This Week's Chowdah Ingredients Presented by Frank's Bake Shop & Catering

Sox, Pats and sleepy fans. Which team has the most miserable fan base? Imagine your job being treated like that of a pro athlete. Black Bear hockey report. The Bam roasts the New York Giants Celtics season start Tuesday!

Lots of opinions from our bloggers again this week. As always they are just that, their opinions, and not necessarily shared by Jeff Solari and The Sports Chowdah, or our sponsors. 

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Patriots 43 Chiefs 40 Lots of Tom Brady and Pats news, notes and stats below..... 

Red Sox Report Presented by Varney Chevrolet

By: The Unnamed Source The "Unamed Source" is famous in media circles these days. This one in particular works in local sports media, but for any number of reasons, wants to stay anonymous. 3 Things The Red Sox Need to Bring to Houston The Red Sox and Astros are tied 1-1 as the series shifts to Houston. Here are three ( four if you count multiple answers in #1) things the Red Sox need to bring to Houston to keep their World Series hopes alive. Devers & Holt . Rafael Devers only has two starts in the post season and in each game he has driven in runs and made things happen. Brock Holt hit for the only cycle in postseason history. It’s not like there is anything standing in their way either. Nunez woes at 3 rd are well documented and Kinsler hasn’t shown up at all in the postseason. I’d start the two lefties even against the south paw Dallas Keuchel. Holt was your hottest hitter in September and Devers doesn’t seem to care who is on the mound. Sandy Koufax and Steve Carlton could pitch games 3 and 4 for the Astros and I’d still start Devers over Nunez.  The Nathan Eovaldi we saw in New York. The most underrated performance of the postseason thus far is that of Eovaldi. It’s easy to see why, his team scored 16 runs, but he dominated the Yankees in their putrid little band box for 7 innings. A big game from Eovaldi in game 3 and you’re at least guaranteed to at the very least come back to Boston and make games 4 & 5 house money. You want an amazing stat: the Red Sox are 4-2 in the postseason and have only had one starting pitcher go longer than 5 innings and it wasn’t Sale, Price, or Porcello. This aggressive approach at the plate in the first 3 innings . This bunch plays completely different when they jump out on teams and get a lead. Game 2, Mookie doubles, Beni singles, 1-0 and you’re off to the races. Game 1 they only had two hits all night. Even the bullpen, which most of the time is like trying to find a warm hand in a frost bite clinic, becomes Orel Hershiser when they get a lead early. The series is tied 1-1 and JD Martinez hasn’t gotten going yet, you know he’d love to have 3 big games in Houston but Mookie is the MVP and now more than ever he can set the tone for the Red Sox bats.  

The Sea Dog in Bangor is your home for University of Maine Coaches shows!

Tuesday @7pm: Come grab a bite and watch Jon Shields and Red Gendron talk UMaine hockey.

Thursday @7pm: It's the Black Bear football radio show with Brian Sullivan and Coach Harisymiak.

Star Wars Trivia Thursday @6

This Week's Food Specials:  Buffalo Chicken Dip $10 Pan Seared Maple Ginger Salmon $20 Chimichurri Steak Burrito $13 Follow SEA DOG on FACEBOOK

UMaine Hockey Off To A Good Start

By: Ryan McLaughlin A subtle factor that separates great teams from good ones is taking care of business in your home building against subpar competition. That's what the University of Maine men's hockey team failed to do last year. So far so good this year, as Red Gendron's crew took care of St. Lawrence, 3-1 and 4-1 at Alfond Arena this weekend. With a two-game series at national champion Minnesota-Duluth looming next weekend, Maine needed to get these two wins. St. Lawrence is being pegged by many ECAC puck pundits to finish near the basement of that league. Things were sloppy at times - that's expected in a season-opening series, especially in terms of penalties - but Maine's best player, goaltender Jeremy Swayman, was solid. Six different players scored a goal over the course of the weekend, which showcases the Bears' depth across all four lines. But most important? The blue line corps was efficient after the shocking departure of junior Pat Holway. Maine carried the play both nights and was one of three Hockey East teams - UMass and Northeastern being the others - to take care of subpar opponents on opening weekend. Given the Bears will be battling those two teams for a top-four finish in Hockey East, it's a great way to start the season! There's no reason to think Maine can't steal one in the "State Of Hockey" next weekend. It'll certainly open some eyes, but the Bulldogs will be hungry and mad after going 0-1-1 against in-state rival Minnesota to start the season.

