I’m finally done with my Boston sports decade retrospective on SFL so give it a read.
Time to party, I’ll let The Shore play us out. Remember to pump your fists tonight!
Archive for December, 2009
Peace Out 00s
Dec 31
The Final Four remained perfect going into the 17th and final week.
From the looks of it none of them have a lock to chose from this Sunday so anybody who has 1 loss still has a legit shot. Last year both Tom and Tristan manned up and told everyone who they were picking so that the 1-lossers could take the opposite. It’s not in the rules that you do that, but it’d be cooler if you did.
Ten Danson turns 62 today so he gets the honors.
Cheers
16-0 Tom E. - Packers
16-0 Joe F. - 49ers
16-0 Steve G. - 49ers
33-0 Tristan L. - 49ers
Seven Men and Two Little Ladies
15-1 Bardo - 49ers
15-1 Allison C. - 49ers
15-1 Dave F. - Cardinals
15-1 Dean F. - Cardinals
15-1 Laura M. - Cowboys
15-1 Dan R. - Cardinals
15-1 Troy S. - Cardinals
15-1 Frank S. - 49ers
15-1 Josh S. - Cardinals
Damages
14-1 Mike R. - BYE
14-2 Tom B. - Saints
14-2 Jill B. - Bengals
14-2 Jay F. - Cowboys
14-2 Bobby N. - Colts
13-1 Ty K. - RETIRED
13-2 Travis D. - BYE
13-2 Al K. - BYE
13-2 Boston Mike - Packers
13-3 Angela C. - Saints
13-3 Fawn S. - Falcons
13-3 Art S. - Packers
13-3 Jamie S. - Packers
12-1 Csaba S. - BYE
12-2 Alex B. - BYE
12-2 Jen L. - BYE
12-2 Liza M. - BYE
12-3 Mike C. - BYE
12-4 The Insneider - Saints
12-4 Colleen S. - 49ers
11-2 Drew M. - BYE
11-3 Rory S. - BYE
11-4 Greg T. - BYE
11-5 Farrah S. - Patriots
10-1 Matt R. - RETIRED
10-2 Jason T. - RETIRED
9-1 Matt C. - RETIRED
9-1 Richard W. - RETIRED
9-2 Frank F. - RETIRED
9-2 Karaoke Craig - RETIRED
9-2 Scott K. - RETIRED
9-2 Andy W. - RETIRED
9-3 Ginny L. - RETIRED
8-1 Big Sexy - RETIRED
8-4 Kristy B. - BYE
8-4 Betsy R. - RETIRED
8-4 Melissa T. - RETIRED
8-4 Sarah W. - RETIRED
8-5 Steve B. - BYE
8-5 Andy M. - BYE
8-5 Meaghan T. - BYE
7-0 Slim Charles - RETIRED
7-1 Kevin F. - RETIRED
7-2 Devin B. - RETIRED
7-2 Tony L. - RETIRED
6-2 Steve S. -RETIRED
6-3 Meredith H. - RETIRED
6-4 Chris M. - RETIRED
5-2 Joey L. - RETIRED
5-3 Jay K. - RETIRED
5-3 Hank S. - RETIRED
4-2 Brian K. - RETIRED
4-2 Craig K. - RETIRED
4-3 Josh E. - RETIRED
4-3 Brian S. - RETIRED
3-1 Aaron C. - RETIRED
3-1 Nick S. - RETIRED
3-4 Sue K. - RETIRED
1-1 Shaun P. - RETIRED
The Parish Awards
Dec 23
SportsFanLive demanded a decade retrospective from me and I fully intend on giving them a decade retrospective.
Check out the SFP page to read my thoughts.
I’ll be updating it daily so check in over the holidays.
Well folks, we’re down to the Final 4. A rookie, a crafty veteran, an old guy I’ve never met and the defending champion. Reminiscent of the 1992 Royal Rumble, where for the first time the 30-man battle royal would crown a WWF Champion; as the dust settled there were 4 men left: WWF rookie Sid Justice, “The Macho Man” Randy Savage, the white-haired Ric Flair who had just joined the WWF, and of course former champ and crowd favorite Hulk Hogan.
