500

Manny Ramirez became the 24th player in major league history to record 500 career homeruns. The shot came on the first pitch from Baltimore reliver Chad Bradford.

Geremi Gonzalez 1975-2008

The Red Sox family has lost another member on this holiday weekend. Geremi Gonzalez who spent parts of the 2005 season with the Red Sox making three starts and 28 total appearances died Sunday in his native Venezuela after being struck by lightning on a beach. Gonzalez played for five teams during his career compiling a 30-35 record. He last played in 2007 in Japan. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Gonzalez family.

Cancer Survivor Lester Tosses No Hitter Against Royals

Red Sox lefty Jon Lester tossed a no hitter against the Kansas City Royals. Lester struck out nine batters including the final out of the game, he walked just two batters. The no hitter was the 18th in Sox history and first since last September when rookie Clay Buchholz tossed one against the Baltimore Orioles. Jacoby Ellsbury made a highlight diving catch in the fourth to preserve the gem. It was only the second time the Royals have been no hit, it came just over 35 years after Nolan Ryan got them on May 15, 1973. It was the fourth no hitter called by catcher Jason Varitek. After a run of over 30 years without a no hitter for the Sox this is the fourth since 2001. Hideo Nomo had one in 2001, Derek Lowe in 2002 and Buchholz last season. Boston won 7-0 and extended their winning streak to four games. It was the 411th consecutive sellout at Fenway, 44 games short of the major league record held by the Cleveland Indians.

Celtics' success traced, in part, to the fortunes of a blind son

Just wanted to point you all to this ESPN.com story. BOSTON -- Campbell Grousbeck sits at his granite kitchen counter, attacking a steaming dish of pasta and broccoli. He sips a pink vitaminwater, power-c (dragonfruit), and, being an acutely social 15-year-old, he asks a guest his favorite flavor. "Uh," the guest says, trying to buy time, "the red kind." This is not a good answer, for a number of reasons, but Campbell doesn't flinch. "What are the ingredients?" he asks. "Blueberry and, hmmm …" "Pomegranate," Campbell says, triumphantly. "That's triple-X, triple antioxidants." Yes, in fact, that's it -- XXX. Now, this is a solid effort for anyone, but well, here's the thing: Campbell Grousbeck is blind. How does he know that? "Campbell," his father says, smiling, "is a pretty smart guy." Campbell Grousbeck's father, Wyc, calls his son "a pretty smart guy." Campbell, who attends the Perkins School for the Blind, is the reason his family is back in Boston. The apple apparently doesn't fall far from the tree. Campbell's father, Wycliffe "Wyc" Grousbeck, is the chief executive officer of the Boston Celtics. In 2002, he led a group of local investors who purchased the NBA franchise. It now has been 22 seasons since the league's most decorated franchise won a title. That the Celtics still are a threat to hoist a 17th championship banner this season is largely a result of the aggressive, spare-no-expense leadership of Wyc and his partners. And that Wyc found himself in position to buy the team, oddly enough, can be traced directly back to Campbell's blindness. So, as you watch Kevin Garnett elevate under the basket and swat away the shots, and see Paul Pierce and Ray Allen singe the twine, know this: It's all happening because of a sweet, slight boy who can't see any of it. "We would be out in California, probably, and my golf game would be a little bit better, but I wouldn't be getting ready for a playoff game tonight," Wyc said several weeks ago. "If not for Campbell, we wouldn't be here." Said Wyc's wife, Corinne: "We would never be out here if it were not for Campbell. I mean, that's a real example of following the child. We followed him clear across the country." Click here for full story.

New York Herald?

