Friday Musings, May 30

A lot going on in the sports world right now yet I feel like other than the Celtics, I've been mostly unplugged. That seems to happen to me especially when the Sox are on the left coast and I can't stay up to watch the late night games in their entirety. Let's hope that being on the right coast cures some of the Sox batting woes (they've faced some decent pitching but they've also been asleep at the wheel when it comes to timely base hits). Oh yeah, and Timlin didn't help their cause the other night.

On to the musings...

1. Anyone else a little bit excited about the fact that the D-Rays are in 1st place in the East? We know this won't last (think Baltimore a few years back) but it's fun while it's happening. Yes, I'd obviously like seeing the Sox in first place more but this is kind of like seeing your kid brother whom you've competed with your whole life (him losing most of the time) scoring two goals in a big soccer game or him making the varsity baseball team as a freshman. It feels good in a "I won't let on that I'm proud of you but I am" kind of way. Too bad their fans still don't care.
2. Celts could REALLY use a win tonight. Not that I don't think they could win in game 7 in the Gah-den but given the Lakers win last night and the fact that they've already played two 7-game series, them tired legs could use a week-long rest. Here's my prediction - if Rip sits tonight for D-troit, the C's win a squeaker. If Rip plays meaningful minutes, C's lose by 8. Let's hope Rip sits.
3. Anyone ready for football season to start? I didn't think so.
   
4. The Sox have a good problem right now in the fact that they have too much starting pitching. Back in 2005, they found themselves in the same situation and proceeded to screw themselves by trading away Bronson Arroyo. This hurt when Schilling/Wells went down early with injuries. What's nice is that we have two studs in Colon and Masterson waiting in the wings so that when DiceK suffers a sore shoulder, we don't miss a beat. This will only get better/more interesting when Schilling comes back in mid to late August.
5. Is hockey season over yet?
6. Can we find a better option for late inning set up/back up closer than Timlin? I love Mike and he has done wonderful things for the Sox but he really is done at this point.

Okay, this last item is not really that sports related but it does involve a friend and a marathon and it's for a good cause. One of my social media pals, Jennifer Leggio (aka Mediaphyter) is raising money to fight Leukemia. One of the ways that she's doing this (in addition to running a marathon this fall) is to auction of the services of folks like myself on eBay. If you know of anyone that's looking to get some education on social media/online community building, please send them our way.

As always, comments are welcome! Happy weekend.

They're the good team

It’s a rare treat when the Red Sox come to Seattle. The scheduling gods have seen fit to only bring the Sox out just twice a year. Usually, there is a series in May and then late July. So this week, the boys are in town. Monday night I went to the game with my kids. If you haven’t been, Safeco is a great place to see a game: spacious, great seats, all facing the action, wonderful bathrooms, great variety of food, easy parking and freeway access. But of course we don’t have the history of Fenway.

Anyhow, it was a great night for a game. One of the first things that we noticed was that there was a lot more Boston blue and red in the stands than Seattle colors. It seemed like the Sox fans were ready to take over Safeco. And who could argue. Just look at the records and you see, there is nothing to get excited about for Seattle. As Seattle Times columnist Larry Stone wrote, “The Red Sox will be easy to pick out at Safeco Field: They're the good team.” Throughout the game, Sox fans were cheering like crazy. Every “Let’s Go Red Sox” was echoed by Mariner fan silence. It really felt like we outnumbered them. The only thing the M’s fans cheered for was the cartoon hydroplane boat races on the big screen. For those that are dying to know, Oberto’s Beef jerky green won again.

Still Monday’s game had the makings of a good one. Crafty old Colon was making his comeback against Mariners ace and young stud, King Felix Hernandez. And the two pitchers didn’t disappoint, a bonafide pitchers duel through 7. Colon’s line was very encouraging: 7IP, 84 pitches, 59 for strikes, just one ER, and 4 K’s. And of course, there was Ichiro’s catch of the year when he robbed Varitek of at least a double. Ichiro made a Willie Mays like grab with his back to home plate and bounced off the wall. The 8^th inning was great as Hernandez was left in too long and the Red Sox small-balled their way to 4 runs with the big blow being little Dustin Pedroia’s ground rule double to score the go-ahead run. And at the end, the Mariners had their 7^th straight loss. It really was easy to tell the good team. And it felt like we were at home. I just wish they came more often.

