Funeral for a Friend

Hear that? Aretha Franklin is warming up her pipes. The fat lady is beginning to sing. And for most Red Sox fans, including myself, we never thought we'd be saying that on the first day of September. But losing three straight must win games to drop your hometown team from 4.5 games back to 8 games back will do that to a baseball fan. This season has had some good moments, and it's had some bad, but ultimately the sinking feeling that most Sox fans got during the offseason played itself out onto the field. For better or for worse, this was a transition year. And as the lowly Orioles continue to shovel the final bit of dirt into the grave that has become the 2010 Red Sox season by knocking Lester around the park, let's see what happened to make this all come to a head.

First off, the thing that crippled the Red Sox the most this season was injuries. It started with Mike Cameron (he's missed 84 games so far this year and won't be back after season ending surgery). Then Jacoby Ellsbury soon followed (114 games and likely out for the rest of the year). Then Josh Beckett (12 starts). Then Victor Martinez, Dustin Pedroia, and Clay Buchholz (22, 55 and out for the year, 4 starts respectively) were all injured in one trip to San Fransisco. The final blow to this team was the loss of Kevin Youkilis (26 games and counting), leaving the Sox with a depleted lineup (Darnell McDonald and Bill Hall have been practically every day players on this team. I'm just as depressed as you are) without the services of their 1,2, and 3 hitters. Not to mention that even role players such as Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek missed significant time, hurting the team's depth. And it showed. The Red Sox went from scoring about 4.5 runs per game in April to nearly 6 runs per game in May and June. It wasn't until the rash of injuries in July that the Sox came back to earth. In August, they scored a measly 4.3 runs per game, their worst monthly total yet. And just when the injuries looked like they were subsiding, and Pedroia and Ellsbury were on their way back, they get hurt again. It's just been too much to bear.

But that's not the only reason for Boston's struggles this season. The bullpen has been absolutely HORRENDOUS outside of Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon. Let me put it this way. It's like when you go to a restaurant and order a plate of spaghetti and meatballs. You eat it, and it's terrific, right down to the last noodle. Then a week later, you go back to that same restaurant and order that same plate of spaghetti, only this time you take one bite and immediately feel like your going to puke your brains out. That first order of spaghetti is the 2009 Red Sox bullpen. The second order? The 2010 Red Sox bullpen. And the sad thing is, I wasn't exaggerating at at all. With the exception of one and a half meatballs (Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon at times) the Sox 'pen this year is the worst plate of spaghetti I've had in a long time.

Another reason that the Sox have been down this year is the work of Theo Epstein. Yes, I'm very much aware of the Adrian Beltre signing. In fact, The Panther has been one of the only reasons for me to watch the Red Sox this season. But other than that, Theo's moves this offseason have come up short. Lackey hasn't come close to living up to his billing (or his contract for that matter. I just realized I'll be a junior in college when his contract is up. Great.). Cameron barely made it through a quarter of the year before shutting it down for good. Scutaro has performed admirably out of the leadoff spot in Ellsbury's absence, but he hasn't performed up to his numbers in Toronto and has been a liability defensively for stretches. Plus he proved once again you never should sign players to term, high priced extensions in the middle of the season (I'm looking at you Josh Beckett), and failed to address the bullpen at the trade deadline when the team desperately needed help in that area (Oh, and Kerry Wood has been lights out since he signed with the Yankees. I will now take a nap on red hot coals.). He's made it clear as day that this is a transition year. If I had to give him a grade, I'd say he'd get a C. And that's being generous.

Yet another reason for the Red Sox being out of the race so early is the under performance of their two highest paid pitchers, Josh Beckett and John Lackey. Combined, they are 16-12 in 43 starts with a 4.98 ERA. Not exactly what you expect from a duo making a combined $30.8 million this year. Throw in the fact that this team has not been an offensive juggernaut by any means this year and relied on that this team was built on pitching, then Lackey and Beckett have been downright awful.

I had some fun with this Red Sox team. I enjoyed David Ortiz's return to prominence. I had fun watching Clay Buchholz contend for the Cy Young (an award he deserves but probably won't get). And I LOVED watching Adrian Beltre play every day. And I admired how the team which was so depleted scrapped and clawed and battled to stay in the race as long as it could. But between injuries, under performing pitchers, and seemingly careless personnel moves by the front office, this team couldn't quite make it to where they wanted to be. It's a shame. For now, it's looking like I'll be uttering a phrase well known to Red Sox fans everywhere: "Wait 'til next year".

