I’ve been asked by a few people where my loyalties wound up in the final series of the regular season. The Twins are playing the Red Sox, and while I tend to always go Twins over Sox in these cases, going into the weekend, the Red Sox still had a possibility of losing the eastern division title to the Yankees while the Twins had no shot of anything but a .500 season (which they’ve failed at). While the real answer is that I was pulling for Baltimore to sweep New York, most of me was just avoiding the games so that I didn’t have to decide.
But now that the Red Sox have clinched, I’m hoping that Justin Morneau goes yard one more time and Torii Hunter makes a game saving catch that robs David Ortiz of an extra base-hit. (I’m also hoping that it’s not Torii’s last chance to do so as a Minnesota Twin, but given that he’s up for free agency this winter the odds don’t look so good.) So, yes, for today I’m rooting against Boston. But come the start of playoffs, I’ll be a Red Sox fan all the way.
Of course, I don’t get the game here, so it’s all a moot point anyway.

Michigan 38, Notre Dame 0
Went to the game (again) on Saturday. While it’s nice to see the home team win for a change, I have more fun watching the crowd when they lose. On the other hand, this rout was not so much a sign that Michigan is back on the top of their game as a sign of just how bad Notre Dame is. Their total rushing yards for the game? -6… yes, that would be a negative sign.
On the other hand, their marching band was better than the Wolverines. One particularly impressive formation had them in the shape of a car “driving” across the field, complete with exhaust provided by fire extinguishers set off by the bagpipers. (And yeah… they have bagpipers as part of their band, which makes them that much cooler.)
Yankees 4, Red Sox 3
I have two new housemates from Massachusetts who are both die hard Sox game. A few weeks ago we gathered up a collection of Sox fans to watch some Red Sox-Yankees action at a bar where we were the definite minority — the Tigers were the main attraction that night. Last night we had an impromptu outing to watch the big match up at Buffalo Wild Wings. I showed up a little late and when I got there, I had reassure myself that I was still in Michigan. With both the Red Sox and the Patriots on the various TVs, there were former Bostonians everywhere. The bar even erupted into chants of “Let’s go Red Sox” at various points. I was filled with nostalgia for the days of hanging out at the A-side or Frogstar watching baseball with good friends who were all cheering for the same team.
Despite a near comeback in the bottom of the ninth that had Big Papi up with the bases loaded, the Sox couldn’t quite catch up with Derek Jeter’s jeer inducing 3 run homer in the eighth. Papi popped up, the game was over, and we went home disappointed. But still, it was nice to once again be surrounded by friends who were Sox fans.
…
Later, I was wondering to myself why I enjoyed being one of the Red Sox fans and yet I don’t feel any predilection for Michigan football. It could be that one is baseball and one is football, but I think it’s a little deeper than that. Being a grad student, I still don’t feel like Michigan is “my” school and “my” team, despite having been here for two years now. On the other hand, I still feel like MIT is “mine” in some odd sense of the word because that’s where I was when I truly became an adult. Because MIT’s sports were laughable (I was a varsity athlete for crying out loud), the Red Sox became my “college” team. And thus, I’ll always feel at home in Red Sox nation… even if my true love is Justin Morneau.

Whoa, hold on!
Who the heck is Clay Buchholz?!?!
(Not paying attention to sports today? He’s a pitcher called up for his cup of coffee who, in only his second major league start ever, pitched a no hitter for the Boston Red Sox.)