29.10.07

Maybe there is a God... Red Sox sweep Rockies to win World Series

For the 2nd time in 4 years, the Boston Red Sox have won the World Series. In similar fashion to 2004, the Sox came back from a major deficit in the ALCS, and went on to sweep the final round. Watching the Red Sox tear up the Rockies in the World Series was, to an extent, a surreal experience. The phenomenal regular season for them was no fluke -- the Red Sox players, management, and even fanbase (ok, so there's the fair share of Sox bandwaggoners, who must immediately be deemed as 'fake') all presented themselves as legitimate baseball yardsticks for the rest of the league to compare themselves against. Typically, the Yankees would normally assume this role, but since their team is literally dismantling itself, it is only reasonable to consider the Red Sox as THE current yardstick in the MLB.


Anyway, back to the good stuff. Jon Lester, cancer survivor, pitched 6 unbelievable innings, giving up no runs. This marked his first 2007 postseason game, but his time away from the game did not manifest itself whatsoever. The rest of our pitching was pretty solid, and it was Papelbon who once again slammed the door shut on the Rockies hopes.

At one point, we were up 3-0. However, things quickly got interesting when the Rockies came within one run, with the score eventually reaching 4-3. However, the Rockies would score no more after that, and the Sox took home the trophy.

Mike Lowell (my favorite Sox player), won the World Series MVP award. I was ecstatic to see him win it, because not only did he have a fantastic World Series + the homerun in game 4, he is also a consummate professional, both on and off the field. A cancer surviror in his own right, Lowell is more humble and down to earth than most people, but for a professional athlete to hold this demeanor is something special. I was happy to see him win another ring (he won a ring back with the Marlins in 2003), but unfortunately, Lowell may re-sign with another team as he is now a free agent. Hopefully, the Red Sox will be able to pull off a deal for Lowell, since having him on our team is great in many ways.


In other sports news, the New England Patriots beat the Washington Redskins (slightly pejorative, don't you think?) yesterday. The final score? 52-7. The Pats are now 8-0 on the season and look to continue their unbelievable run next weekend against the also-unbeaten Indianapolis Colts.







The Boston Celtics kick off their season this Friday night against the Washington Wizards. You better believe I'll be watching the game.








One final thing: Internet Explorer sucks. I can't believe they won't let me download Firefox at my job. IE has been so glitchy today... not to mention the computer at my desk froze, but thankfully, my original post was not deleted, but rather, it was saved as a draft. But yeah, it's all about firefox.

25.10.07

Red Sox demonstrate full arsenal of capabilities in Game 1 of World Series

Same story, different day. Josh Beckett gave up 1 run in 7 innings and struck out 9 in a 13-1 rout over the Colorado Rockies. Beckett was just incredible from the moment he stepped into the game until the moment he walked out of it. Timlin provided excellent relief pitching, and even Gagne (gasp!!!) came in and closed things out.

Our offense was unbelievably hot. We scored 7 runs in the 5th inning. Youkilis and Pedroia continued their miraculous postseasons, and some big hitting by several other members of the club helped to cement this win for us.

On to game 2!

22.10.07

Red Sox are going to the World Series!

For the 2nd time in four years, the Boston Red Sox will be playing in the World Series. After going down 3 games to 1 against the Cleveland Indians in the ALCS, the Sox stormed to a triumphant comeback not unlike that in the 2004 ALCS vs. the Yankees, and will be playing against the "rags-to-riches" Colorado Rockies in the 2007 World Series!

Game 7 of the ALCS was simply phenomenal for the Red Sox. Any concerns about Dice-K's pitching were quickly alleviated as he pitched 5 solid innings, giving up 6 hits and just 2 runs. Excellent pitching by both Okajima and Papelbon allowed the Sox to hold down the fort before the Sox took what was a close (3-2) game, and turned it into an 11-2 massacre. Dustin Pedroia had arguably the best game of his life tonight -- a 2-shot homer, a double, 5 RBIs, and 3 runs -- showing why he may be a possible MVP candidate for the Sox in the postseason. Speaking of MVP candidates, Youkilis continued his hitting streak to 8 games, and hit another homer (his 3rd of the series), as well as a double.

Our defense tonight was also very good. We made crisp (no pun intended) plays (Coco's catch at the end), and played the infield very well with some extraordinary double plays. Overall, I'm very satisfied with what I'm seeing with this team, and cannot wait to see them play the Rockies in the World Series! GO SOX!

19.10.07

Water Can Burn?










Whaaaaattttt.... I gotta try this sometime...

18.10.07

Torre: Thanks, But No Thanks.

Joe Torre, manager of the New York Yankees for 12 years, has turned down a lucrative offer from George Steinbrenner -- a 1 year, $5m offer which would include three $1m bonuses: one if the Yankees were to reach the Playoffs, one if the Yankees were to be AL champs, and/or one if the Yankees won the World Series. If Torre had accepted the offer, and had led the Yankees to an '08 World Series championship, Torre would have also picked up an option for the 2009 season. However, the Yankees legend turned down the offer, and an era has come to an end. One has to wonder what Torre, age 67, plans to do next: retire or sign as a manager elsewhere?

