Musings from Mandy

Some ramblings this morning... *The Steelers team doctor charged 150,000 on HGH and other drugs. It's not illegal for him to have that because he is a doctor, but it's a little suspicous that he charged in on his CC. *"According to a photographer on the scene, team president and CEO Larry Lucchino approached Ramirez behind the batting cage on Field No. 5 at the minor league complex and inquired about the health of his mother, who is currently recovering from surgery. Ramirez put his arm around Lucchino and guided him a few steps away from the cage, where he expressed contrition for the “trouble” he caused by arriving one week after the rest of the position players." from the Herald . The article also says that Manny now decided he wants to stay here the rest of his career. I've said it before, and I'm hopefully not going to say this again, but I don't understand what everyones fascination with Manny is. I want him to be the best right handed hitters in th...

A great fact from the new afterword from the authors of "Shadows" (from Tom Verducci ), "My favorite fact: the authors detail in their afterword the freakish growth of Bonds' body parts in his years with the Giants: from size 42 to a size 52 jersey; from size 10 1/2 to size 13 cleats; and from a size 7 1/8 to size 7 1/4 cap, even though he had taken to shaving his head." This is since 1993 when he first went to the Giants. How many people do you know whose shoes grow 2 and a 1/2 sizes after they are 29 years old? Please.

Wright Thompson has a great article about Dice-K and adjusting to the Majors.

In about one week, Barry Zito (right, incase you couldn't tell), went from being one of my favorite non-Red Sox to one of my least favorite people on earth. How the Mighty fall. Again with a late entry! My four readers are going to riot! (but the Barry and Barry was worth it right?) The first spring training game is tomorrow! Curt is on the mound, and according to the Globe, the line-up looks like this: 1. Julio Lugo, SS 2. Kevin Youkilis, 1B 3. David Ortiz, DH 4. Jason Varitek, C 5. Mike Lowell, 3B 6. Wily Mo Pena, RF 7. Dustin Pedroia, 2B 8. David Murphy, LF 9. Jacob Ellsbury, CF I'm excited for some real / fake games to get started. I'm also excited to see my friend, Jacoby Ellsbury (I hate when people call him Jacob, I mean, that is probably what he goes by, but how many people do you know called Jacoby? Me, just one. And by friends, I mean, we are facebook friends. Yes, I am that creepy. As if you had any doubt). I have a couple Manny things to say. First, I think t...

My apologies for the late entry this morning, I had this thing to do here, it was called...what is the word, begins with a W ends with a K. Anyway, that is done with now. I hope everyone had a vodka tonic filled weekend like I did... Manny Ramirez decided he wanted to come to Spring Training after all. Personally, I think he found out that Papi brings a puppy to practice and decided maybe baseball isn't so bad after all. Papelbon is the man. In reponse to the new rules on bean balls , "That’s bullshit, you know? You’re going to gain no respect from your team and we’re in the trenches together, man. If I go out there and say if my guy, Mikey Lowell or somebody like that gets hit, well, you’re damn right I’m going to come get one of their guys. I’ll go get him the very next inning. If I didn't do that I’d would get no respect form my teammates, you know? That’s just not the way the game works, they’re trying to change the game on us, man." Curt Schilling responded to...

By Jackie MacMullan, Globe Columnist February 23, 2007 He was the guy who would miss 11 straight shots, then come down the court with everything on the line and drill the game-winner without blinking. That's how I will remember Dennis Johnson, the freckle-faced bulldog who joined the Celtics in 1983 and was a pivotal member of the 1984 and '86 championship teams. DJ's role was often diminished amid the long shadows of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish, yet he was the one Bird singled out as "the best teammate I've ever played with." Johnson collapsed and died yesterday in Austin, Texas, where he was the coach of the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League. He was 52 years old, too young to have his life cut so terribly short. "What a sad, sad day," said McHale. "I tell you, this one really hits you. I was just talking to a friend who had just talked with DJ, and he was telling me how excited DJ was about his team. I guess his guy...

