No Need for a Funny Headline Here

In my opinion, last night was probably the most exciting night in the general sports world this year. More interesting than the Super Bowl, more exhilarating than the NBA Finals, Stanley Cup, and any of those other First Year Player Drafts, for last night was the 2007 NBA Draft (presented by Sprite...hey, you gotta put it in there). Unless you went Helen Keller on me last night, you should already know that a) there was actually a draft and b) who the first four or five players selected were. You know, I'm really not one to watch drafts, especially an NBA one because it's not really my sport, but I sort of felt as though I should do those players justice and just tune in. After all, they're my peers. The majority of those guys are my age or younger, I got the pleasure to see of their skills when I was graced with tickets to games at the Dean Dome (they're so hard to get now even for students), and one dude, who was drafted in the first round, goes to my school (or should I say went?). For those of you curious enough, I'm talkin' about Brandan Wright, drafted 9th overall. I honestly enjoyed watching the draft and hopefully, I'll continue to get more into the NBA as time progresses. And I'm counting the days until Psycho T goes in the first round (Tyler Hansbrough for you lames out there).

Now on to my love, my passion. The baseball world was relatively humdrum and overshadowed by the draft and whatnot, but two vastly significant events took place last night: Craig Biggio got his 3,000th career hit (well, make that his 3,002nd) against the um...you know, I don't even remember. He's the 27th guy to become Mr. 3,000 (first since Ralph Palmiero in '05) and the 9th to get all 3,000 with one team, or something along those lines. Amazing accomplishment, and kudos to Biggio. I'm not the sentimental type, but I kinda teared up a bit on that one. Don't know Biggio and I probably never will, but that shouldn't stop me from saying he's one of the nicest, scrappiest, hardest playing and most giving guys in sport. There shouldn't be a doubt in any sane person's mind that he'll be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but I just hope it isn't any time in the near future. I'd love to see the guy keep playing and get hundreds and hundreds of more hits. On another note, Frank Thomas became the 21st player in history to collect 500 home runs....and then dude gets thrown out of the game a little while later for arguing balls and strikes, ha ha. I thought that was hilarious. Just goes to show that umps really don't give a damn about how great a player is; can still get thrown out with the rest of 'em.

**Side note: I watched "Edward Scissorhands" this morning and I swear to you, that has to be Johnny Depp's greatest movie (yes, even better than his appearance in "Nightmare on Elm St."), and possibly one of the greatest "creepy" movies ever. I dunno, it must be Johnny Depp week in the cable world or something because "Scissorhands" came on this morning, "The Libertine", which is also pretty good, came on this morning, that "Pirates of the Caribbean" crap (the first one) came on this morning, the second one is coming on TV Sunday afternoon, and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is coming on tonight. Another one of his movies came on last night, but that's neither here nor there, ha ha.

And His Sox Won't Be Red

I wanted Buerhle. God knows, I wanted him. Alright, so maybe that didn't sound right, but if you've been paying any kind of attention to sports news the past few days you probably know what I'm babbling about. White Sox are looking to unload Mark Buehrle, and according to the "grapvine" (yeah, the metaphorical gossip source), the Red Sox were looking to trade for him. When I first heard that, I nearly shat myself, no joke. At first, I didn't really pay attention to who the Sox would give up to get him; I was only concerned about seeing Buehrle, probably the most efficient pitcher in baseball, in a damn Red Sox uni. Then I got to thinking: who exactly would the Sox have given up in order to get the dude? Got question, huh? Yeah, probably. They already got rid of Hanley Ramirez and Freddy Sanchez in years past and look @ what they've become. Exactly. Jacoby Ellsbury, who's in the Sox system (Triple-A Pawtucket, I believe), is a very promising kid and had the Sox given him up to get Buerhle, dude would've probably gone on to win the fuckin' Triple Crown or something had he made it to the bigs. That's the kind of luck the Sox seem to have when it comes to giving up good prospects. But no need to ponder nor fret any further, for there won't be a trade...or will there be? Guess what? I have mosquito bites on my ankle and my diet SUCKS right now.

