Thursday, April 24, 2008

A Post! A Post!

Don't have time for much posting these days, but i did want to post on a few topics:

- SAWX! SAWX -- Wow... this team has been around the world, lost it's No. 1 & No. 3 starters, lost its All-Star thirdbasemen, endured a major slump by arguably its best hitter, has endured weeks of Ellsbury/Coco talk, and now has a team-wide case of the sniffles, yet sits in FIRST PLACE in the AL East. Dice-K's undefeated, the kids have been a revelation, and the bullpen has been patched together yet remains mostly effective. Paps hits 100 MPH the other night? Holy Schnikies, Incrediboy!

- Celts Quest for 17 -- C'mon Atlanta... you didn't REALLY think you had a chance, did you?!?! Bob Ryan absolutely nailed it in this morning's Globe (no surprise) about what makes this team so formidable. Instead wiping you out, they just keep coming at you with stifling D and timely buckets (not to mention some WIKKED intensity) . My favorite part has to be the following, perfectly captured by The Sports Guy's column on the NBA MVP from last week, talking about Garnett's influence on the Celts in 2007-08: "Every time an opponent kept going for a shot after a whistle, KG defiantly blocked the shot just out of principle. Eventually, everyone started doing it. No shots after the whistle against the Celtics. That was the rule. It was a series of little things, baby steps if you will, but they added up to something much bigger." Finally, I can be excited about the Celts in April again, and not because they have a lottery pick.

- Matt Walsh -- Please... give it a rest. I know many people have been saying it, but it bears repeating: If this REALLY had something, don't you think he would have come forward a long time ago, if for no other reason than he would have made millions? A lot of people have grown sick of the Pats' dominance and are looking for reasons why they are consistently better than the rest of the league (I'm talking to you, Arlen Specter), and many of them would be more than happy to pony up some dough to see Belichick and the Pats hoisted on their own petard. Best part about this has to be the statement issued on the news by the Pats... "It is important to note that there has never been a confidentiality agreement restricting Matt Walsh and no legal protections were ever necessary for him to speak to the NFL... He demanded to be released from responsibility for his statements, and after a frustrating and lengthy negotiation period, a settlement has finally been reached. Walsh has been granted a significant number of privileges... none of which the Patriots or the NFL were obligated to give." Does this sound like a team with something to hide? I don't think so either.

- Finally -- R.I.P. Don Gillis. A true Boston sportscasting legend, he originated the nightly TV sports anchor post in Boston on Channel 5 and is one of the few ever to do play-by-play for all four major sports franchises in Boston. He was also the voice of Candlepin Bowling for years in the Boston area. The Globe has a nice tribute to Gillis here. Here's a link to Gillis in a tribute to the 1967 Impossible Dream Sox: http://youtube.com/watch?v=G1qlOjIVBuY. Godspeed, Mr. Gillis... here's hoping you always pick up that 7-10 split in God's Bowling Alley.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Real? Or fake?

You be the judge... pretty cool, nonetheless...

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Jeopardy!

This clip kills me...



Former "Cheers" writer Ken Levine posted this clip on his blog "...By Ken Levine" and it just started jogging my memory of favorite "Jeopardy!" clips. I love the establishing shot of Boston in the open, and the categories for Cliffy are perfect, from "Civil Servants" to "Bar Trivia" and "Celibacy"... and the denouement -- Cliff's now famous "Who are three people who have never been in my kitchen?" -- is just priceless.

While we're at it, here's a compilation of some of the best SNL "Jeopardy" skits featuring Will Ferrell's smarmy Trebeck and Darrell Hammond's over-the-top Sean Connery. Good stuff...

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Lords of the Bling-Ring

The Sawx got their rings today... and it was every bit the celebration that you would expect, altho definitely a different event than the memorable 2004 ring ceremony.

For one, the Yankees were the opposing team for that memorable April afternoon in 2005, which was delicious for all sorts of reasons and probably was a tough one for Joe Torre and his boys to swallow, having lost that 3-0 lead in the 2004 ALCS. It was fun, tho, to hear the reaction that Mariano Rivera got that day, and the smile he had on his face in reaction. This year's opponents, the Detroit Tigers (the team of my youth), just don't elicit the same feelings.

Two, the roster of ex-Red Sox players that came back for their rings in 2004 was much bigger than this years', what with Derek Lowe and Dave Roberts (among others), making the trip back and getting ovations. Today, it was just Royce Clayton (who?) and Doug Mirabelli, as star-crossed a Sox player as we've had in a long time. Mirabelli, who was cut just a few weeks ago in spring training, clearly was still smarting from his dismissal, as he grabbed his ring and headed for the door before they had even finished announcing his name.


So now the 2008 season can "officially" begin. No more trips around the world, no more lengthy introductions as the visiting team in someone else's house, and time for some home-cooking. The Sox, who sit at 3-4 after the first week of the season, clearly are having a tough month, but it's good to have them home.


Good luck boys...

Thursday, April 3, 2008

SOX WIN! SOX WIN! SOX... whine?

Item (from today's Globe sports section): "I've been fighting a lot of [expletive], man," said Ortiz, whose recuperation from knee surgery has not been abetted by the frequent-flier miles. "Thank God it's early in the season; I can put myself together. But it's hard, man.

"Let me break this down for you. We were in Fort Myers, then we went to the other side of the planet. We came back to LA in one place [Dodger Stadium], then went to another place in LA [the Coliseum], and now we're leaving the country again. You tell me, what do you think?"

And yet the Sox are off to a better start than in either of their last two World Series-winning years, when they split their first four games in both 2004 and '07.