But I can't help but wonder what could have been.

_____________________________________________

Question for the Boston Sports Fan? Email him @ bosox102@hotmail.com

Celtics-Cavs: Its on!

When the Celtics closed out the Dwayne Wade and the Miami Heat last Sunday, there was only one thought that crossed my mind: Bring on LeBron. And I got my wish when a few hours later the Cavaliers took care of business and finished their series with the Bulls (and that ridiculous and annoying Joakim Noah. God I hate that guy). That gave us the second round matchup that many Celtics fans feared getting when the C's were shuffling down the stretch. Cleveland, the NBA's best team in the regular season, versus the 2008 champion Boston Celtics, an aging contender looking to make a last run at the title. The Big Three (featuring Rajon Rondo) taking on all-world talent and two time MVP LeBron James. So in preparation to what should be a great series, I've decided to break it down blow by blow, position by position. Here we go:


POINT GUARD: RAJON RONDO VS. MO WILLIAMS
Okay, anyone who knows me knows that I am going to be extremely biased here. Rondo is my favorite player on the Celtics and my second favorite player in the league (trailing only the incomparable Tim Duncan). Don't get me wrong, I think Mo Williams is a good player and is the perfect match for the drive and dish game of LeBron. Williams is a very good three point shooter and had a great series against the Bulls. Both Rondo and Williams are All-Star caliber players. But I can't emphasize enough how much Rajon Rondo has done for the 2010 Boston Celtics. He's been the one constant in a season filled with inconsistencies. He's run the show night in and night out, and might just have been the most valuable player for Boston this year (for the record, Rasheed was the least valuable player. But you probably knew that anyway). I'm taking Rondo in this matchup, and you can't convince me otherwise.

EDGE: Celtics

SHOOTING GUARD: RAY ALLEN VS. ANTHONY PARKER
Okay, I understand on paper this looks like a mismatch, and honestly, it is. Ray Allen had an excellent second half, and should be hot coming off a series against Miami where he couldn't miss. Plus he's a Hall of Famer. Anthony Parker is a role player. He's a good perimeter defender, he hits open threes, he's tailor-made to play on Cleveland. However, he's no Ray Allen. If Shuttlesworth shoots like he did against the Heat, then the Celtics have a VERY good shot at stealing this series and the ring right off of LeBron's finger.

EDGE: Celtics

SMALL FORWARD: PAUL PIERCE VS. LEBRON JAMES
It was nice to see Pierce got to drink from the fountain of youth. For the first time in a while, he looked healthy and was taking the ball to the hole with the enthusiasm that we've grown used to seeing. If this was any other matchup, I'd think long and hard about giving the Celtics the edge here. Unfortunately, LeBron is the best player in the NBA. I know, he's got issues with his elbow, and I know, Pierce out dueled LeBron before, but things are different this year. James is on a mission. He's been putting up arcade stats all year, plus he's coming off a series where he averaged 39-10-9 in games 2, 3, and 4. He's been so good this year that my buddy Pat Davis (who is also known as the Panda), a known Kobe lover, has finally agreed with me that James has surpassed Bryant. Regardless, this is a great matchup and hopefully its at the level of the 2008 Eastern Conference Semis. But I gotta go with LeBron here, simply because he's the best in the league.

EDGE: Cavs

POWER FORWARD: KEVIN GARNETT VS. ANTAWN JAMISON
I'm going to sound crazy here, but I'm taking Jamison. I know, I'm just as surprised as you are. No, I haven't lost my mind. Listen. KG hasn't really been KG since his knee injury last season. Sure, he's shown flashes, and that's all fine and good, but don't be fooled. He can't do it for an entire game. Not anymore. I'm hoping that he can turn back the clock and give us some vintage Garnett performances, but I just don't know. Meanwhile Jamison has been the best deadline acquisition this year. He's a perfect fit for the Cavs as he can stretch the floor with shooting and is also a talented post player. He gives Cleveland the versatility that they lacked last year. And I still can't figure out how he gets the ball in the basket with that crazy scoop/floater/layup thing that he lofts over defenders with ease. Any time you have a player who does things you never seen before you have to take him, right? Right? I'm really trying to talk myself into this one.

