Snow way

The long-awaited, not-really-anticipated Vikings-Eagles game finally will be played tonight at Lincoln Financial Field. The game was postponed from Sunday because of forecasted heavy snow. The decision to move the game has been met with some criticism.

Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell went off on a bit of a rant on a Philly radio station on Monday.

“My biggest beef is that this is part of what’s happened in this country,” Rendell said on the air. “I think we’ve become wussies.”

Normally, I don’t approve of politics and sports intermingling, but in this case, Governor Ed is absolutely right. Postponing football because of snow is ridiculous. Snow has provided NFL fans with some pretty memorable moments and games (Ice Bowl, Tuck Rule, Leon Lett bungling a blocked kick at the Cowboys’ old stadium).

Vikings tight end Visanthe Shiancoe had a good point, too, when he said there’s no way snow would postpone a game in the Midwest. Imagine if the Packers or Bears did this. They’d be the laughingstock of the league.

Although perhaps the Bears should have tried to postpone their game against the Patriots a couple weeks ago.

Second-guessing the NFL playoffs

At this point in the football season, all any fan can ask for is a shot at the playoffs. Truth be told, I had assumed, when the season began, that the Green Bay Packers would have a playoff spot wrapped up by now — if not the NFC North title and a first-round bye. But things seldom work out the way we think they will in the NFL (as evidenced by the preseason predictions Scott and I made ndnsports.blogspot.com/2010/09/nfl-prognostications.html).

One of the beautiful things about the NFL playoffs, though, is that it doesn’t matter how you get in. It just matters that you’re in. Since 2000, three wild card teams have won the Super Bowl (2000 Ravens, 2005 Steelers and, sorry, Patriots fans, the 2007 Giants).

So while this season hasn’t lived up to my August optimism, my Super Bowl picks of Ravens-Packers still is alive. That’s more than I can say for Scott’s pick of Ravens-Cowboys.

Green Bay’s playoff picture is pretty simple. A win at Lambeau Field on Sunday against the Bears and they secure a wild card. And I like my team’s chances against the Eagles, Bears or Rams in the first round of the playoffs.

As for the AFC, the Patriots officially ascended to the throne of “team to beat” with their win over the Bills. Now any team in the conference with Super Bowl aspirations will have to win in Foxboro, which is no easy task when Tom Brady is in uniform. The AFC, though, is much stronger and deeper than the NFC, so even home games against the likes of the Jets, Steelers and Ravens are no lock. Even the injury-riddled Colts and upstart Chiefs are no walk in the park.

Sticking to my preseason Super Bowl prediction, here are my revised playoff guesses:

AFC wild card: Chiefs over Jets, Ravens over Colts
AFC divisional: Ravens over Patriots, Steelers over Chiefs
AFC championship: Ravens over Steelers

NFC Wild card: Packers over Bears, Saints over Rams
NFC Divisional: Packers over Falcons, Saints over Eagles
NFC championship: Packers over Saints

Super Bowl XLV: Ravens over Packers

The Eagles will win the Super Bowl

Our very-opinionated intern, Cheyenne, weighs in on who will be (and won't be) in the Super Bowl, and takes a swipe at Daily News sportswriter Josh Krueger:

The Philadelphia Eagles are 10-4 and most likely will end the season 12-4, going into the playoffs on a five-game win streak. Quarterback Michael Vick is a strong candidate for the NFL MVP

DeSean Jackson is a top-five wide receiver with the ability to run back a kick or punt for a touchdown any time (the Giants are well aware of that), and he’s also one of Vick’s top targets.

Daily News sportswriter Josh Krueger wrote a blog post entitled “Vick, Eagles are unlikable” and called DeSean Jackson an “idiot receiver.” Well, that “idiot” is arguably the best receiver in the NFL. Many people probably think DeSean is an idiot, but people tend to hate on top players. So if you want to diss DeSean, go ahead, but you’re basically saying he is great.

In addition to these superstars, the Eagles also have receiver Jeremy Maclin, running back LeSean McCoy and tight end Brent Celek all on their offense. The Eagles have an amazing offense and a pretty good defense. They can go toe to toe with any team and win. The Eagles are so good, in fact, they got a Dolphins fan talking like it is his favorite team (although they are my second favorite).

I wish the Eagles could play the Patriots in the playoffs, and that can only happen if they both reach the Super Bowl. And the Patriots won’t make it that far. I hate New England so I don’t want it to be in the Super Bowl.

If the Patriots did make it, the Eagles definitely would win. I strongly believe people hate the Patriots more than they hate the Eagles, unless your name is Josh Krueger.

Black & blue Brett

Does taking pleasure in another’s pain make someone a bad person? Even if it does, I’ve decided I don’t care. Seeing Brett Favre take yet another brutal hit that left him face down on the frozen field at the University of Minnesota’s stadium made me laugh. Still does.

Perhaps we finally have seen the last of No. 4. If that’s the case, good riddance.

At the risk of kicking a proverbial dead horse (or, more accurately, an almost-dead quarterback), and stating the obvious, he should have stayed retired. Maybe this time he actually will.

He could have called it quits after the 2007 season and he would have done so as a legend, talked about in the same breath as the all-time greats.

He could have made his second retirement, after the 2008 season, his final goodbye. It was so-so year with the Jets that really did nothing to change anyone’s perception of him. If it had been anyone but Brett Favre, few would remember it.

He came within a game of a third Super Bowl last season after one of the best statistical seasons of his career last year. He enraged an entire fan base and turned countless former supporters against him, but it was almost worth it.

Then, like a card player down to his last few chips, Favre refused to walk away. Instead, he threw those chips into the pot for one last chance at a winner. Not surprisingly, he lost.

Despite the fact that this season became meaningless for the Vikings a couple weeks ago, Favre couldn’t resist the temptation to suit up Monday night against the Bears. Quite possibly his last NFL game ended rather predictably — with Favre injured and on the sideline.

Let’s hope this year’s edition of Favre’s farewell is the real deal, for his sake and ours.

Wrapping up Week 15

- A friend of mine said to me the other day, "I'm looking into plane tickets for Dallas," obviously thinking the Patriots are a lock for Super Bowl XLV. On a side note, when is the NFL going to dump these annoying Roman numerals?

Yes, I think the Patriots are the best team in the league, but games like Sunday night prove that anything can happen on any given Sunday. The Packers, with their backup quarterback at the controls, gave New England all it could handle. During their loss to the Cleveland Browns, their last defeat, the Patriots admitted that a bad week of practice led to the loss. I wonder what happened at this last week of practice.

Especially with the Jets' victory over the Steelers, Tom Brady and company should be very happy they snuck out of Gillette Stadium with a win. More importantly, it gave me bragging rights over Daily News sportswriter Josh Krueger, who really believed his Packers could pull this one out.

Sorry, Josh.

- Ever since Super Bowl XLII, I've hated the Giants. So a little smirk came across my face when DeSean Jackson returned a punt for a game-winning touchdown on the final play of the game.

- You have to wonder what the future holds for Randy Moss. For the second straight game, the former New England Patriots receiver wasn't targeted, and furthermore, it proved the Titans can win without him.

- The Ravens, who defeated the defending champion Saints, will be a tough out in the playoffs.

- Brett Favre has been updated to questionable for tonight's game against the Bears. Why do I have this sneaking suspicion he'll play?

Patriots survive the Pack 31-27

Tully Banta-Cain goes from goat to hero as Pats hold on for 31-27 win.
The backup outside linebacker gets called for illegal use of the hands on a pass rush as Flynn is picked off by Meriweather, thus keeping a Packers' drive alive in New England territory.
Then on the final play of the game with the ball on the 15, Banta-Cain lunges back to tackle Flynn heading forward.
The ball pops loose and New England escapes with a 31-27 win.

Pats lead 31-27 with less than five minutes remaining

Brady comes through. Danny Woodhead, Branch and Hernandez, too. All figure in Patriots going 63 yards on six plays, with Hernandez catching a 10-yard touchdown pass as Pats go ahead 31-27.
Green Bay drives, but has to punt. Pats have ball at their 11 with 4:52 to go. A sustained drive is needed.

New England gets field goal to close within 27-24

Patriots can't convert on a third down play with Brady throwing to Julian Edelman over the middle, but Shayne Graham kicks a 38-yard field goal.
Green Bay's three and out as McCourty gets a sack.

Pack extends lead to 27-21.

New England goes nowhere on its next series as Raji takes down Brady for a 10-yard sack, so a three and out for the Pats.
Now Green Bay's moving again behind Flynn's passing and gets all the way to a first down at the New England 2. But the Pack has to settle for a 19-yard field, thus the Patriots keep it a one-possession game trailing 27-21 instead of 31-21.
But the Pats can't keep Green Bay from controlling the ball. This time for 11 plays for 53 yards and for 5:05.
After three quarters Green Bay has has the ball for 32:42 to 13:34 for New England.

Green Bay goes ahead 24-21

The Pats can't keep Green Bay from marching off another long drive. This time they get into the end zone on a 6-yard pass from Flynn to running back John Kuhn. The series lasts 6:56. Brady's going to get his first snap in the second half with a bit more than five minutes remaining in the third quarter.

New England takes 21-17 lead

The Patriots continue to get a big play from a variety of unheralded players. Cornerback Kyle Arrington picks off Flynn and breaks three tackles en route to a 36-touchdown return as Patriots overtake the Pack for a 21-17 lead.
Not bad for a second-year player from a school that dropped football: Hofstra.

New England closes within 17-14

Sometimes big plays come from the strangest places. New England's the latest recipient of that, what with lineman Dan Connolly rumbling 71 yards with the ball on a Green Bay kickoff to the Packers' 4-yard line.
Brady soon has plenty of time on third and goal and hits tight end Aaron Hernandez in the end zone with about a minute remaining in the half.
Thus, the Pats are trail the Pack by just three points at 17-14, and should take the momentum provided by Connolly into the third quarter.

Green Bay increases lead

Green Bay's more than keeping pace. Flynn's throws his second touchdown pass, a 1-yarder to wide receiver Greg Jennings.
Flynn's got a 143-76 edge in passing yards. Green Bay's got a 17-7 lead.

Green Bay answers for 10-7 lead

The Pack's keeping pace. Green Bay takes its second lead, going the Route 66 way down the right sideline: a 66-yard touchdown pass from Flynn to James Jones, a step behind colliding safety Brandon Meriweather and cornerback Devin McCourty.
Aaron Rodgers couldn't have put the ball in there any better.

Patriots take 7-3 lead

New England's responds with no trickery, just a 73-yard drive on seven plays for a 7-3 lead.
Things look bleak when former Boston College star B.J. Raji sacks Brady for a loss of seven yards at midfield and Green Bay standout cornerback Charles Woodson has an excellent chance for an interception but can't hold on.
On But on third and 17 Brady finds old friend Deion Branch for the exact amount of yards needed on the left sideline for a first down. Then the ever-improving BenJarvus Green-Ellis shows he's becoming more of just a short-yardage given with a 33-yard run that starts to the right and ends in the left side of the end zone.
Can Green Bay match this pace?

