At long last, the quest has come to an end. After wishing and hoping and searching for months, I finally have the full and complete "Play Ball" song in my hands and on my iPod. And everyone can thank Ian for tracking it down.

So without further ado... THE FULL VERSION!

click play above to listen
you can also go here to download it in .mp3 format

"Play Ball" by J. Bristol
lyrics transcribed by Center Field

I've been waiting all day for the baseball game to come on
I'm in my easy chair, I got my old team colors on
I got my baseball cap, and my remote control
An extra-large pizza and I'm ready to roll

CHORUS
Play ball!
I just want to play
Whatever the inning
Whoever is winning
It's all the same
Play ball!
I just want to say
Whatever the season
Whatever the reason
I love that game

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I have to face the facts. Josh Beckett is now a fully-converted San Antonian. He may still have a giant palatial home in north Houston, but he lives full-time in the offseason in San Antonio, hunts at his ranch outside San Antonio... and is now officially no longer a fan of his hometown Houston Rockets. Josh has been a Spurs fan for a few years, has season tickets to their games, and can regularly be found in his seats right near the visiting team's bench at the AT&T Center- and he told the San Antonio Express his days of rooting for the Rockets are over.

Though he grew up rooting for the Rockets, Beckett said it was easy to become a Spurs fan.

"I like watching them," he said. "What's great about teams like the Spurs is that after a game, you can't tell whether or not they've won or lost. I see the same thing with the Patriots right now. They're not jumping around when they win and when they lose ... well, they haven't lost a game this season ... but you can't tell.

"The Spurs are the same way. They know, 'Well, we've got to go get them next game.' They've got a goal in mind that they're trying to do. It's obviously 'Let's win today. But if we don't win today, win tomorrow.'

"It's kind of cool to watch great teams in other sports and the way they approach things like that."

What would Beckett do if the Spurs and Celtics matched up in this year's NBA Finals?

I'd still have to be a Spurs fan. I'd just be rooting for some good games. I could never root against the Spurs, because a lot of them show up for my charity events. So I definitely would be pulling for a good series.

Josh also talked about his own basketball career, back in high school.

A self-described "pretty fair forward" as a junior high schooler in Spring, Beckett understood early where his athletic talents would take him. As a ninth-grader he gave up basketball for full-time focus on baseball. It was a good choice.

So who are Josh's Top 5 favorite basketball players?

1. Tim Duncan: No surprise that a pitcher whose bread and butter is the good, old fastball likes "The Big Fundamental."

2. Matt Bonner: "Because he's my 'boy,' and he's from the Boston area.

3. Dwyane Wade: "He's just so athletic and exciting to watch."

4. Tony Parker: "Keep it simple: He was MVP of the Finals. Besides. Sometimes I run into him at the gas station."

5. Hakeem Olajuwon: "As long as it's OK to have a favorite who's retired, I've got to include Hakeem."

Awwww, he still loves Hakeem! He couldn't ditch all of that old Rockets love!

I've confessed before that I'm a Cowboys fan, and a Brett Favre fan- so the Patriots are not my team. But I'm going to show them a little love today, on the day of the AFC Championship, just because so many of the Sox heart them. Don't think I've been converted, though- even if I am being nice for the sake of the Sox. I'm still a Cowboys girl- where else can I get a QB who dates a string of vacuous blondes, a crying T.O., and a nutty owner who screams at the players from the sideline?

Even though I haven't been converted- Mike Lowell has. He told the Projo that though he grew up in South Florida as a Dolphins fans, he's backing the Patriots.

We're living in a time when it's a great time to be a sports fan in Boston. There's so many good things going on, so why not keep the ball rolling?

Curt Schilling (a regular Patriots game attendee), Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz were all at the Patriots-Dolphins game back in December- I posted about it (including a whole bunch of pictures) here. But NESN aired a great clip of their day at Gillette -- including shots of them standing at a table behind the three Lombardi trophies and two World Series trophies.

