Conference hbahba::cam_sports

Chappy,

You been readin' too many comic books.


Ebola is deadly, and the Red Sox haven't died yet.  Not that they'll be above
critical condition all season on their hospital chart, but they ain't daid yet.

The Bruins and Celts are trapped in mediocrity and hopefully can break out
soon.


I have to admit that I was rooting for the Rangers yesterday though.  Bryan
Leetch is the closest thing we have to a home-town boy left in the 'offs.


'Saw

  It's not a virus, it's The Curse. And contrary to popular feelings it's not
because the Red Sox sold Babe Ruth, that was just a symptom. It's because of
the Titanic. 

  The Red Sox sold their soul to the Devil when they played their 1st game in
Fenway Park back in April of 1912 just a week or so after the Titanic went
down. They beat the Yankees, won the pennant and went on to beat the Giants in
8 during the World Series, then they had a run for about 7 years winning 3 more
times but then the Devil came and collected his due. 

  When Balliard and the guys from Woods Hole went out and disturbed the wreck
they woke it from it's sleep and The Curse was renewed. We're just lucky it
seems to be restricted to sports, if this were L.A. the town would have been
devastated by earthquakes, plague, and an infestation of 80 year old women with
face lifts. 

  When will this end? When will this all end? Just multiply 666 X 3 for the
chilling answer. 

  George

    I don't know what the disease is Chappy but it seems to affect the
    Brain Cells of decision makers in this town.
    The Celtics are now paying the price for Gaston and co trying to milk
    money out of the Big 3 for a decade. ML has made some good moves and
    some terrible moves but NOONE in that organizaton has a clue on how to
    work with the salary cap. They don't understand that sometime you can
    add to a team by subtraction. Dee Brown should have been dealt for the
    first warm body and then spend his cap money on a Free Agent. The Radja
    and Barros contracts will tie them up now unless they can find a sap to
    take them or eat their contracts. They have some talent but need 2 stars
    to lift them up.
    The Bruins and Sinden have one measurment of success. That is how much
    money was made for their owner. They are terrible at player
    development, and the only talent they have is over 30. They need to let
    Harry go and find a GM who doesn't live in the 60's. Also I hope they
    do the right thing and trade Borque to a Stanley Cup contender. The man
    deserves to be on a winner before he retires. He won't in Boston. 
    Then there is the Red Sox.
    Although Duquette has mad a few bad trades and signings (Greenwell,Canseco
    and Moyer) He's made more good ones and the farm system is a lot better
    then it was 3 years ago. There is also more talent on the big league team
    then back then. People were willing to give them 5 years 2 years ago.
    Now that they were teased by last seasons lucky run they want instant
    gratification.
    The Patriots are a lot better today then when Parcells took over. Hopefully
    Grier will help him with talent and at least there starting to plan with
    the Salary cap in mind. If Bledsoe regains his form of two years ago
    and Martin keeps it up they have as good of a chance as anyone in the
    AFC East. Especially with an easier schedule.
    
    Mike 
 

    
    Its April 29th and the Boston area (except for bandwagon jumpers)
    have no teams to root for.  The Celtics - didn't make the playoffs.
    Bruins - dumped from playoffs.  Red Sox - eliminated.  And today,
    Marcus Camby leaves UMass.

>    Its April 29th and the Boston area (except for bandwagon jumpers)
>    have no teams to root for.  The Celtics - didn't make the playoffs.
>    Bruins - dumped from playoffs.  Red Sox - eliminated.  And today,
>    Marcus Camby leaves UMass.

I still root for the Red Sox.  As long as the season is going I'll root 
for them.

Disappointed about the Bruins, but hey, the way time flies these days, it'll be
October before I know it....


'Saw

RE<<< Note 274.4 by ROCK::GRONOWSKI "SPORTS 1995 NOTY & RED_SOX Most Knowledgeable Noter Award!" >>>

    
>    Its April 29th and the Boston area (except for bandwagon jumpers)
>    have no teams to root for.  The Celtics - didn't make the playoffs.
>    Bruins - dumped from playoffs.  Red Sox - eliminated.  And today,
>    Marcus Camby leaves UMass.

  Well, by your definition Paul "bandwagon jumpers" are anyone who breaths in
followed by breathing out but as a previous note said just because the team
isn't winning that doesn't mean we can't cheer for them. 

  George

I'll still root for the Sox - I just have to cover my eyes when they're
in the field.

And I'd like to check out a Revolution game.  I caught part of a game on
NESN the other night - I'm no soccer maven but the play looked entertaining,
if not highly skilled...

    
    
      1st  Sox ain't outta nothing and even if they were I'd root for 'em
    anyway.
    
      2nd  As far as the Celts go who cares I'd rather watch paint dry then
    watch a pro basketball game.
    
