Boston and More…

Not much else can be said that hasn’t been said about the Boston Marathon bombings last week. Actually, David “Big Papi” Ortiz probably said it best prior to Saturday’s Red Sox game.

The last week has been very emotionally intense, especially for those of us with friends in family in Boston. To think it has only been a week since the bombings took place. All that has happened since, from the release of the photos of the suspects, to the 24 hour manhunt and eventual capture of suspect #2. It has been a crazy few days!

Makayla and I did what we could to show our support for the people of Boston this weekend. Go Red Sox!

Cat Falls 19 Stories…and Lives!

According to animal rescue officials in Boston, Sugar, a white furry cat, plunged 19 floors from a window in a high-rise building…and lived!

From MSNBC:

A woman in the West End building said she saw a “white streak” go by her window early Wednesday afternoon and then saw Sugar after she hit the ground, said Mike Brammer, assistant manager of the animal rescue services department at the Animal Rescue League of Boston.

“You could see the impact crater where she actually did hit the ground and she actually lost some fur in the hole, too,” Brammer said.

 The cat’s small landing spot is surrounded by brick and concrete.

“Whether cats can sometimes aim, so if it did it itself or if it was a combination of luck or both … it managed to hit that small patch of mulch, so it was very soft ground,” he said.

Accused Craigslist Killer Left Message

Philip Markoff, the accused Craigslist killer, apparently wrote his ex-fiancee’s name in what appeared to be blood on the wall of his jail cell before taking his own life.

Markoff was charged last year with the murder and attempted robbery of Julissa Brisman at the Copley Marriott Hotel in Boston.

From CNN:

Markoff was found dead in his jail cell in Boston on Sunday morning, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley said. The evidence collected so far indicates the onetime medical student killed himself by cutting himself multiple times with a makeshift scalpel crafted from a pen and a piece of metal, Conley told reporters.

The words “Megan” and “pocket” were scrawled on the wall when he was found, Conley said. Megan appears to refer to Markoff’s former fiancee, Megan McAllister, but investigators had not divined the meaning of “pocket,” the prosecutor said.

“We’re still studying that,” he said.

Kevin Youkilis Done for Season

Sorry Red Sox fans. It’s being reported that first baseman Kevin Youkilis will undergo season-ending surgery tomorrow to repair a torn muscle in his right thumb.

So, how will this affect the Red Sox run for the playoffs? Can they win the AL East or a Wild Card slot without Youk?

From ESPN:

“They took another MRI right in the [thumb] area that left no doubt surgery was necessary,” general manager Theo Epstein told ESPNBoston.com. “Youk is a big part of our heart and soul. He’s one of our best players and one of the best players in the league. It’s a big impact but it creates an opportunity for other guys to step up and help offensively.

“If there is a silver lining, it is that it’s pretty routine surgery. He’ll be 100 percent and have a normal offseason.”

When asked if the procedure would end any chance of Youkilis playing in the postseason as well, Francona said the team would “have to drag this out to around Thanksgiving” for his star first baseman to be available.

Boston Zoo May Close; Animals Could Be Euthanized

Boston’s Franklin Park Zoo may be forced to close due to a cut in funding by the governor. It is also being reported that many of the animals may have to be euthanized as well.

From the Boston Globe:

Franklin Park Zoo, a Boston institution that has drawn generations of city and suburban families, may be forced to close its doors and possibly euthanize some of its animals as a result of the deep budget cuts imposed by Governor Deval Patrick, zoo officials said yesterday.

Without more state funding, those zoo officials said, they will run out of money by October and have to close both the Franklin Park Zoo and its smaller counterpart, Stone Zoo in Stoneham. The zoo would lay off most of its 165 employees and attempt to find new homes for more than 1,000 animals, the officials said.

The zoo officials, in a written statement that echoed a letter sent earlier to legislative leaders, said they would be unlikely to find homes for at least 20 percent of the animals, “requiring either destroying them or the care of the animals in perpetuity.’’

From Fox News:

New England’s largest zoo and its counterpart, the Stoneham Zoo, saw their state funding cut from $6.5 million to $2.5 million by Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, the Boston Globe reported, and expects to run out of money by October.

