LIFE AFTER THE SOX

The Sox hadn't lost a playoff series since 2005, and hadn't lost a Game 7 since that all too memorable 2003 ALCS in Yankee Stadium. What's worse, the team that ended the Sox season is full of upstarts, and supported by a small rabble of mohawk wearing, cowbell ringing, fair weather fans that make Pink Hats look like the 700 level of Veterans Stadium. A friend of mine going to school in Tampa paid $40 for Game 7 tickets. FORTY DOLLARS... FOR GAME SEVEN! I paid $60 for regular season bleacher tickets up here and bragged about getting a good deal.

It's hard losing that way, to that team, with those "fans." But at least it wasn't the Yankees, like it was in '03. And at least it wasn't the Mets, like it was in '86. And if the Rays are good enough for Jenn Sterger, then I guess they're not so bad.



But like 2003, and like 1986, there are other GREAT teams to watch in this town. The World Champion Celtics start their title defense in less than a week. The Bradyless Pats are still in it, and still very entertaining. The Bruins have done well against some tough opponents to start their season. The BC Eagles are ranked 23rd in the country and could go to the ACC title game.

I'll admit, October of 2008 isn't shaping up to be the same as October of 2007. On Halloween last year, the Red Sox were World Series Champions, the Patriots were 8-0, Boston College was ranked #2 in the country, and the Celtics were about to begin their most highly anticipated season in decades.

But look at what New York has. They've got the Giants, and that's it. The Yankees and Mets missed the playoffs, the Knicks suck, and the Jets are terminal losers.



Look at what Philadelphia has. The Phillies won the pennant, but the Eagles are stuck in a cycle of mediocrity. The 76ers were under .500, and the Flyers are a bunch of cheap shot pussies.



What city is doing much better than Boston? Los Angeles has the Dodgers, Lakers, and USC. They can throw in the Angels, as well. That's good, but not better than what we have.

Both Chicago baseball teams made the playoffs, and the Bears are in first. But the Bulls and Blackhawks both missed the playoffs.

Perhaps Boston sports aren't miles above everyone else anymore, but I can't really think of another town being above us. Boston teams have 6 titles in the 21st century. LA's teams have 4 (that's with 2 baseball teams, 2 hockey teams, and 2 basketball teams). The Spurs have won 3 for San Antonio. Miami has 2, New York (2 baseball, 2 football, 3 hockey) also has 2 titles.

So let's not line up on the Tobin or the Zakim. Let's not start crying because it's been four whole months since a championship parade. Let's be a little happier that we live in a town with the best football and baseball teams in the 21st century, along with the greatest basketball team IN HISTORY.



Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Mark Humphrey
AP Photo/Paul Sakuma

BIPOLAR PATRIOTS

Either the Patriots embarrass someone else, or they themselves are embarrassed. That's a trend I'm starting to notice with this team.

The Pats were on the happy side of a 41-7 score, in a game loaded with turnovers. Denver came in as 3 point favorites (when was the last time the Pats were underdogs at home?) with a powerful offense and a less than frightening defense. Said defense was ripped apart by Sammy Morris, Randy Moss, and BenJarvus Green-Ellis.



The Pats put up college football style numbers on the ground. 257 yards on 38 carries (6.8 yards per). Morris had over 100 in the first half, and finished with 138 and a score.



But the story was the defense. Seymour had his first standout game of the year, Mayo continues to be a steady tackler, and the Broncos turned the ball over 5 times.

It's hard not to be overly optimistic after a 41-7 win over a division leading team (especially one that historically does very well against the Pats), AND the 2-4 Rams are coming to town in a few days. BUT, it's just one game. Matt Cassel obviously has the talent and the know-how to be a winning quarterback. What he, and the rest of this team, has lacked is consistency.

As if to keep Pats fans from flying too high last night, Rodney Harrison's injury brought us all down to Earth. He'll be out for the season with a torn quad, and considering his age, he might have played his last NFL game.



Harrison's lost a step, and isn't as sure of a tackler or as big of a hitter as he once was, but he's still a solid safety. And the Pats are extremely thin at defensive back. John Lynch might finally be reacquired, and Ty Law is a possibility at safety.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Mary Schwalm
AP Photo/Michael Dwyer

GUESS WHO ELSE WON 4-2 LAST NIGHT

The Bruins completed their 4 game road trip with a 4-2 victory in Ottawa, in a game that, despite nobody in Boston watching, actually did happen.



