Sports Redux: Can't Win 'Em All

Something funny happened on the way to yesterday's anticpated Red Sox slaughter of the Yankees. Funny-odd, that it, not funny-ha-ha. Two batters into the game, Yankees starter Jeff Karstens left the game injured after being whacked with a Julio Lugo line drive. Eight innings of the Yankee bullpen? Final score's gonna be 24-1, right?

Um, no. Kei Igawa, who was slated to be sent down to Scranton, if not Coney Island, came on in relief and absolutely handcuffed the Sox lineup for six innings. Final score: 3-1, and a hard-luck loss for Tim Wakefield, who pitched a serviceable if walk-ridden game. Julian Tavarez takes the hill today against Chien-Ming Wang. The Sox will try not to lose a series to the cellar-dwellers of the East.

The Patriots drafted Miami safety Brandon Meriweather with their only pick in yesterday's NFL Draft Opening Day. They had more picks, but traded and shuffled them around; we tend to assume Belichick knows what he's doing. Meriweather is lauded as a quick, smart, hard-hitting tackler. He has a bit of a sketchy past (shocking, isn't it, for a guy from the University of Miami), but we wouldn't be surprised if the Patriots throw him right into the Clockwork Orange room and mold his brain into the Foxboro style.

The Raiders picked LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell with the first pick, but the biggest story of the day (at least if you watched the draft on ESPN) was Notre Dame Brady Quinn, who fell all the way to Cleveland at #22. After every pick was announced, the camera cut right to Quinn and his entourage, looking more like an indie rocker than a stud quarterback. He got more air time than the 21 guys picked ahead of him combined. Hope he lives up to the hype, for his sake. Fate can be cruel to NFL dream prospects who flop in the pros. Ryan Leaf, anyone?

In the NBA, Detroit sent Orlando home with some lovely parting gifts after sweeping the first-round series. Cleveland's about to do the same with Washington, so you have to go West tiofind excitement and good plots. The Spurs took back home-court advantage against Denver, and Utah knotted up their series with the Rockets 2-2. Meanwhile, the Celtics went landscaping at Lewis Middle School in Roxbury. Nice of them to help out a good cause, but we hope they're too busy next spring.