--"Operation Barber Shop" went into action on the day of the Red Sox's home opener, busting a Commonwealth-wide gambling ring after 15 months of investigation by local, state, and federal authorities. They raided 14 locations, arresting 36 people and collecting 33 laptops. [Boston Globe, Boston Herald] --A local man confessed to having been inside a Dorchester recording studio when four people were shot and killed there in 2005. He was sentenced 13 years for......

When the rumor first broke that Bill Buckner was the mystery guest at Opening Day, we thought that sounded just right. A perfect chance for diehard Sox fans, or at least the Opening Day crowd, to say all was forgiven, if in fact any forgiveness was due to the man who had to flee to Idaho to escape the indignity of a loss that he symbolized even though his was far from the only tragic......

The butt of a million jokes and the name that would cause chills down the spines of Sox fans whenever it was uttered is back in Boston. Who you ask? Bucky "F'in" Dent? Nay. Grady Little? Nope. Bill Buckner. The former member of the doomed 1986 Red Sox is in town to throw out the first pitch for Opening Day . No word yet if Steve Bartman or Billy Sianis and his pet goat......

There are 39,195 lucky souls in the metropolitan area today. They're the ones holding tickets, through fair means or foul, to the home opener today at Fenway. They get to see the flag unfurled, the bling distributed, and hopefully the Red Sox get back on track against the winless Tigers. And when we say foul means, it's not just our standard we-can't-get-tickets bitterness. Stories like the Sox auctioning off Green Monster seats, and police giving......

It's important tonight to get to bed early and not overdo it tonight; you've got a 6 AM date with the Red Sox. We've finally more-or-less internalized the 13-hour difference between the East Coast and Japan, and we're ready to accept that the defense of the World Series title begins before sunrise tomorrow. Though we do feel sorry for Oakland fans; for them the game starts at 3. Tony Massarotti looks at the Sox' chances......

Something funny happened on the way to yesterday's anticpated Red Sox slaughter of the Yankees. Funny-odd, that it, not funny-ha-ha. Two batters into the game, Yankees starter Jeff Karstens left the game injured after being whacked with a Julio Lugo line drive. Eight innings of the Yankee bullpen? Final score's gonna be 24-1, right? Um, no. Kei Igawa, who was slated to be sent down to Scranton, if not Coney Island, came on in relief......

It's a chilly start to the baseball season at Fenway Park today, one that might not immediately bring ice cream to mind. But think of it this way: an ice cream cone is less likely to melt down your arm in 40-degree weather, and the folks over at JP Licks are hooking up ice cream fans with free cones until 4 p.m. The Opening Day giveaway is taking place at all locations -- patrons have......

It's the day we've all been waiting for, particularly if you're among the 38,805 blessed souls holding tickets to the Sox home opener against Seattle. The Mariners have been snowbound in Cleveland since Thursday; hopefully, they'll be rusty from a long weekend of playing tiddlywinks and touring and retouring the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Josh Beckett goes against Jeff Weaver. The Globe has a photo essay of the preparations for Opening Day. Some......

Have we pretty much run out of Japan-themed headlines? Almost? OK. After all the hype and promise, Daisuke turned out to be everything Red Sox Nation could have hoped for. Of course, he gave up six hits and a run, so there's room for improvement, but Dice was firmly in control of the hapless Royals in the 4-1 victory. Which puts the Red Sox alone in first place, and makes us feel a little silly......

-- Red Sox fans got their first real regular-season glimpse of their $147 million team on Wednesday night, as Boston handed Kansas City a 7-1 loss at Kauffman Stadium. Jason Varitek got his first hit of the regular season with a single in the fourth, JD Drew's stepping up, Kevin Youkilis hit the team's first home run in the seventh and Josh Beckett (five innings, two hits, five strikeouts, four walks) put in a decent......

There's two ways to handle a loss. Even if that loss is an utterly flat performance against an utterly forgettable K.C. team that made Gil Meche look like Christy Mathewson and Mark Grudzielanek look like Rogers Hornsby. The first way to approach it is, hey, it's only one game. Even the best teams in history lose more than fifty times a season. And Pedro lost Opening Day in 2004, and we know how that turned......

Who cares about any other sport? It's Red Sox Opening Day! They will be up against the Kansas City Royals late this afternoon at 4:10 pm. It will be on NESN and ESPN and on WRKO and WEEI if you're catching it on the way home. Here's the lineup from the official site: 1. Julio Lugo, SS 2. Kevin Youklis, 1B 3. David Ortiz, DH 4. Manny Ramirez, LF 5. J.D. Drew, RF 6. Mike......

Major League Baseball has its share of problems, to be sure: the steroids scandal, the delicate maneuvering they'll have to do to pretend to be excited about Barry Bonds breaking Hank Aaron's record, having to politely say "bite me" to any fan who can't afford or use a satellite dish but might want to watch more than just the hometown team. So with all these issues, baseball's finally getting serious, telling Red Sox all-around legend......

Where's Manny? Gordon Edes reported last night that "enigmatic" slugger Manny Ramirez might be late for spring training because he'll be at a classic car auction in Atlantic City, New Jersey. And not with his sick mom as has been reported. His '67 Lincoln convertible is up for bid, so if you have $200,000 or so lying around, you can own a piece of automotive and Red Sox history. We figured Dan Shaughnessy would be......

The Celtics have a chance to make history tonight, but it's not the kind of history that will make anyone proud. As you're probably aware, if the Celtics lose to the Clippers tonight (completing the L.A. Sweep), they will be the owners of the longest losing streak in franchise history. 14 in a row. How...Clipper-esque. But the C's will make their presence felt at the All-Star Game; there are rumors that Gerald Green may......

Yesterday the fanfare that has been the opening celebration for the new ICA building in the Seaport district opened to the general public for a 12 hour free ride in the new space. The news today is that nearly 5,000 people visited the new facility over the course of the day, many of whom had positive things to say about it even after a two hour wait. The museum opened at 9 am and......

The baseball gods smiled down on Bostonist and graced us with a ticket to attend the first game of the season at Fenway Park. The mood around the park was exhilarating and obviously upbeat. Fans were hanging out at every single bar down Lansdowne, laughing, eating, and getting numb prepared for the first pitch at Fenway. At around 1:30 pm the mounting cheers from inside the park signaled to all fans that the Opening Day......

All this lovely rainy, cloudy weather has had Bostonist looking for things to do that don't involve being outside. So, when yesterday's forecast was looking pretty glum, Bostonist decided to make a much overdue visit to the Museum of Fine Arts. When arriving at the MFA, Bostonist was greeted on the sidewalk with protesters claiming that the museum's head honcho makes $500,000 a year while his workers are underpaid. After entering the MFA and shelling......

Bostonist has learned a new word this morning: Ring-gate. When the Red Sox took home the World Series title in October, Boston was ecstatic. Bostonians got even more excited when the week after the game was won, we learned that the Sox would be receiving their World Series' rings on Opening Day April 11, which just happened to be against the New York Yankees. The season would start with a bang as the boys would......