Extreme Sportsmanship

A ball bounced off Miroslav Klose's hand and into the net, apparently giving SS Lazio a 1-0 lead over Napoli. But Klose appealed to the officials, told them that he struck the ball with his hand, and the goal was disallowed. Napoli eventually won 3-0.

You won't often find greater shows of sportsmanship and integrity than this one.

That being said, I'm a fan of Germany. And if Miroslav Klose had done that in a big elimination match against the Spaniards or Dutch, I'd kill him.

Stupid All Fenway Team

The last home game of the 2012 season ended with the commemoration of the "All Fenway Team." In other words, the best Red Sox players since 1912. Cy Young need not apply.

But some of the results pissed me off, and sent me in a rage worthy of a 1934 style drinking binge.

But before that, let me express my appreciation for Jimmie Foxx being named the 1st team 1st baseman. Foxx is the best player in MLB history to not have his number retired, thanks to the Oakland Athletics' policy to not respect their history in Philadelphia or K.C.

Dustin Pedroia was the 1st team 2B. OVER a Hall of Famer named Bobby Doerr. Doerr owns one of those numbers immortalized on the right field facade. Doerr>Pedroia, by any measurement. Talk to me when Dustin's career is nearing an end.

Fred Lynn was the 1st team center-fielder. Over Tris Speaker. Tris Speaker is one of the best CFs in MLB history. Speaker has a career average of .345. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1937. He has the record for most outfield assists. As an outfielder he was a part of 139 double plays in his career, the most all-time.

But Fred Lynn is ahead of Speaker on this list.

And Dwight Evans was the #1 right-fielder. Then Trot Nixon the #2 at that spot. George Herman "Babe" Ruth was the reserve choice. Are you kidding me?

Babe Ruth is the best baseball player of all-time. As a pitcher, he was 3-0 in World Series games with an ERA of 0.87. And as a hitter, we all know what he did. 714 homeruns, 2nd best OBP of all-time (.474), best SLG (.690) ever.

And yet Dwight Evans, then Trot Nixon are ahead of him?

One thing fans got right was Pedro Nartinez as SP and Terry Francona as Manager.

And you know what, Roger Clemens isn't a bad option for the mound after that. Give credit to Mr. Clemens for coming back to where he's despised. He was an important part of Sox history. And chemicals helped resurrect his career after Boston.

Good luck, Roger.

Super Mario on a Rampage

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