Josh Q. Public:  Living La Vida Loca!

Public Service Announcement:  12 games in a row.  Just completed  the sweep of the best team in baseball.  Handedly.  Willie Randolph:  “We ran into a hot ball club at the wrong time.”  You certainly did.  These are the kinds of streaks where championships are made.  The litmus tests.  The Sox passed with flying colors.  Coconut Crisp all hepped up on Red Bull.  Coconut Crisp manufacturing runs.  Coconut Crisp stealing runs away with defense.  Schill said it might have been the best catch he’d ever seen.  Loretta called it the “play of the year.”  As Coco’s thumb gets better, so will his bat.  Papi’s up!  What does he do?  Hit his 200th.  Hank Aaron, here we come.  Well at least Reggie Jackson.  These guys have not made an error in 16 games, tying a major league record.  Not your grand daddy’s Sox.  Curt Schilling feeling healthy for the 1st time since 2004.  It shows.  If not for Santana, the Thrill is having a Cy Young caliber season.  Now the best team in baseball goes to the Stadium to face the highest paid team in baseball.  Another litmus test.  This time for the Yankees.  They are just too batterred and too bruised to win this series.  Not enough horses or pitching.  The Red Sox lead will swell like Brett Myers’ wife’s face in the coming months.  The Yankees will be lucky to take third.  No wild card for these Bombers.  Sox/Fish this weekend.  Go Sox!!!

Public Knowledge:

1.  Agassi is the only guy I care about in Wimbleton.  At Wimbleton?  I dunno.  Brooke Sheilds and all.

2.  Aqua Teen is a howl.  Did you ever see the one where Carl gets big giant hands?  Huh-larious.  Hold on, here’s some Carl.

3.  I’m all drafted out.  Having said that. Here comes some more.  I’m all for getting AI.  And keeping the Truth.  But at what expense?  Jefferson?  Perkins? Green?  I hope not Green.  The Wiz pick a big Russian… er Ukranian.  I don’t see how that guy helps them.  They are a team on the cusp, bad drafts are crushing at this point.

4.  Went to watch Around the Horn.  Woman’s Golf was on.  Gross.  What a kick in the nuts. 

5.  Patrick Roy in the Hall of Fame.  He was the best for so long.

6.  Watching ESPN News.  Oreste Destrades comes on.  Says Kenny Rogers should start the All Star Game.  Are you out of your cotton picking mind?  Johan Santana is the guy every manager in baseball would want on the mound for them.  Period.

7.  Somebody’s broke again.  Former four-time heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, 43, is coming back from a 21-month layoff to face journeyman Jeremy Bates in a 10-round bout Aug. 19 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.  Who cares.  Who’s the champ godammit!

8.  Guys drafted from places I care about:  Randy Foye, Newark, NJ.  Rudy Gay, Baltimore Maryland.  Grady HS and Brooklyn’s own, Quincy Douby.  Renaldo Balkman, representing, Staten Island.  Staten Island is like Revere.  Rajon Rondo, Oak Hill Acad.  Marcus Williams, Oak Hill Acad.  Ok try to follow.  Williams and Boone.  Back to back UConn picks.  We know this.  Now, Marcus Williams also involved back to back high school picks.  Oak Hill.   Creepy.  James White, DC.  Craig Smith, Boston College.  Bobby Jones, Compton.  Denham Brown, Toronto.  There you go Chompers.  Your new favorite NBA player.  Hasan Adams, Inglewood.  I justed wanted to get that Samuel L. clip in.  Really, a must watch.  JR Pinnock, GWU. Holler.  And with the last pick in the NBA draft:  Roxbury’s Will Blalock.  And thats it.  The rest can go….oh ya, no f bomb zone. 

9.  Doc Rivers said Telfair would not have been available at No. 7 had his name been in the draft.  I agree.  And, Ainge had Rondo 7 on his leader board.  Sunny day.  I just read the Iverson deal included Jefferson and Green.  I don’t like that.  Not one bit.

10.  The Red Sox rigged the standing Pedro.  “We put a video on the scoreboard with hopes of cueing such a response.” Larry Lucchino.

