Let’s Play Three

We coincided our trip to Houston for when the Red Sox would be visiting, and we’d bought tickets for 2 of the 3 games in the series.  Last night was a satisfying win for the Sox… a come-from-behind win over those poor Astros, despite Bud Norris pitching a great game for the first six innings.  10 strikeouts, and no hits other than a leadoff home run by Marco Scutaro, until the wheels came off for the Astros in the 7th inning.  A six-run 7th inning by the Red Sox were enough to overtake the Astros on the scoreboard, and the Red Sox bullpen did what the Astros bullpen couldn’t do — hold a lead.  Unfortunately, Tim Wakefield couldn’t get the win, keeping him from getting closer to the all-time Sox wins record.

April and I will be at the 2nd game of the series tonight, my first chance to see Andrew Miller pitch.  It looks like the Sox offense will be in much better shape tonight, with Jacoby Ellsbury back in the lineup, and David Ortiz getting the start at first base with Adrian Gonzalez heading out to right field.  Alas, Darnell McDonald will also be getting a start, and he’s just terrible at this point.

We also went ahead and bought tickets for Sunday’s game, because we’re awesome

A Tradition Unlike Any Other One Shining Moment

Today’s Plinky prompt is:

What major sporting event do you get most excited about?

That’s a pretty easy answer for me… whichever championship one of my teams is in!

In the past decade alone, my teams have won six championships, so I’m a bit spoiled in this area.  Three Super Bowl wins by the New England Patriots (2002, 2004, 2005); two World Series championships by the Boston Red Sox (2004 and 2007); and one NBA championship by the Boston Celtics (2008).

Each of those championships is special to me, and I savor all of those wins.  They were exciting moments, and the runs up until those clinching wins were just as thrilling.

Finally!

The losses are just as memorable.  When the Red Sox lost the ALCS in Game 7 in 2003, I was distraught when Aaron Boone hit a home run off of Tim Wakefield.  In 2008, I was crestfallen when David Price was throwing fireballs past Jason Varitek.  I still don’t understand how the Patriots lost the Super Bowl in 2008, when Rodney Harrison was mauling David Tyree and the ball somehow stuck to Tyree’s helmet, after Eli Manning  incomprehensibly escaped Mike Vrabel, Richard Seymour, Adalius Thomas, and Jarvis Green.  Last year, in 2010, with six minutes left, I was positive that the Celtics were about to capture championship #18, even with Kendrick Perkins out for the rest of the game — no way would Ron Artest hit that shot!

Side Note: That night, after the Celtics game was over, I had my first date with April. I’ll savor that more than any championship!

If my team is not directly involved, nothing beats the clinching game in the Stanley Cup Finals.  Jim Nantz might say that the Masters championship is “a tradition unlike any other“, and some people may prefer the March Madness “one shining moment” montage, but for my money, let me watch the Stanley Cup get lifted by the captain of an NHL team.  And then hand it off to the veteran on the team who hasn’t won it before.  My eyes were definitely glistening when Ray Bourque finally raised the Stanley Cup in 2001, even if he was wearing a Colorado Avalanche jersey instead of the yellow-and-black spoked B of the Bruins.