once more with feeling

What is there to say? You know, other than that Jamey Carroll scared the crap out of me.

In my lame attempt to be objective, I kept finding reasons for this team to fail. The Rockies were impossibly hot. Coors Field is the ultimate equalizer. Youks is forced to the bench. Ortiz is forced to the field. Colorado is a different team at home. Our 3 and 4 starters are too fly-bally (yes, fly-bally) for that “rarefied air.” Maybe I subconsciously wanted the Sox to stumble a little just so they could win it at Fenway.

This team would have none of it, and won an extremely well-earned championship. Coming back down 1-3 against Cleveland was obviously no small task, and Colorado put forth an incredible effort that wasn't reflected in the 4-0 outcome of the series. This was no ordinary sweep. Game 1 was a blowout, but the remaining three were all close contests that Boston had to fight tooth-and-nail to win.

On a final note, Lowell had a great series, but how does Papelbon not win the MVP?

sox one away, deacs get ranked

Daiskue was a big surprise last night. I doubted him, and he responded with the best start you could hope for, failing only when Okajima couldn't rescue him. Speaking of Hideki, I think Boston coffee shops should start selling "Mokajimos." It's like a Mochachino, but Japanese!

Anyhoo, I know the sentiment is that the series is over, but it's hit-or-miss Jon Lester going against a still formidable Rockies-at-home lineup. Coors Field is just way too much of a wild card to think tonight will be an easy win for Boston. However, it would be amazing to see a cancer survivor be the winning pitcher in a World Series clincher.

------

Defense, special teams, and a no-turnovers offense lead the way as the Deacons cruised over Carolina. We've now won six straight, putting us at 6-2 (4-1). The folks over at AP have recognized this, and put us at #21 in their latest poll. However, in quite a discrepancy, the Coaches Poll has us all the way down at #28. Weak.

today's headlines

Cold wet weather finally caught up with Pennsyelaware.

They're playing Tony Almeida's music.

Scrubs is back (for the last time).

VaTech totally screwed Wake Forest's pooch.

Hideki Okajima is a frighteningly important part of the Red Sox team.

Boyz II Men is still alive.

John Papelbon's stare pierces my soul.

I'm extremely concerned about Game Three: Daiskue in Coors Field, Youks forced to the bench.

AL CHAMPS!

For third straight game, I am left wanting to go on and on about the Sox, but I'm still occupied by evil law school stuff. I will say that I absolutely love this team. You can't help but get that 2004 vibe from the way these guys refused to give in, despite the odds. Our "secondary" hitters are absolutely on fire. Youks, Dusty and J.D. could not be stopped the past three games. Even the struggling Coco had a crazy catch to seal the pennant.

I have absolutely no idea what to expect in the World Series. We could sweep the Rockies, the Rockies could sweep us, it could go to an extra-innings Game 7. Nothing would surprise me. On one side you have a team who just faced elimination for three straight games and answered with the best ball of their season. On the other side, you have a team who seemingly haven't lost since Labor Day. It's going to be an insane series.

Isn't that right Johnny O'Papelbon?

i guess that went as well as could be expected

very encouraging game from the sox. the offense is really clicking, schilling returned to form, and even lopez and gagne, the dynamic duo of bullpen incompetence, pitched well. my favorite part was j.d.'s grand slam, as i've been a long time supporter of him. can't wait for game seven. don't suck, daisuke!

not without a fight

I'd love to write more about how excited I was about Game 5 and how Josh Beckett is further entrenching himself as the greatest playoff pitcher of our generation but unfortunately I'm insanely busy. I gots a brief draft I have to turn in Monday. I have to finish it tonight and Sunday since my Saturday is knocked out because I'll be Annapolis all day. That's right, I'll be attending the Wake/Navy game. If last year is any indication of how Wake plays in games I attend, then bet heavy on the Midshipmen.

EDIT - You can thank me for the victory today. I realized late last night that there's no way I can get this brief done and spend all day in Annapolis. So, I didn't go, which sucks because I was really looking forward to it. Instead, my family will be driving up here tonight for dinner so we can still see each other. Hopefully I'll be able to go to whatever bowl game we get into, knock-on-wood.

trot nixon benedict arnolded me

it's hard to explain how i feel right now. heston comes close.

WE'RE BACK

We got off to a tough luck start, but we're back. We. Are. Back.

Tonight Wake Forest celebrated it's now annual victory over Florida State, putting us at 4-2 overall and 3-1 in the ACC. If BC loses in-conference and we win in-conference, we're on top of the Atlantic division! I wonder who they play next in the ACC...

Thu, Oct 25 at (12) Virginia Tech 7:30 pm

Niiiice. Our next ACC opponent is UNC, on the 27th.

Until then, enjoy this picture of The Phonz relaxing on an invisible, slightly inclined sofa.

go indians! (pause) boo indians!

That's what happens when your team is already in the ALCS and you're hoping the Yankees don't make it that far. You pull for the Indians; then, the very moment they succeed, immediately turn on them because your enemy's enemy is now your enemy.

I must say, I never thought at the beginning on the season - hell, two weeks ago - that the Red Sox's championship series associates would be the Indians, D-Backs and Rockies. Whereforeartthou Yankees and Cardinals and Astros? I feel like a frat member whose brothers all dropped out and now has to hang out with the pledges. Maybe next year, guys.

Watching Joe Torre on the tube right now, I have to feel for the guy. I'm annoyed by a lot of things about the Yankees - A-Rod's lip gloss, Jeter's fade haircut, the media's contradictory treatment of those two, the payroll that's still 50% more than Boston's - but Torre is certainly no part of it. If Old Man Steinbrenner really cans him, other teams would be smart to make every effort to pick him up.

The Indians will be very tough to beat. Sabathia and Carmona (who last year had the worst tenure of "closer" in history) should probably go 1-2 in the Cy Young voting. Their key will be how the 3 and 4 starters and their horrible but oddly effective closer perform. For Boston, they couldn't be hotter. Manny and Ortiz are peaking simultaneously (!), and the bullpen got back on track after a rough patch. If Daisuke can pitch well I think Boston will definitely get to the Series.

Prediction: Boston in 6.

BOOM!

God I love baseball.

finally

Part 1: After over a year of planning, I *finally* got to play Halo 3 by visiting Mike for the weekend. It was worth the 860 miles driven in a three day span. The campaign mode is a little short but still lots of fun to play. I became very confused by the "Believe" commercials, though, because the battle portrayed therein was not part of the campaign. When the game ended, I was expecting one last level that would look like "Believe" - some sort of final show down between humans and the covenant where the Chief gets captured before doing something with a plasma grenade. But I guess not. I think the multiplayer is the best of the trilogy. The one flaw of the original was that the pistol was far superior to every other weapon, the flaw of the second was that winning depended too much on duel-wielding. Here I think a happy medium was perfectly found. Duel-wielding, grenading, meleeing, or assault-rifling are all about equally effective. Also the plasma pistol doesn't home-in anymore, so using it with a Battle Rifle isn't such an annoyingly dominating strategy. From Friday night to early Sunday morning Mike and I played about 16 hours total.

Part 2: The Red Sox *finally* won the AL East!!! When the division lead went down to two with about two weeks left I really started to worry. Especially with the Yankees finishing the season with Tampa Bay and Baltimore. But those crazy bottom feeders didn't roll over and helped a refusing-to-implode Boston team clinch the division with two games left in the season. Phew!