JEFF'S TAKE from WABI TV 5 NEWS

Add the DH to the NL. Lose the offsides rule in hockey. Jeff has a few ideas on how to make sports "great again." WATCH JEFF'S TAKE ON HOW HE WOULD MAKE SPORTS BETTER

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Travel Schedule Presented by Bangor International Airport

The Red Sox travel to Houston to play their next three ALCS games against the Astros. Tuesday at 5:09pm Wednesday at 8:39pm Thursday at 8:09pm. Be ready to stay up late. Remember wherever your travels take you, fly BGR. There's nothing better than being close to home when landing after your trip. 

Patriots Report Presented by Buffalo Wild Wings

 By: Jeff Solari Yup. A little tired this morning. Maybe a little black under my eyeballs. But that game was worth losing a few winks over. I hope you stayed up to see another great finish and a game winning drive by Tom Brady. You'll miss him when he's gone. It went about like I expected to be honest. A few more points on the board than I would have guessed (I thought maybe 38-35) but I pretty much thought whomever had the ball last would win. And you know if TB 12 gets the ball last, good things will happen. New England is one of five teams at 4-2. Four more are 3-3. The Chiefs are now 5-1. Only the Colts and Raiders are out of the AFC playoff race after week six. It seems like its going to be a tight race to the finish. It certainly seems that the Pats offense is going to be fine. Coach Hoodie wants to run the ball a ton and set up the pass from there. Keep the big names healthy and the QB upright and all will be fine. Did you know The Patriots finished with exactly 500 yards of total offense and didn’t punt once Sunday night? It's the fifth time in franchise history they went a full game without punting. The "D" is in the lower third of the league in most stats. Perhaps they will get better? Or maybe it's another year of "bend but don't break." We'll see. I think they are pretty thin on talent on that side of the ball. Off to Chicago Sunday at 1. At least we can get to bed on time that day. Historically speaking, check out these facts. Un-freaking-believable. Patriots have now played 12 games against a team with a better record since 2009. They have won all 12. More impressive than 12-0: only 12 times over the past 150 games has the Patriots’ opponent had a better record. Tom Brady is 54-0 vs the AFC at home in the regular season when the Patriots score 28 or more points. 76-3 when the Patriots score 21 or more points. Patriots are 24-0 at home in the regular season vs under 25 year old QBs since 2001. The Patriot have won 88 straight games when leading by 14+ points at the half. Their last loss when leading by at least 2 TD's at halftime was Week 13, 1987 to the Broncos and the NFL’s Most Valuable Player that year- John Elway. Tom Brady is the first quarterback in NFL history with 200 career regular season wins

Celtics Report Presented By Hammond Lumber

Celtics Tip Off Season Tuesday Night! By: Chase Whitney FINALLY. The wait is over. After tomorrow the last memory of Celtics basketball that we have will no longer be that excruciatingly painful Game 7 Eastern Conference Finals loss to "LABron" and the Cleveland U-16 AAU squad. No more Celtics hospital squad. Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving are back at full strength. And don’t forget Daniel Theis, either. The deepest team in the NBA is finally at 100% health. Oh, and they added a DeAndre Jordan-esque big with the 27 th pick in the draft, Robert Williams. This team is LOADED. Expect to see Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown make even bigger strides towards being legit stars in this league. Tatum spent the offseason working with Kobe, and as long as it wasn’t a sabotage by the Lakers, I’m sure he will benefit from learning from him. Terry Rozier has been in trade talks for his entire career, and that won’t change this season, either. He is the best backup point guard in the league, and due for a big-money contract. Like I said, this team is loaded. Young talent across the board. They may end up having a 12-man rotation. Insane. Opening the season against Philly at home is gonna be awesome. When Gordon comes out in the introductions, there is a 0% chance the Garden doesn’t register on the Richter scale. The Hayward-Simmons matchup on night one is primetime stuff. I dare Ben Simmons to shoot a three. He won’t. He only has 11 times in his entire career. Sad stuff, really. I anticipate Boston and Philly to be two of the top three teams in the East this season, so starting off the season series with a win on opening night would be huge. The Celtics have a slim chance at winning a title this year. Remember that team out west that set the record for most wins in a season a few years back, and then added Kevin Durant? Well, I hope you’re sitting down. They got DeMarcus Cousins, too. Albeit off an Achilles injury, they still added the best true center in the NBA. Their starting lineup has five all-stars. I fully expect the C’s to make it to the Finals, but it might be tough once they get there. It’s gonna take a whole lot of luck (and probably injuries) for anyone to be able to beat this absurdly-talented Warriors team. That doesn’t mean we can’t hope, though. The Celtics “position-less basketball” scheme matches up well with any team in the NBA. They have the second-best starting five in the league. Brad Stevens remains a basketball savant and all-around wizard. There’s a lot to like this year. The pieces of the puzzle are there, they just gotta put them all together. And that starts on Tuesday. 

