There will be fireworks in Boston tonight if BC loses to Notre Dame (huh?)

Boston College takes on Notre Dame at Fenway Park this evening:

12 hours away from kickoff. #fenway #NDvsBC pic.twitter.com/4lp3x8eLbX

— Aaron Frutman (@aaronfrutman) November 21, 2015

However, it's officially a Notre Dame home game.  The contest is part of the Fighting Irish's "Shamrock Series" in which they play once a year in big cities across the country.  What follows is this bizarre situation:

Fenway Park neighbors informed there will be fireworks after BC-ND football game Saturday night, but only if ND wins. It's ND's home game.

— Bill Doyle (@BillDoyle15) November 21, 2015

The big question is, will BC score a point against the No. 4 team in the country?  I'd say the odds are about 50/50...


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Why isn't there a smiley face inside a heart emoji?

My phone has roughly 477 different smiley face emojis.  It also contains a very large selection of heart-shaped emojis.  I assume many people use each type fairly regularly, and often at the same time.  What I don't understand though, is why there isn't one of both put together.  It seems like a no-brainer:

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Where's Lucky the Leprechaun?

At the Celtics vs. Mavericks game last night, my dad unintentionally took this "Where's Waldo?" style photo during the mascot's trampoline-dunk show.

Where's Lucky?

Also from yesterday's loss to Dallas, on CelticsLife:
Kelly Olynyk tried Dirk Nowitzki's move on Dirk Nowitzki, then they both laughed about it

On another note, it's a bit weird that consecutive blogs on this site involve photos of an NBA shot clock.  And for the record, Lucky's dunk exhibition took place during a full timeout (two minutes and 15 seconds long), not a "20-second timeout" that lasts 60 seconds.


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The NBA has officially made 20-second timeouts 60 seconds long?

At the last Celtics game I went to, I noticed a smaller clock underneath the shot clock positioned above the basket.  I quickly realized its purpose: To count down the seconds remaining during timeouts before play starts again.

It's a nice bit of information to have, and I'm glad the NBA decided to add it.  However, in doing so the league is blatantly admitting that one of its longstanding rules is an absolute farce:

When the PA announcer says "20-second timeout," 60 seconds go up on the clock.   Hmm...


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So the David Ortiz retirement tour begins today

Sources: David Ortiz will retire at end of 2016 season.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 17, 2015

If this report is true, it appears David Ortiz has decided to go the Derek Jeter/Mariano Rivera route and embrace a year-long retirement celebration.  I'm against the idea in principal (see below), but can you blame him?  After watching the two Yankees do it in back-to-back seasons, it's only fair.

Anyway, this should give me the time necessary to get my "Top 10,000 memories of David Ortiz in a Red Sox uniform" blog put together before Papi officially calls it quits.


RELATED:
Should athletes really get to celebrate their retirement for an entire season?
What's the greatest way for an athlete to retire?
Orioles to honor Derek Jeter's 'last day game in Baltimore on a Friday' today


UPDATE:

David Ortiz's official retirement announcement (for after the 2016 season), on his 40th birthday: https://t.co/hnKMxoi6Dq

— Mark Vandeusen (@LucidSportsFan) November 18, 2015

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Patriots set scoring record, clinch 15th-straight winning season

As the injuries began to pile up two weeks ago, I remember thinking that the Patriots were still unstoppable because of four players.  Now half of them, Dion Lewis and Julian Edelman, are out (Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski being the other half, although my list probably should've included Stephen Gostkowski as well--who's got about a million individual records of his own going).  But rather than worry about that, here are some more stats of their unprecedented greatness:

By going 9-0, the Pats are now guaranteed to finish the season with a winning record.  Dating back to the franchise's first Super Bowl campaign of 2001, New England has won more games than it's lost every year for 15 consecutive seasons.  They're the only team in the NFL to accomplish that feat in that time.  Only one other club, the Colts, has even posted winning records in 12 of the last 15 years.  After that, four teams have 10.  The Patriots' 15-season run is tied for the fourth-longest such streak in NFL history.

New England also broke an all-time NFL record yesterday:

NFL record alert: Patriots have now scored in 35 consecutive quarters. Broke old record of 31 today. @NFLRT

— Mark Vandeusen (@LucidSportsFan) November 16, 2015

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Awesome Old Song of the Week: "Save Tonight" by Eagle-Eye Cherry

Eagle-Eye Cherry is the half brother of Neneh Cherry, who had a big hit in 1988 with Buffalo Stance.  Nine years later Eagle-Eye released Save Tonight, which began climbing the U.S. pop charts in 1998.  Both Cherrys are Swedish.

I'm pretty sure I never saw this video before, and I can't for the life of me figure out what it has to do with the song:



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