Still reeling here (and a bit sleepy from staying up for the bitter end) from the Pats 29-28 upset loss to the lowly Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football last night. Amazingly, Tom Brady ended up wearing the goat horns (although Richard Seymour might deserve a pair as well for a pass interference penalty late in the game). Brady threw two interceptions late in the game that led directly to the Pats loss.

Hopefully the loss will be a wakeup call to the team and they will get their act back together before the playoffs start. If not, we won't be having another parade this winter.

We had a good weekend. I took Friday off and got some stuff done. Saturday included a Hanukkah/birthday celebration with my in-laws. I got the Stephen King Red Sox book, which I'm looking forward to reading.

After that, I headed off to a baseball card show in Marlborough. I don't typically collect baseball cards or autographs anymore, but I do make one exception. A few years back, the Pawtucket Red Sox had the fans vote for their all-time team. I was at the game when the team was introduced and the Pawsox handed out a card set featuring the players on the team. I managed to get an extra copy from a friend of mine who works the beer stand at McCoy Stadium. On my way out of the ballpark that night, I saw Rich Gedman, who had made the team as the starting catcher, signing autographs. I asked him to sign one of my sets and thought it would be cool to eventually get all of the cards signed.

Since that night, I've accumulated eight of the 30 players, including Rick Burleson, who was at the card show on Saturday. The Rooster was a very nice guy, shaking my hand and taking a look at the cards. He noted that his current boss, Tim Naehring, was right next to him on the sheet of cards. It was great to meet Burleson, one of the mainstays of the great Red Sox teams of the '70s.

Arriving at the show just as I was leaving was none other than World Series MVP Manny Ramirez. They were charging a whopping $179 to get Manny's autograph, with extra charges to take a picture with him or or get an inscription with his autograph. Yes, that's right, if you wanted your autograph made out "To Joe" or "World Series MVP", it would cost you an extra $49. The prices were outrageous, but there were certainly plenty of people lined up to spend the money. I did get to see Manny close up though, which was kind of cool. And it didn't cost me anything!

After the card show I had a "boys night out" with my friends The Hey and Steve. We had dinner and then saw Ocean's Twelve. The movie was OK - maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I had gotten around to seeing Ocean's Eleven.

Sunday was the annual holiday party for the crew of the USS McAuliffe, also run by The Hey. It was at Spumoni's restaurant in Pawtucket, and a great time was had by all. It had the feel of a family reunion, including a kid's table for the seven little ones we had running around at the party.

I can't finish this entry without addressing Pedro's comments at his first press conference as a Met, and in a Boston Herald article last week. I don't understand why Pedro felt the need to trash the Red Sox, particularly Theo Epstein, Curt Schilling and Terry Francona. His behavior has really tarnished his legacy here in Boston. What would have been wrong with saying, "I'm sorry I couldn't reach an agreement with the Red Sox, but I'm happy to be here in New York and I wish the Red Sox nothing but the best and hope to meet them in the World Series next season."? He felt the need to burn the bridges on the way out for some reason, and it's too bad. Now, along with all the great pitching performances we'll have his childish exit scene to remember as well.