SLIGHT EDGE: Cavs

CENTER: KENDRICK PERKINS VS. SHAQUILLE O'NEAL
Perk's going to have his hands full in this series. No more picking on Jermaine O'Neal's corpse. Although, it's not like he's facing Shaq circa 1999-2002. This version of O'Neal isn't going to crush anyone for 35 minutes a game. Current Shaq goes in the game for 20-22 minutes, tries to get the opposing team's big men in foul trouble, and hopes to pick up about 12 points and 7 or so rebounds in the process. Not to mention that Perkins is probably one a handful of players strong enough to muscle up with the likes of Shaq and Dwight Howard. And O'Neal was thoroughly outplayed by Joakim Noah (I feel sick just mentioning his name) for the last four games of the Cavs-Bulls series...

EDGE: Even

CELTICS BENCH VS. CAVALIERS BENCH
Fortunately for the Celtics, Glen Davis has decided to show up for the playoffs. Which is good, because it's saved me and countless other Celtic fans from having to watch that lazy thief Rasheed Wallace lumber up and down the court. Unfortunately for the Celtics, because Sheed has packed it in and Marquis Daniels and Nate Robinson are useless (what a shocker), they're pretty much stuck with a bench rotation that consists of Davis, Tony Allen (my least favorite Celtic pre-Sheed) whatever minutes Wallace gives them, and 37 year old Michael Finley. Oh boy. On the other side, the Cavs have a diverse unit that has hustlers like Anderson Varejao, J.J. Hickson, and Jamario Moon (if Moon hits his threes like he did against the Bulls then the Cavs become very dangerous); a good perimeter scorer in "Craziest NBA Player" Finalist Delonte West, and the one of the better shooting centers of all time in Zydrunas Ilgauskas. This is a mismatch.

EDGE: Cavs (and it's not even close)

COACHING: DOC RIVERS VS. MIKE BROWN
I'll keep it short and sweet. Doc has a ring. Brown does not. Doc, while he may not be a great coach, certainly hasn't destroyed a good team. Brown is lucky he has LeBron bailing him out. Doc is a good coach. Brown is not.

EDGE: Celtics.

BOTTOM LINE
I was impressed with the Celtics in round one. They finally started playing championship defense, and showed some heart for the first time all year. If they can keep it up, they have a real shot at this thing. However, I can't help but think that this is finally LeBron's year. I hope I'm wrong, but the Cavs are just too deep, too motivated, and the Celtics will have to play an almost perfect series to beat Cleveland. And from what I've seen this year, I'm not so sure that's going to happen. Boston will need some big performances from its stars if they want to win this series.

VERDICT: Cavs in 7, but I really hope I'm wrong on this one.

___________________________________________________


Become a fan of the blog on Facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Inside-The-Mind-of-a-Boston-Sports-Fan

The Sports Fan Strikes Back

I'm baaaaack!

After nearly a four month hiatus, during which the Patriots exploded (so much for that prediction), the Red Sox entered a "transitional" phase, and the Celtics continue to confuse everyone in the New England area with their inconsistant play, I have returned. And why? Well I'm not sure. But I did have to write a paper for my English class recently, and since I twisted the topic to be sports related, I figured now was the right time. So without further ado, I give you my take on what it takes to make a championship caliber basketball team.

Basketball is a magnificent sport. When played at its highest level, it is beautiful to watch. From elegant passing to high flying slam dunks to graceful post play to swarming defense, basketball can be a spectacular sight to see. Very rarely does a team reach this level of play, but when they do, it spells trouble for the rest of the league (an example of this would be the 1986 Boston Celtics, a team that had superior passing, defense, and scoring ability to everyone else that year). But how does a team reach that basketball nirvana? What pieces must be in place for a team to gel and reach the pinnacle of their abilities as a team? First, you need a star player. Second, you need at least one capable second fiddle. Thirdly, you have to surround those two or three players with role players. If those three criteria are met, you will have yourself a championship-caliber basketball team.

First off, in order to have a championship team, you have to have at least one star player, but no more than two. This is not debatable. Every great team has had at least one go to guy (Michael Jordan of the Bulls of the 90’s and Tim Duncan from the Spurs of the 00’s are two examples) and in some cases, two (Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant of the 2000-04). You need to have a star player because every team needs a player who can lead them on the court by carrying the team on his back when things get rough. Star players change the way the game is played, because they force the opponent to adapt to them and focus on them because if they don’t, he will beat them. A star player on a championship team also must be well rounded. He not only has to be able to score, but be able to stop his opponent from scoring as well. He must also be able to know when to defer to his teammates and make them better. If a superstar is too selfish, the team will go nowhere and will never win it all (*cough* Kobe pre 2009 *cough*).

