The red-hot Bruins were slowed a bit last night down in D.C. as the Capitals beat Boston 3-1.

Fluto Shinzawa has goaltender Brent Johnson, who started the season as the backup behind former Montreal goalie Jose Theodore stopping the Bruins cold. Stephen Harris has the talented Capitals up for this showdown.

Shinzawa’s notebook has Marc Savard finally showing what he can do with quality linemates. Harris’ notebook has Manny Fernandez’s winning streak coming to an end as well.

Red Sox

Amalie Benjamin says that the Red Sox would love to counter the Yankees splashy signing of C.C. Sabathia by grabbing Mark Teixeira. Sean McAdam says that the Teixeira negotiations are a game of high stakes poker. Michael Silverman says that there are at least four teams in the bidding for Teixeira.

Nick Cafardo thinks that Sabathia is a great signing for the Yankees. Michael Silverman says that the Red Sox can see past the Yankees, as they’re not the only competition in the AL East any more. Jon Couture says that there is more than meets the eye with the Sabathia signing.

Dan Shaughnessy says that Jim Rice’s time has come.

The Herald notebook has Scott Boras indicating that the Red Sox have made an offer to Jason Varitek to return. Joe McDonald has more on the offer to Varitek, as does Benjamin’s notebook.

Patriots

Over on Patriots Daily, Scott Benson says it will be A Long December for Patriots fans.

Glen Farley says Matt Cassel may not play on Sunday due to the death of his father. Rich Garven has more on Cassel’s possible absence. Bob Hohler and Christopher L. Gasper team up in the Globe on this story, giving some background on the late Mr Cassel. Karen Guregian has Cassel’s teammates expressing their support. Shalise Manza Young has Bill Belichick saying that situations like these are bigger than football.

Farley has the Patriots talking about the “Black Hole”  in Oakland. Brian MacPherson says that the tuck rule still lingers in the Bay Area.

Hector Longo says that Randy Moss/Wes Welker could be the best receiving combination since…ever.

Garven’s notebook has  Nnamdi Asomugha sick of losing in Oakland. Gasper’s notebook has Asomugha planning on sticking close to Randy Moss. Shalise Manza Young says that Asomugha’s skills are not lost on the Patriots. Guregian has old pals Moss and Asomugha meeting on opposite sides Sunday. Guregian’s notebook has Vince Wilfork at practice yesterday.

Celtics

Jim Fenton is already looking ahead to Celtics/Lakers on Christmas Day. Frank Dell’Apa thinks Rajon Rondo could be an All Star.

Mike Fine says that the Wizards were too quick to fire Eddie Jordan. Mark Murphy has the Celtics set to take on a Wizards team showing new life.

It’s been a busy week here, with the hack plus a bunch of other stuff going on, so I apologize in advance for the irregular updates. That’s going to continue for the next week or so as I balance in a trip to the West coast beginning tomorrow night.

The Red Sox aren’t involved yet, but there is finally some action on the free agent market with the Mets and Yankees getting close with K-Rod and C.C. Sabathia respectively. There have been rumors out there of a Red Sox offer to Mark Teixeira and discussions with A.J. Burnett, but nothing solid to this point.

In fact, Sean McAdam says that much of the Red Sox discussions are merely misdirections, meant to obscure their real objectives. Amalie Benjamin is convinced that Teixeira is a real target, while Burnett is a secondary interest.

Joe McDonald has the Sox talking to Texas about a catcher. Joe Haggerty says that the Sox aren’t going to just give away Clay Buchholz. Alex Speier says that the Sox are waiting for the price to be right for any catcher they pursue.

Nick Cafardo says that the jackpot of the winter meetings is Teixeira. Rob Bradford has Mike Lowell focused on being ready for opening day, not on Red Sox rumors. The Herald notebook has more on the Sox interest in the Texas catchers.

Patriots

Mike Reiss has a look at Bill Belichick reaching the 150 win plateau and what it means to his legacy. Karen Guregian has a look at Wes Welker’s importance to the Patriots. Glen Farley looks at the return of Randy Moss and LaMont Jordan to the Bay Area. Ben Swasey says there should be plenty of anger towards Moss on Sunday. Rich Garven looks at one area of strength for the Raiders – their cornerbacks.

Guregian also has the news that Matt Cassel’s father died this week.

The Week 15 Playoff Scenarios are not kind to the Patriots.

Guregian’s notebook has Randy Moss’ return to Oakland being downplayed. Shalise Manza Young says that Tedy Bruschi’s status is still unknown. Reiss’ notebook says that Cassel will leave the team briefly to be with his family.

Celtics

Jim Fenton and Scott Souza have the Celtics one win away from the franchise’s best ever start. Mark Murphy has the Celtics not really giving their hot start much thought. Frank Dell’Apa has the Celtics preferring a strong finish to a hot start.

Fenton has Paul Pierce moving into elite company among the Celtics all time greats.

