The Golden Age Of Boston Sports

Who would have guessed 2007 would be the year of the Bostonian? I find myself wondering how much autographed baseballs, footballs, basketballs, cards, and any other memorabilia from this era will be worth in the future. Lets do a quick recap:

The Boston Red Sox:

The World Champion Red Sox had a nice blend of fresh rookies and seasoned veterans to create a winning concoction, closing out their season at 96-66. Not only did the Sox put up remarkable numbers in about every category imaginable, even their manager, Terry Francona, set a record by becoming the first manager to start 8-0 in World Series play. There is not enough room in this article to continue listing all of their stats from the 2007 season, so if you are curious, check out another one of my blogs, “The Joy of Sox”, for more information concerning the champs. Their first series of the 2008 season will be played on March 25th in the Tokyo Dome, Japan against the Oakland A's.

The New England Patriots:

As the NFL's only remaining undefeated team, the 9-0 start produced by the Patriots is a current franchise record. They have won 12 consecutive regular-season games dating back to last season, earning them the second longest regular-season winning streak in team history. They are also at the top of the rankings in terms of offensive points per game and yards per game, but their defense is not one to be overlooked either, allowing only an average of 275 yards per game. Their next game will be this Sunday at home against the Buffalo Bills.

The Boston Celtics:

The NBA's only remaining undefeated squad have started with a very healthy 6-0 record and show no signs of slowing. This record matches their last 6-0 start twenty years ago, when the Celtics' star trio was Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish. Now they have Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen who have been running a muck around their opponents. The Celtics' overall best start was 14-0 in the 1957-58 season. Their next game will be away tonight against New Jersey.

Another Great Weekend In October Sports

This weekend did not pass without its share of chills and thrills as we draw closer to Halloween. The Patriots are seemingly unstoppable. The usual Notre Dame vs. USC bonanza was overshadowed by two big SEC matchups, LSU vs. Auburn and Florida vs. Kentucky. And the Red Sox staged a surprising comeback to clinch the ALCS in Game 7. Let's start from the top:

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick seemed incensed at being accused of running up the score in the 49-28 smack-down of their long time division rival the Miami Dolphins, who are still without a win this season. Belichick had apparently reached his mercy point four minutes into the fourth quarter when he pulled his starting QB, and current team hero, Tom Brady from the line, and replaced him with second stringer Matt Cassel. However, when Cassel was picked off on his third snap by Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor, who returned the interception for a 36-yard run and touchdown, Belichick hustled Brady right back in, taking no chances on an upset. Perhaps it was smart. Perhaps a bit overkill, as Brady promptly returned the lead to 28 points in a four-play drive.

Brady leads the way for the Patriots with a whopping 27 TD passes in seven games, eleven of which happened in the last eight quarters. He is right on target to break Peyton Manning's single-season mark by 13 TDs, or one more touchdown pass per game. Backing him up are arguably the best offensive and defensive lines in the NFL, who are one point short of averaging 40 points per game. The Patriots are on pace to score 638 points this season, shattering the old league record of 556, which is held by the 1998 Minnesota Vikings. Also, the league record for touchdowns in a season is held at 70 by the 1984 Dolphins, but the Patriots are charging ahead to put up 82.

But enough about pro-football, lets take it down to the NCAA, where upsets have become the norm. I like the way Pat Forde puts it:

“Stranger things have not happened, at least not since 1960. That's the last time a two-loss team claimed any share of a National Title, when Minnesota was crowned No. 1 by the AP..... That also was the only other time when Notre Dame started a season 1-7. So we could officially be in the midst of the weirdest season in 47 years. And in no place is it weirder than the Bloody South.”

The Florida Gators were off last week, giving them a chance to watch then No.1 LSU fall to the dominating powerhouse that is Kentucky. “The Gators are part of a preposterous pileup atop the SEC East – and if the nationwide epidemic of upset losses continues, two-loss Florida would love a shot at a title defense,” said Forde. Florida's preparation paid off as they outscored Kentucky 45-37 this past GameDay Saturday in a true QB heisman-candidate battle for the ages. Florida's sophomore Tim Tebow and Kentucky's senior Andre Woodson dueled it out in front of a rowdy Lexington audience. Woodson had 415 passing yards and five touchdowns against the defending national champs, which is not to go unnoticed, but was overshadowed by Tebow's prowess of the football field. Tebow worked out 334 yards of total offense and accounted for five touchdowns, four throwing and one running. All in all, Tebow has accounted for 27 TDs in seven games, more than the past six quarterbacks to win the Heisman through the same point in the season, which includes Carson Palmer, Jason White, Matt Leinart, and Troy Smith to name a few.

You are reading correctly: Tim Tebow has the same number of TDs in the same number of games currently in the NCAA as Tom Brady does currently in the NFL. I am looking forward to great things from this young QB.

And now to turn to the MLB. The Red Sox clinched the ALCS in Game 7 last night at Fenway Park after being down 1-3 at Jacob's Field, and are set to face the Cinderella story of the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday. The Rockies have had an unprecedented eight days off after bolting by the Arizona Diamondbacks in a 4-0 NLCS win, but their defense, which in this season earned the highest fielding percentage of any baseball team in history, needs to remain strong. Some believe that this extended rest will hurt the Rockies in the long-run by taking all the momentum out from under them. The Rockies have won 21 of their last 22 games but their next opponent is not one to be underestimated. Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett is one of the hottest pitchers in the league, who has the lowest postseason ERA in the last 70 years. Out of the 297 postseason pitches he has thrown, 210 have been strikes. It should be a good match-up between Beckett and the Rockies batting line-up, which has the highest ERA in the league during the second half of the season. They also led the NL in runs scored. When Beckett and the Red Sox last met the Rockies in Fenway, Colorado took two out of three in the series and outscored Boston 20-5. In my opinion, this series will be a rocky road for both teams, most likely resulting in six or seven games, and I honestly cannot choose an easy winner from all of the stats. It may be left up to who simply wants it more.

