Put the champagne back in the fridge.

Josh Beckett couldn't deliver win #21, and the Red Sox couldn't beat the Twins, so we're going to have to go through this all over again until they finally clinch the East...or don't. "It's nice to have your [butt] whipped every once in a while. It'll bring you back down," says Josh, which we'll take his word for.

Michael Cuddyer and Garrett Jones homered for Minnesota, and Ortiz and Varitek homered for us, but it wasn't enough in the 5-4 loss. Especially with Joe Nathan doing his best Papelbon impression and whiffing Tek and Youk to end the game with the bases loaded. Meanwhile, Coco Crisp missed the game with a virus and Ellsbury pulled a muscle. Isn't this fun?

And the Yankees won, of course. So it's a two game lead with three to go. The National League, though, continues to be the place to go for fun and confusion, as the Mets have completely yakked away their division lead, and we're at a point where it's not completely impossible to have a four-way tie and have to have one-game playoffs until Thursday. So maybe we don't have it so bad.

Patriots nose tackle Vincent Wilfork is being fined for his late hit on Buffalo J.P. Losman on Sunday, which knocked the Bills' starter out of the game. Or as one wag on Fark put it, "Wilfork fined for forcing Bills to upgrade starting QB". The Pats are ready for Cincinnati on Monday; if you're thinking of making the trip, you might want to stick to soda at the stadium, or something with a lid, reports Deadspin.

Tom Petty photo from sooz.