Sports Redux: Bend It Like Beckett

6-0. Sounds good, doesn't it? Well, it looked grim for a while for Josh Beckett and the Sox. Dan Johnson broke a 2-2 tie in the top of the sixth with an RBI single, but the Sox rallied off 2 off the Oakland bullpen in the bottom of the inning. Then Okajima and Timlin shut the A's down, and just like that, Beckett became the majors' first six-game winner in the 6-4 triumph.

Bostonist hearts Jerry Remy and Don Orsillo. Coming back from a commercial break, Jerry read aloud a promo for hosting special events at Fenway, and said "You can have your wedding here, or an affair....", and naturally, that kept the two of them giggling for a full half inning. There's a lot of love around the ballyard these days.

The Sox host the Mariners tonight in a makeup of one of those soggy April games. Daisuke goes against Horacio Ramirez. In other rainout news, the Yankees were postponed in Texas, but along with the rain came down George Steinbrenner's axe (finally), as New York said farewell to strength and conditioning coach Marty Miller. With the Yanks' injuries, it's hard to see exactly what Miller was bringing to the table.

There was a setback last night on the Jon Lester comeback trail. He was pitching well in Pawtucket, but had to leave after three innings after suffering arm cramps. This will mean an extended stint with the PawSox, as the big club will try to figure out which of their relievers will come down with the Hellenic Flu.

In the hockey playoffs, Ottawa has the Devils on the ropes; their 3-2 win gave them a 3-1 series lead. In the NBA, two more teams can put their 06-07 seasons behind them. The Spurs finished off Denver, and the Suns closed the books on the Lakers. Kobe Bryant went public after the Lakers' loss, saying he needs better players around him. If only there were a Hall-of-Fame center somewhere in the league that Kobe hadn't chased out of town...

Also in basketball news, the NBA fired back at a New York Times report claiming that referees statistically call fewer fouls on white players than black ones. Although this has "much ado about nothing" written all over it, we can't help but think there's a kernel of truth in it, since by any reasonable application of justice, Bill Laimbeer should be serving 25-to-life at Pelican Bay.

The Kentucky Derby is Saturday, and 22 horses have been entered into the race. Bostonist predicts it will be a close exciting race, though there are a lot of naysayers.

Beckett image from Bostonist's Jon Pettit's trip to the ballpark.