Sports Scene

2002-12-17T12:42:00.000-05:00

I want to take the time to thank all those who have taken the time to read this site and also my thoughts on the world of sports. It has been enjoyable to me to do this site. Unfortunately, for personal reasons, I will be cutting way back on the amount of posts that I do. I will still post from time to time, probably only when I have strong feelings on a certain subject. I have enjoyed reading your e-mails and responding to them. Please feel free to continue to e-mail. I will still respond to them. Thanks again.

While I am here, I might as well comment on the Pats game last night. I was talking to my buddy Dan yesterday and we were debating the importance of last night's game. I was explaining to him that it was strange, because regardless of last night's outcome, the Pats still win the division if they win their final two games. It's not often that one particular game really means nothing, but that was the case last night. Unfortunately, I think most of the Patriot players knew the same thing, because they played as if the game meant nothing. That's about as sorry a performance as I have seen them put on probably since Pete Carroll was here. I still think they'll rebound for the last 2 and play well, because they know those games mean something. Even still, it would have been nice to see a little bit of effort last night.

2002-11-12T15:31:00.000-05:00

Just a few quick notes today…

First, the Boston Metro is running a poll asking if the Patriots deserved to win on Sunday. To me, this is a foolish question. It is times like this that The Metro shows that it is the ‘new kid on the block’. Reading the Metro each day, they consistently ask foolish questions and routinely get the facts wrong in sports stories that they reports on. For instance, in today’s article about the Celtic\Jazz game, this is reported: “After losing a 15 point lead in the third quarter, the Celtics turned things around with a strong inside game from Vin Baker….”.
The most glaring mistake is that Utah did not make a run in the third quarter. They made their run in the second quarter. It may seem like a little thing, but it happens every day. I’m kicking myself now for not keeping tabs on all the mistakes so I could list more of them. I don’t mean to nitpick, but it has become too common. Whoever the editor is needs to spend more time reviewing the stories and make sure they are correct. Either that, or make sure whoever is reporting on the game has actually watched it. The other option is to spend the money and use the AP’s story. Just get it right.
A smaller issue but still a mistake is saying that Vin Baker turned things around for the Celts. Sure, Vin had his best all around game as a Celtic, but to say he turned the game around for them? I think he had 5 points in the 3rd quarter. All 5 were big and came at opportune times, but they did not turn the game around. Again, watch the games if you are going to report on them.

Anyways, getting back to the Patriots poll, it does not matter if the Pats deserved to win.

Remember the scene in ‘Unforgiven’, when Clint Eastwood is about to kill Gene Hackman and Hackman says, “I don’t deserve this”? Clint looks at him and says, “Deserving’s got nothin to do with it”.

That’s the NFL this year. With so many teams so close in the standings, it really doesn’t matter if you deserve to win or not. All that matters is that you win. That’s what the Patriots did. When is the last time that after 10 games, 18 teams still had legit chances to make the playoffs? It’s been a while. So the poll is foolish and another sign that the Metro is out of touch. I don’t mean to criticize unjustly, but it has gotten on my nerves to the point where I had to say something. If you read the Metro, I’m sure you know what I mean.

My second item of the day has nothing to do with sports. If that’s all you care about, then don’t read on. Admittedly, I don’t know a lot about this next subject, (I know, I know…as if I know anything about sports), but I’m going to weigh in on it anyways.

A few weeks ago there was a fire in South Boston and a young girl was killed. Firemen had trouble getting to the building because there were cars double parked and the streets are very narrow as it is. Firefighters felt that the delay in reaching the building may have cost them valuable time in the efforts to save the girl. So the mayor is making new parking restrictions to try and eliminate this from happening again. There will be many new rules with regards to parking and the fines for illegal parking are going way up. Now, I have no doubt that the parking situation hindered the firefighters from getting there as soon as they could. Maybe if they got there sooner the girl would have lived. If new laws can help firemen get to a fire sooner, then they should be put in place.

My problem, though, is that I feel that the real issue, in at least this particular case, has been overlooked. This particular fire never should have happened. You see, it was the girl’s father who accidentally set the fire. He has emphysema, and the disease has progressed to the point that he needs an oxygen tank to assist him in breathing. You would think that someone like that would give up smoking, after seeing what it had done to him. But this gentleman had continued to smoke. On this particular day, when this gentleman attempted to light his cigarette, it ignited the oxygen tank, caused an explosion, and lit the house on fire. Again, I am not 100% familiar with the story, so if I got any of the minor details wrong, I apologize. And I am not saying that all the blame should go to the father. But this was a perfect opportunity for authorities to show, especially young people, how horrible smoking is and what it can do. Because of smoking, in this family the father has a horrible disease and the daughter is dead. But instead the big issue is how because someone was double parked, a young girl died. It just bothered me that the bigger issue was missed.

2002-11-08T10:20:00.000-05:00

Theres a couple notes of interest in the papers today. Shaq and Kobe did some interesting interviews. First, it's good to see visiting teams starting to recognize the Celtic Mystique again. Take a look at this quote from Kobe in Steve Bulpett's article:

``I told Paul Pierce it was like the old days - Larry and Magic,'' he said. ``It felt good. It was just one of those battles. It felt good to be a part of that. That damn leprechaun is still walking around the rafters I guess.''

I love that! It's good to see teams thinking in that way again. It used to be when a visiting team came in, if a few things started going wrong for them, they would get that "here we go again" attitude. It would be great to see the C's get that back. To get teams thinking about leprechaun's and Red. It's just good to see that creeping back in.

Anyone living up in the great state of Maine needs to look out!! Shaq is on the way! Jackie MacMullan has a great piece with Shaq in today's Globe. Shaq talks about retirement and the things he wants to do then. Included is this piece about his real estate ventures:

"In the meantime, he continues to buy low-income properties, fix them up, help revitalize the community, then turn them around for a hefty profit. He has done this in Colorado, Georgia, and New York, and is researching a new business venture in Maine."

Wow! Shaq in Maine?!? Imagine the Big Fella hanging out at Hussey's General Store on a Saturday morning? Shooting the breeze with the guys at the local dump while dropping off his trash? The possibilities are endless. Of course, Shaq does not want to move to Maine. He is only interested in the money he can get from the properties. Even still, I found it interesting that of every place that Shaq could be buying properties, he is looking in Maine.

As for the game itself, the C's looked better than they have at any point this year. The Lake Show is probably the first quality opponent they have faced, even without Shaq. They still have a way's to go, but it was the first game that instilled some kind of confidence in me, even though Vin Baker is still completely useless.

Dan Shaughnessy is at it again. He claims that Zito rightfully won the Cy Young Award. I have no problem with Zito winning because he had a great year. I fell that Pedro had a better year and should have won but it's not like the award went to some bum instead. My problem is Shaughnessy's reasoning on the matter. He claims that Pedro did not win the award because he did not make his final start. That is a foolish claim. Some quotes from Danno, with my comments following:

"The Sox still had seven games left when Pedro won his 20th and announced, ''This is it ... I don't have anything else to prove. I'm done. I'm not running. I'm not doing anything. I'm not going to take a chance of getting hurt in my next outing.''
Those comments came three days before the Red Sox were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs."

** The problem with that is that everyone knew that the Sox were out of it with 7 games left. Not mathematically, but the Angels would basically have needed to lose every game while the Sox won every game. The Angels did lose quite a few there at the end which made it look closer than it was, and at that time Pedro said that if the Sox were still in it when his turn came up, that he would pitch.

"After Zito won his 23d game on the final day of the season, Oakland closer Billy Koch reacted to Pedro's shutdown, saying, ''I think it's selfish and shows what kind of player he is. You have an obligation to the guys on your team. Everybody knows he flat-out has the best stuff in the game. He should lead by example. Barry goes out and gets the job done. Hands down, he should be the Cy Young.'' "

** Lets play role reversal. Let's say that Oakland was out of the race and Zito was still recovering from a career threatening injury. He has already won 20 games. Do you think he goes out there on the last day of the season and risks getting hurt in a meaningless game? Not a chance. Say for instance, Pedro had made the last start and tore his shoulder apart. All we would hear from guys like Shaughnessy is how stupid the management was for risking injury in a game that meant nothing.

I guess it's just Shaughnessy being Shaughnessy. He hasn't written an article that made sense in years.

Bill Simmons explains his Unintentional Comedy Ratings scale. ESPN Page2 also looks at the 10 worst cancers ever to play in the NBA. Guess which Celtic made the list? Our new Golden Boy evidently sent a letter into ESPN as well.

2002-11-01T09:10:00.000-05:00

I've been a Celtic fan my whole life. I'm not as old as some to remember the 60's and 70's Celtic teams. I remember the teams of the 80's. I am a true fan, not a bandwagon fan. I give my all to the team. No offense to those who turn off games where they are getting blown out, but I never turn off games. I watch each and every one from start to finish. Even last nights, right down to the 'love fest' interview with Jordan afterwards. I feel like watching all the bad times will make the good times more enjoyable. It has been very hard to watch this team for the past decade. But I wanted to stick it out. I have probably watched every game but 6 or 7 a year over the last 10 years. I watched friend after friend abandon ship and stop following the team as they continued to get worse until I was down to only one that still faithfully watched games.

So last year felt great. Even though they were winning unconventionally, they were winning again. It felt good. It felt like they were on the way up again. Then Paul Gaston screwed us. I don't want to call him the most despicable human being because there are some bad ones out there, (Bin Laden, Saddam, Castro), but I will say that I think he is the most despicable person in the world of sports. Because of his own selfish greed, he tore the team apart. He saw a chance to make some money and he went for it at the expense of the entire Celtic Fan base. Most people try and make as much money as possible, but it has been stated that it should be different when it comes to owning a sports team. It's not like Gaston would have been in the poor house without the extra money. He simply did it out of greed. I think I may dislike him as much as any other person on this earth.

Even still, why did Celtic management make the moves they did? We know they weren't allowed to sign Rodney. But did Gaston hold a gun to Wallace's and Obrien's heads and force them to trade for Baker? I don't think so. They have said it was the only trade they could make. If that's the case, weren't they better off making no trade at all? Some say, 'but then you'd lose Kenny's salary slot'. At this point, I don't see how that would have made them worse than they are now. Maybe it would have been better to just let his contract run out. I have stated on this site that not only was the Baker trade the worst in Celtic history, but that it might be the worst in NBA history. I stand by that statement.

What about some of the other guys that have been signed? Sundov? I was made sick watching him fire three's with reckless abandon last night. Bremer? Maybe the worst shooter I have ever seen. I've seen him twice in person now and I have no idea how he made this team. Wolkowyski? Vitaly, oh Vitaly, where have you gone?

The team has taken as big a jump backwards this year as they took forwards last year. Unfortunately, I think we are stuck for a while. There is no way that anyone on the coaching or management staff will be fired during the year. Make no mistake though... O'brien, Wallace, and Papile need to go. They haven't a clue. More and more I am beginning to believe that the success last year was mostly attributed a fresh year without Pitino, and some other things falling into place. This group butchers drafts, has no idea how to teach rookies, and has no clue how to teach offense. This team has no discipline, no rebounding, no offense, and apparently no defense. I don't know enough about the assistant coaches to know if any of them should be kept around. Harter is the only one that I feel should stay. Maybe a horrible year will convince the new owners that they all need to be fired. Even after that, we have 3-4 years before anything can be done to remedy the situation. It's 1997 all over again, and we need someone to come in and clean house. This time it needs to be someone who knows what they are doing.

I waited 10 years for a good team and finally got it. Now it has been ripped out from under me. I don't know if I have it in me to wait through another 3 or 4 losing seasons. Last night felt all too familiar. I don't want to go through that again. Pierce's and Walker's primes are being wasted. I will always bleed green, but right now I feel wounded and I don't know if I can recover.

2002-10-28T10:36:00.000-05:00

The Celtics looked a bit better on Friday against the Wizards than they have looked the rest of the pre-season. I had pretty decent seats and was able to get a good look at the action. I arrived at the FleetCenter around 6:45. Around 7:20 I was walking around the concourse and was surprised to see Vin Baker out there. He had a couple security guys around him and looked as if he was looking for someone. Maybe he was lost himself. Maybe he was looking for a friend or family member to show them to their seat. Whatever the case, it struck me that he should have been preparing for the game instead. It just seems someone in his position should not be wandering around 10 minutes before tipoff.

I still feel the same about the Celtics for this upcoming year. I think they will do well against the lower echelon teams but will struggle to beat anyone good. They may win a game here or there against a good team, and may squeak into the playoffs, but they won't go far. Thanks again Gaston.

As for the Patriots, who knows what to say? I'm not providing links because frankly I don't feel like reading all the negativity myself. I am still in the camp that thinks they can make a run. You don't win championships by accident. I really believe they became very confident after the first two games. They were still underdogs. No one was picking them. They thrive under those circumstances. Everyone on Sports Final already said they have zero chance to beat the Bills. Anyone think they'll be favored against the Raiders? So maybe they are getting back into the types of situations where they can succeed. At least I hope that's the case. If the Pats keep on losing, and the C's struggle as I think they might, I may have to start watching hockey again just to see what it is like to watch a winning team. I hoped things would never get back to that point, but who knows?

(That's not a shot at the Bruins either. I am thrilled to see them start well, especially when not many people picked them to do so. It's just that of the 4 major sports, hockey comes 4th for me. It takes a lot for me to watch hockey.)

Doesn't Rick Fox need to get a lengthy suspension? It's one thing to get in a fight in the heat of a moment, but then to wait to attack the same guy again is totally different. In a court setting, going back to the scene of the crime helps a prosecutor use the pre-meditated thing against a defendant. Well wasn't what Fox did pre-meditated then? It was a cowardly thing what Fox did, and the NBA needs to do something about it. I doubt it will though due to David Stern's love affair with the Lakers.

ESPN Page2 has put together 10 reasons why the Expo's would be better for Boston than the Red Sox are. Kind of weak but I linked it anyways.

Page2 also wonders if Tara Reid is to blame for Tom Brady's slump. Am I the only one who though of "The Natural" as soon as I first heard about Brady and Reid? Unfortunately, it does not appear as though Brady is getting back on track as Redford did.

Congratulations to the Angels. I told a friend of mine back in July that the Angels were the least of the Sox concerns as to who they would battle for a playoff spot. Shows how smart I am.

2002-10-18T10:05:00.000-04:00

I was at the Celtics game last night in Manchester. I'll start by giving some praise to the designers of the arena up there. It's a very nice building and a good place to watch basketball. Even the worst seats way up at the top I think are closer than the front row seats of the balcony at the Fleetcenter. That's a good design figuring that there are 10,000 seats in the place. The only two issues I came across were the concourses and also the entrances. There's only about 10 doors in the front of the building to get in the place. The line was backed up way down the street. Could be a problem in bad weather. As for the concourses, they are very narrow. Almost impossible to get through where there are concession stands. Besides those two minor issues, they did a great job on the place.

As for the Celtics, that's another story. I know all the cliches about it only being pre-season, but this team does not look good. They may have the most pitiful looking offense that I have ever seen. There is no semblance of any rhyme, reason, or rhythm out there. It is literally just 5 guys running around with no idea what they are doing. I have seen more organized offenses in the pickup games at the gym I go to. This will turn into a major problem. I don't buy the 'they're masking the offense' excuse. Even when teams do that, they typically still look like an NBA team.
Baker is horrible. Sprained ankle or not, an NBA player at close to 7 feet should be able to score more than 2 points and get at least 1 rebound. He looks completely lost and I can hear the laughter all the way from Seattle.
At this rate, the team will struggle to beat anyone good. With Walker and Pierce, they will win their fair share of games, but few will come against quality teams.

My buddy and I left the building through the back door hoping to avoid all the people. As we were walking around, we saw the team busses so we figured we'd wait for the players to come out. Rodney Rogers and Kenyon Martin walked out together first. I yelled over to Kenyon and when he looked over I mentioned to him that it would help us out if he were to break both his legs this year rather than just one like a few years ago. Showing his true colors and showing the thug that he is, he proceeded to hit me with an expletive laced tirade. "F*** You, you little Punk A** B****!!" I wished Rodney well but I guess Kenyon hadn't had enough. After a few more F bombs, he invited me to come over and he would "break something on me." The chain link fence prevented that from happening. After giving me the finger and throwing in some more expletives, he got on the bus.
Called over to a few more of the Nets but they must know better than to talk to fans at opposing arenas. Most did not look over. Mutumbo waved and I told him to be careful throwing those elbows around. I don't know if he didn't hear me or just doesn't have a good mastery of English, because he said, "Yes, thank you, thank you."

(There was a kid who we saw sneak into the lot where the busses were and he hid between the 2 team busses. We figured he was waiting for autographs, but he just waited as player after player went by. Pierce, Kidd, Waltah... most players you would assume he was waiting for went by without him making his move. It turns out he was waiting for Mutumbo. Got his autograph and then ran out of the lot. Strange. Of everyone he could have been waiting for.....)

