Sports September 13, 2011

What happened to the Red Sox? A few weeks ago, they looked in place to win the AL East, or at least the Wild Card. Now, they appear to have lost the division to the Yankees, and the Wild Card spot they seemed so destined to win as a consolation is know being contested by the Rays. I know I predicted a potential apocalypse in Red Sox nation when Beckett went down, but that seems to be a minor injury. Yet, even with eminent return of their ace, the Red Sox seem to have run into disaster anyway. Yet, this pattern has been relatively common for the Red Sox over the last few years. With the exception of 2007, the only year since 1998 (the start of the Yankees winning 8 straight division titles and 10 out of the last 13) they've never won the AL East (2007 was the one year they did, and low and behold, they won a World Series that year). Other than that, the Red Sox have come out strong in the middle part of the season, only to fall short and lose the division at the end. The curse of the Bambino might be over, but the Red Sox still do have problems finishing seasons off.

What about the New York Giants defense? I know they lost on sunday, but a good portion of the Redskins' 28 points can be blamed on the offense. Despite several key injuries, and arguably the 3 best Giants defenders out, they still managed to make a few plays. One big play was made by Jason Pierre- Paul. I know I doubted that pick when it was made, but it has turned out to help the Giants. Despite their 2 sack leaders from a year ago missing the game, Pierre- Paul still managed to get pressure on the quarterback. On one play, he forced a key turnover that could have helped the Giants win the game. Unfortunately, the offense spoiled the opportunity, but Pierre- Paul still made a big time play worthy of recognition.

The Ravens finally broke through against the Steelers with Ben Roethlisberger. The Ravens have had their difficulties in recent years in recent years beating the Steelers with Roethlisberger, but have done fine when he was away. The Ravens also seemed to fall short every time they played Roethlisberger as well. But Sunday was a completely different story. The Ravens were all over the Steelers, both offensively and defensively. For at least one game, they appear to be the team that will win the AFC North.