SZ689

BY JIM DAWSON

OCTOBER 15, 2018

A TALE OF TWO CITIES – FOXBORO AND BOSTON

As a sports fan in New England, you sometimes have an occasion like Sunday night when the Patriots were at home facing the 5-0 Chiefs, and the Red Sox were at Fenway against the Astros in Game #2 of the ALCS. Two critical contests. How to watch them both?

In the old days, I just put 2 TVs next to each other, turned the sound down on one, adjusting the audio as needed on them and watched both sporting events.

However Sunday night I was at Gillette with Driller Killer and the Bear. Driller had sent me an email from the Patriots noting that if you downloaded the Gillette Stadium app and switched to Gillette’s Wi-Fi, you could stream the Red Sox game. And so we did.

Except for the walk up to Gillette, just before 7pm, when we missed Boston scoring 2 runs in the 1^st, we were able to see the Red Sox in real time, while watching the Patriots in person. And if you get lucky, you get to see two wins. And we did.

The Red Sox were desperate to win Game #2 before heading to Houston. It was good to see the Sox up 2-0, but then the game was tied. And then they were behind 4-2. But Jackie Bradley, Jr. took care of that with a bases loaded double off the wall in left. It was 5-2 and the Red Sox listened to my exhortations to add pad runs. Mookie had something to do with that. He had an RBI double in the 8^th . But in the 7^th Mookie had walked vs Lance McCullers. What followed was ‘wild pitch’, ‘passed ball’, ‘wild pitch’, unearned run scored by Mookie. All this with Martin Maldonado, considered a very good catcher, behind the plate. Thank you for your generosity. Eventually the Sox had 3 pad runs and the 7-3 lead was enough to offset any wild and crazy behavior by closer Craig Kimbrel.

Snake-bitten David Price got some mild redemption by getting into the 5^th and not totally imploding. The offense kicked in and the much maligned bullpen managed to put up zeroes until Kimbrel came in. The key move by Cora was bringing in Rick Porcello for the 8^th. Porcello did just what he did to the Yankees having a shut down inning, and getting the game to Kimbrel. One win was in.

The other contest went the way that I predicted pre-game. The last team with the ball would win. It didn’t look like that when the Patriots were up 24-9 at the Half. But while the Pats won the 1^st Half, the Chiefs did their best to bounce back, even taking a lead in the 4^th quarter, and then tying the game with 3:03 left. Oops! KC left too much time on the clock for the ‘Comeback Kid’ as Tom Brady expertly marched his team down the field for a game winning field goal.

In that last drive to get that 28 yard winning FG, the big play was a pass to Gronk for 39 yards down to the KC 9. Oh and the NE series just prior: Gronk had the big catch as he went for 42 yards to the KC 37. It set up Gostkowski’s 50 yard FG. NE only won by 3.

Gostkowski kicked 5 FGs on the night 48, 24, 39, 50 and 28. The 2^nd win was in.

LEFTOVERS

The Patriots never punted in the game. They stopped themselves only once, on Brady’s 3^rd quarter fumble when sacked. That set up a short field at the NE 29 and led to a KC TD. Brady knows better. He had all day (night) to pass, but held on to it too long.

For that matter, KC only punted once in the game, on its 5^th possession of the 2^nd Half . It was an important 3 and out by the Pats D coming after the Chiefs took over at 5:25 of the 4^th. The score was 37- 33 NE at the time. After KC punted, there was 3:50 left. NE would score a FG and TD after that.

It was obvious to the meanest intelligence that the Patriots needed to run and rush KC QB Mahomes in order to win the game. The Pats rushed for 173 yards (Michel had 100 at the beginning of the 4^th quarter). The Pats ran more (38 plays) than they passed (35x).

That allowed NE to control Time of Possession (36:09 to 23:51). In fact the Pats had the ball for 11:29 of the 4^th quarter.

