DYNASTIC TREK

If you read this hard-to-find blog every week sports in Boston seem to dominate. And why not? The Red Sox wrapped up the World Series, the BC Eagles football team awaits its upcoming bowl game, the Pats and Celtics are in first place in their respective divisions and even the Bruins are great as they sit in the 2nd place with the 2nd best record in their conference and 4th best record in the entire NHL!
This week, the Pats welcomed the 3-10 NY Jets into town. The Pats crushed the Jets 38-14 and then the spygate crap followed. Revenge took 3 months but it came at last. The Jets came in as 28 point underdogs. A beating was predicted everywhere but the weather would play a factor. A combination of wind, rain and snow kept Brady and Co. from annihilating the punchless Jets. Even with the poor weather the Pats dominated the game. Halfway through the 1st quarter the Jets had already used all 3 quarterbacks. Early on, Seymour knocked their starter out of the game as he threw a pick6 to Wilson on the goal line. The Pats never looked back.
Nursing a 10-0 lead, a punt from Hanson was blocked and returned 26 yards for the score. The game stayed at 10-7 until the Pats themselves came up with a special teams play. Washington went on to block a Graham punt near the goal line and 2 plays later Maroney(26 for 104) ran it in for a 17-7 lead. With blizzard conditions neither team scored in the 3rd quarter. The wind and rain played as the two key factors as Brady could not get on track. The Jets relied on Pennington in the 2nd half and he aided the Jets to a field goal halfway through the final frame to make it 17-10. The Pats came right back and scored three of their own and the game sat at 20-10 with 3 minutes left.
A good kickoff return set the Jets up again but a field goal attempt was missed and the Pats looked good. With very little time remaining, the Pats would win by that 20-10 score. Maroney led the offense and the defense was stellar, only letting up 3 points. Seymour, seemingly healthy for the 1st time in years, was a monster, as was Thomas and Seau. The Pats joined the 72' Dolphins as the only teams to start a season 14-0. Two games remain- at home vs. the 1-13 Dolphins and in NY against the 9-5 Giants. The team officially clinched home field throughout the playoffs. With the 12-2 Colts clinching the #2 seed, the Pats got what they did not have in last year's AFC Championship vs. them; a January game in freezing Gillette. But the Pats still have work ahead and the team is well aware of that.
Meanwhile, the Celtics continue to embarrass the NBA. This week they defeated the Kings and Bucks at home by double digits, then smashed the 2nd place Raptors in Toronto again by double digits. And Allen sat out the games versus Toronto and Milwaukee for precautionary reasons. He's expected back when they welcome the conference's 2nd best team into town;the 17-7 Pistons. They sit 4 games behind the Green in the Eastern Conference.
The Bruin's continue to fly under the radar. They ended the week going 3-1 and have the 2nd best record in the East. They beat Buffalo, Atlanta and Columbus but lost to NJ. The Bruins continue to ride Alex Auld and welcome back Tim Thomas this week. They seem to have figured out how to beat everyone except for Ottawa, NJ and Montreal. Which bodes well for now. They are an astonishing 18-11 thanks in part to a solid system that preaches defense and protecting the goalie. The Bruins lost back-to-back games earlier in the year against Ottawa and that's why they lead the Bruins in the division. The Bruins will seek revenge Tuesday night in Boston.
Lastly, a quick congratulations to the Providence Bruins(AHL) who are off to a 20-4 mark, the UMass and BC college hoops teams for their hot starts and the UMass soccer team who made it to the final 4 before bowing out 1-0 to Ohio State. If they had won, they would have played Wake Forest for the championship. UMass defeated Wake twice in the regular season, the only team to have beaten them all year!