September 2008 Archives

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

The Boston Celtics officially announced on Monday that 15-year veteran point guard Sam Cassell re-signed with the team for the 2008-09 season.

"There was no doubt, they basically just wanted to know what I wanted to do," Cassell said about whether he would be back in Boston this season.

Cassell, who turns 39 years old in November, signed with the Celtics in March last season after being waived by the Los Angeles Clippers. He averaged 7.6 points and 2.1 assists in 17 regular season games with the Celtics last season and finished the season with combined averages of 11.2 points and 3.9 assists per game.

He also said he's looking forward to working with point guards Rajon Rondo, Eddie House, and Gabe Pruitt in practices and in camp.

If the Celtics were to make back-to-back championship runs, it would be Cassell's second time being a part of that. He participated in title runs during his first two years in the NBA with the Houston Rockets in 1993-94 and 1994-95.

Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said he had little doubt Cassell would return for another season.

"I just think you're going to have to drag Sam away from the NBA," Rivers said. "He loves basketball. He's a gym rat, and I think Sam's one of those guys who can play forever. I really do. He's smart. It's not like Sam relies on his speed. He hasn't in 10 years, and he's still very effective."

Rivers quipped that with a full training camp under his belt, Cassell won't have the same excuses for taking the quick shots he loves.

"I think that will definitely help Sam," Rivers said of having a full year. "And it will help me with Sam. Now, when he comes down and takes a quick shot and says he didn't know the play, I know it's not true now. Last year, I had to go with on that one."

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

A quick glance into the future’s market while waiting for somebody, anybody, to bail us out of this non-stop bailout talk:

Angels in four. Or maybe even three.

The West champs from Los Angeles-Anaheim-San Diego-Long Beach-Santa Ana-Tyngsboro, or whatever they’re calling themselves these days, have been the best team in the American League by a long shot this year and will exact revenge on a Red Sox team with only one city as a home base, and the same number of scary bats in the lineup right about now.

This is where the Manny Ramirez trade will hurt. I’m not arguing that a trade shouldn’t have been made, but those who foolishly argued the Sox are better off without him will find out how untrue that theory is in the coming days. Whereas last year, Boston’s Boys of Summer could burn you with a potent 3-4-5 of Ortiz, Manny and Mike Lowell, this year’s edition will struggle out of the power slots, especially if Kevin Youkilis starts getting pitched around, as he was near the end of the season.

There’s one other good reason to pick against the Sox. The Josh Beckett of 2008 is not the same Josh Beckett who dominated the post-season of 2007. There have been one-too-many peculiar injuries like a sore shoulder caused by not having a Craftmatic adjustable bed or therapeutic pillow, if you know what I’m saying.

Now, maybe the best October pitcher in baseball really did strain an oblique tossing on the side over the weekend, but don’t be surprised to read an offseason blurb about some type of medical procedure on his throwing arm. The latest injury story fails the smell test worse than an unrefrigerated, three week old piece of fish.

Hey, don’t look now, but the Bruins open play less than a week and a half from now, October 9th to be exact. For what it’s worth, the lack of a true number one goaltender is still the biggest issue facing the Black and Gold. (Seems like we’ve been saying that since Gerry Cheevers put the last stitch on his flimsy goalie’s mask, doesn’t it?)

However, my disappointment at the lack of any offseason acquisitions to get truly excited about is tempered somewhat by the return of Patrice Bergeron. If healthy, he’s instantly the best player on the roster, by far. That’s a pretty nice addition to make to a squad which showed a little something in qualifying for the playoffs and put up a decent fight against the Canadiens.

I saw where UMass-Lowell hockey was picked 7th in Hockey East’s pre-season poll. Not to put any pressure on head coach Blaise MacDonald and the boys, but it says here that’s about three spots too low.

While home games against Central Catholic and Chelmsford should be tough matchups for Dracut High, the game that might prove to be the bumpiest on the road to a playoff berth is the October 24th matchup at Billerica. Peter Flynn’s Indians are always tough, and while he might not yet be the best quarterback in the Merrimack Valley Conference, fantastic Freshman Nick Laspada could very well be the league’s most exciting one.

Well, that’s the view from here. How do you see things?

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

Geez Mr. Worthy....If I didn't know better, I'd think you were taking a shot a me with that column in today's Sun....LOL!

