The Armchair Quarterback

Over the slump...

Okay, I have to admit. I've been hiding out in a terrible, terrible New England sports slump. The Patriots were playing atrociously as were the Celtics. The Colts finally got the monkey off their back, but that was no surprise. Peyton came in with all guns firing and completely demolished the Pats. And the Celtics...won two of their first four or five games? We lost to the Bobcats? Hello!!! What's that about? Losing to the Spurs by twenty points is no big surprise. I knew we were going to get our butts handed to us on a platter. The only real surprise was that game against the Pistons that we should have won. I know people were saying that we shouldn't hang our heads, that we played a helluva game. That may be true, but when you don't get the W at the end to go with it, it don't mean much in the standings. And you can second guess coaches until the cows come home and I may never know why they didn't cover the inbound pass with 8/10ths of a second left on the clock. I just about kicked my TV over when I saw Rip Hamilton catch the pass after a double screen and drop the ball in...nothing but net. Well, we spanked the Knicks in OT on our opener and we spanked the Rockets tonight. Hopefully we can keep some of our momentum from tonight and bring home a win Tuesday night when we rematch with the Pistons again. Beyond that, the Patriots played a pretty good game this afternoon, despite Miami playing great ball. Bruschi made some serious big time plays like the old days and our defense actually did a pretty good job, not to mention Brady connecting with my fave Troy Brown. And what about the new kid...#44? Wow...he's got potential. I can't tell you how happy I am to see this kid when we got Cory Dillon nursing injury, Kevin Faulk out, Matt Light out...we got no good runners, or at least we didn't until tonight. So, bottom line...I'm still grumpy and nervous as hell, but I'm seeing a glimmer of hope in New England.

Celtics 114 Knicks 100

The Celtics are looking good so far. They show a lot of promise for this early in the season. They are young, but they definitely have talent. The second unit still needs to figure out it's chemistry and who does what, but there are flashes of it here and there and the new kids Orien Green and Ryan Gomes are doing fabulous. The regulars are doing great- Pierce really seems to be taking the leadership role seriously this season and I have yet to see him complain to a ref about a call. Perhaps there is something to this new conduct code. And what about Delonte West? This kid is amazing...making shots, passes, rebounding, blocking shots, stealing the ball. What doesn't he do? At any rate...this season opener game was worth the price of admission...and it didn't hurt that we won a hard fought game in the Garden...a knuckleballer, tight, back and forth race to the finish in OT!

Whither thou, Red Sox?

So Theo is gone. Shaughnessy is a douchebag. Theo says it's not a power struggle with management. Who knows, but something stinks in the house of Sox. Manny wants a trade, half the team is already signed up for free agency and the wunderkind Manager is gone. Just like that the Red Sox have become a non-entity. Just when I thought the team couldn't get any more in disrepair than they did this season...this happens and the players are scrambling away from the team like somebody opened the dam. I'm rambling, but I really feel like there's just too much adversity for even the Red Sox to overcome. Did they flare brightly last October and now are burnt out? Am I being too fatalistic? Who knows? I just know that the Red Sox have become like the NBA's Sacramento Kings this season. No Webber, no Christie, no Jackson, no Divac, no interest in watching my once favorite team play.

Patriots 21 Bills 16

I have mixed emotions as I think about this game. It was great to see Bruschi back in, making plays and trying to provide some leadership on the defensive end of things. I hope we don't burn him out, playing him on both defense and special teams like we did in this game. Patrick Pass had a decent game, but I was glad to see Corey Dillon come in, injury and all, and bust out a couple of touchdowns. Beyond that, I can't believe we actually won the game. Both the Bills and the Patriots played like crap, although the Bills played slightly less crappier. With how much they were dominating the clock and the turnovers, I was amazed they didn't blow us out. Bottom line- neither team should have won that game, but I'm glad we managed to pull it out somehow. Beyond the bottom line- next Monday night when we see the 7-0 Colts for the big game in Foxboro, I'm afraid that this time around it WILL be Peyton's Place. Let's just hope that I'm wrong.

Celtics pre-season...

The Celtics are playing some pretty good pre-season ball so far. They routed the Nets a few days ago and now are in the midst of the second in a back to back matchup against the Nets (with Kidd and Carter back). They are keeping the lead and playing some great ball tonight. Keep an eye on the new kids...they are starting to come into their own. Of course, having someone like my favorite Celtic on the team helps too...that fave being Ricky!!!! What a rockstar...Ricky is da man. When he's on his game, he is hot...did you see him blow past Vince and go up and under the basket for a slamdunk? Carter was still looking at the spot where Ricky used to be. Can you say "smoked"? I knew you could.

Patriots 20 Broncos 28

First, the good news...

The New England Patriots have issued a statement on the playing/practice status of linebacker Tedy Bruschi.