Packers pull a fast one

Green Bay recovers an onside kick at its 49. Shades of the Saints starting the second half of last season's Super Bowl.
Packers quarterback Matt Flynn gets Green Bay within the red zone, but the Pack has to settle for a 31-yard field goal.
Green Bay only gains 40 yards on 11 plays, but takes a 3-0 lead and 6:15 off the clock - and the ball out of Tom Brady's hands.

New England and Green Bay are soon to be underway

Seasons greetings from Gillette. Patriots will receive the opening kickoff in 32 degrees. Makes Chicago last week feel like Palm Beach.

Touching on a bit of everything

- I found it rather amusing that New York Jets special teams coach Mike Westoff couldn't help but take a dig at "that pretty good team up north" after Thigh-Gate. Jets strength and conditioning coach Sal Alosi was suspended for the rest of the season and fined $25,000 for intentionally tripping a Miami player on a punt return.

Said Westoff, "Well, if you watch (the Patriots), their defense when the opponents' punt team is out there. They’re up there pretty close to the line so it looks like they are trying to do it. Now are they doing anything illegal? Are they tripping anybody, heck no. I’m not saying that. That’s not the point. But, yeah, they’re lined up there. Is it making a difference? I don’t know."

A sure sign of a team unraveling.

- As New Englanders, we're treated to a number of big sports stories throughout the year. The Patriots are the best team in the NFL, the Celtics are streaking and the Red Sox just made a number of big offseason moves.

So I apologize that nobody cares about the UConn women's basketball team, which is approaching UCLA's 88-game win streak. Women's college basketball is tough enough to watch, but I'm guessing the reason the Lady Huskies aren't getting their props is that the field is so weak. Rarely are they challenged, which kind of diminishes the accomplishment.

- In college, I roomed with a New York Yankees fan, and he's not happy right now. I wouldn't be, either. Yankees fans must feel as though they're in bizzaro world. Their biggest rival went out, spent tons of cash and put together the fiercest lineup in the majors. Add to that a player actually turned down the chance to play in pinstripes, instead taking less money to go to Philadelphia. Ouch.

- I'm not ready to call the New York Knicks relevant. One game in December doesn't turn around a franchise. Yes, the Knicks are playing better, but only when they finish above .500 (something they haven't done since 2001) will I consider them a relevant team.

"Experts" will tell you the NBA is much better when the Knicks are contenders. I disagree. Call me a cynic, but I take a little joy in the fact that the team that plays in the Mecca of basketball, Madison Square Garden, is a perennial lottery team.

Red Sox fans shouldn't be so confident

From Cheyenne Perry, our intern at The Daily News:

So far this offseason, the Boston Red Sox have acquired outfielder Carl Crawford and first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. And the Yankees didn’t get Cliff Lee. For these reasons, many Red Sox fans feel their team will win the World Series, and that the Yankees are done.

Well guess what, Red Sox fans? The Phillies now have Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt, not to mention their offensive firepower. Even if the Red Sox go to the World Series — which they won’t — the Phillies are going to win.

As for the Yankees, we are still a great team and still contenders. And as we should all know, the Yankees will do something to get better pitchers. Yes, the Yankees are getting older, but we still have CC Sabathia, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixieira, Robinson Cano and Derek Jeter.

The Red Sox will win the AL East, but they are not much better than the Yankees. Boston still needs to watch out for New York. The Phillies are the most dominant baseball team, as of right now. Yankees fans can’t wait to get title No. 28, so World Series here we come.

Vick, Eagles are unlikable

There was a time, not long ago, when there was no team I hated more than the New England Patriots. In the NFL hatred rankings in my head, the Patriots held the No. 1 spot almost as long as Tiger Woods held the No. 1 golf ranking.

But this year, much like Tiger, New England has fallen from No. 1.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not rushing out to buy a No. 12 Tom Brady jersey. Far from it.
(Besides, I already have a No. 12 football jersey.)

This season, however, I’ve already found myself rooting for the Patriots twice, and there’s a chance it could happen again in February. I guarantee neither the Bears nor Vikings (the two teams I enjoyed watching the Patriots pummel) are going to be in the Super Bowl. But one of the favorites from the NFC has become a team that no one outside Philadelphia (hint, hint) should support.

Honestly, I find Philly fans a little more objectionable than usual based on their Michael Vick crush.

Some want to peg Vick’s resurgence as the feel-good story of the 2010 NFL season. For me, it’s the feel-angry story. People gush about how he’s paid his debt to society and is making the most of a second chance, and it makes me want to puke.

As deplorable as Vick’s dogfighting transgressions were, he did deserve another shot at football. But now that he has one, and is doing rather well, many are too quick to exalt him. I hated Vick before all the dogfighting stuff came to light (the word overrated comes to mind), and it’s easier to hate him now that he seems so loved.

So, if this football season ends with a Patriots-Eagles Super Bowl, I would have no choice but to back the Pats. Between Vick, idiot receiver DeSean Jackson and the way the team treated Donovan McNabb, the Eagles are utterly unlikable.

I just wish teams would start dusting off film of Vick from 2006, when he ran for 1,000 yards but overall was a mediocre QB and the Falcons were 7-9. Defenses figured him out once. Hopefully they'll do it again … and soon.

Around the NFL

- How bad have things gotten for the New York Jets?

A week after being completely dismantled by the New England Patriots, Gang Green is seeking help from its strength coaches. And it still didn't help as Rex Ryan's band of boneheads fell two games behind in the division standings after a 10-6 loss to Miami.

Sal Alosi, who soon can be found in the unemployment line, intentionally stuck out his leg to trip Nolan Carroll of the Dolphins on a punt return. I agree with Daily News sportswriter Josh Krueger, who said, "Who does that?"

The league says it is reviewing the matter.

- The video clip of the Metrodome roof collapsing is down right fascinating. And a little scary. Heavy amounts of snow caused the roof to come down, and snow blanketed the field. It's safe to say everyone is thankful this didn't happen during the game.

- Arizona Cardinals kicker Jay Feely had a feel-good day on Sunday. He rushed for a touchdown on a fake field goal, and booted five from the field. Too bad I don't have him on my fantasy team.

- After their 36-7 drubbing of the Chicago Bears in a snowstorm, the New England Patriots can officially be known as the Super Bowl favorites. The Atlanta Falcons quietly have complied the same record, but not with the same panache the Pats have used.

- Let me get this straight: Dallas Cowboys running back Tashard Choice asked for Michael Vick's autograph after the Eagles beat his team? And Cardinals fans were up in arms about Derek Anderson smiling on the sidelines during a loss to the 49ers? Wow.

- How about the curious case of Randy Moss? For the second straight week, he was held to no catches, and in the latest loss on Thursday night, he wasn't even targeted. I sure hope he enjoys his Super Bowl ring he'll receive courtesy of the Patriots.

R.I. high school football final poll

With a 20-17 victory over Portsmouth last weekend in the Division I Super Bowl, unbeaten Bishop Hendricken, not surprisingly, remained in the top spot in the final poll. The Patriots didn't fall after suffering their third loss, staying at No. 2.

Middletown, though, made the biggest leap. The Islanders, who briefly dropped out of the poll when it lost three out of four games, finished No. 9 after being No. 19 at the start of the week. Led by star running back Rico McCray, Middletown defeated rival Rogers, the No. 1 seed in the Division III playoffs, then polished off Moses Brown 21-0 in the Super Bowl. The Vikings took a hit, falling from No. 8 to No. 13.

Team Points Last week
1. Hendricken (11) 220 1
2. Portsmouth 209 2
3. East Providence 192 5
4. La Salle 179 3
5. Woonsocket 178 6
6. Barrington 171 4
7. Tolman 155 7
8. Cranston East 126 9
9. Middletown 120 19
10. St. Raphael 109 10
11. Chariho 108 11
12. Mount Pleasant 89 16
t-13. Rogers 71 8
t-13. Cranston West 71 13
15. Moses Brown 67 12
16. Johnston 59 14
17. Central 40 15
18. Westerly 36 18
19. Exeter-West Greenwich 32 20
20. Lincoln 26 17
Dropped from poll: none.
Also receiving votes: South Kingstown 16, Burrillville 4, Cumberland 4, Mount Hope 4, North Smithfield 3, Shea 3, Toll Gate 3.

Musings from a mauling

The big Monday Night Football showdown between the Patriots and Jets turned out to be a big boring beat down. What happened during the game wasn't terribly interesting (to anyone outside New England), so in my boredom in the fourth quarter, my thoughts wandered elsewhere.

In the first half, Patriots fans began mocking the famous Jets chant, "J-E-T-S, JETS! JETS! JETS!" with their own version, "J-E-T-S, SUCK! SUCK! SUCK!" It was funny at first, but got old quickly. Of course, the drunker fans got, the funnier they probably thought they were.

At halftime, longtime Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi was honored for some inexplicable reason. I figured it was because the team was inducting him into its Hall of Fame, but apparently they just wanted to parade him out, have him throw on his old No. 54 jersey and wax poetic about his glory days. No disrespect to Bruschi. Guy was a hell of a player. But this pomp and circumstance seemed pretty pointless, other than giving fans a chance to dust off their Bruschi jerseys.

"I've always said that was the biggest compliment fans ever gave me, to wear my jersey," Bruschi said as he met with reporters in the press box. "I still see them once in a while, and it's very flattering."

Every time I come here, I look down into the stands to try and find the most unique jersey worn by a fan. The honor this time goes to a guy with an old Laurence Maroney No. 39 jersey with a piece of paper reading "WOODHEAD" taped over Maroney's name. I've said it before and I'll say it again, someone needs to manufacture personalized replacement nameplates for NFL jerseys. That's a million-dollar idea.

Islanders are Super Bowl champs

The Middletown High School football team is the Division III champion.

Despite dealing with some off-field issues and facing a team that beat them badly during the regular season, the Islanders defeated Moses Brown 21-0 on Saturday at Cranston Stadium in the D-III title game.

Portsmouth was not as fortunate in the Division I Super Bowl, losing to Bishop Hendricken 20-17.

Missing four key players because of disciplinary reasons, Middletown avenged a 34-8 regular-season loss to the Quakers and won the Super Bowl after losing the D-IV title game the past two seasons. Senior running back Rico McCray earned MVP honors after rushing for 173 yards on 27 carries. He scored all 21 Middletown points - two touchdowns on runs, one on an interception return and all three extra points.

Portsmouth led 17-6 at halftime, despite totaling just 62 yards of offense in the first half, compared to Hendricken's 174. Barry Gaines returned a punt 71 yards for Portsmouth's first score, and Dan Thorpe banged home a 48-yard field goal before Ben Willett ran 44 yards to set up his 4-yard touchdown run. But that was the end of the scoring for Portsmouth.

Hendricken quarterback Mike Maloof was named MVP after rushing for 83 yards and passing for 98 yards and two touchdowns. It was Hendricken's first state title since 1996.

Middletown football team addressing off-field issue

Some Middletown High School football players may not be able to play in Saturday’s Division III Super Bowl against Moses Brown, according to a student who called The Daily News on Friday morning. The student said multiple players, as well as some cheerleaders, were dismissed from the team in the wake of an off-campus incident.