11.  Boston’s own Hurricane Peter McNeeley just got busted for robbing a Walgreens.  Say what you want about Holyfield, at least he’s fighting to make some dough.

12.  Jose Canseco is back in baseball.  San Diego Surf Dawgs.  Golden Baseball League.  Do they test there? 

Peace out homies.  Six Two and Even!

Josh Q. Public:  Up all night so you don’t have to.

Public Service Announcement:  Ok here we go!  You want ‘em, you got ‘em.  Random Draft Notes. 

Celtics trade their 7th pick for Brooklyn’s own, Lincoln Railsplitter, Sebastian Telfair.  I don’t mind this.  Not a great shooter but this kid would be coming out now if he went to college like these other guys.  And now, he is that much more far along.  He was starting for Portland before he got hurt.  The  C’s desperately need a true point guard.  As well as Delonte played last year, he’s really a #2. 

Celtics give up Dickau and LaFrentz.  Get Theo Ratliff and Bassy.  LaFrentz has three more years on a contract that will pay him an average of $11.8 million per season. Meanwhile, Ratliff will make $11.6 million in each of the next two years before becoming a free agent. The numbers are basically a wash over the next two years, but the Celtics get out from under the third year of LaFrentz’s deal.  Not bad. 

Wait, we get a pick afterall.  After selecting Kentucky’s Rajon Rondo with the No. 21 overall selection, the Suns traded the pick to the Celtics. Another non-shooting point guard.  In return, Boston pays the $1.8 million due Brian Grant for the 2006-07 season — Grant officially reitred on Wednesday.The Suns will also receive a first-round pick next year, which Boston obtained earlier from Cleveland.  Not bad Danny, not bad at all.  Some people had the Celtics getting Rondo with the 7th pick anyway.  Now we got Telfair and Rondo without giving up anybody.  Yowza!  Maybe we don’t need a shooting point guard if we got AI and the Truth on the perimeter.

Am I reading this right?  The Knicks draft Renaldo Balkman.  Didn’t they already have him once.  Pat Riley refused to play him.  Let John Starks implode right in front of our eyes.  Lost the chance for the title.  That’s him, right?  Nope sorry.  Just looked him up.  Different guy.  Sorry again.  

Here’s what ESPN’s Chad Ford thought of the Knick’s picks:  “Renaldo Balkman? He plays with great energy and is a great athlete, but he averaged fewer than 10 points per game at South Carolina. No other team would’ve taken him in the first round. He has no skills other than running the floor — think of a poor man’s Darius Miles. He would’ve been a decent second round pick — a guy who might have made a roster. Wow.  Mardy Collins? He doesn’t have a position, is a below average NBA athlete, and he can’t shoot. And he’s the Knicks’ sixth combo guard. Let’s just get it over with — Isiah’s getting an F.”  I love it.  Go Isiah.

The whole UConn team just got drafted.  They lost to George Mason right?  How did that happen again?  Two Huskies went to the Nets.  Marcus Williams is the backup Kidd needs and Josh Boone fills  their big man need.  Nice little draft for them.

Jerry West does it again.  Great draft for the Grizz.  They get Rudy Gay and Stromile Swift from Houston for Shane Battier. Are you kidding me?  They just got a whole bunch of upside for a guy who’s  merely a nice role player. At one point, Gay was the consensus No. 1 pick . This kid could be a very special player.  Then they get Kyle Lowery.   Scouts Inc: “Warrior, street-fighter and toughness are terms that describe this hard-nosed point guard.”  Who doesn’t want that.  Plus, he’s fast as hell and real strong.  The Grizz just got way better. 

JJ Redick slips to 11 and the Magic.  This is a good fit for him.  If he can lay off the sauce he’ll have plenty of chances to shoot the rock.  With Orlando’s two big men clogging the middle, they’ll be plenty of kick outs to Redick

Rutgers’ Quincy Douby goes 19th to the Kings.  How does anybody from Rutgers get drafted in the 1st round?  Ever?

Mark my words.  Adam Morrison will be the best NBA player in this draft.  I have no doubts about this.  The Bobacats are gonna be fun to watch. Okafor.  Gerald Wallace.  Raymond Felton.  Now Morrison.  Watch out.

