The Red Sox's latest superstition: The Curse of the Affleck

Sideline Chatter
The Red Sox's latest superstition: The Curse of the Affleck

So, was winning that Oscar really worth it?

ESPN reports that ever since Ben Affleck's hit movie "Good Will Hunting" came out in 1997, his beloved Red Sox have gone 0-13 on his Aug. 15 birthday.

Red Zone 101

"On the hot seat" in the NFL this year most likely refers to:

a) Rex Ryan's job security with the Jets.

b) Cowboys fans who sit on marble benches in 101-degree heat.

The eye has it

Too bad that Steve Graham of Pomona, Kan. — whose glass eye features the logo of his beloved NFL Chiefs for a pupil — isn't a K.C. baseball fanatic instead.

As in, eye color on driver's license: Royal blue.

Lots of Manning

"It's only two weeks old," wrote the Detroit Free Press' Steve Schrader of NFL dress rehearsals, "and I'm already sick of four things besides exhibition games: replacement refs, commercials with Peyton Manning in them, commercials with Eli Manning in them and commercials with both Peyton Manning and Eli Manning in them. It's going to be a long season."

Looney Tunes in Texas

Alas, Rangers manager Ron Washington couldn't save second baseman Ian Kinsler from getting ejected for arguing balls and strikes.

"I tried to get to home plate quick enough," Washington told The Dallas Morning News, "but I'm not Speedy Gonzalez."

Getting desperate

"A research group reports that video-game sales are down for the eighth straight month," reported NBC's Jay Leno. "I'll tell you how bad it's been: The other day, I saw a 15-year-old kid riding a bike outside."

Nuts about walking

Do you have what it takes to be a champion racewalker?

"We are just not right in the head," Sergey Kirdyapkin, Russia's 50-kilometer gold medalist, told the Olympic News Service. "That's why we are interested in it."

The write stuff

• Tournament director Hollis Cavner, to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, when asked if golf legend Arnold Palmer would return for next year's 3M Championship: "He didn't slap me when he left, so I think there's a good chance."

• NBC's Bob Costas, to the Dan Patrick Show, on his softball sit-down interviews at the Olympics: "No one wants to see you grill Gabby Douglas or Missy Franklin."

• Comedy writer Alan Ray, on why the NFL won't negotiate with its lockout referees over the phone: "They tend to miss lots of calls."

• Greg Cote of The Miami Herald, after the Honduran national team beat Boca Juniors 2-0 in a soccer friendly at Dolphins stadium: "Probably would have been a better game had Boca brought some of its Seniors."

Set your sights

"Deer Camp," a musical about deer hunting, opens Sept. 14 at the New Century Theatre in Minneapolis.

Now comes the tough part: Lining up Bambi for some cameo shots.

Dwight Perry: 206-464-8250 or dperry@seattletimes.com

By Dwight Perry The Seattle Times

By Dwight Perry
The Seattle Times