Thank You!

I'd like to thank everyone for their warm wishes and thoughtful gifts for Christmas. It was great to see my family on this special day. But the one person I truly admire and have to give a huge thank you to is my mother. A woman who had to survive the struggles of multiple life threatening health issues and still take care of her family with a smile on her face is simply remarkable. She provided an amazing Christmas Eve dinner along with delicious home-made cookies and desserts. She is one of a kind. She is my mother and I cant thank god enough for having the privilege of being her son.

Christmas 2007 Wraps up

Christmas 2007 is winding down and here are the highlights :

• Matt Cimini was in town to enjoy Christmas with family

• Grandma and Grandpa Cimini and Aunt Carol were also in town for the festivities

• Mom made her famous apple pie and homemade ravioli

• Marty looked up the tail end of a giraffe

• Baby Olivia celebrated her first christmas

• Scott got a weather station so he can geek it up and monitor the weather.
  

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I just wanted to post a Merry Christmas greeting on here solely to offend the idiots in our society that think a christmas tree or a nativity scene is offensive. Long live the Christmas holiday!

WEEN!

The famous Keith Jacobs and Scott Cimini went on a 2 day mini-vacation this week to see the band WEEN perform 2 concerts in 2 nights. The first show was in South Burlington, VT (home of Ben and Jerry's Icecream and Magichat Brewing Co). The weather was raw with a steady rain falling with the temps in the upper 30's. Luckily our hotel room was very close to the show and only required a short walk. The higher ground was a pretty nice place with ample space and several bars located throughout the place. Ween played for about 2 1/2 hours and had an awesome setlist that included songs such as "with my own bare hands" and "woman and man". An overall outstanding show with plenty of pictures and movies taken.

The following day Keith and Scott headed to the Ben and Jerry's Factory for a short tour and free icecream! The tour was very fun and "mooooving". Later in the day, heading towards our next destination of Northampton, MA, we stopped at the Long Trail brewing company for a burger and beverage. I had a fresh glass of Long Trail Blackberry Wheat before heading to Massachusetts for the 2nd show in 2 nights.

The Calvin theater hosted the 2nd show in 2 days for us. It was a huge venue with lots of seating and space up in front of the stage. Ween played a great assortment of hits including a rarely played "Beacon Light" and a cover of motorhead's "Ace of Spades". They also played "Friends", one of their newest songs from their new album for the first time ever live.

Overall it was a lot of fun and ween shows are always awesome! Feel free to browse through the photos and videos.

Scott

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! There will be lots of new pictures and movies posted to the website tonight so be sure to check back often for those.

I thought it would be cool this year to attach a link to a Thanksgiving Day Quiz. Go here to test your knowledge of Thanksgiving!

Stay safe and God Bless!

Scott

Vote! It's your constitutional right!

Today is election day so get out there and vote! This is your chance to be a part of the democratic process and have a say in what people get elected. I showed up to the polls around 7:15 this morning and it was pretty quiet. There were only a few people there verifying the names of registered voters.

Scott

Patriots 24, Colts 20

Pats Rally to Win in Battle of Unbeatens

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- No running up the score this week. Against the Colts, the New England Patriots had to struggle just to survive.

Survive they did, staying on course for an unbeaten season as Tom Brady threw two of his three touchdown passes in a four-minute span of the fourth quarter to overcome a 10-point deficit and beat Super Bowl champion Indianapolis, 24-20, Sunday.

The win in perhaps the NFL's biggest regular-season game ever keeps the Patriots (9-0) on course for the NFL's first unbeaten season since Miami did it 1972 and gives them the first tiebreaker over Indianapolis (7-1) in the AFC playoffs.

''We were going against a hostile crowd, an undefeated team, we took our hats off to them. But we still played well enough to win,'' New England linebacker Junior Seau said.

New England, which had been scoring more than 41 points a game and had beaten eight opponents by an average of more than 25, had piled points on late in several games in which they were far ahead, including last week's 52-7 win over Washington.

In this contest, anticipated since the schedule came out last April, they had to work their hardest just to win.

They trailed 20-10 after Peyton Manning scored on a 1-yard sneak with 9 minutes and 42 seconds left in the game, and the crowd roaring.

But on a second-and-10 from their own 42, Brady hit Randy Moss over the top for 55 yards to the Colts 3 on a play in which Indy lost Bob Sanders, its best defensive back. That set up a 3-yard TD pass to Wes Welker.

Rosevelt Colvin knocked the ball loose from Manning to force a punt on the next series. Then Brady found Kevin Faulk over the middle for 13 yards for the winning score with 3:15 left.

Jarvis Green knocked the ball lose from Manning and Colvin recovered to clinch the game on the Colts' next series.

''Some victories do mean more than others,'' said linebacker Tedy Bruschi, one of a handful of Patriots who played on all three of their Super Bowl winners. ''This is one we're going to remember.''

For three quarters this looked like Indy's game.