Football coach Andy Leys and athletic director Eric Godin said they were not authorized to speak about the issue.

As of yet, neither principal Steven S. Ruscito nor Superintendent Rosemarie K. Kraeger have returned phone calls seeking comment. A person answering the phone at the high school said Ruscito met with football players this afternoon. Students later attended a pep rally for the football team in the gym.

Middletown defeated Rogers in the semifinals on Tuesday night for the right to face Moses Brown on Saturday at Cranston Stadium. The game is scheduled to start at 3 p.m.

Check back later, and in the Saturday edition of The Daily News for more details.

Why I hate LeBron James

Our intern, Cheyenne Perry, who last week told you why Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose should be the Most Valuable Player in the NBA, now shows his distaste for Miami Heat forward LeBron James:

I was once a huge LeBron James fan.

He WAS my favorite player, but it all changed this summer. I am not a Cleveland Cavaliers fan. I am a Chicago Bulls fan, for the record. LeBron is one of the most disloyal and egotistical people. I mean, really, who but LeBron would have an hour-long special on ESPN to slap his hometown in the face? Not to mention he went to Dwyane Wade’s team with Chris Bosh. I repeat … Wade’s team.

LeBron, you will never be considered the greatest. He won’t even be the best sidekick. Who decided LeBron was King? What has he done? And what kind of “King” joins someone else’s team? LeBron should be called The Peasant.

If LeBron wanted a championship, he should have stayed in Cleveland or went to Chicago. There he could have been like Mike. Well guess what LeBron? You are not King, not the best and you will not get a ring because you and the Miami Heat are straight garbage.

You are not a man. You need personal security just to go back to Cleveland. I HATE LEBRON “THE PEASANT” JAMES!!!

Playoff results

Portsmouth and Middletown are Super Bowl bound.

Portsmouth will play Bishop Hendricken in the Division I title game after beating La Salle 23-6 on Tuesday night in Portsmouth. Ben Willett rushed for 142 yards and a touchdown and passed for 65 and a score to lead the Patriots. Austin Szczepaniak gained 87 yards on 22 carries and scored a late touchdown that sealed the win.

While the offense impressed, it was the defense that put Portsmouth in the Super Bowl. The Patriots came up with three interceptions (two by Dan Serina and one by Nick Martens) and likely would have shut out the Rams had it not been for a bad snap on a punt that gave La Salle the ball at the Portsmouth 2-yard line.

Middletown handed Rogers its first league loss of the season, 20-14, at Toppa Field in Newport. Rico McCray didn't put up huge numbers, but he gained close to 100 yards and scored two touchdowns on the ground. Dylan Gracia had the other. Christian Savage had a big second half, finishing with more than 100 yards, and helped Rogers come back and make it close at the end. But Middletown's ball-hawking defensive back, Dylan Atibagos, picked off a Rogers pass in the end zone to send Middletown to its third straight Super Bowl.

Check out Wednesday's Daily News for full results, reaction and photos from both games.

Playoff predictions

All three Aquidneck Island high school football teams have playoff games tonight. Who’s winning and why?

It’s nothing personal, but based on what I’ve seen from Rogers and Middletown this season, I like Rogers to beat Middletown for the second time this season and advance to the Division III Super Bowl. The Vikings’ balanced offense — with Cody Platt throwing the ball and Christian Savage and Christian Cancel (among others) running it — is pretty potent. And during the regular-season game against the Islanders, the Vikings showed that they’re one of the few teams that has the defensive fortitude to slow down Middletown’s rushing game — led by Rico McCray and Dylan Gracia.

And, on Saturday in Cranston, Rogers takes down Moses Brown again, this time for its first state championship since 1990.

As for the local Division I game, tonight will be the first time since 1999 that Portsmouth beats La Salle on the football field. I must admit, I haven’t seen La Salle play this year, but from what I’ve heard and read, it seems like the Rams aren’t the powerhouse they have been in years past. They have a pretty young team that had to sneak into the playoffs with a win on Thanksgiving. They did beat Portsmouth once this season, but the Patriots — who, I must confess, I wasn’t sold on earlier in the year — look pretty darn good lately, and they’ll be too much for La Salle to handle tonight.

As for a possible Portsmouth-Hendricken matchup in the Division I Super Bowl, I’ll reserve judgment on that until it comes to fruition. But having the No. 1 and 2 teams in the state media poll in the D-I title game would be a perfect ending to a fun season.

Source: Journalism is going down the tubes

Call me old-fashioned, but I loathe where we - and by we, I mean in the media - are in our news gathering techniques. I went to ESPN.com today because I was going to write a blog entry about a Brazilian soccer fan who was beaten to death, only to see that three of the top stories began with the word "Source."

Now of course we've seen this obligatory phrase a million times: "According to sources close to the situation ..." or "A person with knowledge of the deal ..." But that person never is named because he or she doesn't have authorization, or that deal hasn't been announced. Most of the time the information coming from the source is right.

But there are instances when it seems a bit fishy. For example, in the most recent issue of Sports Illustrated, there's a story about how Pac-10 teams have faked injuries during a game to slow the Oregon no-huddle offense. School officials and coaches have denied such claims, but a sportswriter for the Oregonian, citing "a person within the Cal Bears program" said that was part of the game plan.

Now why would a person within in the Cal Bears program tell that to a reporter from the opponent's home newspaper? I mean, is it possible that this writer could, you know, just have made this up? Why not? It makes for a juicy story and sells newspapers.

Washington Post sportswriter Mike Wise last summer was suspended for deliberately tweeting something false. He wrote that "Ben Roethlisberger will get (suspended for) five games, I'm told." His source was "a casino employee outside Lake Tahoe." Wise did this as an experiment to see what the media world was coming to. When he fessed up and said it was a hoax, readers, fellow media members and his bosses didn't take kindly.

Personally, I don't see much of a difference between that and real "news." Maybe he should have just stuck to his guns. Nobody seems to push the issue too much when you're wrong. See, the problem with today's media is that the person who gets it first (not always the person who gets it right) wins.

Up to you, TCU

College football elitists are pretty happy right about now. Boise State just choked at Nevada, losing 34-31 in overtime, thanks to two missed chip shots by its kicker - a 26-yarder at the end of regulation, and a 29-yarder in overtime.

The Broncos loss knocks them out of any BCS talk, and with Auburn and Oregon both winning earlier Friday night, a matchup between the Pac-10 champion and soon-to-be SEC champ in the national title game is all but assured.

Clowns like the previously mentioned Ohio State president will laud this as good news for the game, but it's anything but. Now those who hope for a playoff someday in college football, like me, must rest their hopes on Texas Christian to crash the BCS party and upset the status quo. Then again, even if TCU does end up in the Rose Bowl, even a win wouldn't mean much, since the Horned Frogs will get no shot at one of the other unbeatens.

Give credit to Nevada on a huge win for the program. But on Friday night in Reno, the Wolf Pack dealt a blow to the argument that small-conference teams can compete with the big boys, because now Boise State won't get a sniff of a BCS conference foe for quite some time.

Let them play

As each college football season develops, at some point, I think to myself, “This is the year that’s going to prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the BCS doesn’t work and the sport absolutely needs a playoff.”

Every year, I’m wrong.

That hasn’t stopped me, however, from keeping that hope alive in 2010. Oregon, Auburn, Texas Christian and Boise State all are undefeated, and rank 1-4, respectively, in the most recent BCS standings.

With a win tonight over Nevada, Boise State should overtake TCU for the No. 3 spot, but in the BCS, No. 3 means very little. As far as Boise State and TCU are concerned, it probably makes no difference which of them finishes No. 3 and which is No. 4, because there’s a good chance they’ll end up playing each other again in a BCS bowl game.

If Oregon and Auburn win out, all that’s on the line for Boise State is which color jersey the Broncos will wear — and whether they’ll be the home or away team on the scoreboard — in their bowl game.

College football is broken, yet ignoramuses like Ohio State president E. Gordon Gee, who recently declared that Boise State and TCU have no business in a national championship game, cling to the BCS like Christians to the Bible — another outdated work.

Anyone who read the cover story in the Nov. 15 issue of Sports Illustrated has a good idea of why a playoff is unlikely anytime in the near future. The short answer is that bowl games earn far too much money for the powers that be to be done away with.

But if ever there were a situation that could convince the NCAA that a tournament is necessary, this might be it. What if the Ducks, Tigers, Horned Frogs and Broncos all finish undefeated? Auburn and Oregon will play each other in what, admittedly, could be a pretty entertaining title game, while TCU and Boise State beat on each other, and beat their heads against the wall, in one of the other big bowl games.

Wouldn’t you love to see Boise State play Oregon or Auburn for the national title? I would, but if all three finish unbeaten, it’s simply not going to happen.

Thanksgiving football results

Rogers and Portsmouth have football victories to be thankful for today. Portsmouth avenged last year's lost to Middletown with a 21-6 win at Gaudet Middle School while Rogers started a new tradition with a 34-8 win over Tiverton in the first regular-season meeting between the two programs.

Rogers, which wrapped up the No. 1 seed in the Division III playoffs weeks ago, finished its undefeated regular season in the league. Christian Cancel earned game MVP honors for Rogers for his contributions on both sides of the ball. He caught a 33-yard touchdown pass from Cody Platt and caused problems for the Tiverton offense all day.

John DeCosta was named Tiverton's top player. The senior scored the Tigers' only touchdown on a 27-yard run.

Senior quarterback Ben Willett and sophomore running back Austin Szczepaniak led Portsmouth's offense, which racked up 371 yards on the ground. Willett gained 230 yards on 37 carries while Szczepaniak had 147 yards on 28 carries.

Middletown senior Rico McCray returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown, but was limited on offense. He finished with 66 yards on 17 carries as Portsmouth out-gained Middletown 391-103.

Check out the Friday edition of The Daily News for full results, reaction and photos from both Thanksgiving games.

Why Derrick Rose is the NBA MVP

The Daily News sports department recently brought in an intern named Cheyenne Perry, and on his first day, he informed me he's a fan of the Dolphins, Lakers and Bulls, among other teams anti-Boston. I asked him to write a blog about anything he wanted, and this is what he came up with:

Derrick Rose, point guard for the Chicago Bulls, is the heart of his team. Unlike Miami Heat forward LeBron James, Rose is loyal to his city. D-Rose is the definition of the words like respect, determination, loyalty and hard work.

MVP stands for Most Valuable Player and that is exactly what D-Rose is to his team. He ranks third in the NBA in scoring (25.6 points per game), eighth in assists (8.4) and grabs 3.8 rebounds per game. Rose constantly is improving and just keeps getting better.

D-Rose is just nasty. His speed is ridiculous. There is no comparing him.Derrick Rose is raw talent, the pride of Chicago. He has ice water in his veins, nerves of steel. He breathes greatness. Derrick Rose may be the next Jordan. Derrick Rose means: Determination, Elusive, Ridiculous, Raw, Ill, Champion, King. Relentless, Outstanding, Speed and Extraordinary.