The victory capped a successful expedition against some quality opponents. Colorado, Minnesota, Montreal, and Ottawa all made the playoffs last year. Minnesota and Montreal won their divisions, and the Habs had the best regular season record in the East. So 2-1-1 is a good way to kick things off against those kinds of teams.

Last night in Ottawa, Marc Savard reprised his role from last year as an assist monster, helping out on 3 goals. Phil Kessel has been much keener on the ice, and it's showing in the stat column. He's got 4 goals in 4 games, and seems to improve every game.

The B's are still screwing around with Manny Fernandez being the 1A goalie, instead of giving Tim Thomas the majority of the time. I guess it worked out last night, as the Bruins won, but that was thanks mostly to the defense, and the 4 goals. Fernandez only faced 23 shots, and he let 2 of them slip by. Not horrible, but hardly good enough to justify all the starting time he'll get the next few weeks.



The Bruins will be the final NHL team to have their home opener, as they host the mighty Pittsburgh Penguins Monday night. Once again, the TV ratings gods are against them, as they face the Patriots game.

Sources:
BostonBruins.com
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/The Canadian Press,/Sean Kilpatrick

WE'RE GOING THE DISTANCE

How special is this team? Looking back to the top of the 7th Thursday night, the notion of a Game 7 was beyond belief. And wasn't "Big Game" James (laughably lame and apparently meaningless nickname) - Tampa's best pitcher- saved in reserve for Game 6 "just in case" the Sox beat Kazmir?

Beckett was decent, but the bullpen saved him. 4 innings, 1 walk, 0 hits, 0 runs from Okajima, Masterson, and Papelbon. That's no easy trick. I don;t think anyone will be moaning about Francona leaving Beckett in too long in Game 6.



There were some unexpected heroes in Game 6, like the above mentioned bullpen. Jason Varitek had his first hit of the series - a homerun - in the 6th. He still left 3 men in scoring position, and 1 RBI doesn't atone for 172 games of offensive irrelevance. But it's still nice.



The Sox could have scored so much more often. They left 12 men, including 7 in scoring position.

What to expect for Game 7? Well, for all the spunk and character Tampa Bay has shown this season, there is no animal like a Game 7. Perhaps facing elimination, the Rays will toughen up. Or maybe they'll crumble. Matt Garza faces Jon Lester, in what seemed like a mismatch in Game 3, but now seems like a toss-up.

And kudos to Francona and Masterson for giving Papelbon just the one inning of work. The Sox might need two or more from him Sunday.

I can't wait. Win or lose, the Sox turned this series from painful to thoroughly entertaining.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Steve Nesius
AP Photo/Chris O'Meara

DREW-TIFUL NIGHT

The Rays, as they've tended to do the past week, jumped out to an early lead. The Sox flatly went down inning after inning. It seemed as though the Sox would exit the ALCS with a whimper. Fans left Fenway Park, I even started to write my "Looking Ahead to 2009" post about potential free agent acquisitions.

Then Jed Lowrie led off the bottom of the 7th with a single. Two outs later and Crisp hit a single. Pedroia's base hit knocked in Lowrie. Then Ortiz DESTROYED a ball that landed 15 rows deep. A little bit of hope.





Then Jason Bay walked in the 8th. Drew blasted one to right and it was a 1 run game. Kotsay doubled with 2 outs, and Crisp had one of the best at-bats I've seen in years. Ball, strike, ball, foul, ball, foul, foul, foul, foul, sharp single to right. Tied fucking game!!



Masterson navigated a hairy top of the 9th and the stage was set. A freak bounce robbed Pedroia of a basehit, Ortiz struck out, Longoria screwed up a groundball and Youkilis reached 2nd on the error. Bay was walked intentionally, and in stepped JD Drew, who has become a sort of Mr. October for the Red Sox the last two seasons. He got ahead in the count and drove a ground rule double over the right fielder, completing one of the most amazing comebacks in Red Sox/postseason/baseball history.



This was the 2nd largest comeback in playoff history, behind an 8 run turnaround by the 1929 Philadelphia Athletics. This was the first time the Rays lost a game they had been leading by 3 runs or more ALL YEAR. This was the 7th straight ALCS elimination game the Red Sox have won.

