All-Star centerfielder Shane Victorino has signed a deal with the Philadelphia Phillies that will keep him with the team through the 2012 season. A major part of the Phillies World Series Championship in 2008 and appearance in 2009, the All-Star centerfielder signed a three year $22 million contract. Victorino racked up two Golden Glove awards in a row for the Phils; while carrying a .292 batting average, .355 obp, hitting at least ten home runs, and providing consistent steals. Originally asking for $5.8 million at arbitration, Victorino’s deal will get him an average of $7.3 million per year – similar to a deal the Phillies offered to pitcher Joe Blanton. 2010 Philadelphia Phillies tickets are available now, including many discount games starting at or under face value!

New York Yankees’ veteran pitcher Andy Pettitte has announced his intentions to pitch in 2010. The free agent according to Buster Olney would like to pitch for the Yankees in his 16th MLB season.  Pettitte went 14-8 for the Yankees in 2009 and was 4-0 in the postseason leading to their 27th World Series Championship.  There is no early word on a potential contract with the Yankees but it is likely the two sides will come to some deal to bring Andy back. Update: Pettitte has reportedly turned down the Yankees’ first offer of $10 million. The 2010 Yankees schedule is available and Yankees tickets are available for many games now.

On December 20, 2009 Boston’s own New Kids on the Block will be playing a show at the Boston House of Blues with all net ticket proceeds benefitting Toys for Tots. The band is also asking that attendees bring one unwrapped, non-violent toy to the concert for the 2009 Toys for Tots drive.Ace Ticket, a past contributor to the Toys For Tots drive (Ace has donated thousands of toys in past years), will mirror this effort by the New Kids, donating all of its net ticket profits for the 12/20 NKOTB show to Toys for Tots. Ace Ticket has set up some auctions on Ebay for this show. You can view them here: http://stores.ebay.com/1800MYSEATS.  All profits from the auction will go towards the charitable effort. If you wish you can also help out the cause when you order NKOTB tickets online or by phone from AceTicket.com.”I think that NKOTB made a classy move when they set up this show to benefit the local Toys for Tots chapter. Donnie and the guys never did forget their hometown and we’re proud to call them Bostonians”, said Ace Ticket CEO, Jim Holzman.

Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said that the team will be taking it slow with Kevin Garnett’s recovery from knee surgery.  “Kevin looks good, he’s in here working out every day. He’s doing his training, but he’s not playing full-court basketball yet,” said Ainge. “He’s anxious and he has a ton of energy, but I think he gets it…He’s on the program with the staff.” Garnett will be expected to miss the first portion of the season and will take it day to day from there.  With the recent acquisition of swingman Marquis Daniels in addition to the slew of moves Ainge has made this off-season, the Celtics will most definitely be competitive heading into their 2009-2010 campaign.  Boston is scheduled to introduce the new roster to the TD Banknorth Garden during their preseason match up against the New York Knicks October 9th. Boston Celtics tickets are now available!

Longtime Knuckleballer Tim Wakefield threw five solid innings for Boston, letting up four runs with seven walks and two strike outs in the heavy rain.  The Kansas City Royals waited until the later innings to really get their offense going, scoring six runs in the sixth and one in the seventh to pull ahead 12-9.  In less than ideal weather conditions, the Sox and Royals combine for a total of 23 hits.  Billy Butler, Mike Jacobs, Miguel Olivo, and Josh Anderson all contributed multiple hits for Kansas City.  Jason Bay led Boston’s offense with two hits including a homer in the third off the left-handed Lenny DiNardo. Even though the Red Sox couldn’t come out with the win it was good to see Wakefield back in action.  Players and coaches alike were thrilled to see him on the mound once again last night. “Gutsy performance again,” said Bay. “Obviously, you can tell Wake is not 100 percent out there, no question. He still wants to go out there and help out as much as he can. Given the circumstances and the runs we put up, I think that he did an admirable job and did enough to warrant a win.” Boston Red Sox tickets are available now!

This week certainly backed the point that this is anyone’s season.  The AFC East seems to be stronger than ever knowing the New York Jets upset the New England Patriots, and the Buffalo Bills dominated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after last week’s heartbreaking loss.  The Miami Dolphins were fighting head to head with the Colts on Monday night, that is until Peyton Manning led his offense for 14 fourth quarter points. The biggest surprise so far has been the red hot San Francisco 49ers; starting the year off 2-0 after their win over the Seattle Seahawks.  Check for all NFL scores and updates below. Sunday, September 20, 2009 Atlanta Falcons 28, Carolina Panthers 20 – Falcons QB Matt Ryan threw for 220 yards and 3 TD’s to lead his squad to outscore Carolina. Minnesota Vikings 27, Detroit Lions 13 – Vikings stand-out RB Adrian Peterson ran for 92 yards with a TD from 15 carries. Cincinnati Bengals 31, Green Bay Packers 24 – Chad Ochocino was able to collect 91 yards, 1 TD, and 1 Lambeau Leap at Green Bay. Houston Texans 34, Tennessee Titans 31 – Houston’s Kris Brown kicked 2 through the uprights, including the go-ahead field goal in the fourth to stun the Titans. Kansas City Chiefs 10, Oakland Raiders 13 - The Oakland Raiders proved they can’t be beat too easily this season after competing last week and spoiling Kansas City QB Matt Cassel’s debut on Sunday. New England Patriots 9, New York Jets 16 – Rookie QB Mark Sanchez in his first game at home carried the Jets offensively with 163 yards and a passing touchdown. New Orleans Saints 48, Philadelphia Eagles 22 – Saints QB Drew Brees has been on fire to start the season, this week throwing for 311 yards and 3 TD’s. Washington Redskins 9, St. Louis Rams 7 – The Redskins scored the last points of the game with a field goal in the third quarter to win over the Rams in this defensive battle. Jacksonville Jaguars 17, Arizona Cardinals 31 - Arizona did most of their work in the first half, racking up 24 points before heading into the locker room. San Francisco 49ers 23, Seattle Seahawks 10 – Frank Gore led the charge in this upset with 207 yards from 16 carries with 2 TD’s. Buffalo Bills 33, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20 – Buffalo scored 13 points in the final quarter to earn their first win of the season. Chicago Bears 17, Pittsburg Steelers 14 – The Bears looked to QB Jay Cutler to lead them pass the defending champs, who threw for 2 TD’s and 236 yards. Baltimore Ravens 31, San Diego Chargers 26 – Both teams were held to just a field goal in the fourth quarter, allowing Baltimore to keep their four point lead when the final horn sounded. Denver Broncos 27, Cleveland Browns 6 – The Broncos sealed the deal with 14 fourth quarter points to coast by Cleveland. New York Giants 31, Dallas Cowboys 31 – Giants franchise QB Eli Manning came through for New York with 330 yards and 2 TD’s thrown. Monday, September 21, 2009 Indianapolis Colts 27, Miami Dolphins 23 – Peyton Manning just needed the ball for under 15 minutes to help post 27 total Indianapolis Colts points last night at LandShark Stadium.

