I now present my all-time New York Yankees starting lineup:

CATCHER: Thurman Munson(rest in peace, dude)

1ST BASE: Lou Gehrig(you'd have to be crazy NOT to include the Iron Horse in this lineup)

2ND BASE: Willie Randolph(after all the #$%@ Fred Wilpon put him through, the guy deserves some fun)

SHORTSTOP: Derek Jeter(another no-brainer)

3RD BASE: Joe Dugan(part of the famous Murderers' Row lineup)

DH: Babe Ruth(only because if I put him in the outfield I'd risk denying a spot to one of my next three choices for this lineup...)

LEFT FIELD: Joe DiMaggio(the Yankee Clipper)

CENTER FIELD: Mickey Mantle(maybe the best the Bronx Bombers have had at this position in the last 50 years)

RIGHT FIELD: Reggie Jackson(when a guy hits three homers in a single World Series game and gets a candy bar named after him, you know he's got to be something special)

STARTING ROTATION: Ron Guidry(all strikes, all the time)
                                          Mike Mussina(this guy gave my Sox ten different kinds of hell in the
                                          '03 and '04 ALCS)
                                          Whitey Ford(the Chairman of the Board)
                                          Waite Hoyt(another critical component of the success of the
                                          Murderers' Row-era Yanks)
                                          Don Larsen(like I could ignore the only guy who ever threw a World
                                          Series no-hitter)

BULLPEN: Mariano Rivera(another major threat to the Sox in the '03 and '04 ALCS)
                     Allie Reynolds(they didn't call him "Super Chief" for nothing)
                    Dave Righetti(sent an AL record for most saves in a season back in '86)
                    Wilcy Moore(led the Yanks in saves during their legendary '27 season)
                    Sparky Lyle(he was crazy good as a closer)

MANAGER: Casey Stengel(the Professor)

Next on the docket: the Baltimore Orioles.

And now, presenting my all-time Boston Red Sox starting lineup:

CATCHER: Bill Carrigan(was behind the plate for two of Boston's
first four World Series championships)

1ST BASE: George "Boomer" Scott(played a major part in the Sox'
1967 Impossible Dream pennant)

2ND BASE: Bobby Doerr(may have been the greatest player to hold this
position for the Sox)

SHORTSTOP: Rick Burleson(yeah, they come to cheer the Rooster...)

3RD BASE: Wade Boggs(thanks to Bosox61 for catching this one; I
didn't realize I'd forgotten to fill the hot corner until he pointed it out)

DH: David Ortiz(nobody has been more effective at this position for
Boston than Big Papi)

LEFT FIELD: Ted Williams(how could I not the Splendid Splinter in this
lineup?)

CENTER FIELD: Fred Lynn(the '75 Boston team's human vacuum
cleaner)

RIGHT FIELD: Harry Hooper(with due respect to Messrs. Damon and
Evans, THIS guy was the quintessential Sox right fielder)

STARTING ROTATION: Smoky Joe Wood(just for the nickname)
                                         Jim Lonborg(amazing velocity)
                                         Curt Schilling(tougher than the Harvard Law
                                         entrance exam)
                                         Bruce Hurst(would have been the '86 World
                                         Series MVP but for a sad quirk of fate)

BULLPEN: Calvin Schiradi(saved the '86 ALCS for Boston)
                    Jonathan Papelbon(strikeout machine during the game, one-
                    man party after the game)
                    John Wyatt(the most underrated closer in Sox history)
                    Earl Johnson(led Boston in saves when they won the AL
                    pennant in '46)
                    #### Drago(did everything for the '75 Sox except pour the
                    soft drinks at the concession stands)

MANAGER: Jimmy Collins(won Boston's first World Series title and
                      may have saved the AL as whole from extinction in its
                     turbulent early years)

In my next blog entry, I'll list my choices for all-time New York Yankees starters.

UPDATE: In my original post I forgot to fill the
third base position. Next time I'll be more careful.

Due to circumstances beyond my control I lost the stuff I was working on, so I'll have start from scratch come Monday. :(

On a more positive note, I think I've got at least 50% of the
American League lineups worked out and 45% of the National League ones. So stay tuned. :D

In case you haven't already heard, DownsA529 has
been busy compiling NBA team lineups featuring each team's all-time greats and is working on organizing a tournament of those teams to decide who has the best overall all-time lineup. In a similar vein, I'll be assembling rosters of the top all-time players from every MLB club starting with my next blog entry; first I'll work my way through the American League, then I'll tackle the National League, and finally L'll put the assembled teams together head-to-head in a playoff series whose format will be determined later.

