I'll miss him

It was my first day of Kindergarten, and I didn't know anybody in my class. I was shy, and scared, not knowing what to expect. But then he came up to me, introduced himself, and declared that we would be friends for the rest of our lives.

He was wearing giant glasses, bright red overalls, and his favorite Pokemon shirt. He had buck teeth, and long floppy hair. I thought he was crazy, and weird, and I didn't want to be anywhere near him, let alone his friend for the rest of my life. I took him for granted, made fun of him behind his back, and never thought that I would miss him when he was gone. Yet he would always be the first person to greet me in the morning.

Every day he would come sit beside me, ask me random questions, and offer to share his candy bar with me. No matter how much I wanted him to, he would never leave me alone. But bit by bit, day by day, I began to look forward to seeing him. One day in late May when he was absent from school, because he had a cold, I realized that I wanted to be his friend. I missed his friendly nature, and the way he looked at me when I would answer his questions, like the words I were saying were the most important and interesting words he would ever hear.

The next day, I told him that I wanted to be his friend, and he told me that he knew I would from day one. I was shocked at how much confidence he had in himself, and how sure he was of himself.

Over the past 10 years, he has been there for me when I needed him to most. He would always have encouraging words to tell me when I was feeling down. He supported me in anything I wanted to do, and he guided me through life, being my voice of reason. He was never afraid to tell me when I was wrong, or that he was disappointed in me. He was a Red Sox fanatic, and helped me though all of their tough losses, and celebrated their triumphs with me.

One week ago, he was crossing the road coming back to school after lunch, when a car hit him. He fractured his skull, and broke his leg in two places. I went to see him yesterday for the first time since his accident, and he told me that this was the end of the road for him. I didn't want to believe it, but he was right. He died today at 2:07pm.

It is hard to believe that at first I wanted to have no part of him, but now I am forced to live the rest of my life without him. He taught me how to be a better person, and I will never forget him.

Mark Adams, July 22, 1992- April 30, 2008.

WTF???

Dear Red Sox batters,

What the hell was that? Getting 2-hit by the Rays after Beckett struck out 14 is just unacceptable. Our starters are out there busting their asses for you guys, and the best you can do is 1 run in the past 2 games?

And what is up with all of the swinging at first pitches? Is that what you have been taught to do? I don't think so, so stop it RIGHT NOW!

Tomorrow is an off day for you guys, and you had better spend it learning how to hit, because I don't think you will want to mess with Beckett the next time you fail to score a run for him.

No love,

Mary

P.S. Manny? Did you seriously steal a base???

It was good fun while it lasted

The Bruins season ended as of Tuesday. I am not as angry or dissappionted as I thought I would be. Sure, I wanted them to win game 7 , but they worked their butts off this entire season just to get to game 7, and I couldn't be prouder of this group of guys. They were an entertaining group of guys to watch, and I can't wait to see what they will do next season. This season, the Habs were just simply better than them. Or at least the better divers.

I still hope the Canadiens come down with the plague that lasts the rest of the season, Carey Price gets attacked by a swarm of locusts, or the NHL finds a bunch of PEDs in Kovalev's possession, so he gets suspended from the NHL for life, but I have to give them at least a little credit. I don't know how they are going to make it past the Flyers in the next round, if it took them 7 games to beat the B's.

Speaking of being proud of a team, I am super proud of the Sox. They flew around the world, and caught the plague somewhere in there, but are still first in the Al East with a record of 15-9. I was predicting a .500 April from them, but so far they have blown that out of the water.

Pedroia is leading the league in doubles, Dausuke is leading the league in wins, Paps is second in the league with 8 saves, and Manny and Youk are first and second, respectively, in batting average.

They have also mastered the come from behind win, and have scoring in the 8th inning down to a T, something they never got quite right last year.

Go Sox! And Celts, who are leading their first round playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks 2-0.

Incredible

Photo by Bill Sikes from Yahoo.com

Last night's third period of the the Bruins/Habs game was unlike any other third period I have ever seen. It exemplified what being a Bruin means this season.

Coming in to the playoffs as the number eight seed, and playing against a team they have failed to beat once in the regular season, it seemed to most of the hockey analysts, and most of the fans that a Habs sweep was pretty much a sure thing. The Canadiens had outplayed the Bruins in every facet of the game, and only a fool would suggest a Bruins series win.

Luckily, the Bruins are a bunch of fools.

They didn't lose faith in themselves, instead thinking this match up was destiny, and if they were going to make a run at the Stanley Cup, taking out the one team who they couldn't seem to beat, and the one team they most wanted to beat, was the only way to go.

After losing the first two games, the second one being an overtime thriller lost on a ridiculous penalty, the fifth Bruins penalty in a row, I began to lose hope in this team even winning one game, let alone forcing a game 7.

Then came game three. It also needed overtime to decide a winner, this time the Bruins came out on top, thanks to a Savard goal on a delayed penalty. Suddenly the Bruins were back in the series. Down 2 games to 1, but still in it.

