Another day in New York - another win

It's no secret that I do not like the New York yankees. There isn't a word strong enough to describe the loathing, but I also recognize that they are not the only team we need to beat and beat often this season. Do I relish the now 5 wins in 6 games we've gotten so far? Absolutely, but if this Red Sox team focuses too much attention on looking down the standings at the yankees, then not too long thereafter they'll be looking up at them (e.g. 2006).

Go to work, play the game right, keep your focus and seek to dominate EVERY time you go out there. April was a month not unlike many Red Sox Aprils of times past, but we've got May, June , July, August, and September coming up including 12 more game versus the yanks and 13 versus our nemesis team of late, the Toronto Blue Jays.

On to the game details...

I will be honest, considering Julian Tavarez's track record this season I was expecting a run-per-inning sort of performance and the return to dominance of NY's Chien-Ming Wang. However, other than a get-me-over fastball that heavy-talking light-hitting Dougie Boy hit for a 3-run dinger, JT pitched well.

The offense is STILL not clicking very well but with a 16-8 record thanks mostly to our pitching staff I am only expecting that the Red Sox offense will need to pick up our pitching staff down the road when they are not at their best - very much like the first NY series in Boston. Big Papi got us off to a good start and it was only a matter of time before Manny launched another one in the Bronx. Add Alex Cora's second homer of the season and not only do you have another win but you probably are looking at the new starting 2B for the Red Sox (sorry Dustin Pedroia - you're just not productive enough yet).

Red Sox 7 NYy 4

Miscellaneous note - Jonathan Papelbon gave up another hit!! Yikes! Thats TWO this season!! Two hits, 0.00 ERA, 9/9 saves, and 16 K in 9 innings in the month of April. Sheesh. Not even fair.

Here's the first draft game recap

Red Sox game links

Hey everyone - in case you were looking for some game info, I've compiled a complete list of the Red Sox games this year, the score, the opponent, and the game #. Check out the link list to lower right - most recent games are at the top.

Go Sox!!

A fortuitous injury... are you kidding me?

Well - it didn't take long for the Red Sox to knock Jess Karstens off the mound today. First pitch: Julio Lugo lines a ball right off his leg and Kevin Youkilis knocked another pitch solidly for a single. I guess the first hit took it's toll.

And good thing for NY it did - our BoSox were moments away from destroying Mr. Karsten's ERA, never mind his confidence. Joe Torre would never ask for an injury, but this one was sure well timed - otherwise we're looking at 5 in a row versus the yanks and they're running on gas - in APRIL!! Too bad - after tomorrow they will likely be within 5 games and our hot start won't look so hot. But enjoy the April sunshine while it lasts Red Sox fans... Enter stage left: Kei Igawa - the yankees' attempt to answer the Japanese invasion of Boston and as yet the only thing even remotely resembling his home land was his Richter scale-like ERA of almost 7.00. NOT the perfect number when it comes to baseball.

Regardless, Igawa held the Red Sox mostly in check today and lasted long enough to allow the bullpen a mild rest and gave the yankee offense enough time to wake from its slumber and post a 3-1 win. Both teams left TONS of people on base, but there was little clutch hitting and it all belonged to the bronxers. Joe Torre said the night before that he thought that all it would take to get back on track is one well pitched game. Well Joe - you got it.

And now all that the Red Sox Nation can hope is that OUR starter with the sky high ERA (Tavarez) can hold ANY lineup in check for more than 6 or 7 pitches. Against Wang tomorrow I don't think that is very conducive to making that happen. If Jon Lester doesn't come back soon, Julian will be headed towards breaking some losing streak and ERA records for a first place team.

Just imagine when Lester returns to the lineup... I'm drooling on my keyboard. Yuck.

Contrary to popular belief...

...the yankees WILL beat the Red Sox this season at some point. Let's just hope that it is in a meaningless series late this coming fall.

