Phightins

And O'Flaherty bails him out.

Lol Fredi Gonzalez. When will managers stop bringing in left handed pitchers to face Shane Victorino?

It was a terrible decision for him to run there in the first place.

Disagree. An extra 2 or 3 plate appearances today would have had absolutely no impact on his new contract. None.

Well, I take that back. I want the Red Sox out regardless. But otherwise, it doesn't matter much to me.

I don't care who wins any of the games tonight, just as long as there's at least one game 163 tomorrow.

Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Red Sox are considering trading for Bruce Chen to pitch in the potential one-game playoff tomorrow (he cleared waivers so he can be had). This has the potential to be hilarious on multiple levels. Chen is scheduled to pitch for the Royals tonight, so any trade would need to be completed at some point this afternoon, before the Red Sox and Rays play their games. Chen is a free agent after this season. Chen is also ineligible to pitch in the postseason since he'd be acquired after September 1st. So, essentially, the Red Sox could be giving up something of value for a dude who may never throw a pitch for them. If I am the Royals, I take the Red Sox hostage here. Their only other options for the one game playoff are to bring either Tim Wakefield or John Lackey back on short rest. Both are nightmare situations.

So, we go into the final day of the season with two ties. Awesomeness. Also cool that the season ends on a Wednesday this year so this stuff isn't overshadowed by the NFL.

Yeah. This happens in baseball all the time too. If a pitcher throws inside, intentionally or not, most of the time when the other team gets their "payback", they are going after the best hitter. I have always disliked this philosophy and I guess it just carried over to hockey too. I know that there are different tiers of hockey players in the NHL (such as Sestito vs. Giroux), and going after Sestito would accomplish nothing for the Rangers even though he is the responsible party. I get all of that, it just seems pretty barbaric to me. But I don't think it will ever change.

Well, I completely disagree with the whole "if someone on your team does something dirty/questionable, we will target a different player than the player responsible" thing, but that is an entirely different debate. But you are completely right BFT, it happens all the time in sports, and I have absolutely no issue with what Avery said.

I agree with this, I just think it's kind of funny coming from Avery is all. Not to mention the obvious sound editing fail. Can't believe they allowed that to play for a good 20 seconds!

I am still not seeing what Simmonds did wrong. He was just evening up the scrum and sticking up for his teammate. Nothing malicious. The Rangers obviously had every right to go after Sestito since it was a brutal hit. Whether or not anybody agrees with the hit, Simmonds has a responsibility to stick up for his teammate regardless, which he did. Seemed pretty harmless until the sucker punch was thrown. But perhaps I am just being a homer, IDK. Also, I agree about Avery. I don't care the least bit that he said that. Just like I really don't care that Simmonds called him a [expletive]got. It happens. I just wish that stuff would be left on the ice. You know this chatter happens in every single NHL game. No reason to go to the media with it and turn it into a huge deal. Just IMO. I agree to an extent, but it shouldn't be as extreme as it was last year. Or the Stanley Cup Final team either. Losing Richards obviously hurts this department, but Simmonds and Talbot add a lot of grit that has not been there for a few seasons. Also I think you are greatly underestimating Giroux if you think he is soft.

One thing is for sure...Kyle and I picked a hell of a preseason game to go to!

Yeah, was the gay slur before or after the sucker punch? Or saying he was going to kill Claude Giroux? I am completely against homophobia, but Avery needs to look in the mirror. Any other player and I'd feel differently, but he can shut the [expletive] up.

The Palestra is a block from my campus. The crowd of people this game attracted was....interesting, to say the least.

With the exception of Jeremiah Trotter in his prime, the Eagles have not once had an above average linebacker in my time as a fan. I guess they thought they could mask it by loading up everywhere else on defense this year. So much for that.

Who had the brilliant idea to put a mic on Sean Avery last night? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-rGud48R5E&feature=youtu.be

Lmao Leroy.

Also, awesome cheap shot by Avery at 29 seconds. Simmonds apparently challenged him to a fight later, but as you all could guess, Avery declined.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g96/philsphan1210/Picture1-91.png

Jaromir still has it!!

That was not very bright for a dude trying to make the NHL roster. In fact, he basically had a spot nailed down once Shelley got suspended. Now I guess it's Rinaldo's to lose, but I am fully expecting him to do something suspension worthy before the regular season starts. Anyway, thanks for joining me tonight Kyle!

John Lackey is reportedly divorcing his wife, who is currently battling cancer. I personally don't care at all about the personal lives of athletes, and I also don't want to judgment about Lackey since I do not know the details. But the media will certainly have a field day with this... Get ready to hear non-stop Red Sox on ESPN over the next week, whether they make the playoffs or not.

Still trying to figure out who the Asian is.

De Fratus!