Sports Redux: Go To A Baseball Game And A Hockey Game Breaks Out

Well, Junichi Tazawa got his first major league win in his first major league start. All he had to do was touch off a series of events that landed somewhere between "difference of opinion" and "international incident", hang on for the minimum five innings, and wait for Mike Lowell to swoop in and save the day.

Well, let's back up. There was a little bad blood after a HBP Monday. Then Tazawa plunked Detroit's Miguel Cabrera in the hand. Then Kevin Youkilis, who always always always seems to be in the middle of these things, got plunked by Rick Porcello. Youk hulked out, greeted Porcello on the mound, and after there was a frank exchange of views, Youk was sent to cool off and Mike Lowell came in to heat up. (Terry Francona got the enthusiastic heave-ho in a separate incident.)

All Lowell did as a substitute was crush two home runs, one in the third to give the Sox a 4-3 lead, and one in the fifth. Jason Bay, whose summer in the wilderness may be over, accounted for the first three runs with his second HR in as many days. Despite a 2-run homer by Curtis Granderson off Papelbon in the ninth, the Sox held on for the 7-5 win.

Youkilis was talkative after he turned back into Bill Bixby. "Two days in a row, I get hit. It’s something I’ve never done before and never thought of doing. I lost my control there . . . I felt like I had to do what I had to do...it’s on TV and kids see it." His teammates had his back, though, when the man of the hour was asked if the brouhaha fired the team up, Lowell answered, "Sure." When you hit 2 HR in a win, you can get right to the point. Lowell will probably get more playing time for a while, thinks Theo Epstein, who expects Youk to be suspended.

Even though the Sox have sort of bounced back from the Yankee debacle and the region doesn't need to see a football game as badly as we did on Sunday, there will be one tomorrow in Foxboro, and our eyes will see the welcome sight of Tom Brady doing something other than practicing or loafing around with his supermodel wife. "I don’t think it’s like a guest appearance or anything like that. I think we’re going out there to play," said Brady, who recently told all to Details magazine, a story we intend to dissect before too long.

The Celtics got some sad but not unexpected news, as Leon Powe will be taking his heart, his tenacity, and his warriorhood (and his wrecked knee) to Cleveland for the next two years. He will be missed. As for guys we don't miss, former coach/franchise assassin Rick Pitino revealed that there was something behind the woman who tried to blackmail him: there was a hookup gone horribly wrong, with one night of joy leading to months of misery, pain and hurt feeling. Celtic fans know exactly how you feel, lady.