Sports Chowdah Update for October 30, 2011- 11th Title in the Cards for St. Louis; If You Sell It, They Will Come? Pats Get Steel Toed Boot

Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images

WORLD SERIES: It seemed to have that air of inevitability around it almost as soon as David Freese's bat made contact with the ball in the bottom of the 9th of Game 6 with 2 outs and a 1-2 count.

Despite Texas getting out to the early 2-0 lead in the top of the first, the Cardinals- unsurprisingly and inevitably- came back to tie the game up in the bottom half of the 1st frame on a 2 out, 2 RBI double from none other than David Freese.

Cards outfielder Allen Craig put St Louis up for good with a solo homer in the bottom of the 3rd. In the 5th, the Cardinals would get some insurance when catcher Yadier Molina drew a 2 out bases-loaded walk, followed up by Rafael Furcal getting hit by a pitch with the bags STILL loaded to make it a 5-2 game.

Although Texas would get the occasional leadoff runner on, the 2 runs they got in the first inning would be it, and Molina would get another RBI- this time in the form of a single that plated Berkman- to put St Louis up by 6-2. Jason Motte, who put the 2 Rangers baserunners on in Game 2 that ultimately cost St Louis the game, came on for a one two three top of the 9th to seal the Cards 6-2 win and the World Series.

Chris Carpenter went 6 complete innings for the win for St Louis while Matt Harrison was hung with the loss for the Rangers. Molina went 2-3 with 2 RBIs for the Cards while local hero David Freese went 1-2 wirh 2 RBIs and 2 walks. Thanks in large part to his role in both Game 6 and Game 7, Freese was named the 2011 World Series MVP.

Game 6 was such a difficult act to follow- even though I knew better, I was a little disappointed that Game 7 didn't end in a similar manner. I remember the last time the Cards were in the World Series (2006), all the East Coast sports figures and yammering heads on ESPN were bemoaning that it would be an all-Midwest World Series, thus boring.

Unfortunately Detroit proved them correct by basically air-mailing a bunch of pivotal innings away. I haven't been watching or listening to alot of the 'personalities' on ESPN, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if they were saying the exact same things five years later.

As a Red Sox fan, I'm not particularly passionate about either one of the teams in the 2011 World Series [lest anybody forget, Red Sox Nation had their day against St. Louis 7 years ago- NANESB!] but the quality of the games was something to behold- well, most of the games at least.

It seemed as though I found myself asking 'What can they do to one-up this?' every time I was watching or listening. Even in the one true blowout, viewers got to see Albert Pujols put himself in some very distinct company. Texas kept themselves in it with some small ball in Game 2 and a heroic outing by Derek Holland in Game 4 as well as Napoli's bat in Game 5.

But all that was left in the dust once Game 6 wrapped up.

Congratulations to the 2011 World Series Champion St Louis Cardinals and congratulations to both teams for treating us to some very exciting October baseball.

OTHER BASEBALL NEWS: The family farm complete with a baseball diamond hewn from a cornfield in Dyersville, IA that was used for filming the 1989 film Field of Dreams will be sold.

The land, which has been in the Lansing family since 1906, had been on the market since May 2010 with an asking price of $5.4 million. The parcel includes the baseball diamond, a two bedroom farmhouse, a half dozen other buildings and 193 acres- primarily cornfields.

The Lansing family said they were committed to finding a purchaser that would maintain the legacy of the site. Although the exact amount wasn't disclosed, the northeastern Iowa farm and baseball diamond will be sold to Go the Distance Baseball LLC, operated by Mike and Denise Stillman.

The property is about 20 miles west of Dubuque, IA and has been open to visitors during the summer months for the past 20 years.

Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

NFL: Damn- is it too late for me to blame the porn starlet that Gronkowski (allegedly) hooked up with?

I can't even say New England came out of the bye week looking rusty, because it was hard to make an informed statement on how the looked with Pittsburgh dominating time of possession. The Steeler had the ball for just under 40 minutes while New England had possession for just over 20- not really a winning formula.

Even with that disparity in time of possession, the Patriots headed to the locker room at halftime trailing by 17-10 thanks to a 46 yard Gostowski FG with 29 seconds remaining in the half.

While the Pats would keep Pittsburgh out of the end zone for the 2nd half, Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger would manage to move the ball fairly effectively while eating up the clock and the Steelers were still able to come away with FGs on two trips inside the red zone.

