Banner Edition of Stanley Cup of Sports Chowdah- Sox Dismiss Francona After September Fade; AL East Out in 1st Round; Stanley Cup Champs Raise Banner

RED SOX: I recieved the bad news via Red Sox radio network affiliate WTSJ-AM followed up by the nail in the coffin down in Tampa Bay on XM Radio as I moved further into the northern New England wilderness.

With a postseason berth on the line in the Red Sox regular season finale, Boston found themselves tied with Tampa Bay and playing a do-or-die game against the stubborn Baltimore Orioles last week.

Things got off to a promising start with a Dustin Pedroia RBI single in the top of the 3rd, but Jon Lester would give up a 2 run homer to O's SS JJ Hardy in the bottom frame of inning number 3 to give Baltimore a 2-1 lead.

The Red Sox would then manage to knot the game up in the top of the 4th in a most curious manner. Marco Scutaro would get on board with a 1-out double, and Carl Crawford would move Scutaro to 3rd. Scutaro would then be awarded home plate to tie the game up when O's starter Alfredo Simon balked.

Simon would then go on to give up a solo homer to Dustin Pedroia to give the Red Sox a 3-2 lead, but after handing things off to Papelbon in the bottom of the 9th, the O's would manage to tie the game up on a 2-out RBI goround rule double to OF Nolan Reimond and then win on a Ronald Andino walk-off RBI single for the 4-3 final.

While all this was transpiring in Baltimore, down in Tampa Bay, the Rays had managed to come all the way back from a 7-0 defecit to the New York Yankees for a 6-run bottom of the 8th and a 2-out, 2-strike solo homer in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game at 7-7 to force extra innings where they'd ultimately win on a Evan Longoria walkoff solo home run, effectively shutting the door on the last remaining playoff opportunity for the Red Sox.

The loss and elimination caps a historically awful 7-20 September for Boston where they had a 9 game lead in the AL Wild Card heading into Labor Day weekend, only to see that lead diminish in the final weeks.

The collapse in the final month led to the dismissal of manager Terry Francona less than 48 hours later and began fuelling reports that the Chicago Cubs are interested in GM Theo Epstein's services.

Since Francona was manager of the Red Sox when they won the only two World Series titles in my life- and most other New Englanders lives, I am of the possibly biased opinion that Francona's dismissal (espcially with no apparent replacement waiting in the wings) was a hasty and poorly thought out move by the front office. Not just for sentimental reasons either, but consider how much more challenging it will be to lure and retain free agents thanks to this front office turmoil.

But then again, with recent New England sports history as a guide, I'd like to think that adversity not only builds charachter but also championsips. Think back to the painful end of the 2003 ALCS against the Yankees and how the 2004 season ended. The 2006 Red Sox never even got a whiff of the playoffs, falling out of serious contention in August that year- and they followed it up with their 2nd World Series title in 3 years. More recently (albeit another sport), consider the agonizing end of the 2009-2010 Boston Bruins playoff run, where after taking a 3-0 lead against Philadelphia in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals only to have Philly come charging back and score the winning goal on a power play after a too many men on the ice penalty against Boston. The following season, the Flyers barely slowed the Bruins down on their championship run; Boston's 4-game sweep being noteworthy in that it was the only round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the Bruins that DIDN'T go to 7 games.

But we'll have the whole offseason for finger-pointing, arbitrary comparisons, speculation and recriminations. In the meantime, there's still some baseball to be played.

ELSEWHERE IN MLB: As bad as the Red Sox September implosion was, the Atlanta Braves suffered a comprable agonizing late season fate [it MUST be a Boston thing, even tho' one of them hasn't called Boston home for 58 years- NANESB!] losing out on the NL Wild Card to St Louis after a 13 inning loss to the Philadelphia Phillies while the Cardinals pounded the Astros 8-0 on the September 28 regular season finale. So the last game of the regular season was indeed of great interest, but had just about the worst possible outcome as far as the AL was concerned.

Also worth noting that the defending World Series Champion San Francisco Giants failed to make the playoffs, with the Arizona Diamondbacks getting the NL West pennant.

ALDS: But just like that, there are no representatives of the AL East remaining in the postseason thanks to the bats of a couple of former Red Sox. Adrian Beltre belted 3 solo homers in the Texas Rangers 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuedsay to eliminate Tampa after winning the series 3 games to 1.

The Detroit Tigers made things a bit interesting after the Yankees forced a deciding Game 5 in the Bronx. Former Red Sox and Indians catcher Victor Martinez would drive in the winning run off of CC Sabathia in the top of the 5th with a 2-out RBI single. Interesingly, Sabathia was the Yankees 4th starter of the game when he came on in the 5th inning.

Midseason trade acquisition Doug Fister got the win for Detroit, going 5 innings and allowing 5 hits and an earned run in his start. Both Fister and the Detroit bullpen were able to wriggle out of some bases loaded situations in Detroit's 3-2 victory in Game 5.

The conclusion of the ALDS now sets up a Detroit/Texas ALCS that will get underway in Arlington, TX on Saturday at 8:05 ET with Justin Verlander getting the start for Los Tigres and CJ Wilson on the mound for Texas.

NLDS: Lest we forget, there's also a pair of deciding Game 5's today on TBS. At 5:05 ET, the Milwaukee Brewers will host the Arizona Diamondbacks for game 5 of their ALDS series while over in Philly, the NL East winning Philadelphia Phillies will host the squirrely St Louis Cardinals for their Game 5. No firm schedule for the NLCS has been set, pending the outcome of both Game 5s today.

