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Stuck at the Boston Globe answering phones during the Pats/Jags, I decided to keep a running log of my various thoughts throughout the course of the game. Here they are, for your viewing pleasure.

8:10 PM - Here's the only stats Bill Belichick probably preached to his team this week. The Jags enter the match-up 1-0 and the Pats enter 0-0 in 2008.

8:14 - Ever notice how infuriating those few minutes before kick-off can be? Those are only heightened here in the post-season.

8:15 - As the kick is in the air, I get my first "analyst call" - someone asking me a question directly pertaining to the game (I guess Phil Simms' expansive knowledge can't cover everything). Somebody asks how old "Ted" Bruschi is. I resist the urge to say I don't know the man and instead answer with a solemn "34", which is about as old in football years as it is in dog years.

8:19 - After a quick Jacksonville strike into Pats territory, James Sanders (12th man of the year) makes the stop on 3rd down.

8:21 - In a Belichickian move, Del Rio goes for in on 4th and Garrard completes a long strike downfield to Mercedes Lewis. 1st and goal Jags.

8:24 - David Garrard (who's knee was DOWN) completes a pass (with his knee on the ground!) to Matt Jones to put 6 on the board. Petrie, the newest Emerson co-op, let's out a "What a play!" in that hushed, newsroom kind of voice. Petrie's a Jets fan, so all he has to root for is Patriots infamy. Bill fails to throw the hankey out in time and the Jags have an early lead.

8:33 - Old Depressed Guy (ODG, we'll call him) calls up to ask for the NFL's address. This inquiry lasts pretty much the entire Patriots' drive. Two things you can count on working at the Globe Saturday nights, Speck will shoot his plastic gun once or twice and ODG will be calling. Usually, I just hope to dodge that bullet.

8:34 - I can only wonder what kind of monotony the NFL Headquarters is in for. If some wacko walks in there and blows himself up, I'm deleting this post and refusing to acknowledge I ever gave someone such an address.

8:36 - Pats cap a 10 play, 74 yard drive with a Brady-Watson connection in the back of the endzone. More a sigh-of-relief touchdown than anything. Nobody wanted Jags to have the ball already up 7...well, except Petrie.

8:39 - Another "analyst call". Someone wants to know the line for today's game and the largest spread ever in post-season history. I get the feeling 90% of our callers gamble on sports. Oh well, it's not as bad as the guy who wanted to know the Westwood One affiliate for Atlanta.

8:41 - Coaches are watching the game too. They wait until commercials to call in scores. Convenient for them, not so much fun for me.

8:42 - Pats recover a fumble in Jags territory. Behind me, I hear requests for Speck to fire his gun. See? Saturdays are predictable.

8:45 - The Eagle has landed, albeit 15 minutes late, which means the pizza is here. One of the best parts about this job, every Saturday, we get pizza. So, literally, I get to work with sports, eat pizza, and watch (most) of the Patriots game. I love this job. By the way, when Matt Ryan gets drafted, I plan on yelling "the Eagle has landed!". I also plan on nobody getting the joke.

8:51 - I get back with the pizza just in time to see Maroney punch in the Pats second score.

8:57 - Jacksonville having no problem moving the ball downfield. Pats pin the Jags deep, they run it down our throats. Not a good sign.

9:00 - In between these numerous annoying phone calls, I glance around at the televisions in the sports department and I'm hard pressed to find one that was born AFTER me. They all have the same negative information though. 1st and goal from the 2 yard line. With this Jags running game, there's no way they won't score...unless CBS jinxs them with a graphic (please, please!)

9:02 - A false start pushes Jacksonville back 5 yards. Meanwhile, every boys hockey coach in the world waited to report their scores til DURING the Patriots game. Come on guys...I'm revoking all your man cards.

9:03 - Garrard squeezes a pass in to Ernest Wilford to tie up the game. How does he complete these impossible passes? If he had a Pats or Colts logo on his helmet, this guy might just be breaking records too.

9:13 - A Pats fan calls me up to ask if the post-season is "practically over" if the Pats win tonight. Gotta love Boston sports fans! In a tied AFC divisional match-up, somebody's asking me if the AFC Championship and the Super Bowl are not even worth playing if the Pats win tonight. Well, let's see, the 13-3 defending champs are waiting for us and an ageless Brett Favre just scored 42 points in the snow...yeah, I'd say if we win we're a lock.

9:18 - You'd be amazed at the popularity of Curry College. Seems like every week someone is looking for a score. This week, both the men's and women's teams lost. I feel your pain, buddy. Same happened to my Emerson Lions. Hey, at least the men are relevant this year. They've been getting votes on d3hoops.com!

9:21 - http://www.d3hoops.com/top25/. I didn't expect you to believe me, but it's true.

9:24 - I finally sit down with some pizza. It's an unwritten rule that the Hawks have to wait for the grizzled vets to get some pizza before we can. My pizza's cold. Oh well, still no complaints...unless we're talking about the game, that is.

9:28 - Ok, so I'm TRYING to watch Steven Gostkowski miss his field goal in peace and eat my pizza, but, of course, New Hampton didn't report their hockey scores yet! Good thing they called so soon! Oh yeah...Gostkowski missed it...thanks for ruining the moment, New Hampton!

9:31 - It's tied at halftime. Looks like Jack Del Rio might just have something going here. Right now, he reminds me of that alternate costume video game character, you know, when you hit "x" instead of "square". He's the alternate costume Bill Belichick...and that concerns me.

9:33 - Halftime's here. That means I'm putting on my thinking cap cause we're sure to get some dumb questions from saused and distraught fans. I'm expecting to be asked if Mike Piazza is gay about a dozen times...and yes, I'm serious.

