Mass The *New* Official Boston Sports Thread

Phil Mickelson took the lead at the Deutsche Bank Championship early in today's final round play, then hung on to post a 5-under-par 66 for the day and a 16-under-par 268 for the tournament, good for a two-shot win over Arron Oberholser, Brett Wetterich, and Tiger Woods. Tiger Woods had an eagle chance on the par 5 18th hole with Mickelson facing a tough up-and-down from the back rough, but Tiger missed the eagle, and Mickelson had a great third shot from the rough to leave himself with a birdie putt, which he made.

In Patriots news, the team released WR Reche Caldwell, an indication that Randy Moss, who had been out with a hamstring injury, may be ready to return to practice and could play in the season opener Sunday afternoon @ the Meadowlands against the New York Jets.

The Red Sox enter tonight's game against the Toronto Blue Jays with an opportunity to put another full game between themselves and the New York Yankees, who lost at home to the Seattle Mariners 7-1 this afternoon. To add injury to insult, it is reported that Roger Clemens, today's starter for the Yankees, will have an MRI on his right elbow, which he apparently injured in today's game.

 

With a 13-10 win by the Red Sox over the Blue Jays last night, here's a look @ the AL East standings after the games of Labor Day:

1. Boston 83-55 .601 ----
2. New York 76-62 .551 7
3. Toronto 70-67 .511 12.5
4. Baltimore 59-77 .434 23
5. Tampa Bay 57-81 .413 26

With 24 games left in the regular season, the Red Sox still have some work to do, as the lead is not as big as it once was. However, it is still in the comfort range, considering that many people think you can realistically make up one game a week in the standings, and there are 4 weeks left. For those of you who start paying attention to such things as "magic numbers" (the number of first place wins combined with second place losses needed in order for the first place team to clinch) after Labor Day, the Red Sox' "magic number" to clinch the AL East is now 18.

EDIT: As far as the other AL races go, the Cleveland Indians lead by 6 games over the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central, and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim lead by 6.5 games over the Seattle Mariners in the AL West. For the Wild Card, the Yankees lead by a game over the Mariners, by 2.5 games over the Tigers, and by 5.5 games over the Blue Jays.

 

The North Shore Spirit won the second half of the Can-Am League season with a 32-15 (.681) record, 2.5 games ahead of the Atlantic City Surf, who, along with the Nashua Pride, earned wild card spots in the Can-Am League playoffs, which start tomorrow. The Spirit will be matched up with the Surf and have elected to play the first two of a best-of-five at Fraser Field, their home park. The New Jersey Jackals, the first half winners and top seed in the playoffs, will play the Pride and have elected to take the advantage of having the fifth game at home, if necessary, and will play their first two at Nashua.

The North Shore Spirit also won the Commonwealth Cup for the second year in a row with a 16-11 (.592) record in Commonwealth Cup games, good for a 3 game win over the Worcester Tornadoes with the Brockton Rox 4.5 games behind. The Rox once again led the Can-Am League in attendance, averaging 3,333 over 51 home dates.

 

A friend of mine from #RedSox on EFnet IRC (Internet Relay Chat) noted these coincidences about tonight's game revolving around the number 17:

• A win tonight will reduce the Sox' "magic number" to 17.


• Josh Beckett, tonight's starter for the Red Sox, is going for win #17.


• With Jonathan Papelbon and Hideki Okajima likely to get the night off, and Eric Gagne hurt, the closing duties will likely fall to Manny Delcarmen...who wears (you guessed it) uniform #17.

 

For those of you new to my posting about the Patriots during the regular season, here's a quick run-through of what I do...

Wednesday before the game: Injury report for both teams; updated on Thursday & Friday as events warrant
After the game: Summary of the game with points I find interesting
Two days after the game: Link to Michael Felger's report card on the Herald's site w/ summary
Wednesday after the game: Round-up of Pats' power rankings on national sites (last year ESPN, CBS Sportsline, Fox Sports, Sports Illustrated, FootballOutsiders.com {actually the Pats' ranking according to the Defense-adjusted Value Over Average [DVOA] formula}; this year will include ColdHardFootballFacts.com and SportsNation {fan ranking})

I expect the first injury report of the season to be posted around 4:00 PM ET today.

