PRO BOWL ROSTER RELEASED

Seven Patriots will be starting, and eight will be going to the Pro Bowl this year. Maybe that's premature. Anywhere from 20 to 40% of the players selected don't show due to injury or apathy. Hopefully the Patriots will be coming off a massive celebration when its Pro Bowl time.

There is one Patriot who you'd expect to see, but who is not on the roster.

Here is the full roster for the AFC:

QB1: Tom Brady - New England
QB2: Peyton Manning - Indianapolis
QB3: Ben Roethlisberger - Pittsburgh

RB1: Ladanian "Classy" Tomlinson - San Diego
RB2: Willie Parker - Pittsburgh
RB3: Joseph Addai - Indianapolis

FB1: Lorenzo Neal - San Diego

WR1 Randy Moss - New England
WR2: Reggie Wayne - Indianapolis
WR3: Braylon Edwards - Cleveland
WR4: T.J. Houshmandzadeh - Cincinnati

TE1: Antonio Gates - San Diego
TE2: Tony Gonzalez - Kansas City

OT1: Matt Light - New England
OT2: Jason Peters - Buffalo
OT3: Jonathan Ogden - Baltimore

OG1: Logan Mankins - New England
OG2: Alen Faneca - Pittsburgh
OG3: Kris Dielman - San Diego

C1: Jeff Saturday - Indianapolis
C2: Dan Koppen - New England

P: Shane Lechler - Oakland

K: Rob Bironas - Tennessee

KR: Josh Cribbs - Cleveland

ST: Kassim Osgood - San Diego

DE1: Jared Allen - Kansas City
DE2: Kyle Vanden Bosch - Tennessee
DE3: Jason Taylor - Miami

DT1: Albert Haynseworth - Tennessee
DT2: Vince Wilfork - New England
DT3: Jamal Williams - San Diego

OLB1: Mike Vrabel - New England
OLB2: James Harrisson - Pittsburgh
OLB3: Shawn "Spazz" Merriman - San Diego

ILB1: Demeco Ryans - Houston
ILB2: Ray Lewis - Baltimore

CB1: Asante Samuel - New England
CB2: Champ Bailey - Denver
CB3: Antonio Cromartie - San Diego

FS: Ed Reed - Baltimore

SS1: Bob Sanders - Indianapolis
SS2: Troy Polamalu - Pittsburgh

Notice the lack of Wes Welker, and his 96 receptions, and 1,004 receiving yards. Oh well, he'll probably be the first alternate at WR once somebody backs out.

NOT WHAT WE EXPECTED, BUT IT'LL DO

This picture of Brady rushing makes me laugh. It seems so out of place, unreal even.

The Patriots were favored by more than three touchdowns, but that's how many TDs both teams combined for in a sloppy and dull 20-10 New England victory. And only one of those touchdowns was scored on offense.

The Pats got on the board first. Eugene Wilson got an early Christmas present from Kellen Clemens in the form of an interception. Wilson returned it into the end zone to put New England up 7-0.



It seemed as though the route was on, but the Pats wouldn't get into the end zone for another 23 minutes of game clock.

The Pats added a field goal after coming up a yard shy of a first down inside the Jets' 10 yard line. It was 10-0, New England. New York was still very much in the game.

The Jets got on the board thanks to a Chris Hanson mishandled snap. He tried to get the punt off after bumbling the slick pigskin, but it was blocked, scooped up by David Bowens, and ran into the end zone. 10-7 New England.

The Pats drove into Jets territory, but the drive stalled just past midfield. The Patriots had a lot of stalled drives. Third downs were a major problem for Brady and the boys, they only converted 6 of 16, even though most of them were 3rd and around 4 to 6.

Kelley Washington came up with a big special teams play in the form of a blocked punt to give the Pats possession of the football on the New York 3 yard line. Washington has been a monster on special teams this season. He has 15 tackles, as well as a forced fumble. Now he can add a blocked punt to his solid season of work.

Maroney dove into the end zone, scoring what would turn out to be the only offensive touchdown of the game, giving the Pats a 17-7 lead going into the half.

In the third quarter, a Brady interception threatened to turn into a Jets score, but Adalius Thomas and Richard Seymour were able to force a fumble on their own 10 yard line. Eugene Wilson recovered and the Pats were safe once more.

An absolutely stupid false start penalty on 3rd and 1 contributed to a Patriots punt, but the Jets were eventually forced to punt after crossing midfield.

In the 4th quarter, the Jets mounted a lengthy, drawn out drive that only resulted in 3 points. It was 17 plays long and took 7:40 off the clock. Even though they scored, it was more of a benefit to New England than to themselves. The Pats got the ball back with a 17-10 lead and 6:08 on the clock.

On 3rd and 10, Brady hit Welker for a gain of 16. The yardage put Wes past the 1,000 mark, the first time he has ever reached the milestone of 1,000 receiving yards. This is only the 2nd time in team history that the Patriots have had a pair of 1,000 yard receivers.

Randy Moss had the play of the game, hauling in a 46 yard bomb from Brady, despite Kerry Rhodes' interference. You'd think that we'd be used to such amazing grabs at this point in the season, but they continue to astound.



