Monday Morning Chuckle

Baseball's opening day is upon us, so what better way to celebrate than with some baseball pictures, eh?  Let's see what's happening on the field.

Hey now!  Watch those balls....and strikes.

Here we've got the ole baseball-on-a-string gag going on.  The unknowing fan (who can't see the big string attached to the ball) will track that ball as it's pulled by the player.  The player who catches the biggest fan at the end of the game wins.

Oh yeah, that's gotta hurt.  But who nose, maybe it didn't? (get it?  Nose?  Knows?  I kill me.)

Before we wrap up, let's go over and see what's happening with the sucky New York Yankees.

Of course, what else would it be but giving each other injections in their rears.

Go Red Sox!  Yankees Suck!

WZON Hot Stove Night....The Buildup

It's that time of year when Bangor's sports leader in radio, WZON, begins the hype for their upcoming 6th Annual Hot Stove Night. You may remember my post about it last year. It's a time to talk about the Boston Red Sox with people who know the team and players far better than any of the fans.

This year will see the return of Red Sox radio announcer Joe Castiglione and former Boston Globe writer Gordon Eades, now with Yahoo Sports, as the special guests. Joining them this year will also be Don Orsillo, Red Sox announcer on NESN. That is a wicked awesome line-up.

There will be the return of tons of free food at the event, free drinks (non alcohol), and a whole lot of giveaways....from leather recliners to Red Sox tickets to ice fishing gear and MORE!!

The only way to get a pair of tickets to this event, of which there are only 500 tickets available, is to be the correct caller when you hear WZON play the special sounder/jingle. Last year was the first year I had the opportunity to attend, and I won tickets pretty early in their giveaway. This year they just started to give the tickets away for this January 26, 2009 event yesterday. And I'm happy to report that yours truly, TFKoP, scored his pair of tickets last night! YEAH BABY! Can't wait.....


The only bummer is that there will be one thing that won't be accompanying them this year that did last year....the World Series Trophy. Unless Bangor, ME resident and Philadelphia Philly Matt Stairs comes to the event and brings it with him.

Tee Times

Well, with the Red Sox's loss tonight by a score of 3-1 in game 7 of the ALCS, they can now set-about to more important things, like getting tee times before the weather gets much colder.

Ah yes...it was an okay run before you got stopped by the younger team from Tampa Bay.

Until next year, Boston Red Sox, I say......Go Phillies!!

Red Sox Come Rocking Back

Whew...it's been a long, and late-night, fall as the baseball playoffs have been going. With MLB being a bunch of retards in scheduling (baseball games at 10pm at night on the East Coast??? No big surprise that ratings are wayyyyyyyyyyyy down from last year), the nights have been late following my BoSox.

But last night's HUMUNGOUS come-back from being down 7-0 in the 7th, and coming back to score 8 runs in the next three innings to win the game and bring the series to 3 games to 2 in Tampa's favor, at least now the Red Sox get another chance to extend this series to a 7th game if they win tomorrow night in Tampa.

So, LET'S GO RED SOX! And if the Sox can do it again this year and come back from being down 3 games, they'll go to the World Series and face the Philadelphia Phillies...who happen to be my favorite team in the National League.

And many of you may remember my prediction of who I thought would be in last year's World Series. Of course, I only got the Red Sox correct in that guess, and thankfully the Red Sox went on to win the Series. If the Sox make it to the World Series, I'm picking them, of course, over the Phillies.

But, we've got to get through the next two games against Tampa before that happens.

Stand by...the story continues this weekend....

Let's Go Red Sox!

Tonight, the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay (devil) Rays begin the ALDS. Best of 7 series.

Let's Go Red Sox! Let's Go Red Sox!

******

Update: Red Sox 2 Devil...oops....Rays 0

Side note: It was funny to watch this game and actually see that the fans in Tampa had actually filled the Tampa Bay stadium for this game. I guess after years and years of having no fans, all of the sudden the team suddenly has fans. What's the matter Tampa Bay, you can't cheer for your team unless they're winning?? LAME! The only true fans of the Rays are the 9,000 or so who go to every game. You other 30,000 who've suddenly just become fans because they're winning....? Well, you're all LOSERS.