Red Sox 11
NYy 4

Season series: Red Sox 4 NYy 0

The yankee-killer Manny Ramirez is STILL struggling (and not only versus the Evil Empire), but since baseball is a team game we're fortunate to have a productive offense without him pounding away. He is starting to stripe the ball and I am confident that the average will begin to climb... how about a power display in Boston/NY games 5 and 6 Manny? Sweetness.... ohhh sweetness would ensue.

How typical can this be?

Rained out baseball games are no fun for anybody - unfortunately they are going to be an even bigger pain in the pitoot thanks to the recent rainout between the spankees and the Blue Jays...

I cannot complain too loudly as all of NY must have groaned in unison last weekend when they found out our #1 - #2 - #3 pitchers were lined up perfectly to face them in Fenway. Now our Bostonian crew will have to face Andy Pettite AGAIN thanks to Joe Torre's slight of lineup hand. Andy P (no relation to my brother-in-law) was slated to face Vernon Wells and the dangerous but underachieving Torontonians - RAIN enter stage left, and guess who pitched for the yanks instead tonight... another rookie named (and I had to go look this up twice because I kept forgetting his name) Phil Hughes - an undrafted non-college signee that had never before pitched in the majors. Exit stage right to an extraordinarily predictable ending - Toronto wins 6-2 behind AJ Burnett and Mr. Wells.

So - long story short - Manager Torre obviously knew his ballclub needed a win against our Red Sox SO badly that he shifted his number one guy not one day but TWO! After all, he knows that once his team gets rolling that they'll torch the living daylights out of Toronto for the rest of the year. One can only hope that this "layoff" isn't good news for Andy P's rhythm. And the rest of us can only hope that Dice-K's pledge to take his game up a notch for the rematch will pan out. And let's also look forward to what fleshes out from Dice-K's pledge to take his game up a notch for this weekend's rematch.

Back at ya until at least Friday night!!

Back on track - warming up for the Bronx Zoo

Well - I was expecting a more thorough offensive beat-down than what happened last night at Camden Yards, but regardless*, a win is a win and to hear Curt Schilling dominate like he did last night is encouraging - not to mention the fact that Big Papi and Manny came through when we needed them most last night.

*No, "irregardless" is NOT a word despite the fact that the spell checker passed it and the fact that half of Americans use it regularly - I hate words like that whose mere over MISuse lands them in not only the vernacular but also some half-witted dictionaries (e.g. nuclear is NOT pronounced like NOOK - yoo - lur). Sorry for the side note but at least my mom would be proud!! Hi Mom!!

Anyway - back to the good stuff...

The Orioles proved once again that they are essentially Miguel Tejada and 8 other guys. 8 not so good other guys. Hopefully that bullpen will get back to normal for them after last night's debacle. Sweet debacle it was... lol.

Alex Cora kept up his rep as a "Daniel Cabrera killer" by going 2 for 3 against him with a sacrifice bunt as his only "blemish" before the relievers started filing through. Now if only we could find a way to work Cora in as like a Gustavo Chacin or Johan Santana killer... hmmm...

Hideki Okajima continues to be filthy good and with a 5 run lead in the 9th, the Sox could afford to send out Brendan Donnelly to close it out instead of using up Papelbon like we did prior to the first game of the yankee series. THAT won't happen again.

Speaking of the Bronx Zoo - our series there is rapidly approaching and the prospect of Dice-K and Wakefield pitching the first two games is scintillating... if only we could find a fill-in for Julian Tavarez. We'll lose HUGE if he pitches on Sunday...

And so he prayers start... for starting prayers, er, pitchers.

Gotta love it!!

Nothing much to say about THAT series

Well - once again the thorn-in-our-side Blue Jays have been, well, a THORN!!!

Vernon Wells drilled us again - tying career highs for hits and runs scored (4 each) and Roy Halladay struck out 10 of our guys (1st time he's gotten double-digit Ks in over a year!) to fill out a 10-3 pasting of the beloved Bostonians.

