The Joy Of Being From Boston; Game 4

Hey America -- especially all you DB's in New York -- read it and weep. The Red Sox can wrap up their second World Series in four years tonight. The Yankees win over the Mets in 2000 seems like it happened 50 years ago. The Mets win over the Red Sox in 1986 is a footnote from the past. The Patriots are 7-0. They have the best collection of talent in NFL history and they are kept in check by football's greatest coach, Bill Belichick. Remember when he walked away from the Jets? The Al Groh, Herman Edwards and Eric Mangini era's just haven't made up for that. America wants the Pats to fall -- F you Gregg Easterbrook -- and that gives Tom Brady and the rest of the team motivation to roll on through the NFL. The Celtics decided to roll the clock back to the 1980's and load up for the next five years. Paul Pierce was wasting away waiting for the talented kids -- God, I'll miss Al Jefferson -- to mature until all of a sudden, Danny Ainge traded for Ray Allen at the draft and then for Kevin Garnett over the summer. Hello! The C's may not be the best team in the NBA (see: Spurs, San Antonio) but when June rolls around, expect to see the Green involved. Boston College football, though a tad bit overrated, is ranked No. 2 in the nation. I still don't believe the Eagles could hang with the likes of LSU, Oregon or Oklahoma but it is exciting to see BC be ranked so high. Matt Ryan is a legit Heisman candidate (though I don't think he will take home the hardware) and the Eagles -- with home games against Florida State and Miami sandwiched around trips to Clemson and Maryland -- have achance to run the table and finish the regular season 12-0. If they can knock off likely opponent Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship game, BC could play in heir biggest bowl game since the 1984 Cotton Bowl. The Bruins are showing signs of life. The Black & Gold are 6-4-0-0 and are playing aggressive hockey under new coach Claude Julien. There was a frightening moment yesterday when Patrice Bergeron crashed into the boards head first following a cheap hit from Philadelphia's Randy Jones (my thoughts immediately turned to Travis Roy) but the B's seem to be going in the right direction. So, America, you may hate us and call us nasty things from the comfort of your local tavern or from the couch but understand one thing. We are better than you! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Game 4 is a few hours away (with a nice warmup in the form of the Patriots at 4:15) and my confidence could not be higher. The Rockies pitchers have been no mystery to the Boston lineup and the Sox seem ready to clinch the World Series... How about Jacoby Ellsbury last night? The not-quite-yet-a-rookie became the first rookie since 1946 (Joe Garagiola) and the third overall (Fred Lindstrom in 1924) to record four hits in a World Series game. The kid is not a star in the making, he is a star. I like Coco Crisp more than most Red Sox fans but Ellsbury is clearly the future in the way like Fred was clearly Barney's superior. If Ellsbury plays well again tonight then he could be a candidate for World Series MVP. Funny that he won't be eligible to win the Rookie-of-the-Year award until 2008... Everyone is writing/talking/thinking about the beautiful opportuity for Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester, who could win the clinching game of a World Series a year after battling cancer. I'm more excited that a 23-year-old Sox lefty will be in position to win a World Series game. I bet Lester hopes more people focus on the latter rather than the former... Imagine the future of the Red Sox rotation? Josh Beckett, Jonathan Papelbon, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Lester, Clay Buchholz, Manny Delcarmen, Craig Hansen (don't give up on him yet) and Justin Masterson are all under the age of 27 and are all power arms. Along with young positional talents like Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis and Jed Lowrie, that is why the Red Sox will continue to compete for and win World Series championships well into the next decade... The Sox won't leave to much to the imagination tonight. Red Sox - 8, Rockies - 2... (Pats - 44, Redskins - 7)