tonytalkssports My Take on Sports, particularly the Yankees, Maple Leafs and Browns

Tuesday’s Thoughts

While wondering when did Monday Night Football become so irrelevant, here is what's on my mind this morning:

* The monumental collapse of the Boston Red Sox is making the end of the season so much more enjoyable for me. Josh Beckett, he of making a 100 win prediction back in March, gave up 6 runs last night against the lowly Orioles as the Red Sox lost 6-3. With Tampa winning, Boston is tied for the AL Wild Card spot with the Rays. If I told you I feel sorry for the Bostonians I'd be lying.

* Don't want to here about injuries being the reason for the collapse. The Yankees had several key injuries this year losing ARod, Jeter, Soriano and Hughes for periods of time this season. They also lost Joba Chamberlain and Pedro Feliciano for the year. The Yanks overcame all of that to win the AL East going away. All the Red Sox had to do was play .500 ball in September and they would have clinched a playoff spot. And by the way, Beckett and Jon Lester have a combined ERA of over 5 for the month of September.

* I'd love to see John Kruk and the rest of the Red Sox Nation affiliated with ESPN eat crow. Kruk was so emphatic that the Red Sox would win the division and that the Yankees would not make the playoffs. Well, Krukie now what???

* The NFL season approaches its 4th week and I have some observations: The Atlanta Falcons, a trendy pick to go to the Super Bowl, are going to struggle to make the playoffs. Their offense is totally out of sync. I have never been a Matt Ryan fan and he has shown nothing this season to make me change my opinion.

* The Pittsburgh Steelers may be in trouble. They took some hits on their O-line with some injuries Sunday night and it appears that they cannot run the ball. It will be interesting to see what adjustments Mike Tomlin makes.

* The New England Patriots ride to a Super Bowl hit a bump on Sunday. The Buffalo Bills exposed the Patriot defense big time. But when you think about it, New England's defense has been terrible for the last several years. I attribute that to the arrogance of genius Bill Belichick who thinks he can put people in and out of the roster no matter how good they are and still win.

* The Philadelphia Eagles may be the Boston Red Sox of the NFL. The proclaimed Dream Team was lit up by the NY Football Giants Sunday. So much for that vaunted defensive secondary. Maybe Andy Reid should have paid attention to his O-line.

* Living in WNY, the sports bandwagons are filled up to the brim as enthusiasm for the Bills and Sabres is unreal. Super Bowl and the Stanley Cup are Buffalo's to own. At least that's what the locals are saying. Too bad that both aren't won in September.

* And finally, the blown call on an extra point attempt by Syracuse in its game against Toledo was a total disgrace. Syracuse had scored a touchdown putting the Orange ahead 29-27. The extra point attempt was clearly wide to the left but the officials ruled the kick was good. The play was reviewed by the replay official and they concurred that the kick was good. Are you kidding me!!! If Syracuse was playing West Virginia or UConn what would the result have been??? Plain and simple: Toledo got screwed. The Big East should be ashamed of themselves.