A Week 5 report from Gillette Stadium
by Kyle Psaty

Part 1: An Odd Game to Say the Least

Foxboro, Mass. – In an unusual turn of events, I watched the Patriots-Broncos away game this week inside the Razor. I found myself in a massive crowd of die-hard fans and philanthropists on in the Fidelity Investments Clubhouse of the stadium, along with about two-dozen former Patriots players, all of whom I know. I rub my eyes and wonder if I’m dreaming.

In the opening drive the Broncos deploy something called “Wild Horses,” a formation that sends quarterback Kyle Orton to the left slot and rookie running back Knowshon Moreno taking shotgun snaps. This is effective in gaining yardage on our Patriots, but they fizzle and blow the field goal.

Then our hero, Tom Brady, steps into Invesco Field and drives down the field, notching a touchdown pass to Wes Welker. Sammy Morris displays extra effort spelling Fred Taylor. It is a flawless opening to the game. Tremendous! Pats open it 7-0.

Phil Simms and Jim Nantz tell us the Boston Patriots just became the first team to score a passing touchdown on the Broncos defense.

This is glorious news for me, but only because the Broncos are the only other team I cheer, because I lived in Colorado for the first 18 years of my life. These are my two favorite teams, so the implications are much heavier for me than usual. This is going to be an odd game to say the least.

Jerod Mayo makes a professional wrestling-size return to the field (no doubt scaring the poop out of himself) by punishing Moreno into coughing the ball up. A mere two weeks ago, he was projected out for a month and a half to recover from a knee injury. Insane.

On the ensuing offensive series, two things happen to the passing game:

1) Wes Welker opts not to make a serious collision with nickel back Jack Williams, and almost forces Brady to take a pick. This is unlike him and surprises me.
2) Brady reacts poorly, overthrowing Moss on a 7 route to the end zone.

“Oh, he missed him again!” Shouts a nearby fan.

The Pats settle for a field goal. The score is 10-0.

At approximately the same moment, I head toward the bar for a beer and bump into former quarterback and all-around good guy Scott Zolak, arrives with his two daughters in tow.

Me: “What’s going on, Zo?”
Zolak: “Oh, how you doin’, Kyle?”
Me: “Good, man. Good. Like what you see? How was [your pregame show]?”
Zolak: “They’re running some trick plays over there in Denver, eh. Let’s see what happens.”
Me: “Yeah. I guess they were. …Sox too, huh?”
Zolak: “Yeah.” (Laughs.)

Zolak is rocking the signature shades. The Super Nintendo kid in me always sees a little Johnny Cage in the aging backup. I make sure he is settled in and we part ways while the Patriots stop Denver in their tracks.

The same miscommunication plagues the offense when the Pats get the ball again. Brady scrambles on second-and-10. Nothing. Josh McDaniels is wearing a hoodie. Belichick is wearing a winter coat.

I haven’t seen any of the employees I’m talking to in months. A few even act like I still work there. Have they not noticed I’m gone, or is it just that not much has changed since I left?

I’m in Bizarro World.

I greet former guard Joe Andruzzi and his family in the parking lot. I entertain his sons and escort them all back up to the Clubhouse. Joe’s the guest of honor making a late bang appearance to sign autographs.

The game’s back on and Broncos wideout Eddie Royal is all over the place. As a sophmore in the elitist pecking order of the National Football League, he’s what pundits should call a solid possession receiver – perhaps the most valuable kind. He reliably finds space on short routes and has hands like glue traps. Think Troy Brown, that type of guy.

Ty Warren – now tasked with filling Richard Seymour’s shoes as a rusher – roughs Orton and costs us an extra 15 yards. It’s a small crack but Denver keeps handing the ball to the smash-mouth Moreno, hammering it open like a maul. Seconds pass and Orton connects with receiver (and crybaby) Brandon Marshall. The score is 7-10.

The Patriots are hurting, but Andruzzi is not.

Joe Andruzzi is: a Jersey boy, a family man, a team player, a three-time Super Bowl champ, a mountain of a man, a brother of firemen, a soccer dad, a two-wheeled vehicle enthusiast and a cancer survivor. That’s right. Cancer.

