John Lester threw a gem in his return to Fenway after a battle with cancer. It was good he drew the Rays and it's nice he pitched well,but by the end of the game it was overshadowed with a Red Sox win in the bottom of the ninth.

I'm pretty sure that Red Sox fans use the expression "here we go again" more than any other sports fans. We say it aloud. We think it. We feel it. And the combination of the Yankees' (who suck) play as of late and the Sox leaving men on base as of late has brought that here we go again feeling to the fore once more. So while it is hard to complain with a five game lead, and hard to say that this series with the hapless Devil Rays is important, it is important. I was listening to game last night and was giving the old here we go again by about the 6th. When Manny struck out in the 9th is was a full blown here we go again. Then, with a swing of the bat by Lowell it's tied and swings by The Captain and Crisp and it's over. Oh joy! Red Sox 2, Tampa 1. What's that? The Yankees lose 12-0 to B-more? Joy times 2.

whatever works..

So everyone on the Tour de France is doping... or at the least the top riders... so my question is why is anyone testing? Let the riders do what they please. They will probably do more for medical research than testing the effect of drugs, blood transfusions and the like on rats. Let them go mad. Who is going to be hurt? The guy who isn't doping but would like to but is afraid of getting caught? The playing field will be levelled as everyone will have access to the latest and greatest drugs and techniques. The amount of money being spent in this silly big brother imposition of morality is ridiculous and the results are what? A couple of guys get kicked out and those that have the better technology or the luck of the draw survive. I just can't get upset over people taking advantage of new technology, be mechanical or medicinal.

The BoSox's John Lester, the 23 year old who had his rookie season cut short by a cancer diagnosis, really couldn't have had much of a better return to the majors. Here is his line:

Welcome back.

The Red Sox won the game 6-2 over Cleveland who still lead the wildcard race.

The Boston Red Sox have called up John Lester to replace Tavarez:

Pitcher Jon Lester will make his anticipated return to the Boston Red Sox lineup Monday night, 11 months after his 2006 rookie season was cut short because of a bout with cancer.

Three things:

1.  The way Taverez has been pitching of late, I'm not surprised that Lester is up until Schilling gets back;
2. Just how deep is the Sox pitching roster? Lester, Gabbard, Bucholtz... wow... those are some good young arms
3. Best of luck to John Lester in his comeback.

At SawxBlog a question is asked:

• Not sure if this is a complete Red Sox fan trait, but have you ever felt such anxiety in having the best record in baseball and an 8 game lead in the division?

Truthfully, I must admit to feeling some anxiety. Why? Because it's only the middle of June and there is a lot of baseball left. My concerns do not surround the pitching (despite the performance last night) they surround the offence. With that said, I expect Manny has started on a hitting tear that will jump start the offence. Nonetheless, I am getting that here we go again feeling.

Over at The Sports Economist thee is a look at the race issues in baseball when it comes to choosing the goats.

For me it will always be the obviously juiced Mark McGwire being hailed as he chased the single season record while the obviously black Sammy Sosa was a side show who happened to be putting together one of the great seasons while in a penant race.

As for steroid use, it is time to stop testing...it has gotten ridiculous.

If he can stay healthy, Ken Griffey Jr. is putting together a hell of a season.  In 48 games he's hitting .285, slugging .527 and has an on base percentage of .395. Add 11 homers, 31 RBIs and 32 walks and it's pretty much an all-star sort of year. His OPS is .922.

(picture from www.news-star.com)

A new American football league, the United Football League, is in the makes and is discusssed by The Sports Economist. While there isn't a stadium in Toronto big enough to hold an NFL team, the Canadian Dollar is high enough now for someone to consider a franchise.

I do note, however, that the problem with a new league will be the available talent at the skilled positions. In the NFL there are few stud quarterbacks, and those studs are payed quite well. Nothing gets a new league in trouble like a huge salaried rookie quarterback.

The Great Debut by 22 year old Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Jesse Litsch apparently has earned him another start in the bigs... and well it should:

A near-complete game in his major-league debut was enough to convince the Toronto Blue Jays' brass that pitcher Jesse Litsch deserves another start, and perhaps more.

Litsch, 22, will get the call this Sunday in Philadelphia in an interleague game against the Phillies.

Taking the mound for the first time in the big leagues and you go 8 & 2/3 innings, giving up 5 hits and 1 run for the win... i'd call that a dream start to your career ... add the fact that it's your Dad's birthday and he's flown in from Florida to wwatch the game and you almost have a made for TV movie. Well that's exactly what happened in Toronto this evening for 22 year old Jesse Litsch.

Here are his numbers in a 2-1 victory for the Blue Jays over the Orioles.

