The talking heads have spoken. Matt Cassel has gone from Brady’s heir-apparent after having two back-to-back 400-yard games to the inexperienced backup who lost TWO fumbles in last night’s loss to Pittsburgh.

They’re like the Red Sox. The team leading the A.L. East losses and all they need to do is win to take a share of the lead back and they play really well to start it off, but a few mistakes cost them the game.

This game, I am giving a little leeway to Matt; it was nasty, his receivers couldn’t catch the ball, and they were playing a phenomenal defense. It just got to Matt. That’s where you can see his inexperience showing through, in the bad-weather games when it’s cold and the defense is really good.

Is Matt Cassel the heir-apparent to Brady? No. Matt Cassel is passing his graduate exam from Brady-U. So far, he’s done pretty well. If you look at the games we lost (aside from the San Diego game), they were all because of mistakes: a fumbled snap, penalties, bad defense in sudden-death overtime, or three fumbles and two interceptions like last night.

I’m still not sure we would have won the game last night, but we should have beaten the Jets by holding them to 3rd-and-long in overtime, and we should have beaten the Colts, were it not for a penalty and Jab not being able to catch a perfect pass. While some of these things can be attributed to Matt Cassel, there are also many beyond his control.

Brady is still better in the pocket in reading defense, finding the open man, and getting away from tackles. So, do I think Brady will be replaced by free-agent Cassel? No. Do I think he’s better than most starting quarterbacks in the league? Definitely. I think at the end of this season, especially if the Patriots pull off a miracle and make it into the playoffs, Detroit or Minnesota should come calling.

With their running game, decent set of receivers, and good defense, Minnesota would flourish with a QB who is not a turnover machine and who can hit his receivers. If they were to add in Matt Cassel, Minnesota would be even more of a playoff contender.

Detroit would need more help than just adding a good QB to the mix; that organization needs a makeover from top to bottom. But still, the addition of Cassel would dramatically improve their chances.

So, back to the Brady-Cassel debate: There shouldn’t even be one. Yes, Tom has been injured this season, and yes, he probably won’t be his normal self at first, but he’ll only be 32.

We’ve got him for three to five years or more, barring injury, and since he doesn’t seem to be injury prone, this being his first big one, Tom Brady should be right back in the starter position.

Cassel is a better running QB, but he’s not quite good enough in other areas to replace the reigning league MVP who is simply not done yet.

Do I think Matt Cassel will be a starter? Of course he will. Teams with subpar QBs would be crazy to not snatch him up, and he will do well: He’s trained under the best and come up in one of the best systems out there.

My prediction is the Pats and Matt part ways amicably, and he’ll head off to go be great somewhere else.

Most D1-AA (or “football championship subdivision”) players, coaches, and fans tuned into ESPNU at 7PM to see who was going to the FCS playoffs. Here’s the bracket as it stands:

#16 Wofford at #1 James Madison

#15 South Caroline State at #2 Appalachain State

#14 Maine at #3 Northern Iowa

#13 Texas State at #4 Montana

#12 Weber State at #5 Cal Poly

#11 New Hampshire at #6 Southern Illinois

#10 Easter Kentucky at #7 Richmond

#9 Colgate at #8 Villanova

The CAA is well represented with 5 seeds in the playoffs, with 3 (James Madison, Richmond and Villanova) in the top 8. The other two: New Hampshire is ranked 11th and Maine ranked 14.

Lets look at how these schools stacked up against each other:

JMU 24, Maine 10

JMU 38, Richmond 31 (why they kicked to Scotty McGee…I still don’t know. Look it up on youtube.)

JMU 23, Villanova 19 (another last-second victory on the craziest looking pass. Again, look it up on youtube)

Richmond 44, Maine 17

Villanova 26, Richmond 20

Villanova 24, New Hampshire 13

New Hampshire 28, Maine 24

With the exception of the Richmond/Maine game, none were blow-outs, making me think that the CAA is pretty tough. This is the CAA’s 18th straight season with multiple bids for the championship.

I personally cannot wait to attend my first playoff game. GO DUKES! But the competition this year is pretty tough.

The winners of the first round will advance to the Quarterfinal Round on Dec 6th. That will go down like this:

Eastern Ky/Richmond winner vs. South Caroline/App State winner

Colgate/Villanova winner vs. Wofford/James Madison winner

Weber State/Cal Poly winner vs. Texas State/Montana winner

Southern Ill/New Hampshire winner vs. Maine/Northern Iowa winner

Then onto the Semifinal round, which is TBD and the remaining two teams from the semis will go on to the Championship game Dec 19th in Chattanoga, Tenn.

Here’s my bracket:

For everyone wondering why I have Montana beating App State here’s the one simple reason: I think App State will beat Richmond, but it will be a painful, smash-mouth game with injuries galore.(note: I am not hoping for this. As a Patriots fan I have a new view on injuries (Tom Brady going down was hard to watch) and I don’t want any player hurt, I just remember how tough it was playing both of those teams. Someone is bound to get hurt.)

