Luke Prestridge - Punter

Spring

2010-05-27T10:31:00.002-04:00

The Memorial Day weekend is coming on fast and furious. I've been very remiss in not posting anything since before Christmas but here's an attempt to patch a few things up. I have a few surprises and some rants to make so hang on.

Surprises
1. Boston College wins the Frozen Four - I thought that their win was stunning
2. the Boston Bruins completely blowing a 3-0 lead in their series with the Flyers. Oh my word - what the *$%@?!
3. Red Sox - moving Ellsbury to left - thinking that getting no offense will some how work out to wins
4. Tiger Woods blowing himself up - I don't know what to add to that
5. Johns Hopkins making the NCAA playoffs (I love Hop, but I have a hard time understanding why they deserved a spot over G'town or Drexel)
6. Gordon Lax beating Endicott (my alma mater finally beating that former girls school was the nicest elixir to a bad day I've had in a long time).
7. The national championship for D1 football was boring despite having two very good teams
8. nice surprise? the Colts losing the superbowl
9. Dave Cottle retiring from Maryland after 9 years of very good success

Rants
1. Washington as a sports town - can this town be more of a grasping pathetic place? You've got Redskins fans that can't get their heads around the fact that their team stinks, the owner stinks, and perhaps they stink too. Now we come to the Wizards nee Bullets. What an awful team, I mean, I thought the LA Clippers were bad but nope, no sirree! The Capitals - best offensive player in the last 6 years but hasn't produced anything of worth than awards for himself. The Nationals nee Expos - a fair amount of success so far this season but this hype, HYPE, surrounding Strasburg is just plain dumb. Reminds me of when folks like Deion Sanders and Michael Jordan came to town to save us from sports purgatory. Washington is not a great sports town, at least for pro sports and the fans here, ESPECIALLY Redskins fans are the weirdest I've seen outside of Steelers fans. I love living here but my word being a sports fan means you should really start liking other teams just so that you're not exposed to the absolute nonsense that Washington area fans spout. I've lived here for the better part of two decades and the one constant here is just prepubescent idiocy.

2. Quint Kessenich - I really like this bloke but he's begun to make himself less appealing by some of the dumb things he's said and written this past year. He's carved out a great career as a jack of all trades for ESPN and as their premier lacrosse color-man and studio analyst. However, his very strange comments during the Hopkins-Sienna match and then his no-show for the Day of Rivals were puzzling. Recently, he had a twitter account and broke the news that UVA had canceled their season after the Hughley/Love incident. Turns out that wasn't the case and within 30 minutes of his posting of the tweet his twitter page was gonzo - gone, never to return. He's also made himself very scarce on the Inside lacrosse website as well as ESPNU. I hope he doesn't flame out like Leif Elsmo did (never did like Elsmo - horrible play-by-play and worse color announcing and his introduction of the "EMO" as parlance for describing Man-up is well, unforgivable). Let's hope Kessenich can turn it around this weekend when he's going to be covering the final four and championship.

Well, that's it for now. Let's hope for a Duke vs. Notre Dame final which would do wonders for expanding the game of lacrosse. Also, Tufts University is playing Sunday in the DIII championship - GO JUMBOS!!!!

December and year end

2009-12-17T14:46:00.004-05:00

2009 is almost over and some interesting things (and some not so interesting) have happened. Let's see if I can remember . . .

1. College football - the BCS can catch its breath with a very good match-up for the championship with Alabama and Texas (pronounced Tayhas). Then with Ingram getting the Heisman it's looking like the Tide's gonna roll on. The Big Ten has Ohio State again going to the Rose Bowl (yawn). At least the Ducks are going from the PAC 10, GO DUCKS!! Cincinnati played the best game I've seen with that win over Pitt at the end of the season. And with Iowa shocking Penn State at home (many thanks).

2. Baseball - well, the evil empire expanded its number of rings with another win over the Phillies. I have to laugh to be honest, I mean, the organization spent upwards of 3 billion dollars over 9 years and won one World Series out of it. Not a good return on investment so with their winning a 27th title I find it terribly UNIMPRESSIVE. The trade rumors are getting kinda heavy, with the Red Sox supposedly shopping Buckholtz and Ellsbury for whomever. I can't see the Sox giving up a .300 lead-off hitter who steals 70 bases - that's offense you want to keep, not trade. John Lackey and Mike Cameron are interesting additions, but I'm wary on both since Cameron is a bit long in the tooth and Lackey has a history of injury and inconsistency. Jason Bay looks to be gone, possibly joining the Mets at last note. The Halladay sweepstakes was won by Philly. Good, at least the Sith empire didn't get their grubby hands on him.

3. NFL - two, count 'em, two teams are undefeated at this late date in the season. The Saints are a great team at home, on the road, they're more human. The Colts win with a Phoenix Suns approach, just score a ton of points and play D- defense and we'll win. My Patriots are mediocre in a poor division which means another playoff miss, possibly. They can't win on the road - they barely win at home, and their defense is, ah, porous. Locally, here in DC, the Redskins are proving just how dumb an organization can be - suing their fans, emasculating their head coach, and losing games they could have won with ease. I thought Detroit was bad, but no, the Redskins lost to that team so yes Virginia, there is a team worse than the Lions. What in the world is going on with Tampa? They're awful. Oh, my prediction of the Browns having a winning season? Wrongzo, bonehead call.

4. Hockey - well, the season is underway but we're seeing some inconsistent play from the Bruins, Rangers, and Capitals. Hockey is struggling to get ratings and it desperately needs better covereage than Versus (which DirecTV dropped, supposedly). College hockey is going great, Miami of O is #1 right now - amazing. I've not seen them this year, but I have seen UNH play as well as BC. Beanpot is coming in February, mark your calendars.

5. Lacrosse - I've already written about Syracuse's theft earlier so I'll not waste anymore space on that. The big news is Bill Tierney relocating to Denver. Stunning change - I wonder what impact that'll have on the game - perhaps we'll see more Division I teams? That would be fantastic. The NLL starts next month and though I don't like the indoor game very much, it is a nice primer for the coming of spring and field lax.

6. Tiger Woods - dude, what is up with that? and that? and, ah, that too? Sponsors are dumping him like dirty diapers in the trash bin. I can't add anything to this item.

7. Basketball - I'm woefully uninterested in B-ball these days. I used to love watching the game but to be honest watching the NBA is so boring. The game is so undisciplined now that I can't tell what play someone is running (if any at all). If I do venture to watch a game, it's college - at least I know what play they run, I can see the defense and it's easier to break down things that are happening. The NBA is just uninteresting.

That's it for this installment. I'll be adding more things in the future. Have a great holiday season.

Has it really been this long again?