Had a quick conversation with Tony Battie. Asked him about his knee which he said "it's good, it's good." He had no noticeable limp. I've met Tony a few other times and he seems like a really nice guy. There is such a noticable difference in the demeanor of players on the Celtics as opposed to the Nets. I don't think it is just bias because of being a Celtic fan. The Nets just have guys that are easy to hate. Guys that beat their wives, guys that berate fans, they are all so pompous and arrogant...... you just don't see that on the C's. The contrast is stunning.

Had some brief banter with Gary Tanguay and Greg Dickerson as well. I told Greg to do everyone a favor and smack Felger upside the head. He just laughed. Talked a little bit about Pete Shepard which revealed some funny comments. Gary looked as if he was trying to think of something funny to say but couldn't think of anything. Seemed eerily similar to his TV show. Greg had some pretty funny things to say about Shepard but I don't want to reveal them here. E-mail me and I'll fill you in.

2002-10-03T08:55:00.000-04:00

Ya know.... it's a strange thing, but for me the Yankees being in the playoffs is almost the same as if the Red Sox were there, only opposite. Let me explain.
I've always been a Sox fan for as long as I can remember. Maybe it's just something that goes along with that, but I have also always hated the Yankees. That hate has grown quite a bit over the last 5 or 6 years though. Seeing the Yankees succeed year after year while the Sox have failed has not left a good feeling. As a result, I am almost to the point where seeing the Yankees lose brings as much joy as seeing the Sox win. Probably my second favorite sports memory over the last decade or so (Last years Superbowl obviously first), was seeing the Yankees lose in the World Series last year. I can not even explain how much joy that brought me. The feeling I had was the same as if one of my favorite teams had won the championship. It was very close to, and maybe even surpassed, the feeling I had after the Pats won the SB.

I bring all this up because I was thinking about it last night while watching the Yanks/Angels game. The Yankees seem to get the breaks so often and have everything fall into place so much that I was sure that Jeter was going to get a hit in the 8th inning. I was stunned when he struck out. Then in the 9th, again I was sure that the Yanks would rally and win. 2 on, 2 out, down by 2..... isn't that where the Yankees always come up with a hit to win the game? It made sense that Mondesi was up because it also seems like a mid-season pickup of the Yankees always has a huge postseason hit. But Mondesi popped it up. Game over. Angels win. And this wave of joy came over me as if the Red Sox were the team that had just tied the series.

I don't know if any other team brings me as much when I see them lose like the Yankees. The Lakers would probably be the closest. Just another team that, and don't get me wrong because I realize that they are both good teams, but it always seems as though both of those teams get the breaks needed to win. A team could have all the talent in the world, but usually something outside of the control of either team happens that really helps decide who wins. A bad hop in baseball that allows a guy to reach. A lucky 3-pointer to beat the clock from a guy who hasn't made, nor attempted one all year. Those are the breaks that the Lakers and Yankees always seem to get that without them, despite their being good teams, they probably wouldn't win as often. And I think that's why so many people hate those teams. And part of why I love it when they lose.

Admittedly, I am not a soccer fan and don't understand why any sport needs to play on field the size of Rhode Island. Even still, when a team wins their first ever playoff series, they deserve recognition and in this case, the first link of the day. Congrats to the Revs.

Nick Cafardo gives Michael Felger a little shot in his column today by saying that it's too early to claim the Patriots defense is getting old. Felger has no point anyways. The Pats defense has not showed signs of aging in the past 2 games. They have simply shown signs of a team that was jacked and pumped for the first 2 games because they had something to prove. Well, they proved it. Everyone was saying 16-0. Number 1 in all the National power ranking polls. So it was easier for them to sit back a little and maybe not give the same type of effort. That is what happened the last 2 weeks. Now it's up to them to get that intensity back and start hitting people again. Until they do that, the defense will struggle a little bit.

Jackie MacMullan takes the opportunity to rip Paul Gaston, who deserves every bit of it. I've been asked by numerous people what I think of the Celtics sale, and I haven't had much to say up to this point. Mostly this is because I know very little about the new owners. Sure, you can look up their history and their business track records. You can see how their companies have done and how much money they have made. But owning a sports franchise is a totally different animal from anything else. You can't say how someone will do until they show you. I don't think it is something that can be gaged. But after spending some time thinking about it, I have come to at least one conclusion: They can't be any worse than Gaston.
All Gaston ever cared about was money. Some have said that he spent money at certain times (Pitino, Walker, Pierce) and so you can't say that he was cheap. I don't agree with that reasoning. I think he had thoughts of selling the team as far back as 7 or 8 years ago. But he knew that the team needed to be better for him to get a good value for it. That is why he allowed Antoine to be signed long term, and why he signed Pitino a year later. He, like everyone else, thought Pitino would lead the team to glory. He figured within a few years, the team would be a contender and he could then sell and someone else would be paying Pitino's and Walkers salaries. When the team went even further downhill under Pitino, Gaston realized that he could not sell yet. The Pierce signing was for the same reason. Gaston once again thought that Pierce was a huge key to the team's success, and ultimately, him being able to sell. Any money Gaston ever spent was only designed to benefit his own wallet in some way.
Now, as a business man, that is a smart thing to do, and usually tells how successful a business man someone is. The problem is like I said though. Owning a sports franchise is a different animal. Owners of sports teams should not be in it for the money. They should be in it to see the team win. And if that is not their concern, they need to get out.
As for the Baker signing, I think it was one last shot Gaston was giving to Larry Bird. Gaston probably thought that with him out of the picture, Larry would be back here soon. I think that Gaston wanted to tie Bird' s hands with regards to the salary cap and also the roster. He knew that bringing Baker here would really handcuff the team for four years, with no real flexibility. All in all, the new owners will have to do little to be better owners, and the Celtics are 100 times better off with Paul Gaston out of the picture.

2002-09-24T14:35:00.000-04:00

Hello all... I first want to apologize for not posting the last few weeks. I've only had this site running for a short period of time and so I have some juggling to do to find time to do all the postings that I want. Another reason I have not posted much is how terrible the local media has been lately. In order for me to post and discuss what they say would mean that I would have to read them or listen to the radio. I have found this almost impossible lately. I'll most likely start posting again with regularity once the Celtics start up, as that is what I am most passionate about. I'll enjoy rubbing it in to my buddy Jay how the Knicks are terrible again, although I have reservations about my beloved Celtics as well. It will be very interesting to see how the 'Vin Baker Experiment' works out. I see it as going one of two ways: either great or awful. I don't think there will be any middle ground. The C's will either have a 50+ win season, or it will be a 30-35 win season. Either way, I can't wait for it to start.

As for my final assessment of the Red Sox season, I think disappointment sums it up. Not really any anger. It's tough to fathom that with 2 20 game winners, a possible batting champ, and a possible 40 save guy that this team falls this short of the playoffs (keep telling yourself there's a chance, Lobel). I also think some of the sports writers in this town have disgraced themselves over the last month. It again is unfathomable (my word of the day) that the media rips a guy who could be the batting champ. Then they go after Nomar simply because he doesn't talk to them as much as they would like. Any writer who uses personal vendetta's to rip a player should be fired on the spot. Sure, Manny made a mistake by not running out the ground ball. Maybe it is the biggest mistake a player can make. But it was just that. A mistake. Would everyone who has never made a mistake at their job please stand up? Anyone? Ok, how about this then? Would everyone who is the best at their job in their particular industry over the entire country please stand up. (sit down Shaughnessy). Still no one? Well that is what Manny will be if he wins the batting title. One thing I love about reading Bruce Allen's piece each day is that someone is finally pointing out the writer's mistakes and gaffes. So in a way, they are being held accountable at least on some level.

I'm also enjoying the Pats right now, but who isn't. I don't think I'd say I'm nervous about their defense, but I am definitely interested in seeing how they come out and play on Sunday. I can't imagine them not bouncing back. I also love that the Rams are 0-3. My friend Dan and I had a pretty good little argument this morning over why the Rams are struggling. I think a lot of it is that Belichick showed teams how to beat the Rams. The Rams have not won a game since the Pats beat the min the Superbowl. That includes pre-season. I know those games mean nothing and the starters are usually not in, but they still lost every single one. Belichick was able to show teams how to take the Rams receivers out of the game. As a result, Warner has to do some creating on his own and so far it has him 1 TD and 7 INT's this year. Maybe there is a reason the guy was sacking groceries a few years back. Dan thinks that Kurt is simply injured and that is why the Rams are losing. One thing we agreed on is that it is fun to watch them lose.

A few links today with local information...

In Gregg Easterbrook's column on ESPN, he gives this stat:
"Stats No. 5 Drew Bledsoe is on pace to throw for an NFL-record 5,424 yards. And if he doesn't, Tom Brady is on a pace to throw for an NFL-record 5,189 yards. (The season record, held by Dan Marino, is 5,084 yards.) "
It'll be fun to see how that plays out. Hopefully, they both remain on the record pace at least until the two teams meet. Also, in the same article there is a piece about how the blitz failed both teams in the game.

The Pats also managed to hang onto the top Power Ranking spot despite their less than great showing this week.

Bill Simmons writes a eulogy for the Red Sox.

I think I'm going to be purchasing a new Driver for my golf bag soon. I've got my choices narrowed down to the Titleist 975 J, or the Callaway C4. I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who has either of these clubs and what your thoughts are on them. You can e-mail me at SportsScene@hotmail.com. Thanks.

2002-09-04T10:18:00.000-04:00

If there is one thing that bothers me the most about being a Boston/New England sports fan, it is the negativity that is shown around these parts. Media and fans alike can take anything, anything, and find a negative about it. It is maybe the one thing that Rick Pitino was right about in the time that he spent here.

For instance, Paul Pierce is playing in the World Championships in Indianapolis right now. He is having a great tourney, definately the leader of the team thus far. When the team needs a basket, or needs to go on a run, it is Pierce that they are turning too. And Paul has delivered. He has had some huge quarters to put teams away, including a 20 point quarter the other night. But what are people saying about it? Looking at all the Celtics message boards, many fans are unhappy with Pierce. They say it shows a selfishness about him. He needs to learn to pass and play team ball. He takes too many shots. He's not getting his teammates involved. The truth of the matter is, it appears as though Paul is the only one on the team who genuinely cares about winning this thing. While the other members of the team appear to be going through the motions, (except maybe Ben Wallace), Paul is doing all he can to win. The team has not played well in the first half's, and if you have noticed, Paul has not tried to take control a lot in the first half's of these games. I think that he is just giving his teammates a chance to do their thing, but at halftime he is becoming frustrated with them and so he decides to take over the game.
But that is evidently not good enough for people around here. It means that Pierce is selfish. What I would like is for these (not very knowledgeable) fans to submit a list of players they would rather have besides Pierce. My list would be short. Kobe, Duncan, (I leave Shaq out because of health concerns), and I can't think of anyone else I would rather have. So please, enlighten me, who do you want instead of Pierce? Or you could stop trying to create negatives and enjoy the fact that one of the top five players in the league plays for the team you root for.

What about Manny Ramirez? If someone said to you at the beginning of the year, "We'd like to give you an outfielder who will hit .372 in the first month of the season, get hurt and miss almost 2 months that throws him completely out of his rhythm, but then come back and pick it right up again so that with a month to go he is batting .333 with 25 HR's and 80 RBI's", what would you say? I think you'd be foolish not to take him. Even with the time missed because of the injury, he is still very valuable. But all anyone wants to do is take shots at him. He's lazy, he doesn't run hard, he misplays balls hit to him in the outfield.... I guess it is just the nature around here to look for the bad and overlook the good. Maybe the people saying those things want Darren Bragg back out there in right field. Maybe they yearn to have Jay Gibbins and his .242 average patrolling the outfield. I don't know. All I can say is that they make fools of themselves and sound like they know nothing when they criticize Manny.

I won't even get into Ron Borges and his vendetta against the Pats and Bill Belichick.

2002-08-30T11:32:00.000-04:00

I get the sense that no one really cares right now whether or not baseball strikes. Most people I talk to are very indifferent to it. Actually, quite a few people I talk to actually are hoping a strike happens. I am undecided on what I want to happen. My hopes for a strike would only be because I have no desire to see the Red Sox again this year. But I am not sure about the repercussions a strike would have in future years. I know that my disdain for the Sox is not a good reason to want a strike.

With no sports of any real consequence happening until next Monday night, I'm going to take advantage of the next week or so to look more closely at this site and some things I can do to improve it. I apologize for not posting much this week, but my 'real job' has kept me pretty busy. I appreciate your comments and suggestions so keep them coming.

Just a few links for today..... Shaughnessy has a pretty decent article that sums up most fans feelings toward baseball right now.

Also, there are quite a few articles about the Pats, including one about how Belichick stopped the Rams on that glorious February night. You can also read about teams plans to stop Brady this year and a closer look at the Pats Super Bowl game plan.

2002-08-27T16:47:00.000-04:00

ESPN is reporting that it was mostly Jamal Anderson's decision not to sign with the Patriots. He is evidently still concerned about his knee. I don't know if I could have dealt with watching him do the 'dirty bird' after TD's anyway.

In another snub to the Patriots, ESPN had their so called 'experts' pick who the NFL's best coach is. Not one of them picked Belichick. Jeff Fisher actually made the list but Belichick didn't? Give me a break. John Madden calls Belichick a 'gym rat coach'.
Len Pasquarelli also talks about the leadership that Drew Bledsoe is bringing to the Bills.
Bill Simmons picks Hoosiers as his favorite movie.

2002-08-27T11:49:00.000-04:00

Yes, it was a really big win for the Sox. No, I am not convinced that this is going to snap them out of their funk. I think that whatever is ailing them is a lot deeper than being able to be fixed in one game. I actually watched the whole game last night. I was pretty frustrated but I stuck it out. It's always been a pet peeve of mine when people leave the game early or turn the TV off. It's that whole fair-weather fan thing. But the way this Sox team is, you almost get a mulligan right now if you do that. I've done it myself a few times in the past few weeks. For some reason, though, last night I decided to keep it on. (just as a reference, I NEVER EVER turn off Celtics games. I'll sit through a 40-point loss if I have to but I watch every C's game from start to finish.)

Not to look to the bad side of things, but Cliff Floyd continues to fail in the clutch. Don't tell me that his 9th inning at bat was clutch because there was no pressure on him at the time. I forget where I read it, but his average with runners in scoring position since coming over to the Sox is something like .150. He has still not driven in anyone but himself. I just don't think the guy is a clutch hitter. I hope he proves me wrong.

The other thing that has been annoying me, (don't mind me... i'm on a roll here), is that stupid little hand slap thing that Bob Rogers and Jim Corsi do at the beginning of their show after a Sox win. It's almost like a high five but they only use their index and middle fingers. Excuse the crudeness of this next comment, but it makes them look like two of the biggest sissies around. At what point did they get together and decide that that would be their signature thing? It needs to go very quickly.

And Rogers needs to learn how to do an interview. For all the talk about Tony Clark joining their show last night, neither Rogers nor Corsi asked any tough questions. Rogers tried to, but he was so afraid to ask them that every time he prefaced the question by saying, "I'm sorry to do this Tony, but I have to ask a tough question". Then he would ask something like 'is the labor situation affecting your play?' If your going to ask a tough question then ask them how they feel about all the vendors at all the major league ballparks that are going to be out of work because of them.

At some point I'll go more in depth about that Extra Innings show because it deserves it's own rambling. That and Sportsdesk are quite possibly the two worst sports shows to ever be on television. I wonder about the people that call in and say they are doing a great job. Maybe they are being held hostage and are forced to make the call.

Anyways, still 7 and 3 out, respectively. All the win did was delay the inevitable, in my opinion. If they can win these 2 against NYY, then maybe there will be a flicker of hope. It's all up to you now, Casey Fossum. This is the biggest start of your career. Lets see what you are made of.

2002-08-23T09:37:00.000-04:00

Nice job by those little leaguers. Probably the first time that I have ever watched more than an inning or so of a little league game. Maybe the Sox should take some tips from that team as to how to beat a NY team when the game means something. Anyways, congrats to the boys from Worcester. I'll be watching again tomorrow night.

Speaking of the Sox, does anyone else remember the last time they won a series? I'm shocked that they won 2 in a row. They did it in pretty convincing fashion though. And at this point, I'll take any wins we can get. Bob Hohler agrees with what I said yesterday in that Nomars speech in the dugout could be the start of something big.

Bob Duffy somehow is able to turn a story about Manny reaching 100 RBI's in his career into a chance to take a shot at him. Is this guy the biggest media punching bag or what? It's like they say... It's easier to abuse someone who you know will not retaliate.

The Globe's notebook by Bob Hohler tells us that Grady Little might bat Nomar leadoff with Damon out. It also chronicles the injuries Damon has had this year as well as the release of Chris Haney.