After being stymied for much of the game, Brady would drive New England down to the Pittsburgh red zone where he would connect with Rob Gronkowski, where no doubt driven to distraction thanks to his tryst with Bibi Jones [just kidding...jeez], he was stopped just shy of the goal line. Now while he had possession of the ball and both feet appeared to be in the end zone, Gronkowski was ruled down inside the 1 yard line with 4:15 to go in regulation.

With all three time outs remaining, instead of throwing out the challenge flag, Belichick decided to punch it in from there on 3rd and 1. Kevin Faulk was knocked back for no gain, and while New England got a fresh set of downs on 4th and 1 after a Pittsburgh holding penalty, precious time was burning off the clock. Although Brady would complete a pass to Aaron Hernandez in the end zone, there was all of 2:38 remaining on the clock.

Even if The Patriots had demonstrated an ability to hold Roethlisberger and the Steeler offense to a 3 & out, that rosy scenario STILL would've left the Patriots with precious little time. Also worth noting that the last time the Patriots had a successful onside kick was 1994- and after today, the last time the Patriots had a successful onside kick was....1994.

As it turns out, the Steelers got a first down, bleeding off precious seconds from the clock and forcing New England to use up their time outs. New England did manage to sack Roethlisberger twice before the Steelers had to punt from mid-field, but that was a day late and a dollar short.

The Patriots got the ball back on their own 22 with all of 8 seconds left in regulation, only to have Steelers DE Brett Keisel strip the ball from Tom Brady and batted into the end zone by shaggy Safety Troy Polamalu for the safety.

Pittsburgh wins this one by a 25-17 final. Brady went 24-35 with 198 yards and two TDs while Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger would go 36-50 with 365 yards with 2 TDs and an interception. New England's offense was held to just 213 yards altogether on the day.

This sets up a showdown with the NFC east leading New York Giants next week at Foxborough. The Giants are coming off come-from-behind victory against the winless Miami Dolphins at the Meadowlands on Sunday.

NBA: With no deal in sight between the player's association and the owners, the league has cancelled two more weeks worth of regular season games, leaving most of November with no scheduled regular season NBA contests.

NHL: OK....so a couple of weeks in and its becoming apparent that the Bruins need to come up with something else aside from pointing out that they won the Stanley Cup and hoping their opponents are sufficiently dazzled.

So far, the Canadiens have shown themselves to be underwhelmed. Saturday night was the away half of a home-and-away series against Montreal. Les Habs got off the the quick start in the 1st with goals from Brian Gionta and Lars Eller for the early 2-0 lead. Dave Desharnais would make it a 3-0 lead in the 2nd period on a power play goal before the Bruins got on the board thanks to a Milan Lucic tally.

About 55 seconds into the 3rd period, Boston would make it a 1-goa game thanks to an even strength Tyler Seguin goal, but late in the 3rd, when the Bruins pulled Rask for the extra attacker, Tomas Plekanec managed to get the empty-netter for the 4-2 win.

The Bruins will head back to the TD Banknorth Garden on Tuesday to take on the scalding-hot Ottawa Senators, who have won their last 6 consecutive games. Puck drops at 7PM ET.

NCAA FOOTBALL: Understandably lost in a couple of great games Saturday night was the fact that the struggling BC Eagles had managed to notch their first win against a non FCS team this season- not only that, but an ACC opponent!

The Eagles came into a snowy College Park, MD to take on a marginally better Maryland Terrapins. Eagles RB Rolandan Finch drew first blood as Boston College managed to score on their opening drive to take the early 7-0 lead.

The Terps would reply with a FG to get on the board just inside the 10 minute mark. Boston College would take a 21-3 lead to halftime, and although the Terps would get on the board once again in the second half, it would turn out to be not nearly enough.

Boston College goes on to win by a 28-17 final and Finch gets 39 carries for 243 yards and 2 TDs in his productive afternoon. The Eagles are getting ready to host the Florida State Seminoles on Thursday night at 8 PM.

BIG EAST: Earlier this week, in leiu of being treated to World Series Game in St Louis, those of you inclinced to watch some college football were treated to the UConn Huskies getting stomped by Pitt by a 35-20 final after getting picked apart by Junior QB Tino Sunseri. UConn was held to a field goal for the first half, trailing 21-3 at halftime. The Huskies did manage a couple of big plays in the 2nd half, but it wasn't nearly enough.

