Papelbonding.

Jonathan Papelbon is one of my favorite baseball players. Forget that his career ERA is 2.35. Or that he fed his bulldog the ball that won the 2007 World Series.

Let's talk about this guy's RAGE. He clearly likes to party. Look at him.

I was beside myself when I learned that he was actually going to be suspended for three games for giving an old umpire a sweet chest bump during last week's game against the Oakland Athletics. Something must have been wrong for the A's to actually score enough runs to contend with the Red Sox in the first place, so I understand his frustration.

The only loyalty I have to the A's is that I used to ditch class in high school to go sit out in the $11 bleacher seats with my best friend during the occasional mid-week day game (sorry mom). No one really cares about the A's.

According to some news outlets, the MLB has also fined him an undisclosed amount for his reaction to blowing their 4-run lead in the same game.

I think someone just forgot to eat their scooby snacks that morning. Leave my Jonny Boy alone! He doesn't work well under pressure.

The Lakers take a beating.

Sometimes I waver with religious my beliefs, however, I think that karma always finds its way in the end. The report of Kobe Bryant exiting the arena after being defeated 104-99 by the worst team in the NBA, the Cleveland Cavaliers, without saying a single word, really made me all warm and fuzzy inside.

Like, hey, you aren't the best in the world. At least not anymore. And it looks like your downfall is going to make me feel as your uprising did you.

Note: the Celtics are still killing it. Per usual. Damn the Heat, but #2 ain't bad. For now.

Being a Los Angeles native, I am really supposed to idolize this team as any other wildly retarded Angeleno would. Really. I really should. But I look at Kobe Bryant with so much disdain that I want to close my eyes and visualize Brooklyn Decker in a yellow bikini. Don't get me wrong. I don't hate Kobe as some sort of feminist. I don't look at him [every time] and think, that damn rapist. I really don't.

I look at him and think, that cocky mother f-er has to fall off of his pedestal and realize that he is just another human being at some point in time.

Oh, that time is now. Feels good, don't it?

Post-Superbowl blues.

So, football season has come and gone, leaving our Sundays wide open for activities that don't involve staying in pajamas all day, eating greasy food, and drinking beer at 10am. I might get back on the hill and do some canyon hikes, get some sunshine, or maybe I'll just sleep all day. Regardless, I have a few things that take me through basketball season into my favorite time of year: baseball season.

We all saw the atrocity that was the Super Bowl halftime show. Wow. Aside from following some of the greatest acts ever, like Prince, Tom Petty, The Boss, and...Prince, the Black Eyed Peas had their work cut out for them. 150,000 rednecks don't really care about pop songs performed by two black men, a recovering crack addict, and the token asian friend dressed in sparkly space suits. I think Axl Rose cut himself somewhere when Fergie attempted to duplicate his...accent...if you can call it that.

Anyway, let's congratulate the Green Bay Packers on their big win. Supposedly over half of Green Bay went to Lambeau Field to party. Sadly, their stadium can actually fit half of the city. Maybe more than half. Oh, Wisconsin...

Basketball isn't proving to be very exciting this year either. We have Boston leading the Eastern conference (shocker), and the Lakers barely trailing the Spurs in the West. In good news, the Lakers might be on their last leg of championship games knowing that their beloved coach is leaving the team to go swim in his vault of purple and gold coins for all of eternity.

While that is boring me to tears, I find more enjoyment in music. Some of my top songs to get me through the next few weeks are...

1. Everest - Let Go
2. The Decemberists - The Calamity Song
3. We Are Scientists - After Hours
4. Neon Trees - 1983
5. Nicki Minaj - Fly
6. One Republic - All the Right Moves
7. Marina & The Diamonds - Hollywood
8. Adele - Rollin' in the Deep
9. Michael Lowman - In My Own Words
10. LCD Soundsystem - Drunk Girls
11. The Radio Dept. - Heaven's On Fire
12. Lucy Schwartz - Take a Picture
13. In This Moment - Iron Army
14. Blindside - Pitiful
15. Carina Round - Do You

Let those wet your earholes for a few days. You won't be disappointed.

Papelbon & Ellsbury keep their red socks.

Apparently it only takes $12M to keep one of the most colorful pitchers in baseball on your roster. The Boston Red Sox signed a one year deal with pitcher Jonathan Papelbon, who is somewhat famous for letting his dog eat the ball that brought home the 2007 World Series win for the Sox. He can now be famous for receiving the highest paying one year contract for an arbitration eligible pitcher, and the fourth highest overall. While Papelbon had his crappiest season yet at Fenway, word has it that he has been throwing balls around in dog parks, and is looking to bring a stronger arm to the 2011 season.

Center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury also signed a one year deal, but he goes for a lot less at a mere $2.4M. That and he hasn't done anything stupid enough for me to make a joke about yet.

Loving this...not believing it.

I'm reading through the sports news, the emails, and the cheap cigar adverts in my inbox today, and I come across this headline:

"Celtics looking to slow Bryant in game 2"

You might ask, is this a Craigslist ad?

Is it a joke?