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The AP Poll Rankings Mean Diddly Squat So Far

This past weekend in college football had its share of triumphs and upsets, and this is my take on it:

As we reach the midpoint of the season, college football might as well put the AP poll in a blender because it seems everyone can beat everyone else at any given point, and that is what makes this season one of the most exciting in recent history. It is also why quite a few people believe the BCS is not fair across the board, as opposed to a playoff system of some sort, and that the rankings shouldn't even be posted until half way through the season.

Though there were some tough wins, and some even tougher losses, the highlight of this weekend was the Stanford victory. A 41-point underdog in the betting pools, Stanford beat No. 2 ranked Southern Cal in a stunning 24-23 victory, proving you can have brains and brawn in the total package. It is the Trojans' first loss in 36 games at the Coliseum, however, USC still holds a place in the Top 10. A lucky break seeing as Michigan tumbled all the way out of the top 25 after losing to their unranked opponent in their opening game. “I don't know if there's ever been a game where a team was a 40-point underdog and playing with a quarterback making their first start [and won],” said Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh. The Cardinal had lost its previous three Pac-10 conference games by a combined score of 141-51.

ESPN.com writer Mark Schlabach writes it best: “There's never been a college football season quite like this one. Half of the AP poll's top 10 and nine ranked teams lost in Week 5. Four more top-10 teams and eleven ranked squads fell in Week 6. During the first six weeks, Notre Dame couldn't win (until beating UCLA 20-6 on Saturday night); Cincinnati and Connecticut, of all teams, wouldn't lose. Ron Zook looks like a genius, Urban Meyer looks human. No one can slow down Kansas; Louisville hasn't stopped anyone.”

Stats to consider:

Of the 25 teams ranked in the preseason AP poll, 10 teams are now unranked. Seven of the now top 15 ranked teams, were unranked in the preseason. (Who lit the fire under Southern Florida?!)

Second ranked Cal, Boston College, South Florida and Cincinnati are ranked the highest they have ever been in school history. Missouri has its highest ranking since 1981, and Kansas is ranked for the first time since 1995.

Seven of the ten remaining unbeaten teams in major college football were unranked in the preseason. LSU, Ohio State and Hawaii are the only undefeated teams left from the preseason top 25. Southern Florida is ranked fifth, is undefeated, and has only had a football program for 12 years.

Yes, this season has been one great roller coaster ride for those with iron stomachs, and it still holds a lot of promise. Let iTaggit help manage collections of your sports memorabilia, such as the rookie football cards of these rising collegiate stars. Then let Expert Eric help value your collections through our What's My Item Worth feature. Lastly, write me your thoughts and opinions on college football; they may even be featured in next week's sports blog!

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What Happened To Michigan.... Again?

Well the Big Blue held on to high hopes that perhaps their second game of the season would be the redemption they needed to resurrect their National Championship contention dreams. Needless to say, their hopes were squashed by Oregon, who handed them their second of two straight home losses to begin the season; the last time this happened was in 1959. In a 39-7 defeat, this past weekend's game was historical for two reasons:

1) The Wolverines suffered their most lopsided loss in 39 years; which was the season before their famed former coach, Bo Schembechler, debuted in Ann Arbor. And,

2) The Wolverines have not won a game since Coach Schembechler passed away on the day before the Ohio State game last year.

Hopefully Michigan hasn't incurred a “curse” like their sports counterparts the Boston Red Sox (the curse of the Babe) or the Chicago Cubs (the curse of the goat) that will keep them out of the National Championship for years to come, but all the fans who are superstitious might want to double check their rituals before this weekend's game against Notre Dame. Chad Henne, senior quarterback for Michigan, will not be available for the Notre Dame game due to a lower leg injury that kept him out the second half of the Oregon game. Notre Dame is also 0-2 for the season, but they have not scored an offensive touchdown in eight quarters, and have been outscored by 51 points in their first two losses. If Head Coach Lloyd Carr doesn't pull out a W for his Wolverines this weekend, his job security is little at best.

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So What Happened To Michigan?

If you have been living under a rock for the past 72 hours, then you have not heard about Michigan losing to Appalachian State. Why is this a big deal you wonder? Well other than the sheer embarrassment of losing on your home field, 109,000+ fans strong, with the critical eyes of the NCAA football community watching, or the many punchlines ESPN announcers will pull from it in years to come, the reasons are two fold:

1) There has never been a tumble as far off the charts as Michigan's since the Associated Press (AP) Poll expanded to 25 teams in 1989. The Wolverines were removed from their #5 seed and booted completely out of the Top 25, AND

2) Until this weekend, no Division I-AA team had beaten a ranked team in the AP Poll from 1989-2006, and it's unlikely that it happened after Division-I subdivisions were created in 1978.

But, the boys from Boone N.C. are not exactly nobodies. They have won 15 straight games, the longest streak alive in the nation, and they are also the two-time defending champions from former Division I-AA, now the Football Championship Subdivision. The Mountaineers have been favored to three-peat for the title again this year, and the win over Michigan gives them more fuel for their fire.

Word from Michigan State, and even Ohio State, who are both arch rivals of Michigan, is that people were leaving their opening season games to check out the unprecedented events occuring in "The Big House."

If you are a Michigan fan, I would hold onto that memorabilia for the time being and catalog it in iTaggit. Maybe they'll rise from the ashes and return triumphant at the end of the season. It is only one loss when stored in the records, and I know I always appreciate a good underdog story.