Head vs. Heart

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few days, who hasn’t heard and been excited by the Jon Lester no-hitter story? What an uplifting story. Who wasn’t proud of the kid? And here in the Pacific Northwest, the story has even more relevance, since Lester is from the area. I was especially proud for having the vision and foresight to pick up young Lester in my fantasy baseball league. What a genius, the next Theo they would say! Ok, would you believe the next Bill James. All right, the next Lou Gorman. And I am not too embarrassed to admit that I play fantasy baseball. It’s kind of like a comfortable old shoe. I’ve been doing it for so many years, it helps me to focus more on baseball and get to know more of the players.

What I am embarrassed to admit to, is that my General Manager genius was short-lived. In my league, the transaction deadline is the day before. So in over-thinking, I cut Lester the day of the game to make room for another pitcher who would start on Tuesday in my quest to maximize my total starts for the week. The theory was that I could flip the 2 pitchers, maybe throw in Joe Blanton in the middle and generate 3 extra starts. Enough to win strikeouts and wins for the week. Who can refute that logic? Even Mike Gimbel would go agree. Maybe the analogy to Gorman, was correct after all. Maybe, the Duque. So who was the stud, that I had to have, had to drop the Sox pitcher for? Dustin McGowan pitched a good game, and lost, but not a no-no, not even close. 6 1/3 innings, 2 earned runs, 4 BB, 4 K and a big L. Not 9 IP 0 H 0 ER 2 BB 9K and a W. Not even close. Now here’s where it will get ugly. Tomorrow when waivers clear on the hottest pitcher in baseball, what do you think the chances are that I will get him back? Exactly, can you say Dustin McGowan?

The popular adage is when it’s Head vs Heart, the smart thing to do is go with your head. Be rational, not emotional, they say.Well maybe that works in Vegas, but I'm changing the rule, When it’s Head versus Heart, the Heart Wins…and it’s more fun that way.

No-No

If you didn't know that Jon Lester threw a no hitter last night (the 18th in Sox history), you're probably not a big fan. To that end, I don't have much to add given the fact that everyone has already beat this topic to death. One funny note - as I was watching the game last night, I didn't realize that Lester had a no-no going until he went back out in the ninth inning (already having thrown 113 pitches). I guess Remdawg and Orsillo did a good job not jinxing Lester -- too good in fact.

A few thoughts on Lester's accomplishment:

1. Congratulations Jon - you've come a long way since battling back from cancer. Most people would be happy to be alive yet you are not only in one of the best starting rotations in MLB, you just accomplished something that has only happened 256 times in history (including your no-no).
2. I think I'm more impressed by the fact that Jason Varitek has now caught FOUR no hitters (Nomo, Lowe, Bucholtz and now Lester). He almost caught a fifth last year on June 7 (as my wife was in labor with our third child) when Schilling came one out away from pulling it off.
3. Still wouldn't mind having Johan Santana but the fact two of the key elements of the possible trade (Bucholtz and Lester) have now thrown no-no's makes me even happier that the deal didn't go down. The other player the Twins were drooling over, Jacoby Ellsbury, is third in the league in steals (stole 2nd & 3rd on two consecutive pitches last night - also saved the Royal's one possible hit on a gorgeous diving catch)
4. Big question now is who the Sox demote if/when Colon/Schilling join the starting rotation full time. I guess Wakefield but even he's been mostly hot recently. These are good problems to have.
5. Touching that Francona was so moved by Lester's feat last night. I really like Francona as a manager - I think it's the fact that he's human and that he seems to truly care about his players. I've also heard that he's a no bullshit kind of guy behind closed doors which is the way it should be.Publish Post

Who's going to be next?

*picture courtesy ESPN

Stocked

NOTE: I wrote a majority of this on Saturday and finished it Sunday AM...

Yes, the Sox lost a heart breaker last night. I'm beyond it now - I was 10 minutes after the game. That's what winning two World Series in four years will do for your damaged sports psyche. The Patriots going to the Super Bowl four times in the last seven years and the Celts pushing toward their first title in two decades didn't hurt. But that's not the point of this post.