I've already done the mea culpas to Lynn and everyone else about Doc Rivers. He's proven he can win if given the right talent. I will never criticize Doc for the Celtics shortcomings again. (At least I'll try not too!)

All kidding aside, read Lynn's article if you haven't already. It pretty much captures Doc's role in leading the C's to that elusive 17th banner. And yes, Lynn, I got the part about the bloggers! (Oh, and sorry about the mug shot....it was the only photo I could find of you on Google images)

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

Mediocrity, thy name is Slick!

After three weeks of gambling games, our fearless football forecaster is right back where he started...with the same number of wins as losses. A disappointing 2-3 record against the spread last week included the Patriots getting shellaced by the Dolphins while laying 12 1/2 points.

After that pathetic selection, a losing week was the only justified outcome. You simply can't miss a game featuring the home team so badly and expect to be rewarded with a positive number in the ledger. Slick deserved his fate, has accepted it, and promises his loyal followers a bounce back week worthy of the Brady-led Patriots. Let's just hope it's not a Brady-less Patriots performance.

On with Slick's Picks:

Denver (-9 1/2) over Kansas City
NY Jets (-1 1/2) over Arizona
Washington (+11) over Dallas
Philadelphia (-3) over Chicago
Pittsburgh (-5 1/2) over Baltimore

Last week: 2-3
Season record: 8-8

Clearly the Indians are through pitching to former Lowell Spinner Kevin Youkilis unless they absolutely have no choice.
When Fausto Carmona walked Youkilis on five pitches during a four-run Red Sox first inning tonight, it was the seventh consecutive time Youkilis has reached base in this series, including three straight walks.
Little wonder. Youkilis went 3-for-4 in the first game with two doubles, a walk, and two RBI. Last night he hit a two-run homer off 22-game winner Cliff Lee and walked in his other three appearances.
Coming into tonight’s game, Youkilis was hitting .692 (9-for-13) off Cleveland pitching this year with two homers and seven RBI, and in his career he is a .365 hitter against the Indians with four homers and 17 RBI in 74 at-bats.
Those figures don’t even include what he did against them in the ALCS last year. Youkilis hit .500 (14-for-28) with a double, triple, three homers, five walks, seven RBI, and an ALCS-record 10 runs scored in the seven games. He also tied an LCS record with his 14 hits. He also set ALCS records with his batting average, on-base percentage (.576), and slugging percentage (.929).

In a highly surprising turn of events tonight, J.D. Drew returned to the Red Sox lineup, playing right field and batting fifth.
Drew had not played in five weeks because of a bulging disk in his back. His last appearance had been back on Aug. 17. He had an epidural earlier this week and only took live batting practice for the first time yesterday afternoon.
But Drew fell fit enough to play tonight. He reached on a fielder’s choice in his first at-bat and came around to score one of the Red Sox’ four first-inning runs off Fausto Carmona.

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

With camp opening next week, Bosotn Celtics Managing Partner and Governor Wyc Grousbeck speaks with Sports Radio WEEI radio's Dale and Holley Show Thursday afternoon (the show runs from 10am to 2 pm).

The Celtics begin preseason camp on Tuesday morning at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island.

Area coaches are invited to call in nominations for this column
(978-970-4647 or 1-800-694-7100 any night between 6-10 p.m.
Nominations may also be emailed to rharrison@lowellsun.com.

FOOTBALL
AMBRUCE CARTER, JULIAN SCOTT
Lowell

Senior running back Carter rushed for a game-high 164 yards on 24 carries, including a 16-yard TD run, while senior strong safety Scott played a strong defensive game as the Red Raiders blanked Nashua South, 21-0. Scott ran back a pass interception late in the first
half to break Nashua South’s back and give LHS a 14-0 intermission lead.

ROK SHEPHERD
Dracut

The junior wideout had 91 yards receiving, including TD catches covering 53 and 29 yards, and he also kicked a pair of conversions in the Middies’ closer-than-it-looked 48-26 loss to Everett.

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

The webcam hits the road again Friday night to bring you another high powered high school football matchup.

After bringing you last week's big Dracut-Everett matchup, The Sun is proud to present this week's game between Westford and Wayland. You can view the broadcast by visiting the SunTalk Live link at www.lowellsun.com, or even simpler, by visiting this link. Both teams are undefeated and the showdown could go a long way toward determining the Dual County League champion, and possibly a Super Bowl berth.

