let me start by saying this: i am in no way a baseball fan. its been well documented here all the ways i actually hate baseball. having said that, im going to admit that ive been watching baseball on tv.

even when there were perfectly good nhl and college football games on. sometimes on the same tv.

they were games 5 and 7 of the american league championship series, otherwise known as the alcs for the phonetically challenged known as baseball fans. the reason i was drawn into watching game four was a guy named josh beckett. his performance in this game was the stuff of legends, the stuff of postseason lore that little kids will get to tell their grandkids about in 50 years. as in, "grandpa, did you really see beckett single handedly win the pennant?"

check out this line: 8 innings, 1 run, 11 strikeouts. in a crucial playoff game with your team down in the series. in baseball, thats called a nice outing. in the real sports world, thats called clutch. thats kobe hittin a fadeaway three at the buzzer. thats a 80 yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter two minute drill to win the super bowl.

and while all these are apt comparisons, beckett also had to wade thru the type of bullshit that only baseball could come up with. after flying out against beckett, eighty seven year old punk ass bitch kenny lofton decided to start talk shit and run at the mound. really? after getting out? do you see wide receivers yelling at the corner after dropping a pass? only in baseball.

even before the lofton debacle, the cleveland indians decided they wanted to try and get clever. they hired country artist danielle peck to sing the national anthem. peck just happens to be becketts ex girlfriend. there were many whispers about the indians intentionally trying to rattle beckett by going with peck, but we all saw how well that worked out. beckett had a nice little fuck you to the team he just beat:

"I don't get paid to make those fucking decisions. She's a friend of mine, so it doesn't bother me at all. Thanks for flying one of my friends to the game so she could watch it for free."

that is the snarl of a true competitor. in a sport so lacking in athleticism, grit or the desire to win championships before all other goals, beckett's elevates himself above the sludge of overweight overpaid boys playing catch with a man of a game. i would hate to be the rockies right now.