CHICAGO WHITE SOX: The White Sox have announced that former 3rd baseman and Nolan Ryan punching bag Robin Ventura has been named as the club's new manager, replacing Ozzie Guillen who departed for Florida at the end of the season.


NHL: The Boston Bruins 2011-2012 season got underway with an emotionally-charged pregame ceremony in which the Stanley Cup was hoisted one last time and Bruins from the 2010-2011 and 1971-1972 championship teams together raised the latest Championship banner.

Although Boston got out to the early 1-0 lead, the game itself was a touch anticlimatic. The B's would score on their first power play thanks to Brad Marchand (with assists from Tyler Seguin and Joe Corvo). However, the Flyers would come right back and tie the game up with a power play tally of their own off the stick of Claude Giroux (with assists from Chirs Pronger and Jaromir Jagr) before taking a 2-1 lead at Jacob Varicek goal with 3 seconds left in the first.



That would actually be the final, as Nathan Horton caught Flyers G Ilya Bryzgalov out of position in the 3rd period only to have the blade of Philly defender Kimmo Timonen's stick get between Horton and the wide open net (above).

The Flyers would go on to win by the 2-1 final, with Boston travelling to Tampa Bay on Saturday to face off against the Lightning. The puck drops at 7:00 ET and the game will be televised on the NHL network.

OTHER NHL NEWS: The venue for the 2012 Winter Classic has been announced, with Philadelphia's Citizen's Bank Ballpark hosting a game between the 'home' team Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers. This will be the Rangers first appearence in the NHL's annual New Year's Day game played outdoors, while it will be the second go-round for the Flyers.

NFL: After Week 3's setback against the Buffalo Bills, the Patriots capped off their quickie 1-game road trip to the West Coast with a flawless 31-19 win over the Oakland Raiders.


Perhaps the higlight was Tackle Vince Wilfork's 2nd Interception in 3 weeks (also, 2nd career interception) in the the quarter with New England up by a 31-13 margin.

The 3-1 Patriots will next play against the 2-2 New York Jets at Foxboro on Sunday with a 4:15 kickoff. The Jets are coming off a 34-17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens from lat Sunday night.

OTHER PATRIOTS NEWS: The Patriots released RB Eric Kettani from their practice squad after being activiated by the US Navy. Kettani reported for duty aboard the US Navy frigate USS Klakring on Friday. Head coach Bill Belichick said that the Patriots decided to cut him rather than retain him as the most feasable option of bringing him back once Kettani's completed his obligations with the Navy.

OTHER NFL NEWS: Are you ready for some football? Well, too bad, because ESPN isn't.

Country singer Hank Williams Jr and ESPN have parted ways when the network dropped Williams Monday Night Football intro after the musician made comments on FOX and Friends comparing President Obama and Speaker of the House John Boehner playing golf to Adolf Hitler and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu getting together on the links. ESPN announced that the intro for next week's Monday Night Football game between the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears would feature a video montage narrated by former Lions Hall of Fame RB Barry Sanders.

The ESPN Network has been very protective of President Obama, very publicly reprimanding former PGA golfer Paul Azinger for sending out a tweet mocking President Obama's record on creating jobs.

Interestingly, the ESPN networks had nothing to say when on-air personality Kenny Mayne sent out a tweet expressing a desire to ram a vehicle that was displaying Sarah Palin bumper stickers.

NCAA FOOTBALL: A couple of bad weeks strung together ads up to a bad season, and as far as the two FBS teams in New England are concerned, that's exactly what the 2011 season is shaping up to be. It's not looking too much better as UConn and Boston College both find themselves going up against ranked conference opponents on Saturday.

The Boston College Eagles are now 1-4 (0-2 in the ACC) after dropping Saturday's home game to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons by a 27-19 final. I'm a little less optimistic about their chances on the road against #8 Clemson this Saturday at 3 PM ET.

UConn isn't doing too much better in the Big East, although they have more than one win to their name so far this season. Last week, they lost to the Western Michigan Broncos of the MAC by a 38-31 final. This Saturday finds them going up against the #16 West Virginia Mountianeers in Morgantown, WV at noon Saturday.

Down to the Wire Sports Chowdah- Lavranway or the Highway in Baltimore; Buffalo Shuffles Off to 3-0 Start After Upsetting Pats

RED SOX: After dropping two out of three at Yankee stadium (their sole win in that series being decided by a Jacoby Ellsbury 3-run homer in the 14th inning late Sunday night) the Red Sox headed headed down to Baltimore for the final series of the regular season. Only the way the Red Sox had been playing in September, it could very well end up being their season finale altogether. Monday night was pretty gruesome, with the Tampa Bay Rays closing the gap, the O's roughing up Beckett and Saltalamacchia leaving the game after taking a foul ball off the throat.

Tuesday night saw ex-O Eric Bedard get the start against his former team, only lasting 3 and ⅓ innings against a persistent Baltimore offense. However, the Red Sox were even rougher on O's starter Zach Britton. In the top of the 3rd, Jacoby Ellsbury let his bat do the arguing for him in the AL MVP discussion, belting a 2-run homer to take a 2-1 lead. However, in the top of the 5th, with Big Pappi and Adrian Gonzalez on base, Red Sox rookie catcher Ryan Lavarnway would increase the lead with a 3-run shot to make it 5-1 Boston- his first big league home run. As sizeable a lead as theat turned out to be, the Red Sox would need even more as Baltimore would counter with a 2 run homer off the bat of catcher Matt Wieters to make it a 2-run game.

In the top of the 6th, Carl Crawford's 1-out triple was followed by a homer off the bat of Marco Scutaro to increase the lead to 7-3 in favor of Boston. Baltimore would respond with a solo homer off the bat of Adam Jones in the bottom of the 6th to make it 7-4.

Leading off the 8th, Lavarnway would double his career homerun total with a solo shot to make it 8-4. After 3 and ⅔ innings, Alfredo Aceves was replaced by Daniel Bard on the mound to face Baltimore. The O's managed to get two runs with two away in the bottom of the 8th to once again make it a two-run game with Boston now leading 8-6.

Things would get even more tense in the bottom of the 9th when Papelbon came on to close out the game and gave up a single to JJ Hardy. Hardy would make his way to 2nd on a Markakis groundout and then to 3rd on a Vlad Guerrero single, reaching home on a Matt Weiters bunt that Lavarnway threw to 1st for the out. Papelbon would then get JJ Hardy to ground out to end the ballgame by the final of 8-7.

It was a win they would need, too, as the Tampa Bay Rays managed to hold off a late rally by the Yankees to preserve the tie for the AL Wild Card (the Angels were eliminated from contention on Monday night).

Wednesday's game- the final of the regular season- will have Jon Lester (15-9; 3.49 ERA) going up against Alfredo Simon (4-9; 4.85 ERA). The Red Sox need a win to at least force a 1-game playoff with the Rays on Thursday- Tampa is going up against a Yankees team that's already clinched the AL East and aside from determining who makes the playoff roster doesn't have alot to play for.

OTHER RED SOX NEWS: According to gossip site TMZ.com, Red Sox starter John Lackey and his wife are filing for divorce. Court papers were reportedly filed in Texas last month citing 'conflict of personalities'.

ELSEWHERE IN MLB: Over in the National League, the Wild Card there hasn't been determined either. The St Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves are deadlocked for the NL Wild Card with one game remaining for each team (Atlanta has the Phillies while St Louis has the Astros). If the deadlock in the standings remains unbroken by tomorrow night, then there will be a 1-game playoff in St. Louis on Thursday night.

Reportedly, if a one game playoff is required for the AL or NL Wild card, the game will be televised on TBS. First pitch would be 4:07 PM ET in Tampa for the Red Sox and Rays and 8:07 PM ET in St. Louis for Braves/Cardinals.

WHITE SOX: White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen was released from his duties by the White Sox this week. There had been speculation that Guillen wasnt long for the organization as well as rumors that he was interested in becoming the manager of the Florida Marlins. This seemed to be confirmed by Guillen himself via twitter as he informed followers about his arrival in Miami.


NFL: For the first time since 2003, the Buffalo Bills have managed to defeat the New England Patriots. Although the Patriots managed to get out to a 21-0 lead early in the 2nd quarter, the Bills managed to whittle that down to 21-10 by halftime. Buffalo would come back to tie the game at 24-24 early in the 4th before taking the lead when CB Drayton Florence ran back a Brady INT for a quick 6 on New Engalnd's following possession.

The Patriots would then take nearly 7 minutes to march down the field, tying the game up on a 6 yard pass from Brady to Welker on 4th and goal with 3:25 left in the 4th. However, that would be enough time for Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick to engineer an 80-yard drive that sputtered at the one, but all that was needed was a chip shot FG from Bills kicker Rian Lindell as time expired to give Buffalo the 34-31 win.

So heading into week 4, Buffalo stands alone atop the AFC East (Sunday's meeting was the Bills 1st matchup of the season against an division opponent). As a measure of consolation, the Jets would go on to lose against the Oakland Raiders that afternoon as well.

Speaking of Oakland, the Patriots will travel to the East Bay to take on the Raiders this Sunday. The game will be televised on CBS and kicks off at 4:15 PM ET, 1:15 PM PT.

NBA: With players not reporting to training camp at the usual time due to the lockout, the NBA has postponed training camp indefinitely and cancelled 43 preseason games. Meetings between the league and player's association ended without a collective bargaining agreement last week, putting the preseason games and possibly the start of the regular season in doubt.

Cup Half Empty Edition of Sports Chowdah- Pats Withstand Late Charge; O No! Sox Swoon Against Baltimore; Mo Sets Record; Star Sets on Modano's Career

NFL: Well now- the home opener was almost as gratifying as the season opener in Miami. The San Diego Chargers managed to keep Tom Brady to under 500 yards on Sunday, but not by much.

After a pre-game ceremony honoring the late Myra Kraft, New England was able to march the ball down the field for a TD on their opening posession. San Diego quarterback Phillip Rivers was able to answer in kind on the Chargers second posession.

With things knotted up at 7-7 early in the 2nd, New England was once again able to drive deep into Chargers territory, although the San Diego defense would hold them to a Gostkowski FG to make it 10-7 New England. On the following posession, the Chargers started out on their own 39 yard line and managed to move all the way down to the goal line, but were unable to punch it in, turning the ball over on 4th and 1. That set up a situation eerily reminiscent of Monday night's game in Miami where Brady connected with Welker, although this time around it was a pickup of a mere 12 yards. That would be the beginning of a 10 play, 5 minute and 99 ½ yard drive culminating in a 10 yard pass from Brady to TE Rob Gronkowski to put the Patriots up 17-7.