One of the things that makes me more excited about the Sox this year than in years past is the fact that they are absolutely loaded with talent at all levels. Not just "Handley Ramirez/Jon Papelbon" loaded but they literally have about 9 guys down at the farm that could be starting for other major league teams. Just look at the decision the Sox have to make today when they option Craig Hansen and Jed Lowrie down to Pawtucket. Both have kicked some tail this time around in the Bigs.

What's nice is that we also have loads of veteran major league talent at every position too. There isn't one position right now where I look and say, "if only they had someone good at position x" (okay, maybe I say that about Lugo sometimes but even he doesn't give me too much Agita). Yes, there bullpen could use a little TLC right now but they'll get that sorted out soon. Delcarmen will come around and Timlin will probably end up on the DL for a long stretch. They will also likely deal for a power arm to set up Papelbon in the 7th or 8th to complement Okajima. That's the role that Delcarmen is supposed to fill - he may yet - but I'd prefer to see him come in the 6th and/or maybe the 7th.

One of the reasons why this is such a fantastic time to be a fan is that it feels like the Sox have a perfect mix of big league talent and dozens of assets down on the farm. They now have the luxury of taking the Twins approach of grooming their own talent and integrating experience with young power and enthusiasm. Or, they can go the route of the big market teams like the Mets, Yanks and Dodgers and trade for whomever they please come the trading deadline (my money says they go the former rather than the latter except to pick up a power arm for the pen).

Two separate notes:

1. The last four or five games that I've turned the Sox on, they've been losing, only to immediately pull ahead within minutes. They've of course lost two of those games in the ninth inning (Lugo error game and blown Papelbon save Friday night). Not necessarily a trend I'd like to see continue but kind of exciting nonetheless.
2. Guess who just suffered one of their first big injuries of the season. If you guessed the Blue Jays (Vernon Wells is out 6-8 weeks with a broken wrist) you are correct (I mentioned this in a post about a month ago). If I were one of the 7 Blue Jays fans out there, I'd start wondering if the "Curse of the Bambino" has moved several hundred miles north.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Friday Musings, April 26 (Saturday Edition)

Today is draft day in the NFL. Interestingly, in spite of this being one of the deeper drafts in recent years, few of the top 10 draftees are household names. In fact, unless you follow college football religiously, you may not know any of the top picks with the possible exceptions of Mssrs. Ryan (BC) and McFadden (Arkansas).

The big question in my mind is do the Patriots sit tight and pick at number at number 7? Or do they trade down in the draft and pick up two later round number ones. My money is on the latter but who knows - it's hard to read the minds of football savants Pioli and Belichick.

Onto this weeks musings...

• * It's too early to get too high or too low with the Red Sox but these last few games are killing me. Last night's 5-4 loss to the D-Rays was one of those losses that you could see coming. The Sox couldn't get out of their own way leaving 10 guys on base and hitting into double play after double play. The guy that is really killing the Sox right now is Ortiz. Because he's done so much over the last few years, we should all be willing to cut him a season's worth of slack. But if he can't get it together, something has to be done - not sure what that "something" is but maybe a few games on the bench or a move into the 6-9 slot in the line up.
  
• * Props to the Bruins for proving me wrong. The showed some serious testicular fortitude by making their series against Montreal interesting. It would have been very cool if they could have knocked off the Habs but honestly, the B's had too many injuries/shortcomings to go deep into the playoffs. Not a bad season all in all.
• * The Pistons can't be feeling good about being down 2-1 to the Sixers right now. My guess is that Detroit will come back and win the series but instead of a 4-0 sweep, they need to go at least six games. Loving the Celts being up 2-0 (and hopefully 3-0 after tonight).
• * Speaking of love, how smart is Theo Epstein looking right now with young stud after young stud coming up through the minor league system. Justin Masterson looked phenomenal in his surprise outing the other day. Jed Lowrie is delivering "as advertised" and that's in addition to already solid citizens like Dustin Pedroia, Jon Lester, Jacoby Ellsbury, Clay Bucholtz and Jon Papelbon.
  

Many more thoughts but if I want to get this post out today, I've got to keep it short and sweet. What's on your mind this week?

A convert---finally!

