mr. blackandwhite

The pussification of the NFL.

This past Sunday was a pretty good day for fans of The New England Patriots.

The Pats smooshed the Redskins 52-7. 52 to 7. Sounds boring? Not if you were at the game to see it. I can tell you from experience, The 12th Man was loving every minute of every single touchdown, even the ones accomplished by The Pats second string.

I was there in person and I can tell you every fan there wanted the Pats to score as often as they possibly could. That's right, run it up baby. Run it the fuck up. Score, score, score and score some more. We didn't feel bad for the poor Redskins one single bit. In fact, we wanted the shut-out too, and we were mildly annoyed when we didn't get it. As I commented to one fan sitting next to me, 'See? They can't call Belichick a big meanie now. He let them score a touchdown so they wouldn't feel so bad.'

I really don't understand the latest Patriots bashing topic of the week, that The Patriots are running up the score in games. If this is not the biggest batch of bull, I don't know what is. This IS the NFL right? When you are offense you ARE supposed to score, right? Whether you're a player on the first, second or third string, you want to take the field and make a play, right?

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but whether it's the first string or the practice squad, I'm pretty sure it's the offense's job to try and score points and it's the defense's job to try and stop them from scoring points. If a team's defense can't stop the opposition, what is the offense supposed to do, kneel on every play and then punt on 4th down? If it's garbage time and a team puts in the backups and they are STILL scoring points on you, what does that mean? Are the backups not supposed to try to play their best?

Or maybe I'm wrong. Maybe when the score gets too out of hand for the opposition, the Pats offense is supposed to just take a knee on every down. They're supposed to stop playing and just give the ball back so the other team has a chance to score.. Give the opponents a break and maybe let them get back into the game a little, not enough to threaten to win of course, but enough so that.. so that WHAT? So that you can save face? So that you don't look quite as pathetic?

What is more pathetic: a team that can't stop an opponent from scoring but plays for pride and keeps trying like hell to make a stop anyway, or a team that can't stop an opponent from scoring, rolls over in the 3rd quarter and wants that team to 'go easy on them' for the rest of the game out of 'respect'? I would go with the latter, and that's what the Redskins and the Dolphins before them and every other person that has complained about The Pats 'running up the score' is, fucking pathetic.

I'll tell you what it really is, it's the pussification of the NFL.

But wait, the opposition's offense is still going to try and run some plays too right? Even though there is no chance of winning, I'm pretty sure they're still going to go out and try and score some points. So maybe The Pats should just stop playing defense when the score gets too far gone as well. We wouldn't want any bruised egos on the visitors sideline now. After all, this is the NFL. It's all about winning, but not if it means somebody's feelings get hurt.

I can't believe these quotes come from actual professional football players:

Via Reiss' Peices:

"That's running up the score, there isn't any other way to look at that. C'mon, man, you're going for it on fourth down and you're up by 38 points. You're throwing the ball late in the game. Most teams just run the clock out to get the win. They don't think like that, but I guess it's our job to stop them. You can't do anything about it, just go out and play defense and try to stop them."
~ DL Philip Daniels

Hey Philip Daniels, just because you have quit playing, that means The Pats shouldn't play the full 60?

Via the Projo Pats Blog:

"I said something to (Belichick) after the game. I told him, 'You need to show some respect for the game.' You just don't do that. I don't care how bad it is. You're up 35 points and you're still throwing deep? That's no respect."

"You look at all the great head coaches ... I'm just disappointed. You gotta show some class, show some respect. Joe Gibbs? We wouldn't have done that. Bill Walsh? You wouldn't see those types of guys doing that stuff. I've never seen nothing like that. Most teams, you get up like that you sit on the ball and try to run the time out. They're up 30-some points and they're throwing deep. That was blatant disrespect. I hope we can see them again, definitely. You don't see Joe Gibbs doing that. You can't even imagine that kind of stuff coming from him. Joe Gibbs. Bill Walsh. Bill Parcells. This isn't like college going for power rankings. This is the pros you show some respect, show some class."
~ Randall Godfrey (who made an astounding number of tackles last Sunday: one)

This is just my opinion, but think it would be more disrespectful to let up and go easy on a team, but then again, I have not bought into the new pussified NFL yet.

I have an idea, next time the Redskins are in a game where they have no chance of winning, maybe they should just take a knee on every down and get it over with, or, since they can't win and they're done playing for the day anyway, just forfeit the game. That way they can go home early and not have to worry about being disrespected and their precious little egos getting hurt.

How about this for a suggestion, instead of pointing your finger at the opposition and whining like a BITCH about the score, take a look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself how it got that out of hand in the first place. It's bad enough you just got completely smacked silly, but even more embarrassing, after the beat-down you come out and complain that after you quit playing at half-time, you were disrespected by a team that continued to play the full 60 minutes.

Disgusting and pathetic.

And don't give me any crap about how The Patriots better be careful or they will get the same treatment someday. Someday? The Dolphins once beat the Pats 52-0. How about the time Broncos tight-end Shannon Sharpe stood on our home field and gleefully declared for the cameras, "Mr. President, call in the National Guard! Send as many men as you can spare! Because we are killin' the Patriots! They need emergency help!"

Yeah, already been there.

Here are a few paraphrased quotes from Tedy Bruschi on the Dale and Holley show this past Monday. You can hear the whole thing here. It's worth checking out.

"The offense is not out there to punt, they're out there to score.."

"When we're up by so much and the [opposing] team hasn't scored, should we [the defense] take it upon ourselves to let them score? No. So the offense should have that same type of mentality."

Finally, the Projo Pats blog has a nice summation of what some NFL coaches around the league think of this nonsense about 'running up the score'. I'll give you a hint, none of them are offering the Redskins and Dolphins players a box of tissues, even though with all the crying going on, some of them could probably use one.

GO PATS

Who's scruffy lookin'?

