Sports Redux: Thank You, Canada

Not much gets said about the restorative effects of a vacation to Canada, but the Red Sox' stay in Toronto has been nothing but beneficial. The Blue Jays are falling apart at the seams, and the Sox are more than happy to take advantage of their hospitality. Last night's 9-3 win was just the latest example.

Daisuke Matsuzaka, who had won his last two decisions despite looking surprisingly average, was back in form last night, carving through the Toronto lineup for seven innings of five-hit, 8-K, 1-run mastery. The Blue Jays did get to Joel Pineiro in the ninth, but we don't have to panic yet, as Pineiro seems to only be appearing in 9-1 ballgames. Offensive pop came from Ortiz (4-5 with a home run), Mike Lowell (3-4 with a home run), and homers from Manny and Julio Lugo.

All good things must end, though, and the Red Sox only have one game left by the healing waters of Lake Ontario until September. Tim Wakefield (who stymied the Jays in Toronto a few weeks ago) goes against Roy Halladay.

One Blue Jay we admit to feeling a little sorry for is center fielder Vernon Wells, who last week did one of the coolest things in baseball history. After several innings of listening to a Cleveland heckler, Wells came out the next inning with a signed and inscribed baseball. "Dear Mr. Dork: Here's your ball. Can you please tell me what gas station you work at so when you are pumping my gas I can come yell at you!!! Now sit down, shut up and enjoy the game. Your favorite center fielder, Vernon Wells." Awesome.

Meanwhile in baseball, we're entering mid-May and the best record in the game belongs to the 24-10 Milwaukee Brewers (click here if you don't believe us; we frankly don't blame you). And attention must be paid. Unfortunately, the Brewers are getting a little more attention for their promotion on Tuesday: free tickets to any man who underwent a prostate exam in the parking lot before the game. Good cause, of course, at least as long as you're not expected to run in the famous Milwaukee Sausage Race shortly after the exam.

Finally, there was only one playoff game last night, but it was a doozy. The Jazz' Derek Fisher, who spent most of the day in New York waiting on his baby daughter's cancer surgery, made it back to Salt Lake City just in time to hit a killer 3-pointer and lead the Jazz to a 2-0 series lead. It's a story that's part Mirabellian (he was led from the airport to the arena with a police escort) and part Willis Reed (unexpectedly appearing in the arena and driving the crowd nuts). Best news of all: little Tatum seems to be doing just fine.

Canada heart comes from WebWeaver's Clip Art pages.