Yankees PWNED! 

...and finally, swept.

Manny goes yard in the top of the 13th inning to give us a 4-3 lead in the crucial final game of the series against the Yankees. The game was all but over and then the Babe intervened yet again. Two quick outs by Leskanic in the bottom of the 13th, and then Ruben Sierra singles. Miguel Cairo (who?) doubles and Sierra scores all the way from first to tie the game again. Then up steps John Flaherty (WHO?!?), the last player on Joe Torre's bench and a former Red Sox, to pinch hit. Leskanic, whose slider had been absolutely filthy for the last two innings, hangs one up and Flaherty drops a base hit into deep left field. It bounces into the stands for a ground rule double, Cairo scores and the Yankees steal another win.

Long live the Curse.

...and spanked again

Clutch: adj. Informal 1. Tending to be successful in tense or critical situations.

If there's ever been a single word to describe the Yankees, it's clutch. The Red Sox, at least this year's version, have never heard the term.

We had it in the bag last night. Tim Wakefield pitched his guts out, held the most stacked lineup in history scoreless for six full innings and entrusted a 2-0 lead to the best bullpen (stat-wise) in the AL. We load the bases in the top of the 7th with no outs. It would be impossible not to score. Any deep fly ball scores, and a base hit scores at least two. True to 2004 form the Sox managed to squander a golden opportunity, against the Yankees no less. Johnny Damon hits into a fielder's choice, pinch runner (Kapler) is out at home. Bellhorn pops up, but not deep enough to score the runner at third. David Ortiz tops it off by staring at a high fastball for strike three. Three men stranded with a slim 2-0 lead in Yankee Stadium.

Now let's study how the Yankees do things. Bottom of the 7th and Wakefield is pulled after drilling Sheffield, punching out A-Rod, and walking Matsui. Runners on first and second, one out. Nothing a solid reliever like Scott Williamson can't handle, right? Next thing I know the bases are loaded with 2 outs and Tony Clark at the plate. This is the type of situation that the Yankees always have go their way and sure enough, Clark shoots a screaming grounder down the first base line, low and just to Ortiz's left. At this precise moment Ortiz's feet grow roots and he makes a dopey, lumbering stab at the ball. He ends up on his knees with his feet still planted in the same spot, and the ball glances off his glove and rolls slowly into shallow right. Two runs score. The ballgame is tied and NY has taken our hearts once again.

The Yankee 8th was even more fitting of a 2004 NY-Boston matchup. 2-2. Lofton leads off and hits a routine ball to Nomar who then tosses the ball into the stands behind first base for his third E of the series. Lofton goes to second and Jeter steps up. Jeter bunts Lofton over to third, and then Sheffield brings him in for the game winning run. Jeter is a perennial All-Star, he's hitting everything thrown at him lately, and the Red Sox are on the ropes. How would a Sox hitter have handled this situation?

Swing for the fences. Go for the flashy game winning home run. Try to make the front page.

Jeter lays down a bunt. He made sure the fastest guy on the team made it to third with one out. Perhaps this is why he's the team captain. It's funny how unselfish play and attention to detail seem to pay off. Say what you want about the Yankees, Steinbrenner, Cashman and the Evil Empire, I knows I do. But get off of Joe Torre. The guy is all class, all sportsmanship, and the guy can flat out coach. Get him in Boston and we'll see about a "curse."

Trade Nomar now, before his value falls any lower. He isn't hitting, he's a defensive liability, apparently he isn't liked in the clubhouse, and we're losing him at the end of the season anyway. At least get something back for him. Anything. Please. Pokey can handle short and Bellhorn is steady at second. We're getting Mueller back this weekend to take over at third and that leaves a Ortiz, Millar and McCarty to handle first base duties. Right now Nomar is getting by on "hero worship." He needs a change of scenery and heaven knows the team does as well. Have the nuts to pull the trigger, Theo.

Red Sox spanked

The Sox embarassed themselves last night at Yankee Stadium and got owned 11-3. If not for Johnny Damon going yard twice it would have been enough to make even the most hardcore Red Sox fan lose faith. Ortiz homered in garbage time, Manny caught the "first-pitch-swing" bug from Nomar, and Lowe tossed beach balls all night long. Nomar looked like an amateur, getting 4 pitches in 3 at-bats and bobbling a routine ground ball for what would have been the last out in the inning. Instead you get runners on the corners and Sheffield unloads for a 3-run shot. He isn't hitting, he isn't fielding well, he's over 30 and he'll be a free agent after the season. Does this scream "TRADE ME" to anyone else?? We already missed on Beltran and Freddy Garcia, two guys that would have helped immensely and apparently we made good offers for, but they weren't enough. Meanwhile, the Yankees are putting the moves on Randy Johnson who happened to notch his 4,000th K later that night. This one could be over in June, folks. We have to take the next two (Wakefield and Pedro) to stay competitive and for morale if nothing else.