They kept going and going and going ....

When I attended Southern Vermont College from 1996-2000, I often went to the men’s basketball games in the field house. I had a number of friends on the team, and considering the campus was in the middle-of-nowhere Vermont, it was something to do.

The field house isn’t very big. The Ryan Center it is not. It holds maybe 300 fans. The team was fairly decent in my day, but never in my time there did I see anything like what happened on Tuesday night.

The Mountaineers and Skidmore College played seven overtimes before the visiting Thoroughbreds — what a perfect nickname for this game — prevailed 128-123 in seven overtimes. Yes. Seven. Overtimes.

Southern Vermont’s Lance Spratling, who I covered while he played at Taconic High School in Pittsfield, Mass. — played all 75 minutes and scored 31 points on 10-for-40 shooting, including 0-for-13 from behind the 3-point line.

According to the box score, 142 fans attended the early season game. The teams combined for 145 missed shots. They were tied at 59-59 at the end of regulation, and scored a combined 133 from that point forward.

Want some more numbers?

SVC won the rebounding battle 87-79, and outshot the Thoroughbreds 37.2 percent (42-for-113) to 36.8 percent (43-for-117). Of the Mountaineers’ 123 points, only 14 came from bench players. Taeshon Johnson of SVC led all scorers with 39 points.

Two other games in college basketball history went to seven overtime periods, but this is the first in Division III.

“I kept telling the guys as each overtime passed to really enjoy the moment,” Skidmore coach Joe Burke told reporters. “They will never be involved in anything like that in their lives again. I kept telling them, ‘This is fun isn’t it?’ But by the sixth overtime, I think that wore out.”

And how does it feel to lose a game like that?

“It’s difficult to reconcile your emotions when you have just participated in such an epic event and lost,” SVC coach Mike McDonough told reporters. “But to a man, both teams will take a way something from tonight that they will never forget.”

Both teams have a week before they get back on the court, and it looks like they’ll need it.

Hitting to all fields

If you're fan of Newport County football, whether you like Rogers, Middletown, Tiverton or Rogers, Thursday is a day you have to be excited about. Now if only Rogers could play Portsmouth, and we'd know who the real county champion is.

- The Celtics certainly know how to end a losing skid. And speaking of the NBA, what's happening to the Miami Heat? If you listen close enough, you can actually hear people jumping off the bandwagon.

- I still firmly believe that boxing is dead until the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. But it's still better than MMA.

- Daily News sportswriter Rick McGowan gets a vote for the Heisman Trophy, and right now, is there a clear cut winner?

- Speaking of college football, good for the University of Rhode Island for moving to a new conference in 2013. Clearly, the Rams are headed in the right direction under second-year coach Joe Trainer, who recently was named Colonial Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, and now they want to be more competitive in a conference more suited for them.

- This New England Patriots offense reminds me of the one that won the Super Bowl in 2004. Playing the role of Troy Brown is Wes Welker. Playing the role of Kevin Faulk is Danny Woodhead, and BenJarvus Green-Ellis is reminiscent of Antoine Smith. Playing the role of Deion Branch is ... well, Deion Branch.

- Can you imagine the numbers Josh Hamilton could have put up had he not missed the first half dozen seasons?

- I guess the Boston Red Sox didn't have Victor Martinez in their plans for 2011. I just hope they'll make a move to replace his bat in the lineup.

- It's safe to say football wasn't meant for Wrigley Field.

Pats hold on for 31-28 win

On man, Indy's got the ball again with more than two minutes remaining and just 74 yards to go for a go-ahead touchdown.
Just 24 yards since this is Manning.
Haven't we seen this before?
But Pats win as defensive back James Sanders makes a leaping outfield interception catch a la McCourty as Manning can't get all his body into a throw because linebacker Jermaine Cunningham got a hand in on an outside rush.
A 31-28 win in a game where two of the greatest quarterbacks of all time lived up to their billing.

Colts keep kicking, get within 31-28

Manning's not finished. He completes five passes on a 7-play, 73-yard march that ends with an 18-yard diving catch by White for a touchdown with 4:48 remaining.

Colts respond with Manning TD pass

So much for 31-20. Manning and Brown move Indianapolis quickly down the field, with Blair White taking in a 5-yard touchdown pass as Indy cuts the Patriots' lead to 31-21.

Pats up 31-14

Another sustained New England drive, this of 10 plays, 54 yards, results in a 31-14 Patriots lead with 10:23 remaining.
That's enough scoring, New England. Let Indy kick two field goals and get out of Gillette with a 31-20 loss so I can finally get one pick in this paper right on the numbers this season.

Pats in control after three quarters

The third quarter ends on a high note for New England. When Colts receivers Pierre Garcon and Jacob Tamme don't hone in on a long Manning pass down the right sideline, Pats defensive back Devin McCourty makes a leaping outfield catch for an interception.
Green-Ellis runs for five yards on the final play of the quarter, then powers 16 yards to the outside to the Colts' 40.

Woodhead runs and runs it in

Danny Woodhead goes 36 yards for a touchdown to cap New England's second series in the third quarter to give Patriots a 28-14 lead.
Woodhead took a hand off and cut to his right to find daylight outside, made a defender miss, kept his balance at the Indy 23 and went the rest of the way.
What a pickup. Woodhead that is. And then he makes the tackle on special teams on the ensuing kickoff.

NE 21, Indy 14 at the half

Colts are keeping pace. Manning and Wayne are on the same page as Indy goes 85 yards on 12 plays, with Wayne taking in a perfect touch pass into the left corner of the end zone for an 11-yard score with four seconds remaining in the half as Colts get within 21-14.
The first two quarters have set this one up for a very interesting second half.

Patriots a scoring machine

New England goes up 21-7 on another long drive, this one ending on a BenJarvus Green-Ellis run up the middle from five yards out.
Pass completions of 25, 16 and 3 yards for first downs helped set up the score.
Can Manning's undermanned Colts keep pace?

Patriots keep rolling, go up 14-0

The Patriots are getting their hands on a few of Brady's throws, and even Colts old reliable Reggie Wayne ran a route on a pass nowhere near him.
Colts are also piling up penalties.
Now Pats are piling up yardage with Brady connecting with Deion Branch on both sides of the field and with Welker on a diving grab by the latter for a first down ainn the red zone late in the opening quarter.
On the first play of the second quarter, Welker makes a catch for a first down and not too long after that on third-and-goal from the 8, Brady connects with Aaron Hernandez for a touchdown and a 14-0 New England lead.
Question for Hernandez since he's from Bristol, Conn. Why not do an end zone celebration and call it the Bristol Stomp?
Sure, the song from the early '60s is from Bristol, Pa., but the boys in Bristol, sharp as a pistol - the ones at ESPN, too - would love it and give it play.

First round to Patriots and Brady

New England safety Brandon Meriweather picks off an overthrown Peyton Manning pass and returns it 39 yards to the Indianapolis 32 to end Colts' first series.
Tom Brady soon finds old friend Wes Welker, who has a step on linebacker Pat Angerer, for a 22-yard touchdown over the middle four minutes into this anticipated showdown.
Nice to see Welker burrow-muscle in for the score.

High school football poll

Two local teams remain in the top 10 as the end of the season draws near. Middletown, however, could shake up the post-Thanksgiving top 20 with a second straight win over Portsmouth on Thursday morning. With both teams looking toward playoff games the following Tuesday, it'll be interesting to see how the Patriots and Islanders treat their 46th annual Thanksgiving matchup. Play it safe and rest starters, or go all-out in the name of island bragging rights. Those "Aquidneck Island Champions" T-shirts the Islanders wore after last season probably didn't go over well in Portsmouth.

Rogers is in a similar situation. While the Vikings' game against Tiverton on Thanksgiving counts in the Division III standings, Rogers already has the No. 1 seed in the playoffs wrapped up. The Tigers have struggled this year, but always play tough, so the Vikings shouldn't expect anything easy.

Team Points Last week
1. Hendricken (11) 220 1
2. Portsmouth 208 2
3. East Providence 199 3
4. Barrington 179 4
5. Tolman 172 6
6. Woonsocket 169 7
7. Rogers 146 8
8. Cranston East 135 13
9. La Salle 133 5
10. St. Raphael 120 12
11. Chariho 92 15
t-12. Moses Brown 88 16
t-13. Mount Pleasant 88 17
14. Cranston West 74 t-9
15. Central 64 11
16. Johnston 59 14
17. Ex.-W.Greenwich 43 t-9
18. Westerly 38 t-18
19. Lincoln 31 t-20
20. Middletown 26 NR
Dropped from poll: Mt. Hope, 18; Burrillville, 20.
Also receiving votes: Mount Hope, 14; South Kingstown, 5; Cumberland, 4; Burrillville, 2; North Smithfield, 1.

Why the NFL rules all sports

It's very simple: parity.

Look at the last baseball season. In the playoffs were the Yankees, the Rays and the Phillies. And while the Giants, Reds and Rangers were surprises, the cream always seems to rise the top. The same can be said about basketball. Right now, the Lakers and Celtics lead their respective conferences.

But in the NFL, week to week, it's a mystery. It's a mystery how the Patriots can be so bad against a bad Browns team, then come back the very next week and dominate the Steelers. It's a mystery how the Cowboys, the laughing stock of the NFL right now, can go into the New Meadowlands and embarrass the Giants, who were believed to be the top team in the NFC.

These mysteries are why we keep tuning in, jumping and roaring in our living rooms over games that have little bearing on our lives. It's why the NFL is the best league out there ... by far.

Pickup sticks

It’s a practice that’s been around as long as playground sports. Choose team captains — usually the two best players — and have them pick teams. It works for recess and pickup games alike, and now the NHL is hoping it works for the league’s all-star game.

The NHL announced this week that it’s changing the format of the annual game. There will be no East vs. West (the old standby) conference battle, or North America vs. The World (an alternative that was fairly well received years ago). This year, hockey boldly goes where all pro sports all-star games should go.

Once the all-stars are chosen, the players will designate four team captains — two per all-star team, which seems strange — to pick the lineups. Obviously, the matchup everyone will be looking forward to is Team Crosby vs. Team Ovechkin. But with two more captains, things could get more interesting. For instance, what if Sidney Crosby and Penguins teammate Evgeni Malkin are opposing captains?

This is something the NBA needs to explore immediately. Picking teams is a staple of pickup basketball, so it makes perfect sense to let the top two vote-getters decide who plays with which team. Team Kobe vs. Team LeBron.

It might not work as well in football and baseball, but it’s worth a shot. Major League Baseball’s attempt to make its all-star game relevant and interesting — home field in the World Series for the winning league — is ridiculous. And to say the Pro Bowl could use a shot in the arm is an understatement.

Not that many people care if the National League can beat the American League or the NFC can beat the AFC. But Peyton Manning vs. Tom Brady, or Albert Pujols vs. Alex Rodriguez? Who wouldn’t be interested in that?

Kudos to the NHL for trying something different and fun. Hopefully it works and other leagues take notice.

R.I. high school football media poll

As the season winds down and playoff spots are secured, things tend to get interesting in the world of high school football. Rogers, which claimed the Division III regular season title with its win over East Greenwich, remained at No. 8 in the poll. Middletown, which must Burrillville at home on Friday night at get into the playoffs (and a first-round date with Rogers), fell from the poll for the first time this season.

But perhaps the biggest shakeup came in Division I, where East Providence knocked off No. 2 Barrington, allowing Portsmouth to reclaim the second slot in the poll behind unbeaten Bishop Hendricken.

1. Hendricken (11) 220 1
2. Portsmouth 186 3
3. East Providence 182 t-4
4. Barrington 170 2
5. La Salle 162 t-4
6. Tolman 144 7
7. Woonsocket 141 6
8. Rogers 131 8
t-9. Cranston West 95 9
t-9. Ex.-West Greenwich 95 11
11. Central 93 17
12. St. Raphael 82 13
13. Cranston East 80 12
14. Johnston 74 t-14
15. Chariho 69 10
16. Moses Brown 60 t-14
17. Mount Pleasant 31 20
t-18. Westerly 27 NR
t-18. Mount Hope 27 19
t-20. Lincoln 21 NR
t-20. Burrillville 21 16
Dropped from poll: Middletown 18.
Also receiving votes: South Kingstown 7, Middletown 2.

Job hunting

Bobby Sewall worked out for the Jacksonville Jaguars on Tuesday in hopes of finding work in the NFL after the Tennessee Titans cut him in the preseason. The former Portsmouth High School and Brown University standout left without a contract, but said the Jaguars left the door open for something to get done in the near future.

"Workout went well. Caught every pass, the GM (Jaguars general manager Gene Smith) seemed impressed," Sewall said in a text message.

The wide receiver added that the team was interested in signing him to a futures contract after the season, meaning he would be under contract with Jacksonville when the 2011 season begins. But the Jaguars did not rule out bringing in Sewall this season, depending on injuries.

"After my workout, they said they would look at things week to week, so if a spot opened up, I could fill that for them," Sewall said.

If that need arose, Sewall likely would join the team's practice squad.

"They just don't have a need at this time, but said they are always looking to upgrade," he said.

Keep trash-talking on the court

Pistons forward Charlie Villanueva and Kevin Garnett of the Celtics got into a bit of an altercation during Tuesday night's game, and according to Villanueva, who suffers from alopecia universalis, a skin condition that causes hair loss, Garnett said he looks like a "cancer patient."

Villanueva delivered the news via his Twitter account, and it didn't take long for sports-talk radio and the blogs to sink their teeth into it. So much so that it forced Garnett to release a statement. Essentially, Garnett claimed he told Villanueva that he was "cancerous" to his team and the league.

Either way, I think we all can agree that what Garnett said was insensitive. It was stupid, and once it came out, he should have just apologized. Case closed.

But trash-talking in the NBA has been around for decades. It's an art form that likely started on the playgrounds and has reached great heights. From Larry Bird, to Michael Jordan to Gary Payton to Kevin Garnett, guys just run their mouths to get in the head of their opponent.

Do I think Garnett was thinking about sensitivity when he said what he said? Absolutely not. But at the same time, keep the trash talk on the hardwood. Ultimately, Villanueva is going to look like the chump here, running to his computer and whining about a name he was called. Speaking of playgrounds, that was a childlike move.

And moving forward, it'll be interesting to see what Villanueva does when someone talks about his Mama.

R.I. high school football media poll

With its one-point win over Portsmouth on Friday, Bishop Hendricken held on to its top spot, and for the third straight week, garnered all 11 first-place votes. Portsmouth dropped to No. 3, but remains Newport County's top team.
With a dominant performance at Moses Brown on Saturday, Rogers (undefeated in Division III) moved up to No. 8 while Middletown's 41-0 win over Tiverton, apparently, did not impress voters very much. The Islanders stayed at No. 18.

1. Hendricken (11) 220 1
2. Barrington 203 3
3. Portsmouth 199 2
t-4. East Providence 183 4
t-4. La Salle 183 5
6. Woonsocket 157 t-6
7. Tolman 156 t-6
8. Rogers 137 9
9. Cranston West 128 8
10. Chariho 126 10
11. Ex.-West Greenwich 90 13
12. Cranston East 70 15
13. St. Raphael 67 20
t-14. Johnston 65 11
t-14. Moses Brown 65 12
16. Burrillville 63 19
17. Central 58 16
18. Middletown 40 18
19. Mount Hope 26 14
20. Mount Pleasant 22 NR

Dropped from poll: Coventry 17.
Also receiving votes: Coventry 19, Westerly 17, Lincoln 10, Cumberland 2, Shea 1.

New England beats Minnesota 28-18

With Favre gone. New England right end Mike Wright sacks Jackson. Jackson running and passing leads Vikings to New England territory, but not to any points.
Pats win 28-18.

Pats in control late at 28-18

Green-Ellis runs great to get Pats a first-and-goal at the Minnesota 1. So what's with Brady getting piled up on consecutive plays to make it third-and-goal at the 2 at the two-minute warning?
A field goal only puts New England up six points. Never mind. Green-Ellis somersaults into the end zone and Pats survive a Vikings challenge for a commanding 28-18 lead on a 13-play, 80-yard march.
Take bows, Danny boy and BenJarvus.

Wonderman Woodhead

How about Danny Woodhead! On third-and-12 he takes a pass on his 46 and slithers 14 more for a first down at the Vikings' 40 with 3:45 to go and the Pats clinging to a 21-18 lead.

Vikings get within 21-18

Minnesota's not going down easily. Patriots help the Vikings with some defensive penalties in the secondary. Vikings go 80 yards on nine plays, with Tarvaris Jackson, in for a groggy Favre, passes for a 1-yard touchdown and then a 2-point conversion to bring the visitors within 21-18.
Will Favre be back after what a blow to the chin?

Pats increase lead to 21-10

The Halloween treats keep on coming for New England. Minnesota began a series at midfield. On second down and a yard to go, Favre seemed to connect with Harvin for a sizable gain. But the ball went off the hands of Harvin on the turf, seemed to hit his foot, and then ended in the hands of the opporunistic McCourty, who returned his interception to the Vikings' 37.
Patriots running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis got some big yards, with the most important the 13-yard run for a 21-10 New England lead.
Favre's going to need one of his famed comebacks to pull this one out for the Vikings.

Pats stay ahead 14-10 late in third quarter

Favre's going long, too, on Minnesota's next play from scrimmage. But left cornerback Devin McCourty matches strides with Harvin, who has to break up what would have been a pick by the New England rookie.
Harvin makes a catch at the New England 49 that brings up a fourth-and-inches. Behind by four points, Childress opts to punt, and Welker tumbles to a fair catch at his 9.
A six-minute drive to close out the third quarter with some points is the goal.
Pats are three-and-out, but on a long incomplete to Branch, Woodhead really picked up the rush with a superb block.

Pats on top 14-10

This is the kind of smart improvisation needed as Brady and Tate combine for a 65-yard touchdown.
Brady bought some time in the pocket, was flushed to his left, then spun around as Tate, having stopped on the left sideline, went down the line. Brady spotted him just before getting hit and hit Tate in stride on the Vikings' 40. Tate then showed his speed in cutting to the middle of the field and leaving Minnesota's secondary behind him.
It couldn't have come at a better time for a New England offense that hadn't done much until this explosion.

Vikings lead 10-7

Vikings end of first series of second half with a 24-yard field goal by Ryan Longwell - isn't that a great name for a kicker? - whose short kick is well done, putting Patriots down 10-7.
What's disturbing for New England fans is Favre in directing that 11-play, 68-yard march is under little pressure.

Pats, Vikings in 7-7 standoff at halftime

Questionable to return, huh? Harvin grabs a short pass and goes for 15 yards to the Pats' 45. But NE stiffens and Vikings punt, putting the Patriots on their 7-yard line midway through the second quarter.
New England secondary, especially right cornerback Kyle Arrington, is keeping Moss in check. So far.
Pats are three-and-out and Vikings soon start from their 43.
Harvin underneath, thanks to a vertical clearout by Moss, goes for 19 yards to the New England 39 - shades of Moss with Wes Welker not too long ago.
Harvin goes for another gain - nine yards - underneath as Favre is picking up good chunks of short yardage in getting Vikes to the 16.
Now it's first-and-10 from the 10.
And now fourth-and-1. And Vikings coach Brad Childress gambles and goes for it. Against four NE down linemen: Brandon Deaderick (305 pounds), Vince Wilfork (324), Myron Pryor (310) and Ron Brace (330).
Peterson, arguably the best running back in the NFL, gets a handoff deep as the Pats line slides to the left. Peterson in the late-developing play gets stuffed for a loss of two yards with, what, less than a minute remaining in the half?
Thus, Pats escape with a 7-7 standoff at halftime.
Think they're second-guessing Childress in the Land of 10,000 Lakes? Sakes alive! You're on the road. Kick the field goal for a 10-7 halftime lead. It's not like you had any time left in the half to take advantage of your good field position if you had stopped the Pats on downs.

Patriots pull even at 7-7

Here's your treat, New England. Well, maybe, since Minnesota is challenging a gain of 33 yards to the Minnesota 10 from Tom Brady to Brandon Tate - courtesy of the ball going through the hands of Vikings free safety Madieu Williams. The play stands.
On the previous play, Brady hooked up with Deion Branch on the right sideline for a big gain - but couldn't it have been bigger if Branch had lowered his shoulder and stayed in bounds instead of offering an olive branch to the Minnesota secondary?
No matter. Danny Woodhead takes a direct snap as Brady does an acting job leaping and muscles three yards for the tying touchdown.
Since the nickname "Ironhead" is taken, what's a good tag for this 5-foot-7-3/4 dynamo?

Harvin hurt, but Vikings drive to a 7-0 lead

Minnesota wide receiver Percy Harvin jams his left ankle after a 21-yard reception and is helped off the field. But Peterson gets big yardage and a roughing-the-passer gives Vikings a first down at the Patriots' 6-yard line.
Peterson gashes the interior for five yards as the first period comes to a close.
Harvin's return is questionable - ditto for Peterson's dive for a 1-yard touchdown, which New England challenges. The ruling on the field stands. No treat for New England fans. 7-0 Minnesota.

Pats, Vikngs gain little on their first series

Happy Halloween from Gillette Stadium. Not as many weird costumes as I expected. Maybe many of the fans spent Saturday night trick or treating here in Foxborough, Foxboro, as the special night was pushed up so as not to coincide with the really scary celebrants: Patriot fans today.
Speaking of scary, Pats are 2-5 in games played on Halloween, but the first time they've been at home - their throwback uniforms.
The first New England series doesn't go far, but a 51-yard punt pins the Vikings on their 11.
Guess who comes out under center. The boos tell you. Brett Favre. And especially for Randy Moss.
Adrian Peterson gets stuffed for no gain on a third-and-one, thus Minnesota's turn to punt.

Hits counter

free counter

4-telling the future

I don't have a crystal ball. Don't possess any psychic powers. And, unlike most reporters, I don't have any unnamed sources.

