Ellington

Last year, the Boston Red Sox buried the Curse of the Bambino with an incredible eight-game winning streak. First, they rallied from an 0-3 deficit in the AL Championship Series to oust the hated New York Yankees. Then the BoSox swept the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series to claim their first championship since the age of the dinosaurs. But the problem with the ULTIMATE season in baseball is that there's no such thing. There's always next season.

This year, the Yankees and Red Sox have been battling in the the AL East all season. They wrap up the regular season with a three-game series that starts Friday night. The Yankees could clinch the AL East title as soon as Friday night. The Red Sox have to win all three games to win the AL East. And the Cleveland Indians are in a dead heat with the Sox in the AL wild-card reace. America's finest sports writer, Charles Pierce, sorts it all out ...