In an October 15, 2008 article I wrote for Patriots Football Weekly, I evoked the show Sons of Anarchy, when opening with a scene from Andruzzi’s first-ever cancer fundraiser – a motorcycle rally. Here’s what I wrote:

“The fact that former Patriots guard Joe Andruzzi was able to saddle up for his first-annual Joe Andruzzi Foundation Motorcycle Poker Run and Family Fun Day on this gray afternoon – that he was able to get up on two legs, let alone two wheels – is nothing short of a miracle.”

The two of us sit down at the end of a long table and the line materializes while we catch up.

“How’s your knee, Joe?” says the third person in the last twenty fans. I look at Andruzzi.

“What’s up with the knee?” I ask, greeting the next familial cluster.

He tells me he rode in the Patriots-sponsored Platelet Pedalers event, and completed over a hundred miles for a charity other than his own before he called it quits.

Whether he finished the ride or not, I’m impressed.

As the line moves I hustle people along; this is my role. He slows them down; that’s his. It’s a common crowd control tactic with a line this size, because it keeps the already shocked and speechless fans guessing. It also allows the celebrity to be the nice guy – your usual good cop, bad cop situation.

The Patriots get the ball with 4:00 remaining in the half and burn all but five seconds of it marching down the field on what I can only describe as a touchdown death march. The offense leaves the field to watch the score rise to 17-10.

This is Patriots football, and the fans know it.

My back is to the windows in the Fidelity Investments Clubhouse, and outside, the Jumbo-trons display the game. The delay is much longer inside the clubhouse, so if I can catch something on the scoreboard display through the window, I can watch it in full over my other shoulder. I do all this while paying attention to Andruzzi’s conversation to make sure it’s all pleasantries. I’m also engaging the incoming line.

I notice that Randy Moss has caught an interception in the last play of the half.

Andruzzi: “Moss?”
Me: “Yeah. They had their safe package in.”

Andruzzi chuckles and a bunch of familiar faces from his nearby Sharon, Mass., community arrive at the front of the line. They chat about their kids and the soccer game he’s just been coaching. Everyone laughs a lot, and Andruzzi teases the kids that they can’t have an autograph. For a Jersey guy, Andruzzi is more active in the Massachusetts community than you could believe. This is why he wasn’t doing all the rest of the stuff this morning. This is why he shows up at four o’clock and sits for a single signing of this volume.

“Awesome ring!” exclaims one of the local kids, gawking at Joe’s 2004 Super Bowl ring.

“I got that in a Cracker Jacks box,” jokes Andruzzi.

Part 2: How the Pats Alumni Won

The Patriots start the second half with a 10-point lead, but the offense can’t get anything going against this Mike Shanahan-built defense.

The Broncos respond with Wild Horses on the first few downs. Moreno continues to be a major participant until he leaves the field winded and potentially injured.

Who will fill his void in the Broncos spread-the-field approach?

Former Patriot Daniel Graham. That’s who. (Though Moreno won’t be gone long.)

Daniel Graham is: a former Patriot, a CU Buff alum, a boxing fanatic, a top-tier blocking tight end, and he’s the son of Tom Graham, a former Broncos linebacker.

Graham was a John Mackey (Best Tight End) winner at the University of Colorado when I was a high school football player in Colorado. I spoke to him a few times and interviewed him right before he left for Denver in the offseason before the 2007 season. He spoke about how dissatisfied he was, but I didn’t print that. I’m sure he didn’t want me to. He’s a team guy and was a captain that year.

“You know if Russ is playing,” asks Andruzzi, inquiring about a lineman buddy. Russ Hochstein is also on the Broncos roster now.

“Nah. I haven’t seen him,” I say.

Royal and Marshall stay relevant and Jabar Gaffney comes up lucky on a tipped ball in a sea of Patriots jerseys. Another former Patriot arrives and I remember how many of New England’s so-called rejects landed in Broncos training camp this offseason. Former Pats second-round wideout Chad Jackson was released by Denver. The Broncos picked up LeKevin Smith, a defensive lineman, after the Pats shocked him with a late-camp release. Graham gets back into the game and as I bid Andruzzi and his wife, Jenn adieu, the Patriots are being beaten by the Patriots alumni.

