Moneyball review

This is an "oddball" movie (no pun intended) in that it is based on a true story. However, because Billy Beane has created much of his own legend, it might even be hard to know what is true. It's hard to know how much to commit to when watching it. One of the last scenes in the movie has Beane being offered a ridiculous amount of money from the Boston Red Sox owner John Henry to be the new GM. He turned it down. That much is true. The irony in Boston is that the Kraft family and John Henry's group used this philosophy to build championship teams. The Red Sox later hired Bill James, the father of Sabermetrics, as a consultant and built a championship team.

Yesterday, Bill Belichek and Tom Brady just surpassed Shula and Moreno as the winningest coach-QB combo in history. That's a little of what Moneyball is about. A team has less to do with individual players and coaches as wins. You get wins from runs (or points in football) -- or keeping points from happening.

I know almost nothing about the fine details of football, but I saw in 2001 why the Patriots could beat supposedly better teams on the way to a Superbowl. Montana had Jerry Rice. Manning had Marvin Harrison. Yes, Brady went to the Superbowl throwing most of his passes to Troy Brown. Troy Brown? Bill Belichick was 42-58 as a head coach before Brady. On paper it makes no sense. The reason why they won in 2001/2002 is that they eeked out enough extra points from their special teams to win those games. But "on paper" those are the type of statistics that don't usually show up. A lot has to do with the combination of statistics with certain players on the field (and coaches) rather than individual statistics. Most of the time, the best coach is simply the guy who sticks to the winning formula long enough.

What Billy Beane did with baseball was to ignore all the usual statistics. He popularized the idea of OPS (the first time I saw that I said, What the heck is that?) -- on base plus slugging percentage. He realized that in a 162 game season, it matters more how a whole team plays rather than three or four superstars. He would substitute the average OPS of three players over a whole season to replace the OPS of one superstar. He would trade players who were popular with the fans who had high numbers in every category, but who did not walk a lot. He taught that outs were bad, steals were bad, sacrifices of any type (because they resulted in outs) were bad. He cut across the grain of a century of conventional wisdom. He took a bottom tier team to the post season and broke a record with 20 consecutive wins in 2002.

This is also exactly the reason the Red Sox and Patriots won five World Championships in the last ten years. Neither team has ever been the best team on paper (with the exception of the 2007 Pats of course) for the past ten years, but the experts often look at the wrong statistics.

What's so great about baseball? A 5-4-3 Triple Play.

In all of Red Sox history spanning over 100 years, this was the first "round the horn triple play" ever turned by the club. In the 20th century, only 60 of this variety - third to second to first - have been completed. It is considered one of the most difficult feats in major league sports.

In a previous post, I wrote that the "straight steal of home," which was accomplished by Jacoby Ellsbury in 2009 against the Yankees, was one of the rarest feats in baseball, but it turns out that the round the horn triple play is even more rare.

Seven World Championships in 10 years!

Bruins 2011


Celtics 2008


Red Sox 2007


Patriots 2005


Red Sox 2004


Patriots 2004


Patriots 2002

Now what this means is that there is still time for EIGHT Championship teams in a decade.

Red Sox 2011?

Here's an amazing thought. In 2001, no Boston sports team had won a championship since the 1986 Celtics -- a 15 year drought!

In 2001, the Pats had never won a championship, the Celtics hadn't won since 1986, the Bruins since 1972 and the Red Sox since 1918.

Now the Patriots are the team with the longest drought. They haven't won a championship in six years. Amazing! It's changed the psyche of the Boston sports fan.

Manny's Redemption?

Manny Ramirez returned to Fenway Park for the first time in almost two years this past weekend. He received a mixed reaction by Boston fans who clearly have mixed feelings about Manny Being Manny. I was surprised to see that he returned to more boos than cheers. I say it's time to forgive Manny and receive him as one of the four great Hall of Fame left fielders that include Williams, Yaz and Rice who have played at Fenway.

The following appeared today in the Boston Globe:

Ramirez told Red Sox Spanish Beisbol Network play-by-play announcer Uri Berenguer Saturday that he regretted his transgressions in Boston. “There’s no reason I should have behaved that way in Boston,’’ Ramirez told Berenguer in a 45-minute private conversation in Spanish.

Berenguer said that Ramirez no longer speaks of retirement, and said that the length of his career will be determined by a higher power. Berenguer said Ramirez has found God, reads the Bible on a daily basis, and quoted scriptures constantly during their conversation.

Ramirez went 5 for 12 in the series, including two hits in each of the last two games, with a home run and a stolen base.

It's fun to be a Boston sports fan in May!

Up until last week, I was bemused by the fact that I could watch the Bruins in playoff hockey, the Celtics in playoff basketball and the Red Sox by flipping back and forth between channels during commercials. Or I'd go to a sports restaurant and watch all three at once.

What other city has that?

In case you are wondering: None. That's who. Only in Boston.