Secondly, every superhero needs a sidekick. Even Batman had Robin to back him up. In basketball, the superstar of the team can’t do it all by himself (unless the star is LeBron James, who led a team that would have won about twenty games without him to the NBA Finals in 2007). Michael Jordan never would have won without Scottie Pippen and Shaquille O’Neal never would have been able to win three titles with the Lakers without a young Kobe Bryant. Therefore, it is logical to have a talented sidekick or two (preferably two) to help carry the load. This type of player often could be the leading man on his own team, but is the second banana to the star on this team. It’s important that this player knows his role and doesn’t try and undermine the hierarchy of the team, or else there will be an ugly end result both on and off the court. The sidekick (or sidekicks in the ideal case) has to be able to step up if the superstar has an off night. While he or they may not be able to carry a team at a championship level, the team definitely can’t win it all without them.

The third thing you need to do in order to have a transcendent basketball team is to surround the star and his sidekick(s) with solid role players that complement their skills. For example, if your star is an all-world power forward or center (like, say...Tim Duncan), and your sidekick is a gifted perimeter scorer, then it makes sense for you to fill out your starting five with a veteran point guard who can manage the game and make plays when called upon, a good perimeter defender who can give the opposing team’s best outside scorer headaches, and another big man who can rebound and play low post defense. As for the bench role players, it’s important that the team has a deep group with varying talents. The ideal bench usually features a sixth man (a fringe starter who contributes the most minutes of the bench players and can effectively fill in for a short stretch if someone is injured), a good perimeter defender, a lights out shooter, a well-rounded forward or center who can come in and score, rebound, and defend (Leon Powe of the 2008 Celtics was an excellent example of this) and a couple high energy guys who can give your team a spark. When a team has a supporting cast like that, they are very tough to beat.

That is the recipe to building a winning team. You need a superstar player to lead the way, a sidekick or two that will help lighten the load on the star, and role players that fill out the team and complement the more talented players’ abilities. But none of these factors will form a winning team unless they have one specific ingredient: selflessness. No team, no matter how talented they are, can win a championship without sacrificing for the good of the team. Many a team have never lived up to their potential (such as those same Lakers from the beginning of the 2000s; had Kobe and Shaq been able to coexist, they could have won three more titles) because the players couldn’t put the team first. However, if a team follows this guideline, it is guaranteed that they will reach the highest level that they can possibly reach, and at the end of the season they will be crowned a champion.

(Funny, I think I just described the San Antonio Spurs of the 2000's)

Sunday Bloody Sunday

Yesterday sucked. Plain and simple. If you are a sports fan in New England, Sunday was a terrible day. In fact, you could make a case that it was one of the worst sports days in a long time. For those of you who live under a rock and have no idea what happened, let's recap:

It all started at 12:07 when the Red Sox, who had barely showed up in the first two games of their annual American League Divisional Series matchup against the Angels, took the field. In games 1 and 2, the Sox had managed to score 1 run on 8 hits. That was in both the games combined. Pedroia and Youkilis were non existent. The two-headed monster of Lester and Beckett were defeated. The Angels were outplaying the Red Sox in every phase of the game. Then in Game 3, Boston jumped out to a 5-1 lead. Buchholz was looking great. The bats had finally woken up. Everything was just dandy. Even when Los Angeles closed the gap to 5-4 in the 8th, the Red Sox responded with a run in the bottom of the frame. Perfect. 6-4, going into the 9th, with Jonathan Papelbon and his squeaky clean playoff slate coming in to close out the game and keep the Sox alive.

Paps mowed down the first two batters. Then he got a quick two strikes on Eric Aybar, the last hitter in the Angels lineup. But Aybar singled. Then Chone Figgins walked. Then Abreu hit a double. 6-5 Boston. two batters later, Big Bad Vlad Guerrero (he ain't all washed up yet) lined one up the middle. 7-6 Angels. Papelbon gets taken out in the middle of an inning for the second time in his career (the first time was when he blew out his shoulder). Then in the bottom of the 9th, the Red Sox go down in order. Not even a whimper. Game over, series over, season over for the Red Sox. As my friend Ryan put it "these are the losses that bring me closer and closer to the crack pipe." (You can't make this stuff up people!)

At first, I blamed Papelbon. I wanted to run him out of town. But then I realized that the series wasn't his fault. The Red Sox had only 15 hits in the 3 games. Jacoby Ellsbury led the team in batting average this postseason. He hit .250. Kevin Youkilis went missing before game 1, and his look alike replacement hit .083. David Ortiz was in the lineup, unfortunately he reverted to the David Ortiz of April and May. Nobody was hitting, the pitching was average, and in the end, the Red Sox just weren't that good. No one player lost this series. It was a team loss. The Angels were simply the better team, and the Red Sox played like they had the last two weeks of the season. But what was really upsetting for me was the lack of heart the Red Sox showed. They went down without a fight in this series, and seemed defeated after game 1. Honestly, this was one of the more disappointing seasons I can remember.

