FanNation

   A few thoughts while I ice the fatigued digit:

   * It's a shame the Red Sox and Yankees don't play each other again til Fourth of July weekend. As is usually the case in April, Boston got the better of it, but there's now 2 1/2 months to stew on the beanball Kyle Farnsworth threw at Manny Ramirez last night after Manny was Manny Going Deep twice. Granted, it wasn't as egregious as the two Joba Chamberlain fired behind Kevin Youkilis' skull last August, but it's kind of fun to keep the Yankees on edge, not knowing when the retaliation was coming. Given the way they pitched in Wednesday night's 15-9 mess, Julian Tavarez or Mike Timlin could've been brought in for the job.

   * Grit don't mean s--t if you can't put the puck in the net. Down 3-1 and facing elimination in Montreal last night, the Bruins finally freed Phil Kessel from Siberia because he allegedy hadn't been displaying enough grit (like that should be said to the face of any cancer survivor). The fact that the Bruins had gone 10 straight games without scoring more than two goals may have played a part. Anyhow, Phil scored the tying goal in the second period, and the Bs erupted for four in the third to send the series back to Boston for Game 6 tomorrow night. It'll be great to see the TD Banknorth Garden rock for hockey again.

   * By the NBA's assignment of an 8:30 Sunday night tipoff for Game 1, the Celtics have been essentially told their first-round series with Atlanta is the weakest TV attraction of the eight. Maybe the Hawks should re-sign Tree Rollins so he and Danny Ainge could brawl again to give us some '80s nostalgia and up the entertainment battle a bit.

   * As a Friar fan, I'm pretty happy this week. The Providence administration may have drawn things out a bit, but one cannot complain about the hiring of AP Coach of the Year Keno Davis from Drake. The jury may still be out on Dr. Tom's baby boy as a recruiter, but if he rolled the Missouri Valley Conference with two walk-ons in his starting lineup, he can flat-out coach. And Tim Welsh left him some talent, too. And with a name like Keno, he'd be a natural spokesman for Twin River (which is missing $1,100 after the Agganis Matriarch finished her business there today).

    * So IOC Chairman Jacques Rogge is talking about bans and stripping of medals for any Olympic athlete who questions China's alleged commitment to human rights during the Olympics. Athletes of the world, challenge this jerk. He is a coddler of despots, just like his predecessor Avery Brundage (as USOC head) was an apologist for Naziism at the Berlin Olympics. And don't boycott, either - Jimmy Carter looked like such a wimp not letting U.S. athletes go to Moscow (as much as I dislike Dubya, I don't think he's repeating that mistake).

     * Isiah Thomas fired? Maybe photos of your boss in flagrante delicto don't matter so much in the Internet era after all.

     * Funny Patriots schedule. Oppositionwise, it's a little easier than last year's, but they won't go 16-0 again with four games on the Left Coast (albeit paired off with Niners-Chargers in October and Raiders-Seahawks in December - a big dent in the family time). Having only one road trip outside the Eastern time zone (to Dallas) was a big, big factor last year.

     * Evan Longoria getting a six-year deal after six games as a Tampa Bay Ray? Maybe he does block hurricanes from hitting the region and stabilizes the Sunshine Skyway on windy days.

     * I hope Travis Ford invests his newfound riches well. The job description of any coach at Oklahoma State these days includes being T. Boone Pickens' yotch.

     * Tiger Woods' victories don't say everything about him. Last weekend he couldn't make a damned putt, his knee was probably killing him, and he still finished second in a major.  I could make a nice living off his mulligans.