An odd thing happened

Well, the week of Thanksgiving 2008 is upon us and a few things have happened since I last wrote.
1. The Red Sox didn't make the Series
2. The Celtics picked right up where they left off in June
3. The Bruins are in first place
4. Boston College is on the verge of going to the ACC championship for the second year in a row
5. The Patriots are in the playoff hunt right now but really need to win out.
6. Texas Tech teased us all, but the Big 12 is the league to beat this year.
7. George Mason is off to a 3-1 start (can't believe they lost to Howard).
8. Barack Obama, president-elect, talked about having a division 1 playoff system.
9. Dustin Pedroia won the silver slugger award, golden glove award, and the MVP award.
10. The Redskins have won 7 games.

Well, that's more than a few things but I'll delve into a few of them here.

The Red Sox losing like they did to Tampa was extremely disappointing. Jason Varitek, though great with pitchers, had one hit the entire series. Lester pitched a whale of a game and still lost. At least Philadelphia won, can't stand those unintelligent Ray's fans with cowbells.

I'm impressed by the Celtics not letting down after winning the championship. The three amigos are fun to watch but their offense still confuses me. Is it just two in and outs and a jumper? No, it's a drive and kick, no wait it's a clear out, no, was that a wheel?

How the Bruins are kicking butt astonishes me - I know they have a lot of raw talent, but really? The fact that they spoiled "Patrick Roy Night" in Montreal makes me all giddy inside.

Boston College is making a late season run and their come from behind win over Wake on Saturday was nothing short of surprising. Combined with the fact that Maryland got smoked, repeat, SMOKED Saturday BC looks like a less flashy team that played in the ACC championship last year.

The Patriots are a good team, in need of a better defense. How could they have let Favre have that much time in OT to fling the ball around? The smackdown the Patriots gave Miami yesterday while giving up 28 points shows the offense can go, but the defense really needs a lot of help.

I see a good CAA season again for Mason, and hopefully the new mascot will do okay (I prefer Gunston though, poor animal). Laranaga is a hoot, met him once when I was in grad school at GMU and he couldn't have been nicer to me.

Why oh why do folks HAVE TO HAVE a college football playoff? WHY? Why does it matter so much? Who cares about the controversy? That's what makes Division 1 football that much more interesting. If it was a question of a playoff then you'd see a lot less teams playing in December and January, a lot less. And that's not good for college football. Bowl games are great and they have a grand tradition that goes beyond what some newly elected personage thinks should happen. He (Obama) went to Ivy league schools (who used to play in bowl games a long time ago btw) so his opinion on this is just like the rest of the nonsense that comes with sports opinions.

The fact that a 5-5 guy can win the MVP award should give heartening hope to those who toil in the world under six feet. Pedroia was fun to watch this year, really fun, and he and Youkilis really made the Red Sox go.

The Redskins (originally a Boston team who used to play at Fenway park) are curiously winning. Their new coach has become quite a popular guy since beating the Cowboys earlier in the season. If the Skins can somehow overtake the Giants next Sunday, things here are going to get really silly. I grudging like the Redskins, but the fans are the silliest people I've ever met, but then pro-football fans are really silly.

I hope things turn out well for the Eagles on Saturday against the Terps - that would be GREAT!