Patriots' Day is a big deal in Massachusetts.
It's a huge deal to my son, as it marks the "real" start to his Spring Vacation from school. To him, the vacations doesn't start until he'd normally be there, so at 8:40am he was sitting on the couch, laptop on his lap, cartoons on one TV and the Wii on pause from the zombie apocalypse on the other...
...that's what I walked into this morning, hoping to get to my computer to write my leads for the day's games before things got really crazy - but my son was already in full bachelor mode, the three electronic distractions and a can of Pepsi a nine year old's version of a cigar and skivvies.
The Red Sox were playing at 11:00 and the Bruins later tonight, and the Boston Marathon sandwiched between - so I managed to pound out my leads in about a half an hour and then retreated to the back deck with a cup of black coffee to ponder my personal agenda with the added responsibility of my needy and, if I'm reading what I just wrote correctly, very spoiled son.
I had targeted this date to launch my new blogspot - and why not? Patriots' Day is unique to New England in general, the states of Massachusetts and Maine specifically...the holiday commemorating the anniversary of the battles of Lexington and Concord that took place on April 19, 1775 - and the first real day of independence for our country.
We honor this day with sporting competitions, the Red Sox always play at home and always starting in the late morning so that (in theory) it causes a seamless segue with the peak of the Boston Marathon...
...and Ryan Dempster kept the amazing string of Red Sox pitching performances to start the season going, allowing one run on just two hits, striking out ten in a seven inning gem that was as bright and fresh as the early spring morning - the solid tandem of Koji Uehara and Andrew Bailey combining with more timely hitting to ensure Dempster's performance wasn't wasted.
And as the Red Sox were preparing to leave the stadium for the airport to catch their flight to Cleveland for a series against the Indians starting tomorrow night, they heard two loud bangs - explosions emitted from two devises planted in trash receptacles at the finish line of the Marathon, blasts that initially killed two spectators and wounded dozens of others...
...an apparent terrorist attack against the culture of a city and a people on a day that President Obama described as "a day that celebrates the free and fiercely independent spirit that this great American city of Boston has reflected from the earliest days of our nation,"
And in that spirit, the act of terror can not be allowed to dictate what the people of Boston do, what they think and how they behave. Life returns to normalcy, games go on, people heal - until the next time that innocent people feel the wrath of cowards who try to control our lives through the fear that their acts arouse in us.
These invertebrates will not stop the Red Sox from playing, nor stop us from going to Fenway Park to watch them play. The Bruins' game scheduled for tonight was postponed in respect for the "event ongoing", but they'll be back as will the Celtics, as will the Patriots, who started their offseason programs today in Foxboro.
Boston is a city that doesn't suffer cowards well. Boston is a tough city, a proud city, a city whose sports teams take on the persona of citizens. The city of Boston is magic, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and it's going to take a hell of a lot more than the gutless acts of today to make the citizens live any way other than they way they are accustomed...
...and they are accustomed to living free. They are accustomed to devout allegiance to the flag and to their teams, and woe to the being that doesn't understand what that means, or tries to change them.
So, the Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 on a walkoff RBI double off the Green Monster by Mike Napoli, scoring favorite son Dustin Pedroia all the way from first, and now sport an AL East best 8-4 record heading off to Cleveland, starting a three-game road series against the Indians and manager Terry Francona , Boston's former manager. Felix Doubront (0-0) pitches for Boston against Ubaldo Jiminez (0-1).
Cowards die a thousand deaths, but Baseball goes on, as does Hockey, Basketball, Football and Marathons. Boston Goes on, America goes on.
And there's nothing that any coward can do about it.
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