Where to Start?

There isn't enough room in my head for the events of this past week. The World Series, BC v. Virginia Tech, Bruschi's return, Theo's contract issues.

Starting in order of importance...

The Second Team in the Second City is the last team standing or the first in line at the end of a second tier post-season. Think I used enough number or place references in that sentence?

Thank you Chicago, I will take my plate of crow and have it warmed please. At the beginning of the playoffs I said that the White Sox didn't particularly scare me in the ALDS against the Red Sox. In the AlCS I thought that the Angels would have the advantage due to their experience and their "superior" offense. In the World Series I didn't give a damn because the best team in baseball and my pick at the beginning of the playoffs, St. Louis, was out, and Astros and White Sox fans only show up in the playoffs.

I was wrong. St. Louis was clearly the best team, but they were not the best team for 3 weeks in October which is all that matters. Give the White Sox credit, they weren't necessarily able to create their own opportunities but when their opponent or the umpires gave them a chance they took advantage. Which is much more than you can say about the Red Sox, Angels, or Astros. In the World Series Houston was something like 0 for their last 29 with runners in scoring position, in the ALDS the Red Sox left the bases loaded at least half a dozen times, and the Angels made enough mistakes in games 2 and 3 of the ALCS to deserve to lose. The White Sox made the plays and no one else did. I stand by my statement that had any of those 3 teams played well and the umpiring had been fair things would have been different, but you can't tell White Sox fans that, they're out at their team's parade right now. Congratulations.

So what's next for baseball? Will the Cubs continue the parade of "curse" breaking or will they persist onward as the only team mythically doomed to failure. If we are sitting here talking about a Cubs championship next year I'll be shocked, but I would have said the same thing about the White Sox last year. Of course that would be entirely too much love for the city of Chicago and frankly the east coast has the market cornered on excessive arrogance due to success. We want to be the only snobs on the block thank you.

As a season this was not a banner year for baseball. A team won a division with a record just 2 games over .500.

Barry Bonds missed almost the entire year and possibly forfeited a chance to catch Hank Aaron by doing do.

Raphael Palmeiro created more negative water cooler gossip than Bill Clinton's cigar, and steriods marred the entire landscape of the season.

Jason Giambi was given the Comeback Player of the Year award, which is a travesty, coming back from cheating should not be rewarded.

The Yankees stunk for the first half of the season, which while good for Sox fans, is bad for baseball. Then they were able to back into the playoffs as the Red Sox failed to close the deal which enrages all the pundits screaming for more parody and salary restrictions.

The Indians made one of the epic playoff charges of all time, but then choked nearly as bad as the Yankees in the '04 ALCS by getting swept in a crucial 3 game set by a White Sox team with nothing to play for, destroying what was a great story.

The Cardinals once again proved that a roster just loaded with talent won't win you games in October, robbing fans of a chance to see the scariest hitter in the league take a second crack at the World Series.

The Braves won the most insignificant 14th consecutive division title in the history of sports and then predictably lost in the NLDS.

The playoffs lost luster as no major rivalries were revisited and then ended in an extremely dull World Series. For the Series the White Sox scored just 6 more runs than the Astros, the second smallest margin in a series sweep but the games were low scoring and the fans in both cities lack that rabid edge you see in LA, New York, Boston, or the other side of Chicago. Even Joe Buck and Tim McCarver seemed bored with the proceedings, maybe because in the past 2 years there have been the minimum 8 World Series games played.

And finally, it's hard for me to say this but the Red Sox championship of last season cast a shadow over the entire year. It started out as endearing and fun and became an annoyance for the rest of the country by week 2. By the end no one wanted to hear about it anymore and anti-New England sentiment raged and took attention away from legitimate stories. All in all, not a great year for baseball.

Now on to BC v. Virginia Tech. I want to highlight two plays from the game last night. First, it's third down and a mile in the third quarter, Porter drops back to pass (5 words I NEVER want to hear again). There is time, but everyone is covered. The rush gets through on the left side, but Porter decides to roll that way, takes 2 steps, does an Ashlee Simpson on SNL "Holy Shit my lip synching CD is playing on national TV" dance step / turn around, rolls 3 steps in the other direction and throws his most accurate pass of the night... Right into the hands of his ineligible left tackle who is so shocked that he catches the ball and literally doesn't move before being half-heartedly hauled down by two V-Tech defenders who were aware of what happened.

Second play, it's 3rd and a mile again, this time in the 4th quarter. Porter drops back to pass, V-Tech's left defensive end just absolutely torches the BC tight end assigned to block him and sacks Porter halfway through his 5 step drop. What made this play hilarious was the replay, showing the defensive end go around the tight end so quickly that the only contact made was a push in the back of the d-end TOWARDS the quarterback. Then realizing that he was beaten the tight end decides not to pursue the man that is going to decapitate his quarterback, rather he decides to turn back around and put his hands up in a blocking position as if he didn't see the man go right by him and wasn't aware that the he had just killed Porter. I want to be in the film session when this play comes up and they ask the tight end about it.

Coach: So you saw the d-end coming right?
Tight end: Ahh, yeah coach.
Coach: But you didn't block him?
Tight end: Ahh, no coach.
Coach: So then, after you saw him go by you, you pretended that you hadn't seen him at all?
Tight end: Ahh, yeah coach, I turned around to block in case a safety was blitzing.
Coach: A safety? But not the d-end that had just run by you! Are you aware son, that by the time you turned back around Porter was already on his back?
Tight end: Ahh, no coach, you see I was facing the other way so I didn't really see it...
Coach: Get the fuck out of here.

That just about sums it up. They couldn't move the ball when they had it. They couldn't stop Virginia Tech on defense and no one on the field looked like they had any business playing against Marcus Vick. And they got out coached. It was a statement game for both teams. V-Tech said they belong in the top 3, BC said that they belong against the Clemson's and the Wake Forests of the world. Sorry Eagle fans, they're just not that good.

Topic number 3: Tedy Bruschi's imminent return to the Patriots. I wrote a post about this back before football season started and I used two voices, the crazy Pats fan who wants Bruschi back at all costs and the sympathetic person who realizes that a stroke is not something to fool around with. Both voices are still relevant. If he's ready to come back I will welcome his contributions as much as the next guy, but I can't help but think that if the Pats were 6-0 right now that he wouldn't be out there. I hope it's the right thing to do but I'm just not sure. Also, even if he is 100% he will not be able to make an immediate impact with only 10 days of practice. He always has big play potential but chances are he will not change their ability to stop another team on a down by down basis. For example, if he were playing against San Diego, I can't see the outcome being much different. The Pats need a few saviors, not just one, but if he can intercept Manning in week 9 and run it in for a touchdown I'll buy my first ever Pats jersey with Burschi on the back.

Finally, an announcement is expected sometime today about the fate of Sox general manager Theo Epstein. The news on Boston sports radio is that it's basically a done deal that he's coming back for 3 years for somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.5 million. I hope so. There has been some griping that Brian Cashman and other big name GM's (Atlanta's, whose name I can't remember) who make somewhere between 1.5 and 2 million per year deserve a higher salary than Theo because of their experience etc. I think that's ridiculous. None of those guys, Billy Beane included have had to deal with 86 years of hurt feelings and negativity. None of them have had the guts to make a deal trading away the face of their franchise in an effort to make the team as a whole better. And most importantly, in the 3 years that Theo has been in charge none of them have won a World Series, vanquishing 86 years of demons. He has. He deserves one contract as a reward for bringing redemption to everyone's grandfathers who died without seeing a banner. Pay the man.

Happy Halloween kids.