The New England Patriots host the New York Giants at Gillette Stadium at 7:30 p.m. tonight in the final preseason game.

Don’t expect to see Giants QB Eli Manning and possibly limited game time for former NFL MVP Tom Brady as the teams need to look at the players on the bubble as they have to cut rosters from 75 to 53 by 4 p.m. Saturday.

The teams are far from strangers to each other as they regularly meet in the preseason. After tonight the next time you’ll see the Pats will be in the season opener when they host the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football at 7 p.m. on September 14th.

Tonight’s game can be watched on the Patriots Preseason Television Network and heard along the Patriots Radio Network.

Alpha Omega Council’s Pats / Jets Raffle

Win 4 Tickets to the New England Patriots Game against the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium!

Drawing Date: Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Entry Deadline: 11:00 AM EDT, November 18, 2009

Enter the Alpha Omega Pats / Jets Raffle and help Alpha Omega to promote Hellenic-American interests and establish, maintain, and aid religious, charitable, scientific, literary and educational activities.

$2.00 / ticket (minimum purchase of 5 tickets)

Order Raffle Tickets (You must be 18 years of age or older to purchase a ticket; if you are under 18 years of age, please have a parent, legal guardian, or trusted adult order tickets for you by using the systems Gifting feature when ordering)

GRAND PRIZE:

• Winner will receive 4 premium tickets (Section CL30- Fidelity Clubhouse) to the New England Patriots / New York Jets Game on November 22, 2009 at Gillette Stadium (4:15 Kick Off)
• Winner will receive a VIP Parking Pass to Gillette Stadium
• Winner will receive an Old Neighborhood Food’s Tailgate Cooler filled with Old Neighborhood Sausages and Franks
• Winner will receive a cash prize in the amount of $281.90 to mitigate the Winner’s tax liability that results from winning the raffle. This prize is withheld and paid, on behalf of the Winner, directly to the IRS ($232.97) and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts ($48.93)

Help Alpha Omega in their efforts to promote Hellenic – American interests and to establish, maintain, and aid religious, charitable, scientific, literary and educational activities and, in return, you could win this great New England Patriots experience. Tickets start at just $2.00 each and decrease for orders of more than 5 tickets. Alpha Omega is utilizing the Celebrities for Charity Foundation (“CFC”) and netRaffle.org’s patented concepts and technologies to conduct this raffle and tickets are only available online at this web site. Enter online today and rest assured that CFC never stores your credit card information and utilizes secure routers and IBM Servers, professionally managed, to ensure that your information is secure and that your order is accurately processed with the utmost efficiency.

In addition to this, you should also rest assured that CFC values your generosity and netRaffle.org’s patented concepts and technologies are designed to deliver the utmost efficiency and unprecedented results. Direct Expenses amount to approximately 8.5% of Gross Revenue and decrease to 5% (or less) of Gross Revenue as more tickets per order are sold. In addition to Direct Expenses, a 5% Gaming Tax is paid to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. After the Direct Expenses and the Gaming Tax are paid, the yield to charity is a minimum of approximately 86.5% of Gross Revenue for a minimum purchase of 5 tickets ( $10.00). This increases to approximately 90% of Gross Revenue for a purchase of 20 tickets ( $25.00), And the yield percentage continues to increase as more tickets per order are purchased. These proceeds will benefit Alpha Omega and the many charities supported by the Celebrities For Charity Foundation.

While you must be 18 years of age, or older, to purchase a ticket, which the Entrant will need to prove prior to being certified as the Winner, CFC’s ordering process and rules allow the Entrant to Gift their tickets to another person, which may or may not be a minor. However, it is important to note that regardless of whether or not the Entrant gifts his or her tickets to another party, the Entrant will still need to prove that he or she is 18 years of age, or older, prior to the ticket holder being certified as the Winner. Furthermore, you should also note that neither the Entrant nor the Gift Recipient, if tickets are gifted, need to be present at the Drawing to win; the Winner will be notified. Also, although this experience of a lifetime is priceless, the value of the tangible prizes (e.g., as applicable in any given raffle, hotel, travel, meals, tickets, taxes, etc.) is $931.90.