It seemed to have turned with 13 seconds left in the first half, when Joseph Addai took a short pass from Manning and raced 73 yards for a touchdown, at least twice faking out New England defenders who seemed as if they expected him to run out of bounds to stop the clock.

That gave the Colts a 13-7 halftime lead and seemed to be a huge momentum shift.

It certainly energized a Colts defense that was flying all over the field at the start of the second half. Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis kept Brady under pressure most of the afternoon and when middle linebacker Gary Brackett picked off a Brady pass in the first minute of the fourth quarter that led to Manning's sneak, Indy seemed in control.

But Brady, who had 30 touchdown passes in the first half of the season, putting him on course to shatter Manning's three-year-old record of 49, finally awoke late. The long pass to Moss was New England's first gain longer than 19 yards. It came on a scramble by Brady, who extended his record with at least 3 TD passes a game to start the season to nine games.

Moss proved to be a key throughout, finishing with 9 catches for 145 yards and a touchdown.

Coach Tony Dungy said the Colts had prepared for Moss, knowing the Patriots would go to him when they needed a big play. Yet, they were unable to contain him when it counted most.

''We didn't have the answer for Randy Moss today,'' Dungy said. ''We had a lot of attention paid to him trying to stop him from catching the deep balls but he caught the deep one at the big time of the game. That was really the play of the game, got them a quick score.''

The Colts played without Marvin Harrison, their top receiver, who missed his third straight game with a knee injury. Starting left tackled Tony Ugoh also was out and the Colts lost Tony Gonzalez, Harrison's replacement, with a finger injury in the first half.

In the end, that wasn't as much a factor as Brady. He threw for 153 of his 255 yards in the fourth quarter as the Patriots broke a three-game losing streak against the Colts, who beat them here 38-34 in the AFC title game last season and went on to win the Super Bowl by beating Chicago.

This game was supposed to be more like that AFC title game than the defensive struggle it was until Brady finally made his big plays.

Matt Cimini saves trucker's life!

I just found out that Matt Cimini was driving into work at 4:30 in the morning when a truck jack knifed and crashed right in front of him on the highway. Matt pulled over to the side of the road and pulled the severely injured motorist to safety until police arrived! Many motorists just continued to drive to work but Matt and 1 other member of the military were at the right place at the right time and were able to rescue the injured driver.

This message is for Matt directly:

We are proud of this brave act! You risked your life to save the life of another and that is what heroes are all about.

Scott

New Pictures Posted!

Halloween 2007 has come and gone. Aidan dressed up as a tiger this year. We didn't take him door to door but we think that next year will be his first trick or treating experience. Enjoy the pictures and don't forget to also check out my weather blog at www.theweathergeek.com


Scott

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone! Tonight Aidan will be a tiger for halloween. We haven't decided whether or not he will go trick or treating yet but he should have fun dressing up and being silly. Stay tuned for pictures and movies of the event later on tonight.



Scott

SOX WIN WORLD SERIES!!!

DENVER -- A scintillating seven-game winning streak that began in Cleveland with the season on the brink of elimination ended Sunday night with the Red Sox mobbing each other in the thin air of Coors Field of all places, culminating in a World Series championship that didn't take even close to 86 years this time around.
By sweeping the Rockies with a 4-3 victory in Game 4, the Red Sox are champions of Major League Baseball for the second time in four seasons, once again doing it by giving their National League opponent the broom treatment. It was the seventh -- there goes that number again -- time the Red Sox have won the World Series.
It all ended with Jonathan Papelbon, the closer who has been brilliant all year and into the postseason, striking out Seth Smith on 95-mph heat. The fiery right-hander tossed his glove high in the air with joy, took his hat off and then embraced catcher Jason Varitek after saving the World Series clincher for left-hander Jon Lester.
From there, it was a sea of Red Sox piling on top of each other in the middle of the diamond.
"It was just an amazing ride," said Papelbon. "Hopefully this is a sign of more to come. The guys in this clubhouse, we have a chance to be here year after year. We can put a good team out there year after year."
Three years ago, the Red Sox were overjoyed just to do it once. Now, the organization -- which has made the postseason four of the past five seasons-- is hoping to turn into a perennial powerhouse.
Victory did not seem to be any sweeter this time than it was in 2004.
"You know what, what happened in '04, we'll never forget," said Terry Francona, the first manager in Major League history to win his first eight World Series games. "I won't ever forget it. But this is '07, and we said that from Day 1. And we accomplished our goal, and it's not easy to do."
Give the Rockies credit for this: they didn't quit. Down, 4-1, in the bottom of the eighth, Garrett Atkins blasted a two-run homer to left against Hideki Okajima, putting the heat on the Red Sox.
"They don't panic when they're down," World Series MVP Mike Lowell said of the Rockies. "It got a little dicey there after Atkins hit the home run, but Pap's been there all year for us. There's no better guy to have in that situation than him."
It was Papelbon, who didn't allow a run in seven postseason appearances, who recorded the final five outs. It was his third save of the World Series.
There was also a feel-good touch to the end of the script, as Lester, who was undergoing chemotherapy treatments for anaplastic large cell lymphoma at this time last year, fired 5 2/3 shutout innings against Colorado to earn the win in his first career postseason start.

