Nextag.com rounded up some figures and shared them with members of the media throughout the web. Here are some of the facts and figures I found interesting:

• In terms of Patriots’ gear, “Tom Brady continues to be the most sought-after jersey with 8 of the top 10 selling items, followed by Wes Welker.”

• Women’s merchandise account for seven of the top ten most popular Patriots’ items sold online. The most popular item is the “Reebok New England Patriots Tom Brady Premier Team Color Jersey,” with a women’s pink jersey, the “Reebok New England Patriots Tom Brady Women’s Pink Fem Fan Jersey” coming in a close second.

• Despite the usual outcry towards pink and sparkly sports wear for women, two of the top ten Patriots items on Nextag.com are pink female jerseys. Another two have rhinestone embellishment and are in fabric and prints exclusive to women’s styles.

Big thanks to Nextag.com for sharing this data with sportswear geek me. What will I be wearing to the Super Bowl Party I’m working Sunday? Not anything Brady, but not anything Manning either. I’ll be wearing a very special outfit that will represent the two teams that would have made the Big Game…if the AFC and NFC determined their representatives based solely on the first four weeks of the season. I promise to post a photo sometime Sunday on my Twitter feed.

Like any stadium, you learn a few tricks and tips after a few visits that make your trip all the more enjoyable. After I attended November’s Monday Night Football Chiefs-Patriots game, I jotted down this list of the tips I’ve learned to share with other non-Gillette regulars.

You will not eat in Patriots Place pre-game without reservations.

There may be 15 restaurant options available at Patriots Place, the outdoor shopping mall adjacent to Gillette Stadium, but no matter how early you get there before game time, you won’t be able to eat at them. Many establishments go “reservations only” before Patriots games. The ones that don’t (like the much talked about “Tony Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill”) have waits up to an hour or more, which is difficult to navigate before game time. (Which is too bad – I wanted to drink beer out of a jam jar.)

No reservations, but you want to eat outside the stadium? Five Guys, Qdoba and Dunkin’ Donuts are your best options, though you probably will be standing while you eat your meal.

Forgot gloves? Need an extra layer? Want a Patriots shirt? Go to Old Navy.

My husband underestimated how cold it was going to be that Monday night, and feared getting price gauged for gloves at the Patriots Pro Shop. As we walked towards Patriots Place from the car, I noticed an Old Navy. “Maybe they’ll have cheap gloves,” I said.

Sure enough, the Old Navy in Patriots Place not only had cheap gloves (we ended up getting a $7 pair that were a bit more tricked out than normal gloves), but cheap fleece pullovers ($12 on sale!) and Old Navy’s newish line of NFL gear. Why go to the Pro Shop and pay $35 for a t-shirt when Old Navy’s are cheaper?

Gillette may be the only acceptable place in America for a Snuggie.

Gillette Stadium security (as with many NFL stadiums these days) is fierce. Not only is there a pat-down, but an intense bag search where even your cell phones is given the once over. The patrons who brought a blanket to the stadium went through an even harder time, having to go through a separate line and spending even longer in an already disorganized security station.

My suggestion if you must bring a blanket to the game? Wear a Snuggie. I know they’re totally embarrassing and a safety hazard for us short folks (because of the tripping possibilities), but it may be the only way to avoid the extra security and still have that extra layer. You won’t find me with one, but hey – if you have one, flaunt one.

Security lesson for the non-blanket toters? Ladies, bring the tiniest bag you have or don’t bring one at all. Men, keep the pocket contents to a minimum, and get ready for a pat down that, if administered anywhere else, would get a place shut down for being that illegal sort of massage.

On AT&T? Don’t expect to Tweet during the game.

Gillette Stadium has the same issue Fenway Park had for most of this past season. No, Tom Brady’s not eating chicken on the sidelines (I imagine Giselle has him on a macrobiotic diet anyway.) Gillette’s AT&T service is non-existent once the stadium becomes full. I last tweeted and texted a half hour before game time, and then couldn’t again until I left Route 1.

Verizon’s service in the area is fine (not surprising, seeing that they are a major sponsor of the Patriots.) But if you have AT&T, you’ll be service-less for most of the game.

Specify that you want a regular beer.

