Thursday, March 22, 2007

PAPELBON TO CLOSE

No kidding?

When the Red Sox passed on the few available closers out on the market this offseason, and collected a mass of set-up men and bullpen driftwood, you kind of had the feeling that the search for a closer would end where it began.

The Red Sox claim (claim being an operative word) that the shoulder damage done last season has been sufficiently healed that it will be OK for Papelbon to close next year. Weird how this news emerges from Sox camp AFTER all of his potential replacements fail to shine, AFTER Mike Timlin has trouble with his arm, and AFTER the announcement was made that he would close. Just a tad weird.

Papelbon was to take the #4 spot in the rotation. Wakefield will move up to said slot, and Tavarez will pitch in the 5 hole. I would not be at all shocked if Jon Lester is even more carefully watched by the front office in Boston while he's pitching in AAA. The same goes for any other pitcher down there.

In sad news, it is being reported that NESN broadcaster/journalist/hotty Hazel Mae will be getting married to Kevin Barker, a non-roster invitee to Blue Jays Spring Training.




Honestly, a tear came to my eye when I read this story.

5 HOCKEY EAST TEAMS GO TO NCAA TOURNEY

The Hockey East sent a record 5 teams to the NCAA tournament, which fields a total of 16 teams. UNH received a 1 seed, Boston College and Boston University were each 2 seeds, Maine was a 3 seed, and UMass a 4 seed. Here are their first round games:

Friday 3/23:
2:30 PM #1 Clarkson vs. #4 UMass @ Rocheser, NY
6:00 PM #2 St. Cloud State vs. #3 Maine @ Rochester, NY
8:30 PM #2 Boston University vs. #3 Michigan State @ Grand Rapids, MI (BU kind of got screwed there)

Saturday 3/24:
1:00 PM #1 New Hampshire vs. #4 Miami (Ohio) @ Manchester, NH
4:30 PM #2 Boston College vs. #3 St. Lawrence @ Manchester, NH

The teams that win their region advance to the Frozen Four in St. Louis. Since my basketball bracket is already busted, here are my predictions for the winners of each game.

East Regional:
#1 Clarkson vs. #4 UMass - Clarkson
#2 St. Cloud State vs. #3 Maine - Maine
#1 Clarkson vs. #3 Maine - Clarkson

Midwest Regional:
#1 Notre Dame vs. #4 Alabama-Hunstville - Notre Dame
#2 Boston University vs. #3 Michigan State - Michigan State
#1 Notre Dame vs. #3 Michigan State - Notre Dame

West Regional:
#1 Minnesota vs. #4 Air Force - Minnesota
#2 Michigan vs. #3 North Dakota - North Dakota
#1 Minnesota vs. #3 North Dakota - North Dakota

East Regional:
#1 New Hampshire vs. #4 Miami (OH) - New Hampshire
#2 Boston College vs. #3 St. Lawrence - Boston College
#1 New Hampshire vs. #2 Boston College - Boston College

Frozen Four:
Boston College vs. Notre Dame - Notre Dame
North Dakota vs. Clarkson - North Dakota
Notre Dame vs. North Dakota - Notre Dame

Sad, but true. I hate Notre Dame.