All was according to plan for Josh Beckett until the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs, when he threw a low strike three that just squeaked through catcher Jason Varitek’s legs for the Angels to tie it up 3-3.  LA then came up with the go ahead run in the ninth, putting a stop to Boston’s win streak at seven games.  Beckett pitched through eight innings and let up three runs off seven hits.  “They’re a good team, and they know how to win games,” said Beckett. “They end up scoring a run, and you’re not even quite sure how it happened. That’s what good teams do. They find ways to play for one run in an inning. That’s a good team.” The Red Sox will now travel to Baltimore to face the Orioles for a three game weekend series starting tonight at 7:05.  They are then set to square off against the Kansas City Royals before meeting up with the New York Yankees in the Bronx. Red Sox tickets are still available with us at AceTicket.com!

On January 8th (one week after the NHL Winter Classic at Fenway), Hockey East teams will be showcasing their skills outdoors for two games at 4:00 pm and 7:30 pm.  Organizers have recently decided to keep the frozen trend alive in college hockey, changing the name from Hockey East at Fenway to Frozen Fenway.  Sun Life Financial has just been announced as the official sponsor. The first game of the double header will feature the best of women’s college hockey with Northeastern University squaring off against UNH.  This will surely set the stage for the premier game between the Boston University Terriers and Boston College Eagles men’s programs. The men’s game will mark the 248th contest between the two teams.  The Eagles are defending Beanpot champions from 2008, and the Terriers from 2009.  There is always a lot on the line when the two programs play each other.  Pride is the most important factor heading into the event for these cross-town rivals. Frozen Fenway tickets are now available right here at AceTicket.com!

American New Wave band Devo has formed a worldwide partnership with their original label; Warner Bros. Records.  Elyse Rogers, Senior Vice President of Touring and Artist Development at WBR is thrilled to have the company team up with Devo.  “Devo have been called everything from geniuses to deviants and have always been ahead of their time. They are brilliant multi-media innovators who express themselves through far more than just recorded music,” said Rogers. “Their videos, live shows, merchandise, and visual attack are as big a part of their art as the music is. We could not be more excited to continue to break new artistic ground with them while working to redefine the evolving music-industry paradigm.” Best known for their 1980 hit single “Whip It,” Devo was one of the primarily contributors to development of the music video.  They used video all the way back in 1973 while performing at Kent State University, where they used an early black and white portable system to capture the footage.  Along with experimenting ways to promote their music, Devo was also among the first bands to start using radio microphones and wireless guitar amps on stage during live performances. 38 years into making music together, Devo is still performing better than ever.  To celebrate their new deal with Warner Bros. Records the band will be touring starting this November.  They will open up at the Henry Fonda Theater in Los Angeles, California for two shows on November 3rd and 4th.  They are also scheduled to travel to other major U.S. cities including San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Washington DC, and New York City. Devo tickets are now available!

The 2010 highly anticipated Red Sox Yankees opening series at Fenway Park starting April 5th is now subject to change.  The Boston Red Sox have put the word out that they would prefer not to host the first series of the year.  Major League Baseball has given the two rivals the option of flip-flopping dates.  If the option becomes set in stone, the Yankees would host the initial games with the Red Sox taking a Bronx mid-season showdown to Fenway.  The Red Sox organization is mostly worried about the field getting fixed up in time due to the NHL Winter Classic at Fenway, which is scheduled for New Year’s Day.  New York has not been quick to budge on the new proposal, saying they are concerned about in-clement weather.  The Red Sox have rejected to pay any kind of fee to switch, but would gladly return the favor in other ways down the road (earlier start for a getaway game, similar accommodations). The Red Sox and Yankees will meet for two three-game series in their last ten games. With this said, the AL East main rivalry should be seeing most of each other in April and September.  The end of season series’ should make for some thrilling games, but players are not too pleased when thinking about the start of 2010. “I don’t know why we are open up north anyway,” said Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter. “It makes more sense to open on the West Coast or somewhere warm.” CC Sabathia exchanged a few laughs with reporters saying, “It’ll be cold.  We know that for sure.”