39 Years Ago Tonight

The way the Red Sox 2014 season has progressed, it seems like ages ago that the Olde Towne Team was in the World Series [despite being defending World Series Champions- NANESB!]. And if one season feels like an eternity, imagine the anguish Red Sox fans [before there was a Red Sox Nation- NANESB!] felt during that 86 year wait.

That's not to say the organization didn't have their moments in those 86 years. Despite the lopsided deal that sent Babe Ruth to New York, the Red Sox could boast the game's all time best hitter in Ted Williams. Outfielder Carl Yastrzemski would go on to be baseball's only Triple Crown batting winner for 45 seasons until Detroit's Miguel Cabrera won those honors in 2012.

However, it was During the 1975 World Series against Cincinnati's Big Red Machine, a native son of New England managed to provide even more dramatic flair to what some baseball historians consider the best-ever World Series.

I'm talking, of course, about Bellows Falls, VT native Carlton Fisk's walkoff extra-inning homer in Game 6 of the '75 World Series that was made even more memorable by the Red Sox catcher's copious body English caught on camera. Fisk took Cincinnati reliever Pat Darcy's second pitch into the netting of the Green Monster to end the game with a 7-6 win in the bottom of the 12th for Boston and tied the series up at 3-3.

Unfortunately, that would be as close as the Red Sox got to a World Series title for nine years. The Big Red Machine would later go on to win Game 7 after trailing early 3-0. Interestingly, both Fisk's iconic homer and the Reds win took place on the same day, as Game 6 started on October 21st but went beyond midnight due to extra innings.

Years later, Fisk would joke that he liked to tell people the Red Sox won the Series that year 3 games to four.

Kansas City Smoked Sports Chowdah Update- Red Sox Season, Jeter's Career Wraps Up At Fenway; Rollin' Royals Eliminate Oakland, Take Game 1 of ALDS; Fail to the Chiefs- Patriots Thrashed at Arrowhead Stadium on Monday Night

RED SOX- The Major League Baseball regular season came to an end on Sunday and with it, the disappointing 2014 seasons for both the New York Yankees and defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox. Fans of the Red Sox were hoping for a more spirited defense of their 2013 title while Yankees fans wanted a postseason appearance for captain Derek Jeter's final season.

Although the Yankees had been mathematically eliminated by that point, Jeter's final home game at Yankee Stadium ended in memorable fashion as the Bronx Bomber's shortstop hit a walkoff RBI single in the bottom of the 9th, breaking a 5-5 tie against the AL East Champion Baltimore Orioles on September 25th.

The Yankee captain's final game on Sunday drew a national TV audience as the game was televised on TBS. The Yankees got out to an early lead in the 3rd inning, thanks to a one out, two RBI single from Ichiro Suzuki. Jeter made it a 3-0 game when he hit a high chopper up the 3rd base line that he beat out for an infield single as Suzuki made his way home. As it turned out, that would be it for Jeter. Manager Joe Girardi immediately decided to pull Jeter for pinch runner Brian McCann.

The Yankees would go on to win by a 9-5 final and would take two out of three from the Red Sox in the weekend series. The Red Sox, finishing a mere 25 games out of first place in the AL East, wrapped up the season with a 71-91 record and were increasingly unrecognizable from the 2013 squad that won the World Series. For instance, the only starting pitcher remaining from the 2013 team was Clay Buchholz after Peavy, Lackey, Lester and Doubront were traded earlier in the season.



WASHINGTON NATIONALS- The Nationals have done nothing less than quietly dominate the National League East this season. Although they were among the first to secure a playoff berth, they ended the regular season in dramatic fashion when Nats starter Jordan Zimmerman threw the Nats first no-hitter.

Heading into the top of the 9th inning, Washington had a 1-0 lead over the Miami Marlins with two away when outfielder Christian Yelich belted what looked like a sure double to not only break up the Zimmerman's no-hit bid, but put the tying run in scoring position for Miami. However, late inning defensive replacement and rookie outfielder Steven Souza, Jr made a spectacular diving catch to rob the Marlins of a base hit, ending the ballgame and sealing Zimmerman's no hitter.

The well-rested Nats will play the San Francisco Giants in the NLDS beginning Friday, October 1st. First pitch is scheduled for 3:07 ET at Nationals Park and the game will be televised on Fox Sports 1.

KANSAS CITY ROYALS- After narrowly missing out on the AL Central pennant, the Kansas City Royals managed to secure their first postseason berth in nearly 30 years, prompting a 1-game playoff with the Oakland A's at Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday Night.

With Jon Lester on the mound for Oakland, KC took a 3-2 lead with an RBI double from Lorenzo Cain and an RBI single from Eric Hosmer in the bottom of the 3rd. However, the Royals bullpen would implode in the top of the 6th, allowing a 3-run homer off the bat of Brandon Moss before an out was even recorded. The A's would get two more runs to make it a 7-3 ballgame and quiet down the crowd at Kauffman Stadium. However, the Royals would immediately start to chip away with RBI singles from Cain and Billy Butler in the bottom of the 8th along with Hosmer coming home on a wild pitch to make it a one run game. In the bottom of the 9th, pinch hitter Josh Willingham led off the inning with a single before being pulled for pinch-runner Jarrod Dyson. Dyson moved into scoring position on a sac bunt by Alcides Escobar before stealing 3rd. Dyson would then come home on a Nori Aoki sac-fly to tie the game up at 7-7 and force extra innings.

The 7-7 deadlock wouldn't be broken until the top of the 12th when Alberto Callaspo hit an RBI single for the Athletics, giving them an 8-7 lead over KC. However, Hosmer would get a 1-out triple on ball that barely stayed in the park and Christian Colon would get an RBI infield single in the bottom of the 12th, bringing Hosmer home to tie the game up once more- this time at 8-8. Alex Gordon fouled out to third for the second out, bringing up Salvador Perez, who had gone 0-5 on the night. However, Perez managed to hit a ball fair past a diving Josh Donaldson and into left field to bring home the winning run.

The win set up an ALDS matchup with another AL West team- this time the Angels- on Thursday night. Despite having the best record in all of baseball this season, the Angels never led in what would be an extra innings affair much like Tuesday night's affair. Royals 3rd baseman Mike Moustakas would turn out to be key in this one, hitting a tie-breaking solo homer to lead off the top of the 11th to make it 3-2 Kansas City. Greg Holland would come out of the Royals bullpen and get a clean 1-2-3 inning to close out game one for the Royals.

ELSEWHERE IN THE AMERICAN LEAGUE- The Baltimore Orioles took Game 1 of their series against the Detroit Tigers after the Tigers bullpen imploded and allowed 8 unanswered runs in the bottom of the 8th in what had previously been a close game. In fact, between the bottom of the 2nd and 7th innings, it was a pitcher's duel between Max Scherzer and O's starter Chris Tillman.

The Orioles go on to win game one of their series by a 12-3 final and the series will resume almost immediately on Friday at noon.

MEANWHILE, IN THE NATIONAL LEAGUE- It's actually been pretty quiet in the National League this week, with only one game since the end of the regular season on Sunday- that was the single game Wild Card playoff between the San Francisco Giants and the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on Thursday night.

San Francisco's Brandon Crawford would hit a grand slam off of Pirates starter Edinson Volquez in the top of the 4th inning to give the Giants an early 4-0 lead. That would be all the Giants needed to get past Pittsburgh as Madison Bumgarner threw a complete-game 4-hit shutout on Thursday as San Francisco cruised to an 8-0 win. The victory earns the Giants a matchup against the Nationals inside the beltway for game one of the NLDS on Friday night.

The other NLDS matchup on Friday features the Dodgers hosting the St Louis Cardinals at Chavez Ravine on Friday night.

PATRIOTS- New England's first Monday night game of the 2014 season didn't go particularly well. Coming off a win in which the Pats seemed to just barely hold off the woeful Raiders at Foxborough, the Patriots seemed unprepared and overwhelmed by their Monday night game at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

The Kansas City Chiefs offense and QB Alex Smith seemed to move the ball at will, and while the Chiefs 17-0 lead at halftime didn't seem insurmountable, things got worse for the Patriots in the second half as Kansas City jumped out to a 27-0 lead before the Patriots finally got on the board. Believe it or not, things actually got worse for the Patriots in the 4th with the Chiefs scoring 14 quick points thanks to an Alex Smith TD and a Hussain Abdullah pick six of Tom Brady.

The only bright spot was when backup QB Jimmy Garoppolo got some playing time and managed to put New England in double-digits on a 3 minute, 81 yard drive that was capped by a 13 yard TD pass to Rob Gronkowski. The Patriots would go on to lose by a 14-41 final.

Quickie Sports Chowdah Update- Sox Sweep Into Second Half With Strong Homestand Against Kansas City; C-See-Ya Sabathia, Yankees Starter to Have Season Ending Surgery

RED SOX- I'm not going to come right out and say that AJ Pierzynski was part of the problem, but Boston's record since cutting the veteran catcher should speak for itself [although with the All-Star Break, it's a relatively small sample size- NANESB!].