Any Red Sox fans looking to be cheered up by a Patriots victory were severely disappointed. Once again, things started off perfectly fine. Brady looked good (not great, but he looked like he was improving yet again). The defense was playing solid, just as they have been all season. And at the half, the Patriots had taken a 17-7 lead into the locker room. But that lead wouldn't hold. In the second half, the offense was ineffective, Brady was terrible (more on this later), the secondary had more holes than a soccer goal net (by the way, when are the Patriots going to get a good cornerback again? The only good one they've had has been Asante Samuel. I'm seriously tired of the Duane Starks's of the league finding their way into the Pats' secondary. Mini rant over.), and the result was a 20-17 OT loss. Sickening, especially when it's compounded with a Red Sox collapse and elimination from the playoffs earlier that day.

As for the Brady rant that I promised, I want to address all the New England fans who want him out. Obviously Tom isn't the same. He is overthrowing receivers at an alarming rate. He can't complete passes consistently. He looks down receivers, and doesn't notice wide open guys. To this point, he's having his worst season yet. But you know what? He's still Tom Brady. The guy is coming back from major knee surgery and didn't play at all last season. Give it some time. He's one of the best quarterbacks of his generation (only Peyton Manning has been more successful, at least in the regular season). He might need another 2-3 games to really get going and make this offense effective. And who knows? Maybe he'll need the whole year to recover. But in this case, I think the guy deserves a pass. He is (as I already said) one of the two best quarterbacks of his generation. He has helped bring 3 Super Bowl rings to New England. Give Brady a break.

And so, what was a terrible weekend came to a close. But hey, it's not all bad! We still have the Celtics in a few weeks! Go Ubuntu!

(sigh)

Down The Stretch They Come....

Ok, is it just me or has this Red Sox season been among one of the stranger ones in recent memory? Think about it: It's the first full season without Manny. David Ortiz didn't hit a homer until June 5th and had the steroids scandal. Neither Brad Penny or John Smoltz are still with the team. Theo made a blockbuster move at the deadline to acquire Victor Martinez. The revolving door that was the shortstop position (Nick Green, Jed Lowrie, Chris Woodward) until Alex Gonzalez was reacquired from the Reds. And Dice-K went 1-5 in his first 6 decisions with an ERA over 8, hadn't pitched in 60 days until Tuesday night, and could still be Boston's third starter come October. Ladies and gentlemen, your 2009 Boston Red Sox!

Maybe the weirdest thing is that the aforementioned Matsuzaka, despite his general suckitude to this point in the season, has the potential to make or break the 2009 Red Sox. As he proved Tuesday night by shutting down the Angels, when he's on, he is a #2/#3 caliber starter. Which makes him especially valuable to this team considering the third starter right now is Clay Buchholz, and the fourth starter would be either Tim Wakefield or Paul Byrd. If that last sentence doesn't make you nervous, then I don't know what will. But by putting an effective Dice-K into the mix, as either the third or fourth starter, suddenly the postseason pitching staff looks a lot deeper, especially with the dynamic duo of Josh Beckett and John Lester as the game 1 and 2 starters respectively.

Another big thing that needs to happen for the Sox is that the lineup needs to settle. Now, I am a huge fan of Varitek, but it's obvious to even me that the guy has been missing in action since the All-Star Break and that his career is really all but over. I mean, the guy is hitting .164 since the break. .164! That is truly terrible. It's clear that for the Red Sox to have the best possible offensive output in the playoffs, the lineup needs too look like this:

Ellsbury (CF)
Pedroia (2B)
Martinez (C)

Youkilis (3B)
Bay (LF)
Ortiz (DH)

Lowell (3B)

Drew (RF)
Gonzalez (SS)

That lineup gives the Sox the best chance to put up runs and win games. Which, last time I checked, is the goal in the playoffs. I really hope Tito doesn't play Tek anymore than the bare minimum that is necessary. Plugging him into the lineup means they lose either one of their two best hitters (Martinez or Youk), one of their most consistent offensive threats (Lowell), or the player with the most home runs in the American League since June 5 (Ortiz). At this point in his career, all that Tek gives you is an ability to call the game, which is a skill that even i think is vastly overrated. Sorry Jason, but you're the odd man out in this situation.