Red Sox Beat Angels

The Boston Red Sox have beaten the Anaheim Angels 3-2, and win the series 3 games to 1.






Yeah, Red Sox! We've beaten the Angels, now bring on the Devils....Rays, that is.

Weekend

I spent yesterday helping out at a disc golf tournament in Auburn, Maine at Dragan Field. There were a lot of disc golfers, most from around Maine and New England, but a few traveled in from other areas on the East Coast.

Today (Sunday) I’m leaving to go Boston to see the Red Sox play the Mariners. Woooohooooo!

More later…..much later.

NISN…er…NESN…Needs a Spelchequer...sorry..Spellchecker

I’m watching the Boston Red Sox game tonight on New England Sports Network, NESN, as they take on the Kansas City Royals at the historic Fenway Park in Boston. But it appears that the NESN Graphics Crew didn’t do their homework as far as correctly spelling the name of the Royals’ starting pitcher, Luke Hochevar (pronounced ho'-sha-ver), replacing the second 'h' with a 'k'.

Or maybe it’s the Royals who got it wrong and misspelled the name on his jersey…? Yeah, right.


C’mon NESN, I’m thinking, you gotta get this stuff right.

But I do forgive you for this oversight because moments later you provided this great shot looking up at the Fenway Park lettering of the stadium. Just a gorgeous shot.

Besides, moments after that the color commentary of Jerry Remy had left baseball and instead was wondering if the two lights near the moon in this shot were UFOs.

Jerry Remy wonders if these are UFOs...or trails from a 70s flashback

Or maybe he was just trying to draw a funny face. Either way, with NESN you get it all: baseball, football, hockey, basketball...misspellings, astronomy, UFOs...

I love NISN.

Opening Day!

The breakfast was good, the company was great! WZON's hosted "Opening Day Breakfast" was a hit. Lots of Red Sox fans showed up at the 6am opening of the event. WZON personalities Dale Duff, Jeff Solari, Sales Goddess Kerri (with a "runner on base"), as well as show regulars Ira Doughty from Moosehollow, ME and comedian Midnight Freddie Stone to name just a couple. Freddie even joined us at our table for about 15 mintues and tried out some new jokes on us. We laughed. A lot. He's a cool dude and very funny.

A photographer from the Bangor Daily News was there and took lots of picutres of our table and got our names, so we may have a pic in the BDN tomorrow.

The problem with the restaurant that this event was held at? They had no TVs, and the radio broadcast of the game was barely audible over the Governor's restaurant sound system. So after a breakfast of blueberry pancakes and sausage, we went to a sports bar, Bleachers, that was also open at this early hour and most importantly, HAD TELEVISIONS! From blueberry pancakes to Sea Dog Blueberry Wheat Beers. The changeover went smoothly.

The best news? The Red Sox beat the Oakland A's by a score of 6-5 in 10 innings. Red Sox rookie Brandon Moss, in for JD Drew, hit a 9th inning home run (his first Major League home run) to tie it up at 4. It was a come from behind win with Hideki Okajima getting the win for the Sawx. Sweet! At this pace, the Sox are on target to go 162-0!!

Go Sox!

Opening Day…A Bit Early

Tomorrow morning marks opening day of Baseball 2008. With the World Champion Boston Red Sox and the Oakland Athletics starting this season playing two games in Japan, the start time is 6am for those of us on the East Coast. That’s awfully early to be getting up for a baseball game. But I’m doin’ it. I am, after all, a member of the House of The Fenway Faithful.

Local sports radio station WZON (AM 620) normally has an Opening Day Cookout at their station parking lot, with the Maine-standard red hot dogs, some soda and chips. A fun time, I’ve heard, as I was not living in the area when they started this tradition so I have never had the chance to go to it. This year, however, with the season starting in Japan, it means a very early start time due to the time difference, so they’ve had to mix it up a little bit. Instead of an Opening Day Cookout, they’re hosting the Opening Day Breakfast Buffet.