"Words can't describe it," said Lester. "It really hasn't sunk in. Maybe it will sink in when we go ride around Boston with the trophy. Right now, it's just a lot of fun. This is the one you work for ever since you first picked up a baseball. This is what you dream of and this is what you work towards all year."
Aaron Cook, making his first start since Aug. 10 because of a left oblique strain, hung tough (six innings, six hits, three runs) for the Rockies in a losing effort.
But the Red Sox did enough offensively to get the job done. Lowell -- who has a way of making his hits count -- belted a solo homer in the top of the seventh to give Boston a 3-0 lead.
Brad Hawpe drew the Rockies within two on a solo shot to right against Manny Delcarmen in the bottom of the seventh. But after Mike Timlin navigated the Red Sox through the final two outs of that inning, Bobby Kielty opened the eighth with a pinch-hit homer to push the lead back to three runs.

The fact that Kielty hit a decisive home run was symbolic of the way this postseason went for Boston. From the veterans to the rookies to the role players, everyone did their thing.
"You have to have horses," said Red Sox right-hander Curt Schilling. "You have to have Papelbons, you have to have [Josh] Becketts, you have to have Mannys, you have to have Davids, but when you have Jon Lester winning it and Bobby Kielty hitting the game-winning homer, it just speaks to the depth of the club."
Don't let the relative ease of the World Series conquest fool you. The ride to the pinnacle was anything but easy for the Red Sox. They trailed the Indians, 3-1, in the American League Championship Series before climbing out of that seemingly daunting deficit.
If the script sounds reasonably familiar, it should. In 2004, the Red Sox came back from 3-0 down to beat the Yankees in the ALCS, and they finished that championship ride with eight straight wins.
"It's the most impossible thing to get done, and we got it done," said Red Sox slugger David Ortiz. "And [three] years later, we did it again."
Coming into the World Series, the Rockies had won 21 of 22. But the Red Sox cooled them right off, riding their battle-tested playoff horses (Beckett and Schilling) to victories at Fenway, and then having Daisuke Matsuzaka and Lester seal the deal in the Rocky Mountains.
"We had momentum on our side," said Timlin, who has now been a part of four World Series champions. "We came from a tough series with the Indians and we just carried it into this one. They had the time off and it didn't play in their favor, and we rolled."
After taking over first place in the AL East for good on April 18 and winning 96 games during the regular season, Boston went 11-3 in the postseason.
"I'm just so proud of everybody," said Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia, a force in his rookie year. "It took 25 guys and every scout and coach to win this."
In Game 4 of the World Series, the Red Sox again set the tone early. Jacoby Ellsbury, fresh off his four-hit performance in Game 3, led the game off with a double. He moved to third on a groundout by Pedroia and scored on Ortiz's single to right.
Cook held the Red Sox down for a while after that first, throwing three straight shutout innings. But the Boston bats came alive in the fifth. Lowell got it started with a leadoff double to center and belly-flopped home on a one-out single to right by Varitek. After Julio Lugo followed with a single, Cook struck out Lester and Ellsbury to keep it at 2-0.
Things would get topsy-turvy later, but the Red Sox found a way to finish it off. By the end of the night, the infield seats at Coors Field were packed with Boston fans, who cheered the players on for roughly 90 minutes in a post-clinch party.
"I thought there would be a different feeling, because there wasn't sort of the long, dramatic buildup," said Red Sox president/CEO Larry Lucchino. "But it's still exhilarating and still jubilant. Just sitting here now, seeing the players in uniform, Red Sox Nation here with us, it's beginning to hit me right now with the fans cheering. It's a gratifying feeling."

Ian Browne AP

Sox need only 1 more win to clinch World Series!

By Patrick Reusse, Star Tribune

Last update: October 28, 2007 – 12:39 AM

DENVER -- The Boston Red Sox did not have control of Cleveland in the ALCS until they scored six runs in the eighth inning of Game 7.

The Red Sox took command of this World Series with a bit more haste. The Colorado Rockies hung right in there for one pitch from first-game starter Jeff Francis, and then Dustin Pedroia hit the second pitch off the top of the Green Monster, and the Rockies were on the run.

Pedroia's leadoff homer came on Wednesday night in Boston, starting a 13-1 victory. The final was 2-1 for the Red Sox on Thursday, and that's how the teams arrived at Coors Field on Saturday.

"They defended their home field," Rockies star Matt Holliday said. "Now, we'll have to defend ours."

Holliday offered one dramatic, ear-splitting moment when that seemed a possibility, but Boston came hard early and again late for a 10-5 victory in a 4-hour, 19-minute marathon that was the longest nine-inning game in World Series history.

So, the Red Sox have won six in a row in this postseason, and they need only one more to win a second World Series in four years. That is a notable achievement when you consider it was an 86-year gap between the previous titles -- from 1918 to 2004.

