Jay-Z sues David Ortiz over club name

NEW YORK -- Jay-Z and a business partner are suing slugger David Ortiz, claiming the Boston Red Sox star named his Dominican nightclub after the mogul's chain of 40/40 clubs. The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Manhattan Federal Court, accuses Ortiz of calling his Santo Domingo club Forty-Forty in the hopes of trading on the rap star's fame.

The suit seeks over $5 million in damages and for Ortiz to forfeit any use of the 40/40 name. Jay-Z's string of bars can be found in Manhattan, Las Vegas and Atlantic City.

"David Ortiz is fully aware of Plaintiff's Manhattan 40/40 club, since he had been a patron there on several occasions before he opened his Infringing Forty/Forty club," the lawsuit states.

Simple explanation here: Jay-Z is a diehard Yankees fan. He sees that David Ortiz has been struggling (both at the plate and with the media), and now he is kicking Big Papi while he’s down. Fucking ass hole. Like David Ortiz really needs this on his plate, he’s already got the pressure and the watchful eye of the entire city of Boston on him. Jay-Z doesn’t need $5 million. The man’s already got plenty of cash, not to mention he’s banging Beyonce. This has to be solely about fucking with the Red Sox, right? Either that or Jay is just bored.

We all know Jay-Z is the cockiest son-of-a-bitch around. (Shit, I made the Yankee hat more famous than a Yankee can). But I think he is overvaluing his own significance in this situation. I guarantee David Ortiz is a bigger name in the Dominican Republic than Jay-Z. Big Papi is a hero to those people. He doesn’t need to use Jay-Z’s fame and/or name to get people to go to his club. So I’m going to go under the assumption that this whole naming thing is just a coincidence.

Regardless of what happens with this lawsuit: Fuck you, Jay-Z.

Nomar Comes Home to Boston, Retires with the Red Sox

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Longtime Boston Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra retired from baseball on Wednesday morning, signing a one-day contract with the Red Sox in order to retire as a member of the team.

"I've always had a recurring dream, to be able to retire in a Red Sox uniform. But to be able to have that dream come true, I really just can't put into words because of what this organization has always meant to me, meant to my family, the fans. I always tell people Red Sox Nation is bigger than any nation out there, and to be able to tell people that I came back home to be back to Red Sox Nation is truly a thrill."

One of the greatest and most popular Red Sox of all time comes home to retire in the city where he made his name. Ever since he was traded away, there’s been a revolving door of mediocre shortstops for the Sox. And although it can’t be ignored that his trade sparked the Sox to their first World Series in 86 years, it would have been fitting if he was around to experience it.

Always a fan favorite, Nomar was one of the best hitters in Red Sox history, and easily the best shortstop. Kids all around New England mimicked his bizarre habits in the batter’s box. He brought energy and hustle to the field every night, and he was just fun to watch play. In his 9 years with the Sox, he hit .323, with 178 homers and 690 RBI. He won the AL Rookie of the Year in 1997, as well as consecutive batting titles in 1999 and 2000.

There are conflicting beliefs as to what really happened when Nomar was traded away in 2004. Some people (mostly media) believe he faked an injury and quit on the team. This theory gained steam during the game against the Yankees in 2004, when Derek Jeter “heroically” dove into the stands to catch a foul ball, and those Yankee-loving assholes at FOX panned into the Red Sox dugout to get a shot of Nomar sitting on the bench, unable (or seemingly unwilling) to play. Other people believe that he was forced out of town by the new ownership group, by the combination of an alleged smear campaign and the attempted trade for Alex Rodriguez. I tend to believe the latter theory, after seeing what has happened to some other Sox players in recent years.

Despite all this, it is a great story that Nomar has come home to Boston to retire. He was, and still is, beloved and appreciated by Red Sox Nation. (Just look at the reaction he got when he returned to Fenway with the Athletics. Almost brought tears to my eyes). The Red Sox organization has done what’s right by bringing Nomar back to Boston to retire. Hopefully, they continue down the right path and waive the strict requirements for retiring jersey numbers. His number 5 absolutely belongs on the right field façade at Fenway Park.

Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe is the biggest idiot

2:22 p.m.: End of the 4th, Sox 10, NU 0 

"The Sox just scored six runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. They had six hits including that homer by Ortiz. And to think people said they were going to have trouble offensively.

This is an actual blog entry by Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. Are you fucking kidding me? This guy is an actual journalist. and says shit like that? Not some blogger like me. He makes big money to write. Again, unlike me."...and sadly, I think I have more common sense then him.

Did he really just try to say the Red Sox won't have trouble scoring runs this year because they scored SIX runs against a fucking college team in one inning!?!?! It's fucking Northeastern for fuck sake to top it off. They should of scored 6 runs every god damn inning.

No wonder why everyone outside of New England hates Boston fans. People like Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe give us a bad wrap. 

PS- Here's the link, bottom of the fourth inning. Time 2:22 that way you can see it with your own eyes.

Mini Fenway Set For Fort Myers, FL in 2012

BoSox Makin' Moves

"Red Sox players and fans should feel right at home in the new spring training facility in Fort Myers, Fla., which is expected to open in 2012. 

Preliminary architectural renderings of the state-of-the-art complex were unveiled Thursday, and it’s clear the design team had Fenway Park in mind. Some defining characteristics of the team’s 98-year-old home in Boston are included in the Florida facility, including a “Green Monster” in left field that has seating atop the wall and manual green scoreboard below; the same irregular field dimensions, with Fenway-like nooks and crannies; and bullpens located beyond the outfield wall. In addition, a Yawkey Way type of street positioned south of the ballpark on the complex grounds will create a concourse similar to Yawkey Way, where street venders and entertainers cater to fans. 

The state-of-the-art training complex on the site -- including a main ballpark, six practice fields, and adjoining facilities for both Major and Minor League operations -- will be used year-round. Grass parking lots will double as public soccer fields when games aren’t being played. 

“This is an incredibly exciting step in bringing ‘Fenway Park South’ to Southwest Florida,” said Jonathan Gilula, Red Sox executive vice president/business affairs. 

The facility, which is pegged to cost around $75 million, had been scaled down recently due to increased construction costs. The original plan had 1,000 more seats in the main ballpark, another practice field, more luxury suites, and larger clubhouses."

Being a fan who has visited the Red Sox in Fort Myers for several years, this news is a Slam-Ma-Jamma! Fenways 100 year anniversary in 2012, count me in for Fort Myers!

Spring is in the Air

Ah, the first day of Spring Training. On this day, every team (except maybe the Pirates) has hopes and dreams of winning a World Series. For Red Sox fans, it used to feel different. It used to be a feeling of cautious optimism, a cursed team wondering; could this be the year? Well now that we’ve had our year (twice), Spring Training feels entirely different. Yes, Sox fans are still optimistic, but there is more of an air of confidence and expectation. We expect to win now, instead of dreading the inevitability of losing. And for better or for worse, I think it takes some of the fun out of Spring Training.

I used to care about Spring Training. How does Pedro look? Will Manny show up? What kind of shenanigans are Big Papi, Kevin Millar, and Johnny Damon going to pull? Now, the first day of Spring Training is just a reminder that real baseball is still a month and a half away. This current Red Sox team is all business-like, and lacks a lot of the personality that past teams have had. And there are different problems to deal with: Will Adrian Beltre, Mike Cameron, Bill Hall, etc. be able to produce, or should we have just kept Jason Bay? After the Red Sox have made it clear that they don’t want Mike Lowell, will it be awkward that he’s still around? Will Victor Martinez get a contract extension? Will Dice-K (who has said that he plans to be more forthcoming with his injuries this year, which is exactly what we want to hear from a $100 million man, right?) get over his early back issues, and become the pitcher we were told he was?

I don’t know. Maybe I’m living in the past, but these new Spring Training issues don’t seem as fun. At least we usually have some insane controversy swirling around the Yankees to entertain us, but even that’s not happening this year. Don’t get me wrong. I’m excited about this Red Sox team. Our rotation has the chance to be downright filthy, and I think we’ll be there in the end. But just get me to Opening Day, where the real baseball starts.

Agree? Disagree? Feel free to comment below.