Not to mention that completed a short 2 game sweep at Fenway - not sure the last time the Sox have swept and then immediately been swept, but it sure sucks regardless. Tim Wakefield was again the victim of poor run support on Monday despite pitching very well sans the only homer he gave up. Poor Timmy. And to lose to Tomo Ohka?! Now THAT will be hard to live down... tougher to swallow than Roy "Doc" Halladay over Julian "I can keep the ball off the bats" Tavarez. PLEASE tell me that Jon Lester is coming back soon!! PLEASE!!

Not a good way to head into a short series with Baltimore at beautiful Camden Yards. And actually it is even worse due to the fact that Schilling and Beckett will be pitching versus the O's and not in New York this coming weekend. OUCH. Talk about payback being an, er, something that rhymes with "bitch" - and yes, I can say that on my blog because I am a veterinarian and I am allowed to use that word in my profession. But only under the appropriate circumstances... and of course, these are just that.

Normally I'd say that these two were being wasted on Baltimore, but it just so happens that the Orioles are in 2nd place only 1.5 games behind us in the AL East while the yanks are dead last. Sweet to say I will admit - but we all know it won't stay that way. Besides, the Orioles actually should be leading this division but they've hit a short skid that directly coincided with ours - otherwise our two losses in a row would have put us behind the "lowly" O's. Pee-you-wee!!

Well - it's late and I'm not in a good mood. Better sign off before I get "itchy" again.

Red Sox 4 Home Runs

Red Sox hit 4 consecutive Homers against Yankees [4.22.07]

Here's the proof... history being made

What IS that swishing sound?

I love the Red Sox and whichever team is playing the yankees - and when they play each other my mood can be influenced positively or negatively for a week or more. Sometimes it lasts an entire off-season. Ok - so you know.

My beloved Sox have just finished off a sweep of their meanest rival - a sweep that I auspiciously predicted would NOT happen in an earlier post. Ok - so I know a lot about these two teams but I didn't know it had been 17 years since we'd swept the yanks in 3 or more games at Fenway. We'd swept them several times at the house that Ruth built since then but our home cooking never quite matched up until this weekend.

You'll have to forgive the lack of wit and panache tonight - I am still recovering from the heart attack that is Axel-Rod vs. Papelbon with a man on and a 1 run lead in the 9th.

In hindsight I predicted most of what did happen this evening - in almost startling accuracy. Let's review my predictions...

1. DiceK getting shelled? Check. Giving up 5+ runs? Check. Combined 4+ BB/HBP? Check. Pitches barely into the 6th inning. WRONG. He threw 7+ innings.

2. Chase Wright pitching with the luck of the Irish? Check - worked out of MANY men on base. Lasts 4.2 innings? WRONG. Only 3 - so kinda of half right there. Gives up only 3 runs? WRONG - gave up 4. K's for Manny and Papi? NONE. Sweeet but wrong Swami. Leaves with the lead? WRONG - but then who would predict back-to-back-to-back-to-back HRs? YIKES. Oh yeah... check out #3 - hee hee.

2a. Red Sox grounding into a DP in a key spot versus a reliever? Check! David Ortiz in the 6th.

3. Team or league history made? WOW!! Check!! Something about back-to-back-to-back-to-back HRs for the first time in Red Sox history and the fifth time in MLB history - EVER. That's fewer than the number of perfect games thrown. Fewer than the number of World Series clinching walkoff HRs.

4. Huge homer hit by both teams? WOW! Check!! Jeter to tie it in the 5th and Lowell to "win" it in the 7th. WRONG on the order and who would win... although Axel-Rod could have done it in the 9th except for THE most dominant closer in baseball right now.

5. Big time 2R+ error by a Red Sox? WRONG. In fact, two stellar line drive snags by Dustin Pedroia actually saved the day.

