The NL West Champion Los Angeles Dodgers are on a mission to travel right back to the NLCS where they left last season: defeated by the Philadelphia Phillies.  With new additions in place along with their solid core of offensive talent, LA is looking for their first World Series appearance since 1988.  For their NLDS matchup they will either face the Phillies or the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Cardinals have already clinched the NL Central Division and Philadelphia is well on their way to earn NL East Division rights with 91 wins.  Whichever team comes out on top over the other (based on record) will likely face the Colorado Rockies, who are on the verge to completely hold on to their Wild Card lead.  The other will have to travel further west to Dodger Stadium for Games 1 and 2.

The Cardinals and Dodgers last squared off at the NLDS in 2004, where St. Louis beat them out in four games and continued on to appear at the World Series. The Rockies and Phillies last NLDS meeting resulted in a sweep courtesy of Colorado. Philadelphia made last year’s NLCS against LA a short one, lasting just five games.  The National League will definitely provide some sensational competition however the matchups play out.  Don’t miss the action!

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With less than a week left in this year’s regular season, most playoff bound teams have already clinched their spots.  The New York Yankees look like they’ll be staying at the top of the league with 102 wins. Clinching the AL East Division this past weekend, they should expect to face the AL Central leading Detroit Tigers in the first round, unless the Minnesota Twins string a big set of wins together.  The Tigers are currently 84-73 and lead Minnesota by two games.

The Boston Red Sox with a Texas Rangers loss were just able to earn the AL Wild Card.  They are set to face the LA Angels of Anaheim who will finish as the AL West leaders.  The matchup will mark the fourth ALDS meeting between the two teams.  In 2004 and 2007 the Sox swept the Angels in the initial series on their way to win the World Series.  Anaheim was able to avoid the sweep in last year’s contest but the Sox still took care of business in four games.

The American League playoff picture is pretty much set in stone.  With the Yankees on a tear and Boston’s previous ALDS history against the Angels, it is very likely for another Sox/Yanks ALCS showdown in the near future.  However, if Tigers ace Justin Verlander can shut down New York in one of the first two games it could be anyone’s series.  The Angels despite years past have the upper hand on the Red Sox in 2009, winning 5 out of their nine games played.  Don’t miss out on the most exciting baseball to come all year.

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The Boston Red Sox almost pulled ahead of Toronto late in the ninth inning last night, but closer Jason Frasor had the final say and shut the door for the Blue Jays to win 8-7. The Red Sox have lost five straight but were still able to stumble across the Wild Card spot following a Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim victory over the Texas Rangers.

Second basemen Dustin Pedroia is confident heading into October despite their recent drought.  “I like our chances,” said Pedroia. “It doesn’t matter how you do it, as long as you’re in.”  Young talent Clay Buchholz didn’t show his best start from the mound yesterday, gift wrapping seven runs and five homers for the Jays in his five innings pitched.  Boston was down 8-2 until the eighth inning when the lineup decided to go on a tear to make it a run one game.

The Red Sox now have a few games to gear up for the first round of the playoffs.  Before they host the Cleveland Indians for their final regular season homestand, Tim Wakefield will get the call to start against Toronto’s ace Roy Halladay. The veteran knuckleballer is 11-4 so far this season.

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Pop-Punk group Paramore has just released their newest album “Brand New Eyes” today.  The latest project can now be heard online for free.  After a long stretch of shows with No Doubt the band has shared more tour dates to promote the album, and will be planning trips to all U.S. major cities over the next few months.  They are scheduled to arrive at the House of Blues in Boston October 19th, before heading to the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York on the 21st.

The Grammy-nominated Franklin Tennesse natives first came together in 2004.  The band consists of Hayley Williams (lead vocals), Josh Farro (lead guitar/backing vocals), Jeremy Davis (bass guitar), Zac Farro (drums), and Taylor York (rhythm guitar). Their previous 2007 album “Riot!” was certified platinum in the U.S. and gold in the UK. “Brand New Eyes” will be their third album to date.

