Hah, had to get that one in there, but the ALCS has always been about four victories, not three. I also don't believe too much in momentum in baseball series, which is why I didn't count them out Sunday night and certainly don't concede Game 5 on Monday. Baseball is a game of averages, just like blackjack or some other games casinos love me to play. The slate is wiped clean with each new starter, and so it will be Monday at 5 p.m., when the Yanks and Sox face each other for the 152nd time in the last two years.

At least we know that game won't end at 1:30 a.m. It can't, right?

As for Game 4, the Yanks just couldn't string together hits. Really didn't hit too many balls hard, rather flying out lamely, the kind that get teammates screaming at you in softball. And in this said game of averages, I expect them to find a way to string together necessary hits sometime in the next three games. But nobody needs to tell us it ain't over till it's over. We kinda invented that saying, ya know?

Other takes from Game 4: Kevin Millar shaving that unweildy, ugly-ass goatee, evidently receiving the memo that it looks stupid. And Johnny Damon playing catch with fans outside the park after A-Rod's two-run blast, a moment as uncomfortable as a guy dancing shirtless at a wedding. If he'd have picked up the ball to heave it over the wall again, a close friend was gonna have to intervene.

• Because of Yanks-Sox, I didn't get to try out the Sunday Night Football Drinking Game, but I swear in a span of two minutes, Paul Maguire was guilty of two instances of "I'm a tell ya what" and one "watch... watch..." on an instant replay. I was rolling.

• I wish Bill Simmons was kidding — but I know better — about this note at the end of his post-Game 3 column: "Heading to the subway after the game, I bought two t-shirts from sidewalk vendors to make myself feel better. The first one says "YANKS SUCK" on the front and questions A-Rod's sexual preference on the back. That was $10. The second one simply says, "POSADA IS A LITTLE B***H." That was $5. I'm going to break them both out this winter in California. Frequently." And that's why Eric Neel claims in another ALCS column, "The Red Sox thing has jumped the shark." No kidding, man. Too many crass jackasses allowed entry into the "Nation." (Last I checked, the Yanks were a bigger road draw, by the way. In case you wanted to know, "Nation.")

• Next Sunday's Week 7 matchup between the 5-0 Pats and the 5-0 Jets marks the latest point in 30 seasons in which undefeateds will face each other. A nice stat but this ain't exactly the 8-1 two-time-defending-champ Cowboys traveling to San Fran to play the 7-2 future champ 49ers in 1995 — a game that had Hall of Famers all over the field. This also marks the first time in four games that the Jets will play a team with a win in 2004.

• This may the gayest thing ever written on this site, but how good-looking is Howie Long to be able to carry off that hair-do? Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't "The Boz" look expire like 15 years ago? I'll have to do a bad-sports-hair column in the future. At least Pete Rose will be recognized as a Hall of Famer for something.

• A lot of people got a kick out of Cincinnati receiver Chad Johnson sending bottles of Pepto-Bismol to the Cleveland Browns as a warning of what he was gonna do to them Sunday. I sure laughed about it. I mean, calling out the Cleveland Browns' defense? Johnson finished Sunday's 34-17 loss with a whopping three catches for 37 yards ... and four drops.

• Yep, that really was Tommy Lee playing with the Nebraska band Saturday. Talk about weird times for the 'Huskers. First they lose to Texas Tech by 60. Then they have a guy most famous for flogging Pam Anderson on a boat play in the band. And they finally had a 300-yard passer this past weekend. That's right. Before Joe Dailey threw for 342 yards Saturday, no Nebraska QB has ever passed for more than 297 yards. And I guarantee you Tequila Dave could've told you that. (Yeah, Dave, you get bold print, too, upon first mention.)

• I swear SportsByBrooks.com could open up a restaurant and put Hooters out of business. Are you kidding me with these racks?

• Not that we're ever gonna find out, but would Edgar Martinez have sat the bench in all World Series games played in NL parks? I see he never fielded a position from 2002-04. So he never started a game in away interleague games during that time? I guess either him or Olerud would have had to sit, and Johnny O. wasn't much worse as a hitter the last three years.

• After Daunte Culpepper finished up his second-straight five-TD game, I was hoping a reporter would start an interview by asking, "So, what happened on those two interceptions?" Just to see how hard he could punch a man in the face. Where's Jim Gray when you need him?

• Say this for Saints fans, they're loyal, if to a fault. Sunday night was their 34th consecutive sell-out and yet they give up 605 yards in offense to the Vikes and no one's even surprised. I mean, is anyone walking around Bourbon Street bemoaning how this could possibly happen? And yet they jam the joint every home date. Of course, even though the Superdome is one of the absolute ugliest monstrosities in pro sports, it's still a great tourist attraction.

Other Sports Links:

• If Torre Is Buddha, Francona Is a Mess — The New York Times has spoken.

• College Hoops: 20 Questions for 20 Teams — SI.com's Seth Davis with a little FAQ on the country's top 20. Includes the first "cutting down the nets" reference of the year. Expect to read that phrase about 12 billion times between now and April. Plus 18 billion more from Dickie V.

• Baseball-Reference.com's Player Collegiate Information — The top-notch stats and info site now indexes all-time major-leaguers by their colleges. Syracuse has sent 25 players to the bigs, though none debuted since Mike Barlow in 1975. Might have something to do with not having a baseball program. Best player ever? The legendary Eddie Brown, known affectionately (I think) as "Glass Arm Eddie."

• Who's Your Daddy? T-Shirt Goes for $155 on eBay — A new bidder with zero feedback won the auction. New to eBay, I suppose, because he must've spent some time in a mental institution.

• My Madden 2005 Stat Book — Man, I'm getting my ass handed to me this year. I can't even win with the Pats. How to tell a really good player: they pass all the time to the sideline and they blitz 18 guys up your ass on every play.

• ESPN's College Hoops Top 25 — Only three of the top four are from the ACC? Why not just give 'em the top eight spots. And then Syracuse (No. 5) can beat the ACC tourney champ in the Big Dance and UConn can eliminate two more.

• Manute Bol Broken but Blessed — SI's Steve Rushin on the tragic car accident suffered by a genuine good guy at the hands of a drunk driver.

• Dr. Z: Ray Lewis Isn't Best MLB Ever — Don't let ESPN's Sunday night guys read this! Paul Zimmermann says Lewis benefits from a little home-field stats-keeping advantage.

• Single-Season Leaders for Intentional Walks — Most ever by a man not named Barry Bonds: 45. Number Barry had in 2004: 120. Tenth-best ever: John Olerud in 1993? Seventeenth-best ever: Adolpho Phillips in 1967? And of course, one of the most intriguing baseball stats ever, number of intentional walks issued to Roger Maris in 1961: zero.

• High Death Rate Lingers Behind Fun Facade of Pro Wrestling — I should have probably saved this link for the next time a former or current wrestler in his early 40s dies of a heart attack. Like next week.