Red Sox Lose Last Fenway Game

Maybe Liverpool FC should schedule some games at Fenway Park in October. Or perhaps Boston College could play a football game there. Otherwise, Fenway will be dormant in October, once again.

Jon Lester lost his 14th game of the year last night. He wasn't awful, but once again he simply wasn't very good. 6 innings, 4 hits, 3 runs. To be honest I didn't watch most of the game. I got to the bar and all the TVs were on baseball, but not on NESN. The Phillies/Nationals game was on two TVs, on two stations (ESPN2 and MLB Network). I had to request the Sox game be put on. That's the state of baseball in Boston.

Anyway, Lester wasn't very good and a JV lineup only managed 2 runs of support. There goes Bobby Valentine's plans to get Lester to .500.

No more games at Fenway and thank God. The Sox were 34-47 at home this season, which is utterly shameful.

Bobby Valentine actually thinks he'll be back next year:

"My gut feeling is they haven't talked to me yet. There hasn't been any dialogue. We've talked, but not about that. Which makes me think I'm coming back. I don't know."

Yeah, if he's coming back, I won't be. I'll just ignore baseball for an entire season, follow cricket or something, and return once this joke has reached its punchline.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

NFL Referee Lockout Is Over

I think the last time I wrote something so happily was when the Bruins hoisted the Stanley Cup in early summer of 2011. The NFL Referee lockout is over! The real refs could return as early as tonight as the Baltimore Ravens face the Cleveland Browns.

And never again will officials be cheered so heartily, and welcomed with such warmth.

All I've been able to find out about the terms of the deal is that the refs agreed to an 8 year CBA, so I have no idea how much the NFL caved about the pension or anything else. And maybe that's how both parties want it the terms to be.

All I care about is that the men who know how to run an NFL football game will be running it. They won't be perfect. They'll make mistakes. But those mistakes will be minimalized in effect. Mistakes should be egregious exceptions to the norm, not normality, and not to be expected. Which they were the replacements.

And I'm sure the sideline decor of coaches and coordinators will improve. So too will the behavior of defensive backs in coverage, and offensive lineman in pass-blocking.

The sheriffs are back in town.

I would love to give Ed Hochuli a hearty handshake, even if he'd crush all the bones in my fingers.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Bill Belichick Fined $50k

This news isn't surprising at all. Bill Belichick put his hands on an official, that's against the rules, so the NFL has to punish him. Considering the lack of maliciousness with the contact, a suspension would have been too much.

Las Vegas even set an over/under on the fine, at $50,000.

It makes sense. Kyle Shanahan got fined $25k for pursuing then berating officials after a game. This was one step worse than that as Belichick actually made physical contact.

I don't think there will be many more incidents like this one, especially from Belichick. He crossed a line, the NFL has penalized him, and he won't cross it again.

Give Pedro Martinez and Kevin Millar a TV Show

After watching Pedro Martinez and Kevin Millar on NESN's broadcast of the game last night, and being thoroughly entertained by it, I want to see these two guys on my TV more. They should have their own show. Maybe even their own network.

We could be obvious and give them a baseball or sports talk show. But that's not taking full advantage of how much range these guys have. Here are pitches for some show ideas:

Hunting and Fishing show
Millar can shoot deer, Pedro can chase chickens. And I think if you put these two guys on a high speed powerboat in the middle of a lake, provide them with a few liters of rum, you're going to get an entertaining fishing segment.

Cooking show
Millar seems like a guy very familiar with Chef Boyardee and microwave cooking. Mix that with some spicy Dominican cuisine. Spaghetti and meatballs in salsa.

Soap opera
Spanish language soap operas are awesome. The women are gorgeous and all the actors are so obvious with their emotions that you don't need to speak Spanish to grasp what's going on. Just imagine a typical Spanish soap opera... with Kevin Millar as a character.

Dating show
Get a guy, get a girl, send them on a date, have Pedro and Millar each coach a date and give them advice. Then viewers vote on who did the best job coaching their date.

Detective show
Millar plays an old school, shoot from the hip, wild west sheriff. Pedro plays a nerdy, by-the-book, desk-job officer from the suburbs. Together they have to solve animal related crimes. Manny can play the street smart veterinarian.

Comparing the 2004 and 2012 Red Sox

Last night the 2004 World Series winning Red Sox team was honored at Fenway Park. For some reason, the Sox chose to commemorate the 8th anniversary of this event. Whatever. Must sell tickets. Must continue streak.

Compare the 2004 and 2012 Red Sox and the differences are extreme, top to bottom, on the field, in the clubhouse, inside the Front Office.

The pitching was better in 2004. They had two potential Hall of Famers in Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling. Then solidity after that with Wakefield, Lowe, and Arroyo. 933 combined career wins from those five guys.

The hitting was also better. Assisted by PEDs, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez were the best 3-4 combo since Ruth/Gehrig. The Sox led the AL in runs, OBP, and SLG. The 2012 Sox offense is inconsistent, 4th in runs, 7th in OBP, 6th in SLG.

The 2004 Sox had a better attitude. The players were laid-back. They had a Manager that allowed that easygoing attitude. Kevin Millar, Johnny Damon, Manny Ramirez, and David Ortiz were entertaining characters. Quieter guys like Bill Mueller and Derek Lowe seemed to enjoy the Millar/Manny sideshows drawing all the attention.

The Manager also balanced a pair of prima donnas (Pedro and Schilling). Both of them remained focused on the same goal: winning. Terry Francona got the most out of those two just like General Eisenhower got the most out of Patton and Montgomery in World War II. Francona kept everything low key.

In 2012, Bobby Valentine goes out of his way to keep players on edge. He criticizes them in the media, and he doesn't move on and let things go.

The GM is different too. In 2004, Theo Epstein had the balls and the authority to trade Nomar. Could you imagine, in a pennant race, Ben Cherington being allowed to trade a star player?

Players, managers, and GMs change. But the ownership is still the same. Or is it?

In 2004 the owners owned just the Red Sox. They had no other concerns. And their only goal was to win the World Series, at all costs.

Now they own a struggling soccer team in Liverpool. And the aims of the Red Sox is scattered and out of order. It's tough to figure out which objectives are the most important for them. They have to sell tickets, use the media to besmirch ex-players, lie about sellout streaks, market the ballpark, overspend on free agents, and somewhere in this mess of priorities is trying to win ballgames.

In 2004, the Red Sox were John Henry's biggest concern, his main focus. Now, when the '04 Sox are honored at Fenway, the owners aren't even present.

The Sox were once Fenway Sports Group's entire empire. Now they're just a colony, and Larry Lucchino is the Imperial Governor, appointed by King John to run day-to-day operations.

But Larry Lucchino hasn't run the Sox, he's ruined them.

The way ownership operate this team is the biggest difference between 2004 and 2012.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Liverpool FC Really Sucks

Liverpool lost 2-1 to Manchester United this weekend, in a game full of officiating controversy (sound familiar?). And after 5 English League games this season, Liverpool are winless. They have 3 losses, 2 draws, and are 18th in the 20 team League.

That place in the standings is significant because at the end of the year the 18th, 19th, and 20th place teams are demoted to a lower level. Three teams are promoted from a lower level to replace them.

For a team with the history of Liverpool, it would be a huge embarrassment. And a massive financial setback. And I would laugh my ass off. The Fenway Sports Group would own a team that competed with the likes of Huddersfield Town, Nottingham Forest (insert Robin Hood reference about stealing from rich clubs and giving to poor), and Sheffield Wednesday. That's hardly the same as competing with Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal.

I doubt Liverpool will stay winless or in 18th place. They're only 2 points (a win is worth 3) away from being tied for 12th. But the key positions in the League are the Top 4. These are the teams that get invited to next season's Champions League. It's worth a heap of money, and elite players will only play for teams that compete in the Champions League.

The chances of Liverpool finishing in the Top 4 are slim. They've only scored 4 goals in 5 games. They have no scoring threat up front. The natives are getting restless in Liverpool, and the anti-FSG anger is rising.

I love it.

Photo Credit:
PA Sport

Chad Johnson Buys $376,000 Lamborghini

What do most people do when they lose their job and their wife leaves them? Maybe drink. Maybe write a country song about it. Maybe buy a $376,000 supercar.

Chad Johnson has bought a Lamborghini Aventador, and then posted about it on Instagram. It has a 690 horsepower 6.5 liter V12 engine. It goes from 0 to 60 in less than 3 seconds, and has a top speed of 217 mph.

It is indeed a sick car. And I would love to be able to touch one, let alone drive one, let alone own one.

That being said, this is a stupid purchase by Chad Ochojohnson. This is how athletes that get paid millions of dollars wind up broke and the subject of ESPN 30 for 30 documentaries.

Cars are rarely good investments. They tend to depreciate in value, and they cost a lot to maintain. Johnson drove a Prius when he was a member of the Patriots. Now he drives a car that gets 13.7 miles per gallon.

He has no income. He seems like an impulsive and even violent kind of guy. I don't think he needs a 690 horsepower engine at his disposal. One of these days he's going to get pissed off, decide to thrash around in his $376k "toy" and wrap it around a tree.

Replacement Refs Will Cost the NFL Money

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, the NFL's replacement refs find a way to screw up a game even more.

The Packers should have won last night's game. There's no doubt about it. But a game-sealing interception by Green Bay was ruled a game-winning touchdown by Seattle.

These referees plainly suck. The argument has been that since they're not driving viewers away, there's no motivation for the NFL to give in to the unionized referees.

I'm not so sure that this premise is true. There may be an effect these refs are having on games that poses a financial threat to the NFL.

These games are taking longer, and they're progressing more slowly. These refs are taking extra long to confer and make decisions. They have to discuss with NFL officials what they can and can't review.

Long games aren't good for TV ratings. Especially the featured games on Sunday and Monday night. How many viewers do NBC and ESPN lose as these games crawl past midnight? How many fans fall asleep instead of watching the commercials which pay the NFL's bills?

Here's another argument. Even if the NFL isn't losing viewers due to the referees, are they gaining any?

What will we tell the British about our officials when the Patriots and Rams play in London in a few weeks? How do these debacles make the NFL more appealing to European fans? Roger Goodell and the NFL have been working hard to grow the game in international markets. But show the end of last night's game to some German guy watching football for the first time and try to explain to him why that was called a touchdown.

Why would any new fan want to watch a game being officiated by fourth-rate hacks who understand the rules less than the players and coaches they're officiating over? How can new fans truly get into a game if they don't understand what is and isn't a penalty?

It isn't just the game that's being ruined by this relatively insignificant labor dispute, it's the brand.