All apologies to Jon Lester and Josh Beckett, but until this week we haven’t had one pitcher who can generate legit buzz on the streets of Boston on the day that he’s pitching since the days of Pedro Martinez.
Chris Sale is the man. His stuff is simply electric and all of his starts the rest of the season will be must see TV for Boston sports fans. Sale’s 96 mph fastball, his changeup and his ridiculous slider were all on target Wednesday night at Fenway in his Red Sox debut. Unlike David Price (there’s still time for a turnaround I suppose), this guy is a bona fide ace.
Sale is next slated to pitch on Monday in Detroit against the Tigers (1:10 p.m., NESN) – and how’s this for an early season matchup? On the hill for the Tigers will be Justin Verlander.
‘What is a Timberwolf?’
As a kid, I used to think it was weird listening to Patriots games in my parent’s car radio and seeing so many other cars on the road on a Sunday afternoon.
“Why weren’t these people at home in front of their TVs?! It’s a friggin’ NFL Sunday! Why am I being dragged to my grandparents’ house!?”
I’ve come to find out that not everyone in Boston and in this country is a sports fan. So while some people laughed at the poor lady who lost $17,500 in Final Jeopardy the other night because she failed to answer a simple sports question correctly, I instead felt for her. Because damn, I’m a nice guy.
Alex Trebek said, “This animal on this NBA team’s primary logo peaked about 75 million years ago.”
The lady answered, “What is a Timberwolf?”
For those of you who are still stumped, “75 million years ago” indicates it’s a dinosaur.
Second hint: this team plays in Toronto.
Not ready for primetime
The bloom is off the rose when it comes to the Celtics, as LeBron and the Cavs eviscerated the C’s at TD Garden on Wednesday night. The Celts just aren’t in the class of a Cleveland, Golden State or San Antonio right now.
But just because there is a better chance of Vince Wilfork winning the Boston Marathon than there is of the Celtics capturing the Larry O’Brien Trophy this year, that doesn’t mean we should ignore the Celtics in the playoffs.
This team needs to show it is good enough to get out of not only the first round, but the second round. Toronto is decent, but there is no reason why the Celtics should not reach the Eastern Conference Finals this year.
