2006 BOSTON BLOOD SOX AWARDS

Okay, I'm gonna do something new. I'm going to give out meaningless, pointless, arbitrary awards (like the Grammys) for various sports related things. Now, all the categories will be limited to New England sports. The team, person, or event must have something significant to do with New England. Also, since winter sports traverse years, starting in one year and ending in the next, we're going to define "year" to mean January 1st, 2006 until December 31st, 2006.

Now keep in mind, these awards are determined strictly by me. You may disagree with them and they may be outright stupid, but they're my decisions

And since this is the first year of the Boston Blood Sox Awards, I'll briefly explain each award.

We're going to start off with the Harry Frazee Award for Goat of the Year. This goes to the athlete(s), coach(es), or executive(s) who were called out and used as whipping boys (or girls) for the downfall or troubles of a team. Now, this doesn't mean that they were responsible for anything, they just became the focus of anger amongst the media and fans. The award is named after Harry Frazee who sold Babe Ruth along with many other great players to New York.

The winner is Manny Ramirez, Left-Fielder, Boston Red Sox

When the Red Sox fell apart near the end of 2006, Manny stopped playing. The anger of Red Sox fans and sportswriters at this lack of heart and hustle incited yet another off-season of Manny Ramirez trade talks. Of course, Manny didn't help the situation much by not playing and then asking for a trade. But there were definitely a great many fans and writers who took the opportunity to try and run Manny out of town on a rail, regardless of the consequences. Manny took the brunt of Red Sox Nation's frustrations over a ruined summah.

Speaking of sportswriters...

On to the Dan Shaughnessy Award for Worst Sports Writing. This goes to the writer that embarrassed himself the most, either through bad writing, or poorly crafted and supported opinions. Or both.

The winner is Dan Shaughnessy, columnist, Boston Globe

Dan is the epitome of Boston sports writing. And that isn't necessarily a good thing. Boston sports writers are overly general, too quick to judge, too quick to take sides, suffer from "binkyism" (choosing favorites), and often can't see past the surface of any issue or situation. Dan is a good example of this. Now, his writing isn't that bad and this is more of a joke at his expense than anything else. Honestly, I like some of his books, I just think a lot of his columns are a bit ridiculous from time to time.

Examples:
Some friendly suggestions for Matsuzaka
Piecing it all together

In the second one, he predicts USC will beat OSU in the title game. The prediction was published the day USC, "a virtual NFL team," lost to UCLA. And we all know that USC didn't make it to the title game. Furthermore, anyone who thinks USC is a the next best thing to an NFL team is a fool. NFL teams would not lose to Oregon State, or UCLA. Plus, if they were an NFL team, Pete Carroll wouldn't be able to couch them. After all, he's a crappy NFL coach.

Now, I know what you're thinking. Are all the Boston Blood Sox Awards negative? Unfortunately, most of them are positive. I just wanted to start off with the negative ones before getting to the upbeat ones. Sadly, here is the last negative award.

The Peyton Manning and Alex Rodriguez Award for Biggest Disappointment is given to any team, player(s), coach(es), or executive(s) that essentially snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, that was poised on the precipice of greatness and slipped on their own two feet. The one thing that made New England swear the most.

And the winner is the 2006 Boston Red Sox

After making the playoffs for the third straight year in 2005, Sox fans had high hopes for the team. Despite losing Johnny Damon to New York, we had acquired Coco Crisp, Josh Beckett, and a few seemingly decent relievers. We also had prospects on the way, a healthy Schilling, a healthy Nixon, and no more Edgar Renteria.

The team started off nicely, too. After a par April, they exploded in May and June, going 34-18. They came back down to earth in July, and in August, they went further down into the depths of hell. Their 9-21 record in August was one of the worst months of baseball you'll see. They finished with a .500 September/October that kept the season from being a total and utter embarrassment.

Against the AL, we were 70-74. We were 4-5 against the Royals, 10-9 against Tampa, and 7-12 against Toronto. We had the 8th best record in the AL. Only Baltimore, Cleveland, Kansas City, Tampa Bay, Texas, and Seattle had worse records. We lead the East for a good amount of time early on, but then slipped behind New York. We continued to slip until we fell behind Toronto.

Not only was 2006 the first time we've failed to make the playoffs since 2002, it was the first time we finished worse than 2nd in the division since 1997. The team spent about $120 million for a team that folded, collapsed, fell-in, broke down, and sucked.

Now we can move on to the more positive awards. The Award for Hottest Cheerleader on the Patriots is given to the hottest cheerleader on the Patriots. Simple enough. Now I know it seems sexist of me to say "best" player or coach for a guy, and then say "hottest" whatever for a woman, but I don't go to Patriots games that often, I rarely get to see Patriots cheerleaders perform, so it would be difficult to say which one is the best. But I can peruse the web-site and judiciously determine who is the hottest.

And the winner is Ashleigh van Gerven out of THE Worcester State College

Don't really need to explain much, do I?

Up next is the Doug Flutie College Athlete of the Year. This goes to the best athlete that goes to a New England college/university. This award is technically open for any athlete at any school, playing any sport, at any level. However, the bigger the stage, the better. Let's say the best lacrosse player in the country goes to UMass, but the 4th best basketball player goes to BC, obviously the basketball player is on a slightly bigger stage because of his school and his sport.