OTHER BIG EAST NEWS: West Virginia made it official this weekend that they would be leaving the Big East conference for the Big 12, likely replacing the Missouri Tigers who are finalizing plans to join the SEC.

Like Syracuse and Pittsburgh (who announced their plans to join the ACC), Big East plans on retaining the Mountaineers until 2014.

Joe Mahoney/ Richmond Times-Dispatch

COLONIAL: UMass rebounded from their loss at Foxbourough's Colonial Clash versus New Hampshire last week with a very convincing win over the Richmond Spiders in the Old Dominion State by a 28-7 final. Three of those TDs against Richmond came in the 1st quarter and three out of the 4 were from RB Jonathan Hernandez, who had 3 of the UMass TD's on the day and 103 rushing yards.

The Minutemen will next play host to Villanova this coming Saturday.

ELSEWHERE IN NCAA FOOTBALL: In case you missed it, some of the late games Saturday night actually lived up to the hype.

Granted it wasn't as time expired like last week against Michigan State, but the Wisconsin Badgers had their hearts ripped out for the second week in a row with less than a minute left on the clock. Trailing 14-26 late in the 4th quarter, the Badgers came back to score two TD's and take a 26-29 lead on a successful two point conversion.

The Buckeyes had gotten the ball as far as mid-field when Ohio State QB Braxton miller heaved a 40 yard pass with 43 seconds left in regulation. The pass looked a little wobbly, but somehow managed to find freshman Ohio State WR Devin Smith in the end zone for the TD and the 32-29 lead with less than 45 seconds to go.

That would be the final, as the Badgers couldn't score with their final possession.

Meanwhile, out west, the Stanford Cardinals needed triple OT to get past the USC Trojans. Stanford had already scored and successfully pulled off the 2 point conversion in their half the the third OT when USC got the ball back. However, on the Trojan's first possession, RB Curtis MacNeal fumbled and Stanford recovered, giving them the 56-48 win.

Squirrely Sports Chowdah Update For Oct 27th: Angry Birds- Cardinals Storm Back To Tie World Series on Final Out; The Tight End and the Tight End

WORLD SERIES: Without much in the way of exaggeration or hyperbole, this was one for the ages.

Postponed by rain on Wednesday night, Game 6 of the 2011 World Series got underway in St Louis 24 hours later and with the Cardinals in a must win scenario, often times trailing the Texas Rangers.

Texas got out to the early 1-0 lead in the top of the 1st thanks to a leadoff walk to Ian Kinsler and a single to Elvis Andrus before Josh Hamilton drove home Kinsler with an RBI double.

Tha Cardinals would take the lead in the bottom of the 1st with a 2-run Lance Berkman homer, but the Rangers would knot things up in the next frame thanks to an RBI Kinsler ground-rule double, leaving the game tied at 2-2 for a little while at least. Well- until the top of the 4th inning, which is when Nelson Cruz reached 2nd on an error before being driven home on a Mike Napoli RBI single. However, in the bottom half of the 4th frame, Lance Berkman would reach on an error and become the tying run on a Yadier Molina groundout.

The sloppy play and back and forth would continue for quite a bit, with Texas finally taking what seemed like a commanding 7-4 lead in the top of the 7th inning thanks to solo homers by Adrian Beltre and Nelson Cruz as well as a Kinsler RBI single for good measure.



After a solo homer by Allen Craig in the bottom of the 8th, the Cardinals managed to load the bases before Rafael Furcal grounded out to end the inning, leaving it still a 7-5 game. After a fairly uneventful top of the 9th where the Rangers didn't score, Albert Pujols hit a 1-out double to center before Lance Berkman was walked. Allen Craig then struck out and when David Freese stepped into the batter's box, the Cards were down to their last out- their last strike, even- in the World Series when he managed to send the ball all the way to the outfield wall to bring in Pujols and Berkman to tie the game up at 7-7.

Texas would strike right back with a 2-run Josh Hamilton homer in the top of the 10th, but the persistent Cards would come back in the bottom of the 10th after moving runners into scoring position and a Ryan Theriot groundout plated one run and Lance Berkman tied the game at 9-9 with a 2-out RBI single.