It's fun to be a fan in the Golden Era of Boston Sports!

And maddening ...

The Bruins

First, a word about the "great collapse." No one expected the Bruins to go anywhere this year. So when they knocked off the Sabres and went up by three games to none while the eighth seeded Canadiens were waiting in the wings, everyone began expecting the Stanley Cup to come back to Boston for the first time in almost 38 years. I distinctly remember the morning at the bus stop in 1972 when every kid in Framingham wore a Bruins cap and talked about Bobby Orr's and tried to act out his game winning goal flying through the air.

But 2010 was not to be. It was the fourth greatest collapse in postseason history by any professional team. To put it in perspective, this playoff run was made by a woefully inconsistent, streaky team that got as far as they did because they played as well as they could in three playoff series, but then lost four in a row just like they did many times in the regular season. It is maddening, but perfectly believable. On the bright side, they'll be back in the playoffs next year and the year after.

As Forrest Gump would say: "And that's all I have to say about that!"

Celtics

Ten down, six more wins to go!

In a recent blog post, I asked, Can the Celtics flip the switch?  I argued that they could still beat any team any time they are all healthy. They can go in a moment from being a sometimes-good-sometimes-mediocre team that blows big leads late in games, to being the Celtics that have won 17 World Championships.

In the postseason, they've become the creaky old veteran team that makes every young NBA star look bad. What is beautiful about this Celtics team is that they are so old school. They play team basketball. They have the "Big Four" in Allen, Garnett, Pierce, Rondo and the deepest supporting cast. Every other team they have faced has one superstar that they can neutralize. They made the best player in the NBA, Lebron "King" James, look so awful he actually quit trying in game six of the quarter finals. They are in the process of making Dwight "Superman" Howard look even worse. Then they can beat you offensively with four different players -- one per quarter.

I'll go further out on a limb with a prediction. The Celtics are going to sweep the Magic by taking the next two games in Boston and arrive with fresh legs to play over-rated west coast team. They are now 62.5 percent of the way to their 18th banner. Then they have Rajon Rondo coming on strong. The Celtics will be playoff bound for years to come.

Red Sox

As Mark Twain would say, "The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated."
40 games into the season, the Sox have won 20 games and lost 20 games.

"Everyone knows that the season is ovah!"

Right?

Not so fast. What has done in the Red Sox so far is inconsistent pitching and numerous games lost by one or two runs. The prognosis at the beginning of the year was that they had the best pitching staff in baseball -- a fearsome starting line-up with three aces and three more quality starters. They had Gold Gloves in half their defensive positions. On paper, they were supposed to be the best defensive team in recent history. The big concern was an aging offense in Ortiz, Varitek, and Lowell with too few younger sluggers in the starting line-up.

Ironically, the pitching and defense has been bumpy to say the least. But this will right itself. Still people are saying that this team is too far behind to gain any ground on the Rays and the Yankees, who have played stellar baseball in the first month and a half.

But hold the phone!

As of today these are the offensive statistics for the Red Sox:

First in the Majors in Runs Scored (210)
First in the Majors in Hits (378)
Second in the Majors in Home Runs (55)
Second in the Majors in Total Bases (636)
Third in the Majors in Slugging Percentage (.454 SLG)
Third in the Majors in On Base plus Slugging (.804 OPS)

This is without two of the key members of their starting line-up, Mike Cameron and Jacoby Ellsbury, who have been out for almost all of the season so far, but will both be back by next week. When the starting pitching clicks into place, the Red Sox will go on a tear that could last most of the season. Six games behind in the Wild Card standings is nothing at this point in the season. I won't guarantee they will win the division. But I predict the Red Sox will be in first place either in the division or the Wild Card at some point before September.

Let me pick a random date: How about July 23rd? That's day I have right field box seats at Fenway Park. It will be vs. the Detroit Tigers -- Johnny Damon's triumphant return from disgrace -- the first player since Babe Ruth to win World Series rings with New York and Boston! That is a good omen if there ever was one. I'll write a blog entry on July 24th and report on where they are at in the standings.

Patriots

Hey, it's May! If you are thinking about football already you are not from Boston.

Everything You Need to Know About Opening Day - Steve Tyler and Neil Diamond.

Here is everything you need to know about opening day.

Steve Tyler sang "God Bless America" in the middle of the seventh inning.



Almost as good, Neil Diamond and the sell-out crowd sang "Sweet Caroline" in the middle of the eighth.



And even better, the Red Sox came overcame a four run deficit to beat the Yankees 9 to 7.

Good times never seemed so good. There is nothing better in sports than being part of Red Sox Nation!

Quote of the Month: Johnny Damon

“There aren’t too many guys with rings from each team.’’

