Half-Happy

So many questions after a two-game night: Has J.D. Drew just been saving this all year? Is he God himself, or merely one of his relatives, perhaps Jesus' 2nd cousin? Did the refs merely suck or were they actively biased towards UVA? Does wearing a tie to a football game make you a douchebag?

And lastly, is .500 a good batting average for the night?

I'll confess, I was contented but somewhat lonely for most of the night - I forgot to claim my ticket for the UVA game, and was forced to watch ESPN2 - where I learned that 'Josh Porter' had been suspended for the season - and Fox. Watching sports by yourself simply is not as enjoyable as watching it with fellow fans.

But, nonetheless, a Red Sox win + Terps Loss still equals a happy Kevin. Considering the relative magnitude of the two games (playoffs, midseason) and how long I've been rooting for each team (19 years, 3 years), this really shouldn't be that surprising. I have Red Sox memories of bloody socks, Pedro Martinez, Ortiz walkoffs, the greatest comeback in a series ever, etc. I have Terrapins memories of the win over FSU last year... and... um, the Champs Sports Bowl? I think placing your professional sports loyalties over your collegiate ones is a relatively normal thing to do - unless you're in the South and that's primarily because there are far fewer pro teams there.

J.D. Drew stepped up, which is something I've been predicting all season. (Seriously! I have! I swear!) Drew has had a tough year - his son had a major health crisis, his wife is preggers, he's been struggling at the plate, and he got booed fairly regularly during the middle of the season. But he finished the season well, hitting five home runs in 91 at-bats at one point in September, after hitting only 6 in his first 375 at-bats of the season.

But tonight - Tonight was gorgeous. After Carmona got Manny and Lowell, most people probably thought the Red Sox were going to blow a positively golden opportunity, but Drew crushed the ball to a center, putting the Sox up 4-0. With the exception of a solo shot by Victor Martinez - who absolutely owns Curt Schilling, with a .600 average against him - the Red Sox never looked back.

Also, robot J.D. Drew showed emotion! This is an incredibly rare sighting and should be treasured.



So now that J.D. Drew has hit a $70 million home run, Dice-K will have to a $100+ million dollar start tomorrow. If he does, the Rockies will have to reserve plane tickets to Logan.

As for the most depressing development, I had a better view of some of the controversial calls in the Maryland game, particularly on the incredibly frustrating final drive. The pass interference call on a fourth down relatively early in the drive was a bad call, but the calls on the last first down, the touchdown, and the 2-point conversion were all good calls - although I was surprised how quickly the first down call came back from review.

The refs ultimately didn't lose us the game tonight - an anemic offense in the second half, coupled with our defense's complete inability to stop basic screen and shuffle passes executed by a freshman, fourth-string running back - lost us the game.

Seriously, Mikell Simpson outgained the entire Maryland team - he had over 100 yards receiving AND over 100 yards rushing.

And yes, wearing ties to football games still makes you a douchebag.