As much as I dislike Kobe Bryant and his Laker lackeys, I find this to be really funny. REALLY funny. So, I click on the headline to read more. Inquiring minds want to know! There is more!

"Celtics scheme ways to overcome Kobe in game 2"

Now we're scheming!! I wonder what we're coming up with in the locker room. I'm imagining Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett heating up a kettle of tar to dump at the doorway into the court. Maybe some banana peels. Koopa shells...I could go on. You get it.

How about instead of trying to slow one man down, you try and up your entire squad's game so that they have a shot at matching this one man and all his greatness. And by that, I mean man the hell up and don't let this one crybaby take you down that easily. At least let the other four in on the fun.

In the mean time, I'm still giggling about this scheming stuff...writers these days.

And, it continues...

Remember that time I had a sports blog?! Oh, right!! Baseball season started, and I seem to have forgotten all of you. I kid, I kid.

I'm alive, and well. New digs, new computer, new boyfriend. Okay, that last part is a lie. But I did get rid of the old one. No offense to him in any way...

Moving on...let's get down to business.

The NBA finals are giving us the showdown that everyone loves and hates to see. It's probably the biggest rivalry in basketball. It's The Boston Celtics versus the Los Angeles Kobe...I mean, Lakers! We all know how I feel about Kobe Bryant and his little cronies, but what you may not know is that my father's side of the family hails from Boston, and that allows me to default my team of choice as such. Done.

In deathmatch #12 (yes, they have battled in 12 series against one another), we can look at overall numbers, or we can look at today's team. I prefer to look at the overall numbers since they make the Lakers look massively inferior. The Celtics have only lost three finals ever. Lakers, 15. Which makes a draw for them, only winning 15 titles ever. Celtics - 17 of those shiny ass rings. Yep.

This series will be fun to watch regardless of who wins. Don't forget to watch for the Kardashian clan in the audience. You know, if you're into that sort of thing. Game one starts tomorrow at 6pm PST.

May the best team -- ahem, Celtics -- win!

Papelbon pays up.

The rain man-esque closer for the Boston Red Sox, Jonathan Papelbon, has been fined for the second time this season by Major League Baseball for holding up a game. Whacky Jon (also known for allowing his bulldog to consume the winning pitch 2007 World Series ball) was fined $5,000 for taking too long to throw his first pitch. Pitchers have 12 seconds to execute after the batter steps into the box.

"After this, I don't know man. I think they're going to call my parole officer and put me away," says Papelbon.

5150, maybe.

Senator Schilling?!

Although not completely ruled out, former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling claims he is not likely to run to replace Senator Ted Kennedy in the US Senate. He certainly has that 'I'm a politician, and I just finished saying something important' look. Rumors have been milling that Schilling was running as an independent in the race after he spoke on a Boston radio station regarding the state of Massachusetts, and it's "desperate" need for new blood this morning.

Bloody socks?

The 42 year old retiree (what a jerk, right?) has since been focusing on his video gaming company, 38 studios. He's a nerd too?! I'm loving this. However, he has credentials...and they are that he has no baggage. That's more than most females can claim, so it's a start. He is also apparently "encumbered by special interest connections."

I talked with my dad about these rumors this morning. He thinks Schilling should go ahead and run for president...with Josh Beckett as his running mate. What a campaign that would be! If you look at pictures of them together, they kind of look like a good [political] team.

Would you vote Schilling?

Yankees defy odds. Jerks.

When high-fiving, your palms are supposed to connect. Just sayin'. Yankees...

Anyway, the damn Yankees knocked five balls out of the park to take the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night, with Jorge Posada hitting two home runs. Killer, B. I thought I would have more to say about this, but I really don't.

The win puts the Yankers 6 1/2 games in front of the Boston Red Sox. I need to call my dad on this one.

Damn Yankees.

My dad always told me that he has two favorite teams - The Boston Red Sox, and anyone who beats the Yankees. He's from Boston, so, naturally, you get it. I'm not from Boston, I'm not really into the American League and their designated hitter nonsense (pussies), so I'm not a Red Sox fan.

But I still hate the Yankees.

Will someone beat them already? They're now 6 games up on the Red Sox, and they're spanking ass. Is this because they have a $347 million infield? Is this because they're all on some super form of juice that can't be detected as one of the thousands of banned substances in the MLB?

I know it's not because they said farewell to Joe Torre.

Someone tell me what it is that makes the most overpaid, sickening sense of self entitled guys in stripes that makes this work. I smell foul play. Seriously. Or I'm bitter this evening. Either way, I'm over it. Come on AL. Work it!

Whiny Willy to Fenway!

The New York Mets have traded the bitching, closing pitching Billy Wagner to the Boston Red Sox to play as a set up man for the returning ace, Jonathan Papelbon, after making some very snide, on camera remarks about the world series winning pitcher. I tried to get the video, but it is apparently copyrighted by ESPN's Sportscenter, and they have better lawyers than I do, so I'm not even going there.