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Weekly Poll Presented By The Cigar and Smoke Shoppe

Will You Stay Up Late To Watch The Sox Games This Week? Yes- I'll sleep when I'm dead Select No- I need my beauty sleep Select No-I don't cheer for the Sox Select Last Week's Poll Results We asked:  "After The ALDS start, would you let David Price pitch again this postseason? " YES: 35% • No: 65%

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Tweet of The Week

"I think I just heard a deafening noise from the Fenway crowd for David Price! 4 more years! 4 more years! 4 more years! Oh. Turns out it was just a one guy saying 4 more beers. Sorry."  @Bostonsportsinf 

Sports Hero Of The Week Presented by Hero's

Ed Guiski coached basketball at Dexter for 31 seasons. His teams totaled 329 wins, qualified for 18 Eastern Maine tournaments, won two Eastern Maine Class B championships and one State Gold Ball in 1986. In 1984, 1985, and 1988, Guiski was voted Coach of the Year by the Maine High School Coaches Association. He also coached golf, football and cross country. When he retired, the gymnasium was dedicated Guiski Gymnasium. He is a member of the USM Husky Hall of Fame. In 1961-'62, he set a USM record of 15.2 rebounds per game including 23 in one game. He is among the career leaders in field goal percentage, 52.5 percent.

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What If Your Life Was Like That Of A Pro-Athlete?    Think about this: you are an aging teacher and you walk into school to teach one day and….. Richard: “You wanted to see me Mr. King.” Principal King: “Richard you’ve had a heck of a run here. But you're getting up there a little bit and you’re making a few mistakes these days. Like when you told the kids the Pilgrims came over in a Mayflower truck. So we are trading you to a Jr. high school for a young Phys Ed teacher and a lunch lady to be named later. Best of luck to ya.” Wouldn’t it be very strange to work somewhere one day and somewhere else the next? And you have no say in the decision. Could be a trade to a better school? Or one that is last in state testing every year. Either way you're stuck. What if people could call school talk radio and gab about you?  Radio guy: “Who is on line one?” Caller: “Carey in Bangor. First time caller. I think the Richard trade is unfair. We need the experience in our school. And we already have enough lunch room employees. I hate it. I’ll hang up and listen.” Radio Guy: “Thanks for the call. Look. Richard is a pain in the butt behind the scenes. He calls for special meetings to get his way. He is a cancer in the classroom. We would have been lucky to get a substitute teacher for him.” Twitter would fill with negativity.  “Trade Richard? What’s next? Summer school?” #principalisanidiot “Richie says he can’t perform due to sore wrist too much dry erasing. And his allergies kick in around chalk dust. Give me a break. See ya Dick.” #tinglyfingers Or what if during free agency Richard left on his own and took max money to teach for a rival school. Fans would burn the v-neck sweaters and trash their pocket protectors they bought to look like him when they went to school board meetings. Friends meet on the street.  Jen: “Hear about Richard?” Signed across the river.  Scott: “Yup. Bout friggin’ time.” Toby: “He was still teaching? I hadn’t heard much about him in four years.” Don: “He is. Barely. He spoke at the school assembly but nobody was listening. Parents booed him off the stage and back to his seat.Won't miss him.” And of course then thongs of media with microphones and cameras right after the assembly performance will ask dozens of questions. “Ah, Richard, talk about what happened out there. Did you lose you script in the lights?” “Did the height of the microphone throw you off?” “Do you want to still teach at this school?”  It would be hard to be Richard. Some like you. Many hate you. It would be a different life for sure.

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Pre-Registration is now open for the 2nd Annual Veterans Benefit Tattoo Contest on November 11th! Space is limited, so be sure to pre-register today to reserve your spot!  Veterans register for free! Non-veterans will have a $10 registration fee collected at the door. Donations will also be accepted with all proceeds going to the Maine Veterans Project!

Fourth and Goal With The Bam!