Tom Brady slyly suggested earlier this season that fans should get liquored up before and during games. (I mean, he asked them to “stay hydrated.” Sorry.) There are plenty of places to follow Mr. Brady’s orders within Gillette Stadium, including a great of selection of actual quality beers (Harpoon, Wachusett) for the same prices as the cheaper stuff.

But don’t make the same mistake I did, and order a “beer.” The default seems to be the large size, which will run you $11. Specify a “regular sized beer” and you’ll get the $8 version. You’ll get less beer, of course, but when you just wanted to get numb to the cold a little and not tipsy, it is the better option.

There are about 5 sections of the entire stadium that stand during the game.

And I was in one of them during the Chiefs-Patriots game. which was great. I also like to stand during football games, but at Gillette I typically find myself in an area that treats a football game like a symphony concert. I have seen dance recital crowds with more excitement. The upper section of the stadium sits through the game and you can’t hear a peep from them.

But on my fourth trip to Gillette earlier this season, I finally found a section that was lively and on its feet. My section also included an amusing drunk man who had a total bromance going on with Nate Solder…in his mind. Every time Solder was announced as reporting as eligible, the man would yell some increasingly slurred cheer for him, including, “You’re a Buffalo Solder, Nate!,” “Keep on Solder,” and the much intoxicated, “Sssssssolderrrrrrrr isssss the f— MAN!”

Don’t expect to leave anytime soon after the game.

Despite parking in lot P10, which has been recommended to me by several Patriots regulars as the lot easiest to get out of, it still took roughly two hours to get out of the parking lot and onto Route 1. Post-game tailgaters have the right idea. We would have been best served by taking an hour long nap in our car and then attempting to get out of the parking lot. Bring a book, turn on sports radio and prepare for the longest line you’ve ever been in. They should really make Dunkin’ Donuts huts in the parking lot for you to run to when you’re idling for a few hours. (You can have that idea for free, Kraft Family, if you just give me a few free coffees.)

My first thought was, “Isn’t that a bit…convenient?”

I do not have the ability to argue that Lackey does not need an ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction (UCL, the medical term for Tommy John surgery.) I am not a member of the medical community. But we have reached the point where it seems like every time a major league pitcher needs to take a “vacation” for a spell, they’re sent down to visit Dr. James Andrews (the nation’s best surgeon for this particular procedure) in Birmingham, Alabama.

This leads me to ask: Is the baseball community overprescribing Tommy John surgery?

Cherington admitted in his press conference (per the Boston Herald) that the arm soreness that kept Lackey out at the start of last season was related to the condition of his elbow in a contract signing exam in January 2010. When the soreness interfered with his pitching in April 2011, he was prescribed rest and placed on the disabled list. He returned, pitched and the soreness returned. Further examinations throughout the season monitored the injury, leading to Cherington to admit on Tuesday:

“Based on the combination of the symptoms, the physical exam of Dr. Yocum and the new MRI, Yocum felt like it was probably time to consider surgery.”

That progression suggests that the injury is a partial tear and not a full tear. There are a few ways you can treat a partial tear, via plain old rest and a few other procedures. Tommy John is not the default treatment – but it’s quickly becoming that way.

Tommy John was created to treat a full tear of that ligament, not a partial. But around 2000, about twenty years since the surgery was first performed, more partial tears began to be steered towards the procedure. If the procedure treated full tears so well, why not try it with a partial? The surgery now has a high rate of success (85% or better), so the invasiveness and lengthy rehab now seems worth the risk for either type of tear.

Two years post-surgery, a successfully rehabbed pitcher will report at least pre-injury strength, if not better. For a pitcher approaching their mid-30s, like Lackey, that increased strength may extend their playing career. Lackey is signed with the Sox until he’s roughly 36. If everything goes right with his rehab, that gives him that best-ever strength in the year his contract runs out.

The Red Sox may not like the idea of paying such an expensive pitcher for a year where he never dresses, but it’s not as dire of a situation as it could be for other ballclubs. The wealthier teams of Major League Baseball do not necessarily feel as devastating a blow to their organizations when a pitcher is lost for a season for such surgery, thus allowing them to steer athletes towards the procedure with much less trepidation. Says Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun:

“Interestingly, in Boston, Lackey’s situation may be viewed as a blessing in disguise. It may force the Red Sox to be even more aggressive for pitching in free agency this offseason because they can’t hope for a Lackey resurgence in 2012 – which may have been foolish anyway.