So if you can't make it out to the game, park yourself in front of your computer screen and watch live high school football action courtesy of LowellSun.com.

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

The Fighter, the long-anticipated movie chronicling local boxing legend Micky Ward’s life, is inching closer to becoming reality.

Scouts for Paramount Studios spent part of the weekend in Lowell, visiting sites central to the film’s plot. The same location manager who worked for the Ricky Gervais movie This Side of the Truth, which was shot in the Mill City earlier this year, was spotted at Captain John’s and the Highland Tap Sunday, snapping pictures of potential shooting locations to take back to movie executives.

Arthur Ramalho’s West End Gym also received a visit from the location manager, prompting the longtime boxing trainer to lobby on behalf of his hometown. “They should shoot the movie in Lowell,” Ramalho tells the Sun. “This is where Micky grew up. He got his start right here in this gym.”

A final decision on the primary shooting location has yet to be made. Nick Paleologos, Director of the Massachusetts Film Office, along with various government officials and agencies have been lobbying hard to land the movie for Lowell.

The flick, which will star Oscar nominated actor Mark Wahlberg as Micky Ward, has been in the planning stages for nearly three years now. Brad Pitt is also rumored to be part of the cast as Micky's brother Dickie Ecklund, though recent reports out of Hollywood have Matt Damon as a possibility for the role.

While a time frame has yet to be made public, the fact sites are being scouted is an indication decisions on when and where to shoot could be close to being finalized.

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

Raise your hand if you saw this one coming. Didn't think so.

I mean, the signs were there.The Patriots played an emotional game against the Jets last week, determined to show the world they were still a legit contender even without Tom Brady. So a letdown at home, against a winless team, was certainly in the offing. I even took the Dolphins and the 12 1/2 ponts, figuring on a Patriots win with it being touch and go on the cover.

But this? A blowout? Uh-uh! Never saw it coming.

So where to now? Well, the bye week for starters. But I mean long-term. What we feared would happen without Brady is now reality. The Pats are just another team, beatable no matter who they face. Oh sure, Bill Belichick and the boys always preached the "any given Sunday" mantra, but we knew better. The Miami Dolphins....THE MIAMI DOLPHINS?...were not supposed to come into Foxboro and end New England's 22-game regular season winning streak, even if they were the last team to knock the Pats off.

Two more things: Once a quitter...always a quitter! By the time this Brady-less season is finished, people are going to wish Randy Moss had never worn the Flying Elvis helmet. At least Asante Samuel deserved his money. When the Patriots need him most, Moss is going to disappear and sulk his way through 2008 because Matt Cassel can't help him put up guady numbers. That's his history. Today's performance tells us its likely to be his future, too.

Finally, can you guess which moron inserted Ronnie Brown into not one, but two fantasy football lineups on Sunday morning, only to change his mind at 12:50pm after reading that Darren McFadden was going to start for the Raiders this afternoon in Buffalo?

Go ahead, take a wild guess!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

It's said that he who laughs last, laughs best. Well, we still have about 4-months remaining till the final chuckle, but Slick proved last week that he who laughs second, laughs better.

Our fearless football forecaster rebounded from an atrocious opening week to post a perfect 5-for-5 mark against the spread in Week 2. And rest assured, the artist formerly known as The Victim was sure to let me know about it after I mocked his name change and performance in the opener.

He also wanted me to let all of you know that HE WAS PERFECET. So there, Slickster, consider it done. Now don't expect another compliment in this space for about 3-years!!!!

On with this week's Slick's Picks:

New England (-12) over Miami
Denver (-5 1/2) over New Orleans
Jacksonville (+5) over Indianapolis
Dallas (-3) over Green Bay
NY Jets (+8 1/2) over San Diego

Last week's record: 5-0
Season record: 6-5

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

The big weekend happenings, complete with brief commentary:

1) Dracut @ Everett: You think there's been enough coverage of this game? Let's see, there was this story here. This one here. You've got that one over there. Oh, and let's not forget about this one.

