So I got home from work and turned on SportsCenter. The first thing I see is a story about Bobby Valentine calling out Kevin Youkilis for not going all out every day this season so far and whether or not Dustin Pedroia would come to the defense of Youkilis. The next thing I see is video of Tim Tebow at Yankee Stadium from last night. The debate was whether or not the boos at the stadium were directed at him or Dwayne Wade, who was sitting one row behind him.
This is why I cannot root for baseball teams in New York. Does any of that really matter to anyone that lives south of New York? The answer is a definitive no. It does not. Since today was Patriots' Day, or as it should be called, Boston Day, the Red Sox played an early 11:00 AM game against Tampa Bay (which they lost 1-0). The Boston Marathon is run every year on Patriots' Day also, and that was won by Wesley Korir of Kenya. But that only gets on sentence in my rant for today because that is already more than anyone in Boston has thought about it.
The Red Sox are the only team that matters in Boston to the people of Boston. And the most important thing concerning the Red Sox? How they stand in relation to the Yankees. The soap opera of Yankees vs Red Sox has gone on for much longer than I have been alive, and it will continue to go on long after I die. As long as the population of Boston is higher than zero, the soap opera will never end.
The worst part is that the national media does nothing but throw gasoline on a fire that has already lasted longer than the one at the grave of John F. Kennedy (who, ironically, comes from one of the most famous families in the history of Boston). Red Sox vs Yankees. Yankees vs Red Sox. Celtics? Bruins? Rangers? Giants? Patriots? None of that really matters as long as the Yankees keep playing the Red Sox.
Eight years ago, the Red Sox ended the most talked about championship drought in the history of sports as they won the World Series. After years and years of trash talking from Yankees fans about the long World Series drought for the Red Sox, their reply was now that they had won, the Yankees still had far more championships than the Red Sox. After the Red Sox won again a few years later, it was still all about the total number of rings. Yankee fans walk around with shirts that display the number of World Series rings each team has so they can pad their egos. If the Yankees came in second to last place, it would be fine as long as the Red Sox came in last place. Red Sox fans complain about how the Yankees spend so much money and "buy their championships," yet the Red Sox payroll is the third highest in the league. It's like Donald Trump whining about Bill Gates having too much money.
I was in Connecticut with a bunch of Patriots fans when they beat the Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX. There was some clapping, maybe a beer or two, and then the countdown until Opening Day continued. The Red Sox gear came out and life was back to normal in New England. ESPN could now get rid of those pesky football highlights and keep us updated on what David Ortiz had for lunch and what movie Derek Jeter went to see.
The Washington Nationals are a team full of young stars and are off to a nice 7-3 start this season, but you would never know by watching any kind of sports broadcast outside of the Nationals pregame show. The national sports media has made the Red Sox vs Yankees rivalry by far the most important story of Major League Baseball year in and year out. The underlying meanings of Bobby Valentine's statements about Kevin Youkilis is the lead of every sports broadcast. Matt Kemp flying out of the gate on a 9-1 team? Nothing. Casual baseball fans probably could tell you all you need to know about the state of the Red Sox clubhouse and when they next play the Yankees and couldn't pick Matt Kemp out of a lineup of people if he were wearing a shirt that said, "I am Matt Kemp" on it.
There are some great baseball stories that are taking place already this season, and plenty more that will arise as the season goes on. Names like Eric Hosmer, Bryce Harper, Yu Darvish, Justin Verlander, and as I mentioned before, Matt Kemp are just some of the guys to watch. It's just too bad that hardly anybody will actually be watching.
Daily Rangers Update: We are 12 minutes into Game 3 and still scoreless. Carl Hagelin was suspended for three games which is not good. The elbow he gave Daniel Alfredsson was pretty nasty though, so the suspenson was warranted. We cannot lose both of these games in Ottawa, so getting that done in Game 3 would be good instead of having Game 4 be a must-win. Let's Go Rangers!
Daily Diamondbacks Update: Trevor Cahill was spectacular last night in going 7.1 innings and completely shutting down the Rockies offense. Chris Young remains red-hot, and Bryan Shaw came in to finish the game and earn his second save of the season. It's back home tonight to start a series with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Joe Saunders is on the mound for the DBacks and Erik Bedard will be on the mound for the Pirates.
Daily Giants Update: No news is still good news for the Super Bowl champions. 11 days until the draft.
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