During the Sox playoff run, I grew a playoff beard. Unfortunately I'm what you would call facial hair challenged. There are junior high school kids who can grow a better beard than I can. So I was looking pretty scruffy.

For the World Series, I shaved off most of the scruff and just kept a goatee kinda thing, or at least, the closest thing to a goatee that I can grow that is.

Now that The Sox have won it all (awesome!), it's safe to shave it off. I'm no longer scruffy. Though I kept my pathetic excuse for a mustache. So what if there are 13 year olds with better mustaches than me?

If the Pats beat the Colts on Sunday I'll get rid of it. It will be the bye week at that point anyway.

I was hoping to go into Boston for The Red Sox World Series parade today but I'm not going to make it in. I am bummed out. I was looking forward to seeing Jon Papelbon's dance moves in person but I guess I'll just have to watch the replay on TV later tonight.

Dang this whole work thing. It's always getting in the way of the important stuff!

BOSTON RED SOX - 2007 WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS

(It's so much fun to write those words! Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. THIS IS AWESOME!)

Your World Series Champion Boston Red Sox

They did it. How awesome is this? For the second time in four years the Boston Red Sox are World Series Champions!!

What else is there to say other than that? Just sit back and soak in the awesome.

Time to make some room in my t-shirt drawer, clear some space on the shelves and the walls and take a day off from work for parade-related purposes.

THANK YOU RED SOX

(boston.com photo)

Shippin' up to Foxboro...

I'll be heading to the Pats / Redskins game tomorrow with my Dad. I'll be in section 327. Look for me on TV. I'll be the guy in the Brady jersey. Or maybe I should be all old-school and wear my Ben Coates jersey.. Hmmm. Game day decision.

So I'm pretty psyched for the game. It should be a very good game. The Redskins will be a tough opponent, so hopefully the game ends with me walking out of The Razor happy.

Tailgating:
If I'm lucky, I get to a game about once every other year, so I take my tailgating seriously. Because tailgating is serious f-ing business. My Wife was making fun of me earlier today because of all the planning that goes into this tailgating thing. Parties? Whatever. Holidays? Whatever. Patriots game? This requires an air-tight game-plan. No messing around.

So here's my menu:
Beer:
Miller Lite. Less filling, tastes great.

Food:
-Meat-a-ball-a subs (made the meatballs tonight, came out really good. Tested them out with some spaghetti.)

-Sausages, with pepper and onions. It's the classic tailgate food. It doesn't get better than that. Sausage King, kiss my ass.. I got some of those Patriots Griller polish sausages too. I was at the grocery story and I saw the package. It had a Patriots logo on there and I couldn't resist it. Can't think of a better time to give them a try.

-Homemade guacamole. Olé!

I was initially gonna do a mean, jalapeño laden chili but my Dad is not too hot for chili. He doesn't really go for the spicy stuff, so I decided to go with the meat-a-balls instead.

In any case, that should be plenty of food for two guys. My Wife thinks so anyway.

The Football Gods be praised.

GO PATS

Mission 11W: 8 down, 3 to go. PS> I drank a giant cup of coffee before writing this so it might explain a few things...

Hey what's up everybody? In case you're wondering, which, you're not, but anyway, in case you're wondering, I'm not ignoring the Red Sox. I mean, they're in the friggin' WORLD SERIES TOTALLY AWESOME PEOPLE!!!1!!1!2@!

What happened is, I've gotten it into my head that writing about The Sox during the ALCS was bad luck. Leading into Game 5, I wrote a quick 'I believe' post and then stopped writing about the games. From that point on, the Sox went on to take games 5, 6 and 7 and came back from a 3-1 deficit to win the ALCS. I stopped writing about the games and The Sox got to the World Series. Conclusion: my writing during the ALCS = bad luck. Obviously, my logic is impeccable and we are all in grave danger. So there you go.

In the back of my mind, I know that nothing I am doing during these playoff games is having an actual effect on the game. But back, WAAAY back in the back of my mind, past the corner with the jukebox, I know that what I do during these games DOES have an effect on the outcome of game.

Hey, all I know is, if I'm on the couch watching the game, and I'm sitting a certain way and the team is doing good, and I shift to a different position and the team starts doing bad, and then I shift back to the way I was before and the team starts doing good again, I'm gonna stay sitting on the couch in the 'good' team-helping position no matter how numb and tingly my arm may become or how bad the cramping in my leg gets. Game on people. 10th man: present and accounted for.

So in that spirit, I'll be keeping this post short and to the point, and depending on tonight's game, you might not see anything further until the conclusion of the World Series. It all depends which way the luck is flowing.

As far as this post, how do I know it's not full of jinxiness? Well let's just call it a 'feeling' that I have that tells me it's safe to write this up, as long as it's quick.. The voices in my head say its ok, aright? Otherwise I wouldn't be here. You think I'm going to do something to fuck this up just for the sake of 'blogg content'? WRONG.

Last night the Sox rode Josh Beckett's spectacular pitching and an explosion of offense to take Game 1 of the World Series. Tonight Shilling goes for The Sox and I'm hoping it will be like the movie 'Groundhog Day', with great pitching and great at-bats from The Sox. If the Red Sox can take this game and a two game lead out to Colorado, that will be huge. HUGE.

Any time Shilling takes the mound, especially in the playoffs, my confidence is high. Even though he is not the same pitcher that he was in 2004, Shilling is still THE BALLS and with the hugeness of this game tonight and the impact it will have on the eventual outcome Series, I know Shil will be ultra-focused on getting us up by 2 when he takes the mound tonight. 3 more wins...

On a final note, I was very disappointed last night when I turned down the volume on the TV and turned on the radio to listen to Joe Castiglione call the game, as I have done throughout the playoffs so far. I heard Joe, but instead of Joe Castiglione it was Joe Morgan and Jon Miller of ESPN coming out of my speakers. Talk about having to pick your poison... Joe Buck and Tim McCarver or Jon Miller and Joe Morgan. Ug. How about option C: Turn down the volume on the TV.

