Due to the Mark Teixeira news today, there will be a live episode of the Vortex tonight. Internet only, Youcastr only, no commercials, no breaks. You can listen below, the festivities start at 9 PM est.
The call-in number is 603-397-3559
http://www.youcastr.com/casts/listen/1298
The world without Tom Brady might have got just a tad better Thursday Night. The New England Patriots looked like they were going to get rolled over by the New York Jets. The Jets seemed to convert on every 3rd down possible, building a 24 – 6 lead with a little under 5 minutes left in the 1st half. Matt Cassel looked every bit as calm and collected as the departed superstar, finishing a great drive with a 19 yrd TD pass to Jabbar Gaffney with 15 seconds left in the half. The 3rd quarter was promising for the Patriots, as the D stood up and forced a few 3 and outs from the Jets. The offense finally broke through at the very end of the quarter with a nice 10 yrd TD pass from Cassel to Ben Watson. The 4th quarter was a different story, as the Jets seemed able to again convert 3rd downs and jet the running game going again. The Jets took 7:06 off the clock in the 4th with a 17 play drive that resulted in a Thomas Jones 1 yrd TD run to put the Jets up by 7. After a Pats drive petered out, they punted and forced a 3 and out from the Jets, and got the ball back with 1:06 left in the game. Matt Cassel took what the Jets gave them 15 yrds at a time down the middle, used spikes to stop the clock to get to the Jets 25. After a false start on Dan Koppen moved them back to the 30, Cassel then hit Wes Welker for 14 yrds on a 2nd and 15, forcing a 4th and 1 after the spike. After a Jets timeout, the Jets, who had been playing tight bump and run double coverage on Randy Moss all night, inexplicably, put Ty Law one on one, Cassel saw it, rolled to the right and hit Moss on a beautiful pass on the sideline with 1 second left on the clock. Steven Gostkowski hit the extra point to tie the game at 31. The Pats squibbed the kick forcing overtime. In OT, the Jets won the toss and started moving the ball. The Pats forced a 3rd and 15, but again, left Dustin Keller wide open in the slot for a 16 yrd gain for 1st down. That was the back breaker for the Pats, as the Jets ran the ball to field goal range and Jay Feely ended the game with a 34 yrd field goal to take sole possession of 1st place in the AFC East. Jerod “The Clinic” Mayo was a beast, finishing with 20 tackles in this game. The Jets won 34 – 31
Javon Walker possibly out for the rest of the season for the Raiders.
The Dallas Mavericks fall to 2 – 6 as Ben Gordon goes for 35 points for the Bulls as Chicago beat Dallas 98 – 91.
Cliff Lee is the 2nd Cleveland Indians pitcher in a row to capture the AL Cy Young Award.
Free Agency started at 12:01 AM this morning..keep a close eye on The Steamer for updates
The Philadelphia Phillies topped off a great season with a World Series Championship, their 1st since 1980 and the cities 1st since 1983. Geoff Jenkins started the Phillies 6th inning off with a double and Jason Werth singled him home with the Phillies taking a 3 – 2 lead. Rocco Baldelli tied the game with a great HR off Ryan Madson in the Top of the 7th. The Phillies came right back in their half of the 7th with Pat Burrell blasting a double and Pedro Feliz singled him home for the winning run. JC Romero and Brad Lidge closed it out for the 2008 World Series Championship.
Greg Oden is out for 3 to 4 weeks with an ankle strain.
North Carolina tops the ESPN/USA Today poll. Here are the top 10 teams
1. North Carolina 6. Pitt
2. Connecticut 7. Michigan State
3. Louisville 8. Texas
4. UCLA 9. Notre Dame
5. Duke 10. Perdue
Boston Red Sox ace Jon Lester pitched like the ace he is and Jed Lowrie got a single to drive home Jason Bay in an amazing 9th inning to propel the Red Sox to the ALCS by beating the California Angels 3 – 2.
The Tampa Bay Rays finish off the Chicago White Sox with a 6 – 2 win in Chicago. This sets up a Boston Red Sox vs Tampa Bay Rays American League Championship Series.
Reggie Bush had 2 huge returns for TDs, but the Saints could not outlast the Minnesota Vikings, Vikes win in New Orleans 30 – 27.
