The best seat in the house is the view from the couch

Pseudo-Live Blog: Big sports day

So, I'm gonna give the whole live blog another shot. It seems like everytime the Patriots play the Chargers, I'm in the mood to keep a live blog. Anyway, check back here throughout the day for updates - I doubt I'll be updating every three minutes or so as I've done in the past, but maybe 10-15 updates between the early games, the late games, the National Pats/Chargers game, and the Red Sox / Yankees , Schilling / Clemens mega-tilt tonight. Just a big sports day for me...

11:23PM: Goddamnit. That's it, I'm going to bed, trying to erase the memory of Derek Jeter hitting a bomb, btu even moreso the image of him pumping his fist recording the final out. I'll be back in a couple days - have to be in New York until Wednesday night for work, but the laptop is coming with me, so I might update from the road. Lata.

11:21PM: I am way too emotionally attached to this team... the Pats won, the Red Sox are at 2-2 with 2 outs, and my heart is beating about 180...

11:19PM: AAAHAHAHA! Forget Manny pinch hitting - it's David Ortiz vs. Mo Rivera, 9th inning, 2 outs, bases loaded after a walk to Pedroia, and Joe Torre is walking to the mound! What could he possibly say here? "Throw Strikes?"

11:16PM: INTERESTING?! Are you kidding? The first pitch hits Ellsbury right off the kneecap on the back knee... Please tell me Manny is available to pinch hit tonight...

11:15PM: Holy crap. Julio Lugo just woke me up with a frozen rope double to score Varitek and make it a 1-run game. Now we get the kid, Ellsbury. Someone who's got no fear of Mo Rivera. This could be interesting...

11:05PM: You think the Patriots weren't trying to send a message with this game? 4th and 1, 3-yard line, 3 minutes to go in a 31-14 game after a 10+ minute drive, and the Patriots go for it and get the touchdown. That one had to be personal, although the same could be said about holding LdT to 25 yards rushing (so far)...

10:55PM: JD Drew - really earning that $14M salary. Takes strike three on a nasty hook from Joba Chamberlain to kill any potential rally after Mike Lowell brings the Sox back within 2. On the other front, Tom Brady just did a great job drawing the Chargers offsides. Nice graphic from NBC showing the "Most wins for a QB in first 100 starts". Brady has 71 wins in 95 regular season starts. That's ridiculous in the NFL. Also, I am really starting to enjoy watching Laurence Maroney run as a full-time starting runningback. Does anybody else realize that Corey Dillon asked for his outright release this past offseason because he wanted to still be a featured back, and has yet to sign on with any other team?

10:36PM: One batter late. I picked up the phone to text Tim about Brady to Moss for a 31-7 Pats lead, and immediately as I turned the phone on, Derek Jeter did what Derek Jeter does - makes every resident of a six-state region (and millions of others around the country) hate him eternally. Truthfully, as much as Tito has managed this team very well all season long, and although Schilling was only at 90 pitches, he needed to be out when it was first & second with 1 out. That's the spot to bring in the lights out bullpen - get a fresh arm in the game to blow batters away. No matter what happens, the Sox can't be behind by more than 4.5 games, but this still sucks. At least the Pats are dominant.

10:16PM: Well crap. The Chargers scored the touchdown, and Ellsbury grounded out, to Doug Mientkiwicz of all people. Damnit. 24-7 and 1-1... this might be a long night.

10:15PM: Damnit I need Picture-in-Picture! 4th & Goal for the Chargers on the 1, and at the same time Jacoby Ellsbury is batting with 2 out in the 7th and the go ahead run on third... Flip, flip, flip, flip...

9:52PM: Pats up 24-0 @ the half (with Bob Kraft live in-studio, trying to look both contrite to the league and supportive of his coach... nice tightrope walk), though it probably should be more. A tipped ball led to a red zone INT on the Pats' final drive of the first half. Sox/Yanks are in a positive pitchers duel, which considering the first two games of the series, is not what anyone was expecting. For the halftime show, I'm going to finish packing and just relax for awhile, watching the Sox game. Back for the second half. (By the way - anyone who says Mike Lowell is not the offensive MVP of the Red Sox this season is an idiot. And anyone who says that JD Drew is any higher than about 50th on that list, just behind David Murphy, is also an idiot.)

9:30PM: Far be it for me to criticize a network for their programming decisions, but I'm getting a little tired of NBC's coverage of all the cameras in Gillette Stadium, the radio frequency monitors, etc. Though the choice of "Secret Agent Man" as exit music at a commercial break was pretty funny.

9:20PM: Should have seen this one coming... playing in my tournament, picking up Aces in the blind, making a massive raise to eliminate the 5 callers... and the phone rings. It's my mother. Those of you who read regularly know the uncanniness with which my monther brings bad luck upon my poker game. Needless to say, I was eliminated with an inside straight on the river. On the plus side, the Patriots just held on a big 3rd and 1, and the Sox continue to hold to their 1-0 lead... well, not anymore. As I was typing, Robbie Cano hit a bomb over the Monster. Surprisingly, my mother was no longer on the phone. And just when I thought this game might end before 1AM...

9:15PM: Anyone who says the Pats sold their soul to Satan for this team and the chance to win another Super Bowl... well here's your proof. NBC just flashed a graphic showing "R. Moss: 6 catches, 66 yards, TD" (6 points)... Personally, I'm fine with this. Meanwhile, in flipping to the Sox game for the commercial break, Joe Morgan is breaking down the horribly complex "Joba rules..." you know, the ones that say "If Joba Chamberlain pitches on Day X, he can't pitch on Day Y..." Not sure which is tougher - the Joba rules, or negotiating peace in the Middle East.

9:05PM: Pats up 14-0, Sox up 1-0, I'm down in a poker tournament. Well, 2 outta 3 ain't bad. Seems like a good time to mention that although the Pats are absolutely carving the Chargers' defense right now, I can't take too much joy in it. I'm looking for a close game, something in the area of Chargers losing by 3 or less...

8:20PM: Within one minute of each other, John Madden says "Well, he shouldn't have done that" on the Belichick scandal, and Joe Morgan tries to figure out wht pitch Curt Schilling just threw, finally deciding on a "slidepiece". I'm in hell.

7:45PM: I just got a text message from my buddy Tim. No note, just a picture:
















Apparantely, sitting in the bleachers for the Sox/Yanks game. Just one more reason for me to dislike him. I offered to send Patriots' score updates, but the more I think about it, the more likely it is that I send him some bad information... "LdT - 200yd, 4TD"... "#12 - OUT: broken hand"... "Coach BB killed by sniper"... stuff like that. Wonder if he'll believe me.


7:30PM: Correct me if I'm wrong here, but didn't Tiki Barber say that when he retired, he absolutely did not want to go into the booth and have anything to do with football commentary, that if he got into television he wanted to do something substantive? Any yet there he sits, in his pinstripes, breaking down the Giants' game with The Bus and Collinsworth. And, shockingly, he's talking about how the Giants' look depressed, like they're not properly motiviated by the coaches... wow, Tiki ripping the New York coaches. I'm stunned.

7:05PM: I probably should have mentioned in my picks post for this week that I absolutely HATE picking games in Week 2 of the season. Oddsmakers skew the lines way too much to balance out for Week 1 performances - how else do you explain things like Denver giving 10 points to Oakland, or the Texans getting in Carolina? Makes it very, very difficult to pick things accurately, and even harder to actually make money betting on it.

6:45PM: It really says something about the quality of the afternoon matchups when the three most interesting games involve Oakland, Detroit & Arizona. Seriously. This is just a lousy afternoon, and I'm not just saying that because I'm still pissed at the Colts & Titans...

5:30PM: You want to know fear? Try making a panic bet on the Lions (1st mistake), then hearing "Jon Kitna has left the game with a concussion". My hopes now rest on somebody named J.T. O'Sullivan, who sounds like he should be tending bar in Boston's South End instead of playing quarterback in the NFL. Other than that, I have lost all interest in the afternoon games, mostly because my choices for watching them are Cowboys/Dolphins or Jets/Ravens. Not exactly two barn-burners there. At this point in the day, I think I'm going to go take a shower and pack for my flight tomorrow night. Back sometime around the end of these disgusting games, and just before the Sunday Night Doubleheader.

4:55PM: Not that anybody cares, but a quick Fantasy football update for the day. I'm getting my ass handed to me in one league, and dominating the other two. In the one, I voluntarily started Alex Smith over Matt Leinart, and the Bengals defense over the Vikings. Not looking too good. However, in my other two leagues, I have Carson Palmer, so after his 400 yards, and 6 freaking touchdowns (gee, anybody see that coming?), it doesn't really matter what the rest of my team does - I think I win by default. Also, on a completely un-football-related note, this news made my stomach turn today.

4:10PM: Wow. Pretty good ending to the Colts/Titans game, as there always seems to be when Indy & Tennessee match up. Of course, the 2-point Colts win completely screwed me - The Titans didn't cover the moneyline, and the Colts didn't cover the 7.5 points. It might have been fun to watch, but it was about the worst possible scenario for gambling purposes. In other news, the Bengals' D is terrible, meaning I have even less faith in the Ravens' offense after last week's stinkbomb. Baltimore turned the ball over 6 times against a defense that has allowed 50+ points to the Browns today. Also, the Saints might be in a little bit of trouble. Allowing 40+ to the Colts in Week 1 is not exactly shocking. Allowing 30+ to the Bucs this week, after having an extra three days to prepare, is wholly inexcusable. Can you say "letdown year"?

3:25PM: It's official, this might be the most poorly played defensive game of the season. 41-31... with 6 minutes to go in the third quarter! This seems like a good time to mention that I picked up the Bengals' defense for a one-game start against the "anemic" Browns' offense this week in my money fantasy football league. My other option was the Vikings' D against the Lions. You know - the Vikings D that had 2 touchdowns and allower approximately 8 yards of total offense last week. Hmmm...

2:25PM: I'm stuck watching the, uh, defensive struggle between Buffalo and Pittsburgh. "Defensive Struggle" being a nice way to say "Affront to the offensive side of the ball". It's 12-0 at the half - Buffalo has about 16 total yards of offense, Pittsburgh has 4 field goals. Yawn. I might just go play computer games for the second half. In other news, the Bucs are leading the Saints 21-0 at the half, meaning you can expect a full article on SI.com tomorrow from Peter King talking about how Drew Brees is too good for this to be the way he plays all year, and "don't count out the Saints just yet".

Labels: Damn my thumbs hurt, Live Blog, NFL, Patriots, Red Sox

posted by Big D @ 2:24 PM