A little Youtube well worth watching...

I'm getting some Dice-K-Mania .

Here are some random things from today: 1. I wasn't overly impressed with Grey's Anatomy, and I'm not buying Meredith could just wake up and be fine after being without a heart beat for over an hour. 2. This morning at work was probably the slowest of my career. 3. I am dying for it to be 4:30. 4. I just had a buffalo chicken wrap from my company cafe and it was just like Charlies. I miss college. Onto the links... *Eric Wilbur has a great piece about a solider / Red Sox fan . *David Oritz just gets more and more ridiculous. *The U of Tennessee football coach is apparently a huge tool . No spring practice should ever start before April, and the fact that the NCAA does nothing to protect its student-athletes from ridiculous amounts of practices is horrible. How can you justify starting spring practice for FOOTBALL less than 2 months after the National Championship and 7 months before the first game. Somewhere in Tennessee there are some pissed off Student Athletic T...

Sad day in Boston sports… I know very little about the Celtics. I know a lot of the important things, 16 Championships, the retired numbers hanging from the rafters (most of them anyway), Bird, McHale, Parish, Auerbach, victory cigars, Lenny Bias, dead spots, and turning up the heat in the Garden and turning off the hot water in the visitors locker room. I loved Reggie Lewis and even tried to talk my dad into buying me a “35” jersey. That being said, I didn’t know a ton about Dennis Johnson, I knew he was a great player, World Champion, I even knew that he laid in Bird’s steal. When I did my nightly check of ESPN.com and saw, Dennis Johnson: dead at 52, I guess the highest form of flattery would be that when I told my mom, she was legitimately sad. (this is the same woman who asked me if Walter Payton was Peyton Manning’s father before the Super Bowl because she had heard that Peyton Manning’s father played football). The second form of flattery is that neither one of us wanted to be ...

GREEN MONSTER TICKET OPPORTUNITY Thank you for registering for a chance to purchase tickets for a future Red Sox home game. Unfortunately your entry was not selected for this ticket purchase opportunity.Please be advised that if you registered for the opportunity to purchase Right Field Roof Deck tickets, you are still eligible for that drawing which will take place over the next few weeks.As a fan, your loyalty to the Red Sox is unparalleled and we would like to thank you by offering you a 10% discount at the Red Sox online store. Take 10% off your total order at the Official Online Shop of the Boston Red Sox. Simply enter promo code BOSGM07 at checkout. Offer valid through 3/7/2007 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Limit one use per customer. Cannot be combined with any other offer. Discount does not apply to taxes, shipping and handling.Thank you again for your participation.

All kinds of fun this morning (mainly because Papi came to camp yesterday and he's always good for a ridiculous quote or two. *Curt Schilling told WEEI this morning that he would file for free agency after the season after being told by Theo yesterday that the Red Sox would not be offering him a contract before the end of Spring Training. Now, I love Curt, I really do, but I'm sick of hearing his voice. It's great that he doesn't want a raise in '08 and will be willing to play for 13 million, but its not crazy to think that the Red Sox will be hoping any one of a number of young pitchers will be ready by then to take over the 3, 4, 5 slots in the rotation, with Dice-K and Beckett (hopefully!) holding down the 1, 2. Curt also said he would not pitch for the Yankees, but I've heard that some where before. *The Red Sox present David Ortiz with a truck yesterday, which, I guess is a gesture of, "We know you are a bargin at 13 mil, hopefully this Toyota wil...

Well, this is the 40th post here since the blog opened on February 1. I hope everyone is enjoying it so far. As for today, there is not a whole Hell of a lot going on in the sports world. I didn't really find anything link-worthy today, so instead, you can just have my ramblings. *I don't care if Manny doesn't report till April 1, I really don't. Just so long as he does his usual .300-40-120, I'll be happy. *Everyone is at camp except Manny...David is having his physical as we speak. I'm excited to see him. Word is he's put on a lot of muscle over the winter. *If you were looking for a team to give your 40 year old ass another 13 million dollars, don't you think you may show up in great shape? Curt Schilling did not think so. *Next year I am going to spring training. *The B's beat Toronto last night 3-0 with Tim Thomas recording his 3rd shut out of the year. They have now won 5 of 6. *Michigan State knocked off Wisconsin last night in a very f...

