Wicked Hard Times Are Here

Chris Berman called it “a 12-month party” for the New England region, and you know what happens to every party once it inevitably fizzles out.

Somebody has to sweep up, in this case, the Chicago White Sox, who took out the 2004 World Series champion Boston Red Sox in three straight games, culminating with Friday’s 5-3 clincher at Fenway Park.

Once again, a familiar fall tradition rolls out over New England, with emotionally crushed Red Sox fans turning their eyes to the Patriots, looking for some sort of Sunday pain-killer ... and there the Patriots are, 2-2 after four games and on the road against 3-1 Atlanta.

The greatest run in the history of New England professional sports appears to be running on fumes.

Every Red Sox fan at Fenway on Friday took postseason elimination hard, including the one providing play-by-play for ESPN.

“I’m a native New Englander,” Berman confessed after the final out, sounding despondent as he rambled on about having “spent a dollar and a quarter, a dollar-fifty, many a time to sit out in the bleachers and watch the Red Sox of the ‘70s and the ‘80s, et cetera, what that meant here, to New England, and what they have done. I’ve heard of, two and three months later, of sons going out to have a shot with their grandfather in a cemetery in December, who is a Red Sox fan, and drawing families together, and maybe those that hadn’t even talked to each other for a while, all because the Red Sox won.” (Translation, please? Anyone?)

“That now is a chance for White Sox fans,” Berman continued while ESPN’s graphics staff stubbornly refused to provide subtitles. “But to these Red Sox who lost here, thank you from the whole region. There’s no other way to put it.” Oh, rest assured, there probably is.

It was a tough pill for Red Sox fans to swallow, because as Berman put it during the eighth inning, “Darkness starts to fall on the champions who forged one of the great stories of this or any other year, no matter who you root for.” Unless, say, you happen to root for the Yankees or the St. Louis Cardinals.

Sunday at 10 a.m., CBS’s Jim Nantz and Phil Simms preside over the possible sub-.500 submergence of the Patriots, who play a team with a gimpy Michael Vick, a team that has already lost to Seattle.

This week, the big news in Patriot camp was San Diego Coach Marty Schottenheimer sounding sympathetic to the Patriots’ recent injury plight and Tom Brady responding to the gesture by ripping into Schottenheimer, telling the Boston Herald, “He has no business talking about our team. He’s not our coach. We’ll let our coach talk about our team. We’ll let our players talk about our team.”

Which is more disturbing: Schottenheimer (5-12 all-time postseason record) making excuses for the Patriots or Brady feeling the need to rally his sagging teammates by trying to work up a lather over a couple of quotes from Schottenheimer (5-12 all-time postseason record)?

Either way, these are desperate times in New England.

Also available for viewing this weekend:

TODAY

* Angels at New York Yankees

(Channel 11, 1:15 p.m.)

The Angels are trying to reach their second American League championship series in four years, and if they do, they will render the ALCS meaningless for East Coast big media interests. When you put it that way, an Angels-White Sox ALCS would be something to see.

* Arizona at USC

(FSNW, 12:30 p.m.)

The line is USC by 38 1/2 points. To demonstrate the difference between college and pro football, here are the point totals for a few NFL teams, each having played three games thus far: Detroit Lions, 36 ; Baltimore Ravens, 30; Houston Texans, 24.

* California at UCLA

(TBS, 4:30 p.m.)

Finally, Cal makes it to the Rose Bowl -- undefeated, ranked in the top 10 ... and a one-point underdog to UCLA. TBS is touting the game in newspaper ads under the improbable headline, “Undefeated Powerhouses Collide This Saturday.” Clip and save and catch them while you can.

* Mighty Ducks at Nashville Predators

(FSNW2, 5 p.m.)

This wasn’t how it was supposed to turn out on that glistening morn in 1993 when the expansion Ducks made Paul Kariya their top selection in the amateur draft. Kariya turns 31 this month and he will mark the occasion in the uniform of the Nashville Predators. Where are they now? There are times when it is better not to know.

SUNDAY

* Seattle Seahawks at St. Louis Rams

(Channel 11, 10 a.m.)

Seattle is a three-point underdog, one point for every time the Seahawks lost to the Rams last season, including playoffs. Twenty-two percent of the country will see this game, with 43% getting Tampa Bay at the New York Jets. When did Brian Griese against Vinny Testaverde become a top-of-the-marquee attraction?

* Cincinnati Bengals at Jacksonville Jaguars

(ESPN, 5:30 p.m.)

The Bengals are 4-0 and people are saying, “Yeah, but who have they played?” (Answer: Cleveland, Minnesota, Chicago, Houston -- combined 2005 record: 3-10.) And if and when the Bengals beat Jacksonville to go 5-0, people will be saying, “Yeah, but who have they played?”

* Minnesota Wild at Kings

(FSNW, 5 p.m.)

Yes, FSNW is televising, even though this one sounds perfectly suited for the Outdoor Life Network: The Call of the Wild.