Will all 4 guys go to the playoffs? Will they all lose a game and let all the patient 1-lossers back into the fray? Will Tristan pull off an unprecedented, ridiculous and frankly unbelievable back-to-back 17-0 seasons??? We’ll have to wait and see.
I couldn’t decide between doing a “Bengals Wide Receiver”-themed standings or a “Stars of Clueless” edition…so I took the easy way out and went with a Christmas theme.
The Baby Jesus Division
15-0 Tom E. - Texans
15-0 Joe F. - Giants
15-0 Steve G. - Cardinals
15-0 Tristan L. - Cardinals
The “All I want for Christmas is for all the undefeated people to lose” Division
14-1 Bardo - Giants
14-1 Tom B. - Cardinals
14-1 Allison C. - Texans
14-1 Dave F. - Texans
14-1 Dean F. - Broncos
14-1 Laura M. - Texans
14-1 Bobby N. - Texans
14-1 Mike R. - Broncos
14-1 Dan R. - Vikings
14-1 Troy S. - Broncos
14-1 Frank S. - Texans
14-1 Josh S. - Broncos
The “It’s beginning to look a lot like you have no chance” Division
13-2 Jill B. - Broncos
13-2 Angela C. - Cardinals
13-2 Travis D. - Broncos
13-2 Jay F. - Texans
13-2 Al K. - Packers
The “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire” Division
12-2 Boston Mike - Broncos
12-3 Andrew B. - Broncos
12-3 Mike C. - Jaguars
12-3 Fawn S. - Cardinals
12-3 The Insneider - Broncos
12-3 Art S. - Broncos
12-3 Jamie S. - Broncos
11-3 Rory S. - Cardinals
11-4 Colleen S. - Texans
11-4 Greg T. - Broncos
10-5 Farrah S. - Seahawks
The Chris Henry/Brittany Murphy Division
13-1 Ty K. - RETIRED
12-1 Csaba S. - BYE
12-2 Alex B. - BYE
12-2 Jen L. - BYE
12-2 Liza M. - BYE
11-2 Drew M. - BYE
10-1 Matt R. - RETIRED
10-2 Jason T. - RETIRED
9-1 Matt C. - RETIRED
9-1 Richard W. - RETIRED
9-2 Frank F. - RETIRED
9-2 Karaoke Craig - RETIRED
9-2 Scott K. - RETIRED
9-2 Andy W. - RETIRED
9-3 Ginny L. - RETIRED
8-1 Big Sexy - RETIRED
8-4 Kristy B. - BYE
8-4 Betsy R. - RETIRED
8-4 Melissa T. - RETIRED
8-4 Sarah W. - RETIRED
8-5 Steve B. - BYE
8-5 Andy M. - BYE
8-5 Meaghan T. - BYE
7-0 Slim Charles - RETIRED
7-1 Kevin F. - RETIRED
7-2 Devin B. - RETIRED
7-2 Tony L. - RETIRED
6-2 Steve S. -RETIRED
6-3 Meredith H. - RETIRED
6-4 Chris M. - RETIRED
5-2 Joey L. - RETIRED
5-3 Jay K. - RETIRED
5-3 Hank S. - RETIRED
4-2 Brian K. - RETIRED
4-2 Craig K. - RETIRED
4-3 Josh E. - RETIRED
4-3 Brian S. - RETIRED
3-1 Aaron C. - RETIRED
3-1 Nick S. - RETIRED
3-4 Sue K. - RETIRED
1-1 Shaun P. - RETIRED
2009 is almost completely in our rear view mirror, like a crazed Elin Nordegren wielding a 9-iron. 2010 lurks around the corner, like a maniacal pervert waiting to hit the record button on his peephole camera. Basically it was a year of ridiculous headlines and all sorts of sexually deviant scandals.
