Tampa Bay’s Evan Longoria crushed a two run shot off of Manny Delcarmen to add some insurance in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Rays went on to overpower the Boston Red Sox 8-5.  Carl Crawford and Pat Burrell also knocked home runs for the Rays early on against Josh Beckett, who gave up five runs in just six innings pitched. Although Beckett’s numbers didn’t show the best results, Delcarmen was the one who walked away with the loss after his dismal showing in the eighth.  From there the Tampa Bay bullpen took care of business, shutting out Boston in the final inning. “It was a good game,” said Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia. “They scored in the end. That’s usually how it’s been here for us the last a lot of games. We obviously played hard so we’ll come out tomorrow and try to win the series.”  The young Clay Buchholz will get the start for Boston tonight against the 7-6 David Price.  Game time is scheduled for 7:08 pm at Tropicana Field. Get your Boston Red Sox tickets right here at AceTicket.com!

The Boston Red Sox played consistent all around last night to notch the 8-4 win against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.  Jonathon Papelbon earned his first career six-out save with help from Jacoby Ellsbury, who made a spectacular diving catch in the eighth inning with the bases loaded.  The game marked Papelbon’s 33rd save in his last 36 attempts.  Newly acquired Billy Wagner was more than impressed with the clutch save, saying “I told him I’m glad it’s him and not me. That two-inning thing, that’s for young people, not for me,” said Wagner…”That was a lot of fun to watch. I know the nerves and what’s going on out there. One bad pitch and you look like the goat. But man, he was great tonight.” Red Sox starter John Lester did his job from the mound as well, letting up just two runs on seven hits in six innings with nine K’s.  Boston’s line up posted their runs with the big bats last night; the first homer coming from J.D. Drew in the 4th inning, followed by Jason Bay in the fifth and Youkilis later in the eighth. The Sox remain 6 1/2 games behind the New York Yankees in the AL East standings, while staying ahead of the Rangers in the Wild Card race by 3 1/2 games.  Tampa Bay with the loss has been pushed to six games behind Boston.  “The biggest thing I liked about it was we got a win here – we got a win on the road in Tampa Bay,” said Ellsbury. “It just puts them back another game. Any time you play them head-to-head, those are big games with a month left in the season. It’s nice to come in here and get that first one.” The 14-5 Josh Beckett will get his start tonight against the Rays for game two of this regular season showdown. Tickets for Boston Red Sox regular season games are still available with us at AceTicket.com!

The New England Patriots are preparing to host the New York Giants this Thursday, September 3rd at 7:30 pm.  So far the Pats have played well early on with a 2-1 preseason record.  The Tom Brady/Randy Moss combination seems to be back in full effect along with a strong defensive nucleus.  This game will mark the fifth consecutive year that the Patriots have squared off against New York before the regular season.  The Giants hold a 1-2 preseason record that includes their thrilling 27-24 victory over the Washington Redskins.  It is questionable whether certain starters will get the call to play, knowing official games start in just a week.  After Brady was tackled and fell awkwardly on his shoulder against the Washington Redskins, there has been speculation about how healthy he really is.  “Look, we played a physical game against a very physical team…Short-handed game, a lot of guys with bumps and bruises…a lot of guys who played in the game would fall into that category,” said head coach Bill Belichick. “That’s pretty normal after a game like that.” After Thursday the Pats will look to kick off the regular season in Gillette Stadium verses the Buffalo Bills on September 14th. New England Patriots tickets are now available!

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. Boston College Eagles and Northeastern University Huskies tickets are now available with us at AceTicket.com!

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. Boston Red Sox tickets are now available!

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!

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!

David Ortiz knocked two home runs last night at Fenway Park, including a walk-off shot around the Pesky Pole to give the Red Sox the 3-2 win over the Chicago White Sox.  “You’re getting late into August right now, and it’s good to have big hits like that, especially from him,” said All-Star Tim Wakefield, who made his return from the DL yesterday.  “We were able to scrap together enough runs to get a win and hopefully we can carry that momentum into tomorrow and sweep this series.” All of Boston’s runs last night were produced by solo homers; two from Ortiz and one in the sixth inning from Alex Gonzalez.  Wakefield was outstanding his first game pack, letting up just one run in seven innings pitched.  His outing certainly served as a sigh of relief for the Red Sox starting rotation as they head into the last stretch of the regular season.  “I don’t know how he did it,” said manager Terry Francona, “but he was fantastic. That was more than you could possibly expect. He pounded the strike zone. That was unbelievable.” Boston remains six games behind the New York Yankees in the AL East, but have moved up in the Wild Card rankings with help from the Yankees themselves after they shattered the Texas Rangers 9-2.  The Sox will wrap up the Chicago series tonight at 7:10 pm before hosting the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday. Boston Red Sox tickets are now available! 

Jacoby Ellsbury came up with three hits to go along with his franchise-record 55th stolen base last night as the Boston Red Sox went on to rally past the Chicago White Sox 6-3. “It’s pretty exciting to think about, with all the great Red Sox players that have played before me,” said Ellsbury. “The big thing with this club is, if you steal you have to succeed at a high rate. As long as they trust you to run, you’d better steal at a high rate.” Boston and Chicago were tied up until the bottom of the eighth inning when Jason Bay homered to left, followed by a pair of hits from Victor Martinez and Ellsbury.  From there Jonathon Papelbon closed the game up in usual fashion, notching his 30th save of the season.  Papelbon, who voiced to the press earlier that the bullpen didn’t need any changes is now excited to work with set-up man Billy Wagner.  Wagner was just recently traded to the Sox for two minor league prospects to be named.  The longtime closer is coming back from reconstructive surgery on his left elbow.  He hopes to be closing again somewhere next season, but for now he has chosen to add depth to the Sox set up team for Papelbon.  “I think the biggest thing is he’s going to bring some competitiveness to the ballclub, not just to the ballclub, but to the bullpen,” Papelbon said. “Hopefully, he will help us in that stretch run towards a championship. I know the only reason he’s coming over here is to win a championship, and that’s something everybody’s on board with.” Boston will host the White Sox again tonight at 7:10 pm.  Red Sox veteran knuckleballer Tim Wakefield is set to make his return on the mound after sitting on the DL with lower back issues.  Boston Red Sox tickets are now available!