But none of that is necessary to make this proclamation: Brett Favre will play against the Patriots on Sunday.

The status of the aging Vikings quarterback, officially, is uncertain. But realistically, there's nothing that will keep No. 4 from making his record 292nd straight start. If he won't listen to his body (aching from two fractures in his left ankle and heel) when it's telling him he shouldn't play, what chance does coach Brad Childress have? The answer, of course, is none.

How much Favre plays, and how well, is very much open for debate. So here are a few possible scenarios:

1. Favre limps out for the Vikings' first series, takes a snap, turns and hands off to Adrian Peterson, then limps off the field, replaced by Tavaris Jackson. In his post-game comments, he'll say he "just wanted to give it a try," which would be partly true. But in reality, he wanted the streak to remain intact.

2. Favre stays in the game until the Patriots put it out of reach, which they will do, and leaves after throwing his second or third interception.

3. Favre plays the whole game with a noticeable limp, but torches New England for 400-plus yards and three or more touchdowns as his linemen carry him down field (a la Byron Leftwich at Marshall in 2002) and the Vikings pull off the improbable upset. This is the least likely outcome, but Favre has a way of coming up with unlikely performances when people are writing him off. Just when you think his career is on its last leg (pun intended), he shows why teams have willingly put up with his crap for so many years.

Again, I'm not psychic, but my money's on 2.

R.I. high school football media poll Week 8

Portsmouth and Rogers stay put at No. 2 and 9, respectively, which makes sense after each posted an easy win over a lousy team last week. Things get much more interesting for the Patriots and Vikings this week as Portsmouth faces top-ranked Bishop Hendricken and Rogers travels to Moses Brown, which laid a beating 34-8 on Middletown on Friday. With that loss, Middletown dropped from No. 13 to 18 in the poll.
If the Patriots can upset Hendricken (which received all 11 first-place votes again this week), and it would be an upset, despite how well Portsmouth has played of late, they almost certainly will ascend to the No. 1 ranking. It would be the first time in the poll's brief history that a Newport County team earned the top spot.

Team Points Last week
1. Hendricken (11) 220 1
2. Portsmouth 207 2
3. Barrington 198 3
4. East Providence 184 4
5. La Salle 180 5
t-6. Woonsocket 148 8
t-6. Tolman 148 7
8. Cranston West 146 6
9. Rogers 131 9
10. Chariho 112 15
11. Johnston 105 11
12. Moses Brown 95 17
13. Ex.-West Greenwich 79 16
14. Mount Hope 72 10
15. Cranston East 58 14
16. Central 40 12
17. Coventry 38 NR
18. Middletown 37 13
19. Burrillville 36 19
20. St. Raphael 28 NR
Dropped from poll: Shea 18, Lincoln 20
Also receiving votes: Cumberland 15, Mount Pleasant 13, Westerly 12, Lincoln 3, Toll Gate 2, Narragansett 2, Shea 1.

NFL defenses take a hit

Three big, illegal hits on Sunday forced the hand of the NFL to implement an irrational rule, effective immediately. Any head-to-head collisions or hits deemed "devastating" will bring both a fine and possibly a suspension.

Normally, these things must be dealt with during the offseason, with the league's rules committee sounding off. That, however, was not the case.

The rule has caused quite a stir, especially with players, this week. Channing Crowder of the Dolphins, Ray Lewis of the Ravens and James Harrison of the Steelers - who delivered one of those vicious blows - are just a few of the plethora of players to voice their opinions. Harrison went so far to say he's contemplating retirement.

The common theme among those opinions is that defensive players will have to change teh way they were taught to tackle. Since when are players taught to lead with their heads? Now I don't sit in on NFL meetings, nor am I out there coaching the players, but helmet hits have been illegal for as long as I can remember, dating back to the playing days of Cardinals safety Chuck Cecil.

I understand that football is a violent sport, called a "gladiator sport" by most players. And nobody is forcing anyone to put on a uniform. But there is a right way to do things and a wrong way, and the NFL made the right decision to keep all of its employees safe.

Fans generally are attracted to the game because of the big hits, and I'm no different. But will enough be enough? There have been players paralyzed on the field, and I'm under the belief that, with players stronger and faster than they've ever been, something worse could be on the horizon.

The definition of a "devastating hit" brings a certain degree of uncertainty, but helmet to helmet is pretty self explanitory. When Brandon Meriweather drove his head into the helmet of Todd Heap, that was such a blatant disregard for the rules and hits like that should come with a suspension.

While I'm behind the NFL in principle, I just hope it uses great discretion moving forward as far as administering suspensions.

R.I. high school football media poll Week 6

Six of the top 20 teams lost league games last week, and two lost non-league games. Perhaps the biggest of those was Barrington, which fell 17-7 to Portsmouth. The victory allowed the Patriots to move into the No. 2 spot in the state behind Bishop Hendricken (by the way, Portsmouth visits the Warwick school on Oct. 29).

Rogers, meanwhile, moved ahead four spots to No. 9 on the strength of its 7-0 triumph over previously unbeaten Middletown. The Islanders fell and fell hard, moving down to No. 13 after reaching No. 8.

Team Points Last week
1. Hendricken (11) 220 1
2. Portsmouth 209 3
3. Barrington 193 2
4. East Providence 192 4
5. La Salle 169 6
6. Cranston West 154 9
7. Tolman 135 7
8. Woonsocket 132 12
9. Rogers 126 13
10. Mount Hope 117 10
11. Johnston 111 5
12. Central 88 14
13. Middletown 78 8
14. Cranston East 76 17
15. Chariho 74 t-20
16. Ex.-West Greenwich 65 16
17. Moses Brown 54 11
18. Shea 24 19
19. Burrillville 21 18
20. Lincoln 18 12 t-20
Dropped from poll: Toll Gate 15, Cumberland t-20.
Also receiving votes: Cumberland 16, Toll Gate 16, Mount Pleasant 10, Coventry 4.

Patriiots win 23-20 in overtime

Pats win on Gostkowski's 35-yard field goal with 1:56 remaining in overtime for a 23-20 win.
Big play in the series is Branch's 10-yard catch on third and two to the 21, setting up the winning field goal soon after.
Branch finishes with nine catches or 98 yards and a touchdown. Who says you can't go home again?
Final score 23-20, just like I predicted in Friday's paper. Except I had the wrong team.
Story of my 2010 picks thus far.

New England and Baltimore head into overtime at 20-20

Well, with no Randy Moss around for Brady to try and hit down a sideline on a fly pattern, he goes Hail Mary down the middle from the Ravens' 44-yard line. The prayer falls into heavy traffic and is picked off to bring up overtime.
Baltimore wins the coin toss and elects to receive, of course, in the NFL's flawed OT procedure.

Pats pull even with Ravens at 20-20

Seems like old times between Brady and Branch. They hook up four times as New England marches from its 14 to the Baltimore 6 before a final Brady, Branch try to connect goes incomplete in the right corner of the end zone.
But Gostkowski kicks a 24-yarder to make it 20-20 inside the 2-minute warning.

Branch makes a productive return to New England

Take a bow, New England's own Neon Deion.
And he does. After catching a pass from Brady in the deep right side of the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown to get the Pats within 20-17 with more than 11 minutes remaining.

Ravens go up 20-10

New England's in serious trouble. Baltimore just drove 84 yards on 13 plays and kicked a 35-yard field goal to double up the Pats on the scoreboard. The drive consumed 6:47.
Now the Pats have to score at least twice in the final 14:53. At least they get the ball on their 40 to start a very important series.

Questionable calls by Pats

Patriots get a field goal to close within 17-10, but the way they did it didn't win many fans at Gillette.
New England drove from its 20 to the Baltimore 17. Then after Brady was sacked for a loss of eight yards came consecutive plays that raised eyebrows throughout the region.
On second and 18, Brady threw incomplete to the 5-foot-9 Woodhead - actually a self-described 5-7 - and on third and 18 ran Woodhead up the middle for a short gain.
After a stunned silence, some boos, and after the field goal, tepid applause.

New England falls farther behind at 17-7

Baltimore safety Dawan Landry zeroes in on Brady, who unloads high over the middle just before getting flattened. The ball intended for Welker lands in cornerback Chris Carr's hands for an interception in New England territory.
Flacco soon connects with wide receiver Anquan Boldin in the left corner of the end zone for a 25-yard touchdown that puts the Pats two possessions down at 17-7.
This is a situation New England really wanted to avoid against this defense.

Woodhead catches a pass for 14 yards, then runs for a yard, and now Pats go into their two-minute drill as it's the two-minute warning - warning for what? The coaches don't know how much time remains?
Of course it's become a warning that there's another commercial.
Too bad the commercial couldn't have been extended. Tate drops a catchable ball on the right side and Brady gets sacked on third down by Ravens tackle Haloti Ngata.
Ah, another commercial. Wait a minute. No break.
Ravens go to work after Pats punt from their 46. On third down, Ravens get little and the Pats get the ball back on their 12 with 29 seconds remaining in the half ... and take a knee.
To more than a few boos.
10-7 Baltimore at the big break.

What's good for the goose ...

What's good for the goose ... and I'm not talking about Tony Siragusa.
Hernandez makes a 7-yard catch that is ruled a fumble turnover. On further review, his knee was ruled down.
Brady stays hot, hitting Danny Woodhead, Branch and Welker for big gains to the Baltimore 47. But on third and five with the Ravens having eight on the line of scrimmage, Brady's pass to tight end Alge Crumpler over the middle goes incomplete.
Pats have to connect on these with Baltimore undermanned back there.

Heap hlelps Ravens leap ahead 10-7

Good overturn of the 13-yard pass from Flacco to Derrick Mason to the New England 15 that was initially ruled an incomplete because of a juggle.
After a loss of a yard on a run, Flacco connects with Heap on a slant from right to left for a 16-yard touchdown.
Heap's been a heap of trouble thus far for New England.

Wright stuff and great end around help Pats to 7-3 lead

Nice three-and-out D for New England, with right end Mike Wright getting a Flacco sack as pocket collapses.
New England gets going on offense. Tight end Aaron Hernandez makes an all-alone catch for a big gainer, wide receiver Deion Branch hauls in his first ball on his return to the Pats and gets a huge roar of approval, and wide receiver Brandon Tate keeps the crowd on its feet with a 22-yard end around to the Ravens 2.
BenJarvus Green-Ellis bounces in from there as Pats take a 7-3.

New England goes nowhere

Not good for New England's first series, a quick three and out featuring a tipped pass and one nowhere near a completion.
Ravens are right up on the receivers.
Sure, its's early, but Patriots need a stop this series.

Baltimore strikes first against New England, lead 3-0.

Good start for Patriots on kickoff, as Steve Gostkowski boots it into end zone and Ravens only run it out to the 11.
But Ravens run off 15 plays and more than half the first quarter before settling for a 26-yard field goal by Billy Cundiff.
What's disturbing is Joe Flacco was five-for-five passing to a slew of receivers all running different routes to all sides and in between.
Now Tom Brady has to match that against what could be the NFL's best defense.