The drive would end in a field goal and a 20-10 lead.

The Jets responded immediately with a kickoff return that landed them at New England's 31. They drove into the red zone, and appeared to score a touchdown with 2:38 on the clock. But the play was overturned. Eventually, New York was forced to attempt a field goal which went wide left, effectively ending the game.

New York's last gasp drive saw Pennington sacked three times.



I wouldn't go so far as to say the Patriots played poorly, but I would say that they lacked an edge and a crispness that we're used to seeing them have.

The defense played very well, yielding yardage but not points. They only allowed 3 by the Jets offense. Adalius had one of his best games with 9 tackles and 1.5 sacks. Seau added a pair of sacks to the effort. The Jets got into the red zone 4 times and came away with a scant 3 points from those opportunities.

Brady did not look his best. Perhaps it was the weather, but his passes seemed to float a bit, missing open receivers, and rarely hitting them in stride. Only five Patriots had receptions, we're used to seeing 8 or more different guys getting thrown to.

Special teams was hit or miss. The kickoff coverage didn't perform nearly as well as we've seen them do in previous games, and the bungled punt was a huge play that kept the Jets in it.

Laurence Maroney had a very solid day, rushing for 104 yards on 26 carries (precisely 4.0 yards per attempt). This was one of the few games that saw more rushes (35) than pass attempts (27).



The Patriots had numerous opportunities to extend drives, and maybe put the ball in the end zone, but they failed to do so. Again, the weather was not conducive to offensive football. Freezing rain is much worse for passing offenses than snow, and the 30 MPH crosswinds whirling around Gillette weren't helping Brady throw the deep ball with any accuracy.

But the Patriots still won because they're very good, and the Jets suck. I'm sorry, but there's no other way to put it.

This is only the 2nd time in NFL history that a team has reached the 14-0 mark. The last time was in 1972, when the Dolphins finished THEIR regular season at 14-0. The Pats have two more games to go. The best record in Patriots franchise history is 14-2, accomplished in 2003, and 2004. Now that feat has at least been matched. New England also clinched home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.

The Pats host the 1-13 Dolphins next Sunday at 4:15. The Dolphins beat Baltimore in overtime on Sunday. The early point spread has the Pats as 21.5 point favorites.

I wonder what excuse Mangini will come up with on Monday to try to discredit the Patriots this time. Maybe the heat wasn't working in their locker room. Or perhaps all the snowball throwing caused radio interference, disrupting the Jets' radio communications.



Bill Belichick 4, Eric Mangini 1.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The long awaited Mitchell Report came out today, the culmination of a lengthy and thorough investigation into the use of banned substances in Major Leage Baseball. The most anticipated portion of the Report was the List of players connected with anabolic steroids, HGH, amphetamines, and other performance enhancing drugs. Here are some of the notable names mentioned:

Manny Alexander - Red Sox utility infielder in 2000. This name shouldn't come as a surprise, since he was caught with steroids in his car back in '00. A clubhouse employee took responsibility for it, but we all knew that was bogus.

Barry Bonds - duuuuuuuuuuh

Kevin Brown - Former Yankee starting pitcher, and once the highest paid pitcher in baseball.

Jose Canseco - He wrote the book on steroids in baseball. Literally.

Brendan Donnelly - Red Sox reliever this year. The Sox just passed on tendering him a contract, making him a free agent. Donnelly missed most of the '07 season on the DL.

Jason Gambi - Can we put an asterisk next to the 2003 ALCS? After all, it was his solo homeruns that chipped away at the lead before all hell broke loose in the 8th inning.

Jeremy Giambi - He must have gotten his from a different guy from his brother's supplier.

Eric Gange - He exploded and became one of the best relievers ever for 2 years, then he came back to Earth, as we all witnessed. Nevertheless, he wore a "Yankees Suck" shirt at the parade, so I forgive him.

Andy Pettite - Just resigned with the Yankees.

Gary Sheffield - What a surprise, another former Yankee on the juice.

Mo Vaughn - Say it ain't so, Mo. Say it ain't so.

I have yet to peruse the Mitchell Report, but some reports on the Report also say that Nomar Garciaparra, and Jason Varitek were on the List. But they've also been absent on several other lists I've seen, so I don't know what to think. My reason for not discussing these two guys is not my pro-Sox bias. I hate Nomar and would love nothing more than to revel in his downfall.

And here's the biggest name on the List...

Roger Clemens - Maybe Dan Duquette was right, perhaps the Rocket was in the twilight of his career before seeking the shelter of the athlete's little helper. I've heard two varying stories about Roger's steroid/HGH usage. One has him starting when he became a Blue Jay. Another has him beginning in 2000 with the Yankees.

Roger starting a cycle in 2000 might make the most sense. In 1999 and 2000, Clemens was mediocre, going a combined 27-18 with an ERA of 4.13. Then in 2001 he goes 20-3 with a 3.51 ERA and pitches 220.1 innings.

Clemens was a great pitcher before 2000, a first-ballot Hall of Famer for sure. But his performance since then has caused many "experts" to argue for him to be considered the greatest of all-time. Perhaps now they will realize that they were wrong.

