Boston College football is scheduled to kick off the 2009 season on Saturday, September 5th at 2:00 pm, when they host their cross-town rival Northeastern Huskies.  BC has been getting prepared through four inter-squad scrimmages for the past couple of weeks.  “This is an improvement,” said head coach Frank Spaniani. “Obviously, we have to make some (quarterback) decision. I think Dave (Shinskie) is in the mix but obviously if he can’t practice for a week, he’s out of the picture. (Justin) Tuggle has made a lot of strides. He wants to do it and he made some progress.”

Last season BC finished with a 9-5 total record.  They advanced all the way to the ACC Championship where they lost to the #26 ranked Virginia Tech.  They also competed in the Music City Bowl, but fell short 14-16 to Vanderbilt University.  The last time BC and Northeastern met for a football game was in 1999 when BC held on to win 33-22.

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Tedy Bruschi, longtime leader of the New England Patriots has recently decided to retire after 13 hard fought seasons and three Patriots Super Bowls. ” Being a Patriot my entire career is something I’m very proud of,” said Bruschi. “There is a sign when you come into this facility that says ‘Do Your Job’. I did my job for 13 years. Now my job is done. My job is done. I’m looking forward to living the rest of my life.”

Bruschi was a definite stand-out player and leader for New England, as he was one of the major components to the teams streak of success this past decade.  The last Super Bowl the Patriots and Bruschi won was in 2005 against the Philadelphia Eagles.  Ten days later he was hospitalized after experiencing numbness in his left arm, left leg and blurry vision and was diagnosed with a mild stroke.  Bruschi’s NFL career was nothing short of remarkable knowing he was able to fight back and return to the team after the extremely unfortunate occurrence.   

Quarterback Tom Brady showed very high praise for his teammate, saying “I think Tedy, it’s all those things. You can’t put Tedy Bruschi into a box. That’s one thing about Tedy. Tedy is a wonderful man, he’s a wonderful person. He’s a wonderful father and husband, and he set an example from the day that I got here on what it means to be a professional athlete and what it means to play for the New England Patriots.”

The Patriots have one last preseason game against the New York Giants before kicking off the regular season in Foxboro verses the Buffalo Bills on September 14th.

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Week 3 preseason scores are all set in stone, aside from the Houston Texans Minnesota Vikings Monday night showdown tonight at Reliant Stadium.  Teams will have one more week of preseason games before opening day, when the focus will be turned to winning and not developing.  For now players still have time to fight for their positions whether it is for starting QB or making the cut for special teams units.

Week 3 Scores

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Jacksonville Jaguars 32, Philadelphia Eagles 33 - Michael Vick made his debut in an Eagles uniform and completed four out of four passes for 19 yards, as Philadelphia managed to squeeze out a victory against the Jaguars. 

St. Louis Rams 24, Cincinnati Bengals 21 - The Bengals were able to earn a touchdown in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough for a comeback as they still fell short by three.

Miami Dolphins 10, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6 - Miami rallied in the 3rd quarter and scored a touchdown to take the lead, holding the Buccaneers to 0 second half points.

Friday, August 28, 2009

New England Patriots 27, Washington Redskins 24 - Tom Brady completed 12 out of 19 passes for 150 yards and two TD’s to help New England pull out a win against the Redskins.  Both touchdown passes went to star wide-out Randy Moss.

Green Bay Packers 44, Arizona Cardinals 37 - Green Bay scored 28 second quarter points to come out with the victory in this offensive showcase.

Saturday, August 29th, 2009

Indianapolis Colts 17, Detroit Lions 18 - The Lions edged out a win by 1 after completing the go-ahead two point conversion in the fourth.  Matt Stafford threw for 160 yards from 13 completed passes. 

New Orleans Saints 45, Oakland Raiders 7 - The Saints scored 31 points in the first half and coasted from there, surrendering just one Raiders TD in the fourth quarter.

Pittsburgh Steelers 17, Buffalo Bills 0 - The Steelers scored all 17 points in the second quarter as their defense put up a wall against the Bills offense.

Cleveland Browns 23, Tennessee Titans 17 - Cleveland put up 17 third quarter points to rally back and win by six. 

New York Jets 27, New York Giants 25 - The Jets were able to best the Giants this time around at Giants Stadium in New York.