Josh Fogg was the veteran pitcher sent out in Game 3 to open the Rockies' defense of Coors Field, where they were a National League-best 51-30 in the regular season and 3-0 in the NL playoffs.

He rode a tightrope for two scoreless innings, then those 85-mile-per-hour fastballs and fat breaking pitches turned into glorified batting practice. The Red Sox scored six runs on seven hits in the third.

Manager Clint Hurdle was way too patient with Fogg, allowing him to continue even after the first five Red Sox reached base in the inning.

Fogg could have escaped with a 3-0 deficit when Daisuke Matsuzaka, the opposing pitcher, batted with two outs and the bases loaded.

Dice-K spent the previous portion of his pro career pitching for the Seibu Lions in Japan's Pacific League. That's a league where the pitchers do not hit. This season, he was 0-for-4 in interleague games.

Fogg flipped him a hittable curveball and Matsuzaka whacked it into left field for a two-run single. Hurdle still stayed with Fogg, until Jacoby Ellsbury followed with an RBI double.

This was Ellsbury's second double of the inning. He wound up the night with three.

And let's throw this in right now: This Ellsbury, a lefthanded-hitting rookie, doesn't fit the Red Sox profile. He runs way too fast. Before you know it, he'll be scoring from first on doubles and the Fenway faithful will suffer a mass attack of chest pains.

Matsuzaka was a key factor Saturday, and yet he remained baffling. It cost $103 million for the Red Sox to get him from Japan and keep him away from the Yankees.

The assortment of pitches -- live fastball, solid breaking ball, excellent changeup -- are there, as advertised, but his unwillingness to throw them over the plate can't be explained.

Even his manager, Terry Francona, recently lamented Matsuzaka's approach by saying: "He can turn 0-2 into a 3-2 count faster than anybody."

Members of the Boston media have taken to describing Matsuzaka as a "power nibbler." A guy like Kenny Rogers nibbles around the edges of the plate for self-preservation. Dice-K nibbles for reasons that don't translate from Japanese to English.

Matsuzaka had a one-hitter through four innings and a shutout through five, but his pitch count was rising and then he walked Todd Helton and Garrett Atkins back-to-back with one out.

Francona came to get his nibbler, and went first to lefthander Javier Lopez, then to righthander Mike Timlin. What followed were two RBI singles, pinch-hitter Ryan Spilborgh's drive to the base of the center field fence and into Ellsbury's glove, and pinch-hitter Jeff Baker's screaming liner that was snared by a leaping Julio Lugo.

The bad luck didn't take the heart out of these Rockies. They made another comeback in the seventh against Mike Timlin. After two opening hits, Francona went for Hideki Okajima, the lefthanded reliever and hero of the Game 2 victory.

Okajima threw over to first base. Then, he threw to the plate and Holliday -- who again heard "MVP" chants in his at-bats -- crushed the ball into the trees in straightaway center for a three-run homer.

The lead was down to 6-5 and Denver's World Series newcomers went into a screaming, delirious frenzy worthy of the Thunderdome 20 years ago in downtown Minneapolis.

But that was it. The Red Sox added three in the eighth against lefty Brian Fuentes, the Rockies' three-time All-Star, and that made the game -- and this World Series -- a foregone conclusion.

Sox go up 2-0 in World Series

BOSTON -- There was no hitting barrage or pitching masterpiece for the Red Sox in Thursday night's Game 2 of the World Series, nor did there need to be. What carried this night was crisp execution in both facets at times when it was needed most.

Hardly content with leaving home with a split, the Sox played a game of survival on both sides of the ball, and it wound up being enough for a 2-1 victory that has pinned the Rockies in a 2-0 hole as the Fall Classic shifts to the thin air of Coors Field for Game 3 on Saturday.

Of the 50 previous teams who have opened a 2-0 lead in the World Series, 39 have gone on to win. Then, there is this stat. Of the 34 teams that have won the first two games of the World Series at home, 27 have emerged as champs.

But the Red Sox are oblivious to that right now -- much like they were when such numbers were slanted against them after they fell behind 3-1 to the Indians in the American League Championship Series.

"I think what we've said all along -- and it will never change, and we're really good at it -- is playing the game ahead of us," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "Our outlook on the way we play won't change. The next game ahead of us is the most important thing on our radar, and that'll never change, regardless of what our record is."

After winning five in a row to put them within two victories of the ultimate goal, the Red Sox are focused to an extreme degree, conjuring up memories of 2004, when they finished October with a record-setting eight wins in a row.

"I don't think we want a letdown at all," said Sox third baseman Mike Lowell. "I think Game 3 has to be taken as a do-or-die game for us. I think we've had that mentality basically since the 3-1 deficit with the Indians, and I think that's the right mentality to have. We want to keep pushing forward. We want to keep grinding out at-bats and innings, and hopefully at the end of nine innings, we're ahead."

If there was a night in which grinding out a win was the operative order of business, this was it.

Curt Schilling, who loves this time of year, gritted his teeth after allowing a run in the first and earned the win with 5 1/3 strong innings. The big right-hander allowed four hits and a run, walking two and striking out four.