The Man of the Game is JD Drew, who was 2 for 4 with a homer and the walkoff ground-rule "single."

The series goes down to Tampa Bay. Josh Beckett faces James Shields Saturday night. There's still a lot of heavy work to do, but like a cornered animal, the Red Sox showed a fierce determination to stay alive.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Chris O'Meara
AP Photo/Charles Krupa

WHY I LOVE POKER

It's not a sport, even though it's on ESPN. Anything you can play better while drunk isn't a sport. But it is still awesome. Speaking of drunk, this is one of my favorite players, Scotty Nguyen, in action...



Scotty actually has a tournament named after him. The Scotty Nguyen Challenge, which is going to be in Tulsa from October 30th to November 10th.

That's another reason I love poker so much. You can play it anywhere. I started playing hold em in college, little $5 and $10 games in the dorms. Right now I could go to Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun (they just reopened their poker room), or up to the dog track in Rockingham and play a game against a large number of fish. Or I could find some home game to bust up. And of course, I can play online.

Despite what the US government wants you to think, it is very legal for you to play poker online. Some online poker sites don't accept US players these days, but many more still do. Here's a list of US Poker Rooms. So check it out. Which do you think is a safer investment these days? The stock market or online poker?

HOW THE RED SOX CAN WIN THIS THING

When you look at the 2008 ALCS, it is still very winnable for the Sox. They simply have to play the complete opposite of how they've played in Games 1 thru 4. Here are the keys to any Sox success in the next 3 games:

Matsuzaka - Beckett - Lester
That's not a bad trio to have in 3 must win games. If the Sox are to win the ALCS, it will be because of these three. They MUST have good starts, and go deep into games. Anything less than 7 innings is bad. And 6 or less is godawful. The Sox bullpen can't handle so much exposure. If the Sox don't get three good, deep starts from these guys, Tampa wins.

Ortiz - Drew - Varitek
The three biggest drags on the offense, apart from Jacoby Ellsbury, who has a ready replacement in Coco Crisp. Ortiz is 1 for 14 (.071), Drew 2 for 13 (.154), and Varitek 0 for 10. These three are guilty of breaking up more rallies than the Ohio National Guard. In their 37 combined ABs, they've struck out 12 times.

Ortiz and Drew are key cogs in the middle of the lineup. It's hard to see how well Pedroia (.467), Bay (.400), and Youkilis (.386) are hitting because Ortiz and Drew are killing their innings.

.156 vs. .361
Those are the averages each team has put up with runners in scoring position this series. I don't need to tell you which number belongs to which team. The Sox are 5 for 32 with RISP, the Rays are 13 for 36. This trend must immediately change for the Sox to win Game 5, let alone the series. Sox hitters MUST come through with runners on. But more importantly, Sox pitching MUST bear down when Tampa gets baserunners.

Papelbon
If it's a close game in the 8th, Papelbon has to be brought in. No Okajima, no Masterson, and certainly no Delcarmen. 4, 5, 6, even 7 out Saves might be required. It's time to use up whatever's left in Papelbon's tank.


Sources:
ESPN.com
Baseball-Reference.com

BRUINS STEAL A POINT IN MONTREAL

Despite the usual assistance of the officials, the Montreal Canadiens needed overtime to beat the Boston Bruins. Les Habitantes celebrated as they would a sale at Abercrombie, but the fact that the B's were down 3-0 on the road and salvaged a point speaks volume to the character and guts of the 2008-09 Bruins squad.

Two of Montreal's three 1st period scores were gifts, wrapped up for the Canadiens 100th birthday celebration. A phantom cross-checking call gave the Habs a power play, and they quickly capitalized on the fortunate opportunity.

Their second goal came after Alex Tanguay blatantly cross-checked Mark Stuart in the low slot, opening a lane for Saku Koivu to wrist a shot past Tim Thomas.

But even though the Bruins found themselves behind 3-0 in Montreal, they kept their poise. Krejci put the B's on the board in the 2nd, Savard had a nice Power Play goal in the 3rd, and Carey Price got cocky late in the game, allowing Savard to tie it up.

The Bruins sent a message to the Canadiens last night. "We're not the pushovers that we were last year." And I'll send a message to all the fruity fans of that diving, womanly Quebecois team: Foutre Les Habitantes! Your reign of soccer on ice has come to an end.



Sources:
ESPN.com
BostonBruins.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ryan Remiorz