What a jerk

Now I can say that A-Rod and his agent suck. What a dick move to announce that a-rod is opting out of his contract during the freaking WORLD SERIES. He is so pathetic I guess it was the only way he could get into the WS.

GO SOX!! To everyone in the Boston area - have fun watching the parade. Also, I'm sorry to those who have to deal with the traffic, but it's for a good cause. It's a beautiful day, try to get out and enjoy it!

RE-SIGN LOWELL! RE-SIGN LOWELL!

Sox Win! Sox Win!! Sox Win!!!!

The Red Sox again, are WORLD SERIES Champs! It was a great series, all the games were close, even the ones with the lopsided scores were close until the very end. Everyone contributed in their own way. Whether it be Ellsbury getting hits in every game and not being phased by the pressure of the World Series, Wakefield admitting he was too hurt to play and letting Lester take his place on the roster, Lowell making the plays to prevent the Rockies from scoring or Youkilis not playing and helping Papi to be the best first baseman he could be. It was a great team and they deserved to win. There were so many great moments: Perdroia getting the home run, Lowell stealing third, Papelbon throwing many more innings in a row than he did in the regular season and getting that final out.

Box score:

Boston AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG Ellsbury, CF-LF 4 1 2 0 0 1 2 .438 Pedroia, 2B 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 .278 Ortiz, 1B 3 0 1 1 1 0 0 .333 1-Crisp, PR-CF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 Ramirez, LF 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .250 Okajima, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Papelbon, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Lowell, 3B 4 2 2 1 0 0 0 .400 Drew, RF 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .333 Varitek, C 4 0 2 1 0 0 0 .333 Lugo, SS 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .385 Lester, P 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 .000 Delcarmen, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Timlin, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 a-Kielty, PH 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1.000 Youkilis, 1B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .222 Totals 33 4 9 4 1 4 10 a-Homered for Timlin in the 8th. 1-Ran for Ortiz in the 8th. BATTING 2B: Ellsbury (4, Cook), Lowell (3, Cook). HR: Lowell (1, 7th inning off Cook, 0 on, 0 out), Kielty (1, 8th inning off Fuentes, 0 on, 0 out). TB: Ellsbury 3; Ortiz; Lowell 6; Varitek 2; Lugo; Kielty 4. RBI: Ortiz (4), Varitek (5), Lowell (4), Kielty (1). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Ellsbury. GIDP: Ramirez; Lugo; Pedroia. Team LOB: 3. Colorado AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG Matsui, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .294 Corpas, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 b-Smith, PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .500 Tulowitzki, SS 4 0 0 0 0 3 3 .231 Holliday, LF 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .294 Helton, 1B 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 .333 Atkins, 3B 3 1 1 2 1 0 1 .154 Spilborghs, CF 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 .000 Hawpe, RF 3 1 1 1 1 0 1 .250 Torrealba, C 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 .143 Cook, P 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 .500 Affeldt, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 a-Sullivan, PH 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .333 Fuentes, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Carroll, 2B 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 34 3 7 3 3 7 12 a-Singled for Affeldt in the 7th. b-Struck out for Corpas in the 9th. BATTING 2B: Helton (2, Lester), Matsui (1, Lester). HR: Hawpe (1, 7th inning off Delcarmen, 0 on, 0 out), Atkins (1, 8th inning off Okajima, 1 on, 1 out). TB: Matsui 2; Helton 3; Atkins 4; Hawpe 4; Cook; Sullivan. RBI: Hawpe (2), Atkins 2 (2). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Torrealba; Holliday. Team LOB: 7. FIELDING DP: 3 (Atkins-Matsui-Helton, Helton, Tulowitzki-Matsui-Helton). Boston IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Lester (W, 1-0) 5.2 3 0 0 3 3 0 0.00 Delcarmen (H, 1) 0.2 2 1 1 0 1 1 6.75 Timlin (H, 2) 0.2 0 0 0 0 2 0 7.71 Okajima (H, 3) 0.1 2 2 2 0 0 1 7.36 Papelbon (S, 3) 1.2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 Colorado IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Cook (L, 0-1) 6.0 6 3 3 0 2 1 4.50 Affeldt 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 Fuentes 0.2 2 1 1 1 0 1 9.82 Corpas 1.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 Cook pitched to 1 batter in the 7th. Pitches-strikes: Lester 92-59, Delcarmen 19-10, Timlin 11-7, Okajima 15-10, Papelbon 23-18, Cook 70-47, Affeldt 12-9, Fuentes 17-8, Corpas 13-9. Ground outs-fly outs: Lester 5-9, Delcarmen 0-1, Timlin 0-0, Okajima 1-0, Papelbon 2-2, Cook 13-3, Affeldt 2-0, Fuentes 2-0, Corpas 2-1. Batters faced: Lester 23, Delcarmen 4, Timlin 2, Okajima 3, Papelbon 5, Cook 23, Affeldt 3, Fuentes 4, Corpas 4. Inherited runners-scored: Delcarmen 1-0, Timlin 1-0, Corpas 1-0. Umpires: HP: Chuck Meriwether. 1B: Mike Everitt. 2B: Mike Reilly. 3B: Ed Montague. LF: Laz Diaz. RF: Ted Barrett. Weather: 68 degrees, clear. Wind: 2 mph, Out to LF. T: 3:35. Att: 50,041. Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner

Congrats boys, YOU DID IT!!!!!

Here we go RED SOX, Here we go!

Let's Go Sox!!!! Woo Hoo!!!!

New Link

I have added a new link under the links on the right of the screen. It goes to The Breast Cancer Site and when you go there, you click on the big pink box and when you do, sponsors of this page will donate money so that a woman gets a free mammogram who cannot afford it. It's free and only takes a second. Do it every day!

Wedding bliss!

This weekend my little sister got married to one of my best friends. It was a great celebration and everyone had a great time, especially the bride and groom. It was a beautiful day full of fun and love. Everything from the ceremony to the music to the food was fantastic. Congrats you two, I am so happy for you and love you both!

World Series here we come!

The Red Sox are yet again, ALCS champs and are headed to the World Series! It was a complete team effort, from the rookies to the veterens, everyone had a chance to contribute and prove themselves. It was fun to watch, and only a little nerve wracking (as any series should be). Way to go Sox! Bring on the Rockies!

Get your rally caps on!

Let's go Sox! Tonight is the night!

Next stop......

CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES!!!!!

Yeah Sox! We're ready.

Another reason

This article is fairly well put as to why the arts are so important in child development. I, for one, can absolutely attest to the idea that giving your child another output for their creative energy, other than school, is truly beneficial. They make new friends so they don't have to hang out with the people they spend all day at school. They don't just go home and watch TV or play video games. Their knowledge expands beyond the walls of school or the playing field. Yeah for music, dance and art!

Division Champs!

2007 Standings as of 9/30/07 AL EAST	W	L	PCT	GB
Boston	96	66	.593	--
NY Yankees	94	68	.580	2
Toronto	83	79	.512	13
Baltimore	69	93	.426	27
Tampa Bay	66	96	.407	30

That's all I have to say. YEAH SOX!!!! Oh yeah, and sorry to everyone I called/texted so late on Friday when we clinched. I was REALLY EXCITED!!!!!!

Cruise Cruise Baby

I know I am a science dork, but this is hilarious!

A belated congrats!

To my friend LB who never has to study again! And she studied so much this time she got the highest grade. (Plus, she is wicked smart!) Congrats! Woo hoo! We never had any doubt. Also congrats to her her husband who never has to go to a law school function again (now he just has to deal with lawyers all the time - but at least we can do it together ;) ). YEAH!

Let them eat cake!

This weekend was the wedding of my dear friend, Harvey, to his new bride, Cate. it was a wonderful wedding. They, like Sean and I, had a monsoon the night before and the morning of the ceremony (good luck right?). Luckily, by the time the ceremony started, it had mostly cleared and no one got too wet. The flowers and decorations were elaborate and beautiful, all of the bridesmaids looked gorgeous and the groomsmen did just fine. The music was moving and heavenly and the bride and groom were immensely happy, as we all were for them. The food was great and there was lots of dancing. Even Sean danced! Plus, there were Secret Service guys there stealing cake (see below)! It was nice to see Harvey so happy and surrounded by his family and friends. It was also really fun to be at camp with our "group." We all hadn't been there together in a long time. I am so happy for you, Cate and Harvey, and wish you a lifetime of happiness.

Baseball is not over!!!