Steve Buckley turns in a quality piece of work today as he tells the story of Tony Conigliaro's daughter. Most people will be surprised to find out he had a daughter. The article talks about the strength of the woman who gave birth to Jessica Wheaton. She'll also be at Fenway tonight. Kudos to Buckley on this one.

Bob Kraft is recovering this morning. Many of the players sent him get well wishes. It is the first time that Kraft has had any type of heart problem.

Joe Vieira catches up with Erick Strickland. The Celts are offering him a 1 year deal at the league minimum. Strick says they need to offer more or he is leaving. Well don't let the door hit you on the way out of town. We can do with out all the ill-advised shots, the horrible passes, and the general lack of basketball sense. There's a reason you have bounced all around the league in your short six years. Come back and talk to us if you ever realize that you are not a superstar. Taking the occasional exciting charge can only cover up your deficiencies for so long.

2002-08-22T14:44:00.000-04:00

Bob Kraft has had unscheduled heart bypass surgery. He evidently was in the hospital for a routine checkup when the doctors told him he needed the procedure immediately.

2002-08-22T08:28:00.000-04:00

Sometimes it takes a sort of fluke hit to get a team out of a funk. Now I think it is going to take a lot more than one game for the Red Sox to right their ship. But it has to start somewhere. Nomar's grounder could have been fielded and he could have been thrown out. That is the type of luck the Sox have been having. But the Sox finally caught a break. Maybe it's what they needed to get on the right track. Only time will tell. It's nice to hear that Nomar was finally vocal about the team too. "Garciaparra bounded into the dugout and shouted, ''Let's go, we're a better team than this. There's no way they should be shutting us out. Let's get this thing done.''" Lets see what happens tonight.
Jeff Horrigan also recaps the game. Tony Maz does a good job of summing up Nomar's emotional speech.

Nomar talks about not swinging at the first pitch in his 8th inning At-Bat. Maybe seeing how things turned out will help him realize sometimes it's a good idea to look at a pitch or 2 before swinging. Bob Ryan gives his pitch for Alan Embree as the closer, and wishes for a time when there was no such thing as closers.

The Dallas Morning News has a little blip about Carl Everett's return to Fenway. "All I want them to do is say something original," Everett said Wednesday afternoon. "I wanted something better than all that 'Everett, you [stink].' I couldn't give them any energy by getting into it, because they weren't giving me any energy. It was just kind of boring."

Also a piece on Pedro in the same paper. A decent piece of writing. "He's a pitcher's pitcher now," said Rangers pitching coach Orel Hershiser, who was still Los Angeles' ace when Martinez was breaking into the majors in 1992. "I always thought he was a very good pitcher, but his dominance came from exceptional stuff. I see more strategy now. "

On the Patriots front... a look at Tom Knight, Jimmy Hitchcock, and also the Pats interest in Jamal Anderson. The Pats are also considering not returning to Bryant College next year.

Matt Traub takes a look at the Worcester little leaguers. I hope someone beans that kid from Harlem who was showboating around the bases.

2002-08-19T09:11:00.000-04:00

Didn't the Red Sox get Cliff Floyd so that he could come through in situations like that? I mean, does the guy have a meaningful hit or RBI since the Sox obtained him? I was talking with Dan, a friend of mine, and he mentioned that Cliff is batting close to .400 so you can't fault him. But I think maybe you can. He has 3 RBI's on 3 solo HR's since coming here. He has 7 doubles since coming here but no RBI's as a result of those doubles. So the argument is that he can't get RBI's if no one is on base. But I think that the problem is that he chokes when there are guys on base. He only gets his hits when the bases are empty and the hits are pretty much meaningless.

Anyways, the strike can't come fast enough. I hope they strike and I hope it cancels the season. Heck, take next season too. Who cares?

The Red Sox are the Washington Redskins of MLB.

2002-08-16T09:13:00.000-04:00

I had the opportunity to go to CMGI Field (Gillette Stadium) last night for a dinner and tour. During dinner Jonathan Kraft spoke to the group and discussed last years team. He attributed all the success to Bill Belichick and his attitude. After the Miami game, when the team was 1-3, everyone was really down in the locker room and there was a feeling like everyone was ready to give up on the season. Belichick told the team that the whole coaching staff had confidence in the team and felt they could win. He said that he only wanted players who felt the same way to show up to practice. He didn't care if it was 53 guys, 25 guys, or 11 guys. Those were the only players he wanted. The next weeks game was when they were down by 10 to San Diego with 7 minutes left and they came back to win. Kraft thinks they would have given up in that game without Belichick's speech.
When Kraft was talking about the team being 1-3, he said that it appeared the team was down for the count. He mentioned that the star quarterback was in the hospital and had almost died. He then had his funniest line when he said that their most gifted player, Terry Glenn, had checked out to whatever universe he is from. After the laughs died down, Kraft said he wishes Terry well but only because if he catches 75 balls this year, the Pats get GB's 2nd round draft pick. After that he doesn't care what happens.

After speaking to the whole group, I had a chance to get an exclusive interview with Jonathan Kraft. I discussed with him the success of the stadium and how he feels about going to a game there. His excitement was not hidden when he talked about not being able to wait for the first game. Jonathan is very proud of the stadium and it shows.

Next was the tour of the stadium. The function took place in the clubhouse, which is a huge room with probably around 100 tables. The ceiling is open for 4 stories high. On one side of the room are windows that look out over the Foxboro woods. It is quite a view since the function room is up pretty high in the stadium. The other side of the room is all windows that overlook the field. The tour brought us first to the luxury suites. I believe there were 16 seats, two rows of 8 each that look down to the field. The windows slide open. The suites are very big and owners get 32 seats for game days. The only thing I don't like is that there is no balcony where you can go outside and watch the game. All seats are inside. Also, if you were ever in the middle of the row, you would not be able to get out because there is zero legroom. A minor complaint, yes, but it seems like that would not be a problem in a suite that goes for $325,000 a year.

We were off to the press box next. Again, a very large room with food and drinks for the reporters. Probably about 20 seats up against the window overlooking the field. The reporters will be getting their view from basically behind the end zone.

The concourse level is twice as wide as any other stadium in the country. There are no walls blocking the field. The Kraft's did that so that while you are waiting in line for food or drink, you can still see the field and watch the action. Jonathan Kraft said that was done to avoid missing big plays while you are in line. It's a nice touch.

The stadium was designed to have as much wind as possible whipping through. It was very windy there and a woman on the tour asked about it. It was done to give a competitive advantage to the Patriots. It was mentioned that for games like Miami coming here in December, the wind and cold makes it very tough on them. There is also a competitive edge with how the teams get to the locker rooms at halftime. On the home side, right behind where the team sits, is a tunnel that leads directly to the Pats locker room. It is almost like a dugout for a baseball team where you have very quick access to the locker room. The visiting team, on the other hand, has no tunnel. They have to walk all the way around the backside of the end zone and near the home teams side of the field. They then enter a separate tunnel before doubling back and walking under the stands and back around to their side of the field where they walk the length of the stadium to get to their locker room. That seems to be the Red Auerbach touch to the stadium.

Overall, it is a very impressive place. I look forward to attending a game there and taking in the atmosphere. A job well done by the Patriots organization.

2002-08-15T09:47:00.000-04:00

It's nice to see the Sox win even though Derek wasn't completely on his game. Those are the types of games that they have not been able to win this year, when they weren't as sharp as they could be. It would be nice of they could use that as a turning point. Good to see Trot starting to hit the ball, too.

Tony Clark discusses the different strike possibilities but still says he is optimistic a deal will get done. ''I imagine if there's a strike, it's going to hurt everyone,'' he said.

In Bob Hohlers notebook, Pedro reveals that he was fined $1000 for hitting Ben Grieve on July 25th. Bob Watson told him that he would not be fined if he only said it was an accident, but Pedro did not want to lie. Also a blip from Grady Little about looking back at all the Sox missed opportunities this year: ''If we look back, we're going to get indigestion.''

As I wrote here on August 7th, the Nets signing Dikembe Mutumbo did not concern me too much. But their signing of Rodney Rogers yesterday does. I think I may now be ready to concede the division to the Nets. I know a lot can happen over the course of a season, but as things are now, and with everyone remaining healthy, the Nets are going to be really tough to beat. With Jason Kidd (TWB) still on the team, their offense was going to be good anyways. But we have all seen what Rodney can do to a defense. If NJ plays Rodney and Dikembe together, they will be very tough to defend. One question remains... why couldn't the C's have just used the money they spent on Walter and given it to Rodney? It doesn't seem like a tough choice to me.

The Patriots signed old friend (foe?) Jimmy Hitchcock yesterday. Jimmy was not well liked in his time here from 95 to 97. It was pointed out on WEEI yesterday that all the Pats need now is to sign Willie Clay and they would have the exact same secondary as their 1996 Super Bowl team. That secondary was coached by Bill Belichick.
Michael Felger talks about the difficulties the Pats may have in signing Belichick and Scott Pioli. As usual, Felger is way out in left field on this one.

Bill Simmons talks about the new Madden football game and discusses his video game history with us.

2002-08-14T09:05:00.000-04:00

Not the best start to a road trip. It makes it worse that the Yanks, Angels, and A's all won last night too. Just about the worst scenario you could imagine. At least Lowe pitches tonight. I still think Pedro should have pitched the 3rd game of this series.

Burkett started out well, but faded quickly. He now has the worst road ERA in the league at 6.51. Bob Hohler also takes the opportunity to take an uncalled for shot at Manny saying, "Though Ramirez managed to make his way around the bases without fracturing a finger, as he did in his last visit to Safeco May 11". Just another case of the media piling on Manny.

Larry Bird will present Magic Johnson when Magic is inducted into the Hall of Fame.

2002-08-12T14:10:00.000-04:00

So what constitutes a great team? Is it just sheer numbers? Stats? Does chemistry play a role? Certainly the record has a big part in it, but it isn't everything. What about overcoming obstacles? You may not have the best record but if you overcame a lot just to get where you did, shouldn't that count?
Why do I ask these questions? ESPN Page 2 did a piece on the 10 greatest football teams of all time. Your NE Patriots of this past season are not on the list. My first thought was that they maybe should have eked out the 9 or 10 spot. After reading the list, I'm not so sure. There are some really great teams on that list. I completely understand the omission. But there is an honorable mention section that the Pats are left out of too. This is the part that gets me a little bit. It's not like the honorable mentions are ranked. So would it have killed ESPN to put the Pats in there? I guess it goes back to the whole lack of respect and everyone thinking it was a fluke thing. It's just more fuel for the Pats to use this year as motivation. I put a poll up so you can vote as to weather the Pats should have been mentioned as one of the greatest teams.

This from Frank Hughes who writes for ESPN:
Here are several reasons why Vin Baker is going to fail in Boston.

"In a story in the Boston Globe last weekend, Baker's father, James, was quoted as saying "certain people" within the organization were bad influences on Vin, as if Gary Payton physically forced Baker into the limo at 3 in the morning to go out clubbing. Then, Vin Baker told the Globe: "Nate (McMillan) couldn't stand me," and that "internal problems" in the organization were the reason why his reputation and his game faltered. Until both Vin Baker and his family stop blaming other people and take responsibility for what happened to Baker in Seattle, he is going to continue living the lie, and he is never going to become the player he thinks he is."

My issue is this... Frank Hughes also writes for the Tacoma (Wash.) News-Tribune. So isn't he a little bit biased? Baker is public enemy #1 in Washington right now, so it only makes sense that a writer from that area would say he is going to fail. I guess that's another one for the garbage pail.

Sean McAdam ranks his AL MVP candidates. D-Lowe and Pedro make the list.

2002-08-09T09:12:00.000-04:00

So which media personalities are upset that the Sox won last night? Definitely Dan Shaughnessy. I'm sure he had a 'the season is over' column lined up and ready to go. Dennis and Callahan? You bet. They were ready to rip anyone and everyone. It's just the joy of being subjected to Boston Media that we have to listen to these guys you get the most enjoyment from proclaiming gloom and doom.

As it is though, D-Lowe saved the day. Cliff Floyd collected his first 2 Fenway hits. He talks about how he was looking for Zito's fastball.

The Mariner's picked up Jose Offerman. Excuse me for a few moments while I stop laughing.

2002-08-08T09:34:00.000-04:00

Great catch.
Hopefully it is not the type of play that submarines a season. Gordon Edes thinks it might be. Tonight's game just became huge. If the Sox win, it takes the sting out a little bit. If they lose, it not only extends the sting, but it means they get swept and would trail 2 teams in the wild card race. Then I think maybe the bad effects could start to linger. I am glad Lowe is pitching tonight. Now it would be nice if the team could score some runs.

Why does it seem like whatever the Sox do is never good enough? Wasn't getting Cliff Floyd supposed to strengthen the offense? Weren't these 1 and 2 run games supposed to stop? When you have Nomar, Manny, and Cliff in the middle of your lineup, is there any excuse for scoring only 1 run? Or 2? Why does nothing ever seem to fall into place? Don't get me wrong. I still hold out a lot of hope for this season. But that incessant feeling is always there that no matter what the Sox ever do, it will never be enough. It is probably more frustrating to be a Red Sox fan than a fan of any other pro team.

Manny doesn't seem to concerned, but that's nothing new.

These are Johnny Damon's recent comments: ``This team is good enough to make the playoffs,'' center fielder Johnny Damon said. ``The way our club is right now we might be better than the Yankees. I like our club.'' Hey Johnny... you might want to consider winning some games against teams you are in contention with before making that claim.

And yes, I'm ticked off today.

2002-08-07T09:11:00.000-04:00

I'll touch on the NJ\Philly trade.
Good for NJ - maybe ; Bad for Philly - probably.
At face value, it looks like New Jersey made out like bandits. Mutumbo is a defensive presence and can score some when he feels like it. Van Horn was never going to work in Jersey, for whatever reason. So it seems as though they got a steal and really improved their team. But.... Mutumbo is 36 years old, or so they say. Does anyone really know if that is his age for sure? Maybe I'm thinking of the wrong guy, but I thought there was some doubt a few years back on how old he really was. Even if he is 36, that is getting up there for a ballplayer. How much can he have left in the tank? He has 3 more years on his contract and you can only expect that his skills will be declining at this point in his career. How quickly those skills decline will determine how good the trade is for NJ.

As for Philly, maybe they saw that Dikembe had lost a step. Maybe they felt that decline was coming quickly and wanted out from under his huge contract. That would explain taking on Van Horn, who has done nothing in the league after being touted as a great player. Remember Pitino trying to move up in that draft because he wanted Van Horn after it became obvious that SA was taking Duncan? He was supposed to be a superstar. It's never happened. He has not been much more than serviceable. The minute he has one of his classic 4-20 games, Iverson will stop giving him the ball. I don't see this as a good fit. Todd MacCulloch does not inspire fear in opposing teams. He is big, but not much more. He has developed some decent offensive moves, but again, nothing anyone is afraid of or will go out of their way to try and stop.

Like any trade, only time will tell who it ends up benefiting. At this point though, it looks like maybe one good year for NJ, and then the trade could easily turn into a lose-lose situation for both teams.

Not much else of interest in the local papers. Sox lost... end of the world.... blah blah blah....
There's a few more bio's on Pats players. Jarvis Green, Damien Woody, Fred Coleman .

2002-08-06T10:03:00.000-04:00

Chad Ford of ESPN Insider is reporting that the Celtics may be in the process of making a deal for Sam Cassell. This is one trade that I would love and I think would be great for the team. I have never really liked Sam Cassell, but I think it is mostly because of the way he has burned the Celts. He would look great in green. Walker, Pierce, Baker, and Cassell? That's a scary lineup. I would feel really good about the season. Of course, ESPN Insider has a tendency to just throw things out there with no evidence of any truth to it, so who knows?

Bobby-Jo Williams Ferrell has asked fans to help her pay her legal bills in an effort to stop her father from being frozen. People tend to forget things after a while, and I think that is what is happening with this story. I highly doubt that fans will give money for this cause. And with interest dwindling, my guess is that Ted will remain frozen. It's just a hunch I have. JHW is too much of a weasel and I'm sure he made sure he would be covered. Johnny Pesky wouldn't give money either. "I've never heard of such a thing. That's a family matter,'' Pesky said. "I don't think it should have gone this far.''

ESPN Page 2's newest list discusses the 10 worst baseball trades of all time. The Red Sox make number 2 and number 7. One was good for the Sox; the other not so good. Can you figure out what the 2 trades are before looking at the article?

The Raiders are still upset over the Tom Brady non-fumble. Apparently, during a meeting discussing rule changes, members of the Raiders got up and stormed out because the 'tuck rule' was not being changed. Brady had this to say: ''Are they still stewing over that? You figure they'd get over it by now.'' Lawyer Milloy had this to say: ``They need to let it go. The fact of the matter is we went on from there and never looked back. We went out and did some things in some other stadiums that I don't think they could have done.''