After some confusion in which Ranger's manager Ron Washington looked uncertain about who he wanted to send to the plate in the top of the 11th, the Rangers were really unable to do anything with a Mike Napoli single and finished off the inning pretty quietly.

In the bottom of the 11th inning, the Cardinals led off with Wildwood, Missouri's Lafayette HS graduate David Freese.

The 3rd baseman who grew up a Cardinals fan in the St Louis area helped propel his team to a Game 7 in the world series in the most dramatic manner possible, giving St Louis the 10-9 win over a reeling Texas [I get the feeling all those Freese-related puns have been done to death, and I figured I might as well give it a rest after the NLCS- NANESB!].

Freese's late-inning heroics set up one final game for the 2011 season and the first Game 7 in nearly 9 years. Freese went 2-5 with 3 RBI including the game-winning homer while Lance Berkman went 3-5 with 3 RBI on the evening. Jake Westbrook, the 6th pitcher to take to the mound for St. Louis Thursday night, was the winner while Neftali Feliz, Darren Oliver and Scott Feldman each had an opportunity to seal the win for Texas coming out of the bullpen, only to watch the Cards claw back each time. Feldman was charged with the blown save and Mark Lowe was hung with the loss.

Tomorrow night's game is set to get under way from St Louis with a first pitch at 8:05 ET and will be televised on FOX. Chris Carpenter is set to get the start against the Rangers Matt Harrison. It'll be interesting to see if Texas can bounce back from what must feel like a crushing loss on Thursday night.

OTHER MLB NEWS: The Boston Herald is reporting that the Toronto Blue Jays may be getting ready to aggressively go after Red Sox DH David Ortiz this offseason. The 36 year old slugger is a free agent and has been with the club since 2003, including two big postseasons that saw the Red Sox win the World Series in 2004 and 2007.

NHL: Damn it, damn it, damn it! I understood that there might be the risk of a Stanley Cup 'hangover', but why does it seem as though things have been going downhill ever since the banner raising ceremony?

And the damndest thing is, the Bruins are getting beaten by the few teams out there with worse records than them.

The Montreal Canadiens managed to hang on for a 2-1 win against the Bruins at the Garden Thursday night after the Bruins managed to get on the board thanks to a Tomas Plekanec own-goal against Carey Price.

The Habs would then get two unanswered goals (this time against the Boston goalie, Tim Thomas) including another Plekanec tally for the 2-1 final. Thomas turned aside 33 of 35 shots faced in the loss while Price stopped 29 of 30 shots faced (29 of them coming from Bruins players).

The Bruins will travel to Montreal (where they are no doubt ready to call the Sûreté du Québec on Zdeno Chara) on Saturday night with the game being broadcast on CBC beginning at 7:00 PM ET.

NFL: Oh come on now. This is getting a touch ridiculous.


New England Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski issued a statement saying that he didn't intend to hurt the team's reputation when he had his picture taken with porn starlet Bibi Jones. Gronkowski reportedly made the statement after meeting in private with owner Robert Kraft.

Earlier this week, Jones posted two photos of herself with Gronkowski on her twitter account. She was wearing the #87 jersey in both photos while Rob Gronkowski was shirtless in one of them. The pictures were reportedly taken during the bye week.

I'm not sure what the big deal is, to be honest. I mean, Gronkowski is young and single, and as long as it doesn't detract from his on-field performance, I don't really see the problem with having his picture taken with a porn starlet. According to Jones, nothing happened (much to her dismay) between her and Gronkowski.

Jones also stated in a radio interview that an unnamed MLB agent used her to entice potential free agents to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2010. However, she insists she wasn't paid for meeting with the agent's potential clients in Phoenix area bars, but served as 'arm candy' pro-bono due to her affinity for athletes and baseball being her favorite sport.

Sports Chowdah Update- Napoli Ever After, Texas 1 Win Away From Word Series; Ain't Over 'Til the Fat Lady Lansings;

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

WORLD SERIES: Well damn- it looks like I owe you not one, not two but three World Series updated.

Saturday night's game brought the World Series to Arlington, TX for the second time in two seasons. It was a pretty one-sided blowout with the 16-7 Cardinals win being more reminiscent of the final for a Cowboys-Rams game. However, the contest was noteworthy in that Cards 1st baseman Albert Pujols put himself in some very distinguished company (i.e. Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson) by becoming the third ever player to belt 3 home runs in a World Series game. Pujols went 5-6 with 6 RBI on the night in the St Louis rout.