2009-09-08T09:08:00.007-04:00

So, it's September and I've been tied up with this and that. Anyways, the Red Sox had a good handle on first prior to the All-Star Break and then they started to tumble. Reminds me of what they did back in 2004 so fingers crossed eyes heavenward. That team from the Bronx has resurfaced, though their pitching has not been very good. Their offense is staggering, hoping the slumps start, soon please.

College football, ah, yeah, the only good game I saw was the Minnesota v. Syracuse game where the Gophers took it to the Orange in OT! I shouldn't rub it in but I so very much dislike Syracuse, mostly because of my experience in college where I played lacrosse with kids from the Syracuse area (worse than Yankees fans if that's possible) and they were insufferable, sickeningly so. The Miami v. FSU looked good, too bad that the 'Canes have the 'Noles number in close games.

Tennis has shown itself to be interesting with the resurgence of Ms. Clijisters (have baby beat Venus) and Roddick's almost at the All-England final. The US Open in Flushing is pretty interesting, remains to be seen just what Federer can do to win that 6th in a row and pad his Slams total. I don't see Nadal being able to beat him on the hardcourts, just doesn't seem likely.

Brett Favre has returned, but he's playing for the Purple People Eaters and my Minnesotan friends are on the Favre bandwagon like nobody's business. He's kinda like the Buffalo Bills, Rasputin in nature, gets there barely and then when the pressure's on, folds like a napkin.

Tom Brady and the Patriots look, well, shaky, and that's not a good sign. Now I read that Seymour has been traded to Oakland of all places because of contract matters (what??). The AFC East is looking quite interesting, but the AFC North is the one to watch, I see Cleveland finally getting a winning season and Baltimore has a very scary defense.

Well, that's that for now - let's hope for an entertaining end of the season for MLB and I'm looking forward to hockey warming up (is that possible since they play on ice?). Happy September.

I'm back to opine

2009-04-29T08:35:00.011-04:00

Spring has come and gone and now Summer is here in all of its vengance. May saw one of the great lacrosse games where Syracuse undeservedly won their second in a row championship against a very game Cornell team. The Red Sox are winning (how I don't really know after watching their starting pitching alternate good starts with truly awful ones). The Celtics and the Bruins got bounced in the second round of the playoffs which brought great disappointment.

My son's soccer season is now over as well. I was his coach for a third season (and I signed up for another fall as well for this year, I must be crazy) and it was a frustrating season in that I had no assistant coach which was pretty tough with 13 boys and trying to teach them fundamentals. I had great kids and they had fun (I think) and I've still got to do their evaluations too (sheesh).

I enjoyed the US Men's win yesterday against Spain. I can only compare it to Appalachian State beating Michigan - HUGE upset. The second goal was pure gritty, and I loved it. Let's see if they can do well in the Fed finals.

I noticed that Maria Sharapova got bounced from the All England Championships at Wimbledon. Too bad, she was coming back from injury and getting beat so early in the tourney doesn't bode well for her summer. In addition, Wimbledon may also be the site of another record breaking moment if Federer wins his 15th major. He's a great player - wish Roddick would play up to his potential and give a better show of it in majors.

The Red Sox are in town and I've had zero luck in getting tickets to the games with the last one being tonight and the long-awaited return of John Smoltz. I'm watching that foh showah.

In writing about the Red Sox, it brings me no small amount of joy to witness the Yankees in their new stadium (where the triple-A Nationals took 2 out of 3 last week, tee hee). Makes you wonder why a new stadium was necessary, but then what's a billion dollars spent on a stadium in a crap neighborhood?

Congrats to LSU - they can play baseball (and football it seems). I was pulling for my alma mater (George Mason) but they fell in the early rounds.

That's about it for now - I hope to get more chances to update this page in the future. Happy Summer!

An odd thing happened

2008-11-24T08:50:00.004-05:00

Well, the week of Thanksgiving 2008 is upon us and a few things have happened since I last wrote.
1. The Red Sox didn't make the Series
2. The Celtics picked right up where they left off in June
3. The Bruins are in first place
4. Boston College is on the verge of going to the ACC championship for the second year in a row
5. The Patriots are in the playoff hunt right now but really need to win out.
6. Texas Tech teased us all, but the Big 12 is the league to beat this year.
7. George Mason is off to a 3-1 start (can't believe they lost to Howard).
8. Barack Obama, president-elect, talked about having a division 1 playoff system.
9. Dustin Pedroia won the silver slugger award, golden glove award, and the MVP award.
10. The Redskins have won 7 games.

Well, that's more than a few things but I'll delve into a few of them here.

The Red Sox losing like they did to Tampa was extremely disappointing. Jason Varitek, though great with pitchers, had one hit the entire series. Lester pitched a whale of a game and still lost. At least Philadelphia won, can't stand those unintelligent Ray's fans with cowbells.

I'm impressed by the Celtics not letting down after winning the championship. The three amigos are fun to watch but their offense still confuses me. Is it just two in and outs and a jumper? No, it's a drive and kick, no wait it's a clear out, no, was that a wheel?

How the Bruins are kicking butt astonishes me - I know they have a lot of raw talent, but really? The fact that they spoiled "Patrick Roy Night" in Montreal makes me all giddy inside.

Boston College is making a late season run and their come from behind win over Wake on Saturday was nothing short of surprising. Combined with the fact that Maryland got smoked, repeat, SMOKED Saturday BC looks like a less flashy team that played in the ACC championship last year.

The Patriots are a good team, in need of a better defense. How could they have let Favre have that much time in OT to fling the ball around? The smackdown the Patriots gave Miami yesterday while giving up 28 points shows the offense can go, but the defense really needs a lot of help.

I see a good CAA season again for Mason, and hopefully the new mascot will do okay (I prefer Gunston though, poor animal). Laranaga is a hoot, met him once when I was in grad school at GMU and he couldn't have been nicer to me.

Why oh why do folks HAVE TO HAVE a college football playoff? WHY? Why does it matter so much? Who cares about the controversy? That's what makes Division 1 football that much more interesting. If it was a question of a playoff then you'd see a lot less teams playing in December and January, a lot less. And that's not good for college football. Bowl games are great and they have a grand tradition that goes beyond what some newly elected personage thinks should happen. He (Obama) went to Ivy league schools (who used to play in bowl games a long time ago btw) so his opinion on this is just like the rest of the nonsense that comes with sports opinions.

The fact that a 5-5 guy can win the MVP award should give heartening hope to those who toil in the world under six feet. Pedroia was fun to watch this year, really fun, and he and Youkilis really made the Red Sox go.

The Redskins (originally a Boston team who used to play at Fenway park) are curiously winning. Their new coach has become quite a popular guy since beating the Cowboys earlier in the season. If the Skins can somehow overtake the Giants next Sunday, things here are going to get really silly. I grudging like the Redskins, but the fans are the silliest people I've ever met, but then pro-football fans are really silly.