9:36 - Oh yeah, the Celtics are up by 2, not that you'd be able to tell. It's not on a single one of the dozen or so TVs within my range of sight. Good thing the Bruins were on at 1 PM today or they'd get zero watchers. I'm serious, zero. Jack Edwards could do all his strange references and nobody would hear him. As it was, hockey fans were treated to a pretty good game in what's becoming a good rivalry. Well, I think I've reached my hockey quota...any more hockey talk and I'll lose you, so I promise, I'm done.

9:40 - Ok, one more tidbit. Tim Thomas (the league leader in save percentage) should be an all-star...way to screw it up, NHL. Ok, that's it...maybe.

9:44 - Second half underway. The kick return game isn't getting anything done today. Petrie suggests that the Jags onside-kick it to begin the quarter. I can't say that's a bad idea right now. Everything seems to be pointing towards Jacksonville right now. Let's hope Tom Terrific turns this around.

9:47 - At this point in the game, Garrard is 12/14 (and one incompletion was a drop) for 149 yards and Brady is 14/14 for 131 yards. I don't even remember any Manning/Brady match-ups where you had such efficient quarterback play. What is this, Madden 08?

9:51 - A Madden-esque spin move puts Gaffney at the 7 yard line. Seriously, I think we're watching a video game simulation.

9:52 - Touchdown, Brady to Welker! In case anybody forgot, the Pats acquired Welker and Moss for a 2nd, 4th, and 7th round pick. Have any two receivers EVER been stolen so easily? In case you were wondering, Samson Satele (2nd - Dolphins), John Bowie (4th - Raiders), and Abraham Wright (7th - Dolphins) were the draft picks. No tradebacks! Even if each of those players (2 DBs and a center) go on to be pro-bowlers, these trades still favor the Pats. Even Kevin McHale thinks this was a little one-sided.

9:58 - Detroit hung on to beat Charlotte in OT, 103-100. The Bobcats are scaring some teams lately. Meanwhile, the Celts are in dire straits, enough that Crowe just called for a 4-point play. Good luck.

10:00 - I wonder what Byron Leftwich is up to. Probably eating cold pizza like me.

10:03 - The Celts are doing their best to make a mole-hill out of a mountain. At least it's entertaining, but this game's over.

10:08 - Something prompted the copy editors to Google "Barney Frank's gay lover". Apparently it got a lot of hits and a lot of laughs. I guess the sports section isn't exactly the bastion of professionalism some people might think.

10:10 - Celts have now lost 2 of their last 3. Strange. Last year, those kind of results would have made Celts' fans happy.

10:14 - Somehow, we've shifted our discussion to baseball. Talking about abolishing/making the DH universal, Bill Hall's greatest moments, and the disgrace that is the St. Louis Cardinals. We need warm weather, now!

10:16 - Brady to Watson again for 6! Watson - 2 TDs. Moss - 1 catch, 14 yards. Ouch...I guess the Randy-ratio is not in effect tonight.

10:24 - In case you were wondering how tall Jason Giambi is (and don't know how to look up such a mindlessly easy fact), he's 6'3". Ok, drunk guy?

10:27 - So, with the game seemingly in hand, I find myself watching highlights from the Bruins win earlier. Such a sweet victory.

10:30 - Darren Bragg was a topic of conversation on Crowe's latest phone call and I was just asked how long Kevin Faulk has been a member of the Patriots, because there was a bet involved on such a fact. Only at the Globe sportsline!

10:33 - In case you were curious, here are his career numbers. We traded Jamie Moyer for this guy??

10:35 - ...and Tom Brady is 6'4". Yes, these are actual inquiries. Unreal.

10:37 - 78 yard bomb to Donte Stallworth for a big first down. Phil Simms says this "could be the difference in the game". Yeah, Phil, the four touchdowns help too. Apparently points are overrated these days.

10:40 - Some of that old Dolphins training comes in handy and Welker drops a sure first down pass. The Pats settle for a field goal...yeah, they actually made it. The "curse of the graphic" can take the blame for that one. Tom had just broken Simms' completion percentage in a postseason game record.

10:45 - Two more Bruins thoughts (we all know I wasn't done talking about hockey). 1. I miss Alex Auld's maroon Coyotes pads. 2. How much did this team need Aaron Ward? Answer: A fucking lot.

10:49 - 31-20, Jags trying to battle back. As I'm watching this desperate attempt to climb back (almost as desperate as that skinny Asian guy trying to get past Justice on the pyramid on American Gladiators), I remember all the nervous Pats fans heading into this game. We were 16-0, doesn't that buy a little peace of mind??

10:51 - And yet, the Pats have dropped two easy interceptions. If we lose, those will look big. But we're not gonna lose, so whatever.

10:51 and a half - Just as I type we're not gonna lose. Rodney Harrison intercepts Garrard. Game over. Call me back when your last name is 'Manning'.

10:58 - This game is SO over that I'm going to give my final thoughts. Despite all the praise and hype surrounding Jacksonville, all their best wasn't enough to beat down the Pats. They played physical, they played tough, they even neutralized Randy Moss. However, they were burned by Lawrence Maroney (22 carries, 122 yards) which left numerous opportunities for Brady (26/28, 262 yards, 3 TDs). Considering the Pats only scored 31 points under those circumstances, they let Jacksonville off a little easy. In the end, the Jags early running game just didn't last. David Garrard proved himself as, perhaps, one of the 5 best QBs in the game, even if he faded down the stretch. Overall, pretty much what I expected. A valiant effort for the overmatched Jags, but, in the end, the Pats just have way too much firepower.

It's on to the AFC Championship for the Pats, who will host either San Diego (minus Antonio Gates) or Indy (plus Marvin Harrison). Two tough opponents...good thing tonight's win secures a Super Bowl victory.