Monday Morning Quick Hitters

The Dallas Cowboys squeeked out a late win in Tony Romo’s return from a finger injury, beating the Washington Redskins 14 – 10

Injury riddled Denver Broncos beat the Atlanta Falcons 24 – 20.

Apparently Donovan McNabb doesn’t know that an NFL game could end in a tie…”I didn’t know that, I’ve never been part of a tie. I never even knew it was in the rule book. I was looking forward to getting the opportunity to get out there and try to drive to win the game. But unfortunately with the rules, we settled with a tie.”…OK….for the 1st time in 6 years, the Philadelphia Eagles tied Cincinnati Bengals 13 – 13.

The Green Bay Packers manhandled perennial rival Chicago Bears 37 – 3

The Indianapolis Colts no huddled their way past the Houston Texans once again 33 – 27. Peyton Manning had 300 yrds passing and Joseph Addai had 100 yards rushing together for the 1st time this season.

Does anyone care that the New Orleans Saints beat the Kansas City Chiefs 30 – 20? Didn’t think so.

The Miami Dolphins squeaked out another win against a bad team, beating the Oakland Raiders on a late field goal, 17 – 15.

The New York Giants proved once again that they are the class of the NFL this season. The Giants rushed for over 200 yards once again, slamming the Baltimore Ravens 30 – 10.

Jeff Garcia drove the Tampa Bay Bucs to 2 4th quarter field goal drives to beat the Minnesota Vikings 19 – 13.

Jake Delhomme threw for only 98 yards, but the Carolina Panthers running game rushed for a franchise record 264 yards beating the still winless Detroit Lions 31 -22.

The San Francisco 49ers scored 28 points in the 2nd Quarter to power the win over the St Louis Rams 35 – 16.

The Arizona Cardinals beat the Seattle Seahawks 26 – 20 Sunday, to move to 7 – 3 for the 1st time since they were in St Louis in 1977.

The Tennessee Titans scored 21 unanswered points to topple the upset minded Jacksonville Jaguars 24 – 14.

The Pittsburgh Steelers hit a late field goal to eek past the San Diego Chargers 11 – 10. The 11 – 10 score is the 1st of that final score in NFL history.

ESPN’s Pedro Gomez (HEY, they finally let him away from Barry Bonds) reports the Boston Red Sox were ready to suspend Manny Ramirez.

The World Champion Philadelphia Phillies () will be raising ticket prices next season.

The Phoenix Suns survived a Shaq ejection to beat the Detroit Pistons 104 – 86.

The other team involved in the Chauncey Billups/Allen Iverson trade is going in the other direction, as the Denver Nuggets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 90 – 84.

The Carolina Hurricanes spoiled Rick Tocchet’s debut as the Tampa Bay Lightning coach, beating the Lightning 3 – 2.

Former Portland Pirate Goalie, Jonas Hiller got his 1st NHL shutout for the Anaheim Ducks, beating the LA Kings 2 – 0

Monday Morning Quick Hitters

The New England Patriots began a very important stretch of 3 divisional games in a row by beating the Buffalo Bills 20 – 10. BenJarvus Green-Ellis looked like an all pro RB yesterday especially on a franchise record 19 play, 92 yard drive, capping the drive with a 1 yrd TD run. Green-Ellis finished with 105 yards on 26 carries. The win was not without a price, Michael Smith of ESPN is reporting Adalius Thomas is done for the season with a broken arm. Thomas left the game in the 2nd quarter and didn’t return.

Matt Ryan seems to get better every game. Ryan made nice throws and managed a great game against the weak New Orleans Saints defense. The Falcons remain undefeated at home, beating the Saints 34 – 20.

The Tennessee Titans were held to 20 rushing yards vs the Chicago Bears, but Kerry Collins stepped up and passed the Titans to a 21 -14 win over the Bears. Collins threw 30 – 41 for 289 yards, 2 TDs and no interceptions.

Not much to say about this game…the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Detroit Lions 38 – 14.

The Miami Dolphins squeeked out a win over the Seattle Seahawks yesterday. The Dolphins needed a stop on a 2 point conversion, a replay to overturn a fumble and a late defensive stop to outlast the Seahawks 21 – 19.