I hope things turn out well for the Eagles on Saturday against the Terps - that would be GREAT!

It's really October and I was wrong and right

2008-10-12T13:50:00.003-04:00

It's October, the Red Sox are playing to get to the World Series (most likely against the Phillies it looks like) and Manny Ramirez is playing in Dodger blue. Funny, when the Red Sox won the World Series on 2004, they got rid of Nomah, this year they got rid of Manny, coincidence?

I wrote back in June that the Sox were in trouble - well I was a bit off to put it mildly, however it's clear that though they've made it this far, after what I saw from Becket last night, our Sawx going to have to lean, really lean hard on John Lester. Lester is another guy I got wrong, really wrong. It's great to be wrong when your team wins, thankfully for this life-long Sox fan I've been very wrong this year.

Why do the playoffs have to be covered by the most knucklehead commentators? I mean, Buck Martinez and Ron Darling? PULLEEEZE. Bring back Al Leiter, dump Martinez and McCarver, put in Uecher, get some entertainment instead of idiocy.

Anyways, this is becoming an interesting October.

They're winning but I'm concerned

2008-06-26T08:20:00.002-04:00

Well, it's late June and my Red Sox are in first place but my pre-2004 worries are coming back. If it weren't for J.D. Drew and a somewhat steady pitching staff I doubt that first place would even be on the radar screen. I watched both games on ESPN this week and it was clear that not having Big Papi even in the lineup, let alone 100%, could have made a huge difference against Herren on Monday. What last night showed me is that Randy Johnson has become a smarter pitcher than he was before. However, his velocity and slider location are more in the average range and that's what hurt him last night. Tim Wakefield is fun to watch. There are, what? maybe three pitchers who currently throw the knuckler? When Wakefield retires I wonder if we'll ever see the knuckle ball again. He made their hitters look silly, almost like a bugs bunny routine trying to swat the "slow-ball".

Back to the point, the Red Sox are in trouble. They have a decent makeshift lineup and their pitching has been mostly reliable (though the bull-pen is sketchy), BUT, without Dice-K, Schilling, Ortiz, and Buckholtz this team is going to struggle. If they can't win on the road consistently they will not make the Wild Card, let alone win the AL East. The most pleasant surprise this season has been watching Jacoby Elsbury - he already owns the rookie record for steals by a Red Sox player and I see him possibly joining the 30/30 club (the last Red Sox player to do that was Tommy Harper I believe, back in the 1970's). He has great instincts on picking up where the pitcher is going from the stretch. The fact that the Red Sox aren't the team I always knew (slow, slower, and slowest but could hit home runs) is in many ways a lot of fun. I don't feel as nostalgic for the days of Fisk, Lynn, Rice, Remy, Burleson, Hobson, Scott, Evans and whatever farm hand they used on the mound. Speed opens up so many possibilities and creates the opportunity to manufacture runs if your big hitters aren't doing it for you. Having Crisp and Lugo is also a plus since both have good speed (though Lugo needs to hit better, my word, his paycheck is not deserved).

With all that in mind I can see the Sox being competitive, but I suspect that if Ortiz doesn't make it back and if Dice-K is really injured it will not be another repeat of an AL title.

Manny - summer and silly Washington area fans

2008-06-05T09:48:00.003-04:00

Well, Manny Ramirez has reached and surpassed the 500 homer threshold. I didn't like him much when he was in Cleveland since he killed the Sox in the playoffs, however, he's become something altogether different from those days. Joe Morgan on ESPN loves Manny - it's fun to listen to Morgan do color/commentary instead of Tim McCarver (cannot stand the man, plus the fact that he's a HUGE anti-Red Sox commentator - he had to eat so much crow when the Sox came back in 2004 over the Yankees). Manny did it in the Red Sox's second home, Camden Yards, with their favorite punching bag providing the fun. I watched all of the games and it is still amusing to me to see the huge amount of Sox fans in the seats in Oriole Park (official name of the baseball field). I went to Memorial Stadium when I first moved to the DC area and I found myself and maybe three others in the whole place who had Sox paraphernalia on. Nowadays the reverse is true, where there are so few O's fans you have to really look hard to find black and orange (horrible colors) apparel on someone not hawking it to someone else.

I get a kick out of listening to Jim Palmer talk about the Red Sox, he's really a big fan of how they do baseball and not a fan of the current Orioles (or for the past six years it seems) crew they've got going. That's my impression from listening to him this past weekend, even when the O's won on Monday night (let's see, lose three straight and then win one, yeah, that'll keep you in last place). Palmer is so nostalgic for the "Oriole Way", too bad that the team hasn't had a winning season since, um, was Clinton president then?
Washington area fans spend so much time on the Redskins here that they miss out on baseball and other diversions. I've never seen such homers in my life. Oh, wait, that's right, I have, but that's for another time. DC United has won four championships in the past 12 years, the Redskins have made the playoffs three times in the same time frame. Do Washington fans even know that? I highly doubt it. When it comes to baseball Washington fans are ambivalent at best (I'd venture slightly retarded at times) which is unfortunate because the Nationals are a decent mediocre team. Kinda like Houston really, nice ballpark but the product between the lines will lose more than win but are gamers mostly. With a huge potential fan base the Nationals are poised to become a 2nd tier team (up from bleacher bench seats) - they'll not get much higher until they start trading for pitching and start building some good support minor league teams. The Washington Post does some fair coverage of the Nats but I get the impression they're waiting for the prom queen to take off her brassiere and prance around center field. The cynicism in regards to the nationals is really annoying. The Post or the Times will do everything possible to have kids over the Redskins and the Nats are acknowledged as a strange relative even though their stadium is better, is better situated, and has better food.

Summer is here again and my oldest just finished his second soccer season. I have high hopes for him and I am trying not to be the pyscho dad (which is doubly hard since I'm now an assistant coach). He's going to soccer camp this summer (I hope he has a blast). My youngest is already out of school and so I've got figure out what he can do, maybe I'll sign him up for tots practice this fall. The hot weather arrived yesterday and the obligatory thunderstorm struck as well (some poor woman got killed by a tree yesterday). DC gets so hot during the summer - the only other place I've been to where it's hotter is the Gulf Coast where the sweat streams out of your body like water fountain. I'm hoping that it will cool off a little bit this summer - another hot summer will kill my $$$ (which I have almost zero anyways). I look forward to a fun summer and maybe I can keep losing weight, but that's for another time.

