Sports Redux: Dustin Destroia

"I don't really like hitting fourth," said Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia, after being moved in the lineup to cover for the ailing Kevin Youkilis. Luckily, at this point, Dustin can hit when he's hitting fourth, or eighth, or underwater, or with one leg pinned up behind his back. Dustin, to put it another way, is on fire. He went 4-for-4, again, to help the Sox batter Chicago 8-2, and now leads the AL at .327.

Offensively, Dustin was joined by Jacoby Ellsbury and Mark Kotsay (3 hits apiece) and Jeff Bailey, who hit his first homer of the season. Jason Bay chipped in a two-run double, and Jed Lowrie drove in two more. Imagine what this paragraph would look like to a Sox fan who's been in a coma for a year.

All of this to back up emergency starter Michael Bowden, who gave the Sox five strong innings (seven hits, one walk, two runs) to pick up the win in his first big-league test. Now he just has to throw a no-hitter next time, and he'll be an official member of the team. Elsewhere in the AL, Tampa Bay won to keep the lead at 4.5, and Minnesota lost, although right now the Twins are scaring the White Sox a lot more than the Red ones.

David Beckham, who's the most famous soccer player in the world for reasons we're OK with admitting we're not clear on, was in town as the Revolution played LA. Goal-scoring machine Taylor Twellman headed one in to give the Revs a lead; the Galaxy struck twice at Matt Reis, but Shalrie Joseph connected late to get the 2-2 tie. They had a couple chances to grab the win, but coming on the back end of a lot of travelling, they'll take the tie.

Kevin Faulk borrowed the wrong jacket, and now he has to pay. The Pats running back got caught with some pot in Louisiana last winter; he says it wasn't his, he passed a drug test, but he's still going to be suspended for opening day.

BC passed their first test, rolling Kent State 21-0 and providing a successful debut for QB Chris Crane. They'll host Georgia Tech next week. It was the first weekend of the season, which meant a lot of big teams putting up huge numbers against cupcakes; the only upset that approached last year's Appalachian State miracle was East Carolina upsetting #17 VA Tech.