Panthers quarterback out for rest of NFL season
Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme will miss the rest of the National Football League season with a right elbow injury.
Carolina coach John Fox said Monday that Delhomme will be placed on season-ending injured reserve and undergo surgery next week.
"Anytime you lose your starting quarterback, it's a blow," Fox said. "He had been playing pretty well."
Delhomme had been sidelined since suffering a strained elbow against Atlanta on September 23 and backup David Carr started the Panthers' last two games.
Delhomme tested his arm in practice Monday, but still experienced discomfort, prompting the decision to place him on IR.
"I didn't think today went too well," Fox said. "Some of the soreness that he had in the Atlanta game was still there."
In his 10th season, the 32-year-old Delhomme completed 55-of-86 passes for 626 yards and eight touchdowns in Carolina's first three games.
Delhomme has passed for just under 15,000 yards in his career, leading the Panthers to the Super Bowl following the 2003 season.
Acquired from the Houston Texans in the offseason, Carr has led the Panthers to a 1-1 record since taking over as the starter.
Carolina dropped Carr's first start, 20-7, to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but rebounded to defeat the winless New Orleans Saints, 16-13, on Sunday.
Red Sox v NY Yankees
As reported in the Boston Globe:
By Dan Shaughnessy, Globe Columnist | May 12, 2006
All in all, a pretty good week for the Red Sox here in the Apple. Last night's 5-3 victory gave them two out of three in the Bronx and the Sox flew home in sole possession of first place in the American League East.
They also witnessed a play that could significantly tip the balance of power in the division. Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui fractured his left wrist in the first inning last night and will be lost to the Pinstripes for several months, possibly for the rest of the year.
''It's crushing," said Johnny Damon, who is only 1 for 16 in four games against the Red Sox. ''We've lost both of our corner outfielders [Gary Sheffield is on the disabled list with a bruised hand] and the production of those guys can't be replaced."
''It's shocking," added veteran Bernie Williams. ''He's so steady, you take him for granted, but we've got to face the reality now that we're not going to have him."
Ever seen the Joe Theismann video? Theismann's football career ended when his leg snapped as he was sacked by Lawrence Taylor on ''Monday Night Football" in 1985. Footage of the moment is as graphic as some of the stuff produced by Quentin Tarantino.
We saw the baseball equivalent when Matsui charged in from left field on a shallow pop by Mark Loretta. Matsui extended his gloved left hand as he hit the turf in an effort to make the catch. He did not make the catch and his left arm snapped back in grotesque fashion.
Think this man is tough? Matsui had played 518 consecutive major league games (a record for the start of a career) since joining the Yankees in 2003. Going back to his days in Japan, he played in 1,768 consecutive games. And after breaking his wrist in this painful fashion, he barely grimaced. He looked like a cowboy in one of those old movies -- taking a shot of whiskey to dull the pain while they cut a bullet out of his leg after a gunfight.
''I could see the swelling," said Damon. ''I knew it was bad."
Yankees trainer Gene Monahan rushed to the scene and walked off the field with Matsui, holding the outfielder's limp arm. It looked like Monahan was holding a dead fish. Had this happened to a Patriots player during a Sunday at Gillette Stadium, the team would have announced the player had the wind knocked out of him and might return for the second half. But there was no hiding the severity of Matsui's injury. He will undergo surgery today and he might never be the same player.
It was quite a series for the ancient rivals. Things got off to a rockin' start when the New York Post challenged Yankees pitchers to put David Ortiz on his rear. In Game 1, the Sox routed Randy Johnson and the Yankees played hacky sack with the baseball. The result was a 14-3 Sox blowout and Boss Steinbrenner ripped Alex Rodriguez (two errors) after the game. Rodriguez responded in Game 2, crushing a cookie from Curt Schilling to put New York into the lead in the fifth inning. It was one of three homers Schilling surrendered in the 7-3 Sox' loss.
