Off Topic: Go Rays; The end of a dynasty

A terrific Game 7. Close game throughout, sprinkled with opportunities and clutch performances in key spots. Can't ask for much more than that.

I had a rooting interest, and it actually panned out. I was pulling for the Tampa Bay Rays. I said in a previous post that I miss "Uncle" Cliff Floyd, and I was very happy to see him on the top of the pile as David Price notched his four-out save to propel the Rays into the World Series.

This team is chock-full of great stories, and I couldn't be happier for them. From Floyd (at least for me), to Rocco Baldelli, to Scott Kazmir, and even Price, the Rays played great baseball all year, and were strong enough to take down the defending World Series champs, and live to play another day.

As if I didn't want them to win before, now I'm 110 percent in the Rays camp. I would love to see them beat the snot out of the Philadelphia Phillies. I think the layoff between the NLCS and WS is going to hurt the Phills, but I'm sure they'll be able to put up a fight.

Go Tampa Go!

And on to point number two: Last night, we watched the mighty fall. They did not go down easy, but they did bow out eventually. Could the Boston sports dynasty be coming to an end?

I used to respect Boston. The long-suffering fans and the classy, hard-nosed teams were always one of my favorites to watch and secretly pull for. Anything to anger a Yankee fan, really. But over the past few months, my mini-allegiance from Boston has eroded, and a new disgust has nestled in it's place.

It all started with the 2007 World Series.

Watching the Red Sox win the WS really had no effect on me. I was still reeling from the collapse of the Mets. Anyway, when the Sox won, a person who will remain nameless, who is a big Sox fan was running around screaming "It's been three long years!"

Three long years?? Give me a break. Try never seeing a championship in your lifetime. Try only being able to see your team win on VHS or SNY re-runs. Try watching your team come within outs of the '06 WS. Try watching your team fall flat on it's face and miss the '07 playoffs. And from there, I knew that Boston fans were starting to get spoiled.

Don't get me wrong. I know not every single Boston fan is as boisterous or as greedy as this one, but after experiencing life around more and more Sox/Pats/Celts fans, I think this is the greater majority.

It didn't end there. Cue up Super Bowl 42.

My New York Football Giants taking on the perfect New England Patriots. We all know how that turned out.

It has taken up until yesterday night for me to hear one Patriots fan say to me, "The Giants just played a better game. They deserved to win." I was floored. To this point in time, all I had heard was that the Giants "got lucky" or were the benefactors of "BS calls."

Even when the Giants play now, all they do is "get lucky," according to some fans.

But last night, was some sweet revenge, even if it was a dish best served by the Rays. With the Red Sox losing on Sunday night, and the Patriots poised to take on a mediocre Denver Broncos team, could this be the beginning of the end for Boston sports? Sure, the Celtics look to be amazing again, but watch out for those New York Knicks.

Yeah, right.

Go Rays.

Off Topic: Obama to push back World Series start time

Leave your politics at the door.

According to ESPN.com, presidential hopeful Barack Obama will get the start time of Game 6 of the World Series pushed back.

Sen. Obama has apparently purchased a 30-minute time slot on the Fox Network on Oct. 29. If the World Series happens to go six games, the start time would be bumped back from 8:20 pm to 8:35 pm.

From ESPN:

"We are pleased that Major League Baseball has agreed to delay the first pitch of World Series Game 6 for a few minutes in order for Fox to carry his program on Oct. 29. If requested, the network would be willing to make similar time available to Senator McCain's campaign."

Pretty interesting, but I'd much rather watch baseball over politics any day of the week.

Off Topic: FrankTV needs to go away

My team isn't even in the playoffs, and I cannot stand these incessant commercials.

I could link you a video, but I won't because you know the commercials, they're awful, and I don't want them anywhere near my blog.

Nick Friedell, over at Big League Stew, had a conversation with one of the head honcho's from TBS. The man is obviously deranged, as he had this to say:

"I think we feel that as long as we have a variety of spots, and that the spots are all different, and that you get a wink and a nod every time a FrankTV spot comes on that, there will not be that wear-out factor," Gregor said. "I could make a point that there are quite a few commercials that run on television that run repeatedly and yet they still cut through."

Now that is funnier than any FrankTV ad I've ever seen.

This man honestly believes those crappy impressions that come at us every three minutes are funny and entertaining, and that we want to see them?!?!? Ugh.

Everyone out there in internet land: Boycott FrankTV. Do not watch even a second of it. Therefore, they'll be forced to cancel the show, and we won't have to sit through his shenanigans anymore.

Off Topic: Proof MLB doesn't belong in Miami

On Wednesday, the Marlins welcomed the Braves for a day game. Only 600 people showed up to watch.

You read that right. Six hundred. 6-0-0.

According to the AP, the park was so sparse "home plate chatter could be heard."

That's just sickening. Sure, the Marlins are falling out of the playoff race fast, and the Braves have put together one of the worst seasons in franchise history, but 600? Minor league teams could easily draw more that that!

This is just another case for moving the Marlins out of Miami. A better market, like Portland, OR or even Las Vegas, NV would do wonders for the team.

In Vegas though, you still have the issue of nomadic fans. I'm sure the residents of Las Vegas would embrace them, but like Miami, it's a huge tourist destination, and many of the fans attending the game might just be people passing through and not fans of the home team.

If the Marlins were to move out of the NL East, which is unlikely as they are getting are supposed to be getting a brand new stadium in Miami, the logical move to even out the divisions would be to move the Pittsburgh Pirates into the division.

It's probably a moot point, but something needs to be done down in Miami. 600?!?

Off Topic: My friday night of seeing Billy Joel (kinda) at Shea Stadium (not at all)

OK, so I lied.

I actually saw the Billy Joel tribute band, Big Shot, and I wasn't in Shea Stadium either. I was actually in Bloomfield, New Jersey enjoying the musical stylings of Beginnings (a Chicago tribute band) and Big Shot.

I was thoroughly impressed with Big Shot. Sounded like Joel, played like Joel. It was excellent. Most of the people attending were a little too old to know some, or most, or any, of the words, so that was a bit of a letdown, but my family made up for it by knowing each and every one.

Beginnings was alright. Nothing to write home about. They played Chicago tunes, to the best of their ability and they were decent. Big Shot stole the show.

Oh, and I must say, this woman who was sitting behind us was the single most annoying screamer I've ever heard. When she got just too excited she couldn't help herself, she would let out this scream, more like a wail. It was high pitched, warbling, and just terrible. It sounded like the mating call of some exotic creature from the deepest depths of the Amazon, with helium, and after 200 cases of Red Bull.

Turrible.

Great concert last night. If Big Shot is in your area, and you don't have the ca$h to spend on the real Billy Joel, make sure you check them out.

And if you need tickets to an upcoming game, I recommend Vivid Seats for all your New York Mets ticket needs.

Off Topic: MLB actually did predict the future

Do you remember the Mercury Mets?

Well after a discussion about the "Turn Ahead The Clock" promotion MLB rolled out in 1999 with a buddy of mine, I happened upon a site with some of the jerseys used in that event.

Here is the Tampa Bay Devil Rays jersey:
So as the Tampa Bay organization recently made the transition this year from the Devil Rays to just the Rays, maybe MLB got something right during that nightmare for uniform enthusiasts.