Good thing the Pats won that battle because the Chiefs, with Mahomes throwing 4 TD passes, scored fast. 2^nd Half: 67 yard pass to RB Kareem Hunt (1:33 elapsed). 14 yard pass to WR Tyreek Hill (1:27 after TB’s fumble). After Tremon Smith’s 97 yard kick return, 1 yard pass to Hill (1:44). 75 yard TD to Hill (0:12) that tied the game 40-40.

Amazing that the Pats held them to 3 FGs in the 1^st Half.

As for rushing the KC QB, the stats don’t tell the whole story. NE never sacked Mahomes and had only 3 QB hits (Flowers, Hightower and Clayborn). However they put good pressure on Mahomes in the first Half when he threw his two interceptions. On one, Dont’a just made a great play, cutting in front of the receiver. The other was Harmon’s in the end zone just before Half which was caused by a good pass rush.

The Red Zone was the difference. NE 4 of 6. KC 2 of 5.

NE was 7 of 13 on 3^rd down. KC was 4 of 10. NE had zero penalties! KC 5, two of which gave the Pats a 1^st down.

Josh Gordon had the most targets (9) with 5 catches. White (7/5), Edelman (7/4) and Hogan (4/4). Hogan made 2 big catches (42 and 19 yards) in the 2^nd Half series that led to the Pats retaking the lead 37-33 on Brady’s rushing TD.

All this talk about who the better TE is Gronk or Travis Kelce. Well Gronk had two big 2^nd Half catches which helped produce NE’s last two FGs, including the winner. 4 targets, 3 catches (97 yards) for Gronk. Kelce had 5 catches on 9 targets (61 yards), but was targeted only once in the 2^nd Half (no catch). Gronk blocks. Kelce doesn’t. Look at the 173 yards rushing by NE. Gronk’s the best. End of discussion.

Looked up how Bill Belichick-coached Patriots teams had done against rookie QBs. The

record is now 18-5. The QBs that won: Ben Roethlisberger (’04), Mark Sanchez (’09), Colt McCoy (’10), Russell Wilson (’12) and Geno Smith (’13). Source – Mike Reiss/ESPN – 9/20/17.

BULLETS

• One other Patriots related item: it was reported that when Tyreek Hill scored on that 75 yard bomb that tied the game that a NE fan threw a cup of beer in Hill’s face. There is no room for bad behavior like that. The fan, when identified, should be banned permanently from Gillette.

• When the Yankees-Sox series was in NY, a fan threw a can of beer at Craig Kimbrel as he was coming out of the bullpen. I did not see any on-line mention of it.

• Was watching the Oregon vs Washington football game. At one point, the Ducks’ PA system played Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline and the crowd at Autzen Stadium was singing along, just like at Fenway Park.

• The Boston Bruins are back in action and fans are in for a treat. Patrice Bergeron has had a hat trick as has David Pastrnak. That’s in 5 games. The Bruins are on the road and play Calgary Wednesday.

• Chris Sale went to the hospital Sunday with a stomach disorder. Think that may have affected his start against the Astros? We’ll find out after his next start against them.

EMAIL

I think Jeff Beck is the answer. I’m not sure he’s ever had a hit though.

Matthew Dawson

Good guess, Matt but not Beck. Always liked his Truth album with Rod Stewart singing

lead - Morning Dew. - Z

Morning, Jim - how about Mason Williams (Classical Gas). 

Making His Mark,

Good guess, Mark, but incorrect. - Z

I voted for Link Wray in this year’s nominations for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but alas, he did not get enough votes. He certainly deserves admission due to his iconic, influential style of guitar playing. One has to believe that his method inspired the "surf guitar" music of the sixties to emerge from the Ventures, Dick Dale (born and raised in Boston), the Surfaris, and the Beach Boys.

His largest hit was "Rumble" that is still played today in real juke joints everywhere; he needs a place in Cleveland's Shrine of Rock.

