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Doug Gabriel's back in the NFL

CINCINNATI (AP) - Receiver Doug Gabriel, who was out of the NFL last season after spending much of 2006 in Bill Belichick's doghouse, signed a one-year contract Tuesday with the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Bengals added Gabriel to their thin receiving corps as week after they released No. 3 receiver Chris Henry last week following his latest arrest.

Oakland drafted Gabriel out of Central Florida in the fifth round in 2003. He played for the Raiders through 2005, and was traded to New England. Oakland claimed him off waivers during the 2006 season, then released him last August.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 5:11 PM to Patriots | Permalink | Comments 0

Fantasy baseball resources

Now on our Fantasy Sports Blog, David Ferris has the latest position-by-position hitter rankings, as well as rankings of starting and relief pitchers, to help you plan your fantasy decisions.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 5:04 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Jeter to miss at least three games with quad strain

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Derek Jeter will miss at least three games and possibly more with a strained left quadriceps, but the New York Yankees are not planning to put their eight-time All-Star shortstop on the DL.

"He probably won't be available this series," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Tuesday before the New York played the Kansas City Royals. "We'll shoot for the Red Sox series. We'll see where he's at after a couple of days and try to make an evaluation then."

Jeter said he hurt the muscle running before Monday's game against Tampa Bay and that the pain was "not that bad at all."

"I haven't tried to do anything yet. I've got to go in the trainers room and see what they tell me," he said.

Wilson Betemit replaced Jeter in the lineup and was hitting eighth.

New York did get back first baseman Jason Giambi after a two-day absence. He had been out with a sore left groin.

Girardi said he did not know whether cold weather had contributed to the problems.

"They had no issues in spring training when it was warm. They were both running great," Girardi said. "The conditions are the same for everybody. You're never sure why something happens. But they happen, and you have to deal with it."

Girardi said he had not discussed the possibility of moving Alex Rodriguez, an All-Star shortstop who switched to third when he was traded to the Yankees in 2004.

"We're just thinking he's been our third baseman the last few years. He's comfortable playing third," Girardi said. "I don't see it being a problem with him not feeling comfortable playing short. But that's why we have Wilson. If someone goes down in the middle of the infield for a couple of days, that's why we have him."

Jeter attempted to play on Monday but left after two innings. Girardi said an MRI exam did not indicate serious damage.

"It didn't really reveal like a tear or anything. You could see there was a little something there. It doesn't change our time frame. We're not going to entertain any warm weather for the next six days, and that's a little bit of a concern."

After the series in Kansas City, New York heads to Boston for its first series this year against the World Series champion Red Sox. Jeter's absence left the Yankees short-handed as they begin a stretch where they play 18 of 20 games away from home.

"It's part of the game. There's times you're going to be short-handed," Girardi said. "You've got to do the best you can. You get a guy who's maybe nicked up for three or four days and you don't necessarily want to DL him because then you lose him for 15."

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 4:04 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

More good news for Bruins: Savard cleared to play

WILMINGTON, Mass. (AP) - Boston Bruins center Marc Savard has been cleared for full contact in practice after missing the final seven games of the regular season with a broken bone in his back.

Savard, who has 15 goals and 63 assists, wore a red jersey Tuesday - signifying limited contact was permitted - but said he had been cleared to hit and be hit starting Wednesday.
"I felt great," he said. "My speed felt good. My shooting was good."

Savard has not been cleared to play Thursday, when the Bruins begin their first-round playoff series against the Canadiens in Montreal. But he said taking some hits Wednesday would be good for his confidence. Savard was Boston's leading scorer against the Canadiens this season, with nine points.

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Posted by Mike McDermott  at 3:46 PM to Bruins | Permalink | Comments 0

Red Sox honor Buckner at Fenway Park

BY ART MARTONE
Journal Sports Editor

BOSTON -- Those tears he wiped away were real. Bill Buckner admitted that his suprise appearance today at Fenway Park touched him deeply, and that he was indeed teary-eyed as the fans cheered while he made his way in from left field to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

"It was about as emotional as it could get," Buckner told a group of reporters in the Fenway Park interview room immediately after the ceremony. "A lot of things were going through my mind" as he walked in from left field. "Just good things . . . which is a good thing.