Last night, the inimitable Schilling managed to make himself the center of attention again by leaving the ballpark in full uniform for a trip to a local medical facility. Just like Schilling to fly under the radar like that. The Gotham paparazzi covered Schilling's quick errand, but the Sox did not disclose the nature of his malady.
In Game 3, the Red Sox hit the ball hard all night, left a whopping 15 on base, but pushed three runs across the plate in the final three innings and rode on the back of Mr. Jonathan Papelbon (13th save in 13 opportunities) to their third victory in four games against the Yankees this season. In 75 games (including playoffs) since the start of the 2003 season, the Sox lead, 39-36, and also lead in World Series victories, 1-0.
''We probably do know more about them than any other team," acknowledged Sox manager Terry Francona. ''They know us. We know them. We've just got to play better."
The Red Sox were able to get a jump last year when the Yankees started 11-19. Now they have a chance to build an early-season lead while the Yankees are playing without Matsui and Sheffield.
''We have to take it day by day," said the ever-measured Yankees skipper, Joe Torre. ''This is going to be a while. Everybody is going to have to do something extra. We're going to be relying on other ways to win games."
It just got much tougher for New York. Bubba Crosby and Melky Cabrera are going to be playing in place of Sheffield and Matsui. This is a good time for the Red Sox to put some distance between themselves and their rivals.
Dan Shaughnessy is a Globe columnist. His e-mail address is dshaughnessy@globe.com. 
Tatupu Making an Impact in Rookie Season
After getting credit for a half sack against San Francisco last month, Lofa Tatupu's conscience started bothering him.
He kept thinking how he essentially just ran in while fellow Seattle Seahawks rookie linebacker Leroy Hill manhandled two 49ers blockers and then joined him to tackle quarterback Ken Dorsey.
Tatupu approached the Seahawks' public relations staff and asked them to contact the NFL statistical department and request a change: He wanted Hill to get full credit for the sack.
"He had to fight through two blocks. I was just there," Tatupu said.
So the Seahawks called the league, and Hill is now tied for the NFL lead among rookies with seven sacks.
"He's hilarious to me," an appreciative Hill said of Tatupu this week. "I trip out all the time on him."
Tatupu has impressed Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren as well.
"I'll wrap another Christmas present for him: I love the guy," Holmgren said. "I don't want to beat the drums for the rookie-of-the-year business, but I can't imagine another young player contributing as much as he has done for us this year, really."
After just 11 NFL games, Holmgren has enough Tatupu anecdotes for a monologue. And that doesn't even include the fact Tatupu leads Seattle with 94 tackles, including 76 solo, to rank second to Oakland's Kirk Morrison in both among rookie linebackers.
On Oct. 9 at St. Louis, the Rams returned the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. Before the next time Seattle kicked off, Tatupu walked up to special-teams coach Bob Casullo and yelled: "Put me in! I want to be in!"
"We said, 'Just stand over there and do what you are supposed to do.'," Holmgren said, laughing.
About an hour before last Sunday's 41-3 rout of San Francisco in the teams' second meeting, Tatupu learned the Seahawks' starting defense would be featured in the pyrotechnics-filled pregame introductions by the Qwest Field public address announcer.
He approached Holmgren with an idea.
"Coach, I really think we ought to introduce the special teams today, not the defense," the linebacker told his coach. "They are working hard and they deserve it."
Holmgren's response: "I appreciate the thought. But I'm not introducing the special teams."
"Like I am going to introduce the right wing on our punt-coverage team," Holmgren said later. "He was serious. And I appreciated that."
On the field, Tatupu has grabbed three turnovers in his last two games, which NFC-leading Seattle (11-2) has won by a combined 83-3. That includes a fumble recovery and a 38-yard interception return for a touchdown in a 42-0 win at Philadelphia on Monday Night Football on Dec. 5 .
In the locker room, veteran players are impressed by Tatupu's maturity and ambition to become a vocal leader.