How do these guys keep their jobs? I don't know anybody that enjoys listening to these bozos call a baseball game.

I need to either try and get the Red Sox flag-ship station, WRKO, tuned in at my house, or figure out how to get the dolby surround sound thing working on my stereo's speakers so that I can turn down the center channel, and Buck and McCarver along with it.

3 more wins...

GO SOX

I got erection.. Turbonegro at The Paradise. (Part dos.)

Aright I've been dragging this out for weeks. The Turbonegro show at The Paradise in Boston. I feel obligated to get this up, even though I know that nobody besides me actually cares.

Here's the set-list from the show. It's not in exact order and I'm sure I'm missing a song or two, but here's what I remember:

- We're Gonna Drop the Atom Bomb
- Everybody Loves a Chubby Dude
- Back To Dungaree High
- Bad Mongo
- Blow Me (Like the Wind)
- Sailor Man
- Do You Do You Dig Destruction
- Welcome to the Garbage Dump
- Wasted Again
- Get It On
- Ride With Us
- Turbonegro must be Destroyed
- Prince of the Rodeo
- The Age of Pamparius
- Final Warning
- I Got Erection
- All My Friends Are Dead
- The Midnight Nambla

I've gotta say the show was pretty f-ing awesome. I had no idea what to expect from Turbonegro. I don't know all their tunes but the ones I do know, I like, so I figured I couldn't go wrong. And based on all the stories I had heard, Turbonegro was not to be missed. So when I saw they were coming over for a RARE jaunt across the U.S. to support their new album, 'Retox', I knew this was going to be something to see. And I was right. Every song rocked and rocked hard. Very hard, sailor-boy..

The lights went down the band came out. Mayhem ensued shortly thereafter. Lead singer Hank Von Helvete was twirling a cane with a skull at the top and wearing chaps and a vest that were made out of a U.S. flag. No shirt underneath and his hairy gut was on display in all it's glory.

If you've never heard of or seen Turbonegro, how do I describe this band? They're kind of like a distorted version of the Village People. They all wear make up and dress up in odd costumes. One guy's a sailor, one guys a biker, one guy's dressed up like he's on some British safari in Africa.. Unlike the Village People however, Turbonegro rocks your fucking socks off with an onslaught of straight-forward power-chord death-punk fury.

It's truly a sight to behold and I'm glad I didn't miss it.

The club was small. I'd say maybe 8 steps from front to back, and despite the NO MOSHING, NO STAGE-DIVING, NO CROWD-SURFING posters that were plastered every where in the club, all three were taking place, much to the chagrin of the Paradise Security team. There were several fights between the guys who were determined to try and start a pit and the security guys who were determined to prevent one. Guys would start shoving, people would shove back, and the next thing you know, there's three security guys diving in and a lot of kicking, screaming and beer spilling as people are dragged out of the place.

The void where the shoving was taking place was quickly filled as people rushed in to get one step closer to the stage. I was not one of those people. I just hung back and took it in. I was not being aloof, I was just f-ing tired. It was a Monday night after all and I did work all day. And, maybe I am getting old. Fuck.

Anyway. I recall one occasion after a bunch of people were hauled out, a woman yelled with glee as she ran towards the front to get that much closer to the stage. Only to get nailed with a full beer cup right in the head. Looking dejected, she came back, walking past me, heading towards the back of the club, dripping wet and wringing the beer out of her long blond hair.

Did I mention that full beer cups were flying everywhere? They were. At one point Turbo's bass player, Happy Tom, looked like he was going to remove his sailor cap, jump down into the crowd and personally kick somebody's ass if one more beer flew up in the vicinity of where he was standing on stage. (Who throws a full cup of beer anyway? Alcohol abuse.)

On the flip side, Hank, the lead singer, never seemed to run out of Heineken or funny quips between songs. In his Norwegian accent, he would ask the crowd stuff like, 'Are there any Kennedy's here?' and act befuddled when the answer came back 'NO!'

'How many of you go to Harvard? Nobody? Ok. How many of you go to Boston University then? None?? So, you are all losers like us then? How many people here hate the Red Sox? How many people here are Irish?' Hilarious.

At one point Hank started singing the theme from the old TV show 'Cheers' and by the second encore of the night, after an extended on-stage discussion with bass player Sailor-Boy on the best way to divide up the crowd to help sing, 'I Got Erection', he broke the club into half Irish, half not-Irish. 'OK! THIS SIDE I.R.A. THIS SIDE, U.K.!'

In a nutshell Hank fucking rules dude. Cool beyond words. And in a nutshell, despite being dog tired, this was one of the greatest things I have ever seen while having my socks rocked the fuck off.

One of my favorite parts of the show came when despite the whole 'no stage diving' thing all over the walls of the club (which, despite people continually getting thrown out of the club, was still taking place anyway, by members of the opening act Mondo Generator no less, even better), Turbonegro guitar player Euroboy literally stepped off the stage and was held up by the bottom of his feet and his ankles by the people in the crowd. As he was being supported by the crowd below, his head was conking on the lighting grid above as he lashed out a killer guitar solo. While this was going on on one side of the stage, Hank had momentarily put his mic down and was on the other side of the stage, wiggling his tongue side-to side at somebody in the crowd and asking them if they were single.

Have I gotten across to you at all the general kick-assness that was the Turbonegro show in Boston? I am so glad I was there to witness it. After the show was over the band hung around on stage well after the lights had come up to shake hands with anybody who wanted to.

Well that's the end. I'll take a moment here to say thanks to Turtle and Michele. Without them, I wouldn't even know who or what Turbonegro is. What a shame that would be.

(all images: Turbonegro.com)

It's a win win win win (win win win) situation.

The Patriots: is there a word for what they did to the Dolphins on Sunday? Annihilate? Destroy? Dismantle? Squish? Can you believe I was actually a little nervous about the Patriots game in Miami this past weekend?