My gift to Pats fans:

video courtesy of NESN

Jacoby Ellsbury is among the finalists for the Harry Glickman professional athlete of the year award at the Oregon Sports Awards, to be given out next Sunday the 27th. The other finalists include Oregon athletes Derek Anderson (Cleveland Browns), Randy Couture (Ultimate Fighting), T.J. Houshmandzadeh (Cincinnati Bengals) and Brandon Roy (Portland Trail Blazers). The ceremony, to be held at the Tiger Woods Center on the Nike campus in Beaverton, OR, will also be broadcast on Comcast SportsNet Northwest on Sunday night.

And in other awards news, Josh Beckett was on hand in Houston this past Saturday to give away the Josh Beckett Awards at the RBI Foundation dinner. For the second year, Josh handed over the awards in his name to the best high school baseball and softball players from the Houston area. Sorry, Josh - you're still a Houstonian no matter how much you try to deny it. No pictures from the dinner this year, but here's a shot of Josh from last year's dinner.

I think he pulled out the formal hemp necklaces for that dinner outfit.

I'm not going to front - I've cried at sporting events before. Specifically, on two occasions - when I was in Pasadena to see the Longhorns win the football national championship, and when I was in Denver to see the Red Sox win the World Series. Of course, I like to blame that embarrassingly girly behavior on being there in person to see my team take it all. It's a little difficult to act calm and collected in those circumstances (and those are the only two times I've ever been lucky enough to be in that situation).

But Eric Hinske takes the emotional cryfest over sports to a whole 'nother level.

Ever seen a grown man cry because his favourite team lost a playoff game and his favourite player was the goat? And ever see a grown man's tears turn into icicles?

Well, sources swear all of the above happened Sunday evening to Eric Hinske, the former Blue Jay who lives near Green Bay and is a lifelong fan of the Packers. Hinske was at the Pack's 23-20 overtime loss to the New York Giants in Sunday's NFC final and I'm told that, when the quarterback he worships, Brett Favre, threw an interception that led to the Giants' game-winning field goal, tears literally streamed down the baseball player's face. It was so cold that, I'm told, those tears became icy and wound up being picked off his face.

Awww, bless! The Wisconsin boy couldn't fight the tears back. And don't worry, Eric - I know where you're coming from. I'm pretty sure Brett wanted to cry as well when he threw that interception.

In non-football Hinske news, all reports are indicating that Eric is likely to find a new home by the end of this week with the Arizona Diamondbacks. That will be nice for him, since he lives in Arizona in the offseason. It would also be his first time playing for a NL team.

This also gives me what may be my last opportunity to post this cute photo of Eric's parents in their sports memorabilia room back home in Wisconsin - which they've filled with all kinds of souvenirs from Eric's playing days. He looks a lot like his dad.

Today I'm kicking off a new weekly feature I hope everyone will enjoy - Tuesday Curveball. Every Tuesday, I'll post a discussion topic or question for everyone to think about and then discuss in the comments section. Tuesday is always one of the most difficult days of the week to get through - you don't have the afterglow of the previous weekend's fun any more, and yet you're still days away from the next weekend. This should give us something fun to do to pass the time each Tuesday.

Tuesday Curveball - Week One Who are your favorite ballplayers... that do not currently, and have not previously, played for the Red Sox? Give me your top choices, and tell us why they're favorites. For purposes of this question, let's hear about current ballplayers only.

It's that time again - time to visit the happiest place on earth, where everyone has a grand time: the Red Sox ticket office virtual waiting room. Remember all the fun we had back in December? Get ready for more fun just like it this Saturday!