In the meeting room, coaches marvel at how quickly the son of 14-year New England Patriot fullback Mosi Tatupu has mastered learning and calling the Seahawks' 4-3 defense.
"And we do ask a lot of our middle linebacker," linebackers coach and interim defensive coordinator John Marshall said.
So much so, the Seahawks have gone through seven starters at the position in Holmgren's seven seasons in Seattle.
Now it will be up to Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher to find a way for the Titans (4-9) to slow down Tatupu and the surging Seahawks defense on Sunday.
"He's playing as if he's been in the league for a number of years now," said Fisher, a former NFL defensive back. "Anticipating things. Recognizing things. And cheating alignments."
Not bad for an overlooked junior out of Southern Cal who, at just under 6-foot and 238 pounds, was supposedly undersized to be an NFL middle linebacker.
Despite his accomplishments, Tatupu still isn't satisfied.
"Maybe I have exceeded others' expectations, but to tell you the truth, I expected to make more plays," he said after a practice this week.
When Tatupu was a boy growing up in Massachusetts, his father wanted him to play soccer.
"Because I was fat," Tatupu said. "But I refused to play it."
Then his father pushed baseball. But Tatupu found it boring when he learned he couldn't pitch everyday.
Football? Now, there was a place for a portly 7-year old who wanted to do more than stand around.
After playing linebacker and quarterback for his father at King Philip Regional High School in Wrentham, Mass., no Division I-A school offered him a scholarship. So he went to I-AA Maine in 2001.
After a year there, he wanted more. His first choice was San Diego State, to be close to his mother in the city where he was born. But the Aztecs didn't want him. Then, he wanted Oregon. The Ducks said no, too.
Finally, Mosi Tatupu sent tapes of his son's games to his alma mater, USC, where he played in the mid-1970s. Trojans coach Pete Carroll saw a linebacker who dominated every game - even though Lofa Tatupu wasn't even starting for much of his only season at Maine.
A week before classes began in late summer of 2002, Tatupu was home and about to get a job. USC called and invited him West, and after sitting out a year per NCAA transfer rules, Tatupu led the national champion Trojans in tackles and won the John McKay Award as their most competitive underclassman. In 2004, he became an All-American and won another championship.
He then left to enter the NFL and help his family financially.
"I just wanted to contribute," Tatupu said of his first-year goals. "I wanted to start, obviously. But I didn't set goals to be the rookie of the year, make the Pro Bowl or anything like that. It's been unbelievable."
NFL: Impatient Chiefs gamble and win
Dick Vermeil would have enjoyed the luxury Lovie Smith had at the end of a tight game.
Kansas City could not play around with the clock the way the Chicago Bears could, though. So while Smith saw his offense run off more than 4 minutes before kicking a field goal to beat New Orleans, 20-17, Vermeil's Chiefs cut it as close as possible before defeating Oakland, 27-23, on Sunday.
Vermeil opted to go for the touchdown from the Raiders' 1-yard-line with 5 seconds remaining. A chip-shot field goal would have tied it, but the coach was having no conservative thoughts against a divisional archrival.
"Wow, was I scared!" Vermeil said. "I just figured, 'I'm too old to wait."'
So he had Trent Green hand off to Larry Johnson, who soared over the goal line as time ran out. The Chiefs (5-3) gambled and won.
Before going for it, Vermeil checked with his coaches and players.
"He was asking questions of everybody to see what everybody thought, what everybody's attitude was," Green said. "No matter how that play ended up, that's where you have to send a message on a football team and I think that was great on his part to have the confidence in us."
Oakland had taken the lead in Kansas City when Randy Moss beat Dewayne Washington in the corner of the end zone for a 7-yard reception with 1:45 left. Then Green, playing through the pain of his father's funeral four days earlier, moved the Chiefs downfield 72 yards.