ProFootballTalk.com, in the 9:57 PM EDT post last night, said that, according to league sources, Richard Seymour may be out for the entire season due to complications from offseason surgery to repair his left knee. John Tomase of the Herald reported on Monday, however, that Seymour was spotted working out in the weight room with a sleeve covering the entire left leg and "appeared to be moving OK". The Herald report was also posted on Rotoworld.com.

A couple of BC items...

QB Matt Ryan and DB DeJuan Tribble were named ACC offensive and defensive backs of the week, respectively. Tribble was also named national defensive player of the week by the Walter Camp Football Foundation.

Head men's basketball coach Al Skinner has been given a contract extension which will retain Skinner's services through the 2012-13 season.

 

There have been changes to the injury report rules this year. The old designations of "out", "doubtful", "questionable", and "probable" will now only be used on Friday and Saturday. On Wednesday and Thursday, players on the injury report will fall into one of four categories: "out", "did not participate in practice", "limited participation in practice", and "full participation in practice".

With that in mind, here's the Wednesday injury report for Sunday afternoon's game against the Jets:

Patriots

Limited participation in practice: S Rashad Baker (hand), TE David Thomas (foot), DL Mike Wright (knee)
Full participation in practice: QB Tom Brady (right shoulder)

Jets

Limited participation in practice: CB Andre Dyson (foot), RB Thomas Jones (calf), CB Justin Miller (thigh), OL Brandon Moore (shoulder), S Eric Smith (thigh)
Full participation in practice: TE Joe Kowalewski (finger), QB Chad Pennington (pelvis), DL Dewayne Robertson (knee), WR Chansi Stuckey (knee), FB Stacy Tutt (foot)

Two interesting things to note...first, the Patriots found a way to get Brady on the injury report even with the new rules. Second, WR Randy Moss, who was out much of training camp and the preseason with a hamstring problem, is not on the report.

 

The team captains for the 2007 New England Patriots, as voted on by the players: QB Tom Brady, RB Kevin Faulk, LB Tedy Bruschi, LB Mike Vrabel, LB Larry Izzo, LB Junior Seau, DL Ty Warren

 

The Patriots added WR Randy Moss and TE Kyle Brady to the injury report today, placing them in the "limited participation in practice" category. The Patriots stated only a "team decision" as the reason for the additions. The Patriots also moved QB Tom Brady into the "limited participation in practice" category, with the usual "right shoulder" reason given.

The Jets had no changes to their injury report today.

 

According to a post on the Lynn Daily Item web site, a source within the organization confirmed that the North Shore Spirit of the independent Can-Am League will cease operations at the end of this season. Although the team has had great success on the field, making the playoffs in their league in four of their five years of existence, attendance has been disappointing and was cited as the reason for the move. The Spirit lasted longer than the two previous minor league teams in Lynn, the Lynn Sailors/Pirates (which were affiliated with the Seattle Mariners and the Pittsburgh Pirates), and the Massachusetts Mad Dogs (which later became the New Haven County Cutters, also in the Can-Am League). The Spirit currenly have a 1-0 lead in games against the Atlantic City Surf in the Can-Am League playoffs.

 

On Fridays, as I've said earlier, the old categories of "out", "doubtful", "questionable", and "probable" will continue to be used, but Friday's injury report will continue to indicate practice status. I'll include practice status for the player after the injury/reason, as follows: DNP = Did Not Practice, LP = Limited Participation, FP = Full Participation.

With that in mind, Friday's injury report:

Patriots

Questionable: S Rashad Baker (hand, FP), TE Dave Thomas (foot, FP), DL Mike Wright (knee, LP)
Probable: QB Tom Brady (right shoulder, LP)

Jets

Questionable: CB Andre Dyson (foot, LP), RB Thomas Jones (calf, LP), CB-KR Justin Miller (thigh, LP), G Brandon Moore (shoulder, LP), S Eric Smith (thigh, LP)
Probable: TE Joe Kowalewski (finger, FP), QB Chad Pennington (pelvis, FP), DT Dewayne Robertson (knee, FP), WR Chansi Stuckey (knee, FP), FB Stacy Tutt (foot, FP)

Brady's listing as probable but with limited participation in practice can be taken to mean they're resting the shoulder for the game.