"Here he is, the one, the only ... Hey! Wait a minute! That's me!" - Groucho Marx

I haven't really bothered too much with unrelated trivia so far, but here it is. There is a new independent film out that actually looks quite brilliant. It's a movie about a subject matter that transcends the subject matter. Granted it's been done before. For instance, I'm reminded of a friend of mine who has made a documentary about JAWS fans. He can't sell it because he'd either need to buy the licensing to all the JAWS clips he features in the film -- or he has to sell it to the studio for less than what he put into it. I've often joked that I ought to make "THE MAKING OF The Shark Is Still Working." And then sell that to JAWS fans instead.

I read JAWS as a kid and saw the movie and was afraid to swim in the ocean for a whole summer. I was even afraid to swim in Lake Winnipesaukee (since it's less than 200 miles from Martha's Vineyard). I am not a JAWS fanatic. I don't think it's one of the greatest movies of all time. But if you've ever been a fan of anything and you like JAWS, then you can identify with this film about the fans of JAWS. I'd like to one day actually buy it and watch it.

They interviewed Peter Benchley, Stephen Spielberg and Richard Dreyfuss. They actually got Roy Scheider to narrate it and got the original trailer voice to narrate their trailer! And now they can't release it! I mean, c'mon!

What could be more frustrating? How about making a movie about a Red Sox fan who loves the Red Sox more than his fiancée and can't get married until he forsakes the hope of Red Sox ever winning the World Series. He lives in the North End, by the way, a few blocks from The Boston Worship Center, a church I attended twice a week for three years. And he works as a public school teacher. The movie is actually based on a British film by the same name about a teacher who loves the soccer team Arsenal. Same plot different location. The details don't matter. It's a story within a story. It's transcendent and archetypal.

Then, just as they were about to release the movie, the Red Sox won the World Series! Then they had to reshoot the whole ending! 

If you ever watched in shock and awe as Cher or Marisa Tomei stood at the podium at the Oscars with the award for best actress (for a romantic comedy no less!) you realize what a travesty it is that the Farrelly Brothers never won the Oscar for Fever Pitch. They should have had a special category for "cosmic irony" or something like that just for them. 

You don't have to be a Red Sox fan to appreciate the theme of the film. You just have to at one time have had an obsession about something not human -- something you love that can never love you back that always breaks your heart. In the end, when you let go of false hope and you realize that there are more important things in life, hope springs eternal and all your wildest dreams come true.

Here's the ending of the British version:

Not taking anything away from Arsenal fans, but there is nothing like a game at Fenway. Even though there are no YouTube versions of  the "Special Red Sox Extended Version" of the American film, you can get a little taste of what Fenway is like by watching this:

Then comes Do It Again - a documentary by Boston Globe Reporter about making a documentary (a story within a story within a story) about his attempt to get the rock group The Kinks back together. It has all the same elements of the above and more.  The guy's name is Geoff Edgers. Like the character in Fever Pitch, he's my alter ego.

To fully get the following review of his film, first you have to watch this YouTube video.

It's really expensive to make a film -- even an Indie film -- and Edgers uses Kinks songs that have licensing fees. So Geoff Edgers is doing what my JAWS fanatic friend is doing. He's shopping the film around at film festivals and hoping to create enough of a buzz to have it distributed and make some money. Or at least break even. He's been nice enough to correspond with me via email. This is what I wrote to him:

Do you do the same thing I do every morning?

Come into work, sit down at my desk with a cup of black coffee, check email, check the Globe sports page, check Dave Emlen's Unofficial Kinks site hoping for an announcement of a concert I can see, a link to a new video or interview ... or better ... a REUNION ANNOUNCEMENT!

I had tickets to see Dave Davies at the Bull Run in Shirley, I was so sure that this was the precursor, the trial run.

I live in Florida now (I grew up in Framingham and saw the Kinks in concert 4 years in a row when I was in college) so I had airfare from Tampa to Manchester NH. Even after I heard the concert was canceled (postponed?) the airfare reticketing fee was so expensive ($150) that I made the trip anyway. I got to visit family, but it was an empty trip into the cold with a long layover through Cleveland on the return.

Thanks for letting me vent. Very few other people would understand.

What do I have to do to see your film?

- Jay Rogers

Hey Jay... Great message. And I was going to that show, except I live in Boston so it wasn't as financially painful. As for seeing our film, here's the deal... I've applied to a couple of Florida Film Festivals. If we get in, we could be in Palm Springs and Sarasota as early as April. If we don't, we could be waiting for Fort. Lauderdale in Oct. Of course, maybe you want to hit the road to Cleveland (March 26/27), North Carolina, Atlanta, Nashville or DC (all in April.) We also play Bermuda May 20.

I worked at the Middlesex News back in the '90s so maybe you actually got the paper I was on back then.

Best, Geoff

Reuniting the Kinks or one man's mid-life crisis in celluloid

Review by– Sam Strangeways

Quest: Geoff Edgers (right) in "Do It Again."

Do It Again, directed by Robert Patton-Spruill

Tonight at the Speciality Cinema at 9.15 p.m. and Monday at 3.45 p.m.

Geoff Edgers is a reporter on the Boston Globe whose 40th birthday is fast approaching and who wants to do something big and vital before he truly hits middle age.

He sets himself what anyone with a reasonable knowledge of 1960s British rock music would probably describe as Mission Impossible: getting the original members of The Kinks back together.

The bad blood between Ray Davies and his brother Dave which finally caused the band to implode in the early 1990s is legendary.

But Edgers, a huge fan who thinks The Kinks are underrated, is convinced he can pull it off.

The idea is a neat device for a documentary which is really about a man reluctantly waving goodbye to his youth and trying to fulfil at least some of his own musical ambitions.

Edgers is not entirely likeable there's a touch of the arrogant waster about him but that only adds to the enjoyment of the film.

His wife is a perfect foil to this and we see her reminding him about the bills they have to pay before he sets off on his adventure and describing his obsession with the elder Davies brother with weary resignation.

Thanks to his newspaper credentials, Edgers manages to set up interviews with various famous fans of The Kinks. Sting and REM's Peter Buck probably the best known among them.

He takes his guitar to each meeting and manages to persuade (almost all) the musicians to play a favourite Kinks song with him. There is something a little cringeworthy about this, but also something rather sweet.

Edgers was in a local band in Boston in his younger days and he can certainly strum and sing decently.

Kinks fans will really enjoy watching these impromptu covers that director Robert Patton-Spruill captured on film as well as seeing the expressions of the artists when asked to take part.

As the film progresses, I found myself warming to Edgers. OK, so he doesn't want to change the world and his quest is a bit daft, but if successful it would bring a lot of pleasure to a lot of people.

There is a really touching interview with Dave Davies, whom he tracks down in England and who has been ill recently.

He talks about his fractured relationship with his brother but won't articulate in front of the cameras what Ray would have to say to him there is clearly something he could say to bring the original band back together.

The fact that he is nowhere to be seen at a Kinks convention in London, where Ray takes to the stage with a different incarnation of the group, is really sad.

Before Edgers sets off for the UK, his young daughter tells him he must buy her a lobster dinner if he fails in his challenge.

You'll have to see the movie to find out if The Kinks Do It Again as in their 1985 song or if she gets her meal.

Red Sox Yankees rivalry heats up over an Irish tenor

It turns out that Irish tenor, Ronan Tynan, is not an anti-Semite, even though, much to the chagrin of Yankee fans, he was banished from Yankee Stadium due to a misunderstood remark. He's not even a "anti-dentite" for crying out loud!

To add insult to irony, he'll sing "God Bless America" in Fenway on opening day when the arrogant ones in pinstripes are in town. Just to add just a little tarnish to that 27th trophy! No doubt he'll get a ten minute standing ovation. The one thing I actually liked about Yankee Stadium ("the house that Hank built") is now coming to Boston just in time for St. Paddy's Day!

Here's a story almost too odd to be believed.

Scorned by New York, tenor regains a voice

Will Boston Sports Fans Determine Outcome of Senate Race?

Today's elections results may forever become known as "the slapshot heard 'round the world."

The Coakley/Brown race in Massachusetts has been heralded as the most important U.S. Senate election in recent history. The future of government run health care may hang on whether the Republicans can gain another seat that will break the Democrats' filibuster-proof super majority.

Scott Brown is not likely to become a conservative dream candidate, since he has backed a number of liberal issues in the past. But he'll instantly become one of the most well-known Senators if he wins, having the ability to work with the voting block of 41 Republicans to block Obama's far left-leaning agenda. He will likely give the Republican rebuttal to the State of the Union Address next week.

Even more notable is the role that Boston sports has played in this election. While Brown went hard after moderate, working class independents who dominate Massachusetts voters, Martha Coakley chose to dismiss her opponent's chances assuming the election was a lock once she won the Democratic primary.

Coakley bristled at the idea. Should she actually be seen "standing outside Fenway Park? In the cold? Shaking hands" of hockey fans at the annual outdoor Winter Classic Bruins-Flyers game? Then she brought in John Kerry, Bill Clinton and even Barack Obama to campaign for her. Obama promptly insulted Brown's pick-up truck that is featured in a campaign commercial designed to appeal to the working class independents.

Then, in the greatest gaffe in Massachusetts' politics since a helmuted Mike Dukakis drove a tank, Coakley criticized Scott Brown for bringing in former New York Major Rudolph Giuliani to campaign, since Rudy is, of course, "a Yankee fan."

But what about Curt Schilling's support? He's "another Yankee fan!" according to Coakley. That brought on a comical spat between Schilling and Coakley. Later, Boston College and Patriots football great Doug Flutie appeared at rallies with Schilling to show his support for Brown.

If Coakley loses, people will remember that her poll numbers nose-dived after she stupidly insulted followers of the Bruins, Red Sox and probably got Doug Flutie fans riled in the mix.