      3rd  The B's indeed made a piss poor showing but Sinden can't last
    much longer and maybe we can get a GM that is willing to spend a few
    years outta the playoffs.
    
      4th  Never in a million years will Ray Bourque play for another team.
    He has stated if he don't win the Cup in Boston he don't want it.  That
    is why he is the greatest pro athlete in sports today.
    
      5th  Saw there is plenty of local boys still in da playoffs.  Your
    boy Scott Young out in Colorado and Roenick and Amonte in Chicago.  Or
    do you mean Conn. boys?
    
     Jerry

>      5th  Saw there is plenty of local boys still in da playoffs.  Your
>    boy Scott Young out in Colorado and Roenick and Amonte in Chicago.  Or
>    do you mean Conn. boys?
    
I meant Conn boys.

A very good friend of mine lives next door to Leetch's parents, so he's my
second choice.

'Saw

    
    
       'saw I don't read stinkin comic books.
    
            All I know is I saw the show on ESPN the other night. Best
    Basketball Chapionship series, or something to that effect. And I tell
    you I really miss the eighties. Watching Larry and Magic go at each
    other and Doc and Larry. I went from being an avid Pro BBall fan to 
    now just watching two or three Celtic games a year on TV. Christ I
    watched more Suns,Bulls,Magic games this year than the Green team???
    
        There might be worse places to be but this year I can't think of
    one. (other than this baseball season that is. :-)  )
    
    
    Chap

>    you I really miss the eighties. Watching Larry and Magic go at each
>    other and Doc and Larry. I went from being an avid Pro BBall fan to 
>    now just watching two or three Celtic games a year on TV. Christ I
>    watched more Suns,Bulls,Magic games this year than the Green team???
    
Those battles even pulled in a non-basketball fan like me.  Magic and Larry
transcended mere basketball.

Plus, the thing I liked about it was that there was a lot of mutual respect.
That is not something you find much anymore.


'Saw

    
    
       Ah yes respect. Not to much of that left in the NBA with Shaq
    staring opponents down after jumping 6 inches to dunk a ball. Or with
    the Colemans,Laettners,Webbers,and Rodmans of the Bball world.
    
        I think its something we will not be seeing again for a long long
    time.

    Dear Chappy..
    
       GET OFF COMIC BOOKS!!
    
    And Why Don't you move Back to New_(Ohla)_York and Take A Flyin_Leap
    Offa The BrookLine_Bridge!
    
    
      Crazy_Yer_Pal_Al
    

.2, George
:
>seems to be restricted to sports, if this were L.A. the town would have been
>devastated by earthquakes, plague, and an infestation of 80 year old women with
>face lifts.

Yes, that's what happened to L.A., all right.  Now the question is, what did we
do to deserve this fate?  As near as I can figure, our worst crimes have been
the film industry and offering a home to the Brooklyn Dodgers, for neither of
which I apologize.  (The OJ trial did not occur on my watch.)

Oh, and Roland, about the Revolution:  if you start attending regularly, will
you change your p-name to "It's football, but you're an American"?

Steve

No.

It's a great sport.  But the only thing as American as baseball is football -
the kind with helmets...

Speaking of the Revolution, one of our former sports noters, Tom Hill, is
co-publishing a fanzine for them.

I got an issue in the mail the other day, and it's pretty good.  They call it
"Pictures of Chairman Mao" and the articles are fairly well written, and some
are pretty satirical.

Steve would appreciate this:  they had a comic strip about Paul Gascoine's
Geordie Christmas, called "Gassa's Geordie Christmas".  If you're at all 
familiar with the humor, it was a pissah.



Anyway, it's nice to see a former sports noter make good...


'Saw

Sportszone has a whole section on how bad Boston professional sports are.

Here's the start of it and the form for excuses.

   
   ESPNET SportsZone
   
  TODAY'S SHOWDOWN | PREVIOUS SHOWDOWN
   
                           WHAT'S WRONG WITH BOSTON?
   
   Photo of Bill Buckner Maybe it's the fault of Bill Buckner, pictured,
   whose famous error set the course of things to come in the next
   decade. Maybe the blame goes to the new, sterile Fleet Center, which
   replaced the Boston Garden and and has yet to duplicate the atmosphere
   of old Celtics and Bruins games. Whatever the cause, the teams in
   Boston -- reputed to be the best sports town in America -- are in the
   dumps. The Bruins were soft, the Patriots listless, the Celtics
   playoff-less and now the Red Sox have the second-worst record in
   baseball. Boston has the second-worst teams in sports, according to a
   statistical analysis by the Zone's Rob Neyer. What's next, the manager
   getting busted for drugs? Read what the Zone's Bruce Feldman and Mark
   Blaudshun have to say, chat with Celtics President Red Auerbach, then
   tell us how Boston sports reached this sorry state.
   