I live in a world of football fans. All of my baseball fan friends live down in MA or RI. Granted, since one of my friends up here has gotten an HDTV, he has become a baseball convert (he wouldn't even watch it before), but when football starts, as far as he is concerned, baseball is over. This is extremely frustrating to me as a baseball fan. Every football fan's argument is that every football game counts because they are only played once a week, and because there are so many more baseball games, in the entire scheme of things, one doesn't matter that much. I would beg to differ. Let me use a proverbial baseball rule to prove it: As the length of time from each baseball game to the beginning of baseball playoffs decreases, the importance of each game increases. This is especially true when my beloved Red Sox are winning their division and our arch-rivals, the skanks are winning the wild card race. Another thing that is extremely frustrating is when you are married to a so-called football fan and he falls asleep watching a game in which neither team is his favorite, only to wake up when you have changed the channel back to NESN!

A greater loss

My friend Mike's last living grandparent passed away last week. Pa was a wonderful person. Even though I only met him once briefly, he was an extremely kind and gentle man. I have heard so many stories about him that I wish I had known him better. His family gave him a beautiful send-off. He will be missed by all.

A great loss

Well, today Lucianno Pavarotti passed away. He was one of the best known opera singers of our time. I, myself, am not so familiar with opera, but I know who Pavarotti was. His life was full of accomplishments and controversy, but his contribution to this dying art was paramount. A lot of us used to know this terrible old woman (Miss Bette) who would travel the globe to see Pavarotti.


Personally, I will take "The Cowardly Lion" any day.

The kids are alright

Last night during my break at Borders I read this review of the Deathly Hallows, written by Stephen King. Yeah, it was in Entertainment Weekly, but it was well written. I don't read much Stephen King so I forget he is a "tell-it-like-it-is" kind of guy when it comes to reviewing or writing essays. he gives high praise to Rowling for getting kids to read and to keep reading, and for writing a good, consistent story for more than 4000 pages (something he may know a little bit about considering the Dark Tower series is at least that long). Granted, he does have some misgivings about the series, but overall, gives it good marks. I think it is a good review (much better than the one in the NY Times which totally panned it, probably because of the reasons Mr. King states) and it made me want to read Robinson Cruso.

Holy Cow!

Today Phil Rizzuto passed away. He was a Yankee. This was not his fault. He was actually part of the reason the Yanks won all those pennants in the 40s and 50s and was finally voted into Cooperstown due to some persuasion by the Sox great Ted Williams. The article is quite nice and highlights a lot of Phil's attributes and accomplishments. Curiously enough, it does not mention the fact that one of the things he did as an announcer was call a play by play in the song "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" by Meatloaf.

Beethoven's what?

The other night, I had a customer come into my second place of business and ask for Beethoven's "pas-tore-aly" symphony. Luckily, I knew what she was talking about and found a few recordings of B's 6th Symphony. There was one recording that also had the 8th symphony (which I am not familiar with), one recording that had a few other pieces on it with which I was not familiar and finally, one with the 8th and 9th symphony. "Oh, is that a good one?" She innocently asked. "Really? You've never heard of it?" I'm thinking to myself. I politely replied that it was the best choice since it was the same price as the others and I think it was the London Philharmonic. Does this make me a classical music snob? Hardly. If you click on the link to the Slate article, it agrees that if you are even vaguely familiar with western classical music, you have heard of the song "Ode the Joy." Some people! :) (maybe I am a classical music snob). Sorry!

Home Run King

Well, Barry Bonds hit his 756th home run to become the home run king over Hank Aaron. Woo hoo.

Aaron had held the record for 33 years with 755 home runs. In this age of steroids in baseball (an most other professional sports - don't get me started on cycling), it is difficult to know how to feel about this. On one hand, it is an amazing achievement to have been playing that long (this is Bonds 21st season) and hit that many home runs, along with the many other records he holds. On the other hand, there is the fact that he has used steroids. Even if he didn't know that's what he was using at the time, he still used them. This then brings up the question, what will happen in the Hall of Fame? Will his name go on the leader board with an asterisk? Will it go on at all? Will he ever get inducted into the Hall? Is using steroids as bad as betting on your own team?

I don't know what will happen. Unfortunately, because the testing is so sparse and anonymous in baseball, we may never know who has done/is still doing steroids, and how can we penalize one person without penalizing those who we don't know about? Most of all, whose fault is it? The player's union? The weasely commissioner? What needs to happen, is the rules need to change. Are the managers worried that people won't watch baseball if there isn't a home run in every inning? If we don't have pitchers that can strike out 10 batters in a game? We need to stop the cheating and stop it now. I know that players have been cheating ever since games were invented. However, in my idealistic (some might say naiive) belief that there is good in everyone I think that people actually do want to play fair. Until that day happens, I will try my best to instill fairness in every game that I play (yes, even pitch) and I will keep my belief that the rules are there for a reason.