The Festo - State of New England Sports

With three teams currently dogging it out within their respective leagues, while each maintaining stellar records, it'd be hard to complain about being a sports fan in New England. Lately (this decade), there really hasn't been much to complain about either, but hey, this is a blog, and what else are blogs good for but complaining. So, let's start from the top, with the hands-down best sport ever created in the history of things with legs and arms: tackle football.

The New England Patriots: Coming off the greatest single year in the history of the sport (and the most monumental of collapses), things didn't get much better for the Pats. Tom Brady's knee said bye-bye, and most fans said bye-bye to the season and hopes of Super Bowl prominence when Brady's backup, Matt Cassel, stepped in. Cassel was a lifelong backup (4 years in the NFL and 4 years at USC at both quarterback and centerfield), and that's never any fun. After a few hiccups, however, Cassel proved to be a solid leader, and the Patriots once again found themselves in the hunt for the AFC East Championship and the playoffs. With a win at Buffalo and a loss by either the Dolphins (@ the Jets) or the Ravens (vs. the Jaguars), the Pats would find themselves fighting it out for the AFC crown for the sixth straight year. They held serve, defeating the Bills 13-0 in wind gusts of up to 60 mph. The two 4 p.m games ensued, and we watched with fingers crossed as the Jets became our last hope for the season (the Ravens had dominated in Baltimore). Brett Favre looked shaky as he had in the latter half of the season, and Pennington and the Dolphins looked lucky enough and destined to win as they had all season. In the end, it was the Dolphins who won, seemingly with God on their side, putting an end to the Pats' dreams of taking a most unlikely Super Bowl. They finished 11-5 on the year, and were only the second team in history with a record that good to miss the playoffs (1985 Broncos). All in all, it was a great season. Eleven wins in the AFC and all after the league's MVP went down early. Cassel showed some resolve and promise for the future. He's now expected to be one of the biggest free agents on the market, apparently earning himself a contract of up to 80 million dollars. Next year is still shaky, however, what with a very slow recovery process for Brady and the loss of Cassel. Every New Englander simply hopes that Brady can be the quarterback he was after the injury, especially after seeing the woes of many NFL stars after similar knee shots (Carson Palmer, Daunte Culpepper, Cadillac Williams, and even Donovan McNabb). The talent is undoubtedly still there (Moss, Welker, Watson, Morris, Faulk, Maroney) and if Brady can lock it up, the offense will still be potent. A minor problem could be an aging defense (which still managed to finish ranked seventh in the entire NFL), but a moderate draft position could help with that.

The Boston Celtics: After the big three led the C's to the promiseland last year, many thought age and complacency would hinder some of the goals for the year. Boy were they wrong. The C's have the best record in the league after their first 32 games (28-4) and had the best start in the history of the league (27-2) after a 19 game winning streak. They're primed for another run at the title, with the big three playing just as well as they did last year, and with Ray Allen playing even better. The real pleasure, though, is watching the development of Rajon Rondo, the flashy point guard from Kentucky. He's really come into his own with this team, and has truly become a leader on the floor. I remember many of my friends being sceptical about the draft choice, but even they have reneged on their reservations. He's that damn good. Pair that up with Kendrick Perkins getting better and the bench with an extra year of solid experience and you have a recipe for another championship as well as one for the disaster of the rest of the league. The Lakers ended their historic 19 game run on Christmas night, showing that they are still the team to beat in the West and the second in line to the Celts leaguewide. The Cavaliers and Magic have stepped up to be more than formidable opponents in the East, with Lebron and Dwight Howard looking better than ever, and the usual suspects are still around in the West. Two questions still linger for the Celts as the season moves along. The first is will they make a move for a free agent to compliment their squad? Some say yes. Names like Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo have been floating around, as well as P.J. Brown's once again. Veteran point guard Sam Cassel is still on the bench providing leadership and savvy, and the biggins on the bench seem to be holding their own, so a move is still up in the air. The second question: when can we start the playoffs?

The Boston Bruins: Let's face it: we all know they're playing great. They're in first place in their conference and tied for the best in the NHL. I'm excited for them. I have friends that are huge fans. But I can probably only name about four players on their team, and I think the general consensus is that Hockey has grown irrelevant. I'll pay attention to them when the playoffs roll around...maybe.

The Boston Red Sox: They took a tough loss to the Rays in the ALCS last year, and the Yankees are signing every free agent on the market, but everyone seems to think they're still the frontrunner in the AL East. Their offseason has been quiet, probably because they have the most complete team in the majors, not to mention their young talent that gets better with every game, but I still think they could put another good arm to use. I also think Jason Varitek is a washed-up dinosaur. The potential woes are as follows: Beckett needs to have a Cy Young caliber year for them to be competitive, but he had an off-year in 07. It'll be hard for Lester to keep up his nasty streak of last year. Dice-K seems to always be a question mark. Getting to Papelbon could pose a problem. And Varitez was the worst hitter in the entire league last year (I'm not exaggerating). Maybe Theo Epstein was thinking on my level when he traded Coco Crisp for Royals pitcher Ramon Martinez, signed Japanese pitcher Junichi Tazawa, and recently signed pitcher Brad Penny of the Dodgers and catcher Josh Bard of the Padres. Now, it appears that Epstein is looking for a bat, reportedly talking to Rocco Baldelli and Jarrod Saltalamacchia and already touting young first baseman Lars Anderson within their ranks. They did pursue Mark Teixeira rather boldly, offering eight years and 160 million, but were outbid by the Yankees only a day or two after the Red Sox were named the leading candidate for the gold glove caliber switch hitter. And Manny Ramirez is still a free agent, but for obvious reasons the Red Sox are not going to do anything to change his status. In the end, it may be a very similar team to last year's that plays the 162. And that's just fine, with young studs like Pedroia, Lowry, Ellsbury, and Youkilis leading the way. Veterans Mike Lowell and David Ortiz should have better season after recovering from injuries, and the rotation, although shaky at times, is still one of the best in the MLB. Indeed, the season should be an intriguing one. The AL East is as stacked as ever, and big names have shifted all over the country. Either way, the Sox should be fully immersed in the hunt for the World Series.

I can't deny it. Being a New Englander is as pleasing as ever. Each team is in the playoff hunt, and we have some of the biggest stars in their respective leagues. I certainly can't complain at all and I know many of you are jealous. Haha. Let's go Celts.