 From the "reap what you sow" department come the New York Giants. What a dumpster fire. The Giants were garbage last season and that resulted in a very high draft pick. With four standout QB's available in the draft it is an absolute mystery to me why the Giants decided to continue to ride the overrated Eli for eternity and not get a QB of the future. They actually need one NOW! The Giants brass seems to have missed the memo that the NFL is a QB driven league. Running backs, while nice, are vastly overrated. Just ask the Dallas Cowboys. They have a legitimate hall of fame candidate at running back and what has that gotten them in 3 seasons? Bubkus. Zip. Nada. The Giants thought drafting another superstar running back was the answer to cover for a total and utter lack of a quarterback. The Cleveland Browns had won exactly 1 game in 2 seasons. They drafted one of those 4 QB's and already have 2 wins and are betting line favorites in many of their games going forward. Giants fans should be furious. Even as they flounder as the worst team in the NFL they are sticking with Eli. Even Tammy Wynette wouldn't stand by this man. So the Giants are steamrolling to another Top 2 pick in the draft, but there aren't any quarterbacks the caliber of last years group available. So, the Giants will waste another draft pick on someone inconsequential and ride the Eli train into further futility. It's a great time to NOT be a Giants fan.  --------------------------------------------------  To show that I am a fair person, I offer this. Kenny Doak has won the last 2 football games for Maine with last second field goals. I'll admit that I am normally really hard on kickers, because, well, I just don't like them. I think they are overused. But KD has had me fist pumping for 2 weeks in a row! Maine football is poised atop the CAA standings, largely in part to Doak just dominating his position. With the hockey team rolling to 2 wins on opening weekend, it's a great time to be a Maine Black Bears fan! Go Blue!

Here's This Week's Sports License Plate... Does this plate belong to you? Claim it and you'll win a $20 gift card to Stompers! Want to play along? Just send us your sports themed license plate, or one you spot, and if we publish it we'll send you a $20 gift card to: Stompers Wine & Beverage in Holden [email protected]

Tomalley Tom says: "Remember the last two times the Red Sox lost Game #1 of the ALCS they went on to win the World Series. 2004 and 2013."

A-Rod In a Red Sox Uniform??!!

Sox fans: Want to feel a little sick this morning? Maybe throw up in your mouth a little bit? Then we have the video for you. A-Rod lost a bet to Big Papi and this is the sickening result. Click below to watch. AROD IN SOX UNI

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I helped defeat the Yankees. You are welcome. I like to think I had a hand in the Sox beating the Yanks last week. It all began after game #1. I needed to help out our Sox in any manner possible. So, after a solid four hours of sleep, I packed up the Commish mobile and headed off to NYC. My mission: intimidate the enemy!! After all, the Commish is not a small guy at over 6 feet and an XXL shirt is required.   Oh, and drop my wife and daughters boyfriend off too see her at college. After a 7 ½ hour drive from the woods of Maine to the city’s edge, we parked the vehicle … uh, Commish-mobile, in a garage in the Big Apple. I stepped out to be greeted by the attendee who quickly stated “kind of brave wearing that around here?” I forgot that I had on my Sox long sleeve jersey with a miniscule but visible Sox logo.  Alas, my secret identity was revealed and it was game was on.    Upon leaving the parking garage, a couple of local guys made me. They tried with their might to stare me down, but my powerful “grin vision” made quick work of them. We understood each other and a smirk with a firm head nod was all that was needed.    As we ventured more than 6.5 miles of NY streets throughout the day, I did manage to come across another Red Sox fan and we quickly appreciated each other with a fist pump.  However, for the most part, I knew we were in enemy territory and the plan was about to unfold. And I had another trick up my sleeve. On Sunday, I decided to switch it up and wear Patriot gear around town. It was shocking how much more attention this got than the Red Sox. Then again that was part of my plan with a little bit of trickery and deception. Bill Like. Yankee fans were confident once again after a Game 2 win, but I was there to fix that mindset.  From the guy down in the subway telling me that the “Patriots were his guys”, which took me a while to believe, to the 18 wheeler on 72 nd Street that slowed down so the co-pilot could shout “Go Big Blue," I had their attention and all was good.  As we traveled back to the hotel once again on Sunday night, we got a real good view of Ya nkee Stadium from the highway as an accident slowed traffic down. There was only one thing on my mind as I stared at this monument.  Yes, that’s right, “Yankees S*^k”!!! I believe that I even shouted it a few times with a booming voice and the ground might have moved. Or, Maybe that was the traffic, but this is my story!!   So, yes, I’m taking the credit for the glorious series win and nobody can tell me any different.  And if I have to go to Houston I will.