Heels Back On Top....Sorta

Well, so uh...my Tar Heels are back at the College World Series finals against the Oregon State Beavers. As you may well remember, we came like, one defensive play away from winning it all. Tear, sniff. It's a new year, though. I've been watching the guys (Heels) since the Super Regionals or whatever you call it and they've had me on edge basically the entire time. Can't knock their hustle though, because they always seem to find ways to win. I know, being a student at UNC I should know basically everything there is to know about basketball, baseball, and women's soccer right? WRONG. I barely know shit about NCAA baseball man, because that just isn't my forte. Don't get me wrong, I know some stuff. For instance, pitcher Adam Warren? Yeah, I went to elementary, middle, and high school with him in the great city/town of New Bern, NC, ha ha. Dead serious. Outfielder Reid Fronk is a very attractive young man. Andrew Miller, pitcher for the Tigers, played for us last year. And that's basically where my knowledge ends, whew! Yeah, so I'm ready for this Game 1 and I hope the series turns out a LOT better than it did last season.

Whatever You Do, Don't F*ck With the Cubs, Son

I'm Embarrassed 2 Be A Sox Fan B/C of This...

It's kinda funny though, aha ha ha.

Fellow Red Sox Nation

Fellow Red Sox Nation

And I'm Shakin' Right Now

Why? Because Justin Verlander just threw a no-hitter. I don't know why, but as I watched that final out, I got chills all over, man. A no-no is a wonderful thing to watch, but imagine how I'd feel if I were at the ballpark? Hell, imagine how I'd feel if I were Pudge, who caught Verlander, or Verlander himself? Dude was throwing 102 MPH IN THE NINTH INNING. Nasty. Just freakin' nasty. Like, it was just sad to watch the Brewers submit to him. I don't know what I did to my blog, but it's ugly as hell now. Need to fix that asap. As for some Verlander stats, he was drafted 2nd overall in 2004 behind Matt Bush (and where is Bush now?), he was the 2006 AL Rookie of the Year, his no-no was the 6th in Tigers history, 1st one at home by a Tiger since 1952 and 1st one overall by a Tiger since 1984, 3rd guy to be named ROY one season and throw a no-no the following, um....he's not on my fantasy team no, but he should damn well be. Oh yeah, and he's only 24. Let me repeat that: He's ONLY 24. That's ridiculous, damn. If Curt Schilling had actually pulled out his "almost no-no" a few days ago, I'd probably have shat myself, so serious. Damn, Wikipedia sure does update stuff fast. It already has all the info and stuff up there. Wowzer. After hugging everyone, Justin's wife/girlfriend/fiancee/lady friend went out there to hug him. Looks like someone's gettin' "fellated" tonight.

Sorry, I Had To...

Doesn't matter how many times I see "Scary Movie 2", I always laugh @ this part. Classic, ha ha.

I Thought I was The Only One Who Loved Mark Bellhorn As Much As I Did...

...but I guess not. Shun me for living in the past, but I honestly miss the 2003-2004 Red Sox so much. I miss Pedro tossing Don Zimmer to the ground, I miss Bill Mueller hitting grand slams from both sides of the plate in that game against the Rangers, I miss Johnny Damon's, Bronson Arroyo's, and Kevin Millar's gangsta cornrows (ha ha), I miss Todd Walker's post season success in 2003, I miss Shea Hillenbrand getting all pissed off at Theo for being traded. But most of all, I miss Mark Bellhorn. Ya know, I seriously thought I was the only die-hard Bellhorn fan in the world, but obviously that's not the case. After he left the Sox, I started googling and Yahoo-ing (that's not even a verb) his name and all this information came up about how much Sox fans loved him and blah blah. And I remember everyone who didn't understand asking me, "Why do you like him so much? He strikes out too much and his defense is mediocre." To hell with 'em. I didn't really know then, but I know now. It was his scrappy play, his long, flowing hair (I'm serious), his stolidness when he made mistakes, his stolidness when he did great in a game. The way he kept to himself, the cute way in which he shied away from the media every chance he got. He was very soft-spoken and always a sweetheart when he was interviewed. He went out there and played the game like no one's business, no more, no less. Never read a complaint about him from former/current teammates. Hell, I never read a single bad thing about the guy. Bellhorn was basically my replacement love when Todd Walker left, and they just happened to play the same position (yes, I "hearted" Todd Walker like I "hearted" Bellhorn). I don't know what it is about myself and Red Sox 2nd basemen, but I guess things are just funny like that. Call me crazy, but I would probably do anything to get that 03-04 team back. This current team is just not the same. Yes, they're winning, yes, they're the best team in baseball right now and yes, the odds of them winning the AL East are amazing, but I miss that carefree attitude of the Sox of yesteryear. Okay, enough about being nostalgic. Now back to your regularly-scheduled program.