This high school game has taken on a Super Bowl feel, what with all the hype and media attention around here. And you know what? If the Middies pull off the over the #1 ranked Crimson Tide, the pre-game attention will be nothing compared to what will come afterward. A Dracut victory will arguable by the biggest high school football story around these parts, ever. Can you think of another one that would even come close?

2) The Red Sox are inching closer to clinching a wild card berth. They're also only a game and a half behind Tampa in the AL East. So what should they do? Settle for the playoff berth or go all-out to win the division?

It says here they should clinch ASAP, then rest the walking wounded and line up the pitching rotation so that Beckett, Lester and Dice-K starts the first three playoff games, in that order.

3) You might not realize it, considering Tiger Woods isn't competing this year, but the Ryder Cup tees off this morning in Louisville, Kentucky. It says here, the Americans might be in better shape without the world's number one ranked player, because they might finally be forced to approach this thing as they should, and as the Europeans do....as a true T-E-A-M.

4) Finally, I see the Pats beating the Dolphins and heading into the bye week 3-0, giving them some time to adjust on the fly for Tom Brady's absence. After that, the real season begins, as we find out whether they're a borderline playoff team without Brady, a definite playoff entry, or a legitimate title contender. Should be a fun football season!

That's the view from here...how do you see things this weekend?

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

The Boston Celtics pay President George W. Bush a visit tomorrow, celebrating their 2008 NBA Championship with a trip to the White House in Washington, D.C.

Players, coaches, ownership, and members of the front office are expected to attend. Head Coach Doc Rivers, Executive Director of Basketball Operations/General Manager Danny Ainge, as well as Team Co-Owners Irving Grousbeck, Wycliffe Grousbeck, Steve Pagliuca and Bob Epstein are expected to be in attendance.

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

How big is that Dracut-Everett high school football game this Saturday? Big enough that lowellsun.com will broadcast it live!

That's right...The Sun is packing up the camera equipment and heading to Everett High for those of you unable to make the trek down Route 1. Just click the link here at 2pm Saturday, September 20th to watch the game .

Go Middies!!!

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

Primary sports thoughts on this primary election day (No! You can’t vote me out of this space!):

If Sunday was the blueprint the Patriots are going to follow in Tom Brady’s absence, I think we discovered there’s still enough talent on the roster to construct a winning season. Whether it’s a championship season remains to be seen, but you have to be pleased at how the Pats performed in their star quarterback’s absence. Of course, much of the credit goes to the architect, Bill Belichick, who seems to be at his best when the challenge is greatest. Let’s just say this observer was mighty impressed…and surprised.

I’ve said it before. I’ll say it again: Brett Favre is the most overrated player in the history of the NFL. I hope he has a nice comfortable sofa from which to watch Aaron Rodgers lead the Packers in the playoffs.

Now we know why Ohio State doesn’t like to schedule tough opponents during the regular season. At least Saturday’s 35-3 spanking at USC saved the Buckeyes, and college football fans across the country, from another BCS title game rout at the hands of some as-yet-unknown Southeastern Conference power.

Dracut Athletic Director Tim Woods and former Head Coach Pat Murphy took heat in some quarters for scheduling early season football contests against Brockton and Everett. Turns out they knew a little something about the direction the team was headed in. The positive buzz created by the Middies victory over the Boxers and the upcoming slugfest against the Crimson Tide can only help the current coach, Jeff Moore, in his efforts to build a program and feeder system that will return the Middies to perennial powerhouse status here in the Merrimack Valley.

By the way, if you can’t make the trip to Everett, log onto lowellsun.com Saturday for a live video webcast of the big matchup.

Did you catch that bizarre story out of Congo? Seems a soccer player touched off a riot and stampede in which eleven people were killed when he attempted to put a curse on the opposition by making witchcraft hand gestures. In a related note, I’ve been warning American sports franchises for years about the evils that could be unleashed if they don’t stop encouraging repeated renditions of Y-M-C-A and the Chicken Dance.

I have to give this Red Sox edition a ton of credit. Manny Ramirez is gone. David Ortiz is just a shell of his fearsome self. And yet, minus their two big boppers, the team continues to trudge along and will be a tough out come October. Ironically, it’s the smallest basher in the lineup leading the offensive charge. It says here, Dustin Pedroia is one red-hot playoff season away from becoming the face of this franchise…if he isn’t already.