A weekend of highs and lows

2008-05-27T07:38:00.002-04:00

Well, Memorial Day came and went but I got to see some superb lacrosse. The outcome from yesterday's game was, well, extremely disappointing. Syracuse is a great school and has great sports programs. That aside, I can't stand them. Syracuse alums and fans alike are among the most pain the arse people I've ever met outside of Yankees fans. Anyways, Johns Hopkins played so very badly yesterday, I mean, that last goal was because of two stupid plays, of course Syracuse would win, Hopkins couldn't wait to lose! With a goalie who was standing on his head for most of the game and a decent scoring effort what happened to the defense? I mean, hello, GROUNDBALLS?!?!?! Paul Rabil had an excellent game and showed just how awesome he is as an outside shooter. I'll miss lefty Huntley with that cannon he's got. Hopefully, the MLL won't muck it up when drafting the folks who played yesterday.

I liked the coverage and the fact that so many folks showed up to Foxyboro for a lacrosse game, and not just one, but five over three days. Sunday's games showed just how dominant one or two schools are in DII and DIII. Salisbury has only lost once in the past four years, and that was to the team they beat on Sunday. The Gulls are great, I just wish that ESPN would do a better job in covering the lower divisions (which they don't AT ALL). Exposure creates more exposure (look what it's done for lacrosse since they've been covering it on ESPN) and if ESPNU could expand its reach so that the other "college" sports cable network can focus on what it really wants to do, replay the NCAA men's basketball tournament from the past 20 years 24/7. Also, most of the CBS College Sports anchor folks are all from Syracuse (bleech!) and can't wait to act like Yankees fans which makes this Boston/Hopkins fan want to, well use your imagination.

On Saturday, that double overtime was awesome. The UVA goalie played his heart out but that kid Brooks has got a canon, man, he's pretty dern good. I was impressed on Saturday and on Monday with Syracuse's effort in regards to team defense. Their goalie isn't very good, he really isn't, but the defense in front of him plays great. Danny Glading had two of the most amazing goals of the tournament (Huntley's behind the back on Saturday was pretty cool too), I hope he gets some love for next year.

The flashback part of the halftime show was AWESOME! Gary Gait's description of Pietramala was sooo righteous. He said he was the hardest and toughest player he'd ever played against, ever. Petro is a god of lacrosse, as a player, he was awesome, as a coach, he is a dedicated task master, and kids love to play for him even though he's a hard-ass. Look at the players he's gotten, Rabil, Huntley, all the Peyser brothers, Harrison, Schwartzman, the list goes on and on. I still watch that 1989 championship game from time to time and I'm still amazed at how great Syracuse was that year and just how gritty Hopkins was. Petro single-handedly gave his team a chance to win in every instance. Kessnich, who does color for ESPN, was his teammate and goalie for that 1989 team, and mentioned last year about how they interacted during the game. He said that Petro was the most intense player he's ever played with or saw play, ever. As in 1989, 2008 ended the same, Syracuse having the weapons and Hopkins losing.

Syracuse is a different team from just two years ago when they made it to the final four. They place a lot more emphasis on fundamentals (though they got a lot of stupid penalities that almost cost them the game on Saturday). I can't stand them but they are a very good team with quite an upside if their goalie gets any better (he's not very good) and they can find a face-off man like Brennan. I just hope that doesn't happen.

Lastly, the use of the term "extra-man offense" or "EMO" is utter nonsense. The term is misleading for it overtly implies that the team with the ball has an extra man. Guess what? THEY DON'T! They have the same number as they did before the other team sent a player to the penalty box. I don't know why they keep insisting on using that phrase in describing a man-up/man-down situation. It's MAN-UP or MAN-DOWN. That's it, stop with the EMO, it's not even close to being correct.

Lacrosse, Primaries, anything else?

2008-03-03T15:12:00.003-05:00

Well, it's the Monday after the Face-off classic that was up in B-more. The two teams that I wanted to win did so (I always love it when Syracuse loses, can't stand that team). UVA beat the Orange in overtime, 14-13 (Go Wahooos!) and Hopkins crushed Princeton 14-9 (Princeton's coach, Bill Tierney is a number one prick, met him a few years ago at Maryland for the final four and he was such an a-hole to me because I asked him a question about weak-side D, shyte). I got to see Cornell pull off a huge overtime win against Navy. They were down by 3 with less than 2 to play and they cranked out four straight face-offs and beat the Academy, Streibel accounting for half of the effort there in the last few mins. Sorry, for those of you who aren't into lacrosse or have just a smattering of knowledge about it I apologize. I love the sport and tend to forget that others just don't know the sport. Anyways, things are looking good for a great season (Hopkins just might win it all again, Petro has that team firing on all cylinders) and I hope that teams like Albany, Loyola, or Bucknell can break through and have a great season and make the tournament. Each year there's a surprise team in the Final Four it seems, maybe one can make that leap to winning it all, just maybe.

Has anyone else been a little tired of the Presidential coverage overload? I mean, wow, every burp or fart is covered and the press are blanketing Obama or Clinton like a wet t-shirt. Can't say I'll vote for Obama, but who knows? No way in HELL do I vote for CANKLES, no way.

College Basketball's tournament begins this month and to be perfectly honest, I'm really uninterested. That's a first, I'm just tired of watching b-ball. I am, however, very excited about catching some college hockey, that's fer sure. I miss college hockey down here in DC, there's nothing even remotely close to go and see a game. Maybe Penn State which is around 5 hours from where I live (whooopeee!!!).

Well, the ides of March are in 12 days, make sure you're extra careful and have a good one until next time.

It's finally here!

2008-02-22T06:50:00.002-05:00

Lacrosse season has begun. Unfortunately, here in DC the weather has not cooperated and my alma mater cannot make the trek from New England down to "Charm City". I can't wait to start watching the greatest sport this spring. In early March we have the Face-Off classic at Ravens stadium and it's Syracuse vs. UVA and Hopkins vs. Princeton. Last year the right teams won (Hopkins in a thriller in OT, and UVA which crushed Syracuse, yeee haw!) and I'm hoping that the same will occur this year, though Princeton has a great goalie this year and Hopkins is shaky in goal.

I truly enjoy lacrosse above all other sports, having played the sport for four years in college and a little in high school it is near and dear to my heart. Baseball was my first love and I'll always follow the sport, but it pales in comparison to my almost rabid devotion to a sport that is more entertaining than any other around. Football is an institution here in the US of A (I wrote some thoughts about that earlier), but it isn't a very, well, accessible sport as is lacrosse.

I can't wait to get my lacrosse fix satiated, come on inside and be one of us, you won't regret it and your wife will respect you in the morning.

I've been avoiding this

2008-02-17T11:04:00.003-05:00

Well, they lost. The only team to lose the one game that mattered. Damnit. God, that sucked, can't believe I wasted my Sunday evening screaming at the TV. Once Samuel let that ball go through his fingers I KNEW IT WAS OVER!

It was a good game, but the end result SUCKED ASS! (sorry Boondock Saints moment)

There's not much else for me to put down here.