They lost game 4 1-0, but outplayed the Habs, like they did in most of the series. After this game, even though it put them down 3-1, my faith in this team was restored. In game three they proved that they could in fact beat Montreal, and in game 4, they proved that they could outplay them, by a lot; making up for their lack of speed, with their grit, size, and heart.

In game 5, everything finally came together for the Bruins. They matched their entire offensive output in games 1-4, scoring 5 goals, 4 in the 3rd period. I didn't get to see much of this game, but the pieces I did manage to watch were phenomenal.

In the playoffs, it no longer becomes a question of which team has the most talent, but a question of which team wants it more. In game 6, the Bruins definitely wanted it more. Whatever the Habs threw at them, no matter how many times they evened the score, or went ahead, the Bruins just shrugged it off, and continued to let their heart show through, as they played, not for themselves, for for each other.

Every single person on the team contributed to the 5-4 win. kessel had two goals, Sobotka scored a goal, Sturm scored the game winner, Thomas made huge saves when he needed them the most, and Lucic went around the ice energizing everybody on the team, and hitting everything with a CH he could find.

Game 6 was by far the craziest game I have ever watched, and will no doubt be the craziest game in the playoffs.

With the series now tied 3 games apiece, all of the momentum the Habs had going into this series has been turned over to the Bruins. Everything is equal. There is no advantage for either team.

In game 7, anything can happen.

First place, again

Photo by Mark Duncan from Yahoo.com

The Sox have taken over first place in the A.L. East with their thrilling win last night.

The Sox have had ninth inning homers to win the game in back to back games, and seem to be finally getting it together.

I bet Cleveland fans are beginning to hate the Sox. They have beaten the Indians 5 straight times, dating back last year's ALCS. Each time, the Indians have seemed to be in a good position to win, only to have it slowly slip from their grasp.

As a Sox fan, I am loving it, but it is reminding me a bit of the Sox/Yanks pre-2004. The story of the one team that seems to be ready to crush any kind of hope you had for your team to have any success right out of you, and make you wish that you weren't born, or a bolt of lightening would come down and strike you to put you out of your misery after some particularly devastating losses.

I was starting to feel sorry for the Cleveland fans last night, until I remembered that they wave towels. I hate towels.

I will always have a soft spot in my heart for the Midges, and them eliminating the Yanks from the playoffs, thus saving me from having to break my tv in frustration of Buck and McCarver's giant mancrush on Jeter.

In saying that, I hope the Sox crush them every time we play them.

What a suckfest

Photo by Steven Senne from Yahoo.com

So that game really sucked.

I was not as pumped for a Sox/yanks game as I usually am, but as the game progressed, I found myself screaming at my tv, and moving from place to place in my living room and bedroom to see if I could change to Sox' luck.

At one point, I think it was around the seventh inning, I was hanging upside down and backwards off of my couch(don't ask), but nothing I tried worked. I guess it just wasn't the Sox' night.

Let's hope it stops raining in Boston, so Beckett can get a shot at taming the Yanks, and bringing the Sox back to .500.

A night of Josh Beckett kicking Yankee ass, and the Bruins having another go at the Canadiens could be just what I need to get the taste of being two hit by Wang out of my mouth.

Go Sox and go B's!

Celtic Pride

In the days of Bill Russel, Larry legend, Bob Cousy, Kevin McHale, John Havlicek, wearing the Celtic Green was the envy of every player in the National basketball Association. They were far and away the greatest franchise in the NBA, with their 16 Championship banners hanging majestically from the rafters of the Gahden, and the plethora of stars calling Boston their home.

Every night fans would pack the Gahden, acquiring tickets by any means necessary, in order to watch Russell or Bird dribble up and down the court with ease, smiles on their faces, as they shot basket after basket, so fluent, yet so controlled. After every game, the fans would leave the court, still smelling the smoke from Red Auerbach's celebratory cigar, knowing there was a good chance they would be repeating this series of events the next day, and the day after that.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end, and all teams must take a tumble from the top. With the retirement of the last Hall of Famer, Larry Bird, in 1992, the Celtics began that tumble. Auerbach's cigar could no longer be smelled, the smiles of the players disappeared, slowly at first, and then faster as they realized that the Championship teams were long gone. The once crowded Garden stood empty, longing for the days of the short-shorts, the glory days.

For 14 years the Celtics suffered through the deaths of promising young players, botched draft picks, and a lottery system that seemed to hate them. After the Celtics failed to get either of the top 2 picks in the draft, after having one of their worst seasons ever, it seemed like the 2007/08 season would be just the same as the previous 14; sucky.

Celtics GM Danny Ainge was determined to change the course of this franchise, and bring it back to it's glory days, as he completed a very controversial trade, acquiring Kevin Garnett from the Minnesota Timberwolves for seemingly the whole 06/07Celtics team except for Paul Pierce.

After trading for one of the best shooters in NBA history, the Celtics became the frontrunners for the first time in what seemed like forever. There were actually people wearing the clover, and being proud of it. The Garden regained it's crowd, and Boston Celtics Basketball regained a piece it's importance to the city of Boston.

