Tag: Sports

Red Sox: Feels Like Pre-2004

There are so many people today who are fans of the Boston Red Sox who have no idea what it means to be a fan of the Boston Red Sox. Once they finally won the World Series, back in 2004, the idea of the Fellowship of the Miserable sort of went away. Now, 12 years later, it’s a distant memory.

For those who don’t understand what it used to be like, let’s just say that last night was like old times.

The Sox magic number to clinch the American League East was one. One Red Sox win or one Toronto Blue Jays loss and the Sox are division champs. The Blue Jays were playing Baltimore, and the Red Sox were playing the Yankees (of course).

Late in the game down in New York, the word comes through that the Blue Jays have lost. Congratulations, Red Sox, you’ve won the division. They had a 3–0 lead and just needed to put away the Yankees so they could start celebratin’.

Bottom of the ninth, their closer on the mound. Kimbrel decides he doesn’t want to throw any strikes. One hit and a slew of walks later and it’s 3–1 Yankees. In comes Joe Kelley to try clean up Kimbrel’s mess. At first it looks like he might get through it. He gets the first two hitters out. Then, bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, two outs, friggin’ Mark Teixeira hits a grand slam. Yankees win, 5–3.

This is what the damn Red Sox used to do to us all the time. Just as it’s time to start the party… lose in gut wrenchingly awful fashion.

Thanks for the memories, guys. Now DON’T DO IT AGAIN!

Rick “Cy Young” Porcello

Rick Porcello is a 20 game winner.

I owe him an apology.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2016/07/29/rick-porcello-goes-distance-win-over-angels/3zSza2D2Gxz4G2Hyh0jAhO/story.html

Last year the Red Sox signed Porcello to an absurdly huge contract that was way over his head and he was awful. He couldn’t get my grandmother out and she passed away 18 years ago.

When the 2016 season started I, like most Red Sox fans, expected more of the same. something happened on the way to last place though. Porcello wasn’t terrible. He started pitching really well and going very late into games. I thought it was a fluke. I jokingly called him Cy Young. Oh look, Cy Young Porcello made it into the seventh inning with the lead. Oh look, Cy Young Porcello made it into the eighth inning. Stuff like that. I thought it was a statistical anomaly. Even the worst players can go on hot streaks, right? Right?

Last night, pitching in Toronto against the team in which we are in a serious playoff race, Porcello won his 20th game of the season. He’s 20–3. 20 wins and three losses. Given his performance last season, that is freakin’ insanity.

I have to apologize to the guy. I thought he’d come back to Earth. Instead he just kept mowing down the competition. Now when I call him Cy Young it is because I feel he’s the man to beat in the Cy Young award discussion.

Congratulations, Rick Porcello. 20 game winner.

Calendar Hate

The one single month that I hate the most out of all of the months on the calendar is DecemberJanuaryFebruaryMarch.

September is a close second. Why? Because summer ends in September. First the temperature drops, then the leaves start to fall, and then summer ends. Screw you, September. I hate you. Hockey training camps and pre-season games make the pain a little more bearable, but not much. Not enough.

Ugh… I hate you September. You suck.

Happy September 1, world.

Oh What a Relief

Ahhhhhhhhh….

I just got home from work. I am officially on a four day weekend. Oh what a relief it is. I am professional responsibility free until Monday. Happy Happy Happy

The only thing left to do today is for David Price to pitch like an ace and beat the Orioles. The Red Sox have won five in a row and need to start pummeling opponents again if they are going to make the post season. Let the winning continue tonight. And if you blow it, Price? Then you can kiss my very fat ass.

Go Red Sox

Go Vacation

Huge Game

It’s a huge game today for fans in New England. This time of year it doesn’t get any bigger than this.

For some reason my gut is telling me that Jarome Iginla is going to light things up in the second period. I have no basis for that feeling except that Iginla is awesome. He’s a shadow of his younger self, but I am seriously digging the fact that he is finally a Bruin.

note: you didn’t think I was talking about the Patriots in the AFC Championship game, did you? Honestly, I could care less.

The Return of Tim Thomas

Tim Thomas agreed to a try out deal with the Florida Panthers. Let’s start by saying that no one was ever a bigger fan of Tim Thomas the goalie than I was. I watched him in Providence, I watched him come out of nowhere and steal an NHL job through nothing more than hard work, I watched him become a starter, a Vezina winner, and a Conn Smythe winning Stanley Cup champ. I rooted for him all the way. He was the best.

Off the ice he turned out to be a tea party-esque nut job, and while that was totally distracting and annoying, it never changed the fact that he was Tim “The Man” Thomas in net. I don’t care what his politics or personal life are like (although I’d draw the line at rooting for him if he turned out to be chummy with the Hitler or Stalin types, you know?), hell I don’t even care if you’re a complete asshole. If you work hard and do your best by us, the fans, then I’ll tip my hat to you and give you my sincere thanks.

