Phlying High in Philadelphia

They sure did, Dear Roxy. The Phillies played better and deserved the win. Congrats to them and the City of Philadelphia for their championship... a long time coming.

With that said, the parade looked insane. I've never seen so much red!

And stop trashing the Rays! They deserved to be in the WS as well. Your stinky Sox can dwell on that during the cold winter.

You're right, we'll never agree on this.

The Knicks won the season opener against the Heat. Glad to see they got off to a good start, sad to see it was against Miami.

What else is going on in sports? Football?

-Criss

Photo: Tim Shaffer, Reuters.

Look Who Took it All

The Phillies did it! They seem like a nice bunch. I'm happy for them. If our Sox had to go down, this was the team to win it all. Forget the cocky Rays, Dear Criss. Redemption in Boston! Now I don't have to hear it from you. We can never agree.

And now back to regular programming. (Stop trashing Varitek!)

Roxy

Jim McIsaac, Getty Images

Rain rain go away!

After a looooooooong rain delay, the Rays and Phillies are set to finish what they started Tuesday night, Dear Roxy.

This is the strangest thing I've seen in a World Series in quite a while. It sort of reminds me of the 96 series when Steinbrenner had helicopters fly real low to dry up the grass at Yankee Stadium. Maybe someone should show the Phillies' ground crew some of that footage.

So the Rays didn't get off to a great start. Luckily, they were able to score the tying run on Tuesday's game. And hopefully they'll pull it off again tonight. And then it's back to taking it one game at a time.

What are you doing these days with no Sox? I heard V-Tek is calling it quits!

The Dolphins pulled off another victory! It's so exciting to watch them win. Too bad I can't say the same about the Colts. What's wrong, Peyton?

I could care less about Brady and his incompetent "LA" doctors. That's what happens when you follow Giselle around.

Basketball season is here! I caught just a bit of SportsCenter this morning... just enough to see Pierce shed a tear when he was introduced. How touching.

Happy Halloween!!!

-Criss

Photo: David J. Phillip, AP

Like Clockwork

As always, when the Rays see themselves in a jam, they go to their secret weapon: hitting people. But guess what? Didn't work last night/this morning, 'cause the Phillies won it. My office prediction: the teams split it in Tampa Bay, the Phillies win 2:3 in Philly, then pull off a victory in Tampa Bay. Let's see.

Anyway, in the football world, Tom's been going to some sketchy doctors in their home garage/office, 'cause he keeps needing more surgeries for his knee. He has a serious infection, and I don't understand how that's possible. He should've come down here to the doctors who treat the UM players, or even stayed in Boston were they have great doctors. No, he goes to California. Ben is currently trying to hold on to a Pittsburgh lead and the defense is rocking. I'm just glad they're showing the game at a decent hour. Hope the guys can hold on and win. Uh oh, the Giants tied it in the fourth. Wonder who you're going for. Anyway...

So what do we do after baseball, Dear Criss? I don't remember. I guess we just focus on football? And I'll start lobbying to keep Varitek at all costs.

Roxy

Brad Mangin, MLB via Getty Images

Tampa Bay Bound!

Congratulations to the Tampa Bay Rays for winning the AL Pennant, and dethroning those dirty Sox!!!

I guess that's what happens when you drop the "Devil" off your name! In all seriousness, and I'm sorry for your pain (slightly), the Rays deserve it. Although I couldn't bear to watch them lose game 5 and 6, I'm glad I stayed up to watch the celebration, something I couldn't do Thursday night. Anyway, that's all done and over with, Dear Roxy!

And now the Phillies and Rays. Two teams that I don't think anyone picked at the beginning of the season to be in the World Series. Nevertheless, it should be a very exciting series.

The Dolphins lost another one but this one wasn't even that close. Are we back to the old team? Pull it together guys!

The same goes to the Colts! I can't bear to watch them lose like that.

And Joba Joba Joba... what's with the arrest for suspicion of DIU and the open container? Not cool.

What's the with Favre and the treason?

I take this moment to welcome my nephew Christopher Alexander!

Congrats to my sister and her family :)

-Criss

Photo: Christian Petersen, Getty Images

Blog Hog: Heartbreak, MA

Oh, so, so, so, sad, Dear Criss. What could've been. But somehow, I've found peace with it, in the same way Scarlett did at the end of "Gone with the Wind."

