Sports Redux: An Abundance of Riches

If Sox fans were looking for something to get out of bed for this morning, a pair of our other local teams were ready to provide plenty of reason to go on. Monday Night Football! Bruins home opener! Who needs a World Series?

(OK, we do. But we're coming to terms with it. Give us time.)

The Patriots couldn't very well give national audiences a poor performance against the Broncos, so they unleashed a 41-7 pounding on the visiting team. Denver really should have just turned around and headed home, but instead they helped the Patriots regain something resembling stability. Five turnovers forced by the defense. Three TD passes for Matt Cassell, two TDs for Randy Moss as well as a career-high 138-yards rushing, and one TD from Sammy Morris. All in all, a game fit for the Andre Tippett Night ceremonies that occupied fans during halftime.

It wasn't all sunshine and roses, however. Laurence Maroney was placed on season-ending injury reserve before the game on Monday (the provided link to the Herald provides a photo of Maroney that will haunt us in our sleep), and we're all waiting to hear if the knee injury that forced Rodney Harrison out of the game during the third quarter last night will be a season-ender or career-ender. Harrison's right knee bent in a direction that just wasn't natural as he tried to tackle Broncos QB Jay Cutler. Harrison and Tedy Bruschi exchanged words as the former prepared to leave the field Monday night; that Tedy is keeping those words so close to the vest seems suggestive that we might have watched the last moment in a stunning career.

Back in Boston, the Bruins kicked off their campaign to convince people that Hub hockey is relevant hockey. Before a boisterous, sold-out Garden crowd, the Bs showed that they know how to deliver a thrilling game. Monday night's bruiser against Pittsburgh must go down in the books as a 2-1 loss, but the Bruins kept with the Penguins through regular play, a bout of 3-on-3 action and six rounds of penalty shots before Evgeni Malkin snuck a penalty shot by Tim Thomas (who had a sensational game with 31 saves). Perhaps more importantly, it demonstrated that Boston fans can look forward to the reemergence of Bruins hockey.

This is a game that should have ended as a tie -- even if the Bs had come out on top in the end of those penalty, this one should have been recorded as an even split. Tie is not a dirty word, NHL. Think about it.

In hot stove news: Lowell's surgery went well, Tek's place within the Red Sox is under review and we only have a few months until pitchers and catchers report.

Image by flickr user BalaSub