The series against Kansas City got off to a promising start with a come-from-behind 5-4 win against the Royals at Fenway Park on Friday night. On Saturday, the Red Sox once again trailed early but were able to tie the game at 1-1 before Mike Napoli's solo homer in the bottom of the 6th put the Red Sox up for good, as it turned out.

Heading into Sunday's game against the Royals, the Red Sox had managed to go 6-1 with a team .292 batting average (.290 with runners in scoring position) and a combined ERA of 2.57 in their last 7 games [granted some of this was padded by the 11-0 romp in Houston immediately before the All Star break- NANESB!]. In just four games with the Red Sox, C Christian Vasquez- who is splitting time at backstop with David Ross- has a .385 batting average with 5 RBI.

On Sunday, the Red Sox got out to an early lead after back to back singles by Brock Holt and Daniel Nava off Kansas City starter Yordano Ventura opened up the bottom of the first. Holt, who moved to 3rd on Nava's single, came home after Pedroia grounded into a fielder's choice to give Boston a quick 1-0 lead.

Jon Lester, who had struggled a little bit in the first after hitting Eric Hosmer with a pitch in the top of the first, had settled down and was cruising along nicely through the Royals lineup.

In the bottom of the 3rd, David Ross led off the inning with a walk and Jackie Bradley Jr followed that up with a single. JBJ and Ross advanced to 2nd and 3rd respectively on Borck Holt's groundout, and with two runners in scoring position, Daniel Nava belted a ground-rule double to right field to make it a 3-0 Red Sox lead. Ventura then walked Pedroia, but got David Ortiz to ground out and Mike Carp to fly out to shallow center to get out of the inning.

Shane Victorino, who returned to the Red Sox lineup on Saturday, led off the bottom of the 4th with a double to left field. Although Ventura got Stephen Drew on a fly ball to center field for the first out of the inning, David Ross took a 1-1 offering from Ventura and put it into the Monster seats for a 2-run homer, making it a 5-0 game. This was followed up by back to back singles from JBJ and Brock Holt, with Bradley moving to 3rd on Holt's hit and then coming home on Daniel Nava's sac fly to deep center, making it a 6-0 game.

Meanwhile, Lester would throw 8 complete innings of shutout baseball giving up just four hits and two walks while striking out eight batters. Tazawa and Mujica would come out of the pen to close out the game. The Red Sox win by a 6-0 final and compete a sweep of the Kansas City Royals to start off the second half of the season.

Up next is a big 4-game series against the Blue Jays north of the border at the Rogers Centre. John Lackey [10-6; 3.79 ERA] is scheduled to start on Monday night against the Jays' Drew Hutchinson [6-8; 4.16 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 7:07 ET and the game will be televised on NESN. Toronto just wrapped up a homestand where they took two out of three from the struggling Texas Rangers to start off their second half of the season.

ELSEWHERE IN THE AL EAST- New York Yankees starter CC Sabathia is expected to undergo season-ending surgery on his right knee this week. So far this season, Sabathia has gone 3-4 with a 5.28 ERA for New York. Earlier this month, Sabathia had a setback while in the minors on a rehab assignement after going on the Yankee's DL.

Yankee's general manager Brian Cashman seemed optimistic that Sabathia could be back with the Yankees by Spring Training in 2015.


ELSEWHERE IN MLB- The Angels have acquired closer Houston Street from the San Diego Padres for a number of prospects on Friday. Street saved 24 games in 33 appearances for the 3rd place Padres this season with a 1.09 ERA. In exchange for Street, San Diego gets prospects in the form of 2B Taylor Lindsey, pitchers Elliot Morris and Roy Alvarez and SS Jose Rondon.

Rubby Tuesday Sports Chowdah Update- San Diego Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn Passes Away; Rubby Throws a Gem at Fenway; Crown Their Ass! LA Wins Stanley Cup in Game 5; Going, Going, Ghana

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL- Former Padres outfielder Tony Gwynn- arguably the game's best hitter since Ted Williams- passed away on Monday.

Born and raised in Long Beach, CA, Gwynn attended San Diego State where he excelled at both basketball and baseball. In fact, when the San Diego Padres drafted him in 1981, the then San Diego Clippers also drafted Gwynn in the 10th round of the NBA draft on the same day. Fortunately for the Padres, Gwynn quickly chose baseball over basketball.

The unassuming Gwynn made his major league debut in 1982 and was on the Padres roster both times San Diego advanced to the World Series [1984 and 1998, respectively- NANESB!]. Wearing the number 19 throughout his 19 year MLB career, Gwynn was a 15 time all star, won eight batting titles, seven silver sluggers and garnered five gold gloves. Gwynn was also one of the increasingly rare players who spent his entire career with one franchise. When the Padres moved into their new ballpark in Downtown San Diego, Gwynn's number was retired and a statue of 'Mr Padre' was erected in his honor. Gwynn could also be considered one of the few 'homegrown' figures in San Diego sports that spent his career with San Diego.

While not a home run hitter, Gwynn still had a career batting average of .338 and never hit below .308 in a full season. Gwynn did have 135 homers throughout his career along with 1,138 RBI. It was also believed that Gwynn could've been the first major-league hitter to reach the coveted .400 mark since Ted Williams in 1941 were it not for the strike-shortened season of 1994. However, Gwynn won NL batting title with a .368 average the following season.

After retiring in 2001, Gwynn returned to his alma mater to coach the Aztecs baseball team. In 2007 Gwynn was inducted into the baseball hall of fame along with Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. Gwynn is survived by his wife Alisha and two children- current Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr and R&B singer Anisha Nicole.

Earlier this year, the Padres had lost former manager and longtime broadcaster Jerry Coleman. Throughout Monday, mourners left hats and flowers at the base of his statue in Petco park.

BOSTON RED SOX- After splitting a 4-game weekend series against the Tribe, the Red Sox played host to the Minnesota Twins on Monday- the team who started their notorious 10-game losing streak last month. Rubby De La Rosa would get the start against Minnesota's Kevin Correia and both starters would soon be locked in a scoreless deadlock.

Although the Red Sox would get some baserunners on, Boston didn't break through until the bottom of the 6th inning when Daniel Nava led off the inning with a single. Drew then hit a single to shallow center but got greedy and was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double- although Nava made it to 3rd. AJ Pierzynski then came up and hit a fly ball deep enough to left field to plate Nava to give Boston a 1-0 lead.

Rubby continued with another scoreless inning before Farrell went to the bullpen. Andrew Miller faced one batter, striking out Oswaldo Arcia before Burke Badenhop came into the game. Badenhop immediately gave up a single to Kurt Suzuki before Eduardo Escobar lined out and Sam Fuld doubled. The bases would be loaded after Badenhop hit Danny Santana with a pitch, but the Twins threat was extinguished when Brian Dozier struck out swinging. Although the Red Sox wouldn't get any more runs in the bottom of the 8th, Uehara would have a 1-2-3 ninth inning to seal the win for Boston.

Tuesday night's game will have Phil Hughes [7-2; 3.17 ERA] going up against Jon Lester [7-7; 3.33 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 and the game will be televised on NESN

STANLEY CUP FINAL- After the New York Rangers got on the board with a 2-1 win on Wednesday night, the Stanley Cup Finals headed back to LA for a Game 5 at the Staples Center.

Justin Williams got LA on the board in the first six minutes of the game. However, after most of the 2nd period went by without scoring, the Rangers got on the board with a Chris Kreider power play goal and took the lead with a Brian Boyle shorthanded tally to head into the 2nd intermission with a 2-1 lead

However, the Kings were able to tie the contest up in the 3rd thanks to a Marian Gaborik power play goal and force OT- for the 3rd time in the 5-game series. After a scoreless overtime, the game headed to double OT where Alec Martinez beat Henrik Lundqvist to end the game and give the series to Los Angeles.

Kings goalie Jonathan Quick turned aside 28 of 30 shots faced while Lundqvist stopped 48 of 51 shots faced on Game 5 and Kings RW Justin Williamson was awarded the Conn Smythe trophy. The Stanley Cup title is LA's second in two seasons and comes after falling behind 0-3 to the San Jose Sharks earlier in the playoffs.

Home Cookin' Sports Chowdah Update- Home of the Braves, No Hospitality as Atlanta's NL Club Gets Back to Its Beantown Roots; Beckett Notches First Career No-No, Shuts out Phils

RED SOX- Somebody break up the Red Sox! Of course, if I said that a week ago it would've sounded like some sort of plea to invoke the mercy rule when they looked to be matching or beating the record for consecutive regular season games lost by a defending World Series champion with that disastrous series against Tampa Bay [Not to mention the homestand against Toronto and Detroit- NANESB!].

