the 5th time in NFL history that undefeated teams played each other in week 5 or later.

The Patriots have now outscored their opponents by 138 points this season (23 points per game). To put that in perspective, in their 21 game win streak in '03 and '04, the Pats outscored opponents by 190 points (9 points per game). These are not your older brother's Patriots.

Yesterday's victory was much closer than the 48-27 score would suggest. The Pats scored a garbage time touchdown. This wasn't running up the score. This was a rushing TD by Kyle Eckel, and was essentially a reward for the Naval Academy graduate for busting his ass in practice week in and week out. See, Coach Belichick was indeed programmed with a heart.

The Cowboys were the only team to have a 2nd half lead over the Patriots so far this season. They're also the first team to put up more than 20 points. They're also one of the few teams to force a turnover from Tom Brady.

After the game, Terrell Owens said "The game could have gone either way." Tony Romo said "It wouldv'e been interesting had there not been a holding call on that 4th and 1 play" referring to an apparent 4th down conversion pulled back because of a penalty, which forced Dallas to punt.

The Cowboys were penalized 12 times for 98 yards. However, the refs did not seem to have it in for Dallas. Most of these calls were procedure penalties before the snap. Dallas was offsides three times, started falsely twice, and had an illegal shift penalty.

Neither team played their best possible game. Maybe it was all the mid-week hype. Maybe, for Dallas, it was their emotional trip to Buffalo and a short week. Maybe, for the Pats, it was playing a great team on the road for the first time this year.

Dallas was penalized incessantly, this coming after an offensively impotent 1st quarter. The Cowboys did not get a 1st down until 14:39 had elapsed in the game.

The Patriots tackled sloppily. There was no better example of that than Marion Barber's safari through the end zone, being wrapped up by four different Patriots, none of whom could complete their tackles and bring Barber down for a safety.

The Pats also hurt themselves with penalties. On defense they seemed slow at times. On TO's TD in the 2nd quarter, Samuel and Wilson ran into each other. On special teams, they allowed a big return. Then there was that sack and fumble which kept Dallas in the game early on. Had Brady held onto the ball and the Pats score on that drive, the game would have been close to over.

Tom Brady was the star of the game with 388 yards, and a career high 5 TDs. It would have been 6 touchdowns (a new franchise record) had the officials not called a bogus pushing off penalty on Moss. Brady also ran for two 1st downs.

An unsung hero of this game was Kevin Faulk, who replaced the injured Sammy Morris, who replaced the injured Laurence Maroney. Faulk had 13 carries for 50 yards (3.8 YPC) and also caught 3 passes for 24 yards.

The Patriots won in Dallas for the first time ever. Dallas is not an easy place to play for any visiting team, especially with the Cowboys playing so well this year. This is the most impressive win of the young season for the Patriots.

The Pats stay on the road next week, going down to Miami to face the 0-6 Dolphins. This game has "TRAP" written all over it, and Miami has always been a tough place for us to play in.

BOSTON VS. NEW YORK

The title isn't a mistake, I'm well aware of the fact that we're playing Cleveland in the ALCS. This article, however, is a comparison of the sports in Boston and the sports in New York.

Ladies and gentlemen, Boston is on top of New York across the board. New York sports suck compared to us.

Let's start with baseball. The Yankees may have won the season series against us 10-8, and they may have come from 14 games behind to make the divisional race exciting, and they came back from a crappy start to win the Wild Card. But they lost to the Indians in the LDS. Despite spending over $1 billion since 2000, the Yankees haven't won the World Series in this century.

We all know by now that the Yankees were eliminated last night by Cleveland. We also know that the NY Mets suffered one of the most embarrassing collapses in regular season history. With the Red Sox winning the AL East, and advancing to the ALCS, Boston baseball is doing much better than New York baseball.

Let's move on to football. The NY Giants are actually doing pretty well, with a 3-2 record. It's still very early in the season to be making any judgments, except for maybe one: the Jets suck. Mangini's squad is 1-4, and it isn't because people are videotaping their signals. The Jets are so pathetic that their fans cheered Chad Pennington getting injured.

Meanwhile, the Patriots are one of three 5-0 teams in the NFL. They've scored 182 points (most in the NFL) which is 36.4 points per game. They've also allowed the 6th fewest points (4 of the 5 teams ahead of them have only played 4 games). So far, the Pats have outscored their opponents by 117 points, or 23.4 per game. Again, it's still early, and the schedule gets much tougher from here on out, but as of right now the Pats are viewed as the #1 team in the NFL. But even though it's early, New England already has at least a 4 game lead on every team in the AFC East.

The Jets and Giants have a combined record of 4-6. Even together, they don't match the Patriots' win total. Boston is definitely ahead of New York in football.

The basketball season hasn't started yet, but let's just look at what the Knicks and Celtics did in the off-season. The Celtics acquired two studs in KG and Ray Allen. The Knicks were busy dealing with sexual harassment suits. Advantage: Boston.

In hockey, the Bruins suck. The Rangers are good, and if you want to throw in the Devils and Islanders, they're good too. Advantage: New York. But it's hockey, c'mon.

How about college football? Neither Boston or New York are hotbeds of college sports. But Boston has a D-IA team within its city limits. New York doesn't, but there is a team that became so popular last year that the Empire State Building was lit up in its school colors. Rutgers became New York's team last season. Probably not all New Yorkers, but what else do they have? Army? Syracuse? Maybe UConn?

Anyway, Rutgers sucked. After rising to #10 in the country due to crushing Buffalo, Navy, and mighty Norfolk State, Rutgers has lost 2 in a row and dropped from the rankings. Boston College, on the other hand, is 6-0 for the first time since 1942. BC has had some cupcakes on their schedule, but they did go down to Atlanta and beat Georgia Tech. The Eagles are ranked 4th in the nation and have the inside track to winning the ACC Atlantic Division. Advantage: Boston.

Oh yeah, the Revolution are also ahead of NY/NJ in Major League Soccer standings.

So the only sport in which the New York metro area has a clear advantage over Boston is hockey. In baseball, NFL football, basketball, college football, and even soccer, it is all Boston.

New York sucks.