I still don’t have all the Blazers moves straight yet.  I do know they picked an English grocery bagger with their last pick.  Joel Freeland.  I guarantee he’s not in the league very long.

Public Knowledge:

1.  Its hard to stay up for the west coast games.  I tried twice to watch Nomah.  Fell asleep both times.

2.  Johan is the new best pitcher in baseball.  I know he’s been great for a while but there have always been the “Ya but what abouts.”  For example, ya but what about Roger Clemens.  There are no more ya but what abouts.

3.  Its so gross watching the Sox on Mets TV.  How many times does a guy have to endure 1986.  I hope we sweep these bastards.  At least they’ll have their memories.

4.  I could have sworn the other day, Tony Kornheiser, on PTI, referred to the intentional walk as the”sissification” of baseball. 

5.  There’s a difference, to me, in Matsui and Sheffield’s injuries.  King Kong dove for a fly ball and broke his arm.  We all saw it.  Sheff’s is more of the mystery, lingering, steroid, never go away problem.  I would have said Nomah style, but he’s getting it done again.

6.  Entourage is the best show on TV.  Me and Z, and Grimace, can’t wait to see this bald guy go nuts.

7.  A-Broad up. 3 and 1.  Some dude I never heard of on first.  Walk off ding.  I watched it.  Chompers called it.  After the bomb, A-rod tossed his helmet in the air and skipped home, Jay Mariotti style.  Melky, not to be outdone, was jumping around like a school girl.  Pathetic. Bobby Cox’ wife better hide under the bed tonight.

8.  Bill Simmons just wrote a piece about YouTube.  I’ve been using it since it was called u2be.com.  Its the shiznit, boyyyyyyy.

9.  When Fidel Castro dies, the Marlins should move to Havana.

10.  Did you ever hear Heat guard Jason Williams talk.  He sounds like that guy on King of the Hill.  Speaking of which, while I was away, the Heat won in 6, as predicted by the Public.

11.  The Red Sox juggernaught continues.  2 hands Lastings, 2 hands.  That’s the stuff we’re talking about.  Maybe he doesn’t get it.  These Mets don’t know what hit ‘em.  Welcome to the meat grinder that is the AL East.  How ’bout that Alex Gonzales.  Another ding.  And Boom Boom Beckett.  Think he’s figuring out the American League?

Public Spectacles:

1.  Mike Milbury beating a hapless Ranger fan with his own shoe while Peter McNabb holds him down.  And you thought Artest was bad.

2.  Kornheiser doing the Penguin Dance.  I can’t wait for Monday Night Football.

Public Figures:  Brought to you by the good folks at Elias Sports Bureau and ESPN the Worldwide Leader.

1.  American League teams won seven of the eight interleague games that were played at AL ballparks on Wednesday; the Angels’ loss to the Rockies was the only defeat for the junior circuit. During the month of June, American League teams are 60-21 (.741) in home games against National League opponents. Its just not even close.

2.  Johan Santana picked up another win for the red hot Twins. Santana hasn’t lost any of his last 15 starts at the Metrodome (since Aug. 6, 2005), posting a 9-0 with a 1.91 ERA in home games over that span. Santana’s 15 consecutive home starts without a loss is the longest current streak of its kind for any pitcher; Boom Boom  Beckett and Jason Schmidt are both undefeated in their last 12 starts at home. Santana’s streak is the longest for a Twins pitcher since Frank Viola set the franchise record by going 19-0 over a span of 24 regular-season home starts from 1987-88.

3.  Detroit’s Justin Verlander notched his 10th win of the season in the Tigers’ 79th game of the year. The last rookie pitcher to reach 10 wins fewer than 80 games into a season was Kaz Ishii in 2002, in the Dodgers’ 61st game. No Tiger rookie had gotten to 10 wins in so few team games since 1908, when Ed Summers recorded his 10th win in Detroit’s 69th game of the year.

4.  Pedro’s short outing snapped his streak of 73 straight starts in which he pitched at least five innings; the only pitchers with longer current streaks of that kind are Curt Schilling (132 starts) and Santana (74).

5.  The Nets selected Connecticut’s Marcus Williams with the 22nd pick and fellow Huskie Josh Boone with the 23rd selection, marking the first time in the 40-year history of the modern NBA draft that a team chose players from the same school with back-to-back picks of the first round.