The artificial extension of Roger's career garnered him over 100 more wins. He's also added 1,356 more strikeouts. Roger now sits 8th all-time in wins, and 2nd in strikeouts. But how much of these impressive figures were aided unnaturally and illegally? How much does that matter when considering a player's legacy?

It is impossible to determine what would happen if a player were to take PEDs. They could improve, stay the same, or even get worse. By the same token, it is impossible to determine what would have happened if a player DIDN'T take PEDs. Roger may have still gotten those 100 wins, and 1,356 strikeouts. He may still have gotten the 2001 AL Cy Young, and the 2004 NL Cy Young. We simply don't know.

However, that lack of knowing is a result of Clemens' own cheating. It is his own behavior that will lead to his legacy being tarnished, his numbers being questioned, his career looked at suspiciously. The public may condemn Roger, but it is he himself who hath damned him. I, for one, shall not weep for Roger Clemens.

In fact, I take great joy in the fact that his name will be dragged through the slime and the mud. Call it Schadenfreude, call it bitterness, call it what you will. I call it hatred. I hate Roger Clemens. He's a liar. He's a greedy bastard. He's a coward. And now, he's a cheat.

People once argued that his name be in the same sentence as Walter Johnson, Christy Matthewson, Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, and the other great pitchers. Now his name sits aside Jose Conseco's, Jeremy Giambi's, Manny Alexander's, Sammy Sosa's, and John Rocker's.

DESPITE INJURIES, BRUINS CLIMBING THE STANDINGS

With the Patriots at 13-0, and the Celtics at 17-2, very little attention is being paid to the Boston Bruins In fact, the Sports section of yesterday’s Boston Globe focused mainly on a retirement home for former racehorses. This was despite the fact that the Bruins crushed Buffalo 4-1 on Monday night, and are now second place in the Northeast Division.

The Bruins are 6-5-2 within the Northeast Division, including a 3-0-1 mark against Buffalo, and a 3-0-0 record against the Maple Leafs. The only major obstacle within the division has been Montreal, who have outscored the Bruins 19-8 in their four victories.

What impresses me the most about the Bruins so far is their ability to perform despite losing key players. After losing Patrice Bergeron, the Bruins are 10-6-3, and have risen from eighth in the conference to fourth (actually, the Bruins are tied with the second most points). Manny Fernandez went down earlier in the year, which made Tim Thomas the #1 goalie, until he got a groin injury against the Devils a week ago. Twenty year old Finn Tuukka Rask filled in for a few starts, but his lack of experience (and his poor performance against the Canadiens), resulted in the acquisition of Alex Auld.

Auld started against Toronto on Saturday night. The Leafs got on the board first thanks to some European style passing by Pavel Kubina diagonally across the neutral zone, springing Jason Blake on the near side wing. Blake wristed one past Auld to put Toronto up 1-0. The assists went to Kubina and former Bruin Hal Gill. Gill had gotten the puck near his own goal line before finding Kubina in the neutral zone. Toronto’s possession consisted of two passes, a little skating by Blake, and a shot. That was enough to give them the lead.

The Bruins’ goal would look eerily similar, only this score was on the power play. Aaron Ward took the puck from behind his own net, found rookie Matt Hunwick in the neutral zone with a long pass. Hunwick hit Chuck Kobasew in the high slot, and the Bruins’ leading goal scorer beat Vesa Toskala with a wrist shot to tie the game. Hunwick’s assist was his first NHL point.

In the second period, Boston netted the game winner. After being denied on a wraparound opportunity, Brandon Bochenski was able to tip his own rebound back to Dennis Wideman at the blue line. Wideman drove a slap shot threw a thin lane, and past Toskala to give the Bruins their first lead of the game.

The rest of the night would feature Alex Auld in the butterfly making save after save, and moving from post to post beautifully. He made 25 saves on 26 shots, winning his debut with Boston. Auld has played for four different teams (Florida, Vancouver, Phoenix, and Boston), and has won his debut with each one.

Monday night, the Bruins beat Buffalo 4-1, but that score is deceptive. Buffalo outshot the Bruins 45 to 21. Buffalo won 64% of the faceoffs. The offensive opportunities that the Sabres mounted were more sustained and more numerous. However, when the Bruins had chances, they capitalized on them. And when Buffalo had chances, they were stopped by Mister Auld.

The Bruins got on the board early, about 6:30 into the first period. Buffalo had been having difficulty moving the puck out of their own zone, and it proved fatal. Some nice forechecking by Glen Murray forced a cross-ice pass that was intercepted by Marc Savard in the high slot. From there, it was easy for the NHL’s leader in assists to slap it into the net for his sixth goal of the year.

Forty-four seconds later, the Bruins went ahead 2-0. This time it was Savard with an assist, as he centered the puck to P.J. Axelsson in front of the net, and the veteran Swede finished the job.
Buffalo was able to get a power play goal which came at the end of about 100 exhausting seconds of possession inside the Bruins zone. But any momentum they might have built was crushed as Milan Lucic passed to a net crashing Peter Schaefer, who built the lead back to two goals.

