The Dark Ages...Without Cable

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(photo from Boston.com)

Cam the Man

Stupid Comcast. I still have no cable (&%#@!), no internet (&%#@!), I'm going through NESN withdrawal and rocking back and forth like a crack addict gone cold turkey and I'd gotten erroneous reports that the game had been rained out. So I figure, what the hell? Marianne will come over, we'll watch the World Series DVD, we'll have a long and in-depth conversation about, um, less family-friendly baseball matters wherein we decide that Imaginary Baseball World is way more fun that Actual Baseball World and that if, in reality, Matty Clement is actually a "Playa 4 Life!" we'd be totally confused and not know what to do. And then, I get into work this morning and find out that David Wells has pitched a gem. Not only that but Papi (naturally) went yard, Edgah (Hey, buddy!) knocked one out and Kevin Millar made what sounds to be an embarassing (but ultimately harmless and therefore hilarious) fielding error playing for Manny in left. That's not to say Manny wouldn't have made the same blasted error but hey, I'm certainly not one to split hairs. Oh, and Johnny Damon ran into something. Someone, actually - in this case St. Louis pitcher and New Hampshire native (Whoop! Represent the Granite State!) Chris Carpenter. But in the end, it was 4-0 Boston. The Sox avoid the sweep and get the hell out of dodge as they make their way to Chicago to take on the Cubs for the first time ever. Apparently, Nomar is also going to get his World Series ring. Dudes, Nomar. Remember him? That seems like eleventy billion years ago...

Anyway, in other sports news that I actually DID know was going down, Cam Neely has been elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Forgive the horrid pun but, SCORE! Neely, next to Bourque was always one of my favorites. He played the game right and did the black and gold proud. Kevin Paul Dupont sums it up perfectly in today's Globe:

But it takes the tale of the tape, the videotape, to capture the true essence of Neely and why he was named yesterday to the Hockey Hall of Fame. In his prime, which was shortened by injuries, he was the game's mightiest force -- dynamic on his skates, powerful with his shot, and often a raging, runaway locomotive when it came time to execute bodychecks or deliver an even more physical message.

Were his career not ended prematurely by injuries (damn you, Ulf Samuelsson, damn you!) he might still be playing (assuming there'd be hockey to be played.) Neely, just 40, follows his longtime teammate, Bourque into the Hall of Fame, a most deserved accomplishment. Though he played for only ten years, a relatively short tenure, he played all of them in Boston and during his career, there was no one else more respected and feared. It'll be a rightful honor to see his plaque next to Bourque's in the Hall. Congratulations, Cam!

"You guys want to kick my dog while you're here?"

Comcast informs me they're coming tomorrow to hook up my cable and internet. Seeing as how today is a travel day for the Sox, I just might make it. I said might. Don't be surprised if the cable dude has to coax me out of the closet where I've taken to hiding with the radio and a pair of rabbit ears.