The Sox got the message. After making decisions that led to the breakup of the 2004 champs, like letting Pedro (which we grudgingly understood) and Johnny Damon (hey, how's that working out for you anyway, Johnny?) leave, Sox fans stood as one and declared that if they didn't bring back World Series MVP, great fielding, clutch hitting, hard working, popular Mike Lowell, we'd...be pretty unhappy.

So Mike Lowell will be right where he belongs next year, manning third base and hitting fifth in the Red Sox lineup. Although Lowell was looking for a four-year deal, the Sox managed to convince him to sign a three year pact worth $37.5 million, though they did have to promise to name an industrial city in the Merrimack Valley after him.

Curt Schilling, another recently re-signed Sox whose future was cloudy not too long ago, summed it up: Sweet! "I’ve already spoken with a few guys on the team and suffice to say we’re all ectstatic", said Curt. When does spring training start? Should we start altering our sleep schedules to catch those Tokyo games yet?

Lowell's signing eclipsed news of the other 3B making headlines recently. Alex Rodriguez, whose contract talks with the Yankees are slowly proceeding, won the AL MVP, leading Bostonist to offer a suggestion. You know how the award for pitching excellence is named after Cy Young? Since the MVP Award is given to someone who puts up huge numbers in the regular season, and since it's not dependent on carrying one's team through the playoffs...well, you can see where we're going here.

The Patriots aren't able to bask in the glow of their Buffalo slaughter (like they would), since the running game continues to vanish from their roster. Maroney's still fragile, and Kevin Faulk got his bell rung pretty hard Sunday.

Another question mark in a season full of them. But what do you expect in a city with as rotten luck as we have?

Photo from Flickr'er new hobby.