Bill LaPlante

Bill, yes it's Link Wray who is the answer to the trivia question. He and his Wray Men did Rumble back in 1958 though it was so good that it had staying power and was played for quite a lot longer. Check out his Wikipedia page to see some of the guitarists he influenced with his playing. - Z

Just read zine-good stuff-off top of my head-Link Wray and "Rumble".

Cora going with Price in Game 2 ---well!

Ken Forestal

Ken, it is Rumble by Link Wray & the Wraymen in 1958. - Z

I have doubts about Price-hope to be proven wrong-there is a documentary "Rumble" it features Link Wray and other Native Americans in Rock & Roll - I have copy - I'll send it your way.

Ken Forestal

Price pitched well against the Astros out of the bullpen last year in the playoffs.

I was disappointed that many fans booed Price last Saturday. It's not like he isn't trying.

Tonight's a big game. You want to win the 1st one at home. If they don't that puts even more pressure on Price.

Did not know about that doc on Rumble and Link Wray. He has a self-titled album on Polydor with La De La, Juke-box Mama and other good songs.

Two other very good docs - Wrecking Crew and Stax/Volt. - Z

Editor’s Note: If you want to vote on musicians for next year’s inductees to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, here is the link: https://www.rockhall.com/fanvote/

Three of my favorites are up for induction: Roxy Music, John Prine and Todd Rundgren.

THE HOT CLUB

In talking to Fleet Feet Pete, Pal Al and Dr. John, I mentioned that during the Red Sox-Yankees playoff game I attended, the PA system played the theme from Peter Gunn. I recalled that Henry Mancini composed the theme, but the opening bass line was from one of the LA based Wrecking Crew. In the documentary about that stable of musicians who backed some of the biggest blockbuster hits and replaced the ‘bands’ on vinyl but rarely got credit for it, one was Carol Kaye, who does that opening riff in the documentary.

So Fleet Feet Pete asked me what pitcher holds the record for most career home runs. I didn’t know but Foot Joy did – ex-Red Sox (among others) righty Wes Ferrell, who had 37. And who was second? Lefty Warren Spahn with 35. Oh, and Bob Lemon had 35 too.

Foot Joy and I were talking about the DH versus NL pitchers batting for themselves. We got to bunting, and Foot Joy made a salient point (as he often does): NL pitchers don’t learn to bunt until they get to the Majors. As he noted, in AAA and the lower minors, even NL teams don’t have the pitchers bat.

ANSWER TO LAST ISSUE’S QUIZ

Not many people got it – the singer/guitarist who had only one hit, an instrumental, but has been nominated for the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame twice (not selected unfortunately), and was a huge influence on future guitarists. Bill LaPlante and Ken Forestal knew it was Link Wray. Fred Lincoln ‘Link’ Wray is credited with popularizing the power chord, used by many modern rock guitarists. Guitarists Neil Young, Jimmy Page, and Pete Townsend have cited Wray as a major influence (Source – Wikipedia).

Not even Professor Peter nor Mr. Bassman, Jesse from Tanya McIntyre and the Professors band, got the answer. Jesse did draw us what a power chord looks like on the back of a Sportzine. Thanks Jesse.

THIS ISSUE’S QUIZ

A change-up, a baseball question: This Hall of Famer is credited with the only walk-off, inside-the-park grand slam in baseball history. Name? My thanks to reader Richard Flinn who submitted this trivia question.

Sportzine is also available at jimdawsonsports.com thanks to Buffalo Steve Lenz

SZ688

BY JIM DAWSON

OCTOBER 8, 2018

A CRUSHING LOSS BUT A FINE FENWAY EXPERIENCE

After Friday’s nail biting win, with a patchwork relief effort that barely preserved Chris Sale’s first ever playoff win, Driller Killer and I hoped to witness the first ever playoff win for David Price. Alas, it was not to be.