6.  A note of encouragement for all the hopefuls who did not hear their names announced by David Stern or Russ Granik last night: Last year, 19 percent of the players who appeared in at least one NBA game were not drafted.

Public Spectacle:

Peace out homies.  Six Two and Even!

Josh Q. Public:  I’m A Newlywed, Not A Divorcee,
And Everything I Do Is Funky Like Lee Dorsey.

Public Service Announcement:  Alright, here we go.  The Red Sox express.  Ten games strong.  Next stop, October.  Keep putting those Yankees further back in the rear view mirror.  Caution: objects appear smaller.  The Bomber bats are just that these days.  But hold on.  This is about the Sox.  The first place Sox with a lead that is going to grow and grow.  Last night they dimantled the so called “best team baseball.”  They made their young superstars look silly.  David Wright.  Bases loaded. K.  Chalk one up to our young phenom.  Jose Reyes.  Tried to score from second on a single.  Nailed at the plate by Manny.  Almost landed himself on the DL.  Lastings Milledge.  Lost a routine pop up.  Two run “double” for Manny and the good guys.  Ballgame.  Lester pitches in and out of trouble.  Looks good doing it.  Papi can’t get enough walk off RBI’s.  Manny hasn’t even hit his full stride yet.  He’s a very streaky hitter and I have not seen his hot tear yet this year.  It will happen.  I love the way this is shaping up.  It looks like the Wild Card will not come out of the AL East.  Bye Bye Yankees.  Cano out now too, c’mon.  Without two 120 RBI guys, things looked bleak enough.  Now you replace a legit .300 batter with Cairo.  Good luck.  The Yankees are reduced to playing small ball.  Johnny Damon: “We don’t have those big bats.  We have to create runs.  We need to scratch and claw.”  But without good pitching, small ball cannot be enough.  I’ve said it time and time again these Yankees do not make the playoffs.  How can they?  They have perhaps the worst outfield in baseball.  A-Rod is in the worst funk of his life, which is really wierd to watch.  He’s getting booed.  He’s making errors.  Looks very unhappy.  When asked if the boos were getting to him, he said: “A little bit.”  It seems like a lot to me.  The Bombers do have A-Rod, Jeter, Giambi, and Damon.  Those guys need to carry the rest of the no names on their backs.  A-Rod isn’t pulling his weight.  Meanwhile, the Red Sox just seem to get stronger everyday.  In the last 10 games Alex Gonzales has raised his average 27 points with a ding last night.  He is the best defensive shortstop in a Red Sox uniform I’ve ever seen.  And if he hits too….look out.  So its Boom Boom vs. Petie tonight.  As much a I love Pedro, I hope he gets the stuffing beat out of him.  I was happy for the cheers, and there will be more tonight.  Its all good.  But when the game starts, all bets are off.  Boom Boom goes for his tenth.  The Sox, their eleventh.  Go Sox!

The Public at Large:

1.  The NBA Draft.  First off, the talk of this year’s draft is: No real superstars at the top.  Agreed.  We all know why.  There’s no Lebron James out of Ohio State.  No Dwight Howard out of Georgia Tech.  No Sebastian Telfair out of St. John’s.  No Al Jefferson out of Southern Miss.  No Josh Smith out of Maryland. You get the picture.  The superstars of this year’s draft are already in the NBA.  Next year will be different, but this isn’t next year.  I debated doing a mock draft, but I’m out.  It’s too hard.  Almost impossible.  Just some random comments though.  I rethought the AI to the Celtics thing.  If all they’re giving up is Wally and the #7 pick, I’m all for it.  The Truth and Iverson would make things interesting again.  It has been far from that down on Causeway Street for a long time.  What I really like is the talk of the Matrix coming to Boston.  He is the most underrated player in the NBA.  I love this guy.  He does it all.  Toronto will pick Andrea Bargnani.  Stupid.  He will be a serviceable NBA player.  That’s it.  Think Dino Radja.  They should be taking LSU’s Tyrus Thomas.  He’s the best guy in this draft.  At least Adam Morrison.  I don’t know why this guy is slipping.  I want him on my team.  I hope he slips to 7.  The Knicks two picks will be irrelevent.  I would not want to be drafted onto that dog and pony show.  The Celtics will probably pick up Brandon Roy.  Rookie of the Year Predictions for him abound.   Everybody loves Rudy Mariotti, er Gay.  So do I. My sleeper of the draft, Jordan Farmar.  I love this kid’s game.

