Here we go again, this is billed as the rematch of SB XLII when the 18-0 Patriots heavy favorites over the NY Giants were upset by the Giants 17-14 as the Giants defense and a couple of fluke plays spoiled the Pats undefeated season.

Most are billing this as the revenge match but there are only a handful of players left from that game.  The Pats are favored but all the money seems to be going on the Giants. Over the years I remember Bill Parcells always saying DEFENSE wins Championship’s and the Giants have a much better defense than the Patriots. The Patriots ranked 31 out of 32 teams in overall defense with yards allowd. To me the secondary for the Pats is their weakest link. This team has a hard time playing against the pass and with their bend but don’t break mentality will that be enough? This is the Pats part of the team that really scares me. The defenders need to play the ball and turn to find it and not commit any stupid pass interference penalties. Pass interference penalties killed them in week nine when they lost to the Giants 24-20.

The Giants have weapons that didn’t play in week nine and their front four defensive line is one of the best this year. They really know how to attack the quarterback. The Pats offensive line will have to protect Brady much better than they did earlier this year when they allowed two sacks by the Giants and it seemed they rattled Brady early. Most teams know if you can get to Brady early and often that will throw him off his game.

The Giants will play with Hakeem Hicks who sat out week nine with an injury and Ahmad Bradshaw hopes to play as well but he has a foot injury. The wide receivers of the Giants scare me and the Pats really need to tighten things up in the secondary.

What I do like about the Pats defense is they finished ranked 15th in the league in points allowed and the Giants finished 25th. Giants may have had a tougher schedule and they are on a roll but don’t forget so are the Pats. Pats have won 10 straight and defeated (albeit luckily) the number 3 defensive team in the league in the Baltimore Ravens.

The Pats will be playing with a banged up Rob Gronkowski who had a high ankle sprain against the Ravens and was in a boot most of the last two weeks. He seems better but having to go up against 300 lb lineman and trying to block these guys and try and run for 60 minutes and cut and weave through the Giants defense will put a lot of strain on that ankle. Gronk is a beast and is very young and in super shape so I think he has healed very well and his ankle just may not be as bad as they say. Time will tell.

Wes Welker and Deion Branch will need to step it up today along with Aaron Hernandez. The biggest question will be if Chad  Ochocinco will show up and have decent game. The Pats will need to run the ball well and go no huddle through most of the first half and tire out the Giants defense as it will be very warm in Lucas Oil Stadium.

This game could very well come down to whoever has the ball last will win the game. My prediction is that the NE Patriots will win 27-24.

Go Pats!

photo by Kaitlin Waldron

This is what every football fan waits for, Championship Sunday. This is when the AFC and the NFC battle to see who will represent their respective conference in the Super Bowl.

New England Patriots

Today at 3:00 PM the 14-3 New England Patriots take on the 13-4 Baltimore Ravens. This will be a pound and ground type of game as the Ravens who have the number two run defense and the Pats have the 31st worst pass defense.

In order for the Ravens to win they will need to get to Tom Brady and put him on his back early in the game. They need to stop his passing attack as he has weapons that can ground and pound with the best of teams. He has two book ends that can destroy you. You can double team one of them but the other will kill you. These book ends are Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.

In the run game the Pats have Ben Jarvus Green-Ellis (the law firm) He has never fumbled the ball in his career, I just hope I didn’t jinx him. Ben Jarvus will need to put his head down and move quickly through that tough Ravens front defensive line in order to open up the secondary. I hope Stevan Ridley gets to play as he has some decent speed and can run to the outside. He had 4 rushes for 21 yards against Denver so lets hope he can have a break out game. Look for Danny Woodhead to weave and bob in and around the defensive line.  Wes Welker and Deion Branch are two other scrappy wide receivers who have proven they are winners.