But he couldn't have done it without an extremely large effort by the bullpen, in particular Hideki Okjaima, who fired 2 1/3 hitless innings and struck out four while becoming the first Japanese-born pitcher to appear in a World Series game.

"Last year, I pitched in the Japanese World Series, and I have some experience in a big stage like this, so I was confident out there," Okajima said through a translator. "I felt real good out there."

As always, so did Jonathan Papelbon. The flamethrowing closer even broke out a pickoff move against Matt Holliday at first base to end the eighth, then fired a 1-2-3 ninth, which ended when he unloaded a 99-mph heater (at least according to the scoreboard reading in center field) by a very tardy Brad Hawpe. For Papelbon, it was a save in his first World Series outing.

"This was the Pap-ajima Show tonight," said Schilling. "That was just phenomenal to watch. Okajima was perfect, absolutely perfect -- every single pitch."

But before it got to the bullpen, there was another productive October night for Schilling, who is now 11-2 with a 2.23 ERA lifetime in the postseason, not to mention similarly strong numbers (4-1 with a 2.06 ERA) in the World Series. A free agent after this season, this might have been Schilling's last appearance in a Boston uniform. Then again, he will take the ball for Game 6 right back here at Fenway if the series stretches that far.

When Schilling exited the game, there was an ovation that shook Fenway and a hearty tip of the cap by the righty.

But Schilling is eyeing another ring -- the third of his career -- and not focusing on his own saga.

Schilling was asked what his thoughts and emotions were on what might have been his Fenway finale.

Red Sox at 2-0 in Good Company
Fifty-one teams have taken a 2-0 lead in the World Series, with 39 of the previous 50 going on to win the championship(78%). Sixteen of the last 22 Fall Classics, starting in 1985, have now headed to Game 3 with one team on top, 2-0. Twelve of the 15 previous teams have gone on to win the Series, with the outcome of this World Series undecided.
Year	Team up 2-0	Opponent	Outcome
2007	Boston	Colorado	TBD
2005	Chicago WS	Houston	Chicago, 4-0
2004	Boston	St. Louis	Boston, 4-0
2001	Arizona	NY Yankees	Arizona, 4-3
2000	NY Yankees	NY Mets	NY Yankees, 4-1
1999	NY Yankees	Atlanta	NY Yankees, 4-0
1998	NY Yankees	San Diego	NY Yankees, 4-0
1996	Atlanta	NY Yankees	NY Yankees, 4-2
1995	Atlanta	Cleveland	Atlanta, 4-2
1991	Minnesota	Atlanta	Minnesota, 4-3
1990	Cincinnati	Oakland	Cincinnati, 4-0
1989	Oakland	San Francisco	Oakland, 4-0
1988	Los Angeles	Oakland	Los Angeles, 4-1
1987	Minnesota	St. Louis	Minnesota, 4-3
1986	Boston	NY Mets	NY Mets, 4-3
1985	St. Louis	Kansas City	Kansas City, 4-3
Home teams have taken a 2-0 lead 34 times and have won 27 of those World Series. The Yankees lost to the Dodgers after taking a 2-0 lead in 1981, but since then, the last 10 home teams to take a 2-0 edge have won the series.

"[I] don't have any," said Schilling. "I guarantee everybody is as sick of hearing it as I am. It seems like the last four or five games, everyone is asking if this could be [my last game]. Whatever happens is going to happen."

And what happens in October, quite simply, is that Schilling wins.

"He came up big in another big game and that's kind of been his MO," said Lowell. "He has a ton of experience, and the most impressive thing about Schill is he's had to change his style of pitching. He's not that power pitcher anymore. You see him really hitting his spots."

After outscoring the Indians and Rockies, 43-6, in their past four games, the Red Sox were tamed early by Rockies right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez. But the Sox got a game-tying sacrifice fly form Jason Varitek in the fourth and then an RBI double by Lowell in the fifth to go in front for good.

Schilling started the game by hitting Willy Taveras. With one out, Holliday struck a hard single down the third-base line, allowing Taveras to get to third. Todd Helton gave the Rockies their first lead of the series on a fielder's-choice grounder to first.

If Jimenez had any nerves in his first World Series start, they didn't show. He mowed right through the Red Sox early. He did escape major damage in the third, however, after walking Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis with two outs. David Ortiz narrowly missed clocking a three-run homer around Pesky's Pole in right, but the liner went just foul. Big Papi then struck out to end the threat.

But the Red Sox did get something of substance in the fourth. Lowell worked a one-out walk and raced to third on J.D. Drew's single to right. Though Lowell will never be accused of being fast, he is one of the headiest baserunners on the team. His aggressiveness paid dividends in this case, as he positioned himself to score easily when Varitek then hit a fly ball to center to tie it.

"Sometimes you get that spin where you stay inside the ball, and I saw it go a little bit towards center and I figured, 1-0, one out, I was going to go," said Lowell. "I was figuring a perfect throw was what it would take. He made as close to a perfect throw as there was and I was fortunate to get in there."