These are the "smahtest fans in America" after all. The very fact that Coakley would insult their intelligence speaks volumes about her competency to hold a Senate seat. Let's see if she can snipe at Celtics fans in the waning hours of her campaign.

Martha Coakley calls Curt Shilling a "Yankee fan" - Curt responds

"I've been called a lot of things...but never, I mean never, could anyone make the mistake of calling me a Yankee fan. Well, check that, if you didn't know what the hell is going on in your own state maybe you could."

- Curt Schilling

This was after Martha Coakley, Massachusetts Democrat senatorial candidate derided Rudolph Giuliani's campaign for her rival, Scott Brown, by calling Rudy a "Yankee fan." When asked a about Curt Schilling's support for Brown, she responded that he was a Yankee fan too. She later said it was a joke. As they say in Mass: "Yeah, right."

Red Sox 2010 starting line-up and pitching rotation

Projected Batting Order / Position / Career BA / Career OPS*

Jacoby Ellsbury / CF / .297/ .764
Dustin Pedroia / 2B / .307 / .825
Victor Martinez / C / .299 / .837
Kevin Youkilis / 1B / .292 / .878
David Ortiz / DH / .282 / .922
J.D. Drew / RF / .283 / .896
Adrian Beltre / 3B / .270 / .779
Mike Cameron / LF / .250 / .788
Marco Scutaro / SS / .265 / .721

This is an amazing defense as the Red Sox have potential Gold Glove winners at almost every position. After what was a good year in 2009 when they ranked third in the American League, it gives the Red Sox possibly the best defensive team in the AL.

Offensively, the Red Sox finished second or third in nearly every team category in 2009 -- a year in which the Yankees' bats dominated baseball. Despite losing Jason Bay, the Red Sox look about the same in 2010. The top two-thirds of the line-up will be fearsome on day one. Look for them to add a big bat sometime during the season and they will be a World Series contender once again.

* Note:-- Here I use OPS (On Base plus Slugging percentage).

Pitching Rotation / Career ERA

Jon Lester / 3.66
Josh Beckett / 3.79
John Lackey / 3.81
Daisuke Matsuzaka / 4.00
Tim Wakefield / 4.33
Clay Buchholz / 4.91

Simply, this is the best pitching rotation in baseball. Every starter except Clay Buchholtz has been a 15 game winner within the last three years. The flashes of brilliance in the last three years show promise of becoming more of the norm as Buchholtz will be 26-years-old this season. With the exception of Wakefield, who will be 44, this is a young pitching staff that could make the Red Sox contenders for years to come.

This is what will make fans happy in the long run. Pitching and defense wins World Series' Championships. The offense is good enough to get them to the postseason. A four man playoff rotation is good enough to get them all the way there. Theo Epstein needs to add just a bit more depth to the middle relief in the off season and the Red Sox will have the best team in years.

The Best Sports City in North America? - It's Boston!

New York City currently has 47 major professional sports world championships.

Boston is second with 31.

Montreal is third with 26.

Then consider that the metro area of New York is 18.8 million, while Boston's metro area is 4.4 million and Montreal's metro area is 3.8 million.

It's a testimony to which city's fans are the most supportive per capita.

This is from: http://www.nuttyaboutsports.com/best-championship-city.shtml

When considering which city can rightfully lay claim to being the best sports city in North America, New York City almost immediately pops into everyone's mind. New York sports teams have won the most championships of any city in North America (47 in all).

When you look at it a little bit closer, however, New York may not be able to rightfully claim the title "Best Sports City in North America." New York currently has, and has had throughout its history, the most sports teams of any North American city. One would expect a city with that many teams to have won a few championships over the years. When you remove the New York Yankees from the equation - yes, I know that they are the most successful sports franchise in the history of professional sports - but, for the sake of argument let's look at New York without the Yankees. Without the Yankees' 26 championships, New York's sports accomplishments look much more modest (the 21 remaining championships would rank them third on the list of most championships).

So if we were to rule out New York, who else then, could lay claim to the "Best Sports City in North America"? A case could be made for Montreal, third on the list of most championships with 26. Even more impressive is that all of their championships have been garnered in a single sport - hockey (24 by the Canadiens, and 2 more by the Montreal Maroons). But it is the one dimensional nature of their championship accomplishment, impressive though it may be, that should eliminate them from consideration.

Where, then, does that leave us? It leaves us in the Bay State in the City of Boston. Boston is second on the list of cities with the most championships with 31. More impressive is that Boston's teams have won numerous championships in all four of the major North American sports (baseball, basketball, football, and hockey). Boston's major sports teams rank at or near the top of each of their respective sports for the most championships (see below).

