Despite holding a 2-1 aggregate lead coming into the second leg of its conference semi finals series against the Chicago Fire, the New England Revolution were bounced from the MLS Playoffs on Saturday night.

John Thorrington and Cuauhtemoc Blanco scored for the Fire in its 2-0 second leg victory, topping the Revolution 3-2 on aggregate.

Blanco’s goal came with six minutes remaining in regulation.

Chicago moves on to host Real Salt Lake next Saturday in the Eastern Conference Final.

This was the second straight season in which the Fire bounced the Revs from the playoffs.

Also, I think the FSC game announcer may have been a bit excited by Blanco’s goal. And all game he kept getting excited any time a Fire player touched the ball. Strange things for an unbiased announcer to do.

In the first leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinal series between the New England Revolution and Chicago Fire, the Revs gained a 2-1 aggregate lead with Sunday’s victory.

New England trailed 1-0 in the first half, but scored a goal just before the halftime break to knot the match 1-1.

Midfielder Emmanuel Osei, who did not score a goal during three regular season starts, found the back of the net for the Revolution in the 45th minute. He deflected a Kenny Mansally free kick with his head past Fire keeper Jon Busch.

It was veteran midfielder Shalrie Joseph who scored the deciding goal of the match, putting home a close-range shot in the 75th minute.

The series moves to Chicago’s Toyota Park on Saturday for the final leg. New England leads on aggregate 2-1.

Remember, these are the same Revolution who limped into the playoffs. Head coach Steve Nichol is a mastermind.

Thinking they had completed a comeback from down 21-10, the UConn Huskies were left with a loss following an 81-yard TD with 22 seconds left in the game.

The man who caught that winning touchdown pass is Tim Brown, who grew up with the late Jasper Howard in Miami. This was UConn’s first home game since Howard’s death two weeks ago.

“I just went out there and played that game for my friend,” Brown said. “He was a special guy to me and I just went out there and dedicated that game to him.”

Huskies starting quarterback Cody Endres left the game in the first quarter after injuring his shoulder. Backup Zach Frazer threw for 333 yards and a touchdown.

Boston College’s defense stood up to the test, but the Eagles’ offense was overmatched in the 2009 incarnation of the “Holy War,” falling to Notre Dame 20-16.

BC turned the ball over five times — three interceptions and two fumbles — including an interception to end its final drive.

With 98 seconds remaining in the game, quarterback Dave Shinskie rolled out to his right and tossed a pass while on the run — it was intercepted by Brian Smith. That turnover effectively ended the game and BC’s hope of continuing its winning streak over Notre Dame to seven games in this rivalry dubbed the Holy War. Boston College and Notre Dame are the only two Catholic institutions to play Division I football.

“We’re a high-wire act,” BC head coach Frank Spaziani said. “There’s no margin of error for us. There’s no safety net. When we fall off the wire, it’s not good. So five turnovers is hard to overcome.”

Eagles receiver Rich Gunnell made 10 receptions for 179 yards and one touchdown.

Prior to the game, Irish head coach Charlie Weis honored BC linebacker Mark Herzlich with a jersey and a donation to cancer research. Herzlich is fighting Ewing’s sarcoma and hopes to return to the field next season.

The University of Connecticut Huskies are faced with the adversity of playing through the death of teammate Jasper Howard, who was fatally stabbed outside the Student Union early Sunday morning.

Howard, 20, was a junior starting cornerback for the Huskies, who came to UConn from the Miami.

His Huskies teammates were distraught on Sunday after learning of his death. Punter Desi Cullen, a team captain, spoke through tears at a press conference on Sunday afternoon. Howard was an expectant father.

“As Jazz looks down on us, I can promise him and his family, that son or daughter will have 105 uncles,” said Cullen. “And we will do what it takes to not get through this, but to grow from it.”

Coach Randy Edsall gathered his team at its training facility at 6 a.m. to deliver the news. At the press conference, Edsall said Howard was a person who enjoyed giving back after benefiting from another’s kindness.

“(Patriots rookie) Darius Butler took him under his wing when he got here. And Jazz appreciated that so much, so what he wanted to do was give back. So he took Dwayne Difton under his wing this year, because of what other people have done for him,” Coach Edsall said.