A scoreless second period saw Auld stop all 20 shots he faced. The Bruins iced it in the third with a Glen Metroplit backhander. Some third period penalties on Buffalo allowed Boston to run the clock out and leave western New York with two points.

Tim Thomas should be back after another week or so. And it appears as though Alex Auld will be his backup when he does return. Manny Fernandez may be going under the knife as his left knee continues to cause him problems. Fernandez played a few games for the AHL’s Providence Bruins, but still had some problems with the butterfly position. Bruins’ GM Peter Chiarelli had this to say about Fernandez:

“He can’t push off 100 percent in the butterfly with the left leg. He can push off 95 percent, but not 100. So he was trying to keep the leg straight or avoid that push. He changed his style. You know sometimes when you go to the post, you’d go down in a pure butterfly? Well, he wouldn’t. He’d keep one leg up. So he was overcompensating, and he had some groin problems and the back problem because of that.”

With Thomas and Auld, there may be no need for Fernandez to come back.

The Bruins end their three game road trip in Atlanta tonight, facing the Thrashers for the first time this season.

SATISFACTION GUARANTEED

When wannabe safety Anthony Smith opened his trap and publicly guaranteed a win over the Patriots, was there any doubt that New England would crush the Steelers? Before making (and failing to deliver on) his promise, Smith was most widely known as the answer to the following question: "Who the hell is that guy in the Pittsburgh secondary?" Now he will forever go down in history as the answer to THIS question "Who was the Steeler toolbox who ran his mouth and then got smoked like a Cuban cigar while his team was steamrolled?"

And another group of people who will be enjoying leftover crow all weekend will be the "architects" in the national (and even local) sports media, who repeated the words "blueprints" and "exposed" ad nauseum. These clowns will probably come up with something new to fill their crappy columns and blogs this week. I wouldn't be shocked if we see a rise in the amount of SpyGate B.S. with the Jets coming to town next weekend. And we'll probably also have in depth analysis and breakdowns of Bill Belichick's post-game handshakes over the years.

Now that I've gotten my ranting out of the way (for now), let's get to the important stuff: the Patriots' 34-13 drubbing of the so-called Steel Curtain, a.k.a. Blitzburgh, a.k.a. Anthony Smith's Black and Gold Warriors of Stupidity, a.k.a. "the best defense in the NFL," a.k.a. the Pittsburgh Steelers.



In my opinion, Sunday's 34-13 victory over Pittsburgh was the best played game the Patriots have had all year. The defense bent, but didn't break; the offensive line picked up blitzes; Brady put up Colt Brennan numbers (399 yards, 4 TDs); and the receivers were once again astounding (Moss: 7 rec, 135 yds, 2 TDs; Gaffney: 7 rec, 122 yds career high, TD; Welker: 9 rec, 78 yds, TD). We didn't do very well on the ground with 22 yards from 9 rushes. Then again, we didn't need to. And remember that pile moving run by Maroney early on? That was pretty impressive.

The Steelers' first drive went all the way to the New England 5 yard line. But it ended with a vintage Patriot defensive stand, something we haven't seen too much of. In terms of TD percentage, the Pats have the worst red zone defense in the NFL. However, they stopped Pittsburgh at the 5, and forced a field goal attempt. 3-0 Pittsburgh.

The Patriots response was set up by a 39 yard kickoff return by Chad Jackson. This would be the first and only drive that would feature a heavy dose Laurence Maroney, which set up play action later in the game. The key play of the drive was a 3rd and 2 converted by Brady and Moss. About to get hit, Brady threw to Moss near the sideline. Moss was perfectly covered by Ike Taylor. But Randy elevated and ripped the ball from the air, gaining 16 yards and a pivotal 1st down.



The drive culminated with a 4 yard TD pass from Brady, to Moss. It was Tom's 42nd of the year, which is good for 4th most in NFL history. It was Moss's 18th TD reception, which is a new career high for him. Remember, it's only week 14. 7-3 New England.



After the PAT and kickoff, Jarvis Green sacked Roethlesberger for a loss of 9. Two plays later the Steelers were forced to punt.



What followed was a 1 play, 0:10 drive, Brady to Moss down the middle, and a touchdown. 14-3 New England. The play action was sold beautifully by Brady and Maroney. Moss was wide open in the center of the field, and Brady hit him in stride for the 63 yard TD.



Give credit to the Steelers, however. They responded with a touchdown drive of their own. Willie Parker rushed for 34 yards on two carries, and had a 4 yard reception to lead Pittsburgh to the end zone. 14-10 New England.



After going three and out, New England regained possession thanks to a muffed punt recovery. However, they were unable to do much with the ball, despite getting it on Pittsburgh's 34 yard line. Gostkowski missed a 48 yard field goal. This missed opportunity may have been the only poorly played sequence the Patriots would have all evening.

The Steelers mustered a near 6 minute drive that didn't do much except run the 1st half clock down. They did their power run thing, throwing in a few dink and dunk passes and some Roethlesberger scrambles. They got to the New England 26, but couldn't convert a 3rd and 2, and were forced to kick another field goal.. 14-13 New England.