The start of the season and every team has a shot, anything can happen. This year is no different. Evidence- the Royals swept Detroit to start the year. The Royals! After a dozen games, Baltimore is in first and the Sox in the cellar. Imagine that? Obviously, there’s a long way to go in the season. But for me, the season doesn’t really start until the first Red Sox Yankees series. That’s when it’s time to get serious. But this year, things are different. I have finally converted. After growing up in NY and living 20 years in Boston, I have finally kicked my addiction to New York laundry. Of course, I had to move 3000 miles away to do that. It wasn't easy. But more on that later.

It’s not that I haven’t tried before. I’ve been in enough kick the Yankee habit 12 step programs to recognize the absurdity of it all. My family, friends, and co-workers all rooting for the Sox, and me watching the game alone in another room. These last few years, I’ve channeled my grandfather and his Brooklyn Bums as I would say, “wait ‘til next year”. For 20 years, I’ve admitted that I can’t control my addiction of Yankee fandom and recognized that there was a greater power (Big Papi?, Beckett?, no, definitely not Schilling) that could give me the strength.

Having lived in the area for so long, I knew the history of the players, the front office, the reporters, and Fenway itself. I gobbled it all up, I really was a fan, just not for your team. In fact, I probably knew more about the Olde Towne Team than the Yankees. But for every endearing Coke bottle sign, Wade Boggs chicken recipe, Mike Gimbel hiring, Manny being Manny event and every thing else, I would still root for the team from the Bronx.

I knew the nastiness first hand, too. The Jeter su*ks calls, Larry and the evil empire, the A-Rod blonde wigs, Pedro and Who’s your daddy, the awful comments on sports radio and beer thrown on me in the bleachers. And all of that was just one day at Fenway! No, Boston fans are not nice to New Yorkers. In fairness, I never had a problem at Yankee Stadium. But then Yankee fans treat every other team equally--- poorly. They don’t discriminate.

As a sports fan, I devoured every Shaughnessy Curse of the Bambino and Boston is better than New York article with disgust. Even though the crude inside jokes on the Big Show annoyed me, I listened. I watched and read, but from the sidelines, never crossing to the other side.

So how does a leopard change its spots. And why after so many years. The answer is in the distance. Living in Seattle for 3 years, my passion for baseball hasn’t diminished, but my exposure to the passionate has. Our caffeine obsessed, slacker culture has dialed things down. I watch the games, check the stats, but things are less intense. I am immune to the behaviors that used to bother me and turn me off. And that is how I found the will to convert. By not hearing the offensive arrogance, I can love the team for what it is. Now I can enjoy the games with my kids, my friends and share the joy. I don’t cheer for Jeter anymore, but then you won’t hear me saying Jeter su*ks either.

Friday Musings, April 11

Not a great week but not a bad week either for the Sox. The got smoked in Toronto but we'll chalk that up to sleep deprivation and being travel weary. We got a picture perfect performance from the Dice Man on Tuesday, an egg from Lester on Wednesday and a "last man standing" game last night out of the ageless Timmy Wakefield.

I'm eager to see how the Sox stack up against the Yanks this weekend although it's way too early to really worry much about who wins and loses. Unfortunately, the weather forecast does not look promising. I'm going to assume that Sunday's game will probably be a washout - let's hope that doesn't end up being a doubleheader at the end of September when neither team needs an extra game.

Here are my five musings for the day (feel free to add your own):

1. Sox need to start looking for one or two more arms for the bullpen. I feel pretty good about Delcarmen although he's been Jekyl & Hyde so far. Obviously Papelbon is picking up where he left off and Okajima looks like he'll be closer to 1st half of 2008 than 2nd half. Beyond that, yikes. I know their getting Timlin back soon (not sure how excited I really am about that as much as I love Mike). Beyond that, it's pray for rain right now.
2. Has the real J. D. Drew finally come to play for the Red Sox? Last I checked, he was hitting .440, 2 HRs and an OPS of .893 - WOW! I could be the typical asshole Sox fan and make a snide comment about it being just about time for him to go on the DL. I'll refrain.
3. Speaking of DL, having to sit Mike Lowell for two weeks hurts. It hurts less with Sean Casey here and Youkilis at third but I like having Casey as a back up/late in the game substitute option much better.
4. It's hard to remember that Jon Lester is only 24 and should have some of his best years still ahead of him. He has moments of brilliance (game four of the 2007 World Series), especially with his nasty curve. Then there's his penchant for walks. I really hope that someone like Schilling will sit him down and tell him to cut the crap about nibbling with his pitches vs. just throwing it and letting hitters hit. That's why the Sox have great defensive outfielders like Manny Ramirez... umm, wait. Retract that. Maybe walks aren't that bad after all.
5. Is it me or does it feel like Schilling being out of the starting rotation has a compounding effect. Before every game, I keep wondering when are our really good pitchers going to be out there. Yeah, we've got Beckett (in spite of his bad back/hip) and Dice K has stepped up his game (although he's still a number three in my mind) and then we have Lester, Bucholtz and Wakefield. Don't get me wrong, I like all those guys but I'd feel much better if we had a rotation of Beckett, Schilling, Dice K, Lester and Wakefield (imagine how good Santana would look right now penciled in at no. 2)!
   