BEARS 20, SAINTS 17 The Bears have gained loads of confidence in winning four straight to lead the NFC North. They marched 75 yards in 4:02 and Robbie Gould made a 28-yard field goal with 6 seconds remaining in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The Saints knocked running back Thomas Jones out of the game in the first half, only to watch Adrian Peterson and Cedric Benson combine for 137 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.
"We get off the plane running the ball," Smith said.
Kyle Orton set up the clincher with a 22-yard, third-down completion to Muhsin Muhammad at the 10. That allowed Chicago to run the clock down to 10 seconds before lining up for the kick.
Saints owner Tom Benson stayed away from Baton Rouge as promised after complaining that security was inadequate to protect him from fans angry that he is apparently considering moving the Saints permanently from New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Fans stayed away, too. The crowd was announced at 32,637 in Louisiana State's 93,000-seat stadium.
CHARGERS 31, JETS 26 LaDainian Tomlinson scored four touchdowns - three rushing, one receiving. Tomlinson had 25 carries for 107 yards for the visiting Chargers, while Drew Brees was 20-of-27 for 270 yards, one touchdown and one interception, and Antonio Gates had eight catches for 132 yards.
Brooks Bollinger, replacing an ineffective Vinny Testaverde for the Jets late in the third quarter, threw two touchdown passes to make it a game. The scoring passes were the first through the air for the Jets since Week 2.
Jets running back Curtis Martin became the 16th player in NFL history to score 100 touchdowns with a 1-yard run in the second quarter.
REDSKINS 17, EAGLES 10 Philadelphia fell into last in the NFC East because of its anemic running game and an offense that produced just one touchdown without suspended Terrell Owens.
The Redskins, rebounding from the worst loss of Joe Gibbs' career, rode a more balanced attack and touchdown runs by Mike Sellers and Clinton Portis.
The day was filled with off-field Eagles news: Owens, suspended indefinitely for comments he made about the organization and Donovan McNabb, was involved in a locker-room fight with former teammate Hugh Douglas last week. Running back Brian Westbrook, pining for a new contract since training camp, was given a five-year extension. But Westbrook gained only 24 yards in 17 carries.
Washington's passing was precise as Mark Brunell completed 21 of 29 passes for 224 yards. The victory ended Washington's seven-game losing streak against Philadelphia.
PANTHERS 34, BUCCANEERS 14 Stephen Davis ran for two touchdowns, Steve Smith caught his ninth touchdown pass of the season and Chris Gamble scored on a 61-yard interception return.
Carolina's defense forced four turnovers and sacked Chris Simms five times to ruin the quarterback's second start of the season for the host Bucs.
SEAHAWKS 33, CARDINALS 19 Shaun Alexander gained 173 yards on 23 carries, including touchdown runs of 88 and 14 yards, and Seattle won in Arizona.
The 88-yard run came on the first play of the second half. In the past three games against Arizona, Alexander gained 467 yards and scored nine touchdowns.
Neil Rackers kicked three field goals for the Cardinals and is 26-for-26 this season.
STEELERS 20, PACKERS 10 The Steelers became the first team since the 1989-90 49ers and the fourth team overall to win 11 straight road games. And they did it without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (knee) and running back Jerome Bettis (thigh), who were joined on the sideline in the second half by starting tailback Willie Parker (ankle).
Troy Polamalu returned Brett Favre's fumble 77 yards for a touchdown, and Tyrone Carter's interception set up the offense's only touchdown. The Packers fell to 1-7 at the halfway point for the first time since 1986 under Forrest Gregg.
GIANTS 24, 49ERS 6 Eli Manning passed for 251 yards and a touchdown, Brandon Jacobs rushed for two short fourth-quarter scores as the Giants won in San Francisco.
It was the third successive victory for the Giants, who maintained their lead in the NFC East by suffocating the 49ers' offense, which has not scored a touchdown in its last 13 quarters at home and managed just 138 total yards Sunday.
