Patriots Look To Avoid Miami’s Vise

(Yes, that’s “vise” not “vice.”)

Playing in Miami has always been a challenge for the Patriots; witness the 11-33 all-time mark for the Patriots playing in Miami. The heat and humidity, not to mention the Dolphins perennially tough defense, have had a vise-like grip on the Patriots. That challenge is even more daunting this week with the Patriots struggling on the road, and on their own defense.

Who are the 2010 Patriots? – Mike Reiss says that Monday night should give us a good idea of what this team is.

Pats set to visit haunted house – Glen Farley has more on the Patriots struggles in South Florida, even in the Brady/Belichick era.

Worry Wart – Game Four At Dolphins – Chris Warner has a lot of concerns over this one.

Moss’ impact on Patriots’ offense goes beyond the numbers – Christopher Price looks at how important Randy Moss really is to the Patriots offense.

Breaking down the Patriots’ road woes – Jeremy Lundblad looks at just how badly the Patriots have struggled on the road.

Tom Brady has everyone involved – Ian Rapoport looks at how Brady has spread the ball around much more this season.

Ends could provide means – With the Dolphins struggling against tight ends the last two weeks, Monique Walker thinks the Patriots rookies could be a big part on Monday night.

Heat’s hotshot moves aren’t lighting a fire under Celtics – Gary Washburn says that the Celtics aren’t intimidated by the Heat.

Shaq, Celtics take aim at Heat target – Adrian Wojnarowski with a similar piece, and I want to run through a wall after reading it, it has me so fired up for the season to begin.

Only one team for Paul Pierce – Steve Bulpett looks at how the Celtics captain is  an anomaly in his peer group.

The redemption of Delonte West – Paul Flannery has the guard eager to redeem himself.

Celtics already on the defensive – A. Sherrod Blakely has the Celtics putting in plenty of work on the defensive end. He also has Marquis Daniels looking to be a bigger piece this season.

Contract not worrying Perkins – The Globe has an extensive notebook wrapping up a number of other items.

The Perfect Slump: How Jon Lester ended up with the Red Sox – Alex Speier look at how Jon Lester was available to the Red Sox in the second round of the 2002 draft.

Winds of change stir – Michael Silverman has the Red Sox entering a state of serious flux

Varitek’s time with Sox seemingly near its end – Daniel Barbarisi has the veteran coming to grips with reality.

Ten sweet Red Sox moments – Gordon Edes says that this season still had its moments.

Irish ice – Kevin Paul Dupont says that the city of Belfast is excited for the Bruins arrival.

Boston College mum, but signs point to phenom QB – Steve Conroy says that it looks like true freshman Chase Rettig might get a shot with the Eagles.

The fact that Dennis and Callahan were ripping The Tenth Inningthis morning made me feel much better about enjoying it last night. Yeah, I could’ve done with a little less Doris Kearns Goodwin, but what I was most surprised about was that I didn’t mind Mike Barnicle. He was OK, because mostly it was about his kids. It would have been nice, however, to have heard from some of the Yankees (Joe Torre?) after the 2004 ALCS.

Howard Bryant was prominent – and excellent – which is likely a big reason that Dennis and Callahan hated the show so much.

The 9/11 stuff, the 2003 and 2004 postseasons, all of it was good to review. Surprisingly, I had the impression that they tried to paint Barry Bonds as a somewhat sympathetic character…basically all his timing was incredibly terrible, but overall, it was worth the time spent viewing it the last two nights.