Bullet Dodged, an Excerpt from a little project I am working on.

October 16, 2003 was quite a day. I thought, for a few fleeting moments (OK, like 2 hours) that that was going to be the day the Boston Red Sox finally knocked off the Yankees in an elimination game. I thought all that karma that was due from Bucky Dent was finally coming back around. My cell phone was ringing off the hook with messages from my friends, all card carrying members of Red Sox Nation, and every single one of them willing to make a deal with the devil to see the Red Sox hold up that elusive World Series Trophy for the first time in 85 years. The messages ranged from “Your day has come, traitor!” to “I don’t know what your worried about you know we will be blow it somehow.” Needless to say by the 8th inning my voicemail was full and I had no reason to pick that phone up.

Pedro Martinez, the resident Red Sox ace and clubhouse diva, was cruising going along into the 8th. I remember saying to my friend Jason “They better leave Pedro in. There is noone in that pen that gives them a better shot to win and this is the type of game that makes a pitcher like Pedro a legend.” Grady Little was obviously thinking the same thing, because with one out, Petey ran into trouble. Derek Jeter, the latest in a line of clutch Yankees ranging from Joe DiMaggio to Reggie Jackson (with a little help from Jeffrey Maier and Jeremy Giambi), doubled and scored on Bernie Williams’ baseknock. Hideki Matsui hit a ground rule double and ol’ Grady (aka Slingblade) walked out to the mound. It looked like the ace was about to be folded. Inexplicably, Grady left the mound, and Pedro still had the ball. The rest they say, is history. Jorge Posada looped a single into center in front of Johnny Damon to tie the score at 5, which of course set up Aaron Boone’s moment in the sun. All I could bring myself to say was “Dodged that bullet!”. Little did I know I was going to get mortally wounded (sports-wise of course) less than 365 days later.

Anyways, like I said that’s just a little something I am working on, basically a tale from behind enemy lines. On to tonight’s news and notes.

Memo to Donovan McNabb-you were not drafted into this league because of your ability as a drop back passer. You CAN RUN!!!! Do it!!!! For the love of god run the ball when noone is open!!!!!! Now back to our regularly scheduled news and notes…

Thanks to the New York Yankees for actually showing up tonight in Tampa and playing the Devil Rays the way they should have been playing the Devil Rays all year. Here is hoping the bullpen woes continue for Boston and a 6 game losing steak is on the horizon, because I don’t think we are catching Cleveland any time soon, unless of course the Chi Sox have a monumental collapse (which looks more and more possible every game that Cleveland picks up in the standings)

BTW, does every second tier drama have Heather Locklear on to guest star to save their ratings? There was only one Melrose Place people. (Who can forget Chris Farley’s portrayal of Grant Show on Saturday Night Live?)

This just in ESPN’s Pedro Gomez is saying that Barry Bonds crapped baby green this morning and it might have to do with playing last night. More on this story as it develops…

Johnny Damon is having shoulder trouble. Maybe if he took care of himself like Manny Ramirez Red Sox Nation wouldn’t be as worried right now, lol….

Glad to see Peter Gammons is still a Red Sox fan as he picks David Ortiz for MVP. Harold Reynolds of course took A-Rod. Look, I am as about as unbiased a Yanks Fan as there is in the world, and I just can’t give the MVP to a DH. Travis Hafner gets shutout because of that, so does Ortiz. A_Rod is tearing it up in all aspects of the game, and to stand out on a lineup like the Yanks says something. Anyone who sets the single season homerun record for Yankee right-handers deserves the MVP. Imagine if he played at Fenway? Good lord…

Updating a previous story, that baby green crap was not from Barry Bonds, but was from Matty’s son Brayden. Unknown if Brayden has tested positive for the “juice”, although what do they put in that formula nowadays?

That’s all for tonight, I will go over NL MVP next time, and maybe even throw in a little excerpt form my project. Feel free to comment!!! Til Next time…I’m Matty and your not… lol….