And the winner is Craig Smith, Forward, Boston College Men's Basketball

Craig Smith was the heart and soul of the BC team that made it to the Sweet 16. He was All ACC first-team, and All American second team. The BC Eagles were the fourth best college sports team in New England behind UConn basketball, last year's BC hockey team, and UMass football. Smith WAS the team. Not to take anything away from the other players, but Smith was just the man for the Eagles last season. Just look at how they're doing at the beginning of the '06-'07 season.

Now it's time for the Bobby Orr Bruins Player of the Year Award. This goes to the best player on the Bruins from January to December.

The winner is Patrice Bergeron, Center

Bergeron led the Bruins in goals, assists, and points in the '05-'06 season, and he is currently 2nd on the team behind Savard in points, 2nd in goals behind Murray, and 2nd in assists behind Savard (also he's 12th in the NHL in assists). He's 21 years old and already an Assistant Captain. He's a big part of the reason why the Bruins have been able to crawl back into playoff contention in a very difficult division (at the moment, 4 of the 5 teams in the Northeast division would be in the playoffs, with the Bruins left out in 9th).

Now it's time for the Bill Russell Celtics Player of the Year Award. This goes to the best player on the Celtics, obviously.

The winner is Paul Pierce, Guard-Forward

Yeah. Paul Pierce. That's all I have to say about that.

The Drew Bledsoe Patriots Player of the Year Award goes to the best player on the Patriots.

The winner is Asante Samuel, Cornerback

Samuel tied for the League lead in interceptions with Champ Bailey at 10 picks. He didn't bring any back for a TD, but he did average 12 yards a return. Asante fell 1 INT short of tying a Patriot record, but he did tie a New England record for picks in a game with 3 against the Bears.

The Ted Williams Red Sox Player of the Year Award goes to the best player on the Sox.

The winner is David Ortiz, Designated Hitter

Papi led the team in homeruns. Had Papelbon remained healthy, he might have been a contender for this award, but Ortiz was able to go out every day and mesmerize, even when the rest of the team was doing the opposite. Fifty-four homers, 'nuf said.

The Tom Brady Award for Biggest Surprise goes to the player, team, coach, or executive that came out of nowhere and burst onto the scene as a force, even though most of us either never heard of them, or didn't think they were very good.

The winner is Jonathan Papelbon, Closer, Boston Red Sox

Papelbon went from a potential starter with some promise at the end of 2005, to being the most dominant closer we've ever seen don the Red Sox uniform. His consecutive save streak of 20 was one of the most impressive stretches of pitching you'll ever see. 29 innings, 1 earned run. Overall in '06, he saved 35 games and kept opponents to a .167 average.

The Curt Schilling Bloody Sock Award is awarded to an athlete who has demonstrated extreme toughness, grit, and determination. It is named after the famous blood-soaked sock that Schilling sported in the ALCS and World Series in 2004.

The recipient of the Bloody Sock Award is Jon Lester of the Boston Red Sox.

Lester was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma near the end of the 2006 season and has since undergone treatment in his native Washington. The good news is that all signs of cancer have gone away and Lester expects to be back in 2007.

I just found this web-site on MLB Blogs:
K Cancer
They sell t-shirts with Lester's name and number on the back and a K Cancer logo on the front. Or, they used to, not sure if they still do but you can ask them via e-mail. Proceeds from the shirts are split between Dana Farber and the Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center in Seattle.
The Best Game Award goes to the best contest involving a New England team. The game could be a great championship win, or a defeat in a well fought contest, whatever. The Best Game was...

BC Men's Basketball vs. Villanova in the 3rd round of the NCAA Tournament on March 24th.

In the Metrodome, 4th seeded Boston College faced 1st seeded Villanova in a battle to determine who went on to the Elite Eight. Boston College burst out of the gate and led for most of the early part of the game. BC opened up a 9-0 lead to begin the game, and led by as many as 16 points before Villanova came back to within 4 at the end of the 1st half. In the 2nd half, Villanova tied the score at 28-28 before BC once again pulled away to lead by 8 points. But ‘Nova never quit and kept it close as the game winded down to the final minutes. BC lost the lead for the first time in the game with 2:37 left on the clock. With 0:28 left, down 51-48, Jared Dudley made a 3 pointer that tied the game. Villanova failed to score and the game went to OT.

In overtime, ‘Nova pulled ahead early 56-51, but BC crawled back to make it 56-55. With 0:42 on the clock, Villanova took a 58-55 lead. BC responded with 0:25 left with 2 points to make it 58-57. After Villanova missed a free throw, Craig Smith hit a two pointer to take the lead 59-58 with 0:12 on the clock. Villanova missed a shot but got the rebound, then Sean Williams appeared to block another shot, but it was ruled goaltending and Villanova was awarded the 2 points and the 60-59 lead. The Eagles failed to hit a desperation 3 and the game was over.

Even though Boston College lost, it was still one of the best games of the entire NCAA tournament between two very good teams.

Now it is time for the Best Athlete Award. This goes to the best performer in any sport, at any level.

The winner is David Ortiz, Designated Hitter, Boston Red Sox

David Ortiz had one of the best seasons in Red Sox history last year. He hit 54 homeruns, which led the AL, and set a new franchise record for the Sox. He knocked in 137 runs, had 85 extra-base hits, 115 total runs scored, an OBP of .413, SLG of .636, and an impressive OPS of 1.049. He also stole a base.

Ortiz was the starting first-basemen for the American League All-Star team. He won the Silver Slugger Award for Designated Hitter. He finished 3rd in MVP voting. He was the AL player of the month in July. He broke his own record for homeruns hit by a DH. He tied Babe Ruth's AL record for homeruns hit on the road with 32. He led the AL in the following categories:

Homeruns - 54
RBI - 137
Total Bases - 355
Walks -119
Runs Created - 146
At-Bats per HR - 10.3

Ortiz finished in the top 5 in the AL in Slugging, OPS, Runs, Extra-Basehits, Times on Base, Intentional Walks.

Ortiz was the best player on the Red Sox, and the best player in New England sports in 2006.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is given to a man or woman whose lifetime work deserves recognition. The first BBS Lifetime Achievement Award goes to the late, great Red Auerbach.

Red's resume is well known, but it deserves repetition. Nine NBA Championships as a coach, including eight in a row. He led the Celtics to 10 Eastern Division titles. He was the first coach to reach 1,000 wins. He was named Coach of the Year in 1965, Executive of the Year in 1980, and Greatest Coach Ever in 1980. Red was a member of the Celtics organization for each one of their record 16 titles. He was the greatest coach in NBA history, the greatest executive in NBA history, the greatest coach in Boston sports history, the greatest executive in Boston sports history, and one of the greatest coaches or executives in the history of all of sports.

Now, the final Award. The Team of the Year Award goes to the team that was the most impressive, most excellent, and did the best at making you proud of New England sports in general. This was not an easy one to pick. The 4 major teams in New England all failed to win a championship. The Pats were eliminated in the 2nd round of the playoffs at the beginning of 2006, and God knows what they'll do in 2007. They were the only one of the major teams to make the post-season, but they did disappoint.

One less than major team did win a championship. The Portland SeaDogs won the Eastern League Championship. A few other teams came very close. BC Men's Hockey made it to the NCAA finals, losing 2-1 to Wisconsin. The New England Revolution made it to the MLS Cup, losing on penalty kicks. UMass made it to the D-IAA final, losing 28-17 to Appalachian State. Another team that had a good end of 2006 was UConn Men's basketball. They made it to the Elite Eight before being upset by George Mason. So far this season, they're 12-1 and ranked 18th in the country. But that record is not as good as it seems.

Since there is no obvious standout for Team of the Year, I've decided to use a process of elimination to narrow down the field.

The SeaDogs won the Eastern League Championship. But this is a AA championship. It isn't even the championship of all of AA. AA baseball has the sole purpose of developing talent, not determining which team is better than the other. Props to the SeaDogs for winning the Eastern League, but it isn't exactly a monumental achievement.

BC hockey came very close to winning a national title in the '05-'06 season. They fell 2-1 to Wisconsin (in Milwaukee, no less) in the final game. Although they came that close to taking the championship, their regular season was a bit of a disappointment. They were in position to win the Hockey East regular season title, but fells short, thanks in large part to a 3-6 loss to UMass-Lowell, a 3-3 tie with UNH and a 2-5 loss to UNH to end the season. Then in the Hockey East Tournament, they lost the championship game to Boston University. Speaking of BU, the Eagles also lost the Beanpot to their crosstown rivals. At the moment, the '06-'07 Eagles are tied for 2nd in Hockey East, but are very far behind 1st place Vermont. They're ranked 7th in the country. The lack of a trophy at the end of last season, coupled with good but not great results so far this season, and BC hockey doesn't merit Team of the Year.

UConn basketball was pretty damn good last season. They earned a 1 seed in the NCAA tourney, and had an impressive 30 win season, with only 4 defeats. Despite winning 31 games in the 2006 calendar year, and losing only 5, it is safe to say the end of the 05-06 season was disappointing for the Huskies. They lost to the Syracuse Orangemen in the Big East Tournament. Then they lost to George Mason in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskies were more talented than both of these teams, but these losses cost them some silverware. Also, their 12-1 performance so far this season is far from mesmerizing. These are the teams they've beaten: Quinnipiac, Central Arkansas, Fairfield, Mississippi, Albany, Sacred Heart, Texas Southern, Northeastern, Saint Mary's, South Florida, and Pepperdine. And all of these games were played in Connecticut. Their one loss came on the road against unranked West Virginia. UConn's lack of big end of season victories, as well as their lack of strong opponents this season eliminates them as contenders for Team of the Year.

So who is left? UMass football and the New England Revolution. The Revs finished 2nd in the MLS Eastern Conference, beat Chicago in the 1st round of the playoffs, then beat DC United to win the Conference. They lost to Houston on PKs in a closely fought game. UMass also lost a hard fought championship game. UMass also won the Atlantic 10 title, going undefeated in the conference (I think the last time that was accomplished was in 1997). UMass lost only 2 games all year. They lost to Appalachian State in the championship, and to D-IA Navy in the regular season. They lost 21-20 to a D-IA team that went 9-4, and nearly beat Boston College in a bowl game.

Since UMass had such an impressive regular season, and since they were 2nd best among 122 D-IAA teams, and the Revs were 2nd best among 12 teams; and since UMass won a regular season title and had a very impressive year up to and including the playoffs...The University of Massachusetts Minutemen football team is the Boston Blood Sox New England Team of the Year for 2006.


So in summation:
Harry Frazee Award for Goat of the Year: Manny Ramirez, LF, Red Sox
Dan Shaughnessey Award for Worst Sports Writing: Dan Shaughnessey, Globe
Peyton Manning/Alex Rodriguez Award for Biggest Disappointment: Boston Red Sox
Award for Patriots Hottest Cheerleader: Ashleigh van Gerven
Doug Flutie Award for Best College Athlete: Craig Smith, F, BC basketball
Bobby Orr Award for Best Bruins Player: Patrice Bergeron, C
Bill Russell Award for Best Celtics Player: Paul Pierce, G-F
Drew Bledsoe Award for Best Patriots Player: Asante Samuel, CB
Ted Williams Award for Best Red Sox Player: David Ortiz, DH
Tom Brady Award for Biggest Surprise: Jonathan Papelbon, Closer, Red Sox
Bloody Sock Award: Jon Lester, SP, Red Sox
Game of the Year: BC men's basketball vs. Villanova, March 24th, NCAA Regional Semi-Finals, Villanova 60, BC 59
Athlete of the Year: David Ortiz, DH, Red Sox
Lifetime Achievement Award: Red Auerbach, coach/executive, Celtics
Team of the Year: UMass Minutemen football

SO ITS THE JETS

For the third time this season, the Patriots will play the Jets. This time...it's personal!

Actually, this time, it means one team's season is over, and the other's can continue.

This should be a really good game. Mangini has the Jets playing well. They beat us 17-14 in November (in Foxborough) and played us close in the Meadowlands in week 2 (24-17 win). Of course, in both games, the Patriots played terribly. Not to take anything away from the Jets, but they didn't beat the Patriots at their best. We turned the ball over, had really stupid and poorly timed penalties, and couldn't finish our drives. Now some of that is due to the Jets playing good football, but not all of it. The Patriots need to play great in order to win this game. Same goes for the Jets. There is little homefield advantage in this game, and both teams know each other. The Pats have a bit more experience in the playoffs, but that really only shows itself when things start going bad.

I think we can win this game. And I think we will win this game. But it won't be easy and it will be close. I'm thinking a 21-17 victory.

Of course, I'm assuming Rodney Harrison will play. And God knows if that will happen. And by God, I mean Bill Belichick.

BC ESCAPES CHARLOTTE

Boston College was an 8 point favorite in this game. Navy was 9-3, just like BC, but they had only beaten 1 D-IA team with a winning record: East Carolina. For most of the game, however, Navy was in control.

The Midshipmen threw the option at BC, who seemed unprepared to defend it despite having such a long time (37 days) in between their loss to Miami and this game. Navy wound up with 322 total rushing yards on 59 carries. Seven Navy players had multiple carries. Four had more than 40 yards on the ground, two had more than 70.

BC's failure to successfully defend against the option forced them to play it tighter. The safeties were kept in at the snap which made us vulnerable to deep passing routes. Navy exploited this weakness perfectly. They had 2 touchdowns in the air. The only had 5 during the regular season.

The Eagles did their part in screwing up just a little bit. A few stupid penalties to begin the game and a missed XP all of which might have been due to rust after sitting for 5 weeks. Ryan also threw two picks, one which was somewhat of a freak play as the linebacker who picked the ball was hidden from Ryan's view by the umpire. Nevertheless, BC wasn't playing perfectly.

They were still in the game, and halfway through the 4th, they had an opportunity to tie with a 2 point conversion. Ryan threw a bullet that hit Tony Gonzalez in the chest, but Gonzalez couldn't bring it in. After a great defensive series, BC got the ball back on their 42. But the Eagles went 3 and out and punted.

Navy rushed past midfield and were running the clock down. They forced BC to use all of its timeouts. Just under 2 minutes on the clock, Navy had a 3rd and 15 on BC's 47. They could run the ball, and run the clock down to just over 1 minute before pooching a punt and pinning the Eagles deep. Instead, they ran the option and fumbled the pitch. BC recovered at the Navy 40.

After a few plays BC was in field goal range and kicked the game winner.

Earlier in the game, one of the commentators was describing the advantages that running the option can give an offense. Some disadvantages he didn't mention, in no particular order:

1. More likelihood of holding penalties
2. Plays can easily be blown up for a loss
3. Gaining consistent yardage on short situations is difficult
4. Your QB is going to get hit, a lot
5. If you're behind, you're doing the other team a favor by eating up clock
6. What do you do in the shadow of your own end zone? Pitch it into your own end zone?
7. THE LIKELIHOOD OF A FUMBLE OR BOTCHED PITCH

The thing is, Navy didn't need to be running the option so late in the game. It is very easy to say that in hindsight, but on a 3rd and 15 situation, you're probably not getting a 1st down anyway, so mind as well have a safe hand off or run a QB draw or something to run off 40 seconds.

I'm not going to say that BC is "lucky" to have won or that Navy "deserved" to win. There is very little luck in sports, and usually the winner deserves to win. BC deserved to win this game because they were able to put up 25 points, whereas Navy was only capable of putting up 24. It's that simple, end of story.

Hardly the most impressive victory in BC history, but considering the loss of O'Brien as head coach and the unsureness of the coaching situation and it isn't a meaningless win. The Eagles fought nicely in this game, and despite being run over by the option, were able to carve out a victory. That's what good teams do. It'll hardly be an Instant Classic, but it was a solid win.

This was also BC's 7th bowl victory in a row, which I believe is the 3rd or 4th best streak in NCAA history. Of course, the streak is deceptive as most of those bowls have been middling, late December bowls.