Zoo officials said they would have to lay off most of their 165 employees and find new homes for the more than 1,000 animals they currently house, the Globe reported. Those they cannot relocate — at least 20 percent, officials estimate — may have to be destroyed.

The Zoo’s director is now calling on state lawmakers to override Gov. Patrick’s decision, which he made with a line-item veto of the legislature’s budget. More than half of the zoo’s funding comes from the state.

“Cinderella” Rays Take a 3 Games to 1 Lead Over Red Sox

It hasn’t struck midnight yet on these Cinderella Tampa Bay Rays and this fairy tale story may end with the glass slipper fitting. The Rays took a commanding 3 games to 1 lead over the Boston Red Sox tonight with a 13-4 victory at Fenway Park. It’s amazing that the Rays are just one game away from their first trip to the World Series. Can they pull off the unthinkable? Or will Boston once again come back from a huge deficit to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat? Remember the series versus the Yankees? New Yorkers sure do…

From ESPN:

Evan Longoria hit his rookie-record fifth home run of the playoffs, and Carlos Pena and Willy Aybar also homered off aging knuckleballer Tim Wakefield on Tuesday night to give the Rays a 13-4 victory over the Red Sox that put the defending World Series champions on the brink of elimination.

Carl Crawford tied an AL Championship Series record with five hits and Andy Sonnanstine pitched 7 1/3 innings of six-hit ball as Tampa Bay took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven playoff. Aybar had four hits and five RBIs.

After an off day, James Shields and Game 1 winner Daisuke Matsuzaka are scheduled to pitch Thursday night at Fenway Park in a potential clincher for the surprising Rays.

Tampa Bay had never even approached a .500 record during its first decade in the majors before edging wild-card Boston for the AL East title by two games. But the Rays were poised and powerful against a Red Sox team that has made the playoffs in five of the last six years, advancing to the ALCS four times and winning it all twice.

Boston Massacre…Courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays

There was a massacre in Boston last night, but this one took place at Fenway Park. BJ Upton hit a three-run home run and Evan Longoria also homered off Jon Lester and then Rocco Baldelli and Carlos Pena both hit towering shots over the Green Monster to give the Rays a dominating 9-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox. Going into tonights game, the Rays hold a 2-1 overall lead in the series.

Even though the Tampa Bay Rays took a two-games-to-one lead in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series, it’s way to early to say the Boston Red Sox are done. The team has come back many times in the playoffs. Boston rallied from a 3-1 deficit to beat Cleveland in last year’s ALCS and overcame a 3-0 deficit to beat the New York Yankees in the 2004 ALCS, going on to win the World Series in each season.

But last night may have been a season defining win for the Cinderella Rays. I’ve been telling people since March to watch out for this young and talented team. Yes, I went to school and played Little League in the Petaluma American Little League with Jonny Gomes and his brother Joey but I’m not biased. This team has talent.

From Sports Illustrated/CNN:

Downplay it all you want. After Game 3 of the American League Championship Series on Monday, that’s what both the Rays and the Red Sox tried to do.

But let’s not be fooled here. Tampa Bay’s 9-1 win Monday night in Fenway Park was hugely important. Perhaps history-making important. The Rays just took down Boston’s best pitcher. Beat him like a dirty rug. Knocked him around the park as if he had “Rawlings” stamped on his backside.

And Tuesday night, in Game 4 of the ALCS, Tampa Bay will take its swings against Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield who hasn’t exactly been Mr. October in recent years. Wakefield hasn’t pitched in this postseason yet, but in his last nine playoff games, going back to the start of the 2003 ALCS, Wakefield is just 3-3. He has a 6.43 ERA.

This is where we stand in an ALCS that was practically unseeable four months ago. The Rays are up two games to one in the best-of-seven series. They’ve wrested home-field advantage back from the Sox. They just made Jon Lester the undisputed ace of the Sox, look like a joker.

Doesn’t all of that say something? Anything?

“It doesn’t say a thing,” Tampa Bay relieve r J.P. Howell said through his teeth — with a straight face, even — after the game. “Their 2, 3, 4 and 5 guys are all pretty good, too.”