Week One NFL and Week 2 NCAA Recap

What a weekend!!! I have never started an NFL season better than I did this weekend. Other than the Titans getting pasted in Pitt and Arizona ST being caught up in the Katrina karma I was perfect. How cool is that!? I finally did what I always say I am going to do in week one, and that’s bet on this year, not last year.

Saturday

Marshall +8 1/2 Win
Navy +3 Push
SMU +15 Win
Wyoming -21 Win
AZ ST – 1 1/2 Loss
Minnesota -12 1/2 Win
Tex Tech -34 1/2 Win

Sunday
Tenn +7 Loss
Cin undr 45 Win
Buf Undr 37.5 Win
New Orleans +7 Win
NYG -3 Win
Indy -3 Win

Now I am at a loss for tonight. I am taking Philly, but I hate taking a team that everyone else is taking, especiall when they are on the road. Hope I don’t get bitten in the ass by that.

Great job by Charlie Weis. Fat men unite!!!! Nice pitching yesterday by the Big Unit, it was nice of him to show up in September. However, we have all at one point or another thought that he had strraightened himself out and then had a horrid start in his next turn. i hope that’s not the case this time, because Cleveland isn’t going away. Although if Cleveland keeps on picking up on Chicago and the ChiSox continue their horrid play, the Tribe may take the division.

Nice coaching jobs by the Mike’s yesterday (Shanahan, Tice, Martz and Sherman) I can’t put Nolan in that class yet because he seems to know what he is doing. Plummer looks awful, Culpepper looks lost, Steven Jackson looks tentative and Green Bay looks like they are going to be playing for the number one pick in next year’s draft. Maybe this time they can draft some defense or offensive line help? just a thought. I think Favre might have hung around one year too long…..

That’s all for now. Will Terrell Owens pull out a banner asking to be traded to Atlanta tonight? Stay tuned….

Just Shut Up!!!

Flashback!!!!
Dec. 18, 1976
AFC Divisional Playoff
New England @ Oakland

On the final drive, the Oakland Raiders were in trouble. It was 3rd and 18 on the Pats 28 and they were trailing the Patriots 21-17 with time not on their side. Ken Stabler drops back to pass as Ray “Sugar Bear” Hamilton applies pressure to cigarette smoking left hander. As Stabler lets the ball go Hamilton knocks Stabler to the ground. Incomplete pass, Pats Win!!! Wait a second, there’s a flag on the field. Must be an offensive holding or something, right? Wrong-O! Nope, roughing the passer, a full 20 years before any rules were in place to protect the qb. Referee Ben Dreith made a horrible call at best, the Raiders took advantage of their new life as Stabler snuck into the endzone with 10 seconds left and they march onto the Super Bowl (the 76 Raiders may have been the luckiest team of all time, because not only did they escape that game, they got to face a Pittsburgh team in the AFC Title game with no Franco Harris or Rocky Bleier. I still believe this string of events is what gave us Madden Video Games). Final Score- Oakland 24 NE-21

Jan. 19, 2002
AFC Divisional Playoff
Oakland @New England

The Pats are down 13-10 and driving into field goal range in a driving snow storm. Tom Brady drops back to pass as former Michigan teammate Charles Woodson is coming on a corner blitz. Brady pumpfakes once and is drilled by Woodson, the ball comes loose and is recovered by the Raiders. Game over right? The Raiders got us again. I was watching this game at a local watering hole in Sabattus The whole bar just went in total silence. I made the grand statement “They will overturn on this replay, his arm was going forward”. 6 or 7 people started laughing, and one guy told me “I will buy your rounds for the rest of the night if your right”. I think it had been about 5 weekes earlier I was watching the ticket and the Jaguars had had the same type of play reviewed, it was called an incompletion and replay upheld it. The ref explained as soon as the qb’s arm moved forward, regardless of weather he was tucking it away or not, the ball inmmediately became incomplete. I might have been the only Pats Fans in the world who felt confident. I knew the rule before it was known as “The Tuck Rule” and I could see visions of Raymond Berry sticking with a scared Tony Eason dancing in my head. When Walt Coleman awarded the ball back to New England, the place went nuts, and the Vinatieri field goals were a foregone conclusion. I of course sucked down some free pops and reveled in the fact that not only was I right but justice was served. Of course the seeds for Raiders fans, who forgot about 1976 by now, to start bitching started that night, as two of the Raiders fans in the bar refused to recognize it as a win. “That was so fixed. What crap.” Blah, blah, blah. They ended up storming out like a couple of two year olds who got lumps of coal from Santa. I wondered what old Sugar Bear was thinking at that moment, and how many cigarettes Ken Stabler had smoked during the game.