So they lose a $15 million pitcher for next year, and it may actually spur them into further action. That’s the advantage of the big-money teams.”

So the Red Sox can lose Lackey, but providing their new GM and owners are willing to spend, they’re able to weather the blow of not having him around.

Lackey also has some key personal issues to work through, and has not been the most favorite member of the Red Sox during his two year tenure with the team. Having him reframe his mindset for a year towards rehab and basics may be the kick in the behind the organization thinks could do him some good.

I am in no way saying that Lackey doesn’t need the surgery – he’s 33 and has been playing intense sports since high school (he played football and basketball in addition to baseball.) He’s been pitching professionally since 1999 – twelve years. If he didn’t have elbow problems after that much use, he would be a miracle.

But is the baseball community pushing too many pitchers towards this surgery? Was it Lackey’s only option for treatment? Or is it a convenient way to treat the problem and hide him away for a while? Are aging pitchers looking for a “quick” (more like higher percent of success) fix and hoping for a bionic arm at the end of the process?

And what happens if it doesn’t work?

Why, for the most part, is the New England college hockey scene also quiet today? Why not take advantage of the region being sportless* for the day and showcase some early season action?

Even Boston College, who have created quite the Sunday afternoon game niche at Conte Forum over the past few years, is off today. The only game today is Minnesota hosting Vermont, as the Catamounts try to avoid getting offensively overpowered like they were Friday night. (Dartmouth is hosting Norwich in an exhibition at 7pm, but that doesn’t count.)

The excuse that college hockey schedules are set in a year in advance and thus are inflexible is a weak one. Dates and times are changed several times during the summer and even during the season. A month before this season started, a few games were moved after the second edition of Frozen Fenway was announced. Times are changed during the season to take postseason play by professional teams into account. And if a television broadcast opportunity becomes available, some games will move times to accommodate that.

So the powers that be within Hockey East didn’t take a gander at the NFL and NHL schedules when making this season’s final slate and see a gaping open Sunday? Why not move Boston College’s league tilt against Northeastern from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon? Both the NFL and NHL schedules were known far enough in advance that the change could have been made before tickets were printed and team training schedules were set. Given the Eagles and Huskies proximity to each other, no travel would have to be accounted for. And instead of NESN filling time by broadcasting Fox Sports North’s feed of the Minnesota-Vermont game, they could broadcast a league game between two teams that would draw much higher ratings. (And they could show local commercials, a revenue source they miss out when they simulcast from another channel.)

If Hockey East wants to further promote the idea that they are the “premiere” college hockey league (and the recent addition of Notre Dame was made with that in mind), they need to begin looking for opportunities to expose their sport to new audiences. Waiting for February to catch casual fans with the Beanpot isn’t enough. Channel hopping casual fans could be lured in this afternoon and hooked in for the rest of the season.

The league missed the boat by not having a league game on a Patriots-free Sunday. If they want to grab any more of the very saturated New England sports market, they need to start making the most of rare empty spaces in the seemingly endless sports cycle and promote college hockey in them.

* Sportless – A word I made up. Definition: being without sports. Like being homeless, just must less dire.

While reading the Boston.com home page this afternoon, I glanced over at the “Most Popular” widget on their right sidebar. During this visit, the widget was showing their most emailed stories.

What is Boston.com’s most emailed story?

“Wegmans to open Burlington store.”

Don’t believe me? Here’s a screen capture, with my mouse hovering over the link for full effect:

Yes, more people have emailed a news story about Wegmans tearing down an office park in the most quintessentially suburban of all Massachusetts suburbs to build its first store within a half hour drive of Boston proper than anything about the giant Texas wildfires, secrets to anti-aging, and exercise recommendations.

(And I promise I wasn’t logged into any Facebook or other social applications to skew those results any.)

Soon enough, all Massachusetts residents will be able to know the wonder that is Wegmans. What can us Rochesterians, Buffalonians and Syracusans influence next? The second coming of Tim Hortons coffee in New England? The availability of real Buffalo wings in Boston? The garbage plate? Tully’s?