Does anyone else here in Blogland have the same creeping sus_picion as I do that despite the PRC's best efforts there's going to be some type of incident at the 2008 Summer Olympics? Between Tibet, Darfur, air pollution, and this latest brouhaha over Iraq's eligibility to compete I can hardly see any way that controversy DOESN'T erupt before the Games are over.

What a night! After 22 years, the NBA championship trophy has finally returned to the Hub! I don't know about anybody else, but I'm feeling ten feet tall this morning...

A few modest observations:

1)I had expected Leon Powe to get the Finals MVP nod, but it's hard to argue withe choice of Paul
Pierce for that distinction.

2)I wouldn't have wanted to be around Phil Jackson during his post-game locker room speech to the Lakers roster. If I were the gambling sort, I would've bet even money he used at least five of the seven words from George Carlin's infamous list.

3)The Celtics' worst-to-first turnaround further emphasizes what a complete joke Jim Dolan is as Knicks owner. He needs to step aside and sell that team to somebody who actually has the brains to do what needs to be done to make New York an NBA playoff contender again.

4)There's going to be a very long line at the box office when Celtics '08-'09 season tickets go on sale. ;)

(Note: Edited to correct minor spelling mistake.)

....but instead I'm going to use it to direct your attention to JoshQPublic's amazing tribute to Jim McKay, who left us yesterday at the age of 86:

http://community.foxsports.com/blogs/JoshQPublic/
2008/06/08/Remembering_Jim_McKay

Now this is an example of the right way to do an obituary about a broadcasting legend.

RIP, Jim.

....but only slightly. I've been a bit preoccupied, otherwise I would have posted much sooner. Anyhow, it's been a highly
interesting month in sports so far and we still nearly three days left to go before it's over. A Beckett no-hitter, the
Pittsburgh Penguins bidding for their first Stanley Cup since
1992, a major tennis star retiring at the height of her pro
career, Boston battling-- of all teams --Tampa Bay for first
place in the AL East, the Celtics rekindling their old feud
with the Pistons and the Spurs slugging it out with the Lakers
in the NBA playoffs, Scott Dixon winning the Indy 500...and
that's just the stuff I can remember of the top of my head. We
can only wonder what will happen before the calendar page
turns over to June 1st.

UPDATE: Speak of the devil--I just found out from Pittsburgh Mike's blog that ESPN's fired Mark Madden from their radio network.

Who would you rank as the winners and losers in this year's NFL draft?

...and don't let the door hit your overpaid, underachieving butt on
the way out! You're like an appendix-- the NBA is better off without
you.

How do I detest thee? Let me count the ways:

You mugged my beloved Celts every chance you got as a player.

You destroyed the CBA as a general manager.

You took a once-great NBA franchise and ran it into the ground as team
president and coach.

You generally behaved like a pig as a person.

No, I won't be sorry to see you go-- and neither, I expect, will be
the majority of Knicks fans and players.

A response to Isiah fired as Knicks coach

How many people agree that Alexander's basically out the door, and how many feel he'll be back with the Seahawks for '08? I'm especially interested in hearing from Seattle fans.

A response to Alexander doesn

STFU!

If you're not the whiniest S.O.B. in MLB, you certainly rank among the top ten; how Joe Girardi puts up with you I can't begin to imagine, nor can I comprehend how Joe Torre restrained himself from punching your lights out when he was managing the Yanks. You make John Rocker sound like the epitome of class. From where I sit, the day when you're out of the majors for good can't come soon enough.

If Lisa H were writing this, she'd nominate you to get The Finger. If it was jon464, he'd pick you as one of the people to get thrown under his bus. But since it's me, I'll go with a good old-fashioned boot to the head.

...is the reaction of millions of Packer fans to the realization that one of the great eras in modern sports history is officially over. And as a Pats supporter, I have a feeling we're going to be hearing that same sigh again from Gillette Stadium on the day Tom Brady finally decides to pack it in for good.

That's about all I can think of to say at the moment, except that whoever takes over as starting QB for Green Bay in 2008 will have some Gibraltar-sized shoes to fill.

A response to Favre has decided to call it a career

Looks like Big Ben will be tolling in Pittsburgh a bit longer. Check out the link below and tell me what you think of this development; personally, I'm not sure this is such a good idea given his lingering problems since his concussion.

 Steelers, Big Ben reach deal on extension

Go. Read It. Now.

http://community.foxsports.com/blogs/Lisa%20H/200
8/02/26/Todd_Marijuanavich_a_lesson_in_high_hopes<
/a>