 

The BC Eagles spoiled former coach Tom O'Brien's return to the Heights with a 37-17 thumping of O'Brien's North Carolina St. Wolfpack. The Eagle defense had 7 takeaways, 5 of which led to scores, and limited the Wolfpack to just 56 yards rushing. BC also carried the ball 39 times for 231 yards and 3 TDs, including a 69 yard romp by Andre Callender late in the game.

The Eagles travel to Georgia Tech next week.

 

Well, you couldn't have asked for a better way to open the season than the Patriots' 38-14 win against the Jets today. The Pats pretty much dominated in all phases of the game. Offensively, Randy Moss made a splash in his Patriots debut, catching 9 Brady passes for 183 yards and a 51 yard score. The defense had 5 quarterback sacks and were able to get off of the field most of the day. It was the special teams that made history, though, as Ellis Hobbs had a 108 yard kickoff return to open the second half, which was the longest in NFL history. About the only major miscue was Matt Cassel botching the hold on a 33 yard field goal attempt by Stephen Gostkowski in the first half; punter Chris Hanson was the holder on a 22 yard field goal in the second half and may be the long-term holder on placekicks after this game.

The Patriots play their home opener next Sunday night against the Chargers.

 

According to a report by Chris Mortensen on ESPN.com, NFL security confiscated a video camera and tape from a Patriots employee who was on the sidelines during yesterday's game in a suspected spying incident. The cameraman is accused of pointing the camera in the direction of the Jets' defensive coaches who were signaling to their unit on the field. The report also says that the league is also investigating radio frequency issues that occurred during the game. The report further says that the cameraman was also involved in an incident at Lambeau Field when the Patriots played the Packers last year. The NFL competition committee will hold a conference call about the matter to determine what penalty, if any, the Patriots will have to pay, and it could involve draft picks.

Is this just a case of sour grapes on the part of the Jets or is there something to this? Time will tell.

 

The North Shore Spirit and the Nashua Pride have advanced to the Can-Am League championship series, with Game 1 of a best-of-five series slated for Holman Stadium in Nashua tomorrow night. The first two games will be played in Nashua, with Game 3, as well as Games 4 and 5 if necessary, being played at Fraser Field in Lynn, the Spirit's home park.

 

Michael Felger's report card for the game @ Jets

Hard to find anything to nit-pick on in this performance, but Felger did note that Asante Samuel was a bit rusty and got beaten a couple of times by Lavernaeus Coles, which led to the secondary getting only a B, but everyone else received at least a B+. The offensive line was the standout, getting an A+.

 

*cough* cheating *cough*

 

*cough* haven't won since Namath *cough*

Teams are always stealing signals and play calls it is pretty much common practice.

It happens a lot the Patriots just had someone who got caught doing it.

It doesn't change much of the outcime of the game the Jets got spanked..as usual.

the Jets fans at the game were classless when it came to Chad leaving the field.

He is a good QB and unappreciated in Jets country.

Has this been proven yet that someone did in fact get caught?

 

The commissioner's office determined that the Patriots were in violation of league rules, and Belichick has issued an apology of sorts and said he would comment further on the matter when the NFL makes its final ruling. I have seen this linked on IRC, which is either the actual camera used or a picture of one similar to the one the Patriots cameraman used.

Anyway, here's the first installment of the power ranking roundup for 2007:

ESPN: #1
CBS Sports: #3
Fox Sports: #2
Sports Illustrated: #2
Football Outsiders: #2
Cold Hard Football Facts: #2
Sports Nation: #3

(Note: Sports Nation requires you to rank your teams before seeing the power rankings; link is to the ranking page)

It is interesting to note that while a few of the rankings made mention of the "Cameragate" controversy, that tended not to sour the Pats' standing in the eyes of the "experts", and especially the fans (as represented in the Sports Nation ranking), who you would think would dock the Patriots a great deal because of it. As another note, Football Ousiders have the Patriots #1 in their "DAVE" ranking, which takes into account preseason projections.

 

Well...I'm not a JETS fan.
I'm not even from NYC....
Yes stealing calls is considered a somewhat common practice, but blatently standing there with a VIDEO CAMERA is just stupid.
The team has talent, that cannot be denied. They are swimming in it.

I dont think taking Draft picks away is enough.
I dont think tacking on a fine is enough.
Its * time. They've been caught before but nothing was ever made of it. They were caught in Green Bay last year and a complaint was filed. Its time to draw a line.