Although it didn't look that way at first, things started to turn around with Monday afternoon's game at Turner Field when the Red Sox rallied from a 6-1 deficit to tie the game at 6-6 before a rainstorm moved in and caused an hour-long delay. After the delay, the Red Sox got two more runs and the bullpen persevered to make it an 8-6 final- their first win since May 14th.

The following night in Atlanta, Boston made it two in a row after scoring four unanswered runs in the top of the 7th, rallying from a 3-2 hole to go on and win by a 6-3 final.

Wednesday night saw the series shift to Boston- the original home of the Braves until 1953- and the games opened up with a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the 2004 World Series team with alumni on field [with the notable exception of Big Papi- the only member of the 2004 'idiots' still on the Red Sox roster- NANESB!]. This included a ceremonial first pitch from Manny Ramirez that was cut off by fellow outfielder Johnny Damon in an impromptu recreation of one of the more infamous "Manny being Manny" moments during his time with the Red Sox



It gets better for Red Sox nation, though. After the ceremonial first pitch, Lackey and the Red Sox bullpen hurled a gem with Lackey, Tazawa, Capuano and Breslow shutting out the Braves by a 4-0 final and capping their 3rd straight win.

On Thursday night at Fenway, the Braves jumped out to an early lead with a Jason Heyward solo homer in the 3rd and an RBI single from Evan Gattis to make it 2-0. In the bottom of the 5th the Red Sox got on the board with an RBI double to make it 2-1, but Atlanta added to their lead with a booming Freddie Freeman RBI double that barely stayed in the park to put Atlanta up 3-1.

In the bottom of the 8th, Brock Holt led off the inning with a single to shallow left off of David Carpenter and advanced to second on a fielding error by Justin Upton. This was followed by a Xander Bogaerts single that plated Holt to make it a 1-run game. Dustin Pedroia would then single to put Bogaerts in scoring position with nobody out. Bogaerts then came home on a Pierzynski single to tie the game up at 3-3.

Carpenter got Gomes to strike out for the first out of the bottom of the 8th before Luis Avilan came out of the Braves pen to strike out Grady Sizemore and intentionally walk Big Papi. Craig Kimbrel then came out of the Atlanta pen to get David Ross to strike out and end the threat, but the damage had been done.

After Uehara came on in relief of starter Jake Peavy, Ryan Doumit led off the inning with a single followed by a Tommy LaStella sac bunt to move pinch-runner Jordan Schafer over to second. With Schafer in scoring position, Uehara got Andrelton Simmons to ground out and Jason Heyward to strike out and end the Braves threat in the top of the 9th.

In the bottom of the 9th, Jackie Bradley Jr and Brock Holt led off with walks, putting runners in scoring position right away and with nobody out. On Kimbrel's 15th pitch of the inning, Xander Bogarts hit into what initially looked like a double play- or at least a routine groundout- to 3rd, but Braves 3B Chris Johnson's throw to second was low and dribbled past Tommy LaStella.



An alert Jackie Bradley Jr bolted for home and Lastella's throw was wide of the plate, giving the Red Sox a walkoff 4-3 win in the bottom of the 9th to complete the home-and-away series sweep against Atlanta.

While winning four straight against a club like the Atlanta Braves is always good, the Red Sox need to improve their record within the AL East and they'll have a chance to do exactly that when they host the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night. David Price [4-4; 4.42 ERA] is scheduled to get the start against Brandon Workman, who was recently called up from Triple-A Pawtucket. In seven starts against the International League this season, Workman has a 3-1 record with a 5.12 ERA.

The game will be televised on NESN with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 ET.

ELSEWHERE IN MLB- Former Red Sox starter Josh Beckett has pitched the first no-hitter of the 2014 season last weekend as the Dodgers blanked the Phillies 6-0 on Sunday. This also marks the first no-hitter in Beckett's distinguished career and the first no-hitter for the Dodgers since 1996. Although Beckett's no-no was the first of 2014, the last MLB no-hitter actually took place on the final day of the 2013 regular season when Marlins [another one of Beckett's former clubs- NANESB] starter Henderson Alvarez threw a no-hitter against the Detroit Tigers.

Beckett, a 1999 1st round draft pick by the Marlins, made his MLB debut for Florida in 2001 and won his first World Series in 2003, besting the Yankees in six games. In 2006, Beckett and then-teammate Mike Lowell were traded to Boston and Beckett won a World Series title with the Red Sox in 2007 after Boston swept the Colorado Rockies in four games.

During the colossal trainwreck that was the 2012 season, an underperforming Beckett was traded to Los Angeles along with outfielder Carl Crawford and 1B Adrian Gonzalez for infielder James Loney in the biggest post-deadline transaction in MLB history. Although the Red Sox had to pay the salaries of the traded players for the remainder of the 2012 season, the move freed up nearly $250 million in salary for the Red Sox.

Beckett's pitch total

Quickie WKRP Sports Chowdah Update- Red Sox Sweep Quick Series With Cincinnati; I Want Fraier! Providence Call-Up Comes Up Big in Playoff Debut; A-OK, Oklahoma City's Durant Named NBA's MVP

NHL- Bruins rookie Matt Frasier of Red Deer, Alberta is living the dream and more importantly, the Bruins are still in the thick of it after Thursday night's game in Montreal.

With Montreal leading the series between their Original Six rivals in Boston 2 game to 1, regulation went by without a single goal given up by either Rask or Price [Rask stopped 30 in regulation while Price stopped 28 shots faced- NANESB!]. This set up overtime and an opportunity for a very unlikely hero called up from Providence.




Fraser, who arrived courtesy of last offseason's trade that sent Seguin to Dallas, had appeared in 14 games for the Bruins this season and was on the shuttle between Boston and Providence. However, recalling him from the Pruins looked like a master stroke as he buried the puck in the net behind Price just 1:17 into OT.

Frasier's goal ties the series up at 2-2 and Game 5 is set to take place from the TD Garden on Saturday, with the puck scheduled to drop at 7:00 ET and the game televised on NBC Sports and the CBC.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NHL- The Los Angeles Kings became the 5th team in North American professional sport to rally from behind an 0-3 deficit to win a postseason series last week when they won four straight games against in-state rival San Jose. The comeback was made final when Los Angeles was trailing 1-0 in the second period of Game 7 of their first round series against the Sharks, only to score five unanswered goals and go on to win by a 5-1 final on April 30th.

The win set up a first-ever postseason matchup between the Kings and their cross-town rivals Anaheim after Anaheim knocked off Dallas during a furious rally in the 6th and deciding game. Although the Kings took the first two games at Anaheim's Honda Center, the Ducks beat Los Angeles 3-2 on Thursday night to make it a 2-1 series.

Curiously, teams from Boston have been on both sides of the 'rallying down from an 0-3 deficit' scenarios- during the 2009-2010 season, the Bruins gave up four straight games to Philadelphia. More famously, the Boston Red Sox were trailing the New York Yankees by a run in the bottom of the 9th in Game 4 of the 2004 American League Championship Series- the Yankees were three outs away from advancing to the World Series when first baseman Kevin Millar drew a leadoff walk from New York closer Mariano Rivera before Red Sox manager Terry Francona lifted Millar for pinch-runner Dave Roberts. Roberts successfully stole second base, despite Rivera and catcher Jorge Posada knowing full well Roberts was going to run on them. With a base runner now in scoring position, the Red Sox third baseman Bill Mueller then hit a game-tying RBI single. Not only did the Red Sox go on to win that game in extra innings, they would win the next three games against the Yankees and sweep the St Louis Cardinals to win the 2004 World Series. It also stands as the only time a team has come back from an 0-3 defecit to win a series in Major League Baseball. Such a scenario has never happened in the NBA, but it has happened twice in the NHL prior to the Bruins 2010 postseason collapse- in just their 3rd year of existence, the New York Islanders came from behind to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1975 and in the Original Six era, the Toronto Maple Leafs staged a similar rally against the Detroit Red Wings in the 1942 Stanley Cup final.

RED SOX- The Boston Red Sox are now a .500 team, which I guess means we can start talking pennant once again.

Of course, despite the lackluster start and shoddy record against most AL East opponents, the Red Sox were never really more than two games out of first place in the AL East [although the NL East has been ridiculously close as well- NANESB!].

Thursday night's game wrapped up a quick two game series against the Reds [they'll play two more at Cincinnati in August- NANESB!] and Cincy got on the board early thanks to a 1-out Skip Schumaker homer to give the Reds a 1-0 lead. The Red Sox rallied in the bottom of the 6th when with one away and two on, Big Papi had an RBI single to right and Napoli followed that up with an RBI double to tie the game up at 2-2.

The Reds re-took the lead in the 7th when Todd Frazier led off with a booming double to left and Brayan Pena followed up with a single. Ryan Ludwick- acting as the DH for Cincinnati- then drew a walk to load the bases and Chris Capuano came out of the bullpen in relief of starter Jake Peavy. Reds outfielder Roger Bernardina would ground out to second, but it was enough to get the go-ahead run home and give the Reds a 4-3 lead. Burke Badenhop then came on the relieve Capuano and got Chris Heisey to hit into a fielder's choice- Pena was gunned down at home plate- and Zach Cosart grounded out to end the inning.