St. George's made the right choice

When colleague Rick McGowan sent me a couple of links - from the Boston Globe and Boston Herald - with stories about St. George's, which pulled out of its game against Independent School League rival Lawrence Academy, I didn't give much thought. Still, I asked Rick to call Dragons coach John Mackay to get his side of the story.

But I was surprised to see just how big of a deal it was - not only in New England, but internationally. After a quick Google search, I saw that the story was picked by by blogs in Arizona and even Canada.

Lawrence, which has demolished ISL competition with its postgraduate-laden team, has four players heading to Division I BCS schools next fall, and there was a safety concern on the part of Mackay and the people at St. George's.

Fair enough.

Apparently, though, that wasn't good enough for a lot of the morons with a computer. Some of the blog posts and reader comments were shocking, to say the least. Armchair quarterbacks, recounting their days on the gridiron (a la Al Bundy at Polk High) chimed with some ridiculous thinking.

Eric Ortiz, a blogger from NESN, writes, "Pop Warner, Knute Rockne and Vince Lombardi are rolling over in their graves. Bill Belichick just got so mad he threatened to reacquire Randy Moss and trade him again.

"Imagine if the 2001 New England Patriots had taken that attitude against the 'Greatest Show on Turf' Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI. There never would have been a dynasty in Foxboro."

Can you believe this guy actually gets paid by NESN?

A writer from It's Always Sunny in Detroit says, "St. George's School (R.I.) decided to take their ball and go home instead of lining up to play Lawrence Academy (Mass.) on Monday. The St. George Girlymen were scared off by the size of the Lawrence Academy players."

From JockPost.com: "Rhode Island: not only are they the smallest state in the Union, they are also the biggest (expletive). I guess this is obvious given the size of their state, but I just realized it based on the size of their hearts.

"Friday, St. George’s in Rhode Island (which will run a cool $44k/year for a boarding student) cancelled their football game against Lawrence Academy (Mass.) due to fear of injury."

In the reader comments of this post (written as is; so much for grammar): "the school who cancelled should just close its entire athletic program. in fact, the athletic director and president and head coach of the football team should all kill themselves. so should every player and parent. and everyone that knows any of them. and people who owe them money. suicide is much more respectable than living with the shame."

What's a shame is that thoughts like this actually exist.

Apparently, St. George's isn't the only school to complain about the practices of Lawrence Academy football. I commend Mackay and the school for making this decision, which by and large, was frowned upon.

But it teaches the kids to quit when they face adversity, detractors will say. What does Lawrence Academy gain by smashing another ISL opponent? Want to talk about lessons? Why doesn't LA go find an opponent comparable in talent and play that team? Go out of league and play Everett, play Brockton or play a prep school with the same ideology, which is build a juggernaut of a program.

Student-athletes at St. George's have a lot to look forward to in life, and they can do so without the fear of being injured by a vastly superior football team.

R.I. high school football media poll Week 5

While Middletown enjoyed its bye week and prepared for this weekend's showdown with island rival Rogers, the Vikings and Portsmouth notch victories. Those wins, though, didn't help in the rankings, as no local team moved up or down this week.

The Patriots held steady at No. 3 after a 21-0 non-league win over Durfee of Fall River, Mass. Middletown remained at No. 8, while Rogers stayed at No. 13. With the Vikings and Islanders meeting for the top spot in Division III, it's safe to say there will be a big shakeup come this time next week.


Team Points Last week
1. Hendricken (10) 219 1
2. Barrington (1) 210 2
3. Portsmouth 195 3
4. East Providence 185 6
5. Johnston 165 5
6. La Salle 159 4
7. Tolman 157 9
8. Middletown 136 8
9. Cranston West 131 10
10. Mount Hope 117 7
11. Moses Brown 107 11
12. Woonsocket 101 12
13. Rogers 87 13
14. Central 86 18
15. Toll Gate 64 14
16. Ex.-West Greenwich 57 16
17. Cranston East 43 15
18. Burrillville 20 19
19. Shea 16 17
t-20. Chariho 12 20
t-20. Cumberland 12 NR
t-20. Lincoln 12 NR

Dropped from poll: none.
Also receiving votes: Mount Pleasant 7, Coventry 4, North Smithfield 1, South Kingstown 1.

Painful season

I’m staring to identify with how New England Patriots fans felt circa Sept. 8, 2008. While my star quarterback’s season hasn’t come to an abrupt end (not yet, anyway), those of so many other Green Bay Packers have.

It’s a tough pill to swallow when an injury or injuries derail would very well could have been a Super Bowl season.

The season still is fairly young, so I’m not conceding anything just yet. After all, 3-2 isn’t a horrible place to be (just ask the 49ers or Bills, who probably would love to be 3-2 right now). But after losing two of three, and looking like crap in a two-point win over Detroit, to say my confidence in the Packers has taken a hit would be like saying Joe Theismann took a hit from Lawrence Taylor in 1985.

While no Packers injuries have been as devastating as Theismann’s broken leg, mounting injuries to starters — Ryan Grant, Nick Barnett, Clay Matthews, Jermichael Finley, among others — some of which are season-ending, have fans asking, “What’s next?”

I’m well aware that sympathy around these parts (especially considering the Packers will visit Foxboro in late December) is something I won’t find, and I’m not asking for any.

But as fans of a team that lost its season in Week 1 a couple years ago when Bernard Pollard, inadvertently, destroyed Tom Brady’s knee, my hope is that Patriots faithful can, at the very least, empathize.

After all, injuries hurt fans, too.

R.I. high school media poll Week 4

On the strength of a victory over previously unbeaten East Providence, Portsmouth jumped from No. 5 to No. 3 this week in the poll. The Patriots are ahead of No. 4 La Salle, which handed them a 16-9 loss the previous week.

Middletown remained undefeated on the season with a 33-0 thrashing of East Greenwich and moved up to No. 8, while Rogers is at No. 13. The Vikings' only loss came against Division I La Salle.

Team Points Last week
1. Hendricken (11) 220 1
2. Barrington 209 3
3. Portsmouth 191 5
4. La Salle 188 4
5. Johnston 160 6
6. East Providence 158 2
7. Mount Hope 154 7
8. Middletown 125 8
9. Tolman 122 11
10. Cranston West 118 9
11. Moses Brown 109 t-12
12. Woonsocket 86 17
13. Rogers 85 15
14. Toll Gate 66 10
15. Cranston East 64 t-12
16. Ex.-West Greenwich 61 18
17. Shea 50 NR
18. Central 48 14
19. Burrillville 39 20
20. Chariho 24 16

Dropped from poll (place): Westerly (19).
Also receiving votes: Lincoln 9, North Smithfield 8, Cumberland 7, Westerly 3, Mount Pleasant 2, North Providence 2, Ponaganset 1, South Kingstown 1.

Oh Randy, you came and you gave

Since the day he came to New England, Randy Moss by and large was scrutinized by the media in this town. The star wide receiver, who set an NFL single-season record with 23 touchdowns in 2007 and helped the Patriots notch the only 16-game perfect regular season, simply couldn’t do enough to appease the idiot writers (one of whom works for this publication), who only wanted to tear him down.

Not long after the trade was announced during the 2007 NFL draft, which sent Moss to the Patriots from Oakland for a fourth-round pick, Daily News sportswriter Josh Krueger wrote a column about the deal.

“Sorry to rain on the New England Patriots’ Randy Moss parade — truthfully, I’m not at all sorry — but if I were a Patriots fan, I wouldn’t get too excited about the acquisition of the lazy wide receiver just yet,” Krueger wrote.

How did that work out? Moss, while he had his moments as a Patriot, was hardly the trouble-making player many figured he’d be. His production certainly outweighed any waves he may have made. In his three-plus seasons in New England (51 games) he caught 259 passes for 3,904 yards and 50 touchdowns.

The media had nothing to do with Moss getting traded — that was the stingy Patriots, who didn’t want to offer a multiyear deal to a 33-year-old wide receiver with a potential lockout approaching. But the bozo columnists who cover the Pats, one of whom resides upstate, always had it out for him. I really don’t know what else he could have done. Yet if a game went by where he didn’t score, or wasn’t the focal part of the offense, he was accused of “dogging it.”

Reche Caldwell, Deion Branch, Troy Brown or David Givens — the team’s leading receivers from 2001-06 — were never accused of dogging it despite putting up some paltry numbers in big games. Wes Welker has had his share of clunkers in this three seasons, yet nobody caught nearly as much flack as Moss.

Fans, from what I could tell, liked Moss. They certainly liked him when he beat double coverage down the field to haul in a touchdown pass. But now that he’s gone, the Patriots will struggle to find that speedster who can stretch the field vertically.

Brandon Tate? As much as the special teams guru has put his stamp on games, he’s not capable of bringing the same skills to the table as Moss. But the Patriots have enough weapons, some will say.

Oh yeah? The reason Wes Welker has caught 100 passes every year, the reason the new tight ends, Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski, have became major targets for Tom Brady is because of Moss. He attracts so much attention all over the field that it frees up other players.

Moss is headed back to Minnesota, where he was loved from Day 1. No, he’s no longer the burner he once was, but he’s still a very talented — and smarter — wide receiver who will be an enormous target for Brett Favre and give Adrian Peterson plenty of room to run.

Unless the third-round pick the Pats got in return for Moss turns out to be a future Hall of Famer, this was a raw deal. I would rather have him finish the season as a Patriot and take a run for a championship. Instead, this offense is cooked.

PS: October 31 - Minnesota at New England.

Euro fans truly are fanatic

It was evident by the celebration on Monday that the Europeans love the Ryder Cup much more than the Americans. And I'm not talking about the golfers.

Two years ago, when the event was held at Valhalla in Kentucky, there was hardly a peep on this side of the pond. I'm not trying to generalize here, but I'm not sure most Americans even know what the Ryder Cup is. They know what the Olympics are, and they are aware (although they may not want to be) of the World Baseball Classic.

But what makes the Ryder Cup special is the fact that it's us versus all of Europe: Spain, England, Italy, Sweden, Ireland, Germany. And it's the best golfers in the world: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Steve Stricker, etc.

Kudos to the Americans for a spirited effort in the singles session on Monday, especially from 21-year-old Rickie Fowler, who rallied to halve his match. Stricker, on the other hand, earned just a half-point against North Ireland's version of Fowler, Rory McIlroy. That was a big result considering the final score.

There are a lot of 'What ifs' from the weekend, but the fact is the Cup is now in Europe and will be until 2012, when it comes to Medinah in Illinois. Let's just hope the U.S. gets a little more excited about it.

Big foot spotted on Broadway

Ray Allen stands 6-foot-5, and the two feet on which he stands are looking pretty good. The Boston Celtics guard was spotted on Tuesday at Creative Nails on Broadway getting a pedicure. The nail technician likely earned her money, considering Allen wears a size 14 sneaker.

Patrons and workers recognized him right away, and although Allen tried to downplay his appearance, he posed for pictures. While his feet were being worked upon, he read from an iPad.

Have you seen any Celtics around town? If so, let us know.

R.I. high school football poll Week 3.