UConn Police said there were no suspects in the case, but leads were being pursued.

Howard made a key move in Saturday’s game, forcing a fumble just as Louisville was about to score. The Huskies were up 21-13 at the time. They beat the Cardinals 38-25.

Yes, that is the title of a Montel Jordan song. And yes, the name “Montel” has something to do with BC’s 52-20 win on Saturday.

Not easing off the pedal against former head coach Tom O’Brien, the Boston College Eagles trounced his NC State team 52-20 on Saturday. Read more

I am not kidding.  It is the greatest goal I’ve ever seen.  And the scorer?  A nine-year-old wonderkid.  I don’t know if words can do it justice, but I’ll try. 

In a one-on-one competition at the Boston Garden, Oliver Wahlstrom of Cumberland, Maine skated in on goal.  He pancaked the puck on the blade of his stick, cupped it, spun around and flicked it at the goal.  It crashed into the net just inside the left goalpost. 

Editor’s Note: Here’s the goal from YouTube. My favorite part now is watching the goalie.

The goalie was stunned, absolutely stunned!  I’m still stunned and I’ve seen it twice.  I’m going to watch it again.   Watch it on YouTube.  You will not be disappointed.

It was an emotional comeback for the U.S. Men’s National Team on Wednesday night, surging back in the final minutes to earn a 2-2 tie in its final game of World Cup Qualifying Group Play.

As fans held cards adorned with the No. 9 in honor of striker Charlie Davies, who suffered serious injuries in an automobile accident on Tuesday, U.S.A. Fought back from a 2-0 deficit late in the second half.

The team’s first strike came in the 72nd minute, when midfielder Michael Bradley, son of head coach Bob Bradley, put away a rebound off a Landon Donovan shot.

There was a lot of action between this tally and the game tying score in the 5th minute of extra time.

New Costa Rica coach Rene Simoes was given a red card in the 88th minute after arguing with officials and faces a possible suspension by FIFA for one or both games against Uruguay. More important to the U.S. Men’s National Team, defender Oguchi Onyewu tore the patellar tendon in his left knee on a corner kick. He is expected to miss three to four months of action.

This, following the news of Davies’ accident, in which he broke the Tibia and Femur in his leg, likely keeping him out of the team’s World Cup 2010 plans.

But, fitting on a night in which Davies was honored by his teammates and fans, U.S.A. scored on a Jonathan Bornstein header in the 5th minute of overtime, sealing the 2-2 tie.

“Charlie is like a brother to me, so it was really tough news for me to hear,” fellow striker Jozy Altidore said. “We all wanted to try and go out and play for him tonight. I think the energy was there for a lot of guys. We were a little bit unlucky at times. I know myself, I was a little excited. I had the shirt on underneath, I wanted to show it to him badly.”

But Altidore was forced to wait until the final whistle blew to lift his shirt in honor of Davies — he was issued a yellow card early in the game, and a second card for such a celebration would automatically suspend him for the U.S. World Cup opener in June. Davies is a native of Manchester, New Hampshire and attended Boston College.

With the tie, the United States (6-2-2) topped the North and Central America and Caribbean group for the second straight qualifying cycle. The U.S. team finished one point ahead of Mexico (6-3-1), which tied 2-2 at last-place Trinidad and Tobago.

It’s a strange time for Boston sports. The Red Sox ended in disappointed, the Patriots and Bruins are finding their respective footing and the Celtics are in preseason play.

Here are some thoughts:

RED SOX:

• Wishing David Ortiz’s contract was up after the ‘09 season.
• Wouldn’t mind seeing Mike Lowell DH at home during the ‘10 season, should he stay with the team. If “DH” is used as a verb, as I just did, does it become “designated hit”?
• Casey Kotchman hasn’t passed “they eyeball test” in his short time with the Red Sox. How can he generate any power with that swing? Slick in the field, though.
• How’s this for a ‘10 rotation: Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Daisuke Matsuzaka, combo Tim Wakefield/Junichi Tazawa? Because you know Wake won’t make it through a full season.  This may be the perfect storm, as Beckett is a free agent following the season.