JAGUARS 21, TEXANS 14 Byron Leftwich directed two long scoring drives in the fourth quarter to rally host Jacksonville, which tied the NFL record for consecutive games played without scoring 30 or more points. The Jags matched Cleveland's mark of 58 games.
Vikings 27, Lions 14 Brad Johnson helped jump-start the Minnesota offense. Johnson passed for 136 yards and two touchdowns in relief of the injured Daunte Culpepper. Michael Bennett rushed 18 times for 106 yards for the Vikings.
Minnesota beat the Lions for the eighth straight time, seven under beleaguered coach Mike Tice.
BROWNS 20, TITANS 14 Reuben Droughns, arrested earlier in the week on a drunken driving charge, ran for 116 yards and caught a crucial third-down pass for 51 yards as Cleveland won at home.
Following his arrest, the 27-year-old Droughns expressed deep regret for his mistake and letting down his teammates and Cleveland's fans, who by the fourth quarter were chanting "Reu-ben! Reu-ben!" with the Browns comfortably ahead.
Droughns added four receptions for 73 yards.
In games reported in late editions Monday:
BENGALS 21, RAVENS 9 Carson Palmer threw two touchdown passes and Rudi Johnson ran for 97 yards and a score as Cincinnati won in Baltimore.
The Bengals were nursing a 14-6 lead before Palmer capped a 91-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Chris Henry with 6:05 to go.
Baltimore's 2-6 start equals the worst in franchise history, matching the mark of the 1998 team.
FALCONS 17, DOLPHINS 10 Michael Vick led four drives of more than 70 yards, and Keion Carpenter's interception stopped a scoring threat with less than 3 minutes left as Atlanta won in Miami.
Vick went 22-for-31 for a season-high 228 yards and added 38 yards on eight rushes.
Tampa Wins With A Slower Cadillac
Brian Griese threw an 80-yard touchdown pass to Joey Galloway and a 41-yarder to Michael Pittman as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Detroit Lions 17-to-13.
Bucs running back Carnell "Cadillac" Williams was slowed by a hamstring injury and the NFL's leading rusher was limited to 13 yards on eleven carries.
Griese completed 22-of-39 passes for 302 yards and was also picked off three times as Tampa Bay improved to 4-and-0.
Kevin Jones had an eight-yard touchdown run for the Lions, who fell to 1-and-2.
Late in the fourth quarter, Detroit's Joey Harrington threw to Marcus Pollard in the right corner of the end zone, but his sliding catch was reversed by instant replay
MVP front-runners lead way statistically
Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez lived up to the hype and then some while leading New York to an American League East title. When the final pitch had been thrown Sunday and 162 games were in the books, Rodriguez's name was again highly prominent in the key hitting statistics.
Rodriguez was fifth overall in batting average (.321) and second in the American League. He was second overall in home runs (48) and first in the AL. Rodriguez finished with 130 runs batted in, which was fourth overall and more than any National Leaguer could produce.
If A-Rod's postseason goes as well as his regular season, he figures to be smiling constantly until Spring Training commences in February.
In the National League, Atlanta's Andruw Jones stole a page from Rodriguez by bashing the ball long enough and hard enough to help boost the Braves to yet another postseason appearance.
When Atlanta needed offense, it inevitably turned to Jones. He led the Major Leagues with 51 home runs, the only player to crack the 50-homer mark. Jones led the NL in runs batted in with 128 and was fourth overall.
The other big hitting star in the American League bound for the playoffs is Boston's David Ortiz. His 47 home runs trailed only Rodriguez in the AL and his 148 runs batted in were the most in Major League Baseball. Without the constant thunder of Ortiz, the Red Sox would have been hard-pressed to secure the Wild Card slot which went to them on the final day of the regular season.
While Rodriguez, Jones and Ortiz will be active in Division Series play this week, Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee is on the outside looking in. But it certainly wasn't Lee's fault that Chicago didn't make it to the postseason. Lee had a sensational year, leading the Majors in batting average at .335. Lee was fourth overall and second in the NL in homers (46) and fourth overall in the Majors and first in the NL in hits (199).