I wish I could say I saw the game, but afternoon plans went askew and I was not able to catch a single one of Randy Moss' spectacular TD receptions, though I did hear Gil Santos losing his mind on the radio over one of them, a bomb from Tom Brady thrown from mid-field that Moss hauled in with, how many guys covering him? Three? Eleven? Did it matter?

It's gotta be good when somebody like Gil Santos is struggling to describe how good it actually is.

Like most Pats fans, I had very high hopes for this season, but even I, a notorious Patriots can-do-no-wrong kinda guy, never expected this type of mind-blowing performance during the Patriots 7-0 start.

As records are falling on a weekly basis, the only way I can think to describe this year's Patriots team is, awe-inspiring. I'm literally at a loss for words to accurately describe this season so far. As an adjective, 'awesome' is too weak of a word to truly convey what the Patriots are doing, but I'll tell you one thing: as a Patriots fan, it's FUCKING GREAT!!!

I mean, Randy Moss has already broken the Patriots' single season TD record for a receiver, and it's not even HALF-WAY through the season yet. With 6 TD passes on Sunday, Tom Brady has broken the Patriots' previous single game record of 5, and he could have potentially left the the NFL's record of 7 completely in the dust if he had not been pulled in favor of the backups during garbage time. He's thrown a perfect game as a QB and has already surpassed the total number of TD passes that he threw all of last year.

Brady is currently sitting on 27 TD passes. He needs only one more to tie his single season record of 28, again, not even half-way through the season yet. It's jaw-droppingly amazing.

Of course it helps that The Pats play in the worst division in football at the moment, The AFC East, but that does not change the fact that The Patriots have taken on all comers and have walked away leaving their opponents wondering what hit them. From 5-0 to 0-6 teams, good and bad, the results have remained the same: a Patriots win and humbled opponents. They do like their Humble Pie in Foxboro.

Speaking of Humble Pie, I could use a helping right now actually. 7-0 is nice but there's 16 games on the schedule. There's still a long way to to go.

It's a great time to be a Pats fan and I am just trying to soak this in, store these memories away and enjoy the game every week. Up next: The Washington Redskins. I missed the Miami game, but I won't miss this next one. I'll be there live and in person and I'm fully intending to make a bowl of chili that will be pleasing to the Football Gods (who I thank every night before bed by the way). Extra jalapeño? F-yeah.

GO PATS

Patriots quietly go about the business of being totally f-ing awesome.

I’ve been writing about the Sox lately, seeing as how they are in the ALCS and giving me a lot of heart-burn, but don’t take that to mean that I’ve overlooked for one second how truly awesome the New England Patriots are right now. They are beyond awesome. What is beyond awesome? I don’t know, but whatever it is, The Patriots are there right now.

The Pats’ performance in Dallas last Sunday was phenomenal. Despite playing in a hostile environment, committing a turnover for a touchdown, losing their starting tight-end, their starting running-back, who, by the way, was the back-up for their number one RB, and a less than 100% O-Line, the Pats managed to rack up 48 points on a 5-0 Dallas team. As the cover of this week’s Sports Illustrated states, ‘Yes, That Good’. The Pats are kicking ass and taking names right now. They show up at the stadium to chew gum and kick ass and they ain’t got no gum.

I love reading stuff like this (from the SI article):

"While Brady's teammates no longer marvel at his greatness, they clearly respect the work that makes it possible. "First one into the facility every day, last one out," says Koppen. Adds Stallworth, "He works like a quarterback who hasn't even made the team yet." Once a sixth-round draft choice, always a sixth-round draft choice. Brady is on pace to throw 56 touchdown passes this season, which would obliterate Manning's record of 49. Already a lock for the Hall of Fame, he continues to play as though he has to validate his paycheck."

After this past week’s win we can check off another hex the Pats no longer have to live with. Never won a game in Dallas? Check! Took care of that! There used to be so many of these and I used to keep track of a lot of them, mainly due to the fact that I’ve lived through them. The Pats can’t win in Denver? Took care of that! (Though Denver fully remains a very tough place for The Pats.) They've never won in Miami in Sept / Oct (or in Miami in general)? Took care of that! Can’t win in K.C.. check that one off the list. Over time these little problems and jinxes have all come off the board, one by one. It's a nice thing to see happening.

As The Patriots roll and NFL records fall, it seems there’s a sentiment out there of growing hatred for The Pats. Is this really true? I’ve read about it in a few places, but since I don’t really spend a lot of time on the main-stream, and like, zero time on message boards and stuff, (I’m living in my own little closed in Patriots Nautical Blue world here,) I don’t really encounter a lot of this hatred first hand.

I know it’s out there, I just haven’t run into it myself I guess. Or maybe I have run into it and I just unconsciously ignore it. The press has always had a general dislike for the Patriots, from my perspective anyway, so I've become really adept at simply tuning it out. Plus, my Wife tells me that I have a great sense of selective hearing. Regardless of that, here’s the way I feel about this increased level of Patriots hate that's out there, (and I may have said this here before, I can’t remember): In the 80’s I hated the 49ers and in the 90’s I hated the Cowboys. Now it’s the 00’s and if people hate The Patriots the same way I hated those 49er and Cowboys teams back in the day, I say that is goddamn muthafucking awesome. I take it as a compliment. If that is really the way people feel about The Pats right now then we are in some fine company. In the 80s and 90s I used to wish that the up and down Pats could be consistently dominant like the 49ers and Cowboys were (except maybe without all the coke).

Now before I get too far ahead of myself here with all this gushing, as Tom Brady has recently said, ‘The season does not really start until Thanksgiving anyway’. Quotes like this are one of the reasons I love this team so much, but he has a valid point. It’s still early and there is still a lot that can happen during the season. There are still a lot of tough opponents left to face on the schedule, a lot of teams that are dying to be the ones to knock the Patriots down a notch.