From the looks of things below, Papelbon could be back in the pen for 2007. That would be a huge stress relief off my shoulders. Of all things I hate in sports, shaky bullpens are at the top. February 20, 2007 The closer? By Eric Wilbur, Boston.com Staff Has the closing situation been solved already? In an interview with the Globe’s Gordon Edes that will air on NESN tomorrow night, Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein hinted for the first time that Jonathan Papelbon remains an option to be the team’s closer this season, which would suggest that the medical staff likes how Papelbon's shoulder has reacted this week. And during their meeting with the media, owner John Henry and Tom Werner seemed even more confident that a decision had been reached. Werner: Well, we don’t have one today, but hopefully we’ll have one soon. Henry: I thought we had one today. Werner: Well, you said we did. Henry: We do have one, I guess we just can’t tell you who that is. It hasn’t been announced? No cl...

I feel that it is my duty to give you links like this. Pictures of Tom and Giselle in Paris .

After spending the majority of my weekend 1. googling "Tom Brady Bridget Baby", 2. being drunk, 3. being hungover, I have neglected the rest of the sports world. Here are some random thoughts from the weekend: *After an exhaustive search, the San Diego Chargers hired ... Norv Turner ? I guess it was his 58-82-1 career record that won them over. Also, I find it bizaree that the Bear's defensive coordinator Ron Riveria signed on to be a the linebacker's coach after being the defensive coordinator for the Bears. Maybe he's banking on this not working out. Also, after a lot of the surprise teams this year were coached by relatively unknown guys like Sean Payton and Eric Mangini, why would go to with a guy like Norv. That Alex Smith is a genius (the GM, not the QB). *Bernie Williams hasn't reported to Yankees camp yet . (as far as MFY go, I always thought Bernie seemed like a nice guy). Oh, and A-Rod misses having sleepovers with Derek. Seriously. Not th...

The girls of the Inside Track have never been more excited... They do have some good info in here, I'll give them that.

The NY Post has a report that everyone's favorite QB is going to be a daddy. Rumor has it that Bridget Moynahan is 3 month's pregnant with Tom's baby. I wonder what Giselle thinks about all this?

Happy 24th Birthday Erin! I love you! and Happy 25th Birthday Manny DelCarmen! (love you,too)

So, supposedly this is the from the audio that the NFL records of what goes through the coache's headsets during games. This from NE @ SD. This is from the AOL Sports Blog... You'll remember the infamous 4th and 11 call that probably doomed SD in the first quarter. This was the exchange that was heard "down-the-line" between Marty and Cam Cameron. Marty: We're going for it. Cameron: No f'ing way coach, we're kicking. Marty: Find a play. We're going for it. From then on it was a huge argument with cursing left and right. They had to call a time out and when Rivers came over he said, "What's going on, why aren't we kicking the field goal?" So early in the second quarter, Marty yells into the mic, "Goddamnit, I'm so hyped up someone needs to get over here and calm me down." So the special teams coach comes over to him and talks to him and Marty says, "I was pulling into the parking lot today and I decided we were going...

Keith Foulke announced his retirement today saying that he has been experiencing elbow pain in recent weeks. I absolutely believe that he ended his career winning us the 2004 World Series. In 14 innings pitched in the 2004 playoffs, Foulke gave up 1…ONE earned run and four hits in playoffs in which it seemed like he pitched every game. He pitched a scoreless 1.2 against the Angels in the clinching game of the ALDS. In the ALCS against the Yanks, he appeared in games 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6. He pitched 2.2 innings in game 4, followed by 1.1 innings in game 5 (what closer would pitch almost 3 innings one day, then come back and pitch the next day?!?), and then came back with an inning in game 6 for the save and force game 7. I mean, you can’t argue with Papi being MVP, but Foulke made a good case. He was never the same in 2005 or 2006. He was the kind of guy who wanted the ball when the game is on the line and I believe we’d still be hearing 19-18 with out him. Also, he always seemed ...

