There's this...

Was this bad timing for the release of the "Bobble Ankle Doll" , or is it just me?

Do you want your own Red Sox World Series Champion Ring?
Massachusetts residents can visit redsox.com and enter the "World Series Ring Raffle" for a chance to win an authentic 2004 Red Sox World Champion Ring. Raffle tickets are $10 and three winning raffle tickets will be chosen at random.

According to redsox.com, "the rings will be the same size, make, and model, and consist of the same materials and jewels as the Red Sox players' World Series Championship rings. Each raffle winner's last name will be engraved on the side of his/her ring." Wow.



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If you grew up in New England and still have a soft spot for Larry Bird the way that I do, check out Dan Shaughnessy's article in today's Boston Globe:

Opinions are flying from Bird by Dan Shaughnessey

"Bird is in town this week, and yesterday we learned that Larry rooted for the Red Sox in last year's World Series against his beloved Cardinals, and that Manny Ramirez is his favorite hitter. Oh, and Bird's seventh-grade son is a rabid Patriots fan living in the heart of Peyton Manning Country."
Read the full article

Boston Globe: Drinking at Fenway Park "has spiraled totally out of control"...

"The volume of beer sold at Fenway last year jumped roughly 20 percent from the year before, according to information provided by the Red Sox. Two employees of Aramark, the company that manages Fenway concessions, and a beer salesman who supplies the ballpark said they believe that since the new owners took over beer sales have increased significantly more than 20 percent..."

"They put a beer stand every 15 or 20 feet," (said a veteran officer). "Every corner of the ballpark has a beer stand. Never in my entire life have I seen so much alcohol being served over there."
Read the full Boston Globe article

Example

The NBA playoffs start tonight. Maybe the sudden stroke of luck in New England will rub off on the Celtics. Too bad the Bruins aren't playing this year -- they just might be missing their chance at the Stanley Cup.

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Tropicana Field officially has the best ticket promotion: Friday night was "College Night in the Beach" (a section at Tropicana Field) featuring a $3 beach ticket and $1 drafts "while they last." Can you imagine what that would be like at Fenway?

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The Last Place Yankees Lose Again

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Poor Nomah

"Cubs shortstop Nomar Garciaparra will be sidelined at least two-to-three months because of a torn left groin."

Chicago Sun Times' Mariotti calls Nomar "descendent of the Billy Goat"...

"So now we have the new sinister force of Wrigleyville, the Curse of the Nomar. Think not? It can't be mere coincidence that the Boston Red Sox, after trading so-called franchise icon Nomar Garciaparra last July, subsequently purged 86 years of Bambino baggage and won a World Series as Drew Barrymore canoodled Jimmy Fallon at Busch Stadium."
Read the full article

Boston Globe's Bob Ryan kicks Nomah while he's down:

"Look, I'm hardly the first person to raise the question. When he was with the Red Sox, who was bold enough to link our fair shortstop, a noted workout guy, with the dreaded S-word? But he did go from, like, standard athlete issue normal to ultra-buffed in one winter, and he has been -- there is no other way to say it -- systematically breaking down for the past six years, so you can't help wondering just what he's been putting into his body other than Wheaties and sirloin steaks..."
Read the full article


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Tough Loss

Photo by TollerScream

Tough loss last night for the Red Sox -- I really hate second guessing, but I thought that Terry Francona blew it by putting Jay Payton in defensively for Manny in the eighth inning with the Sox only up 3-1. It would have been Manny at bat in the bottom of the eighth with runners on base instead of Payton. Two runs just isn't enough cushion. Tomorrow @ (first place?) Baltimore.

Update: I was glad to read in today's Boston Globe that the substitution was health related. Manny had a sore quad. Phew.

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Quotes
"Manny hit a curveball into the universe." -- Kevin Millar on Manny's monster HR last night.

"You don't want to bump into anybody, especially as expensive as the beers are." -- Trot on his HR saving catch over the RF fence on Monday.

How can we not love these guys?

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Have you noticed that it is fashionable now for closers to wear glasses? Where are Foulke's spectacles?

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There are Las Vegas odds on who is going to be the next American Idol. Carrie Underwood is the current favorite at 1.3/1. Don't ask me how I know this. You also could have placed a bet at paddypower.com on who was going to be the new Pope. Joseph Ratzinger was actually the favorite at 7/2. Wow.

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That was a cute little win by the Yankees Monday. We all know what happened the last time they won 19-8!

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$200M For Nothin'

Notes from the Bleachers

First off -- just on the off chance that we have any loyal blog readers, sorry about the lack of posts over the last week. We've been using up all of our creative energy trying to get t-shirts out in the mail.

Tender Moment (photo from Boston Herald)

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Current American League East standings:

Orioles
Blue Jays
Red Sox
Devil Rays
Yankees

Word out of the Bronx today is that The Boss is Angry. According to the New York Daily News, Steinbrenner had a temper tantrum after the Bankees 8-4 loss today to the Orioles:

"Enough is enough. I am bitterly disappointed as I'm sure all Yankee fans are by the lack of performance by our team. It's unbelievable to me that the highest paid team in baseball would start the season in such a deep funk. They are not playing like true Yankees."

(Have we actually determined what a "true Yankee" is?)

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It sounds as though Red Sox officials will make a decision early this week on what punishment to dish out to the fans involved in "the incident" with Gary Sheffield at Fenway Thursday. The word is that Chris House, the fan that "hit" Sheffield may get his season tickets revoked. What I really want to know though is whether the GAP Guy intentionally dumped beer on Sheffield, or was it just sent flying by the incident?

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Did anyone else think that the story about A-Rod saving a kid from being hit by a truck on Newbury Street was a little bit strange? The biggest clue that this was a publicity stunt was that A-Rod said that the truck was traveling at 40-50 miles per hour. When has a truck been able to travel 40-50 mph on Newbury Street in the middle of the day?

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Note to the remyreport.com: It's time for you to make What Would Jerry Remy Do? (WWJRD?) t-shirts. Note to everyone else: The Rem Dawg's site now sells Wally's Adirondack chair.

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File this under the list of strange ballpark promotions: Today was "Dog Day" at US Cellular Field in Chicago. Fans were allowed to bring their dogs to see the White Sox play the Mariners. What I want to know is were the dogs counted as part of the attendance? In related news, check out photos from the Red Sox Pet Parade and Rally.

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Great decision by the Red Sox to remove the glass in front of the .406 club at Fenway by next season.

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I'm not sure if it is going to spur an afternoon chocolate-dipped banana latte ritual, but I definitely enjoyed the new Dunkin' Donuts commercial featuring Theo Epstein and Johnny Damon. For anyone who hasn't seen it, Epstein catches Damon concealing a bald head with a wig.

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Bronson Arroyo is really into his hair.

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So I'm about two years behind on this because I just finished watching Season 1 on DVD, but the show Arrested Development is really funny.

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Tomorrow's Sox game starts at 8 am Pacific Time.

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Has anyone heard from Boston Dan since he left to attend the Opening Day game in the Bronx?

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A Beautiful Sight

Go Sox!

Wally
Originally uploaded by tollerSCREAM.

I can't believe it is opening night. Go Sox!!