It was an exciting Thursday night of sports. Instead of leading off with the world Series, we’ll begin with the thrilling game between Boston College and Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. Well, for about three quarters, it was anything but thrilling, especially for the visiting Eagles, who trailed 10-0. Early on in the game Va. Tech took a lead on Sean Glennon’s touchdown pass to Eddie Royal that really wasn’t a touchdown despite the call on the field (note - Glennon started in place of the injured Tyrod Taylor, a dual-threat freshman phenom out of Hampton, VA). Replay clearly shows he did not catch the pass in the end zone before going out of bounds. Nonetheless, the ruling on the field stood and the Hokies were cruising entering the fourth period.



Through three quarters, Boston College quarterback and Heisman hopeful Matt Ryan played a horrific game. On the team’s first 12 drives, Ryan had just 128 yards passing. He was 14-for-33 with 101 yards and an interception through 45 minutes of action. And as a team? BC had a meager 10 yards rushing at half-time and 121 total yards of offense entering the game’s final quarter.



Was Ryan’s Heisman campaign taking a serious hit? Would BC become the fourth #2 ranked team in the land to fall in a 20-day span? Nope… and to both of those questions. Showing mobility, spunk and NFL arm strength, Ryan rallied the Jeff Jagodzinski’s troops and helped guide a comeback that resulted in the program’s first 8-0 start to a season since 1942. It doesn’t get any better than on the road, in the rain, in prime-time against one of the most respected defenses in College Football. In the final 2:17 of the game, BC scored 14 points and the Eagles were aided greatly by an onside kick they recovered.



There wasn’t a better pass thrown all night, perhaps all season, than Ryan’s game-winning touchdown pass to Andre Callender when he threw across his body to complete a 3^rd & 20. Forget that game-tying field goal. In some ways, it was reminiscent of the bomb Troy Smith launched against Penn State last year as he won the Heisman Trophy and helped the Buckeyes reach the National Championship and won the Heisman Trophy. Only the magnitude of this game was greater, the stage too, and he delivered to lift his team up and give them new life.



As the starting quarterback, Ryan improves to 22-4. He finished the game 25-52 with 285 yards, a pair of touchdowns and a couple picks. More importantly, Ryan threw for 157 yards and both of those scoring strikes on the final two drives late in the fourth quarter. Clutch. Money. Call it whatever you want, it keeps BC’s ACC title and Natl. Championship hopes very much alive, at least for another week.



Virginia Tech is now 13-3 on ESPN Thursday Night Football with all three losses to Boston College. You’re not alone if the words ‘choke job’ come to mind either.





Moving on to baseball – the Boston Red Sox followed up their 13-1 demolition of the Colorado Rockies in Game 1 of the 2007 World Series by winning a tight 2-1 ball game at Fenway Park Thursday night. As bad as Wednesday’s loss was Colorado, this one was even more excruciating, crippling and painful.



Clint Hurdle’s Colorado club jumped out first when Willy Taveras was hit by a pitch thrown from Boston right-hander Curt Schilling to start the game. Taveras scored on an RBI sac fly from Todd Helton. However, after that first inning, Schilling did a splendid job, keeping the Rocks off the scoreboard the remainder of the evening.



For the Rockies, things seemed to be going their way. The fielding was sharp and they finished without committing a single error. From a pitching perspective, they kept Boston from scoring in double-figures for a fourth straight postseason contest. Ubaldo Jimenez escaped any trouble early and threw heat. Even though he walked five batters, Jimenez kept the damage to a minimal. It wasn’t until the fourth inning that the Red Sox struck and tied the game.



During a long, grueling at-bat in the fifth inning, Manny Ramirez came through yet and again proved why he’s one of the elite hitters in the sports, if not the very finest. Ramirez roped a single down the third base line and got aboard, putting two on and two out for Mike Lowell, who drove in David ‘Big Papi’ Ortiz.



The bullpen then took over for Schilling and did what they’ve been doing all season long. Truth be told, the MVP of this game was reliever Hideki Okajima. Used mostly in the setup man role, Okajima entered in the sixth inning and retired seven consecutive batters without allowing a single hit while striking out four. Jonathan Papelbon recorded a four-out save. Now the series ships off to Colorado and Coors Field for Gm. 3 on Saturday night. Will it be a sweep? Maybe. Question is, will we see snow?





… Time for bed for me. Oh yea, don’t forget America – we all get a free taco courtesy of Taco Bell on Tuesday, October 30^th between 2-5PM (EST) because Jacoby Ellsbury stole a base. Hooray!