This is ironic, because the reason I’m at the Razor is for the main charity fundraising event for the New England Patriots Alumni Club – an organization I developed while working for the Pat as the Assistant Coordinator. I helped conceptualize the event, and wrote all the branding and advertising for it, most of which went to the in-house publications I wrote for. The event is a chance for fans to watch football with the former players. “Game With the Greats,” we titled it, and I must admit, with more than 900 fans in attendance today, it’s a helluva good time.

In all my running around, I overhear one fan in passing say to his buddy, “They’re all fans, but they’re not, like, real fans. They’re different.”

I assume he is explaining that this kind of event attracts a sect of fans interested not just in the success and failure of the team or even the nuts and bolts of the team’s approach. They are incredibly interested in the memorabilia and in the history of the team. They are loyalists though and through, which, considering the whole area was occupied entirely by Giants fans 41 years ago.

The signings die down and the fans relax. Everyone sits around watching football – the former pros and fans all intermingling and chatting about the game. We watch as the Pats flex but stop the Broncos on the 5-yard line. (This stop was all due to big man Vince Wilfork, who slides on his belly like a seal after the stop. Dude is an athlete, no doubt.) Denver is forced to kick, and the ball is snapped by another former Patriot: Lonie Paxton.

The score is 17-10, and the Pats are a touchdown up on the Broncos.

Now Denver’s offense takes the field. Kyle Orton becomes the best quarterback in this game. His line – still the same Jay Cutler had last year – is fantastic. Lamont Jordan, another former Pat breaks off a run.

I say hello to former Patriot safety Jim Bowman, who is now a family man and the team’s “Fashion Police” when the Pats are home. He’s the one who makes sure the socks are pulled up and the shoes are tied. Bowman recovered a fumble against the Raiders as a rookie that kept the Pats playoff streak alive in the 1985 AFC Championship season. He’s one of the chillest dudes I’ve ever met. We bullshit for a few.

The Broncos founder and punt away.

The third quarter ticks down and the fourth begins. The Pats are forced to punt again, but the Broncos punt return team blows it again, drawing a flag. Josh McDaniels is fuming. Marquee left tackle Matt Light is injured.

What’s happening? These Pats are running out of gas.

Brady takes the field backed into the end zone, and fails to find Wes Welker on third down. Now the Pats punt, but some stupid Bronco runs into the punter. Brady gets a second chance, but the Pats still can’t seem to connect through the air on passing downs. They fall flat again. Punt.

The Broncos offense takes the field, and Orton, who will later be named AFC Offensive Player of the Week, throws strike after strike, marching his offense down the field and finishing with an 11-yard toss to Marshall for a touchdown.

They tie it up, 17-17.

The Patriots offense essentially flops around helpless on the field for the entirety of the fourth quarter. It wasn’t pretty. I’ll spare you the details, save one.

With about 4:00 remaining in the game, Brady finds Welker on a short in-route. Welker has shaken his coverage and managed to get behind the defense. It’s a textbook game-breaker. He’s wide open… and… Brady underthrows him. This pass will mark the end of days for the Pats in this game.

The fourth quarter ends in a tie, the Broncos win the overtime coin toss, and then everyone in Gillette Stadium watches as Denver marches down the field and scores. Game over. The Pats lose 20-17.

Brady finishes the game having completed just over half of his pass attempts. Orton completed 87 percent.

Like I said, Bizarro World.

A Week 4 report from the Berkshires
by Kyle Psaty

Lanesboro, Mass. – An opening kickoff fumble recovered in the red zone by the home team– That’s the way you start a game and the crowd at the Old Forge Restaurant in Lanesboro, knows it. A semi-startled cheer rises in the hole-in-the-wall bar and echoes through the rough-cut rafters of this old cabin in the Berkshires.

“Pray for snow” reads a roadside sign up Route 7. The smell of wings pervades the front room. This is God’s country.

Unfortunately, the Patriots, who take the field within sniffing distance of the end zone, are unable to capitalize on their good fortune. (I, on the other hand, will have my wings.) They settle for a field goal without gaining an offensive yard.

The defense takes the field to square off with the Raven’s offense, led by Joe Flacco, who finds holes in the secondary quickly, throwing two strikes on the sidelines. After giving up 15 plays, the so-called bend-but-don’t-break defense makes a stand, pressuring Flacco and causing a fumble, but Baltimore recovers. Flacco, shaken, shows his youth by drawing a delay-of-game penalty. Then, he settles down, picking on Jonathan Wilhite, who is out of position covering Derrick Mason. Mason lands with a thud and the bar lets out a collectivist, mountain-grown “Aweee,” as the Pats are down by four. The score is 7-3.

