It's the best day of the year!

New England at Tennessee 1:00pm

xo kate

Thanks for everything, Youk.

Thanks for 2004, 2007 and years of gritty, hard play.  Hope you get your old attitude and old swing back in Chicago.  Goodbye, number 20.

xo kate

He lost his wife in those Bourne movies, but I don't even feel bad for him.

I mean, come on wildcats, there was no way we weren't going to post Tom Brady's new Funny or Die video.  It's not even that funny, but he's Tom fucking Brady.  Enjoy the video here.

72 days until Patriots preseason...

xo kate

"New England's parlor, a region's nightclub, and the Olde Towne Team's hearth. To generations of Americans, going to Fenway Park has been like coming home."

There will be baseball at Fenway tonight, and a marathon on Monday.  Boston, I couldn't miss you more.

xo kate

The President and Sports

Bill Simmons has been on my list of internet personalities that I love for about 13 years now, since back in the day when he really did only write about Boston sports.  His baffling knowledge of, and appreciation for, all things Boston, sports and early nineties Fox prime-time dramas really defines a lot of what I care about.  But his postcast with President Obama just takes it to a whole news level.  Particularly with a Republican field of I-hate-poor-people, I-hate-women, and I-hate-poor-people-women-gays-and-minorities, it's easy to love the Commander In Chief, but he just keeps making it easier.  Full podcast available here.  Transcript available here.

"Well, it’s funny, the mythology of sports is just — it's deeply embedded in us. I remember I visited Iraq as a senator, and I think at that point I had already started running for president, but I can’t remember. Anyway, they invited me to go into this gym, and there were like 3,000 of our troops there. And somebody just handed me a ball and said, "Come on, Mr. President, take a shot." And I said, OK, and I shot it and swished it from the 3-point line. And the amount of excitement that those folks had was surprising to me.

But I think it just sort of reminded me of the kind of bond that sports creates in people. People — for all our differences politically, regionally, economically — most folks understand sports. Probably because it’s one of the few places where it’s a true meritocracy. There’s not a lot of BS. Ultimately, who’s winning, who’s losing, who’s performing, who’s not — it’s all laid out there."

xo kate

We won't forget.

I'm way sadder than I thought I'd be about Tek's retirement.  He's been a part of so many of my favorite Red Sox memories and the idea of spring coming without him in a catcher's mask is just strange to me.  All the departures on the Sox this year just serve to remind me how special 2004 was.

Thank you, Captain, for everything. For  2004, 2007, and for hundreds of thousands of hours squatting in the dirt for the team and the city I love.

And especially, thank you for getting in A-Rod's face.  I hate that little bitch.

xo kate

In other Boston news, it's Truck day

Happy Truck Day!  I wish I was on my way to Florida, instead of Saturday professional development.

xo kate

It's like when I found out Emily and Daniel from Revenge were dating.

Oh, don't worry Gisele, I still hate you.

I kind of love that Kevin Youkilis is marrying Tom Brady's sister.  It like that delighted feeling you get when two actors from the same TV show or movie make it official in real life.  Generally it's difficult for me to get behind couples who have wildly unbalanced levels of attractiveness (this is just one of the many problems I have with the Rachel McAdams and Michael Sheen pairing) but there's something so appealing about Youk.  I guess it's sort of like my oldest sister's weird attraction to Tom Petty -- you know he's ugly, but you just can't seem to shake it.  Also, Julie Brady is a teacher!  I'm a teacher!  I love teachers!  (Have you ever noticed how when writers are trying to endear you to teachers they refer to them as schoolteachers? I'm going to start introducing myself as a schoolteacher in order to come off as just slightly more precious.) Moreover, reading all these articles about what incredibly nice and humble people the Brady's are is just beginning to melt my icy heart toward Tom.

Oh, and by the way, I totally don't watch Revenge. That stuff is trash.  (Except that I totally do, and it's e-mazing.  You should watch too.)

xo kate

Its like the friggin big dig all over again.

Did you guys ever read The Odyssey?

I read it three times and hated it three times. I think Odysseus is a friggin moron.

