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We’re fully stocked with fun-size Milky Way bars here at SbB headquarters, and if there isn’t a wide variety of people dressed in various versions of the above costume tonight, we’ll be sorely disappointed. Party hardy, everyone; but use caution. We value each and every one of you.
Wasn’t it the ancient Mayans who predicted that the end of the world would come when a Red Sox fan donated bone marrow to save the life of a Yankees fan? That time has arrived. (*Earth trembles*). It’s been nice knowing you, everybody.
Look at this warm family portrait above. And then I have these snapshots of Osama bin Laden making out with Salman Rushdie that I’d like to share. The guy on the left, Boston resident Steve Karas, provided stem cells that saved the life of young Matthew Welling, 3. And that’s Matthew’s dad, Michael, in the middle, who is a frothing Yankees fan. Also I think Jimmy Carter may have been involved. Your Nobel Peace Prize is in the mail, gentlemen. Read more…
One of the joys of living on the Pacific: Early morning playoff baseball!
Actually he probably is up. (Freeway trash detail always starts at dawn.)
As you can see in the photo below, the standard for being called out on your way to first base has changed a bit. Now, apparently, not only must you tag the runner, but you must also tackle him before he reaches the base and tie his feet, rodeo style. At least if the umpire is C.B. Bucknor.
Red Sox Nation is a little miffed this morning over a couple of blown calls by Bucknor, who not only inexplicably missed this tag by Kevin Youkilis, but botched another call at first in the sixth. And within minutes of the conclusion of the Angels’ 5-0 win in Game 1, the assault on Bucknor’s Wikipedia page had begun. Fun! Read more…
As we begin the ALDS showdown between the Red Sox and Angels tonight, please take a moment prior to the opening pitch to channel some good thoughts toward Boston shortstop Alex Gonzalez. He could use them right now.
Whatever it takes for a professional to get into the right frame of mind to play the game of baseball at this level day after day, multiply that by about a hundred for Gonzalez. The Boston shortstop has had a lot on his mind the past two years, as his 3-year-old son, Johan, is in a coma in a Florida hospital, doctors holding out little hope that he will ever recover. But somehow, his father carries on. Read more…
If there’s one thing I hate, it’s starting off my Friday with a gruesome description of how lab workers played batting practice with the cryogenically frozen head of baseball legend Ted Williams. That’s the claim in a new book by a former executive at the Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Yikes. The freezing of Williams’ head had become the stuff of jokes and legend before this revelation surfaced, unfortunately, and now it all just reaches a whole new, creepy level. And that’s not the only shocking revelation in the book. Read more…
For athletes awash in money and in the twilight of their careers, opening a steakhouse is a rather conventional way to start earning money outside the sport. This is usually a good thing; if you’re ever in Chicago and have about $200 to blow, for example, take a friend to Iron Mike’s Steakhouse and admire the loose connection the restaurant has with Mike Ditka and football while you eat one of the best steaks of your life.
(”Overcooked and served with Dominican rice, which turns out to be water-logged grains studded with bland black beans and corn kernels, unripe chunks of pineapple and mango, and pieces of asparagus stalks.” MMMMMM!)
But the food has to be good, otherwise it’s a big fat FAIL. Hey, speaking of big fat failure, David Ortiz! Big Papi opened up his own steakhouse - “Papi’s Grille” - in Boston recently, and the BOSTON GLOBE sent a food critic to try it. Considering the food put in front of her, said critic is lucky to be alive.
Because no battle is ever won, he said. They are not even fought. The field only reveals to man his own folly and despair, and victory is an illusion of philosophers and fools. - William Faulker, “The Sound and the Fury”
That was written by Mississippi’s “greatest author,” who I also thought was kind of overrated. Which, it turns out, could easily apply on multiple levels to the Ole Miss football team. On a national stage and with a No. 4 ranking, the Rebels completely imploded, falling 16-10 at South Carolina last night. It may or may not be true that no battle is ever won, but for Ole Miss, this one was certainly lost.
Mainly it was lost for two reasons: QB Jevan Snead had a miserable game, going 7 for 21 for 107 yards while being pressured by the Gamecocks’ defense all night. And Houston Nutt’s game plan reminded you of why he was barely a .500 coach with a backfield of Felix Jones and Darren McFadden at Arkansas. Nutt seemed unable to accept that the passing game just wasn’t working, and waited until the fourth quarter to turn to running back Dexter McLuster. He ran for 68 yards in the final quarter, but by then it was too little, too late. Read more…
It’s not often that injury news takes us completely aback, but that’s absolutely the case over in Pullman tonight. One slightly mentioned aspect of last weekend’s game pitting Washington State against Southern Methodist was WSU’s tailback, James Montgomery, suffering an apparent knee injury. Not that those aren’t serious, but, y’know… they happen.
But one thing that doesn’t usually happen is a potentially fatal injury that nobody recognizes immediately. That’s what apparently befell Montgomery during the game; after the game, he reported increasing discomfort with the knee, and went in for surgery on Sunday morning. It probably saved his life.
• Rock Chalk Jayh…POW! Fights break out between football and basketball players for the University of Kansas - and some claim that a couple of n-bombs were dropped.
• An Iowa inmate gets let out of jail for the day so he can go see the Red Sox play the Royals in person.
• Two Costa Rican paparazzi are suing Tom Brady for being shot at during his wedding to Gisele. Brady’s reaction? “I go no reaction to that one.”
• Flummoxed by your fantasy football failings? ESPN is offering to help the old-fashioned way - with a toll-free phone number.
• When it comes to NCAA sanctions, the BCS schools often get lighter sentences than their non-BCS brethren.