Boston Red Sox - 3rd with 7 World Series Championships

Boston Celtics - 1st with 16 NBA Championships

New England Patriots - 4th (tie) with 3 Super Bowl Championships

Boston Bruins - 4th (tie) with 5 Stanley Cup Championships

When you compare this to New York:

Sport ----------------- Boston ----------------- New York

Baseball -------------- Boston Red Sox - 3rd -- New York Yankees - 1st

-------------------------------------------------- New York Mets - 13th

Basketball ------------ Boston Celtics - 1st ----- New York Knicks - 7th

Football -------------- Patriots - 4th -------------New York Giants - 8th

-------------------------------------------------- New York Jets - 11th

Hockey -------------- Boston Bruins - 4th ------ New York Rangers - 6th

-------------------------------------------------- New York Islanders - 6th (tie)

The Boston team rankings range from 1st through 4th, while the New York team rankings range from 1st through 13th. Each city has a team that has the most championships in their respective sport (the Celtics and the Yankees). After that, Boston ranks 4th in football versus 8th and 11th for the Giants and Jets, and 4th in Hockey versus a tie for 6th for the Islanders and the Rangers. The average championship rank for New York's teams is over 7 while the average rank for Boston's teams is 3rd.

One final way of looking at this issue is the average number of championships per team. Boston's 4 current teams* have a collective 30 championships, or an average of 7.5 per team. New York's 7 current teams collectively have 41 championships for an average of 5.8 per team.

Clearly, both are great sports cities, but when it comes who is the "Best Sports City in North America," the answer is (drum roll please) - Boston, Massachusetts.

* Current teams refers to the number of teams in the four major sports - baseball, basketball, football, and hockey.

Patriots Report: Week 5

Last week --

I predicted - Ravens 21 Pats 20
Final score - Pats 27 Ravens 21

As Maxwell Smart would say, "Missed it by that much!"

Not a lot to say about the Broncos. The Broncos are undefeated and look to be a tough team to beat in Mile High Stadium. (I know it's not still called that exactly, but unless they are paying me or I like the product, I don't mention sponsors.)

The Broncos are good, but the Pats should have this one easily. Recent history shows that Belichek knows all their weaknesses. Brady should be back to form by the fifth game. The line is Pats by 3.5. I give them two touchdowns on top of that using my "Calgon ancient Chinese secret" method.

Then it gets easier after this week -- at least for few weeks.

THIS WEEK

Patriots 35
Broncos 17

UPDATE: The Red Sox season is over. Let's go Pats! Bruins! Celtics!

Star Wars Part VII - How The East Was Bought

It is a dark day for the Republic ...

The Dark Lord's son, Hank Steinvader

has opened the vast treasury of the Empire

and has refitted his fleet with twice as much

fire-power as the Republican forces. But is Evil

ever truly a match for the light side of the Force?

A beleaguered Republican army has vowed to fight!

With his courageous pilots, Beckett and Lester, the last

Jedi, Daisuke, leads his faithful droids, P3DR0A and UUU! -

and two ancient yet resilient Wookie clones - Papi and Knuckleball.

Before a last desperate assault against Death Star X, our brave heroes

must defeat a formidable legion on the distant smog planet of the Angels ...

Payrolls and Championships

The two tier team payroll structure in baseball is a reality for teams who want to compete for a playoff spot in October. This year, there is a new category in the Yankees who still top the salary cap of $200,000 despite the recession. The bloated Evil Empire has just bought its 10th division title in 12 years despite failing to sell-out its overpriced box seats in the new Yankee Stadium, "the house that Hank built."

The stark fact remains that teams who want to make the playoffs must shell out at least $100,000 in player salaries, especially in the American League. The two notable exceptions this year are the Rockies and the Cardinals, two National League teams that reached the World Series three times in the past five years, the Rockies in 2007, and the Cardinals losing in 2004, but winning it all in 2005.

American League Playoff Teams

Eastern Division - New York Yankees

Central Division - Detroit Tigers or Minnesota Twins

Western Division - Los Angeles Angels

Wild Card - Boston Red Sox

National League Playoff Teams

Eastern Division - Philadelphia Phillies

Central Division - St. Louis Cardinals

Western Division - Los Angeles Dodgers

Wild Card - Colorado Rockies

2009 MLB payrolls

Yankees $201,449,289
Mets $135,773,988
Cubs $135,050,000
Red Sox $122,696,000
Tigers $115,085,145
Angels $113,709,000
Phillies $113,004,048
Astros $102,996,415
Dodgers $100,458,101
Mariners $98,904,167
Braves $96,726,167
White Sox $96,068,500
Cardinals $88,528,411
Giants $82,161,450
Indians $81,625,567
Blue Jays $80,993,657
Brewers $79,857,502
Rockies $75,201,000
D-backs $73,571,667
Reds $70,968,500
Royals $70,908,333
Rangers $68,646,023
Orioles $67,101,667
Twins $65,299,267
Rays $63,313,035
Athletics $62,310,000
Nationals $59,328,000
Pirates $48,743,000
Padres $42,796,700
Marlins $36,814,000

New England Patriots favored to win Superbowl LXIV

Odds makers have been saying since the second week of February that the Pats are the odds on favorites to win Superbowl LXIV.