So, as we prepare for tonight’s Ring Ceremony and get ready for the replay of the tuck rule, remember that the Raiders were owed that one, and it least we got ours playing by the rules. Committment to Excellence my ass, it should be Committment to Whining. Oh and for those of you that feel bad, remember the Raiders got their Super Bowl shot the next year and got beaten by Tampa Bay!!! So have fun Al Davis, and remember, that Member’s Only jacket was pretty cool back when you won your last Super Bowl.

Pats 27-17 tonight. Write That down…

But Honey It’s College Football Opening Weekend….

Sorry it’s been so long between posts (for those of you that read us, please feel free to comment, lol), but between getting married, going on the honeymoon and everything else involved with travelling, getting the kids taken care of, the dog taken care of, I haven’t been on the computer much other than to place bets and hit the Statfox Forums. But anyways, back to why we are here….

College football was pretty profitable for me this weekend, but my record sucked, mainly because I deviated from my system. I just want to kick myself in the ass for it, too, because using the system Iowa, Kentucky, Clemson and SD State would have been play on’s, but instead of going 3-1, I went 0-3(I layed off Iowa). Grrr. Wins from this weekend…

Notre Dame/Pitt over 52 Half Unit
Georgia -8 1 Unit
Va Tech money Line -170 1 Unit
Fla St +3.5 8 units

Losses
If Bets
Tex Am -2 1/2
Florida -24 2 units

Louisville -23
West Virginia +2 1.5 Units

Memphis -3
New Mexico 1.5 Units

Straight Bets
Penn ST -23 .5 Unit

SD State + 91/2 1 Unit

Total Wins 10.5 Units
Total Losses 6.5 Units

Total Loss/Gain 4 Units

Not Bad, but frankly I don’t want to be sweating the last game of the weekend every week to make a profit or not. A big shout out to the Miami Special teams for being completely horrid and allowing me to overcome a terrible QB (Bobby, note to you, Xavier Lee can run and throw, Weatherford can do neither, you do the math) and the FSU Defense for delivering 9 sacks and a small heart attack to me as they forgot the tight end was an eligible receiver on the last Miami series. Mike Martz must have been proud at the clock management on both sides (neither team had a timeout with 5 minutes left in either the second or fourth quarters, in fact Miami burned all their second half TO’s with 8:46 left..in the THIRD QUARTER!!!!!). Oh well, a win, is a win, is a win…

Had a very nice honeymoon in Ogunquit. For those of you in Maine, you know what the prevailing theme is in Ogunquit (Rainbow Brite anyone?), but I had a good time nonetheless. Lobster eggs benedict for breakfast equals a good time. Don’t ever forget that.

With only baseball on the docket tonight, I have no I dea what I am going to do this evening. I really want to take the Giants with Bonds returning tonight, but do I really want to bet on Brett Tomko? I am leaning towards the Angels and Lackey against a Sox team with Wakefield starting with no humidity in the forecast (this is the time of year the knuckleball doesn’t knuckle much) and also towards Pedro and the Mets against John Smoltz, who recently hasn’t been getting much run support and hasn’t been pitching all that hot. I will take Pedro with even money any time I can get him.

That’s all for now kids. 1-800-HELP-NOW. Even though the waters are receding, the real disaster lies under that water….