That's the End of Summer

It is past Labor Day, which means it is the unofficial end of summer for most of us. Back to work, no more weekend vacations, the weather will get cooler, and the leaves will eventually change color. Looking back at the summer of 2011, it was a very contentions, if not exciting, summer. It began with the NFL in a lockout, the Red Sox struggling, and the Bruins marching towards their first Stanley Cup in almost 40 years. The NFL ended their lockout, which was highlighted by the embrace of Colts center Jeff Saturday and Pats owner Bob Kraft, who had just lost his wife Myra to cancer. The Red Sox found their stride, although some of the players haven't, and lead most of the summer in first place. Lastly, we all know the Bruins won it all over the Canucks, in an epic seven game series.

As we enter the fall season, the Red Sox look as they will be clinching a spot in the playoffs, whether as the AL East champion or a wild card has yet to be seen because they are still in a tight race against the Yankees, but ahead of everyone in the wild card standings. As the summer progressed, the Sox have been hampered by injuries and slow play by Adrian Gonzalez. Gonzalez participated in the home run derby and it is said that the home run derby will ruin swings. After the derby Gonzalez "struggled" through the end of July, only hitting two home runs, but picking his power up in August, hitting five. After a few good starts, John Lackey has regressed into an unreliable pitcher again, not faring well in his last two starts, allowing the usual five runs per outing. The summer also saw a rash of injuries including Clay Buchholz' back, which still has him out, JD Drew's shoulder has had him out since mid July, Kevin Youkilis missed a couple weeks due to his back, and now Josh Beckett has sprained his ankle pitching in Toronto. Currently, the Sox are 2.5 games behind the Yankees with 21 games left in the season. They are eight games ahead in the wild card. They still have four games remaining against the Rays and three against the Yankees. After this next road trip, Tito Francona will have to figure out whether to rest his players and gear up for the playoffs via the wild card or try to take home field for the AL playoffs (NL has home field because they won the all star game) and beat the Yankees for the AL East crown. Now that it is September, the tourism is finished and the kids are back to school, which means demand has slowed considerably for the Red Sox. With lower demand, prices will sink at or below face value leading to great savings for you! Check out TicketsofBoston.com for our great selection of Red Sox tickets, including the playoff games too.

At long last the NFL season is here! The season kicks off this Thursday with the champion Green Bay Packers taking on the New Orleans Saints, which should be a great game with quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees slinging it out. It should also be an emotional Sunday on September 11th as the New York Giants head to Washington to face the Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys travel to New York to face the Jets due to the 10th anniversary of the attacks. The Patriots, who just let go cornerback Darius Butler and talented, but lazy safety Brandon Meriweather, will be facing the Miami Dolphins on Monday night with their new look weapon of Reggie Bush. The key will be the Patriots offensive line protecting Brady against the Dolphins' pass rush consisting of Cameron Wake and Jason Taylor. The Dolphins also have a new offensive coordinator so the Pats' linebackers will have to be wary of how they will use Bush out of the backfield, as Miami is known for using unusual offensive tactics to win. The first four Patriot home games are in very high demand, so I would advise anyone to buy tickets as soon as they can because tickets are flying off the shelves, and prices will only continue to rise. For the lowest prices on Patriots Tickets, be sure to look at our website and find your tickets.

There are still a couple outdoor concerts left this year, Incubus is playing Friday the 9th, prices are below face value, Toby Keith is playing Saturday the 17th, and that seems to be a big show. Big indoor shows this fall, Jay-Z and Kanye West are at the Garden on November 21, ton of shows at the Orpheum, and great comedy shows at the Wilbur.