Little did we know that when Alex Cora brought in projected Game #3 starter Rick Porcello in Game #1, it was out of desperation since knuckleballer Steven Wright had to be removed from the playoff roster with a recurrence of his left knee injury.

That meant that David Price needed to give the team a number of quality innings. Price didn’t get out of the 2^nd as the Bronx Bombers crushed home runs by Aaron Judge in the 1^st and Gary Sanchez in the 2^nd to go up 3-0, the same hole NY was in during Game #1.

Joe Kelly came on to douse the flames in the 2^nd and actually gave the team 2 1/3 innings of run-less relief. Ryan Brasier gave the team one good inning. Brandon Workman went only 1/3 of an inning and Eduardo Rodriguez came in to extract Workman from the 2-runners on jam he left him. Unfortunately Eduardo got in his own mess in the 7^th inning and gave up a 3-run blast to Gary “Can’t Catch but Can Club’ Sanchez. At 6-1, it was too steep a hill for the Red Sox to climb back.

This was a special game for Driller Killer and me. Mrs. Driller Killer (Monica) had purchased tickets for the playoff game as a surprise birthday gift for Driller. Not just any

tickets – Field Box seats - Row AAA, seats 1and 2. Three rows from the field.

The seats were just a little across from home plate on the 1^st base side. Since the Red Sox dugout is on the 1^st base side, Red Sox batters were in the on deck circle, so close that you felt you could reach out and touch them. I got several good cell camera shots, especially of the right-handers.

Never have had finer Fenway tickets. My thanks to Driller and Mrs. Driller for inviting me. It was a memorable experience.

First things you noticed – a metal gate in the fence in front of us to the field to let guests out and security in. TV monitors in the 1^st base wall which were visible until someone sat in the first row seats. Four people arrived after an inning and a half (society enters late), and it was harder to see the pitch replays. The first row across the aisle was occupied by two Yankee fans. One took a selfie, back to the field, as Judge rounded 3^rd after his 1^st inning home run. When the real ticket holders arrived, the security guard ushered the two guys out – they were dis-invited from the society.

There were quite a few Yankee fans at the game. The guy across the aisle from me, for example. He kept up a constant stream of chatter. But no worse than the Red Sox fan sitting in front of me. And he thought it cool to constantly converse with the Yankee fan.

He turned out to be ‘Tom’, a middle-aged middle school teacher. Not wanting to leave me out, he would turn and talk to me as well. We agreed on one thing – the horrendousness of the home plate umpire. The called strikes on Boston batters seemed suspect at times, and we let the ump know. Yankee batters seemed to benefit too. When that happened, Tom yelled to the ump ‘strike zone closed for business’. When a strike was finally called on NY, I yelled, “You finally got one right. Open your good eye.”

The ump turned toward our seats. Tom’s male companion turned to me and said “I think he heard you.”

The game didn’t turn on some of those calls. The Yankees just out-pitched and out-slugged the Red Sox. They deserved the win.

We knew it was trouble time, when author Stephen King left the game after Sanchez’s 2^nd homer, the 3-run blast that made it 6-1. King was seated several seats in to our right in the 2^nd row. He had a hard cover book in his lap, which he read between innings. And a tooth pick in his mouth, a ‘no-no’ per my dentist friend.

That middle aged teacher, ‘Tom’, well, he had gone into that row where Stephen King was sitting. Later he told me that he sat next to Stephen King and wanted to ask him three questions. When he started asking the first question, King told ‘Tom’ that he was just there to see the game. ‘Tom’ persisted and said he wanted the info for his students. He got to ask one question – “Do you have an end sight for your main characters or does the story dictate that?” King was gracious and responded (per ‘Tom’) that he usually did have an end view in mind for his characters but sometimes the story changed that.

I was struck by ‘Tom’s sense of entitlement to go ask Stephen King anything. That’s me.

It was great fun and a fine experience in the finest of Fenway seats, even though our beloved Red Sox lost. Again, my thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Driller Killer.

