For those considering coming to the Boston area this weekend for the game, it looks like good seats are still available, which is making for a lively topic of conversation up here. As of Thursday, fans could buy four tickets together in various sections of the stadium at $90 a pop. The Pats say they have only about 100 seats remaining, but I can't imagine there aren't more, considering it should be nearly impossible to find four seats together if only 100 remain. Just why tickets remain days before kickoff has led to much speculation.

Gillette Stadium is a good 30 to 40 minutes from downtown Boston, and until this season, there wasn't much out here worth seeing. There was talk years ago of a stadium in South Boston that would replace the old Sullivan Stadium, but that never materialized, and this facility was built instead about a mile away from the old one. Some contend that making the trek out here is not worth the hassle and that a centrally located stadium like most cities have would make Pats games more of an experience.

The Patriots did open Patriot Place last year, an outdoor collection of retail shops, restaurants and a high-end movie theater connected to the stadium, but the results have been mixed at best. I walked around there for about an hour or so and doubt if I ran across 50 people. CBS Scene, which is similar to the ESPN Zone, anchors Patriot Place, but the three-story bar with flat-screen TVs at every station was fairly empty. Sad, because I'm not sure I've seen a better sports palace. The outdoor area overlooks the open end of the stadium, providing a breathtaking view. Feel free to come see this for yourself, then take in the game. Plenty of seats remain.