Random Thoughts (February 4, 2009)

After picking the Cardinals to cover in Super Bowl XLIII, my final record for the 2008 season is 132 - 121 - 9. Considering my history as a pigskin prognosticator, that is amazing... I am thankful that the Red Sox and Jason Varitek finally came to terms on a contract. The next mission for Theo Epstein is to find Varitek's long term replacement behind the plate. With 'Tek under contract for at least 2009 (the Red Sox have an option for 2010), the "experts" are saying that Epstein can now take his time to find the next Red Sox catcher. I disagree. The sooner they find a long term solution (Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Miguel Montero), the sooner the new guy can assimilate himself to the Boston pitching staff... Forget what I said about Saltalamacchia or Montero if the Sox land Joe Mauer as a free agent after 2010... Now that Jameer Nelson has torn the labrum in his right shoulder, the Orlando Magic's hopes of winning the Eastern Conference took a major blow and a spot on the All-Star game roster was created. There is the usual cries from Boston for Ray Allen (averaging 18.1 points) to make the team but it will be almost impossible to ignore Cleveland point guard Mo Williams (17.3 ppg). The stats are similar but the bottom line is that Cleveland is just 1.5 games behind the Celtics in the Eastern Conference but they have just one All-Star, some guy named LeBron James. The C's already have two All-Stars in Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. Williams, and Cleveland, should be rewarded for their success... My Final Four in college basketball: North Carolina, UConn, Oklahoma, and Pittsburgh... I thought the episode of The Office after the Super Bowl was great but I didn't like the tease of tomorrow's episode at all. Jim, you can't be the father of Karen's child... Michael Phelps broke the law by hitting the pipe and he did let down his millions of fans and sponsors that pay him millions in the process. Some say it's unfair but hey, if you want the fame and fortune, you have to be more careful of what you do and where you do it... After Scott Pioli hires Cardinals offenisve coordinator Todd Haley to be his head coach, Pioli needs to get on the phone with Bill Belichick and give up his 2nd and 5th round choices in the 2009 draft and either a 1st or 2nd round pick (based on performance) in the 2010 for Matt Cassel... This is probably a 1,000,000,000-1 long shot but I think the Red Sox should give Manny Ramirez a 2-year/$50 million deal, let the past be the past, and win back-to-back World Series in '09 and '10... Enjoy the Big, Bad Bruins tonight...