Tony Maz compares Lowe vs Pedro. Who do you start in game 1 of a playoff series? If Lowe goes first, he can probably pitch on 3 days rest and give you 3 starts in a series. But Pedro has experience and probably gives you a better chance to win.

Every response I have received about my blurb on D&C has supported my opinion of them. I have not had one person e-mail in to argue with my point. Reader Jerome had this to say:
"Callahan is a pathetic little twit who does not have one bit of compassion in his soul. As an Irishman, I'm ashamed to think he is one of mine. I hate to think what he will ever do if his children should have the misfortune to consider some attitudes counter to his caveman mentality."

I still challenge anyone who enjoys D&C to e-mail in and give reasons why.

2002-08-05T09:11:00.000-04:00

"The Swiss make watches. The French make Bordeaux. The Red Sox send Pedro Martinez to the mound. And they're all good. "

Those are the words Bob Hohler uses to start his column today. Personally, I don't have any words right now for how Pedro is pitching. How long can it last? Will we ever learn to not doubt this guy?

When I flipped on the game and saw that Manny was not in the lineup, I had my doubts. Day off today.... so why not play him last night? Of course, it turned out they didn't need him. But Grady's decisions are starting to take on the feeling of Jimy's decisions, where you are asking yourself why in the world did he do that? But like Jimy, most of the time it works out. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out.

Will Rolando Arrojo be the next one released by the Sox? He is in one of his disinterested stages right now and the team can't afford that. He cost the team the game on Saturday simply because he didn't care. He grooved that pitch. Little has said the team may need to make more changes in the bullpen. I say you continue to get rid of all the dead wood that the Duke brought in. Arrojo is one of the last remaining pieces.

Shaughnessy puts together a 'Summer mysteries' piece. This gem is included:
'Did you find yourself rooting for the Yankees to beat the Angels over the weekend? Painful as it was, it made sense for Sox fans.'
Here's the thing Danno... it doesn't make sense, unless you are a quitter. 4 games back, 51 to play, including 5 head to head with the Yankees. Seems to me like there is still a pretty good chance they could overtake the Yanks. I'm not saying it will happen, but it's a little early to start focusing on the wildcard. Maybe if there were 10 games left, but not 51. You must have zero competitiveness inside of you.

Patriots players highlighted today include Victor Green, JR Redmond, Richard Seymour and Matt Light, and Donald Hayes.

2002-08-02T10:53:00.000-04:00

It sure is nice not to see Offerman in the lineup, isn't it? No more automatic outs. No more stupid baserunning plays. Dan Shaughnessy breaks out his 'piece of junk' statement again, only he says it was too kind. He's probably not too far off considering the tantrum that Offerman threw when told he was cut. Mike Port is right on with these comments: ''If I do say so, the thought I had was that for millions of dollars a year, [it was just] a day's inconvenience.'' You couldn't be more right, Mike. If I got 6.5 million, I wouldn't mind going out of my way for one day. Massarotti covers the story for the Herald.

Despite the loss, it was a great debut for Cliff Floyd. 2 doubles and on base 4 times. In a normal game, that type of performance is often the difference. Tony Maz also looks at the trade.

Nick Cafardo looks in depth at Bill Russell's visit to Patriots camp, including quotes from Pats players.
''I rank that up there with the birth of my daughters and the Super Bowl. I shook Bill Russell's hand,'' said Milloy.

Milloy is also excited to face Drew Bledsoe twice this year. ``Those two games, for me . . . There are only a few guys that I really, really respect in this league. And the way I work is, if I respect you, you're going to get my best. And that's what I'm going to do with him. I'm going to want to kick his ass, basically.''

I guess until the Celtics season starts, we'll get a Vin Baker article once every few days. You can only read so much about a player, but we are still being submitted to the articles. Shira Springer regurgitates the information today. I hope the Vin Baker trade works out as much as anyone, but I don't see how knowing what restaurant he eats at affects me.

Bill Simmons chronicles Mike Myers in the Halloween movies. The Bob Ryan quotes in particular are hilarious. Picture Bob Ryan with all his mannerism's and gestures saying those things. Great job by Simmons to capture that.

2002-08-01T18:53:00.000-04:00

Kind of a minor gaffe by 1510 The Zone this afternoon. Around 6:30 Butch Stearns broke the news that the Red Sox had released Jose Offerman. Butch proceeded to go into a long rant about how real sports stations give you news as it happens and you don't have to wait to find out about it. The reference was that WEEI does not fill in their listeners as quickly as The Zone does. The problem is, WEEI had announced the release of Offerman at 6:05. It is important to make sure you have a point before you try and make one.

2002-08-01T14:00:00.000-04:00

Bill Belichick continues to be the master of motivation. Bill Russell appeared before the team today to talk to them about how to be successful while trying to repeat as champions. The team gave Russell 2 standing ovations.

2002-08-01T09:53:00.000-04:00

Big win for the Sox last night. With the Yankees losing, they obviously pick up a game there. But winning or losing last night was the difference between either being tied or being 2 down in the wild card race. Very important to take care of business like that when you have the chance. The Sox easily could have swept too. They handled the Angels pretty easily.

Gordon Edes column is suspicious today. Edes brings up the possibility that the Sox getting Cliff Floyd was a conspiracy. The problem is he never gives any evidence. "Some people, many of whom spoke with an accent that comes from living on the East River, smelled a rat," says Edes. Well who are these people Gordon? Where are their quotes? Or maybe you are just trying to stir something up here. Throw it at the wall and see if it sticks? Bad journalism there. Michael Gee says the same thing, but you expect it out of Gee since he is the worst writer in town.

Tony Maz, on the other hand, sees the trade for what it is. A great deal by the Red Sox. Nothing more, nothing less. He also gives Clifford a new nickname, "Clifford the Big Red Sock". That's pretty good. Gotta give Tony credit there.

The Yankees weigh in on the trade, including Georgy Porgy. He should never complain about anything under any circumstance, and yet he finds a way too. ``If Major League Baseball owns Montreal and they get (Floyd) and (three) weeks later they trade him to our biggest competitor, that's hard to believe,'' Steinbrenner told The Post yesterday. ``What's that say?'' Just shut up George.

The Sox also picked up reliever Bobby Howry from the White Sox yesterday. Is there something behind the scenes here too Gordon?

2002-07-31T09:44:00.000-04:00

Let me state first that I was dead wrong about last nights game. I am forced to eat my words once again. Just a great game by Petey.

Secondly, I don't know too much about Cliff Floyd. I'll have to do some research. I do know that he has not been hot lately. We'll hear a lot about his 21 HR's. But only 9 of those have come since May 1st. I certainly think he can help, but where does he play? Do you DH Manny? Split the DH'ing between Cliff and Manny? Cliff has stated he is not comfortable at first base. Maybe you make him get comfortable. The Globe has had some trouble with their links lately. Many times a link will lead to the wrong article. That is the case with their Cliff Floyd article today on the main sports page. You have to go into the Red Sox section and then click the link before it will bring you to the correct article.

Gordon Edes approves of the trade. Apparently, one of Pedro's nicknames for Floyd is 'Papaya Head'. We can only hope that name sticks. What if people brought papaya's to the game and threw them on the field after Floyd's HR's? Like Montreal used to do with 'Oh Henry' bars for Henry Rodriguez. Pedro still wants the team to get Bartolo Colon. Probably unlikely now. The Sox would probably be accused of something if they make 2 trades with Montreal in 2 days.

As stated, Pedro was masterful. From the article: "Martinez is now 7-0 with a 1.28 ERA in his last eight starts, dating back to mid-June." Wow.

The yo-yo that is Tim Wakefield will be making his fifth start of the year tonight. Grady Little says it is probably only temporary.

Charlie Weiss talks about his surgery in Kevin Mannix's column today. Weiss says there is no way he would do it again if he had the decision to make over again.
``I know that physical appearance comes into play (when owners hire head coaches), but in no way would that be my main priority in having something this dramatic done. This wasn't elective surgery for me. I did it because I should have had it done, not because I wanted it. It just didn't turn out right.''
``People can talk about Weight Watchers, but guess what? I've done all those things only to gain the weight back. (Having gastric reduction) was a lifetime decision.''
I personally know people who have had this surgery. It is not the simple procedure most people think it is. It is something that takes a long time to recover from and has a lot of risks. I hope everything works out for Charlie. Michael Smith of the Globe also discusses this.

In the Patriots Notebook (Michael Smith), Willie McGinest is featured. He is healthy and looks to make a big impact this year. Also a piece on Tebucky Jones, who Belechick calls the Troy Brown of the defense. Has a guy ever been coached worse than Tebucky was by Pete Carroll? Or was it just that Tebucky needed time to grow into his role?

The good news just doesn't stop flowing from the Bruins. Kyle McLaren has spoken again, but only to say there is no chance of him resigning with the B's. ``We've asked for a trade and we're going to stick to it,'' said McLaren. ``I'm not going to back down and sign a deal I don't want to sign. We made the request and now we're just hoping for them to do something with it.''

Michael Holley is still having trouble understanding the Vin Baker deal. Join the club Michael. No one will really understand what this trade means until the season starts and we see how the team pans out. Until then, it's just one person's opinion against another's.

We will also see instant replay next year in the NBA. It will basically only be used for last second shots.

2002-07-30T15:12:00.000-04:00

Not good news for the Sox tonight. Ramon Ortiz has dominated them throughout his short career. Even with Pedro pitching tonight, there is not a good feeling surrounding this game. Ortiz always seems to pitch better when going against Pedro, who he idolizes. Check out this stat: Johnny Damon, Trot Nixon, and Nomar are a combined 1 for 34 lifetime against Ortiz. Yikes.

I have made it clear in the past that I am not a Denis & Callahan fan. More reason for this has emerged this week. Most people have heard about the fund raiser over the weekend where a portion of route 128 was shut down for a lot of motorcycles to ride. The highway was shut down for about an hour but the event raised money for the Ronald McDonald house. Evidently, Gerry got stuck in traffic because of the event and has been harping on it ever since.

The thing is... he sounds very pompous and complainy, as if he is better than everyone else and he should not have to sit in traffic ever. A number of callers have called in to tell D&C this very thing, but they either hang up on them or make fun of them. The one caller that sticks in my mind commented on the coal miners in PA being rescued recently. He tried to tell Gerry that he needs to get his priorities straight. D&C proceeded to make comments saying that the guy must be on his way to pick up his welfare check and that there is no way he could have a job. How they deduced that from the gentlemen's comments is beyond me.
The thing is, D&C both feel they are above everyone else. When they fell threatened, they resort to name calling and insults. They are afraid of subjects they don't know anything about, so they just make fun of it. They are impossible to listen to and it's a shame. I doubt if 10 people could e-mail me to say that they honestly enjoy D&C's "Headlines" segment. I challenge anyone to e-mail me if you truly enjoy it. I doubt I will receive those e-mails because those types of people do not exist. How long can we go on listening to Gerry say how he wants convicts to get the death penalty and how he wants to watch and he would push the button and he hopes they get raped in prison...... GIVE IT A REST GERRY!! You are so in over your head. You hardly know anything about sports... what makes you think you are an expert on anything else?

One other thing Gerry.. I hope you get stuck in traffic on your way home today.

2002-07-29T15:21:00.000-04:00

I was at the FleetBoston Classic over the weekend and I will say this... If kids or even anyone in general is going to look up to a pro athlete as a role model, it should be a professional golfer. I have never been around a group of athletes who were so considerate, kind, and modest. I believe that the majority of golfers are like this. Instead of making a throat slashing motion(basketball) or spiking the ball(football) or breaking into a brawl(baseball), they simply tip their cap and move onto the next hole after making a good shot. I watched Arnie Palmer pitch in from 160 yards out for an eagle and he didn't break into a celebratory dance. All weekend long, I heard nothing about salary caps or luxury taxes. It was sport the way it was meant to be, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would recommend that anyone who has not been to a pro golf tourney go to the next one that you have thge chance to.

Jim Baker on ESPN discusses the week in preview. He points out that the Sox are 1 of 5 teams that have a better road record than home record. Interestingly, all 5 teams are in 2nd place. Sean McAdam previews the AL playoff race. Why would MLB talk to Mike Hargrove about the brawl but not Grady Little?

I had heard rumblings from people holding put hope that the C's would somehow deal for Andre Miller. It appears that will not happen as the Cavs have shipped Miller to Clipper-land.

If you want to take the ESPN IQ test, click here. I somehow managed a score of 15. The National average is 13. Don't get stumped by the Rich Garces question.

An interesting Anna Kournikova picture here. I wonder if anyone can explain it?

The Patriots are # 8 in the list of the 10 most shocking moments in NFL history.

2002-07-25T22:33:00.000-04:00

The Celtics are definitely the poster boys for teams that need to be made fun of right now. ESPN is just the latest in the long line of National media outlets to goof on the Celtics.
Bill Walton takes a shot too, as Jim Baker tells us. ``It's not much of a gamble unless you feel paying $50 million (actually $56 million) to a player who hasn't been in shape for three years is a gamble.''

Pedro improved to 4-0 in his last 5 starts. Normally, it wouldn't be a big deal to beat the D-Rays, but apparently they are a tough team for the Sox to beat right now. Any win is a good win. The Sox should be ashamed to split this series.

Jason Varitek has proven himself invaluable to the Red Sox. As has been stated many times, he was the Sox biggest loss last year, not Pedro or Nomar.

Pedro Martinez is simply a joy to have around. I can't think of anyone that I would rather listen to being interviewed. These quotes from today:
''It didn't matter to me,'' Martinez said of the warning. ''I was as ready to go out as go in. Warning or not, I wasn't scared and I never will be. I've been around long enough and I know what to do. I protect my players. I don't take nothing from anybody, even if I have to do it 30 times in a row. It's a message I am known for. A lot of people misjudge it but that's the way the game is played. Or the way it used to be played.''
On the Yankees: ''We are as good as they are,'' Martinez said. ''I don't think they beat us [last week]. They got lucky and sometimes lucky is better than good. We could have swept them. They didn't play any better than we did.''
We will not realize until he is not in Boston anymore how much we will miss this guy. Whether he is pitching or talking, there is no one I would rather watch. I hope everyone realizes how privileged we all are to be able to be around during the Pedro era.

Frank Castillo has finally been pulled from the starting lineup. Casey Fossum will take his place. Frank took it well. ''I wasn't really surprised. After the nightmare [Wednesday] night, I figured they'd probably need to do something. I feel I can still start. Sometimes you need to take a step backwards before you move forward.''

Bob Hohlers notebook. Some interesting stuff in here. Rich Garces has been a valuable member of the Red Sox for six years now. There were times when he was as automatic as a reliever could be. You knew when he came in that it was lights out. That era may be coming to an end. Garces has obviously struggled this year. With Alan Embree and Carlos Baerga due to rejoin the team, some players will have to be moved out. Garces may be a candidate to be released. If you are at the game tonight or in the next few days, give Rich a good applause. He deserves it for all he has done for this organization.

Michael Holley says it will be tough for the Pats to repeat. Not much insight in this column. Everyone knows it's hard to repeat.

The Pats are ready to ride the No Respect thing again. Vegas has them at 10-1 odds and only picks the over-under at 8 games. Expect to hear a lot of comments about no respect from the players in coming days.

Michael Felger lists 10 things to look at as the Patriots training camp starts this week. He also continues his look at the Patriots, today focusing on Coaching and Kicking.

The note that JHW provided saying his father wants to be frozen may be a fake, according to Jules Crittenden's article in the Herald. Apparently it shows custom signs of forgery. I'm sure that JHW realizes the trouble he could get in if this thing is found to be fake, but I'm not sure Claudia does. Wouldn't it be something if she was to get scared and reveal that the note is fake and JHW made the whole thing up?

The Steelers still feel as though they should have won last years playoff game against the Pats. Kevin Mannix touches on this in his NFL Notes.
There's also an article about this on CNNSI.com. The Steelers are in denial. They talk as though they won that game.
Dewayne Washington: "I think we might have taken that team [the Patriots] for granted."
Jason Gildon: "It was painful, because we watched the defensive cut-ups, and there was no special teams in there. You watched that and said, 'I can't believe we lost this game."
Hines Ward: "I was so disgusted. I didn't want the Patriots or the Rams to win. I felt like we were the better team, but we just didn't go out and prove it."
Ward was one player that I was very happy to see lose. He had been very cocky the whole week, even implying that the game didn't even need to be played. It's a joy to watch some guys lose.

2002-07-25T15:00:00.000-04:00

ESPN Insider is reporting that the Celtics are interested in San Antonio's Antonio Daniels. SA does not really need him anymore since Tony Parker is their point guard now. A possible trade would be Delk for Daniels. It would give the C's a decent PG and SA a decent shooter. It fits the needs of both teams. I don't have the link but a reader e-mailed in to tip me off.

Mark Coffman talks about all the changes the Celts have made since the end of the season. For better or for worse, the team will be drastically different this year.