My champion? James Madison.

Call me biased, but here’s to hoping.

Okay, so I’m gonna take a little detour off of off-season baseball moves (lots of talk, not so much action at the moment) and do a little poll. We’ve all heard the National Anthem sung hundreds of times at major sporting events, but which times were the best? I have a list here for you to look at, submit your vote in the comments section! Two of these versions got me all kinds of choked up.

First, we have Faith Hill

Then, these little girls (ranging from ages 6-8) singing the national anthem at a Texas Tech game.

Whitney Houston at Superbowl 25

Marvin Gaye at the 1983 NBA All-Star Game

John Williams Conducting the Boston Pops World Series Game 1 2007

Christina Aguilera (at age 11) Sings at Game 2 of the Stanley Cup

Mary J Blige at the 2004 NFL Kick-off

Carrie Underwood 2007 World Series Game 3

The Backstreet Boys Singing the National Anthem at the 2008 World Series Game 1

Finally, the Crowd at a Red Sox game helping a handicapped man sing

>

Hope you all enjoyed this! I did. Nominees were chosen based on singing ability, arrangement, creativity, and pure heart. Clearly, there are several I have left off (Hendrix, etc) but these are some of my favorites.

Back to the regular baseball blogging next time.

Theo Epstein arrived fashionably late to the GM meeting in Dana Point, California, after swinging by to watch Clay Buchholz pitch in the Arizona Fall league. With the Red Sox facing several key financial and player decisions this winter, the GM meeting has become more important than ever.

The Sox have depth in every position except for catcher (which we won’t go into at the moment) which gives them a little wiggle room when it comes to personnel. If we like someone, we have lots of chips to trade, and with the loss of some big money contracts, this should be a good winter for trading – if necessary.

Theo spoke to the press, and has informed everyone that Timlin, who pitched six years in Boston, will not be returning to the Red Sox if he does not end up retiring. He also hinted that “The Mayor”, Sean Casey, will likely not return. Epistein also confirmed that he has signed a contract for an undisclosed amount of years and funds.

If they can do it, the Sox may be interested in bringing in a big name pitcher, like CC or A.J. Burnett, but are more likely to get a strong starter who will cost significantly less than the headliners. Throw in another strong arm to Dice-K, Beckett, Lester and Wake and you’ve got an impressive pitching staff. If they all remain healthy.

The Red Sox have yet to decide what they will do with rookie pitcher Justin Masterson, who pitched beautifully from the ‘pen in the second half. His flexibility is a big bonus for the decently strong Sox pitching staff.

You have to love the new owners and our GM, they really do put all the money we, as fans, spend on the Red Sox back into the team. Of course, this year Theo may have to do something he has never done before: got to arbitration. So far, he has always settled with his players, and with the money they have, the team should be able to give raises to a handful of their best players (i.e. Youkilis, Papelbon and Pedroia).

Jonathan Papelbon made just under $800,000 last season, and Kevin Youkilis went from $424,000 in 2007 to $3 million in 2008. Look for both of them to receive considerable raises. The Sox will also try to lock up Dustin Pedroia through his arbitration years, probably with a raise.

Epstein will also meet with the Prince of Darkness (Scott Boras) himself following the GM meeting to begin talks on Jason Varitek and whether or not he will be returning to Boston. While no deal is likely to be made, if they come to a quick agreement, Theo would not be opposed to wrapping it up early.

A quick message for Theo: BRING BACK TEK!

You knew it was coming. The Prince of Darkness AKA Scott Boras wants a four year deal for Tek. He’s too old for four, but he won’t take two. Here’s what you do, Sox. You offer him two years with two additional option years. I realize that he’s like an automatic out at the plate. I realize that he’s expensive (mostly due to greed on Boras’s behalf) but I’m worried about the team without him. If he retired, they’d be fine, but if he was playing somewhere else, like Detroit, it would end badly. I realize the Boston mantra is generally “out with the old” but this is not Nomar or Manny or anyone, this is Tek. This is the CAPTAIN. He is the leader, and I’d rather have us bite the bullet on a two year deal with options or a three year deal and keep the soul of this team.

Intangibles are important. Look at the change in the locker room pre- and post-Manny. They were a totally different team after the trade. But that wasn’t just Manny being gone. They played for each other, not just with each other. Even if we brought back healthy vets like Lowell, you’d still be losing the rock of the team in Varitek.

Besides, its not like there is a stellar crop of catchers out there.

On to more free-agents-to-be.