6. A non-Axel-Rod yank having a big day at the dish? Check! Was is Jason Giambi? CHECK!!

Final score: NY 8 Boston 7? WRONG but was I ever close. Boston wins 7-6.

Swami Stats: 9 right, 8 wrong. On the surface it seems like you could have flipped a coin to get the same results.... but only if you only have two possible outcomes. Let's just say that I started doing the statistical analysis and figured out I could have made a LOT of money in Vegas tonight. Swami rests his case.

And now I will rest my fingers and my brain... after all, my heart is shot. Not to mention we all know I cannot rub it in after my Lady Vols post a few weeks back. Besides - it's only a game and it is only April. Last year when the Red Sox built up a HUGE lead over the yanks in the AL East I predicted WEEKS prior to the All-Star break that the lead would not only vanish, but that it would have a more than 15 game turnaround by year's end and we would be at least 10 games out of first place. So what was the total flip-flop by the pinstripes to take the AL East in a waltz? 19 games - and we were 11 games out at year's end.

This sweep accomplishes only a couple of things... first, it sets the pace for the rest of the league to follow. And second, it does make it a bit tougher on the yanks to win the season series... hmmm... we'll see if it is even close enough in September to worry about stinking tie-breakers, especially since we play an even 18 games with the bombers this year instead of the customary 19 of late.

So let's all take a deep breath, prep for yankee Stadium next weekend, and realize this is April baseball. Only for psychos and not the faint of heart.

Round 2 - TKO

Game 2 was NOT classic but who needs 18 heart attacks in one season right?

My Red Sox are 1 win away from a 3 game sweep of the New York yankees... and I have to say that I don't feel all that good about our chances in the finale. WHAT?! The obvious things can get overstated sometimes but here they are:

1. Dice-K versus WHO? Uh, Chase Wright.... who won his first major league start thanks not to his talent but due to the 6 run second inning his offense gave him to work with. Dice-K is 1-2 but with absolutely horrible run support (1 run total in last two starts) and pretty dominating stuff. Take away the 4th inning against the Blue Jays earlier this week and he's running away with Rookie of the Year... in April.

2. Red Sox offense: it has been surprisingly consistent and more like the offense that we became used to the past few years.

3. yankee pitching: the weak point by far this series as the offense has been almost scary although a little lacking in the clutch... ok, REALLY lacking.

So why the pessimism?

Well - this is still the Red Sox who have NEVER done well when 1 win away from anything significant (sans 2004 WS). I won't waste your time detailing that one - if you're reading this you probably already know.

Second, the yanks have yet to have one of those "scored more runs than they got hits" sort of games where one of our pitchers walks the ballpark and gives up only hits with men in scoring position. I expect to see that tonight.

Third, everything in this series as far as pitching is concerned has gone against the expectations. None of the Red Sox starters have looked good at all. The yanks have broken even in this department and been extraordinarily poor in the bullpen - an expected strength in NY and a weakness in Beantown. I expect a strong NY bullpen (they'll be needed) tonight, ridiculously good pitching from Wright along with the occasional dose of Ruthian luck. Matsuzaka will have his first implosion of the year, be yakked about and cursed all week long heading into yankee Stadium and everyone will wonder why anyone would pay over $100 million for this guy.

Fourth and finally - the Red Sox's ability to leave runners stranded on base inning after horrid inning will finally come back to haunt them. They really should have blown out these guys in the first two games, but with poor hitting numbers with men in scoring position we've barely eeked them out. I see LOTS of Red Sox base runners tonight (I'm guessing an average of close to 2 per inning), but AGAIN no significant run support for Matsuzaka.