A lot of people look at the upcoming Miami game and think it will be a cake-walk. When the Patriots play in Miami, it is never a cake walk. I think about that orange uniform game from 2004. Miami was wearing those awful, fluorescent orange, eye-burning uni’s and The Patriots were on their way to a 15-1 record while The Fish were on their way to 3-13. Then the Pats tripped up in Miami, probably because they were partially blinded by those orange uniforms, and lost the game by one point. The Pats still went on to win the Superbowl that year so it all worked out in the end, but I’m sure Coach Belichick has reminded the team of that particular game because Brady even mentioned it in one of his comments earlier this week, as well as the fact that a supposed 'weak' Miami team blanked The Pats 21-0 in Miami last year. As Chris at Land of Patriots said, I’m sure Belichick has told the team that this is the best 0-6 team they’ve ever faced. Pats D-Lineman Jarvis Green, who if he were not playing behind Richard Seymour would without question be a starter on any other team, has said on his own site, "We're just staying humble, working hard and keeping our focus every week. Our goal is to win every game, one at a time."

GO PATS

Mission 11W: Staying alive in Game 5...

I'm feeling drained today. That Red Sox / Indians game last night was rough. Actually it was that 5th inning that was especially rough. If you read my post during the game last night, you can see I go a little batty during these games. But then, don't we all?

Despite the dire situation the Sox now find themselves in, down 3-1 in the ALCS, I'm still keeping the Faith in this team to get it done and keep the series alive on Thursday. Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? HELL NO.

We've got our ace, Josh Beckett, going for us in Game 5 and if he can't stop Cleveland's momemtum, well, then maybe that's just the way things are meant to be, but I think The Sox have too much determination and pride to go out like that. I think guys like Oritiz, Tek and Lowell will step up and say no, it's not ending here on Thursday.

Personally I believe the Sox will rally with Josh on the mound and there will be a Game 6 in Fenway. Like Youk said on his blog, there is no tomorrow. Let's just get back to Fenway and go from there.

I believe.

Any chance The Sox can get Kevin Millar to come up to Cleveland on Thursday night to give them a good rallying speech and a shot of whiskey?

GO SOX

It's official: I'm now outdated.

Apple has set a ship date of October 26 for the latest release of Mac OS, version 10.5 (a.k.a Leopard). In looking at the requirements, the minimum you need to be able to install the update is an 867 MHz G4.

Damn. My old reliable PowerBook G4 is a 667 mega-hurts.

It's official. I am now behind the times. It kinda sucks being outdated..

ALCS Game 4: LETS GO RED SOX

It's game 4. Mega-ultra-super-ultra critical game 4. This is MUST WIN territory here for the Red Sox. No I don't think I'm overstating this.

I'm glad we have Wake on the mound for us. I have full confidence in him and his ability to get us out of this jam with the Indians. But The Sox BATS need to come alive here. RUN SUPPORT people, RUN SUPOOOOOORRRTT!

GO SOX

I'm going with all the traditional superstitions tonight: October candle, Harpoon (Yes, even though it's Tuesday. Hey, I need to help my team!) Sox regalia, Pats cap in rally position. Plus all the various gyrations and other ticks and nonsense that go on during these high-pressure games.

I'm sort of twittering the game here. It's kind of a way to keep from going insane and pacing a groove in the carpet in front of the TV. If you want to follow along with the nonsense, feel free..

Update:
Oh my f-ing God. The Indians have scored 7 (so far..) in the bottom of the 5th. And the inning is still not over. Meanwhile the Sox bats have done.. nothing.

We are fucking done my friends. DAMMIT. I am totally bummed out at this moment. FUCK. Going to stop typing now because all I have are bad swear-words.. I'm going to go pound my head against something now. Is Tom Brady available to come out of the Sox pen? Pinch hit? Something? Maybe just levitate over the field and fill the Red Sox dugout with his aura? No?

Dammit.

How about Belichick? No? Available for Football only, huh? Well that's ok. In the end it really all comes down to Football anyway. That is what's really important around here.

Update 2:
Back to back homers from Youk and Papi. Now it's only 7-2, Tribe... I'm still choking back the swear words. Go Sox. Or whatever..

Update 3:
Ok, Manny just hit, I mean, CRUSHED a ball for a 3rd solo home-run. 7-3 Tribe. I'm not saying anything.

Final update:
Ok, any Red Sox heroics that may take place in this game will have to happen while I sleep because I'm done with this game. It's still 7-3 Tribe in the bottom of the 8th. Youk, Ortiz and Manny all came up in the top of the inning and all three popped out on fly balls. F this. Yeah I'm pissed. I still can't believe that 5th inning... At least I did not have to listen to Joe Buck and Tim McCarver call the game. I'm close enough to Springfield MA to be able to get the FM broadcast of the game. Thank God for small something or others..

(Photo: Boston.com)

Mission 11W: Still stuck at 7.

Last night the Red Sox and Indians played game 3 of the ALCS. As a Sox fan, it was a painfully frustrating experience.

I really had zero confidence in DICE going into last night's game but in the back of my mind was the hope that he would prove me wrong, for once.

It didn't happen and the Red Sox are now down 2-1 in the series with what looks like a steamroller of Cleveland momentum about to squish them.

Game 4 now takes on hyper-critical importance. If the Sox go down 3 games to 1 tonight, we are cooked. We all know that overcoming a 3 game lead in the playoffs is not impossible, but I'd rather not have to find out if it can be done again.

Thankfully The Sox have a well-rested, hopefully back-pain free Tim Wakefield going for them tonight. If anybody can give the Red Sox a chance at evening up this series at 2-2, it's him. A note to the Red Sox bats: I know this is a Tim Wakefield start, but Run Support WILL be required tonight.

The bi-polarness of my Red Sox fanness is fully showing.

Dammit.

(original image: Boston.com)

Mission: 8W. Sox / Indians sounds so much better than Sox / MFY.