Papelbon explained to some that the comments were a misunderstanding, and word on the street is that Wagner has since apologized for his choice words that were something to the effect of, "tell him to have 'tommy johns' surgery at 38 and come back." Ouch.

I smell drama, and I love it!

Cardinals scoop up on discounted pitcher.

The St. Louis Cardinals signed a deal today with the very bald, very 42 year old former Cy Young pitcher John Smoltz after he was released from the Boston Red Sox. Luckily for the Cardinals, Boston is still responsible for a majority of his contract, giving the birds the pitcher for a mere $100k!

Sweet jeezus, that's what I call clearance sale! Don't forget that there must be a reason it's on clearance.

Youk out five games

The Boston Red Sox corner baseman Kevin Youkilis was suspended for five games starting Wednesday for charging the mound and tackling Detroit pitcher Rick Porcello for allegedly hitting him the face with a ball.

Benches cleared to break up the fight before Popeye managed to throw any punches. Both players were ejected from the game and put on suspension.

Baseball is getting rowdy! Loves it!

UPDATE: check out the video below! the quality blows, and youtube will probably take it down soon, so get on it!

Break out the cracker jack.

Spring training has officially started. There are a bunch of games going on today. Most won't be televised, but you can go to www.mlbtv.com and get some sort of sweet package so you can stream them on the internet from your office. Make sure to keep the window small, and the volume down, so your boss doesn't catch you. Just sayin'.

The most exciting game today will probably be the Boston Red Sox facing the World Series Losers, the Tampa Bay Rays at 1:05pm ET.

Get into it.

The LAme Angels of Anaheim are playing Colorado. The Dodgers are up against the Mariners, and Philly is going to whoop Cincinnati.

Good times.

MOREbury!

(image via berecruited.com)

The New York Knicks have reportedly bought out guard Stephon Marbury for $400,000. That's a lot of pairs of $15 shoes! I guess five years was a little too much for them. He'll be a free agent after some waivers clear. Rumor has it that the Celtics are interested. I don't buy it.

Photo day images are up!

(photo by Nick Laham/Getty images)

Photos of the Seattle Mariners, Colorado Rockies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Florida Marlins, Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics, Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, and the New York Mets have made their way to the internets. You can view the full gallery here.

The most wonderful time of the year.

Honestly, screw Christmas. This is, by far, the most wonderful time of the year. NBA finals are closing in on us, and it's starting to look like we might have a repeat of last year. Kobe Bryant and his Lakers are 8 games up on the competition, with a 4-game winning streak. I'm not a huge Lakers fan, but when they're on a roll...you know. The Celtics are looking at a killer chance to up Cleveland by half a game tonight over Denver. But, at this rate, even if they manage to claw their way back into the finals, I think the end result is already apparent. We'll see what the coming weeks bring the NBA. Boston needs to sharpen up some tools a little bit. Call me crazy, I'd kind of just like to see Kobe eat it a little bit. That ego isn't going to fit in this city if we let it grow any further.

March madness is on it's way, and this is absolutely the best thing since sliced bread for me. I get two solid weeks of white knuckled distractions, lots of reasons to hit up the local brew spot with the guys, and before it's even all said and done, we get baseball. While most polls have their money on Connecticut right now, all four polls I've been keeping my eye on (AP, ESPN, RPI, and our very own Yahoo user's poll) have Oklahoma in second. UNC is taking third across the board, while Pittsburgh (ranked #1 by the Yahoo users), Louisville (go Cards! yes, I'm biased here), and Duke seem to be the three teams we'll be seeing fighting for their spot in the final four. As we know, anything goes at the beginning of this tournament. I'm thrilled to see who takes over my brackets.

With Manny Ramirez screwing with every team in the league, I'm curious to see where he ends up reporting for spring training. Although negotiations have intensified with the Los Angeles Dodgers, it's quite possible that his adamancy for a high ticket salary could leave him watching from the sidelines if he doesn't pick a dugout. Realistically, he'll end up somewhere. The question is where, and moreso, for how much.

The Boston Red Sox are weighing the strength of their team as they start training for their first full season without the powerhouse who managed to average a .396 in 187 at bats during 53 games after coming to the Dodgers mid-season through a three-way trade with Pittsburgh to give Boston left fielder Jason Bay. Although the Boston camp is talking optimisitcally, it will be interesting to see how the team fares without their wacky slugger.

(image via Yahoo! Sports)

Down in Florida, everyone is making a big deal out of a pulled hamstring. According to sources, New York Yankees short stop, Derek Jeter, was complaining about a sore right hamstring Sunday after drills. Jeter told press that "it's no big deal," and will continue training Monday. CC Sabathia, who apparently lost the right to have punctuation in his acronymic first name, also missed out on a day of training due to the flu. However, the left handed pitcher threw 40 pitches to teammates at batting practice the following day. The left-handed pitcher and batter is expected to open the Yankee season on the mound. Let's hope that $345 million infield proves to be worth all of that dough.

There will be much more said as the spring training games start rolling out, and we'll see how well these teams really work together. I'll be making some pretty happy travels out into the desert to check out some of these re-worked rosters as we make our way into the season in April.