Bruins

Mike Loftus has a look at the top line for the Bruins, which has been terrific this season. Barbara Matson has Vladimir Sobotka ready to go on an emergency basis for the Bruins. Steve Conroy has David Krejci hoping for further improvement.

For the moment anyway.

It appears that someone hacked into the database that runs the site and changed some passwords, and corrupted some data.

I think most of these issues have been resolved, but usually these things come in waves, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see more downtime…if that’s the case, please keep checking back.

Things weren’t looking so good for the Patriots yesterday, their playoff hopes tottered as they trailed the lowly Seattle Seahawks for most of the afternoon. Old friend Deion Branch had burned them for a pair of touchdowns, having one of his most productive games since being traded from New England. Injuries continued to mount up, as Vince Wilfork and Tedy Bruschi left the game, unable to return.

Somehow, the Patriots found a way to claw back and take the lead with just under 3 minutes to go. Then, right after the two minute warning, Brandon Meriweather came on a safety blitz and separated Seattle QB Seneca Wallace from the football, and Richard Seymour recovered, to save the game, and possibly the season for New England.

Chris Warner recaps the action at Patriots Daily, while Chris Price lists out the 10 Things We Learned Yesterday.

Mark Farinella says that this is how it must’ve been in the final days of the dinosaurs.  I think Mark’s trying to be a little too clever. Christopher L. Gasper has this as one of those games that define a team. Karen Guregian has the Patriots not quite ready to give up the chase just yet. Shalise Manza Young has the Patriots keeping their playoff hopes alive.

Mike Reiss has old battleaxes Junior Seau and Rosevelt Colvin playing a much bigger role than expected yesterday. Michael Felger examines the keys to a gutsy win for the Patriots. John Tomase has the Patriots doing their part for the economy by creating plenty of jobs on defense. Rich Garven has the Patriots somehow staying in the hunt.

Dan Shaughnessy prefers this year’s exciting AFC East to last year’s series of boring blowouts. Bill Burt says that like Santa, Bill Belichick does his best work in December. Ron Borges has the Patriots teaching the Seahawks a lesson in perseverance. Garven has Brandon Meriweather coming up with the big play on defense to seal the game for the Patriots.

Gregory Lee Jr. has Wes Welker coming up with another big game. Sean McAdam says there was no keeping Welker down yesterday. Farinella has more on Welker’s big afternoon against the Seahawks. Jim Donaldson also writes about Welker.

Hector Longo says that the Patriots could run the table and still finish out of the playoffs.

Stephen A. Norris has a look at the big day from Branch against his former teammates.  Donaldson has Branch trying to warn his teammates yesterday. Also from that Donaldson column is this mess:

Branch was a holdout from training camp in New England in 2005, wanting the Patriots to tear up the final year of his original contract and give him a new deal. They didn’t. He wound up playing and leading the team in receptions, with 78, for 998 yards and 5 TDs.

But when he became a free agent in 2006, he signed with the Seahawks, who gave him a five-year contract worth $39 million.

This is just embarassing for someone who is supposed to be plugged into the Patriots. Does he not remember the trade to Seattle for the first round pick (which turned out to be Brandon Meriweather, who clinched the win for the Patriots with his sack of Wallace yesterday) after the “tampering” situation with the Jets? It was a pretty big deal at the time.

Longo also has his Two-Minute Drill recapping the day that was. Mike Petraglia gives his take. Tomase has the Best & Worst from yesterday. The Projo has more postgame analysis.

Gasper’s notebook has Stephen Gostkowski’s foot coming up big yesterday, but his hands needing some improvement. Farinella’s notebook has Lofa Tatupu talking about his former USC teammate, Matt Cassel. Guregian’s notebook says that it was just like old times for Seau and Colvin. Young’s notebook has more on the return of the veteran duo.

Celtics

The Celtics improved to 20-2 on the season, matching the best start in franchise history. Frank Dell’Apa has the details of the 122-117 OT win in Indiana for Boston. Steve Bulpett has a big night from Ray Allen leading the way for the Celtics.

Bulpett has Big Baby Glen Davis not afraid to cry. Tim Weisberg has Rajon Rondo’s play speaking for itself. Bill Doyle has Kendrick Perkins not backing down from large challenges.

Dell’Apa’s notebook has more on the record start by the Celtics. Bulpett’s notebook has Jim O’Brien without regret about his exit from the Celtics.

Red Sox

Michael Silverman looks at whether the Red Sox will gamble in Vegas. Dan Lamothe looks at the stalled free agent period thus far. Alex Speier looks at the night that the catching market changed for the Red Sox. Silverman also has Jason Varitek rejecting arbitration. Nick Cafardo says Varitek will be receptive to offers from other teams. Joe McDonald has more on the Varitek situation.

Jon Couture has the Junichi Tazawa signing highlighting US/Japanese relations.

Bruins

Joe Haggerty has Marc Savard as Boston’s best kept secret. Mike Loftus has the Bruins looking to extend their Garden winning streak. Kevin Paul Dupont has Manny Fernandez not interested in stats. Stephen Harris has the Bruins growth even impressing their own management.