The '07 ALCS starts tonight and I am looking forward to it. It's looking pretty wet outside right now so I hope the game will not be rained out. This first post-2004 ALCS trip for the Red Sox has a much different feel to it for me. Of course I want to see the Sox win the ALCS and get into the World Series, but I'm not feeling that life or death, hyper-ventilating, if they don't win this thing it's the end of the world type feeling that I had when the Sox were going into the '03 and '04 ALCS.

Finally winning the World Series in '04 has taken a lot of the edge off and this is not a bad thing. I feel like I can actually enjoy the game itself a little more now. We don't have to be hyper-focused on how long it's been since the Sox have won the Series anymore and we don't have to worry about waiting in fear for the 'how are they going to blow it this time?' moment.

It is nice to be able to enjoy the ALCS for what it is, your favorite team and a shot at getting into the World Series. Of course there will be stressful moments over the course of the ALCS, of that there is no doubt, but it will be the stress of wanting your team to win and advance, not the stress of wanting your team to win and advance because they haven't won a championship in almost 90 years and HOLY FUCK are they going to do it this time? ARE THEY EVER GOING TO DO IT??

(Cubs fans, I feel for ya.)

I'm not sure if I'm in the minority on this, but I have to say, I am extremely glad that the MFY were eliminated in the ALDS and we are not facing them in the ALCS this year, not because I was afraid of playing the MFY again, but because I can totally live without the drama of 'THE RED SOX / YANKEES RIVALRY' for once. I mean really, thank God we are being spared 'THE RIVALRY' this time around! We won't have the build up, the hype and everything else that would have surrounded another Sox / MFY ALCS circus. I'm sure the people at FOX are very disappointed, but I'm not missing 'THE RIVALRY' a single bit. In '99, '03 and '04 we had to face the Yankees. Enough is enough, don't you think? Red Sox / Indians. It feels like a breath of fresh air.

For some reason I'm not as nervous about this upcoming series as I was about the last one. I'm not feeling the superstitions that badly right now. They were dialed up pretty high for the ALDS but so far it's not that bad for the ALCS. The superstitions are there, they're just not owning me.. yet. That might change as we get closer to the game though. Hopefully the skies will clear and there will be baseball at Fenway tonight.

GO SOX

I got erection.. Turbonegro at The Paradise. (Part uno.)

I went to see Turbonegro at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston a few weeks ago. A few days after the show I started writing this for the re-opening of Faster Than the World, but then, after imbibing an entire bottle of Old Grand-Dad and choking to death on it's own vomit while listening to AC/DC's 'Highway to Hell', FTTW never re-opened, so this thing has been sitting around half-written. Due to extreme laziness, I've decided to split the story into two parts so I can post what I've written so far. Part uno is the semi-well-written part. Check back for part dos, a.k.a. 'the thrown together part', in a couple days..

This past Monday Several Monday's ago, I went to see the band Turbonegro play at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston. It was a Monday night show and I was tired after work, but I kicked my own ass, told myself I was getting old, and headed into the city.

The Paradise was pretty easy to get to. It is located in the same neighborhood as Boston University, right down the road from Fenway Park. The first thing to do once I found the club was to park the car. Once that was accomplished, number two on the list was refreshment. Luckily for me, T's Pub happens to be conveniently located right next door to the Paradise. Perfect.

I walked in, found a good seat at the bar where I could see the blabber-mouths on ESPN and ordered up a shot of Jack and a Harpoon. By the time the Harpoon arrived, the Jack was gone. I asked for a menu, ordered a buffalo chicken wrap with the works and sipped my beer while I watched the 'experts' on Monday Night Football, noting with some amusement how many of them were currently 0-2 with their picks. By the time my sandwich arrived the first Harpoon was gone. I ordered a second to go with my sammy. I was now sufficiently primed and nourished for the show. I hung out in the bar till around 8:30 then I headed over to the club.

The last time I had seen a show at The Paradise was at least 15 years ago, so as I walked down the dark, narrow hallway leading into the club, it might as well have been for the first time. The Paradise is a pretty small club. It's about 8 steps from the bar in the back to the stage in the front. I guess you could describe it as 'intimate'. I was thinking how cool it was going to be to see Turbonegro, a band that generally fills stadiums over in Europe, play in this little bar. As I walked in to the club, the band Mondo Generator was in the midst of their set and I quickly wished I had headed over to the club a little sooner. They put on a kick ass set, despite the fact that I knew none of their songs. Mark them down as another band I'll be checking out later.

After Mondo Generator finished it was time to wait around for Turbonegro. One thing that I could not help noticing were the signs that were plastered everywhere around the club that read:

NO STAGE DIVING
NO CROWD SURFING
NO MOSHING
HAVE A GOOD TIME AND KEEP YOUR FEET ON THE GROUND!!!

'Yeah, we'll see how that works out' I thought. I also thought about getting another beer, but I wasn't in the mood for Pabst Blue Ribbon, which seemed to be pretty much all they were serving, or at least, that was all that people seemed to be drinking. The stage guys were setting up for Turbo and the floor was already littered with empty PBR cans...

Even though it was a Monday night, the place was full to the gills and the crowd seemed to be pretty jacked up in anticipation for Turbonegro to come out. There were more than a few people who pointed to the 'No Moshing' signs and made some kind of derisive comment while asking, 'what the hell is that all about?' One could not help but wonder, but I've noticed that the 'no moshing' thing seems to be a growing trend.

I stood in the back of the club and waited. I was not in the mood and did not have the energy to try and push my way any closer to the stage. The distance between the back of the club and the front of the club was so small, what difference was a few feet backwards or forwards going to make? Zero.

(Part dos coming soon here!)

Resitance is futile, most of the time.

