LUCKY 13 BOSTON SPORTS DOMINATION

All around good week in the Boston area professional sports circle. In college, the BC football team awaits the Spartans in a late December bowl game. The basketball team is 7-1 after going to Maryland and winning capping off ACC play. The team is ranked in the top 35 as their only loss was in OT to the Friars. Meanwhile, the UMass soccer team made the final four and play Ohio State in North Carolina.
The New England Patriots had another national televised game this time at home vs. the Steelers. Pittsburgh came in at 9-3 and a player guaranteed a win leaving the rest of the world laughing. Guarantee a win vs. a 12-0 team? Aren't you a 18 point underdog?
Well, not only did the Pats win, they covered the spread. Basically, the Pats refused to run the ball and put the ball in Brady's hands. Brady, clearly disturbed an opponent would guarantee a win and also badmouth the receiving core, had a brilliant game- 32-46, 399 yards and 4 td's.
Moss had 7 grabs for 135 and 2 TD, Gaffney 7 grabs for 122 and 1 TD and Welker had 9 grabs for 78 and 1 TD. The Pats demolished the top rated Steelers 34-13.
The defense was mediocre in the first half as the Steelers kept it close 17-13. But the Pats defense made halftime adjustments and the Pats continued to pick on the safety who guaranteed a win as they cruised. The nameless safety was picked on time and time again including an incredible play. Brady hiked the ball, lateraled it to Moss, Moss dropped the pass and threw it back to Brady who hit Gaffney for a 56 yard td in the face of the nameless safety.
The defense shut down Parker and Roethlisberger and the Pats clinched a first round bye in the playoffs. With three games to go, a 16-0 season is all the sports world is talking about. But for now, a win next week(at home vs. the Jets) will give the team home field advantage throughout the playoffs. And with a surging Colts team behind them at 11-2, that's exactly what they need considering last year they lost the AFC Championship on the road vs. the Colts!
Yeah, so the Bruins and Celtics continue to dominate. I'll happily post the standings below. The Celtics beat the 76ers on the road, the Raptors in Boston and the Bulls in Chicago to improve to 3-0 this week and a whopping 17-2 overall record, the best in the NBA.
The Bruins had a strange week. They beat the Islanders on the road 3-1 last Monday, then blew a 3-0 lead in New Jersey 2 nights later 4-3 in OT. Even worse, team MVP Tim Thomas(10-7, 2.14 and .936) left with a minor injury. The team lost the next night 4-2 to Montreal with the young Rask in net. The Bruins are 0-4 vs. MTL this season yet 14-6 vs. the rest of the league. Meanwhile, MTL is 4-0 vs. the Bruins but 10-10 vs. the rest of the NHL. Amazing.
After 2 crushing defeats, the team made a move. With Rask a bit to young and Thomas out 7-10 days, they went to the minors and acquired Alex Auld from the Coyotes system. He played great with the Panthers in 2006 but struggled early this year in Phoenix.
Auld started in Toronto over the weekend and played great in a tough 2-1 win in Toronto. He played even better in a 4-1 win at Buffalo last night. Enjoy the standings below.
NBA Atlantic Division

1. Celtics 17-2 -
2. Raptors 11-10 7 GB
3. Nets 9-12 9 GB
4. 76ers 8-13 10 GB
5. Knicks 6-14 11.5 GB

NHL Northeast Division

1. Senators 18-7-3 39 pts.
2. Bruins 16-10-3 35 pts.
3. Canadiens 14-11-4 32 pts.
4. Maple Leafs 13-12-6 32 pts.
5. Sabres 13-14-1 27 pts.