In the bottom of the 8th, Reds reliever Manny Parra got David Ortiz to strike out before walking Napoli and Gomes came into the game as a pinch hitter for Grady Sizemore as Parra was pulled for JJ Hoover. Gomes worked a walk from Hoover before AJ Pierzynski belted a ground-rule double to bring Napoli home for the tying run. Jackie Bradley Jr was then intentionally walked so Hoover could face Middlebrooks. Middlebrooks took a 3-2 pitch and put it up the middle to bring the go-ahead run home, making it a 3-4 game. Hoover would then get pinch-hitter Mike Carp and Dustin Pedroia to strike out.

It was up to Koji Uehara in the 9th inning to preserve the Boston lead, and he got Pena, Frazier and Ludwick to strike out in order, preserving Boston's 4-3 lead for the win and the sweep of the brief 2-game interleague series. The Red Sox wrap up the homestand by winning four out of their last five games.

Thursday was a travel day- Boston will now embark on a weeklong road trip where they'll face the Rangers in Arlington, TX before heading to the Twin Cities for a 3-game series against Minnesota. Friday night's scheduled starters Clay Buchholz [2-2; 5.63 ERA] against Yu Darvish [2-1; 2.87 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 8:05 PM ET and the game will be televised on NESN.


NBA- What a week it's been for Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant. Less than a week after The Oklahoman dubbed him Mr Unreliable after a poor showing in their first round series against the Memphis Grizzlies, Durant garnered the NBA's Most Valuable Player honors.

In an emotional speech, Durant thanked his mother for making sure that he and his siblings would have food on the table while she would often go to bed hungry when they were growing up in Washington DC.




This is the first MVP honor for the number two draft pick in the 2007 NBA draft [Durant was drafted by a team that technically doesn't exist anymore, the Seattle Supersonics- NANESB!] but he did garner Rookie of the Year honors in 2008 and has been a 5 time All Star. This season, Durant has averaged 32 points, five assists and 7 rebounds per game.

The Thunder did end up getting past the Memphis Grizzlies in 7 games in the first round of the NBA playoffs and are currently playing the Los Angeles Clippers- that series is tied at 1 game apiece with game 3 set to take place at Friday night in LA's Staples Center.

My Old Kentucky Sports Chowdah Update- Chrome Finish, Thoroughbred California Chrome Wins 2014 Kentucks Derby; Seeing Red At Fenway- Red Sox Beat Cincinnati in 12;

HORSE RACING- Mint juleps and gorgeous southern women with big.......hats. What's not to love?


Yep- it was Kentucky Derby time this past weekend and all the assorted owners, big hats, horses, jockeys, trainers and celebs descended on Louisville's Churchill Downs [NASDAQ- CHDN] for all manner of revelry that just happened to be bookended by a horse race.


Despite taking place halfway across the country, New Englanders had a rooting interest in the 2014 as 2 year old colt Wicked Strong was among the racehorses participating.


Owned by Boston-based Centennial farms, Wicked Strong was named in honor of the post-marathon bombings 'Boston Strong' rallying cry.

According to Centennial Farms, the name 'Boston Strong' was taken, so they decided on the "wicked" prefix, which is a new England colloquialism for 'Very' or 'Extremely'. Heading into Saturday's race, Wicked Strong was tied with Danza Closest at 8:1 odds for the colt, who had won New York's Wood Memorial Stakes at the Aqueduct in Queens a few weeks prior.



However, it would be California Chrome who would win the 140th running of the Kentucky Derby going away, finishing several lengths ahead of the pack. Wicked Strong ended up finishing fourth, 5¾ lengths behind California Chrome.

Wicked Strong will reportedly skip the Preakness to focus on training for the Belmont stakes. Meanwhile, California Chrome will run in the Preakness in an attempt to become the first Triple Crown winner in horse racing since Affirmed in 1978.

RED SOX- After dropping the final game of last weeken's 3-game series against Oakland, the Red Sox were set to host the Cincinnati Reds in a 1975 World Series rematch for a quick 2-game series before heading on the road.

With the game tied at 1-1, it looked as though the Red Sox were set to chase Reds starter Homer Bailey from the mound in the bottom of the 3rd when Mike Napoli drew a bases-loaded walk and Grady Sizemore hit an RBI single. However, Bailey was able to limit the damage done and get through without coughing up any more runs- despite the Red Sox getting baserunners with a 3-1 lead.

Boston starter Felix Doubront, however, was only able to get through the first 5⅓ innings before the Red Sox had to get to the bullpen. This would come back to haunt Boston as Tazawa would allow a pair of runs to come home in the top of the 8th- a Todd Frasier RBI single that plated Joey Votto and a Ryan Ludwick sac fly that brought Brandon Phillips home to tie the contest up at 3-3.

Uehara, Andrew Miller and Craig Breslow would come out of the bullpen, and while getting some of those outs looked like they might be an adventure, the game remained tied at 3-3 heading into extras. Meanwhile, the Cincinnati relievers seemed to be pretty efficient in getting Red Sox batters out- at least until the bottom of the 12th when Logan Ondrusek came out of the bullpen and promptly gave up a leadoff single to Big Papi followed by a Mike Napoli single. The game ended when Grady Sizemore hit a wall-ball to deep left center [that was scored a single for some reason- NANESB!] that brought Big Papi home and gave the Red Sox the 4-3 win. Sizemore had the most productive night out of all the Red Sox, going 3 for 6 with two RBI- including the game-winner

The quick two game series wraps up later on Wednesday night at Fenway when Jake Peavy [1-1; 2.87 ERA] takes on Mike Leake [2-3; 3.53 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 ET and the game will be televised on NESN.

NHL- Turns out falling behind by two goals doesn't always guarantee a 3rd quarter come-from-behind win.

On Tuesday night's game 3 of the series between Montreal and Boston, the Habs jumped out to an early 2-0 lead midway through the first with goals by Tomas Plekanec and PK Subban. In the 3rd, Dale Weise make it a 3-0 Montreal lead before Patrice Bergeron got Boston on the board with just over two minutes to go in the 2nd.

It remained a 3-1 game until late in the 3rd when Jarome Iginla scored to make it 3-2 Montreal with just over 2 minutes to go in regulation. Tukka Rask was pulled for the extra attacker, but that only translated to an empty-net goal from Lars Eller with less than 10 seconds left in the game.

Montreal goes on to win by a 4-2 final and takes a 2-1 series lead over the Bruins.

Game 4 is scheduled for Thursday night from Montreal and will be televised on NBC sports and CBC, with the puck scheduled to drop at 7:30 ET.

Quickie Sports Chowdah Update For May 3rd- Lester is More, Red Sox Starter Throws 1-Hit, 8-Inning Gem;

RED SOX- Saturday's matchup against the A's was looking good for the Red Sox early and Jon Lester was cruising through the second game of the three game series against Oakland.

In the bottom of the first, Dustin Pedroia led off with a walk followed by a Xander Bogaerts single and a walk to David Ortiz to load up the bases with nobody out. A's starter Tommy Milone then got Mike Napoli to strike out, bringing Johnny Gomes up with the bases loaded and one away. Gomes cranked the 21st pitch of the game into the monster seats for the Red Sox second grand slam in less than 24 hours and giving the Red Sox an early 4-0 lead.




Meanwhile, Lester would give up his only hit of the day- a leadoff single to outfielder Craig Gentry- to lead off the top of the 3rd, but got Josh Reddick, Nick Punto and Coco Crisp [all former Red Sox players- NANESB!] to strike out, stranding Gentry on base.

Big Papi would lead off the bottom of the 3rd with a solo homer to make it 5-0 and David Ross led off the bottom of the 4th with a homer to left field, giving the Red Sox a 6-0.

Jon Lester's day was done after throwing 8 complete innings of 1-hit baseball and striking out 15, but the top of the 9th inning was an adventure when Chris Capuano came on in relief of Lester and promptly gave up 2 runs without even recording an out to cut the A's deficit by a third. After a Jed Lowrie double and hitting Josh Donaldson with a pitch, Capuano had to be pulled for Koji Uehara. Koji then walked Yoenis Cespedes. Derek Norris hit into what looked like a sure double play with Lowrie getting thrown out at home, but David Ross threw high to Napoli and the ball went into shallow right field to bring Donaldson home and have the lead cut in half with only one away in the 9th. However, Uehara would get Alberto Callaspo to strike out for out number two and the game ended on a Brandon Moss fly ball to right field.

The Red Sox go on to win by a 6-3 final and after getting swept in a day-night doubleheader by the Rays, the Red Sox have already won this weekend's series against the team with the best record in the American league. The Red Sox look for the sweep on Sunday afternoon. Sonny Gray [4-1; 1.76 ERA] will get the start against John Lackey [4-2; 3.83 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 and the game will be televised on NESN.

BOSTON BRUINS- The Boston Bruins staged a late come-from-behind win against the Montreal Canadiens in the 3rd period of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Saturday afternoon.

Danny Paille put the Bruins on the board with just under 7 minutes to go in the first- the only scoring in the first. However, Montreal would tie the game up with a Mike Weaver tally just 1:10 into the second period. The Habs would then take the lead- seemingly for good thanks to back to back power play goals from Thomas Vanek- one with just two minutes to go in the second and one six and a half minutes into the third- to make it a 3-1 Montreal.



Then things got interesting.

Just after the midway mark of the third, Dougie Hamilton got the Bruins to within one. Just a little more than three minutes later Patrice Bergeron managed to tie the game up at 3-3. But the Bruins had something besides overtime on their minds as Reilly Smith put Boston back on top for the first time since the first period to give Boston a 4-3 lead with 3:30 to go in regulation. And just in case you thought a 1-goal lead wasn't safe enough for the Bruins in the final 3 minutes of regulation Milan Lucic tallied an empty netter after Carey Price was pulled with just over a minute to go, giving Boston a 5-3 lead.

Boston goes on to score four unanswered goals in just under 8 minutes to tie the series up at 1-1. Carey Price stopped 30 of 34 shots faced while Tukka Rask turned aside 25 of 28 shots faced. Despite the loss, the Habs still were more effective on the power play going 2 for 6 while the Bruins went 0 for 3.

The series will resume in Montreal on Tuesday night. Puck is scheduled to drop at 7:00 ET from Montreal and the game will be televised on the NBC Sports Network.

Ides of May Sports Chowdah Update- Athletic Pursuits, Red Sox Beat Oakland on Pedroia Grand Slam; Boston, We Hab A Problem- Montreal Takes Game 1 in 2OT

Getty Images

RED SOX- After a disappointing Thursday in which an injury-depleted Tampa Bay managed to sweep the day-night doubleheader at Fenway, the Red Sox had little time to lick their wounds before hosting the AL West-leading Oakland A's on Friday. At 18-10, the A's had the best record in the American League.

After a shaky start to the season, Boston starter Clay Buchholz showed improvement in last weekend's game against Toronto at the Rogers Centre- although the bullpen came perilously close to coughing up a win late in the game.

After a scoreless first inning, Grady Sizemore led off the bottom of the 2nd with a double to deep left center. Xander Bogaerts flew out for the first out of the inning, but AJ Pierzynski hit a single to (or through) short and Sizemore came home all he way from first to get the Red Sox on the board. After Oakland starter Dan Straily got Will Middlebrooks to strike out for the 2nd out, Jackie Bradley Jr hit a double to center. Pierzynski scored from first and JBJ moved up to third on the throw home as the Red Sox took a 2-0 lead.

Leading off the top of the 3rd inning, A's catcher John Jaso led off the inning with a triple, but Buchholz got the next two batters out- 2B Eric Sogard struck out and former Red Sox outfielder Coco Crisp flew out to shallow center. However, Clay uncorked a wild pitch that Jaso came home on and the Red Sox lead now 2-1.

In the bottom of the 5th, the Red Sox managed to chase Straily from the mound with only one away and two runners on. However, reliever Fernando Abad struck out David Ortiz and intentionally walked Napoli to load the bases and get to Sizemore, who ended the inning by striking out with the bases loaded.

For the top of the 6th, Buchholz was able to get out of a jam after allowing two walks (one intentional) and the tying run in scoring position, but he got Yoenis Cespedes to strike out and end the A's threat.

Already into their bullpen before five complete innings, the A's had Dan Otero come out of the pen in relief of Abad for the bottom half of the 6th. Bogaerts and Pierzynski managed to get back to back singles off of Otero before he managed to strike out Middlebrooks. After walking JBJ, A's manager Ken Macha decided to once again go to the bullpen and brought Ryan Cook into the game to face Dustin Pedroia.



Pedroia cleared the bases and gave the Red Sox plenty of cushion after taking an 0-2 Cook offering and depositing it in the Monster seats for a grand slam- career HR number 100 while only his second Grand Slam since 2008.

Although Victorino would strike out swinging for out number two, Big Papi doubled and Mike Napoli walked before Cook was pulled for Drew Pomeranz. The Red Sox took a 6-1 lead over Oakland in the 6th inning. Mike Napoli would hit a 2-out RBI single in the bottom of the 8th to make it a 7-1 lead before Craig Breslow closed things out in the 9th to give Boston the 7-1 win. Buchholz went 6⅓ innings for his second win of the season- the only thing standing between him and a shutout was the wild pitch with two gone in the 3rd. Meanwhile, Dustin Pedroia went 2 for 3 with 4 RBI, a homer and was walked twice.

Starters for tomorrow afternoon's game will be Jon Lester [2-4; 3.10 ERA] and Tommy Milone [0-2; 4.56 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 ET and the game will be televised on NESN.

ELSEWHERE IN THE AL EAST- After sweeping the day-night doubleheader in Boston, the Tampa Bay Rays went down to the Bronx and bested the Yankees by a 10-5 final in a 14-inning contest where the Yankees were playing catch-up all night (and into the early morning hours) and captain Derek Jeter went 0-7.

As you might imagine, the game was a little tighter than the 10-5 final might indicate. Former Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury batted in the game-tying run for New York in the bottom of the 9th but was thrown out. Reliever Chris LeRoux came on in the top of the 14th and allowed a leadoff walk to Rays OF Desmond Jennings before getting Evan Longoria to strike out. However, Jennings would successfully steal 2nd and came home on a Will Myers RBI single. Myers would then come home on a double from OF Sean Rodriguez to make it a 7-5 game. Brandon Guyer, Yunel Escobar and Ryan Hannigan would then follow that up with RBI singles of their own to give the Rays the 10-5 lead while Josh Lueke came on in the bottom of the 14th to close out the game for Tampa.

The New York loss- couple with Baltimore's win over the Twins at Target Field- means that the Orioles are now in first place in the AL East after tonight's (or this morning's) game in the Bronx.


NHL- Game One of the eastern conference semifinals got underway at the TD Garden on Thursday, and unfortunately for the Bruins, the scoring ended much the same way it began- with power play goals from PK Subban.

The Habs got on the board first with the Subban tally at the 11:23 mark of the first. This was followed up by a Renee Bourque tally just three and a half minutes into the second period to give Montreal a 2-0 lead. In the 3rd, the Bruins managed to cut the lead in half with a Reilly Smith goal just 2 minutes and 44 seconds in. The equalizer came off the stick of Torey Krug six and a half minutes into the third period, but a Francis Bouillon goal put Montreal back on top with 7:51 to go in regulation.

However, Johnny Boychuck would tie the game up at 3-3 with just over 2 minutes to go in the 3rd, forcing overtime. After a scoreless OT, the Bruins and Habs headed to double OT and with the man advantage, PK Subban bookended the game's scoring with...a Montreal power play goal just 4:17 into the second OT. Montreal takes game 1 by a 4-3 final on Thursday.

Montreal netminder Carey Price stopped 48 of 51 shots faced on Thursday while Tukka Rask turned aside 29 of 33 in the losing effort. One stark difference between the two teams was the power play differential- while neither team had many opportunities, Montreal went 2 for 3 while the Bruins went 0 for 2.

The teams will go right back at it on Saturday afternoon. Puck is scheduled to drop at 12:30 ET from the TD Garden and the game will be televised on NBC and the CBC.

Tar Pits of Fenway Sports Chowdah Update- Yankees Starter PINEda Ejected From Wednesday Night's Game; Bruins Takes Series Lead in Detroit

RED SOX- After Sunday night's late rally, the Red Sox attempted another come-from-behind win against Baltimore on Patriot's day after falling behind 6-0. Boston managed to cut the O's lead in half in the bottom of the 5th and a 7th inning David Ross solo homer made it a 2-run game. However, Baltimore would get a key insurance run thanks to a Ryan Flaherty RBI single in the top of the 8th to make it 7-4. Mike Napoli led off the bottom of the 8th with a solo homer to once again pull the Red Sox to within two. In the bottom of the 9th, Tommy Hunter managed to load the bases with one away, allowing an infield hit to Brock Holt, a double to Dustin Pedroia and an intentional walk to David Ortiz. Once again, Napoli was able to pull the Sox to within 1 after hitting into a fielder's choice that brought Holt home, but Mike Carp grounded out to first base for the final out of the ballgame.

The Red Sox lost by a final of 7-6 on Marathon Monday and things didn't get much better when the Yankees came to Fenway for the first time this season. Jon Lester- ostensibly the 'stopper'- was lit up like a Byung Hyun Kim-shaped Christmas Tree and the Red Sox would go on to lose by a 9-3 final.

It was up to Lackey to stop the damage and he got off to a good start, getting the first two batters out before allowing a single from Carlos Beltran before Yankees catcher Brian McCann flied out to end the inning.