So how do I feel about the Red Sox as they make their stretch run? I feel pretty optimistic that they will win the Wild Card, thanks to Texas finally starting to fade, but I'm not sure how they fare past that. The Yankees are on fire right now, and I think that they will be very tough to beat in a 7 game series. Not to mention that the Angels, as always, are a dangerous team and are not to be taken lightly (even if the Red Sox have won 10 of their last 11 against them in the playoffs). That being said, I think these guys have a shot, and a better one than a lot of people are giving them credit for. Seriously, who wants to face a rotation of Beckett, Lester, Buchholz, and an effective Dice-K , plus Jonathan Papelbon (who still has yet to give up a postseason run) in a 5 or 7 game series? I know I wouldn't, that's for sure.

Return Of The Golden Boy

In my entire life, only four football games have given me chills. The first was in January of 2002, when when the New England Patriots came back in the snow against the Raiders in a game that will be known forever as the "Tuck Game". The second was less than a month later, when those same Patriots defeated the heavily favorited Rams 20-17 in Super Bowl XXXVI, thanks to a last minute drive by Tom Brady and a game-winning field goal by Adam Vinatieri as time expired. The third was in February of 2004, when Tom Brady once again lead his New England Patriots into position for a last second field goal courtesy of Adam Vinatieri to win their second Super Bowl in four seasons.

The fourth, and last time i felt "the chill" while watching a football game was in September of 2007. You know, that game where the lethal combination Brady and Moss was unveiled? That 38-14 domination of the New York Jets that set the tone for the rest of the season? I remember thinking that Sports Illustrated stole my line when they said that the Patriots sent a "shiver down the spine of the NFL". The way the Patriots effortlessly scored on a helpless Jets defense, it made you think that this offense could put up 50 points every game with ease. I knew in that moment that the season to follow would be special.

That team steamrolled the competition, like a 12 year old man-child in Little League mows down overmatched batters (don't lie, you had a kid like that in your league, everyone did). They went 16-0 in the regular season, setting offensive record after offensive record. Spygate only fueled the fire. They put up a grand total of 587 points that season. 587 points! Are you kidding me? Nobody could beat them. Even in the Super Bowl, when the offense was held to a mere 7 points entering the fourth quarter and trailing by 3, Brady engineered a touchdown drive to take the lead with 2 minutes and 53 seconds left in the game. Then the rest is history. Asante Samuel lets an INT go right through his fingers. Eli Manning is swarmed by what seemed like the entire Patriots front seven, somehow escapes and heaves a prayer that little used receiver David Tyree somehow snatches on the back end by clutching it to his helmet while Rodney Harrison is trying to punch it out (probably one of the most impossible plays in sports history, and it makes me sick to my stomach every time I watch it). Then rookie safety Brandon Merriweather can't hang on to one of Eli's "I have no idea where this lob is going" passes. And the death blow, Ellis Hobbs getting physically dominated by Plaxico Burress on a goal line fade to the endzone (by the way, why was Hobbs covering Burress? Don't you put your best cornerback on the other team's best receiver in that situation?). 17-14 Giants. Perfection over.

After losing Super Bowl XLII, 2008 was supposed to be the Year of Revenge. It was going to make up for last season's failure. The Patriots were going to win the Super Bowl. It was a fact. Then, two drives into the season, Bernard Pollard fell into Brady's knee. Silence. The air was sucked out of the stadium. At home watching on TV, I sat on the couch, staring dumbfounded at the screen. Then the wave of text messages rolled in. My friend, who was at the game, said "Dude it's so quiet right now." Every single Patriots fan was in shock. Tom Brady, the hero of 3 Super Bowl championships, was down for the count. Even though he was severely injured, Brady still walked off the field, assisted by the trainers, which gave us hope. Unfortunately, he wasn't. Tom was done for the year, and Matt Cassel, though solid for the rest of the season, was no Brady, and the Patriots missed the playoffs (despite an 11-5 record).

But all that ends this year. You know why? Brady's back, and all is right in New England once again. When Brady steps onto that field on Monday Night Football on September 10th, the crowd will be ready and cheering. The offense will be seemingly unstoppable, the Patriots seemingly unbeatable. And me? I will get "the chill". Look out NFL, the Pats are back. And this time, they will be not be denied of that 4th Super Bowl banner. That's right, I'm guaranteeing that the Patriots will win Super Bowl XLIV. Revenge Tour: Take II begins now.