Amidst all the sogginess, crankiness, and uncertainty of this weekend's "series" with the Yankees, we're forgetting one silver lining. Scalpers must be getting their butts kicked, after probably paying high prices for tickets that now nobody wants. They surely had visions of hundreds of dollars for a season-ending showdown, little realizing that it would be a messy, rainy matchup of Pawtucket vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre that nobody really wants to go see, and the players probably don't really want to play. But at least tickets will be reasonably priced.

One way or another, the season will end today, with a whimper or a...louder whimper. The real fun begins Wednesday and Friday nights, with Games One and Two of the ALDS in Anaheim. Our mood remains one of "cautious optimism"; yes, the Angels feasted on the Sox all year, but they haven't played a meaningful game in months, and the Sox only have to beat them three times. Should be fun.

The real fun comes with the utter joy of having two playoff spots come down to the last day. Johan Santana somehow removed his Mets-issued choke collar, and the Mets and the Brewers are tied for the NL Wild Card going into the last day. It's even stranger in the AL Central, where the Twins lead by half a game. So the White Sox play the Indians today, hoping to keep within a half-game to force Detroit to come to town for a makeup game, which (if the White Sox win) would then make Minnesota go to Chicago for a one-game playoff. Got that? Someone from this mess will go face Tampa Bay in the first round.

We honestly couldn't have told you that URI had a football team, but whatever they assembled, it was no match for BC, as the Eagles rolled over it to a 42-0 win at Chestnut Hill. Montel Harris ran for three touchdowns.

Revolution coach Steve Nicol grumped, "In the first half, if not for most of the game, we were just dumb.", after his team lost 1-0 to Columbus in a rainy game in Foxboro. The Crew scored in the 35th minute, and even though Columbus saw star Guillermo Barros Schelotto out with an injury, and defender Frankie Hejduk ejected near the end, they couldn't capitalize and find the goal. The Bruins did find the goal, but not enough, as they lost their preseason home debut to Washington, 4-3 in overtime.