In the bottom of the first, Grady Sizemore led off with a triple before Pedroia singled to bring him home and give the Red Sox an early 1-0 lead. After Big Papi flew out to center, Napoli singled and Pedoira moved over to 3rd. Mike Carp then followed up with a fly ball to shallow left center for the second out, but not deep enough to bring Pedroia home. With 2 away, AJ Pierzynski singled to bring Pedroia home and make it a 2-0 Boston lead.

In the 2nd, Lackey got Soriano, Teixeria and Gardner to strike out in order, but what happened in the bottom of the 2nd will have people talking about this game for weeks. After New York starter Michael Pineda got Holt and Jackie Bradley Jr to fly out, Red Sox manager John Farrell asked the umpires to check Pineda for a foreign substance....which turned out to be pine tar on his neck. Pineda was immediately ejected- this coming 10 days after he appeared to get away with using pine tar on a glove in a game against the Red Sox in Yankee Stadium. Clearly Farrell didn't object because Pineda wasn't confounding the Red Sox batters. David Phelps came out of the Yankee bullpen and managed to strike out Grady Sizemore on one pitch [Pineda had a 2-strike count against Sizemore when the umpires went to the mound- NANESB!].

Lackey- apparently unaided by foreign substances on his person- continued dealing in the 3rd. Despite allowing a leadoff single to Brian Roberts, Lackey got Kelly Johnson to hit into a fielder's choice, before getting Jacoby Ellsbury and Derek Jeter to strike out swinging.

Dustin Pedroia led off the bottom of the 3rd by reaching 1st on a throwing error by Jeter. Big Papi then managed to beat the shift employed against him and hit a single. With nobody out and two on, Mike Napoli then hit a ball that New York outfielder Brett Gardner couldn't find- turned out it had jammed itself into the padding of the wall in fair territory by the Pesky Pole for a ground rule double [Gardner initially thought it was still rolling around along the wall behind him- NANESB!]. That brought Pedroia home but Big Papi had to hold up at third. Carp then struck out swinging before Pierzynski drew a walk and Xander Bogaerts flew out to right field- but not deep enough to bring Papi home. However, Papi would come home on a wild pitch by Phelps to make it a 4-0 Red Sox lead.

Lackey's only blemish on Wednesday night came in the 6th when Carlos Beltran led off the inning with a double and moved up to 3rd on a Brian McCann groundout. Alfonso Soriano then hit a sac fly deep enough to bring Beltran home to put the Yankees on the board and ruin Lackey's shutout bid. Lackey then struck out Teixera to end the 6th inning.

The Red Sox got some extra insurance in the bottom of the 8th when Xander Bogaerts got on board and advanced to second thanks to a throwing error from 3B Kelly Johnson before coming home on a Brock Holt RBI single. Koji Uehara came on in the 9th and immediately gave up a single to Alfonso Soriano, but struck Teixiera, Gardner and Roberts out to end the ballgame and give the Red Sox the 5-1 win.

Lackey was nothing short of stellar on Wednesday night, going 8 complete innings, allowing 7 hits, one earned run, no walks and striking out 11 while improving his record to 3-2. Mike Napoli went 3-4 with an RBI [the foam wall by the Pesky Pole robbing him of at least one more RBI- NANESB!] and Uehara made an appearance despite this not being a save situation.

Of course, the biggest takeaway was the Pineda pine tar fiasco- however, subtlety was never the Yankees' strong suit [which makes Pineda a better fit with the organization than Yankees fans will admit- NANESB!]. Reaction was instantaneous as the topics 'Yankees', 'Pineda', 'Pine Tar' and 'Girardi' began trending on social networking sites like twitter immediately.

Tomorrow represents the rubber game of the 3-game series before the Red Sox head off to Toronto for their first meeting of the season against the Blue Jays on Friday. CC Sabathia [2-2; 5.19 ERA] will take to the mound for New York while Boston sends out Felix Doubront [1-2; 5.48 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 ET and the game will be televised on NESN as well as the MLB network in some markets.




BOSTON BRUINS- The Boston Bruins have taken a 2-1 series lead over the Red Wings after Tuesday night's Game 3 from Joe Louis Arena. Most of the scoring took place in the first period and it was all Boston.

Dougie Hamilton got the Bruins on the board nine minutes into the first with a power play goal. With just over 4 minutes remaining in the first, Jimmy Howard couldn't get a glove on a Shawn Thornton rebound, but Jordan Caron was able to, beating Howard and putting the ruins up 2-0. Meanwhile, the Bruins defense managed to stymie the Red Wings and Tukka Rask ended up facing only 23 shots on goal- turning aside all of them.

With just over two minutes to go in regulation, the Red Wings decided to pull Howard for the extra attacker, but Patrice Bergeron was able to get ahold of the puck and score an empty-netter to give Boston a 3-0 lead. After going 1 for 3 on their power play opportunities, the Bruins take a 2-1 series lead as the series resumes Thursday night from Detroit. Game 4 is set to get underway from the Motor City at 8:00 ET and the game will be televised on NESN, NBC Sports as well as TSN north of the border.

Quickie Sports Chowdah Update- Papi Clutch Once Again As Red Sox Rally Late Versus Texas; B's Fall to Wild Cards in Minnesota

Matt Stone- Boston Herald

RED SOX- After getting swept by the Brewers, the Red Sox were hoping to salvage their homestand during the three game series against Texas. Boston took Monday's Game 1 by a 5-1 final. On Tuesday night, Boston was trailing by 9-1 in the bottom of the 6th before rallying for three runs in the bottom of the 7th and three more in the bottom of the 9th- but ultimately fell short by a 10-7 final.

That set up the rubber game on Wednesday with Jake Peavy getting the start against Texas' Robbie Ross. Although Ross walked a lot of Red Sox batters, he was also able to get out of trouble by inducing a number of double-play balls. The Red Sox got on the board in the bottom of the 3rd when with one away and runners on first and second, Dustin Pedroia hit an infield single and Jackie Bradley Jr came home on Robbie Ross' throwing error to make it a 1-0 game.

However, the 1-0 lead wouldn't last and Mitch Moreland would lead off the top of the 7th with a solo homer to tie the contest up at 1-1. Peavy would get two more outs before Tazawa came out of the bullpen in relief. Elvis Andrus would lead off the top of the 8th inning with a double off of Andrew Miller before Miller got Prince Fielder to ground out to first- moving Andrus up to third. Alex Rios would then hit a sac fly to deep center to put the Rangers up 2-1.

In the bottom half of the 8th, Jackie Bradley Jr led off with a walk before AJ Pierzynski pinch hit for Jonny Gomes, getting a single off of Rangers reliever Alexi Ogando. Grady Sizemore then pinch ran for Pierzynski. Dustin Pedroia then grounded into a fielder's choice, erasing the runner at second but moving JBJ up to third base with a runner on first. With Big Papi on deck, Texas manager Ron Washington then called upon Neal Cotts to end the Red Sox rally. Instead, with two on, one out and a 1-1 count, this happened.



After a brief review and conference by the umpires, Ortiz's HR call was upheld and the Red Sox took a 4-2 lead. Koji Uehara then came on in the 9th and got all three batters he faced in order to end the ballgame and nail down Boston's first series win at home in the young 2014 season. Despite a good effort by Peavy, he got no decision after going 6 and ⅔ innings, allowing three hits, one run, four walks and striking out 8 batters. Despite giving up what was at the time the go-ahead run in the top of the 8th, Andrew Miller was credited with the win and Koji Uehara got his second save of the season. David Ortiz led all Red Sox batters on Wednesday going 2-4, including his go-ahead homer in the bottom of the 8th.

On Thursday, the Red Sox will travel to the Bronx for the first time this season to take on the Yankees. New York comes into Thursday night's game sporting an identical 4-5 record after dropping two out of three at Yankee Stadium to Baltimore [the Orioles also sport a 4-5 record while Toronto currently leads the AL East with a 5-4 record- NANESB!]. Clay Buchholz [0-0; 12.46 ERA] will go up against Michael Pineda [0-1; 1.50 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 ET and the game will be televised on NESN and the MLB network.


ELSEWHERE IN MLB- Barely a week into the 2014 season, the Los Angeles Angels were dealt a blow when outfielder Josh Hamilton suffered a torn ligament in his thumb after sliding into first in an attempt to beat out a throw in Tuesday night's game against the Seattle Mariners. Hamilton got off to a scorching start in the 2014 season with a .444 batting average along with two homers and 6 RBI. Hamilton was placed on the 15 day DL and is expected to miss anywhere from six to eight weeks after undergoing surgery.

NHL- With just 3 games remaining in the regular season, the Bruins continue their road trip through the upper Midwest on Thursday night when they make their one and only trip to Winnipeg to take on the Jets. The Bruins are coming off of a 4-3 shootout loss to Minnesota on Tuesday night The Bruins were leading 3-2 in the final 90 seconds of regulation when Ryan Suter got a game-tying goal with 1:05 left in the game.

