New York Yankees

year the season began on Easter Sunday with a match-up between the defending World Series champion New York Yankees and their arch rival the Boston Red Sox.  This is, hands down, the best rivalry in sports.  The series didn't go the way I wanted it to, but we did get our first win against the Yankees under our belt and the games were well played for the most part.  Hey, when you think about it last year the Sox won the first 8 games against the Yankees only to lose 9 out of the next 10 so maybe losing 2 out of the first 3 ain't bad.

Continue reading "Sox Begin 2010"

The American sports landscape has been continually tattooed with dynastic labels like “Team of the Year” or “Team of the Decade.”  The NFL in particular has been defined each decade by a juggernaut winning …. a lot.  The dominance of franchises like the 70’s Steelers, the 80’s Niners, the 90’s Cowboys, and the Patriots of the new millennium has immortalized the likes of Bradshaw, Aikman and Montana to deific status.  The NBA has also provided its share of dynastic runs from the Celtics to the Lakers to the Pistons to the Bulls, and examples abound exist in both hockey and baseball as well. 

Continue reading "Bruins Cup could give Boston Most ..."

AL Wild Card: New York Yankees; AL Champion: Boston Red Sox

2. In the National League, the wildcard situation is a bit more complicated – I’ve been spending the last week and a half avoiding this decision. Presuming New York, Chicago and Los Angeles finish atop their divisions, Arizona, St. Louis, Cincinnati and Philadelphia (not in that order) are the serious contenders for that coveted fourth postseason spot. I realize I also listed four teams as potential wildcard winners in the AL, but I don’t think anyone will truly give the Yankees a race and they’ll take the wildcard by eight or more games. The Reds because of their pitching, and the Cardinals because of Albert Pujols and the possible resurgence of Chris Carpenter will make a run, but in the end they’ll be the final two teams to fall short. It comes down to the D-Backs and Phillies, and, I’m going with...Philadelphia (I just went back and forth for the last 30 minutes). Although the Phillies made the playoffs last season because the Mets collapsed, they did so with Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins dealing with independent issues, and they ended up winning the World Series. On paper, the team appears too talented to not play its way into October where it will lose in the first round and watch from home as New York defeats the Cubs in seven games in the NLCS. In a rematch of the 1986 Series, the Red Sox will get their revenge because of their aforementioned stellar pitching front to back. NL Wild Card: Philadelphia Phillies; NL Champion: New York Mets; World Series Champion: Boston Red Sox

Continue reading "The Sports Don's Sunday Musings: ..."

aff, and a slue of injury plagued players Boston hopes will make a significant impact.

Unlike the New York Yankees, the Sox didn’t sign any marquee free agents this past winter, but my hometown bias aside, it’s because they didn’t need to. Boston signed John Smoltz (210-147, 3.26 ERA career), Brad Penny (32-13, 3.65 ERA in his last two healthy seasons), Takashi Saito (81 saves, 1.95 ERA career), Rocco Baldelli and traded Coco Crisp to Kansas City for Ramon Ramirez (2.64 ERA in 71.2 innings in ’08). As Jayson Stark wrote on ESPN earlier this month, "One team tried to solve its problems with $423 million worth of free agents. The other team brought in a bunch of guys who spent about 423 million days in the trainer's room."

Continue reading "The Sports Don Returns with His 2009 ..."

I have to admit, this edition of The Sports Don’s Sunday Musings was harder for me to compile than the previous two weeks. Maybe it’s because I’m still bull over Steven the Black Jack Dealer cheating me out of all of my money at Foxwoods or perhaps it’s because I’m trying to remember to DVR Dark Days in Monkey City. Either way, I still managed to ramble on especially long this weekend so I’ll keep the words typed in the remainder of my intro to a minimum...here it is.

Continue reading "The Sports Don's Sunday Musings: Volume III"

“Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make, you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.” – Matthew 7: 1-3

Yes, that’s correct. I just quoted the Bible. Enjoy it, because the only other biblical reference I’ll make is when I inevitably tell the story of how Larry Bird created the world in six days and rested on the seventh to watch Tom Brady win the Super Bowl. The reason I’m recruiting an Apostle is because I want to show each and every one of my readers that I’m not messing around. Enough is enough. We’re a forgiving culture. Let’s check ourselves before we wreck ourselves.

Continue reading "Sympathy for the Steroid Devils"

Another week has come and gone, and there is another Sunday crossword to make me feel like college was a waste of money and another week of sports in our memory banks. From the aftermath of Alex Rodriguez’ steroid scandal to a NBA player looking like the lovechild of a Georgetown basketball coach and a patriotic Muppet, there’s much to talk about and a whole lot more on my mind.

Continue reading "The Sports Don's Sunday Musings: Volume II"

One of the great things about sports is that every week fans are provided with a plethora of new topics to think about and discuss. Along with my other posts, starting today, and continuing every Sunday for the foreseeable future, I am going to supply my readership with an opportunity to peer inside my oversized cranium and take a peek at what I’m mulling over.

Continue reading "The Sports Don's Sunday Musings"

Secondly, signing him would keep him away from the New York Yankees, who are sure to make a strong push for Teixeira and any other big name free agents this off-season. If the Red Sox are unabl

Continue reading "Adios To Mike Lowell"