Just don't trade Varitek. That's a whole other blog.

That's all I've got in me. I may be rooting for Philly. And next post, I'll rant about who needs to get traded

Roxy

RCA records album cover

Varitek is Like a Box of Chocolates ...

... You never know what you're gonna get, Dear Criss.

What a whirlwind of Red Sox good madness! The huge comback Thursday night. The competitiveness of Saturday night + the win. And now - game 7, my friend.

I admit, Thursday, I started getting ready for bed. I couldn't bear to watch them go down like that. Then my brother called (he is clearly more faithful), and announced Big Papi had just prescribed some justice. Then Coco was at bat for about 20 minutes (not really) just trying to hit a winner. That moment was sort of like the Dave Roberts moment of 2004, I think. It really kept us alive. And last night, Beckett just squeaked us by, giving up two homeruns and braking just in time. But we kept our bats alive and made it! Mr. Captain Varitek comes up big with a home run. He was due, because every playoffs, he hits one. Nice. DO IT AGAIN! Really, everybody contributed. Apparently, we like to leave the winning for the last minute. We like taking it easy the first few games. I'm getting more wrinkles.

But can we pull off the magic of 2004? The joy of 2007? I've got my fingers crossed and will be rooting for Lester and the boys all night.

Right now, there's no other sport I want to think about.


Roxy



Photo: Boston Globe, Jim Davis

Blog Hog: The Time to Panic is - NOW!

OH MY GOSH, Red Sox. What are you doing? Where's the desire, the fire, the passion, the love? WAKE UP! Please. I can't take the arrogance of the Rays. I mean, it's not yet the end of the world, but it's pretty near it. Okay, Dear Criss, that's all the ranting for now. Bring in a psychologist for Beckett and roll out Curt Schilling all bandaged up and limping, if necessary. I hope, I really do hope, that we can pull ourselves back together and win this thing. Chins up, boys. Win tomorrow. Give me a glimmer of something good here, people.

Panicked in Southern Red Sox Nation,
Roxy

Pitching Lineup for the Rest of the Week: Lester, Matsuzaka, Lester, Matsuzaka

Oh my gosh, good against evil? You forget the Yankees are the historical evil empire and the Red Sox are the decent team. Hello. Now actually, the dirty, let's-hit-Drew-close-to-hit-head Rays are who you should be rooting against. Hello!

Great game one with Lester, but, again, what's the deal with Beckett? Please, please, please don't let him pitch again. The Sox have a better chance if I pitch. Really. How about Home-Run Pedroia hit and pitch? And J. Bay? Holy cow! Love them.

Now, no doubt, that the Dolphins had a heartbreaker yesterday. Awful. But they're doing well, considering. And I'm totally with you. Forget the stupid fines for celebrating after a touchdown. Maybe just keep a rule of truly excessive celebrating, but come on. Leave the amusing dancing, etc. Maybe a five-second rule? What do you think? No dancing beyond five seconds. Done. Let's be our own league officials, Dear Criss. Can we get jobs with the NFL regulations department?

GO SOX!!!! Squeeze the orange juice heads. Pulp them!

Roxy

AP Photo

Marathon Blog Hog

Congrats to Dan for completing his first marathon in 5:00:51! :)

And I'm so very glad the Rays tied the series and for the Dodgers giving a little fight against the Phillies.

I got home Saturday night just in time to watch the 9th inning and on. It's a good thing I didn't watch the whole game. Although it's not the Yankees, I can't stand to watch any other team struggle against the Dirty Sox.

And the Dolphins were oh so close to pulling another victory, Dear Roxy! They played great though. Hopefully the next one will be a victory.

-Criss

Photos: Nam Y Huh, AP

ALCS

It starts tonight, Dear Roxy. The battle between good and evil, young and ancient, Rays and Sox. May the Rays prevail in what is turning out to be an epic showdown. And I shall be in front of my TV with a bucket of popcorn in hand, but only if the Rays do well.

The Phillies shocked everyone but themselves last night. I'm not really rooting hard for anyone in particular, but Joe has a soft spot in my heart. I went back and forth last night during the game but couldn't really focus. I'll just have to read about these games the next day.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel's mother passed away this morning. My thoughts and prayers are with him.

