They say that there's nothing better than a Game Seven in sports. I'm not exactly sure who "they" are, but whoever they may be, they're some wise bastards. Even the most jaded sports fan can't help but get excited about the ultimate elimination game.

Behind the left-handed arm of one Jon Lester, the Red Sox will be looking to put the finishing touches on their second miraculous ALCS comeback in the last half-decade. They have all of the momentum on their side, and even the burning hatred of most baseball fans outside of Massachusetts doesn't appear to be fazing them one bit.

Matt Garza will attempt to right the ship for Rays, who appear as though they're resigned to this seemingly inevitable fate of theirs.

As the Rays walked down the tunnel to their clubhouse following the loss, heads hung, a teammate tapped shortstop Jason Bartlett on the shoulder, leaned in and said: “It had to be this way.”

So it is.

(Certainly a different tone from the Rays than the one they had earlier in the series, when they were not only kicking Boston's ass, but also sleeping with their women!)

Assuming that TBS has gotten their act together, the battle to face Philly in the World Series will appear on your television screens in a little over half an hour. But don't go anywhere; World Champion live-blogger Matt Sussman will be here shortly to guide you through the festivities. Do enjoy.

ALCS is taken to the limit [Yahoo!]

The Curse of Evan Longoria's Alleged Overconfidence and Debauchery [The Sporting Blog]

Things started off well for the Rays in Game Six; a little too well in fact. BJ Upton tied an AL record with his seventh long ball as he took Josh Beckett deep in the first inning, and it appeared for a moment as though Beckett's oblique injury might be Beantown's undoing. Not so.

(Of course, most of us didn't see much of this, as TBS inexplicably showed the Steve Harvey Show instead of the game for much of the first inning. That was kind of awesome.)

Beckett of course recovered from the Upton shot, and he settled in and threw five strong innings, only allowing one more run - a homer by Jason Bartlett. From there, the Sox cruised. Kevin Youkilis got the party started in the second inning with a solo drive (adding another RBI the following inning), and Jason Varitek and Big Papi took care of the remaining offensive load in the sixth inning.

The three-headed bullpen monster of Hideki Okajima, Justin Masterson and Jonathan Papelbon then took over from Beckett in the sixth, and effectively snuffed the life out of Tampa Bay.

A few days ago, the Red Sox were seven outs away from elimination. They were dead for all intents and purposes. All but buried. But now, improbably, we'll have a Game Seven in Tampa tomorrow night with the Rays' chances of playing in the World Series suddenly looking like the ones in need of life support. Who woulda thunk it?