The Joy of Sox Movie

I really mean “Tweets from England” (ie, Twitter messages from England), but the pun was irresistable to this long-time John Cleese/Monty Python fan. Here’s what I would have sent out on my recent visit to England if I had actually been logged onto our JoS Twitter account. Some day – just not yet!

6/5: No Sox caps or banners anywhere, no mention of baseball on the telly, no Sox betting line available at Ladbrokes (the corner bookie). I don't even know if Ortiz has broken out of his slump yet. Being abroad puts things in perspective

6/5: The big sports stories here are surprisingly similar, just about soccer: mega-players getting 70 million pound contracts ($135 million for Ronaldo to enter A-Rod territory) and behavioral problems getting players kicked off the team (evicted rugger Symonds had alcohol problems, but otherwise his story sounds just like Manny's).

6/5: Had a nice chat with a 20-ish Muslim man who wants to stay in contact to learn more about Judaism (my semi-Biblical beard was the springboard, after I’d asked him for directions). I gave him my JoS card for the email address, and he remarked that his mother wouldn't approve of any forays into the "Joy of Sex". My dental hygienist made the same mistake.

6/6: Speaking with the coach of the Hereford Saracens junior rugby team, an avid sports fan all around - he had actually heard of the Boston Red Sox, but couldn't tell me one single point of information about them. It's very humbling to travel abroad!

6/7: Watching a cricket match on the hotel lobby TV, and finally understanding what they meant by terms like "bringing in a left arm slow bowler". He’s a guy who bowls 93 kph (kilometers per hour) vs. the pace bowler's 140 kph. We'd say the southpaw relief pitcher throws a lot of junk and tops out at 75 mph. Same diff.

6/7: The British cricket crowd cheered after a rival West Indies batsman finished his innings with 88 runs (including one 6 - ie, home run - that traveled 103 meters!). Good sportsmanship is the hallmark here, and I really appreciate it.

6/7: Whoever has the most money to spend can buy his team a championship. Real Madrid just poached Ronaldo from Manchester United, so one billionaire owner gets to gloat over his rival. Surprising to see these behaviors in a country and continent where the greater good so often outweighs the individual. Looks like capitalism has a pretty big foothold in the soccer world.