"I appreciate all the thought behind [the invitation from the Red Sox organization]. It was hard to do for me."

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Posted by Mike McDermott  at 3:35 PM to Red Sox | Permalink | Comments 0

Celtics TV ratings up 106 percent

The Boston Celtics' record-setting turnaround is paying off big for Comcast SportsNet, the home network for the NBA's top team. The station reported today that ratings for Celtics telecasts are up 106 percent from last season's numbers.

Through 69 telecasts, Celtics games on Comcast SportsNet are averaging a 3.5 rating (80,500 households), versus a 1.7 rating through 69 games in 2006-07. Ratings have exceeded 5.0 five times this season and have exceeded 4.0 on 24 occasions. Last season, no Celtics game exceeded 3.9.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 2:48 PM to Celtics | Permalink | Comments 0

Bill Buckner to throw out first pitch at Fenway

Here is the official Red Sox pregame release on the Opening Day ceremonies:

Some quick highlights: The ceremonial first pitch will be thrown out by former Red Sox Bill Buckner. Along with the World Series trophy, the Stanley Cup, Larry O'Brien Trophy and the Lombardi Trophy (NFL) will be on hand today.

The Boston Red Sox celebrated their 108th Home Opener, and the 96th for Fenway Park, on Tuesday, April 8, 2008 with a pre-game ceremony that celebrated the Club’s 7th World Championship Title and ushered in the 2008 season at home. The ceremony featured the presentation of the 2007 World Championship Rings, the hoisting of the 2007 World Championship Banner, a parade of flags from 62 countries representing the breadth and diversity of Red Sox Nation, a flyover of F-16 jets, and a Ceremonial First Pitch from a Red Sox Alumnus making his long-awaited return to Fenway Park.

The following is a detailed description of each aspect of the pre-game ceremonies.

Videos of Memorable Moments from 2007: The ceremonies were kicked off with three videos recapping the most memorable moments from the 2007 season. The first video featured game clips from the 2007 regular season that ended with the Sox winning their first American League East Championship since 1995. The second video showcased clips from the 2007 American League Division and Championship Series, the last video highlighted clips from the 2007 World Series where the Red Sox swept the National League Champion Colorado Rockies in four straight games to win their seventh World Championship title.

The Parade of Nations: The recap videos were followed by a parade of flags in front of the Green Monster from 62 different countries that represented the wide-spread appeal of the Red Sox throughout the globe. The nations represented by these flags either count Red Sox Nation members as its residents or have citizens who have been in touch with the Red Sox Front Offices via letters and emails professing their love for the ‘Olde’ Towne Team’. The countries represented were: Afghanistan, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Austria, The Bahamas, Belgium, Bermuda, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Columbia, Costa Rica, Cuba, The Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, France, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guam, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Venezuela and Vietnam.

The Banners: All seven World Championship banners were ceremoniously unfurled on the Green Monster to the Theme from Jurassic Park, composed by John Williams, which was chosen because of its gentle yet celebratory grandeur. The 2004 and 2007 championship banners spanned the length of the entire left field wall. The Sox are the only Major League Baseball team to win two World Championships in the 21st century. The large 2004 and 2007 banners were all hand-stitched and created by Heritage Flag of South Boston, MA. The swallow-tail banners representing championships in 1903, 1912, 1915, 1916 and 1918 were made by Flag Graphics of Somerville, MA. All flag and banner related logistics were handled on Opening Day by John Coyne of USA Sign in Boston, MA.

Champions of Boston: The pre-game ceremony featured an impressive array of athletes from the Bruins, Celtics and Patriots. The ‘Champions of Boston’ ceremoniously carried the World Championship Rings to be presented to the 2007 Red Sox and handed them over to Red Sox Ownership for presentation.

From the Boston Bruins

Left Wing John ‘Johnny’ Bucyk

Left Wing Ken Hodge

Left Wing Donald ‘Don’ Marcotte

Right Wing John ‘Johnny’ McKenzie

Defenseman Bobby Orr

From the Boston Celtics

Guard/Current Executive Director of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge

Guard/Forward M.L. Carr

Guard/Forward John Havlicek

Guard K.C. Jones

Center Bill Russell

Guard/Current Director of Special Projects Jo Jo White

From the New England Patriots

Linebacker Tedy Bruschi

Running Back Kevin Faulk

Linebacker Larry Izzo

Long Snapper Lonnie Paxton

The 2004 Boston Red Sox

Infielder Brian Daubach

Pitcher Curtis Leskanic

Infielder/Pitcher Dave McCarty

The Championship Trophies: The Champions from each of the four Boston sports franchises were accompanied by one of the Championship trophies that each of those franchises won.

