Fight Night at Fenway

What a day to be a Boston sports fan! First the Red Sox fight with the Rays and each other while completing the 3-game sweep of their first-place showdown series, then the Celtics play an inspirational game to take Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Lakers in a game worthy of the '80s classics.

Maybe the Sox watched some clips of Kevin McHale taking down Kurt Rambis in the '84 NBA Finals or possibly Robert Parish decking Bill Laimbeer in the '87 Eastern Conference Finals to get pumped for their final game with Rays and the Celtics-Lakers game.

Whatever it was, they were in a fighting mood and let the Rays know. Coco Crisp started a bench-clearing brawl when he charged the mound after being hit in the leg by Scott Shields in the 2nd inning. The whole thing started the night before when Coco stole second and Rays shortstop Jason Bartlett blocked the bag with his leg spraining Coco's thumb on the slide.

BOX SCORE: Red Sox 7, Rays 1

A couple innings later it looked like Coco got his retribution when he slid hard into Akinori Iwamura and took him out of the play. Coco then jawed with Rays Manager Joe Maddon about the incident.

He had to expect some retaliation today and he got it when Shields hit him. Shields threw at Coco's leg so it wasn't a dirty play.

Coco acted like a punk charging the mound and then made matters worse saying the Rays acted like little girls when they were scratching him and pulling his hair during the brawl. That may have been true, but you've got to be smart about these things and try to not get suspended, especially with the Sox's injury situation.

Then in the 4th inning, Jacoby Ellsbury makes a great sliding catch, but his wrist gets caught underneath him and bent back awkwardly. He left the game, and Youk had to play right field with J.D. Drew moving to center. X-rays were negative on the wrist, but it looked pretty bad.

To top the night off, Manny, who homered and had 5 RBIs in the game, got into a shouting and shoving match with Youk in the dugout and Manny actually took a swipe at Youk. What the hell is going on. Is this the 2008 Red Sox or the '77 Yankees?

Terry Francona said it was a misunderstanding and no big deal, but it was shocking to see Manny and Youk going at it. I think now would be a good time for Big Papi or Tek to settle the guys down and make sure everyone is on the same page.

A few innings later, Manny had to leave the game after straining his hamstring while checking a swing. It looked like his knee buckled on the play.

Overshadowed by all the crazy events of the night was an excellent start by Jon Lester who allowed 1 run in 6 1/3 innings, striking out 5 and walking none.

The Sox welcome the Mariners - who own the worst record in baseball - to Fenway for a 3-game weekend series. It will be interesting to see what kind of lineup they field with all the injuries and possible suspensions.