A local restaurant in Bangor, Governor’s, is opening early and having a special breakfast buffet from 6am until 9am. With WZON giving away Red Sox tickets, t-shirts, hats, etc, it will be fun time, and probably the only time that I’ll be up that early on an opening day waiting for the first pitch of a Sox game with a pile of pancakes on the end of my fork.

So, TFKoP readers, I’ll be up at 5:30am tomorrow morning awaiting my ride to the buffet. Tuesday is not only Opening Day for Major League Baseball, it’s also “Pancakes with the Red Sox” day!

mmmmmmmm…..blueberry pancakes…….

Go Red Sox!!

World Series Trophy and Hot Stove Night

The World Series trophy was in my hometown yesterday, but it was at the WZON Hot Stove Night that I was able to get a picture of...and with....the trophy.

Pretty cool, eh?

Joe Castiglione and Gordon Edes were very entertaining with their Red Sox stories, in addition to providing insight on the Red Sox and their decisions involving acquiring players and setting up for the long baseball season. They also told some amusing stories about their experiences and also some of baseball players, both current and past.

Joe Castiglione (left) and Gordon Edes talking about the Red Sox

I had a great time at this event despite the three tools sitting in front of us who wouldn't shut up for the whole event...chit chatting amongst themselves - loudly. Others around us were in disbelief that these three dudes could be so rude. And then the lead tool asked the dumbest question of the night: "With Terry Francona and the Red Sox winning the World Series twice in four years, does this mean we're going to be stuck with that bum (Francona) as the head coach for a long time?" Yeah....this idiot actually thinks Terry Francona is a "bum" for a manager.

Thankfully, both Joe and Gordon pointed out that this "bum" has won two World Series in four years for the Red Sox, the first of which ended their 86-year drought, and most importantly, he's 8-0 in both World Series appearances! The crowd cheered in support of the greatness of Francona's managing ability as the dingbat sat back down...and immediately started mumbling to his other buddies. Did he actually think anybody would agree with his imbicilic question about Francona being a bum? Again I have to say...what a tool.

The idiot and his band of noobs did not ruin the evening, though, as the crowd was so into the event and it was obvious that both Joe and Gordon did not see this evening event as something they were obligated to do, but something they loved to do....and that is to sit around with other fans talking baseball.

And there was food and drinks: red hot dogs (natch), popcorn, chicken wings, lobster rolls, Cracker Jack and Pepsi products. The sponsors all had sign up boxes for raffles where you could win anything from $100 cash, to a modern ice fishing trap (this was a much sought after item...this is Maine after all!), dinner for two, to name a few. At the end of the event, WZON even raffled off the recliners that Joe and Gordon sat in during the evening!

A thanks from myself and my chummy who went with me to WZON, Joe Castiglione, Gordon Edes, the Bangor Civic Center and all of the awesome sponsors who supported this event. It was a blast, and I can't wait until next year for it to come back.

And with any luck, the 2008 World Series Trophy will be coming with them....

Talkin' Red Sox Baseball

For the past five years, WZON Sports Talk Radio (620AM) in Bangor, Maine has had the privilege of hosting a hot stove night with Red Sox radio announcer Joe Castiglione. He brings with him Gordon Edes from the Boston Globe this year. It wasn't until I moved back here to Maine that I heard about this event, and of course have not ever attended since I was living 600 miles down I95 in Philadelphia.

This is a hot stove league event and the sports fans in my area apparently look forward to this event each year now that it has become an annual affair. This year it's taking place on Monday, January 21 at the Bangor Civic Center, which holds approximately 500 people.

Here's the catch: the only way to get tickets is to win them on WZON. There are no tickets for sale, you can only win them on the radio. Each hour during the day (from 6am - 9pm) they play a fancy jingle, and you have to be the 5th caller to win a pair of tickets. WZON started giving the tickets away on December 31st.

Well, TFKoP scored his pair of tickets on Wednesday morning of this past week. I was dialing in on my home phone, my work phone, and my cell. I just HAD to have a pair of these tickets. I was like Uncle Frank in One Crazy Summer! I love the Sox and can't wait to sit in and listen to Mr Castiglione's observations about the World Series Champion Boston Red Sox. If nothing else, I'll at least get a free hot dog and soda! (I'm sure it will be a red hot dog!)

