‘Rally beer’ didn’t save Red Sox

Fallout continues from the Red Sox's epic September collapse and subsequent Boston Globe story that reported Sox starters Jon Lester, Josh Beckett and John Lackey drank beer, ate fried chicken and played video games in the clubhouse during games they didn't pitch.

Lester confirmed the beer/chicken report Monday but claimed it didn't contribute to the team's downfall.

"It was a ninth-inning rally beer," he said. "We probably ordered chicken from Popeye's like once a month. But that's not the reason we lost.

"Was it a bad habit? Yes. I should have been on the bench more than I was. But we just played bad baseball as a team in September. We stunk. To be honest, we were doing the same things all season when we had the best record in baseball."

Lester also claimed he, Beckett and Lackey never played video games. They were too busy playing drinking games.

While Lester should be applauded for coming clean, the cancer survivor's once sterling reputation never will be the same. He didn't help his cause when he ripped the managerial style of Terry Francona, who acted as a surrogate father to Lester when the left-hander was battling cancer.

"I was more than grateful for what he did for me and my family. But there comes a time when your authority is no longer there; you kind of run your course," Lester said. "People knew how Tito was, and we pushed the envelope with it. We never had rules; we never had that iron-fist mentality."

Red Sox owner John Henry also added to the offseason mess Friday when he revealed in a radio interview that he opposed the team's decision to sign outfielder Carl Crawford to a $142 million, seven-year contract last offseason.

"We had plenty of left-handed hitting," he said. "I don't have to go into why. I'll just tell you that at the time I opposed the deal."

■ STRIP SCRABBLE -- NFL coaches Jim Harbaugh and Jim Schwartz have nothing on a pair of World Scrabble Championships competitors.

During the spellbinding event Friday in Warsaw, Poland, an opponent accused Britain's Ed Martin of hiding the letter "G" somewhere on his person and demanded Martin be strip-searched in the bathroom.

Tournament officials refused, and the 35-year-old Martin won the match by one point over Thailand's Chollopat Itthi-Aree, 25, who long has claimed his parents have kept a "G" hidden from his name.

■ RAPTURE NIGHT -- In what is being billed as "The Last Hockey Game on Earth," the Wranglers will host the Ontario (Calif.) Reign on Friday in their home opener at Orleans Arena.

After recalculating his original apocalypse forecast of May 21, California radio host Harold Camping has predicted the world will end on Friday instead.

A confessional will be set up at the game where fans can make last-minute confessions to a team intern.

Should a fireball not consume the planet Friday, the Wranglers will continue their schedule, which will include two midnight games and an "Over 18 Night."

Said team president Billy Johnson: "If it doesn't go as planned, it's not the end of the world."

COMPILED BY TODD DEWEY
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL