2007 Super Bowl team's will be:

My pick on august 27,2006 for the two teams that will play in this years Super Bowl will be: the Chicago Bears and the New England Patriots. The Patriots win in overtime,27-21 the Super Bowls first overtime in Bowl history and Tom Brady drives the Patriots down 99 yards for the go ahead and game winning touchdown.

Best Friends

Lucy and Sarah. 8-26-2006  

Prettiest Girl in the World

This is my Lucy. The love of my life.She is Daddy's girl and proud of it.
This was taken on Lucy's 3rd day of Kindergarten. Lucy is 5 years old and thinks she is a teenager. She is so funny and has a great personality. She is the smartest kid I have ever met and excells at everything she does. Lucy is my love and my life just as all my children are.

Friday's nightcap longest nine-inning affair in history

The Yankees and Red Sox have played some epic games against each other during their historic rivalry, but Friday night's contest was one for the ages.
That's because it took four hours and 45 minutes for New York to complete a 14-11 win over Boston, marking the longest nine-inning game in Major League history.
"As long as it was a victory, I'm proud of it," Joe Torre said. "Especially in this ballpark, where every game seems like it's the longest nine-inning game in history. I'm pretty emotional right now."
While not considered an official doubleheader, the day-night twin bill lasted a combined 8:40, which would have shattered the previous record of 7:39 for the longest 18-inning doubleheader ever.
The nightcap featured 25 runs, 34 hits and 13 walks, as the two teams scored in nine of the 18 half-innings. Boston scored in each of the first five frames, taking a 10-7 lead. Unfortunately, the five Red Sox pitchers combined to throw 222 pitches in the game.
"We kept looking up, and it kept being the fourth inning," Torre said. "It was nuts."
"I don't even remember half the game," said Derek Jeter, whose three-run double accounted for the winning runs.
The previous big-league record for the longest nine-innin game was 4:27, a Dodgers-Giants game that took place on Oct. 5, 2001. Alex Cora, who started at shortstop for Boston on Friday night, played for Los Angeles in that contest.
The previous American League record was 4:22, which the Yankees and Orioles set on Sept. 5, 1997. Jeter, Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada each participated in that game, and now they can say they took part in the longest nine-inning game in either league's history.

Luke 8/14/06

Here is My little man, Luke. He is a mini weight lifter and weighs in at 33lbs. At 1 years old. He was a baby for about 8-9 months and then he just became a full fledged toddler overnight. Look out Girls! And he has an 18 yr old brother who looks just like him.

Ortiz does it again!

Big Papi launches three-run walk-off homer


The Red Sox now have an unofficial team motto when they are trailing or tied in their final at-bat. It goes something like this: Get David Ortiz to the plate somehow, someway.
For it seems that if the Red Sox can just do that, there's a very slim chance they'll lose. There they were Monday night, down two runs with two on and one out in the bottom of the ninth. Did anyone at Fenway actually think the Indians were going to survive this mess?
Once again, Ortiz ended a game with one mighty cut. This one was a majestic three-run homer to center, struck off a 96-mph heater from Indians reliever Fausto Carmona, who was pitching in his first save situation since the trade of Bob Wickman. Just like that, the final was Red Sox 9, Indians 8.
It was Ortiz's fifth walk-off hit this season and 15th (including postseason) since joining the Red Sox in 2003. Amazingly, it was the ninth time Ortiz has gone deep to end a game in his Red Sox career.
"We've seen it so often," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "The whole inning we're sitting there thinking, 'Let's just get David to the plate.' Obviously, because he's the middle of the order, and that means guys are on and we have a chance. But he just has the ability to take such good swings in those situations. He doesn't do anything different. I think he's smart enough to know the pressure is on the other team, even though we're down."
And with that one swing, Ortiz lifted everyone up. This, after Trot Nixon was placed on the disabled list before the game and catcher Jason Varitek had to leave the contest with a twisted left knee. The trading deadline might have passed without the Red Sox making a move, but Ortiz made it a joyous evening anyhow.
"For the club today, everybody was like, 'OK, we're here, so let's play how we know how.' Now we know that this is the group we're going to have all year round, so you just keep it going," said Ortiz.

Nobody has kept it going at the rate of Ortiz. Consider what his numbers are since July 31, 2005. In a span of 161 games, Ortiz has crushed 60 homers and driven in 166 runs.

With two months still to play in 2006, Ortiz has numbers (37 homers and 105 RBIs) that even the best players in the game would be proud to have for a full season.
Swing king
Since joining the Red Sox at the start of the 2003 season, David Ortiz has hit nine walk-off homers (including postseason).Add those raw numbers to Ortiz's uncanny ability to win the game in the late innings, and you're talking about a slugger for the ages.
"That's unbelievable," said Red Sox outfielder Wily Mo Pena. "I just asked him, 'How do you do that, so you can teach me?'"
It was Ortiz's second game-ending hit in three days, and it kept the Red Sox a game in front of the Yankees in the American League East, where a loss would have tied the standings.
"He's not flying under the radar at all," said Sox catcher Doug Mirabelli. "Obviously, they know David Ortiz is at the plate. They have scouting reports and try to execute. He's good enough to fight off pitches that he can't drive. He just has the knack that when he does get a pitch to hit, he hits it."
As dramatic as it was, Ortiz didn't win this game on his own. He was set up in the ninth when Alex Cora led off with a single and Kevin Youkilis worked a walk.
"You can see the place getting electric," said Francona. "A.C. leads off with a hit, Youk has a great at-bat. I know it calls a lot of times for a bunt, but we try desperately not to take the bat out of [Ortiz's] hands."
Pena, who will be the primary starter in right field until Nixon returns, helped the Sox keep pace through the zany early and middle innings, coming within a double of the cycle. His contributions included a mammoth solo homer and a two-run triple to right-center field.
On a night the Red Sox got David Wells back in the rotation after a two-month hiatus, the big pitching performance came out of the bullpen, where Kyle Snyder replaced a faltering Boomer with 4 1/3 brilliant innings in which he allowed one hit, no walks and struck out six.
"I'll be glad to talk about David, but I hope what doesn't get overlooked is what Kyle Snyder did," Francona said. "That was unbelievable."
Snyder was supposed to start on Tuesday night, but when Wells got in trouble early, Francona had to go find a long man. Enter Snyder, who will now be replaced by Jason Johnson for Tuesday's start.
The hope was that Wells, with his fluid throwing motion and fresh left arm, could breathe some fresh air into the Red Sox on a night he was pitching for the first time in more than two months. But Boomer struggled, giving up eight runs and eight hits over 4 2/3 innings.
The Red Sox and Indians traded haymakers all night, but the Indians seemed to steal the momentum when Casey Blake hit his second homer of the night off Wells, a three-run shot to left that gave the Indians an 8-6 lead in the fifth.
Snyder settled things down, and Ortiz created mayhem in the end.
What was Ortiz looking for when the count got to 2-0?
"A pitch to hit," Ortiz said. "That guy is throwing some good pitches out there. You don't want to get too picky. You just want to get a pitch that you can drive."

15 GAME WINNERS AND COUNTING! ANY QUESTIONS?

Schilling an ideal comeback candidate

Veteran has bounced back strong from injury-riddled 2005.