The Pats ran their 2 minute drill, but were unable to recover from a holding penalty committed by Faulk. Gostkowski kicked a 42 yarder to once again make it a four point game at 17-13. The Steelers kneeled the ball, bringing the game to half-time.

Pittsburgh punted to end their first drive of the second half, thanks in large part to Vince Wilfork's sack for an 8 yard loss. The Patriots then scored a touchdown on what was undoubtedly the play of the game.

On 1st and 10 at his 44, Brady dropped back short, throwing to his right. The ball was thrown slightly backwards, so it was a lateral. The play appeared to be a normal WR screen to Moss. But the backward pass was low, hitting the ground before Moss could pick it up. Randy then threw it back to Brady, who was all by himself. At this moment, 70,000 fans at Gillette Stadium collectively inhaled, as they could see that Brady had plenty of time to throw, and there was an open Patriot receiver downfield. Jabbar Gaffney had already smoked the aforementioned Anthony Smith, and it was only a matter of execution. Brady's bomb made a perfect landing in Gaffney's arms for a 56 yard touchdown. 24-13 New England.

NFL.com's play-by-play describes this complicated play like this:

(10:17) T. Brady FUMBLES (Aborted) at NE 35, recovered by NE-R. Moss at NE 35. R. Moss to NE 33 for -2 yards. T. Brady pass deep left to J. Gaffney for 56 yards, TOUCHDOWN. flea flicker. Backwards pass to Moss on right sideline, then backwards pass back to Brady.

I would have described the play as a WR Flea-Flicker with a muffed (or aborted) QB/WR exchange. What's funny is that the last time I've seen this play was when the Steelers did it against Cincinnati in the playoffs a few years ago.

Earlier in the drive, Moss had a 22 yard reception, which pushed him over the 100 yard mark. This was Randy's 54th career 100+ yard receiving game. That is the 3rd most 100 yard games in NFL history.

After Pittsburgh went 3 and out, the Patriots embarked on a 10 play, 4:35 drive that was almost exclusively passing. The only run was a 4 yard scramble by Brady. It was mostly underneath passes for 5 to 8 yards a piece. On the drive, Brady went past the 4,000 yard milestone for the 2nd time in his career. He also surpassed the 300 yard mark for the game, his 6th 300 yard game of the season. The drive ended with a 2 yard touchdown pass to Welker. New England 31, Pittsburgh 13.



All season, we've seen the death knell of Patriot opponents be a lengthy scoring drive, or a big TD pass. Last night, it was a good old fashioned goal line stand that sealed the victory.

The Steelers diligently moved the ball downfield, driving all the way to the New England 1 yard line. On 3rd and goal from the 1, Roethlesberger threw incomplete, thank to some good coverage poured on by Rodney Harrison. On 4th and 1, the big bad power running Steelers tried a WR motion end around off the right tackle. There was no attempt made to misdirect the defense, and the ball was given to Hines Ward, hardly the most elusive man to catch. Ward was stopped by Harrison and Richard Seymour just shy of the goal line. The first few nails had been driven into the coffin.



The Pats drove for 6:28, kicking a field goal to make the score 34-13. Then Pittsburgh seemed to quit. Despite being down by three TDs, there was still 7:00 left in the game. But they took 4:06 off the clock with a 13 play drive. They were still running the ball with Parker, still throwing short passes in the middle of the field and not getting out of bounds, still taking their time to get the next play in. Apparently, Mike Tomlin read "The Tortoise and the Hare" in preparation for this game. Sorry, but slow and steady don't win anything when you're down by 21 with 7 minutes left.

It was almost as if the Steelers were worried about being absolutely destroyed by the Patriots instead of merely crushed. It was almost as if they were afraid of the Patriots putting up another touchdown (or two). 34-13 doesn't sound nearly as bad as 41-13, or 48-13. Whatever the reason, with 7:00 on the clock, down by three TDs, the Steelers threw in the Terrible Towel. And if I were a Steelers fan, I'd want an explanation from Mike Tomlin.



For the past few weeks, the word "blueprint" has been tossed around by ESPN, Fox, CBS, NBC, and so on. But it seems like the only part of the blueprint that the Steelers took from the Ravens was to lose control over themselves at the end of a game. James Harrison was called for a late, cheap-shot hit on Kyle Eckel after a Patriot punt. If I were Harrison, I wouldn't be messing with Eckel, he went to school with Marines.



There was some more pushing and shoving, the type of classless, immature, silly behavior you'd expect from a team like Pittsburgh. Of course, the national media will never call them anything but "tough, hard-nosed, smash-mouth, take no prisoners, lunch-pail, working class, blue collar" and so on. The B.S. perpetrated by teams like Baltimore and now Pittsburgh at the end of games will continue to go unnoticed by most. Meanwhile, people will get on Bill Belichick's case for not playing grab ass with the opposing head coach.

My favorite moment of the game wasn't the "flea-flicker" or the goal line stand, or even Randy Moss's celebration of a long overdue defensive holding call. I don't know if it was clearly heard on TV, but late in the 4th, when the game was well in hand; a chant of "GUARANTEE" arose from the Gillette Stadium crowd. As the entire building echoed this word, the jumbotron displayed a closeup of Anthony Smith on the field in between plays. It was PISSAH! He's really made a name for himself, especially here in New England.