What happened on San Diego's next posession when they had moved the ball down to the New England 29 yard line was undoubtedly the highlight of the game for many.



330 lb Defensive Tackle Vince Wilfork got a paw on a Rivers pass and managed to bring it in, rumbling back for nearly 30 yards before being brought down (altho' 10 yards would be brought back on a penatly after the INT). And as a Patriots fan, do you know what the best part was? There was more to Wilfork's INT and runback than the novelty of seeing one of the big linemen running like the chuckwagon was on the other end of the field and he just happened to have the ball. Nope- thanks to two very quick strikes from Brady with 9 seconds left in the half, New England was able to move to within FG range. And as time expired in the 1st half, Gostkowski nailed a 47 yards FG attempt to put San Diego up 20-7. So as novel as Wilfork's INT and return was, the pivotal thing was that the Patriots got points off of his efforts.

After a scoreless 3rd quarter, the Chargers pulled to within a touchdown after Rivers connected with TE Vincent Jackson to make it a 20-14 game. After moving the ball to midfield on the ensuing posession, the Pats failed to convert on 4th and 4, handing the ball back to San Diego mid-field. Three plays into the San Diego drive, the Chargers coughed up the ball on a Mike Tolbert fumble at the Pats 39 yard line.

Brady would then connect with Deion Branch and Wes Welker to move the ball to the San Diego 17 before connecting with Gronkowski again for a 17 yard TD reception. Danny Woodhead would then go on to make good on a 2 point conversion to put New England up 28-14.

The Chargers would then start off from their own 20 and march downfield to find paydirt on a 3 minute drive where Rivers connected with Vincent Jackson on a 26 yard pass to make it 21-28 New England and to bring San Digo to within a TD.

Not merely content to let the clock run out on a long, sustained drive, the Patriots started off from their own 20 and handed off to the Law Offices of Ben Jarvus Green Ellis more than once as well as a 29 yard connection between Brady and Gronkowski to put the ball on the Chargers 24. After a short run from Green-Ellis and a Chargers penatly, the running back of many names (all of them his) would go on to find the end zone from the Chargers 16 to make it a 35-21 game.

And that is the final the Patriots in their 2011 home opener by. Tom Brady went 31-40 with 423 yards and 3 TDs and was sacked twice while on the other end of the ball, Phillip Rivers went 29-40 with 378 yards, 2 TDs, 2 sacks and 2 INTs. Deion Branch had the most yardage for a New England reciever (10 catches for 172 yards), while Rob Gronkowski hauled in 4 catches for 86 yards and two TDs.

Next week, the 2-0 Patriots will travel to Orchard Park, NY to take on the 2-0 Buffalo Bills who are coming off a dramatic 4th quarter win against the Oakland Raiders at their home opener in Orachard Park last weekend.

Currently, three out of the four teams in the AFC East are off to a 2-0 start this season, as the NY Jets manhandled the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

MLB: The way the Red Sox have been playing in September, I almost want to go on forever about the Patriots first two games.

After Beckett's strong start on Friday night, the Red Sox dropped two straight to the Tampa Bay Rays to close out the season series, with Tampa closing the gap in the Wild Card chase. The gap narrowed even further when the Red Sox split a doubleheader on Monday between the Baltimore Orioles (Boston won game 2 by a 18-9 margin) before the offense squandered a number of offensive opportunities and the bullpen imploded, including Papelbon coming on early only to give up a bases-loaded double in the top of the 8th in Tuesday night's 7-5 loss to the O's.

Wednesday night's game will close out the regular season at Fenway with Beckett (13-5; 2.50 ERA) going up against Baltimore's Tommy Hunter (4-4; 4.81 ERA) with first pitch at 7:10 ET.



ELSEWHERE IN MLB: The Yankees pursuit of the AL East pennant was almost an afterthought on Monday when Mariano Rivera closed out a 6-4 win over the Minnesota Twins for career save #602. That save put him past former San Diego Padres and Milwaukee Brewers closer Trevor Hoffman for all-time saves. In 2010, Hoffman became the first MLB closer to reach the 600 saves mark, closing out a 4-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on September 8, 2010. Rivera's save against the Twins on Monday in the Bronx is the 43rd of the season.

NCAA FOOTBALL: Where have you gone, Steve Aponavicius? As bad as September has been for the Red Sox, at least they've won a few games. However, I cannot say the same about the Boston College Eagles, who were trailing late against Duke University at Chestnut Hill 20-19 on Saturday afternoon. With 2:32 left in regulation, the Eagles managed to drive down the field all the way to the Duke 5 yard line where they failed to convert on a 3rd and 1. With 47 seconds left, the field goal unit came on for a chip shot FG attempt- bascically a point after attempt- which subsequently bounced off the upright, giving the Blue Devils the ball back to run out the clock for their first win of the season.

This sets up an intra-state meeting with the 2-0 UMass Minutement in Chestnut Hill on Saturday. The Minutemen are coming off a 36-21 road win against Rhode Island on Saturday.

NHL: The puck drops on the Boston Bruins preseason Wednesday night north of the border. The Ottawa Senators host the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins at Scotiabank Center at 7:30 PM ET.

OTHER NHL NEWS: After 21 years in the NHL, former Dallas Stars C Mike Modano has called it a career. With 561 career goals and 1374 points, the Michigan native was the highest scoring American born player in the NHL. Modano was the last active member of the Minnesota North Stars to play in the NHL- the team moved to Dallas in 1993 and won the Stanley Cup with Dallas in 1999.