Single game tickets for most of the 2008 season go on sale Saturday, the 26th, at 10:00 a.m. As before, they can be purchased by phone or online - which means I foresee a lot of this in our future:

There will be an eight-ticket limit, as before. As for the rest of the games:

To help distribute the most sought after games and locations in a fair and equitable manner, the club will hold special random drawings for games against the New York Yankees, Opening Day (Tuesday, April 8 vs. Detroit), and all tickets on the Green Monster and Right Field Roof Deck areas. Details for the random drawings will be announced next week. Tickets will go on sale at the Fenway Park box office on a date to be determined in February.

I can't wait to waste another Saturday away in futility!

Way back in 1997, back before the Red Sox and the Cubs hoopla, a seventeen year-old Josh Beckett in his junior year of high school pitched against a twenty year-old Kosuke Fukudome.

As part of the annual Grand Forks International Baseball Tournament up north of the border in Grand Forks, B.C., the reigning tourney champion Japan national team faced off against the semi-pro Reno Astros out of Reno, Nevada. Fortunately for the Astros, they were able to borrow Beckett from a Texas team just for the tournament. Home Run Derby spoke with Reno Astros' owner/manager Matt Konopisos about that matchup, and he had a few great tidbits to share:

[Beckett] showed up to meet the team while wearing his HS letterman jacket, which had "phenom" written across the back - which had some of the veterans question their manager's sanity about letting him pitch. But he was the real deal.

Current Atlanta Braves' backup catcher Corky Miller was Beckett's batterymate for the game - and he had Beckett twice throw inside on Fukudome, which Fukudome didn't like very much. Fukudome was the big name on Team Japan (he was the top draft pick of the Chunichi Dragons the following year) and came across as a little bit arrogant - hence the inside pitches.

Beckett and the Astros emerged victorious from that faceoff- beating Japan 9-1. Thanks to the Reno Astros' archives, here is video of that matchup-- but be forewarned, it's far from HD quality.

And as a funny little footnote to the video:

Konopisos also [said] that Josh Beckett has seen the video you just saw, and Beckett still feels he got squeezed by the ump on some of those pitches.

Follow after the jump for video of Josh pitching in the second and third innings of that game...

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There are a whole bunch of small news tidbits to share- so rather than post a bunch of tiny posts, or skip posting them at all, I'm rounding them up all together in one post.

Jacoby Ellsbury will be recognized as one of six outstanding Native American athletes at the United National Indian Tribal Youth (UNITY) Gala down in Scottsdale, AZ on January 31st as part of the Super Bowl hoopla. Joba Chamberlain is also one of the honorees. No word on whether the two ballplayers will attend -- but I'd think any excuse to be down in Arizona for the Super Bowl would be a good excuse.

And if you'd like to get your own little piece of Jacoby, now's your chance-- courtesy of his alma mater. For every 20 tickets you buy to the Oregon State-Georgia baseball series from February 29th through March 2nd, you'll get a special Jacoby bobblehead, dressed in full Beavers baseball regalia. The only way to get that bobblehead is to buy tickets, you won't be able to buy it in any store.

Alex Cora and Javier Lopez will be honored by the Hyde Park Lions Club with their annual award given to "individuals who have exhibited strong leadership, one and off the field and community support". The awards ceremony will take place on February 1st at Annunciation Hall at 7 VFW Parkway in West Roxbury. Previous honorees include Jason Varitek, Mo Vaughn, Marty Barrett and Doug Flutie.

But no award can top the one Daisuke Matsuzaka received today in Tokyo: the Jewellery Best Dresser award (special prize) from the Japan Jewellery Association. Seriously. Apparently, these awards are some kind of big deal, though I have no idea what fabulous jewels Daisuke's been sporting to get that "special prize". Somewhere out in Cotulla, a certain necklace-wearing pitcher just shook his fist at the sky, cursing the gods that there's not a Texas Jewellery Best Dresser award.