Now onto more recent matters. Well, Roger was here in town (saw him from a distance much closer than usual on the playing field, psst, I work about 3 blocks from Capitol Hill so I run into a whole host of folks) and it was worse than sitting in the principal's office with a "he said, no I did, he did, I said" situaiton. I guess, do I believe Roger? NOPE, how can a person go from a middling career to averaging 17 wins for the next five seasons being over 35? Sure, hard work comes into it, but he had to have supplements that aren't usual. Nature is a cruel mistress. I'm 38 and I've kept myself in decent shape (meaning I'm no more than 20 lbs overweight at one time) and I've worked out, two times a day for the past year (finally paying off, now can someone stop the beer fawcett?) and my recovery after a Monday hardcore workout is three days. With steroids and HGH that would get cut by 75% so by Tuesday afternoon I'd be right as rain. It's no surprise that after the drug policy went into place Clemens' numbers went down down down and he was injured pretty quickly as was Bonds and other steroid users.

A follow-up question is this, why oh why does this matter? I mean, how is this different than a spitballer? I mean Hoyt Wilhem, Gaylord Perry, Satchel Paige, even Bob Feller (who's a bit high and mighty for himself) cheated, and Wilhem and Perry prolonged their careers with the spitter. So what that Clemens used supplements to increase his time in playing. Did it hurt the game overall? I mean, do fans really think that baseball is that easy and that if one uses supplements that it's cheating because so many do use them? Integrity smegrity, get over it. When I played Babe Ruth summer ball we had a kid on our team who used to rub the balls with chaw juice between innings to make them softer so the ball wouldn't carry and hit the jogging track in left-center. It worked. The other team's coach knew about and complained but in the end it didn't change much. I have a hard time seeing this as anything different.

well it's been a while

2008-01-29T07:14:00.000-05:00

Here we are, it's the lull before the superbowl and as a Patriots fan I'm a tad impatient. It's not that I want the game to get started, I'm tired of the over hype. I understand that the Patsies are undefeated, but jeeez, calm down already. It used to be that folks were more concerned with the State of the Union address than something like this, but then we are a shallow people aren't we?

It seems that more folks are hopping on the Giants "underdog" bandwagon (ESPN devoted way too much time to "breaking down" the way the Giants can win. Of all people, Emitt Smith (I wish I could like the man, I just don't) is stating that a Patriots will win (oh no, a kiss of death).

As for the other teams that reside north of the Connecticut border, there's been a interesting spark of success. The Celtics own the best record in basketball (something I haven't seen in over 20 years) and my Bruins are actually several games over .500 (but please, for God sakes, CAN YOU BEAT THE EFFING CANADIENS?????!!).

Being from Boston and seeing how the success of Boston teams this year (Red Sox wining the World Series, the Patriots poised to win a fourth Super Bowl, the Celtics being the only team with fewer than 10 losses, the Bruins in the playoff hunt, BC football having its first 10 win season) so many folks are pissing on Boston. It's strange, I mean, coming from Boston one is usually bitter and pissy about almost every other place, now the tables have turned, how did this happen? I'm not unhappy about it, just a bit bewildered. I mean, I watched my Red Sox win not one, but TWO world series in my lifetime. My Grandmother who passed away in 1986 is the only other person who saw the Red Sox win more than one championship. I grew up watching Bobby Orr score against St. Louis, and then Havelchek, and then Cowens, and the big three (Bird, McHale, Parrish) win as well. The Patriots barely registered (nor did the Eagles for that matter until a little guy from Natick won the Heisman and showed that Massholes can play something other than bitching-n-moaning). Now the riches of being a Boston sports fan is, well, overwhelming. I don't need to buy a Patriots hat or jersey, every friggin' cheeseball's done that for me.

Back to Super Sunday - I'm more than a little disappointed that I have to listen to Joe Buck for another championship (I muted the World Series for the most part so I didn't have to listen to that idiot McCarver). I don't mind Troy Aikman, though his Okie plainsian accent grates my east coast snobbish ears, but Joe Buck tires me out. He seems to be sleepwalking at times. I like Nance and Simms, his drawl is more sing-song and easier on my otic aesthetics. No Madden this year (phew!), and for goodness sakes, no Gumbels either (amen and amen). I miss Dick Enberg with his "Oh My!", he's great, one of the best play by play I've ever heard.

So predictions? From me? Nope, I'm just hoping that history is made by the team that used to play in a Jr. High stadium named Schaefer (shyte beer btw). I've never been to Gillette stadium, is the parking better than it was with the old stadium?

Steroids and other stuff

2007-12-14T08:22:00.000-05:00

Well, the report is out. Gawhge Mitchell gave his press conference yesterday. I was laughing at parts because his Maine accent was coming out with "pahrhaps". Killed me. Steroids - it's hardly surprising that folks used steroids to get ahead. Athletes are always looking for an edge (coaches are doing that as well, but using video tape). What's kinda confusing is that names were put out there and put athletes in the position of answering the no-win question like "so, when did you stop beating your wife?"

It is disappointing that Roger Clemens name was part of this sordid tale. It is, however, a very plausible explanation of how he became better AFTER leaving the Red Sox and got HUGE in Toronto. The baseball writers and players on ESPN and FSN were pooh poohing this trainer's word, pointing out that he gave this information out because he was going down. The double standard is bogus. Love or hate Barry Bonds (I can't stand the man, he's a prick to fans), he get's the worst of the bile and it turns out the pitching counterpart to the best hitter in the past 25 years used 'roids, supposedly.

On to college football. People, mainly couch potato fans who never played football beyond flag football in gym class, are complaining about the season and how there needs to be a playoff. BULLSHYTE! College football doesn't NEED a playoff, only the pundits who claim that stuff. There is not one good reason to have a playoff for D1 football - the only reason? BETTING. There is too much money right now in the bowl system as it is and to introduce a playoff system under the current bowl scenario would extend the season beyond the superbowl, possibly. There is not any reason for a playoff. The other football divisions have a playoff, but the tradition of bowls for DI goes back before there was ever a playoff system in college. Sorry, for those football fans who are dim (which means most of them), keep the bowl system as it is.

When Hockey was more interesting

2007-12-11T08:28:00.000-05:00

So, in the course of my chronic insomnia I was watching the NHL channel and I caught the 1979 Stanley Cup semi-finals between Boston and Montreal. Game went down to the wire but I was struck by how very cool hockey was back then (especially with Don Cherry behind the bench for my B's). Peter McNab, Rick Middleton, Terry O'Reilly, Mike Milbury, etc etc etc. Great teams and almost all of them played without a helmet (wasn't until the early 80's where the helmet rules were put in place). As a post-collegiate lacrosse player who played with a ton of hockey players, we had more to talk about then just lax.