Casey and Kotsay are both free-agents. I feel like we should keep one of them as backups, they both have decent bats (Casey more than Kotsay) and play good defense (Kotsay more than Casey). I’d rather keep Kotsay, as much as I love Casey, because he can play infield and outfield. Of course, with a healthy JD Drew, Jason Bay, Ellsbury, and possibility of Crisp returning, will we need it? (answer: yes. You never know who is going to get hurt. it’s always better to be prepared).

Alex Cora is up for free-agency, and I don’t think we’ll keep him if we can’t dump Lugo off on someone. That’s a shame because he’s a decent back-up we can groom to become a really great manager. Have you ever heard this guy talk about baseball? He is so smart! And Tito loves him. Personally, I’d rather have a Lowrie-Cora infield than a Lowrie-Lugo one. Yipes! I’d like to keep Cora (if we can) and shift the infield around. Have Pedroia play short, Youk play second, and Lowell at third, picking up Texiera to play 1st. Then we can have great back-ups in Cora and Lowrie so the guys can have a day off on occasion.

Timlin and Schill are both up, but guys, you need to retire. Do it now when you can go out with people still loving you. Don’t do a Brett Farve. You’re done. Go play golf and look at your shiny World Series rings.

Byrd and Lopez I have mixed feelings about. If we can keep them for a bargain, good, if not…eh.

Up for arbitration:

Paps. We need to get him a raise and an option deal. I wouldn’t tie him up for years because of shoulder injuries/etc. but he’s a great closer. Maybe give him the same option Wake has? Or something similar.

Cash. Wake is back and he will likely be too. Tek can catch Wake, but if we get a new catcher (shudder) we’ll need Cash and his experience with the knuckle-ball.

Pedroia. Give him a long-term deal (with a raise). This kid is for real, and he’s young. Lock him up.

Lester. Same as Pedroia. In about three years, Lester could be the best pitcher in baseball. Period.

Youk. This one is a no-brainer. Give the man a raise and lock him up for a few more years.

So that’s my picks for the off-season. We need a pitcher. Maybe another bat. And bid on CC to raise the price for the Yankees. (he he)

For all you Red Sox and Cubs fans, skip the next section, it doesn’t apply. For everyone else, keep reading.

The Phillies have finally done it. It has been 28 years since the Phillies were here last, and 25 years since any professional sports team from Philly had won anything. This is called the “Curse of William (or Billy) Penn”. It dates back to the construction of One Liberty Place, which became the tallest building in the city, rising over the height of William Penn’s statue on City Hall. One year and four months ago, the statue was moved to the Comcast center, the new tallest building in Philadelphia. With the Phillie’s fall classic win, it breaks the Curse and frees all Philadelphia sports teams to start winning again.

This is not the only curse to have been broken in the new millennium. The so-called “Curse of the Bambino” (insert eye-roll) ended in 2004 when the Sox won their first World Series in 86 years. The “Curse of the Black Sox” ended in 2005 when the ChiSox won their first World Series since 1919 and the Black-Sox scandal. Curses still in effect: The Detroit Lions’ Curse of Bobby Layne and the Chicago Cubs Curse of the Billy Goat (which, by the way, is even more fascinating and superstitious than the Red Sox curse)

Of course, the curse of Billy Penn is the only curse to have an effect on ALL professional teams in a city, the other curses only applied to a specific sport.

Okay, its safe for everyone to read again.

I have a house mate who is a Phillies fan and she is ecstatic today. I gotta say I am glad that game 5 is finally over. I am also glad the Rays are still ring-less, because that means we will not have to hear about how the Rays won game 7 and went on to win the World Series every time they play the Red Sox. Now, its only “they beat the Red Sox and went on to lose to Philly 4 games to 1”. Not as much of an accomplishment. Thank goodness!

It was a series marked by rain storms, and the first time in over a century that a game was suspended. I think the suspension was unfair, because the game should have stopped in the 5th, even if they were going to finish all 9 innings at some point, but it seemed like they waited until the Rays had tied it up. Because a good portion of the country wants to see Cinderella win. Everyone wants to see the little guys do well. For my part, I wanted the Phillies to sweep little Cinderella away with blow-out after blow-out. I’m not sure if that’s bitterness over losing in game 7 or annoyance that the AL East’s power has shifted to a Ménage à trois that I, personally, never wanted. I was happy with the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry.

Brad Lidge notched his 48th save in 48 tries to be perfect in the 2008 season. Cole Hamels ended his Becket-like post-season by winning World Series MVP.

All I have to say is congrats Phillies, and now that the World Series is over, we can officially look towards next year, where (hopefully) the red Sox will be in the Phillie’s position. For now, we cheer on the Brady-less Pats, who are tied for division lead with Buffalo (how weird!) and the Celtics, who are calling this season: Unbuntu II: The Return (or repeat?), and I will continue my campaign to keep Jason Varitek and get Dustin Pedroia and/or Kevin Youkilis the honor he deserves: MVP!