This also gives us the perfect opportunity to check out the fauxhawk look that Dice is rocking:

And here he is with his trophy (seems he got a trophy... and a fancy watch... and a jeweled lapel pin), and some of the other winners. GOOD LORD, what is that woman on his left wearing? An asymmetrical bronze lamè dress with some sort of crochet leftovers attached as sleeves? Maybe she needs to spend less time on the "jewellery" and more time picking out her outfits.

There was a great little article in the Bangor News about the World Series trophy making an appearance up in Maine at the Harold Alfond Sports Arena on Monday.

That picture of the University of Maine baseball team fawning over the trophy was cute, but it wasn't what caught my eye in the article:

Michelle and Bill Harmon of Milo brought their 5-month-old daughter, Marissa Fenway Harmon, to take a family photo with the trophy. Marissa's parents gave her that middle name to commemorate their favorite baseball park.

My first instinct was to think, "Fenway? You named your daughter Fenway?!?". While that sounds like an excellent name for a pet, it's not exactly given name material. Great surname, not so great name for a girl. On second thought, though, at least they didn't give her Fenway as a first name, and they could have done a hell of a lot worse. And thank goodness her parents weren't fans of a team like Tampa Bay or Minnesota. She could have been Marissa Tropicana Harmon... or Marissa Metrodome Harmon.

Not content with the outdated and old school "B" logo, MLB Japan brokered a deal with EMC Corp to put the company's logo on the sleeve of the Red Sox uniforms during the Opening Day series in Japan against the A's. It will be the first time in the history of the Red Sox that a corporate logo has been placed on the uniforms (outside of the uniform manufacturer). Though the Red Sox are certainly no strangers to putting advertising anywhere humanly possible.

Although MLB forbids the use of corporate logos in the United States, this isn't the first time that they have been added to MLB uniforms. Similar patches advertising the Ricoh company were added to the Yankees uniforms for their series with the Rays in Japan back in 2004. Not that two wrongs make a right, but at least the Sox weren't forced down this path first.

Who needs those boring old "BOSTON" greys, anyway? We need to add some life to that dull, plain uniform. I say we should go all Ricky Bobby, and plaster "Budweiser" and "W.B Mason" and "Dunkin Donuts" logos all over that uniform front. Next stop, NASCAR!

We're going to play a little pretend today, on this cold and snowy Thursday-- when baseball games are creeping closer... but not close enough.

Let's pretend we're back in September, on the last weekend of the season, when the Sox were riding high (but not as high as they would be at the end of October) and the playoffs stretched ahead in the distance. The best part of baseball has yet to be played. It's a Sunday, and the Sox are playing the Twins at home in the final game of the regular season. Everyone's a little punch drunk, because the Sox have already clinched the pennant and homefield advantage. So NESN gives Jerry Remy a little free rein, letting him take over the play-by-play role, and this is the result...

video courtesy of NESN

Homer Inning is a genius idea- and Remy plays it up to perfection. I particularly love how Garza goes from being just "fair" to having the best stuff of any pitcher in the history of ever. And how "PeeWee" intentionally fouled the ball off to try and make the catcher all "wobbly". And how they have NO CHANCE to throw Lugo out on a steal- even if he runs backward to the bag. And how even the shadows are conspiring to be tougher on the Sox than the Twins. Remy sounds like every hardcore baseball nut who's ever gotten too drunk on beer to watch the game with any sense of logic or impartiality. It's brilliant.

This is precisely why I should never be given a microphone to do commentary on-air, because I fear it would be Homer Inning all the time... except it would not be sarcastic in the slightest.

Two great tastes that taste great together: Dunkin Donuts and Jacoby Ellsbury. Mr. Ellsbury was back in his old Sea Dog stomping grounds of Portland, Maine this morning at two different Dunkin Donuts stores, to serve up coffee and donuts and meet some fans (and reporters). He also brought along the World Series trophy - and Sox fans packed the stores to the brim to get a look.

From one report:

A large crowd packed the restaurant and the overflow of fans waited outside the doors for Ellsbury to say hello. Just after 9 a.m., the Red Sox outfielder found himself behind the counter handing out food while being deluged by a hundred or so well wishers seemingly all armed with digital cameras.