And as if I didn't already hate the Yankees enough, NESN cut to a shot of our Vice President, Mr. Halliburton, 2nd Liar in Command Dick Cheney wearing a NY cap. You could tell it was a brand new cap that had just been handed to him, the bill was straight across and it sat on top of his head because it was the wrong size. Pandering for votes, perhaps? Nah, I'm sure he's a lifelong Yankees fan, being from Nebraska and all. Besides, Kerry's got Massachusetts pretty much wrapped up so there would have been nothing to gain from wearing a Sox cap in Yankee Stadium. Except maybe a beer shower.

Yankees suck!

I'm naming my first son "MSNBC"

Parents who named son ESPN to be featured on sports network

Seriously. They named their kid "Espn." And they're not the first ones to do it.

Someone turn off this guy's Mike...

Board Upholds R for 'Fahrenheit' [MSN.com]

I'm not sure why Moore is making a big deal about this... ok, maybe I do know. As if this movie didn't have enough hype. I heard that Moore is now encouraging teenagers who can't get into the movie to sneak in. The rationale is that these are the kids that will be joining the military in a couple of years and they deserve to know what's going on. I can't speak for anyone else, but at that age I didn't give a flying crap about world events, politics, or heavily biased documentaries. Take it easy Michael Moore, we all know your movie comes out this Friday. I swear I thought Donald Trump had the Media Whore of the Year award in the bag, but Moore is right there with him now. Let's watch the egos fly when Apprentice 2 and the election go head to head this fall.

My favorite part of the article is the quote from Tom Ortenberg, the president of the film's distributor, Lions Gate Films:

"I hope the R rating doesn't have a large impact on the box office."

Thanks for making that clear, we weren't sure about your motivations.

George Bush the Elder states that atheists are not citizens or patriots

Unbelievable. [holysmoke.org]

This is a story from way back in 1992 that I happened upon. It's a pretty biased article, but the quotes don't lie. Just another bit of proof that the nut doesn't fall far from the tree.

Annoying Word of the Century

Is there a more irritating NON-word in the English language than irregardless? It's a flaming piece of utter nonsense and everytime I hear it I want to pull out a dictionary and beat someone with it.

It's regardless, folks. Adding an extra prefix doesn't add emphasis or make it more meaningful. All it does is emphasize your lack of a high school diploma.

Rant over.

Supreme Court copout...

The Supreme Court got around to a big case today, one that affects just about everyone albeit trivially...

...and completely wussed out.

A guy in California named Newdow had sued to have the "under God" reference removed from the pledge and an appeals court upheld his claim. It then went to the SC for final resolution, but instead of sacking up and making the call, the Justices bailed out by using the man's ongoing custody battle with his wife as an excuse to throw the case out. Turns out he's currently fighting for custody of his daughter and as such isn't her full legal guardian. Therefore, according to the highest court in the land, he doesn't have the right to sue on her behalf. With this explanation, they dismissed the case. How's that for no backbone?

It's not that I care either way about schoolkids blindly acknowledging God in unison every morning (I won't say the pledge, it's a little too 1984 for my taste), but I'd like to think that the Supreme Court has the stones to make these far-reaching, sensitive decisions. This sidestep-on-a-technicality stinks of election-year politics. I'd bet my next paycheck that the word came down from the White House to not rock the boat any worse than it's already rocked, especially on a topic that incites such strong feelings in so many people. The uproar that it would have caused would have been disaster for the Bush status-quo. Of course, these are the same Justices that crowned him President in the first place...

Great Quote

Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder.

Tidmarsh baby!

David Tidmarsh won the National Spelling Bee just like I said he would! That punk Akshay Buddiga never had a chance. He even collapsed on stage because he couldn't handle the pressure of having to face Tidmarsh. Better luck next year, AKSHAY! Tell your parents you're quitting band and Math Olympiad, and cancel your trip to Odyssey of the Mind because you need to get busy memorizing how to spell words like "autochthonous" and "sophrosyne." Meanwhile, my boy David Tidmarsh will be living it up in style with his new encyclopedias and waiting for his $1,000 savings bond to mature. We should all be so fortunate.

Yay homeschooling!

Beef Stroganoff!

Hi Anna Cate!

Day 3 almost over...

...and it was another boring day of sitting in my cube trying to keep busy on the Internet without nodding off. I'm taking baby steps toward productivity but mainly I spend the day trying to think of things to occupy the next half hour. And I look forward to lunch. And I look at MapQuest to figure out which way i'm going to take to get home today. I'm came in mid-cycle so hopefully i'll be included in the next task that comes down from wherever.

First Post!

Really just did this to see if i could try Gmail. Maybe i'll post regularly, i'll try anyway.