The Old Forge Restaurant only opens at noon, but by the time we arrived for the 1:00 o’clock game, the place was already jam-packed. A quaint little hovel, this place is obviously popular with the locals. The back porch was a particularly popular option, due to an amazing view of the Berkshire Mountains. Inside, Brick archways give way to classic pewter beer steins. There’s something decidedly Vermont about this part of Massachusetts. It’s not a typical Sunday football spot: With just three TVs, these fans are at the Old Forge to watch the Patriots and nothing else.

During the Patriots next drive, Tom Brady finds an old target early – Wes Welker. The always-useful Julian Edelman, a shoe in for rookie of the year in New England, joins the attack for a quick gain of 12 yards. That opens up Laurence Maroney on the next play, who makes a nice catch in the flats on a short route. He takes off for a big gain of 17 yards.

The running game started out lacking this week against a stout Baltimore front seven, with Maroney taking most of the touches, but now Belichick sends in Fred Taylor to add a little bit more brute force. Baltimore’s D puffs up as Taylor makes two worthwhile attempts at the end zone. With 40 seconds left in the first quarter, the Patriots decide to go for it on a fourth-and-1 from the Baltimore three. This time it’s Sammy Morris’ turn to be the hammer. After securing the first down, Brady walks into the end zone on a quarterback keeper in front of a happy, packed crowd at the Old Forge.

After putting together a 17-play drive, the Patriots are back on top, 10-7.

Meanwhile, a few Tedy Bruschi jerseys dot the bar, but there’s not much else in the way of Patriots attire: These people assume you already know they’re fans.

The Old Forge staff is handing out raffle tickets to everyone in the bar. A long-haired and bearded bartender cheerily draws numbers out of a bucket every few minutes. Winners are awarded free beer merch and Pats swag.

The Pats defense takes the field and now it’s Joe Flacco who can’t find an open receiver’s hands. He throws one, two, and the third is knocked away on a heads-up play by Brandon Meriweather. The Ravens are forced to punt.

The Patriots can’t get much going and they punt away too. Wes Welker is back on the field, and occasionally drawing double coverage. He’s not seeing much action, however, and appears to be filling a decoy role.

After the Pats flop and are forced to punt, the Ravens do the same. There’s 7:00 left in the half and the rhythm of this game has been determined; it’s a steady back and forth, an ebb and flow. Now both teams will be looking for weaknesses and exploiting them.

As the Pats try to get something going on their fourth drive of the game, The Ravens leave Randy Moss open and double-cover Welker. Moss capitalizes (16 yards) and the Ravens, trying for a surge up front, earn themselves a questionable roughing the passer penalty. Now Wes Welker joins the game with a catch-and-run. Maybe I was wrong about his health. He looks as rubbery as ever. That catch gets the Pats within scoring distance and Sammy Morris rumbles into the end zone on a 12-yard jaunt.

Now the Pats are up 17-7 and even the Old Forge’s owner has stopped running around taking care of things to watch. The Forge is primed on the lead. The Patriots running game is clicking and the offense is running on all cylinders.

An old couple sits down and asks me the score. They’re happy to hear that the “Good Guys” are winning. They order iced teas with lemon and rest on their elbows as they watch.

The Ravens, with four minutes left in the half, take the field hoping to showcase their own brand of slash-and-burn. The Patriots defense is pugnacious, however, and an attempt to strip Flacco of the ball on a sack, lands them a penalty for unnecessary roughness.

On the next play, Flacco steps into the pocket and fires downfield, but the pass is again broken up by Meriweather, who’s hungry for his first pick of the year.

The Ravens work their way up the field through what feel like a dozen injury breaks and delays. Then Flacco lets one rip directly into the hands of Pats CB Leigh Bodden. He gets his toes in the turf to end Baltimore’s hopes of putting points on the board before halftime. Head Coach Brian Billick does not look pleased with the miscommunication.