Lee won the NL batting title by finishing five points better than Albert Pujols of the Cardinals, who came in at .330. Texas shortstop Michael Young won the American League batting title at .331, which was 10 points better than Rodriguez.
When it came to having a one-two RBI punch, nobody did it better than the Red Sox. While Ortiz's 148 RBIs led the way, Manny Ramirez added 144 to tie for second in the Majors with the Rangers' Mark Teixeira. Philadelphia's Pat Burrell, though eighth overall, was second in the NL behind Jones with 117 RBIs.
The top two players in hits came from the AL, with Young racking up 221 hits to top Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki, who had 206. Miguel Cabrera was second in the NL behind Lee with 198 hits.
In the stolen base department, Chone Figgins made things happen for the American League West champion Angels. Figgins finished first in the Majors with 62 steals, running past White Sox catalyst Scott Podsednik, who finished third overall with 59 steals. Mets' speedster Jose Reyes led the NL with 60 steals and Florida outfielder Juan Pierre was second in the NL and fourth overall with 57.
One only needs to look at the ERA leaders to see why Houston made the playoffs again. Roger Clemens (1.87) and Andy Pettitte (2.39) had the two best ERA marks in the Majors. Cleveland's Kevin Millwood led the AL at 2.86 and Minnesota's Johan Santana was second at 2.87.
Florida stayed in the Wild Card chase late into the year largely because of left-hander Dontrelle Willis, who led the Majors with 22 wins. Chris Carpenter of the Cardinals was the staff leader for the NL Central champions, compiling 21 wins. Bartolo Colon of the Angels led the AL with 21 wins and Jon Garland of the White Sox and Cliff Lee of the Indians tied for second in the AL with 18.
Santana was the strikeout leader in the Majors with 238. San Diego's Jake Peavy and Carpenter had 216 and 213 respectively to lead the NL and veteran Randy Johnson had 213 to finish second in the AL behind Santana.
Chad Cordero helped fuel Washington's early-season surge and led the Majors with 47 saves. Francisco Rodriguez of the Angels and Bob Wickman of Cleveland tied for the AL lead with 45 and Trevor Hoffman of the Padres was second in the NL with 43.
In the "ouch" category, Toronto's Shea Hillenbrand reigned over everyone. Hillenbrand was hit by a pitch 22 times to lead the Majors. Aaron Rowand of the White Sox was hit 21 times and Jose Guillen of the Nationals and Geoff Jenkins of the Brewers were each hit 19 times
And then there were eight
And then there were eight ...
As the autumn moon rises over the Major League Baseball season, we finally have some answers in our quest to determine who will win the World Series to put a resounding exclamation point on a spectacular 2005 season.
Sunday's events brought clarity and closure to the regular season, and now we have definites. For one, after weeks of permutations, possibilities and potentials, we don't need any tiebreakers.
It's pretty simple, really.
It's the New York Yankees opening in Anaheim against the Angels in one American League Division Series and the Chicago White Sox hosting the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox in the other.
In the NL, the 2004 league champion St. Louis Cardinals will host the San Diego Padres on Tuesday in the best-of-five Division Series, with the Atlanta Braves entertaining the Houston Astros on Wednesday in the other.
The only potentially confusing situation ended up happening in the AL. The Yankees won the East after a thrilling stretch battle with the Red Sox, who took the AL Wild Card when the Cleveland Indians lost to Chicago on Sunday.
But with a win over the Texas Rangers on Sunday afternoon, the Angels won their fourth straight game to tie the Yankees with 95 wins. Since the Angels beat the Yankees six times in 10 games this season, the Angels get home-field advantage for the first round.
The Angels had clinched a playoff berth five days earlier when they beat the A's in Oakland, but they rallied to win four of their last five and find themselves back in Angel Stadium.