One major annoyance that I can't help but mention (anyone following me on Twitter knows what I'm talking about). Why the hell do you put your most popular team (Red Sox) vs. one of MLB's other favorites to win it all (Tigers) on a freaking local access channel so that you can air a Bruins' playoff game on NESN? Really? This seemed like a good idea? Probably not after the Sox won 12-6 while the Bruins got smoked 4-1 (big surprise) in their first of what will be four straight losses to the Habs. Grrrrrrr!

That's all I got for now. What am I missing? Anyone else excited for the NBA playoffs to start? Anything short of the Eastern Conference Finals for the Celts this year will be a major dissapointment. No pressure though. Getting a little excited about the NFL draft. Dying to know if the Pats keep their lottery pick or trade down instead...

Banner Day

After a long, sleepy winter that saw the heart breaking loss of the Pats to the Giants and the rebirth of the Celtics (and to some degree, Bruins) it's time to rekindle the passion on Big Papelbon. Yesterday's picture perfect home opener seems to be the perfect time to kick things off.

Highlights of yesterday's game/ceremony included:

• * Unfurling of the 2007 banner on the Green Monster - not dissimilar to what the Sox did in 2004. Hell, it worked then, why not now?
• * A trotting out of the other Boston greats (Celts, Pats, Bruins) to help the Beaneaters celebrate their big day.
• * Handing out of the rings as players walked down the temporary red carpet
• * The big surprise (and classy touch) of having Bill Buckner throwing out the first pitch - this is worthy of a separate blog post but I'll save that for another day. I'll say two things about this move: 1) good for him - shows what a good guy he truly is after enduring twenty years of humiliation and hate 2) good for the Sox - let's get all the ghosts behind us!
• * Oh yeah, the Sox won behind timely hitting and another stellar outing by the Dice man. Hard to believe that Detroit is now 0-7 after all the fanfare about their kick ass starting lineup and rotation. It's a long season though, I'm quite sure they'll turn it around soon.
• * Even better? The Yanks lost to the suddenly mighty Kansas City Royals. Last year I would have felt really good saying this. This year, it almost feels a little petty... Nah, still feels pretty good!

The biggest take away from this early season game was that the Sox looked a little more like themselves. I'm quite sure that the 13 day, three country tour de force completely wiped them out - how could it not? To that end, the Sox looked lackluster against Toronto (who will be good this year UNTIL the usual injury bug sidelines Halladay, Burnett, Big Hurt, etc.) so it was nice to see the team that we expected back on the field.

The other early win is that Dice K is looking to play a big role in the starting pitching in 2008. After laying an egg in Japan, he came on for two stellar performances in Oakland and now Boston. The stat that jumps out at me most? 16Ks! I know, I know, it's early in the season but even so, it's good to see him fooling batters in his sophmore season.

Did you get to watch yesterday's game? If so, what was your biggest highlight?

Let the chatter on Big P begin!

162-0

Looks like the Sox got their first win under their belt. Hard fought, but good to see Lugo and Moss off to a hot start!

Hello Moss! Goodbye Samuel.

This just in from Boston.com...
A contract agreement between the Patriots and receiver Randy Moss is imminent, according to a source with ties to Moss. The deal is for three years and is worth $27 million.

So, Moss stays after all (NICE!) And we get rid of a guy that liked himself a whole lot more than his fans liked him (Samuel) who obviously held out for the best offer. Wait, what? He took the first offer that came his way?