PATRIOTS RIDE THEM COLTS 38-24

Breaking in young horses, the riders have to assert control, show the horse whose boss. With the score 24-3 Patriots at half, the young Colts could have been broken. They could have capitulated. But Andrew Luck wouldn’t let them, and he and his young charges got back to within a touchdown at 24-17 in the 4^th quarter.

It took two tainted Tom Brady interceptions in the 3^rd quarter to aid and abet that rally. One pass went off Chris Hogan’s hands, up into the air where it was easily picked off. The other was by the usually sure-handed Gronkowski, who didn’t wrap up a catch in the Red Zone, and had it punched out and up in the air where it too was intercepted at the Indy 4. Those interceptions were on the receivers, not Tom Brad. The damning thing is both came when the Pats were driving.

Give credit to Luck and the Colts for making the comeback by mixing runs and passes that kept the Patriots off balance. However the turning point came when Brady found Josh ‘Just out of Detention’ Gordon. As I told Driller Killer and El Jefe, I wanted to see Gordon get a TD. And so it was. Credit to Gordon, who got open in the end zone and snagged a ball with two men on him. A 34-yard pass. That restored the 2 TD lead (31-17). You can see how Gordon could have a huge impact, if he and Brady develop a connection. They put Gordon’s locker right next to Tom Brady’s. Smart move.

The Colts still refused to quit, but when Jonathan Jones intercepted Andrew Luck, they were running out of time and chances. What followed was a Sony Michel touchdown run of 34 yards, the Patriots were up again by 3 TDs and the Colts were broken.

Pats’ fans were anxious to see how Julian Edelman would do on his return from a 4-game suspension. It didn’t take long as Brady threw to Edelman on the first play of the first possession. Welcome back, Jules. Edelman would go on to have 7 catches on targets for 57 yards. It was great to see him come racing out of the Patriot Head entrance and dash the length of the field, just like in the past. If there was one play he’d like back, it was a sideline route where he was wide open and failed to snag the catchable ball. There was no one near him, and it could have been a big gain.

The Patriots are still working on their pass rush. The one sack that they had occurred in the first quarter. Luck had plenty of time to pass, and it helped that his RBs Hines and Wilkins ran well enough to allow play-action. The biggest thorn was TE Eric Ebron, who seemed to catch most everything thrown his way. He had 9 catches on 15 targets. It’s the 5’11” Patrick Chung, who usually gets the unenviable task of covering those taller and heavier tight ends. Chung did all he could but the 6’4” Ebron was a monster.

So, the Patriots play KC next Sunday at Gillette at 8:20. If they expect to beat the Chiefs (who beat the Pats last time at Gillette w/ QB Alex Smith), they will have to shut down wunderkind QB Pat Mahomes, who has surpassed all other rookie QBs in performance. The Pats will need to rush Mahomes effectively to counter his strong passing game. They have not been able to do so yet. However, de facto defensive coordinator Brian Flores has been trying new things and I saw Chung and Jonathan Jones blitz on the same play last Thursday night.

BULLETS

• One of the strangest head coaching calls Sunday was Ron Rivera’s of Carolina, who with no timeouts and about 30 seconds left, called a running play. His kicker, Graham Gano rescued Rivera with a 63-yard field goal to beat the New York ‘Football’ Giants.

• Wild Bill, the Pats’ season ticket holder who sits next to me at Gillette, observed that in the Belichick/Kraft era, the team has had only two QBs and two kickers.

EMAIL

Too easy...I think.

Positive Mama Cass was the singer.

I think Keith Moon is the other... 85%

Lol...

Special K

You are correct, Special K. Nice job. We'll see how many others get it. I would expect most to get Moon but not Cass. - Z

Regarding music trivia, in a seemingly eerie coincidence I was searching last week for ukulele chord charts for Harry Nilsson’s cover of Fred Neil’s Everybody’s Talking, and came across a story about his life- Answer is Mama Cass and John Bonham, right?