Predictions:

1. Matsuzaka looks very rookie-like and gets shelled for at least 5 runs and a combined 4 BB/HBP. Pitches barely into the 6th inning.
2. Wright pitches with the luck of the Irish and escapes MANY jams through 4.2 innings of shaky baseball. Gives up only 3 ER, walks 4, strikes out Manny and Papi at least once each, and leaves with the lead
2a. The BoSox promptly ground into a double play in a key situation versus a reliever.
3. Somebody will make team or league history tonight - either something weird (like consecutive errors or a cycle) or Axel-Rod with his homer/RBI streak in April.
4. Somebody on each team WILL hit a huge homer (Grand Slam/3R or just plain clutch) - the second will be by a yankee and will win the game in the top of the 8th or 9th.
5. Somebody on the field will commit an error allowing at least 2 yankee runs to score.
6. Somebody OTHER than Axel-Rod will have a HUGE day at the plate... I'm guessing Jason Giambi.


NYy 8 (on 7 hits) Boston 7 (on 13 hits)

Pardon the pessimism - but since I am writing this mostly for my own benefit, I don't expect a lot of backlash if I'm dead wrong. But if you've been privy to this rivalry over the years, you know exactly what kind of game I'm talking about...

GO Sox!!!

Are you kidding me? Wow!!

I'm not sure if my heart can take this any longer... hack, hack, gasp... beep..... beep... __________________...

Ok - I'm fine now.

Red Sox 7 NYy 6

All of the hype this week leading up to the first Red Sox / yankees series of the year has been Red Sox pitching versus yankee hitting. True to form (and as I predicted earlier today), the Bronx boys came out bashing with Axle-Hot-Rod hitting not one, but TWO homers (and he also tacked on a double and 3 runs scored) to give the visiting team a commanding 6-2 lead heading into the bottom of the 8th inning. Schilling was shaky, Pettite was excellent, the Red Sox struggled against lefty pitching AGAIN, and unless Joe Torre had NOT gotten knock-kneed and NOT brought in Mariano Rivera in the 8th inning (he did both) - we'd be looking at the 8th yankees victory in a row at Fenway and a dismal start to their 18 games together this year. So what HAPPENED?!?!

Remember those three things I mentioned in my earlier post? The sputtering hot/cold Red Sox lineup, the odd and shaky yankee pitching staff, and those hard-to-come-by tickets at Fenway? They all played pivotal roles tonight. And right now I'll bet there aren't many of those present who will remember any specific detail about how the Red Sox scored all of those runs (quick, quick - who scored the tying runs ahead of Crisp's triple? ha! told ya...) except for the fact that Rivera blew ANOTHER save at Fenway, and the bottom of the lineup for the Bostonians finally came through when we ALL least expected them to. And then to punctuate the matter, Axle-Hot-Rod couldn't come through in the 9th (heck, he did everything ELSE for them!) representing the potential winning run - and facing "the other Hideki" Okajima. Sweetness, oh the sweetness. Oh yeah - nice to see you again Dougie Mientkiewicz, sorry about that down-the-line thing you hated so much as a Red Sox 1B.

Can someone PLEASE look back through the annals of sports history and tell me how many times the yanks had scored the tying and go-ahead runs against us in the bottom of the 8th inning at the house that Ruth built only to leave us with one last gasp against Rivera in the top of the 9th. Gee whiz - I know it happened enough times to stick in my steel trap Red Sox memory... and then I wrote something in a blog somewhere about it. Oh yeah - like two seconds ago! I guess the euphoria hasn't worn off yet...

April baseball... 146 games left... I'm out of oxygen and my voice is almost gone... good thing these fingers and my spell checkur are in fine ordur...

Sheesh - this stuff is for psychos... LIKE ME!!! Go RED SOX!!!!!

P.S. Props to the Sox for their uniform "VT" tribute to the folks at Virginia Tech - Go Hokies and God Bless.

Nothing compares... but I'll try - Red Sox / yankees - Round 1 preview

For years now I've read the liberal media (not sure what that moniker has to do with ANYTHING sports related - but I love saying it) reciting the mantra that goes something like this: "hitting wins games, but pitching wins championships." IF the mantra held true, then my beloved Red Sox would be mopped up the New York yankees in this weekend's series but then go on to win in the playoffs. Doesn't sound like much fun to me and my Fenway Parkers.

