Who Gets the Last Shot?

News Flash: Kevin Millar opened his big mouth, said something he shouldn't have, and the media is in uproar about it!

Shocking, I know.

So Kevin Millar went on the Best Damn Sports Show Period late last week and said that before Game Six in the ALCS the Sox players took shots of Jack Daniels, and since they won that game, they felt the need to keep up the ritual for the rest of the playoffs. He also recounted this to local reporter Dan Roache.

Why is this the big news when the Red Sox just won the World Series for the first time in 86 years?

The fact that this story has gotten so much play, IMO, just adds fuel to the fire for those (in the media, Clemens, people outside of Boston I've encountered in the last week) who think Red Sox fans are somehow unhappy now that we've won the WS, that we're now just going back to being miserable. This story being blown out of proportion just shows that at least the media, if not some of the fans, want to latch onto the one potentially negative thing happening right now.

I personally think, what is the big deal? Come on, people, it's Kevin Millar! Are we really surprised he ran his mouth? He's been in Boston two years now, he's said his share of outrageous things, and occasionally had to back away with his tail between his legs. So he has to do it again. So what?

Should we be outraged, indignant, incredulous the way much of the media is reacting? I definitely don't think so. In fact, I'm amused by the whole thing. The Best Damn Sports Show Period is FAR more entertainment than sports news. Even with Roache, you have to take into account who is talking and what he's saying. This is, after all, the rally karaoke guy, the guy who shaved his head for good luck last year and stopped shaving his chin this year for good luck, the guy in the KFC commercials, the guy who tried to stop Manny from going out onto the field for pre-game introductions by pulling on his back pants' pockets, the guy Orlando Cabrera said tried to pull his pants down in a home plate celebration. He's a goofball, he makes us laugh, and I wouldn't want it any other way.

After some backlash about his comments, Millar backtracked to Peter Gammons that it was just a symbolic thing, just a shot in a Gatorade cup that was passed around among the players, not a big deal, nobody was drunk. Frankly, even if Millar's latest comments were just to soften the blow (and after watching the Best Damn Sports Show Period clip, I'm leaning in that direction), and even they all DID in fact take a full shot of Jack Daniels before the game, I don't care! Anyone who has spent any time around professional sports would have to agree the idea of some guys sipping a little whiskey before a game is pretty damn low on the scandal scale.

As for those who are complaining about the shots being a bad example for kids -- please! We have no problem showing athletes downing champagne and beer on the field, with wads of chewing tobacco during the games, and we're reminded at the beginning of every broadcast to be sure to grab our Budweiser! We've got players demanding absurd amounts of money; we've got rampant rumors of steroid use; we've got players saying they're too good to be put in the six spot so they just walk out of the game. Baseball, and pro sports in general, haven't been doing much to set a good example for kids anyway. And by the way, it's not their job -- that's what parents are for.

So the Sox took a shot before the game? So what?! We spend months praising this team for being a bunch of idiots, rebels, free spirits, then when we hear they might actually have done something a bit unprofessional, we freak out and bash them for it. Real nice.

Can we all please lighten up and go back to enjoying the first World Series in 86 years?!

Okay, ranting done, back to state of euphoria.