Mets fire top brass, look to rebuild

The New York Mets finished the regular season 18 games behind the Phillies in the National League East standings, and now are looking to reshape their roster, starting at the top.  Monday, a day after the team concluded its regular season, the Mets decided to part with both general manager Omar Minaya and head coach Jerry Manuel. Minaya, who had been with the team since 2004, and who had stints with the organization in the mid-90s, has been criticized for his inability to put together a championship-caliber team. The Mets’ payroll, which was $133 million this season –good for fifth in baseball—was expected to produce at the very least a playoff-contending team.  Mets’ owner Fred Wilpon, along with his son Jeff [who serves as chief operating officer] made the move in hopes of sparking a turnaround.  Although the team has a tendency to hire within, according to an AP report, they will henceforth go in a different direction.

Colts lose another player to injury bug

The defensive side of the ball has been a sore spot for the Colts this season, and now things are only going to get worse.  According to ESPN, Colts’ safety and special teams captain Melvin Bullit suffered a broken bone in his shoulder Sunday and is out for the season. The 25-year-old defensive back will undergo surgery within the next two weeks and be placed on injured reserve.  The team has already been afflicted by the injury bug, with receivers Anthony Gonzalez and Pierre Garcon having missed three and two games, respectively. Bullit, who was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2007, has 113 tackles and five interceptions in his young career. In addition, he was taking the place of former all-pro safety Bob Sanders, and was considered one of their top defensive backs. Sanders will not be back until at least December, so it will be interesting to see who steps up and plays a significant role the rest of the season.

Patriots make history in Miami

The Patriots had themselves quite a game Monday night against the Dolphins, thrashing their division opponent 41-14. While there have been questions about the Patriots’ defense and their ability to play well in the second half of games, the team stepped up in a big, historic way. Yes, history was made for the Pats, and it was all good. The Patriots became the only team in NFL history to score on a blocked field goal, kickoff return, touchdown run, touchdown pass, interception return and field goal. Patriots’ safety Patrick Chung accounted for the blocked field goal, interception return and even added in a blocked punt for good measure. “No, I wasn’t that surprised, but I guess everybody else is,” head coach Bill Belichick told WEEI.com after the game. “You make plays, you score points. You don’t make it, you don’t score them.”