I live in DC, but there are times when I really miss this time of year in Boston. High School hockey is in the first part of their season, college hockey is up and running, and the early morning trips to the rink with dad are the true causes of morning traffic on a Saturday morning. The greatest hockey tournament comes in February with the Beanpot featuring the four universities in Boston. Harvard, BU, BC, and Northeastern hit the ice the first two mondays in February and the winner gets bragging rights for a whole year. In Boston (prior to the Red Sox and the Patriots winning, bragging and Boston weren't very friendly) having bragging rights is huge, huge. The winner of the tournament almost always makes the D1 tourney (most of the time the winner makes it to the Frozen Four). I miss hockey, good hockey. You just don't get it down here in DC and most folks treat it as a small amusement. Hockey is a great sport, with sick hits and amazing athletes, and it's a blast to watch.

Some folks are just, well, haters

2007-12-10T08:27:00.000-05:00

Well, it's another Monday and the Patriots are 13-0, undefeated in other words. They have played stunning football at times and pedestrian at other times. Yet, they are unbeaten. Listening here in DC, the Junkies are trying to speculate who could beat the Patriots. Strange how folks seem to think that the Patriots can be beaten by "scoring a lot of points." There is only two ways the Patriots are beatable - turnovers and injuries. The Ravens game was the closest to a loss that came out a win since Nebraska came back to beat Missouri back in the late 90's.

In watching the Patriots yesterday I was struck by the sheer brilliance that the Patriots have on offense in the passing game. Having four athletic receivers and solid tight ends who can catch (for the most part, Watson seems to cough up some easy ones) and then having Faulk run a hitch/screen out of the backfield makes defenses weary.

I was fortunate that I was able to watch the game since it was my youngest son's 4th birthday but I also had some evacuation situations to handle to I was downstairs in and out of the bathroom while my in-laws/wife/friends/kids were upstairs making a racket. It was great to watch that trick play, double lateral, and burn that big mouth safety from Pittsburgh.

Why Redskins fans are homers

2007-12-03T08:51:00.001-05:00

Far be it for me to call most other fans homers but Redskins fans are really weird. I do NOT understand how they think that the Redskins are a good team or that the team "has all the pieces". Listening to the Junkies this morning and I'm struck by how dense these folks are. A lot of complainers have balanced things out, but with both daily newspapers spending 11 PAGES! to the Redskins, this is HOMERVILLE!

I love living down here - the weather is better than it was in Boston where I grew up, folks don't cut you off every 10 feet, but it's just plain STUPID how the Redskins are WORSHIPPED here. Every Redskins game gets FRONTPAGE coverage on the Washington Post - what in the world is that about? The Redskins deserve FRONTPAGE coverage when they suck? I understand with Sean Taylor getting killed last week, that's different and I understand how that would be of high interest. However, EVERY GAME other than yesterday deserve front page coverage? When most of the coverage is such homer junk?

I find that sports journalists are less journalists and more knuckleheads. I've yet to see a good columnist who actually KNOWS the sport they're covering, ALSO, how about actually PLAYED the sport or ANY sport for that matter. I'm convinced that most sports writers aren't very intelligent, they're just overpaid fans who'd sacrifice their first born to talk to __________ __________ (fill in the blanks for your favorite sports personage).

I understand that folks love sports, but please, could we please, please, stop being homers? Painting one's body or wearing "gear" ALL WEEK LONG. Sorry, but getting a letterman jacket of your favorite sports team is just dumb. I have a fleece and three hats of my beloved Red Sox, THAT'S IT! I'm a huge Sox fan but I'm not getting matching sweat suits or getting a whole mug set. That's for the Jimmy Fallons out there, the "superfans" who are just homers. Be a fan, but don't spend your extra cash on "your team's" stuff.

Redskins fans, Steelers fans, and Cowboys fans here in DC are the most ridiculous human beings I've ever seen. My word, flags, vanity plates for the car, flags on the car, coloring your car with your team's colors, and all that nonsense is just dumb. You're not a person any more, you are a headless sheep.

death and stupidity

2007-11-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

Sad day for Redskins fans today. One of their "star" safeties was murdered yesterday by a home invasion. Fortunately, his baby and girlfriend were spared (they were in the house with him). I have no feeling either way other than it's awful to have happened and my prayers are for his family and friends who have to pick up the pieces from this nastiness.

I find it strange that a lot of folks are jumping in either to cut down Sean Taylor or give him a medal. It's a big story, given the almost god-like status that the Redskins get in this town (I've lived here for 15 years in DC and I still find the Redskins mania to be utter nonsense). What's unfortunate is that it's going to get constant coverage, I mean, it's going to get over-played, over-discussed and dissected, and worn out fast.

The guy was injured, something with his knee, and he was shot by someone in his own home in Miami. He had a reputation for "bad behavoir", yet he was cleared of wrong-doing but folks don't believe if they don't want to. Strange how the media/press get bent if they can't get on the story or if someone stiffs them because of something or other.

It's always a downer when someone young gets killed - it would do to consider that there are bad people, and that not everyone who is considered to be bad is actually bad, ESPECIALLY because of their skin color. Best wishes and prayers to Sean Taylor's family and friends and the Redskins organization.

some folks just don't seem to get the idea

2007-11-27T06:33:00.001-05:00

Well, the Patriots survived this past Sunday against the eggles, squeaking out a win. Philly definitely came to play but they seemed more inclined to take the game as a proving point, not as a win. Feeley's three picks showed that they were the ones pressing, not the Patriots. I noticed that the Patriots did not turn the ball over at all, Philly gave up three chances, all of them critical. With a chance to win the eggles couldn't do it. Philly made it a game, but they weren't going to win. One of the local talk show radio hosts made the claim "Philly had that game, they only lost because of Feeley's interception". Okay, so how come they were behind at the time of the 2nd interception? Were they winning? Strange how facts kinda change perspective.

The folks on ESPN show just how dumb they really are. Last night fatboy Berman tried to suggest that the rest of the league now have a "blue print" and now there's "hope" for the rest of the league against the Patsies. PULLLEEEEZE - Rodney Harrison stated it best "We had a bad day but we got it together when it mattered." Strange, a player has a better idea of what's going on then 100% of all of the knuckleheads on TV and Radio. Amazing how guys blah blah blah blah when a lot of them NEVER PLAYED. That's the problem with ESPN and sports radio, most folks have zippy idea of what is actually going on in the game and with players. Some guys, former players, are super - I like TJ on ESPN, unfortunately, he's drowned out by the other former players who are h-o-r-r-i-b-l-e on the show with him.

Another Thanksgiving

2007-11-22T10:10:00.000-05:00

Here it is another bird thursday in November and I can only think of the greatest football game I ever saw, BC vs. Miami in the Orange Bowl. I remember with immense clarity watching Flutie heave that "hail mary" pass to Gerard Phelan and cement himself as one of the greatest college quarterbacks of all time and a Heisman winner. What a game.

