Say hello to new columnist Ol' Scratch, who is posting on all things retro in Boston. Here's how he describes "Retroville" to us: "Amongst Boston's many underground scenes and small, quirky social groups, a segment who are passionate about the 'classic' lifestyle has arisen. Whether it's the greasers who love rockabilly, the classy cabaret kids, the swing dancers, or the bodacious burlesquers, they've all got one thing in common: They all live in Retroville." With......

We guess we have to face the facts that the Steamroller Pats of this past autumn were the aberration, not the norm. The M.O. for the first three championship teams was: keep it close, make the big plays and make the other guy NOT make them, then walk out with a win, and make sure the other guy walks out shaking his head and wondering if one or two plays would have made the difference.......

It's easy now to sit back and bask in the glory that has been the Boston athletics scene in 2007. World champions in baseball, undefeated in the NFL regular season, second place in Major League Soccer, packing crowds into the TD Banknorth Garden for the Celts and (to a lesser degree) the Bruins...we have it good. But it's our job to remind you that there were days where hats were thrown, hands were clenched, and......

Gifts were exchanged in Foxboro yesterday. From Miami to New England: a total lack of competition. From New England to Miami: Their foots off the gas pedal and a non-humiliation. 'Tis the season in the NFL. The Pats jumped out to an early lead, befitting a matchup of 14-0 against 1-13. Brady found Randy Moss twice (been a while since we've heard that!), then Laurence Maroney dashed away untouched for a career-long 59 yards for......

No Second Troy Monday, December 3, 9:00 pm, $8, 18+ Great Scott, 1222 Commonwealth Ave, Allston (T: Harvard Ave.) Band's official site Here in the -ist-a-verse, we like to let you know about bands that other -isters have tipped us off to. No Second Troy (Yeats, represent!) caught the eye of DCist recently. They'll be at Great Scott tonight, and they have a wistful, whimsical video for "Into Your Sun" making the rounds. The video......

Larry Bird was once quoted as saying, "I've got a theory that if you give 100 percent all of the time, somehow things will work out in the end." If this theory holds true, Larry was speaking in the long-term - the Celtics gave 100 percent last night and things didn't work out in Cleveland in the end. After battling through regulation and overtime, the Celtics fell to the Cavs, 109-104. In order to pull......

Manny's still hurt. Okajima is cranky. Team officals are anonymously bellyaching that bringing back Mike Lowell next year might be too expensive. Boy, it's fun being in first place, huh? Last night vs. Toronto was a fairly ho-hum game, with a disappointing ending. Curt Schilling pitched well again (See? All is not lost.), but Manny Delcarmen and Okajima gave up killer home runs to Troy Glaus and Vernon Wells, respectively, and the Jays avoided getting......

Well, on the bright side, Daisuke has nothing to complain about this morning in terms of getting run support. Before the last of the Blue Jays' traveling party had cleared Customs, the Red Sox had staked Dice to a 10-1 lead, the big blow courtesy of a 3-run shot by the red-hot Mike Lowell, [Editorial Insert to Whatever Front Office Types Are Reading This. There's going to be temptation this offseason to make a run......

What a weird night at Jacobs Field on Tuesday - one that proves that no matter how much we can complain about the Red Sox offense over the course of the season, the team has a defense in place to win a 1-0 ballgame. Cleveland's C.C. Sabathia (you might know him as "that really big, scary pitcher for the Indians") limited the Red Sox offense to one run but still managed to walk away with......

Big shock - American League wins the All-Star Game! Who knew? Who could have predicted? How could one have expected that the mighty National Leauge would fall in a 5-4 game at AT&T Park? Ten straight, friends! Excluding the tie, of course. Sure, it's become almost boringly expected that that AL is going to come out on top when the two leagues clash, but we were seriously worried about the pesky NK underdogs on Wednesday......

If only Tim Wakefield could pitch in Toronto all the time. Wake shut down the Jays a month ago, and he did it again Thursday night, going seven innings and cruising to a 8-0 pounding of the Blue Jays, who have plummeted straight past "hapless". 26-5 was the final score of the three-game series. Wake had a little early trouble. The Jays loaded the bases with one out, but Wake struck out Frank Thomas, then......

What a game last weekend, the Pats and Bears. Excitement, defense, hard hitting, and even some of the usual drama added by the NFL Zebras (are they serious with those Pass Interference calls? Were they watching the same game? Bostonist is in agreement with Troy Aikman; its time to make Pass Interference a reviewable offense). But, last night's game was proof that Defensive games can be fun. Here's hoping the boys over at Elias Sports......