"We accomplished what we needed to: get guys rested," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "Things had to fall into place perfectly. It was more important to get our guys rested than it was to get home field. We were fortunate that things fell into place."
Home field overall goes to Chicago, which finished with the best record in the AL (99-63) after a wire-to-wire job in the AL Central and a gut-wrenching late-season stand to stave off the surging Indians.
Manager Ozzie Guillen kept the South Siders motivated all season and now looks to gather his rejuvenated gang for a playoff run. Not surprisingly, he's confident. And even less surprisingly, he's going to try to take advantage of the fact that the Yankees and Red Sox will get most of the publicity.
"Good for them," said Guillen. "I like that, when the people don't expect us to do anything and they expect the big boys to do something. Hopefully, we sneak up and bite them. But we haven't done anything yet. We haven't earned that spotlight like everybody else."
There is some intrigue regarding the Yankees and Red Sox, of course. After all, how couldn't there be when the teams entered a season-ending three-game set at Fenway Park within a game of each other in the division?
The Yankees took care of business by winning one game to seal their eighth straight AL East crown, but Boston got the Wild Card, which they rode to the world title last year. Both teams finished with identical records, and the Yankees got the division crown because of a 10-9 advantage in regular-season matchups.
"We know how evenly matched we are," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "We're sitting here as division champs because we were 10-9 against them; you can't get much more balanced than that.
"There's a chance we'll meet each other again, and if that happens, it will be another shootout."
It would be an ALCS shootout the Red Sox welcome, especially after their 2004 rally from a 3-0 deficit in the ALCS stunned the Yankees and made history. For now, though, the Red Sox seemed happy to be playing more games.
"We get to defend our title," said Red Sox center fielder Johnny Damon. "We have a good enough team to win it again. We just need to be on."
The final four from the National League are undoubtedly sifting through similar emotions after a scintillating Sunday.
The Cardinals, for example, had more closure than any team in baseball on this October day.
Not only did they wrap up the best regular-season in baseball with their 100th win, a tidy 7-5 decision to polish off a sweep of the Cincinnati Reds, but they also said a regular-season goodbye to their longtime ballpark, Busch Stadium, in a poignant two-hour ceremony attended by Cardinals greats of years past.
Now it's time for them to focus on winning another pennant and faring better than they did in a four-game sweep to Boston in last year's Fall Classic.
"Hopefully we get a few more celebrations," Cardinals righty Matt Morris said. "Three more, to top it all off, and then Busch Stadium can rest."
The Cardinals will face an interesting challenge in the form of the San Diego Padres, who made sure they finished the regular season with a winning record by beating the Dodgers on Sunday. At 82-80, the Padres will be dismissed by some as the champion of an uncharacteristically weak NL West, especially when they have to beat the powerful Cardinals.
"That's fine," Padres manager Bruce Bochy said. "We've been in that situation many times before. [The Cardinals] are the class of the National League. But we've played well against them."
And the Braves and Astros have played well enough overall to punch their tickets to the postseason party, too.
Atlanta, which recently took its 14th straight division crown, features veteran pitchers John Smoltz and Tim Hudson, 50-homer man Andruw Jones, rookie phenom Jeff Francoeur and mastermind manager Bobby Cox.
The Astros, meanwhile, found themselves after a sluggish early season and are once again riding The Rocket. Roger Clemens might be 43, but his 1.87 ERA was the best in the big leagues for a starter and Andy Pettitte's been lights-out when the lights have been turned on.
"I'm really proud of this team," Clemens said. "We've come back from so much, far more than last year, we've had so much to overcome and we kept on doing what we had to do. These guys go about their business in the right way, I'm talking about the young guys as well as the veterans."
That's what playoff baseball is about, and we're going to find out how the 2005 postseason plays out starting Tuesday.
Eight teams, four division series and one World Series trophy on the horizon.
It must be October again. 