   
   
                      WHY THE DOWNTURN IN BOSTON SPORTS?
                                       
   ESPNET SportsZone
     _________________________________________________________________
   
   Blame gets assigned readily and generously in Boston sports, but
   thanks to the Internet, you don't have to live in that area to share
   in the misery. Tell the Zone why you think Boston sports is in such a
   sorry state. Among the various cosmic and actual factors at work, the
   No. 1 reason for the funk is:
   
     ___They got rid of the Garden
     
     ___Fans and media are too hard on the teams
     
     ___The curse of the Bambino
     
     ___The curse of Bill Buckner
     
     ___The curse of Victor Kiam
     
     ______ [other]
     

    
    "Boston has the second-worst teams in sports..."

  Hey, the Braves came from Boston and they just won the World Series.

  And it's Nuf Ced, not 'nuff said.

  George

>  And it's Nuf Ced, not 'nuff said.

I've wondered on this one for a while now.

It's been "'nuff said" since the days of Crunch Catalano.  What's up with
trying to change it?

RE             <<< Note 274.21 by CAM::WAY "and keep me steadfast" >>>

>It's been "'nuff said" since the days of Crunch Catalano.  What's up with
>trying to change it?

  Well I don't know about Crunch Catalano but Nuf Ced goes back to the turn of
the century. Here's the story as I remember it from the book "Diamonds". I
probably have a few details wrong but so what, it's a legend.

  Between the years of about 1890 and 1915 there was a bar keeper in Boston
who's real name was Mike McGreevy. At the time the Boston Beaneaters (Braves)
were playing at the Southend Grounds on Columbus Street in Boston's south end.
In 1901 when the American League was starting up Ban Johnson sent Connie Mack
to Boston to scout out an American league park which was built right across the
tracks at the Hunnington Street Grounds. 

  Anyway, Mike McGreevy's bar was on Tremount Street just south of the Southend
Grounds. His bar was called "3rd Base" and his slogan was "the last place you
stop before stealing home". 

  McGreevy and his patrons were the ultimate fans. During the 1890's they saw
their Beaneaters win 4 NL Pennants and after the games they would retire to the
3rd Base bar to philosophize about the game. Those discussions would often end
with McGreevy proclaiming some decision after which he would say "Enough Said".
This slogan became so famous that he was given the nickname "Nuf Ced" McGreevy
and the words "Nuf Ced" were placed in tile on his bar room floor. 

  When the Red Sox started playing in 1901 for what ever reason the owner of
the Beaneaters raised his prices and Nuf Ced McGreevy and his patrons started
attending AL games. They had a practice of singing songs and it is said that
during the 1st World Series 1903 inspite of having a 3 game lead when Honus
Wagner and the rest of the Pirates heard Nuf Ced and his patrons sing they
became so rattled that they could no longer play and the Sox (Pilgrims) went
on to win. Others point to Cy Young's pitching as being a major factor. 

  In 1912 the Red Sox got to the World Series again this time playing their
home games in their new park in the Fens. Going in to game 7 the Red Sox had a
3 game to 2 lead (one game had ended in a tie) and everyone figured that Smoky
Joe Wood who had racked up 34 wins would put the Giants away. Unfortunately Nuf
Ced McGreevy and his patrons along with a marching band showed up at the game
late. Their seats had already been sold. 

  Not even considering the possibility of missing the game Nuf Ced and his crew
insisted on staying. They marched out to "Duffy's Cliff" in left field, a hill
which has since been hauled away and replaced with a large green wall and they
refused to leave. Even the Boston Mounted police could not drive them away.
Finally after a 45 minute delay the authorities agreed to allow them to stay
but Smoky Joe Wood was so rattled he was ineffective and lost the game. 

  The Red Sox came back to beat the Giants in game 8 with Tris Speaker scoring
one of the critical 10th inning runs but many still blamed Nuf Ced McGreevy for
their close call. After moving his bar a few years later he faded into history.

  As the story goes and as it ends in the article in "Diamonds":

  Nuf Ced,

  George

Well, this is SPORTS.  In here, it's 'nuff said.

I liked the movie El Ced!~ 

I don't know if'n you could call large scale death and mayhem a sprot,
though...

TTom

RE             <<< Note 274.23 by CAM::WAY "and keep me steadfast" >>>

>Well, this is SPORTS.  In here, it's 'nuff said.

  Well there is something to be said with going with "Nuf Ced" instead. It's
been my observation that when the term "'nuff said" is most often used in this
file, it refers to something someone thought was true but turns out to be
at best the middle and at worse the tip of the iceberg in the debate.

  "Nuf Ced", on the other hand, usually meant the debate was all but over.

  George

Only in Sprots can we have an argument over the proper way to misspell
something.

Jerry

  Nuf Ced,

  George