Brian Westbrook broke ribs in his return game.
Upset of the day, #8 Alabama slams #3 Georgia 41 – 30…guess that Black uni didn’t do any good.
Ole Miss uses a blocked extra point to upset #4 Florida 31 – 30.
LSU stays unbeaten by beating Mississippi State 34 – 24
Michigan scores 20 in 4th Quarter, upsets #9 Wisconsin
Terps top #20 Tigers
Auburn holds on for win over Tennessee 14 – 12
Navy upsets Wake Forest 24 – 17
#2 Oklahoma takes care of #24 TCU
The Philadelphia Phillies clinched the NL East for the second straight year with a 4 – 3 win over the Nationals
The New York Mets kept hope alive by beating the Florida Marlins 2 – 0. That win coupled with the Milwaukee Brewers 7 – 3 loss to the Chicago Cubs, leaves the Brewers and the Mets in a tie for the Wild Card spot.
The last day at the other New York stadium Shea.
Well is there any other story, really, that matters to most of the NFL world today. Here is a round-up of stories regarding Tom Brady and his apparent ACL tear. Sirius NFL Radio reported and confirmed that Chris Simms and Tim Rattay are heading to Foxboro Monday.
Boston Globe Patriots Page
Boston Herald Patriots Page
ESPN Story
Yahoo Sports
Ron Borges of WEEI.com
Adam Schefter of The NFL Network
Well now to the game. The Matt Cassell era has begun in a 17 – 10 win over the Chiefs.
Former BC Eagle Matt Ryan throws a 62 Yrd TD pass on his 1st NFL attempt on the way to an Atlanta Falcons stomping of the Detroit Lions 34 – 21.
The Buffalo Bills special teams lead the way to a 34 – 10 win over the Seattle Seahawks.
Brett Favre’s debut goes well in Miami, with a 20 – 14 win over the Dolphins.
Reggie Bush and Drew Brees combined to lead the New Orleans Saints over the Tampa Bay Bucs 24 – 20.
The Pittsburgh Steelers pound the Houston Texans 38 – 17.
The Tennessee Titans beat the Jacksonville Jags 17 – 10, but lose QB Vince Young.
Baltimore Ravens rookie QB Joe Flacco leads his team past the Cincinnati Bengals 17 – 10.
Jake Delhomme connects with Dante Rosario in te last seconds of Sunday’s game against the Chargers for a late win, beating the Bolts 26 – 24.
The Arizona Cardinals beat the San Francisco 49ers 23 – 13.
The Dallas Cowboys wallop on the Cleveland Browns 28 – 10.
I saved a little sunshine for last….
The Chicago Bears christened Lucas Oil Stadium, beating the Indianapolis Colts 29 – 13.
As all of New England is distracted by Tom Brady’s injury, the Boston Red Sox beat the Texas Rangers 7 – 2 behind Paul Byrd and Big Papi. The win combined with Tampa Bay Rays 1 – 0 loss to the Blue Jays, leaves the Red Sox just 1 1/2 games out of 1st place.
The AL Central stayed the same Sunday as the White Sox lost to the California Angels 3 – 2 and the Minnesota Twins lost to the Detroit Tigers 7 – 5.
The New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies split a day night double header keeping the Mets lead over the Phils at 2 games in the NL East.
The Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers both lost on Sunday, so the Cubs lead over the Brew Crew stays at 4 games. Chicago loses to the Reds 4 – 3 and the Brewers lose to the Padres, as Chris Young loses a perfect game bid in the 8th inning, 10 -1.
The Loas Angeles Dodgers go 1 1 /2 games ahead of the Diamondbacks by beating Arizona 5 – 3.
The Boston Red Sox lost to the Chicago White Sox at Fenway 4 – 2.
CC Sebathia was robbed of a no-hitter by a Pittsburgh score keeper on Sunday. The Brewers beat the Pirates 7 – 0. The Brew Crew are back to 4 1/2 games back of the Cubbies.
The Philadelphia Phillies kept pace with the New York Mets, who beat the Marlins 6 – 2, by beating the NL Central leading Chicago Cubs 5 -3.
