With this photo essay from the 2009 Boston Marathon, Blast begins a regular photo feature from contributing editor Daniel Peleschuk

Blast photographer Sarah Gordon shares some visuals from the 2009 Boston Marathon

The New England Patriots have surprised no one by slapping the franchise tag on free-agent-to-be Matt Cassel.
If the Patriots choose to keep him, they will be charged $14.65 million, as the franchise tag grants a player the average of the top five salaries in the NFL at his position.
Depending on the rehab schedule [...]

John Maine and the New York Mets avoided arbitration by agreeing on a one-year $2.6 million contract.
Maine wanted $3 million and the Mets were offering $2.2 million. So, some genius figured out that $2.6 million was in the middle, and probably got paid for providing that information. Maine can also earn an additional [...]

Everyone’s favorite team wrecker is getting his own reality show on VH1, the network announced today.
T.O.’s best friends and publicists, Monique Jackson and Kita Williams, will help Terrell try to get his crap together. They will act as “matchmakers and therapists” for him.
Would anyone want that job? Didn’t think so. And you [...]

AIG, the global insurance giant that has fallen on hard economic times to say the least, has informed Manchester United of the English Premiere League that they will not be renewing their sponsorship. The four-year, $100 million deal expires May 2010 and AIG says they are already trying to re-work that last year.
“In October, AIG [...]

Multiple sources have told ESPN’s Chris Mortensen that former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan will become the next head coach of the New York Jets.
The sources told Mort that he signed a four-year deal and that an announcement will come later on Monday. Ryan will be introduced at a press conference on Wednesday, [...]

The Associated Press has announced the results of the NFL All-Pro voting. This isn’t Pro Bowl voting, this is the best in the entire league.
OFFENSE
Quarterback
Peyton Manning, Indianapolis, 28; Drew Brees, New Orleans, 10; Philip Rivers, San Diego, 9; Chad Pennington, Miami, 2; Kurt Warner, Arizona, 1.
y-Running Backs
Adrian Peterson, Minnesota, 45; Michael Turner, Atlanta, 40; [...]

Not that anyone ever really thought he was a murderer, but his name certainly came up in an investigation. A Woburn, Mass. man admitted in court that he made up his testimony regarding the 1993 murder of Dr. Linda Goudey, who was found strangled in her car back in October of that year.
Richard Chambers, 45, [...]

John Smoltz to leave Atlanta for…the Red Sox?
MLB sources have told Foxsports.com’s Ken Rosenthal that the Boston Red Sox are nearing a deal with long-time Atlanta Brave pitcher John Smoltz. It’s a one-year deal for a reported $5.5 million for the 41-year old pitcher.
The deal is also packed with incentives that would potentially push the [...]

WEEI’s Michael Holley reports that former Jets head coach Eric Mangini will be named head coach of the Cleveland Browns by the end of the week. Holley also says that Patriots VP of Personnel Scott Pioli will likely not follow Mangini to Cleveland, instead opting for the Kansas City job or staying in New [...]

Just like they said they would, Boston College has fired head football coach Jeff Jagodzinski, whose name is roughly as fun to type as that of a certain Illinois governor.
B.C. warned Jagodzinski that if he interviewed for the head coaching vacancy of the N.Y. Jets that they would fire him. Apparently, they weren’t kidding.
“Jeff and [...]

A source close to the situation told the Associated Press that the 2010 NFL Pro Bowl will be played in Miami one week before the Super Bowl, which will also be held at Dolphin Stadium.
It’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Pro Bowl will return to Hawaii, although it’s doubtful that it [...]

For those of you who thought that CC Sabathia would inevitably sign with the Kansas City Royals or Pittsburgh Pirates, I have bad news. While the lure of playing in Missouri or Western Pennsylvania certainly made him pause and think about taking a contract worth about $120 million less, he has ultimately decided that he [...]

More great news about the economy: the National Football League has announced that it plans to lay off 150 employees, which will equate to about 14 percent of the sports giant’s total staff of 1,100.
“These are difficult and painful steps,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a staff memo, “but they are necessary in the [...]

According to a USDA report released on Friday, Michael Vick placed family pet dogs into the ring with his trained pit bulls and laughed as the dogs “caused major injury” to the pets at Bad Newz Kennels.
The report provides new insight into the sadistic and vicious happenings at 1915 Moonlight Rd., where Vick operated the [...]

As reported on ESPN, “ESPN and the BCS announced the deal on Tuesday. It includes exclusive television, radio, digital, international and marketing rights for the Fiesta, Orange and Sugar Bowls from 2011-2014 and the BCS title game from 2011 to 2013.”
This means the Fiesta, Orange and Sugar Bowls, plus the BCS Championship Game, will be [...]

As I half-assed promised earlier in the week, here are my AFC mid-season report cards.

AFC East:

-New York Jets (5-3):
Say what you want about the Jets, they are still boring to watch. They added a slew of talent (what do Mangini and Tannenbaum care, if they don’t go all in, they are out of here anyway. [...]

Julio Rodriguez, a barber from Lawrence, Mass., pleaded guilty Tuesday to involuntary manslaughter after an October 2004 he killed a man and wounded two others over a Yankees-Red Sox playoff game
The Associated Press reports that Rodriguez, 62, was sentenced to five years in prison and credited for the four he has already served since he [...]

There has been a lot of debate and speculation lately about where Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain belongs. Should he be in the starting rotation? Does he belong in the bullpen? Well, how about a jail cell?
Chamberlain was arrested early Saturday morning in Lincoln, Nebraska for allegedly driving under the influence, speeding and having [...]

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