Several "firsts" will occur.

Miami will become the first metro-area in the United States to have hosted 10 Superbowls.

This will be the first Super Bowl telecast solely digitally.

This will be the first Superbowl to use four different Roman numerals.

I am sure there are many more records and "firsts" that will be relevant to the Patriots team, but I will post them as we get into this promising season.

(I haven't posted for a while, but with the Red Sox in playoff contention, the Pats, Celts and Broons all poised for playoff runs, I'll need to get back to writing this secondary blog with a little more seriousness. Around World Series time, I'll write a review of Lost Son of Havana and prove once and for all why it is a travesty that Luis Tiant is not in the Hall of Fame.)



Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Here are the odds:

New England Patriots 8/1

Dallas Cowboys 9/1

New York Giants 10/1

Pittsburgh Steelers 10/1

Indianapolis Colts 12/1

San Diego Chargers 12/1

Baltimore Ravens 14/1

Tennessee Titans 16/1

Carolina Panthers 18/1

Philadelphia Eagles 18/1

New Orleans Saints 20/1

Atlanta Falcons 25/1

Denver Broncos 25/1

Green Bay Packers 25/1

Jacksonville Jaguars 25/1

Minnesota Vikings 25/1

New York Jets 25/1

Arizona Cardinals 30/1

Chicago Bears 30/1

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30/1

Buffalo Bills 35/1

Houston Texans 35/1

Miami Dolphins 35/1

Washington Redskins 35/1

Seattle Seahawks 50/1

Cleveland Browns 55/1

Cincinnati Bengals 60/1

San Francisco 49ers 60/1

Oakland Raiders 75/1

St. Louis Rams 75/1

Detroit Lions 100/1

Kansas City Chiefs 100/1

Ellsbury's Straight Steal of Home

It was the first steal of home for Boston with no other runners attempting to steal since Jeff Frye did it on June 4, 1999, on an attempted squeeze bunt. Before that you have to go all the way back to Billy Hatcher on April 22, 1994 for a straight steal of home by a Red Sox player. A straight steal of home -- an attempt to steal with no other players in motion, such as a double steal or a missed bunt attempt -- is a feat that is about as rare as a no-hitter.

Then to cap off an almost perfect week, it was the Red Sox' tenth straight win. The Bruins just took four straight from their hated rivals -- l'empire mauvais -- the Montreal Canadiens. Only a double overtime Celtics loss marred this remarkable week in this Golden Age of Boston Sports.

Patriots Day Report

I grew up in Framingham where the famed Boston Marathon zig-zagged north from Hopkington along Waverly Street until it passed through Natick. I used to ride my bicycle to a spot about five miles into the Marathon on Patriots Day when I was in high school. Although only Marathon runners were supposed to be in the race, many people would jump in along the route. Spectators used to ride their bicycles along side the runners too. Until they got more stringent about this a few years ago (remember Rosie Ruiz?) the tail end of the race always looked like a sideshow with many colorful characters.

One day it was drizzling and I stood near a place in the road where train tracks crossed diagonally at an acute angle with the street. The roads in New England of course have frost heaves and this railroad track was a bit hazardous. I remember watching bike after bike hit those tracks that cruelly grabbed the front wheel forcing the cyclists to slide sideways along the rail until they fell over.

We'd yell, "Watch out for the tracks!"

Then "CRASH!"

After a while it became comically tragic -- a real life slapstick reel.

On a typical Patriots Day, the Red Sox play a morning game at 11 AM, then the crowd spills out along Commonwealth Avenue to watch the end of the Marathon. The Celtics will play a postseason game in the Garden at night this year and the Bruins will try for their third win in the first round of their playoff series in Montreal.

Four monumental sports events in one day. What other city can boast that?

On a related note, I have to point out that no one city has ever had three major league sports teams win championships within a year's time. Boston has a chance to have all four of its major league teams -- basketball, hockey, baseball and football -- win a world championship. It's unlikely, but plausible. We'd be happy with one, ecstatic with two. If Boston wins three you'll never hear the end of it. Four and the city spontaneously combusts with revelry never to recover.

Here I will rate the chances of the four teams.

Celtics -- Chances are now looking slim here. Although I am certain they can come back to beat the Bulls, without Kevin Garnett, they will be lucky to make it past the second round. But have the Celts ever gotten lucky before? If they get to the Eastern Conference Finals, then all bets are off and anything can happen. If they can steal a game on the road, then they play three games in the Garden where that leprechaun lives.

Red Sox -- Fair to good. They have a deep well-balanced team -- the best bullpen and starting pitching in their division. They are 28 million under budget for player salaries this year after jettisoning Manny. They can afford to go out and get some offense and a starting shortstop. If the Yankees and the Devil Rays (I still can't believe I am saying that in the same breath) were not in the same division, they'd be a shoe in for the postseason. But even with a great team, it's going to be a three way dog fight.