PATRIOTS:

• Winning the next two would be nice, but there is no telling what will happen in the second game — the game against Tampa Bay in England. The grass over there is so thin, players tend to lose their footing. May be a game that comes down to the running attack. Presumably without Fred Taylor in the mix, that’s a scary proposition.
• Not exactly sure where Junior Seau fits. The Pats have had success with the 4-3 base, but his addition would give the team two solid inside linebackers. Maybe he provides the flexibility to switch back-and-forth between the 4-3 and 3-4 base.
• Don’t worry. Tom Brady will put it all together. Although, I really didn’t like this quote following Sunday’s 20-17 loss to Denver: “I think as you get older in this league when you lose games you just understand — you congratulate the other team and you’re excited to get back to work on Wednesday.” Not really comfortable with my quarterback “just understanding” that losses happen. Maybe I’m nitpicking, but that complacent attitude isn’t the Brady we knew in 2001.

CELTICS:

• On the other end of the spectrum, I like Rasheed Wallace’s attitude. 72-10 is attainable. …If everyone can stay healthy and such.
• Caught some of the preseason game with the Nets the other day. I forgot Big Baby is back with the team.

BRUINS:

• That next big thing, Tuukka Rask? Not looking like it thus far. And people wonder why GM Peter Chiarelli locked up Tim Thomas. The guy may be unorthodox, but he has proven himself at the NHL level. Rask, on the other hand, still has the chance to become the next Andrew Raycroft, Blaine Lacher, etc.
• I really don’t appreciate the style of play Andrew Ference brings to the ice.

It is hardly unusual to see a Superfan decked out in gold on game day. But for Saturday’s matchup against Florida State, Boston College fans weren’t wearing it in support of the team — it was in support of the fight against cancer waged by one of their own.

The BC Eagles bent but did not break against the Seminoles, and won the game on a fourth quarter 42-yard touchdown run by Montel Harris. Players on both sides of the ball were inspired by one of their own — linebacker Mark Herzlich.

Herzlich was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma last spring, causing to miss out on what would have been his senior year for playing for Boston College. After a summer of treatment, Herzlich returned to campus, taking classes and serving as a sort of assistant coach on BC’s sideline, cheering his teammates as only he can.

“This whole day was about him and he deserves it,” senior linebacker Mike McLaughlin of Woburn, Mass. said following the game. “And obviously it lifted our team to victory.”

BC guts out 28-21 victory over FSU [Boston Score]

“It’s been a way for me to kind of stay with the team,” Herzlich said of his stint as an assistant coach. “Coaching is different — you’ve been coached your whole life so you sort of know what to do.”

Around Alumni Stadium, many fans wore Herzlich’s No. 94 in some fashion. Members of the student body participated in a gold out — wearing gold t-shirts with the words “Beat Cancer” on them. The proceeds of those shirts will help in the fight against cancer.

“It was a big honor. Great for the school, great for supporting the fight (against) cancer,” Herzlich said. “The students did a great job. It was pouring rain and they came out there and swarmed campus. So it was really supportive.”

Since the early days of high battle against the cancer, Herzlich has envisioned his end goal as leading his team through the tunnel and onto the field at Alumni Stadium. Not in a BC sweat suit, but in full pads and his No. 94 jersey. Herzlich received news this week which may signal he is closer to realizing that goal.

“I talked to the doctor, they got the MRIs all looked at. The tumor has shrunk so much that it wasn’t even visible on the MRI anymore. It was gone from leg,” Herzlich said.

The reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year hopes to return to action next year, playing out his senior year as he had planned all along. If it comes to fruition, it will be a remarkable comeback. One that will go down in BC lore right beside Doug Flutie’s Hail Mary pass to Gerard Phelan at the Orange Bowl in 1984.

“Just his courage in facing the cancer end of it, and then to be able to continue through that and be strong, go out on the field and be just one of the guys like he wants to be, and be treated as a member of the team — phenomenal amount of will power, courage, strength and just setting a great example for the other kids. It’s amazing,” Flutie said.

After a long day of attention toward his battle with cancer, which included a spot on ESPN’s nationally televised College Game Day program, Herzlich pushed his team to victory from the sideline. And as the clock ticked down to zero, the linebacker-turned-assistant coach hugged his head coach, Frank Spaziani. There could not have been a better conclusion to this day.