Ask Law and Milloy how much they enjoyed the mediocre life after leaving the Pats.

Oh yeah, Donte Stallworth left too. Kind of too bad 'cause I liked him - although he did have stone hands at times. When he actually caught the ball, he could run like a mutha youknowtherest...

Two Thoughts - Colon & Colvin

Couldn't resist a quick post on the latest news:

• Sox sign Bartolo Colon to a minor league contract. How does this not make sense? He stinks - no big deal. He's great - Sox are unbeatable.
• Pats waive Colvin as a cap casualty. What? A team that's already thin (and old) at linebacker cuts one of its youngest and best linebackers (Adelius Thomas being the other?) I know he's had injury problems but how about we try and restructure his contract?

Thoughts?

A-Rod quote on Andy Pettitte

"Andy is one of the greatest human beings I've ever met," Rodriguez said. "I have two daughters -- well, I have one and one on the way. If I had a daughter, I would want 'em to marry Andy Pettitte. The age difference might be a little awkward, but in today's day and age anything is possible."

... Slightly disturbing, eh?

Washington Post's STYLE Invitational

Thanks to my Aunt Karen for forwarding these...

In case you missed it, here is the Washington Post's Style Invitational which once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. (and also apparently doesn't really exist):

The winners are:
1. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.
2. Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an ah.
3. Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.
4. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.
5. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.
6. Foreploy: Any misrepresentation a bout yourself for the purpose of getting lucky
7. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
8. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
9. Inoculatte: To take coffee! intravenously when you are running late.
10. Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.
11. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)
12. Karmageddon: It's when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, and then the Earth explodes, and it's a serious bummer.
13. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you
14. Glibido: All talk and no action.
15. Dopeler effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
16. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.
17. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosqui t o, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.
18. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.


*********************
The Washington Post has also published the winning submissions to its yearly contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words. And the winners are:

1. coffee, n. the person upon whom one coughs.
2. flabbergasted, adj. appalled by discovering how much weight one has gained.
3. abdicate, v. to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
4. esplanade, v. to attempt an explanation while drunk.
5. willy-nilly, adj. impotent.
6. negligent, adj. absentmindedly answering the door when wearing only a nightgown.
7. lymph, v. to walk with a lisp.
8. gargoyle, n. olive-flavored mouthwash.
9. flatulence, n. emergency vehicle that picks up someone who has been run over by a steamroller.
10. balderdash, n. a rapidly receding hairline.
11. testicle, n. a humorous question on an exam.
12. rectitude, n. the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.
13. pokemon, n. a Rastafarian proctologist.
14. oyster, n. a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.
15. Frisbeetarianism, n. the belief that, after death, the soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.

New York Props / Humble Pie

Back at the end of November, I took a few swipes at the various New York sports teams.
I just want to take a second now to acknowledge I was "slightly" off in my predictions that the Pats would dismantle both NY football teams...since they won by a total of 13 points.
( Put my plate of humble pie here, 2 slices please )

I give the Giants their props on coming back from a tough 0-2 start and a few tough losses to win so many road games and give the Pats all they could handle to make it to the Super Bowl.
I was very happy they beat the Cowboys and quite surprised they outlasted the Packers in
that miserable weather in Green Bay.

They are surely playing inspired football since that tough loss to the Pats.
But after reading this, another nice Greg Garber article on ESPN.com, I can see where the Giants true inspiration came from. Certainly worth a few minutes to read it.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs07/columns/story?columnist=garber_greg&id=3222397&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos1

A very good story and timely reminder of real perseverance.

So good luck on Sunday to the New York Football Giants and New England Patriots.
May the better ( and undefeated ) team win.
Enjoy the game everyone !

Asterisk

We'd be fools to not to realize that as New England/Boston fans, we have an enormous "kick me" sign on our backs right now. We've got the best team in baseball, football and basketball and all we do is complain about respect. The "we suffered through 86 years of misery" mantra for the Sox has worn off. The lovable "team-oriented" Pats have not endeared themselves to the outside world and the Celts are back to their winning ways of the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's. Which brings me to the topic of this post...