2.  Watching ESPN Classic.  A thing on Len Bias comes on.  It always does at this time.  I was in school in DC when he was playing.  He was at Maryland.  We saw him play all the time.  He was a beast.  Maybe the best college player I ever saw.  Now, my brother was getting married at that time.  Pheobe Cates’ cousin was cutting my hair for the wedding.  She says off-handedly, “Oh you’re from Boston, some guy on the Celtics just died.”  Who godammit!  She didn’t know. This was before Al Gore invented the internet.  Before ESPN.  Before cell phones.  I’m on an isalnd.  I call home.  They’re all en-route to Cali for the wedding.  I call my friend Hav.  He’s not there.  His sister Christine says, “Ya, some guy did die.”  Who godammit!  She didn’t know.  On my way to the airport, on the plane, no one knew.  It was killing me.  Stopover in KC.  The guy next to me knew.  That sucked.  Our savior just died.  “I’m strong as horse,”  he said on that fateful night.  It still hurts.  His boy, Brian Tribble who supposedly was with, and supplied, Bias that night, played pick-up with us at the GW gym.  I wanted to kill him.

3.  Peter Gammons has a brain aneurysm.  He was instrumental in me being a sports fan.  There was, and is, nothing like his Sunday Globe baseball column.  Trailblazing.  Before my wedding, my boy Chompers got him to leave a message on my voicemail wishing me congratulations.  I still have it.  Get well soon.

4.  I love Pedro as much as the next guy.  He’s not this good in the American League.  Whatever Roger says, that’s why he’s with the Astros.  Its just easier.

5.  Former major league pitcher Steve Howe had methamphetamine in his system when he was killed after his pickup truck drifted off a desert highway, a coroner’s autopsy showed.  Where’s Faye Vincent now?

6.  Newsday reported today that the NHL is looking at the possibility of having the New York Rangers play the New York Islanders in a regular season game at Yankee Stadium.  I like it.  I like it.

7.  I’m going to TiVo the new Spike TV show Blade.  I liked the movies and I like Sticky Fingaz.

8.  Yankees are losing 2-1.  Ha Ha.

9.  Roger loses again.  I love it.

10.  USA loses in World Cup action.

Public Figures:

1.  Beginning of the end.  Rocket didn’t record his first strikeout until the fifth inning of his 4-0 loss to the Tigers last night. It was only the second time in Clemens’ last 132 starts, dating to 2001, that he failed to strike a batter out over the first four innings.

2.   Joe Mauer went 5-for-5 in the Twins’ 9-2 win over the Dodgers, and he now has 100 hits in 257 at-bats this season. Over the last six seasons, the only other player to reach the 100-hit mark in as few at-bats as Mauer was Derrek Lee in 2005 (255 AB).  Mauer’s on my fantasy team.

3.  The Red Sox whomped Mets rookie Alay Soler in last night’s 9-4 win. Soler allowed eight runs in 4 1/3 innings, and the Sox kept in tact their distinction of being the only team not to lose to a rookie starter this season. Boston has faced four rookie starters, whose combined record against the Sox is 0-3 with a 10.07 ERA.

4.  The Cardinals extended their losing streak to eight in a row in a 3-1 loss to the Indians. Tony La Russa hadn’t lost eight straight in more than 10 years — since his A’s finished the 1995 season with nine consecutive losses.

5.  Brandon Webb’s season continues to spiral downward. Although the Diamondbacks rallied to spare Webb a loss, he allowed seven runs in seven innings against the Mariners, including a five-spot in the first inning. Webb is the first starting pitcher since Livan Hernandez in 1997 to lose three consecutive decisions immediately after eight or more wins to start the season. Webb’s on my fantasy team too.

Peace out homeys!  Six, two and even.            Josh Q. Public is a featured writer on YankeesSuck.com.