Sports Redux: Rally Caps Pay Off

-- One down! After the five-game pounding that the Red Sox took from the Yankees at Fenway last August, Friday's matchup was more than just a game. It was more than just the first rivalry game of the season. It was about avenging the embarrassment that continued to smart for Sox fans over the winter and into the early season.

The game itself was a battle of the best kind: one in which we came out victorious after a brilliant team rally effort. Many will be looking today at Coco Crisp's eighth-inning, two-run triple, which tied the game at 6, as the highlight of the game. But it also took Jason Varitek's two-run homer in the fourth, the eighth-inning setup hits from David Ortiz and Mike Lowell and the Alex Cora blooper that brought Crisp home for the winning run, among other big plays.

And how about Hideki Okajima? The Sox rookie arm filled the space normally reserved for Jonathan Papelbon to face Derek Jeter, A-Rod (who had already hit two homers in the game), Bobby Abreu and Kevin Thompson. A total of two forceouts, one walk and a strikeout to end the game and seal the comeback victory.

The series continues this afternoon with Boston's undefeated Josh Beckett scheduled to take the mound (we hope he got a good night's sleep) against Jeff Karstens. Meanwhile, you can always add to the "A-Rod in Boston 2008" discussion that Gerry Callahan's getting back into over at the Herald.

-- You'd think that getting caught speeding 32 miles over the speed limit would be bad enough, but Celtics guard Sebastian Telfair was only getting started when police pulled him over at 4 a.m. Friday. Not only did Telfair, 21, not have a valid driver's license, there was a loaded handgun under the passenger seat of his SUV. What happens when you're busted big time? Your car is impounded and searched, the gun is found and you and any passengers you may have (in this case, Al Eden Fuentes) plead not guilty to charges of felony second-degree possession of a weapon. Lesson learned: don't speed, get your license and don't have a gun around.

The Globe quotes Celts owner Wyc Grousbeck's stern words on the matter: "The players on the Celtics have been explicitly warned, this year, to obey the team and league gun prohibition as well as state laws. We take this very seriously, and will act accordingly once the facts have been determined."

What really bothers us, beyond the obvious, is that Telfair has already faced gun possession problems. In February 2006, a handgun registered to his girlfriend was discovered on the Portland team plane -- at Logan, no less.

-- Looks like there might be a shakeup underway in Boston College's football program: offensive line coach Jim Turner reportedly cleaned out his office mid-week and has yet to return. Although he has not officially resigned, it doesn't look as if he intends to come back, sources say.

Photo of Wally from flickr user StarrGazr. Yes, that is a tiny little Yankee in his hand.