I was reading a really nicely written article on ESPN by columnist, Gene Wojciechowski, yesterday. The focus of the article was the fact that the Pats do whatever it takes to win which is why they are sitting on a perfect season. As a skimmed through the article, I couldn't help noticing the first comment posted by yet another jealous football fan. It read, "how ironic .. 'whatever it takes, the patriots will win.' 18-0*."

The poster of this comment, "chrisdgunter" is certainly entitled to his opinion, but I am amazed at the childishness of some of the Patriots detractors and their ceaseless efforts to call the Patriots out as cheaters. Yes, the Patriots did cheat as I noted in a post early in the season. Yes, Belichick and the team deserved to be fined and yes it was a stupid and unnecessary move. But given how dominant the Patriots have been this year, isn't it obvious that whatever advantage the taping of the Jets defensive calls in the first game of the season may have given the Patriots had nothing, I repeat nothing to do with their perfect 18-0 record.

Why am I writing this post? I'm not sure to be honest. Mainly because I'm tired of people tarnishing one of the greatest accomplishments in sports history. In some ways, I'll liken this to Michael Jordan detractors that tried to sully his reputation as the greatest basketball player ever (sorry Larry Legend) by calling out his compulsive gambling habits. Those habits may make him less of a likable person but they never got in the way of his talent, drive and leadership.

On a different but related note, I'm amazed that Vegas has the Pats as two TD favorites in the Superbowl. Don't get me wrong, the Pats are definitely the better team and most likely will win, but as my friend Derek says, "on any given Sunday." This was definitely the case in 2001 when a scrappy Patriots team upset the "best team on turf" aka St. Louis Rams. Let's also not forget that the 'Gints' also gave the Pats one of the best games of the season in week 17 - pissing the game away in the last 5 minutes on a senseless Manning INT.

One more question - what do you make of Charger's center, Nick Hardwick's allegations that Dick Seymour is the dirtiest player in the game. More sour grapes by the whiniest team in football?

Poetic Justice

Gregg Easterbrook of ESPN (also a guest columnist for Wired Magazine and The Rebublic) has a weekly column called the "Tuesday Morning Quarterback." It's way too long and some of his jokes have gotten quite stale but for the most part, it can be an amusing read from time to time.

I'm citing Mr. Easterbrook because in his TMQ column, he regularly makes a point of focusing on football karma, particularly as it relates to the way football teams handle themselves on the field. Following this weekend's loss of the number two seed in the AFC (the Colts) and the number one seed in the NFC (the Cowboys) one can't help but think that a bit of poetic justice was served for earlier decisions made by both teams' top brass.

Rewind two weeks to the final game of the NFL season and you'll know what I'm talking about. The fate of the once hapless Cleveland Brown's lay in the hands of one Indianapolis Colts team. All the Browns needed was for the 13-2 Colts to beat a sub-par 9-6 Tennessee Titans team and the Browns were in the playoffs for the first time since 2002. It's true that it was the Brown's that put themselves the tenuous position of needing the Colt's help but that's neither here nor there...

So why does this have anything to do with poetic justice? Well, Indianapolis decided to sit their first stringers after one series in that fateful game against Tennessee, lost by a hair and thus propelled a not-very-good Titans team into the playoffs instead of the Browns. Because the Titans owned the worst record of wild card teams in the AFC, they would play the three seed -- the surging San Diego Chargers -- in the first round of the playoffs. After putzing around for two quarters, the Bolts took charge and dismissed the Titans earning them a shot at the Colts.

Now there's no guarantee that the Browns would have knocked off the Chargers in the first round of the playoffs but on paper, they matched up a lot better than the Titans did. For one, they have a quarterback in Derek Anderson that can actually throw the ball. They also have a bruising running back in Jamal Lewis that would have kept San Diego's fearsome defense honest. Instead, the Browns went home leaving the Chargers to dismiss the Titans, a move that ultimately positioned San Diego to knock off last year's Super Bowl champs.

While Dallas' decision to mail it in on the last game of the season and rest their starters didn't affect the fate of the Minnesota Vikings -- a team that also needed help from the Redskins and the Saints -- the way the Colts did, it could have. The Redskins were playing Dallas, in Dallas, on the last game of the season and on paper, should have been crushed by Big D. Minnesota ultimately made it a moot point by losing to Denver but if they had won, the Dallas game would have upset the applecart. I can't help but think that this played into Big D's surprising loss to the G-men of New York.

