In case you were out living a life of leisure, here's what you missed in sports on Monday.
Juan Pablo Montoya crashed into a truck carrying 200 gallons of jet kerosene at the Daytona 500 yesterday, causing a fiery explosion and sending the race into red flag conditions. Montoya walked away unscathed, and Matt Kenseth eventually won the race in the early morning hours on Tuesday. This is the seventh jet-fuel explosion Montoya has set off in the past three months, to the point that NASCAR officials are sort of wondering whether this is his "new thing." "If it is," said NASCAR president Mike Helton, "we'll take it over his 'old thing,' which was painting pictures of me in lewd pornographic scenarios on the side of his car."
In case you were out living a life of leisure, here's what you missed in sports on Wednesday.
Casper Ware scored 28 points to help Long Beach State upset no. 9 Pittsburgh 86-76. To add insult to injury, the Long Beach players returned to Long Beach, while the Pittsburgh players had to stay in Pittsburgh.
Grantland's favorite Canadians, Jonah Keri and Chris Jones, return to The Triangle to discuss the Boston Red Sox. More specifically, Keri and Jones discuss the Boston Globe's bombshell story on the club. Over e-mail, they debated anonymous sources, journalism, and Boston baseball. Take it away, Canadians …
Jonah Keri
Mr. Jones,
So it seems we have something shiny and new to debate in the world of sports and sports journalism. Specifically this Globe article by investigative reporter Bob Hohler on the collapse of the 2011 Red Sox. A couple of choice snippets:
"Instead, Boston’s three elite starters went soft, their pitching as anemic as their work ethic. The indifference of Beckett, Lester, and Lackey in a time of crisis can be seen in what team sources say became their habit of drinking beer, eating fast-food fried chicken, and playing video games in the clubhouse during games while their teammates tried to salvage a once-promising season."
And …
“Team sources also expressed concern that Francona's performance may have been affected by his use of pain medication, which he also vehemently denied. Francona said he has taken pain medicine for many years, particularly after multiple knee surgeries. He said he used painkillers after knee surgery last October and used them during the season to relieve the discomfort of doctors draining blood from his knee at least five times.”
You’ll note the mention of "team sources" in that second passage. We’ll get to the post hoc explanation for the Red Sox downfall in a minute. But it’s the sourcing of this story above all else that’s punching me in the face.
The Boston Globe's Bob Hohler gives us an epic postmortem on one of the greatest collapses in MLB history. Behold tales of Red Sox clubhouse freeze-outs (Jacoby Ellsbury!), players obsessed with their own stats (Tim Wakefield! David Ortiz!), a manager with marital and (alleged) painkiller problems (Tito!), and this corker about John Lester, Josh Beckett, and John Lackey:
"Drinking beer in the Sox clubhouse is permissible. So is ordering take-out chicken and biscuits. Playing video games on one of the clubhouse’s flat-screen televisions is OK, too. But for the Sox pitching trio to do all three during games, rather than show solidarity with their teammates in the dugout, violated an unwritten rule that players support each other, especially in times of crisis."
Are you a high-level executive at a professional baseball team? Send all complaints about fried chicken consumption and/or painkillers to triangle@grantland.com
In case you were out living a life of leisure, here's what you missed in sports on Wednesday.
With a home run, a double, and 4 RBIs, David Freese emerged from his series-long slump to lead the Cardinals over the Phillies 5-3 and force a Game 5 in the NLDS. At this point, both the Yankees and Phillies will be fighting for their lives in a win-or-go-home elimination game. Hopefully the fear of losing either of these beloved clubs will finally give America something to rally behind.
In case you were out living a life of leisure, here's what you missed in sports on Tuesday.
On the eve of the MLB playoffs, Red Sox management planned to meet with manager Terry Francona to discuss his future with the club. "Welllllll," said Red Sox GM Theo Epstein, "I'm not sure 'future' is exactly the right word."
