5 BOROUGH SPORTS

Never been the biggest fan of horse racing, but this place is pretty cool. Downtown Louisville isn’t too shabby either. Check it out sometime.

Home of Rick Pitino and the Louisville Cardinals

Downtown Louisville

Downtown on 4th Street

Well Red Sox and Braves fans, I write this article today, my first for this site, on what to many is just another September day. Kids have school, parents have work, lives are going on just as they would any other day. But last night; last night was not just another night. Last night was a historic night in baseball history. Usually every year a division or wild card race will go down to the wire, some even down to the last day. But last night… last night was different. The Red Sox, who had a 9 game lead September 3rd were fighting for their playoff lives. And the Braves, who it seems like have had at least a 5 game lead since July, were doing the same. Two of the most epic collapses of all time were happening in front of our eyes. It’s amazing how the reaction of two cities can be so different too. People in Boston are acting like they’ve just been through the apocalypse and that they are just waiting for God (or whatever power it is you may believe in) to damn then in hell for all eternity. While in New York, specifically Yankees fans,  have never been happier to blow a 7 run lead in the 8th inning. Cory Wade is possibly the most beloved loser in Yankees history. Thank you Mr. Wade, for knocking out the Red Sox by letting Dan Johnson, who hadn’t  hit a home run since April 8th, hit a game tying homerun off of you in the 9th. You are a hero to Yankees fans everywhere.. and for that your name will be part of stories from generation to generation when we are telling the story of how you knocked the Red Sox out of the playoffs.

But as a Mets fan (yes I still admit to being a fan), I do have a different perspective on last nights events. As hard as I’ve tried to wash away the memories of 2007, I still have the random nightmare that I keep reliving those last three weeks of the season. I wake up cursing Willie Randolph and I immediately start to cry at the thought of Tom Glavine letting up 7 runs in 1/3 of an inning. But here’s the thing Sox fans… As much as you want to crawl into a hole and not come out, there is light at the end of the tunnel. This is the difference between your beloved Sox and my dreadful Mets. The Mets have let 2007 stay with them to this day. The team, the front office, the owners, and most importantly the fans, not only haven’t forgotten, but will never forgive for what happened that year.  But the Sox have a chance to be different. They have a chance to make it right with their team and their fans, but there are certain steps that need to be taken to ensure this.

Step 1: The Team has to be changed. New Leadership is essential or this WILL happen again just like 2008 with the Mets.

As tough is may be to hear, the days of Manny, Big Papi and Pedro are over. The self-proclaimed “idiots” are gone.  This is a new team, and Big Papi should not be resigned. He had a great run with the Sox, and you got way more out of him then you thought you would over the last 2 years after he was almost cut, but don’t let your loyalty and heart get in the way of making a smart decision. Papi isn’t getting any younger, his bat is slowing down, and obviously, his leadership skills aren’t what they used to be. When a team like this chokes down the stretch it comes down to team leaders to be able to stop the bleading. There is only so much a manager can do because he is not on the field competing with them, which is why team leaders need to step up and do everything they can to make sure the collapse doesn’t happen. To me, this is why the 2007 and 2008 Mets were such a disaster. David Wright and Jose Reyes were young and not leaders, Beltran played like a leader, but was still immature and not the leader he finally was this past year before being traded to San Francisco. Carlos Delgado was as close to a leader as they had but he was always hurt and even he wasn’t loved by all of his teammates or fans. Sox fans, you need a new leader. Maybe he’s on your roster now. Maybe Pedroia steps up. Maybe Youkilis not being on the field was the reason they fell apart. Whatever it may be. It’s time to turn it over. Papi was one of the faces of the franchise. But it’s time to let go.

Step 2: Don’t make a knee jerk reaction and fire Francona. He deserves a second chance.

This may not be what you want to hear or what you’d expect me to say. But if you’re gonna change over to a new player as a leader, you do need some consistency in the clubhouse and Francona is the guy that should stay. Listen, don’t get greedy. Remember when youguys didn’t win a World Series for almost 100 years. Well Francona has won 2 in the last 8. That, by any teams measure, is successful. Yes this season was a disaster, and yes he is partially to blame, but he has more than earned another chance with this team. If i had told you in 2003 that he would’ve won you 2 World Series by now you all would’ve signed for that in a heartbeat! Francona is a perfect fit for this team, the veterans respect him, and he has a way to make his team gel. Firing him would be a mistake that down the road would be more detrimental than beneficial.

Step 3: Appease the fans and go make a big move.

