Super sexy Texy from Center Field wants to know why it was a big deal that Josh Beckett swore in his live press conference.

The beautiful Yankees Chick is celebrating her two year bloggiversary.

Dan from Red Sox Monster tells us why someone would name their child “Boston”.

Succulent Sooze over at Babes Love Baseball wants to wish Keith Hernandez a happy birthday.

The Starter Wife from Ladies… has a to-die-for Cuban sandwich recipe.

Your favorite USC fan and mine, the hot Gridiron Goddess, gives us her college football picks for this week.

Jason from My Baseball Bias has you covered on the Joe Torre press conference from yesterday.

Anthony from the Oriole Post has thoughts on Joe Torre’s body language from his press conference.

With Leather wants you to know the Dallas Cowboys are web-savvy.

The Big Lead is wishing Notre Dame good luck today against USC.

We are the Postmen tells you about USC’s flight to South Bend.

Kissing Suzy Kolber has some mighty nice pics of the San Diego Chargers cheerleaders.

And last but certainly not least, Fitzy from the Townie News, has a video blog of the Patriots-Cowboys game. This video is NSFW.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fd8UHFs_7GM[/youtube]

Translation: This guy is crazy in the head.

This news of the weird video is more for the people of Connecticut but nonetheless, this dude’s a little crazy.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvsR0-w0G3k[/youtube]

to my father for the video.

Saturday October 20th will be remembered for one of two things in Red Sox Nation: A Curt Schilling/Red Sox Game 6 victory or the day the Red Sox lost the ALCS to the Cleveland Indians. The momentum shifts back to the Fens tonight as you would only think that the crowd will be unbelievable tonight at Fenway. The Bruins were even nice enough to move their game back today so that people would be able to watch the B’s and the Sox tonight. I think if they had played at the same time, the allegiances definitely would have been watching the Red Sox. It looks as though Jacoby Ellsbury will be replacing Coco Crisp in the lineup tonight but we won’t know for sure until Terry Francona puts up his lineup. So while we are waiting for that, let’s take a look at today’s headlines from the Boston and Cleveland area media.

If you’re concerned about tonight’s weather, it looks as though it will be clear as the rain has moved out of the area.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a84BrIfKbtw[/youtube]

Sox will try to take it to the limit [Boston Globe]

Sox won’t unravel [The Plain Dealer]

Old ace reshuffles deck [Boston Herald]

One loss is no reason to start crying; Tribe still leads 3-2 [Akron Beacon Journal]

Can New Model Match ’04? [Hartford Courant]

Ellsbury to replace Coco Crisp [Pro Jo]

Crisp stale; what’s next? [Boston Globe]

Curses! Let’s hope logo is no jinx [The Plain Dealer]

Sox will roll with Dice-K if needed [Boston Herald]

Rookie reliever rising up [Akron Beacon Journal]

Francona Can Relate To Torre [Hartford Courant]

Emotional Schilling’s game plan is all about execution [Pro Jo]

For more headlines and stories, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Hartford Courant, Providence Journal, The Plain Dealer and Akron Beacon Journal websites.

The Result

A huge win for UConn as they come back to beat Louisville at home 21-17 it improves them to 6-1 overall and they remain the only unbeaten team in the Big East at 2-0.

UConn was able to contain Brian Brohm, got some timely turnovers, didn’t make too many mistakes themselves and got a big win for the program on Homecoming Weekend.

Scoring Plays

1^st Quarter

• LOU – Brohm 2 yard td pass to Kuhn – kick good – 7-0 Louisville

2^nd Quarter

• None

3^rd Quarter

• CON – Taylor 74 yard punt return – kick good – 7-7

4^th Quarter

• LOU – Carmody 23 yard FG – 10-7 Louisville
• LOU – Heyman 32 yard fumble return for a TD – kick good – 17-7 Louisville
• CON – Lorenzen 7 yard TD pass to Hernandez – kick good – 17-14 Louisville
• CON – Dixon 5 yard run – kick good – 21-17 UConn

Offensive Player of the Game

Running back Andre Dixon 22 carries for 115 yards and a TD. He also had 3 catches for 55 yards.

Defensive Player of the Game

Defensive back Darius Butler had an interception and then a big pass break up on 4^th down that led to UConn’s go ahead TD in the 4^th quarter.

Turning Point(s) of the Game

Darius Butler breaks up a fourth down pass with 6 minutes left in a 3-point game. UConn drove the field and scored with a minute and half to play to take the lead.

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After 12 seasons at the helm Joe Torre is out as manager of the New York Yankees. Torre who took the job prior to the 1996 season piloted the Bronx Bombers to 1,173 wins (second most in team history by a manager), 4 World Series championships, 6 American League pennants, 10 American League East titles and 12 playoff appearances in those 12 seasons.

Torre was offered a one-year contract for $5 million dollars with incentives of $1 million each for making the playoffs, making it to the ALCS and to the World Series.

