When my niece Amanda was little more than a baby back in the late 90s, my mom would throw a ball to her and if she missed it, my mom would say "missed!" Then while Amanda was watching what was probably her first fireworks show, any time there'd be a dud of a firework that didn't pop or whatever, Amanda would say "missed!" Apparently she thought this was a word for any type of error.

The Red Sox missed tonight. Eleven inning losses are tough, but our team has shown it can come back from the frustrating games. I predict a massive win for the 4th.

By a quirk of the schedule, the Yankees actually played three games between tonight's Red Sox game and the previous one. With their cheapo win today (do they have any other kind?) they're two back. As they used to say in 2006, and also last week, "no worries." Actually, I've got a weird story about that, too. The first person I knew that used that phrase consistently was a woman who spoke with an Irish accent. So any time I hear or even think that phrase, my brain hears it in an Irish accent. Same with Aaron Carter. The first time I heard his name was when I worked in the music department of a bookstore, also in the late 90s. A little girl with an Irish accent asked if we had his single, so ever since I've thought the guy was an Irish singer (not like he's ever brought up--I believe he was one of the Backstreet Boys or NSYNC or 98 Degrees--man, what a golden age of music that was!), while also hearing the name Aaron or Carter in an Irish accent even when it's said in regulation American Joe language. Weird how the brain works. Then again, it's late. But not too late to watch a couple Twilight Zones before bed....