New York Giants Report

 By: John LeBlanc Last Thursday night the Giants got destroyed by the Philadelphia Eagles. The only bright spot was Saquon Barkley with over 200 yards of offensive. I believe the Giants are at the crossroad of a very important decision. Do you continue with Eli Manning at QB or do you give the rookie Kyle Lauletta a shot to lead the team. When you have lost 5 of the first 6 games it is time to seriously consider making the change. Its no secret that Eli is slow afoot, he fumbles when he gets hit and he has lost the long ball velocity.  Eli is the present. ho is the future? We know Lauletta is quick and has good arm strength. Lets see if he handle game situations. If he does great for us, if we continue to lose then we know what our first draft pick will be next April (Hint Oregon QB Justin Herbert 6’6” 230lbs). I hope next week I’ll have more to write about, meantime I am thankful for fantasy football.

Who Are The Happiest and Most Miserable Fans In Our Country? By Jordan Kobritz Jordan Kobritz is a former attorney, CPA, Minor League Baseball team owner and current investor in MiLB teams. He is a professor in and chair of the Sport Management Department at SUNY Cortland and maintains the blog,  sportsbeyondthelines.com . The opinions in this column are the author’s. The Sports Chowdah receives Jordan's blogs weekly and on occasion passes them along here. He is a past guest on The Drive on 92.9FM. ESPN recently surveyed fans of teams in the four Major League team sports to determine the most miserable fan base in professional sports.  Not surprisingly, Sacramento Kings fans “won” the title of most miserable fan base in sports. You would be miserable too, if your team had never won a championship (since moving to town in 1985), hadn’t won a playoff series since 2004, and haven’t even made the playoffs since 2006 (the longest drought in the NBA).  Why give your hard-earned dollars, let alone your unrequited love, to such a hopeless team? But there are Kings fans out there. The team has averaged over 17,000 fans per game in each of the last three years, and finished 18 th in attendance in the 30-team NBA in the 2017-18 season.  Also not surprisingly, Patriots fans finished on the other end of the spectrum, as well they should have. The team has won nine AFC-East Division titles in a row, 15 since 2001, played in the last seven Conference Championship Games, won five Super Bowls and played in three others since 2001. But Patriots fans haven’t always enjoyed an abundance of riches.  In their early years, the Patriots were the laughing stalk of the NFL, with a reputation for being a misfit organization on and off the field. It wasn’t until Robert Kraft purchased the team in 1994 that things began to stabilize. Kraft hired Bill Belichick in 2000 and three months later the team drafted a little- known quarterback from Michigan in the seventh round of the NFL draft, whatshisname? Oh, yea, Tom Brady.  According to the ESPN Sports Misery Index formula, the early days of the team’s ineptitude don’t count because the formula emphasizes what is referred to as the “recency factor.” For example, if your team won a championship in the past five years, even if it was a fluke preceded by decades of failure, you aren’t allowed to be miserable.  The formula weighs five categories: championships (the more the better and the more recent, even better); playoff berths (if you don’t make the playoffs you don’t have a chance to win championships); playoff wins (losing the MLB Wild Card Game doesn’t count for much); heartbreaks (the Patriots’ two last-minute Super Bowl losses to the New York Giants on freak plays is something even Patriots haters should have empathy for); and rival comparison (if your biggest rival is winning titles while your team is losing, that’s pouring salt into an open wound). The ESPN survey provides us with a window into the mindset of entire cities. Boston is an upbeat town for sports fans, with all four teams listed in the bottom quarter of the index (the lower the numeric number the less miserable the fan base) while Buffalo, not surprisingly, checks in at the other end of the spectrum.   Although the index may change from year to year, one thing is certain: as long as Bill and Tom are around, the Patriots should finish on the top…err, the bottom...of the heap.

Who Is This Jeff Solari Guy Anyway? Jeff Solari is the President and owner of Rock Lobster Media and The Sports Chowdah. Jeff is also the co-host of the regions most listened to afternoon sports talk show, The Drive on 92.9FM The Ticket in Bangor. He has been in sports media since he was 17. He is not shy with his opinions or unique perspective on the world of sports. Jeff is a graduate of Mount Desert Island High School and the University of Southern Maine. Continue Reading...

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Jeff Solari | Sports Chowdah | (207) 735-7323 | [email protected]  | www.jeffsolari.com