KingPK

So Indy wasted their last timeout before the 2 minute warning, leaving them with no timeout to set up the field goal. Smart Tony, smart.

FUMBLE! James fucks up again. All those yards aren't going to matter if you fumble twice in the red zone.

Branch getting forearmed in the face after a play earlier and no call just pissed me the fuck off. How do you stand right there and NOT throw the flag? I think the rush D is going to be a major thing to work on this week for the Pats, and they should have a good chance to work on it against Arizona next week. If the Colts actually had a D, they would probably be ahead right now.

This game is pretty entertaining but yeah, I don't want the D to be handcuffed to allow the offense to be opened up. That just isn't fair. A whole bunch of these calls are just rinky-dink crap.

Quick betting proposition: Which will be higher, the number of INTs Peyton Manning throws or the number of promos for The Benefactor? Prediction: Patriots 28 Colts 19

Ah, nothing says "New NFL Season" than Destiny's Child and George "New Engleand" Lopez, eh? Personally, I would have liked to see Drew Carey hosting this thing.

Well A) it's the Devil Rays, B) The Sox just swept both Oakland and Anaheim (not an easy feat) and C) It will definitely matter if the Red Sox can take 4, 5, or all 6 of those head-to-head meetings.

Check it out If you want to give your own answers, or take any of us to task, this is the thread to do it.

Methinks AS won't be naming his first female child Frances.

And the Sox win again, keeping the gap at 2 1/2. The Sox rely on the HR ball a lot themselves, but it does seem that, since the Nomar trade, they're manufacturing more runs. Hey Al, there's a topic for a column: how the Red Sox have altered their game since trading Nomar (better defense, using a bit more "small ball").

Damn. Hope almost everyone showed, or I would have brought a sleeping bag with me. We went 16 rounds, but almost everyone showed up, with only one "draft by phone" (and the Commish had the foresight to call the guy a few picks before his turn to update him), and were pretty well prepared, so we clocked in at around 2 hours. We even got distracted by a Pats-Colts game (I think from '99) on NFL Network towards the end.

Got your trash throwin' arm all warmed up? I also question why they walked Manny to get to Ortiz. Yeah, they say "well, Ortiz doesn't hit lefties as well", but it seems like he's hitting well against both this year. EDIT: Well, according to the stats, he's only batting .248 against lefties while batting .329 against righties. Just to get AS going again: they weren't going to just forefit the game. When was the last time that happened? Boo hoo, they couldn't get there in time. Make it up later on.

Well geez, you'd think there would be full scale riots at Fenway after each loss then (no tailgating, but with all the bars surrounding the place, people are half-cocked when they get into the place already). And it looks like Damon is heading for the DL. They'll miss his bat, but I think Roberts can make up for his speed and defense until he comes back.

What about all the A's fans leaving after Ortiz clears the bases? And the Raiders fans warming up for the season by throwing crap onto the field. What's with all the rage in Oakland? I thought people were supposed to be mellow out West?

I had my first money league draft tonight, sharing a team with my sister's fiancee. 12 teams, we had the 9th pick. QBs: Aaron Brooks, Marc Bulger, Joey Harrington RBs: Jamal Lewis, Kevin Barlow, Travis Minor, Stephen Jackson WRs: Darrell Jackson, Charles Rogers, Rod Smith, Eddie Kennison TEs: Randy McMichael, Ben Watson K: Matt Stover, John Kasay DEF: Denver We gotta drop one of these guys by Thursday. Suggestions?

All-Pro. I've played a few more games, and I think I'm going to stick with em'. The stats are very realistic.

I've been looking for some good sliders today, and I found some good ones on the ESPN Videogames message board. They work pretty well, but you can tweak them to your liking. (Note: The numbers represent the number of "steps" to the right you go on the slider. 0 = all the way to the left, and 40 = all the way to the right. The first number is the human slider, the second after the / is the CPU silder. I have Performance EQ off, by the way.) Blocking: 16/40 Passing: 0/35 Running: 16/40 Catching: 20/20 Coverage: 20/24 Pursuit: 8/16 Tackling: 8/8 Kicking: 0/0 Fatigue: 20/20 Injury: 20 Fumbles: 24 Interceptions: 0 I did a few adjustments (knocking the CPU running and blocking down a tiny bit while putting up the human passing a tad), and it does make the game more realistic. I didn't get a ton of interceptions, and there were actually a few fumbles. The CPU also were able to break some good runs and long pass plays against me. And just a tip: if you're one to quickly go from play to play and don't use any of the playclock, put the fatigue way up, otherwise you're going to tire out your players and get em' injured. I usually don't call a play until the :25 mark and on D I wait until the CPU calls their play, so the setting above is very good.

If you're getting Smith, I'd take it. I put him above Calico, and the Ds are pretty even (actually I might put TB over CAR, since TB has the better secondary, IMO), so it would be a very good deal for you.

Well, I don't think Boston will go undefeated the rest of the way. Those last 6 meetings are key. If they can hold the Sox off until then and take 4, 5, or all 6 meetings, that will probably give them a good cushion. Punching clubhouse walls is NOT the way to handle this. I remember last year about this time the Sox cut the lead to 1 1/2, but the Yankees held them off and won the division by 5 or 6 (I think). Kevin Brown breaking his hand just screwed over their already shaky rotation even more. EDIT: Looking at the stats, the Twins' team ERA is actually .05 lower than Boston's (4.01 to 4.06), so I take back my comments about the Twins having no one behind Santana. But the Sox do have more playoff experience.

But Pedro pitched another strong game tonight, AND it looks like Derek Lowe is finally settling down, AND Curt Schilling is there, AND Wakefield was almost the ALCS MVP (he's been kind of shaky this year). After Santana, who do the Twins have? And who knows if Santana will be as effective on 3-4 days rest (which is what they will probably do with him if they fall behind)?

Turn around and walk away, Mike. Logic, Yankees, and Anglesault are a combustible combination, and I don't want you losing a limb a month into your tenure here.

I must have missed it (DAMNIT!!!), but I thought I did notice a bit of commotion behind the plate (people standing, and I think I saw a security guard). That must have been the reason. If there is a Bucky Dent, it would probably be Pokey Reese. Guy not known for his bat that hasn't really been around since the All-Star break. Plus, their names sound so similar (Bucky Fucking Dent becomes Pokey Fucking Reese). If anyone screws up, it will be Dale Sveum (the 3rd base coach). I can see him waving the World Series game 7 tying run home and having it get gunned down by 10 feet.

Ayrgh, this is the second time I forgot to start Pedro in my fantasy team. And of course, he's throwing another gem.

Maybe because they'll throw back the "Well, why did you vote to authorize force against Iraq" thing at him?

And he scheduled the speech for midnight. Who the hell schedules a major political speech (if he wants to rebut Bush, then I'd call it major) for MIDNIGHT? Would have waiting 18 hours killed the guy or something? I'm sorry, but this guy is bringing it upon himself by not just saying "screw Vietnam, it was 30 years ago, let's talk about the here and now" right from the start.