The Roger Clemens question behind them, the Red Sox start the 3 game set in Toronto with a convincing win (9-2) sending Josh Beckett to 7-0. I note for the record that I was wrong on the Clemens signing. I had asked how much the Yankees (who suck) were going to pay and I was predicting not a penny less than $30,000,000. It was $28,000,000 or some such thing. In any event, it appears that Clemens is putting about $18million in his pocket. Analysis here and here.

I'm heading to 2nd game of the set tonight. Dice-K vs Ohka. I'm not sure who is pitching better (worse?) but I've seen Ohka pitch twice this year and frankly, he's pitch well for a 4th starter on those two occassions. As for Dice-K, at times he looks great and then he's suddenly in trouble. I still believe that he will find his way and I stick to the position that if he can start 35 games, win 12 or better, throw close to 200 innings and keep his ERA at 4.00 or better, it will be a successful first season.

I'm also heading to the 3rd game. Wakefield vs. Halliday. Seeing Doc Halliday pitch is always a pleasure, even when it's against the Red Sox. In my mind, he throws the heaviest ball in the game and he operates quickly which makes the game more enjoyable. Of note, the Jays GM announced yesterday that the top will be off the Rogers Centre (formerly the Sky Dome) when Wakefield pitches, regardless of the forecast for rain. Wakefield generally pitches well in the domed environment.

UPDATE: Much like Alan, I'll be eating a hot dog, drinking beer and taking in the game.

I came out on top on Derby Day thanks to a Super in the 11th, but I was a loser on the Kentucky Derby itself. Sure I had Street Sense on top, and under him Curlin, but I missed on the 8 (Hard Spun) and the 5 (Imawildandcrazyguy).  My longshot was Great Hunter.

Still, I was impressed by Street Sense. The horse did not appear tired after coming from 20 lengths back to win with ease. That should mean that this horse can take the greater distance. With that said, I was also impressed by Curlin who got jammed on the rail, was hit twice and  then came from nowhere to show. Curlin could be the triple crown spoiler.

You can watch the race here.

Street Sense is a great horse however, so I'm pulling hard for him in the next one.

I had a call from a client all concerned about her Charter rights being violated by her employer. While it was dubious that her contractual rights, let alone her rights under provincial human rights legislation, had been violated in any regard, the simple rule is that the Charter applies to state actions. Still, we have people always going on about their rights, not realizing that the rights they clam are mere privileges bestowed by the applicable legislature.

Racial profiling is an issue for the police. Some racial profiling is apparently acceptable when you are running an affirmative action program.Other racial profiling is not good,as in  when the police stop a driver simply because he is black. Now racial profiling has taken on  a whole new realm, that of international hockey, according to Gilles Duceppe:

Doan says all he did was make a sarcastic remark to a teammate, Curtis Joseph, who was infuriated by a penalty call in a game against the Montreal Canadiens.

He says he told Joseph: ''Four French referees in Montreal, Cuje, figure it out.'' And Joseph has backed up his story.

But Duceppe called even that comment unacceptable. He said his party is right to demand answers from Hockey Canada.

''That's what you call racial profiling,'' Duceppe said.

Now that Doan had the ethnic profile of these homer refs, what was he going to do about it? Nothing. Why? Because there was nothing he could do. He's the citizen on the ice and the refs are the cops.

Noticing someone is from Newfoundland because of their accent is not "racial profiling" it's being alive and not deaf. Same thing with someone from Quebec. It would only be possession the power to affect the identified and then the actual taking of action  that would make this observation racial profiling.  This has gotten beyond ridiculous.

The issue dominating Canada's Parliament is the naming of the Captain of Team Canada at the hockey world championships? The Bloc are offended. The NDP are offended. The Liberals are offended. The Tories are offended. Why?

The Bloc Québécois is demanding Shane Doan be removed as captain of Canada's world championship hockey team, in light of the disparaging comments he allegedly made about French Canadians in 2005.

Doan's French Canadian buddies think he's a good choice:

"In the heat of the battle things get said sometimes, a lot worse than being called a French frog or whatever," said Alain Vigneault, coach of the Vancouver Canucks.

"[Doan] says he didn't say it. Even if he did, come on. If our politicians, French or English, if that's the only thing right now they have to worry about....

"There's a lot more important things going on right now in society," Vigneault said. "It is utterly, utterly stupid, not to say embarrassing."

New Jersey goaltender Martin Brodeur had a similar reaction.

"I know Shane really [well] and I don't see him saying that," he said. "All these years in the league I never had a problem with it, so for me to hear that other people had a problem, I have a hard time understanding it."