Modano married singer/songwriter Willa Ford in 2006 and opened up a resturaunt in Dallas with former teammate Brett Hull in 2008. In 2010, Modano played briefly for the Detroit Red Wings- for the first time, departing the Stars/North Stars organization.

Tempest Sports Chowdah in a Tea Cup, Come on Irene Edition- Aug 29, 2011

RED SOX: After dealing with 104° heat in Arlington, TX for their four-game series against the Rangers (which the Red Sox won the final three in convincing fashion), the Red Sox headed back to Boston just in time for the approach of Hurricane Irene.



Upon returning to Fenway, not only did they have to deal with forces of nature, but an Oakland A's team that was still smarting from allowing an unprecedented three grand slams in one game to the New York Yankees in last Thursday's 22-9 spanking of Oakland (although the A's took the first two to win the series).



Tim Wakefield continued his futile, almost Groundhog Day-esque quest for 200 wins on Friday night- it did not end well, with A's starter Gio Gonzalez getting plenty of run support in Oakland's 15-5 win.



As bad as that was, Hurricane Irene's approach was of more concern. Although the worst of the storm was expected to move out of the region by Monday and the Red Sox had the day off, Oakland was supposed to play Cleveland that day. With the storm expected to arrive on Sunday, it was decided to play Sunday's game as part of a doubleheader on Saturday.



Jon Lester had to wait out two rain delays in Game 1 to get the 9-3 win, including a 2 hour and 15 min dealy in the 7th. Apparently Game 1 couldn't have been made official after 7 innings because that would've effectively cancelled game 2 according to MLB rules.



For Game 2 of the doubleheader, Erik Bedard gave up his second single of the day before nature once again intervened in the top of the 5th. After another rain delay (the 3rd on the day) play resumed with Alfredo Aceves on the mound going three hitless innings to get credit for the win.



After riding out the remnants of Irene and an off day on Monday, the Red Sox will host the Yankees beginning Tuesday night. The Yankees took two out of three games played against Baltimore in a series that also required some shuffling and rescheduling thanks to Hurricane Irene. Game 1 will feature CC Sabathia (17-7; 2.99 ERA) going up against John Lackey (12-9; 5.98 ERA). First pitch will be at 7:10 ET and the game will be televised on NESN and the MLB Network.



OTHER RED SOX NEWS: The Red Sox sent Ryan Lavarnaway down to Pawtucket this week. The catcher filled in for Big Papi while he missed a week with bursitis, batting .303 and with 3 RBIs over 7 games with Boston. Boston then very briefly called up RHP Scott Atcheson before sending him down to Pawtucket for RHP Micheal Bowden over the weekend. Bowden is 3-3 with a 2.73 ERA for the Paw Sox this season.

Brownwood, TX firefighter Shannon Stone w/son Cooper at fire station- Heather Klein Photo

OTHER MLB NEWS- TEXAS: The Texas Rangers announced plans to erect a statue in honor of Brownwood, TX fireman Shannon Stone who was killed in a fall at Rangers ballpark in Arlington, TX earlier this season while trying to catch a ball tossed up from the field.

The statue will depict Mr. Stone and his six-year-old son Cooper attending a Rangers game. The full-size bronze statue is likely to be located outside the home plate gate of Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.



“We feel that this statue will be a most fitting tribute,” commented Rangers CEO and President Nolan Ryan. “It will not only serve to honor Mr. Stone’s memory but also to recognize Rangers fans and baseball fans everywhere.



“I have discussed the project with Jenny Stone, and she and the Stone family will be involved in the design and creation of the statue.”



Jenny Stone issued the following statement:



“We continue to be appreciative of Nolan Ryan and the Texas Rangers as we deal with the loss of Shannon. Shannon and Cooper had a special relationship, and we are touched and grateful that it will be memorialized at one of their favorite places. Our hope is that this statue will not be a symbol of our family tragedy but rather a reminder of the importance of a family's love - love of each other, love of spending time together, and love of the game.”



The Rangers, who will fund the project, are in the early stages of considering sculptors to design and create the statue.

The statue is tentatively titled 'Rangers Fans' and is expected to be completed in time for the 2012 season.



CLEVELAND: Jim Thome arrived back in Cleveland after being placed on waivers by the Minnesota Twins last week. With Tribe DH Travis Hafner out for the season and possibly needing foot surgery, Thome was acquired by the Indians after the Twins went 20 games under .500 and were 16 games out of 1st place before Thome was dealt.



Thome was initially drafted in the 13th round of the 1989 MLB draft and made his debut as a third baseman towards the end of the 1991 season. Thome left for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2003 and has since logged time with the White Sox and Dodgers before the Twins signed him to a 1-year deal in 2010.



Earlier this summer, Thome hit career home run #600 with the Twins- that number is now 602. The veteran DH has a .277 batting average in his 20 year MLB career.



BALTIMORE: UMass alum and Cy Young winner Mike Flannigan was found dead from a gunshot wound to the head on his Maryland property last week. The Maryland state medical examiner ruled his death a suicide and friends and family said he had seemed despondent over financial issues.



Flannigan started out with Baltimore in the 1975 season winning a Cy Young in 1979 and the World Series in 1983. In 1987, he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays where before returning to the O's for the 1991 and 1992 season. The left-hander had a career record of 167-143 and a 3.90 ERA. After retiring, Flannigan worked in the front office in Baltimore before becoming a color commentator on the team's TV network.