In other news, did you hear that three Dolphins got fined for celebrating excessively after one of their touchdowns last week? Come on, league! They haven't won two in a row in over two years... I think that should be acceptable!

Go Dolphins!

PS: Dan is running the Chicago marathon on Sunday! Good luck to him :)

Have a nice safe weekend.

-Criss

Good Night's Rest

We won the ALDS (barely), Dear Criss! I can sleep well tonight. The Boston Globe is asking who should be in the ALCS rotation. Don't put in Beckett unless he's willing to clear his mind.

Give Lester a raise.

Roxy (zzzz)

AP photo

Rays in October

Seeing that photo of Steve reminds me of a comment the announcers made the other day, Dear Roxy. Something along the lines of "everything being just fine at home for Steve! Especially with the ever expanding family." Do you still have his cut out?

Yes, the Rays, sans the Devil, are going to the NLCS! They deserve that and more. Hopefully they'll kick some dirty as* because, frankly, I can't stand them! As if that's anything new.

It's always good to see new, young, ever expanding teams do good. How can you not root for that?

Mariano Rivera had succesful shoulder surgery and is expected to be back by next year =)

In other news, Misty May-Treanor is out of Dancing with the Stars! I can't believe she got such a serious injury while dancing. Did you see Matt in the audience? What a nice husband... now that neither of them are working/playing, they'll have some time to be together.

And have you seen how good Warren is? Are you with me in watching DWTS?

-Criss

Photos: Nam Y. Huh, AP; Charles Rex Arbogast, AP

#8 Retired

Well, apparently there was a lot of court reporting to do in sports, Dear Criss. It was a little surprising on all ends.

So why do you have to be a hater? Your darling Rays are moving on to the ALCS. Great. And last night, Josh Beckett blows the game for us. We could have wrapped up the series, but no. He wanted to make this more exciting. Thanks. So now it's a tied game, as I write, in the third or fourth. You'll know the outcome as you read here tomorrow. Hope it's good - for me. I couldn't sleep last night wondering what was happening. Delirious dreams. I had called it a night at 11:00 knowing it would go into extra innings, which didn't give me a positive feeling in my stomach. Sometimes you can't look (sometimes you're too old and can't stay awake). Apparently, Jon Lester has to pitch every night for us to win. The first two games were fantastically unbelievable. A+

Ben came through with the Steelers and also decided to drag it out through the end. The Pats, got their win, even if I wasn't sure that's how it would turn out. But losing to San Fran would be embarrassing. On a positive Niner note: Steve Young's jersey was retired. How nice! What an adorable family. I'm gonna have to pop in that old Niner video to relive the good old days. Maybe he can come back and play against Favre.

Roxy

Jed Jacobsohn, Getty Images

Sports-filled Weekend

How 'bout them Dolphins, Dear Roxy?! They played awesome yesterday!!! They are now on a win streak. Their first in over two years!

The greatest thing about their two wins is who they won against. Your team (hehehe) and the Chargers which played in the championship last year. Keep it up boys!!!

Speaking of great wins, how about them Colts? Unbelievable! I was so upset when I thought they'd be 1-3 but that suddenly changed... withing 4 minutes! I sort of feel bad for the Texans... sort of.

Too bad the same can't be said about the Canes. They came so close to winning. Argh!!!

Congrats to Joe Torre and the Dodgers! Nothing makes me happier (maybe the Yankees in the post-season will make me happier, but moving on... ) than seeing Joe Torre happy. Congrats to him and a job well done.

And now off to play one of the hottest teams in baseball; the Phillies! Those guys are playing awesome. Congrats to them too.

Congrats to the Rays for winning their first ever post-season game! Hopefully they will today. Although I have nothing against the White Sox, I want the Rays to go all the way to the World Series.

And come on Angels! I know you're better than that. Show those Dirty Sox who is the AL West Champion!

Helio, what have you done? Don't you know the only sure thing in life are death and taxes?

Oh OJ, OJ, OJ, didn't you know better than to stay out of trouble after you dodge life in prison 13 years ago?

-Criss

Photo: Pat Carter, AP