The Stanley Cup: National Hockey League

The Larry O’Brien Trophy: National Basketball Association

The Lombardi Trophy: National Football League

The Commissioner’s Trophy: Major League Baseball

By our research, this is the first time that all four trophies have been in one location at the same time.

The 2007 World Championship Rings: The 2007 Boston Red Sox World Series Championship ring is cast in brilliant white gold. The top of the ring has twenty-eight round brilliant-cut diamonds channel-set around the bottom of the bezel. On the top of the bezel, recessed in black letters, are the words “World Champions”.

Centered on top of the ring is the Red Sox logo, (a pair of red socks) cast in brilliant white gold each set with four custom fitted natural rubies mounted on a diamond base crest depicting a baseball diamond. The diamond base crest is inlaid with fourteen princess-cut diamonds. The baseball diamond overhangs an inner bezel and is set on a field of four custom faceted synthetic blue sapphires.

The left side of the ring has “7th World Series Championship” in raised relief on a black background. Underneath is a depiction of Fenway Park with “4-0 Sweep” at the bottom of the panel.

There are two versions of the right side of the ring. For those players’ who played on both the 2004 and 2007 World Championship teams, their rings have a panel with the recipient’s name in raised relief on a black background above a maroon-enameled initial “B” between two World Series Trophies. For those players who played only on the 2007 team, their rings have one trophy on the right and a maroon-enameled initial “B” on the left. For all rings, at the bottom of the panel in raised relief is the recipient’s uniform number with the year “2007”.

The inside of the ring is engraved with: “Boston Red Sox” and “10-28-07”.

The ring features a total of 42 diamonds with a total weight of 2.33 carats. The total weight of the ring is 50 dwt.

"The ring is stunning! Clearly reflecting the great care the Red Sox take in recognizing their organization,” said Tim Larson, president and CEO, Jostens. "Jostens is honored to work with Red Sox on the entire process that culminates in the delivery of the World Championship rings for today's historic ceremony."

The Ring Presentation: The rings were presented in nine distinct groups in order: Manager and Coaches; Trainers and Clubhouse Staff; Catchers; Starting Pitchers; Infield; Outfield; Bullpen; Closer; and the Designated Hitter.

The rings for the Manager and the Coaches were given out as the Boston Pops played the Main Theme to the Magnificent Seven, originally composed by Elmer Bernstein, chosen to collectively represent Manager Terry Francona and his team of six coaches.

When the Saints Go Marching In was played during the distribution of rings for the Trainers and Clubhouse Staff.

The Main Theme to Superman, composed by John Williams, was performed by the Boston Pops when Captain and Catcher Jason Varitek, Catcher Kevin Cash and former Catcher Doug Mirabelli received their rings to represent Varitek’s signature at-bat song Kryptonite by the band 3 Doors Down.

The Main Theme to Raiders of the Lost Ark, composed by John Williams, was played as the starting pitchers received their rings. The song was chosen to embody the ‘go-getter’ spirit of the pitching staff that was best embodied by the Indiana Jones character.

The 2007 Infield received their World Championship rings to the tune of the popular James Bond Theme, originally composed by Monty Norman, representing their slick defensive and dashing offensive capabilities.

The 2007 Outfield received their rings to the strains of the John Williams masterpiece The Throne and End Titles in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, which was selected because of its regality and splendor reflecting the myriad personalities of the Red Sox’ spectacular outfield last season.

The Bullpen from last season received their rings to the tune of He’s a Pirate from the Pirates of the Caribbean series, which was chosen to appropriately represent the ‘pirate’ theme that the bullpen went by the entire season last year.

Closer Jonathan Papelbon received his ring to his signature song, Shipping Up to Boston by the Dropkick Murphys

Designated Hitter David Ortiz, responsible for so many exciting walk-off wins during his tenure here in Boston, received his ring to the Red Sox’ victory song at Fenway Park, Dirty Water by the Standells.

