Maybe It's Me?

I arrived in Boston as a college student in September of 2004.

Yes, the Patriots had just won the Super Bowl in January earlier that year, but what other sports success had the city had in the recent years before? Celtics? No chance. Red Sox, remember that Curse? Bruins? Please.

I'll go ahead and take credit for that Patriots' championship prior to my arrival, because I knew I was headed to Boston back in December 2003.

Then, what happens?

The Red Sox beat the odds (and the Curse) and win the World Series in 2004, and cap it off with another Series victory in 2007 to bookend my college life in Boston with 2 Championships.

The Patriots won again in 2005, allowing Boston to continue their celebration in the wake of the Sox Curse-Breaking win.

Then, in my final week in Boston, the Celtics brought home a long overdue championship.

Sure, the Patriots lost in the 2008 Super Bowl, but who can argue with the 17-0 record prior to that as not being successful? Perhaps that Super Bowl loss was just a sign of things to come for the city.

Now? I'm gone. I've left Boston, and it's sports are a question mark.

Brady's out. With one whack to the knee, the MVP is out for the year, and the Patriots chances of remedying their Super Bowl disappointment last season just went down the tubes.

The Red Sox, leading in the AL East when I left Boston, are now trailing Tampa Bay for the division lead and are risking not making the playoffs at all.

The Celtics are celebrating way too much, and are poised to struggle in their effort to defend their championship (OK, so this is just wishful thinking, but it definitely falls in line with my theory).

The Bruins? Who?

And now, the good news? I've relocated to LA. Having attached "Los Angeles" to their name, the Angels may reap the benefits of me being in the City of Angels, and the Lakers are destined to have Andrew Bynum and Co. make a repeat (and hopefully successful) trip to the NBA Finals.

I'm liking my theory.

Poop on the AL East - The Angels have!

Dating back to July 25, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have only played AL East opponents. That's 2 series against the Orioles, 2 against the Yankees, and one at Fenway against the Sox.

Sweep the Sox? Check.
Sweep the Yanks? Check.

16 games, and 12 victories, including 8 of 10 against the Sox and Yanks--the duo that instills the most fear in the rest of the league, even nowadays.

The most recent was today's 4-3 victory, capped off by a Chone Figgins single past Robinson Cano in the bottom of the 9th to give the Halos--and the Rally Monkey faithful--a sweep of the Bronx Bombers in Anaheim (not Los Angeles, believe it or not, I was there!)

Here's the point: the Angels improved to 74-43 overall, good for the best record in baseball, hold a 14-game division lead over the Rangers, and are now 8-3 in the Teixiera-era.

Even more impressive? Angels fans actually stuck around to see the end of today's nail-biter. The place was packed through the walk-off single by Figgins, which, if you've ever been to a Southern California baseball game, is certainly notable.

The East Coasters may have their history, and that's all well and good, but sorry folks, there's no question who the best team in baseball is right now.