Marty Burns weighs in on the Celts trade and says that Larry Bird might want to hold off on this whole Charlotte thing. If this trade makes the C's worse, fans will want Gaston's head more than ever and will scream for Larry to return.

The front page of the Globe has a note that was supposedly written and signed by Ted Williams, John Henry Williams, and Claudia Williams. The note says that all three desired to be frozen together. Who knows if this thing is real? It very easily could have been put together by JHW. I wouldn't put it past that guy. For whatever reason, Claudia is also on board. Maybe it's a vendetta against her half sister.

Michael Felger discusses the Patriots Secondary, and then discusses the close call that Charlie Weiss had with his surgery, which included nearly dying.

Dr. Z of Sports Illustrated does his preseason NFL rankings and picks the Pats as number one. "In case you haven't heard, they're the defending Super Bowl champs, and on paper they're stronger now than they were last year. Superstars gone via the corporate raiding of free agency, the fate that usually befalls defending champions? None." No other AFC East team shows up until the Bills at number 15. Evidently, Dr.Z feels the Pats will run away with the division.
Also an article about Drew Bledsoe and how excited he is to be in Buffalo. Drew showed up early and says it feels like being a rookie all over again. You can find the full Patriots preview here.

Bill Simmons is upset that Hulk Hogan's return to the WWE was not included as one of the top 100 moments of the sports year.

2002-07-24T10:43:00.000-04:00

That was bad.

There is no excuse for the Sox to lose last nights game. That is far worse than either of the Yankee losses over the weekend. The lead should be 2 1/2 right now. Those are the types of games that lose the division for you. I apologize for not having any links to the Sox articles today, but I can't bring myself to read about it. I can't state enough how much the Sox are missing Alan Embree right now.

The Red Sox have lost another legend as longtime broadcaster Ned Martin Passed away yesterday. I hope all the clowns who were making fun of him on WEEI yesterday feel really good about themselves right now.

Not only is Gerry Callahan unlistenable (is that a word?) on the radio, but he has no class when he writes. This quote from the Herald today: "Baker is the key here. He is the wild card. He is Billy Bob Thornton and Wallace just tattooed his name on his private parts."
Thanks Gerry. You just think that one up? That is simply stated, Horrible Writing. I'm sure he could have gotten his point across without using that terminology, but it is the classless Gerry Callahan that we are talking about here.
Shira Springer has a positive article about Baker, and somehow manages to leave Chris Wallace's privates out of it.
The attitude of C's fans seems to be changing. Maybe it's because the deal is done now and there is no going back. There's not much else to do but accept it now. Maybe fans are simply trying to find the good side of this deal. There is a slim chance the deal could be great for the C's. If Baker plays well, it would give the team 3 legit All-Stars, which is plenty to win with. The Lakers have won (bought, stole, cheated other teams out of) 3 championships in a row with 2 All-stars. The problem is that there is probably only a 15-20 % chance of Baker turning into that player. More likely, he is just a big contract for 4 years who just eats up all your cap space.

Still nothing but good news coming out of Patriots camp. The team just seems to do whatever they want. Every signing, every free agent that comes to town; all of it always sounds good. The difference between the Pats right now and the other 3 teams in town is amazing.

ESPN lists it's top 100 moments of the year. The Pats rank as the 2nd best moment. They also have the 10 most shocking moments in baseball history. Bill Buckner is number 8 and Wade Boggs gets an honorable mention.

2002-07-22T15:30:00.000-04:00

Notice to all Celtics season ticket holders and fans:
Plan your vacations for June this year because there will be no basketball to watch in Boston during that month. The worst trade in franchise history has been completed.

2002-07-22T11:06:00.000-04:00

Surprisingly, I'm not all that upset about the Sox this weekend. I don't look at it like they blew 2 games. I look at it like they had the Yankees on the ropes in both those games and because of a couple of fluke plays the Yanks were able to win. I think the Sox come away from this weekend feeling good about their chances and I think the Yanks come away scared and feeling like a 4 game lead isn't enough. In previous years, when the Sox have played the Yankees in July or August, the Yanks have always either swept or won 2 of 3. But then it was always obvious that they were a much better team. This time, it is obvious that they got lucky and had no right winning.

(Anyone who read Fridays post read that I was scheduled for a camping trip and would miss all the games this weekend. Well, It was raining on Friday when we got to the campsite so my wife suggested we stay in a hotel for the night instead. I gladly obliged, and as a result got to see the Pedro game on Friday night. Probably the 2nd best game I've seen, behind the Pedro game in 99 against the Yanks.)

Bob Hohler's article tries to focus on the positives. The player quotes say they are still positive and that they know that they can play with the Yankees. Michael Holley says the Sox beat themselves. Tony Maz says the real test is the upcoming games to see if the Sox can bounce back.

Steve Buckley outlines Trot Nixon's mood after the game. Trot takes losses very hard, especially when he feels as though he is to blame. It makes it worse when the loss is against NYY.

Of course, the New York writers are having a field day picking on the Sox. George King calls the Red Sox the Dead Sox. He displays his amazing writing abilities in saying it is a 'four-gone' conclusion that the Yanks will win the division. He is alluding to the fact that the Yanks have a 4 game lead now. Lenn Robbins thinks Sox fans were crying after the game yesterday. He says Boston fans constantly weep and just wait around to feel pain from losing. I'm glad to see that Mr. Robbins is such an expert. Bill Madden says that Babe Ruth's ghost was in the outfield and caused the ball to go under Trot's glove. He says the Sox went sulking out of town. Funny, that's not what I gather from the Sox comments after the game. The only one to touch on that aspect of things in NY is Adam Rubin.

You'd think that losing the WS last year would have taken away at least a little bit of the cockiness that is shown by NY writers, but it seems as though they are cockier than ever. That's as much a reason as any to want the Sox to knock off the Yankees. Just so we can stick it to the writers down there.

By the way, in my opinion, if Alan Embree was healthy and available to pitch this weekend, the Sox would have won all three games. The Yankees might want to keep that in mind come September and October.

I am trying to remain calm, but if this Celtics deal goes through, as Shira Springer says it will, then I may need a few days off to let the dust settle. As I stated before, it would be the worst trade in team history. A horrible player with a horrible contract is what Vin Baker is. It was mentioned that even if the C's kept Kenny through this year, the relief from his salary would not be enough for them to go after a big name free agent next year. I read somewhere that this may be why the C's are considering this deal. It would be in essence trading Kenny's contract for Vin's. They are taking this chance in order to acquire a big man. In theory, this sounds good. However, it quickly turns sour when you look at Vin Bakers career right now. He is an overweight, disinterested player who is still owed 50 million dollars. That's all I'll say about this for now.

Switching gears to a real team and a real owner, the Globe had a feature on Bob Kraft yesterday. It's a feel-good type of story. It's nice to see a man like Kraft win a championship.

Michael Felger continues his review of the Pats. Today's targets are the Pats QB's. Saturday he looked at the running backs.

I'm very happy for Ernie Els. He deserved to win for playing as well as he did under the conditions. I am also happy that Tiger lost. Don't get me wrong; I like Tiger as much as the next guy. It's just that I didn't want him to win the Grand Slam, not just yet anyways. Jack has always been my favorite, and I don't think Tiger should overtake him yet. Jack never won the 3rd leg of the Grand Slam, and Tiger shouldn't yet either. Maybe in time.

The Pats are listed as 20-1 to win the Superbowl this year. The Rams are listed at 4-1. Nine teams total have better odds than the Pats. Maybe they can ride this 'no respect' thing again after all.

2002-07-19T10:16:00.000-04:00

Not good news on the Celtics front. First, they signed Bruno Sundov. Big deal. He will have next to no impact this year. But the worst thing is this proposed deal for Vin Baker. Are you kidding me?? Vin Baker? Vin has arguably the worst contract in the NBA. He gets the max for 3 more years. And he has not had a decent year since his Milwaukee days. This trade would just set the Celtics back in so many ways. In my opinion, I think they would struggle to win 35 games if they do the move. Who do they expect to play point guard if they trade Kenny? Strickland is gone but he was horrible anyways. Delk is not a PG. Forte? He's rumored to go to Seattle in the trade? Bremer? Just instills confidence in you, doesn't he? I'm all for trading Kenny, IF it gets you good young talent in return. Which is not out of the question since he had a good year last year and is in the last year of his contract. It makes him attractive to other teams. It almost seems like this is the first deal that was thrown at the Celtics braintrust and they figured 'lets do it' without even waiting to see what else might come along. This would be a horrendous move for the Celtics. If you want the team to have any success this year, you had better hope this doesn't happen.

The Green Team is scheduled for 19 nationally televised games after being scheduled for zero last year. It figures that the team gets exposure now that they are going to be a bad team again. Shira Springer also has comments from Omar Cook about the JR Bremer signing. ''I know I can play the game. I know what I can bring to this team. So, I'm not really concerned with my play. I know what I can do. Maybe it's something else. I'm still here and I can't worry about things I can't control. But it's real confusing. When you ask questions, you're not getting straight answers.''

So the Sox are about to hit the bronx. Bad planning on my part. I let my wife plan a camping trip a few months ago for this weekend. I guess it's my own fault for not checking the schedule first. I'll be checking e-mail though, so if anything of consequence happens, let me know. Do your part and keep me in the loop.
In theRed Sox Notebook, Bob Hohler discusses the attitude of the Sox going into NY this weekend. They obviously view the games as critical. Just change some of the names and pick a year and the comments from the Sox are the same every year when they go into NY in July. Tony Massarotti covers this angle too and says all the pressure is on the Yankees. The NY Post has a story about the rivalry from a Yankee point of view.

It's good to see Dustin Hermanson pitching well and without problems. It would be a boost to the bullpen if he could be available for this weekend series.

Hohler also has an article discussing the rivalry between the Sox and D-Rays. It's a strange one, considering the disparity between the clubs. Some interesting quotes:
Lou Merloni - ''It's the same M.O. every time we play these guys. If somebody is swinging the bat well or somebody burns them the night before, that guy ends up getting hit the next day. That's made for bad blood.''
Johnny Damon - ''It's an unfortunate part of this game. When you see teams play like that, you get mad, and I was. Beaning guys is a very dangerous business, so we'll put it in our memories and be ready to play them in a couple of days.''
The piece also talks about how Brent Abernathy accused Trot Nixon of throwing his bat at Ryan Rupe last year, which caused Nixon to say, "I dislike that boy", which is one of the funniest lines I have ever heard. Still makes me laugh today.

The Globe has a section today dedicated to re-living the Super Bowl run the Pats made. There's an enormous amount of articles in here, but if you have the time to read them, it's worth it. Brings back a lot of good memories.

Michael Felger looks at the Patriots tight ends. (insert sarcastic comment here)

Glenn Murray signed with the B's. Who gives a flying rats rear end.

For all the fuss about how Tiger did not play well yesterday, he still finished only 3 strokes off the lead. Sounds pretty good to me. Especially since the guys in front of him will probably fall off the pace. For the record, I'm pulling for Phil Mickelson to win all the way. He deserves it more than anyone else. At least for one day, one of the players in front of Tiger is Justin Rose, his playing partner. The Herald printed a nice article about him and how he has got to this point in his career.

2002-07-17T11:53:00.000-04:00

I am going to start out today by talking about the Shaw's summer league. I know it's a notch below exhibition games, but bear with me. I feel a rant coming on. Sure, the C's beat the Bullets, I mean Wizards. Sure, Kedrick and Joe played well (it's only one game but Joe made me eat my words). But I don't want to discuss the Celtics game. I'm interested in the previous game, the one between the Nets and the Hawks. With 2.9 seconds left in the 3rd quarter, Nets 2nd year man Richard Jefferson took offense to a screen that Hawks rookie Dan Dickau set on him. So what does the gutless Jefferson do? He waits until Dickau has his back turned and then he rushes him, gets him in a headlock, and throws him to the floor. Both players were ejected. Jefferson made some foolish comment about how Dickau is a rookie and so he can't just stand there and take that. (Someone ought to remind Jefferson that he is technically still a rookie since he hasn't started his second year yet). Jefferson was the fool who made the comments in the playoffs last year how he was looking forward to beating the Celtics in the Fleetcenter since they had all the old time players there. A complete show of unprofessionalism and disrespect. Now, you can almost excuse Jefferson since he is so young and immature. So that's not really the part that upsets me. The part that upsets me is Byron Scott's comments about the incident.
"You can't let rookies get away throwing elbows," Scott said. "Unfortunately, he got kicked out of the game. He's done his job."
He did his job? So... by that does he mean that he instructs his players to fight in games? Does he instruct his players to swing at other players in certain instances? It makes you wonder about all the incidents that Kenyon Martin had last year. Was it directly related to Scott's instructions? I don't care if this is a summer league. Scott should be fined and the league should investigate. If Scott is indeed instructing his players to fight in games, he needs to be removed from his position as coach. Somehow it doesn't surprise me that this action comes from a former Laker.

So just when it looked like the Sox were at their lowest point, down 4-0 and on the verge of being swept by the Tigers, the bats woke up. At least for one day. This was due largely in part to Manny having his first ever 5-hit game. It would obviously be huge to see Manny go on a tear.

The Bruins horrendous offseason continues. Now it's Kyle McLaren who wants out. He is not a free agent so all he can do at this point is ask for a trade. The Bruins joke of a GM, Mike O'Connel, says the only way they'll trade Kyle is if they get similar talent in return. This organization is in serious trouble. Jacobs needs to sell the team, and the new owners need to fire the whole front office and start from scratch.

Along the same lines, Paul Gaston needs to sell the Celtics. Somewhere along the line, these two owners forgot that their jobs are to produce winning teams, not make as much money as they can. Peter May tells us that the chances of the C's retaining Rodney Rogers are slim. Take away Rodney, and this team immediately drops to a 7 or 8 seed at best. The salary cap going down for the first time in 18 years doesn't help matters. Jackie MacMullan has a piece on Oliver Miller, who is on the C's roster for the summer league team.
The Celtics also signed point guard J.R. Bremer yesterday, which probably means Omar Cook will not make the team. Thankfully, it also means the Erick Strickland will probably sign elsewhere.

With the British Open forthcoming, Jim McCabe interviews David Duval and asks about his chances of repeating as champion. George Kimball says that Tiger is ready to knock him off and continue his quest fro the Grand Slam.

The Herald is starting a series where they look at each position on the Patriots roster and discuss the needs. Michael Felger is first up today as he discusses the offensive line.

Cleveland Indians owner Larry Dolan blames George Steinbrenner for baseball's problems. Dolan says the George forces other teams to spend money they don't have simply so they can compete. Dolan also says that failing to sign Manny Ramirez 2 years ago was the "best thing that's never happened to me.''

Bill Simmons has one of his reader feedback columns. A lengthy piece about how long Phil Connors spent in Punxsutawney, Pa. in the movie Groundhog Day. Simmons shows off his power of reasoning to come to a conclusion of the matter.

2002-07-16T09:54:00.000-04:00

I think the Red Sox are primed to go on a run. You just got the feeling after last nights game that they have had enough. I almost get the feeling that they have been playing these games and expecting to win simply by showing up. And I think now there is a frustration level that is ready to boil over. A winning streak wouldn't surprise me. To use a basketball analogy, it's like playing one-on-one against someone that you know you are better than. But you only play at about 70% and figure you'll win anyways. Then all of a sudden you find yourself losing 9-4 and you say 'alright, thats enough' and you start to play. That's where I think the sox are at right now.
Of course, if they don't start to hit, forget everything I just said.

You can read the wrapup of last nights game here.

Other stories in the paper focus on Iverson turning himself in, Geoge Karl and the Bucks lost season, Alan Embree going on the DL, and another Shaughnessy article about Ted Williams.

2002-07-15T12:32:00.000-04:00

I don't think I would say I am worried about the Red Sox because they have a good team. Plus, with all the weak teams in the league, they should win the majority of games against them. But it is not a good idea to lose back-to-back series against Detroit and Toronto, especially while the Yankees are losing. I don't agree with all the comparisons to last years team and the talk that the current Sox are only 1 game ahead of where last years Sox were at this point. This team is probably as different from last years team as any team has ever been from one year to the next. The real issue here is whether or not it is even worth it to get worked up about this right now. The way things are going, a strike is going to wipe out the season anyways. Why get all in a dither about something that won't even be here in a month? I've actually cut way back on the amount of baseball I am watching. I am usually good for 140 games a year. I doubt if I have watched a Sox game from start to finish in the last month though. It just doesn't seem worth it to me. I am still keeping one eye on them to see what happens in case a miracle happens and there is no strike, but I'm not holding my breath.

All of that sort of makes Michael Holley's column useless to me. Sure, Thome would be a huge addition. But he probably would not sign here after the season, meaning that you give up Fossum and another player so that you have the services of Thome for 2-3 weeks? You can rent Blockbuster movies for longer than that.