Now New England burns up the clock and leaves the field with a decided advantage in the game. Aside from their first offensive and defensive series’, New England has looked like a total-package football team, which is exactly what they needed to be against Baltimore, who surged through their first three games of the season. As the players leave the field, Baltimore looks extremely beatable and the Pats look like they’re in mid-season form.

–

The Ravens take the field in the second half and effectively shoot themselves in the foot. Poor communication and mental errors stack up against them quickly and their first drive ends meekly.

Then Brady and the offense fall just as flat. Maybe “midseason form” was an overstatement.

With about 7 minutes left in the third, the crowd at this local skier’s haven goes nuts as the Pats defense begins to pressure Flacco. A sack leaves them all cheering.

Then, on first-and-10, with 6:30 remaining in the third, Brady drops back and is sacked from the blind side by Terrell Suggs. One play gone terribly awry.

The ball squirts loose, and the Ravens recover the fumble in the end zone. That serendipity puts the Ravens in a much more dangerous position at 17-14.

It’s a chess match, and Suggs just became the all-time sack leader in Raven’s history.

The Patriots return the kickoff knowing a Baltimore field goal will tie it up. The crowd at the Old Forge grows anxious and the bartender appeases them by drawing more numbers from his bucket.

Sam Aiken displays a nice second effort after the catch, dodging the first tackler, and picks up 26 yards. The crowd roars; the bar rattles.

Now, Randy Moss high-points a great throw, which he grabs and dashes off with.
New England gets back to that grinding ground attack for a few plays, and then Brady drops back into the pocket with an untouched Raven barreling down on him. Brady maintains his poise and tosses a nice one over the top to the outstretched arms of Randy Moss for a touchdown!

New England is up 24-14, and these Patriots have come together over the last few weeks.

This is an effective drive for the Patriots, perhaps one of the most effective drives we’ve seen all season. These are exactly the kinds of plays they needed to make against the Jets. They’ve been able to take advantage of opportunities and shake off their opponent’s big plays. Coach Belichick always says the NFL is about improving as a team each week, and that’s obviously what’s put them ahead of the curve this week.

“Five nine three!” Yells the bartender, and a couple next to us takes home a Tom Brady pint glass.

Drink up, Brady fans. You still have one of the top quarterbacks in the league making plays for you.

But the defense takes the field and, resting on their laurels for a minute, lets the speedy Ray Rice dash up the field on a 50-yard gain – the biggest single run of the game. The Ravens are almost into the Red Zone. Meriweather uses his closing speed to break up another Joe Flacco pass, and a woman near the T.V. screams, “Dammit!” as it bounces out of his hands once again.

Before long, Willis McGahee is trotting into the end zone and the score is a tight 21-24.

Patriots Nation bites its nails.

Then the offense pulls together an amazing drive, culminating in a failed fake punt attempt. Punter Chris Hansen connects with tight end Chris Baker, but Baker is flagged for illegal motion, and the Patriots settle with a field goal.

The score is 27-21 and now it’s up to the defense.

Four plays later, the Ravens are going for it on fourth-and-1. McGahee calls for the ball and the Pats D stiffens. He falls short and the bar goes wild. I head for my car, anxious to get back to Boston. Unfortunately, I get another chance to scope out the bar two hours later when I return for my laptop. Damn.

The Bruins avenged their playoff departure by beating, and beating up, the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night

By: Mark Marino

Coming off a crummy 4-1 loss on opening night against the Washington Capitals, the Boston Bruins regained their stride on Saturday night against the Carolina Hurricanes, 7-2, at the TD Garden.

The sense of utter defeat was apparent in the locker room, post-game, on Thursday night. Although I was fortunate enough to receive  a press pass on opening night, the result was, well..flat. (click here for some pretty cool post-game quotes from Thursday night’s loss)

Living in the greatest sports city in the country, it’s pretty cool to tune into WEEI and 98.5 FM The Sports Hub for some great sports talk. For the most part, I think the latter does a much better job at covering the Bruins and the NHL. Felger and Mazz  take the prize as the best coverage–although Dale Arnold has the best hockey knowledge. Unfortunately, though, some of the callers are just downright foolish. I heard SO many people call in with some ridiculous comments after the Thursday night loss to the Caps.

‘Yeah, we miss Kessel’s goals now!’ and ‘Tuukka Rask over Tim Thomas’.

