Josh Beckett

Curt Schilling gets back to baseball.

And Red was loving it yesterday:

... That guy we saw in last year's ALCS? Apparently wedgied to death and stuffed in a clubhouse hamper. The guy on the mound yesterday was the real deal, besting Small Game James, striking out 10 and giving up a mere two hits en route to his first opening day win in a Boston uniform. It was a performance he'd no doubt been dreaming of since last October, and it was staggeringly beautiful, executed with precision and passion and at least one F-bomb as he stormed off the mound after the top of the sixth. ...

We went down to New York for a family gathering this weekend. With some time to kill, I walked through Times Square and was quite heartened to see a four-story tall billboard (advertising TBS's post-season coverage) featuring Josh Beckett (and some Mets guy) lording it over the Square. Still it was kind of surprising to see - it even managed to divert my attention from the five-story billboard right next to it highlighting Jenna Jameson's assets.

I also saw one guy walking up Seventh Avenue wearing a David Ortiz jersey.

With sports reporters now providing hourly updates on Josh Beckett's back and overall mood, Kristen and Amy have put together a color-coded Josh Beckett Mood-o-Meter.