Tube 2, Boobs 0 in Weekend Sports Viewing Snafus

Last-day losses cap miserable month for Red Sox, Braves

(NEWSER) - The Boston Red Sox are in the record books and out of playoff contention after a terrible night capped a terrible September. The Red Sox allowed two ninth-inning runs in a 4-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles last night, the AP reports. Minutes after the Red Sox trudged off the field—still tied with the Tampa Bay Rays for the final playoff spot—the Rays secured the spot by beating the New York Yankees 8-7, having fought back from being down 7-0 in the middle of the seventh inning. More»

62 slots are filled at $2.5 to $3M apiece, with a payday of around $200M

(NEWSER) - CBS has already sold all of the in-game ad slots for the Super Bowl, quite a feat considering networks often scramble for ad buyers well into the week preceding the game even when the economy is up. The network claims to have sold only the 62 formatted spots, but an insider tells Adweek that a few “floaters” have been bought as well, and the pre- and post-game slots are almost gone. “We are pleased we are where we are,” says a CBS exec. At up to $3 million a pop for 30 seconds, the network stands to take in more than $200 million. More»

Both win easily, with Tampa star a unanimous choice in AL

(NEWSER) - Chicago Cubs catcher Geovany Soto and Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria were named the rookies of the year today in the National and American leagues, respectively. Soto, 25, was voted an All-Star Game starter and finished the season with a .285 batting average, 23 home runs, and 86 RBI, the Tribune reports. He easily beat out Cincinnati first baseman Joey Votto. More»

(NEWSER) - The St. Louis Rams shocked a leaderless Dallas Cowboys today, as the Green Bay Packers deflated the Indianapolis Colts and the Oakland Raiders came back to life:

• Even at an away game, Cowboys fans cheered for injured Tony Romo—but got 40-year-old Brad Johnson, who tossed three interceptions in a 34-14 loss to the Rams, the AP reports.

Comeback kings 'played like it was their last game'

(AP) - The Boston Red Sox, playing like the defending champs they are, came out swinging and beat Tampa Bay 4-2 last night to force a seventh game in an American League championship series that the Rays had all but wrapped up two days ago. "We went out there and played like it was our last game,” said Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis. “It was awesome." More»