Slow down guys and gals. Seriously, slow down. First of all, the Bruins could have had Pavel Bure and Maurice “Rocket” Richard out there on Thursday night and that wouldn’t have made the slightest bit of difference in the outcome of that debacle. Here are some interesting stats that I spent the last two hours compiling:

• The B’s went 0-5 on the PP on Thursday night with only one shot on goal (SOG)
• 4-8 on the PP against the ‘Canes with 17 SOG with the man advantage
• Thursday night, 20 SOG (10,7,3)
• Last night: 42 SOG  (21,15,6) for 62 total through two games.
• Last year through two games, 57 SOG total.
• Just one goal on Thursday night and a point from three different players.
• Of the seven goals last night versus Carolina, 13 players were involved and five of those had a milti-point game
• Thirteen different players with at least one point in a game ties last years’ record
• The Bruins have eight goals through two games this year from eight different players.
• Last season, the B’s had nine goals through their first two games from only five different players and points from eight different players
• Tim Thomas is 1-1-0 and has now allowed six goals on on 61 shots in two games with 3.00 GAA, .902 SV%
• Thomas’ first two games played last season: 1-1-0 and eight goals against with 3.50 GAA .896 SV%

So to answer everyone’s question on “who’s going to compensate for Kessel’s 36 goals last season?” Well, there ya go. The proof is in the pudding. Sure, Kessel had three goals in his first two games with the B’s last season, but so far this season, the Bruins have been have been getting a full-team effort in lieu of. (Side note: This is the last time I mention Kessel’s name in a Bruins piece this season. He’s gone, folks, get over it)

And to sub an unproven goaltender in Rask for the reigning Vezina Trophy winner after the first game, think again. I’m the first one to admit, though, that Rask will compete for the No.1 position sooner than later–but not right now. Let’s not forget, Washington was second in the Eastern Conference last season, with 108 points, and still have the best player in the NHL. His name is Alexander Ovechkin in case you’re wondering. He wears No.8 and is the back-to-back Hart and Rocket Richard Trophy winner.

So, for the lackluster performance on opening night, the Bruins more than made up for in the 7-2 debacle of the ‘Canes–bittersweet revenge for their early departure is last year’s  playoffs.

Here at “The Cult” we take pride in our knowledge of sports gambling (strictly for entertainment purposes) so for those of you who like to light up the bookie check out our picks.

Raiders@Houston
+8.5 -8.5
pick-Houston

Titans@Jax
-3 +3
pick-Jax

Ravens@Pats
+2 -2
pick-Pats

Giants@Chiefs
-9 +9
pick-G-Men

Tampa@Washington
+7.5 -7.5
pick-Washington

Seahawks@Indy
+10.5 -10.5
pick-Indy

Bengals@Browns
-6 +6
pick-Bengals

Lions@Bears
+10 -10
pick-Bears

Jets@Saints
+7 -7
pick-Saints *************LOCK OF THE WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*******************

Bills@Dolphins
-1 +1
pick-Dolphins

Rams@Niners
+9.5 -9.5
pick-Niners

Cowboys@Denver
-3 +3
pick-Denver

Chargers@Steelers
+6.5 -6.5
pick-Chargers

Packers@Vikings
+3.5 -3.5
pick-Vikings

A Week 3 Report from an undisclosed gambling den
by Kyle Psaty

Part 1: Things that could be true

Brighton, Mass. – The Tom Brady saga never ends, and in a way, although it exactly the kind of attention that annoys me about NFL fame, the latest revelation in the unbelievable life of Tom really made me chuckle. The Herald, sensational as it is, reported last week that two photographers arrived at Brady’s secret wedding in Costa Rica and infuriated the partygoers. The Herald also reported Gisele Bundchen’s bodyguards drew guns and fired upon the paparazzi. A $1 million lawsuit is pending.

This is the state of the NFL today.

To be honest, I’d rather have heard that Tom himself was the gunslinger, because we really need him to come out firing this week against the Falcons. Continue reading Pats-Falcons as seen from a real bettor’s box

A Week 2 Report from the Jets bar in Saratoga Springs, New York
by Kyle Psaty

Saratoga Springs, NY. – I’m sitting in the Stadium Café in Saratoga Springs to take in a view of the opposing team from deep within Jets territory. Okay, Saratoga is probably an even mix of Pats, Jets and Giants fans, but by design I’ve planted myself in the Jets bar.