On the linebackers the Pats will need a big game from Jerod Mayo, Dane Fletcher and Brandon Spikes to stop the run. The secondary is the teams weakest link. Patrick Chung and Devon McCourty will need to play the game of their lives to stop Smith and Bouldin. The Pats pass rush will need to be effective as it was last week against the Broncos.

photo by Bob Carney Photography

Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens will need to give Ray Rice some nice blocks along the Pats defensive front line to open big holes for Rice like they did in 2009. The Pats will need to get to Flacco like the Steelers did in this photo taken by my good online friend Bob Carney, Bob is an avid Steeler fan like I am a Pats fan.  Too bad the Steelers got Tebowed.

Ray Lewis and Ed Reed lead the defense this week in Ed Reed’s biggest game as a pro. Reed was not a member of the Ravens Championship team in 2000-2001 season. Pats head coach Bill Belichick LOVES Ed Reed. I think he will be hampered today with his sprained ankle. As great as Ray Lewis is he has slowed up a bit and the Pats will take advantage of that as they work the middle of the field with Wes Welker and their book end tight ends.

I look for rookie Torrey Smith to have a good day as the Pats almost drafted him this year. Anquan Boldin has lost a step or two and he could factor in this game as well. Watch the Ravens front line defense especially Haloti Ngata as he tries to stuff the run. Terrell Suggs is another big play player as he has no respect at all for Tom Brady .

My Bold Prediction is that the New England Patriots will defeat the Baltimore Ravens 31-20.

photo by Kaitlin Waldron

Tonight at 8:00 PM the 13-3 New England Patriots will kick off against the 9-8 Denver Broncos in the AFC Divisional round of the NFL Playoffs. Denver’s shocking victory last week over the injured and battered Pittsburgh Steelers earned them the right to come to Foxboro to take on the Patriots.

Denver will need to get off to a quick start like they did in Week 15 by running the ball down the Pats throat. Tebow will need to play better than he did against the Steelers if he hopes to have a chance to beat the high powered Pats. The Broncos also must not turn the ball over like they did at home. The Broncos Linebacker Von Miller and Defensive End Elvis Dumerville will need to pressure Tom Brady and force him out of the protective pocket that he loves to hang out in.  If the Broncos can rattle Brady early and put points on the board at the same time then the Broncos may make it a close game.

The Pats will need to get off to a very fast start as opposed to the last few weeks of the regular season when they found themselves having to come from behind in order to win. In the playoffs you are one and done if you lose. I see the Pats winning the coin toss once again and deferring to the second half. This gives them the ball to start the second half. This also allows them to try and control the clock at the end of the first half to try and score going into halftime.

The Pats need to come out and start strong at defense and stop Tebow on their first possession. If the Pats can do that look for the Pats to go to an upbeat fast pace offensive march down the field. If the Pats can jump out to an early lead I think Tebow’s inexperience will force him to pass a lot and that is not his strong point.

The Pats have a losing record against the Broncos and I think the Pats will win big tonight, 38-17 and then the Pats will be at home against the winner of Sunday’s game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Houston Texans. I would love to see the Texans win that game. The Ravens are undefeated at home this year and are amongst the elite defenses in NFL history.

***UPDATE***

Patriots win 45-10

They lost the coin toss. They started off very fast and kept Dumerville and Miller off of Brady.

Brady breaks the record for most TD’s in a half in the Playoffs.

NE Patriots

Patriots vs  Broncos

The New England Patriots travel to Denver to take on the red hot Denver Broncos led by the polarizing Tim Tebow. Tim has led his team to 6 straight victories and has a 7-1 record this year for the Broncos after taking over for Kyle Orton. Tebow has led the Broncos to 4 fourth quarter comeback victories after playing sub par football for the first 3 quarters.

Why is Tim Tebow so polarizing?

Good question. I guess it’s because he wears his faith on his sleeve. He praises God openly on the field and has shown nothing but great leadership through out this winning streak. He doesn’t get emotional like a Tom Brady and gets in your face if you mess up. Tebow will pat you on the back and tell you not to  worry about it.  Laid back kind of QB.

What do the Patriots need to do to beat Denver today?