Adrian Peterson ran angry yesterday. He was a man possessed running for 192 yards and a TD as the Minnesota Vikings beat division rivals Green Bay Packers 28 – 27.

THANK YOU FOX FOR BRINGING US IN NON JETS COUNTRY FOR THAT FANTASTIC DISPLAY OF NFL FOOTBALL IN NEW YORK. The New York Jets demolished the St Louis Rams 47 – 3.

The Baltimore Ravens offense looked like a powerhouse yesterday and the defense forced Texans QB Sage Rosenfels into 4 INTs on the way to a Ravens 41 – 13 win over the Houston Texans.

The Carolina Panthers squeeked out a 17 – 6 win over the Oakland Raiders despite 4 INTs by Jake Delhomme.

Big Ben Roethlisberger threw 3 picks including a costly one in the 4th quarter allowing Peyton Manning to do his 4th Quarter magic, driving the Colts to a 24 – 20 win in Pittsburgh.

With nothing to lose Herm Edwards played to win the game Tyler Thigpen played a strong game and drove them down to score a late TD and Herm Edwards, with nothing to lose, went for 2 and the win. Thigpen’s attempt to hit Tony Gonzalez fell short and the San Diego Chargers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 20 – 19.

The New York Giants proved once again that they are the best team in the NFL….and that Andy Reid may have worn out his welcome in Philly. Reid had a questionable 4th quarter of play calls and challenge choices, helping the Giants to a 36 – 31 win over division rival Philadelphia Eagles.

The Boston Celtics spoiled the home debut of Allen Iverson, beating the Detroit Pistons 88 – 76 in Detroit.

Look out now….Mike D’Antoni has the Knicks 4 – 2 after a 107 – 99 win over the Utah Jazz

The Los Angeles Clippers got their 1st win of the season, 103 – 92 against the Dallas Mavericks.

On the other locker room at Staples Center, The Los Angeles Lakers stayed undefeated as they beat the Houston Rockets 111 – 82.

Monday Morning Quick Hitters

BREAKING NEWS : (Insert Ron Burgundy here) Scott Linehan is OUT as the St Louis Rams coach. Jim Haslett is in.

The Dallas Cowboys lost to a division rival Sunday, allowing the Redskins to come to Irving and beat them 26 – 24.

Brett Favre did something he has never done by throwing 6 TD passes as defenses took the day off in NYC as the New York Jets beat the Arizona Cardinals 56 – 35. By the way, can someone throw away those awful Jets unis.

The Tennessee Titans defense forced 4 turnovers and rookie RB Chris Johnson beat the Minnesota Vikings 30 – 17.

The Kansas City Chiefs stunned high scoring Denver, by picking of Jay Cutler twice and Larry Johnson had almost 200 yards runsing on the way to a 33 – 19 win over the Broncos.

The New Orleans Saints offense came to play with big performances from Deuce McAllister and Drew Brees as they slammed the San Francisco 49ers 31 – 17.

Derrick Brooks looked like the Brooks of old, helping the Tampa Bay Bucs D to 4 turnovers on the way to a 30 – 21 win over the Green Bay Packers. Tampa kicker Matt Bryant kicked less than 5 days after the death of his 3 1/2 month old son. In Packers news, Aaron Rodgers may have big shoulder issues.

It looked like 2003 all over again in Charlotte, as Mushin Muhammed, Steve Smith and Jake Delhomme had big games on the way to a 24 – 9 win over the Atlanta Falcons.

The Jacksonville Jaguars outlasted a great performance from Houston Texans QB Matt Schaub, beating the Texans in OT 30 – 27.

Derek Anderson kept his job for another week, leading the Cleveland Browns to a 20 – 12 win over the Bengals.

Better late than never for the San Diego Chargers, as the Chargers scored 25 points in the 4th quarter to outlast the Oakland Raiders 28 – 18.

The Buffalo Bills may have put the final nails in Scott Linehan’s coffin, storming back and past the St Louis Rams 31 – 14.

The Chicago Bears finally held on to a lead, beating the Philadelphia Eagles 24 – 20.

