but what really bothered me, as you mentioned, was that the Os came back twice. After Cabrera was shelled and wild and gave up the back-to-back homers, the announcer didn’t even mention how often this happens. The Os, so far this season, have made it known that they will not give up. They stay in games, they fight and crawl back, but the Red Sox and Yankees are the big market teams. And disappointment from either those teams is far more important then the underdog.

I feel bad for Rays fans (also the state of Florida, due to its shape) this year. When they were first place sportscasters made it sound as though the unbelievable had happened, spent a minute with them, and moved on to A-Rod’s latest bowel movement. They’re, really, the team to be in the AL East. The Red Soxs are fine, they’re built, but they have more glaring holes then the Rays. Shortstop, relievers, bench guys. The Rays are the team, and no matter how much it bothers me that the Os don’t get “fair and balanced coverage” I’m more annoyed when the Rays get snubbed. Hopefully that’ll change once they make it to the playoffs for the first time.

Sidebar – When Manny high-fived a fan at Camden, pundits loved it, (Manny being Manny) but when Lastings Millage high-fives a fan after a home run he’s showing up the other team and disgracing the game. I’m still confused by the double standard.

but then I realized the reality of the situation. The Red Sox have possibly the biggest fan base in sports, a park that sells out every single night, a team that sells the most memorabilia, and they have won two titles in the last four seasons. They are also the loveable losers who have been around forever. The Orioles haven’t been to the series since 1983, have a relatively small fan base, are simply just losers, and are not from a big name town. In a fantasy world Sportscenter would provide a comprehensive, objective overview of all sports contests, but they are a business and the Red Sox clearly draw more people than the O’s do. The Rays were fifth for five years straight, and now they are in contention for the most coverage from the media, they aren’t out to get us they just are out to make money and still do provide a pretty wide view of the spectrum.

In international, high-stakes, elimination-tournament soccer, that kind of score is the rough equivalent of the Vandals sacking Rome. The whole country spent yesterday walking around depressed, hee-hee—‘cept ME.

As annoying as ESPN unequal coverage between teams, its their willingness to create controversy and stories that just don’t exist at all that drives me up the walls. Like the whole “Will A-Rod resign with the Yankees?” crap last year. Everyone knew the Yankees were the only club willing and able to give him the insane money he wanted. Yet ESPN turned this into a huge, multi week story. They are a joke.