After a scoreless OT, Mikko Koivu would then get the only tally in the shootout- the two points are enough for the Wild to lead the wild card race in the west for Minnesota.

Meanwhile, the Bruins bested the Jets at the Garden by a 4-1 final in their only previous meeting this season.

Quickie Sports Chowdah Update- Strange Brew, Milwaukee Ruins Home Opener For Defending World Series Champion Red Sox; Bruins Staying Hot As Regular Season Winds Down

WEEI photo

RED SOX- Now that the weekend series is overI can honestly say the highlight of this weekend's series at Fenway was Friday's pregame ring ceremony.

The ceremony featured members of the 2013 World Series champion Red Sox being awarded their rings, which also included a 'Boston Strong' insignia on the side and a Bearded Band of Brothers on the interior of the ring. On hand for the ceremony were Pedro Martinez representing the 2004 World Series Champs, Mike Lowell representing the 2007 World Series team, Ty Law, Teddy Bruschi and Troy Brown representing the Patriots Superbowl Champion teams, Mark Recchi of the Bruins most recent Stanley Cup Championship team and Leon Powe of the 2008 Celtics NBA Championship team. A moment of silence was held before the ceremony to mark the deaths of Boston firefighters- Edward Walsh and Michael Kennedy- who were killed in a Back Bay brownstone fire last week.

The Red Sox came into the weekend winning two straight against AL East foe Baltimore and Friday's game where it was tied 2-2 headed into the 9th inning, but offseason acquisition Edward Mujica came on in the top of the inning with a disastrous outing, surrendering four runs to propel the Brewers to a 6-2 lead before Francisco Rodriguez came out in the bottom of the 9th to retire the Sox in order to go on to win by a 6-2 final.

On Saturday, the Red Sox fared no better when they lost in 11 innings to the Brewers by a 7-6 final. Sunday was their last chance to avoid the sweep and stop the bleeding with Lester on the mound. However, Yovani Gallardo and the Brewers pen would shut out the Red Sox [Boston would strand 13 runners on base- NANESB!] and Milwaukee would ruin opening weekend for the Red Sox by sweeping the series, going on to win by a 4-0 final on Sunday.

The Red Sox will hope to rebound on Monday night when they host the Texas Rangers- the first AL opponent they will see in Fenway this season. John Lackey [1-0; 3.00 ERA] will get the start against Tanner Scheppers [0-0; 15.75 ERA] and the game will be nationally televised on ESPN as well as locally on NESN. First pitch from Fenway is scheduled for 7:10 ET.




BOSTON BRUINS- After the Detroit Red Wings handed the Bruins their first regulation loss in nearly a month on Wednesday night, the Bruins would lose to the Maple Leafs in OT on Thursday night before heading home for their next-to-last home game of the regular season on Saturday.

The Bruins headed into Saturday's game hoping to clinch the top overall spot in the Eastern Conference and deliver a blow to the Flyer's playoff hopes. David Krejci got the Bruins on the board with just over 4 minutes remaining in the first, but that was a prelude to wild second half in which the Flyers would get on the board with just under five and a half minutes to go in the second thanks to a Wayne Simmonds power play goal. However, the B's would come right back with a goal from Milan Lucic 20 seconds later to take a 2-1 lead. But in the closing seconds of the 2nd stanza, the Flyers would once again pull even with Jay Rosehill beating Rask with 21 seconds remaining.

However, the Bruins would take the lead for good in the third when they scored three unanswered goals (from Boychuck, Lucic and Kelly) to make it a 5-2 game. Tukka Rask made 24 saves on 26 shots faced while Ray Emery stopped 37 of 41 shots faced [Kelly's tally was an empty-netter which didn't count against Emery- NANESB!].

The Bruins will hit the road once again, this time to take on the Minnesota Wild and Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday and Thursday before heading back to the Garden on Saturday for the final home game of the regular season where they'll face the Buffalo Sabres. Tuesday night's game is scheduled to get underway at 8:00 ET and will be televised on NESN.

NCAA HOOPS- As you can probably figure out by what's absent from my blog this time of year, I haven't been into bracketology for awhile. But with March Madness whittled down to the final two- 2012 Champion Kentucky and UConn. The Huskies bested the Florida Gators to advance to the Men's final while the Wildcats squeaked by the Wisconsin Badgers in a one point game during the Final Four. Tipoff from Dallas is scheduled for 9:10 ET and the game will be televised on CBS.

Opening Day Is Here!

Nobody could sum up my love of baseball better than the late Ernie Hariwell and the final portion of his 1981 Hall of Fame Induction speech.



The 2014 MLB Baseball season technically got underway last weekend in Sydney, Australia when the Los Angeles Dodgers took on the Arizona Diamondbacks at the Sydney Cricket Ground, sweeping the two-game series Down Under.

However, Sunday night marks the beginning of the 2014 season in the USA- the LA Dodgers will take on the San Diego Padres at PetCo park at 8:05 ET and the game will be televised on ESPN. The Dodgers come into Sunday's game already two games up on the Padres by virtue of the fact that the two games they played in Australia counted as regular season wins. LA's Hyun Jin-Ryu will get the start against San Diego's Andrew Cashner.

Closer to the Hub, the Boston Red Sox will embark on their defense of their 2013 World Series title at Baltimore's Camden Yards. Jon Lester will get the start against Chris Tillman in Baltimore's home opener, and the game will be televised on ESPN2 with first pitch scheduled for 3:05 ET. Once a perennial doormat in the AL East, Baltimore was the only opponent in the division to have a winning record against Boston in 2013 with an 11-8 record versus the BoSox.

The Red Sox home opener is set for Friday, April 4th and it will be interleague play right out of the gate when they host the Milwaukee Brewers. First pitch for the Fenway Park home opener is scheduled for 2:05 and the game will be televised on NESN.

Auld Ang Syne Sports Chowdah Update- Winter Classic Big Time Hit in Ann Arbor; Fenway Freezes Over for New Incarnation of 'Holy War'; A Star for the Ages, Marine Veteran and Padres Broadcaster Jerry Coleman Passes Away at 89

My understanding is that there's been some football games of significance taking place lately- I'll get caught up on that as best I can, but for now here's some of what's happening with the non-pigskin sports.

Brian Babineau- Getty Images

NHL- As much as I'm not a fan of either team involved, I gotta say that the 2014 Winter Classic went off without a hitch.

Before a crowd of 105,491 at the University of Michigan's Big House in Ann Arbor, the 'home' Red Wings faced off against the Toronto Maple Leafs, kicking off 2014 with an Original 6 matchup.

After a scoreless first period, former Senator Daniel Alfredsson put Detroit on the board first with a goal about midway through the second period before Toronto's James van Reimsdyk got the equalizer for the Leafs in the dying seconds of the 2nd.

Less than 5 minutes into the 3rd, the Leafs took their first lead of the day on a Tyler Bozak goal to put Toronto up 2-1. With less than five minutes to go, the 'home' team got the equalizer in the form of a goal from Justin Abdelkader to knot things up at 2-2. With nothing resolved late in regulation or in OT, the Winter classic headed for a shootout for the second time in its history.

Pavel Datsuk got the first shootout goal of the game for Detroit, but Joffery Lupul and Tyler Bozak would get back to back goals for the Toronto shootout win. Toronto's Jonathan Bernier stopped 41 of 43 shots faced in regulation and OT while the Wing's Jimmy Howard faced 26 shots on goal and successfully turned aside 24 of them.

This game was actually slated to take place on New Year's Day 2013, but was cancelled due to the lockout and abbreviated season. Interestingly, this will be the first of many outdoor games scheduled for the 2013-2014 season.

In a move that was likely designed to offset the loss of the 2013 Winter Classic, there are at least five more games in four more venues scheduled this season in what's been dubbed the NHL Stadium Series. On January 25th, the LA Kings and Anaheim Ducks will face off in Dodger Stadium. The following day, on the other side of the country the New York Rangers will host the New Jersey Devils at Yankee Stadium. Three days later, hockey returns to Yankee Stadium when the Rangers and Islanders go head-to-head. On March 1st, the Stadium Series resumes at Chicago's Soldier Field when the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks will take on the Pittsburgh Penguins. The NHL's stadium series is slated to wrap up the following day north of the border in Vancouver when the Canucks will host the Ottawa Senators at the BC Palace in the 2014 Tim Horton's Heritage Classic.

As for the New Year's Day Winter Classic, the Washington Capitals are slated to host the game next year, although a venue or opponent haven't been formally announced. There has also been speculation since the inaugural 2008 Winter Classic that Beaver Stadium on the Penn State campus in State College, PA would host an outdoor matchup between Pennsylvania's two NHL franchises- the stadium boasts an even larger seating capacity than Michigan's Big House and is roughly halfway between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NHL- Meanwhile, the Boston Bruins are getting off on the right foot for 2014. After a 3-2 win against Nashville at home the day after the Winter Classic, the Bruins hosted the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.