Here's a quick excerpt from Bill Belichick's post-game press conference:

Q: What did you say to the team, if anything, about Anthony Smith's guarantee?

BB: You know, I think Rodney put it the best, so I'll just leave it at that. But we've played against a lot better safeties than him, I'll tell you.

Q: Did running that play have anything to do with Pittsburgh, or was it something you'd been looking to get in? Was it because of their aggressiveness?

BB: Well, again, the safety play at that position was pretty inviting.

That's about as much emotion as one will get from Coach Bill. By the way, this was his 100th victory as Patriots head coach.



The road ahead for the Patriots appears relatively easy. This victory clinched a first round bye in the post-season. Another win (or an Indianapolis loss) would clinch homefield advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. New England hosts the Rats next Sunday, then the Dolphins on the 23rd. Then it's a trip to Giants Stadium, to face the easily shaken Eli Manning and the slightly above average New York Giants. The path to an undefeated season seems smooth, so long as the Patriots continue to play at the level they're currently playing.

But let's take a moment and look at how difficult the road up to this point has been. The Patriots have beaten the three other AFC division leaders. The Steelers and Chargers were both crushed. The Colts were beaten at Indianapolis. The 8-5 Browns were mauled. The 7-6 Bills (who would be 7-4 if they didn't play the Pats twice) were also brutally beaten twice. Oh yeah, the Patriots are the ONLY team to beat the Cowboys; in Texas Stadium, no less. To go 13-0 by beating the best of the rest in the NFL is nothing short of amazing.

The early spread for the Pats/Rats game is -24.5. If I were a gambling man, I'd jump on it.

THE FRANCONA RULE

Major League Baseball has apparently solved all of its major problems, and has moved on to nitpicking what managers and coaches wear in the dugout.

Performance enhancing drugs, the sanctity of the home run record, the disparity between big market and small market teams, the lack of spending by cheaply run franchises (ahem, Minnesota, Florida), the impending collective bargaining agreement, the question of instant replay. It seems as though these issues have all been properly addressed.

Terry Francona never wears a uniform top. He'll say he does, but it's a lie. There's no way he's got a polyester uniform on underneath his pullovers. But MLB is putting a stop to such outlandish and borderline barbarous behavior.

MLB VP Bob Watson announced the "Francona Rule" a few days ago at the winter meetings in Nashville. All managers and coaches will now be required to wear their uniform tops. They can wear full jackets over their uniforms, but no pullovers will be allowed. Before and after a game, managers can wear what they want. But during the game, that uniform top must be visible, unless it is underneath a jacket.

A first offense will result in a $1,000 fine. The second offense will induce a $5,000 fine. The third offense will result in the manager's suspension for 1 game.

Baseball is the only sport in which the head coach is required to wear a uniform. Basketball coaches often wear suit and tie, as do hockey coaches. Football coaches wear pretty much whatever they want, as we've seen here in New England.

But baseball coaches have to wear uniforms (complete with numbers) just like the players. These uniforms are not conducive to aging, overweight, paunchy men; which describes most baseball coaches.







Baseball needs to wake up. We all like the tradition, and the history, and all that crap; but sometimes tradition is stupid. And it isn't even that much of a tradition. Ever hear of a guy named Connie Mack, one of the best managers in the history of the game?



There he is, in the dugout with his Philadelphia Athletics, wearing a suit!

I'm not suggesting managers wear suits, but the notion that coaches in uniform somehow brings us back to the days of yore is not only silly, but it's wrong.

Baseball coaches should be allowed to at least don a pullover instead of their uniform. It's not as if they're going to go into the game and play. And trainers get to wear whatever team apparel they want to while they sit in the dugout, so why not the manager?

I wonder how long it took Major League Baseball to come up with this rule, write it, review it, and approve it. I wonder how much time was wasted arguing about jackets vs. pullovers.

But most of all, I wonder what Terry Francona's number is going to be. We'll all find out soon enough.

DIRTY DOZEN

This was the worst effort the Patriots have mustered this season. There were so many mistakes, bad blocks, bad cuts, poor pickups, crappy tackles, and the dropped passes, my God, the dropped passes!

Yet despite themselves - along with the cheering of Don Shula and Torny Kornheiser in the ESPN booth - the Patriots came out on top, improving their record to 12-0. This is the first time in franchise history that they have reached 12-0.

The first drive of the game saw the first of many miscues by the Patriots. After getting the ball to the 1 yard line, the Pats were forced to settle for a field goal. On 1st and goal, Ray Lewis made an amazing play to dislodge the ball from Ben Watson's hands. On 2nd and goal, Heath Evans was dragged to the ground for a 2 yard loss. On 3rd and goal, Brady was able to avoid pressure with a few smart steps, found Watson open in the back of the end zone, threw the ball, and Watson dropped it. Instead of a quick 7 point lead for New England, Baltimore got a moral victory with a goal line stand.

