Sports Redux: Aftermath Edition

As Boston continues to grapple with the realization that the Pats are not playoff bound, there are several different ways of coping. There's the act of creating Chad Pennington voodoo dolls (not mature, but certainly helps in the here and now), the approach of sending Eric Mangini links to CareerBuilder or Monster, or creating a NFL Suggestions Box (wherein you could write "8-8 teams making playoffs over 11-win teams? SERIOUSLY, ROBERT?"). There's laughing over headlines (this one from Deadspin remains our favorite thus far). Or there's good old fashioned crying.

Whatever your particular approach, it's all sinking in. And given that the team was seen packing up their belongings at Gillette on Monday, we know that it's real, it's happened, and we'll all be OK in the long run. We promise.

We didn't have anything to take our minds off the Pats, but today will offer two forms of relief. The Bruins take on the Penguins at 7:30 p.m., while the Celtics continue their West Coast tour with a 10 p.m. EST showing against Portland.

On the Red Sox front, reports indicate that the team were willing to considering tapping into that well of young talent in order to fill the spot left by Mark Teixeira on what would have been Boston's 2009 roster. Although it appears that the idea of giving up Jacoby Ellsbury, Clay Buchholz and others in order to get Hanley Ramirez back into the organization has been scrapped, it seems to indicate that the powers that be also realize that it's time for some kind of big announcement that will calm Sox fans' jitters.