PATS PASS (AND RUN) TEST, WIN EAST

I try not to use this word very much when it comes to sports. I feel like it gets overused and misused by people when they talk about sports. However, the Jacksonville Jaguars were LUCKY to be in this game when it came down to the wire.

The Pats knew the task ahead of them before the game. Win and you're in. Lose and you might not be. The Jaguars weren't going to be as easy to beat as Houston was. They were 8-6 and in the running for the Wild Card spot. They had a very good defense and a solid running game, the foundations of a good football team.

This was a test game for the Patriots. We hadn't played a contending team since November 26th when we beat Chicago. Since then, we had barely beaten the Lions and were shutout by the Dolphins. We had been 5-3 against contending teams coming into this one (only 3-3 if you don't consider Buffalo competitive). This game was going to be a late season test of the Pats.

The game began with an exchange of drives that ended in punts. The Pats forced the Jags to punt again and got the ball back at their 31. Tom Brady got his 3rd carry of the game in the 1st quarter. He would end up with 10 overall. The Patriots benefited from a 15 yard face mask penalty as the 1st quarter ended 0-0. At the beginning of the 2nd, they had a 4th and 1 on the Jaguar 26. Brady was lined up for another sneak, but the play was whistled dead. Brady was called for a false start. Now, I didn't see much of a false start, and it is very strange when the QB's number gets called for moving early. He typically knows when the ball has been snapped.

So anyway, the ball was moved back and on 4th and 6, the Pats kicked a field goal to take a 3-0 lead. The Pats kicked it off and with their first offensive play of the series, the Jags got into the end zone. Here's how:

Maurice Jones-Drew was given the ball in the backfield, he ran to his right behind his offensive linemen. The linemen, however, were unable to drive forward and Jones-Drew literally ran into his guard. The collision knocked him down to the ground. BUT, he had yet to be touched by a Patriot so he wasn't down. Jones-Drew got up, just as Tully Banta-Cain (too many hyphens) arrived at the line of scrimmage.

Jones-Drew got up before Banta-Cain touched him. Banta-Cain had come up to the line, saw Jones-Drew was on the ground, and held up. He hadn't seen HOW Jones-Drew was knocked down and probably assumed he had been taken down by a Patriot. Banta-Cain also probably assumed that if he hit Jones-Drew after he had been downed, the flags would be flying.

Jones-Drew took advantage of this pause in the action, got up, and ran. The Pats D wasn't able to haul him down and he ran into the end zone for a touchdown.

Now, you can call Banta-Cain's hesitation a "mental error," but I think it's too simple for that. I think the play was simply screwed up and bizarre. Should Banta-Cain have put a hand on him? Yeah. But he also should have plowed him into the ground if he's going to touch him. Nine out of ten times, though, he'd get a personal foul for this.

The run was only the second 20+ yard run the Patriots defense has allowed all season.

The Pats replied with a stalled drive that lasted 4 plays before they punted away. The Jags went 3 and out and punted.

The Patriots next drive was vintage Tom Brady. 7 yard completion to Graham, 4 yard run by Maroney, 6 yard pass to Faulk, 5 yard pass to Childress, 6 yard pass to Faulk, 8 yard run by Maroney, 8 yard reception by Brown, 4 yard run by Faulk. These plays were all in a row. After an incompletion, Brady ran for 9 yards. On 3rd and 1, Brady hit Gaffney for a 1st down. On the play, the Jags rusher ran into Brady well after Brady got rid of the ball. To his credit, Brady didn't dive or flail on the ground or moan like a Manning, but the refs threw the flag anyway. 1st down on the 10. Faulk got 4, then Brady snuck for 5 to the 1. Dillon punched it in for the score. 10-7 Pats. The 1st half ended with that score.

David Thomas was the star of the next drive. He made a 5 yard gain turn into a 36 yarder. Then he made an amazing catch (off an amazing throw) in the end zone for his first career TD. 17-7.

The Jags and Pats exchanged drives that ended with missed field goals. For some reason CBS kept showing Gotskowski after his miss. However, the kick was a 49 yarder, not exactly a chip shot.

In the ensuing Jacksonville possession, we saw our 1,000th ticky tacky roughing the passer call of the year called on a Patriot. Richard Seymour, who was trying to sack the QB, ran into him after the ball was out. Flag thrown. Making the penalty even harsher was what happened with the ball. It found its way into the hands of Mike Vrabel.

The call was a ticky tacky call. We've seen it far too often this season. Instead of having the ball with a 10 point lead, 4 minutes left in the 3rd, and possession of the ball near midfield; the Jags were given the ball in our territory after the 15 yard penalty.

Immediately after the call, the Jaguars got to the 2 yard line and eventually punched it into the end zone. The Patriots responded nicely with a touchdown drive aided by some Jacksonville penalties. The Jags scored and we went 3 and out, but Rodney Harrison recovered a fumble that sealed the game.

The Patriots didn't play perfectly, but they played without screwing up in a big way. And if it weren't for that roughing penalty that negated a pick, the game probably would have been over much sooner than it was.

With the win, the Patriots wrapped up the AFC East for the 4th year in a row. This is also their 5th division title in 6 years. Since 2001, we've won 6 division championships, which is more than we had won in all the years before then.

Brady had maybe his best game of the season, not from a stats point of view, but from a leadership one. He had 10 carries for 31 yards (Dillon had 10 for 30), made some good throws, maneuvered in the pocket nicely, and orchestrated some nice drives.