The Boston Herald today apologized to the Patriots ownership, players, employees and fans for the crap they printed the day before the Super Bowl. "On Feb. 2, 2008, the Boston Herald reported that a member of the New England Patriots video staff taped the St. Louis Rams’ walkthrough on the day before Super Bowl XXXVI. While the Boston Herald based its Feb. 2, 2008, report on sources that it believed to be credible, we now know that this report was false, and that no tape of the walkthrough ever existed. Prior to the publication of its Feb. 2, 2008, article, the Boston Herald neither possessed nor viewed a tape of the Rams’ walkthrough before Super Bowl XXXVI, nor did we speak to anyone who had. We should not have published the allegation in the absence of firmer verification. The Boston Herald regrets the damage done to the team by publication of the allegation, and sincerely apologizes to its readers and to the New England Patriots owners, players, employees and fans for our error." The article appears in Wednesdays print edition as well as on the Herald site. The comments were already piling up early this morning. Here is a sampling of what some fans had to say. maverick4 I am never reading the Herald for the rest of my life, and I hope the writer of that article, who everyone knows by now, is severely punished for this. To publish a false report, of this magnitude, the day before the Superbowl, is unforgivable. dino246 responsible journalism? Give it a try sometimes! Rogie You need to man up Tomase must be at least suspend if not terminated as does the editor who approved and ran the story. How did you go from having "a source" to having "sources" and don't forget your response to the Globe when they had someone who made up a story. Lets see if you practice what you preach. Integrity If John Tomase is fired, I'll think about reading this publication again. Anything short of that is just empty words. If the Herald was used as some kind of manipulated platform as the timing of the article suggests, then that also needs to come to light. Until then this is just a half-assed apology for a maliciously unsubstantiated allegation the Herald made at a critical time for the New England Patriots. caylee You guys are truely ridiculous...I took 1 Jouralism class in high school, and hardly paid attention and even I know that you're suppose to check your sources out. Over and over again. Okay, so you guys didn't see the tape, but you didn't even talk to someone who actually saw "the tape"???? Haha...thats horrible. How do u report something based on a rumor? Nothing more then a Tabloid. bushy You "own up"? LMAO. How big of you. There is only one way you people can "own up" and that's that every editor who allowed the story to run is fired immediately. That Tomase should be fired as well goes without saying. If heads don't start rolling at the Herald, and I mean immediately, everyone there better start looking job starting 7am this morning.

A Lancaster Laugher

Too bad it was Inland Empire doing the laughing. The Lancaster JetHawks, the A Advanced affiliate of the Boston Red Sox gave up ten runs in the ninth inning on their way to losing to Inland Empire 25-1. The 66ers scored five runs in the first, four in the second, two in the third, fifth and eight and then 10 runs in the ninth. This was the highest scoring game so far this season in Lancaster which usually sees some shootouts, the odd line of the day though was that Lancaster scored just once on three hits. The winds that assist the scoring has already caused two postponements this season. The two teams wrap up the series tomorrow afternoon.

Why Julio? Because This Is Boston!

After last night's loss in Detroit, the media was asking questions to Julio Lugo, the bum of a guy who calls himself a shortstop. They were asking specifically about what happened in the ninth inning when he lost the game for Boston. He answered and then it was followed up by a reporter who was trying to make a connection between last nights error and his three error game in Toronto last month. “I don’t care, but sometimes it would be nice to say something positive,” he said. “But all the time it’s negative things, you know? Sometimes, you know, people should say something that’s positive. But every time it’s something negative . . . bring it up, bring it up, bring it up. Why? Lugo needs to learn something, he's not in Tampa Bay anymore, around here people actually care about their team. Many fans have tried to stay positive about his sorry-assed playing since he joined the team. We were willing to take the shitty fielding because he was supposed to hit, well he hasn't done a damn thing since he came to Boston and there's no reason the media or fans should console his worthless ass with saying positive things.

A-Rod Passed Out During First Childs Birth

In an episode of YES Networks YESterdays series, Cindy Rodriguez the wife of Yankee superstar Alex Rodriguez reveals that during the birth of their first child in 2004 A-Rod passed out. “The one nurse had a cold cloth on his head. The other nurse had the blood pressure on his arm. And my mother was like rubbing his back. And he is passed out on a couch. And I am there, in the middle of labor,” Cynthia Rodriguez said. During the interview Cindy called Alex "wimpy" when it comes to being around doctors or medical situations. Shall we thank Mrs. Rodriguez now for what will surely be chanted next time Alex Rodriguez steps to the plate at Fenway? Click here for full story.