Charlie Weiss testifies that Tom was the only one who knew he was having surgery. They are so in love.

So long Lenny

DiNardo to A's By Steve Silva, Boston.com Staff Cross Lenny DiNardo off your list of potential Red Sox closers for 2007 because he's headed for Oakland. The A's claimed DiNardo off waivers today. Lenny DiNardo was tipping his cap as he said hello to a friend when he came on to the field to work out this morning, but by the end of the day he would be waving goodbye, as he was claimed off of waivers by the Oakland Athletics. (Globe Staff Photo / Jim Davis) The Red Sox announced that right fielder J.D. Drew, who signed a $70 million deal with Boston as a free agent on January 26, was officially added to the 40-man roster. Drew's deal had to be reviewed by major league baseball and the Sox needed to open a slot on their 40-man roster for Drew. The 27-year old DiNardo went 1-2 with a 7.85 ERA in 13 games, including six starts, with Boston in 2006. He missed missed 92 games after straining his neck in May. The lefthander came back from the disabled list on Aug. 31 and made on...

Here is Buster Olney's blog entry from today from ESPN.com. I know not everyone has Insider access so I'm posting the whole story here. For those new to the blog, it is a tradition -- a three-year tradition, now -- to begin spring training with the Deion Sanders story. And I'm flying to Florida Thursday. I don't collect autographs, and the one souvenir baseball I have on my desk contains a full sentence, rather than a signature. The black print is all but faded now, but the message remains indelible, 16 years later. Deion Sanders wanted to kick my ass. In 1989, I was just out of college and working for the Nashville Banner, covering the Nashville Sounds, the Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. I loved the job and jumped at any chance I could to write. So when I heard some griping about the Columbus Clippers' new center fielder -- Neon Deion, as he was known back then -- this had all the makings of a perfect feature. He was mostly known for his football explo...

Sir Charles and the worlds oldest ref are going head to head in a race all star weekend.

Good Morning. I'd like to thank Mother Nature for giving us enough snow to make it a pain to go to work, but not nearly enough snow to close the office. I'd also like to thank her for giving our New York offices enough snow that they are probably going to close early. I'd also like to mention that our Ohio and Kentucky offices closed early yesterday, so thanks for that. Anyway, not a lot going on today. The B's beat the Oiler's 3-0 last night in "Hail to the Chief" night. Apparently, the Celtics did not play the Bucks last night in Milwaukee, but rather will play them here in Boston, tonight. The lesson there is that you should never take what I have to say about the Celtics to be true. Down in good old Fort Myers Diasuke Matsuzaka played CATCH yesterday. Wright Thomson, writer for ESPN.com drove 110 from Miami to Fort Myers to watch Dice-K play catch. (scroll down a little in the blog). A good AP story on Lester . My favorite person named WilyMo is goi...

A very interesting article on Devern Hansack who no hit the O's for five innings in Trot's last game.

Dice-K played a little catch with George Kottaras and met with some of the Sox staff. Now, is it just me, or does he look a little chubby?

Anyone watch the new last night? They had RED SOX HIGHLIGHTS . Of course, it wasn ’t an actual game, it was Beckett, Delcarmen , Lester, and Papelbon playing CATCH. That’s right, catch, with an actual baseball and glove. After a winter of hot stove talk and “10 questions about the Red Sox ” columns, I’ll take it gladly. I was at the gym when they showed the sports part of the news (I know, the gym, I’ ve been so bored that I have gone to the gym the past two days to kill time). Anyways, Josh is sporting some new facial hair, which, I’m still up in the air about. Papelbon has some long on top, short on the sides thing going on (it’s not quite a party in the back yet, but well on its way). And, best news of all, Jon Lester looked tanned and healthy, which is so great. Here’s some good quotes from Amalie Benjamin’s blog… With a cap on, hiding his still growing-in hair, Jon Lester appeared almost like his old self today at the minor league complex. Lester was one of the first few to ar...