OK, OK…I get it! NASCAR is a major draw, a place where nearly 100,000 people congregate to watch people turn left for a couple of hours. Answer me this, though: how many of those 100, 000 would show up if you made the asphalt ovals and surrounding parking lots non-alcoholic zones?

I’m pretty sure the Red Sox would bang out Fenway even if coffee was the strongest beverage available. I’d be willing to bet a healthy sum the NFL wouldn’t see much of a decline, if any. Perhaps I’m wrong, but I’m guessing a big part of auto racing’s appeal is the pre and post-race party atmosphere. Take away the beer coolers and you basically end up with a half-empty house.

Then again, that’s probably better than what you’d get at a Bruins game!

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

A week into the 2008 NFL gambling season, our fearless football forecaster is no longer wearing the bag on his head to hide his identity. Instead, the brown paper is being used to hide the shame, the shame of an embarrassing mark against the opening week point spread.

Were it not for the pathetic Raiders, our pigskin prognosticator would have posted a goose egg for the week, a far cry from the spread success enjoyed the last two sessions, success that led to a name change. Despite repeated pleas from yours truly to go back to his previous identity, the artist formerly known as “The Victim” will trudge on with his new persona.

As a result, once again I present to you, Slick’s Picks:

Indianapolis (-1 ½) over Minnesota
NY Giants (-8 ½) over St. Louis
New England (+1 ½) over NY Jets
Cleveland (+6) over Pittsburgh
Philadelphia (+7) over Dallas

Last week: 1-5
Season record: 1-5

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

The Boston Celtics and head coach Doc Rivers reached an agreement on a contract extension.

While the Celtics did not officially announce terms of the deal, Yahoo! Sports reports that the deal keeps Rivers on the Celtics bench through the 2010-2011 season.

Rivers received an extension following the dreadful 2006-07 season that included a franchise worst 18-game losing streak and a final record of 24-58. That extension sealed Rivers up through next season.

The Celtics won the 17th franchise in history under Rivers this past season. Rivers also joined Red Auerbach, Tommy Heinsohn, K.C. Jones, Bill Fitch and Bill Russell as Celtics coaches to win an NBA Championship.

Boston finished the 2007-08 season with the best record in the NBA (66-16), and Rivers finished second in the NBA Coach of the Year voting.

In the four seasons that Rivers has coached the Celtics he has amassed a career record of 168-160 (.512).

“We are pleased to be able to extend Doc’s contract. Doc molded a championship team last season through his leadership and we are confident that he is the man to lead this franchise on the court now and in the future.” Danny Ainge, Celtics Executive Director of Basketball Operations/General Manager said in a release.

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

Guess we’ll have our answer sooner than we would have liked.

It’s an argument that’s intrigued me for years. Who is the most indispensable member of the Patriots dynasty, Bill Belichick or Tom Brady? The Mastermind coach or the cool as an Altoid quarterback? I’d always figured the answer wouldn’t come till Brady retired, assuming of course that Belichick would stick around to prove he could win without number-12.

The timetable accelerated rapidly Sunday, when the karma gods turned on our boys in the Flying Elvis helmets. Actually, one could argue they turned sometime last February, but that’s a discussion we’ve already had. Time to argue about this one.

I’ve always approached the debate from the “sure, Belichick is a great coach, but he never won without Brady” angle. Now, you could argue Brady never won without Belichick, either. Then again, Tom Terrific never had the chance, so unless Matt Cassel lights up the scoreboard and the hooded one decides Brady’s salary isn’t worth it, we’ll probably never find out how an “in his prime” Tom Brady could perform outside of the Patriots system.

Remember, Belichick was 5-13 as New England coach before that fateful day when Mo Lewis took out Drew Bledsoe with a vicious hit. The mark was 36-44 over five years with decent options like Bernie Kosar and Vinnie Testaverde calling signals in Cleveland. Not exactly awe inspiring numbers, are they?

Of course, this line of thinking is in the minority. (Geez, there’s a shock. That stupid Panos guy taking an opinion outside the mainstream) Most people I broach the subject with think the Pats head man is a coaching genius, able to, as Bum Phillips once said about Don Shula, “take his’n and beat yours’n and take yours’n and beat his’n.” For those of you unfamiliar with Bum-speak, that’s a way of saying he could win with an inferior roster.

