Wake-up call: Matt Cassel, Maurice Jones-Drew, Manny Ramirez

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First things first: Ex-USC no-name Matt Cassel is the talk of the morning after last night’s performance against the New York Jets -- even though the Pats lost in OT. The quarterback, who while at USC knew the sideline better than the line of scrimmage, put on a show. He picked up three first downs rushing. Who knew? One of them was a 19-yarder. He rallied his team to come from way behind and tied the score with one second left, 31-31, on a 16-yard TD throw to Randy Moss, whose wizardry on that play was worth watching over and over. Cassel completed 30 of 51 passes for 400 yards. Add his 62 yards rushing and you know who was behind New England’s total offense of 511 yards. Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan shows the excitement among New Englanders.

Add NFL: The undefeated Tennessee Titans go for win No. 10 on Sunday against the 4-5 Jacksonville Jaguars. The guy who could end that Tennessee streak? Maybe ex-UCLA Maurice Jones-Drew. The Jaguars running back is averaging 4.4 yards per carry. He has 9 TDs and 433 yards. Just give him the ball. Of course, the Titans have ex-USC LenDale White, who has 11 TDs and 418 yards with an average of 3.9 yards per carry. Both these guys rumble down the field more than run. It will be fun to watch.

Fee for free (agents): Free agency began at midnight today. The New York Post reported this morning that the Yankees will concentrate on signing CC Sabathia and that Mark Teixeira or another high-end free agent such as Manny Ramirez are on the back burner. On Thursday, the Yankee obtained ex-White Sox Nick Swisher, who, as of now, will be the starting first baseman. And the Dodgers or Angels? Was Arte Moreno serious when he waxed about Ramirez the other day? No doubt Manny could help the Angels even though the Dodgers need him more to keep their fan base from shrinking. Our Bill Shaikin takes a look at who’s out there and will be following the deals that are made. Stay tuned to latimes.com over the weekend.

Add baseball: Ancient Randy Johnson (age 45) is now one of the free agents, turning down a $2.5-million contract offer. He is five victories short of 300 wins. I can only hope the Dodgers don’t get interested in him.

-- Debbie Goffa