PLAYOFF PICTURE
As it is, the Patriots would be the 4th seed in the playoffs. They're tied with the Colts for the 3rd best record in the AFC, but the Colts hold the head-to-head win against us and it is the first tie-breaker. Indy hosts Miami next week.

At the moment, the 5th seed is the team we would play and that team is the vaunted Denver Broncos. But the situation is still very fluid. The Jets are the 6th seed, but they'll play tomorrow in Miami. Cincinnati, Kansas City, Tennessee, and Jacksonville are all 8-7 but are on the outside looking in right now.

VERY BUSY DAY FOR RED SOX

The deadline was looming. The entirety of Red Sox Nation was worried about whether or not we'd sign Daisuke Matsuzaka, and for what price. Rumors placed Boras's unyielding demands at $70 million for 6 seasons. It seemed like the possibilities of signing the WBC MVP were waning by the hour as the clock ticked.

Red Sox brass flew out to southern California to meet with Matsuzaka and agent Scott Boras. After talking, and reporting "frustration" to the ever attentive Red Sox Press Corps, things looked dreary.

The Red Sox issued a deadline of their own. Theo Epstein and associates would be boarding a private plane for Boston on Wednesday morning, with or without Matsuzaka. Wednesday morning came and Matsuzaka and Boras boarded the private plane with the minds behind the Sox. Things seemed to be looking up.

Reports popped up all over the internet, citing "unknown sources close to the negotiations." They were all saying that the team was very, VERY, close to making a deal for Matsuzaka. Of course, these were the same sites and reporters that claimed that the deal was essentially dead.

Boston.com posted a link that allowed fans to observe live updates of the private plane's flight path. I'll admit to checking it from time to time, to see how close it was. As a matter of fact, the plane flew very near Ithaca, NY, where I am currently situated. No, I didn't make any giant signs or anything, I was too busy doing work. Plus, any sign visible from 20,000 feet would have to be pretty monstrous.

The plane landed at Hanscom Field in Bedford. With a police escort, Matsuzaka was brought to Mass. General and underwent a physical. Reportedly, the deal had been struck and was impending only the results of said physical before it went into effect.

Even RedSox.com reported the deal as being all but finalized, with an official announcement expected to come Thursday afternoon. The deal is said to be $52 million over 6 years, or $8.67 million per year. That means that in total, the Sox will be paying $103.1 million for Matsuzaka. If we only keep him for the 6 years, that's a $17.2 million per season investment.

The price is good, though, trust me. Do you see what other teams are paying for 35 year old #2/#3 starters these days? Meanwhile, we get a 26 year old with stuff that could make him an Ace in the Majors. We also got Scott Boras to come down on his proposed contract by about $20 million. As far as accomplishments go, that's just a step below winning the World Series.

So why did Boras go down? Was the $70 million a ploy? Here's a couple of reasons why that number may have decreased. Firstly, his client could have urged Boras to get the deal done. Matsuzaka wants to pitch in the Majors, and perhaps didn't want to spend another year in NPB. Another factor is that he truly is an unproven commodity. Another factor is that he will be 32 when this deal ends, which means that if he plays well in MLB, he'll receive a very good contract. Another factor is that if the deal didn't get done, teams might be somewhat wary of posting a huge sum for him, knowing he'd want to get even more in his contract.

In the end, I think that Matsuzaka's desire to pitch in the Majors superseded his desire to get a massive contract.

The big question now is, will the Sox be able to churn out some Matsuzaka merchandise before Christmas?

IN OTHER NEWS

Julio Lugo was introduced to the media by Terry Francona and Assistant GM Jed Hoyer.

The Sox also came to terms on a 1 year deal with Doug Mirabelli. The deal is said to be worth $700,000 and includes performance based incentives.

There's also a rumor that the Sox might be looking at Chan Ho Park as a potential closer. Reportedly, this was something discussed between Park's agent, Boras, and Theo on the plane.

MATSUZAKA SITUATION AND MORE

Oh the drama of off-season baseball. The international cast of characters. The intrigue. The villainy. Fans clamoring for one company to pay another company millions in order to secure the rights of a pitcher, then being shocked that the pitcher wants even more money. Fans griping about high salaries, which are inflated because of fan demand for talent.

The Red Sox have just about 2 days (at the time I'm writing this, 10 PM Tuesday night) to sign Matsuzaka or he will return to Japan next season. The jubilation that occurred nearly a month ago when we won the rights to negotiate with him has turned into harsh reality.

Scott Boras, Matsuzaka's agent, has become the apparent antagonist in this drama. He wants a lot of money for his client. Is that supposed to shock us? An agent wanting money for his player? Is this news worthy of report on BostonDirtDogs.com? Why are we villainizing him?

Let's play agent's advocate. You're Scott Boras. You see the Red Sox willing to put up $51.1 million just to talk with Daisuke. You see every free agent in baseball getting paid salaries that range from a bit too high to way too much. The contracts for pitching are particularly high. Now, you also see that many other teams were willing to put up big money to sign Matsuzaka. It is logical to assume that they'd likely do so in the next off-season. Now, why wouldn't you try to get a boatload of money for your client?

A great many fans are moaning about greed. They're calling Boras and Matsuzaka greedy because they want money. Are you f*cking kidding me, people?