What were the offending words:

Doan said he was complaining to teammate Curtis Joseph about the officiating, telling the goaltender, "'Four French referees in Montreal, Cuje, figure it out.'

"I would have done the same thing if we were in Los Angeles and it was four officials from California," Doan said Wednesday. "Or if we were in Calgary and it was four westerners."

Oh Dear! Call a Royal Commission:

The Bloc introduced the motion, supported by the Liberals, Conservatives and NDP, demanding that Hockey Canada explain itself to the parliamentary committee.

The NHL cleared Doan of any wrongdoing and the official who made the decision has this to say:

Colin Campbell, the NHL's executive vice-president and director of hockey operations, blasted the politicians for meddling, calling the intrusion "ridiculous.  

"I stand by my original comments after our investigation," Campbell told the Canadian Press. "But I would add to it at this point in time, it's rather embarrassing to all Canadian hockey fans we're rehashing this again, particularly when Hockey Canada and Shane Doan are representing and working hard in Moscow right now, competing for our country. It's ridiculous."

Ridiculous? To call this parliamentary behaviour ridiculous would be an insult to the ridiculous. It reminds me of the uproar over Triumph: The Insult Comic Dog insulting people.

I am offended by Parliament's offence.

(also at The london Fog)

UPDATE: Check out our elected representatives "explaining" their position ... what a pack of clowns. (H/T Small Dead Animals....via Mike at The London Fog)

Here's the line-up for the 133rd Kentucky Derby as brought to you, along with some commentary, by  Sportingnews.com.

D. Wayne Lukas doesn't have a horse in this race, but he has an opinion on the favorites.

I'm still hoping to see a Triple Crown, but my "experts" don't see it happening this year. Right now I'm liking Any Given Saturday, but I'm sure my mind will change a few times before I place my bet. The favorite is Street Sense.

2 of 3 from the Yankees on the weekend making the Red Sox 5 of 6 for the season against the Yanks. There is lots of baseball left in the season, but The Boss must be completely pissed off... it looks good on him.

At some point, the Red Sox are going to have to get some run support for Tim Wakefield. He has pitched well, eating up the innings and keeping the era way down. He should have won the 2nd game, but alas, one run was all the Sox could muster.

 I am particularly liking Okajima's pitching line out of the pen:

SEASON TEAM W L ERA G GS CG SHO SV SVO IP H R ER HR HBP BB SO 2007     Boston Red Sox 0 0 0.71 12 0 0 0 1 1 12.2 5 1 1 1 0 3 17 Career Totals 0 0 0.71 12 0 0 0 1 1 12.2 5 1 1 1 0 3 17

Brendan Donnelly's  statsaren't so bad either: 9 games, 6 innings, 4 strikeouts, 2 hits and no runs, earned or otherwise. The 2 hit batsmen and the 2 walks aren't great, but he's looking pretty confident out there.

Branch Rickey was a rare man who decided to break the color barrier in baseball. He hand-picked Jackie Robinson for the job and made him promise that he would never fight back on the field. 60 years ago today, Robinson took the field for the first time in a Brooklyn Dodger uniform and the world changed.

(Branch Rickey signing Jackie Robinson for the Brooklyn Dodgers)

In the realm of baseball, George Will can certainly say it better than I, and he does today in the Washington Post:

"Robinson," writes Eig, "showed black Americans what was possible. He showed white Americans what was inevitable." By the end of the 1947 season, America's future was unfolding by democracy's dialectic of improvement. Robinson changed sensibilities, which led to changed laws, which in turn accelerated changes in sensibilities.

Number 42 is retired by Major League Baseball, though some players will be wearing it today to honor Mr. Robinson, a trned started by Ken Griffey Jr. On this day, however, I also think of Branch Rickey. He was ahead of his time. He knew somene would break the barrier and it might as well be him. It would make the Dodgers better, no doubt, but it had to more than that.

They were great men.

Rickey's obituary quoted Jackie Robinson:

Jackie Robinson, who was signed by Mr. Rickey to break baseball's barrier against Negro players, said "the passing of Mr. Rickey is like losing a father." He said his death was "a great loss not only to baseball but to America."

If he was a father to Robinson then he was a demanding one, setting his "son" loose to be insulted and threatened. But Robinson was up to the task, proving on the field his detractors wrong and his "father" correct.

21 year old Felix Hernandez, who one-hit the Red Sox last night (no hitter into the 8th), and who has a 2007 line that looks like this....

 ...is a rare talent and if you get a chance have a look. Guys like this do not come around very often.

Heading to Newfoundland for Spring Break for some winter fun. This is where i will be:

...and this is what I will be doing:

...Though I may make a bit of time for this on fake Irishman's day.