Players Of The Week

This week we find a group of first time winners, from a long time leader to young players who hope to make a difference for the Red Sox for the next several years. The past week saw some strong outings by the Red Sox starting pitchers and that's one of the reasons the Player of the Week was awarded to who it was. Player of the Week - Jason Varitek The Captain of the Boston Red Sox used his bat effectively during the past week batting .368 with five runs batted in, sure the seven hits in 19 plate appearances doesn't jump out as all that impressive, but Varitek's week went so far beyond that. He showed why he is the leader of this team with his work behind the plate. In the five games he played (Kevin Cash caught Tim Wakefield as usual) Varitek called games that resulted in some impressive numbers. In 34.1 innings from the starting pitchers they held the opponents to just six runs, that translates into a 1.57 ERA, they struck out 26 batters while allowing just 19 hits. on Lester was the star of stars in the rotation this week as the only two-game starter and one of them was a thing of beauty. Pitcher of the Week - Jon Lester In his first start of the week, Lester went head-to-head with Toronto's Roy Halladay and he came out at the end of the day having out pitched the Toronto ace. In his eight innings of work Lester allowed just one hit, a grounder past third baseman Jed Lowrie that probably should have been converted into an out. Lester wasn't around for the win on a walk-off hit in the bottom of the ninth, but his performance brought new life to the legions of Sox fans who were beginning to doubt Lester's abilities. Lester followed that gem up with a solid start against Tampa Bay when he allowed just one run on four hits over six innings. In all, Lester tossed 14 innings allowing just five hits and one run. This award is well deserved for him. Prospect of the Week - Daniel Bard (Greenville) It was tough to pick out someone for this award this week and when I finally decided I couldn't locate a picture of Bard wearing a Greenville uniform, so we're stuck with his Carolina blue Tar Heels jersey. Bard has had a great season thus far coming out of the bullpen for Greenville and last week was no different then any week before for him. Bard appeared in three games going six total innings. He allowed four hits and one walk while striking out 11 and allowing no runs. On the season Bard has gone 22 innings allowing nine hits and four walks while striking out 34 batters, he has yet to allow a run on the year. If Bard continues his dominance he could find himself in AAA before the year is out and could be a prime candidate to appear in Boston's bullpen sometime in 2009 as the Red Sox continue working the top players of their system into the big league roster.

Schilling Vows To Pitch For Sox This Season

Curt Schilling will throw a ball for the first time this year as he begins his journey back to the Red Sox pitching staff. There is no timetable for when he will return. Click here for the story.

Yankee Fan Kills Red Sox Fan

A Nashua New Hampshire woman is accused of running down a 29-year old man with her car after she had an altercation at a bar over her being a Yankee fan. Several people outside the bar deep in Red Sox Country began chanting "Yankees Suck" after seeing a Yankee sticker on her car. Matthew Beaudoin, 29, was standing with a group of people when Ivonne Hernandez accelerated for 200 feet as she drove towards the group. Hernandez has been charged with reckless second degree murder. Click here for full story.

Weekend Review

What a great weekend for Boston sports. A Tampa Bay sweep, a Celtics scare and then a blowout. It was a very busy weekend so lets take a quick look back to recap. - After blowing a first half lead in game 6 in Atlanta the Celtics stormed back at home Sunday with a convincing 99-65 win over Atlanta. The Celtics next play Cleveland starting Tuesday night. - The Red Sox continued to be a tough team at home as they swept the Tampa Bay Rays out of first place. The Sox now hold a three game lead in the east as they head to Detroit for a four game set. - Brandon Moss will be unavailable after having emergency appendectomy surgery this weekend. - Craig Hansen was recalled from Pawtucket to take Moss' roster spot, let's hope he can give us some lights out innings. - The Boston Globe ran a great article about Charlie Zink in the Globe Magazine this weekend, it's worth a read. Later today I will have a preview of the Celtics/Cavs series as well as the new players of the week from the past week.

Lugo: "I'm an infielder"

Is that what you call that Julio? As if Red Sox fans needed any more reason to hate Julio Lugo. Julio Lugo apparently doesn't believe in putting the team first. He recently made comments about being sent to play the outfield for an inning when the team was short of alternatives. "No," Lugo said. "That's not me. I'm not a backup outfielder. It's not my call. I don't play outfield. I mean I can go out there and catch a fly ball, but I don't feel comfortable. "If they put me out there, I've got to go. But I'm not an outfielder. I'm an infielder." It is becoming apparent that Theo Epstein made a huge mistake signing Lugo to a contract, especially for the length he signed him. With the emergence of Jed Lowrie one would think the Red Sox will find themselves paying another shortstop to play for another team come 2009. Lugo should follow the lead of other Sox players and do whats best for the team, not himself. Look at Dustin Pedroia, he didn't hesitate to offer his body when the team found themselves short on catching last week with Jason Varitek suffering the flu and emergency catchers Mike Lowell and Alex Cora on the disabled list. Even Manny Ramirez, who gets attacked in the media constantly for his lackluster playing sometimes, plays with more passion the Lugo.

Spring Training To Sarasota?

The Boston Red Sox have begun discussions with Sarasota officials about possibly moving the teams spring training to the city when their current lease in Fort Myers allows for a buyout in 2011. For more information check these stories. Boston Globe Boston Herald Ballpark Digest Providence Journal