I went to CVS pharmacy on my lunch break to get some Tylenol. My mouth is sore today from the dental work. Anyway, I walked in to CVS and they had a full-on Patriots display set up right near the entrance. They had everything. Stickers, pens, fake tattoos, trash-cans, baby-bibs.. you name it. It was like a mini Patriots ProShop! I was completely sucked in. I will pretty much buy anything if it has a Patriots or Red Sox logo on it.. except for Bud Light. I won't buy Bud Light just because the can has a Patriots helmet on it. I draw the line there. Sam Adams with a Pats helmet on it? I'm in. Miller Lite with a Pats helmet on it? Fully there. But Bud Light? Sorry Budweiser marketing team, but my answer is no. Even I have limits*.

The Patriots display had some Red Sox stuff set up too but it all had DICE's face on it, which also equals zero interest from me..

I need a trash can for the basement so I almost bought the Patriots trash can. Then I thought, 'wouldn't this bib be nice for my youngest? She would look so nice on game-day!' And who doesn't need more pens? Especially, Patriots pens!! I know I could use some of those! I could take notes, make lists, all kinds of things! And it would be with a Patriots pen! Awesome!

Thankfully my better judgment kicked in and I did not buy any Patriots stuff. But I wanted to. Oh, I wanted to.

After I left CVS I went to Dunkin's for a coffee since I was out. There was a John Denver song playing inside the shop. He was good. RIP John Denver.

*Just because I won't buy Budweiser product does not mean I won't drink it if you hand one to me. I'm only a beer snob with my money, not yours. There's no such thing as bad beer, just some are better than others.

Perversions of Pain.. or something.

Well it's been a few days since my dental thing and now I'm back at it. I had intentionally scheduled the procedure to coincide with the long weekend so that I'd have an extra day to recuperate and I'm glad I did. Yesterday I was still feeling pretty sore but so far today it's not bad at all.

I think the worst part is over. Now I've just got to heal up and in a few weeks I'll be back to normal. For now I still can't eat anything except for a soft diet, which basically means no chewing. Over the past few days, my diet has mainly consisted of the following:

- Various Campbell's 'Soup at Hand' soups. (These are basically soups that come in a microwavable cup. After you microwave the soup you can drink it right out of the cup. They are pretty tasty I have to say.)

- Hunt's snack pack pudding. (Chocolate and vanilla. Yummy.)

- Vicoden. (When I tell people I'm taking vicoden they're all, 'ooooo, that's the good stuff!' I don't see what the big deal is. It gets rid of the pain, which is nice, but other than that, so what? What's all the fuss about over this stuff? I'm not seeing any cool colors or anything and my hands haven't felt just like two balloons yet..)

- Harpoon IPA. (No, I'm not mixing it with the vicoden.. I know what your twisted little brains are thinking.)

- Homemade smoothies. (My Wife makes a mean smoothie: banana, strawberries, yogurt and pineapple. Super good AND good for you!)

I've lost about 6 pounds so far but I think three of those pounds was 'Oreo weight'. (My Wife bought me some Oreo cookies to have as a treat on the night before my dental procedure. I ate about 6 Oreos plus a big glass of milk. I think Oreo cookies are probably the most concentrated fat producing substance on the planet. Each cookie equals about 2 pounds on the scale I think. But they are sooooo good! Obviously one of Satan's best inventions.. I dip mine in milk before I eat them.)

So how do you like your Oreos?

I wish I could have one right now but it's time to have some Campbell's Soup at Hand instead. (Creamy chicken! I'm not lying these things are actually really good. You're welcome Campbell's.)

Worth the wait: Red Sox take ALDS Game 2

(Reuters Photo)

Red Sox / Angels, ALDS Game 2: This was one long ass game..

As the clock was nearing 12 AM I began to think, 'I don't know if I can stay up for this whole thing.' Then I thought, 'I've been up this long, I may as well see how it turns out at this point.'

As the clock was nearing 1 AM and the game headed to the bottom of the 9th still tied at 3-3, I began to think, 'I've stayed up this long, it better be worth it. This thing better turn out good.'

It was better than good. It was great. Papelbon is The Balls and Manny is The Man. His game winning home-run was an absolute thing of beauty. He fully deserved to stand at the plate and admire it for an extra second as it went over absolutely everything in left field and completely left the ball park. The Dark Horse, Okajima and the rest of the Sox bullpen were phenomenal in relief for you know who, whose performance was about as I expected it would be. Eh, I'll give Dice some credit. He at least kept the game within a run for the Sox offense.

Mission: 9W

(Bonus: The Yankees lost to Cleveland in extra innings. Cleveland now leads their series 2-0.)

GO SOX

What channel are the Red Sox on?

Hey what's up you-all? I'm just sitting here, killing time, rooting for the Indians and waiting for the Red Sox / Angels game to start. What channel are they on? Are they on after this Cleveland / MFY game? Or are they on some other channel? It's 1-1 in the bottom of the 9th at Cleveland right now. What if this thing goes to extra innings? Then what? Do they wait for this game to be over before the Sox / Angels game starts?

Dudes and ladies I'm somewhat in an f-ing confused state.. I'm in another state, another state of mind. Yes.

And what are those bugs flying everywhere at The Jake? Ladybugs? Mayflies? There's a lot of bugs flying around in Cleveland.

The Pats face off against the Browns in Foxboro on Sunday. The Browns are one of my backup teams basically because of the presence Romeo Crennel and Willie McGinest. I like to see those two guys doing well. It should be an interesting game on Sunday, with Belichick facing his friend and former defensive coordinator and Willie facing the team he used to lead on a weekly basis.. I hope Romeo and Willie get a nice ovation coming into The Razor, but once the game starts, those guys are the enemy.

Back to the Sox, I see the game has started on an alternate channel. Confusion solved. Let's go DICE. Prove to me that my feelings about you are wrong, please.

GO SOX
GO PATS

Superstition update:
I'm wearing my Red Sox socks and my 04 ALCS t-shirt. Sam Adams is in a Patriots glass and an October candle is burning. I think I'll go put the Patriots cap on. Let the Patriot Power flow down into the Red Sox stuff. Maybe I'll put it into rally-cap mode, right at the outset too. Because well, I have a feeling The Sox will need it tonight. (Yes, it's weird the way my mind works..)

