At the onset...

This one is for the baseball fans. All other people should promptly ignore this post.

Seeing that it is late October, and Canada is whipped into a frenzy over the upcoming World Series, we here at This Hour feel that it is only proper to preview this year's World Series, between the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs, which starts tonight.

The Cubs didn't make it? Who did? The Rockies? But the Rockies are awful! I mean they've been complaining about the Coors effect for thirteen years! There's no way...

Alas - it is in fact the Rockies who have made the World Series this year representing the AAA National League against the consummate professionals in the American League. Why am I being so hard on a group of young players scattered amongst veterans who have won 21 of their last 22 to make it to the Big Show? Partly because I'm a bad weather Red Sox fan, and partly because unlike with the Miracle Mets, I just don't believe.

It is exciting that the Rockies made their way, triumphantly, through the regular season and tore through the playoffs to make it here. I enjoy Hawpe, Holliday and Helton (Triple H?) and all the tertiary players who I've never heard of who fill out the Rockies' cast. But the Rockies winning the series is not unlike the Lightning bringing home the Stanley Cup - seems more interesting in theory than in practice. Don't just take my word for it - notice that in the NLCS the Diamondbacks did not sell out their stadium, notice that the TV ratings for the NLCS - shown for the first time on new network TBS - were the worst in playoff history. I don't like the idea of the eighth team in eight years winning the World Series, parity is shit, and dynasties bring in fans of both the loving and hating variety (or for Joel the Pinot Noir and Merlot varieties)

Had it been the Cubs in the NLCS and the World Series ratings and attendance would have reflected the season's ratings and attendance for baseball (which were for doubting fans in Canada, the highest ever in the sport) as opposed to the post 1994 pre steroid era absence of interest that we saw last week.

Here's hoping for a seven game series. Here's hoping for great baseball. Here's hoping for Schilling, Ortiz and *shudder* Manny Ramirez to resurrect the spirit of 2004, Cowboy up, call Johnny Damon in New York and tell him to put on a wig, and go out there and put on a show for baseball fans. After a season as exciting as 2007, baseball needs the Red Sox.

I'm not editing this - so deal with the mistakes.

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