Torre flew to Tampa with general manager Brian Cashman on Thursday for a meeting with the Yankee brass where he expressed his dissatisfaction with the offer and then officially turned it down. He said no other offer was made and after a 20 minute meeting Torre was no longer the manager.

Torre said he was never asked what it would take to bring him back after he rejected the offer and there was no negotiation involved. He added that he took the offer the Yankees made “as an insult”.

He says that even though he felt there was “a person or two” in the meeting who supported him he doesn’t think that the Steinbrenner family will reverse course and bring him back like they did in the past with Billy Martin.

“I don’t anticipate it happening because if someone wanted you to manage here, I’d be managing here” said Torre.

With humor and candor the 31^st manager in Yankees history shut the door on a very impressive run not only in team history but also in baseball history by thanking his players, coaches, support staff and the fans. And what makes it all the more amazing is that is was done in this day and age of free agency and big salaries.

Torre wouldn’t mention a potential successor because he didn’t want to single any one or two people out nor does he want to jeopardize any chances they may have because he hasn’t been asked nor does he expect to be asked for his opinion.

Torre hasn’t ruled out managing again either saying as of now he is open to listen to offers. At some point he will probably manage again, it’s hard to believe no one would want the two time American League Manager of the Year and the guy with the most post season wins (76) in baseball history.

The Yankees have turned the page. It is going to be interesting to see how the players and fans react to the change.

The team has a big decision to make and replacing a guy who has done as much as Torre has with the Yankees isn’t going to be easy.

Even though he’s not playing for the Red Sox anymore, Kevin Millar is still rooting for them. He brings back the famous rally cry from 2004 before last night’s ALCS Game 5 on FOX.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=
http://youtube.com/watch?v=a84BrIfKbtw[/youtube]

And if you missed what happened last night between Josh Beckett and Kenny Lofton, here is the video of that and the second video is what the umpire said when the benches cleared.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-lbKfnkaYg[/youtube]

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to Awful Announcing for the Beckett/Lofton videos.

This Week

The New England Patriots visit their AFC East rival Miami Dolphins at Dolphins Stadium in Miami FL Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.

The Patriots are 3-0 on the road this season, 2-0 in the division and 5-0 in the AFC.  The Dolphins are 0-2 at home, 0-1 in the division and 0-4 in the AFC.    

Here are the rosters for the Patriots and Dolphins.

The Line/Prediction

As of Friday the line on the game from Yahoo Sports is Patriots -16.5. The over/under is 52.

My prediction is Patriots 42, Dolphins, 10.  Give the points and take the over. I am 6-0 against the spread and have called the over/under five out of six times in 2007.

Tickets

The Dolphins are reporting the game as a sell out but as of Thursday I have found that there are still tickets available to the game through Ticketmaster.  The best way is to search for 2 seats.

Tickets to the game, if available, may be purchased through Ticketmaster via the Dolphins website. You can check the availability here. Many times tickets are released in the last 48 hours prior to the game.

Getting To The Game

If you’re lucky enough to be going to the game in the Miami make sure you check out the links.

Here is the up to date weather forecast for the game from weather.com.

Click for stadium directions, parking and stadium information, parking map and a Dolphins Stadium seating chart.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Television

CBS is televising the game, it is a regional broadcast. The play-by-play duties will be handled by Greg Gumbel with Dan Dierdorf doing game analysis. You can check here to see if you are getting the game from CBS and look for your local CBS Station.

Radio

The Patriots Rock Radio Network broadcasts the game from flagship station WBCN-FM 104.1 in Boston. Gil Santos handles the play-by-play and former Patriot Gino Cappelletti does the color.

It all starts with Gary Tanguay, Scott Zolak and Andy Gresch and the pregame show at 10 a.m. along the network.

The post game starts after the final gun and continues for three hours.

Check this out for the low down on the Patriots Rock Radio Network and stations in your area.

If you are outside of the broadcast area of the stations on the Patriots Rock Radio Network you can purchase NFL Field Pass which allows you to listen to any NFL game live. You can also pick which teams broadcasters you want to listen to.

All NFL games are also available on Sirius Satellite Radio. The Patriots radio call is available on Channel 119, the Dolphins radio call is available on Channel 130.

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Meet the new Mr. October folks in one Josh Beckett. He has been absolutely lights out in the postseason this year for the Boston Red Sox. And because of his right arm, the Sox are still alive after last night’s beatdown of the Cleveland Indians. The bats started to come alive as Kevin Youkilis had a home run and a triple and even little Dustin Pedroia had a couple of hits as well. All I have to say is will someone tell Manny to start running a little harder. So with that being said, let’s take a look at the headlines from the Boston and Cleveland area media as well Youk on this drizzly morning in Soxtober.