Let's just imagine you work for a company. You're very good at what you do, one of the best in the industry. But you work in Barre, Vermont. You'd like to work for the bigger companies in places like Boston and NYC. But you're under contract. The company you work for, however, listens to your requests. They agree to allow you to leave Barre and get work for a larger firm, but they will take half of the money the larger firm is willing to pay you. You think you might be a bit upset? You think you might be feeling gypped?

This is the situation in which Matsuzaka and Boras find themselves. If you want my opinion, the Sox kind of dug their own hole on this one. They put up the $51.1 hoping to sign Matsuzaka for about $50 million more. But now they're staring at a price tag of about $120 million total. Now they either have to pony up the money, or have to face disgrace and failure to acquire a #1 pitcher this off-season.

My opinion is that if it is the 0 hour and Boras hasn't budged, pay him and Matsuzaka the money. The sad truth is, we need Matsuzaka more than he needs us. And to be honest, we've already spent $100 million total on Drew and Lugo, two above average players, it would appear foolhardy of us to refuse to spend $120 million on a player who could potentially be great.

Great pitchers, like Matsuzaka is capable of being, win World Series. Above average hitters like JD Drew and Julio Lugo do not.

KAPLER STAYS WITH ORGANIZATION
Former Red Sox utility outfielder Gabe Kapler retired from playing pro ball at the age of 31 the other day. He was then named as manager of A Greenville within the Sox organization. He replaced Luis Alicea who is now the Boston Red Sox first base coach.

It is good to see that the organization has been able to create some good relationships with players. The Yawkey trust/Dan Duqeutte years were marred with problems between personnel and management. But the new Red Sox seem to be a team that players and coaches want to stick with. With the notable exceptions of Shea Hillenbrand and Nomar Garciaparra.


BACKUP CATCHER AND CLOSER STILL VACANCIES
The Red Sox are negotiating with Doug Mirabelli to be the backup catcher next season. The deal would probably be short-term and not worth an exorbitant amount. Another possibility could be 40 year old Sandy Alomar Jr.

Eric Gagne is close to signing with Texas for $8 million guaranteed. That's a lot for a guy with a big time recent injury. Understandably, the Sox backed out of those negotiations. The Sox are rumored to be in trade talks concerning Chad Cordero, Akinori Otsuka, and Mike Gonzalez.

What about Jose Mesa? Why not?

PATRIOT PSYCHOLOGY
I think that the recent decline of the Patriots isn't just their fault. I think that part of it might be due to the fact that the NFL has finally woken up and smelled the coffee.

When the Pats first started winning, they were underdogs. They were maligned for their short dump passes and screens. Bill Cowher complained that his more talented Steelers were gypped in the AFC title game in the '01 season. The Raiders similarly complained of outright robbery. The Rams just seemed to not give much attention to how the Patriots were playing in the Super Bowl that season. And it cost them.

The in 2003, the mystique began. After week 4, they simply stopped losing. They won high scoring shootouts like the 38-34 win over Indy. They'd win tight close games like the 9-3 win over Cleveland. They then went into the playoffs, beat the two MVPs (McNair and Manning) then edged Carolina 32-29. By then, the Patriots had not only earned respect from the NFL. They had earned fear.

In '04, we only lost twice. The loss to Pittsburgh was when we had no RB and no DBs. It was the exception to the new rule that the Patriots were unbeatable. The other loss was a silly 29-28 defeat at the hands of Miami in which everyone and their mother knew that the Pats simply dropped the ball in a relatively meaningless late season game. The playoffs saw the Pats completely dominate Indy, holding the best offense to 3 points. Then they routed Pittsburgh, scoring 41 against the best defense. Another Super Bowl win and the Patriots were crowned a dynasty. The best team in the NFL, by far. 34-4 in two years and truly unbeatable at home.

I remember those games, and even when it was close or we were behind, you just felt confident that we would win. I've been wondering lately, did the opposing team also feel so sure about the result. Did teams go into games, knowing in the back of their minds that they were playing the best team in the League and one imperfection would result in a loss?

Did our opponents in '03 and '04 fall prey to self-fulfilling prophecies. Did their fear of screwing up cause them to screw up. For some players, ahem Peyton Manning, this appeared to be blatantly obvious. One mistake would build on another. Meanwhile, we'd make mistakes (Brady's late INT in the Super Bowl against Carolina) but we'd recover. Were we that much better than the NFL, or was the NFL in such a defeatist mindset that subconsciously they quit when they made mistakes?

In 2005, we were somewhat exposed. Teams started beating us. The rest of the NFL picked up on that. These weren't freaky losses like in '04. Nor were these only to the best teams in the NFL. In 2005, we lost 6 regular season games. We lost to the 9-7 Chargers in Gillette, the 10-6 Chiefs, and the 9-7 Dolphins, along with losses to top teams like Carolina, Denver, and Indy.

It is entirely possible that the NFL is starting to play us with confidence, and not fear. We've only dominated our opponent in 4 games (@ Cincinnati, @ Buffalo, @ Minnesota, @ Green Bay). Our games against bad and mediocre teams are typically very close (19-17 win vs. Buffalo, 28-21 win vs. Detroit,). We've also been beaten, consistently, by good teams that are playing well. Some of these losses were absolute beatdowns. 17-7 loss vs. Denver, 21-0 loss @ Miami.

We no longer inspire fear in the NFL. That's a problem. We have the talent, despite the injuries and the loss of players to other teams, to win football games. We haven't been. And every loss inspires more and more confidence in the NFL.

