Sports Redux: 'Houki' Is Japanese For 'Broom'

This Japanese Word of the Day will, we hope, be brought to you by Daisuke Matsuzaka, who will try to use his houri to send the Yankees packing tonight. The Red Sox took game two of the latest Ultimate Regular Season Series yesterday; Josh Beckett recovered from a couple shaky innings to hold New York in check. David Ortiz provided the big hit, as he is wont to do, with a two-run homer around Pesky's Pole in the 4th that gave the Sox a 7-4 lead (final score 7-5). A-Rod went 2-for-4, but Beckett and company at least kept him in the ballpark.

Dice goes tonight against Yankee lefty Chase Wright. It's critical for the Sox to build a big lead while the Yankees are sending guys like Chase Wright out to the mound instead of guys like Wang and Mussina. The Globe today looks at reliever Hideki Okijama, who's already made the leap from Daisuke's best friend on the payroll to more-than-adequate relief pitcher.

In winter-sports playoff news, the Tampa Bay Lightning will try to eliminate New Jersey this afternoon. Calgary will attempt the same, leading Detroit 3-2. Ottawa, the Rangers, San Jose, Buffalo, and the no-longer-mighty Ducks have already punched their tickets to the second round. Meanwhile, the Bruins' preseason is only four and a half months away.

In the NBA, the Bulls grabbed a win in Game One over the defending-champ Heat. Vince Carter and New Jersey got the first win against a seething Canadian crowd, and the Pistons and Rockets also won. If you're not sure who to root for in the NBA playoffs, here's a handy guide that compares each team to a Simpsons character.

Next weekend is the NFL Draft. We wonder, what does Mel Kiper, Jr., do for the rest of the year? (We also wonder that every October about Elvira, Mistress of the Dark). Here are some guys the Globe thinks might be headed to Foxboro this fall.

Finally: Bostonist has already covered the Sebastian Telfair arrest, both from a crime and a sports perspective, but we'll make one more comment before Telfair goes off to Kedrick Brown Island (where all the can't-miss Celtic prospects go after they miss). We think that being around an armed Sebastian Telfair is probably one of the safest places in the world to be; have you seen the guy's shooting percentage?

Japanese broom photo from Flickr's David King.