Cheers,

Making His Mark

Mark, you have half of it right. The woman is Mama Cass. The other is … - Z

Morning, Jim- don’t know why I flashed on John Bonham- it was Keith Moon. Remembering seeing him play live on The Who’s 1975 tour in Toronto…saw the band again in providence in 2013- see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Who_Tour_2012–2013#Tour_dates.

Mark

Yes the other half of the Nilsson flat deaths is Keith Moon. - Z

James, answer to your question about the two artists who died in Harry Nilsson’s place is Cass Elliot and Keith Moon. A sad coincidence. Good Zine and congrats on the Pat’s win.

Mike Curtis

You got the quiz right, Mike. It's Mama Cass and Keith Moon. - Z

THE HOT CLUB

Special K was entertaining us last week. Cap’t Jack, Making His Mark and Big John and I were privy to some history related to the 70s and early 80s at the original Lupo’s on Westminster St. Special K said she got to know Rich Lupo since she frequented the place back then. The Special One said that when the urge to go hit, and she couldn’t wait, she would use the Men’s Room. Lupo implored Special K not to use the Men’s Room, but she persisted. Her response to Rich Lupo was to expand the Ladies’ Room.

Big John of that group was telling us that he was at a Red Sox game and got to visit the Red Sox Legend’s Suite at Fenway Park. He got to meet Jim Lonborg and his son, Nick I believe. Big John said he was hanging with Lonborg’s son, having a few beers. At some point, Lonborg’s son started to fall over the railing when Big John grabbed him and prevented him from falling. ‘Gentleman’ John.

Britt picked up a copy of the Sportzine and looked at the music trivia quiz – she immediately said, “Mama Cass and Keith Moon.” I told her that she was correct, and she proclaimed that she wanted credit for getting the quiz answer. So here it is.

Talking to Fleet Feet Pete about footwear, something he knows about considerably. Told Pete that there was an item in the Boston Herald about someone who robbed a shoe store. The person took all the footwear on display. However the owner only displayed right shoes, so the thief got 13 right shoes and no lefts.

ANSWER TO LAST ISSUE’S TRIVIA QUIZ

So who were those unfortunate rock n’ rollers who died 4 your years apart in Harry Nilsson’s rented flat? Special K knew it immediately. My Air Force buddy Mike Curtis also got it as did Making His Mark on his second try. Mama Cass and Keith Moon. Nilsson thought the flat was cursed. See below.

http://www.rockandrollgps.com/the-apartment-where-keith-moon-and-mama-cass-elliot-died/

THIS ISSUE’S TRIVIA QUIZ

This guitarist/singer has been nominated for the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame twice. Yet he had one major hit and it was an instrumental! He is known for popularizing a guitar style and is considered a major influence on guitarists that followed him. Name? Hit Song?

Sportzine is also available at jimdawsonsports.com thanks to Buffalo Steve Lenz

SZ687

BY JIM DAWSON
OCTOBER 1, 2018

THAT’S MORE LIKE IT – PATRIOTS DEMOLISH DOLPHINS 38-7
Driller Killer, ‘Search Me’ Sue and I knew as well as season ticket holders Wild Bill, Shawn and Harry that the Patriots had to win this game against the Dolphins. It was a ‘Do or Die’ game. A loss would have Miami on top of the AFC East at 4-0 and the Pats with 3 losses. Coming in, the Dolphins were 0-9 at Gillette in their last 9 games there. They are now 0-10.

We were hoping that WR Josh Gordon would play. Brady didn’t have many passing options vs. Detroit. No Edelman yet and TE Jacob Hollister out (again for this game). Plus Dorsett had no catches vs the Lions and Patterson had one. If nothing else, Gordon could be used as a decoy and Miami would have to cover him. Gordon contributed 2 catches on 2 targets, both for 1st downs on 3rd down plays.