The Rocket Blasts Off...Again

The Rocket, facing the Pittsburgh Pirates, got his first win in pinstripes since 2003 yesterday afternoon. And excuse me for being such a meanie, but I honestly didn't care. I mean, what else is new? Clemens proved to the world that he still "got it" at age 45, or however old he is. What's more important is the fact that I went to Victoria's Secret yesterday and the cashier undercharged me. Did I complain? Of course not! I hightailed it outta there as fast as I could. Yeah, I know. The ethical thing to do would've been to go back and tell her, but yeah. I'm sure she'll be alright. The Bosox almost swept the D-Backs, but Dice-K took the L in a duel against Randy Johnson. Sorry to say, but I had Unit coming out on top all the way. Correct me if I'm wrong, and I know it's still early, but I don't really think Dice-K is living up to all the hype the media created for him. Am I right? I'm always right, ha ha. I was a little upset with the media being all over David Wright's nuts at first, but now that he's breaking out of his 2007 shell, I don't mind it as much. Time for tidbits!

**Scott Podsednik is still not off the D.L. Lemme repeat that: Scotty Pods is still not off the Disabled List. He's been up there since about April or so. I'm not really sure what's wrong with him, but I sure could use him on my fantasy team again.

**Chad Tracy still isn't off the D.L. either, and he was batting .312 for one of my teams.

**I'm sitting here watching the Braves/Cubs game (only because there's nothing else left to watch) and Ted Lilly just got tossed in the first inning. I'm so serious right now. He plunked Edgar Renteria so Jim Wolf tossed his ass. I think that was a little much, but whatever. I'm not the ump.

**Andrew Miller, pitcher for the Tigers who used to play for my school (UNC, baby!) got his second win of the season against Tom Glavine and the Mets. Go Drew, baby!

**I'm really struggling in my Statistics class right now. I feel like giving up, but I'm not going to. I don't have the word perseverance tattooed on my wrist for nothin' :) Yeah, that's pretty much all for this time. I'm about to go heat up this leftover Bojangles, edit my essay, and call it a night.

A Damn Shame

I woke up Thursday morning, maybe around 7:45, to ESPN2's "Mike & Mike in the Morning". I've been watching that show semi-faithfully since I was a senior in high school when it came on ESPNews and here I am, a 20 yr. old young lady and still a fan. But anyhoo, the only reason I woke up to it was because I heard Mike Greenberg, one of the show's hosts, screaming passionately about something that was bothering him. "It's not our business to know about the guy's personal life! What he and his wife do should be private!" And then I saw the headline at the bottom of the screen: A-Rod makes it interesting north of the border it said, or something along those lines. Being half-asleep, I wasn't really paying attention to the headline and I mistook "north of the border" to be New York, ha. But I soon woke all the way up once I realized what they were talking about. A-Rod was supposedly seen at a strip club in Toronto during the Yankees' series against the Blue Jays this past week, and he's also been seen on the town with the female more than twice. And of course, the New York Post or Daily News or one of those major New York papers was the first to report it on the cover of Thursday morning's issue with a headline of "Stray-Rod: Alex hits strip club with mystery blonde". Being the nosy person that I am, I immediately jumped out of bed and got on my computer, eager to see what the hell was going on with that. I don't know what drove me to do that. I suppose the fact that I'm a die-hard Red Sox fan and the accused plays for the Yankees was a huge contributing factor in my wanting to investigate it more. Either way, I looked at it. I know New York scrutinizes the star athletes associated with that state's teams and whatnot, but why does it matter? Why does it matter that Paul LoDuca cheated on his wife with someone way younger than he? Why does it matter that A-Rod is supposedly cheating on his wife now? Why does it matter if David Wright is homosexual or not? This whole thing is based on the public's need to know, right to know, and want to know. These three aforementioned questions are definitely based on the latter. Like Greenberg was saying, it's clearly not our business to be concerned about who's bangin' who, who's doing what drugs, who's doing this that and the other. As far as baseball (and other sports) are concerned, the only thing we, as fans, should be worried about is whether or not our team won that day, whether or not our favorite player performed up to standards. Like the late great Branch Rickey Sr. once said: "A...box score is a democratic thing. It only tells you how good of a player you were on that particular day". And while it's always interesting to get the latest gossip on the superstar players, that's the last thing that we should be worried about. My curiosity can always be satiated another time, like after the season ends. The only thing I care about right now is the Red Sox keeping their double-digit lead in the AL East!