Getting a lead was big [Yooooouuuuukkkkk]

Reputation takes another giant leap [Boston Globe]

C.C. still waits for big win [The Plain Dealer]

A Boston legend [Boston Herald]

Not the end of the world [Akron Beacon Journal]

Ex-Factor Doesn’t Affect Beckett [Hartford Courant]

Beckett is a big game hunter [Pro Jo]

Big boppers came up huge [Boston Globe]

Bat-drop leads to raised voices [The Plain Dealer]

Giving a fighting chance [Boston Herald]

Peralta performing like MVP [Akron Beacon Journal]

Delivering A Needed 1-2 Punch [Hartford Courant]

Undaunted, Manny speaks again [Pro Jo]

For more headlines and stories, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Hartford Courant, Providence Journal, The Plain Dealer and Akron Beacon Journal websites.

Written by Steve Hofstetter, Adam Hofstetter, Cody Marley, Ryan Murphy, Elliot Steingart, and Chris Strait

Vinny Testaverde became the oldest starting quarterback to win a game in NFL history when the Cardinal defense was repelled by the smell of Ben Gay. Testaverde is so old he can still remember when Terry Bradshaw made sense.

A Saints-Seahawks game was delayed for eight minutes when NBC’s suspended Cable Cam began falling toward the field. The collapse was so sudden that viewers thought they were watching the Mets.

Blazers first-round pick Petteri Koponen has just completed his required six-month stint in Finland’s army. The only thing more useless than Finland’s army is the Portland Trailblazers.

NBA commissioner David Stern might punish the Knicks for being found liable in a sexual harassment suit. The punishment will be playing for the Knicks.

Boxer Marco Antonio Barrera retired following his lopsided loss to Manny Pacquiao. Most fight fans were stunned, figuring he’d retired before the fight.

A Pizza Hut promotion featured Lions receiver Roy Williams delivering pies. John Kitna tried delivering a few, but they kept getting intercepted.

And Pete Rose issued a public challenge saying that he will give $100 to anyone who sees him gambling. So Rose just bet that he wouldn’t bet. Thanks for the $100, Pete. We’ll use it to pay for our next trip to the land of irony.

For more of the Sports Minute (Or So), visit minuteorso.com

What can I say about tonight’s game? Total domination by Beckett. A brillant outing by Beckett. Just what the Red Sox needed. I could definitely go with any of the above as Beckett did what he does best, pitch well in big game situations. Beckett’s 8 innings and 11 strikeouts helped key the Red Sox to a 7-1 victory. The win by Beckett and the Red Sox cuts the Indians lead to 3-2 and sends the ALCS back to Boston on Saturday night.

After not scoring first in the four games of the ALCS so far, the Red Sox struck in the 1st inning. Dustin Pedroia led off with a ground out then Kevin Youkilis took a Sabathia fastball and put into the right field seats at the Jake for a solo home run and 1-0 Red Sox lead. Sabathia then struck out David Ortiz for the second out. Manny Ramirez followed that up with a double to deep left center as he kept his hot bat going. Lowell got a good pitch to hit and took it to right field for a single. Indians right fielder Franklin Gutierrez gunned out Manny at the plate to prevent a run from scoring and it ended the top of the 1st.

Beckett struggled just a little out of the gate as Grady Sizemore led off with a double after falling behind in the count. Asdrubal Cabrera then hit a sharp single to right field but Sizemore had to hold up at third because the ball was hit so hard. Beckett got the outs he was looking for as he got Travis Hafner to ground into a double play but Sizemore ended up scoring on the play. Beckett finished off the 1st with his first strikeout off the night off the bat of Ryan Garko.

Both Beckett and Sabathia had easy 2nd innings. Sabathia hit Jason Varitek on the elbow with a pitch but that would be the only problem of the inning for him. Beckett allowed a 2-out walk, his first of the postseason, to Gutierrez. He sent Casey Blake back to the dugout as he got him to strikeout for the third out.

Pedroia, who has been struggling at the plate, led off the 3rd with a single but he was quickly retired as Sabathia got Youk to ground into a 1-6-3 double play. Big Papi then worked a 2-out free pass from Sabathia. Manny followed that with an opposite field bomb that bounced off the top of the wall in right center. Big Papi scored all the way from first and Manny being Manny thought it was a home run and he didn’t run hard at all. Terry Francona came out to argue that it was a home run but in the end the umpires got together and made the correct call. The longest single Manny has ever hit was good enough though to give the Red Sox a 2-1 lead. Sabathia rebounded to strikeout Lowell to finish the 3rd.

The Sox had another chance to score in the 4th inning but again they failed to do so in part to Coco Crisp’s inability to bunt the ball. Bobby Kielty and Varitek started the inning with singles. So with runners on first and second and nobody out, Coco was asked to bunt the runners. He was unable to do and ended up striking out. Sabathia then got Julio Lugo to ground into a 6-3 inning-ending double play.

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