The game started slowly for the Pats after they won the toss and got a 3 and out vs. Miami. Tom Brady’s passes were off at times, throwing behind the receivers. A couple were nearly picked off. On that first opening possession, they had to settle for a field goal. The Patriots would be 3 for 4 in the Red Zone on the day.

It was obvious to all that the Patriots were better on both sides of the ball. Sony Michel was running well and getting good blocking. Michel had 80 yards in the 1st half on 15 carries.

On defense, the team was bolstered by the returns of Trey Flowers, their best pass rusher, and safety Patrick Chung. With CB Eric Rowe out, Jason McCourty was at LCB. Their job was to keep Miami’s running attack grounded, which they did (56 yards), prevent any deep completions and do a better job on 3rd down. The Pats held Miami to 3 for 11 on 3rd down (27%).

They also needed to put more pressure on the QB. NE had 2 sacks (Adam Butler and new signee John Simon) and 5 QB hits, two by Lawrence Guy.


The Pats were also helped by Miami’s penalties, two came on 3rd down and kept Pats drives alive. One resulted in the Pats opening Field Goal, and the other allowed a 55-yard TD by a wide open Cordarrelle Patterson that made it 10-0. Both penalties were on CB Xavien Howard.

With 7:41 left to the Half, a bad snap with QB Ryan Tannehill in shotgun formation led to Kyle Van Noy stealing the ball from Tannehill. On the next play, James White ran 22 yards up the middle for a TD and 17-0 lead. NE loves to take advantage of unforced errors.

With 7:29 left, I told Driller and Sue that the Pats had enough time to score again, and so they did with Phillip Dorsett making a sensational catch of a low throw for a 9-yard TD.

It was 24-0 and the Dolphins were basically cooked. In the 2nd Half, the Pats would add a James White pass reception for a 14-yard TD and Sony Michel scored his first career TD on a 10-yd run. Michel had 100 yards rushing by the end of the 3rd quarter.

Josh McDaniels dialed up a good mix of play calling. He had a Patterson end around, used some flanker screens, including one to TE Dwayne Allen which lost 4 yards. In fact on the Pats first series of the 2nd Half, McDaniels tried a deep go route to Allen (unsuccessful). On a 2nd and 16, he had White take a direct snap, lateral to Brady and Brady then hit White with a 9 yard completion.

Now comes a short week, and Andrew Luck and the Colts in on Thursday night. Gronk has a gimpy ankle so not sure if he’s playing, but Edelman will be back. With better play by Patterson and Dorsett and the running of Sony Michel, the Patriots are starting to have more weapons. Patterson had 3 catches on 5 targets and Dorsett 4 catches on 7 targets. James White led receivers with 8 catches on 10 targets (68 yards).

LEFTOVERS
DE’s Cameron Wake and Robert Quinn plus LB Kiko Alonso have made life miserable for Tom Brady in the past. Alonso had 3 tackles and 9 assists to lead his team. He had 1   QB hit. Quinn had 3 QB hits and Wake 2. The Dolphins had 7 QB hits in all, many after   Brady had released the ball. Radio analyst Scott Zolak felt Alonso should have been called for a roughing the passer on his hit.

Danny Amendola had no impact on the game. He had 1 punt return for 12 yards and 2 catches on 3 targets for 21 yards and one first down catch.

Coming in, the Patriots had no punt return yardage in 3 games. That all changed with the return of Cyrus Jones who had 5 punt returns for 45 yards. On a ball punted to the Pats 9, Jones returned it 24 yards.
Gronk is now the career leader in catches for a Patriots TE, his 491st reception passed Ben Coates. And Tom Brady tied Vinny Testaverde’s record of career TDs to 70 different targets with his TD pass to Patterson.