On Monday morning the New England Patriots will lose the heart and soul of their team as LB Tedy Bruschi will announce his retirement according to Al Michaels of NBC Sports.

No other details are known at this time.

Bruschi was drafted by the Patriots back in the third round in the 1996 NFL Draft out of Arizona. He’s played in thirteen seasons with the Pats and has won three Super Bowls. He was the last remaining player from the Bill Parcells era.

He missed part of the 2005 season after suffering a stroke on February 16, 2005 just after he played in his only Pro Bowl. He did return that year on October 29th and finished up the season. He ended up being named the 2005 NFL Comeback Player of the Year, an award he shared with Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers.

He played in 189 career games, starting 139 of them. He made 735 career tackles, had 30.5 sacks and 12 interceptions. He returned four of them for touchdowns.

He was nicknamed “Little Bill” by his teammates as tribute for him being an extension of Bill Belichick on the field. His leadership will be sorely missed by his teammates and he will forever be loved by the fans.

UPDATE: Christopher Price of WEEI.com confirms that Bruschi will retire tomorrow. The Patriots have scheduled a 10:45 AM press conference for the announcement.

Editor’s note: Steve contributed information to this post

The New England Patriots travel to the nation’s capital tonight to face the Washington Redskins in a game televised nationally on CBS at 8 p.m.

This is the 3rd week of preseason which traditionally sees longer playing time for the projected starters. Expect to see QB Tom Brady play and I could see him playing the entire first half as he ramps up to the regular season.

Also this week will be key for any fringe players looking to hang on and make the team. You can also expect to see any position battles heat up as players vie for roster spots. Many times this is a big week for the special teams players looking to impress the staff.

In addition to the game being on CBS, you can also listen to the game action along the Patriots Radio Network.

The New England Patriots are back in preseason action today when they host the Cincinnati Bengals at The Razor at 7:30 p.m.

You can watch the game along the Patriots Preseason Television Network and listen on the Patriots Radio Network who have a new flagship station this season, WBZ-FM 98.5.

In what was expected to be a battle of big name QBs, at least for a few series, won’t happen as Bengal QB Carson Palmer will miss the game with a high ankle sprain. I’d expect Tom Brady to get a few series in as he continues to prep for the regular season.

With the Red Sox in a pennant race it will be hard to watch the whole game but at least check in between innings. You’ll also have a backup plan in case of a baseball blowout.

Here’s your chance to join Kevin Faulk and the New England Patriots in London as they take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers!

Drawing Date: Thursday, October 1, 2009
Entry Deadline: 11:00 AM EDT, October 1, 2009

Enter the Kevin Faulk Patriots in London Raffle and join Kevin Faulk in his efforts to support the Celebrities for Charity Foundation.

$2.00 / ticket (minimum purchase of 5 tickets)

Purchase raffle tickets

GRAND PRIZE:

• Winner will receive two tickets to the Patriots Sudnay, October 25, 2009, game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in London England
• Winner will receive an autographed Kevin Faulk Patriots Jersey and Photo
• Winner and guest will enjoy a 4 night stay in London at the four star Hilton Kensington Hotel (Single Room Double Occupancy)
• Winner and guest will receive roundtrip air transportation from Boston to London (Departs Boston 10/22/09 at 6:05 PM, Returns to Boston 10/27/09 at 10:45 PM:)
• Winner and guest will receive ground transportation in London to and from airport, hotel, and game
• Winner and guest will enjoy a pregame reception at a local pub
• Winner will receive a cash prize in the amount of 1,257.70 to mitigate the Winner’s tax liability that results from winning the raffle. This prize is withheld and paid, on behalf of the Winner, directly to the IRS ($1,039.43) and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts ($218.27)

Help Kevin Faulk in his efforts to support the Celebrities for Charity Foundation and , in return, you could be enjoying this New England Patriots Adventure of a lifetime. Tickets start at just $2.00 each and decrease for orders of more than 5 tickets. The Celebrities for Charity Foundation (“CFC”) is utilizing netRaffle and its patented concepts and technologies to conduct this raffle and tickets are only available online at this web site. Enter online today and rest assured that CFC never stores your credit card information and utilizes secure routers and IBM Servers, professionally managed, to ensure that your information is secure and that your order is accurately processed with the utmost efficiency.