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Miami Dolphins quarterback Chad Pennington has recently been diagnosed with a torn capsule in his throwing shoulder and will be expected to miss the rest of the season. TE Anthony Fasano spoke out on the situation, emphasizing the fact that together the team must move on. “We’re going to have to go out there with Henne, who is a lot less experienced,” said Fasano. “There is definitely going to be a learning curve for Henne. He can learn as much as he wants in a classroom, but until he’s out on the field, in-game experience he’s not going to learn.”

Chad Henne being the man who was just promoted, has only completed 17 passes in his short NFL career. The 24 year old although lacking pro experience was a strong leader in his college days at the University of Michigan. Former U of M teammate and current Dolphins teammate Jake Long believes Miami can move forward confidently with Henne taking the snaps. ”He’s poised. He’s a leader,” said Long. “When he gets his chance, he’s going to do good.” The Dolphins next game is scheduled for Sunday, October 4th against the Buffalo Bills at LandShark Stadium in Miami.

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Due to last minute back spasms, Red Sox ace pitcher Josh Beckett was scratched from the starting lineup last night against the Toronto Blue Jays which resulting in manager Terry Francona to call on youngster Michael Bowden.  After being notified that day, Bowden looked shell shocked as the Jays teed him up for seven runs over three innings to eventually win 11-5. 

“They could have told me at 7:05, and I should have been able to put forth a better effort. I feel like I let the team down,” Bowden said. “I didn’t keep the team in the game. I went out there, threw a lot of pitches and was up in the zone and got hit and set a bad tempo for the game.”

Yesterday’s game marked Bowden’s second start in a Sox Uniform. His first came in 2008 against the Chicago White Sox, where he gave up just two runs in five innings pitched.  Despite the loss the Red Sox are looking forward to tonight’s matchup.  They need just one win or one Texas Rangers loss to earn the AL Wild Card spot and advance to post-season play.  Clay Buchholz will take the hill tonight against Ricky Romero. Buchholz has really been hitting his spots lately, racking up a 4-0 record with a 1.38 ERA in his last five starts. Game time is set for 7:10 pm.

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QB Eli Manning and the New York Giants posted 24 points en route to dominating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the defense held their score and wins at zero. The Giants established a solid running game between Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs, who combined for 196 yards from 40 carries. Manning ended the game with two touchdown passes from his 161 earned yards.

Giants head coach Tom Coughlin was glad to see his RB’s take control after last week’s quiet ground game.  “We had a game in which we didn’t play very well against the run, so we knew that we would be tested and we would have to rise up and do a better job there,” said Coughlin. “We also knew we needed to rush the ball better than we had, so we did a pretty good job with that.” Tampa Bay first year coach Raheem Morris called his teams performance “completely disastrous.”  He had every right to make that statement knowing the Bucs offense created just five first downs (fewest in their franchise history).

New York is now set to square off against the Kansas City Chiefs next Sunday at 1:00 pm.  The Buccaneers will look forward to their next game on Sunday as well against the Washington Redskins, who just came off a disappointing loss to the Detroit Lions.

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Patriots QB Tom Brady was thrilled yesterday to have found a much improved running game, mostly coming from former Jacksonville Jaguars RB Fred Taylor.  The 11-year veteran was able to rush for 105 yards and scored one touchdown as the Pats went on to dominate the Atlanta Falcons 26-10 .  “You want to be balanced going into games, but some situations don’t allow for it,” said Taylor. “You want to establish that momentum and look over across the ball and see the frustration in the defensive guys’ eyes.”  The other option Brady looked to was Randy Moss, who was open for 10 catches and 116 yards.

Although New England similar to last week was not too successful in the red zone, the offense certainly came out more confident in the second half.  While Brady kept his men working, the Patriots defense stepped up and held Atlanta scoreless for the remaining two quarters.  A major focus for the D was stopping Pro-Bowl TE Tony Gonzalez. “The plan was for him to not have any catches and he had one,” said safety Brandon McGowan with a smile, “so obviously the plan failed.”

The Pats are now looking ahead to next week for their game against the Baltimore Ravens next Sunday at Gillette Stadium.  Don’t miss your chance to see the New England Patriots in action! Tickets are now available!