Well, Belichick now gets his chance to prove it, except he doesn’t have to do it with an inferior roster. He gets the exact same team most of you thought was good enough to win the Super Bowl, minus one player. He doesn’t have to wait till his team is in ruins at other key spots besides QB to rebuild and prove his coaching prowess. Richard Seymour and Rodney Harrison are still there. So are Randy Moss and Wes Welker. If it’s the system, then the system should work just fine with Matt Cassel running it.

Here’s how I’m going to score it. If Matt “I haven’t started a game since high school” Cassel leads the Patriots to the conference championship, then Belichick goes down in my book as the greatest coach in NFL history. He was THE reason for the Patriots dynasty. End of debate. No questions asked. He won’t even have to win the Super Bowl, since I didn’t think the Pats would win it with Brady in the first place. Just get to the conference title game, win or lose, and I’ll never doubt the man again, nor should anybody else.

The last two times the Patriots have taken the field in a game that counts have ended with their fans in total shock: First, they lost to the Giants. Then their leader, who hasn’t missed a game due to injury his entire career, goes down for the season with a knee injury.

Despite the “in Bill we trust” motto, the biggest shocker of them all would be if the Patriots were still playing in January.

So what do you think, gang? Can Belichick keep this team in title contention with Matt Cassel at QB?

Posted By Lynn Worthy, Sun Staff

The New England Patriots released a statement confirming that Patriots quarterback and NFL MVP Tom Brady will miss the remainder of the 2008 season.

The Statement reads as follows:

"After extensive tests this morning, it was revealed that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's left knee, which was injured in the first quarter of yesterday's game, will require surgery. He will be placed on injured reserve and will miss the remainder of the 2008 season."

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

Does anything else need to be said right now?

Update: Michael Silver, a very credible writer, is reporting on Yahoo Sports that Brady is done for the year with a torn ACL. Even before that report, players on the Jets were telling NBC.com's Tom Curran (a former Patriots beat writer) that they'd been told it was a torn ACL.

Update: And this just in from ESPN.com: Although no test results had yet to be revealed, one Patriots players went so far as to tell ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer after the game, "Cassel's our quarterback for the rest of the year."

For the record, Rod Woodson of the Steelers suffered a torn ACL in Week 1 of the 1995 season (September) and returned to play in the Super Bowl against the Cowboys in January of 1996.

Posted by Teddy Panos

You never switch equipment in the middle of a hot streak. Never wear read hoodies when you’ve gone 18-0 in a gray one. And you never, ever, mess with the Gambling Gods.

Yet that’s what our new found friend Slick appears to have done. The artist formerly known as The Victim changed names after back to back winning seasons against the spread, the only two winning season I recall him posting, and in the process may have messed with the positive karma that rescued him from a history of losing.

Now, I realize one game does not a year make. But I feel obliged to tell you that besides making a truly horrific pick Thursday night (Redskins plus the point vs. the Giants), our pigskin prognosticator is also 0-3 picking college games. They don’t count against the overall record, but the trend is troubling for those who follow this fearless forecaster’s advice.

Will he stop the slide in the first full day of NFL gambling activity? Let’s find out with Slick’s Picks for Week 1:

New England (-16) over Kansas City
Cleveland (+5 ½) over Dallas
Indianapolis (-9 ½) over Chicago
Minnesota (+2 ½) over Green Bay
Denver (-3) over Oakland

2008 record: 0-1
2007 record: 53-51-2
2006 record: 59-42
2005 record: 3-4

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

Dracut High’s football squad kicked off the 2008 season in dramatic style, by traveling down to Brockton and knocking off the high-powered Boxers 34-32. (You can catch Lynn Worthy’s game story, as well as the rest of last night’s schoolboy gridiron action, by visiting the sports page at lowellsun.com)

As for the game of the night, I’m going to take a minute to crow about my old school. (Feel free to talk up your own school) The administration took a lot of heat for scheduling early season contests against perennial powers like Brockton and Everett, but the Middies proved the faith in this squad’s ability was justified. Funny thing is, a lot of high school experts didn’t necessarily regard this result as an upset. Many of them called for it, as a matter of fact.

Let’s also take a second to laud the play of senior QB Matt Grimard, who did the Boxers in not with his arm, but with his legs. 147-yards rushing and 4-TD’s is the kind of performance that’ll make Grimard an early season Player of the Year candidate.