“The New England Patriots have been advised that Tedy Bruschi has received unanimous medical clearance from outside specialists in the field of stroke neurology. He has also passed multiple physical examinations by team doctors and has been cleared to resume practicing as early as this week. The Patriots organization is satisfied that Tedy Bruschi has received the best medical attention possible and has been assured that he is medically cleared to resume his playing career. Tedy Bruschi has worked very hard throughout his rehabilitation to return to full health and has been assured by all who have examined him that he has. With the necessary unanimous medical clearances to return, Tedy Bruschi and his family will make the final decision as to whether he returns to the field and begins practicing once again with the team. The Kraft family and the entire Patriots organization want only what is best for Tedy Bruschi and his family and will continue to support his decision.”

Statement from Dr. David Greer, a renowned specialist in Stroke Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital.

“I have had the opportunity to care for Tedy Bruschi since the day of his stroke eight months ago and have closely monitored his rehabilitation and remarkably rapid rate of recovery. Physically, Tedy is completely back to normal, and is exceptionally healthy. I have no doubt that he will be able to perform physically at a very high level. Tedy’s safety, on and off the field, has always been our number one priority. At this time, I have advised him that, in my opinion, there are no medical reasons for him to delay his return to football. Tedy has asked me not to discuss these matters with the media further, and I will obviously honor that request.”

Now, the bad news.

Patriots 20, Broncos 28

No doubt about it we were outplayed in every aspect of the game. The fact that we were able to come back to within 8 after being down 25 is a testament to what the team can do, but it was too little, too late.

The injury report before the Broncos game...Chad Scott (Out/IR), Kevin Faulk (Out), Matt Light (Out), Monty Beisel (Questionable), Tully Banta-Cain (Questionable), Troy Brown (Questionable), Matt Chatham (Questionable), Corey Dillon (Questionable), Randall Gay (Questionable), Jarvis Green (Questionable), Marquise Hill (Questionable), Larry Izzo (Questionable), Willie McGinest (Questionable), Tyrone Poole (Questionable), James Sanders (Questionable), Guss Scott (Questionable), Richard Seymour (Questionable), Duane Starks (Questionable), Tom Brady (Probable)...when do I start to get worried? So, the Patriots play with injuries. They play with players out for the season. Somehow they find ways to come back, but so far this year...3-3...it's looking pretty sketchy. Just like I thought somehow the Red Sox would pull out another crazy win just because they were the Red Sox...I'm hoping that the Patriots can pull it together over the next ten games and make some magic happen. Maybe Bruschi coming back will be the spark the team needs to Cowboy Up!

Sigh...

I'm coming out of my depression briefly to tip my hat to probably the last time you will see the World Championship Red Sox. Next year's lineup will be vastly different. This year was already a skeleton
remnant of the championship team, but there will be a whole line of defections, including most likely Damon, Meuller, Millar, Timlin...even possibly Ramirez. I shudder to think of what magic Epstein and Francona will have to pull to put together a competitive team for next year. We definitely need to fill our pitching gaps...gaps that you could drive a mack truck through. Frankly, if Clement and Foulke never pitched again for the Sox, I would not cry. While we were losing, Foulke was off watching the Bruins
play...cruising to Bermuda, doing anything but be part of the "team". Oh yeah, and that bit about Boston fans being too tough...where's the bun because you're a weiner! Small consolation at least in the Yankees not making it out of California. Now I have to root
for the White Sox...despite dropping the first game to the Angels last night!

By the way, don't you all jump at once with your stories of being a fan and being at the games...I'm having trouble finding time to sift through all the entries pouring in...NOT!

On a lighter note...did you catch the Celtics/Cavaliers game last night? I only saw about ten minutes of it, but it looked like we had some things working for us and some decent talent to boot. It's
still a wicked young team, but at least Pierce is excited about the team and the coming season (and was it just me or did he lose some weight? He looks good!).

...back to my post season depression now...sniff, sniff...

You always hurt the ones you love...

Why, oh why, Terry? Why didn't you pull him in the first after he beaned two hitters and gave up five runs and a homer? Why did you wait even after he gave up another home run? You finally decided to pull him after he gave up eight runs off three homers and put us in a hole we could never climb out of...and it was only three and a third innings into the game. I'll never know, I can only hope that Boomer does much better tonight, but I have ten times more trust in Wells on the mound than I do Clement.

The thing of it is, I just have this feeling that we are going to get creamed tonight, too...which will send us back to Fenway down two and facing elimination. We'll have to win all three games at home to beat the White Sox and move on to the next round. Of course, that will probably be what happens. We can't not have the most drama-ridden series in the league after all. So, we wait and we see...

Call for entries...

