THANKSGIVING WITH PLENTY TO BE THANKFUL FOR

I couldn’t have asked for a better Monday.

Not only is this a three-day work week with a self-indulging football-filled Holiday, but The Boston Sports Scene is rumbling along like a Tanker Truck on the Mass Pike.

The New England Patriots shut out a team on the road for the first time in 20 years.

The Boston College Eagles won their game vs. Maryland on Saturday, and along with a Wake Forest loss, are now tied for the lead in the ACC at 9-2.

The Boston Bruins, yes THOSE Bruins, have won four games in a row, and are finally starting to see someone below them in the Northeast Division. It’s called Bruins.

The Boston Celtics have won three consecutive games, bringing them back from unconsciousness and into the middle of the Atlantic Division.

What a weekend indeed.

Don’t get me wrong, I certainly was not betting against the Patriots this Sunday, but I’ll admit I was slightly worried about the idea of THE New England Patriots losing a third consecutive game. It’s a good thing I’m cynical.

The Patriots yesterday brought the Green Bay Packers back down to earth, showing them precisely why they had not lost consecutive games in four years.

Does total domination in all phases of the game ring a bell? Besides dropping 35 points on the Packers, the Patriots flexed their defensive muscles, allowing only 120 total yards of offense to a team who, the week previous, scored 24 points and racked up 394 total yards of offense.

The Pats seemingly picked up the Packers like a bully would pick up a class nerd, took their lunch money, gave them a wedgie and left them feeling helpless in front of their locker in between classes.

The leaders in week 11 were Tom Brady, who threw four touchdown passes to four different receivers, Laurence Maroney, who gained 108 total yards and a TD, and Mike Vrabel who totaled 6 tackles and 1.5 sacks.

Now that the Pats are seemingly back on track, their next game will be against a very formidable opponent, the 9-1 Chicago Bears. The Bears are not as good as their record shows, but they certainly are not a team to be over looked. The key to the Patriots winning this game will be to pressure Rex Grossman to the point where he begins to make mistakes, and then score points off those mistakes.

The B.C. Eagles proved this past Saturday that Offense Sells Tickets and Defense Wins Games. Two fumble recoveries run back for touchdowns by Jolonn Dunbar in the first qauter pout B.C. up 14-0, and they never looked back. With the score 28-9 B.C. in the third quarter, Dejuan Tribble intercepted a pass from Maryland QB Sam Hollenbach and ran it back 42 yards to put the Eagles ahead by a comfortable margin.

L.V. Whitworth continued his torrid pace on the ground, running the ball 21 times for an even 100 yards, and making one reception for 16 yards along the way.

This was a great game for The Eagles, and their next game against Miami now has larger implications since Wake Forest lost its game to Virginia Tech 27 – 6, sending the two teams into a tie atop the ACC. Since Wake Forest owns the tie-breaker, the Eagles have to win against Miami and look for Maryland to upset The Demon Deacons next weekend in order to take home the ACC title and a BCS bowl bid.

Maryland will be playing Wake Forest at home Saturday night, which should give the Terps a slight edge over the Demon Deacons. If Maryland can slow down the running attack of Wake Forest and take care of the ball, they can win this game. But lets not start scoreboard watching just yet. The Eagles still have to go to Miami and play the lowly Hurricanes in their last game of the year. At the beginning of the season, this game may have seemed to be a difficult one for the Eagles to win, but with all the turmoil that has erupted this season in Miami, I expect the Eagles to leave Miami victorious, and hopefully a division winner as well.

The Boston Bruins didn’t seem like they were ever going to hold a lead or score a timely goal EVER again. And I mean that when I say it. But since the Bruins have won four consecutive games for the first time since 2004, there seems to be more fans showing up to games and general excitement is rising as we speak.

The Bruins current win-streak has a lot to do with the play of Patrice Bergeron, Glen Murray and Marc Savard. Bergeron is currently playing his best hockey of the season so far, using his quickness and play-making ability to tally up seven points in his last six games, along with a the winning goal in shootouts against the Washington Capitals.

Mark Savard, the team leader in points has been as advertised so far, making space in the offensive zone and creating scoring chances for all of his team mates. Glen Murray has also been heating up as of late, adding six points in the last four games, one of which was the game-winner against the Capitals.

The bruins skate tonight against the Florida Panthers, a team that rolled over the Bruins on opening night by a tune of 8-3. The team from opening night is not here anymore. The Bruins are finally starting to play a full 60 minutes of hockey. I look for them to keep their winning ways up, along with some help from Bergeron, Murray and Savard.

Last, but certainly not least (in my mind anyway), Your Boston Celtics. A 1-6 record and rumors of Doc heading out the door soon didn’t bode well for the Stumbling Celtics. But something strange started happening after that ... The Celtics won. They have won three in a row and have somewhat quieted down all those haters in Boston.

Of course it’s still the Paul Pierce Show. Why would that change? But it is becoming the Paul Pierce Show featuring Ryan Gomes at Forward and Wally Szczerbiak at Shooting Forward. It’s The Truth, The Brain (Gomes) and The Cave Man (Wally).

Supporting cast including the badly nicknamed Sebastian Telfair (Bassy), who is coming around and playing better ball as of late. Regarding “Bassy”, if anyone has suggestions of a new nickname, please let me know. So far, “Seb-Tel”, “Sebby” and “The Mini-truth” just don’t seem to be clicking. But Telfair, in the last three games, is averaging 14 points, 5.6 assists and only two turnovers. He still can’t play D, but at least he’s contributing on the offensive side of the ball.

The X-factor here may end up being Leon Powe, who I still believe should pronounce his last name POW!, And not Poe (It’s just more appealing). Leon fell to the second round of the draft because of knee injuries but averaged 20 and 10 playing in the PAC-10. He brings grit under the basket, an OK fifteen-footer and he can usually hit free throws on a consistent basis. After some NBA seasoning, I can see him as an Antonio McDyess type.

It’s good that the Celtics have taken some of the heat off themselves for a little while. The season’s just not going to be all fun and games. The same questions that were asked last season are being asked this season. Have these guys matured since last season? It seems not as of yet. I don’t want to see any big trades made, I like this core of young talent. The one change that must be addressed is the coach. Doc Rivers is a great man, but he can’t Coach ‘em Up worth a lick. C’mon Danny, take the reighns.

This is The Boston Boy and I will be blogging once a week to keep you up to date on Boston’s Major Sports Franchises. The good news, the bad news, the rumors, the playoffs, the heart breaks. I’ll be there for ‘em all.