Steve Buckley is reporting and Terry Francona confirmed that Boston Red Sox Starter Josh Beckett has an oblique strain and will not start til Game 3 of the ALDS in Boston on Sunday.

The American League Central still hasn’t found a winner yet. The Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 5 – 1 yesterday, combined with the Minnesota Twins 6 – 0 win over the Royals forces the Pale Hose to play a makeup game Monday against the Detroit Tigers. If the White Sox win, then there will be a playoff game on Tuesday to determine the Central Division winner. If the White Sox lose, the Twins would play the Tampa Bay Rays.

In a fitting end to Shea Stadium, the New York Mets couldn’t extend their season, losing to the Florida Marlins 4 – 2. The Mets loss, combined with the Milwaukee Brewers 3 – 1 win over the Cubs, makes the Milwaukee Brewers as the NL Wild Card team and piuts the Brew Crew into the playoffs for the 1st time since Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, Cecil Cooper and Portland Maine’s own Pete Ladd played in the American League in 1982.

Here is the Playoff Picture so far

Wednesday

Milwaukee Brewers @ Philadelphia Phillies 3 PM
Los Angeles Dodgers @ Chicago Cubs 6:30 PM
Boston Red Sox @ California Angels 10…10 PM

Monday Morning Quick Hitters

Well…maybe Bill “Yoda” Belichick knows what he is doing after all. Matt Cassel’s 1st NFL start looked a whole lot like one of the 1st few games that one Tom Brady took over for Drew Bledsoe in 2001, lots of running, lots of screens and lots of short dump offs and take 1 shot down the field just to stretch the D. Cassel didn’t turn the ball over and was a fairly efficient 16 – 23 for 165 yards. Lamont Jordan gave the running game a boost in the 2nd half, pounding his former team for 62 yrds in 11 carries. The Pats beat the Jets 19 – 10.

The Chicago Bears choked up a lead and a game against the Carolina Panthers 20 – 17.

The Oakland Raiders, who may be minus a head coach today, beat the KC Chiefs 23 – 8.

The New York Giants totally stomped on the St Louis Rams 41 – 13.

The Colts barely slipped by the Minnesota Vikings with a late FG 18-15.

Backup QB Kerry Collins and rookie RB Chris Johnson led the Tennessee Titans to a big 24 – 7 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Redskins D picked off Drew Brees 2 times and Jason Campbell finally got Jim Zorn’s offense to edge out the New Orleans Saints 29 – 24.

Trent Edwards has a strong game as the Buffalo Bills outlast the Jacksonville Jags 20 – 16.

JT O’Sullivan gets sacked 8 times, but still throws for over 300 yrds and leads the 49ers to a 33 – 30 win over the Seattle Seahawks.

The Tampa Bay Bucs bring Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons back to Earth with a 24 – 9 win in Tampa.

The Arizona Cardinals and Anquan Boldin sliced and diced the Miami Dolphins 31 – 10.

The San Diego Chargers got a little robbed as the Denver Broncos went for 2 and won the game 39 – 38.

In the nightcap, not exactly the way the NFL drew it up, The Pittsburgh Steelers limped to a 10 – 6 win over the Cleveland Browns.

Jon Lester looked like an ace once again, helping the Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4 – 3. The Sox took 3 of 4 against the Jays and head to Tampa 1 game back of the Rays.

The New York Yankees did the Red Sox a favor by beating up on the Tampa Bay Rays 8 – 4.

NL Central leading Chicago Cubs sure got a game out of Carlos Zambrano. With the game moved to Miller Park in Milwaukee, Zambrano threw the Cubs 1st no hitter in 36 years, beating the Astros 5 – 0.

The Milwaukee Brewers fall continued as the Philadelphia Phillies finished off a sweep of the Brewers with a 7 – 3 win. The win propelled Philadelphia to a tie with the Brew Crew for the Wild Card lead.

The Minnesota Twins dropped another game in the standings, losing to the Baltimore Orioles 7 – 3.

The LA Dodgers lose to the Colorado Rockies 1 – 0 in 10 innings, but still remain 4 1/2 games up on the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Monday Morning’s Painful Quick Hitters

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.