A game like that was unique since it was the first of its kind, the day after Thanksgiving, regular weekday, and it was the only football event on at all (now there's like 10 or more) and it was on CBS (ESPN was barely on the radar screen at that point). "Flutie flushed right . . . " I remember screaming my head off when he caught it, even my father, a phelgmatic gentleman if there ever was one, got excited, he stood up from his chair and said "Oh my God, he caught it."

You can have your Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions, I'll take the Boston College Screaming Eagles and Doug Fluite eight days a week and twice on Sundays. College football has much more aura to it than professional football, there's a longer tradition, there's a prestige to it, and it's fun to watch an upset or a great comeback (something you rarely see in the professional ranks). I like college football because of the rivalries. I was watching the Michigan/Ohio State HBO special yesterday morning and I loved it! There's nothing like college rivalries. Having played college sports myself, I have a deep appreciation for them. Most folks could take it either way, but for myself, I love the theatre it creates.

I played against Boston College, well, their varsity club team, but we got to play at Alumni stadium and played them to a tie. Man, I miss playing.

So, Thanksgiving is here, but I'll always remember that Friday in 1984, the day after bird day.

why are people such whiners?

2007-11-20T07:23:00.000-05:00

I was driving in early today listening to Jason Smith's show on ESPN and he's compairing this Whitehouse singer with the Patriots, calling the Patriots a mess, super talented, but a mess nonetheless. He then creates this non-sensical claim that "other players and coaches" are bitter at the Patriots and Bill Bellichek because they're running up the score. My word, this isn't Nebraska and Kansas in 1988 or Oklahoma and Missouri in 1986, this is professional football. I cannot fathom just how stupid sports "journalists" really are. The depths of their obtuseness is beyond belief, beyond belief. Where was the outrage when the Redskins crushed the Lions this season? Oh, right, it's because "they went for it on 4th down up by 28" Puulllleeeeeze. What's hilarious is this, the Patriots are winning and now people are bitching and moaning that they don't win the way everyone else wants them to. Right, so what is the best way to win? Score only when others want them to.
Whiners, the bane of intelligent fans of the game. I would know whining, I grew up in Boston and have dabbled in that low form of discussion myself. However, removing oneself from the scene can clear up the picture pretty good. Shaddup and get a clue - most of the whiners never played sports beyond gym class.

Strange things and not so strange

2007-11-15T14:10:00.000-05:00

Well, Beckett gets screwed over this week. For some reason he lost the Cy Young Award to CC Sabathia, even though he had more wins, more quality starts, and was undefeated in the post season. Strange for certain. Boston College lost Saturday to an inferior Maryland team and they're still eligible for the ACC championship. Very strange indeed.

It seems that A-Rod has been in contact with the Spank-the-monkeys. That's hardly strange coupled with the fact that the Fagyankees don't want to deal with Scott Boras (what a jerk).

The Celtics are undefeated for the season, matching the Patriots current win/loss percentage. Most strange. The New England Revolution have an opportunity to finally win an MLS Cup which would be great and not so strange since they've been there three times over the past five years. I grew up with the Patriots and the New England Tea-men sharing Schaeffer Stadium (soccer does not belong on astroturf, except for indoor) and later watched the Boston Bolts play. The Revolution could really bring home the bacon for a soccer crazy area like Southern New England. Again, this isn't very strange.

I think I know why football is so popular

2007-11-13T10:07:00.001-05:00

Professional football, and to a lesser degree college football, is so popular right now in the US. Folks spend more time dissecting football, including fantasy league, betting, and just simple (simpletons more like) fans. Don't get me wrong football is fun (I used to play waaay back) and entertaining. However, it occurs to me why it is so popular, especially with the male populace of the viewing world, it's like bad sex. For the most part men will take sex in any shape, form, or outlet whether it's good or bad. American football is the same, huge anticipation on each play, and if it develops into a "big" play, it's like premature you know what - messy with spilled liquids and jumping around. If one's favorite team "scores" it's a victory dance, not unlike most dweebs who get laid for the first time. I see why baseball is more attractive for women (at last survey done by Rasmussen a few years back more women prefer baseball to football between the two, basketball wasn't part of the question) it's more a longer process, where one has to work harder to score points (runs if you will) and to win a close game requires concentration and attention to details. Football can be sloppy and guys will still "take the win", baseball can be sloppy but the results are more mixed between the sexes on who wins or loses. Guys will always be satisfied with "at least getting the W", women generally care not only about winning but how you won to get the "W" or if you did everything you could. I tend to dislike gender stereotyping, and for the most part I find the differences between the sexes to be not that big (if there is much at all to be perfectly honest). However, in general popular culture (which most of us actually pay attention to even if we claim we don't which I do) there is this obvious disparity about football.

Football, are you gonna go for it on "4th and inches?" Baseball, who do you bring in for relief? The lefty or righty? Sorry, but football is much more condusive to the basic male mentality of "at least they scored, it wasn't pretty, but they scored". Just like sex, guys erupt and it's good for them, regardless. So football is just the same, every play offers the opportunity to shoot one's wad, whether it's a big hit, a long bomb, a kick return, a winning field goal in overtime, etc etc. In baseball, there are these similar types of situations but they are few and far between and the effort involved to get there to the end requires much more mental focus for the fan. Football doesn't, at least the watching of it, not the mid-game updates or the pre/post game analysis or fantasy totals and that nonsense, but just viewing the game itself.

so it's Friday and ah, what's next?

2007-11-09T10:38:00.000-05:00

Did anyone see the Revolution vs. Fire game last night? The craziest goal since "Victory" with Pele and Stallone by that Taylor Twellman. Here's a link for it http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3101364&categoryId=2378529

It's crazy - we all dreamed of doing it in a game, or if we're lucky, practice and pray we don't screw up our backs trying it. Maybe New England can finally win the whole thing this year and join the Red Sox as champions. Next up will be the Patriots getting it all (I doubt they'll go undefeated, but they are pretty damn good) and then who knows? Celtics? Most likely the Bruins will squeak into the playoffs and Boston College has dropped off the radar, but they'll most likely get a BCS bowl if they can win out.

In regards to BC they're playing here at Byrd Stadium (pretty nice place to watch a game, great venue for lacrosse too) against the hapless Terrapins (fear the turtle? right, as if we're all rabbits?).

One of my alma maters start their season tonight (George Mason, my MA school) against the Catamounts of Vermont. Should be a tough game, Vermont's coach won a division III title with a local school here (Catholic University, another of my alma maters, PhD land) in DC and he's shown a knack for the D-1 field of opponents.

