The Red Sox Play Game 4 of the ALDS vs the Angels

Just who is this Fake Jerry Springer who sits directly behind first plate at Fenway Park, dead center? There he is, at every game, in the best seat in the house, Mr. Fake Jerry Springer, lovin' life, lookin' all smug with his arms crossed, like "Hey, I know you think I look like Jerry Springer," and he totally knows we're talking about him. Which we are. I mean, I am. (Aren't we?) Tonight, he's wearing a bright blue Cookie Monster colored fleece--49 degrees in Boston. Oh, Fake Jerry Springer Cookie Monster! You looks cozy. But blue, Fake Jerry Springer, at Fenway? He can has cookie? Go Sox! I want to see more baseball! And more of Fake Jerry Springer's winter outerwear collection.

Green Monster University by Andy Wasif

Andy Wasif, author of How to Talk to a Yankee Fan has come up with another wicked delightful book on the Boston Red Sox and those who love 'em called Green Monster University--Creating Die-Hard Red Sox Fans Since 1901. The University's motto? Feridus Rabidus Fanaticus.

I'm in private practice as a Die Hahd Red Sox Fan without a degree from Green Monster University because I was "home schooled" by Mom and Dad as in: basically brought up in Fenway Park. For those who were not, and want to understand the beast which is essentially a Masshole, Wasif provides a comprehensive course load in Bosox Fandom at Green Monster U which includes Biology (Massholes+booze), Philsophy(Plato asked, "What is pain?" a Red Sox fan knows), Religion (Soxism), Literature (includes Stephen King--die hahd Sox fan), and Government (Red Sox Nation). There's also a section called Ask the Valedictorian (where students can learn from the best and brightest), a Glossary of Terms, and of course, a Practice Exam. This is school, afterall.


This book makes a great gift idea for the following:

1. Red Sox fans.
2. Red Sox fans with short attention spans who shy away from long book type products.
3. Red Sox fans who spend a lot of time in the john.
4. Friends of Red Sox Fans who wish to understand.

Green Monster University is a great school-in-a-book: informative, irreverent and funny, and Andy Wasif clearly isn't afraid to explore what makes a Red Sox fan a Red Sox Fan, wahts (warts) and all. Go Sox!!!

Red Sox Opening Day at Fenway

And Bill Buckner throws out the first pitch!

Guess we just had to get a couple of championships under our belt before we could drag him out of his hole without shame.

Go Sox!

And in honor of Shea's Last Opening Day which is also today, Go, Mets. Shea Goodbye!

Now That's a Flask

Listen Up, Red Sox

The Yankees win two games in a row (ooooh, WOW) and now think they have "momentum" and are "on a roll?" Do you know how pleasant life has been for everyone* with the Yankees in bottom place? You need to shut that pipe dream shit down and yesterday. Thank you.

*everyone who is cool

I Had a Wicked Red Sox Day Yesterday By Myself With Others

I don't remember the last time I spent an entire day talking about the Red Sox and about myself. I hate talking about myself, but that comes up when you tell people you are a Red Sox fan in New York City. I realize that some of you don't care about the Red Sox. My friend Dan Curry has a joke about when he did a show in Boston one time, and someone asked him, "I hope you're not a Yankee fan!" and Dan replied, "I hope you don't think I give a shit about baseball!" But I know most you care deeply about me and my day yesterday (as Red Sox related as it may have have been), so I'm obliging, for majority's sake, and here you go.

As I mentioned earlier, I solo-attended the BLOHARD luncheon at the Yale Club yesterday, and being a crappy photojournalist (as well as a crappy regular-type journalist), I only snapped four pictures before my camera died. Here they are:

I took this shot in the elevator on the way up to the thing. If you were curious about the median age of the kids in the BLOHARDS club, the elevator shot should be a good clue. Look carefully.

Host Joe Cosgriff, John Pizzarelli (left) and part of his trio (right, with bass)

Radio's own Joe Castiglione and Red Sox pitcher Kyle Snyder

Here's the room. Beautiful space. I was also wearing a blue blazer with gold buttons too, so I fit right in. Minus the not wealthy, male, or old part.

Chris, one of the owners of Professor Thom's on 2nd Avenue and 13th Street (the site of the old Flamingo East) came to say a few words about his new bar and that it should be everyone's destination to watch Red Sox games as it's a safe place for fans in the city to watch NESN without restraint and unburdened by Yankee fans or other obnoxious distractions. Chris is from Brighton, and his Masshole accent was so thick it almost seem put on, and such a refreshing thing to hear at the Yale Club. I haven't heard it in awhile.

So, that night, I made sure to watch the last few innings of the game at Professor Thom's. It's a huge space and sure enough, because of the Sox/Yanks series it was crammed. Everywhere you look, you can see the game because the amount of televisions behind the bar, along each wall, and at a few booths (which you can reserve) personal flat screen televisions are placed like ye olde table-top juke boxes of yore.

Thom's played "Nessie" and "Sweet Caroline" and all the good stuff in between innings just like they do at Fenway, the food is good, and all of their cocktail waitresses wear little Red Sox jerseys. I asked one very tall and beautiful Ramirez, where she got her jersey and she said, "You'll have to ask my boss, I don't know, but I hear he (Ramirez) is supposed to be good." Well...he's been better. Anyway, the jerseys are from the Kids' Section at Paragon Sports. I'm gonna pick myself up an Ortiz one. The corner booth was rowdy with a Japanese camera crew who were filming the crowd and the Dice-K Matzusaka vs Godzilla Matsui matchup. They'll have tons of Masshole footage, that's for sure, as there was a group 10+ strong of Mass/NH fans who were in town for the game today. You guys know Kev, Jeff, and Mahk, don't you?

I'll be back to Thom's.

So far, the Sox lead the Yanks 1 game to zero in this series, making this the Yanks' 7th loss in a row.

GO SOX!

Long Liquid Red Sox Lunch at the Yale Club, Anyone?

Today I went to a Yale Club luncheon sponsored by the Boston BLOHARDS club, the contingency of Red Sox Nation who live in NYC. The acronym BLOHARDS stands for Benevolent and Loyal Order of Honorable and Ancient Red Sox Diehard Sufferers of New York. Needless to say, it was a good time. Blue blazers with gold buttons, white wine n' whiskey, chicken n' greenbeans, and Joe Castiglione himself interviewing the larger than life (6'8") Sox pitcher Kyle Snyder himself! Kyle and I may have been the youngest in attendance (minus the four year old working the door with his mother. He was also in a blue blazer with gold buttons and bow tie). Let's put it this way; if you are familiar with the '67 Sox, you would have been in good company and done well on the trivia portion of the afternoon.

Tonight the Sox face the Yanks for another 3-game series, this time at Yankee Stadium. Here's hoping things turn out like they did last weekend. I will have a few pictures to share with you from the lunch later on. At times I'm quite a crappy photojournalist, and sometimes I neglect to charge my camera battery. This was one of these times. What a jerk.

PS Guess who else was there? Oh, only John Pizzarelli, of Foxwoods Casino "Wonder of It All" fame! Believe it. Click on the link, I think the music starts up if you haven't heard it in ten minutes. He sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" & of course, "Wonder of It All," but I don't remember if he said "Foxwoods Yeah!" at the end. At any rate, he's Red Sox fan and those commercials have enabled him to purchase a nice house last year. He's at NYC's Birdland all week, kids!