Is it Friday yet?

Ever wake up in the morning and think, I would really like a white Russian right now? (no? me neither.)

This has already been a super long week. Maybe it is because I know the awesomeness known as St. Patrick's Day is almost upon us. I'm tearing my room apart to find my shamrock earrings tonight.

Anyway, I'm getting bored with Spring Training and while I watch March Madness, I don't know anything basketball or the players playing the tourney. I am doing four pools this year, one with school friends, a facebook one, a work one, and a family one. I picked Texas as the National Champ in the first two, but I might pick a different one in the other two, just to keep my interest incase Texas gets bounced in the first round.

*Anyway, onto the links...

*Jordan's furniture will refund your money if the Red Sox win the World Series. I feel like this is bad karma, I mean, the Red Sox winning the WS and a free couch that I bought in March!

*Jonathan Papelbon killed 4,402 ducks this off season. Papel-blog said it well, so I'll let her take it from here, "Okay, let's go back to this duck hunting thing for a second. The PM points out, 4,402 ducks, 145 days in the off-season, so that's what, 30 ducks a DAY? Does he think he's going to need to feed himself for the long New England summer? Does he tear off their heads with his teeth before starts? If he does, I'm totally fine with that, I'm just curious."

I don't really understand how one finds enough time to kill 142 ducks a day, or what you would possibly do with that much duck.

Anyway, that article has all kinds of quality quotes, including these beauties,

"There are a couple of places in Mississippi we hunt that are big flurries for ducks," Papelbon says. "It's my happy spot."

"I live for that kind of challenge," Papelbon says. "I love for the fans to expect a lot from me, because I expect a lot from myself. That gets me going, when they expect a lot from you. I set my goals real high. I figure if I set my goals real high and don't reach them, then you're still going to accomplish a lot."

"As for the ducks, Papelbon says he grills them, gives some away to friends and stocks his freezer with the rest.
Says it takes him two minutes to clean a duck, "if that."
Says it takes another two minutes to dress the duck for the freezer.
Or, about the same time it takes him to undress a hitter."

*A bunch of Sox including Papelbon, Lester, Delcarmen, Gabbard, Hansack, Kyle Jackson (I have a crush on him), Edgar Martinez, David Pauley, Kottaras, Pedroia, Brandon Moss and David Murphy got new contracts.

*A-Rod wants to finish a Yankee, but he's going to let the fans decide. Apparently he thought they were saying, "Moooovveerr" this whole time.

*O's upped Brian Roberts for another two years.

*Rob Bradford's blog (aka, my favorite) says that the Red Sox are talking to the Giants about Armando Benenitez, who, we all know was very good when we were grade school. I don't know how I'm going to be able to take not having Papelbon in the pen. I had gotten used to having the 9th go smoothly and I'm not ready to go back. As for Julian "Manny's Best Friend" Tavarez, I feel like you need a certian badass Foulkeish demeanor to close, and while he thinks he's a bad ass, I don't think he is actually a bad ass, who knows? maybe that will be enough. That being said, I'll leave you today with a story. Last August in Tampa, my fellow SoxStalkers and I had found our way into the lobby of the hotel. We sat down and noticed a lanky gentleman standing at the front desk saying things like, and room 202, they want an 8 A.M. wake up call, and room 203, they want a 9 A.M. wake up call, and room 204, they want a 9:30 A.M. wake up call, AND then this gentleman turned around, and it was none other than Julian Tavarez. (aka, the guy his teammates made go down to the lobby to set up their wake up calls).