The possibilities are endless.

The low-down from my friends at TFC:

The event is so special, the team at TFC decided to put together a fun contest to give away the tickets. It’s called “I Spy with my Fenway Eye,” and here’s the catch: entrants will need to bring their Fenway-insider A-game to name 10 people, places and things we found around the park last week.

The game is tough—but worth it for a chance to win the Picnic tickets, where players will be signing autographs and auctioning off amazing prizes. And of course, it’s all to support the great work of the Red Sox Foundation. Details about the Picnic event can be found here.

Try your hand at this fun game with a great prize here. But hurry! This contest ends on Thursday, July 21 and the winner will be notified via email 9 a.m. on Friday morning so they can make their weekend plans. So give it a try and see if you can snag tickets to this popular event!

The TD Garden lit up with Bruins spirit. (Photo by me and my iPhone.)

The Boston Bruins are going to lose tonight because I am wearing pants.

Preposterous, you say. What does making a choice between a black skirt and black pants have to do with if the Bruins will tie up their Stanley Cup Finals series against the Vancouver Canucks this evening?

It doesn’t, of course. But the thought crossed my mind as I was running out the door to work this morning. Was I wearing skirts or dresses during games three and four? I know I was wearing pants on Friday, when they lost game five.

But what does the work apparel of a random university employee such as myself have to do with whether or not the Boston Bruins win a game? It doesn’t, but it doesn’t keep some of us from letting that thought enter our minds occasionally.

On Twitter, I’ve been watching the inner turmoil of one Bruins fan that didn’t want to touch up her Bruins colored nails because they had been painted as such since game three. There is another who has to wear the same Milan Lucic t-shirt every game.

The superstition goes beyond Bruins fans. I’ve written about my crazy Boston University hockey and general football superstitions before. Even recently, I was convinced that I couldn’t wear my hair up on a BU game day, because they would lose if I did. Even players have their own superstitions: they put their right skate on before their left, they always have to have yellow Gatorade before a game, they have to place their water bottle in a certain area.

So I ask all of you: what are your superstitions, either as a fan or an athlete? (That is, if you’re willing to tell!) Share them below, along with what team you do them for, or offer them on Twitter using the hashtag #sportssuper (Using the entire word superstition would cause us all to go over that precious 140 character limit.) I’ll post them later.

“Are you from Milwaukee?” No, but I drove past highway signs that pointed in its direction when I was in Chicago a few summers ago.

“Why do you have a Kapler shirt?” Because back when I just moved to Boston, I hitched my fandom wagon to Gabe Kapler for partially superficial reasons. Okay? I’m a smart sports fan, I swear, but sometimes I can be swayed by superficiality. We’re all human. It happens.

What does this long rambling about Gabe Kapler and the Brewers have to do with anything? Well, my buddies at Tickets For Charity (the kind people that sell tickets to games and concerts to make money for charity) are giving away two tickets in the infield grandstands for next Saturday’s (June 18, 2011) Boston Red Sox-Milwaukee Brewers matinee game. To enter to win these tickets, all you have to do is click here, and if they ask, make sure to tell them I sent you.

If you win, be sure to get a sausage and beer to enjoy during the game. It’s really the only fitting way to watch a Brewers game – or so I’ve heard.

Late Thursday night, around 10:30pm, I was walking down Commonwealth Avenue from work to Kenmore Station. It was foggy, misty and dark – unless you looked in the direction of Fenway Park. In that direction, it looked nearly dawn like. The Boston Red Sox – Detroit Tigers game had just ended with a walk-off single in the Red Sox’s favor by Carl Crawford, and the crowds were spilling from the ballpark into the area. But this section of Comm Ave was still unaffected.

Between the street lights, the glow of Fenway’s lights and massive new scoreboards, and the wetness of the air, this atmosphere just begged to be photographed.

To enter the giveaway, please click on this link. This contest runs until Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 6pm. A winner will be selected at random by Tickets For Charity.

Best of luck!

To learn more about my partnership with Tickets For Charity, read this earlier post. The organization sells popular sports and entertainment tickets and uses the profit to support a variety of charitable groups.