One, they will need to stop the run by McGahee who seems to have been rejuvenated here in Denver. Also, Tebow will scramble and is a bull when he runs for his life by opposing linemen. He is a big dude who resembles a tight end and is hard to bring down. I look to see Tebow doing a lot of scrambling today and the Pats will need to contain him. They don’t want Tebow to run ram shod over them all afternoon.

Two, While the Pats are on offense they will need to protect Brady especially his blind side. Defensive End Elvis Dumervil and Von Miller are two players to keep and eye on and hopefully we won’t hear their names a lot. Another Pats nemesis has been Champ Bailey.

Three, Tom Brady and the Pats will need to score early and score often. If they can build an early lead lets say they get up 21-3 early this will force Tebow to throw the ball more and hopefully will give the Pats Kyle Arrington and Devon McCourtey chances to pick Tebow off.

The Patriots have the worst secondary in the league and quite possibly the worst passing defense in league history. Yes, league history. They are pathetic against the pass and they usually play zone so they give up a lot of yards but when it comes down to the opponents getting inside the Red Zone they shut them down. They have a bend but don’t break mentality.

Who cares how may yards you give up as long as they don’t score Touchdowns.

Look to see Brady go to his tight ends and Wes Welker a lot today. Deion Branch will be out and the Pats will need to have Danny Woodhead pound for some big yardage along with Ben Jarvis Green Ellis. Brady and Belichick are 1-5 against the Broncos and playing in Mile High this game may be a little too close for comfort.

My Prediction-

The Tim Tebow phenomenon will come to a grinding halt and the Pats will win big 38 – 13.

Patriots win 41 to 23

photo by Keith Allison/Flickr

This afternoon at 4:15PM the N.E. Patriots will take on the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium in an epic AFC match up of two of the NFL’s most prolific offenses in the last 10 years.

Tom Brady vs Peyton Manning is a match up of two future Hall of Fame QB’s whose statistics are rivaled by few.

I love statistics and let’s take a look at this years stats between the two.

Tom Brady has a slight edge over Peyton Manning in pass completion percentage 64.5 vs 64.2. They rank 6th and 7th in the league.

Tom Brady ranks 11th in total yards with 2,176 and Peyton Manning ranks 3rd with 2,633.

Brady has 17 Touchdown passes and Manning has 16 so far this year. Both have thrown 4 interceptions.

Colts have a slew of injuries and the Pats are fairly healthy. The biggest challenge today will be if the Pats can get to Manning before he slings it down field. This will be a big test for the Pats secondary as they are very young.

I have a feeling Matt Light and Sebastian Vollmer will have their hands full with Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis today. Two bookends that can reek havoc in the backfield.  How many sacks will these two giants get today?

With Joseph Addai out I wonder if his replacement Donald Brown will run ram-shod over the Pats.  In years past it always seems the replacement backs usually kill the Pats.

I look to see the Pats have a great game today on the ground and in the air. Last year they should have won in Indy but the infamous 4th and 2 play ended their chances. Brady seems to be working on all four cylinders and I look for him to have another great game. Last week was awesome but Big Ben is no Peyton Manning and the secondary is going to need to play lights out if the expect to keep the Colts in check.

I love our two tight ends in Aaron Fernandez and Steve Rob Gronkowski who both can catch and run in the open field. Veteran Alge Crumpler has done a great job in helping these rookies become 1st year phenoms.

Wes Welker and Deion Branch should have great games today as well and Ben Jarvis Green Ellis should run right up the gut of the Colts defense for big yards. Danny Woodhead, who is the smallest running back I can remember, is one tough cookie. Would love to see him do some damage.

Pats need a big victory here as it looks like the Jets will be victorious as well.

Pats 35 Colts 31

This is one of our favorite locations to visit while on vacation in Maine. This show was put together a few years ago but not much has changed.

Due to the tax credit being extended back in late ’09 it sure did help sales this spring. But, so far this 2nd quarter sales have slacked off and it  should be interesting compared to the 2nd quarter of last year.

Look for the first half year stats in the first week of July.