The following night, however, Rangers starter Derek Holland would go 8 and ⅓ shutout innings allowing just two hits (both of them off of Lance Berkman who was in the DH role) while a 1st inning RBI double from Josh Hamilton would be all the run support Holland needed- altho' he would get more insurance in the form of a 3-run Mike Napoli blast off of Cards reliever Mitchell Boggs in the bottom of the 6th. Texas would go on to win by the 4-0 final on Sunday.

For Game 5 on Monday night, the Cards would get out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the second, thanks to a Yadier Molina RBI single and Skip Schumaker groundout with a runner on 3rd.

Texas would cut the lead in half with a solo homer from 1B Mitch Moreland and another one from that 3B Adrian Beltre hit from his knees off starter Chris Carpenter to knot the game at 2-2. Then, in the bottom of the 8th with the bases loaded and 1 out, C Mike Napoli scalded a double to deep center field where it bounced off the wall and drove in two more runs for Texas.

Neftali Feliz would then come on in the top of the 9th and after the leadoff batter, got Pujols to stroke out and cut down Allen Craig as he attempted to steal 2nd base. Matt Holliday was walked and Lance Berkman struck out to end the game and give Texas the 3-2 World Series lead.

The World Series heads back to St Louis on Wednesday night, although the forecast calls for extended rain showers throughout the day, so this must-win game for the Cardinals might be postponed for another day.

OTHER MLB NEWS: The Philadelphia Phillies have declined to pick up the 2012 options on starter Roy Oswalt and closer Brad Lidge. Both pitchers are coming off of an injury plagued 2011 season. Although both are free agents, Phillies brass hasn't ruled out either one of them returning under a new, renegotiated contract.

RED SOX: Boston GM Ben Cherington announced that starter John Lackey will miss the 2012 season after undergoing reconstructive surgery on his elbow. Lackey was 12-12 with a 6.41 ERA this season- the second year into his 5 year, $85 million contract.

OTHER RED SOX NEWS: The Toronto Blue Jays issued a statement in which they announced they "would not grant permission for lateral moves", a reversal of the previous policy where the organization permitted any employee from talking to any organization about any job.

The announcement came amid speculation that manager John Farrell was being sought after by the Red Sox as a replacement for Terry Francona. Farrell spent four years as Boston's pitching coach and led the Blue Jays to an 81-81 record his first season as Toronto manager.

CHICAGO CUBS: Theo Epstein was officially introduced by the Cubs as their newest president of Baseball Operations on Tuesday.



NCAA FOOTBALL: Man oh man....what is it with Michigan State and these dramatic finishes?

With about 4 seconds to go in regulation against the #4 ranked Wisconsin Badgers, Michigan State Spartans QB Kirk Cousins heaved a Hail Mary Pass from mid field and after caroming off the facemask of Spartans WR BJ Cunningham found its way into the arms of Spartans WR Keith Nichol, who managed to break the plane of the goal line for the 37-31 Spartans win.

The win vaults the Spartans from #15 to #9 in the AP Top 25 poll.

ELSEWHERE IN NCAA FOOTBALL: Meanwhile, Boston College's futile quest for a win against a FBS opponent continued after falling 14-30 to Virginia Tech in Blacksburg on Saturday. The BC Eagles will next face Maryland at College Park, MD at 3:00 PM ET.

UMass, whis is the only team the Eagles have managed to beat this season, was defeated by the UNH Wildcats by a 27-71 final in the Colonial Clash at Gilette Stadium in Foxborough, Ma on Saturday. This could be a preview of 'home' games once the UMass Minutemen join the MAC starting in 2012.

UConnhad the weekend off, but plays Wednesday night against Pitt at 8 PM ET. The game will be televised on ESPN.

NBA: Speaking of UMass, Basketball hall of famer and UMass alumni Julius Erving is putting up his championship rings and MVP trophies up for auction after being sued for $200,000 by a Georgia bank.

Erving purchased an Atlanta-area golf course in 2006 and moved to the area a few years later. Using a Gwinnett county home as collateral, Erving secured a $1 million loan from Georgia Primary Bank in 2009. In 2010, the line of credit was reduced to $750,000 and the maturity date was extended to July 24th. However, the bank is suing Erving over the outstanding balance.