NFL: The Patriots might've missed Hurricane Irene with their preseason trip to the Motor City, but they came up empty against the Lions. In a game that was actually less exciting than any of the three rain delays at Fenway, Lions QB Matthew Stafford wetn 12-14 with 200 yards and 2 TDs in Detroit's 34-10 preseason win over New England.



A final preseason game is scheduled for Thursday night this week in which the Pats will take on the NY Giants at Foxboro.

Bite Sized Cuppa Sports Chowdah- O Really? Sox Take Rubber Game of Baltimore Series

RED SOX- After technically winning two games in two cities on the same day on Monday (thanks to an 8-run rally in in Baltimore to put away the second game of the day), Boston dropped Game 2 on Tuesday by a 6-2 final. This set up a deciding game 3 on Wednesday afternoon in a sweltering Camden Yards.

After getting into a 1-out bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the second, Red Sox starter Andrew Miller managed to escape by getting O's catcher Craig Tatum to ground into a double-play.

Miller would soon get some run support thanks to a Jacoby Ellsbury solo homer in the top of the 3rd. That was actually all the Red Sox would need, although Ellsbury had another solo homer to his credit in the 7th inning. A bases-loaded walk to Carl Crawford and Jason Varitek grounding into a fielder's choice with Josh Reddick at third rounded out scoring in Boston's 4-0 shutout of the Orioles.

Miller went 5 and two-thirds, allowing two hits, giving up 6 walks and striking out 3 batters. The bullpen came on and didn't allow a baserunner for Baltimore, with Papelbon closing out the game on a 1-2-3 bottom of the 9th.

Boston has now won a second consecutive 3-game series with an AL East opponent since coming back from the All Star game. The Red Sox will be returning to Fenway on Friday night to take on the Seattle Mariners. Seattle ace Feliz Hernandez (8-8; 3.26 ERA) is scheduled to go up against John Lackey (7-8; 6.70 ERA) with a first pitch at 7:10.

OTHER MLB NEWS: With the non-waiver trade deadline coming up at the end of the month, the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox are reportedly top among the likely destinations for Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran.

While the Red Sox have expressed an interest in Beltran to the struggling Mets, Boston's front office feels that the Mets may be asking too much in terms of prospects, especially after the offseason trade that brought Gonzalez over from San Diego. Beltran has been batting .293 this season with 15 homers and 61 RBI.

Reports from the west coast indicate that Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier has also publicly expressed an interest in playing for Boston. Ethier has been batting .299 with 9 home runs and 44 RBI.

M-O-O-N, That Spells Sports Chowdah Update- Sox Cap 4-Game Sweep of O's; Jeter Becomes Baseball's Latest Mr 3000, USA Women Advance to World Cup Final

Parting contestants on Sox Appeal will recieve these 2011 American League All-Star Jerseys from Russel Athletic- AP Photo

RED SOX: Boston headed into the All Star break with a 1-game lead over the Yankees after finishing up a sweep of the Baltimore Orioles in a 4-game series that could be described as confrontational.

A source of concern given his last couple of starts, John Lackey threw 6⅔ innings of shutout baseball on Saturday's 4-0 win against Baltimore. Sunday's game wasn't quite the same story, with PawSox callup Kyle Weiland only lasting 4 innings and giving up 6 runs in the top of the 2nd. The Sox were able to surge ahead and win by an 8-6 final for the final game of the first half.

Although the Red Sox have yet to play a game in the second half, they made some headlines today when MLB handed down four game suspensions to both David Ortiz and Kevin Gregg for their brawl (or attempted brawl) Friday night. The league also handed down one game suspensions to O's Pitcher Mike Gonzalez and manager Buck Showalter after the pitcher threw at Ortiz on Sunday's game. Jarrod Saltalamacchia and John Lackey also recieved fines for their role when the benches cleared Friday night.

No word yet on whether Gregg or Ortiz plan on appealing their suspensions.

On a side note, the Red Sox have yet to play an inning in the second half of the 2011 season, but have already gained an additional half game on the Yankees after the Blue Jays thumped the Bronx Bombers by a 16-7 final at the Rogers Centre Thursday night. MLB network is reporting that this is the most number of runs scored in Blue Jays history without hitting a home run.


ALL STAR GAME: The All Star festitivities in Phoenix got underway with the Yankee's Robinson Cano besting Boston's Adiran Gonzalez in the Home Run Derby on Monday.

On Tuesday night, Gonzalez would provide the AL with their only run on the evening with a solo shot off of Philly's Cliff Lee in the top of the 4th inning to briefly put the AL on top 1-0. Beckett never made his scheduled appearence after being scratched from the midsummer classic after experienceing lingering soreness in his knee.

The NL would take the lead for good in the bottom of the 4th thanks to a 3-run shot off the bat of Milwaukee's Prince Fielder (who could very well have out Brian Wilson-ed Brian Wilson in the facial hair category). The NL would go on to win by a final of 5-1 and secure home field advantage for the World Series this year.


ELSEWHERE IN MLB: Between the weather and the matchup against Tampa Bay, I was having my doubts whether or not it would happen before the All-Star break, but Yankees captain Derek Jeter had reached the 3000 hit milestone. Firday night's game in the Bronx was rained out and wouldn't be made up until September and there was some doubts that the weather would hold for Saturday's game. However, the weather cooperated and Jeter was batting leadoff, getting hit #2999 in the bottom of the first.

