just call me SportsCenter.

a couple of quick NFL comments and then i'm going to switch over to baseball.

1. Patriots are 3-0, baby! i'm not saying they'll go undefeated, but i'm loving what i'm seeing from this team! i hope i love what i see from them on Monday Night against the Bengals too. 38 points on the board again for New England?
2. Packers are 3-0 too!! as much as i love my Patriots, this is an even more pleasant surprise. the Patriots are built to start the season 3-0. i *never* thought the Packers would pull it off too! especially facing San Diego in week three. but this season has been chock full of the unexpected, young as it is.
3. so... Tony Romo isn't so much looking like a fluke, huh?
4. i know the Colts are undefeated too but... has anyone noticed that other than the Saints, they haven't really had what i would consider to be a dominating win yet? and to be fair, it seems the Saints are fair game for just about everyone right now, so i'm not sure that counts as a dominating win anyway. both the Titans & the Texans gave Indy a real run for their money. i'll be curious to see what happens in the games leading up to week nine.
5. speaking of the Saints. it is heartbreaking to watch them play right now. i really thought Brees had found a rhythm in the third quarter last night... and then it all fell apart again. it was painful to see. i really hope the bye week gives them a chance to shake loose whatever is plaguing them, and that they can start with a fresh perspective in week five.

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if one Sox off day kills me this much, what am I going to do when baseball season officially ends? i lament this every single year. i know i have football to fall back on -- and thank God for that! -- but it's only two nights a week. i guess i don't realize how much of my time is occupied by the Sox until the inevitable ending of the season.

but we're not ready to talk about that yet, are we?
most certainly not!

this season is not over.

i was all hyped up for a good AJ Burnett beatdown of the Yankees. and then he wasn't starting. that about killed my hopes for that pending half-game going in our favor. especially when it seemed the Jays were putting out rookie pitcher, Jesse Litsch. and then the Yankees switched from Rog-ah to Pettitte. (yeah. *sure* the Yankees are not paying any attention to winning the division.)

but Andy faltered and this Litsch kid pitched quite a game and all of a sudden the Sox are going into the last six games with a two-game lead in the AL East! a playoff berth is a sealed deal. let the battle for the division title begin! a little momentum to carry us into October can't be a bad thing, right?

anyway, not much else to talk about with the off day. hoping for some vintage Schill tonight. and hopefully some ManRam offense. and some good news about Youk. i'll leave you with some random Sox quotes that have amused me or made me nod along in agreement recently.

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Now, I realize Yankees fans have an unquenchable thirst for validation. But those curtain calls for home runs of the slightest significance? Ridiculous. Just stop it. It reeks of yahooism and cheapens the moment when something truly meaningful happens. Shelley Duncan will still love you even if you don't demand he doff his cap when he hits his seventh career home run. We thought you were more sophisticated than this. Well, OK, maybe we didn't. But still.
(FOX Sports)

It's gotten to the point with Drew that I don't even get mad anymore when he inevitably does exactly what they don't need him to do in a particular at-bat; he's pathetic, and he's made me apathetic. I'm beyond having any expectations for him. I just want to know why, for the first time in his career, he's not hitting at all.
(Touching All the Bases)

going back in time to the White Sox series in Chicago:
Apparently the Red Sox were going college retro today, at least in terms of pregame meals.
Eric Hinske flashed back to his days at Arkansas by going for the ramen noodles. (Just to put this in perspective, it was just barely noon at this point.) He went for those instant lunch meals, in the styrofoam container -- the ones that just need hot water.
When his sodium intake was questioned, he went for the "I've got a cramp" excuse. Sure.
Manny Delcarmen followed with his own ramen lunch. To it, he added a banana and a Diet Pepsi. He was threatening to eat a Krispy Kreme too. Not sure if he made it to the doughnut. But it's a good thing that he's putting his nutrition at the top of his priorities.
(Extra Bases)

Nowadays Wakefield's knuckler flits around like a gum wrapper in a hurricane, which means we get the joy of watching hulking batters strike out on 66 mph puffballs. The other day A.J. Pierzynski of the White Sox swung belt-high at one that the catcher caught in the dirt. "You're better off trying to hit Wakefield when you're in a drunken stupor," Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi has said.
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Wakefield himself, doesn't offer a lot of insight as why the knuckleball is so baffling to hitters:
How and why the knuckleball works is a mystery to Wakefield. His knuckler was hopping around like popcorn in a microwave at the start of the season, then went flat for most of May and June, and now it's back at its hiccupping best. But ask him about the pitch, and it's like talking to Tolstoy about writer's block. "I don't know, and I don't want to know," Wakefield says.
(Extra Bases)

a month ago:
P.S. Pedroia just called Julio "Loogie" in a postgame interview with Tina Cervasio. Swear to God.
(Cursed to First)

in reference to Joba the Headhunter:
I DON'T WANT JONATHAN TO HAVE AN EVIL YANKEE TWIN!!
(Cursed to First)