Sports Redux: Off Days Suck

Not every day can be that exciting in the sports world. Today will be pretty good: the Sox open a series in Baltimore, the Patriots play their first exhibition game, and Gillette Stadium is preparing for the Sunday arrival of David Beckham.

Yesterday...nothing.

Well, there was a little excitement. New Celtics Eddie House and Scot Pollard faced the media, and Bostonist already likes Pollard. "Getting Kevin Garnett here was a big deal, but with us here, now you have a chance," he told reporters. The affable lug will wear jersey number 66, since "all the other (expletive) numbers were taken". This is going to be a fun year.

Tom Brady will try to put aside thoughts of impending fatherhood, at least for one offensive series, as the Pats meet the Buccaneers in the first exhibition test of the year. The Bucs are saddened by the possible retirement of Mike Alstott, who's been with Tampa since the bright orange days.

In baseball news, Roger Clemens got suspended :) and Matt Murphy, the New Yorker who caught Barry Bonds' 756th home run ball, is thinking about keeping it. Some lawyer says that Murphy will probably have to pay taxes on the estimated value of the ball even if he keeps it, which frankly seems stupid to us, since it would seem it's only valuable if someone buys it. Does that mean if Lugo fouls one off and you catch it, you have to declare an extra $3 of income on your return? On a funnier note, Jack's Sports Humor tries to put Bonds in his place, comparing him to other famous Barrys.

And Rick "Vaughn" Ankiel, the former Cardinal pitcher who became famous for throwing pitches all over creation (if you ever caught one in the stands, contact the IRS pronto), made his return to the Majors...as an outfielder. And he hit a home run. Good for him.