Johnny Doffs Cap, For Some Reason or Other/Brief, Shameful Movie Review

I'm starting to like Johnny Damon. This article about the Yankees' loss in Boston tonight features a shot of Damon tipping his cap to the Sox fans, many of whom were booing him at that moment. The report says: "Maybe Damon saw everyone standing and heard more clapping than berating because he removed his helmet and raised it in appreciation." Maybe. Either way, it's a good moment. In one scenario, Damon is tipping his hat because he's mistaking boos for cheers, and that makes him about as bright -- but about as easy to dislike, too -- as the average four-year-old. In the other scenario (and the article makes it clear that some fans were cheering), he's tipping his cap to a semi-appreciative crowd despite the other, more malign half of the reaction, and that, to me, is a pretty good-natured, mature gesture.

Also, and I bury this for a reason at the bottom of a post many of you won't read -- right before putting in a rented movie over the weekend, I caught the start of Fever Pitch on cable and ended up watching the whole thing. It stars Jimmy Fallon as a nutjob Red Sox fan who has to choose between baseball and a woman when he falls in love with Drew Barrymore. I detest the Red Sox, I strongly dislike Fallon, and though I think Barrymore can be cute, I also think she can be excruciatingly bad. Fallon's not bad in this (granted, it doesn't ask much of him), but everything else is OK or worse. Still, I enjoyed it. I can't defend this on any level, except to say that I've had a case of the doldrums lately, and that can lead to much lower standards for late-night flickering images. TV as fireplace for the wintry soul; you know the routine.