The Minnesota Twins beat up on the Oakland A’s 12 – 4. The Twins stay 1/2 game back of the White Sox.
The Los Angeles Dodgers lost Jeff Kent for the rest of the season, but beat up on NL West division leading Arizona Diamondbacks 8 – 1. The Dodgers are 2 1/2 games back.
The NBA Player’s Association has suspended OJ Mayo’s former agent for a year.
Georgia loses important piece for the season.
The College Football season kicked off last night as #23 Wake Forest beat up on Baylor 41 -13. Riley Skinner threw 3 TD passes in the win.
The NY Yankees avoided a sweep at the hands of the Red Sox as Jason Giambi came off the bench to win the game 3 – 2. Josh Beckett scratched from another start and will seek opinion for elbow woes.
Christian Guzman hit for the cycle helping the Nationals to continue the LA Dodgers slide 11 -2.
The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3 -2, extend their lead over the Red Sox in the AL East to 4 1/2 games.
The Chicago Cubs uses a 5 run 8th inning, powered by an Aramis Ramirez grand slam, to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6 – 4.
The Minnesota Twins slipped to 1 1/2 games back of the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central with a 3 – 2 loss to the Oakland A’s.
Pacman Jones has been fully re-instated.
The Colts brick wall center, Jeff Saturday, will miss 6 weeks with knee injury.
Houston Texans WR Harry Williams, who has a cracked vertebrate and severe ligament damage in his neck, walked out of the hospital.
The Memphis Grizzlies sign Iranian center Haddadi.
The Milwaukee Bucks and the Golden State Warriors will meet in the pre-season in the China Games.
Oh My Goodness
Stu Barns retires and joins Stars coaching staff.
Replay to begin on Thursday.
The Boston Red Sox beat up on the New York Yankees for game 1 of the last series in the old Yankee Stadium. Tim Wakefield helped the Sox to a 7 – 3 win. In other Sox news, a deal appears close for former Portland Sea Dog Mark Kotsay as insurance for JD Drew.
The Tampa Bay Rays allow the Sox to gain a game in the standings, losing to the Toronto Blue Jays 6 – 2. The Red Sox are now 3 1/2 games back of the rays.
Gavin Floyd won his 14th game by helping the Chicago White Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles 8 – 3.
The New york Mets bullpen stinks. The Mets blew a 7 run lead against division rival Philadelphia Phillies, finally losing to the Phils in the 14th 8 – 7.
The Minnesota Twins lost another game in the standings to the Pale Hose, losing to the Seattle Mariners 3 – 2. The Twins are now 2 games back in the AL Central.
The LA Dodgers lost their 5th straight game, this time to the Washington Nationals 2 -1 .
The Chicago Cubs used a 7 run 8th inning to beat up on the Pittsburgh Pirates 14- 9.
The Milwaukee Brewers absolutely demolished the St Louis Cardinals as Ben Sheets returned to form, winning 12 – 0.
The New England Patriots made roster moves today including gaping holes in their offensive line. Steven Neal was placed on the PUP list until week 10 and Ryan O’Callahan was disabled for the entire season.
Michael Strahan says thanks, but no thanks to the NY Giants.
Bummer, David Tyree officially put on PUP list.
The Tampa Bay Bucs have a broken Cadillac. Williams to the PUP list until at least week 6.
Former Portland Trailblazers C Kevin Duckworth dead at 44
The Boston Celtics sign top pick JR Giddens.
The Dallas Mavericks sign 2 year deal with Devean George.
The Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago White Sox split a double header.
The Philadelphia Phillies swept the Los Angeles Dodgers for the 1st time since the 80’s, winning 5 – 0.
The Chicago Cubs slam the Pirates.
The New York Mets beat up on the Houston Astros.
The California Angels lose again to the A’s.
The Twins lose to the Seattle Mariners on a walk off. In other Twins news, they re-acquire Every Day Eddie Guardado.
Tom Brady says he will be ready for the opener.
The New York Giants offer Michael Strahan 8 Million to comeback.
Chad Pennington named Miami Dolphins starter.
A source tells ESPN’s John Clayton, Chad Johnson has a torn labrum.
Ken Whisenhunt refutes reports that a starting QB has been named.
The Maine Sports Blog 