Seattle Seahawks 14, Kansas City Chiefs 10 - Matt Hasselbeck led Seattle to victory, throwing for 216 yards and two touchdowns.

San Diego Chargers 24, Atlanta Falcons 27 - Atlanta posted 14 points in the last quarter to pull ahead by three.

Baltimore Ravens 17, Carolina Panthers 13 - Carolina rallied back with 10 points in the fourth but ran out of opportunities to find the end zone one last time.

San Francisco 49ers 20, Dallas Cowboys 13 - The 49ers out-dueled the Cowboys in Dallas with two touchdowns and a field goal in the second half.

Saturday, August 30th, 2009

Chicago Bears 27, Denver Broncos 17 - The Bears notched the win with 14 second quarter points and relied strongly on their defense from there.

Paul Byrd made his return to the mound and pitched six shutout innings as the Boston Red Sox went on to dominate the Toronto Blue Jays 7-0 yesterday Fenway Park.  Byrd was on the Sox roster at the end of 2008, but wished to spend time with his family for the first half of this season with hopes to be picked up at the All-Star break.  “I feel like my arm has appreciated the rest,” said Byrd. “My arm feels very strong. I just want to stay sharp, and whatever happens with me, happens to me. I want a World Series ring. Any way I can help this team do that, if they need me to clean toilets, I’ll go do that. I’m just excited.”

Blue Jays ace pitcher Roy Halladay struggled on the other end, giving up four runs off seven hits in six innings thrown.  Kevin Youkilis led the offensive campaign for the Sox with two hits and three RBI’s. 

Billy Wagner made his debut from the Fenway bullpen and struck out three in his eighth inning contribution.  “It was great to join the team,” said the six-time All-Star. “Sitting on the bench and wearing the uniform doesn’t put you on the team. You have to earn stripes, and this was a small little stripe to earn and get their confidence and let them see me first-hand and kind of introduce yourself.”

The Red Sox are scheduled to arrive at Tropicana Field for their next series against the Tampa Bay Rays starting tomorrow at 7:08 pm.

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The Quarterback controversy continues, as Detroit Lions coaches Steve Mariucci and Mike Martz have just announced that they will start veteran QB Daunte Culpepper for their upcoming preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts this Saturday.  “We’re going to do what’s best for our club,” said Schwartz. “We’re going to do what’s best for the guy that we drafted, not what somebody outside of the building says and not what worked best for another player. Every player is different.”  The guy they drafted is Matthew Stafford; the first overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft fresh out of the University of Georgia.

Colts franchise-player Peyton Manning threw his two cents in the other day, saying Stafford will reach full potential only through getting time on the field.  Culpepper is planned to finish up into the second quarter before Stafford takes over.  “As a competitor, I always want to play,” said Stafford. “But I’m ready to do whatever they want me to do.”

The Lions are scheduled to take on the Buffalo Bills for their last preseason game before squaring off against the New Orleans Saints at the Louisiana Superdome on Sunday, September 13th.  Their home opener will be against the Minnesota Vikings (Culpepper’s former team) the following week on September 20th.  The Vikings are currently in somewhat of a controversy themselves between quarterbacks Brett Favre and Tavaris Jackson.  Head coach Brad Childress has named Favre as the assumed starter, despite the locker rooms divided opinions in regards to what’s best for the team.

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Stand-up comedian Lewis Black is set to tear up the stage at the Wang Theatre Saturday at 8:00 pm, and we still have tickets starting at face value!!  He just published his newest book called “Me of Little Faith,” and is in the midst of his “Let Them Eat Cake” nation-wide tour. After tomorrow’s show he has scheduled tour dates in various U.S. cities including Portland (OR), Red Bank (NJ), Oakland (CA), and Las Vegas (NV).

Black has been performing stand-up comedy since 1981.  In 1990, a play that Black wrote titled “The Czar of Rock and Roll” debuted at Houston’s Alley Theater. Before each show Black would warm up the crowd with a comedy routine, gaining more confidence in his own material show by show. After a while he changed it up and began performing his own stand-up routines in television and film. Black makes regular appearances on The Daily Show aired on Comedy Central for a skit called “Back in Black.” His comedic style includes rants of mental breakdowns, politics, religion, ridiculing history and cultural trends. 