DO WE DESERVE TO GO BACK TO MIAMI?

The Patriots poor play finally caught up to them as we were shut out by the Miami Dolphins 21-0. This was the first time we've failed to score a point since the infamous 31-0 loss to Buffalo in 2003. It is also the first time we've lost on the road since week 12 last season when we lost to the Chiefs. It's also the first time we've lost to a divisional opponent on the road since 2004.

There are so many reasons why we lost this game. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Injuries. We've endured another season filled with defensive injuries, particularly to the defensive secondary. You know, we've had 24 different DBs in the past 3 seasons. That's insane!

Anyway, in this game, we were without Harrison, Wilson, Seau, and Maroney. Seau and Maroney's absence didn't really seem to hurt us that much, but the lack of Wilson and Harrison in the defensive backfield bit us hard. On Booker's first TD catch, Wilson or Harrison would have been much more likely to break up the pass and even pick the ball off.

The injuries are getting ridiculous. I'm starting to suspect that this is some sort of problem. I don't know what the problem is, though. It could be we practice too hard during the week, not hard enough, or our training staff isn't good enough. However, so many seasons with these kinds of injuries to a particular group of the team, namely DBs, is probably not a coincidence. The Patriots brain trust needs to figure out what the problem is and fix it.

2. Penalties. We had 9 penalties for 71 yards. Some of them were not really our fault. The refs had trouble keeping their flag in their pockets on a few occasions. Vince Wilfork's roughing the passer penalty was just absolute BS. Seymour's was also ticky tacky. The Dolhpins did get flagged once for this and it was huge for us, or could have been if we had taken advantage of it. However, it seemed to me that Jason Taylor was getting away with what Seymour got flagged for. But we lost this game, the refs didn't lose it for us.

We had a massive amount of dumb, stupid penalties. False starts by wide receivers, Patrick Pass not lining up on the line of scrimmage in punt formation, and the double forward pass play.

3. Poor tackling. It seemed like most of the time, the Dolphins player would get an extra 1 to 3 yards on their run because we couldn't wrap up and haul down. This might be attributed to the injuries, especially with good tacklers like Seau, Wilson, and Harrison missing the game.

4. Graham's fumble. This was a big play. It gave the Dolphins control in the field position battle for the entire first half. At worse, we could have punted and pinned them back and possibly taken control of the game. Instead, we let them run it the entire 60 minutes.

5. Lack of a big play on defense. We forced no turnovers and only sacked Harrington once. We let him get away too many times on plays in which we were close to bringing him down. Then he'd find an open man and turn a potentially negative play into a positive play. We didn't get consistent pressure on Harrington and that eventually hurt us.

7. Poor pass protection. You have to give credit to Miami on this one. They won the battle in the trenches and got consistent pressure on Brady. But we didn't do much in an effort to stop the pass rush. We didn't try any screens or misdirection plays to punish the Dolphins' aggression on defense. We tried the short little passes to get the ball away quickly, but the Dolphins did a good job at tackling our guys.

This might be one spot where we really missed Maroney. His shiftiness as a runner forces defenders to stay more at home and pursue just a bit less. Dillon had a few good run plays in Taylor's direction, but Dillon is not nearly as elusive as Maroney.

8. The punt war. Miami won the punt war this game. They pinned us within our own 5 yard line on several occasions. The only time we did that to them, we were flagged for an illegal formation. Apart from that play, we gave them the ball at the 15 or better. Often times, we punted the ball and Miami would start in our territory. That's really hard on a defense to force them to defend such a short field the entire game.

9. Not enough rushing. We ran for 123 yards on the ground, but I feel like Dillon should have gotten more carries, especially in the 3rd quarter. We seemed to be trying too many awkward pass plays. Seeing as how we were struggling to protect Brady, and Dillon was doing so well at finding and exploiting holes, I think we should have given him the ball more.

10. Brady. He was inaccurate at times. I know he was under a great deal of pressure from the Dolphins, but he still missed a few passes in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quarters that could have been big. The best ball he threw was on the double pass play that was called back. He also made a great catch on that play, but unfortunately it didn't do anything but cost us 5 yards due to penalty.

We could have clinched the AFC East today with a win and a New York loss. Instead, we might be holding on to a mere 1 game lead in the division. Furthermore, we're only 1 game ahead of some of the Wild Card teams in the AFC.

And is it me, or does Wes Welker seem like he would be a perfect fit for the Patriots? Tough player willing of doing anything for the team. Remember when he filled in for Mare as a kicker against us?

The Patriots host Houston next week.

THE BEST TEAM IN NEW ENGLAND?

The UMass Minutemen advanced to the D-IAA finals with a grueling 19-17 win over Montana the other night. They will play defending champion Appalachian State next weekend in Chattanooga for the D-IAA title. Appalachian State, like UMass, is a 1 loss team whose sole defeat came at the hands of a D-IA opponent.

Is UMass's football team the best major sports team in New England this year, relative to their competition? The Red Sox finished 3rd in the AL East, the Patriots have looked like crap in a few games, Boston College football dropped the ball in some big games, the Celtics can't win a close game, and the Bruins are struggling to make the playoffs. The only other big team in New England that has done as well as UMass is the New England Revolution, who lost on penalty kicks in the MLS Cup.

If UMass wins, they'll be the best team in New England.