Five weeks’ worth of random observations ? saved up and ready to be spewed forth:It was bad enough that the New York Yankees went out and bankrolled their 27th world championship. But for a while, it looked as if we’d be tortured by all these haughty Giants and Jets fans, too.That’s why I sit here today thrilled beyond words at how badly both the Giants’ and Jets’ fortunes have fallen. The Giants lost again Sunday – their fourth straight defeat – and the Jets have won only once since getting off to a 3-0 start.In Philadelphia’s win over the Giants a week ago this past Sunday, Eagles defensive back Asante Samuel helped set up a touchdown by intercepting an Eli Manning pass.Sure. Now he intercepts an Eli Manning pass. Who cares? The Eli Manning pass he should have picked off was thrown in February of 2008, but it went right through his hands.Oh, and I was watching a retrospective show about that famous David Tyree reception in that Super Bowl. And, lo and behold, Samuel, for no explicable reason, left his coverage of Tyree and forced Rodney Harrison to sprint from the other side of the field to pick him up.Thanks a lot, Asante. Intercept all the passes you want. You’ll always be one short.Watching the Bruins try to score goals last week was painful. And it reminded me that the B’s, going all the way back to the Don Cherry era (and perhaps even before that), have never been comfortable with glitter players who light the lamp but do little else.The latest example was Phil Kessel, who was as pure a scorer as the B’s have had in many years, but could not connect with coach Claude Julien and, ultimately, wanted out.But I have news for the Bruins – and it isn’t exactly a secret, either. You have to score goals to win.And sometimes, you have to put up with a guy who may be a little deficient in all the lunch-pail aspects of hockey (the qualities that generally make players popular around here) but who can put the puck in the net.I once saw Reggie Leach, the former Philadelphia Flyers star, set up in the left faceoff circle. He never moved while his teammates dug the puck out of a corner, and passed it to him. Then, he blasted a slap shot into the net ? a shot the Bruins goalie never saw.It’s no sin to be a goal-scorer!I don’t know what the Red Sox are going to do about anything else, but here’s what they should commit to, right now: They should tell Daniel Bard that the eighth-inning setup job is his to lose.Jonathan Papelbon is gone after this year. He’s going to want all outdoors to stay here, and despite all his success, I get the feeling that the way he shoots his mouth off doesn’t exactly endear him to general manager Theo Epstein.Losing him will be a lot more palatable if Bard has a good season and appears ready to step into Papelbon’s role.It would appear that the young and untested Patriots defense is maturing faster than anyone could have hoped. That was a real team the Patriots beat Sunday – unlike the previous two games.However, did anyone notice that both Tennessee and Tampa Bay pulled off wins after being humiliated by the Patriots?The Indianapolis Colts, like the Patriots, have played some pretty soft teams in building up an 8-0 record thus far. Where the Patriots have feasted on the likes of Tampa Bay and Tennessee, the Colts have had their share of cupcakes, too ? such as the aforementioned Titans, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the St. Louis Rams.So, it’s fair to say that Sunday’s game will be the toughest thus far for both teams.By virtue of finishing second in the AFC South last year – the same spot the Pats occupied in the AFC East – both teams managed to avoid facing the Pittsburgh Steelers. Still, even if the Colts win Sunday, they have a bit of a challenge if they’re to finish at 16-0, including road games against Baltimore and Houston.It would also appear that if the New Orleans Saints manage to beat the Pats on Nov. 30, they, too, have some challenges ahead of them, the biggest being Dec. 13 at Atlanta.Yankees wi