Wakefield obviously had a lack of concentration yesterday. It certainly explains the 2 runs and a balk. I think it is because he was upset at being pulled from starting the first game in Detroit. He was expecting to start that game and when he was told he wasn't, I think it affected his performance. Gordon Edes' Red Sox Notebook also tells us about Juan Diaz and his Visa problems. I thought that only happened in spring training when guys wanted a few more days off before reporting.

I guess I'll weigh in on the Mo Vaughn issue. I think Mo would do alright back in Fenway. I think he could make an impact and maybe decide a few games with his bat. Mo was always a player suited for Fenway and for Boston. He would probably bat .280 - .290 here and would be good for 10-15 HR's the rest of the way. The problem is the money he would be owed. Even if the Mets agreed to pay half his salary, you are still into him for close to $20 million. That just doesn't make any sense.

On the Celtics front, yesterday it was Joe, today it is Kedrick who is featured in an article. The difference between these 2 guys, or maybe the perception of them, is amazing to me. Kedrick is the guy who everyone expects will bust out and be a great player in the league. Most people expect him to start before too long this year. But Forte, on the other hand, is the forgotten man. You'd be hard pressed to find someone who thinks he will be an impact player in the league. My take? I probably only missed 5 Celtics games last year, so I saw both these guys play all of their minutes last year. I also was at a couple practices where I got to watch them play a lot more. I don't think the perception is that far from reality. Only time will tell what will happen to these 2 guys, but Kedrick just looks like he has the game to play in this league. It's not just the dunks either. It's the way he moves without the ball, his instincts, how he knows where to be and how to position himself. Joe seems to be a step behind in those aspects. I still think Joe could be a decent player, but maybe a player in the Steve Kerr type of mold. Someone to come in and hopefully get you a few quick baskets. Kedrick, though, could easily be a Dominique Wilkins or Xavier McDaniel type of player when those guys were in their primes.
Steve Bulpett highlights the C's plans with regards to Bruno Sundov and Rodney Rogers.

Victor Green is to me Bill Belechick's best move of the offseason thus far. This guy is an impact player. You are pretty much assured of him making 4-6 huge plays, maybe game-deciding plays, over the course of the season. And the fact that only $450,000 will count against the cap is amazing.

Maybe the most amazing breakthrough of the day is that Michael Felger actually made sense with his article. He shows how the Patriots have maneuvered within the salary cap and are in good shape right now. It's a huge contrast to just a few seasons ago. Also a preview of the AFC East in here. Strange not to see Indy in the group.

I apologize to Bruins fans but I will not be talking about the team much for a while. It just doesn't seem worth it to me. I don't want to expend much time or energy on a team that could care less about it's fans.

ESPN picks the top 10 greediest owners in sports and Jeremy Jacobs checks in at #7. The following is quoted from the piece: "Living proof that one man can do great harm to a city's rich hockey history. Jacobs, who bought the Bruins for $10 million in 1975, now sits on one of the most valuable franchises in hockey (valued at $230 million by Forbes). But he runs a franchise in one of the biggest markets in the country on a shoestring, with a payroll dwarfed by teams in smaller markets such as Phoenix, St. Louis and Buffalo. Case in point: The Bruins just relinquished -- without a fight -- free agent Bill Guerin to the Dallas Stars. "You know what got me out of Boston?" Guerin told the Boston Herald. "The fact they didn't talk. That's it. Everyone knows from Day 1 they weren't going to pay."

Does anyone know if Jack Nicklaus is playing in the FleetBoston Classic this weekend in Concord? I'll be there and Jack is someone I have always wanted to meet.

2002-07-12T22:04:00.000-04:00

I am in the process of adding a new section to the site that will include humurous and strange sports stories. I am looking for stories that will be more interesting to read than just your average sports article. I have collected some but obviously I cannot find nor will I read every story available. Thats where I am looking for help from the readers. If you come across any stories or articles such as these, please e-mail them to me. I'll be sure to give credit for each story to the reader who sends it in.
Along the same lines, if you enjoy the site, please let all your friends or any other people who you think may enjoy it know about it. The site is still fairly new so I am sure there are areas that it can be improved. I have some ideas that I will be implementing, and I am sure you as readers do as well. I welcome all suggestions. Again, I will always give credit where it is due. The more readers there are, the more ideas that will come in, the better the site will be. I appreciate all that you do.

P.S. - I know that was a shameless promotion..... buuuuuutttttt.... what are ya gonna do??

2002-07-12T15:48:00.000-04:00

The Bruins horrendous off-season continued today when Tony Amonte signed with the Phoenix Coyotes. You'd figure if the B's could sign anyone, it would be the local guy. But no. There are unconfirmed reports that the Bruins are holding local tryouts for anyone in the Boston area who wants to play for them next year.

Len Pasquarelli highlights the teams that are paying the most "dead money". Dead money is money that is paid to former players that are no longer on your roster. Drew Bledsoe heads the list as the most expensive dead money guy. Len also gives his preview of the Patriots for this coming season. Tom Brady is apparently still keeping himself busy as he attended a party at the playboy mansion on July 9th. "There's just a few things in life you can't pass up, and this is one of them", said Brady.

With training camp rapidly approaching, it might be a good time to revisit how ESPN ranked all the teams in the offseason.

Peter May focuses on the Atlantic Division and gives his assessment of what the C's need to do to compete this year.

2002-07-12T10:04:00.000-04:00

The Sox continued to dominate the Blue Jays, winning their 11th in a row over them. This matches their longest winning streak against one team. They also won 11 in a row against Tampa Bay last year.

Michael Holley speculates as to who the 2 teams are that are in serious financial trouble.

The Bruins and Celtics are both interested in players that would have little to no impact on their teams.

2002-07-11T15:15:00.000-04:00

With the Cleveland Indians rebuilding, you have to expect changes. That is why many high priced players, such as Bartolo Colon, have been traded. However, you don't expect the manager to be fired when it is obvious that the team is going through a rebuilding phase. That is exactly what happened to Charlie Manuel today though.

Sean McAdam discusses eight questions for the 2nd half of the baseball season, including Pedro's health.

2002-07-11T10:56:00.000-04:00

A very candid article by Raja Mishra appears in the Globe today. It details the relationship between Ted Williams and his son, John Henry. The relationship was evidently not very good. Many quotes from those who worked for Ted appear in the article. One assistant, John Sullivan, said ''He signed things and he didn't have a clue as to what they were. I would swear to that,'' . John Henry had video cameras installed in the house so that he could watch what was going on 24 hours a day. Kay Munday worked for Ted for six years. She says, ''Many times Ted would say, `That's enough John Henry. I can't sign anymore.' And they would argue,'' . This is another quote from Sullivan: ''The signing was a very raw nerve with Ted,'' he recalled. ''Ted once said, `That's all for now.' Then the two argued and Ted said, `I hope you can eat, John Henry.' The inference there was that everything came from Ted's labor.''
You'd have to think that all of this will come up in court. Even if JHW had Ted sign a new will saying that he wanted to be frozen, I can't imagine a judge not overruling it. There's just too much evidence that it is not what Ted wanted.

Gordon Edes chronicles what the Sox path will be in the 2nd half. They could easily start out strong as the 2nd half begins. There is a tough 27 game stretch before they play all their games after September 4th against clubs currently under .500.

I don't understand everything there is to know about baseball's labor problems, but why does the strike always have to happen in mid-season? Is that when the deal ends? If so, can't they make the next deal so that it ends in the offseason? Maybe it's simply because they care less about the fans. But you'd think they'd want to upset the fans as little as possible. If a strike were to happen in the offseason and it was announced that the season was going to start late or not at all, I'd be upset. But surely not as upset as I'll be if they play 90% of the current season and then strike. It just seems like common sense. But I guess that's what baseball is lacking right now. Make sure and read Jackie MacMullans article about it today.

Bud Selig says in the Houston Chronicle that 2 teams are in sever danger of not making it through the season. One of the teams may not be able to make their next payroll. "That's it," Selig said Wednesday in an interview with a small group of reporters in his downtown office. "I'm done. Major League Baseball's credit lines are at the maximum. We've done everything we can to help people by arranging credit lines. Frankly, at this point in time, we don't have that luxury anymore. If a club can't make it, I have to let 'em go. I'm a traditionalist, and I hate all that. It pains me to do it. I just don't have any more alternatives."

In Tony Massarotti's Red Sox notebook, he confirms that Dustin Hermanson and Rey Sanchez are close to returning. Sanchez should be in the lineup tonight. Also more information on the Ted Williams tribute.

The Montreal Expos will be gone next year. Either moved or contracted. Stan Grossfeld discusses the plight of the Expos. One interesting quote is from Troy O'leary, who is playing for the Expos this year. In discussing the low attendance figures in Montreal, Troy says, ''It's better than Ottawa, where you had like 10 people. At Fenway, they have more passion for baseball but they scream at you, not for you. I don't need that anymore.'' Hey Troy... maybe they were screaming at you because you were horrible. Ever think of that? I've never seen anyone that was as much as an automatic out as O'leary. Even as much as Tony Clark has struggled this year, I still have hope when he bats. With O'leary, you knew it was an out.

The Bruins announced their schedule yesterday, as if anyone cares. The team will be horrible. Not even worth watching. I guarantee they will not make the playoffs.

The Herald previews the AFC East of the NFL and shows what each teams needs to do to succeed. They pick the Pats to repeat as division champs.

The 911 tape made to report the Allen Iverson incident has been released. Iverson allegedly threw his wife out of their home while she was naked. Later on, he went to find her and that is when the incident occurred. Charles Jones made the call. Some clips from the call:
"He was like, 'Where my (expletive) wife at?' " Jones told 911 in a calm voice. Jones also said: "He told her the next time he see her he was going to kill her, and this, that and the other." "He was like, 'You got to tell me where he's at or something is going to happen.' He had a gun on his hip. He was sitting there threatening to shoot me this morning ... ."

If you are interested in what happened at the ESPY awards, they are covered here. Tom Brady won Best Breakthrough Athlete and was the only local winner. Bill Belechick was robbed out of the Coach of the Year award.

2002-07-10T10:40:00.000-04:00

Some interesting things took place last night at the All-star game. Some good... some up for debate. The 30 greatest moments at the beginning of the game was great. It was fun and even a little exciting to watch. It was great to see Ted Williams number 9 unveiled in left field. And a nice touch having three current Red Sox players unveil it. (Do they paint that number 9 on the grass? If so, how do they get it off? Do they have to tear up that portion of grass and put down new grass after the game? Maybe a landscaper can e-mail me and let me know.) The not so great moments involved Bud Selig. Dennis and Dickerson were ripping him this morning. I'm not so sure if he did anything wrong. I know I wouldn't want a Sox pitcher to wear out his arm in an All-star game. I guess the only thing that could have been done was to announce it earlier that the game would be called after 11 innings. Maybe they'll make an announcement for future games and put a limit to the number of innings that can be played. 12 seems like a good number to me. The other thing that people are harping on is that the 2 managers didn't use the players properly. But they are in a catch 22 situation. If they try and save players and then the game ends after 9, some guys don't get in the game. If they use up all the guys and you go to extra innings, then you run out of players. Tough call. And there should have been an MVP named, especially after it was just renamed the Ted Williams award. Even if you have to name Co-MVP's, it's better than none at all. Anyways, take the poll on the left side of this page and let me know what you think.

As for the game itself, it ended in a 7-7 tie. Some more good things to come out of it were that all the Sox players played really well. Lowe gave up a cheap run (has a balk ever been called in an all-star game before?) and Manny looked great. Hopefully, Manny can carry this over. Maybe it will be what gets him going. He looked real good in his 2 at-bats. Damon had a hit, stole a base, and scored a run. Oogie was overpowering in his appearance. Good signs out of the Sox players.

Dan Shaughnessy calls the game an embarrassment. Three times he uses the word "brutal" three times to describe the way it all ended. It must be Dan's word of the week.

John Henry Williams was supposed to be at the All-star game but he left early because he was afraid for his life, or so he says. John Henry said that he has received death threats since freezing his father.

Pedro has said from The Dominican Republic that he hopes to get a new deal in the offseason. He states that his contract goes until 2003. Kevin Shea noted that the club has an option for 2004. Maybe the beginning of a battle here. I don't think Pedro would be happy if the team used the option instead of resigning him. But considering his health issues, it would be the smart thing for the team to do. Stay tuned.

Allen Iverson is evidently in trouble again. Allegedly, him and his wife had an argument that resulted in his wife leaving and going to her cousins house. (You ever notice it's always a cousin in these types of stories? Why not a brother or a sister? Anyways...) So Iverson went to track her down but he brought a handgun that he is not registered to have. He has a whole slew of charges against him now. If convicted, he could wind up in jail.

The Celtics summer league starts next week. Ticket information can be found here.

The Patriots have announced that 2 practices will be open to the public. These will be held on July 26th and 27th at Bryant College.

If you have grown to dislike Dan Shaughnessy in recent years, or if you always did, you are not alone. Dan seems to be consistently negative about everything he writes. Many of his articles seem as though you have read them before, almost like he just changes the names around and republishes it. If you want to read about specific examples of this, Bruce Allen wrote a great article exposing Shaughnessy. Many examples are listed in the article. A must read if you want to know the truth about Dan.

2002-07-09T15:54:00.000-04:00

My Home Run contest commentary has been completed and posted. You can read it here.

2002-07-09T09:50:00.000-04:00

Dan Shaughnessy likes the idea of renaming the All-Star game MVP to the Ted Williams Award. Some comments from Dom DiMaggio near the end of the article about Ted.

The Sox still covet Jim Thome more than any other player, says Gordon Edes. Some other trade rumors are listed in the article as well.

The Globe's All-star Notebook from Shaughnessy. Derek Lowe says ''To be here, starting an All-Star Game is more than I could have anticipated, coming into the year. Looking at that lineup, it's going to be tough, but a great challange.''. Pedro Martinez and Trot Nixon were named co-players of the week in the American League. There are 4 current websites that are trying to get fans to boycott all MLB games on Thursday. This would be to show the players and owners what would happen if there was another work stoppage.

The Herald's All-star Notebook from Jeff Horrigan. Johnny Damon chartered a plane and offered to fly all his teammates to the All-star game. A generous move by Damon. The Sox may have interest in Kenny Rogers, who is in the last year of his contract. Manny skipped the media session, which prompted this quip from Shea Hillenbrand. ``We had a feeling he wouldn't show,'' Hillenbrand said. ``He probably didn't even know we had this media session.''

Chris Snow continues to make his mark as a fine writer at the Globe. His article today focuses on Derek Lowe and his background and what got him to where he is today. Lowe talks about his poster night last year. ''I can visually remember poster night, when they threw 15,000 posters at me,'' Lowe says. ''I can remember veins popping out of people's necks.'' He received death threats ''From the same guy three times. You could tell because it was the same writing.'' The article talks about what a great athlete Lowe is. He hit .952 as a seven year old. As a basketball player, he averaged 33 points and 10 rebounds a game as a senior. Jason Varitek talks about the day he and Lowe were traded to the Sox. ''We were in Colorado Springs, and after our game, Derek comes strolling up to me,'' says Varitek, about to imitate his boisterous batterymate. ''`Hey, we just got traded, doo-do-do-do-do-doo.' I was like, `Yeah right.'''

The Patriots picked up Tony Scott from the Jets. Terrell Buckley signed with Tampa Bay.

The Bruins signed Shaone Morrisonn yesterday. They also missed out on Teemu Selanne when the sniper decided to re-sign with the San Jose Sharks. Print Those Playoff Tickets!!!

I'm did a running commentary of last nights Home Run contest. I'll be posting that later today. Be sure and check back for that. Also, make sure and take part in the poll on the left side of this page and pick your favorite team. Every vote counts!

2002-07-08T16:11:00.000-04:00

Derek Lowe has been selected to start the All-star game. He will be going up against Curt Schilling. Shea Hillenbrand will bat second for the AL All-stars and Manny Ramirez will bat fifth. Joe Torre said that Lowe will go 2 innings as the starter.

Brian Murphy from ESPN's Page 2 has devoted his most recent article to Ted Williams.

Jayson Stark hands out his midseason awards. He picks Derek Lowe as the Cy Young winner and Grady Little as manager of the year.

I actually enjoyed this Larry Johnson photo. It's rare that that happens.

The Red Sox are still listed as 5-1 favorites to win the World Series. Only the Yankees are better at 2-1.

2002-07-08T15:07:00.000-04:00

Many people are not aware that Boston has a professional lacrosse team. The Boston Cannons play their home games in Lowell but are named as a Boston team. Now I don't claim to be a big lacrosse fan and probably don't even know half the rules, but lacrosse is a very entertaining game to watch in person. It is a very fast moving game with a lot of action. And at $12.50 per ticket, you can't beat the value. Their next home game is Thursday, July 18th at Cawley Stadium at 7:30 PM. With baseball the only one of the 4 major sports playing right now, why not take some time to go see a Cannons game? For more info, go to the Cannons homepage. There is a link to it on the left side of this page.