Patriots -- Very good. After a difficult first half of the season, the Patriots have a cakewalk of a schedule. They reloaded with some quality players and should be much better than the 11-5 team that narrowly lost to the Dolphins last season. How much better? If they can go 6-0 in the first part of the season, you'll be hearing "undefeated" predictions from me again.

Bruins -- Good to excellent. They are arguably the best team in the NHL, second only San Diego in points. They have the best defense and are playing like a team that really wants it after a 36-year drought. Even without the four team miracle, a Bruins championship would be the icing on the cake of a remarkable decade.

The Bird Dies - New England Mourns

If you grew up in eastern Massachusetts in the 1970s, you idolized "the Bird." No, not that Bird ... Mark Fidrych, the Detroit Tigers' Rookie of the Year sensation in 1976, who sort of resembled Sesame Street's Big Bird and talked to himself on the mound, leading to rumors that he was "telling the baseball what to do."

He went 19-9 as a rookie, leading the American League in earned run average (2.34) and complete games (24). He was the starting pitcher for the AL in the All-Star Game, won the AL Rookie of the Year Award, and finished second to the Orioles' Jim Palmer in the AL Cy Young voting. He did everything all out. No major league pitcher has anything close to 20 complete games anymore. In those days, pitchers were not coddled and paced by management. So his career was unfortunately cut short when he suffered arm injuries.

Although he played for the Tigers, he was a hero in my home town because Northboro is the town just to the northwest of Framingham (just as Doug Flutie's Natick is the town to the southeast). I can remember my step-brother claiming he pitched against him, never minding the fact that Fidrych was five years older than him. Older step-brothers!

Likewise, very few people in Framingham had any idea who Flutie was until he threw that pass in 1984 -- although some of my classmates actually did play against Flutie.

Mark Fidrych played a season or two for the Pawtucket Red Sox, but could never break back into the big leagues. He died yesterday in a truck accident on his farm. He was 54. By all accounts he lived out the rest of his life as a "regular guy" in rural Northboro.

The Boston Globe has an excellent article today on The Bird.

Jim Rice elected to the Hall of Fame

I always thought Jim Rice was a much better hitter and outfielder than Reggie Jackson. The main reason Reggie was a lock in his first year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame is due of course to his status as "Mr. October." Rice also didn't have the longevity to make him truly legendary as those two other monosyllabic Hall of Famers from Fenway's left field, Ted and Yaz. But over all, Rice compares favorably year-by-year to Reggie.

Rice never won a World Series. It wasn't entirely his fault. He did not play in the legendary 1975 World Series due to a broken wrist. (Who knows what could have been? But then Bernie Carbo would not have played, and we wouldn't have had Fisk's home run in the 12th inning, right?) Then Rice batted .333 in the 1986 World Series with a .455 on-base percentage.

In 1978 (the year the Red Sox would have won the World Series if only ...) Rice became the first American League player to compile 400 total bases since Joe DiMaggio. Rice had 382 career home runs, just shy of the magic shoe-in number of 400. He hit more than 25 home runs in seven of his 16 seasons. His career-high was 46 HRs in 1978, the most in the majors that season. He was the MVP that year and led a group of colorful personalities that was arguably the best Red Sox team ever.

Jim Ed Rice was finally recognized in his last year of eligibility. Everyone knows it is a travesty that it took this long. He finally squeaked in with 76 percent of the votes last week. However, Rice's numbers compare favorably to many other Hall of Famers year-by-year. Just take Reggie Jackson for example. Forget about all-time stats for one moment and tell me who you'd rather have on your team for one year. Remember too the defensive liability of Jackson in the outfield. I once sat in Fenway with my cousin and my father and saw Butch Hobson hit an inside-the-park home run (something almost unheard of in tiny Fenway) in part due to Jackson's lackadaisical attitude in right field. This was when Jackson was with the Orioles in 1976. I also witnessed first hand Jim Rice leg out a double on Jackson in 1977, which resulted in the famous Billy Martin brawl in the Yankees dugout when Reggie was recalled from the outfield in an egregious clash of egos.

It's true that Rice is not even close to the legend he replaced in left field, Carl Yastrzemski, as a total ballplayer, but his defense improved after a rocky start in his first two years and he had a powerful arm.

Statistical Averages Per Year:

Jackson (21 seasons)
Batting average = .262
On base percentage = .356
Slugging percentage = .490
HRs per year = 32
RBI per year = 98
Fielding percentage = .967

Rice (16 seasons)
Batting average = .298
On base percentage = .352
Slugging percentage = .502
HRs per year = 30
RBI per year = 113
Fielding percentage = .980

Now someone has to rectify the injustice done to Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson, then all will be right with the world.