The Ravens didn't do much with their next drive, neither did the Patriots. On 3rd and 11 from their 29, the Ravens pulled off a big play. Boller threw a 53 yard pass to Devard Darling. The play was one of those plays that is inches away from being a big play for the other team. Adalius Thomas and Jarvis Green had Boller on the run. Thomas missed an arm tackle, and Boller got the ball away down the field. Samuel dove for the pick and was just late. Darling then tooled Brandon Meriweather and ran down the field before Sanders stopped him.



After some McGahee runs, the Ravens got the ball to the New England 4. On 3rd and goal, Thomas was once again close to making a big play. Adalius was right about to slap the ball out of Boller's hands when the Baltimore QB threw a bullet to Derrick Mason. 7-3 Baltimore.



The Patriots went three and out in response. McGahee was the center piece of another Ravens drive, but the Patriots held Baltimore to a field goal. 10-3 Ravens.

The Pats made two big adjustments for their next drive: they went to a no huddle shotgun, and Kevin Faulk was given the ball.



The Ravens countered by never letting go of Randy Moss, holding him, knocking him down, hitting him in the face. They were only called twice for it, but there was clear interference/holding on three occasions.



The Patriots were able to get down to the 1, and Evans punched it in. 10-10.



The Ravens went 3 and out, then the Patriots went 3 and out, then the Ravens went 3 and out.

The Pats had the ball and 3 timeouts at their 36 with 1:04 on the clock in the 2nd. Brady threw deep down the right to Moss, who had beaten double coverage. The pass, however, was underthrown. But Ed Reed's shot to Moss's facemask was thrown properly. Reed had his back to the ball, and basically jammed his hand in Randy's face. The ball fell incomplete and no flags were thrown. It seemed like a clear case of defensive pass interference, but it was not called.

The next play was one of the most bizarre you'll see in the NFL. Brady dropped back, and threw to Wes Welker. But Welker was being held before and after the ball was released. This allowed Ed Reed to step up and pick off the pass. Reed returned it up the field where he met Mister Kevin Faulk, a.k.a. Troy Brown II. Faulk laid a PERFECT tackle on Reed, clasping his arms around Reed's waist, and dragging him down, simultaneously stripping the Baltimore safety of the ball. Watson was able to fall on it and the Patriots got a new set of downs. It was, without a doubt, the best tackle any Patriot made all night.

The Patriots ran out the clock and went into the locker room tied 10-10.

Baltimore came out in the 2nd half with more Willis McGahee, who had 5 carries for 31 yards on a 63 yard TD drive. 17-10 Ravens.



The Patriots running backs responded with an impressive drive of their own. Maroney rushed 4 times for 11 yards, and had a massive 36 yard reception. Faulk contributed with 3 carries for 10 yards. Brady eventually found Moss in the end zone to tie the game at 17.



Once again, the Ravens marched down the field with more Willis McGahee and another touchdown. 24-17 Baltimore.



The Pats went three and out, thanks in large part to back-to-back sacks. I'm pretty sure this was the first time Brady has been taken down on two consecutive plays.





Yamon Figurs returned the punt 33 yards, and after a penalty, the Ravens started their drive from the New England 26. They were only 26 yards from putting a nail in the coffin. Instead, Kyle Boller's true colors shone through. Boller threw a dumb pass seemingly intended for James Sanders. Funnily enough, it appeared as though Sanders was covered by Rodney Harrison underneath and Asante Samuel over the top. Sanders ran back the pick for 42 yards.

The big play of the ensuing drive was an outlet pass to Maroney that turned into a 43 yard gain. Unfortunately, the Patriots were unable to put the ball in the end zone. Moss had a ball bounce off his fingertips, and Kyle Brady dropped a pass. Gostkowski hit a field goal to make it a 24-20 game.

The Pats D finally stepped up and stopped McGahee, forcing a three and out.

A late hold call stalled the Patriots drive, and with 5:33 on the clock, were forced to punt.

The defense once again remained strong, stopping McGahee a yard shy of getting a first down.

The Patriots' last drive was a crazy one, to say the least. They got the ball on their 27 yard line, needing a touchdown in the 3:30 remaining.

Brady hit Watson at midfield for a 23 yard gain. Faulk dropped a ball, then caught one for 9 yards. On 3rd and 1, Brady snuck for 2 and a 1st down.

After a pair of incompletions, Brady hit Faulk in the middle. Kevin did something very strange. Even though it was 3rd and 10, and he was well short of the first down line, he ran almost directly for the sideline. Had Faulk dove, he would have gotten the first down with ease. Instead it would be 4th and 1.

The Patriots tried a quick snap sneak and were apparently stopped, but the Ravens had called timeout before the play. Then Evans got the ball on a fullback dive, and was tackled for a loss, but the play had been whistled dead due to a false start. On 4th and 6, Brady was given a huge hole, and he scrambled for a 12 yard gain. A 5 yard defensive holding flag put the ball on the Baltimore 18.

Faulk ran up the middle for 5 yards. A pair of incompletions brought about 4th and 5. Brady's pass to Watson in the end zone was tipped for an incomplete, but Jamaine Winborne was flagged for illegal contact. Winborne held Watson from the snap to the whistle.