2002-07-08T11:04:00.000-04:00

I have tried as hard as I could to stay away from everything related to John Henry Williams. I have not talked about him here. I don't think he is anything worth talking about. He doesn't warrant the ink. But this is too much.

Freezing Ted? I don't agree with that anyways, but that's just my personal opinion. If someone wants to freeze themselves after they pass away, it's their decision. The problem is, by every account Ted didn't want this. Ted wanted to be cremated. He told everyone that he ever spoke with about his death that. It was plain and clear what he wanted. I can't imagine the courts ruling with John Henry Williams on this one. Another problem, though, is that Ted had power of attorney over his father in the last few years. That means that he would have been able to change his fathers will if he wanted to. Who knows if he did that? He could have made the will say anything he wanted. Turns out JHW is more of a slimeball than we thought.

Enough of that. Bud Collins and Bill Nowlin share their memories of Ted. The tribute times for the ceremonies have been set. MLB has also decided to rename the All-star game MVP award after Ted.

Grady Little is pleased with how the first half went. The only thing he'd really change is the injuries. An interesting comment he makes is that "We've seen the Yankees make a couple of moves, but we expect that, given the resources they have.'' Trot Nixon also made a similar comment saying that the Yankees have made some trades but that the Sox are not concentrating on them. That they are only focusing on themselves. Problem is, how can you focus on yourself when all you do is talk about the Yankees. All we hear from a lot of these Sox players is what the Yankees are doing. They always follow it up by saying that they are not worried about what the Yankees do. Well why bring it up then? Maybe it's not a big deal, but I just don't like the trend.

Speaking of Trot, Chris Snow has a nice article about him today in the Globe. It talks about the adjustments Trot has made over the past month that has enabled his batting average to rise almost 30 points.

Nick Cafardo has the Red Sox Notebook today. Comments on how the Sox will be getting Hermanson and Sanchez back shortly after the break. Mike Port says those are the best 2 mid-season acquisitions the team could make. A short blurb on Carlos Pena, who is from my current residence of Haverhill. Manny Ramirez offered to give up his number 24 for Dwight Evans but Evans declined. A nice gesture by Manny.

Tony Massarotti fills in his Red Sox mid-season report card. Tony Clark and Rich Garces get the only F's. Jose Offerman gets a D-. The highest grades? Johnny Damon and Derek Lowe with A's.

2002-07-05T14:49:00.001-04:00

Ted Williams died today. Take a moment and ponder that one.

With that, ESPN has one of the finest articles I have ever read by them. As do all newspapers and media outlets, they had articles ready for this. They do it for any individual who is older or in failing health. Maybe that's why they did such a fine job with it.
There are a few other articles posted about Ted. One by Tim Kurkjian, another by Larry Schwartz, and a third by John McCollister. All are worth reading.

2002-07-05T14:49:00.000-04:00

Mike O'Connell is a joke. Some of his quotes in Nancy Marrapese-Burrell's column today are ridiculous.
''I asked him what they wanted,'' said O'Connell. ''He didn't tell me what he wanted. I never knew what they were looking for. I knew they were looking for a [long] term, they didn't give me a number of what they were looking for. I asked for the numbers and they wouldn't give them to me and that's OK. I don't want to sound like it's sour grapes or I'm ticked off, because I'm not. We thought Billy would give us a chance to win the Stanley Cup but it didn't work out, so move on.''
''Of course I'm disappointed, but it's a situation where he's got a chance to make as much money as he can and he's done it,''
''It is about the money at this time.''
Bruins management just continues to insult the fans. O'Conell implies the B's would have done a lot better without Guerin and Dafoe in the lineup. Bruins fans should be disgusted and should do something to show it. Why not boycott some games? As much as die-hard fans enjoy going to games, if you sacrifice it for one season and show management that you won't spend for an inferior product, maybe they'll do something to improve the product.

Shaughnessy does his normal thing and tries to be negative and knock the Sox down a few notches. He basically questions if the Sox are a good team because all they do is beat up on the really bad teams. He mentions their record against the Yankees, Mariners, and A's, but is sure to bring up their National League record too. Such a happy go lucky guy, that Dan.

Keep the possibility of a strike in the back of your mind, says Steve Buckley. The players association is meeting on Monday, possibly to set a strike date. Buck asks if we are all just being brought along for a ride this season. If a strike happens, then I guess we are.

Interesting story in Jeff Horrigan's notebook today. Evidently there was a family of 4 at the Sox game that John Henry noticed while walking around the park. They were struggling to see the action so Henry gave them his 4 front row tickets near the Sox dugout. They didn't find out who gave them the tickets until later.

Shea Hillenbrand makes Alan Schwarz's piece for being one of the biggest surprises of the year. Schwarz does however point out that Shea had zero walks in June. That is a big part of the reason his average has dropped so much.

There's controversy at the National hot dog eating contest. Did Takeru "The Tsunami" Kobayashi vomit before or after time had expired? Should he be the champ? Should he have been disqualified? Eric Booker thinks so and feels that he should have won. These questions need answers. A Nations integrity is at stake.

Finally, it's not really sports related, but it could be sports bar related. The Victorian town of Shepparton in Australia now has in place a vomit tax. They are planning on using the extra money to clean up the streets from people that vomit after leaving the pubs. Could Boston use a similar tax?

2002-07-04T16:31:00.000-04:00

July 4th. 4:18 PM. 104 degrees on the thermometer. Yikes.

The Sox swept a 5 game series for only the 5th time in their history today. At the same time, they handed the Jays their first ever 5 game sweep. It also improves the Sox to 23-19 at home after they had fallen below .500 there earlier this week. It also pushes the Sox back to 20 games over .500.

So it's official. Bill Guerin is gone. The Stars signed him today to a 5 year deal. It's fun being a Bruins fan, isn't it? Can't the team just be sold or moved to another city or something so we don't have to deal with this? I'm sure Boston would get an expansion team within a few years. Maybe then we'd have owners who care about winning.

So shortly after I posted the story in the Toronto Star about J.P. Ricciardi yesterday, the topic came up on both sports radio stations in Boston. Did I tip them off about the story? Hmmm.....
With that said, you'd have to know that there would be a follow up story today. And so, here it is. J.P.'s quotes today:
"I have a job to do and it isn't finished. I don't plan on going anywhere."
"This whole thing has taken on a life of its own and I wish I could stop it because I'm not leaving,"
"It's a challenge I look forward to.When I signed on for three years, I committed myself to three years."

I was at the beach earlier today and didn't realize until I got there that I had forgotten my frisbee. Forgetting to bring a frisbee to the beach should be some kind of felony.

And with that, I'm going to go sit in a bucket of ice.

2002-07-03T13:59:00.000-04:00

Ugeth Urbina was added to the All-star team today to take the place of Pedro Martinez. This is Urbina's 2nd All-star appearance.

2002-07-03T10:38:00.000-04:00

The Red Sox have made up a full game on the Yankees in the last 2 days even though the Yankees did not lose over that span.

The Sox won the nightcap last night behind a strong performance by Sunny Kim. Alan Embree saved both games of the double header, the first Sox pitcher to do that since Tom Gordon.

Johnny Damon is going to the All-star game. He was voted in by the fans in an on-line poll, beating out Jim Thome by 26,000 votes. Damon had a funny line after the game when he said, ''If Jim Thome will decline his no-trade and come to Boston, 'I'll be willing to let him take my spot.'' Thome may be coming to Boston either way.

Bob Ryan checks in with a column about Tony Cloninger. It was 36 years ago today that Cloninger became the only pitcher to hit 2 grand slams and recorded 9 RBI's in one game, both records for a pitcher. Tony had also hit 2 HR's in a game earlier in the year.

In Tony Massarotti's Red Sox notebook, he mentions how Grady Little has told Offerman he won't be playing much anymore. A funny line by Little about his chair in the Managers office:
"Little on the chair in his office, which doesn't exactly have the softest seat in the world: ``They don't want the manager of the Red Sox getting too comfortable.''"

The Toronto star has an interesting article today. Evidently Blue Jays GM J.P.Ricciardi has an out clause in his contract that says he can leave at any time. Rumors in Toronto have been circulating that J.P. wants to come to Boston next year and that is why he wanted the clause. J.P. himself said, "I don't want to live in Cincinnati. I don't want to live in Los Angeles. The only place I would go is (Boston)." The article mentions 3 possible conspiracy theories. One is that Ricciardi dealt Mondesi to the Yanks in the hope that the Yanks would bury the Sox the rest of the way thus prompting the Sox to fire Mike Port. The GM job would then be open for Ricciardi to take.

John Henry Williams is done. You've got to read this.

There is still no sign of any deals out of the Bruins camp. Dafoe and Guerin remain unsigned, although Dafoe may get some offers now that the 2 big name goalies, Joseph and Belfour, have signed. Still no word on Teemu Selanne signing with the B's. Selanne wants a multiyear deal, but surprise surprise, the Bruins don't want to be saddled with long term deals. Turns out O'Connell's not so different from Sinden after all.

Shira Springer has a very good article today about Celtics draft pick Darius Songaila. It talks a little bit about his background and obstacles he has overcome to make it where he is. This clip is from the article:
''I'm just glad to maybe be a part of the Celtics and be a part of this program because it's definitely one of the hottest programs in the league right now,'' said Songaila. ''I wanted to work out with the coaches, let them take a look at me and see what they've got. That was the purpose of this visit ... Honestly, I was expecting to be picked a little earlier, but once I got picked by Boston, I was like, `All right, I'm the only Boston pick.' I was pretty happy about that. Other teams have three or four guys who have to fight for attention. I don't have to do that. I'm the only pick. I looked into who [the Celtics] have got in the program and I'm really happy about it ... I think it can be a good fit.''
and...
''It seems like every time I've had a goal set for myself to reach something, I always had an obstacle to overcome,'' said Songaila. ''When I was leaving Lithuania, I had people saying, `Why am I leaving? I'm not ready. I haven't achieved anything. I should stay and play in Lithuania, blah, blah, blah.' So, I came here. I did well and proved them wrong. Now, I'm done with college and I have people saying, `He's not going to be good enough to be in the league. He's not going to make it. He's just the 50th pick, second round.' Now, I have another thing to prove that I am good enough. I think those kind of things are good because it gives you motivation."
I for one am excited about this guy playing here. I don't ever remember so much attention being given to a guy drafted at 50. Usually, you would hear his name on draft night, maybe a brief article in local papers the next day, and that's it. The Herald has pretty much ignored the guy, but the Globe has had a number of articles about him. Remember, he was supposed to be a first round pick. He slid all the way to the Celtics though, and they should take advantage of it. There's a reason he slid, you may say. Well Paul Pierce slid too. Anybody complaining about that pick?
PLAY DARIUS.

Mark Coffman of the Herald has the Celtics Notebook today. Chris Wallace has been in contact with most of the free agents that played for the C's last year. The summer league roster is pretty much all set.

ESPN Page 2 has an article on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the fact that he can't seem to get an NBA coaching job. This brings a big smile to my face. I hated every player on those Lakers 80's teams. I don't wish any of them success. Why would I want anything good to ever happen to Kareem? Just seeing the picture of him in those goggles shooting that sky hook stirs up anger inside of me. And he is still as arrogant as ever:
"Everything on the court came easy for me,"
"The sky hook was like my sniper shot, They couldn't get to me. I knew I could get it off whenever I wanted."
As much as I hated seeing the Lakers win (steal? buy?) another championship this year, it was thoroughly enjoyable to see Byron Scott lose. If for no other reason than he played for the Lakers. I'm not providing a link to the Kareem article because I don't think it's worth a read, but it's there if you want to bother.

2002-07-02T20:33:00.000-04:00

A nice moment for Johnny Damon in the 5th inning of tonights game. As he was on 1st base, it was announced that he had made the All-star team as the 30th man. The crowd gave him a real nice ovation. Congratulations to Johnny and a nice job by fans who voted to right a serious wrong commited by Joe Torre.

2002-07-02T15:46:00.000-04:00

The Red Sox have won Game 1 of today's doubleheader by a score of 2-1. Tim Wakefield pitched 6 shutout innings before giving way to Willie Banks and then Alan Embree. Lou Merloni accounted for the offense with a 2 out-2 RBI triple in the 7th. Game 2 is tonight at 7:05.

2002-07-02T13:55:00.000-04:00

Bill Simmons has posted his latest Ramblings. Nobody rambles better than Bill. There's some funny stuff in there. For Instance:
"I can't remember ever having a bad experience with Cool Whip. "
"This will be the first Fourth of July where you can wear an American flag shirt without having everyone think you're a big dork."

What I wouldn't give to be able to think like that.

2002-07-02T10:06:00.000-04:00

The Sox have 3 of their last 11 games. The 3 wins came in the games Pedro pitched. As well as Derek Lowe has pitched this year, and as great as he has been, this team still lives and dies with Pedro. If Pedro pitches well, the team can go far. If not, the team will not go anywhere. Pedro showed his mastery last night. He showed why he is the key to this teams success.

Pedro also showed why he is brilliant after the game by declining to go to the All-star game. We all remember the All-star game at Fenway a few years back when Pedro was so pumped up that he threw too hard and hurt his arm. Many people feel that that game was the beginning of his troubles with the arm and shoulder. As enjoyable as it was to watch, you just kind of had a feeling at the time that he was giving too much, that he didn't need to be throwing as hard. He went on the disabled list after only 1 more start.
But now he makes the right decision. He has matured. His postgame comments last night were very encouraging. He said that this is the time of year when his arm usually starts to feel heavy, but right now it feels good. He feels strong. It's an honor to be selected for the All-star game, but he wouldn't trade a World Series for an All-star game. He doesn't mean it to be cocky, it's just the way he feels. He said that he talked to his brother Ramon before deciding to skip the game. Also said that he needs to listen to the 'old men' in the clubhouse because they have much more experience. He was talking about Grady Little and Tony Cloninger.
Pedro's demeanor is getting back to what it used to be too. Remember the stare he would give batters after he struck them out? That has been missing all year, save for a few instances. Last night he stared down every one of his strikeout victims. As if to say, "go sit down... how dare you even try to hit against me?". And was I the only one who got goosebumps after that fist pump after the 8th inning?
Who knows if he'll stay at this level? He won't strike out 14 every outing. He was not the dominating Pedro of 99 and 2000. But last night Pedro was among the elite again.

Dustin Hermanson has declared himself ready to pitch. He will pitch a simulated game before the break and should be ready to go right afterwards. Also some comments about Baerga's injury in Bob Hohler's notebook.

Steve Buckley has an article about the Yankees acquisition of Raul Mondesi. He takes some shots at the Sox for not making a move yet. Tells a joke that the Sox are tracking John Henry Williams progress in the Gulf Coast league rather than making trades. The problem is, the joke isn't funny.

Gerry Callahan and Buckley must have discussed their articles before hand and decided to go after John Henry Williams. Ironic that Callahan compares JHW to Tony Clark the same night that Clark has 2 hits and 2 RBI's in helping the Sox to a win.

Larry Bird made his first public appearance in Charlotte. In the back of my mind, I think Bird must have a trick up his sleeve. I mean, Charlotte?? Come on now. Larry must have thought this out and somehow he figures this will enable him to be able to buy the Celtics. I know the team did well last year, but Gaston has to go. I can't picture Larry owning any team except the Celtics. This reminds me of the whole Bob Kraft taking the Pats to Hartford thing. Kraft never had any plans to go to Hartford, and Larry has no plans to go to Charlotte.

Speaking of the Celtics, Chris Wallace met with Rodney Roger's agent, Butch Williams, yesterday for 3 1/2 hours. Both men came out of it saying there is a lot of work left to be done. Williams will now take offers from other teams but said a decision will be made by July 15th.

The Bruins are looking at Teemu Selanne as a replacement for Bill Guerin. Looks like it back to mediocrity for the B's.

The Herald runs down the list of free agents that the Patriots have brought in and gives a brief blurb on each one.

2002-07-01T14:45:00.000-04:00

Peter Gammons says in his mailbag that Jim Thome is most likely staying in Cleveland, at least through the end of this year. Thome sat down with his agent on Friday and gave his reasons for wanting to stay in Cleveland, one such thing being his wife's pregnancy. That doesn't bode well for people who were hoping to see Big Jim in the middle of the Sox lineup for the 2nd half of the season.

2002-07-01T14:04:00.000-04:00

ESPN page 2 did an article on the 10 most overpaid baseball players. Interestingly, there are 3 former Sox on the list, including the recently departed Darren Oliver and the man he was traded for, Carl Everett.

2002-07-01T09:50:00.000-04:00

An article by Scott S. Greenberger in todays Globe hints that John Harrington was lying when he said that Fenway could not be renovated. Harrington said every part of the park was outdated and that it would be dangerous for workers to try and renovate. In contrast, the new owners see renovation as a strong possibility. Why the discrepancy? Was Harrington fibbing just to try and get a new park built? His answer is that ''The economic picture inside their walls is drastically different, and the economic picture outside their walls is drastically different". Does it really matter what the economic picture is? Harrington said in 1999 that ''It would be easier to straighten the Leaning Tower of Pisa,'' than to renovate Fenway. So back then he said it was impossible to renovate Fenway. Now he says it is only possible for the new owners because they have money. So why didn't he just say at the time that they couldn't renovate because they didn't have the money for it? It's because he wanted a new park and was willing to say whatever it took to get that park.

Five Sox players (Ramirez, Hillenbrand, Garciaparra, Lowe, Martinez) were picked for the all star team. You could make a strong argument that they should have had seven. Urbina and Damon deserved to be there. Damon is the MVP of this years Sox so far. It is not surprising that Joe Torre made sure the team had more Yankees on it than any other team. He is notorious for that. Damon could still make the team because fans are voting in the 30th player. Make sure to go here and vote for Johnny because he should be there.
On the same theme, enough already about Manny stepping aside and letting Johnny play. It's not Manny's decision. Even if he were to step aside, there is no assurance that Johnny would get picked. Torre would have to pick a replacement and chances are he would pick a Yankee. It's just Joe's way. Besides, maybe Manny wants to go, and what's wrong with that? It's an honor to go to an all-star game. Who knows if he'll ever have another chance? Injuries or other things could affect him down the road and maybe he never gets picked again. So let him enjoy it. Get off his back. Stop making up junk just so you can complain about Manny.

Johnny Damon says all the right things in Bob Hohler's notebook. Says he doesn't care and that he is only focused on winning. His teammates disagree and say he was snubbed. Manny's earring has been found.

The Bruins offered Bill Guerin a 2 year deal at 9 million per year but he turned it down. Guerin is looking for a long term deal. The Rangers are reportedly going to make him a big offer.

Rodney Rogers remains the Celtics top priority. Chris Wallace is traveling to North Carolina today to meet with Rogers agent, Butch Williams. The Celtics will be over the luxury tax with or without Rogers, so just sign him. A few million dollars won't make a difference to "Thanksdad" Gaston. Peter May had a terrific article in yesterday's Globe about this very subject.

Despite today being the first day of free agency, and the Celtics having an important decision to make on Rogers, the Herald has no Celtics coverage today, yesterday, or Saturday.

It looks like Roman Phifer will be in New England for more than just one more year. He will most likely be here for at least 2 more and possibly 4 more.

At what point should I get rid of the feature on the left side of this page that compares the Red Sox record to that of the 98 Yankees and 01 Mariners? Early in the year, when they were on fire, it seemed like a good idea. Now... who knows? Maybe I should switch it to be a countdown until they are a .500 team.
18-19 at home is embarrasing and shameful.

2002-06-28T10:11:00.000-04:00

Well I guess that ends all the Bartolo Colon trade talk. While fans on Boston sports radio were arguing whether or not the Sox should give up Shea Hillenbrand for Colon, the Indians pulled a blockbuster deal with the Expos. So Shea will be staying in Boston. It was very unlikely that he would be going anywhere anyways, but the only chance was if it was for Colon. Now we can focus squarely on the Trot for Thome rumors.

Jayson Stark tells us that the fight for Jeff Weaver appears to be between the Red Sox and Diamondbacks. Also, a blurb about the Sox sending down Casey Fossum so that they have some trade bait in the minor leagues. That seems a little bit foolish. Most teams know what Fossum brings to the table by now. Does his location really affect his trade value?

Bob Hohler has the Red Sox notebook. Rolando Arrojo is on the 15 day DL with shoulder discomfort. Sun Woo Kim was recalled from Triple AAA to take his place. Nomar was scheduled for a day off so the rainout helped him. He got his day off but won't miss a game because of it.

Pedro makes his intentions clear in the Herald today. Check out these quotes:
``Bartolo Colon would be good on this club,'' Martinez said last night, after the Sox' series finale against the Trading Post Indians was rained out. ``Jim Thome would look good on this club. You know what I want? I want us to go out and get the best team ever. I mean ever. Go get them all, and have them piled up in here,'' Martinez said. ``Whatever it takes.''
Is Pedro starting to see his window of opportunity of a championship closing? Maybe he is starting to realize that it is not a lock that he will be resigned here after his deal expires. Maybe he's realizing there is a decent chance he will be traded next season. And he wants to win a championship before all that happens.

Look at this picture in today's Globe and tell me with a straight face that the Sox don't need a new park. The picture is of the tunnel that leads from the dugout to the clubhouse. How long before a player steps on a nail sticking out of one of those boards?

Admittedly, I am not a very big Bruins fan or hockey fan. But what the Bruins are doing is despicable. Letting Dafoe go is strictly a money decision. Don't believe the baloney about how they are not happy with how he played in the Montreal series and that is why they aren't resigning him. Dafoe did not play well in that series, but the B's wouldn't have even been in that series without Dafoe playing as well as he did all year. This team without Dafoe last year is a 7 or 8 seed at best. It sort of reminds me of how Dan Duqette waited all year for the Sox to slide just a little bit so that he could fire Jimy Williams. Williams did not deserve to be fired, and Dafoe does not deserve to be let go. Bruins management has once again made a joke of themselves.

Continuing on the Celtics theme, it is disheartening to see that they already have draft pick Darius Songaila down on himself. Nice move by Chris Wallace to dent this guys confidence the first day they acquire him. Darius's agent is still confident that the C's will change their tune as soon as they see him play. He was told he would probably go at 28 to Sacramento, but it never happened. So here is a guy that was supposed to be a first rounder and you get him late in the second round. Sounds like a steal to me. Open your mind Chris.

Nice to see old friend Ellis Burks still doing well.

If you need directions to CMGI Field, the Herald posted them today.

2002-06-27T11:54:00.000-04:00

So Pedro stopped the losing streak. Why don't I feel excited about it? Maybe I've been hoping all year that he would return to the Pedro of old at some point. Maybe I kept telling myself that as soon as he got over the injury and became confident again that everything would go back to normal. Pedro stopped the losing streak but only because his mates scored some runs. I still feel Pedro is one of the top 5 pitchers in the league. But he'll never be dominant again. I'll never again have that feeling I used to have when he pitched. It used to be when the Sox scored 2 runs, it was over. Pedro is mortal after all. I just don't think I've come to grips with it yet.
Bill Simmons wrote a great article about this very thing back on April 2nd.
Even the Indians know it.

Bob Ryan appears to contradict himself with his article today. Yesterday he was saying how Manny is not right and how the Sox are in trouble. Today he does a complete 180 as he tells everyone to calm down. Its not as bad as it seems he says. We get this quote.."The bright side is that Ramirez is back, and sooner or later he will hit. The bright side is that Pedro Martinez, Varitek, and Garciaparra, all of whom were absent from the roster at this time last year, are back.". Can you at least try to be a little more consistent, Bob?

The Celtics drafted Darius Songaila last night with the 50th pick(actually the 49th player taken). By all accounts this guy is a great player. He was slated to go a lot earlier but for some reason was still there when the C's picked. Now I understand the Celts plan was to draft a guy and send him overseas for a few years. But shouldn't that change since you were able to draft a guy like Darius? He is a 4 year college player, has European experience already, and appears ready for NBA ball. If he isn't ready now, when will he be? Will the C's just cut him and let some other team benefit? Again, Chris Wallace's comments are puzzling.
''[Songaila] will be here for summer league. But as far as on the roster, who knows? It's going to be a tight roster, 12 at most 13 players. We took our little shot with Darius [yesterday] and we'll see what happens.''
And this from the Herald...
``I don't want to rule out any possibilities, but our roster confines are going to make this a tough team to make for an outside player,'' said Wallace, who in the best-case scenario would have Songaila play overseas for at least a year while the Celtics retain his rights. ``But we don't have a commitment on that (whether he'd play overseas). We will have to cross that bridge later on in the summer.''
Doesn't this seem a little closed minded? Instead of insisting that he will go overseas, why not work him out here and see how he is in training camp, then make the decision?

Chad Ford of ESPN gives the C's an A minus for the draft. He notes that Darius should be able to step right in and help. Is Chris Wallace the only one who can't see this?

The Pats made a minor trade involving Kole Ay.

2002-06-26T11:07:00.000-04:00

Bob Ryan checks in with his usual negative comments. With tongue in cheek, he blasts Manny and Nomar for last night's loss. Sure, Nomar had a bad night, but to blame him for anything is insane. The guy probably has 5-10 legitimate bad games a year. I'll take that anytime. As for Manny, he just got back, for crying out loud. He went 3-30 in Pawtucket, Bob. Do you think maybe he might need a few AB's to adjust to major league pitching? As has been documented here and on other sites, the only ones upset with Manny are the media. The fans gave him a partial standing O. So we can see where the problem lies.

Jim Thome doesn't want to leave Cleveland. It would be nice to have a lineup featuring Nomar, Manny, Jim, and Johnny though. Thome doesn't have any say in the matter, but makes it clear what his preference is.

Peter May has his final mock draft before the real one tonight. Shira Springer has a piece about the Celtics as well. You don't expect to get a good player drafting at #50, but even still some of Chris Wallace's comments are quite disturbing.
"You're just winging it, hoping to find something you like."
''If anybody has any nephews or great uncles who want to get drafted, let us know,''
''We're at the mercy of those other 48 teams. It is never irrelevant because you may get lucky and hit something, but let's say it's less relevant this year.''
Winging it?? Can't we do better than that? If you do your homework, you can get a good player, even drafting that low. There have been some very good role players drafted in that range. Look at Michael Redd for Milwaukee last year. The chances may not be that good, but I still don't like the comments coming from the GM.

Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent evidently got into a shoving match in the San Francisco dugout during last nights game. Kent yelled at Manager Dusty Baker, "I want off this team." Could the Sox use him?

Did I jinx Luis Castillo?

2002-06-24T12:51:00.000-04:00

The Sox hope that Alan Embree can shore up their season long bullpen problems. Alan has a 0.94 ERA in 36 relief appearances for San Diego. This may open the door for sending Fossum back down to revive his career as a starter.

For those interested in the NBA draft, Michael Smith has a pretty good article about Caron Butler.

Nancy Marrapese-Burrell has a wrap-up of the Bruins draft.

Gordon Edes breaks from the norm for sports writers and is actually positive and optimistic today. Sure, the Sox have fallen into second place, but they are coming home now, with a new lefty, Garces supposedly healthy, and some guy named Manny will be back in the lineup. On top of that, they have a pretty easy stretch of baseball coming up. 28 of 39 against teams under .500. So things may be looking up.

It's nice to see Phil Mickelson win the tournament this past weekend. After Rick Reilly's article about him in SI a few months back, i'll always root for Phil. A genuine good guy. So what if he hasn't won a Major yet. Yet. He has the misfortune of playing at the same time as some guy named Tiger. Right now Phil is better than everyone not named Tiger. That's not too shabby a thing to be able to claim.

Looks like my question about Rolando Arrojo may have been answered. I guess he got bored yesterday.

I hate when the Sox have an off day. Especially with no Celtics to watch.

2002-06-20T10:28:00.000-04:00

Robbie Ftorek is up for the coach of the year award tonight. All three candidates have coached the B's at one time or another.

The Patriots finally released Andy Katzenmoyer but Andy's agents say the team still owes him money. The Pat's doctors gave Andy an exit physical and say he passed it but the agents say he is unfit to play.

This is the assessment of Castillo's ejection from one San Diego writers point of view.

We've long been told that the most unbreakable record in baseball is Joe D's 56 game hitting streak. The common rule of thumb has been not even to speak of it unless someone reached 40 games. Well, Luis Castillo is at 33 games. Yes, it's still 23 games short, but at 33 games he's tied 4 others, including Rogers Hornsby. It's the longest streak since Paul Molitor hit in 39 straight in 1987. Can we at least think about talking about it now? (By the way, pull for Luis to break the record if for no other reason than to see a Yankee record fall).

Bill Simmons checks in with his first ever Tiger article. He says that Tiger is missing "something" that keeps him from becoming larger than life. Tells a story about seeing Tiger in Las Vegas gambling. At first there were a lot of people around Tiger but he eventually bored everyone by being so bland. There was some guy with a mullet who was a high roller. Most people ended up moving away from Tiger to watch the guy with the mullet. You'd never see that with Michael or Ali.

The 1986 Patriots check in as the 6th worst blowout ever in a Championship series. I had kind of forgotten that they only had 6 yards on the ground in that game. Ouch.

2002-06-19T11:48:00.000-04:00

It looks as though Manny won't join the team on the West Coast after all. His batting appears to be fine, but he is still uncomfortable in the outfield. Grady doesn't want to fly him all the way out there simply for a few pinch hit opportunities. Lee Thomas was in Atlanta last night to watch Jeff Weaver pitch.

The Sox won their second straight with a 4-2 win over the Padres. Shea Hillenbrand hit the game winning HR. With all the talk on steroids, do we now question if Shea is on the juice? He reportedly put on 20-25 pounds of muscle during the offseason. Would the steroid question even arise with Shea if he weren't having such a good year? So does everyone having a good year come under scrutiny?

The Celtics revealed their Shaw's summer plans.

Nice to see Terry O'Reilly's number retired to the rafters. One of the truly great Bruins, as well as one of the most humble sports figures you'll come across. Terry mentioned in an interview that maybe his number could hang a little lower that Orr's and Bourque's.

Tony Maz says you gotta give up something to get something. So it's either great weather or great baseball when it comes to San Diego vs. Boston. You know we don't have the weather. Tony makes a hidden comment about looking at the girls while he is out there. Somehow I never picked Tony as the type to stop and take a double take at a hot girl.

Tom Krasovic comments that if the Sox brought the Green Monster with them, maybe the Padre's win last night since Hillenbrands HR would have been off the wall.

Random thought.... With all the talk in the NBA about how players will choose which team to sign with depending on the weather, why don't we hear that more in baseball? After all, baseball is played outside (for the most part). Why is weather such a big deal for a sport that plays it's games inside? We hear Duncan is going to Orlando because he likes the weather. Did the city of Orlando build an outdoor court for the Magic to play their home games? I know basketball is a winter sport and guys spend much of their time in the city of the team they play for, but it just seems too much is made of the weather. Why don't more baseball players want to play in San Diego? 75 degrees all the time, sunny, no humidity..... sounds great! But you never hear that in baseball. Is it simply a case of money? The Padres don't have a ton of money but they have enough. You'd think if a marquee guy wanted to play there, they'd have the money to sign him.
Just a thought....

2002-06-18T13:15:00.000-04:00

Although Nomar jokes that he is more worried about the World Cup, Dwight Evans says he has been the backbone of this years Red Sox team.

Jerry Remy is getting his due as he has been called upon to do three nationally televised games in the coming weeks. No one is more deserving. Remy is one of the best broadcasters in the game today, and we are lucky to hear him so often in Boston. Amazing that a guy as terrible as Joe Morgan still has a National job when guys like Remy are out there.

Pats tickets go on sale on next Saturday, June 29th.

Michael Silverman tells us that Rolando Arrojo has been rejuvenated by his return to a starting role. My question is how long will it last? Doesn't it seem like Arrojo gets bored about a month after any assignment he is given? Remember when he was pulled from the starting lineup last year? We were all told it was because he didn't have the focus to last 6 innings or more. Sox management was hoping that bringing him in for an inning or two would help him stay focused. How many more starts will he go before he is pulled and we are fed the line again?

There's a couple of pretty good articles in the San Diego Union Tribune today about the Sox. One features Larry Lucchino while the other takes a look at Rickey Henderson. Rickey remembers a standing ovation in his first ever San Diego at bat, which still brings tears to his eyes.

For anyone not aware, the Globe has a pretty good gimmick running with regards to Pedro's starts. Pedro-Ball is what they call it. You enter your name and then pick how many Hits, Walks, Strikeouts, and Earned Runs Pedro will have in his start. If you guess all 4 correctly, you win $100 bucks. The winner in his last start was James Rotiroti of North Easton. Congratulations James.

2002-06-13T16:40:00.000-04:00

Scott S. Greenberger tells us of John Henry's plans to renovate Fenway Park. Why is it so diffucult for Mr. Henry to realize that this is a bad idea? This year, more than ever, it should be evident. Look at the teams home and away records. Isn't it obvious that Fenway takes away any competitive advantage?

The Celtics raised ticket prices for the first time in 4 years. We are lead to believe that the teams success this year had nothing to do with it. The article also lets us know that the fan who dumped a beer on Steve Javie is being charged with assault. I don't advocate beer dumping, but if Javie had called a fair game, he probably would have remained dry. It is a lot easier to stomach your team losing if they lose fairly and not because of horrible officiating.

Could anyone care less about the hockey game tonight?