Ellsbury enjoyed his short stint as a Dunkin' Donuts staffer-even donning a head set and waiting on several drive-up customers. Many of the fans were disappointed to hear that because of a lack of time, he would be unable to sign autographs. Nonetheless, Ellsbury's visit pleased everyone who had waited to see one of Boston's World Series heroes in person.

And from the local NBC affiliate's report:

The two most common questions asked of Ellsbury by fans are if he's single, and if he will be traded to the Twins.

Sorry ladies, but he has a girlfriend. As far as his future baseball career is concerned, he says he hopes to stay with the Red Sox for a long time.

I've got video of the NBC affiliates report for you after the jump- which includes a quick interview with a couple who showed up with their brand new baby... they named after Jacoby. (hilarious, considering this discussion we've been having.) How that guy can be so relaxed and charming with all that hoopla- including grandmas screaming that they "want him" and people bringing their babies named after him- I do not know.

Video after the jump...

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Joy of Sox is one of my regular stops when I'm catching up on Sox news, and the blog author (Allan Wood) was also one of the very first members of the Sox blogging community to bring me into the circle. Needless to say, I'm a big fan. And now JoS needs some help- it is up for the Best Sports Blog (second year running!) in the Canadian Blog Awards... and the final round of voting is almost complete.

If you could stop by HERE and click to vote for JoS (you don't even need to register or give your name or email), you'd help out a fellow Sox fan, and help make sure the reach of Sox Nation actually covers the Great White North.

Do it... for Canada! And I'd say Canada owes us one, after that giant turd Eric Gagne laid on the Red Sox bullpen mojo.

One of the vital functions a Triple-A ballclub serves is the holding tank for their big brother club - a parking lot to store close at hand the 15 men who didn't quite make the 25-man roster, plus extra backups and prospects. For that reason, it's always seemed to me that it's most advantageous for the AAA-affiliate to be located within a relatively short drive of the Big Boy Club -- so guys can be called into action on a moment's notice-- but also ideally just far enough away that the lure of that same Big Boy Club doesn't kill off attendance at the minor league ballpark.

After noticing the Marlins AAA-affiliate is on the other side of the country in Albuquerque (!), Piney61 took a look at the driving distances from each major league club to its Triple A team (via Google Maps), out of curiosity's sake.

The Mariners clock in with the quickest drive time (though the Sox are not far behind) -- and as expected, the Marlins are by far the furthest away from their AAA affiliate.

Tacoma, WA to Seattle, WA (Mariners): 44 minutes
Pawtucket, RI to Boston, MA (Red Sox): 57 minutes
Toledo, OH to Detroit, MI (Tigers): 1 hour 4 minutes
Allentown, PA to Philadelphia, PA (Phillies): 1 hour 18 minutes
Colorado Springs, CO to Denver, CO (Rockies): 1 hour 26 minutes
West Sacramento, CA to Oakland, CA (Athletics): 1 hour 30 minutes
Louisville, KY to Cincinnati, OH (Reds): 1 hour 41 minutes
Tuscon, AZ to Phoenix, AZ (Diamondbacks): 1 hour 46 minutes
Moosic, PA to New York City, NY (Yankees): 2 hours 16 minutes
Omaha, NB to Kansas City, MO (Royals): 2 hours 54 minutes
Round Rock, TX to Houston, TX (Astros): 3 hours 4 minutes
Buffalo, NY to Cleveland, OH (Indians): 3 hours 8 minutes
Fresno, CA to San Francisco, CA (Giants): 3 hours 10 minutes
Oklahoma City, OK to Arlington, TX (Rangers): 3 hours 21 minutes
Syracuse, NY to Toronto, ON (Blue Jays): 4 hours 1 minute
Norfolk, VA to Baltimore, MD (Orioles): 4 hours 4 minutes
Las Vegas, NV to Los Angeles, CA (Dodgers): 4 hours 10 minutes
Memphis, TN to St. Louis, MO (Cardinals): 4 hours 16 minutes
Des Moines, IA to Chicago, IL (Cubs): 5 hours 27 minutes
Indianapolis, IN to Pittsburgh, PA (Pirates): 5 hours 49 minutes
Columbus, OH to Washington, DC (Nationals): 6 hours 54 minutes
Richmond, VA to Atlanta, GA (Braves): 8 hours 33 minutes
Nashville, TN to Milwaukee, WI (Brewers): 9 hours 8 minutes
Salt Lake City, UT to Anaheim, CA (Angels): 9 hours 51 minutes
Durham, NC to St. Petersburg, FL (Rays): 10 hours 52 minutes
Fort Mill, SC to Chicago IL (White Sox): 12 hours 27 minutes
Rochester, NY to Minneapolis, MN (Twins): 16 hours 8 minutes
Portland, OR to San Diego, CA (Padres): 16 hours 39 minutes
Metairie, LA to New York City, NY (Mets): 20 hours 38 minutes
Albuquerque, NM to Miami, FL (Marlins): 1 day, 6 hours