Television, on the other hand, was relatively mundane in ‘09; a couple new studs, a couple lingering giants, and a few fading favorites. Heading into the new year, here are my hopes for television in ‘10.
While the raves continue for Modern Family, I never got past the pilot so we’ll skip right over to NBC’s rookie all-star, Community. If you’ve seen Community, you know it’s the best new sitcom unveiled by the Peacock since 30 Rock. Joel McHale absolutely kills in the lead role, able to condescendingly judge everyone, yet roll with the punches thrown his way (and they often come in the form of Ryan Seacrest look-a-like jokes). McHale meanwhile, has a hilariously awesome (AND awesomely hilarious) ensemble and writing that packs gobs of jokes in with cute little messages. To date, Community hasn’t had a bad show yet which is something almost no television show can boast. My biggest hope hinges on Community, for its success to continue to thrive when the new episodes air.
My next 2010 television dream is moot until February, when LOST returns to ABC. To me, LOST looms like this 2009 Patriots season. Tom Brady was back healthy and we expected 2007 results, but were startled to find that there was some rusting and aging, which should have been expected. One on hand, we have been without LOST for seemingly ages, but on the other, I trust JJ Abrams to captain my ship more than I would Bill Belichick these days. Undoubtedly, this final season will be epic and fantastic, but whether it matches our infinite expectations is another matter.
So long as the LOST finale reveal isn’t a dream, Abrams and company have a leg up on the Princess Di car crash that has become How I Met Your Mother (I would have gone with Chris Henry there but this is a Royally f’ed, too soon?). The CBS sitcom that has been a staple of my Monday nights for years, has lost its mojo. No one wants this show to be better than me and no one makes excuses for it like I do, but HIMYM is absolutely dreadful these days. Save for two episodes (“The Sexless Inkeeper” and “Robin 101”) the season should be aborted and restarted next year with a fresh slate. 2010 will either be the year that the show gets back on track, or the year we all quit on it.
Finally just a few quick questions about improvements television should make in 2010: … How could ABC’s The Bachelor not star Tiger Woods? Who wouldn’t tune in? … Notice how The Office works again because the focus has shifted off of Pam and Jim? … Does any show maximize the move to a cable network as much as The League? … Sooo can we maybe move Conan back to 12:30 and pretend this never happened? … Do the TV execs, know that the people demand more JB Smoove? … The Sing-Off > American Idol (that’s just a statement of fact)… Is there anywhere else as uniquely absurd (or absurdly unique) as the Jersey Shore, and can we get a camera crew there ASAP?
Year-end and spending time on lengthy NFL blogs don’t exactly go hand-in-hand so I’ll have to make this on the quick side. For the sake of transparency I’ll admit that I feel asleep for about 20 minutes in the 2nd half yesterday (a combination of a Christmas party the night before and the fact that Belichick pulled Brady at halftime in favor of Scott Zolak), so I’ll spare you the half-assed analysis and let the experts do the work.
We’ll kick it off with Jerry Thornton’s Kneejerk Reactions at the ‘Stool
Then move on to Mike Reiss at ESPN Boston
Randy Moss’ former mentor Cris Carter discusses Randy’s bounce back and recaps the game on ESPN’s Countdown Daily
Never the optimist, the Globe’s Tony Mazz focuses on Brady’s woes
Dan Shaughnessy goes even further, describing the win as “grotesque”, the Bills as “hideous” and the AFC East as “soft-shell.” And then he ripped on Randy Moss a lot and got in a quick dig at Belichick for liking the media before wrapping it up. All in a day’s work
Tom Brady on WEEI’s Dennis and Callahan show this morning. Didn’t have time to listen to it but I’m guessing the guys will give him crap for naming his son Ben instead of Randy or Wes
Finally, if you would like to vote on a name for the 6-DB, 5-standing LB defensive scheme yesterday you can do so by going here and leaving your suggestion in the comment section
Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems
Dec 17
On Tuesday the Red Sox major offseason news was finalized. We welcomed John Lackey and Mike Cameron to the Fens with jerseys fresh from embroiderers and smiles fresh from the last press conference (see Scutaro, Marco).