This is a pretty funny story, kind of related to my old friend Nomar Garciaparra . *I don't want to hear anything about how it's from the Toronto Sun.

From www.survivinggrady.com ... Today is truck day . Which means we're all one step closer to nights with Remy and DO. Afternoons with Timlin and Tavarez. Breakfast with Coco and Papi. Checking scores on Sportsdesk and staring just a bit too long at Hazel's cleavage and swearing this is the year I finally grow a 'stache like Eck's. Begging for tickets and refusing to leave the house before the final out is recorded and taping up my knuckles for those nights when we just can't push that winning run across in the ninth. Soundproofing the apartment and fire-proofing the furniture and re-installing that layer of bulletproof glass over the TV screen. Leafletting the neighborhood so they know that the bloodcurdling screams they'll be hearing from my place are nothing to worry about. Unless it's in October. And we're playing the Yankees. And I've got my gun permit.It all begins with a truck. With a convoy. And we're ready to roll once again.

They have a very special bond. Not that there is anything wrong with that. There is a reason they call him Sexy Rexy.

The truck carrying all the Red Sox equipment down to Fort Myers leaves today! Hopefully this dark abyss that is not quite football and not quite baseball will end soon.

Joe Mauer signed a 4 year contract extension with the Twins, with 33 million. With the way teams were spending like drunk sailors this past off season, you'd think he could have gotten way more in the open market, but he is a hometown boy.

I love waking up on Sunday mornings, er, afternoons and knowing the Globe is just waiting outside my doorstep. Gordon Edes has a great article at the ridiculous lengths the Sox are going through to make Dice-K feel comfortable. It's a good thing that he is going to get those 10 free flights each year because I'm sure the millions of dollars he's going to be paid won't be able to cover those flights. Edes also has the top 10 storylines of spring training. Happy 90th Birthday Dom Dimaggio ! Mike Reiss has the football notes ...I love him.

I laid in bed this morning, wondering how come getting ready, going out, dancing, taking shots, and waking up with a hangover the next day never seems to get old. Just read the Globe's Sports section. Nothing going on at all today, the Celtics lost 17 and the fans at the TD Banknorth Garden let 'em hear it. I'm re-thinking my decision to buy a cute Celtics shirt at the game last week. I guess there is always St. Patrick's Day. There was, however, this except this little tidbit about Tom. "Quarterback Tom Brady, who is playing in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, told KNBR radio in San Francisco that he didn't watch the Super Bowl XLI because he wasn't interested and it was "too painful to watch." He also said "general soreness" kept him from playing in today's Pro Bowl as the first alternate. General soreness is going to keep me from watching todays Pro-Bowl in Hawaii.

Bill Simmon's has some thoughts about the Super Bowl ...including this little tidbit... It's also the place where I finally met Tom Brady -- not because he knew my columns, but because one of his friends knows a good friend of mine from back home. Poor Brady was trapped inside a roped-off area hiding next to the bar, with his buddies shielding him from any unexpected approaches, almost like an offensive line. He's extremely friendly and jarringly tall (a legitimate 6-foot-5). We ended up commiserating about the Pats-Colts loss for a few minutes (needless to say, he was still kicking himself about the 21-3 lead) before one of the Farrelly Brothers appeared out of nowhere and I ducked away -- if we were introduced, either he would have taken a swing at me for my "Fever Pitch" review, or I would have taken a swing at him because it was his fault that I had to see Jimmy Fallon high-fiving Curtis Leskanic 45 seconds into the greatest sporting moment of my life. So that...

I went 0-3 on the chance to buy Red Sox tickets for Opening Day, Patriots Day, and the Yankees. Anyone have any luck?