During the first quarter of this week’s game, Tom Brady is posting a quarterback rating of 23 without Wes Welker, who’s sidelined. While I wait for the game to turn into something, I’ve been contemplating something rather disappointing I discovered about Patriots fans this week:

A vocal minority in Patriots Nation is undeniably racist.

This is a crude realization, I admit, but given the tone on the Patriots Facebook page this week, I can’t avoid it.

It all started earlier this week, when the Patriots, pursuant to an across-the-board trend in the National Football League, launched their Spanish blog.  Over the past few years, Hispanic Americans have become one of the fastest growing demographics in the world of pro football consumption, and like any good company would, the Pats are trying to tap that interest. Admittedly, Spanish content is something we’ve seriously considered here at the Cult. Continue reading Jets thump Pats: Blame it on race relations and road wives

You won't be seeing this mug in Boston anymore. Kessel's 36-goals landed him a monster in Toronto.

By: Mark Marino

The waiting game is over. Bloggers on the World Wide Web now need some new material when it comes to playing the armchair General Manager game of the Boston Bruins. Last night, 21-year-old Phil Kessel was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a highway robbery of draft picks—first- and second-round picks in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft and an additional first-round pick in 2011.

I, for one, am thrilled with the outcome. One: there’s finally closure. The Bruins team and organization can finally put this behind them and focus on the task at hand; another Stanley Cup run.

Two: Had Toronto’s GM Brian Burke gone the offer-sheet-route, and the Bruins did not match it, the B’s would have wound-up with the first-, second-, and third-round picks in the 2010 Draft, per the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement on restricted free-agents.

Three: The price tag. Phil Kessel’s holdout finally made it worthwhile, he landed himself a five-year, $27-MM contract north of the border.

So you’re happy with the outcome, right? What? He’s only 21…and he scored 36-goals last season? Yeah, yeah. We know this. I still don’t see the big deal. Kessel had a breakout year last season, no doubt about it. But to give-in and offer this kid $5.4-MM per season was just too expensive for the Bruins, and quite frankly, I’m glad they didn’t. The Bruins are right around $1.7-MM under the salary cap, so that means they would have had to move an additional $3.8-MM to free enough cap space for Kessel. Not only does that mean shifting players for nothing in return, but talk about disrupting the chemistry and we’re already into preseason action—with the regular season kicking off in 12 days.

So where do the Bruins pick-up the Kessel-less slack now, you say? First and foremost, Marc Savard—one of the NHL’s best set-up players—assisted on 22 of Kessel’s 36-goals. Even if No. 81 weren’t to miss the first 6-8 weeks of the season, I don’t see him scoring another 36-goal season with Toronto’s Matt Stajan as his newest center.

Marco Sturm, now recovered from an ACL injury that sidelined him for nearly all of last season, is back healthy. He’s been a 30-goal threat since he was traded to the Bruins back in 2006, for Joe Thornton (Choke Joe ended up being Sturm, Kobasew, and Ference) and Sturm looks as good as he did pre-injury.

Another guy is Mark Recchi. The 41-year-old future Hall of Fame forward has had 60-plus-point season in two of the past three seasons. Recchi played in 18 regular season games for the Bruins since being traded from Tamp Bay back in March, and tallied 16 points—half of those on the PP. Another 60-point season is not a stretch for Recchi again.

If you have seen the last preseason game against the Maple Leafs, you know what I’m talking about here. Patrice Bergeron looks as good, if not better, than he did in 2006—pre-concussion days. He feels good, he looks great, and he’s more than ready to pick up the slack, not only for Kessel, but for the first few weeks that David Krejci is out. Let’s not forget, the two seasons before his first (severe) concussion, Bergeron netted back-to-back 70-point seasons and lit the lamp 53 times from 2005-07.

If you’re still not sold on the Kessel trade, let me end it with this small trip down memory lane.

Glen Wesley was drafted by the Bruins in 1987 with the third overall pick. He went on to play seven season at defense with the Bruins and scored over 300-points before being traded to the hated Hartford Whalers in 1994. The compensation was three first-round draft picks (1995, 1996, 1997).