Among the items up for auction include his 1974 and 1976 championship ring from the ABA as well as a 1983 championship ring with the Philadelphia 76ers and 1980-81 NBA MVP trophy.

NHL: And just as quickly as Boston's offense showed up against Toronto, it seemed to abandon them as they hosted the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.

Coming off a 4-3 shootout win against New Jersey, the Bruins hosted Joe Thornton for career game #1001, but it was Essex, MA native and former BC Eagle Benn Ferriero that would put the Sharks up on top after Tyler Seguin had managed to knot the contest up at 2-2 in the 3rd.

Ferriero managed to bury a rebound past Thomas late in the 3rd to make it a 3-2 contest before a Patrick Marleau empty-netter in the final minute would ice the 4-2 win for San Jose.

Interestingly, while Thornton was playing career game #1000 in New Jersey, Ferriero was being called up from the Worcester Ice Cats of the AHL for his NHL debut.

To mark the occasion of Thornton's return, the Bruins played a video tribute at the garden in the 1st period congratulating the San Jose center on the career milestone.

Oh Rats! How Boston's Fleeting Triumph in the 1975 WS and a Giant Rodent Were Behind the (Accidental) Birth of the 'Reaction Shot'

"If it stays fair.....Home Run!"

With the current Red Sox in a state of disarray, I thought that the 36th anniversary of Game 6 in the 1975 World Series might be worth revisiting.

Back in 1975, it was a little unusual to be playing baseball this late in October. However, the series had been postponed by rain for three straight days in Boston and Game 6 didn't get underway until October 21st.

Although the Red Sox got out to a quick 3-0 lead that night, the Big Red Machine managed to tie things up and then take a 6-3 lead thanks to a home run by George Foster in the 7th and a solo shot from Ceasar Geronimo in the 8th.

In the bottom of the 8th, Bernie Carbo belted a 2-out, 3-run homer to tie the game up at 6-6 [Years later, Carbo would later claim he showed up to the ballpark high for Game 6- NANESB!] but the Red Sox would manage to squander a bases-loaded nobody out situation in the 9th, sending Game 6 to extra innings.

In the top of the 11th, Boston outfielder Dwight Evans would make an outstanding diving catch of Joe Morgan's line drive seemingly headed for the right field seats to begin a double play.

I wouldn't be surprised if many of the regular visitors to this blog knew what happened next, when Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk led off the bottom of the 12th inning. 'Pudge' took the first pitch for ball one off of Cincinnati's Pat Darcy. Then he took the next pitch deep where it soared into the misty night sky before ricocheting off the left-field foul pole for a walk-off home run to seal the Red Sox win for Game 6.

What stood out about Fisk's homer wasn't so much the distance or his timing. Rather, it was his body language- caught thanks to NBC cameraman Lou Gerard, who was filming from inside the Green Monster- the Vermont native wearing #27 earnestly waving the ball fair as he jumped sideways down the baseline at 12:33 AM on October 22nd, 1975.

Years later, NBC sports director Harry Coyle explained that Gerard's filming of the exhuberant Fisk making his way down the baseline was purely by accident. If the ball was hit anywhere near him, Gerard was supposed to track the ball with his camera. Well- the ball hit the right field foul pole on the Green Monster. So what happened?

Lou says to me, "Hey, Harry, there's a rat right here next to me and it's moving closer.'

"Well, it was a misty night and, with Lou looking a rat in the eye, it was tough to pick up the ball. So when Fisk swung, Lou stayed with him at the plate and got the whole bit -- Fisk frantically trying to wave the ball fair and then the home-run trot," Coyle said. "Give that rat credit, not me, for what may have been the greatest shot in televised sports."

Think the rat story is mere exaggeration or hyperbole?

Boston Globe photo

Then ask yourself this: Why do you think the hawks that nest in Fenway Park are so well-fed?

Quicke Sports Chowdah Update For October 21st- Elvis Hasn't Left the Building Yet- Series Heads Back to Texas Tied 1-1; B's Offense Blows Leafs Away

Dilip Vishwanat- Getty Images

WORLD SERIES- And just like that, the Texas Rangers are back in this thing.

