Top Boston Sports Stories of 2008: #11-20

看板RedSox作者Belladonaa時間17年前 (2008/12/31 23:37)推噓1(1推 0噓 0→)

留言1則, 1人參與討論串1/1

Top Boston Sports Stories of 2008: #11-20 20) Boston College wins 2008 Frozen Four 19) Matt Ryan selected 3rd overall in 2008 NFL Draft 18) Andre Tippett elected to Pro Football Hall of Fame 17) Bill Buckner returns to Fenway Park to throw out the first pitch at 2008's Opening Day - After the first World Series win in 2004, delirious fans decided it was time to let Buckner off the hook for apparently blowing the entire 1986 World Series against the New York Mets. Buckner declined any appearances, no doubt still upset over the treatment he received in the nearly 20 years after that fateful day at Shea. It was hard to blame Buckner, considering how easily Bob Stanley, Calvin Schiraldi and so many others got off easy. People ignored that there was a Game 7 they could have won, but that ruined the scapegoat angle so many had decided to stick with. But after the second World Series win, Buckner found it in himself to come home. The man that accumulated over 2700 hits in 20+ seasons (five in Boston) decided it was time to forgive the media for what they put his family through, thus paving the way for an emotional appearance on a day the club got another set of championship rings. It wasn't all his fault they didn't get those rings following the '86 series and if the roaring ovation he received helped ease the pain of being blamed solely for that, it was well worth it. It came years too late. 16) The Red Sox open 2008 season in Japan, Matsusaka starts first game - Now just a footnote in this whole story, people forget the players threatened to boycott a spring training game and their flight to Japan unless MLB paid the coaching staff the same union-negotiated amount of $40k they were getting. Eventually, all was resolved and the team split two regular season games against the Oakland A's in front of 55,000 per night. Native son Daisuke Matsuzaka returned to win the opener, striking out six in five innings. New England truly had breakfast with the Sox as the games began at 6 am EST, giving fans an excuse for slipping a lil' something extra in their morning coffee. 15) Troy Brown retires from football 14) David Ortiz's lost season - When Ortiz grimaced following that swing in Baltimore, the Nation held their collective breaths as rumors of season-ending surgery swirled around the Fens. But while Ortiz would return, the aura that surrounded him faded. Ortiz never really got on track in the 109 games he did play, hitting just .264 with 23 homers and 89 RBI. Now for the first time in a long time, critics are wondering whether there is still the pop in 'Big Papi' and speculating whether we're a lot closer to the bottom of Ortiz's career than the top. 13) WEEI expands, overhauls web site 12) The Boston Celtics open up '08-'09 on fire 11) Red Sox almost make magic again, lose in ALCS Game 7 - The only reason this didn't make it in the Top 10? They do it too often. Boston fell behind three games to one against the storybook Tampa Bay Rays in the ALCS and like they always do, began creeping back. After being blown out 13-4 in front of the home crowd in Game 4, Boston overcame a seven-run deficit to take Game 5, 8-7. Then in Game 6, Josh Beckett, Kevin Youkilis and Jason Varitek silenced the Tampa crowd in a big 4-2 victory. But unlike the 3-2 comeback against the Yankees in '04 and the 3-2 comeback against the Indians in 2007, the offensive magic just wasn't there. They mustered just three hits in Game 7, their bats silenced by Matt Garza's seven strong innings and David Price's first major league save in a 3-1 defeat. The game bookended another newsworthy season for the Red Sox that started in Japan and involved plenty of interesting storylines involving a diminutive second baseman turned offensive juggernaut, a future Hall-of-Famer turned public enemy and what could be the last game for two grizzled veterans http://0rz.tw/615gn -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 118.160.64.5