Hit #3000 would come in the form of a game-tying solo homer in the bottom of the 3rd, making Jeter the first Yankees player to reach the 3000 hits milestone [kind of surprising, given the Hall of Famers that have put on pinstripes in the past- NANESB!]. Jeter went 5 for 5 with 2 RBI on the day in New York's 5-4 win over Tampa.

Heading into the All-Star Break, the Yankees captain surpassed the late Roberto Clemente for career hits and is closing in on Detroit's Al Kaline and his mark of 3007.

A rather disturbing side note to all this (which the NY media is treating as rather whimsical) is that the fan who caught Jeter's 3000th hit ball might have the IRS after him now that the Yankees have lavished luxury box seats and autographed memorobilia on him in exchange for the ball.

Yankees fan Christian Lopez, a 23 year old Verizon salesman from Highland Mills, NY was willing to return the ball to the team for free, but the Yankees decided to treat him and his family to luxury box seats for the remaining home games this season as well as autographed bats, balls and jerseys- all with an estimated value in excess of $30,000. While the Jeter ball would've easily fetched six figures on the open market, some say the IRS may view the seats given to Lopez as income, citing contestants on The Price is Right being taxed for some of their prizes as precedent [which makes no sense- there's some reasonable expectation you could walk away from a game show with thousands of dollars. No so much an afternoon at the ballpark. Trust me- NANESB!]


FIFA WOMEN'S WORLD CUP- What did I miss? Just about everything, it turns out. The USA Women's team has been doing quite well in the FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany this week (minus vuvuzelas, hopefully). The USA's Alex Kreiger helped the USA advance past Brazil in the quarterfinals in the penalty shot phase of the game to break a 2-2 deadlock on Saturday.

On Wednesday, they knocked out France in the semifinals by a 3-1 final. The win earns them a trip to the finals where they take on Japan for the title, after the Japanese team downed Sweden- also by a 3-1 margin- to advance.

Feisty Sports Chowdah Update For July 8th: Boston Pops- Sox Down Brawltimore in Fenway Slug-Fest; Sun Sets on Yao Ming Dynasty

RED SOX: After moving into sole possession of 1st place with a 10-4 win in the series opener Thursday night, the Red Sox took on the Baltimore Orioles for Game 2 of the 4-game weekend series.

Those of you who thought the fireworks were over and done with after the 4th of July were dead wrong. The Red Sox seemingly had this one put away early thanks to an 8-run offensive outburst in the bottom of the 1st.

But what had everybody talking about this blowout wasn't what happened in the bottom of the 1st as much as it was what happened in the bottom of the 8th. Baltimore starter Zach Britton was long gone and reliever Kevin Gregg was on the mound when he gave up a 1-out RBI triple to PawSox callup Josh Reddick to make it a 10-3 game.

Gregg then threw inside to David Ortiz with one away. Big Papi took exception and walked a few steps out towards the mound before the umpire warned both benches as they started to spill out onto the field. On the very next pitch, Papi flew out to center.

Gregg apparently shouted something to Ortiz and was immediately ejected by home plate umpire Mike Estabrook. However, Big Papi either didn't know or didn't care as he charged in from the first base line and started swinging. Gregg stood his ground against the charging DH and swung back, although both big men largely missed their intended targets. First base coach DeMarlo Hale held Papi back while the benches emptied once again, with umpires and managers attempting to separate the players. Personally I hadn't seen anything that freaky since the Pedro Martinez-Don Zimmer battle royale in 2003....the fact that neither Gregg or Ortiz successfully landed a blow just made it even MORE bizzare.

So some 20 minutes later, everything was sorted out and Ortiz and Jarrod Saltalamacchia were tossed from the game along with Gregg and O's reliever Jim Johnson. The inning technically ended was Reddick was called out for abandoning 3rd base, but it took awhile to pull some of the players apart and sort through the ejections [didn't think the Bruins physical play would rub off on the Red Sox like that- NANESB!].

Boston wins by a final more reminiscent of a Ravens-Patriots score- 10-3. Beckett reportedly left Friday night's game with a hyperextended knee after pitching five complete innings and giving up 3 runs, walking two and striking out three.

Saturday's game will have the struggling John Lackey (5-8; 7.47 ERA) go up against the O's Alfredo Simon (1-1; 4.64 ERA) on Saturday night, 7:10 PM ET on NESN.

OTHER SOX NEWS: Another Red Sox player has been named to the 2011 All Star game in Phoenix. 3B Kevin Youkilis will replace the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez after A-Rod announced he would withdraw from the midsummer classic due to a right knee injury.

A-Rod won't be the only Yankee to pull out of the All Star game. Team captain and shortstop Derek Jeter- on the cusp of 3,000 career hits- announced Friday that he would not participate owing to a calf injury. Jeter will be replaced by Tiger's SS Jhony Peralta.

ELSEWHERE IN MLB: A firefighter from Brown County, TX died in a tragic and bizarre accident at Rangers ballpark in Arlington, TX Thursday night. 39 year old Shannon Stone was at the park watching the Texas/Oakland with his 6 year old son Cooper. Outfielder Josh Hamilton fielded a foul ball when he spotted the father and son. Thinking they would appreciate a souvenir, Hamilton tossed the ball their direction, but while trying to catch it, Shannon lost his balance and fell 20 feet, landing on his head. The firefighter would later die from his injuries.