Truth be told, I see very few pitchers holding down an offensive lineup from the Bronx that is among the best in history - mark my words, this team will set some records. And contrary to the aforementioned mantra, recent history would suggest that "hitting wins almost every game, and pitching (unless absolutely dominant) comes in a close second." But then again, that doesn't quite have the wise ring to it that the first one did now does it? Essentially, whoever gets hot at the plate destroys the other team and the only pitching stories are ones of ballooning ERAs and "how in the world did THAT pitcher win?" kinda of stuff. Throw in a few late-game heroes (hitters) against pitchers whose names we almost never remember... and there you have it. In a short note of qualification, I want you to notice that I did say only in "recent history." Certainly over time, the melodic first mantra of sports will by-and-large ring true.

How can you bet AGAINST a trio of pitchers in Schilling (downright NASTY his past two starts), Beckett (3-0 with an ERA of 1.50), and Dice-K Matsuzaka (almost as dominant but with all of 5 total runs offense to back him up in three starts)? Good thing I don't bet... even I might take a piece of that action. Unfortunately the ever-living pessimis, er, realist in me reminds me that our "aces" have not had particularly excellent outings versus our foes from the inner city. And how long would we have to lick our wounds if they all got smoked? Let's hope we don't find the answer to that question any time soon.

So on to this weekend - I've wasted most of my time here telling you stuff that you no doubt already know or at least have yelled at the TV or muttered under your breath more than once a week during recent baseball seasons. How about the stuff you haven't heard much about... our lineup, the yanks pitching oddities, and the ticket outlook.

The Red Sox lineup - in recent years the most potent in baseball. If you think I'm biased, you're right - but I don't lie and I won't exaggerate. We're talking about a team that a few years ago broke, er, smashed the 1927 yankees team's season mark for slugging percentage. Ouch.
However, this as been a year of question marks for the Fenway faithful as they watch as one well-known Hall of Famer put it, an offense that has "sputtered at times this year." Sputtered? How about imploded? Yes Boston leads the AL East with a 9-5 record and recently completed a rain-shortened 3 games sweep of the LA Angels... but check out that stats for the two primary yankee killers of late, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez: both batting under .200 until Papi went on a tear versus the Angels and in Toronto and until Manny's last AB versus the Blue Jays in which he tied the game with his FIRST bomb of the season (it took him 50 ABs). And these guys were a combined .405 with 13 HRs and 37 RBI last year against the yanks. Let's just hope their bats stay out of hibernation for a while...

The yankee pitching staff - a long-term strength for this ball club but has scuttled in recent years amidst poor GM work and constant injuries. BUT - they've still won the division in those weak years thanks to that All-Star lineup. This year they've got the arms, but only off-season acquiree Andy Pettite (sound familiar?) will qualify as an "ace" caliber arm this weekend when they face the BoSox this weekend. Hmmm... this sounds a LOT like what those anxious fans in Cleveland were thinking when they sent Jake Westbrook and Jeremy Sowers in versus the yanks in the house that Ruth built. What happened? Two no-name starting pitchers named Darrell Rasner and Chase Wright hold the vaunted Indians to 4 earned runs total in their time on the mound and the bronx bombers absolutely demolished the Tribe. Look out Boston aces. I love you but I hope you're ready.

The toughest ticket in sports - unless you're playing in the Bronx. Get ready to shell out the dough folks! I paid an average of $315 per ticket to see a couple of Sox/yanks tilts in Fenway last year... and I was WAY up in the grandstand. I just looked online and there are some seats going for over $3000 EACH - it's April people!!

But then after reading this whole she-bang (if you were wise enough to do so), you might as well throw it ALL out the window and just sit back and watch the war. These teams NEVER follow the script when they play, their fans almost never apologize for rubbing it in when they win, and they never cease to amaze us with their innate ability to turn conventional wisdom on its ear. You gotta love April baseball - its for psychos!!

