Last week's column

Some moments defy the odds.

Sometimes the little guy rises up to whip the bully.

Sometimes 9=8.

This morning – I believe.

Consider this: Before the season began, the odds of the Tampa Bay Rays winning the World Series stood at 200-1. Only five teams were considered longer shots. The favorite…? The Boston Red Sox.

Last night I sat on the edge of my bed, heart pounding, as the Rays held on to beat the mighty Red Sox 3-1 to advance to the World Series.

I’m not sure you can comprehend the momentousness of that win if you haven’t lived through the dark history that was Tampa Bay baseball.

Trust me, I know first hand.

For 15 years I called the Tampa Bay area home, and for three years I lived in the shadow of Tropicana Field. Most of the time, that was a pretty expansive shadow, filled with lost causes, broken promises, and obnoxious Red Sox and Yankee fans.

But this year was different.

At the beginning of the season, Rays’ manager Joe Madden had t-shirts printed up.

9=8.

Huh?

Clearly, this is a mathematic impossibility.

But is it?

The genesis of the idea was nine players going hard for nine innings equals one of eight playoff spots.

9*9=1/8

But in its simpler form, the equation really represents the possibility of the impossible.

In the beginning, nobody REALLY believed. Oh sure, we all thought that this would be a better year for the Rays. Then again, how hard would it be for a franchise that had NEVER won more than 70 games to get better?

As the year progressed, people started to buy in, but there were always those nagging doubts. There was always this sense that at some point, the Rays would start to be … well … the Rays.

But at each critical juncture, this team – the team with the smallest payroll in Major League Baseball – kept proving our doubts wrong.

Admit it, when Boston came back from seven down in game five, you thought the Rays were finished. The big boy had let the upstart get a little taste of the glory, but now it was time to swat him away. When Boston waltzed into the Trop for game six and beat an intimidated looking Rays club, you gave Tampa Bay a sympathetic nod, and wrote them off.

Fairytales don’t really exist.

The mighty prevail.

9=9

But the Rays forgot to consult the mathematicians and they refused to believe their unlikely story would have anything other than an unlikely ending. And in a final twist of fate, Rocco Baldelli, once the face of the franchise – diagnosed early in the season with a rare muscle disorder and expected to never play again – drove in the winning run.

That’s the thing about these Rays.

They defy the odds.

They give hope to the little guy.

They prove that 9=8.

Quick Shots

I saw it. Just for few flickering moments it flashed before my eyes. A Wildcat offense! Two big passing plays salvaged a pretty miserable offensive game for UK. If the Cats can build on that momentum and maintain some kind of consistent offensive attack to go along with a really strong defense, they could still end up having a pretty good season. Too bad they have to go down to the Swamp to face the Gators next.

Congrats to the Woodford County Lady Jackets’ soccer team on winning the district championship. I really enjoy watching the girls play. They compete with speed, determination and grit. But more than that, I just like them. They have a fun-loving likable personality that just makes me want to root for them. I look forward to watching them progress through the post season.

Quote of the week

"I'm probably going to hit a few pigs when I fly home, and Hell is serving ice water tonight. No one thought we'd be here. And here we are, we just knocked off the beasts of East, the defending champions." - Rays reliever Trever Miller

Puck to the head

This week’s puck to the head flies at all of the UK fans (and I use the term loosely) who left the stadium before the end of the Arkansas game. I hope the action in the parking lot was more interesting than the Wildcats’ amazing come from behind win.