Sports Redux: In Which We Rave About the Big Guy

If what they say is true, and Curt Schilling truly pitched his last game as a member of the Boston Red Sox last night...

Let there be no mistake. The dividing line between the Sox' Era of Perpetual Failure and the current Golden Years can easily be geotagged; it's somewhere between Theo Epstein's Thanksgiving dinner in Arizona and the first time Curt posted on the SOSH message board. Somewhere in that stretch, the Red Sox became a team to be reckoned with. And Curt (you know all this already, but bear with us) GOT us. His first words to Boston fans were, "I guess I hate the Yankees now." He publicly feuded with Dan Shaughnessy, which we loved. He pitched two postseason games in '04 with his foot held on by rubber bands and popsicle sticks. He, more than anyone else, wore his heart on his sleeve when it came to knowing what the Red Sox team that finally won a trophy would mean to all of us.

So when Todd Helton's walk in the sixth inning meant it was time for Terry Francona to come out to the mound and get the big guy...well, we weren't there at Fenway last night. But we hope everyone there was cheering as loudly as they could, for as long as they could, while Curt waved his cap to the fans. For all his bombast and bluster, Schill gave Red Sox fans everything he possibly could for four years, and we hope he knows how much it did mean.

We won't give you the total game recap; you saw it, and you read Victoria's live recap. We'll just throw in a few thoughts: 1) it's a punk move to only offer free tacos between 2 and 5, when most of us are working. Yet we hope that thousands and thousands of Yankee fans go in for their free tacos on Tuesday but can only taste the bitter taste of Jacoby Ellsbury being in the World Series when they're not. Not that we hold grudges.

2) Matt Holliday should be counting his blessings that he plays in laid-back Denver, and not for the (pre-2004) Sox. Can you imagine going through life as The Guy Who Got Picked Off By Four Feet In The World Series? Shudder.

C) Personal aside to Boyz II Men...it's been 15 years since "Motownphilly". Aren't you Men yet?

(Yes, that 1,2,C thing was a Special Bonus Joke for everyone who's as sick of that Taco Bell commercial as we are; might we just add that after seeing that commercial 1,452 times in the last two weeks, we think we have a crush on dragon-tattoo lady. Though it might just be a mild case of Stockholm Syndrome.)

While all this was going on at Fenway, the BC football team survived Biblical downpours and 55 minutes of utter lethargy to stun Virginia Tech. Matt Ryan looked like a Heisboyz candidate for most of the game, but connected with Rich Gunnell for a TD with 2:11 left to make it 10-7. The ensuing onside kick bounced off a hapless Hokie and into BC's arms; Ryan then led the Eagles downfield and hit Andre Callender with 0:11 left for the game winner. Avoiding the curse that has struck everyone else ranked #2 this season.

The Bruins won, too. All right, who around here managed to get rid of the Evil Tiki Idol? Maybe it went to Denver, where not only are the Rockies in a heap of trouble, but Nuggets star Allen Iverson got himself injured in practice. Not a game, man. Not a game. Practice.

Image from the Phoenix.