Pretty hilarious post from Kissing Suzy Kolber regarding Chris Simm's brother Matt's party habits / him being a tool. The Bruin's gave up a natural hat trick (I don't know what natural means) in 100 seconds last night, which, I imagine to be pretty quick. Tony Romo not only isn't dating Carrie Underwood after all, he is going to be the NFC's holder in the Pro-Bowl. They are going to have Rex Grossman start at QB also. Bill is thrilled. Daniel Graham and Asante Samuel do not want to be tagged as franchise players. I'm shocked. That's about it. I'm off to look into buying some Paw Sox tickets.

but I thought Bronson loved that Dirty Water...

Some thoughts from the Celtics last night... Celts scored 27 in the 1st quarter to lead 27-17, and then scored 52 the rest of the game, including 13! in a terrible 2nd quarter. They gave up an 11th pick for Telfair? Good thing he's played 15.53 minutes last night. I really like Gomes. Even if he is a Yankees fan (he's from CT). He led all Celtic scorers with 15. Wally Szcezerbiak started to look good off the bench, hit a few 3's and promptly sprained his ankle. Kind of the story of the Celtics right now. In the begining of the 4th they started throwing up 3's even though they were down 12, with 12 minutes left. Why not go to the paint and get 2. I really don't like Scalabrine, I just don't. Dwayne Wade is unbelieveable. He had a very quiet 30, had a ton of amazing defensive plays, and throws himself around with abandon. I feel like eventually he's going to hurt himself because he's always slamming himself into the floor. (he also maybe got the l...

Alex Rodriguez has a new book about a boy names Alex who makes an error to cost the team the game and then loses his confidence as a result. I wonder how he ever came up with that idea. Also, this is worth mentioning, a die hard Bear's fan has legally changed his name to Peyton Manning after the Bears beat the Colts.

Some important info here. I’m so excited to be talking / thinking about the Sox. My outlook is a lot more optimistic than usual. Don’t worry though, I’ll probably be my old, miserable self by opening day. I just can’t wait for some baseball. As you read this you’ll probably notice at some points I tried to write using stats and stuff, and then I got bored with that and started rambling. Also, thanks to http://www.baseball-reference.com/ for all these stats that will be used today. This site is a great way to kill a few hours / days. 1B Youuuuukkkkkkkkkkkkk. Last year was the first time Youk appeared in 100 or more games (147) and responded with 13 HR, 72 RBI, and a .281 batting. Obviously you’re hoping for more power from your 1B but more than anything, I’d like my mom to stop asking why everyone is booing him every time he is up. 2B I was going to write how Dustin isn’t ready and how the Sox should have resigned Loretta. Then I realized Dustin was born on August 17, 1983, making me a...

Matt Light is going to the Pro-Bowl. I bet he's glad Jason Taylor and him are on the same team this time around. Mike Lowell is answering the phone, "Now batting 6th for the Colorado Rockies" when Terry calls. Julian Tavarez sprained his ankle in the Dominican. There goes the season. That could put a damper in the Todd Helton trade. Paul Pierce has a fever and Gerald Green is going to the slam dunk contest. Anyone care? Didn't think so, but I am going to see Dwayne tomorrow night.

Here is an interesting tidbit of J.D. Drew's off season work out / recovery plan. Quite frankly, I don't trust anyone who goes by J.D. but whose actual name is David Jonathan Drew. Is the J.D. his middle initial and last name? Was he called Jonathan as a child? These are things I need to know..and until further notice, everyone can call me J.A. (Jane Amanda). Anyways, here is his "routine". I especially like how he has a special device in his cell phone to limit radiation. QRS: Daily, 24 minutes on a relaxed session before bed; Apply to needed area (shoulder, knee) after workout. Lubriflex: Supplement to enhance joint cartilage and preserve joints. Vitatonic: Replenishes valuable nutrients. P2R (Prepare 2 Repair): Helps mitigate shock protein response created cellularly from exercise trauma; helps cells hydrate and recover faster. Cell phone strategy: Use of BIOpro chip and BIOpro pendant to limit radiation-induced damage to body's cells. Hyperbaric chamber/...