So today, whether you’re from Dracut or any other Merrimack Valley school, sit back and take pride that one of our own showed the rest of the state what MVC football is all about!

So what do you think gang...are the Middies for real? Where does this win rank in school and MVC history? Does Dracut stand a chance against Everett?

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

The King is Dead…Long Live the King!

Our Potentate of Pigskin Prognostication, The Victim is no longer with us. We’d promised our fearless forecasting friend we’d allow a name change, to something more respectable, should he put together a second consecutive winning season of beating the point spread. Lo and behold, grabbing the Giants and the points in Super Bowl XLII placed The Victim on the plus side of the wagering ledger, thereby pulling the plug on his former persona and years of abuse.

The choice was all his, a chance to discard that derisive moniker that had dogged this lovable loser through years of gambling ineptitude and replace is with a name that demanded respect. He could have become something regal, majestic. The King. The Wizard. The Prince of Pigskin. Anything…the possibilities were endless.

And after 6-months to think on it, what did The Victim decide to be reborn as? Slick! You know what they say: Once a loser…..

On with Slick’s Picks:

Washington (+4 ½) over NY Giants

2007 Record: 53-51-2
2006 Record: 59-41
2005 Record: 3-4

Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

Laboring to pen a column while hoping not to offend the masses with anti-Patriots predictions such as “they’ll finish 13-3”:

Seriously folks. When did being a fan of a team mean you have to grab the pom-poms and cheerlead in print? Can’t a writer root for a team but still think it won’t win a championship? Heck, we’ve all be doing that with the Bruins for 36-years, haven’t we? Remember, this same “hater” openly rooted for and predicted an undefeated season after week 5 of last season, arrogantly dismissing those who thought the Giants could merely be competitive, never mind outright win Super Bowl XLII.

I do have to give some of the comments on lowellsun.com credit for creativity, however. The gentleman with the playful adaptation on my last name gets big props, though no print because of vulgarity. One pleasant chap mistook me for a British cigarette. I was called a fool, idiot, talentless and poor excuse for a writer. Some of those comments even came from people outside my immediate family. (My mom will confirm all of the above, though only because she was once my teacher, not because she’s a sports fan)

To the adoring masses, I send back my love and leave you with one more thought: how does it feel to have turned into Yankees fans circa October 2003? That’s right, just like our current Patriots, those Bronx Bombers were three years removed from their last championship and had just been knocked off in a title game by a far inferior opponent (Florida Marlins), yet their easily riled followers (some might say obnoxious) still hadn’t come to grips with the fact the run was over. They sure learned the hard way the following year, didn’t they?

Hey gang, I grew up on the Bruins and Celtics. As I watched Bobby Clarke and the rest of the Broad Street Bullies best the Black and Gold in Game 6 of the 1974 Finals, little did I know the only time Boston would host Lord Stanley’s Cup was when Ray Bourque brought it to City Hall Plaza as a member of the Colorado Avalanche. And I certainly thought the 1989 Celtics had another title or two left in them. Unfortunately, you have to sometimes take a step back from the trees to see the forest.

Enough of that…let’s talk baseball. The Red Sox still have a shot at October baseball, though hearing the names Josh Beckett and Dr. James Andrews in the same sentence sends chills down the spine. Unlike a lot of you, I’m not rooting against Tampa Bay. I want the Rays to make the playoffs as the wild card entry so I can root for them if/when Boston is eliminated. My hunch is the spunky, formerly devilish, Rays are going to become America’s choice in the month before America chooses its next leader.

Speaking of which, I can’t say Sarah Palin has my vote right now. But she does have my admiration. Sportscaster in Alaska? Sounds like perfect training for staying awake through at least four years of eventless State of the Union addresses.

Finally, I’m so excited Jose Canseco is returning to the spotlight. In case you missed the announcement over the holiday weekend, the ‘Roidin’ Rat taped an episode of Fox Network’s “Moment of Truth.” That’s the game show where contestants are hooked up to a lie-detector and asked a series of questions. Reportedly, Canseco was asked about injecting Mark McGwire with steroids.

Now, why didn’t George Mitchell or the Congressional Committee investigating the use of illegal drugs in Major League Baseball think of this first?