On the next play, Brady hit Gaffney in the corner of the end zone. 27-24 New England.



A couple of personal fouls brought about the rarely seen kickoff from the receiving team's 30 yard line.

The Ravens had 0:44 and 1 timeout. Boller used the middle of the field, and got to their 45 yard line. They then took two shots at the end zone. The first was dropped by Meriwether, even though it hit him right between the numbers. The second was caught on the 2 by Mark Clayton (after Asante Samuel was tackled by a Ravens receiver), but Eric Alexander brought Clayton down to end the game.

Some might say that the Patriots were lucky, or that they benefited from the officiating, or that beating a 4-7 Baltimore team by 3 isn't much of a victory. To these people, I say "Shut up!" The officiating went against the Patriots for the first three quarters. I challenge anyone to show me a bad call in the 4th quarter that benefited the Patriots.

The Patriots played like crap and still won. And when it came to a head in the 4th quarter, the defense made big stands, the offense made big plays. Meanwhile, the Ravens were too busy holding Randy Moss, and throwing flags around to win the game.

That being said, the Patriots cannot play like this against Pittsburgh and expect to win.

If the Patriots beat the Steelers next Sunday, they will clinch a first round bye. If the Pats win, and the Colts lose, they will clinch home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

BC GETS SCREWED...AGAIN

It's amazing how in college football, one game can completely change a season. Had Boston College won the ACC title game, they would be in the Orange Bowl, probably facing Kansas (which is a very winnable game). They could go on to be Orange Bowl champs, and maybe finish in the top 5 after everything is all said in done.

Instead, BC played like crap, racked up tons of penalties, squandered multiple red zone opportunities, had kicks blocked (and returned), went away from running the ball, and generally played horribly. This caused a loss to Virginia Tech. And now, BC finds themselves in the Champs Sports Bowl.

For those of you who might not know, college bowls are almost all associated with conferences. The ACC has several affiliated bowls, and there is a hierarchy to them. Here is what the hierarchy looks like:

1. The Orange Bowl: A BCS Bowl played in Miami since 1935. The Orange Bowl has doubled as the national title game twice, and is one of the most prestigious bowls in college football. The Orange Bowl will be on Fox this year.

2. The Gator Bowl: A Major Bowl played in Jacksonville since 1946. Along with games like the Cotton Bowl, this is one of the most coveted non-BCS bowls. It is played on January 1st, which is the most coveted date for a bowl game (except, of course, playing in the Championship Game). The Gator Bowl will be broadcast on CBS.

3. The Peach Bowl: Played in Atlanta since 1968, this game pits an ACC team against one from the SEC. This often leads to two powerhouses squaring off. Last year, Georgia played Virginia Tech. The year before, LSU played Miami. ESPN will carry the Peach Bowl.

4A. The Champs Sports Bowl: This game has been played since 1990. It's been played in two different cities (first Miami, then Orlando), and has had 8 different names, and 6 different major sponsors. It is not a prestigious bowl. Only recently has it been played after Christmas. This game is on ESPN.

4B. The Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl Presented by Bridgestone: This Nashville bowl game has been played since 1998, and has already been affiliated with four conferences. The ACC just recently became connected with this game. ESPN carries this game.

6A. The Meineke Car Care Bowl: This game has been played since 2002, and is already on its second title sponsor (it was once the Continental Tire Bowl). It's played in Charlotte and features teams from the ACC and Big East that were bowl eligible (over .500) and not much else. BC has won this game twice. This is another ESPN game.

6B. The Emerald Bowl: This game has been played since 2002 in San Francisco, but not in a football stadium. It's played in AT & T Park, home of the Giants. Both teams share the same sideline, split down the middle at the 50 yard line. BC has won the Emerald Bowl, but so have teams like Navy and Utah. The Emerald Bowl is on ESPN.

8. The Humanitarian Bowl: Who doesn't want to spend December in Boise? This bowl turns 10 this year. It's played in Bronco Stadium, which holds 30,000 fans. Bronco Stadium, by the way, is a campus stadium for Boise State. This game is best known as "that game on the blue field." ESPN 2 covers this game.

So why did BC go from a possible berth in the ACC's #1 bowl, to an invitation to the #4 bowl?

The Gator Bowl passed on BC because the Eagles just played a game in Jacksonville (and not too many BC fans showed up). Before the ACC title game, the Gator Bowl announced that it would not take the loser of the ACC title game. Virginia (ranked 20th) is going to the Gator Bowl.

The Peach Bowl decided to take Clemson. Clemson's campus is only 125 miles or so from Atlanta, so this makes a lot of sense.

So BC fell to the Champs Sports Bowl, which will be played Friday December 28th at 5 PM, right before the Texas Bowl and the Emerald Bowl. The Eagles will be playing the Spartans of Michigan State. MSU was 7-5 this year, and finished eighth in the Big Ten.

The good news is that BC should keep their streak alive. Boston College have won their last 7 bowl games in 7 years. Of course, all these bowl games have been those meaningless ones that you watch for 6 or 7 minutes until new shows come on the other stations at 8:00 PM.