Two games into the 2010 World Series, I'm pleased to report there have been no blowouts so far. In Game one, the Cardinals broke a 2-2 tie with an RBI single from pinch hitter Allen Craig in the bottom of the 6th- and that would be the final on Wednesday night.

Thursday was a slightly different story as the Cards Jaime Garcia went 7 shutout innings, striking out 7 while giving up all of three hits. Colby Lewis went 6 and ⅔ innings for the Rangers, but once again, Allen Craig got the Cards on the board in a pinch-hit situation- this time in the bottom of the 7th- to give the Cards the 1-0 lead. The way Garcia and the Cards bullpen was keeping the Rangers bats quiet, it looked like that lone tally would be enough.

However, Ian Kinsler would lead off the Rangers half of the inning with a single off Jason Motte. Then, in a move that was almost as predictable as Dave Roberts stealing 2nd off of Mariano Rivera in the top of the 9th of Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS, Ian Kinsler took off for second and slid in barely ahead of a throw from catcher Yadier Molina and tag by Rafael Furcal.

Elvis Andrus the followed that up with a single, that put Kinsler on 3rd and Andrus reached on 2nd thanks to a Pujols botching a cutoff throw from right field.

The Texas bats had been quiet for most of the World Series so far, but with runners on second and third with nobody out, outfielder Josh Hamilton stepped into the batter's box. Hamilton gave it a ride to right field for a long flyout, but deep enough to plate Kinsler to tie the game and advance Andrus to 3rd base. Next up in the batter's box was 1B Michael Young, who would also fly out to deep right, but still deep enough for Andrus to make it home and put Texas up by 2-1. Adrian Beltre would go onto ground out to end the inning.

Nefatli Feliz would take the mound in the bottom of the 9th and allow a leadoff walk to Yadier Molina before getting the next three batters out for the 2-1 win. So Texas rallies to bring the World Series back to Arlington tied 1-1 not because of the big bats of Hamilton or Cruz, but thanks to aggressive baserunning and small ball.

Game 3 will be played Saturday night in Arlington, TX with first pitch scheduled for 8:05 PM ET. Kyle Lohse (14-8; 3.39 ERA in the regular season) gets the start for the Cards while Matt Harrison (sporting eerily similar regular season stats of 14-9 with a 3.39 ERA) takes to the bump for the Rangers. The game will be televised on FOX.

RED SOX: Not too surprisingly, both players and front office personnel from the Red Sox deny the rumors of players drinking beer, playing video games and eating fried chicken in the clubhouse between innings during games. DH David Ortiz made some noise about joining the Yankees as a free agent, but seemed to walk back those comments in the last few days and expressed a preference for staying with Boston.

On Friday, the Oakalnd A's announced that former Red Sox pitching coach Curt Young was leaving Boston to join manager Bob Melvin.

Meanwhile, a deal that would see Epstein head off to the Cubs is still considered likely, but the proceedings have slowed down noticeably this week.

Elsa/Getty Images

BOSTON BRUINS: At long last, the Bruins offense was showing some signs of life, handing the Toronto Maple Leafs their first regulation loss of the season.

The Leafs had gotten off to a scalding 4-0-1 start on the regular season heading into Thursday night's game at the Garden. Meanwhile, this would be the Bruins first divisional matchup of the season after hosting the Carolina Hurricanes in a 4-1 loss on Tuesday.

Toronto would draw first blood with a Dave Steckel tally at the 7:29 mark in the first period, but that would be just about it for the Leafs. The Bruins would get two separate power play goals starting with Nathan Horton's game tying goal three minutes later (with assists from Chara and Ference) before Zdeno Chara's power play goal at the 16:05 mark (with assists from Andrew Ference and Tyler Seguin).

With just under 3 minutes to go in the 1st, Chris Kelly would put Boston up by a 3-1 score on what would turn out to be the game winner. After a scoreless 2nd period, the Bruins got plenty of insurance thanks to goals from Lucic, Bergeron and Seguin (all even-strength) before Toronto notched their second goal of the evening.

Boston moves to a game under .500 with this dramatic 6-2 win over the previously surging Leafs, making them undefeated (1-0) in matchups against teams in the Northeastern Division.

The 3-4-0 Bruins will next host a homecoming of sorts for Joe Thornton and the San Jose Sharks (1-3-0) at the Garden on Saturday at 7PM ET. The game will be televised on NESN.