The Revenge Bowl: Sept 14, 2008

Bring on the J-E-T-S! The Patriots will now face Eric Mangini & Brett Favre this season with the chance to avenge both the Super Bowl XXXI loss and SpyGate!

Notes from the Coast:

There is a theory that Arkansas All-American Running Back and two-time Heisman finalist Darren McFadden may fall to New England with the 7th pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. The Pats already have Lawrence Moroney and Sammy Morris is coming back from injury but some have said that McFadden could be the next Adrian Peterson, so if he does slide and you're the Patriots what do you do? Select and keep, select and trade, or trade the pick? Whatever happens, it should be an interesting draft. Especially with the hated N.Y. Jets picking right in front of the Pats.

• The Boston Bruins are hanging on by a thread. With 9 games left in the season they are only 3 points ahead of the Philiadelphia Flyers for the final play-off spot in the Eastern Conference and beginning Thursday night have to face their rival Montreal Canadiens in back to back games.
• Tony Allen needs to stop worrying about being considered part of the new 'Big 4' of the Celtics and worry more about making a team next year. He came back successfully from knee surgery but the Celts still did not renew his contract, so maybe his confidence is low. Either way, his shooting, dribbling, and passing are horrible, and now his defense is getting worse. When he replaced injured Ray Allen in the starting line-up against the Spurs, he looked completely lost.
• With all the free agent signings the New York Jets have made this off-season, some are worried that the Jets might catch-up to the Pats. Sure they've made some progress, but on the bright side if the Jets underachieve again after spending all this money, then Eric Mangini's chances of getting fired increase as well and I doubt anyone will be hiring the ungrateful snitch as a Coordinator any time soon. Ah, karma.
• The Red Sox opening day in Japan is only a few days away and everything looks like it's coming together. Daisuke and his wife had their baby early, so now he will pitch opening day in Japan. A great honor for him that will only pump him up even more for the season. Josh Beckett will miss the trip which is a blessing. Now he can avoid traveling and heal his back and better his chances of returning to the form he was last year. Another good thing is that it looks like Coco Crisp will make the trip to Japan. Now the team that covets him most, the Oakland A's, will have plenty of time evaluate him and make a deal with the Sox.
• Don't do it! Troy Brown's flirtation with the Jets will not make the Patriots jealous enough to bring him back for his 15th year. However, it could jeopardize him working in the Pats' front office when he retires.

Notes from the Coast:

With Defensive backs Asante Samuel and Eugene Wilson hitting the open market and probably leaving the Patriots soon, there is a rumor that Ty Law may want to come back to Foxboro. In his 13th season, Law is defintely on the down-side of his career but still might perform effectively within the Pats' defensive schemes and could help tutor young players like Brandon Merriweather and Mike Richardson. Also, a return to the Patriots could improve Law's chances of entering the NFL Hall of Fame one day.

• I think Bartolo Colon was a nice pick-up for the Red Sox. The cost is minimal and as Theo always says, it's a long season and you can never have enough pitching. Now with Schilling out for an undetermined amount of time, the Sox will have Colon, Buchholz, Tavarez, and Snyder to help fill in the gap.
• The Sam Cassell watch continues. Should a Clipper buyout occur, it appears the Celtics are the team Sam Cassell would most want to sign with. However, time is crucial because Cassell must be on another roster by March 1 to be eligible for the playoffs. Also, once a buyout is finalized Cassell still would have to sit through a 48-hour period to clear waivers and like sharks in the water, both the Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets also appear interested in Cassell's services and have as much as $2-$4 mill more to offer him under their exceptions.
• Interesting to note how the New York Jets are the first team to covet (and at times illegally pursue) Patriots' personell, yet when Jets' Linebacker Jonathan Vilma was granted permission to seek a trade this off-season, the only team he was told not to talk to was the Pats.
• Why is having the best record so important to the Celtics? Because whoever finishes with the second best record in the East has to play LeBron James and the much improved and healthy Cavaliers in the second round of the NBA play-offs.
• Congrats to Terry Francona on his much deserved contract extension. Hard to imagine that his year Francona will become the first Red Sox Manager to skipper the team for 5 consecutive years since Joe Cronin did it 60 years ago. Tito even passes three Managers (Dick Williams, Darrel Johnson, and John McNamara) who all took the Red Sox to the World Series.