The following year Bill’s ex-wife had taken ill and was now unable to take care of their three boys, Peter, Paul and Patrick. Peter moved in with my cousins and lived with them. Paul went to Canada and lived with his mother’s relatives and Patrick moved in with us. Two years later my mother and Bill married and now Patrick was part of our family.

Patrick had the most gorgeous curly hair as a kid and was your typical three year old. But, one thing he had that most kids didn’t have was Hemophilia. Every time Patrick fell down he would bruise very easily and have continuous internal bleeding until we could inject him with a blood factor that would stop the bleeding. As a little kid this was quite often and very painful for my mother who took care of Patrick.

Patrick would never be able to play the sports that we could all play as kids and take for granted. He couldn’t play football, baseball, basketball, hockey or even dodge ball because any physical contact would mean internal bleeding and a black and blue body.

Patrick led more of a normal life than most would think, but as he got older all the bruising and falling down had taken a toll on his knees and he had a hard time walking. His leg was extremely hard to bend and he always walked with a limp.

One thing Patrick had to have a lot of was blood clotting factor concentrates that helped stopped the internal bleeding. These were little bottles that we got from the hospital and Patrick would get injected with this blood clotting factor to help stop the bleeding and save his life.

The early eighties brought us the scare of HIV/Aids and due to Patrick’s Hemophilia he would be very accessible to contracting the HIV virus from blood transfusions. Sure enough our fears came true around 1985. Patrick needed a blood transfusion and contracted the HIV virus from tainted blood. I never found out for a few years as the family kept it hush hush.

As the years rolled on Patrick led as normal a life as he could and became quite ill in 1999.  One of his goals was to live to see the ball drop in 2000, the new millennium. As the Christmas season neared in 1999 Patrick became extremely ill and fell into a coma. The doctors told us to gather the family as Patrick was slowly slipping away and may never regain consciousness again.

We were able to contact his brother Paul, who was living in Seattle at the time and had not seen Patrick for many many years and I had never met Paul as well. Paul was able to fly in right away.

We all were in Patrick’s  hospital room when Paul and his wife walked in and Paul walked up to Patrick’s bed to say his goodbye’s when all of a sudden Patrick woke up and sat right up to say hello to Paul.  This was a miracle and shocked us all as well as the doctors. I know it is hard to believe but if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes I probably wouldn’t have believed it as well, but I did.

Patrick stayed awake and celebrated Christmas with us and in the next few days he started to slip away again and on January 1st, 2000 at 4:00 pm Patrick passed away.

Patrick was able to see the new millennium as he so wished.

May you rest in peace Patrick we all miss you.

My Grandfather Jeremiah Joseph McGillicuddy worked most of his life as a steam fitter and ended up passing away with Lung Cancer caused by asbestos. Below is Mr. James’ article in it’s entirety.

Located in the Northeastern part of the United States, Maine is known for its extravagant scenery, mountains, rocky coastline and of course its appetizing seafood cuisine. The road to owning a home is a wonderful experience, but one that requires new responsibilities.

Gaining assistance from real estate adviser can help in dealing with making that all important decision. Many properties will also require repairs or remodeling. Asbestos is a natural fibrous mineral used in millions of homes throughout the twentieth century as a form of insulation, piping, roofing and flooring.

Potential Maine home buyers, re modelers or those looking to lease or purchase a commercial property built before 1980 should be aware that the potential for asbestos materials to be present exists. This does not mean you should jump out of your seat because asbestos exposure is easily prevented by taking simple precautions.

If any suspected asbestos is in good shape, it’s posing no apparent risk. If it’s in bad shape, it could be a problem. If a home inspector suggests removal is necessary, it must be performed by a licensed abatement contractor who is trained in handling hazardous materials. They can perform the removal in public facilities, homes and work places. At the present time, there is a growing list of green insulation alternatives which replace the need for asbestos.

The inhalation of its fibers can cause a rare lung-ailment known as malignant mesothelioma, which accounts for three percent of cancer diagnoses in the United States. Mesothelioma survival rate varies from patient to patient for many reasons. These include age of diagnosis, latency period and cigarette smoking.