"I guess we're good," Ortiz said when reminded of that fact.

I guess this settles the debate of whether or not the Sox players were in favor of the Japanese adventure that started their defense of last year's Series win. Ortiz, who probably commands as much respect inside -- and outside -- the Sox clubhouse as any player, clearly was not a fan of MLB's desire to "taske this show on the road," as it were. But just in case you think it's just Big Papi being Big Disgruntled-i (wow, that didn't work), take heed of Curt Schilling's post on http://www.38pitches.com/ on the Japan trip.

Highlights include (full post is at http://38pitches.com/2008/03/20/last-boring-uneventful-day-of-camp%e2%80%a6):
- "Late last year we had confirmation of MLB’s desire for the Red Sox to open the 2008 baseball season in Japan... I know the players gave this a lukewarm reception at best, which deteriorated the deeper the discussion got."
- "I don’t believe MLB thought the players would have any objections and would be looking forward to the trip. To the contrary, on the initial call we actually told MLB we pretty much decided on not wanting to do this, and that as a club we’d voted not to go."

So was the trip overseas worth it? I guess it depends on your perspective... if you are MLB, then yes: Based on the interest level (nationally & internationally), now you have even more impetus to seriously consider adding some form of a Japanese team(s) or league to MLB. If you are teh Sox ownership: Yes, yes, yes. For financial reason principally, but also for the stability and longevity of the Red Sox brand and general goodwill.

However, if you're a player... hmmm. Remember when the Yankees did this a few years ago? Well, they had a horrible April and spent the first part of the season playing catch-up. For the Sox, the jury's still out.

But you have to wonder if there is any lingering acrimony between the players and the management, esp. give the brouhaha that preceded the trip concerning the Sox staff and compensation, not to mention the obvious reluctance to participate voiced publicly by Schilling and Ortiz and, surely, by many more privately.

And the fans? We'll see... Having the Sox defense of the Series begin thousands of miles (and 13 hours ahead) of the usual time probably wasn't all that damaging to the fan base. I for one, though, am wondering if it will all be so copascetic when all of a sudden Papi or someone else has to go on the DL because the time spent in an airplane flying to or back from Japan caused some kind of damage to their recuperation from injury or, like JD Drew and Sean Casey, aggravated a twinge (back and neck, respectively).

The worst-kept secret in baseball is that the Sox aren't as deep as they have been. Only time will tell if this will come back to bite them.

And then you might hear something from the fans... stay tuned.

In the meantime, enjoy this NSFW 2008 Sox preview from fellow Braintree High alum and noted Bostonian Paul "Fitzy" Fitzgerald...



More of "Fitzy" at http://www.townienews.com.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

"American Idol" and... Dolly Parton?

(EDITOR'S NOTE: A certain part of me is more than a little bemused that I am blogging on "THE PHENOMENON THAT IS AMERICAN IDOL!" seeing as how I find the whole enterprise a remarkably unauthentic way of uncovering musical talent... but, nevertheless, on with the show!)

Last night's "American Idol" was a textbook illustration of where (and who) most of today's pop music had its origins, especially in the wake of yesterday's news that the New Kids are getting back together (more on that later). This week's "Idol" used the song catalogue of Dolly Parton, which seems like a strange choice.

I'm well aware that Dolly Parton is about as iconic a singer and songwriter as there is, with a catalog that stretches back to early roots of rock-a-billy and still influences pop music today. But if you were to ask the average "Idol" viewer who Dolly Parton is, most would say "that lady who has a theme park and freakishly large boobs" (there -- I said it... call the PC police and arrest me for using the word "boobs") and not "iconic singer/songwriter." That's just the way it is...

I, for one, greatly enjoyed last night's show, but not because of the performances; some were OK, a few were good, but the majority of the singers seemed to be either a) cowed by Dolly's presence and songwriting chops, or b) hopelessly outclassed by better material than their middling talents could master.

No, I enjoyed because I got to see and hear just how influential Dolly has been and continues to be on today's music scene (the emotions and harmonies of songs like "Jolene," "Here You Come Again," the "Smoky Mountain" song, and, of course, "I Will Always Love You" are the progenitors of 75% of the pop music on the radio today). Crikee! Having Dolly follow Lennon/McCartney week was like a master class in songwriting. Say what you want about her appearance or whatever, but the Woman can sing and write with the best of them.

The other reason I enjoyed last night's "Idol" was because it seemed like the judges -- Randy, Paula & Simon, or as I like to call them Dawg, Crazy Paula & Scrooge -- truly had no idea what to make of any of the songs or performances. Simon, for one, seemed like he was against choosing Dolly's catalogue for last night's episode from the start, basically torpedoing every performance on the basis that the songs just didn't fit them. And yes, the man is harsh and cruel -- he told Carly that she needs to have "a serious talk with whoever is dressing you" -- but he says what we are thinking, just in a very blunt fashion. I love the guy and would take his critiques more seriously than either Randy or Paula's.

So... interesting night of TV. My prediction: If 17-year-old David doesn't win, it could be the Australian guy (Michael), who's coming on. I can't wait for the chaff like Kristy and Rumeal Robinson to get dumped so the contest can really start.

As for the New Kids, well... maybe the New Kids on the Block/NKOTB/whatever have something to offer the world of music. I know one thing: As a Bostonian and child of the '80s, I'll be watching to see if this is a triumph or a disaster... which is probably why it's worth it to them to get the band back together.

In the meantime, here's some of their best work. Good luck, Kids. You're gonna need it...

"Step By Step"


"Please Don't Go Girl"


"You Got It (The Right Stuff)"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=vmz8ygxruoc&feature=related