I cannot believe a 36 year old Jim Edmonds got 19 million dollars and a 33 year old Nomar signed for $500.000 less. We all know how I feel about Nomar. I can't believe Shawn Estes signed a minor league deal, he's only 33, didn't he used to be good? I have a terrible feeling Keith Foulke wins the AL Comeback Player of the Year. I think the BoSox over paid for Julio Lugo. I think the Red Sox, throwing around money like me with an open tab at 1:30 AM, should have signed Loretta for $3 million incase Pedroia can't hit. With the amount pitching costs these days, and Gil Meche and his 55-44 career record and 4.65 ERA getting 5 yrs / 55 million, the Sox could have found $5 million dollars for Foulke. Trot Nixon , RF 32 Signed Cleveland 1 yr. $3,000,000 I think I just threw up a little. I thought Andy Pettitte was 40, not 34. I'm very happy to see Rudy Seanez signed with the LA Dodgers. Better them than me. I can't believe David Wells has another year in him at 43. He...

I just checked my gmail, and I have an email from www.redsox.com inviting me to buy Colts Championship gear. How many Red Sox fans are going to be interested in buying Colts Championship gear. Honestly? How dare they?

I don't know why I am even reading these articles because they are only making me depressed, but... I am overjoyed that Adam is so freaking happy. Really, I am. I like the shot Bob Ryan takes at Eli at the end. Those always cheer me up. I am mildly happy that I won't have to read any more about how the Manning's can win the big games. How Peyton lost 3 State Championships in a row in high school, how he never beat Florida...Actually, I take that back, I'm really going to miss those. Overall, I have to say, that between the ridiculous pre game show, the horrible calling my Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, the poor play, crappy commericals and the fact that Peyton now has a ring, it was probably my least favorite Super Bowl ever. I'd have to put the over under on the amount of commericals Peyton films this week at 284. And I like the over. At least Papelbon is excited about starting. Gives me something to look forward too.

I don't think I have EVER seen anything so bizarre as that Cirque du Sole pregame show. It was like the Olympic Opening Ceremonies on LSD. Yeah, I caved and am watching the game.

I really like the Colts today. I think that defense came together at the right time, and Peyton Manning is without a doubt the best quarterback in the NFL. You can't be a talented as Peyton and not get a ring, it just doesn't happen. My pick: Colts - 33 Bears - 22 Manning: 28/40 350 yards 4 TD 0 INT Grossman: 10/33 173 1 TD 2 INT (can you tell my Super Bowl squares numbers are Colts-3 Bears-2?) So, hopefully, my reverse jinx above is enough to curse the Colts. I got my " I hate Peyton Manning " shirt on and am ready to go. My real pick: Colts - 23 Bears - 32 (yes, I know my numbers are improbable) Manning: 20/38 175 2 TD 1 INT Grossman: 22/40 275 3 TD 1 INT Also, if Adam kicks the game winning kick, I will absolutely not get out of bed till Opening Day.

Here it is, the inaugural blog entry. I’m planning to use this space to post my thoughts on the Red Sox, Patriots, Boston, pop culture, life, and whatever else I might think up. I’m hoping this will give my friends a reprieve from the massive amounts of emails that I fill their inboxes with daily, and hopefully add something insightful and worth reading. It has been a dark two weeks here in Patriot-land, and I don’t see any chance of reprieve anytime soon. If the Colts win this weekend, we will be subjected to the anointing of Peyton Manning for the rest of the off-season. If the Bears win, well, the Patriots will still not be SB Champs for the 4th time in 6 years. Personally, I’m still pretty upset the Colts have managed to ruin one of my favorite days of the year. I love the Super Bowl. I love the game, love the commercials, love Super Bowl parties, love it all. And this year, I will be spending it wearing my “I hate Peyton Manning” shirt hiding under a rock. At least if the...