“Red flags go up in your mind because you take things for granted for so long because it doesn’t happen,” Hamilton said. “Then all of a sudden it happens and then you start thinking more about things. “You couldn’t help but think about it, You hope nothing like that happens again.”

Hamilton was back on the field for Friday night's game. The all-star outfielder, who became a born again Christian after a downward spiral of drug addiction and alcohol abuse early on in his career, said he plans on reaching out and contacting the family when they felt it would be appropriate.

The Rangers observes a moment of silence and wore uniforms adorned with a black ribbon as flags at the ballpark flew at half-staff Friday night. In the meantime, the Texas Rangers Community Foundation has set up a memorial fund in Shannon Stone's name.

NBA: Houston Rockets Cener Yao Ming has told team officials that he plans on retiring after several injury-plagued seasons in the NBA. Most recently, the Chinese star was sidelined with tendon problems last year. An uncertain labor outlook also probably provided Ming with disincentive to continue playing in the NBA.

Sports Chowdah Update for May 16- Bronx Bummers For Yanks as Sox Sweep; Lightning Strikes Thrice- Take Game 1 of Eastern Conf. Finals; C ya Later

A-Rod: D'OH!

MLB: After their horrendous 0-6 start last month, the Red Sox have finally reached the .500 mark on Sunday night after comleting a 3-game sweep of the New York Yankees in the Bronx.

Friday night's game was something of a cliffhanger, with the Sox fending off a late Yankees rally to close out a 5-4 win. The following day, the Red Sox scored late and scored often in a 6-0 rout that pitted Josh Beckett against CC Sabathia. However, that gem was apparently overshadowed by the controversey surrounding Yankkes cathcer-turned-DH (and batting .165) Jorge Posada taking himself out of the game after it was announced he'd be hitting 9th in the lineup.

Sunday night's affair in the Bronx had Jon Lester on the mound against Freddy Garcia. The Yankees got to Lester pretty early, starting off with a Mark Teixeria RBI single in the first and giving up home runs to Andruw Jones and Curtis Granderson in the bottom of the 2nd to give the Yankees a 4-1 lead. However, the very next inning, Kevin Youkilis belted a 3 run homer to tie the game up at 4-4 while Big Papi hit a solo shot to right in the 5th to give the Red Sox a 1-run lead.

Of course, given the potent Yankees offense, a 1-run cushion didn't feel like it was enough but the Sox were able to add to that when Pedroia went home an a fielding error by Alex Rodriguez to make it 6-4.

The Yankees would get one back in the bottom of the 7th, but Jarrod Saltalamacchia cranked a solo homer to right field in the top of the 8th to make it 7-5, and Papelbon would come on in relief of Bard to close out the game, giving Boston not only the win, but a sweep of the weekend series at the Bronx and putting them at .500 for the first time this season.

Even though Daisuke Matsuzaka had an off night on Monday, the Red Sox came from behind and won on 1B Adrian Gonzalez's 1-out 2 RBI walk off double in the bottom of the 9th at Fenway to put the Sox over .500 for the first time this season. Meanwhile, the Yankees woes continued with a 6-5 loss against Tampa Bay on Monday night. The loss puts them a game under .500.

The Sox will close out their quickie two game series against Baltimore on Tuesday when they face rookie southpaw Zach Britton (5-2; 2.42 ERA). Tim Wakefield (0-1; 5.40 ERA) is expected to fill in as starter for Tuesday's game.

OTHER RED SOX NEWS: John Lackey, who was the scheduled starter for Tuesday's game against Baltimore, has been placed on the 15-Day DL with a right elbow strain. Although the team recalled Scott Atchison from AAA Pawtucket, it is expected that knuckleballer Tim Wakefield will get that start on Tuesday.

OTHER MLB NEWS: Hall of Famer and Minnesota Twins slugger Harmon Killebrew announced over the weekend that he will no longer treat his esophageal cancer and has entered hospice care. The 74 year old announced back in December that he was battling cancer. Killebrew's major league career spanned 21 years with the Washington Senators, Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals, with 13 of those seasons being spent in the Twin Cities.

Killebrew had a career batting average of .256 with 573 home runs and 1584 career RBI and was named to the baseball hall of fame in 1984.

NHL: All that time off for the Bruins led to some concerns about 'rust' and it showed on Saturday night when the Bruins gave up 3 even strnegth goals in less than 90 seconds (Sean Bergenheim, Brett Clark and Teddy Purcell) in the first period.

Altho' Tyler Seguin would score late in the 1st, Tampa would get some insurance in the 3rd and skate to a pretty easy 5-2 win for Game 1 of the Eastern conference finals.

Game 2 gets underway on Tuesday night at 8PM ET at the Garden and will be televised on Versus

OTHER BRUINS NEWS: Although head coach Claude Julien declined comment on his availability for Game 2, Patrice Bergeron returned for his first full practice since sustaining a concussion on May 6.

NBA: And just like that, it's over. Despite Rajon Rondo's gritty performace with a dislocated elbow in Game 3 and forcing overtime in Game 4, the Celtics season is over after the Miami Heat cruised to a 97-87 win on May 11 to win the series 3 games to 1.

The Heat now face the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference finals (and now trail 0-1 after Sunday night). Out west, the matchup will feature the Dallas Mavericks against the Oklahoma City Thunder in what I'm sure some columnist or blogger will call the I-35 series.