Yankees first basemen Mark Teixeira supplied the final dagger with an eighth inning solo shot to right as New York went on the sweep the Red Sox, clinch the AL East division, and earn their 100th win of the season.  After failing to reach the playoffs last year, the All-Star Yankees lineup is more excited than ever to be back on the winning side of things.  “Everything is clicking right now,” said winning pitcher Andy Pettitte. “When you miss out, it makes you a little more hungry to get back there.”

As New York is able to rest their starters and set up pitching rotations for the upcoming playoffs, the Red Sox still have to earn their Wild Card spot.  They are now six games up on the Texas Rangers and should be able to clinch at home against the Toronto Blue Jays, or during their final regular season series against the Cleveland Indians.  Red Sox DH David Ortiz after the game was not too pleased, but had no choice but to tip his hat to the rival Bronx Bombers. 

“I was just thinking about the game, how the game went and some situations we should have executed better and we never did, and that made the difference,” said Ortiz. “Watching the season they had last year and watching the way they played this year, they deserved to celebrate.” The Red Sox and Yankees are a potential match up for the 2009 ALCS series where they have had their fair share of showdowns.  For now Boston must move on and officially claim the Wild Card.  Josh Beckett is scheduled to take the mound tonight against Toronto’s Scott Richmond.

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The 3rd Week of 2009 NFL action had us all on the edge of our seats this Sunday.  Brett Favre pulled out some late game heroics to prove he is still a more than capable QB.  The Detroit Lions beat out the Washington Redskins to earn their first win since December of 2007.  The New England Patriots were able to redeem themselves after a dismal week 2 with a win over Matt Ryan and Atlanta Falcons.  The Colts, Broncos, Saints, Ravens, Giants, Jets, and Vikings have all posted undefeated records thus far.  Scores are listed below.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Detroit Lions 19, Washington Redskins 14 - Rookie QB Matthew Stafford notched his first NFL win and helped his squad snap their 19-game losing streak. 

Green Bay Packers 36, St. Louis Rams 17- The Packers came up with 13 points in the fourth quarter to coast past St. Louis by 19.

Minnesota Vikings 27, San Francisco 49ers 24 - Brett Favre connected with Greg Lewis for the go-ahead TD to win by 3.

New England Patriots 26, Atlanta Falcons 10 - Pats RB Fred Taylor rushed for 205 yards with a TD from his 21 carries.

Tennessee Titans 17, New York Jets 24 - The Jets scored 14 points in the first quarter as their top ranked D held Tennessee to 17 total game points.

Philadelphia Eagles 34, Kansas City Chiefs 14 - Michael Vick was productive yet quite in his debut for The Eagles. QB Kevin Kolb did the majority of the work for Philadelphia, racking up 327 yards passing with 2 TD’s.

New York Giants 24, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 0 - The G-Men were able to hold the winless Bucs to zero total points as they scored every quarter.

Baltimore Ravens 34, Cleveland Browns 3 - The Ravens jumped out scoring 20 first half points and allowed just one Browns field goal that took place in the fourth.

Jacksonville Jaguars 31, Houston Texans 24 - Jacksonville QB David Garrard threw for 214 yards from 18 completed passes.  Maurice Jones-Drew contributed with 3 TD’s from his 23 carries and 119 yards.

Seattle Seahawks 19, Chicago Bears 25 - Jay Cutler threw for 3 TD’s including the go-ahead late game score in the remaining minutes.

New Orleans Saints 27, Buffalo Bills 7 - New Orleans scored 17 fourth quarter points to Buffalo’s 7 total to win by 20.

Pittsburgh Steelers 20, Cincinnati Bengals 23 - Bengals QB Carson Palmer marched his men down field for a last minute TD to earn their second win of the season.

Denver Broncos 23, Oakland Raiders 3 - Kyle Orton kept Denver undefeated with 157 passing yards and 1 TD from 13 completed passes.

San Diego Chargers 23, Miami Dolphins 13 - The Chargers dominated Miami with 20 second half points.

Indianapolis Colts 31, Arizona Cardinals - Veteran QB Peyton Manning threw for 379 yards and 4 TD’s (3 in the second quarter).

Monday, September 28, 2009

Dallas Cowboys 21, Carolina Panthers 7 - The Panthers took the initial 7-0 lead to end the first half, but were silenced for the rest of the game as Dallas marched on to earn 21 points and claim their first W at the new Cowboy Stadium.