what a bittersweet and exhausting sports weekend for yours truly. after hours of tailgate organization and scrambling, all i wanted to do was sit and watch my bruins beat the pants off the cardinal. through the third quarter, though, my boys couldn't get their act in gear and trailed stanford 3-14 by the time i had to leave. they eventually came from behind to score three touchdowns in seven minutes and win in overtime, but alas, i was already on the road to another game....

....where i was hoping that my other boys in blue would pull off some kind of miracle and save themselves from the debaucle of mls playoff configuration. alas, again, they could not capitalize on their many chances (18 shots to LA's 6) despite a hard-fought attempt, and the hated galaxy advances to the second round of playoffs. after a season like this one, what a heartbreak. no team needs a championship this year more than these guys, and no one deserves it more, either.

on a slightly lighter note, the 49ers found new life thanks to the breakout play of rookie running back frank gore, third-string quarterback cody pickett, and five-time field goal-kicker joe nedney. oh, and the solid defense that kept tampa bay to a mere 10 points. maybe there is hope after all. and maybe they'll keep the uniforms of old, harkening back to brighter days a la joe montana and ronnie lott. maybe, just maybe, they can still go 11-5 or 10-6 on the season.

signs you're a sports-aholic:
1) you spend hours tailgating before a football game, then sitting at a football game, and then you leave the football game to head to another sporting event (soccer game, in my case)
2) your mood is adversely affected by the heartbreaking loss of one of your favorite teams (i know, i know, it's just a game... but still!)
3) you rally hope for your 2-5 team, based on a 15-point offense and the showing of one (!) completed pass from a third-string qb
4) you'd do it all over again in a minute