Boston was down 3-2 games in the ALCS and traveled back to New York for Game 6. In what seemed to be a loss, the Sox Cowboy Up'd late in the game to rally a 9-6 victory, and switch momentum towards the Sox for Game 7.

The Sox had all but sealed the victory, leading 5-2 in the eighth, when Grady Little had a chance to pull starter Pedro Martinez and bring in a red-hot bullpen to get the last half dozen outs.

Ooops. The curse kicked in, New York won in the eleventh 6-5.

So, New York advances to the World Series against Florida, who also benefited from a curse, this one against the Chicago Cubs. Wait till next year? Sorry, football season is in full effect. We are in next year.

For the first time ever, the New England Patriots have a win in Miami in the month of September or October. They've never won in 13 games in first eight weeks of the season, but they went into Miami and played out a tough game filled with bad calls, odd plays and another crappy coin toss from an official. But the Patriots pulled out a fantasy win in overtime, 19-13 with Tom Brady 82-yard touchdown pass to the Man, Troy Brown. It is Brown's longest reception of his career. His previous was 67 yards. This came after Olindo Mare missed the game winning field goal. The Dolphins just didn't seem to want to win this game. Even Super Ricky Williams was held to 92 yards rushing.

"It was almost like they wanted to give it to us," Troy Brown said. "Finally we took advantage of it." Brown had 6 receptions for 131 yards and one very big touchdown to win this thriller.

"It was unbelievable," Tom Brady said, who was 24-34 for 283 yards and 2 TDs. "We were down and out a few times. The offensive line gave me a lot of time. I let it go and he made a great catch. This shows the mental toughness this team has. We made the adjustments and we're only going to get better."

"Everyone's telling them they can't win down here, everyone's telling them it's too hot, everyone's telling them they have too many injuries," Bill Belichick said. "They didn't buy it. They came down and played their hearts out. It felt good."

The Patriots will host the hurting Cleveland Browns next week in Foxboro.

Vikings (6-0) 28, Broncos (5-2) 20 - FINAL: Minnesota is for real, and the Broncos are in real trouble. Jake Plummer will be out a couple more weeks. Now Steve Beuerlein may be out with a broken pinkie, for which he left the game in the third. There's a third quarterback, but even an impressive 12-18 for 104 yards and 1 TD from Danny Kanell wasn't enough to save this game.

Titans (5-2) 37, Panthers (5-1) 17 - FINAL: Tennessee has handed Carolina their first loss of the season, and in destructive fashion. Maybe the Panthers just got lucky the past five weeks, because this loss is ugly, even if it was against a tough team like the Titans.

Patriots (5-2) 19, Dolphins (4-2) 13 - FINAL/OT: Whoa! The Patriots win for the first time in South Florida during the months of September and October! Amazing effort from this rag-tag team of back ups and second stringers. And with a game of strange calls and odd plays, most of them going against the Pats, this is a huge win, and New England gets the top spot in the AFC East. As for Miami, its the same ol' weak-ass performance from an overrated team.

Rams (4-2) 34, Packers (3-4) 24 - FINAL: Brett Favre continues to have problems in St. Louis and in Domes. The Rams capitalized on four Green Bay turnovers, and Marc "Mike Martz should have left me in last season" Bulger tossed three touchdowns, two to Terry Holt.

Eagles (3-3) 14, Giants (2-4) 10 - FINAL: Philly is trying to climb out of the cellar, while the Giants are sinking in the NFC East.

Cowboys (5-1) 38, Lions (1-5) 7 - FINAL: Dear God, please don't tell me that the Cowboys with Parcells are for real. Well, beating the Lions isn't that hard, but this 5-1 record is still for real. So is that 1-5.

Saints (3-4) 45, Falcons (1-6) 17 - FINAL: Nope this isn't a typo, it's just the continued absence of Mike Vick and the constant downfall of Dan Reeves.

Bengals (2-4) 34, Ravens (3-3) 26 - FINAL: Hooray! The Bengals got themselves a nice divisional win! And over the Ravens who aren't going to lead the AFC North by losing to Cinci.