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The New England Patriots opened up their 2009 preseason campaign with a 27-25 win over the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Thursday night.

Of course the big story of the night wasn’t that Tom Brady made his return to the field but rather the fact that the Eagles signed Michael Vick to a 2-year contract. Reported terms are that Vick will receive $1.6 million if he makes the team and the Eagles hold a 2010 option for $5.2 million.

But our focus is the return of Brady to the field.

Brady looked like he hadn’t skipped a beat in his first game action since being injured in the 2008 season opener. He played almost all of the first two quarters and was 10-of-15  for 100 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. His two touchdown passes went to former New York Jets tight end Chris Baker.

With the way Brady was moving around in the pocket, it doesn’t look like his knee will be of any concern going forward. And that can only mean good things for the Patriots as they look for another Super Bowl ring.

Rookie Justin Edelman had himself a game as well.  He returned a punt 75 yards for a touchdown and also caught 5 passes for 37 yards. He also returned a kickoff for 24 yards.

Sammy Morris led the Patriots with 12 rushes for 45 yards while Randy Moss led the Patriots with 54 receiving yards. Jerrod Mayo and rookie Patrick Chung led the Pats with 5 tackles each.

Former UConn Husky Darius Butler had 2 tackles, an interception and a pass breakup in his Patriots debut.

The Patriots next exhibition game will come next Thursday night at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro when the Cincinnati Bengals come to town. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

The New England Patriots opn the 2009 NFL Preseason today when they face the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field at 7:30 p.m.

You can watch the game along the Patriots Preseason Television Network and on the Patriots Rock Radio Network who has a new flagship station this season WBZ-FM 98.5 who replaces WBCN.

It’s a big preseason game for the Pats as QB Tom Brady is expected to make his return to the field after suffering a season ending ACL injury in Week 1 last year.

It maybe preseason but football is back, Brady is back and all is right in the universe as long as you pay no attention to this health care crap.

98.5 The Sports Hub is the official flagship station of the three-time Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots.

When fans tune in for each Patriots game on 98.5 The Sports Hub, they are treated to two world-class teams – the one on the field and the one in the broadcast booth. For the past 17 consecutive seasons, Gil Santos and Gino Cappelletti have teamed together to provide fans with in-depth game analysis and complete play-by-play detail of every Patriots game. This year, they will celebrate their 26th season together.

Coverage on 98.5 The Sports Hub begins three hours prior to kickoff with Patriots Preview, and continues with Patriots Postgame for three hours after the game. Gary Tanguay hosts both shows, along with former Pats quarterback Scott Zolak and national sports radio personality Andy Gresh. Patriots Preview is a fast-paced, energetic and informative prelude to kickoff, featuring in-depth analysis, dueling opinions and the only game-day interviews with Coach Bill Belichick and Vice-Chairman and President Jonathan Kraft. Patriots Postgame is a high-energy, opinionated breakdown of the game, with the press conferences of Belichick and Tom Brady aired live, and immediate reaction from the fans.

A full look at the stations after the jump.

Below is a list of the stations in the Patriots radio network:

All of the Patriots’ 2009 preseason games will be televised in the Boston television market on WBZ-TV Channel 4. A network of regional affiliates will also broadcast the games on Aug. 13, Aug. 20 and Sept. 3 on the Patriots Preseason TV Network.  The Patriots’ Aug. 28 game at Washington will be broadcast nationally on CBS.

New England Patriots Preseason TV Network

New England Affiliates

• WBZ – Boston, MA
• WWLP – Springfield, MA
• WNAC – Providence, RI
• WMTW – Portland/Auburn, ME
• WVII – Bangor, ME
• WMUR – Manchester, NH
• WVNY – Burlington, VT
• WCTX – Hartford/New Haven, CT

Other Affiliates:

• KGMB9 – Honolulu, HI
• KIMO – Anchorage, AK
• Rogers SportsNet East – Maritime Region of Canada