An Ortiz walk started a two-out rally against Jimenez in the fifth. Manny Ramirez mashed a single to left, giving Lowell -- Boston's resident RBI machine -- a chance to come through. Lowell delivered, hammering an RBI double down the line in left. For the first time all night, the Red Sox held the lead at 2-1.

After Schilling gave up a single to Holliday and a walk to Helton with one out in the sixth, he was removed following 82 pitches.

"I had a little trouble getting loose in the sixth," said Schilling. "I could not get it feeling right. I thought I didn't command the baseball very well that inning. So I certainly couldn't complain."

And after a huge night by the bullpen, the Red Sox were again in the winner's circle.

"You know, I think we all just kind of feed off each other," said Papelbon. "That's what we did tonight. We just fed off each other and did what we normally do."

Now, it's off to Denver.

"I think this team is always pretty confident," said Youkilis. "We're just playing good ball right now."

Ian Browne MLB.com.

Red Sox sock it to Rockies in Opener!

Leadoff home run sets the tone for Boston as ‘rested’ Colorado falls in lopsided Game 1

By RONALD BLUM - The Associated Press

BOSTON — Josh Beckett, Dustin Pedroia and the Boston Red Sox were revved up and ready. Not so the Colorado Rockies, who showed up in Beantown looking rusty not rested.
Back in the World Series with no Bambino’s curse to worry about, the Red Sox flattened the Rockies 13-1 in Wednesday night’s World Series opener.
Beckett got off to the most overpowering start since Sandy Koufax, Pedroia became only the second player to lead off the Series with a home run, and then a relentless offense led by Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz racked up hit after hit.
Boston set a record for runs and victory margin in an opener and finished with 17 hits, becoming the first club to hit eight doubles in a Series game since 1925. After taking a 6-1 lead against Colorado ace Jeff Francis, the Red Sox piled on seven runs in the fifth, when Rockies reliever Ryan Speier walked three consecutive batters with the bases loaded — the first time that ever happened in a Series game.
Make no mistake, these Red Sox are slick, and not just because of an on-and-off drizzle that seemed to dampen the noise from 36,733 fans in Fenway Park.
Colorado has the altitude — the series shifts to mile-high Coors Field this weekend — and had won 21 of 22 coming in. But after a record eight days off, the Rockies looked like a team starting spring training. Just four batters in and trailing by only a run, the Rockies moved their infield in.
Boston, meanwhile, showed the veteran attitude and stretched a Red Sox Series winning streak to five for the first time since 1915-16. While the Rockies lined up for the introductions on the foul side of the third-base line, looking like World Series rookies, the Red Sox stood shoulder-to-shoulder on the infield side, knowing they belonged.
With stubble on his upper lip and a hint of a soul patch on his chin, the 27-year-old Beckett pitched in the manner of a young Roger Clemens. Coming off his AL championship series MVP, the 2003 World Series MVP blew away the Rockies with 95-97 mph fastballs the first time through the order, then started mixing in a 77 mph curve.
Beckett allowed six hits in seven innings, struck out nine and walked one, improving to 4-0 with a 1.20 ERA in the postseason this year.
Francis fell behind 3-0 in the first inning and was finished after four, giving up six runs and 10 hits. Colorado, which had matched the 1976 Cincinnati Big Red Machine by sweeping its first seven postseason games, lost for just the second time since Sept. 15. The Rockies allowed just eight runs in their sweep of Arizona in the NL championship series and gave up nearly twice that in five innings.
Boston tries to make it 2-0 tonight when Curt Schilling, 9-2 in postseason play, pitches against rookie Ubaldo Jimenez.
The winner of the opener has gone on to win nine of the past 10 World Series and 62 of 102 overall.

RedSox Clinch ALCS!!!!

Dustin Pedroia drove in five late runs with a two-run home run in the seventh inning and a bases-clearing double in a six-run eighth as the Red Sox rolled to an 11-2 win over the Cleveland Indians last night in the seventh and deciding game of the American League Championship Series.