Tickets for Lewis Black are available now!

Quarterback/utility specialist Michael Vick made his debut last night in a Philadelphia Eagles uniform as they went on to barely edge out the Jacksonville Jaguars 33-32. In the short period of time he played he completed all four of his attempted short passes for nineteen yards.  The half empty Stadium in Philadelphia shared minimal protests and some fans were left wanting more, chanting “we want Vick” after he left the game.  “It’s been a long journey for me,” said Vick. “I just want to do it right this time around.”

With Vick on the roster head coach Andy Reid can certainly afford to get more creative with his offense.  Last night we saw Vick and starting QB Donovan McNabb both line up at the receiver spot at different points in the game.  Before the game that day Vick was spending his time in court, where a federal judge approved his six-year plan to repay creditors $20 million and emerge from bankruptcy.

The Eagles have one more preseason game against the New York Jets before heading to Carolina to face the Panthers for their season opener September 13th.  They will then have a three game home stand for the rest of September, hosting the New Orleans Saints, Kansas City Chiefs, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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Rookie starter Junichi Tazawa gave up nine runs in just four innings pitched and Chicago never looked back, out hitting the Boston Red Sox 9-4 yesterday at Fenway Park.  The Red Sox scored three runs in the eighth and ninth innings to bring them up from 9-2, but it just wasn’t enough.  The lead was so lopsided after seven to the point where manager Terry Francona decided to give rookie infielder Nick Green some reps on the mound.  Green pitched surprisingly very well and shut out Chicago in the final two innings.

White Sox DH Jim Thome led Chicago’s offensive production with three hits and two RBI’s.  “They came out and swung the bats well,” Kevin Youkilis said. “They put us in a position where it was going to be tough to come back. We didn’t give up, but it was just one of those games.” Jacoby Ellsbury, David Ortiz, and J.D. Drew together came up with six out of the nine Red Sox total hits.   

With the Rangers winning over the Yankees yesterday 7-2, the Sox remain at the same spot in the AL East standings but are now just 1 1/2 games up in the Wild Card.  Going into tonight they are set to welcome Josh Beckett back to the mound at Fenway against the Toronto Blue Jays at 7:10 pm.

Tickets for Boston Red Sox regular season games are still available!

The Memphis Grizzlies have officially extended an offer to free agent veteran guard Allen Iverson.  The press first caught wind of the news through Iverson’s twitter page, and it was later confirmed by GM Chris Wallace.  “We’re heading into the home stretch before the season, and we have had interest in Allen all summer,” Wallace said. “We’ve been in touch on a fairly consistent basis and had dialogue with his agent, Leon Rose, since the beginning of free agency.”

Although the Grizzlies have already formulated a set deal for the 10-time All-Star, there are still other teams in the picture.  Charlotte Bobcats head coach Larry Brown has been speaking with Iverson about teaming up again.  The Miami Heat and LA Clippers have also had conversations with him but have a more difficult route in signing the free agent with the luxury tax in place.  The deal from Memphis will likely be the biggest contract Iverson will see, knowing the franchise is around $3.5 million under the salary cap going into this season.

The former Piston was also a member of the Denver Nuggets and Philadelphia 76ers earlier in his career.  Last season between Denver and Detroit he only played 57 games, averaging a career-low 17.5 points per game.

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The Boston Red Sox have recently let go of right-handed pitcher Brad Penny after their thrilling 3-2 victory last night against the Chicago White Sox.  With Wakefield back, the front office had no choice but to release Penny after picking up former Mets reliever Billy Wagner.  Penny was acquired by the Sox in January for $5 million.  During his time in a Boston uniform he held a 5.61 ERA with a 7-8 record.

The next step for Penny is finding another team to play for in playoff contention.  He will be placed on release waivers today and would like to be picked up and continue his season with another club by August 31st.  “I enjoyed playing with all of the guys. I played for a great manager on a great team…I wish things had worked out better but that happens,” said Penny after reflecting on the matter. “All in all I had a great time here. My shoulder is healthy and I’m glad I came here. It was a blessing.”

The Red Sox are scheduled to square off against the Chicago White Sox once more before hosting the Toronto Blue Jays for a three-game series.

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