Couple thoughts and musings while lamenting a loss to the New England Patriots biggest rivals, and wondering why in 'tarnation did the Pats stop running the ball in the second half of the Indy game.... The Pats are 6-2 and in great shape in the AFC East. Yes, now we will have to head to Indy to get to the Super Bowl, but as all Bostonists are stating, Tom Brady is 10-0 in domes.......

The Patriots proved to a national audience Monday evening that this team is for real, and in all likelihood will be playing playoff games in January, and maybe one in February... (crossing fingers, dodging lightning bolts, knocking on wood) New England utterly dominated the Minnesota Vikings (who were billed as the "Denver Broncos of the NFC", who handed the Pats their lone defeat of the season) 31-7 last night, a few miles from the......

The Pats took one with ease on Sunday, defeating division rival Miami Dolphins by a score of 20-10 at sold out Gillette stadium. The boys at the Bostonist satellite office in Foxboro have now defeated all three of their divisional foes, posting an early 3-0 record in the division, which is critical down the line for playoff scenarios. This contest took an interesting turn late in the week, as the Patriots were planning to......

Touchdown Tommy is not happy. And how can Boston blame him? He took less money to stay in New England with the belief that the regime would continue to spend, and put a competitive product on the field. Instead, the Pats are almost 17 million under the cap. Conspiracy Theory: Was it a coincidence Brady forced the ball downfield 12+ times against the Denver secondary (which is quite good), and completed zero passes? Was......

On Sunday afternoon, things didn't start spectacularly for the New England Patriots, but they sure did end that way. The Pats prevailed in Foxboro yesterday in front of a full house at Gillette Stadium by the score of 19-17. The Pats season started in what looked to be a disastrous manner. The season's first play for the Pats was not what Pats fans had envisioned for the inaugural play of the 2006 campaign. On......

Well, that wasn't as fun as Bostonist remembers it. There is no parade route in the planning this year, as the Pats were defeated Saturday night in Denver by the Broncos 27-13 (As you surely know by now). While the defending champs did have their chances, no team that turns the ball over five times deserves to (or should, really) win a playoff game in the National Football League. Tough one for the hometown boys,......

The just keep on truckin’, don’t they. The defending World Champs, the New England Patriots, masterfully disassembled the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars yesterday at Gillette stadium in Bostonist's satellite office in Foxboro, 28-3. The Pats advanced through the Wild Card round of the National Football League’s playoffs, and are awaiting the results of Sunday's games which will determine whether they will travel to Denver to face the Broncos, or Indianapolis for a rematch with good......

Whoever said that you "can't win 'em all" might have had a brief audience with Bill Belichick before yesterday’s matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs. The Patriots lackluster performance and effort yesterday was just enough to keep them from being run out of the building, and that is about it. The Patriots were basically playing what would be considered the second string, if this were earlier in the season, due to their rash of......

Bostonist has noticed that haircuts for women tend to be a big, expensive, high-stress affair. The people who do the job take an exceedingly long time to remove a very small quantity of hair at a very high price, and for this reason they are called "stylists," not "barbers." We have observed that these stylists are treated almost like mystic oracles - or at least like rock stars - by their faithful customers. ("I went......

Ahh.. The Pats... what a squad, eh? Less than a week after being left for dead in Foxboro at the hands of the NFL's best team, the Indianapolis Colts, the Pats were back on the field facing a divisional foe, the Miami Dolphins, in a critical AFC East matchup. The Patriots were banged up, big time. David Givens was out. Corey Dillon was active, but after a single play didn't return to the Pats......

A valiant second-half effort by Tom Brady and the 3rd string Pats was not enough to overcome a 21-3 halftime deficit. Denver was able to extend their lead to 28-3 with 11:02 remaining in the third quarter on Sunday at Invesco Field in Denver. Tom and the Pats then began a ferocious rally over the next 26 minutes and change to bring the game within a single score at 28-20. Brady, unfortunately, didn't have enough......

The World Champion New England Patriots have lost two players in the past two days. Troy Brown, a wide receiver who has spent all 12 years of his NFL career with the Pats, has not been offered an option year by New England. This now places Brown as a free agent as of yesterday; by not picking up Brown for another year, the team saves $5 million. Brown was an offensive captain for this......