Oh, the Red Sox Won, That's Nice

Did you watch any of this game? I watched a few pitches. Basically, the Tampa Bay Rays are collapsing. The Sox never really collapsed this season, they've been deflated since Opening Day.

Jacoby Ellsbury had a good night: 3 hits, 3 RBI, and a homerun. This is a lost season for Ellsbury as much as it is for the Sox. Next year will be his price-tag year as he approaches free agency. So it's good to see glimpses of production from him this September.

Aaron Cook pitched 6 innings and only allowed 1 run. Boston native Rich Hill didn't allow a run in his inning. Junichi Tazawa threw yet another scoreless inning, striking out 2. Mark Melancon felt compelled to increase his ERA to 6.98 by allowing a run in the 9th.

The Rays are on the verge of falling off the cliff in the Wild Card race, so perhaps the Red Sox can win a few in front of 11,000 people in St. Pete and pass Toronto for 4th. Huzzah!

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

I Love Hakeen Nicks

Hakeem Nicks was questionable going into Sunday's game. That's how I knew he'd have a monster performance. He's always questionable, or doubtful, or limited participation, or no participation.

Then on Sunday he catches 10 passes for 199 yards and a TD.

That's why for the last four seasons, Hakeem Nicks has been a key member of my fantasy football team: The Fingering Penguins. Nicks personifies what the Fing-guins are all about. He's explosive, he falls in the draft, and for some reason I like him slightly better than anyone else likes him.

Thank you for the 25 points, Hakeem. The rest of my team disappointed this week, but that's the Fingering Penguin way. I need Matt Ryan to score over 20 tonight to win. Individual inconsistency is fine though, so long as teammates pick each other up. Penguins finger together!

Bruins Give Milan Lucic Stupid Extension

Just before the lockout was officially locked, the Bruins signed Milan Lucic to a 3 year, $18 million deal. It's the latest chapter in the Bruins' efforts to never again issue new jerseys or change roster sheets. The B's are deadset on keeping the same group of players together on this team.

Even though Lucic scored 0 goals in last year's playoffs, and a modest 26 goals in the regular season. He's got 15 goals and 20 assists in 65 playoff games. Which isn't good at all. He isn't good on a Power Play. You'd never want to see him on the ice short-handed. He's an inconsistent defender. He's slow, lumbering, inconsistently skates.

I'm just not sold on Lucic. Not to the tune of $6 million. And certainly not when this team is committed to having a roster as similar to the 2011 Cup team as possible.

The problem is, that team won the Cup because Tim Thomas played at inhuman levels. And the Bruins played some teams that they matched up well against (they could out-muscle Montreal, Tampa Bay, and Vancouver. The Flyers had catastrophic goaltending difficulties).

All the players that the Bruins have retained are good, even very good players. None are great. Milan Lucic is not a great player. He's got quality, but he's not a scorer, not a passer, not an any-situation-player, and his production is unreliable. He's a good 2nd liner. The Bruins have one #2 line, but lots of 2nd liners.

If hockey is played in 2012-13, we'll see how the Bruins contend against teams that have done more complex things to improve apart from extending all the contracts of their current players.

I'm Growing a Lockout Beard

The NHL players have been locked out. The owners wanted the players to lower the percentage of hockey revenues they got paid, instead of sharing revenues with smaller market teams. The idea the owners had was that small market teams could afford to pay players the same as big market ones, and big market teams could pocket all their additional profits. It's not surprising that Jeremy "Ebeneezer" Jacobs is spearheading this greedy endeavor.

There are two kinds of greed in this world. Short-term, avaricious, 7 Deadly Sin kind of greed that seeks immediate gain, forsaking all consequences and repercussions. And intelligent, productive, ambitious greed that "has marked the upward surge of mankind." There's greed that urges you to take all the pennies in the dish by the counter, and there's greed to start a business and produce something.

The NHL owners are hungry for immediate profit. And this foolish kind of greed will destroy this game.

Do you hear much outrage over the NHL lockout? Do you hear wailing in the streets, the sounds of large appliances being hurled through drywall as millions of angry fans struggle to cope with the loss of hockey?

No. Hockey is a regional sport, with a core of fanatic supporters, and a large contingent of casual fans. These casual fans are in football mode, fretting over their fantasy teams. And in February, when football stops, if there's no NHL they'll just watch college basketball and drink more.

For most sports fans in America, the NHL is like a girl you occasionally hook up with when you can't get anything better, and you don't have any strong feelings for. They threaten to never talk to you again unless you get serious with them, and you're kind of fine with that.

The NHL has done decently since the lockout. Total revenues are up. Ratings are better. The big market teams are doing well. Chicago, Boston, LA, New York, and Philly are tuning in to the game. This should be the opening stages of an upward trend for the NHL, not another massive hiccup.

This is no time for ultimatums, or short-term cash grabbing. This might be a time for small changes, but not major readjustments to the owner/player balance. The players are the entertainment. They're the ones with the skills. They're the ones making the plays, scoring the goals, unleashing the hits, taking the risks.

Why should they get less?

Until the owners can adequately answer this question, or until they realize they should stop asking the question at all, I'm letting my beard grow. I trimmed it Saturday. It's a blonde/black/ginger mix, so when it grows it gets sketchy. Tendrils of red hair curl over my lips. Patches of black hairs mix with blotches of blonde on my cheeks. It's not pretty.

This league seems to not want to take care of itself, groom itself, and keep itself presentable. So I will do the same.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Patriots Commit Cardinal Sins

You can point to two special teams plays and say "Here's where the Pats lost the game." The blocked punt that led to an Arizona touchdown, and of course Stephen Gostkowski's missed field goal.

It's not so simple. This was a team loss. The Patriots lost this game, quite thoroughly. Not just a kicker, not just a backup receiver that failed to execute a block.

The play before Zoltan Mesko's punt was blocked, Wes Welker let a ball slip through all 10 of his fingers. He catches the ball and gets a 1st down, Arizona never gets such an amazing scoring opportunity.

Brandon Lloyd also dropped a big 3rd down pass in the 4th quarter.

The Patriots didn't execute. The offensive line was toyed with. Tom Brady wasn't his absolute best. I mentioned Lloyd and Welker. The Patriots couldn't get anything going on the ground. And all the big plays were made by the Cardinals.

But Arizona tried so hard to give the Patriots chances in this game. The fumble by Ryan Williams is a perfect example.

As a team, the Pats didn't do enough to win. I don't think it's very complicated. I don't think it's something to worry too much about. It's something that can be isolated to this one game. Hopefully.

The Pats play the Ravens in Baltimore next Sunday night. Both teams are 1-1 and will be hungry to avoid going 1-2.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Red Sox Play a Part in Playoff Races

There's a seriously exciting three-way race in the AL East this year. And it's painful to not be part of it. The Red Sox are completely irrelevant, except that they might beat relevant teams and knock them out of the playoff hunt.

That's just about the only reason to watch this team these days. That and to watch players now and imagine who might be on this team in 2013, and how they might do. Last night we got to see Jon Lester, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Junichi Tazawa do well. And that can provide some hope for 2013.

Jon Lester had a decent start last night. He's been such an impossible to figure puzzle this year. He walked 7 Yankees. He also struck out 5 in his 5.1 innings. He allowed 5 hits, but only 3 of those 12 baserunners he allowed managed to score.

A fresh start in 2013 would do Lester good. He's not a guy I'd want to build a rotation around, but I don't mind him being a middle-of-the-rotation pitcher.

Jacoby Ellsbury was 4 for 5 on his birthday, with a double, 2 RBI, and the game-winning single. I'm not sold on Ellsbury, to be honest. I'll give him a pass for this season because of injuries and the sorry state of the team. But he's only had one good year in his career. He's always been about potential and only occasionally been results. And stolen bases. Scott Boras will tout him as a 30/30 man, but he's only managed to hit 10+ homeruns in one season. His career OBP is below .350.

2013 will be a make or break year for Ellsbury. Can he stay healthy? If so, can he demonstrate that he's still as good as he was in 2011? The Sox have the available funds to sign him, but will they want to?

I want Junichi Tazawa to be the #1 middle-reliever on the 2013 Red Sox. And maybe even consider him for the closer's role. He throws strikes. He almost never walks anyone. He comes in any inning any situation and does his job. He struck out 3 in 1.2 innings last night. And in 35 innings this year he's struck out 35 and walked only 5.

I don't much enjoy the Red Sox embracing their role as spoilers. There is a great race for playoff spots going on and Boston is miles away from the action. September baseball without a playoff race, without scoreboard watching, is simply a weekday distraction between football games.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Seguin Staying in Boston

The Bruins and Tyler Seguin have agreed to a contract extension worth $34.5 million over 6 years. That's an average of $5.75 million per season. And that's not a bad deal.

Taylor Hall, who was drafted ahead of Seguin by the Edmonton Oilers, just signed a deal worth $42 million over 7 seasons. That's $6 million per year for those of you who struggled with multiplication tables.

I think Seguin is a slightly better player, and the Bruins secured him for slightly less money.

With the CBA still up in the air, some might feel it's unwise to commit large sums of money to players. The Bruins just agreed to a 4 year, $18 million extension with Brad Marchand. And the Bruins already have big chunks of cash tied up in David Krejci, Milan Lucic, Zdeno Chara, and Patrice Bergeron.

But I think the B's are actually taking advantage of CBA uncertainty. They're locking up players who might be worried that when/if the salary cap is reduced, they won't be able get as much on the free market.

Just a Few Moments for Some Thread and Fabric

Today is the anniversary of the September 11th attacks. I think most of us remember where we were when we were told what was happening. I recall the surreal silence of the skies around Norwood Airport, as no flights took off.

As 9/11 became a memory, it also became a rallying point. In my opinion, there's no better or more succinct rallying point for Americans than our flag. Because our flag has been a symbol of our country's dogged determination, our resilience to those who would corrupt our country's values, and our strength in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

In 1814, the British Navy bombarded Baltimore and Fort McHenry. American lawyer Francis Scott Key witnessed it first hand, and reveled at the sight of the Star Spangled Banner fluttering in the breeze the next morning. He was so inspired that he wrote a poem that was later converted to a song, which eventually became our National Anthem.

Another flag was carried into battle in the Civil War by the 54th Massachusetts, the first black unit in the US Army since the Revolution. The Civil War resulted in the end of slavery. Slavery was perhaps America's most shameful institution, but thousands of Americans fought and died to end it.

In 1945, a group of Marines and a Navy corpsman planted another flag on Iwo Jima, in one of the most iconic images in US history.

In 1969, Neil Armstrong planted a flag on the surface of The Moon.

And in 2001, when a group of stupid, psychotic, extremist assholes tried to dampen American spirit, tried to hurt us, tried to make us feel afraid, a group of New York firefighters stuck an American flag in the rubble, and reminded us all that we live in the best country in the world. And that we don't yield to pressure. We fight. And we win.