Chargers (1-5) 26, Browns (3-4) 20 - FINAL: Tim Couch was yanked again. The former first pick is now the first-rate dud.

Jets (2-4) 19 at Texans (2-4) 14 - FINAL: Houston blew a 14-0 lead in the first half and the Jets woke up in time to snag a win. With Chad Pennington set to return in the next week or two, the career of Vinny Incepteverde is winding down, and baring another injury, the long winding road could be coming to an end. On the other side, David Carr has got to figure out of to win, grab wins and keep wins, because his first pick status is turning into a replica of Tim Couch.

Seahawks (5-1) 24, Bears (1-5) 17 - FINAL: Chris Chandler nearly bought himself a big win, except that the Bears haven't an idea what big wins are. And Seattle has its best start in franchise history, so it looks as if Mike Holmgren might get to keep his job this year.

49ers (3-4) 24, Buccaneers (3-3) 7 - FINAL: Yew. The Bucs have taken a nose drive from their Super Bowl tromp of last season. Is it too much Sapp? Too old of a defense? Too much Gruden? God knows, but when the '03 9ers can kick your butt like this, there is something wrong, or at least something bad in the water in Florida.

Bills (4-3) 24, Redskins (3-4) 7 - FINAL: The Bills are back! The Bills are back. Dear God, the Bills are back!

Open date: Arizona, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Pittsburgh

The Patriots activated rookie free agent Shawn Mayer and seventh round draft pick Tully Banta-Cain, while releasing fullback Larry Centers and placing OL Adrian Klemm on injured reserve. Centers was an offseason signing, and Klemm injured his ankle after starting the first three games.

Mayer is a safety out of Penn State and Banta-Cain, a seventh round pick is expected to compete for a role on the defensive line.

Carolina at New Orleans, 1 PM. NFC South matchup.

Detroit at Chicago, 1 PM. Oh God, a bore-fest. I shouldn't even mention it.

Houston at Indianapolis, 4:15 PM. AFC South game that should be a snoozer for Indy.

San Francisco at Arizona, 4:05 PM. NFC West game. Should be another snoozer.

Open date: Atlanta, Green Bay, Oakland, Washington

1. Big win in Miami. Very big win.

2. Game 7 was sickening to watch at the end. Just sickening. Pedro's ego has to be shrunk this off season, and Grady Little needs to be tougher on his star players.

3. With six straight losses without Mike Vick, Falcons coach Dan Reeves must be brushing up that highlight tape resume. Of course there won't be any clips of the Falcons in those new uniforms.

4. There is a story in USAToday - http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2003-10-19-silver-star-cover_x.htm - on Army Special Forces Master Sergeant Tony Pryor who received a Silver Star for combat actions in Afghanistan. It is a fantastic account of a battle against al-Qaeda operatives in mountains north of Kandahar last year. Its also another example of how important it is to make sure we take care of our servicemen, because they take so good care of us.

5. The Bucs have all but forgotten their defensive greatness. What got them to and won a Super Bowl last year is not what is happening this year. Too many mistakes and maybe too much Warren Sapp.

6. If anyone was worried about the future of the Patriots with the starters getting older, stop. The future is playing now, and they're 5-2 to show for it.

7. If Willis McGahee is to come back and play this season (and I hope he does, and if productive only because I picked him up as a free agent for my fantasy team the other week), then it will be a running back battle with Travis Henry, who is getting better every week. Nothing is more exciting - and dangerous - than a running back who feels slighted, disrespected and is angry as hell.

8. Kind of funny own Brett Favre is amazing in a snow storm and brutal cold weather, but he absolutely sucks as bad as Rob Johnson in a dome stadium, where he is 10-20 lifetime.

9. Denver is a lot of trouble with their Number 1 and 2 quarterbacks out for a month. That doesn't mean Number 3, Danny Kanell will be a dud, but I like the Patriots' chances for Monday night in a couple of weeks a whole lot better.

10. I like the enthusiasm Bill Belichick has had for the past two weeks after big, tough-fought wins. For an emotionless guy, he should can get excited about his football, and that was the attitude he had in 2001.

ejh