The only redeamable character in the book is his long abandoned wife, Penelope.  Let me splain.

Odysseus keeps pissing the residents of Mount Olympus off, and so he hasn't been home in legit 20 years. Back at the ranch, everyone's trying to get Penelope to pick a new man and get re-married.

Penelope has no idea that her asshat of a husband is getting up close and personal with Circe and Calypso and Zeus knows who else, and wants to remain loyal to Odysseus.  So she comes up with this sweet plan.

She tells her suitors that she will pick a new husband, when and only when she finishes weaving a totally baller funeral shroud. Every day, homegirl is weaving weaving weaving...working those threads.

And every night, when no one is watching...Penelope undoes the day's work...thus delaying her remarriage.

This is where the Big Dig comes in.

I think those big diggers were huge liars. And took a cue from Penelope.

Every day they would dig. And every night, they would fill it back in...undoing the day's work...and thus delaying the end of the paychecks.

Boom.

Oh yea...watch this...

My husband cannot (expletive) throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time.

Gisele.

We love her.  We hate her.  But mostly, we're just crazy catty jealous of her.  Because she's a smoke-show.  And married to Tom.

And most recently, she defended her husband to Giants' fans.  So let's judge her, shall we?

If you haven't already, you can see the spirited defense here. 

What do you think?  Was she wrong to throw his teammates under the bus?   Was it a classy move to stand by her man?  Wildly inappropriate?  Was she way off base in her assessment of the game?  Or was she just saying what the rest of us were thinking?

And what about the potty mouth?

I want to know what you think.  Do tell, do tell.

“Where we love is home, home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.”

So, my team lost the Superbowl.  To New York.  To a Manning. (And you know how I feel about that family.) Again.

Currently I'm about 22 hours into my self-allowed one week of misery after every tough loss.  In other words, I'm in the thick of it and my students can tell you, it isn't pretty.  Also, I slept for about an hour and a half last night and had to teach second grade for nine hours today.  So, it was not. a. good. day.

This afternoon, though, it got a little bit better when I saw this photo.  These are the crowds of people standing in the cold at Gillette to welcome the team home from the Superbowl today.  I'm proud to be part of a fan base that welcomes their team home, win or lose.  No matter how far away I live, I'll always be a New England girl.

xo kate

My girlfriend is psychotic.

These never get old.

And this is scary accurate.

afc champs.

xo kate

Tuesday Loseday: Jack Chop

Seven years later...

...and I still get chills when I think about it.

xo kate

Don't write a letter when you want to leave, Don't call me at 3 a.m. from a friend's apartment, I'd like to choose how I hear the news, Take me to a park that's covered with trees, Tell me on a Sunday please

xo kate

The Real Housewives of South Boston

Are you (or someone you know) from South Boston?  How do you feel about this video? Offended? Delighted? A little bit of both?  And most importantly, do you know Marky Mark?

This is who you'll always be to me.

I don't blame Theo for leaving the Red Sox for the Cubs.  Honestly, I'm thinking of doing the same thing.  The state of the organization right now is pathetic and an absolute disgrace to the game.  I've been angry at the Red Sox organization before, but I don't know that I've ever been ashamed of it.  Right now, I'm ashamed.

But all that's besides the point, Theo is leaving, and I'll miss him.  To me, he's one of the ultimate icons of the Red Sox success in 2004-2007.  I love him, and I've loved rooting for his team.  And I say that despite the fact that he traded away my favorite player ever.

Thanks for everything, Theo.  Good luck in Chicago.  Go Cubs!

xo kate

Thanks for everything.

Tito,

You helped change everything.  Thank you.

Love,
New England

xo kate

You're only gonna break break break break break my heart

So sad.  So statistically improbable.  I watched the game last night on MLB Game Day during my grad school class (Yep, I'm in grad school again.  Thought I did that already...) while getting texts from Boston.  It reminded me so much of the last time I watched this team through the internet and text messages while sitting in class.  But that was 2004, and the ending was different. (And it was a flip phone so texting was a lot slower.)  Even after all these years, New England sports sure know how to break my heart.

xo kate