It was the third time in franchise history that the Red Sox have rallied from a 3-1 disadvantage to win a series, including 2004 when they went on to win the World Series.
The Red Sox will play host to the National League champion Colorado Rockies in the World Series, beginning Wednesday at Fenway Park.
Kevin Youkilis slugged a two-run homer in the eighth.
Pedroia's two-run home run over the Green Monster off Rafael Betancourt in the seventh inning broke open a one-run Red Sox lead in an inning that started on Casey Blake's fielding error. Blake misplayed a liner off the bat of Jacoby Ellsbury, allowing Ellsbury to reach second. Ellsbury went to third on Julio Lugo's sacrifice bunt. It was Blake who'd hit into an inning-ending double play in the top of the inning, with runners on the corners.
"You know what?" Red Sox reliever Jonathan Papelbon said. "We all believed even when we were down 3-1. But we just wanted to take it one out at a time. One inning at a time."
Josh Beckett, who was named series MVP, said: "I'm expecting to be the guy on the mound [in the opener]. It's my second time and I'd like another ring to go with the one I got in Florida."
Red Sox manager Terry Francona said: "It wasn't easy and it's not supposed to be. It's appropriate ... very appropriate we're doing it at home. The score wasn't indicative of game. We're up 3-2, Lofton has a chance to score. They don't, we get the double play ... and then and we spread it out."
The Indians took to the field after a clubhouse meeting to hear pitcher Paul Byrd explain away newspaper reports about his use of human growth hormone (HGH). The report was, to say the least, untimely from the Indians' point of view.
But they had other issues in front of them even before the San Francisco Chronicle's Sunday edition had hit the streets. The Indians had been outscored 22-3 since the sixth inning of the fourth game, and 19-3 in losing the fifth and sixth games. And even as they tried to rally from a 3-0 disadvantage last night, there beyond the left-field wall was Josh Beckett sitting and then warming up in the bullpen. Beckett, the same pitcher who was 2-0 (1.93 ERA) with 18 strikeouts and one walk already in the series.
The Red Sox started Japanese right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka, ineffective in the postseason and down the stretch, with a 2-5 (7.07) mark in his past 10 games overall. Matsuzaka's mental state has been a subject of concern for Red Sox Nation after a pair of 42/3-inning postseason starts. Matsuzaka's teammates rallied to his defence in recent days, with several of them going out of their way to spin tales of a relaxed and smiling pitcher.
The Red Sox staked him to a 3-0 lead with single runs in each of the first three innings on a run-scoring single by Manny Ramirez off the glove of shortstop Jhonny Peralta, a double-play grounder by Lugo and Mike Lowell's sacrifice fly.
Indians starter Jake Westbrook stuck to the game plan that worked for him in a 4-2 win in the third game of the series, relying on his heavy sinking fastball to get him out of jams, using it to induce three double plays.
Matsuzaka lasted five innings, giving up six hits and two runs while striking out three and walking none, an improvement over his previous outings. He whipped through the Indians, using 21 pitches to set down the first six batters, but laboured in the third, matching his total through the previous two innings. Travis Hafner broke out of an 0-for-16 slump with a one-out double in the fourth, then scored on a two-out double by Ryan Garko, and the Indians pulled to within one in the fifth on Grady Sizemore's sacrifice fly. The inning did not start out well, as Kenny Lofton was thrown out at second stretching on a ball that Red Sox left fielder Ramirez bare-handed off the Green Monster. Television replays showed that Lofton appeared to get his hand in ahead of the tag.
Lofton also figured in a costly base-running decision that cost the Indians a chance to tie the score in the seventh. Reaching second after an error by shortstop Lugo on a pop-up to left field that Lugo dropped as he stepped in front of Ramirez, Lofton pulled up at third base on a line drive by Franklin Gutierrez that just stayed fair down the third base line, hitting a section of the stands that jut out. Third base coach Joel Skinner initially waved Lofton home, then held him up, and the shocked reaction of the Cleveland dugout suggested they thought he could have scored. Blake, the next batter, hit into a double play.

Cimini's Make surprise trip to Bishop's Orchards!

maze6
Originally uploaded by urnso77

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and Aidan needed to burn off some energy. Even with a trip to Lyman Orchards planned for later this month, the Cimini's headed out to Guilford, CT to Bishops Orchards.

There were a good amount of people there but not enough to cramp our style. Aidan loved the HUGE pumpkin patch that they had there. He ran through the rows of pumpkins and then climbed all over them. Monica and I let him choose a pumkin to display on our front porch this Halloween.

There was also a pretty big maze built out of hay. Aidan ran through the maze with no worries of hurting himself or anyone else. He fearlessly would run full speed around corners. The picture is of Aidan running around a corner in the maze.

After we let Aidan tire himself out, we headed over to the market. I couldn't resist buying a strawberry rubarb pie. Monica got her fudge and we both got a jug of apple cider to enjoy. Overall it was a great little trip! Aidan LOVED it.

Scott

P.S. We are still going to go to Lyman Orchards as scheduled.

It's October so its time for Lyman Orchards

JDRF Walk 2007 29
Originally uploaded by urnso77

Every year in Ocotober we go to Lyman Orchards to kick off the fall season. This is the 3rd annual trip to Lyman. Aidan was only 3 months old when the tradition started.
Lyman Orchards has a lot to offer. The corn maze is always very fun for the children. Aidan might even be old enough to do it this year! They also have farm tours which i wasn't aware of so I'll have to check that out this year. Can't forget the huge variety of produce, home-made pies and fudge and their very own deli. Their apple pies were voted Connecticut's Best Apple Pie by Connecticut magazine.
We plan to go in a couple of weeks but instead of going on a weekend day where its extremely busy we will probably take a day off of work and go on a weekday. I will update with pictures and movies in the coming weeks so stay tuned for that.

Scott

JDRF Walk a success!

