Tonight's sports thoughts

I'll resume posting on more mundane topics in a few days, honest. Meanwhile...

It's the top of the 7th as I type this. Things are looking good, I hope - but I'd really like to have another run or two in. Then I'd feel downright confident.

Combined with a Pats win this afternoon, this could be one of the all-time great Sunday sports days here in Boston.

As for the rest of the NFL, this may have been my worst day ever when it comes to picking. None of my hunches paid off, and after a sweep of my pools three weeks ago, I've been just awful since. Destiny, I guess.

Otherwise, I don't care about basketball, I don't really miss hockey, and there's allegedly soccer playoffs going on right now, but I haven't noticed.

(Embree just logged a strikeout)

I appreciate stock car racing more than I used to, since I learned a little more about it. I know who the top drivers are, and a little bit about the sport itself. I know what a restrictor plate is. And I know what a short track is, too. But just because I know Kurt Busch is the points leader (and that he won both of the races in New Hampshire this year) doesn't mean it's that important to me.

(another K for Embree)

Basically, sports for me mean two things - Baseball and Football. Specifically, the pro versions of both - but I could go to a minor league stadium in some town I've never seen before, watch a game with two teams I know nothing about, and still have a great time watching the game. I only watch football games if they have the Patriots or Giants in it. And usually just the Pats.

(Embree just struck out the side, and Donna Summer is singing now)

Oh yeah - the Tour de France is wicked cool, too. So is the America's Cup, and some of the stuff they do at the Winter Olympics.

But first and foremost is the Red Sox. And we are now six outs away from taking a 2-0 lead before heading to St. Louis on Tuesday. Hold your breath, Red Sox Nation, and I'll see you all tomorrow.

And if you're still here after all that, two things: one, I posted new pictures of David in the usual place. Go get 'em. And two, if you're looking for a good notebook computer value (and you missed last week's $750 off Dell deal), look at the just-upgraded Apple iBook. Processor speeds are now up to a 1.33 GHz G4 (and now with more L2 cache), and AirPort Extreme (802.11g) is now standard. Prices also dropped, with the entry model at $999. However, if you are following the Tiger development process - the iBook is still not using a CoreGraphics-compatible GPU. But it's fine for everyday use and low-end gaming. Go get one. Now.