7th heaven and yet, silence...

For those of you who read my list of 100 things on my other blog (see link down to the right), you know I can take my sports seriously - perhaps TOO seriously some would say. I prefer to use the term "passionate." Unfortunately for passionate fans like myself, I endure an almost constant barrage of jabs, criticisms, and reminders regarding my teams' short-comings. In fact, I have an acquaintance who even started ribbing me (via email) about my vaunted Red Sox losing their season opener to the historically lowly Royals within hours of the game going final. Yep - time to throw in the towel. I don't see how we'll dig out of THAT hole since we've only got 161 games left.

Another example from even more recent times - my beloved Tennessee Lady Volunteers had, until late Tuesday night, endured a so-called "drought" of 9 years without a national championship in basketball despite winning a record 6 through the 1998 season. Invariably, each time they lost in the NCAA tournament I would receive a barrage of insults and razzing from people who not only had ZERO vested interest in the game (i.e. they weren't fans of the opposing team) but who often I didn't even know personally. The even more interesting half of this story comes in these recent times of plenty - NOT ONE SINGLE UNSOLICITED COMMENT has come back to me. NONE. Where's the love? I guess I cannot expect too much as the exact same phenomenon occurred when the Sox won in 2004. Silence.

Does our culture have an allergy to congratulations and praise?

Let me tell you another story - the story of the one and ONLY time I attempted to "rub someone's nose in it" and the story of the one and only individual on this planet that I believe takes his team anywhere NEAR as serious as I take mine. My uncle George is a dyed-in-the-wool Green Bay Packers and New York yankees fan (if you haven't read my list of 100 things on my other blog, don't try to correct my capitalization)... and in the mid 1980's the Bronx Bombers got the better of my Sox most of the time. Uncle George always told me that he rooted for "winners" and as legitimate a reason as that is, I always chuckled when he said that only "winners" get to play in a stadium, while others only got to play in the park (e.g. Fenway). However, one sunny weekend in mid-summer my beloved Red Sox ripped apart yankee Stadium to the tune of a 3 game sweep. Upon seeing my Uncle (whom I idolized and still love and greatly respect to this day) the next week I asked him, "So what do you think of those boys who play in the park?!" To which he glared directly at me in total seriousness and gave a simple, "I'm disappointed" with a steely stare that all but challenged me to open my little smart-alecky mouth one more time so that he could fit his fist between my molars. I've never rubbed it in again - not even after the 2004 ALCS. Not even after the Lady Vols' three-peat in 1996-98. Never.

What would be the point? Who would benefit? Obviously not me. Obviously not my team's opponents' fans. So why? Why would someone do this? Somebody explain this to me. I believe that it is due to our innate need for entertainment - even, or in some cases especially because it is at someone ELSE'S expense. And who better to pick on than the most fanatical, emotionally-attached fan you can think of? I think it basically serves to identify me as one of the most devoted fans sports has ever known. I've cried at more disappointing championship games (and my teams have been there OFTEN) than I have sappy movies or even funerals.

My Lady Vols STOMPED Rutgers - talk about a beat down. After Candace Parker and Alexis Hornbuckle our team doesn't have a starting lineup that would scare ANYBODY, never mind everybody. But basketball is a team sport and this team won that way. And don't for a minute believe the garbage from all those cynical hoops fans that say Pat Summitt is mean and boring and ruthless - she wins, but she NEVER does it at the expense of people's feelings or at the expense of good sportsmanship (see my list of 100 things). Just check the tape from the moments after the championship game was over - she immediately motioned for her players to line up and congratulate the opposing team, and when they were continuing to celebrate (not seeing her direction) she lost her smile and had her assistants gather the girls up for the handshakes, hugs, and such. She understands people's feelings. She knows what matters most. She does it the right way. And if you don't like her just because she is intense and her team wins (a LOT), then go find another coach to pick on - you won't find justification for your cynicism in Knoxville.