The Bruins used that first-round pick in 1997 and drafted Sergei Samsonov eighth overall (Joe Thornton was drafted first overall by Boston). A rookie of the year, two 70-plus-point season and 339 total points in seven seasons in black and gold, Samsonov was ultimately traded to the Edmonton Oilers. The compensation: two players with no reference here and a second-round pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

That second-round pick in 2006 ended-up being a dude by the name of Milan Lucic. The Bruins have been 15-years removed from Glen Wesley and are still reaping the benefits of that (back then) questionable trade. Catch my drift? Cheer up folks. Whether or not the Bruins use those picks and draft some future NHL studs or not, they can always dangle that carrot come trade time when they are in contention for another legitimate run for Lord Stanley’s Cup.

by Mikey P (Da Cult Leadahhh)

So I turned on 98.5 “The Sports Hub” with Tanguay and Zolack today and immediately started hearing fans call in and say that the Pats aren’t that good and now that Mayo is out we will only win 10 games this year. Gotta love New England fans!

It wasn’t just one or two callers who were saying this. There were many fans calling in and saying that by Mayo not playing half the season it could cost them multiple games. Are you people OK? Let’s be realistic here. We can all concur that they are not as good without Mayo on the field but this isn’t the first time the Patriots have had big time players out for multiple weeks. Life goes on in Patriot Nation no matter who the victim of injury is. Does Tom Brady ring a bell?

I just can’t figure out if these are the same callers and fans who said our season was over when Brady went down last year. We didn’t make the playoffs but we all know being 11-5 gets you in the playoffs 99.999999999% of the time. So we have Brady back but now the “quarterback” of the defense is out for 6-8 weeks and the season is over? This was the case according to many Patriots fans who were calling in. By the way, remember when Tony Mazz called out all the middle-aged, overweight, slob Patriots fans last year? Well, someone should call him out. Have you seen this guy lately? He completely defines what a middle-aged, overweight, slob Patriots fan looks like.

Maybe that look is in this year, I don’t know?

Some teams can’t bounce back from situations like this but the Patriots in an almost cold business like way seem to put on the blinders and roll forward like nothing happened whether it’s Tom Brady or a third string long-snapper. They play the hand they are dealt and usually make chicken salad out of chicken shit. Did anyone HONESTLY think that the Patriots would go 11-5 last year? Personally I don’t know what was more surprising, the fact that the Pats went 11-5 or that they didn’t make the playoffs at 11-5.

So to all you Patriot naysayers chew on this: The Patriots defense will be a big surprise this year. It’s an interesting mix of shrewd veterans and young athletic talent under the best coach in football. They will be good.

There is only one man on the Patriots who can put an entire team on his back and force a win out of a definite loss and we all know his name is Tom Brady. Once again I found out the hard way when I left Gillette Stadium at the 5:32 mark in the 4th quarter. I hate to admit that but I did. So the moral of the story is that the Patriots will be fine and I’m an A-Hole!

A Week 1 report from the official Bills bar of Boston
by Kyle Psaty

Part 1: The “Bills Backers” set the scene

Boston, Mass. – By the old conventions of sports journalism, a reporter needed to be a party to the action to accurately report on it. The old school (cigar chomping, fedora sporting) reporter needed to see the score on the scoreboard and watch the first-down markers to know what happened. But not today. In an age when players get screenshots of the last series printed and delivered to them on the sidelines, the sports reporter need not be crammed into a bustling media workroom to report accurately on the game.

They still do it, mostly as a nod to tradition, but the truth is, every NFL press box I’ve ever sat in was equipped with the nicest televisions imaginable so the media could watch the game in its new, true form: the television broadcast. The TVs in the press box at the Razor are so big they almost obscure the view of the field. Continue reading How I escaped the murderous Buffalo Bills fans of Boston:

by Chris Foley

From ESPN:

“Louisville (and former Boston Celtics) coach Rick Pitino told police that he had consensual sex with and paid for an abortion for the woman who has been charged with trying to extort him, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported on Tuesday.

Karen Cunagin Sypher was federally charged in April with demanding cars, tuition for her children and finally $10 million. Police interviewed Pitino, who is married, regarding the incident last month, and according to the newspaper, he said that he gave the woman $3,000 to have an abortion.”

This really has very little to do with Boston sports currently, but I thought the headline was funny.