BULLETS
• At half time, LT Matt Light was honored for his election to the Patriots Hall of Fame.  The Herald’s Stephen Hewitt had a story about Light who kept the Pats loose with his pranks, even one on Bill Belichick. Light substituted a fake computer mouse for Belichick’s and Belichick got an electrical shock twice while using it. Light wasn’t contrite and said Belichick should never have been shocked the second time.

• Mike Reiss of ESPN did a great story on Light who played his whole 11-year career with Crohn’s Disease, a nasty digestive disorder which causes severe pain. Light had surgery in 2004 and they removed 13 inches of his intestine, but that didn’t end his Crohn’s Disease.

• The Bruins open Wednesday night at the Caps. Torey Krug’s out 3 weeks (ankle injury)

• Per the Herald’s Jason Mastrodonato (9/30), the Red Sox are 3rd in runs per game, NY 4th (Oakland is 1st). Boston is 4th in OPS (Oakland is 1st). In starters ERA, Cleveland is 3rd (Houston is 8th, Sox 11th, Oakland 12th and NY 15th). In Bullpen ERA, Oakland, Houston and Cleveland are 1, 2, 3 (the Sox 14th and NY 20th).

EMAIL
My guess on the trivia: Dennis Rodman.
Dennis Doyon
Dennis, good guess, but incorrect. Thanks for trying.   -   Z

Is it Dennis Rodman?
Garry Gillett
Nice try, Gary, but no, not Rodman.   -   Z

Without looking anything up, I am guessing Satch Sanders.
Foot Joy
Good try, but no, not Satch.     -   Z

I'm gonna take a wild guess into the past of Celtic greats and say K.C. Jones was the defensive specialist who sometimes put one in the air.
Bill LaPlante
You've got the right team, but the wrong player. It's not KC Jones.   -   Z

Sportzine is also available at jimdawsonsports.com thanks to Buffalo Steve Lenz

THE HOT CLUB
On Wednesday’s visit to the HC, I ran into the Regal Eagle. He admitted to not having had a chance to read the Sportzine and the trivia question. The Regal Eagle has been very good at getting the answers to the music trivia and I complimented him on it. I noted that this week’s quiz was a sports quiz about the NBA. Taking a copy, he turned to the last page and read the question. I had just told him that no one had gotten it. Within 8 seconds of reading it, he said ‘Bill Russell’. I was impressed. No one else got it.

So in talking to Fleet Feet Pete about the trivia answer being Bill Russell, he remembered a couple great games that Bill Russell had. His search: On Nov. 16, 1957, Russell had 49 rebounds vs. Philadelphia, 32 in the 1st half (an NBA record). In Game 7 of the 1962 Finals against the Lakers, Russ had 30 points and 40 rebounds to help the team win the championship in overtime 110-107. Heinsohn, Ramsey, Sanders and Loscutoff had fouled out late in the game.

Professor Peter was talking about the use of astroturf and other synthetic surfaces in baseball. He recalled Richie Allen of the Phillies complaining about those playing fields and said, “If a horse won’t eat it, I don’t want to play on it.”

So I told Foot Joy and Fleet Feet that I had read that just before Hurricane Florence hit. North Carolina, the commander of the Marine Corps base at Camp Lejeune refused to evacuate personnel. Fleet Feet said I hoped they had airtight Hummers. Foot Joy said, “I’ve never had an airtight Hummer.”

ANSWER TO LAST ISSUE’S TRIVIA QUESTION
So by now you know that it was Celtics great Bill Russell who once went 0 for 14 from the field against the Philadelphia 76ers and Wilt Chamberlain. It was on January 23, 1965. My thanks to Foot Joy for his excellent Internet sleuthing capabilities. He found the site. Here’s the link to that game’s stats:   https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/196501230BOS.html.

THIS ISSUE’S TRIVIA QUIZ QUESTION
These two rock n’ rollers had the misfortune to die early (both were 32). In a strange and eerie connection, they both died in London while renting the same flat from Harry Nilssen. One was a female singer, the other a drummer from another band. They died 4 years apart with the singer dying first. Names?