--Keith Ryan, the son of Globe sportswriter Bob Ryan, was found dead in Pakistan. He was an attache for the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency. Reports indicate he had shot himself. An investigation will follow. [Boston Globe] --Commuters aren't exactly flocking to use the new Greenbush line. [Boston Globe] --Speaking of the MBTA, financial shenanigans led to $55 million in borrowing costs, according to the state auditor. [Boston Globe] --Comments for news......

Let's be honest. We've long known that Boston is at least on the short list for Sports City of the United States. The passion felt by Boston sports fans has long been either heralded or chastised, depending on your point of view. But if you'd told us at the dawn of 2007 that we were entering one of the best years Boston sports teams and fans would ever experience, we would have laughed. Long. Hard.......

As Bostonist did with books, we've tackled best of/worst of lists for movies. Not only are we including the latest best of/worst of lists, but we dug through each list to find which movies impressed every single critic and which ones were absolutely appalling. Here are links for recent "Best Of" lists: American Film Institute Top 10 National Board of Review The Onion AV Club Golden Globe Nominees Metacritic (FYI: The amazing Killer of Sheep......

Roadhouse will screen at the Somerville Theatre at midnight on Friday, July 27, and Saturday, July 29. It will also screen Monday, July 30, at 7:30 pm. Cult classic Road House, featuring Patrick Swayze as a philosophy-spouting bouncer, is running at the Somerville Theater this weekend. Why is Road House, made in 1989, so much better than other action flicks of the '80s? Swayze's collected, Zen demeanor in many of his movies led the Onion......

There's an old saying in baseball...well, there are a lot, like "Take two and hit to right", or "Don't bunt to break up a no-hitter", but there's an old theory that when you get lots of men on base, it's in your best interest to drive them in. A little crazy, to be sure, but it's a piece of wisdom that the Red Sox have been ignoring for some time. Not last night. The Sox......

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......

We're still curious about the early Saturday fire at the former Danvers State Mental Hospital and present/future apartment complex. When we last heard, no one knew the cause of the fire, although one of the fire officials said: "We wouldn't leap to the thought that there were multiple fires set here -- that will be part of the investigation as we go forward -- but again the indication from the firefighters is that it had......

Theatre companies and arts journalists nationwide are asking themselves how to generate younger audience interest. The League of American Theatres and Producers reported last year that the theatre audiences are getting younger, but the average age is still 42. Boston serves as a strong model for the rest of the U.S. to check out. The metro area's mix of new (The Boston Conservatory's new "Heaven & Hell -- The Fantastical Temptation of the 7 Deadly......

You know Daisuke-mania has hit when The Onion chimes in on the story. Daisuke and his Ultimate Galactic Dragon Gyroball Pitch Power Explosion take the mound in Fort Myers tonight, trying to do to the overmatched Boston College squad what B.C. basketball did to Fairfield, New Hampshire and Sacred Heart this year. Also making his Spring debut (assuming he doesn't wander off) is Manny Ramirez. The Herald's Michael Silverman is the latest to take a......

We could go on and on telling you about what's going on in the area for music this week. Sure, there are a few note-worthy shows noted below, but let pre-planning and sold out shows be damned just grab a scalped ticket to attend. Tourfilter is testing out a sweet new service that allows cell users to SMS (or txt whatever your preferred lingo) "tonight" to MSGME (that's 67463) and almost before you can......

Texas is thawing, the Northeast is freezing, and a sort of natural order seems almost restored to the Ist-A-Verse. Almost. Londonist HQ—that is to say, the city of London—was battered by heavy winds, making it a bad time to be a twelve-meter (nearly forty-foot) tall snowman. Still, not everyone decided to keep warmly covered. Meanwhile, back indoors, the Big Brother racism is now causing all kinds of headaches for international diplomats, and Londonist got into......

The current Bostonist panty theme isn't over. And it's not our fault. This city has it on the brain. First off, Tom Brady might be dating lingerie model and DiCaprio cast-off Gisele Bundchen. The Track Girls gleefully reported Bundchen draping herself around the locker room. Normally, this Bostonist wouldn't give two plug nickels to know who Tom Brady is dating. However, the presence of Bundchen may have an impact on Brady's state of mind before......

What's up with the panty theme? Well, one of the big names in free weeklies might be coming to town, and they want your newsy knickers. The Onion, with its hilarious headlines and cultural critiques, appears to have Boston as the next target for its print weekly. Here's where the knickers come in - an ad appeared in Craigslist asking for volunteers to dress up as newsies: The Onion Newspaper is looking for enthusiastic and......

Bostonist has been a fan of the Dresden Dolls for some time now, so we were quite excited when we learned of their collaboration with the ART for a play of sorts called "The Onion Cellar." We finally had a chance to see the performance this week. The first thing you'll notice on entering the theatre is that it feels much more like attending a night club or a concert than you'd expect from the......

Breaking into December and we've finally seen snow. It was brief. If you slept in this morning you likely missed it. Since the cold weather seems like it might finally be upon us we're looking for a way to stay warm. A sure fire way to keep the blood running warm through your veins is to check out a packed rock show with a couple hundred of your closest friends. The local show pick......

It may only have been a funnier news item if it were actually featured in The Onion. Clever headlines like "No pans, just pot in this cabinet," "Home DePOT Vanities Hold Drugs," "Marijuana 'bricks' found in Home Depot vanities," and "Plumber finds a fix in the fixture" graced the headers of online and print media as the fifth reported stash of drugs was found inside a bathroom vanity purchased from a Home Depot in Massachusetts.......

A little bit of comedy, mixed with political commentary, some pop culture, and interesting interviews. This is exactly what Baratunde delivers on his podcast, the Front Porch Podcast. When Baratunde Thurston isn't appearing in local comedy clubs or writing down his thoughts and opinions, he is creating some pretty darn good podcasts. At press time, there are only 15 episodes out for consumption, thus the show is in its infancy. Despite the show being young,......

This weekend The Baxter drops into theaters in Boston. It's one of those "now in select cities" things, and we're up. Bostonist has seen the trailers all over the place and we're actually looking forward to this movie. A comedy for anyone who's ever been dumped? check. It's from the folks at IFC and The Onion to boot. It stars Michael Showalter (Stella) and co-stars Paul Rudd (The 40-Year Old Virgin) and Michael Ian Black......