Sports Redux: Sweep Dreams (Are Made of This)

In the bid to make 2007 the first season when all four LDS's were sweeps, the National League took care of business yesterday. The Rockies bid adieu to Philly, while the Diamondbacks went to Wrigley and broke Cub fans' hearts for the 99th straight season. Which, if you're a Red Sox fan, at least means that when we win the World Series, at least we won't do it on the back of long-suffering Philly or Chicago fans.

But first things first. First comes finishing the quadrifecta of sweeps, which can happen today if the Sox win in Anaheim and the Indians pop the Yankees in the Bronx. The former is more important, of course, but today could shape up as one of the sweetest days in baseball history if the Sox move on and the Yankees go home.

TANGENT: There are some people who think that the Red Sox need to go through the Yankees to make the postseason complete. This is hogwash. We did that in 2004. We match up better with the Indians, the Indians games don't last 4 1/2 hours each, and we sure would love the trash-talking material inherent in a Yankee flop and another miserable A-Rod performance in the postseason. END TANGENT

The Sox are scheduled to hand the ball to Curt Schilling today. Of course, last time he pitched in Anaheim in the playoffs, he ripped his ankle open. We still like his chances against Jered Weaver. In New York, the Yankees are putting their lives in the hands of Roger Clemens. Our predictions? Sox win...let's say 7-2. We feel a big hit coming from Pedroia today for some reason. And Roger Clemens will tell the press after the Yankee game that he was hurt, and tried to pitch through pain, which is why he lost and the Indians advanced.

Another reason to root for a Cleveland win tonight is that it will ease the pain of the invasive procedures the Patriots have planned for the Browns this afternoon. Unless this is the trap game to end all trap games (in which case, we'll shut ours), this should be a walk in the park for Bill and the gang.

There's video from the Celtics' preseason opener in Rome on ESPN. The debut of Ghidorah was an 89-85 win over the Raptors. That pass halfway through the video, from Garnett to Kendrick Perkins, makes us a little emotional. As do the numbers KG put up (19 points, 17 rebounds, 5 steals).

Yesterday was a particularly miserable day in Southern California for college football fans. UCLA lost to Notre Dame, the first to do so all season, and #1 USC got popped at home by 41-point underdog Stanford. Nothing personal against the reeling LA fans, but we hope today's baseball game is even worse for them. And we hope the ALDS celebration is as wacky as the divisional celebration, which we just saw some new pictures from, courtesy of Tim's Take. Keep the taps on, boys!

Eurythmics picture from the BBC's I Love 1983 page. Would I lie to you?