As the days pass, the picture of 2010 Red Sox team grows clearer. This wont be the power hitting, high caliber team of 2004 and 2007. In fact, the preliminary lineup looks something like this: Ellsbury, Pedroia, Youk, V-Mart, JD, Papi, Cameron, Kotchman, Scutaro. If that gave you the chills, you now know what it feels to type it out as well.
Before I despair on how we’ve become a National League team rich in pitching and defense and impotent at the plate, let me throw some of the good news at you about our newest players, did you know style.
Did you know? Mike Cameron is the only center fielder in baseball to have hit 25 or more doubles and 20 or more home runs in each of the last four seasons
Did you know? Mike Cameron is a three-time Gold Glover… and not the Jeter kind of gold glove; Cameron is a web-gem maestro.
Did you know? In 11 years, Mike Cameron’s teams average 90 wins a season.
Did you know? John Lackey is on a similar career path as Josh Beckett (102-71, 3.81 ERA in 233 starts vs. Beckett’s 106-68, 3.79 ERA in 235).
Did you know? John Lackey is one of six pitchers to win 11 or more games every year since ‘04.
Did you know? John Lackey has a smokeshow wife.
Now get ready for the Curb Your Enthusiasm cop out…
WITH THAT BEING SAID, I mostly disapprove of our offseason. While there is good news, there is also lots of baggage with these new acquisitions. Let’s start on the Mike Cameron, two years and 15 million dollar front. Cameron is an adequate player who is injury prone. He’s 36, hasn’t batted over .250 in three years, and has greatly diminishing speed. If he’s our Jason Bay replacement, we need to understand he will have less homeruns, RBIs, stolen bases, and bat for a lower average than Bay.
Still here? Good, let’s go big then. Cameron was suspended 25 games in 2008 for a banned substance; it was his second positive test. While I don’t think this warrants blackballing him from the game, there’s a reason I’ve made this offense its own paragraph. Call me crazy but I think seven million plus should go farther; aren’t we in a recession?
Vomit yet? No? Ok, John Lackey time.
Lackey will be making more money next year than any pitcher besides CC Sabathia. While dependable and playoff-tested, Lackey’s temperament on the mound is unpredictable. Lackey has always had problems in Fenway and with the Red Sox, offering anti-Sox sentiment over the last few years of our East Coast-West Coast feud. Lackey’s win totals have gone down while his ERA has conversely gone up over the last three years, which coincide with him turning 30.
If you saw Cameron’s introduction, you undoubtedly noticed his shining smile, a trait coaches praise him for maintaining through thick and thin. However Cameron hasn’t played in a city that cares about baseball since being with the Mets in 2005, and I’m not sure that his smile will withstand the scrutiny of Shaughnessy, Maz, the Pink Hatters, and the drunk, angry Sox fans who are never satisfied. I hope he can recreate some of his mid-2000’s years, but I think that might be a pipe dream. Our defense (with our pitching) may be bolstered, but we didn’t lose in 09 because Torii Hunter and Mark Teixeira were hitting balls that we dropped; they were drilling the gaps and the walls, so unless Scutaro and Cameron can leap green monsters in a single bound, I’m not drinking the Sox Kool-Aid.
I feel much stronger on the Lackey front. Tito can now throw out Lester, Beckett, Lackey, Clay all year with a mix of Dice-K and Wakefield on the side. Lackey bridges the gap we’ve had in our rotation, in trying to get from our aces, to our less dependable arms. And if that’s not enough, we also picked up a guy named Boof, which could pay comedic dividends if all goes well.
Calling the 2009 baseball season disappointing would be like calling Tiger Woods’ Thanksgiving weekend tumultuous. While I’m sure Theo is working much harder to repair our image than Tiger’s people are working to repair his, so far I don’t see much improvement.