JDRF Walk 2007
Originally uploaded by urnso77

Thanks to everyone who donated for this great event! Aidan's Little Einsteins were able to raise $440 this year to support the cure for diabetes! The weather was beautiful and thousands of people showed up to show their support. Aidan had a great time running around and playing. Geoff Fox was there again representing channel 8 so check out the channel 8 news tonight for a possible news story on the walk. I took many pictures and even several movies so don't forget to check those out on the site.

Scott

Last Chance to donate to the diabetes walk

The walk is on Sunday September 30, 2007 so this is your last chance to sign up to walk or make a donation for the event. If you have already signed up you can meet Scott and Monica on the bottom floor of the parking garage at Anthem this sunday around 9pm. This is where all the team members of Aidan's Little Einsteins are meeting. If you'd like to make a last minute donation please click HERE. Hope to see everyone there!

Scott

Next stop...Burlington, VT

Keith Jacobs and Scott Cimini will embark on a 4 hour ride to Burlington Vermont to see the great band Ween. They are a talented group of musicians who have been together for over 20 years making amazing albums. Ween is playing at the Higher Ground on November 28, 2007 at 9:00 PM and will be the only band playing that night. No one shares the stage with Ween. Enough said there.
Magichat brewing company and Ben and Jerry’s Icecream both have their factories in Burlington so there will be plenty to do while we’re up there. I’ve done the tours of Magichat and Ben and Jerry’s and its awesome.
Scott is also trying to get tickets to the Penguins vs. Sabres outdoor hockey game on January 1st, 2008 in Buffalo NY where a record will be set for the largest crowd to ever see an outdoor hockey game. Still working on that though and need to make sure the funds are there to do that.
Scott

Cimini's Explore New Hampshire!

Monica, Scott, and Aidan spent the weekend in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. It’s the final vacation planned for the summer of 2007. Woodwards was excellent as usual as Aidan LOVED feeding the ducks. I nice relaxing swim in the indoor pool was just what we needed to cool off after a lot of activity. We went to the Lost River Gorge in North Woodstock and took many scenic drives through the mountains. The trip concluded with a visit to Clark’s Trading Post. Clark’s featured a live bear show and several rides on an old “choo choo” train. Check out all the pictures I took there. I also have several movies for your enjoyment as well.
Scott

September 30, 2007 is this year’s Walk to Cure Diabetes at Anthem Blue Cross in North Haven, CT. Monica and I have made it our goal to do the walk for Juvenile Diabetes every year to show our support. This year we have a team called Aidan’s Little Einsteins which will be walking. Last year it rained so hopefully this year we’ll get some nicer weather. I’m looking for as many people to sign up and walk this year. We’re already half way to our goal in donations and we still have 3 weeks to go! If you’d like to make a donation you can do so here. After the walk I’ll announce on this website the total donations received and give special recognition to doners and walkers.
Scott Cimini

Trip to NH planned

Another New Hampshire trip is planned. We’ll be traveling to Mount Washington, Clark’s Trading Post, and Santa’s Village just to name a few of the destinations. Aidan will especially like Santa’s Village. You can expect us to take tons of pictures. If anyone has been to any of these places before, I’d like to know what your experiences were. Monica and I have planned out a weekend of fun activities. We’ll be staying at Woodward’s Resort in Lincoln, NH. Woodward’s offers many things including a duckpond where Aidan can feed the ducks!
Clark’s trading post will feature a trainride through the scenic mountains of New Hampshire and finishing with a bear show. They have a trained Black Bear who will perform stunts right in front of us!

Aidan enjoys trip to upstate NY!

On August 24-26, 2007, our journey took us to Upstate NY for the rest and relaxation. The weather was good through most of the weekend. It was hot on Saturday and very cool on Sunday. Saturday night we got to see a pretty amazing thunderstorm which ended up knocking out power in some areas (not ours). On Saturday we visited the Syracuse area and went to Chittenango Falls State Park. The park was beautiful and had a huge waterfall which Aidan was amazed by. We also met some locals and talked with them for a while. We loved hearing the stories they had to tell about the area. Then we made a drive to see if we could get a hotel near Lake Ontario for the night. Unfortunately, there weren’t any vacancies anywhere so we headed back east and ended up staying in Johnstown NY for the night.
On Sunday, we took in the sights and visited Saratoga Springs briefly. We also saw Saratoga Lake which was beautiful. We finished up the day by going to John Boyd Thacher State Park. We did some hiking, had a quick lunch, and headed to the playground so that Aidan could play play play! There weren’t too many people around so Aidan got to do whatever he wanted (as though he doesn’t get that already).

Pictures uploaded!

Please feel free to check out the thousands of pictures now online. It took hours to upload all of the pictures since I have so many to share with everyone. I am in the process of categorizing the pictures so bear with me on that. I literally have to take over 2000 pictures and organize them. I’ll post more information as soon as I learn how to run this thing better.

Greetings!

Welcome to the new aidancimini.com website! This one should be a lot easier to navigate and look more like a 21st century website. A special thanks to Miguel Rodriguez for the help setting this up. He is the founder of Theultimatehoopschallenge.com and Theultimatefootballchallenge.com. Go check out his websites!