But noooooooooooooo.

Timmy had to break the contract that he agreed to that would pay him a truck load of money in order to spend time with his family. What’s the truth? I would put money on Timmy not liking either his teammates, his management, or the city, but how do I know. What it comes down to is that he screwed us, the fans, last season and for that I say to hell with him. I hope he never plays another game in the NHL. It shows you how insanely desperate the Panthers are to give a deal, even if it’s just a PTO, to a 39 year old with a history of breach of contract. If he wants to go play in Finland again, then good luck to him. Don’t let the door hit you on the ass on the way out. I don’t ever want to see him playing in an NHL game again.

There is only one thing that Boston sports fans truly want from their professional athletes. We want them to work hard and do their best. That’s it. Really. If any fan base realizes that winning isn’t everything, it’s the fan base that stood behind a Red Sox team that went 86 years without a title. We want you to win, but if you work hard and do your best and come up short then we’re still going to hero worship the shit out of you. Thomas used to be the perfect guy for Boston, and then he screwed us over and went home for a year. To hell with him.

Bad Day for Boston Sports

It’s been a crummy day for Boston sports.  First, the Bruins blew a 2-0 lead over the Penguins last night, all in the late minutes of the third period, and lost 3-2.

Today, the Patriots lose Wes Welker to the Denver Broncos.

And to top it off, I now learn that Terry Francona, ex Red Sox manager, has made a Harlem Shake video with the Cleveland Indians.

Will the pain never end?

Another NHL Lockout Post

tick tock, tick tock.

The clock is ticking.  One week to go until the league’s deadline to cancel the season.  One week to go until the unthinkable happens… again… and the league cancels the whole entire season.  One week.

And the two sides didn’t meet face to face yesterday.  Are you kidding?

So here are two of the remaining sticking points.

Ready?

The league wants next season’s salary cap to be 60 million dollars.  The players want next season’s salary cap to be 65 million dollars.

Both sides have agreed that term length of the new collective bargaining agreement (assuming they ever actually agree to one) should be ten years.  The players want an option to back out after seven years.  The league wants an option to back out after eight years.

There’s also an issue dealing with player pensions that seems like it might be a legitimate problem, but is still something that a little give and take should be able to resolve in a short time.  Still though… they are hung up on seven years vs eight years, and 60 million vs 65 million.  Really.  Both sides are saying that publicly.  Honestly, they are.  Both sides are so incredibly stupid that they are risking the cancellation of ANOTHER NHL season over these issues.

My god people, how much of a collective group of assholes can you be?  For the salary cap?  How about 62.5 million.  Problem solved!  As for the term length, I have a more complicated solution.  Take a coin, right?  Flip it.  Heads means the opt out is seven years.  Tails means the opt out is eight years.  Problem solved!

They have had a Federal mediator at all of the recent talks.  I swear that poor son of a bitch must be ready to just start punching these idiots.  Meet with the players and punch Donald Fehr in his World Series canceling head.  Meet with the players and punch Gary Bettman in his season canceling head.  BOOM!  Problems solved!  Drop the damn puck!

Obligatory Pissed Off at the NHL Post

I haven’t done one of these posts in a while.  Maybe because after more than three months of lockout, I just don’t give a shit anymore.  Maybe.

The NHL made a proposal to the NHLPA today.  The national hockey media is all abuzz over it.  It seems to include serious movement by the league toward the demands set by the players association.  Good.

Of course it comes as we approach the league’s mid-January deadline for cancelling the entire season.  That would be two labor cancelled seasons in eight years.  That would also be suicide.  The offer also comes as the players union is trying to decide whether or not to decertify and throw the whole labor negotiation into the US courts.  That move would probably cancel this year and next year and maybe the year after that.  But hey, at least they wouldn’t be saddled with a 10 year CBA, right?

None of this is what specifically triggered my need to write a pissy NHL post this afternoon.  As has happened each time one side or the other generated excitement, I fully expect the other side to ruin the optimism.  That will most likely happen after a 3:00pm Eastern time conference call with the players union leadership.

No, what pissed me off this time was something that NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said.  Allow me to quote Mr Daly via this Pierre LeBrun ESPN article:

“We are hopeful that once the union’s staff and negotiating committee have had an opportunity to thoroughly review and consider our new proposal, they will share it with the players. We want to be back on the ice as soon as possible.”

I added the italics, because that’s what pissed me off so much.  As soon as possible, Bill?  Really?  It’s DECEMBER 28th, and you want to get back on the ice as soon as possible?  What an asshole.  Hey Bill, as soon as possible went out the window when the first day of training camp was missed back in September.  You missed as soon as possible more than three effing months ago.  Thank you Deputy Commissioner Daly, for once again blatantly insulting your millions of fans.  Those millions of fans who allowed your league to post the highest earnings in its history last year.  That’s over 3 billion dollars worth of insulted fans.

I hate them all so much.

I HATE THEM ALL SO MUCH!