Sports
Rocket’s Red Glare
Crash and burn.
How much longer must we tune in to witness Rocket’s failure to launch this ill-fated attempt to clear his ‘good name’.
As his trusted attorney Rusty Hardin feverishly works to re-plot Rocket’s ever changing trajectory, I’m reminded of this guy who once skipped town and headed North despite his vehement assertions that at heart, he was a Southern Boy, and if he couldn’t play ball here in Beantown then the only place he’d rather be is back home on the range.
Maybe I’m misremembering it, but isn’t this the same good ol’ boy who famously declared he wanted to either stay in Boston or move closer to home and then quickly changed his tune to ‘O’ Canada’ once the Blue Jays came calling.
I just don’t trust Roger Dodger. Simply put, Roger Clemens is a big fat liar.
As y’all know by know, Clemens appeared last week in... Continue reading »
Rocky Mountain High
Finally, they won one in Aria’s lifetime.
Last night, Red Sox Nation enjoyed a collective burst of deja vu as history looped back upon itself and replayed the ending to that euphoric 2004 World Series conclusion; with the 2007 Boston Red Sox matching that fabled team’s complete domination of a vaunted National League squad to grab victory and bring that blessed trophy back to Beantown. With last night’s season ending sweep against the Colorado Rockies, the Sox echoed the mission statement our heroic New England Patriots have been broadcasting for years now.
This truly is the best of times.
In 2004, the win was as cathartic as it was joyous – a mass exorcism of those ghosts that had haunted so many past Octobers. Of course, we were all ecstatic – who didn’t call someone that evening fearful they were waking a loved one only to find buoyant good... Continue reading »
Red Storm Rising
Boston Sucks!!! Boston Sucks!!!
Boston. We have arrived.
Just three short years after Theo Epstein began his reclamation project to tear down our beloved Idiots and build a better Bronx Bombers in Beantown, Theo has succeeded in infecting us with the madness of King George. Corporate culture has officially replaced clowns like Cabrera, Millar and Damon. Now we have drones like J.D. Drew and Julio Lugo approaching each at bat in the most officious (if not efficient) manner and the front office couldn’t be happier.
Ahhhh, those long, lost Idiots. A more retched hive of scum and villainy you’d be hard pressed to find outside of Mos Eisley or Chelsea. How a pack of JD swilling sad-sack losers ever managed to come back from an 0-3 deficit against the feared New York Yankees and proceed to sweep the Cardinals and carry home the first World Series trophy in 86 years, I’ll never know. Hey,... Continue reading »
The Hunt for Red October
Well, that makes two consecutive Boston sports-themed posts where I’ve cribbed from Clancy for the title. Fear not, Bear and Dragon fans. I can’t stand the Bruins.
The Red Sox, however, have my heart forever.
Over the weekend, the family and I headed North for our traditional Columbus Day Weekend getaway to Limerick, Maine. There, in that quiet hamlet just a shade south of Portland, rests Andi’s Dad’s lake house that has played host to her Dad’s extended family for an annual autumnal get-together for as long as I’ve been in the picture (and many years past).
Although the attendees change from year to year (we’ve missed a couple ourselves when weddings or other events have intervened), the trappings of the weekend remain the same. A lot of R & R dotted with apple picking excursions, boat rides across the lake and trips to our favorite... Continue reading »
Patriot Games
“The Patriots have fully cooperated and complied with the requirements of the commissioner’s decision. All tapes, documents and other records relating to this matter were turned over to the league office and destroyed, and the Patriots have certified in writing that no copies or other records exist. League policies on in-game videotaping and audio communication will continue to be closely monitored and strictly enforced with all 32 teams.” NFL Spokesman Gary Aielllo – September 20, 2007
That’s an excerpt from a statement released by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s office yesterday afternoon. Let the record show, I called it.
I won’t bother you by rehashing the details of the spy game, Bill Belicheck and our New England Patriots became enmeshed in when former Pats Defensive Coordinator Eric Mangini dropped a dime on his former empl... Continue reading »
Modeling Clay
What a performance! Last night, Clay Buchholz, tossed a no-hitter in only his second major league start. A day earlier and we wouldn’t be having this conversation, as Buchholz was called up due to the league’s September 1st roster expansion. Wearing Sox unies, I’ve seen Hideo Nomo and Derek Lowe pitch no-nos but this was far and away the most special. And it came at the exact time we needed it most. Sometimes it takes that Herculean feat to right the ship as you steam ahead towards the playoffs. Here’s hoping Clay provided that charge.
Failure to Launch
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Thus, the struggling New York Yankees saw fit to shoehorn an impromptu press release into their Sunday afternoon drubbing of the Seattle Mariners – announcing the signing of Roger Clemens to the squad.
Yesterday afternoon, the Rocket declared he’d be there to save the day by month-end – a full month sooner than most prognosticators had picked – and on a team that the same wags claimed would be his third choice. Conventional wisdom claimed he’d either go to Boston to ink the final chapter in his fairy tale career or remain in Houston to be near his friends and family. Of course, the last time Clemens opted to play closer to home, he ended up an expatriate. Hey, his career ERA may be stellar but his command of the GPS is a wee bit lacking.
Anyway, if you ask me, the Yanks overpaid in... Continue reading »
Gathering Moss
By now, everyone has heard the INCREDIBLY SHOCKING NEWS that the Patriots scored NFL bad boy, Randy Moss, for a 4th Round draft pick this past weekend. ESPN’s Sports Guy, Bill Simmons, has a great piece that touches on the weekend’s festivities and spotlights the five possible explanations for Belichick’s gambit. It’s a great read and very funny. I pulled the following from his piece but you really should go read the whole thing now. Great stuff from that guy… as always. Anyway, Bill writes:
“You have to admit, at the very least, we have the greatest “Madden” offense in Patriots history: Brady, Maroney, Watson, Moss, Stallworth, Welker, Caldwell, Gaffney, Brown. I mean … are you kidding me? Can I run a seven-receiver offense next year? Is that legal?”
Red Light Redistrict
If you ask me, Boston is officially a two sport town. Baseball and Football. Sox and Pats. They’re the only things that matter. Once football ends in January (and through our frequent good fortune of late – sometimes early February) it’s just a brief three week layover until baseball talk and prognostication begins in earnest.
Spare me your Bruins and Celtics speak. They’re has been teams of a bygone error.
Although I’m lapsed of late, I was a veritable WEEI Sports Radio junkie for the better part of this decade and found it increasingly comforting that the number one sports station in New England chose to focus on the Sox and Pats and gave hockey and basketball the short shrift. Of course, there were the frequent yahoos (the men whom time had forgotten) who would call in and berate host Glenn Ordway (once a former Celtics color commentator)... Continue reading »
Kicking and Screaming
I’m not going to miss those Papa Gino’s commercials. As clutch a kicker as New England has ever had – Adam Vinatieri was not exactly a world-class thespian – although, with his boyish charisma, he did hold his own well enough to field invitations from Letterman, Leno and Lipton (that’s all it takes – one Meineke ad and your Inside the Actor’s Studio.) But those Papa Gino’s commercials. To paraphrase, “IT’S NOT GOOD!!!” – (must repress urge to shoot TV. No TV means no 360.)
I assume most all of New England has learned by now that Vinatieri had elected to leave the Patriots in favor of a better payday and potential for career longevity elsewhere. Tossing off this glib exterior, I must confess, it was with a heavy-heart that I greeted the news that Adam Vinatieri had signed with the Indianapolis Colts. The COLTS!... Continue reading »
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