Although the Jets got on the board first thanks to a Dustin Byfuglien goal midway through the first, Danny Paille tied it up at 1-1 with a tally for the B's less than 3 minutes later.

The second period was all Torey Krug as he scored two goals a little over four minutes apart for what would turn out to be the game-winner, putting Boston up 3-1. In the 3rd, Reilly Smith would add to Boston's total midway through the period making it a 4-1 game....which would also be the final. Tukka Rask turned aside 35 of 36 shots faced and the Bruins are now in sole possession of first place in the Atlantic division.

The Bruins will hit the road and next play on the west coast on Tuesday night when they take on the Anaheim Ducks- a team that has yet to lose at home in regulation this season- from the Honda Center in Orange County, CA. This one is a pretty late start at 10:00 PM ET and it will be televised on NESN.

Frozen Fenway- the Holy War on Skates. Matthew J Lee photo via @BostonGlobe #NDvsBC #NotreDame #BostonCollege pic.twitter.com/JOvQg6yCxA
— Fenway Nation (@Fenway_Nation) January 6, 2014

NCAA HOCKEY- Ann Arbor's Big House wasn't the only outdoor hockey venue this week. With an outdoor rink set up at Fenway, America's Favorite Ballpark hosted an NCAA Hockey doubleheader over the weekend.

After a 1-1 tie between Providence College and Merrimack, #6 Boston College and #14 Notre Dame took to the ice for the Holy War (on skates!). The Eagles jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Brendan Silk and Johnny Guardeau before Mario Luca scored late for the Irish to cut the lead to 2-1.

The Irish tied it up early in the second with a power play goal from TJ Tynan- the only scoring that would take place in the second period. In the 3rd, the re-took the lead on a shorthanded goal from Bill Arnold, but less than 3 minutes later, the Irish's Bryan Rust tied it back up at 3-3.

Less than a minute later, Johnny Guardeau got his second goal of the night and Eagles netminder Brian Billett would hold off a furious late surge by the Irish for the 4-3 win.

Saturday's game is actually the first of two NCAA Doubleheaders at Fenway- UMass Lowell is slated to take on Northeastern on the afternoon of Jan 11th while Maine will take on the BU Terriers that evening.

Andy Hayt- Getty Images

MLB- Former Yankees 2nd baseman, WWII Marine fighter pilot and Hall of Fame Broadcaster Jerry Coleman passed away at a California hospital on Sunday at the age of 89. A California native, Coleman reported to the Yankees minor league affiliate in Wellsville, NY after graduating high school at the age of 17. At age 18, he joined the Marine Corps and was flying Dauntless SBD dive bombers on missions in the pacific theater in WWII.

After World War II, Coleman made his major league debut with the Yankees in 1949 and was named the AP's Rookie of the Year that season. Starting in 1951, Coleman missed the bulk of two seasons serving in the Korean war where he served alongside Ted Williams. Coleman, the only big-leaguer to fly combat missions in WWII and Korea [Williams served as a flight instructor during WWII- NANESB!] recounted a harrowing close call Ted Williams had, crash landing after returning from a mission over North Korea.

After returning to the Yankees, Coleman was beset by vision problems and broke his collarbone in 1955. His last season with the Yankees was in 1957, when the Bronx Bombers lost to the Milwaukee Braves in seven games in the World Series. After retiring as a player, Coleman worked in the front office for awhile before making his way to the broadcast booth.

In 1970, Coleman returned to California and broadcast games for the then-California Angels for two seasons. By 1972, Jerry made his way down Interstate 5 to San Diego and would work in their broadcast booth for the San Diego Padres every year except for 1980- which marked an uneventful stint as the Padres manager. The following season, he returned to the broadcast booth and remained there through the 2013 season, earning the Baseball Hall of Fame's Ford C Frick award in 2005.

The veteran broadcaster was known for peppering his play by play with phrases such as "Oh doctor!" and "You can hang a star on that one!" after a particularly impressive play as well as frequent malapropisms. In recent years, Coleman was working a reduced schedule, covering select daytime home games and doing pregame interviews with Padres manager Bud Black.

Coleman was admitted to a San Diego-area hospital around Christmastime with cerebral hemorrhaging and his condition had worsened over the next several days.



Prior to his being hospitalized, Coleman appeared in a video message filmed in front of the USS Midway  museum for Veteran's Day that was released by the San Diego Padres. Coleman is also one of only two people the Padres organization erected statues at PetCo Park to honor- the other being Hall of Fame outfielder Tony Gwynn.

BOSTON RED SOX- 2013 WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS!!!

For the 3rd time in less than a decade, the Boston Red Sox are World Series Champions, taking the 2013 Fall Classic in 6 gams from the St Louis Cardinals.

Wednesday night's game was the first time the Red Sox have clinched the World Series at Fenway Park since 1918 and came a little over 6 months after the terrorist attack against the Boston Marathon that killed three and maimed hundreds of bystanders.

I'm at a loss for words right now- I can't help but shake the feeling that even if it's on just this brisk autumn night, all is right with the world.

I will post a more detailed re-cap of the game and some of the awards that were given out, but in the meantime I thought I'd end the 2013 MLB season the way I started it- with the late Ernie Harwell's soliloquy on this quirky, wonderful game that traces its roots to New England



Congratulations, to the Boston Red Sox- from worst [at least in the AL East- NANESB!] to first!

404 Error Sports Chowdah Update- Wacha Wahca, Cardinals Rookie Bears Down on Red Sox Batters; Sharks Tanked With Less than a Second to Go in Regulation

Matt Slocum- AP

WORLD SERIES: Not gonna lie to you- I'm a little bummed after Thursday night.

Game two of the 2013 World Series featured Cardinals phenom Michael Wacha going up against veteran John Lackey, and it was every bit the pitchers duel as advertised through the first couple of innings. The Cardinals broke through in the top of the 4th when Matt Holliday led off the inning with a triple to the 'triangle' area of deep center field. After Matt Adams grounded out to second, St Louis got on the board with a Yadier Molina groundout to first to make it a 1-0 ballgame; St Louis' first lead over Boston in the World Series since Game 7 of the 1967 Fall Classic.

The way Wacha was pitching, it was looking as though the 1-0 lead might hold up. However, after the former Aggie allowed a 1-out walk to Dustin Pedroia, DH David Ortiz finally figured the Cards rookie out and belted a 3-2 offering into the Monster Seats to give the Sox a 2-1 lead.

That lead would be short lived, however, after Lackey got Allen Craig to strike out in the top of the 7th, he walked David Freese and gave up a single to Jon Jay before Craig Breslow came in out of the pen to relieve Lackey while Cards manager Mike Matheny would get Pete Kozma to pinch run for Freese. Jay and Kozma would successfully execute a double steal before Breslow ended up walking Daniel Descalso. Carpenter would then hit a sac fly to bring home Kozma- Saltalamacchia couldn't corral the throw to home. Although Breslow was at home to back up Saltalalmacchia, this throw to 3rd went into the seats and allowed Jay to score, giving St Louis the 3-2 lead. However, the Cardinals weren't done yet- Carlos Beltran notched his first World Series RBI with a single that brought home Descalso to make it a 4-2 St Louis lead.

The St Louis uprising took the wind out of the Red Sox sails as they couldn't mount a credible threat against the St Louis bullpen. Although Tazawa, Workman and Uehara would limit the Cardinals batters to a single in the 8th inning, the Red Sox bats were limited to a Big Papi single that was ultimately harmless.

A night after the Cardinals comedy of errors cost them dearly in Game 1, they take the lead on two hits and two errors in the top of the 7th to take a 4-2 and go on to even the series at 1-1.

The series now heads to St Louis with no DH for the Red Sox- David Ortiz is expected to play first base starting with Game 3. Jake Peavy will get the start against Joe Kelly. First pitch for Game 3 is scheduled for 8:07 ET and the game will be televised on FOX.

Mary Schwalm- AP

NHL- With all eyes on Fenway on Thursday night, the Bruins were getting set to host the San Jose Sharks- who had yet to lose in regulation this season. That would all change in a pretty unbelievable fashion in the 3rd period as David Krejci broke a 1-1 tie with exacly 0.8 seconds remaining in regulation.



The Bruins best San Jose by a 2-1 final thanks to some last second heroics by Krejci. Jarome Iginla opened up the scoring for Boston late in the second for his first goal as a Bruin. Patrick Marleau got the equalizer for San Jose just 18 seconds into the 3rd, setting up Krejci's very late heroics.

Both teams went 0-1 on the power play, but what really stands out is the shot differential. San Jose's Antii Niemi faced a grand total of 17 shots while Tukka Rask more than twice that number with 39 shots.

The Bruins will host the struggling New Jersey Devils on Saturday. The puck is scheduled to drop at the garden at 7:00 ET on Saturday night and the game will be televised on NESN.