The Tampa Rays' Unsteady Walk Into History

Prior to Game Five, the easy joke was that with Boston about to be extinguished by those plucky Rays, television executives were preparing to take their own lives instead of facing the prospect of the ratings disaster otherwise known as a Philly vs. Tampa World Series (in fact, I just yawned while typing that.) Thanks to the miracle at Fenway on Thursday night, however, suicide will have to wait. Instead, TBS gets to broadcast one more tension-filled night of baseball. Good times for all. Of course, the only people giving Tampa any kind of chance tonight are themselves. Everyone else is arguing that they're too young; too inexperienced against a big-game pitcher like Josh Beckett; too black! The Sox meanwhile, to the chagrin of most, appear as though they're about to reprise that now all-too-familiar role of destiny's child (you guys can decide who gets to be Beyonce.) In any case, whatever happens tonight, the Phillies are likely sitting around somewhere hoping Game Six lasts a minimum of 19 innings.