Hey sports fans...email me your stories at aqbguy[at]gmail.com*. If you were at a Sox game last year during the playoffs or the World Series...or if you were at a game during a Yankees series...or are going to the two games in Chicago or will be at any of the three game series back at Fenway this weekend (if that many games are needed!)...let me know what your experience was like. I'd like to hear stories from not only Red Sox Nation, but people who have gone or are going to Celtics games or Patriots games. I'd love to hear the inside story from the fan's perspective.

Also, if you're interested in being profiled as a "hometown fan" on the AQB, send me an email at aqbguy[at]gmail.com and I'll send you a few short questions to answer and you could see your story posted here. I'll put stories up once or twice a week or month, depending on what kind of entries and response I get. This forum is not only for me to bitch, moan, complain and compliment, but it's also for you...the community. This could become a regular feature here if there's enough response. Thanks!

Cheers,
Tai Freligh AKA The Armchair Quarterback

*The brackets in the email address are to prevent spambots from harvesting my email. Sounds nasty, doesn't it?

Cowboy up...

Wow. Talk about a wild ride all season long, only to end with the ultimate showdown at Fenway. Despite taking two of three against the Yankees and tying for first place in the AL East division, the Yankees get the tie breaker by virtue of having won the season against us by two games! At least we played a hell of a third game, with Schilling only giving up one run! Sure, they had their third string pitching in (and we owned them!), but they had their first string hitters in and we shut them down. We pummeled our way into the wild card and didn't win it by coming in the back door. Now is the one day breather before we hit up Chicago for game one on Tuesday afternoon. One small moment in time...the quiet before the storm. All things are equal...the season starts over at ground zero and the battle is on (why do I hear Rocky music in the background and a deep announcer voice saying "because it's 90 feet to home no matter where you are"?).

The Death Star Approacheth...

Win or lose tonight, it will come down to the three game set this weekend at Fenway. The Yankees have been playing great and we have been playing crappy. My hope is that we get on a streak and the evil empire peters out. No matter what, this series will be the stuff of legends...you can't help but feel something in the air when Boston and New York play. With Wells, Wakefield and Schilling pitching, I feel pretty good about our chances. The last great game Schilling played was against the Yankees, so I'm hopeful. Go Sox!!

Checking in with the C's...

Lest you think I care only about all things Red...here's some updates on the Boston Celtics...

NBA Fantasy Basketball handicaps the 2005 season...very interesting...

Head Coach Doc Rivers stopped by Celtics.com to have an online chat last week...check out the transcript here.

On a bright note, here's the top twenty moments of the dream team Celtics' 1985-86 season (you know, with Bird, McHale, Parish).

I'm looking forward to the pre-season starting in a few weeks!

Helluva day...

Yesterday we whip Tampa Bay so bad they needed fresh diapers and tonight they whip it out in the eighth inning to win the game and drop us out of first place for the first time in MONTHS! Yuck...we'll see how long this lasts. The last time the Yankees took over the first place spot, it only lasted ONE DAY. Perhaps this will be just as short? I'm not so sure...the Yankess have been HOT as of late and the Red Sox have been wicked spotty. I just don't know...

15-2 Red Sox...

I'm humbled, really...all this just for me because I was feeling a little burning sensation in my stomach over our performance the last few weeks. Pepto Bismol would have done the trick, but I suppose this works just as well. Two homers by Ortiz, two homers by Manny, a homer by Trot...Tek hitting at every up...Schilling going seven innings and only giving up two runs...it was almost ordained as if on high and actually got boring after awhile. I can only hope that the momentum keeps up through the next eleven games. We got Wake on the mound tomorrow and I feel good about that. He's been our most dependable pitcher all season. I guess you really do have to get it as close as half a game away to wake up the bats and put some energy into those tired Sox bones as they creak out onto the ballfield.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaargh........

WTF Red Sox? .5? .5!!??##?? Clement giving up a million runs in what, less than two innings? Wells giving up a bunch of runs in what less than three innings? You're supposed to be starters, but that doesn't mean you start the first few innings and then give it up to some second round draft pick from the minor leagues!!! Tek, where hitteth thou? Millar, where fieldeth thou? Renteria, why are you still on our team? Are you trying to go for the error record? Wait, you just got a season high tonight on errors, so can you please start playing again? Terry, why in god's name are you trying out players nobody has ever heard of when we only have a dozen games to play before we can kiss our playoff hopes goodbye? Maybe you want to make it interesting and let the Yankees have first place for a while? Is it because we only play good when our backs are to the wall? Please enlighten me....please...I need something, some small sign that things are going to be O.K. After all, Big Papi may be big (how about that meaningless homer in the ninth tonight?), but his shoulders aren't that big.

Sigh. I think I have an ulcer...

P.S. Okay, so sometimes these players Francona tries out do good. How about Hansen? Sure, he only played one inning- three outs worth, but he threw some heat over that plate and blew away those three batters. Not bad for 21, eh?