15.10.07

Patriots beat Cowboys, 48-27

The New England Patriots beat the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. It was basically the first "heat check" game for both teams -- both NE and Dallas had played only non-contenders up to Sunday, and both teams entered into yesterday's match with a 5-0 record. The Patriots were up 14-0 at the end of the 1st quarter, but a solid 2nd quarter for the Cowboys brought Dallas right back into the game. At halftime, the score was 21-17, Patriots. A touchdown early in the 3rd quarter brought Dallas ahead, 24-21. This actually marked the first time all season that the Patriots had been down at some point in a game. However, this feat for Dallas was pitifully brief, and the Patriots stormed back in epic proportions. After the Dallas touchdown in the 3rd quarter, the Pats shut down their cruise control and pushed up the gears. They scored 27 points in a span of less than 2 quarters to close out the game with a final score of 48-27.

Tom Brady was nothing but perfect, finishing with 388 yards passing on 31/46 with 5 touchdowns. Stallworth had what was arguably his breakout game, although we saw glimpses of his capabilities last weekend against Cleveland. He finished with 136 yards receiving and 1 touchdown. Wes Welker had a ridiculous game, finishing with 124 yards receiving and 2 touchdowns. Randy Moss put in a respectable 59 yards and also finished with 1 touchdown.

For Dallas, Romo had a nice game, finishing with 199 yards on 18/29, with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. TO was held to 66 yards, but he did have a touchdown.

This win, in my admittedly Patriots-biased opinion, absolutely seals the deal on the Patriots place in the league right now: Number 1. Not because of their league-leading record, but because they've just dominated EVERY team they've played. They haven't scored less than 34 points. They've only given up more than 17 points once. Every player on the team, both on offense and defense, is getting acclamated with Belichick's system. The Patriots have also withstood numerous key injuries this season, yet they still look unstoppable. And right now, which team would have the audacity to say the Patriots aren't unstoppable?

12.10.07

"The Kingdom" provides fair share of thrills

I went with a friend the other night to see "The Kingdom," starring Jamie Foxx and Chris Cooper. Also in the film were Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman (from "Arrested Development"), and Jeremy Piven (from "Entourage"), who unfortunately played a very small role. The movie provided just the perfect amount of action, violence, and gore -- but it was the theme of the movie and the poignancy of this theme which really made this a great movie. I won't go into too many details, because I don't want to spoil the movie for anyone thinking about seeing it, but here's the basic gist of it: An American compound in Saudi Arabia is bombed, killing hundreds of innocent people. A team of FBI agents is sent on a mission to find the man behind the bombing. Their journey along the way to finding him is not easy, as the hostility of Saudi Arabia weighs itself on the team. They eventually find the person they're looking for, but not everything is positive, as the team's amiable Saudi partner, Al-Ghazi, is shot to death.


I'd give "The Kingdom" 4 out of 5 stars. Go see it!

Sox take Game 1 of the ALCS

Josh Beckett struck out 7 in 6 innings and gave up only 2 runs in an impressive victory over the visiting Cleveland Indians. Beckett, who went 20-7 during the regular season, continued his flawless journey towards the Cy Young award with his 2nd win of the 2007 postseason. With a collective effort on offense, sparked largely by Manny and Papi, the Sox put on an unrelenting onslaught of hits, walks, and sacrifice bunts/flies. All-in-all, the Red Sox loaded up the bases 5 times, though unfortunately, there were no grand slams to be had.

After 6 innings, Beckett sat out having only pitched 80 times -- which is excellent, seeing as we may need him later in this series. Javier Lopez and Mike Timlin both came in and did a solid job in keeping the Indians out of this game. For the Indians, C.C. Sabathia played about as streaky a game as I've ever seen. At times, he was pitching nothing but strikes. Other times, he looked absolutely horrible, giving up hit after hit, walk after walk, and run after run. The Indians went through several pitchers who, to the Indians despair, did not exactly improve their outlook for the game.

The 9th inning rolled around, and... yikes... Eric Gagne comes in as our closer. Previously a phenom for the Texas Rangers, Gagne's been a true disappointment for the Sox this season. He's blown leads on quite a few occasions, and has not been the same pitcher for Boston as he was for Texas. Anyway, he comes in tonight, and immediately makes things interesting by loading up the bases. With fans booing and confidence undoubtedly falling precipitously, Gagne followed a 4-0 walk with 3 more balls for a 3-0 count, before making a solid comeback and striking out the final Indians hitter for the win.

The Red Sox will face the Indians in Boston tomorrow night at 8:00 PM.