2007 World Championship Flag: Created by Flag Graphics of Somerville, MA, the 2007 World Championship Flag was hoisted on the centerfield banner. The flag went up as the Boston Pops played A Hymn To New England, composed by John Williams and played as a tribute to New England, its people and Red Sox fans who have stuck with the team through the good times and bad.

Flag Military: Members of the Electronic Systems Center and Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, MA assisted with the giant United States Flag draped on the Green Monster. They were led by Lt. Gen. Ted Bowlds.

National Anthem: The National Anthem was performed by members of the Boston Pops Brass Ensemble led by James Orent.

Flyover: The Flyover was presented by the 158 Fighter Wing ‘Green Mountain Boys’ of the Vermont Air National Guard. Four F-16 ‘Fighting Falcon’ jets flew in and out of Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, MA for the Opening Day presentation.

Ceremonial First Pitch: The Ceremonial First Pitch was delivered by former Red Sox First Baseman Bill Buckner. Buckner amassed 2715 hits and 1208 RBI in a 21-year career in which he wore the uniform of five different Major League teams. He won the National League batting title with the Chicago Cubs in 1980 with an average of .324 and was named to the National League All-Star Team in 1981. He recorded only 453 strikeouts in 2,517 games and had one of the best at bats-per-strikeout rates in the history of the game. In 1986 he drove in 102 RBI during the regular season to help the Red Sox win the American League Pennant. In Game 6 of the World Series, Mookie Wilson’s grounder through his legs led to Ray Knight scoring the winning run for the Mets, capping a 3-run rally, and pushing the series to a 7th game in which the Sox once again surrendered a 3-0 lead. Marty Barrett made the last out for the Sox with Buckner on-deck as the Mets won the World Series. Buckner played part of the 1987 season before being released on July 23, 1987.

Buckner made a return to the Red Sox in 1990 and played in 22 games before retiring from baseball. Buckner makes his first visit to Boston since September 1997 when was at Fenway as a Hitting Coach with the Chicago White Sox.

Buckner walked out to the Closing Credits theme from the movie Glory, composed by James Horner. The movie is based on the history of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment during the American Civil War and was one of the first formal units of the U.S. Army to be made up entirely of African American soldiers.

Play Ball: The ceremonial pronouncement of “Play Ball” was made by 88-year old Johnny Pesky, who first donned a Red Sox uniform on April 14, 1942, almost 66 years ago.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 1:46 PM to Red Sox | Permalink | Comments 0

Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Opening day at Fenway

Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning as he was driving to Fenway Park. He discusses the plan for opening day, Bartolo Colon's trip to the disabled list and the continued challenges of juggling Coco Crisp and Jacoby Ellsbury.

Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments:

On today's pregame ceremonies: "The bar has been set pretty high from past pregame extravaganzas, specifically in '05 -- they'll be hardpressed I think to top that from an emotional standpoint, given that that was the first [championship celebration] in 86 years -- but I don't think Red Sox ffans are tired of the ceremonies yet."

On changes at Fenway: "They've done the best with a less than optimum situation. ... I still think -- and maybe this makes me a heretic among Red Sox fans -- but I still think they'd be better off with a new ballpark. But I think financially, they decided that was not viable, so they decided to do the best they can with this, and indeed they have. ... For the first time, this year we can assume that the Red Sox will draw more than 3 million fans, and that's something I think that few people ever imagined possible at Fenway."

On Colon: "I think people got a little too amped up when he had a couple good performances, both for the Red Sox in Los Angeles and, more recently, opening Pawtucket's season. ... I don't think it's going to be much of a setback. I think that it's still quite possible that Colon will be in the rotation by the end of the month."

On Crisp and Ellsbury -- will they continue to get equal playing time? "I don't think it will be equal. I still think that they envision Ellsbury as the guy who is going to take over the job sooner rather than later, but I think early in the year it's smart to keep both of them sharp. It's also not a bad idea to showcase Crisp for some scouts who might be interested in dealing for him. ... Given that Crisp missed so much time in spring training, that sort of made it more difficult to move him, as did the whole Japan and travel and timing issues. So i think eventually they'll get to that, but until they do, they've got to find a way to work it out."

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 12:16 PM to Red Sox | Permalink | Comments 0