Nice "hot stove" effect in the picture, eh? I'm good...real good.

Now here's the cool part: WZON is saying that they still have a "special announcement" in reference to this year's hot stove night. As of this writing, they have not said what the announcement is.

You wanna know my guess as to the special announcement? I bet they have the World Series Trophy with them during the gathering. On stage with them, I bet. That would be awesome. And if that's the case and they let us line up for pictures with it you can expect to see that picture as soon as I get home that night after the event.

Regardless, here's what I do know for sure: I'VE GOT MY TICKETS ALREADY! Nice. Did you get yours?

Close up of the coveted WZON Hot Stove Night tickets. Ticket #49 and ticket #50. Suh-weeeeet!

Unexpected Red Sox Fan

Well, can you believe it? The Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons is a Red Sox fan, as you can see from my very techincally produced picture here (actually taken w/ a digital camera while replaying the episode on my DVR then downloaded to my laptop from the camera's SD-Card, and then opened in MicroSoft Paint to write on and then uploaded to this blog.......

wow...that actually was a lot of technology...).

(from the recently aired episode "Little Orphan Millie", airdate Nov 11, 2007)

Pretty cool, eh?

Now a question for Simpsons die-hards. What is Comic Book Guy's real name? It has only been mentioned in one episode. Bonus kudos if you can name the episode too. Answer to appear tomorrow, Thanksgiving Day!

World Series Champs!!

I'm happy to report that my Boston Red Sox have just captured the 2007 World Series Championship Trophy!

The Red Sox beat the formidable (**snicker**) Colorado Rockies in this 7-game series 4 games to none. A sweep. The second time in a row the Sox have swept their way to the title, the last being against the St Louis Cardinals in 2004 which ended the Red Sox's 86-year World Series Championship drought.

This 4-game sweep found the Red Sox outscoring the Rockies by a humungous score of 29-10. Let the pah-ty begin, ayuh.

Congrats to all of the Red Sox players, coaches, staff and fans. And I know my friend Sar is just ECSTATIC about this Red Sox victory. ;-)

I am SO going to try to get to the victory parade in Boston. Anybody heading down have an extra seat??

woooooohoooooooo!

World Series Bound!!!

Well, the Boston Red Sox have done it! They have come back from being down in their 7-game series 3 games to 1 against the great Cleveland Indians team to win the American League Championship Series and advance to the World Series!!! The Red Sox outscored the Indians 30-5 in the last 3 games of the series. Awesome.

The BoSox will be up against the Colorado Rockies, a hot team that has won something like 24 of their last 25 games.

It's gonna be a great series. A series the Red Sox win in 6 games.

Yeah baby. I love that dirty water.

World Series - The Ice Cream Prediction

Well, if the ice cream I've bought up here in Maine ends up being a foresight of the upcoming World Series, I've got the Red Sox beating the Phillies 4 scoops to 2 scoops!



Go Red Sox!

The House of The Fenway Faithful

The local AM sports station I listen to here in Orono is WZON AM 6200. (Stephen King owns this station along with the local rock station, WKIT)

Once each month during this current baseball season season WZON has held a live broadcast and gathering of Red Sox fans at the local GroundRound. While the GroundRound is not a restaurant I have on my dining-out radar, it's a perfect setting for this gathering: there's a bar, there's bar food (and buy one get one free! appetizer specials....nice!) and trivia and giveaways. It's a fun time, and the place has been packed for the three that I've gone to since moving back to Orono in July. And, they make pretty good Buffalo wings so that should impress you.

The third one I attended was last night. And I won something. I won the "House of The Fenway Faithful" banner. Now, this is not something I would use to decorate inside my house. Well, maybe in a few years when I'm able to finish my basement....it might go okay in the room I set-up down there. But until that time, I'm at a loss where to hang it. It just isn't inside-decor material.




I guess my option is to hang it outside on my house....to profess that this is indeed a House of a Fenway Faithful. And with the Red Sox in the upcoming playoffs, what better way to show my support for the team.

I just hope people driving by don't think this place is a bar. Unless they bring their own beer......and Buffalo wings.

GO RED SOX!