Courtesy of JorgeQuinteros/Flickr

As the Ryan Seacrest compound was popping bottles of champagne and lighting cigars with burning hundred dollar bills, the nation was mourning the loss of Dick Clark.  Seacrest’s rise to absolute power is complete.  As Tupac returned to the stage this week in a form of a hologram, somewhere a cloaked Seacrest is talking to his minions via hologram and demanding they refer to him as Emperor Seacrestine.

Of course I’m kidding. (No, I’m not.)  As the Yankees head into Boston this weekend, I found it appropriate to honor Mr. Clark with a countdown of all things Boston.  Normally, I would take this opportunity to lambaste Boston, but that’s not the way Dick would have done it.  We’ll see how the weekend goes though.  There might be a new list on Monday.

So here it is. My Top Ten Greatest Things About Boston:

10) Terry Francona–I always loved this guy. Classy and a winner.  Won 2 World Series with Boston and then was the scapegoat for a monumental September collapse last year.  He was replaced with Bobby Valentine this year.  That move is like me dumping Kate Upton for Octomom because she ate my last granola bar.

9) Tom Brady–This guy has it all. Multiple Super Bowl winner, supermodel wife and a first ballot Hall of Famer. I mean seriously, what’s not to like? Kudos Tom, you are one of a kind.

8 ) New England Clam Chowder–It’s delicious.  Who would get the Manhattan clam chowder over the New England if given the choice? Sociopaths. That’s who.

7) Tom Brady–A two-time Super Bowl loser to the New York Football Giants.  The only quarterback to lose twice to the Giants in the big game. I mean seriously, what’s not to like? Kudos Tom, you are one of a kind.

4) Wade Boggs–What a fantastic player for the Red Sox. Gave everything he had for the eleven years he was with them. A franchise player. The type of player you’d never let walk away and sign with the Yankees. Oops. Boggs won his only World Series while playing with the Yankees in 1996.

1) Wings–NBC sitcom from 1990-97.  Extremely underrated show that took place on Nantucket.  I still DVR this show and laugh out loud during it.  I am the President and only member of the Wings Fan Club and Tony Shalhoub has a restraining order against me.  That means he noticed me!!

There it is. You may have noticed I skipped some numbers in my countdown, but quite frankly, so would Dick. Enjoy the Yanks/Sox matchup this weekend. Each year this series gets tighter and tighter. Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe tweeted yesterday:

“Last 10 years: #RedSox 93 wins, #Yankees 92. Avg score: Sox 5.46, Yanks 5.24. Crazy.”

It is crazy and a good reason to not hang on every pitch. Chances are if one team loses, they’ll bounce back the next day. The numbers don’t lie. If you start to feel anxiety or start to get too worked up, just take a deep breath and do a countdown from 10.

I went to my first game of the season on Saturday, which ended in 7-1 drubbing of the Yankees and my liver.  I started the day with a group of friends and my cousin at Stan’s, the visual proof is in the picture to the right.  My expression in the picture is very prophetic.  I look angry, but was still in a great mood at this point.  Gorgeous day, afternoon baseball and we started to throw them back, what could go wrong?

I like the new look over at Stan’s.  They re-did the bar and the snack stand.  It has more of an open feel, which goes hand in hand with the sunlight that now pours in, which is also shown in the photo.  It used to get no sunlight due to the old Yankee Stadium being there. Moment of silence, please…………..

We were sitting in Section 203.  I pretty much always sit there.  Even if the section is sold out, I’ll sneak my way in and sit there.  By definition, I’m not a Bleacher Creature, but I get out to 10 games a year and always sit there.  I sit there for the same reason I like the changes at Stan’s.  It’s open.  The lack of seat separation leads to better conversations and a feeling of collectiveness.  We always seem to make friends with someone and this time was no different.  I called this guy “Bramon” because I told him he looked like Johnny Damon and he said people tell him he looks like Tom Brady.  Hey, I’m a man of compromise.

The game was atrocious.  I’ve had dates with women where they’ve gone to the bathroom and never came back that have gone better. Yes, I said “dates”.  Apparently discussing the possibility of an open relationship is a turnoff.  Prudes.  But I digress, as the Angels beat down, so did the sun.  My nose is so sunburned and blotchy; I look like P.T.Barnum.  Going to games like this leaves a bad taste in my mouth.  I get a little surly and annoyed when the runs keep tacking on and we go through the whole “THROW IT BACK” scenario for what seems like the millionth time during the game.  Hopefully the next game I go to ends better.  I don’t want to say I was unbearable to be around, but everyone I was with went to the bathroom and didn’t come back, but I’m used to it.  Even Bramon left and didn’t come back.  I don’t blame him, even Tom Brady himself is used to teams from New York ruining his day.

Hello there Yankee fans. It’s Tuesday January 31, 2012 and here are some links, quotes and other goodies to get you all caught up on your Yankees news.

We start off with football because naturally I’d talk about football on a baseball site. Wait, what? Today is Media Day in Indianapolis and the Super Bowl participants are answering inane questions about a game that is still four days away.

Tom Brady, proud Ugg wearer and quarterback of the New England Patriots spoke about our very own Derek Jeter. He said that Jeter was someone he respects. Say it with me now, “Awwwwww!”

And not to be outdone, New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning thinks of Derek Jeter as a role model.

“Derek’s a guy, from the time I first came here, that I definitely have paid a lot of attention to,” Manning said last week after a Giants practice. “He’s a great player, but he’s also a guy who really shows you what you have to do to succeed in a place like New York. The way he’s handled himself on the field, off the field. The way he’s dealt with all of the attention without letting it affect the way he does his job. He’s done that better than anybody.”

In other news, the Yankees are considering bringing in Bill Hall as a right handed utility guy. Not too bad of an option. They still could bring Eric Chavez back – pleeeeease – ahem.

Today Wally Matthews of ESPN NY asks “Is Tex Crazy? Or Just Stubborn?” You can come up with your own conclusions after reading that “piece.”

Over at The Yankee Analysts, Matt Imbrogno looks at the 2014 roster and payroll. I don’t even want to think about 2014. Derek Jeter will be turning 40 that year. Hey wait, so will I!

The Yankees added another former Boston Red Sox reliever to their list of signed players this offseason. This time it was Manny Delcarmen who inked a minor league deal with the Yanks. The deal includes a Spring Training invite. Delcarmen didn’t pitch in the bigs in 2011 and was 3-2 with a 5.59 ERA in 26 combined appearances for the Triple-A affiliates of the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers.

And now in “this better be true or else” news, Phil Hughes is reported to be in the best shape of his life. Of course, we have to wait until he reports to Tampa to really see if this is true.

Come to think of it, there are a few guys who better be in the best shape of their lives on the Yankees roster.

For my parting shot, a flashback to 25 years ago…

Happy Tuesday!