Belicheat should be suspended.
Strip them of all 2008 Draft Picks (more of a benefit to their Cap then anything)
Heavy Fines.
Put an * next to their record for the year.

Jets Bad Plays not withstanding, cheating is cheating.

 

Gentlemen....

I have been following this on the internet and this morning on the local radio channel, etc.

Everyone is bringing up great points about this. Yeah, everyone does it but, as has been said ... to blatently stand there with a video camera?

Ugh.

These professional sports are making me sick these days. It's no secret that, in addition to the Pats, I am an avid Steelers fan. I was devastated when Bettis came out with the news he did about what he did to make sure he could stay on the team.

I am a WWE fan and, in the very near future, we are looking at that entertainment disappearing because of all their issues. I was SHOCKED when no less than 10 of the wrestlers were suspended due to violating the "wellness policy" (which, as a fan, I think is a joke).

Then there was Harrison and his HGH issues. At least he took that and acted as a responsible person about that....

Now this BS about the cheating video man and the extra helmets with radio signal in it, etc.

What else is going to happen? Seems like every sport is having issues right now. It's very disappointing for me as an adult.... I can't imagine how these team's/players actions are effecting the kids who look up to them as mentors.

Before Sunday, I would say that Belichek was a great coach but, now? Well, I am not so sure.... he's done it twice. How many other times has it been done without him being caught?

**Sigh**

Why can't anyone just play the game anymore?

 

Wednesday injury report for Sunday night's home opener against the Chargers:

Chargers

Out: WR Eric Parker (toe)
Did Not Practice: TE Antonio Gates (back), RB Andrew Pinnock (hamstring)
Limited Participation in Practice: LB Shawne Merriman (Achilles tendon)
Full Participation in Practice: S Clinton Hart (quadricep), RB Darren Sproles (concussion)

Patriots

Limited Participation in Practice: S Rashad Baker (hand), QB Tom Brady (right shoulder), TE David Thomas (foot), DL Mike Wright (knee)

The injuries to note for the Chargers are those to Gates and Merriman, both key starters.

 

After a fun last couple of games (the comeback from 7 runs down on Tuesday night and Papi's walkoff win last night), the Red Sox will take the day off to rest for the "Invasion of the Yankee Horde" this weekend. With the AL East division race now fairly close (could be a 4.5 game lead if the Yankees win in Toronto tonight), this has turned out to be a key series as far as determining the division winner goes. The pitching probables and schedule:

Tomorrow: LHP Andy Pettitte (13-8, 3.78) v. RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka (14-12, 4.44) @ 7:05 PM ET on NESN (ESPN nationally, YES in New York)
Saturday: RHP Chien-Ming Wang (18-6, 3.69) v. RHP Josh Beckett (18-6, 3.27) @ 3:55 PM ET on Fox
Sunday: RHP Roger Clemens (6-6, 4.45) v. RHP Curt Schilling (8-7, 3.93) @ 8:05 PM ET on ESPN

The Sox' magic number to clinch the division is now 12.

 

The Patriots made changes to their injury report yesterday. S Rashad Baker (hand) is no longer on the report; DL Jarvis Green (shoulder) was added and listed as having had limited participation in practice Wednesday.

Also, CB Ellis Hobbs, who had the record 108 yard kickoff return for a TD on Sunday against the Jets, was named the AFC's Special Teams Player of the Week.

 

WCVB's (Channel 5) Mike Lynch reported that a ruling on the penalty for Sunday's videotaping incident will come down tomorrow. The report says that head coach Bill Belichick will be fined $500K and that he must pay the fine himself, not owner Robert Kraft or the Patriots organization. It also says the Patriots will have to forfeit two high 2008 draft picks, and they could be as high as a first-round pick and a third-round pick.

 

Changes to the injury reports...

Chargers: TE Antonio Gates (back), LB Shawne Merriman (Achilles), and FB Andrew Pinnock (hamstring) were reported as having fully participated in practice. Gates and Pinnock did not practice yesterday, while Merriman had limited participation in practice. Also, the reports of S Clinton Hart and RB Darren Sproles were in error...they were not in the Wednesday injury report as posted on Chargers.com.

Patriots: G Stephen Neal (shoulder), TE Kyle Brady (team decision), and WR Randy Moss (team decision) added and reported as having had limited participation in practice.

It should be noted that Moss and Kyle Brady were limited in practice last Thursday, as well, with the same reason given.