New England has a bye-week so Vegas can recoup some of its losses from the previous 8 weeks. Interesting article on how the Patriots are killing Vegas bookies (http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/ordine/blog/2007/10/patriots_run_roughshod_over_bo.html)

Well, we'll see what's what come Sunday night.

now that baseball is over . . .

2007-11-08T09:45:00.000-05:00

I'm a bit torn now in regards to sports. I mean, I like football, but I don't love it (even though I played for two years in High School and I understand most of the plays that are run). Hockey has some allure for me given where I grew up (ol' Beantown with the greatest college tournament ever, the Beanpot where the four rival division one hockey teams play each other the first two Mondays in February each year), but I'm still kinda stuck for good sports entertainment. I could root for the Pats, but I'm pretty spent from this past run the Red Sox made in winning their second world series in four years.

So, I guess I could watch college hockey, that always gets me charged. Unfortunately, I don't have ESPNU anymore (Comcast doesn't carry it, dag nabbit) or CSTV either for that matter. I played collegiate sports (soccer and lacrosse) and I love college sports. I think I found my answer.

My oldest son plays soccer (U-8, or "under 8) and I've gotten into watching the game again (I'd love to play in an adult league, I'm defintely playing lacrosse this spring, definitely). I forgot just how challenging the game is in generating a good shot and how the defense sets up to kill the opportunities to score.

Hopefully, this winter/spring can generate some good college sport events (basketball is great, don't get me wrong, but I tire of the ESPN gluttony on sports coverage) to lather my sports fan soap.

Patriots are close to unbeatable

2007-11-05T09:55:00.000-05:00

Seems that the Patriots played their "C" game and still beat the Colts who were missing two starters, but Harrison has been injured for most of the season so I'm not convinced that there was much of a difference for the Colts who played against a tougher pass defense in Jacksonville. The Patriots showed they were able to win despite two turnovers, BUT, recall that Peyton had two fumbles at critical points.

Listening to the Junkies this morning and they're grudgingly giving credit, however, they miss the point that EVEN with the Patriots playing not so well, they still beat an undefeated team and the defending Super Bowl champions IN THEIR HOME STADIUM!

Growing up in New England and having home and away jersies for Stanley Morgan and being a member of Moise's Mooses this team is miles away from anything someone from 1986 imagined ever happening.

It's great to be a Boston fan

2007-10-29T09:12:00.000-04:00

Well, this weekend has been great for this Boston fan (horrible for sleep, working on such a low level of alertness). I could not believe how masterful the Red Sox were against the Rockies. Outscored them by double digits easy. With BC winning last Thursday and with the Red Sox sweeping up the pebbles (oops, Rockies) and the complete pasting the Patriots put on the Redskins I am pleased.

I'm soooo wiped out today and I've got three meetings. Not going to be fun today. Congrats to Boston!

What is a Washington DC area sports fan like?

2007-10-26T14:24:00.000-04:00

I've lived here in DC for over 13 years now (almost half my adult life, short as it has been) and I'm still baffled by the folks who call themselves sports fans here. I'm a loyal listener of the Junkies (formerly known as the "sports junkies") in the morning hours since I get up ever so early to get to my avocation's work site and like to laugh. Anyways, a few days ago (last week actually) the foursome that comprises the Junkies got quite bent over a few comments from a blog site www.misterirrelevant.com. I was fairly amused at their characterizations but the churlishness showed by both sides is astounding. It all boiled up and over from an interview that the Junkies did with a Redskin receiver, Brandon Lloyd (see this link for audio http://www.wjfk.com/episode_download.php?contentType=36&contentId=1067453). The topics were pretty innocuous until Troy Aikman came up. Lloyd implied that Aikman may have had a, um, same sex encouter in the past. The Junkies hopped on that item and then the Mothram boys (who run the blog) wrote this. It created a firestorm and made Lloyd an instant media celebrity (he's a middling receiver apparently).

What I'm finding is that sports fans in DC are just plain weird. There seems to be an incessant need to nit pick or complain about everything. Now, the pot is calling the kettle black here since I'm originally from Boston and sports fans there are beyond weird. However, we're pyschos from up nawth, predictable, and hyper-passionate. I've never seen folks down here get passionate over sports unless it's the Redskins, but even then it seems pretty tepid compared to my old haunts. I mean, there are three legitimate football teams, college mind you, that play here and you'd never know it. Not unlike Boston with the Red Sox presumably, but, there are three other major sports teams that get attention, scant it may be though.

Washington DC needs to get on board with hockey. I'm a Bruins fan no doubt, grew up with Gerry Cheevers, Mike Milbury, Ray Bourque and so on, but here in DC there is a decent squad on the frozen water with a rooskie who can flat out score. Again, it's weird down here, football and basketball, that's it for sports attention. Weird I tell you.

I'd be interested in finding out if I'm on an island or if I'm close to the tree and/or target.

Red Sox fans

2007-10-26T11:21:00.000-04:00

Bill Simmons, one of the page two contributers to ESPN.com wrote a hilarious article about the phenomenon of Red Sox Nation. The article captured almost to a perfect "T" how confusing it is to be a Red Sox fan these days when you grew up with Bucky Dent ruining your life or Buckner forgetting glove to the ground or Jim Rice's catlike reflexes in hitting foul balls. The article begins with a friend of his chiding him that he missed the CURSE. Well, I for one, don't miss that gibberish chatter and for once getting Yankees fans to shut the bleep up. What's weird now is that folks are now comparing the Red Sox to the Yankees, especially their fan base. That's blasphemy. I've gone so far as to tell my southern friends "don't call me a Yankee, I'm from Boston, they're not the same." I've gotten to know many Yankees fans in my short life, and for the most part they are simpletons (some are very savvy, but they are the exception, not the rule). Now wait, I'm not discounting the massholes who comprise 60% to 80% of Red Sox nation who are knuckleheads themselves, however, many Red Sox fans have a pretty good knowledge of the game beyond a "our team won!" or "wow! what a home run!".

After 2004 and the Sox finally winning it all for the first time in a bazillion years all these Red Sox fans came out of the woodworks. I used to go to Orioles games when I first moved here to Washington DC and I could count on one hand how many Red Sox fans there were in the stands. Now I go to the "Yard" and I'm right back with the "bleachah creetchahs." Surrealism is no longer the purview of the French, it has been supplanted by the strangeness that has become Red Sox Nation.

I remember I went to a game last year at the Yard to see Schilling pitch. I was walking from my car (Baltimore may be a bit scruffy but they have better parking than Boston) and I'm waiting to cross W. Pratt St. when all of a sudden I'm engulfed by Red Sox fans. I started hearing "Dude, look at all the cahs" and "Oh yar, Manny's good for two" and "they have a microbrew beeyah guy?" I thought I was back in Kenmore Square. I saw maybe two Orioles fans as I was walking into the park, and they worked there! Strange.