To that end, one also can't help but think that the G-men's willingness to man up and play their starters for the entire game against the 15-0 Pats, helped their football karma significantly. Fans around the league universally agree that the Pat's perfect 16-0 record would have been a little less meaningful if the Giants had rolled over for New England in the last game of the season. Instead, Tom Coughlin's decision to play his starters for the entire game -- a game the Giants kept close right up until the end -- ultimately led to positive momentum for the Giants in the next two rounds of the playoffs.

Dallas' and Indianapolis' losses yesterday can definitely be chalked up to the "angering of the football gods." The Giants' and the Pats' wins on the other hand can be chalked up to good football karma. Ditto for the Packers who have one of the all time "good guy" QBs at their helm. Not sure about the Chargers fate yet as in winning the game, they may have lost LT and Phil Rivers for the rest of the season. Only time will tell.

Oh yeah, anyone still wondering if Tom Brady is the best QB ever? I didn't think so...

Monday Musings: December 18 (Tuesday Edition)

A few thoughts as we head into the holiday season:

1. Roger Clemens on steroids? Who knew.
2. You have to feel a little bit bad for the Boston Bruins. They have the third best record in the NHL (second place in their division) yet you would think they were the Weston High School girls field hockey team in terms of the love they get. To that end, I was driving up to Maine last weekend and passed a ticket broker who had their "top events" listed on their sign out front. One of the items listed was "Bruins Tickets." I scratched my head on that one - do people in Maine know that you can by scalped Bruins tickets for about 50% of face value right now?
3. Patriots/Jets - was anyone else disappointed that Belichick didn't spit in Mangini's face after last Sunday's game? I didn't really expect any fireworks but there was a little part of me that was hoping for something more dramatic. Maybe even a friendly knee in the groin. Oh well.
   
   To that end, I was listening to WEEI last night and Big O. and the boys had Coach Belichick on. After about two minutes of discussion, I came to the conclusion that aliens had replaced Coach B. with a kinder, gentler, more humorous being. During the conversation, Belichick stopped Freddy, Steve, Pete and Big O. and asked them who they thought the Jets should go with at QB. He then sat back and listened to the boys trip all over themselves as they tried to impress Coach with their answers. What was shocking was the fact that B elichick seemed to be enjoying himself. It was nice to see a human side to Belichick.
   
4. To my fantasy boys -- you know who you are -- what are the odds that three of the top four seeds all fall in the first round? My Melrose Mildew (7 seed) is riding Adrian Peterson all the way to the finals baby!
5. Is the Santana deal going to get done or not? For all the pomp and circumstance about that deal, I can't believe that something isn't going to get done. Last Thursday on WEEI, Kirk Schilling practically guaranteed that the Sox would get Santana. As much as I'm conflicted about losing Ellsbury, having Santana alongside Beckett, Dice K, Bucholtz/Lester and Schilling is nothing short of awesome.
6. Poor ARod and Scott Boras aren't speaking. A lovers quarrel perhaps?
7. This is apropos of nothing but is Junior Seau gay? I don't care if he is or isn't but every time they show him in the locker room after a game, one has to wonder.
   
8. Anyone else excited about the Celts 20-2 start?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts...

P-A-T-S Pats Pats Pats

So, I attended the Ravens/Pats game last night, courtesy of a friend at work. The seats were awesome - 20 rows back on the 35 yard line. Needless to say, the fans were incredible and the stadium was amazing. Anyway, enough verbal BJing for Baltimore. As you can guess, for most of the game, my meager "Go Pats" was lost in the see of noise created by the Baltimore fans. However, on those rare good plays in the first three quarters, I was able to locate some Pats fans to give high fives to. I have to say, it was incredibly great at the end of the game to have the fans go from 120 decibels to dead quiet - you could hear the crickets chirping. The fans were ready to ERUPT with cheers if they could just stop the Pats. The Ravens players didn't want to let them though - as they have all year. Pats pull out some serious magic out of their butts - regardless of what the Ravens players say - and won. What a game.

One other note, the fans were dejected both after AND before the game - like they knew they were going to lose. They just didn't know how heartbreaking the loss would be. I would hate to be a Ravens fan after that game.

Does a Bear *Poop* in the Woods?

Now we know (courtesy of my man Joe M.)