As of the first game of the season, there was something present within the team that had been missing for years: Teamwork. Pierce, Ray Allen, and KG have spent most of their careers being the heroes stuck on teams going nowhere. Together they have a chance to be on a team going somewhere, and they are all willing to sacrifice their stats to get this team to that place. They no longer play for the name on the back of their jersey, but the name on the front. Already replacing Bird, McHale and Parrish as the new Big Three in beantown, they are working their way to one special season.

Just a few days ago, they completed the NBA's biggest turnaround from one season to the next with a 101-78 win over the Charlotte Bobcats. Just to prove their depth, the Celts won this game without Pierce, KG, or Ray Allen. They have wrapped up the top seed in the East with 6 games remaining, and are the only team in the NBA with at least 60 wins.

To a person who has never witnessed a Celtics' Championship, this season is like getting on a plane for the first time. You have talked to people who have been on a plane, and seen them from afar, but don't know quite what to expect. Will the plane crash? Will I make it safely to my destination? The one thing you can expect is for there to be some turbulence, and if the plane is built well enough, it will make it through safely.

Let's hope the Celtics are well built enough for a Championship.

Playoffs here we come!

Photo by Bruce Bennett from Yahoo.com

The Bruins are in the playoffs for the first time since 2004! And unlike the team they were playing, they actually clinched a playoff spot for themselves, instead of having another team do it for them.

It also looks like Patrice Bergeron and Marc Savard might be back in time for the first round! If this actually happens, this team could be very dangerous in the hunt for the Stanley Cup.

It is yet to be determined who they will play, but I personally would love to see them play the Canadiens. Nothing would give me more pleasure than to see them give the Canadiens an early round exit, especially after all of the trouble the Bruins have had against them this season.

Nothing except an Eastern Conference Finals matchup between these two teams that would be reminiscent of the 2004 ALCS, that is.

Sunday is the last day of the regular season, and then the real fun begins.

As for the Sox game today..........Beckett makes his season debut tomorrow!

Off days are depressing

This is what comes up when I google "off days suck"

I hate off days. They suck. Especially ones so close to the beginning of the season. I was just getting used to watching baseball every day, when all of a sudden they stick an off day in there. Do they not know that I need baseball to live?????

Today was a very frustrating day, and having no baseball to watch tonight is just making it worse. The Celtics and Bruins both have off days, too :(

I knew I was in for a bad day when I woke up a 1/2 hour late, and didn't have time to eat breakfast. I also fell down my driveway, and almost missed my bus.

My day only got worse as it progressed. I spent my whole art class making the bicycle I was drawing look like it got run over by a steamroller, then melted in a bunch of places, before finally being shoved in a trash compactor. At least I have ruled out the possibility of a career involving art or bicycle making. Unless abstract bicycles become the new thing. I forgot my math homework, got yelled at by my teacher, and had an email sent home to my mom.

By the time lunch came around, I was ready for this day to be over. A pop quiz in science, and a French test didn't add any joy to my day, and realizing that I couldn't do my math homework because I forgot my textbook in my locker made me wish I could just erase this day and start over. My bicycle drawing may not improve, but I might have remembered my homework.

I NEED BASEBALL!

My life falls apart without it!

A 3-1 start ain't so bad

Photo from the Boston Herald by the AP

I couldn't watch the game today because I had to stay late at school and write a math test. What fun. I just finished watching a condensed version of the game(basically watching it on MLB.TV and fast forwarding through a few parts), and I have to say, I am liking what I am seeing of this team so far.

It looks like the Sox' pitching staff picked up right where they left off. Dice-k and Lester both had strong starts, allowing just one run in 13 1/3 innings, while striking out a combined 12 batters, and allowing only 5 hits. I know that one game doesn't prove anything, but Dice-k and Lester were bombarding the strike zone, and seemed like different pitchers than we saw last season. With Beckett due to come off the DL in a few days, and Dice and Lester getting control of their control issues, this rotation could be frighteningly good this season.

Our bullpen good as well. Paps looks like Paps; striking out the side yesterday, and looking like he didn't give a care about anything today when he was unavailable(either that or he was asleep. I'm not really sure which). Bryan Corey seems to be leading the race for the last bullpen spot, Oki looks like Oki, and Manny Del hit 95 on the gun.

Our offense seems to be waking up, as well. During the first 5 innings of today's game, it seemed like this game would be a repeat of so many mid-season games last year. A lot of baserunners, but not a lot of clutch hits. That all changed with a Big Papi 2-run homer in the bottom of the 6th. The Sox added 3 more runs on 5 consecutive singles off Lenny DiNardo in the 8th.

Kevin Youkilis broke the record for consecutive errorless games at 1st base, beating Steve Garvey's previous record of 194 games. He still has a ways to go before he beats the all-time MLB record of 369 games set by OF Darren Lewis, who played for the Sox from 1998-2001. Shall we start the countdown now, or wait until he gets to within 1o0 games?

On a side note, there are a lot of ugly shirts in Oakland.