This might be the biggest and most important thing the Red Sox can do this offseason. Even the Mets front office was smart enough to realize after 2007 they couldn’t go into the next season with the same team, so they made a calculated risk by trading off a lot of top prospects to get Johan Santana. This was needed to bring the fans back and to give the players on the team the hope and confidence that next year would be different (even though it turned out for the Mets to not be enough to matter). This is not a year the Red Sox can afford to be cheap. Here’s my suggestions. Cut/eat John Lackey’s contract. Let him start 4 or 5 games next year and if he’s not better, its time to cut ties. Hell you might be able to trade him to the Mets for Jason Bay at that point. Sign Jose Reyes and/or CJ Wilson. If the Sox did this, that lineup would be unstoppable. It would bring energy that they thought they were getting with Carl Crawford except Reyes would not disappoint. He’s a once in a generation type player with his speed and excitement. He would be a steal for the Sox and if you pay enough, the Mets are too cheap to match and he will be yours. CJ Wilson is another one that won’t come cheap but you need a pitcher. Starting pitching is what caused this problem, and by signing him, or trading for another big name starter, you will be fine for next year with Buchholz getting healthy again, Lester, Beckett, and Wilson/TBA.  With those 4, a good bullpen, and the best lineup in baseball. You will have a big enough lead in September where you could lose out and still make the playoffs.

So Red Sox fans, what have we learned… The end is not here. God doesn’t hate you, and you will all be fine. Take a deep breath and get ready for next year. You have a great front office, with great ownership whose not afraid to spend money. The core for this team is intact and for the most part is fairly young! You guys will be around for years to come and Yankees fans won’t admit it today, but they are happy you’re not in the playoffs and you are still the team they least look forward to playing every year. Think of it this way… you could be a Mets fan.

Since when did sportsmanship go out the window in little league? This douche deserves to get drilled in the ear. Trust me, if I were the coach of this Louisiana team, the next pitch to this kid is undoubtedly right at his dome. No room in the game for this. These kids are 11 and 12 year olds who are still learning key fundamentals of the game. Having said that, this New Mexican douche needs to realize that this kind of horse shit doesn’t cut it at a higher level. He  should learn his lesson now and get drilled…then suspended. This kind of shit only flies if it’s the Harlem Little League team from 2002.

Update: Louisiana won this game. Looks like New Mexico are the Philadelphia Eagles of the Little League World Series: act like douchebags, but don’t win shit. 

Since we are a few weeks away from the busiest sports season of the year, I figured it’s the right time to take a 30 hour vacation in Hilton Head and chill in this phenomenal beach house with Bellarmine and D-Town James. Since the Yankee game this afternoon is on Fox, I figured I wouldn’t have a problem watching the game down here. But the douchebags at Fox decided to air the Phillies-Giants game here instead. So now I’m stuck watching MLB Gameday on mlb.com. Looks like I’m not missing much given it’s 7-3 Sox in the 7th (wtf Sabathia?). Get ready for another episode of 5BS television next week.

Arriving at Hilton Head Island Airport

View of the Ocean from Inside the House

Bellarmine and D-Town James in front of the House

Beach

View of the House from the Beach

Where did you guys come from?

I actually don’t hate the Bruins that much (because the Rangers-Bruins rivalry is pretty much non-existent with the whole separate divisions thing), but of course I was rooting adamantly against them because they are from Boston. They won the Stanley Cup fair and square, but Boston “fans” please…you’re going to do this again?

Over the past weeks you probably know someone who claims to be a Boston fan, Red Sox, Pats, Celtics…and now all of a sudden the Bruins out of NOWHERE!

First it was the Patriots, small fan base in Boston until they won the Super Bowl.

Then it was the Red Sox in 2003, all of a sudden there is Red Sox Nation?

Then the Celtics, who couldn’t sell out a game for there life, and now “f—kin love the Celts baby!”

Now its the Bruins. We’ve actually have met some Bruins fans who are REAL fans who talked about them when they sucked. But then there are the people who are supposed Boston fans, and boom out of nowhere all we hear about is the Bruins?

Please people, Boston you have your real fans (and I respect them), but you’re also the biggest bandwagon town of all-time. Get over yourself Boston. It’s a nice city, historical, but its not that great. The place is unnavigable with the worlds worst public transit system, and of course that group of bandwagon fans.

So from the true fans of teams from the ‘Capital of the World’, have fun on the bandwagon while its going.

(Montreal Gazzette) TORONTO – After years of false starts and false hope, hockey-obsessed Canada may finally reclaim its lost NHL team as speculation heated up this week that the league is set to return to Winnipeg 15 years after it left. In the latest twist to a saga that has tongues wagging over where cash-strapped NHL franchises could find a new home, the spotlight has shifted to the Atlanta Thrashers from a Phoenix Coyotes team that used to play in Winnipeg. The Manitoba capital has been ready to roll out the NHL welcome mat before, only to have the rug pulled out from under them each time. It could happen again, but all the signs point to a happy ending for Winnipeg hockey fans who have been put through an emotional wringer.

Yes! More hockey in Canada! Even though the report last night about the move being official was denied, it looks like this is bound to happen within days. Even though I feel bad for Thrashers fans in Atlanta, this is a good move for hockey. Overall, it was wrong for Bettman to put a team in Atlanta. The NHL tried it before with the Flames. Why would it work now? Cities like Winnipeg, Hamilton, and Quebec City deserve hockey teams. The NHL would be so much more popular if they had teams in cities that care about the sport. Places like Phoenix, Atlanta, and other southern cities don’t care about hockey as a whole. Yes there are die-hards down there, but it’s not enough to put the NHL fully back on the map in North America.

Winnipeg Superstar Teemu Selanne