In case it seems like a hazy memory, this is what Curt Schilling was thinking all those months ago after his final start of Spring Training:
"I want to believe that physically I can be where I was, if not better, because I feel like I've added some things, and mentally I'm better," said Schilling. "Until you go out there and it counts, you can think all you want. I'm human, so I want to see myself get it done, so that's probably where a lot of the nerves come from."
Needless to say, the nerves are gone and the swagger is back. The ongoing nightmare that was Schilling's 2005 season -- a disastrous comeback from right ankle surgery that included endless struggles as both a starter and a closer -- have virtually been erased from the record.
Schilling is an ace again, one of the best pitchers in baseball. And despite being snubbed in his quest to make the American League All-Star team, he has been the anchor of the Boston pitching staff.
And after going 8-8 with a 5.69 ERA last year, Schilling has set himself up nicely as a Comeback Player of the Year candidate.
Last year's winners of the Comeback Player of the Year Award, presented by Viagra and voted on by fans via MLB.com, were Jason Giambi of the Yankees and Ken Griffey Jr. of the Reds.
It became clear from the outset in 2006 that Schilling was back in prime form. He won his first four starts of the season and the Red Sox went 18-6 in his first 24 starts. Schilling had a 14-4 record as of Aug. 6.
In a year in which the Red Sox have had their fair share of injuries to key players, Schilling has enjoyed having such a heavy burden on his right shoulder.
"I know where I belong here," Schilling said. "I know what people expect when I go out there. Losing games or winning games can be momentum changers."
Schilling, even at this late stage of his career, can overpower teams with his fastball or perplex them with his mind.
"At times -- you know what it is -- it's his will," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "He just wills it to be good enough to win."
The big thing with Schilling has been his consistency. He has surrendered three earned runs or less in 16 of his first 24 starts. In that same span, he went at least seven innings 13 times.
If you're looking for a big-game pitcher who will keep his team in almost every game he pitches, that is Schilling.
"When Schilling is healthy, you've got one of the best pitchers in the game," said Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis. "He's throwing the ball good and has that swagger, and that's what you need from Schill."
Schilling is back indeed, making him the comeback kid at the age of 39.

Ortiz named AL Co-Player of the Week

Seven-game stretch highlighed by game-winning homer

Though David Ortiz has his eyes on other hardware and accolades this season -- namely the American League Most Valuable Player award -- the honor he was given Monday isn't a bad place to start.
The Boston Red Sox slugger was named Bank of America American League Co-Player of the Week for games played July 31-Aug. 6. He shares the award with Cleveland's Travis Hafner.
Ortiz was 10-for-27 (.370) for the week with two doubles, five home runs, eight RBIs and 27 total bases. His slugging percentage over that span was 1.000. Ortiz's signature achievement of the week came against the Indians on July 31. He was 3-for-5 with four RBIs as the second of his two home runs won the game in the bottom of the ninth.
"We've seen it so often," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said after that game. "The whole inning we're sitting there thinking, 'Let's just get David to the plate.' Obviously, because he's the middle of the order, and that means guys are on and we have a chance. But he just has the ability to take such good swings in those situations. He doesn't do anything different. I think he's smart enough to know the pressure is on the other team, even though we're down."
Cleveland's Casey Blake (.476, 4 HR, 9 RBI); Minnesota teammates Jason Bartlett (.607, .714 SLG, 5 RBI) and Justin Morneau (.400, 12 RBI); Devil Rays left-hander Casey Fossum (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 13.0 IP, 15 SO); and Oakland right-hander Danny Haren (2-0, 1.69 ERA, 16.0 IP, 1 CG, 12 SO) also received consideration.
This is the first time both Ortiz and Hafner have won the weekly award this season. Ortiz was named AL Player of the Month for July.

Making History

Papi makes history Slugger is first Sox player to hit 40 homers three straight years.

The Red Sox have had some of the most prestigious sluggers in the history of the game. From Ted Williams to Jimmie Foxx to Carl Yastrzemski to Jim Rice to Manny Ramirez, it seems like Boston has always had a basher who could put one out of the yard at any time.
However, only one man has struck 40 or more homers in three consecutive seasons for the Red Sox. And that didn't happen until Sunday, when David Ortiz clubbed No. 40, a screaming line drive to right field to snap a 2-2 tie in what wound up a 7-6 loss to the Devil Rays.
"I had no idea," said Ortiz. "I think I'm going to have start following history, what do you think?"
Timely as ever, Ortiz put his name into the history books the same day that he was featured on ESPN's Sunday Conversation.
In truth, he has been a daily conversation piece in Boston for years. The Big Papi legend just keeps growing.
"He's unbelievable," said Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell. "I'm happy for him. He deserves it."
With 52 games left, Ortiz just needs 10 more homers to become the only player in Sox history besides Foxx to hit 50 long balls in a season.
"It's good to be right next to those guys," Ortiz said. "It's great. But you know how it is, it's all about playing the game and try to do it better every day. That's the way I see it. There's a lot of frustration you go through, but when you get it, nobody can take that away from you. That's about it."