After a mediocre first half last week against previously undefeated Narragansett, Middletown, behind the running of Dylan Gracia and Rico McCray, exploded in the second half en route to a 44-26 victory. That helped move the unbeaten Islanders up three spots to No. 8 this week.

Portsmouth, which lost to Division I foe La Salle, flip-flopped spots with the Rams, while Rogers, on the strength of a victory over Lincoln, continues to climb in the poll, reaching No. 15.


Team Points Last week
1. Hendricken (6) 215 1
2. East Providence (5) 212 2
3. Barrington 198 3
4. La Salle 187 5
5. Portsmouth 160 4
6. Johnston 158 6
7. Mount Hope 141 8
8. Middletown 125 11
9. Cranston West 107 7
10. Toll Gate 98 13
11. Tolman 95 NR
t-12. Cranston East 94 10
t-12. Moses Brown 94 12
14. Central 77 18
15. Rogers 76 16
16. Chariho 69 19
17. Woonsocket 52 9
18. Ex.-West Greenwich 39 NR
19. Westerly 32 NR
20. Burrillville 25 NR

Dropped from poll (place): Narragansett (14), Shea (15), Coventry (17), South Kingstown (20).

Also receiving votes: Shea 17, Narragansett 15, Coventry 11, Lincoln 7, Mount Pleasant 4, St. Raphael 2.

Celtics by the sea

Hopefully no Boston Celtics players showed up to the first day of practice assuming coach Doc Rivers was going to take it easy on them. By the time media were allowed in the gym at Salve Regina University’s Rodgers Recreation Center, guys looked flat-out exhausted — some more than others.

It was easy to understand why. Tuesday’s practice went nearly three hours.

“It was a long practice,” Rivers said.

The workout seemed to take its toll on center Shaquille O’Neal. As the team ran full-court transition offense drills near the end of practice, O’Neal was a bit slower than usual getting up and down the floor. And while other players caught the ball near the hoop and dunked it, Shaq opted for a layup each time, barely leaving the ground in the process.

“Shaq looked great,” Rivers said. “Mostly everybody made it through practice. I thought, the last hour, you could see that they had run three hours.”

R.I. high school football poll Week 2

Rogers, on the strength of its 34-32 victory over Burrillville on Saturday, made the biggest jump of local teams in the poll this week, moving up four spots to No. 16.
Portsmouth, which is 2-0, is now ranked No. 4, and Middletown bumped up two spots to No. 11.

This week, there's a few big showdowns. In Division III, Middletown plays No. 14 Narragansett, while Portsmouth hosts No. 5 La Salle. Rogers, meanwhile, hosts Lincoln.

Team Points Last year
1. Hendricken (7) 216 1t
2. East Providence (4) 211 1t
3. Barrington 192 6
4. Portsmouth 186 5
5. La Salle 166 3
6. Johnston 147 7
7. Cranston West 138 4
8. Mount Hope 133 8
9. Woonsocket 125 10
10. Cranston East 111 9
11. Middletown 102 13
12. Moses Brown 92 14
13. Toll Gate 72 18
14. Narragansett 55 NR
15. Shea 52 16
16. Rogers 44 20
17. Coventry 44 11
18. Central 38 NR
19. Chariho 36 NR
20. South Kingstown 29 17

Dropped from poll: Westerly (12), Ponaganset (15), Burrillville (19).
Also receiving votes: Tolman 26, Lincoln 25, Westerly 25, Exeter-West Greenwich 20, Ponaganset 10, Burrillville 6, West Warwick 2, Cumberland 1.

After halftime, not much went right

Looking only at the numbers, it appears New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had a pretty good day Sunday against the Jets. He was 20-for-36 for 248 yards with two touchdowns. But in reality, he had a good half.

He hit his favorite targets - Wes Welker and Randy Moss - for touchdowns (Moss made a ridiculous one-handed grab for a 34-yard score) and the Patriots seemingly moved the ball at will in taking a 14-10 edge into the break.

But Brady turned the ball over three times after halftime, throwing two interceptions and fumbling on a critical drive deep in New York territory. Of those 248 yards, only 69 came in the third and fourth quarters, and none to Moss despite a number of passes thrown his way. Furthermore, Welker was non-existent in the second half.

"We couldn't do anything in the second half," Brady said. "We had a hard time gaining yards. We didn't do anything on third down. We couldn't gain anything on first or second down. We couldn't run it. We couldn't throw it.

"We just sucked. That's what it comes down to."

Hit the nail on the head there.

Mark Sanchez, Brady's counterpart at quarterback, had his coming out party (yeah, I know it's his second season and he's played in an AFC title game). He completed a career-high 21 passes for 220 yards and three scores.

The New England defense, which stood tall against the Bengals in Week 1, couldn't gain its footing against the Jets. They gave up tons of yards on the ground to LaDainian Tomlinson and, when they got into the red zone, the defensive backfield was defenseless.

It's only one game in a long season, but this loss doesn't bode well for the Pats, who must go back and take a long look in the mirror.

CELTICS ARE COMING BACK

Despite Paul Pierce's suggestion that the team take its preseason training camp elsewhere, the Boston Celtics announced today that they will return to Newport for a third straight year.

The Celtics again will make Salve Regina University's Rodgers Recreation Center their home away from home for a week at the end of the month, Kristine Hendrickson, Salve's associate vice president for university relations and chief communications officer, said today.

A notable change to the Celtics' visit this year is the elimination of the intra-squad scrimmage, which was open to the public the past two years on the team's last day here. Hendrickson said there won't be a public scrimmage, and overall, the team hopes to keep the camp more low key than it has been. Other than that, the format will be roughly the same.

Family value

Among the many absurd happenings in the world of sports is the claim by millionaire athletes that they need to provide for their families, and thus, need more money.

The latest to suggest that his multi-million-dollar deal just isn’t enough to pay the bills is none other than Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss. The mercurial Moss went on a 16-minute rant about his contract, or lack thereof after this season, with New England on Sunday after the Patriots' win over Cincinnati.

He backtracked, slightly, on Tuesday, but said in an interview with the Associated Press that his family is, “looking for me for financial stability. Is that fair? No. But that’s life and I accepted that and that’s where I’m coming from. Hopefully, people will understand where I’m coming from. It’s not that I’m asking for 30, 40 million a year. I’m just asking for another contract.”

I’ll admit I am not, have never been and never will be a Moss admirer, but he’s insane. He’s scheduled to make $6.4 million this year, which is the last of a three-year, $27 million deal. What family couldn’t sustain itself with an average of $9 million a year? OK, maybe Antonio Cromartie’s family, and his 42 children — I kid, he only has seven ... by six different women.

By and large, I’m sick of players who are unhappy with the contracts they sign and demand more money. But at least some man up and admit that they just want to get paid.

The whole “I have to provide for my family” garbage barely works for guys playing under their rookie contracts. They haven’t had that big payday yet, so I’ll buy the financial stability claim for a little while.

Moss, however, has made more than $55 million in the past decade. Unless his four kids each own their own pro sports teams, the Moss family should be in pretty good shape financially.

Moss already is one of the highest paid receivers in the NFL. But if he wants to cash in one last time near the end of his career, fine. He should just admit that it has less to do with his family and more to do with greed. If he were honest about it, I might respect him a little.

R.I. high school football poll Week 1

The high school season kicked off last week, with three of our four teams winning, but maybe the biggest surprise was the team that lost. Rogers had La Salle Academy on the ropes into the fourth quarter before falling 14-6. The result in the poll for the Vikings was a spot in this week's top 20.

Portsmouth, on the strength of a 25-6 victory over Mount Hope, moved into the No. 5 spot, while Middletown moved up a spot to No. 13 after beating Central Falls 32-0. Tiverton, which beat Hope 30-14, is receiving votes.

Again, the number in parenthesis is first-place votes, the next number is total votes and the last number is where the team was last week.

Team Points Last week
1t. Hendricken (5) 171 2t
1t. East Providence (2) 171 2t
3. La Salle (2) 158 1
4. Cranston West 155 4
5. Portsmouth 138 8
6. Barrington 115 9
7. Johnston 102 11
8. Mount Hope 98 5
9. Cranston East 94 6
10. Woonsocket 90 7
11. Coventry 89 12
12. Westerly 88 15
13. Middletown 67 14
14. Moses Brown 65 13
15. Ponaganset 61 16
16. Shea 47 NR
17. South Kingstown 36 10
18. Toll Gate 25 NR
19. Burrillville 18 20
20. Rogers 16 NR

Dropped from poll: Exeter-West Greenwich (17), Lincoln (18), St. Raphael (19).

Also receiving votes: Narragansett 15, East Greenwich 12, West Warwick 11, St. Raphael 8, Central 6, Lincoln 6, Tiverton 6, Tolman 3, Exeter-West Greenwich 2, Cumberland 1.

Monday's high school scores

Girls soccer
Portsmouth 7, Cranston West 0
Tiverton 0, Mount Hope 0

Girls tennis
East Greenwich 7, Portsmouth 0

Moss wants his straight cash, homey

Randy Moss, in his postgame press conference after the Patriots 38-24, season-opening victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, said he feels unappreciated by some in the New England area.

And he's right.

Since coming here to start the 2007 season, Moss has been nothing but productive. In his first season with the team, he set a single-season record with 23 touchdown catches. When Brady went down for the entire 2008 season, he caught 11 TDs from Matt Cassel and had 13 last year. All while drawing little attention to himself.

Until Sunday, when he talked for 16 minutes about his contract issues. He didn't wait to take a question before saying what he had to say.

While most feel that Moss was justified in his claims, they questioned the timing of it. So when is a good time to say such things? He certainly got everyone's attention. No, Randy Moss isn't like Tom Brady, who keeps talk about money and contracts behind closed doors.

But Moss has sat idly by while Tom Brady, Leigh Bodden, Stephen Gostkowski and others have received big pay days. Put yourself in the same situation. Imagine you're one of the top employees at your company, and a co-worker, who has been no less productive the last three years, received a huge pay raise, making him the highest paid person on staff. Wouldn't that be stuck in your craw?

ESPN.com writer Adam Schefter reported on Sunday that Logan Makins, who had some choice words for the Patriots ownership back in June, likely won't play another game for the team. It appeared the two sides finally had a deal worked out before team brass asked Mankins to issue a public apology, which the offensive lineman refused to do.

Mankins, a restricted free agent, has been a hold out while Moss has been in camp and working hard. Moss, who unjustly has been accused of "dogging it" on the field in recent years, said he'll play out the remainder of the season. And there's little doubt he'll put up big numbers. We have no reason to believe he won't.

And I sure hope Bob Kraft and the suits realize what they have. Moss said he likes New England, he likes playing here and wants to continue doing so. But he added that if an extension isn't reached by the end of the season, it'll be "a smack in the face."

Everything Moss said, all of which caught the media in attendance by surprise, is right. And I have little issue about the timing. His intention was to be heard, and his words carried plenty of weight after a nice victory.

Don't hate the player, hate the game. In this case, the business end of the game. And if you have to point fingers, maybe they should be pointed toward the luxury suites, and not in the direction of No. 81.