I don't know how that's workable for the Mets and Marlins to be so far away from the nearest available source of backup talent. At least the Padres' club is in the same time zone. I'd think the ideal distance would be somewhere around a 3-hour drive time, with four hours being an outside limit. Anything past that seems like it would be unwieldy.

The Phillies have possibly the best setup of all- their AAA and AA clubs are both situated right near Philadelphia, in Allentown and Reading (respectively). Moving players around and up and down would be a snap with that setup - and no matter what park they're playing in, the guys would never need to worry about finding new housing.

We haven't had an installment of Random Sox Theatre in awhile - so it's high time we do it again. I'm not going to give you much of a set-up on this one, so as not to ruin the surprise - but this is from a Sox-A's game back at the beginning of June this year. The featured characters are Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz... and some water.

Say it, don't spray it, Papi.

(also, Dustin totally looks up into the crowd above the dugout to make sure no one saw his embarassment)

Kyle "The Hoss" Snyder will once again be a member of the bullpen band next year. After filing for arbitration earlier in the month and exchanging arbitration figures, Hoss and the Sox came to terms before the arbitration hearings period starts in February. His new one-year contract will be for $835,000- which is a $300,000 increase over his paycheck from last year. He'll also make an additional $5,000 if he makes 50 appearances and $10,000 more for 60 games.

Hoss asked for $1,025,000 when the parties exchanged arbitration figures last week, and the club offered $725,000-- so this is a nice compromise between the two, which avoids the headache of an arbitration hearing. Now that Snyder and Lopez are signed up, Kevin Youkilis is the only remaining Sox player scheduled for arbitration.

I'm glad to see him back in home whites next year, if for no other reason than giving us the possibility of more pictures like this one:

A study in height differentials

Gather round, folks- and settle in for a long day of waiting around, with nothing to look at but the ever-refreshing Virtual Waiting Room screen. As long as we're all in the same boat, we might as well share the boredom together.

So feel free to use the comments on this post to talk about whatever you'd like - share your success stories getting tickets, or your frustrations. Talk about the Sox or baseball in general. Or give us your thoughts on last night's episode of Friday Night Lights- or discuss who has the better wardrobe: Blair or Serena. Anything's fair game!

Here's some conversation topics to think about: let's talk National League (since I have a feeling that once the season starts, the talk in the Sox world will be almost exclusively AL). Which NL club do you think will be playing in the 2008 World Series? Who do you think will win the NL East: Mets, Phillies or Braves? Which NL pitcher will snag the '08 Cy Young- will it be Webb or Peavy or Haren... or will it be someone else entirely? What club will end up with the worst record in the NL?