8.10.07

It's a Great Time to be a New England Sports Fan

Though I was unable to watch the game, I was pleased to hear that the Celtics beat the Raptors in their pre-season battle royale in Rome. The game really means nothing, but apparently, KG was beastin' it. He finished with 19 points and 17 rebounds, behind Pierce's 21 points. KG had a pretty nasty reverse throw-down early in the game, and Paul is indeed still the Truth. Ray Allen was apparently pretty shaky, but he should be fine by the beginning of the regular season. The supporting cast was decent, but Eddie House had a great game -- he could be our 6th man, if need be.

Sox swept the Angels. Pitching is superb. Offense is heating up. Everything is working right now -- now, we just need to see who wins the Yankees-Indians series... I expect the Yankees to at least win game 4, if not game 5 too.

Patriots are 5-0, crushing their (albeit weak) opponents to a pulp week-after-week. Their latest victim was the Cleveland Browns, losing 34-17 in a game that the Patriots had complete control of. The Patriots have not scored under 34 points this season. They have not given up more than 17 points this season. So, things are working on all cylinders right now for the Pats. In their game yesterday, Benjamin Watson was awesome, Sammy Morris continued to shine, and Stallworth finally appeared to have somewhat of a break out game.

The Bruins are- hold on, nobody really cares.

So yeah, I'm happy to be a New England sports fan right now!

6.10.07

We're essentially 40% done with this semester.

I dunno if the title sends a shiver down your spine, but when I read that, I kind of freak out a bit. It feels like I just got here, and we're quickly approaching the halfway point of the semester. September was kind of a weird month for me. Not only did it go by quickly, but it was an exciting, and often scary, journey of emotions. College really defines what type of person you are. Your childhood shapes you, but it is in college where you begin to observe your own creation, and you begin to question why things are and how things should be. You may even find that you are questioning previous opinions that you had held for so long, and how ridiculous they may seem now that you've been entrenched with new ideas. I find that I am always questioning what the most important thing to get out of life is. I am still yet to find an answer. As an economics major, I could possibly consider the utilitarianism approach to life, in that we should all strive to maximize private and social utility, or satisfaction. In other words, that we all strive to lead lives which satisfy us both personally, and as a community of varying levels. Even simpler, that we are all happy in life. Perhaps a different stage of my life will provide the answers to these questions.

Sorry for getting a bit philosophical. I realize how it's quite a change from my previous posts, but I feel that my blog is an excellent medium for spreading out thoughts and emotions.

"It's Just Manny being Manny"

First, let me start off by saying what an incredible game that was! It was so perfect, it looked like it was scripted. Sox go up 2-0 in the first inning, but Dice-K gives up 3 runs a couple innings later. We tie up the game later on... stuck at 3-3 for a good while, and then bottom of the 9th, Manny slams it out of Fenway. This just moments after Rodriguez intentionally walked Papi, leaving Papi on first and Julio Lugo on second... or maybe third. Anyway, Manny brings both of them home, and the Red Sox take a 2-0 series lead in the ALDS! I must also mention some fantastic closing pitching by both Okajima and Papelbon -- they were both smoking opponents off the field with their incredible pitching.

3.10.07

McCain backs Bush on Health Bill Veto

Surprise, surprise! John McCain rears his ugly Bush-lovin' side again!
"Right call by the president," the Republican White House hopeful told CNN's John King... "The American people have rebelled against out-of-control spending. If they can find a legitimate way to pay for it, I would consider it," he said.
Oh, ok. So paying billions of dollars for some chicken shit war in Iraq is ok, but a new health insurance bill which would provide health insurance for 10 million children over the next 5 years is somehow unsatisfactory? Clearly, this would have at least been a decent step towards a new and improved American healthcare system, but Bush has used his veto power for the second time of his Presidency (his first was for a stem cell research bill).

The American political system is pretty much fucked until 2008, and perhaps beyond if we get another republican in office. The now majority-democrat congress has the ability to check-and-balance the president, but it's visa versa for the president -- so in other words, basically any bill that the democrats propose and sign off on will likely be vetoed by the president (actually, the healthcare bill was really a bi-partisan bill).

The stubbornness of George W. Bush is almost unparalleled. This is the same man who said he wanted to work together with Republicans, Democrats, the congress, and the American people to make things happen. Well, it's been 7 years into his presidency, and he's yet to do any of those things. How is it possible that he can propose and sign off a bill for "No Child Left Behind," which everybody with half a brain knows is a sham, but won't sign off on a bill to support the health of America's impoverished youth? I mean, I'm not saying I expect much from the president, but come on!

John McCain has also recently come under fire for some pretty controversial comments concerning faith. Apparently, McCain stated on a website that America is a "Christian nation" and that he would "prefer a Christian president." Fan-fuckin-tastic. Yeah, there aren't any Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, or any other religion here. None at all. And isn't it amazing how the "separation" in 'Separation of Church and State' just seems to keep diminishing? It's a part of the constitution for a reason! McCain, right now, stands at about a 9.8 on the doucheometer, and will probably be at a 10 by 2008.