Maine Going Green

Recently, congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law. Included in this act were extensions to the tax incentives placed for energy efficiency in 2005, as well as new credits for

Homeowners who remodel or build using Eco-sustainable methods. Some of the measures that are eligible for tax credits include added insulation to walls, ceilings, or other part of the building envelope that meets the 2009 IECC specifications, sealing cracks in the building shell and ducts to reduce heat loss. Storm doors paired with U-factored rated wood doors are also eligible.

Recycled building materials that are healthy alternatives to asbestos include the use of cotton fiber, lcynene foam and cellulose. With an increase in technology and public awareness, the United Nations Environmental Program states that the use of recycled building materials such as cotton fiber insulation can reduce energy use by 25 percent.

Of interest to those involved in real estate, a citizen based environmental advocacy group called Environment Maine, is combining independent research and a tough minded strategy to overcome the opposition of special interests who seek to undermine pro environment approaches. Focusing to rid Michigan of asbestos use and other harmful materials, they also focus to protect the water and open spaces. Environment Michigan is working hard to give the state the healthy environment that the people deserve.

She is not one for early mornings but she day in and day out is either heading to Concord for meetings or taking her buyers out to show homes. Then when she gets home she takes care of everything that needs to be done around the house. A true Champion.

She is always working on the computer, if she isn’t out with clients, enhancing her online presence whether it be by blogging or Social Networks.

I think she is hooked on RE Bar Camps. RE Bar Camps are when a group of real estate agents get together and share their knowledge  in a peer to peer enviremont. She has been to ReBar Camp’s in Virginia, Philidelphia and Boston. All great experiences for learning. At the Boston event she won a free pass to to RE Tech South another gathering of agents for learning the most in Real Estate Techonolgy. I am sure she is counting the days to March 26, 2010.

Page views are up from last year. Also, showings have doubled which is a great sign that buyers are out there looking. Home Sales in Derry, NH are up 20% from last year. So, looking at these stats confirms to me that sales are picking up and as we know NOW is the best time in history to buy  a house. Interest rates are at an all time low and inventories are still up so that means there are plenty of homes for buyers to view and prices have declined to about 2002/2003 prices.

The green bars represent how many homes were on the market for that given month. The blue represents how many were sold in that given month and the pending sales are the ones with the red line through it.

While she wasn’t on for a long time she was, I hope, able to communicate some crucial information. You can listen to the show here.

There is no doubt that January saw a major market stall as many people put home buying on hold in anticipation of what President Obama would do once he took office.  Early February saw some mass confusion due to the up and down real estate stimulus package potential of a $15,000 tax credit.  Some buyers moved forward in anticipation by making offers contingent upon the 15,000 tax credit becoming a reality.

Of course we all know that did not happen.

The reality is that people buy homes not sticks and bricks, they buy lifestyles, they buy a dream and while everyone wants their home to appreciate in value, it’s important to remember that long term real estate is an excellent investment.

Are we at the bottom? I really don’t know but I do know that investors have stopped looking and have started buying! Which tells a very important story.  If  you’re a buyer “On the Fence” don’t let this opportunity slip by you.  It would be pretty sad to look in the rear view mirror someday soon and kick yourself for missing this opportunity.

The last week of  February in our Londonderry office alone, we had 24 homes go pending in one week alone.

That’s a lot of homes and to me that speaks volumes.

The chart below shows a 10 year history of the Rockingham County real estate market.

Below are Prudential Verani Realty’s newest web stat  numbers for January of 2009. We are still experiencing a decrease in buyer online activity. What is good is our listings are getting more showings than last year and that tells me we are still seeing activity even during these tough economic times.  Monika and I have been a lot busier this year than than this same time frame last year.

What’s interesting is page views per visit is close to last years. Also, showings on our company listings has exceeded twice the amount of last year and close to what happened in ’07.

Now is the best time to buy in over 40 years as interest rates are the lowest we have seen in decades. Inventories are up and buyers have plenty to choose from and also prices are down to about 2003 /2004 prices.

NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY