BITTERSWEET FEELING

The Red Sox won the world series a week ago and the parade that ensued in Boston started the week with an extra boost. It has been wonderful to relax and enjoy the end of a highly successful season. The Red Sox won it all last Sunday.
As for this week, it was awkward. The bad news is the BC Eagles lost there first game, at home to FSU. The Eagles were 8-0 and had not lost at home in years. The FSU team was quicker and simply made more plays. Turnovers killed the Eagles as picks and fumbles plagued the Eagles.
Down 20-17 with just over a minute to go, an Eagles late drive was interrupted by a pick 6 all the way to paydirt thus BC fell 27-17.
Despite falling from #2 to #8 in every poll, the Eagles are still poised for a great finish. They have 3 remaining games including 2 straight road games (Maryland and Clemson) plus a home game vs. Miami.
The Bruins suffered a loss of captain P. Bergeron for the near future after a terrible hit on the prior Saturday in a loss. The team bounced back Thursday with a 4-3 win against Buffalo then played Ottawa in a home and home series. The Senators came back from being down 2-1 after they scored a late goal to beat the black and gold 3-2. Tim Thomas played great once again in defeat and played as good if not better in tonight's game. The Bruins blew 1-0 in the 3rd period as the score was 1-1. Nobody scored in OT but the B's fell in the shootout. Thomas saved 77 of 81 shots but Gerber and the Senators took both games.
As far as the Celtics go, they opened the season by blasting the Wizards by 20. Garnett had 22 points and 20 rebounds in the win. The C's then went to Toronto and beat last year's Atlantic champs by 3 points in overtime. Ray Allen hit the game winning 3 pointer on his way to 33 points. They sit at 2-0 with a home game vs. Denver on Wednesday.
Before I get to the Pats, I'll keep it local. My former home, Billerica, played Tewksbury in a high school football road game. They got smoked and will drop from their top 10 position in the state's standings.
The Pats at 8-0 went to Indy 7-0, who defeated the Pats in last year's AFC Championship 38-34. It was hyped as the biggest regular season game in the history of the NFL. No 2 teams with a combined 15-0 record has ever faced each other. Until now.
The Pats played poorly and the Colts had long possessions to keep the game close. The game was 7-6 late in the 1st half. Brady threw a pick at the 1 yard line stalling a great drive. Meanwhile, Manning had under 2 minutes left, but a huge td run by addai gave the Colts a shocking 13-7 lead at the half.
It was the 1st time the Pats did not score on their 1 st drive and practically the only time all year they actually trailed in a game!
Though the Pats played good in the 1st half, they could not tackle and addai ripped off big numbers running and receiving.
In the 2nd half, the Pats tackled better and kept Manning off the field. A field goal by the Pats made it 13-10 in the 3rd quarter. This epic game had a storyline for every play, but I only have time to summarize quickly.
The Pats were down 20-10 as we fast forward to the 4th quarter with 8 minutes left. Things were testy, as every call went against the Pats. Another conspiracy brewin? Especially after a phantom Hobbs pass interference that set up the last td by the Colts.
The Pats faced a 10 point deficit with 8 minutes remaining. The Pats battled back and scored quickly on a Welker 2 yard td grab after a big catch by Moss totaling 55 yards.The Pats forced the Colts to punt after a great sack by Colvin on a 3rd down play.
Down by three and the clock ticking, the Pats got a good kick return by Welker then Stallworth got a big catch and then Faulk scored the winning td as they led 24-20.
On the Colts final possession, Green sacked Manning and the ball fell into Colvin's hands. Game over. It was the first loss for the Colts in a long, long time, especially at home. An epic game. The win probably means the Pats will have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, meaning a rematch with the Colts would happen in January in NE.
But one step at a time. A huge win. Even with the franchise record 141 penalty yards.
Moss finished with 9 grabs 145 yards and a score. Brady threw a surprising 2 picks- the same he had through 8 games. But he hit 21-32 for 255 yards and 3 scores, tying the Colts' QB Manning's record for most consecutive games with 3 td's or more, that being 9 games. The Pats sit at 9-0 with a bye next weekend. Wow this win feels great.