Random Thoughts (July 14, 2008)

Was it just a week ago that I wrote that the Red Sox were "falling fast" in the AL East race? Boy, how times have changed. The Sox took 5-of-6 from the Twins and Orioles at Fenway this past week while the Rays dropped seven straight games. A five game deficit on July 7 turned into a .5 game lead for the Red Sox on July 13. Going into the All-Star Game, the Red Sox have a 57-40 record, the lead in the AL East and a positive outlook for the final 65 games. Big Papi will start his rehab this week, Manny's bat is getting hot, Jed Lowrie has replaced the injured Julio Lugo and the entire team is playing its best baseball in weeks. Here they come... Billy Packer, the one man (along with his lackey, Jim Nantz) who could possibly tarnish the Final Four weekend for me, is retiring from broadcasting college basketball's crown jewel after a 34 year career. Packer is the epitome of the crusty, old-fashioned blowhard that infect many national sporting broadcasts (see: McCarver, Tim). He is brutally honest (his one positive contribution) but his dedication to the promotion of baseless generalizations (remember his criticisms of mid-major schools displacing teams from the power conferences in the NCAA tournament?) has made him my number one enemy in broadcasting. It is sad that a man who has so much basketball knowledge could be such a pig-headed moron who could never correct himself after being proven wrong (too many examples to fit inside this parentheses). I will always respect a person who argues their opinion but I can not respect someone who can't admit when they're wrong. Packer's rumored replacement as the color analyst for the Final Four will be Clark Kellogg. I would like to see CBS take a look at pairing Kellogg with Gus Johnson, completely replacing the outdated Packer-Nantz team. The next Final Four will be in 2009, not 1984. Johnson is younger and more energetic than Nantz and is just as good a play-by-play man. If CBS really wants to make a change for the better, they should make a total change, not just a half-hearted move in adding the talented Kellogg to replace Jurassic Billy... Still waiting on James Posey. He won't leave for the Hornets, right? Let's hope not... Ten days until the Patriots open camp... Two of my friends have been speaking of his virtues for months but with my summer schedule giving me the ability to listen live to ESPN Radio, I have become a convert to Colin Cowherd. Cowherd is very passionate about the subjects he talks about and, unlike Billy Packer, he has no qualms about admitting when he is wrong. He also adds common sense, something we all need a little more of in our lives. Check out the Boston ESPN Radio affiliate, 890 ESPN, to find the link to listen to Cowherd's show. It's a great mid-day listen... Enjoy Grady Sizemore tonight...