Unofficial leaked lists started hitting the Internet late this morning. Fearful and optimistic at the same time, we started scanning them to see who was allegedly going to be on the MLB Steroid Commission's "Naughty" list. But then the 400-page PDF report arrived in our browser, and some of the worst rumors turned out to be just rumors. The most popular list circulating this morning named Jason Varitek, Trot Nixon and Julian Tavarez. None of......

For a day that featured not a single Boston professional sports team in game mode, Tuesday was jam-packed with sports news. And what made things even more ridiculous was the fact that, for a good portion of the day, one faced difficulty figuring out what news was legit and what was a sports scribe's attempt at an exclusive gone wrong (Tom Brady exclusive, anyone? Don't worry, we'll get it to it). We're going to sort......

It looks like just might be a higher power looking down on the MLB postseason. He/She/It is a Red Sox fan and, judging from the sight of Derek Jeter slapping like mad at the bugs descending upon him at the Jake on Friday night, any higher powers out there have a wicked sense of humor. On a Friday night that gave us fire (well, on the T here in Boston), locusts cleverly passed off as......

Never go on stage after the banjo act, they say, and try not to pitch the day after your teammate throws a no-hitter. There's really nowhere to go but down. Aubrey Huff singled in the second for the Orioles. That right there is a letdown after Buchholz' masterpiece on Saturday. But the Red Sox - well, actually, the PawSox mostly, since the average age of the guys in the lineup yesterday was 15.4 - recovered......

Were we sore baseball losers, we might snicker about how Johnny Damon's version of a home run is about as wussy as his arm. We could hypothesize about what Yankee operative snuck into the Red Sox clubhouse to tamper with the Icy Hot Manny Ramirez and Bobby Kielty were using to prevent their backs from seizing up during play. We might even politely ask Cameron Diaz to quit jinxing our team and instead focus on......

Think back to the glory days of '04, when an odd phenomenon swept across Red Sox Nation. The day after we realized that our beloved boys of summer-turned-autumn were heading to the World Series, many a bleary-eyed Sox fan remarked that winning the Series would be amazing, unheard of, astounding. But there was an anti-climactic twinge to the remarks, because Shaughnessy's curse had already been broken for some of the crowd. The Sox had already......

Anybody who thought yesterday to charge $1.00 for blood pressure checks at Fenway can probably retire today a happy person. Where to begin? Both starting pitchers - Schilling and Mussina - looked human, and both seemed to get untracked by a half-hour rain delay. Which was bad news for Schill, but good news for the Red Sox, as it meant that the game would ultimately come down to the bullpens. So Yankee Scott Proctor wound......

Things weren't exactly what one could consider promising yesterday afternoon, a few hours before the Red Sox and Yankees kicked off their series opener here in Boston. The skies were growling and peppered with sunshowers. Many of us were murmuring about whether we thought Alex Rodriguez was going to pull a stunt on the field (and whether Dustin Pedroia would be the first to lead the counter-attack). Starting pitcher Tim Wakefield was set to enter......

We know you're Red Sox fans. We know that, much like every home is supposed to have emergency supplies (flashlight, bottled water, etc.) close at hand at all times, every good Red Sox fan should know where the panic button is. Just in case. Don't press them yet; just make sure everyone in the family knows how to get at it if the worst should happen. Yes, it's only one game. And yes, it's only......

CelticsBlog featured a post yesterday titled "Watch for Jumpers." The post's content was discussing teams that unexpectedly jump out of the projected draft order, but the title seems more suited for Celtics fans today. All is not well for the Boston basketball crowd - in fact, it freakin' blows. As many feared, our chance of a happy Wednesday fell through when the ping pong balls were selected during last night's NBA draft. Boston, the team......

Finally, we can put the one-day wonder of Sockgate behind us. O's broadcaster Gary Thorne admitted he misinterpreted Doug Mirabelli's horseplay as a confession, and thus has no reason to believe that Curt Schilling painted his sock to look bloody. The lesson here, of course, is that horseplay has no place in a major league clubhouse. Curt took the opportunity to unload on the media; you get the feeling that parts of his diatribe were......

Things were looking bleak in Canada yesterday. Leonard Cohen bleak. Down 3-1 after seven innings, the Sox looked like the "feast or famine" roller coaster was about to take another big dip. Then Manny homered to tie it. He's finally off the schnide, and only one behind Miracle Mirabelli now. Then in the bottom of the eighth, Alex Cora survived a tough slide by the Jays' Lyle Overbay to turn a rally-killing double play. Cora,......