So if you're green with envy, blue with disappointment, red with rage, white with fear, or pink from embarrassment - don't rain on my parade. Someone ELSE'S team lost (not yours) and a little pat on the winner's back won't set your character or your image back a decade - just ask the women of Rutgers and fans like me who value good sportsmanship. We understand completely.

Destiny or heartbreak?

11 days ago my Tennessee men accomplished what few teams have ever done - blow a 21 point lead to lose their chance at their first trip to the Elite 8. And this was supposed to be the year we got over the hump... hopefully Bruce Pearl will stick around for a few years. Not to mention a couple of good post-players as we lost our only true center before the season began to a violation (chronic) of team rules. Thanks Major Wingate... you'll always be a minor in my book. One can only hope that SEC POTY Chris Lofton returns to help our young Volunteer squad get back to the dance - we won't see a player of his caliber in UT orange for many years to come.

Tomorrow night, an event more improbable than the men's collapse will take place - the Lady Vols, playing in their record 17th Final Four will take on #4 seed Rutgers' Lady Scarlet Knights (and I thought you had to be one OR the other) for a shot at their 7th national title and first since 1998 (when I was a junior at UT). Why improbable? Well, if you're asking then you are one of many people who see little entertainment value in the women's game... I pity you. I would have almost agreed with you at the start of last night's national semifinal game between by beloved Lady Vols and the Lady Heels of North Carolina...

They stunk the first half up like you wouldn't believe. Tennessee led 22-21 at the half and set a record for fewest first half points... ALLOWED (by a Tennessee opponent). The two teams combined to shoot 25% in the first half and the two best players on the floor were sidelined for most of it with foul trouble. Talk about a boring game - arguably the two best teams in the country and they're fighting bench vs. bench in the opening half! But then came halftime...

And life changed big time - Tennessee came out fast and scored 5 quick points to grab a "commanding" 6 point lead... only to let UNC score 12 unanswered and all of a sudden momentum began to shift. UNC eventually built the lead to 12 with 8:18 remaining and it looked like yet another disappointing finish for my ladies in orange when UNC's sparkplug Ivory Latta drove for a hoop and the harm to restore to 10 what UT had whittled down to a 7 point lead seconds before. I almost went to bed right then and there... but I was mad. I told myself, "Self, you won't be able to sleep for hours after they lose anyways, so you might as well stick it out to the end and REALLY stoke the fires of wrath right?! Right!" So with piles of epithets and gallons of poison ready to hurl ESP-style at Latta and Co. I sulked back to my computer to listen to the end of the game... arms crossed and a scowl only God could forgive. UNC 48 UT 36.

Tennessee scored... whoop-dee-doo. UNC 48 UT 38
UNC turnover... small consolation since they've turned it over more than 20 times already
Tennessee scored again... hmmm.... UNC 48 UT 40
Multiple misses by both teams... not surprising; now just waiting for that nail-in-coffin trey from UNC to ice it... it doesn't come yet.
Tennessee heads to FT line - TWICE (swish times 4)... UNC 48 UT 44
Candace Parker (CP3) scores for UT... OMgosh UNC 48 UT 46
UNC returns the FT favor - UNC 50 UT 46... can UT respond? Can UNC stop fouling?
Yes. No.
Nicky Anosike goes on a personal 5-0 run to put UT out in front 51-50 with 1:44 to go.
UNC finishes the game going 0-8 from the field, 2-2 at the FT line...
UT hits their FTs and wins 56-50.

Are you kidding me?!?!

I'm so glad I stayed up to catch the running box score on the internet...

Too bad I couldn't have watched it... I heard it was quite the game.

Check back in tomorrow night for the final Final Four notes... in the meantime, check out the YouTube videos of Candace Parker and the highlights from the game itself on espn.com and utsports.com.