Update 2:
It's the top of the 8th, the score is tied at 3 - 3 and it's approaching midnight. My superstitions all went to bed a while ago. I'm the only one still awake at this point. This is a long ass game.. GO SOX.

I can has cheeseburger? No.

Later today I have to have some rather unpleasant dental work done. To say I am not looking forward to it would be an extreme understatement but at this point, I just want to get it over with and be done with it.

One of the side effects of this procedure I'm having done is that I won't be able to eat solid food for a few weeks until I am healed up, just liquids and basically stuff that does not require biting or chewing. That means lots of smoothies, lots of pudding, soup and that kind of stuff. No cheeseburgers. So if you ask, can I has cheeseburger? The answer is a definite, no, I cannot has cheeseburger.

I expect to lose about 10 pounds. I guess the weight loss part isn't so bad. I won't mind that.

Accentuate the positive.

Mission 11W: The '07 version..

Sox / Angels, game one. Currently top of the 8th. Superstitions are cranked up for this game for some reason. But then, it is the playoffs after all..

Game one = crucial with Dice going tomorrow. Not that they're not all crucial, but.. well you know. I don't want to say it. In fact, I'm just stopping here. I think this typing is bad luck.

GO SOX

Update:
Sox win game 1, 4-0. Beckett went the full 9 and was awesome. Whew. Now I can relax. I was tense through that whole thing. Didn't want to move or do anything to break the spell. [lets out a deep breath..]

Mission: 10W

Ok DICE, you're up. Feel free to, you know, do your thing.

Pats / Bengals: 2nd half

Quick thoughts:

As much as I bitch about these MNF games going to midnight or whatever, this is so much better than back in the day when I'd be sitting with my Dad in his living room, trying to tune in some fuzzy, snowy looking UHF TV station out of Springfield to try and see the Pats game because it was blacked out on the Boston stations..

They didn't show The Pats on MNF back then, so keep that in mind and enjoy the prime-time slot Pats fans. You don't need me to tell you that though..

Let me also tell you how thankful and happy I am that I can listen to these games with Gil Santos and Gino Cappelletti calling the games on the radio. I have no idea what they are saying on ESPN. Thank you Gil and Gino!

The Pats just kicked a field goal to go up 27-10 with 13 and change in the 4th Q. Grind time...

A little over 9 min and the Bengals just kicked a 48 yard FG. 27 - 13, Pats. Nice job once again by Samuel on that drive. He stripped the ball away on what would have been a Cincy reception to stop the Bengals drive and limit them to three.

Let's hope the Pats can just run run and run here... or not? Everybody's expecting the run and Brady is slinging it. Whatever!

Now with 3 min and change, The Pats go up 34-13 on a Brady to Moss TD pass. The Pats won't score 38 today but at this point this game is pretty much academic. I think we can chill out now. Besides my battery is about dead. 4-0 sounds good. I can't believe the season is a quarter of the way gone...

Go PATS

Pats / Bengals at the half: 17-7 Patriots

Half-time in the Pats / Bengals game.

What can I say so far? Great job by the Patriots. The Bengals have gotten pressure on Tom Brady at times but the Pats have answered that problem with Sammy Morris and the run game. The first half offense featured some great throws by Brady but what really has stood out has been Sammy Morris and the Offensive Line, pounding the ball, chewing up yards and running the clock.

Randy Moss continues to amaze me. His TD catch to put the Pats up 17 - 7 was simply incredible. This is something above and beyond, what we are seeing with Moss on this team. Moss is sooo goddamn good.. It's just amazing to watch this guy! I know I'm gushing, but I fully have a manly-man crush on Randy Moss. I love that he is a Patriot. The fucking balls dude.

The Bengals are not folding in this game by any means. They are hanging tough with the Pats but just when it looked like the Bengals were going to cut the score to 17-14, Pats CB Asante Samuel stepped in front of a pass intended for Chad Johnson to end the scoring chance. Nice job to Asante Samuel. Earning that money baby. Hey, that's what you're there for. No problem, keep it up. Awesome.

2nd Half time...

GO PATS

Pats / Bengals checklist..

Pats socks: check

Pats Superbowl 36 roster t-shirt: check (Worn only once a week now as it is getting thin and my Wife thinks that t-shirts with holes should be thrown out, not sewn up.)

Pats polo shirt: check (For looking decent at work related purposes.)

Pats ball-cap: check (used daily.)

Pats lunch-box keep sammitches cool thingie: check (used daily.)

Pats key chain: check (used daily.)

Patriots blue underwears: check (boxer-briefs for those who are wondering.)

Beer: check (Sam Adams Brewmasters AND Harpoon IPA. Not taking any chances in case the Football Gods are feeling picky.)

Superbowl 36 beer mug: check (used only on game-day.)

Football shaped serving dish for pretzel related activity: check

Annoyed that the Colts won yesterday: check (felt wierd rooting for the Broncos, but, it always does.)

Happy that the Raiders won yesterday: check (that always feels weird too.)

Happy that the Bills won yesterday: check (Jets are 1-3... Imagine me smiling.)

Happy that K.C. won yesterday: check (San Diego is 1-3... Imagine me smiling even more. I can't believe the Chargers used to be my #1 back-up team.)

I think that about covers it for now.

After the last Sunday night game against San Diego, my Wife has decreed that I'll be watching any and all night games in the Man Nook (the basement) from now on, due to noise and accidentally knocking things over related issues.. That is ok by me. The couch down there has Patriots pillows and the radio is already dialed in to Gil and Gino so I won't have to hear those clowns on ESPN.

The Football Gods smile upon my Man Nook.

GO PATS

Update:
I'm home from work now so I've ditched the Pats polo and my Patriots sweats are now in full effect.