Many gossip sites are reporting rumors this week that John Mayer will retire soon. Mayer is apparently content with his current body of work and doesn’t see a need to make anymore music at this time. While a short retirement could be possible, many doubt that we’ve seen the last of John Mayer, especially given his age. Today’s music and concert industry is full of acts who were once considered retired but eventually returned to the scene. Recent reunion tours from the Police, and Van Halen are among the more successful of these tours.

If this is indeed the end for Mayer, make sure you check out the remaining dates of his current tour. At the very least it will be the last time you can catch John Mayer for the time being. We hope he enjoys his time off, much of which will likely be spent with his new gal pal, Jennifer Aniston.

Purchase John Mayer tickets now.

This weekend was a tough one for the Red Sox, losing consecutive one-run games to the Houston Astros. On Saturday night the teams had a combined 27 hits for 21 runs, including a wild third inning with 9 two-out runs. Despite the messy start, Sox starter Jon Lester was lined up for the win after a 5-run Sox rally in the 6th.

Unfortunately for the Sox, Ty Wiggington ended Manny Delcarmen’s scoreless innings streak in the Eighth inning. Wiggington’s game-tying solo shot was the first run Delcarmen had surrendered since May 27th; a span of 13 2/3 innings over 12 appearances. Lance Berkman continued the Astros’ two-out success and nailed a go-ahead double to left field to put Houston ahead for good.

Mike Lowell hit a clutch solo homer in the 9th to bring the Sox within a run, but Houston closer Jose Valverde cooled down and managed to get Kevin Youkilis and Jason Varitek to strike out to end the game.

The red-hot Sox offense kept it going in this game, with four-hit performances by Mike Lowell and Dustin Pedroia, and a combined 8 RBI from 4-6 in the order. Sox pitching gave up double-digit runs for only the 4th time this season. Lester’s 6 earned were the most he’s given up this year. David Aardsma’s 2 runs (1 earned) were the first he’d surrendered since June 6th.

The pitching staff fared far better on Sunday. Starter Josh Beckett scattered 8 hits and 2 walks across 7 innings, but left after the 7th with 111 pitches.

“Too many pitches,” Beckett said. “I have to cut down on some of the three-ball counts and go deeper in the game and give myself a better chance to win. ”

David Aardsma came on in relief, and gave up a one-out single to Miguel Tejada. Sox manager Terry Francona went back to the pen and brought in Hideki Okajima. Okajima has struggled with inherited runners this season, and has not been brought in with runners on since May 14th. Okajima would toss a wild pitch to move Tejada to second, and give up a go-ahead single to Mark Loretta. For the second time in two days, Loretta was the difference maker against his old team.

“His pitch is the [split] changeup, so I was completely sitting on the changeup there, you have to,” Loretta said. “I was out in front just a hair, but I was able to stay back just enough to get it up the middle.”

Okajima has allowed 12 of his 15 inherited runners to score this year. The split-changeup that got him through his first MLB season seems to have lost much of its fire.  Okajima again refused to speak to the media after the game.

With the loss to Houston, the Sox lost the top spot in the American League East, which they have held since June 3rd. The Tampa Bay Rays mounted an 8th inning rally against the Pirates to move into first place. The Sox start a three game set against the Rays on Monday night in Tampa (where they were swept in April). After that series, the Sox head to New York to play the Yankees, and then return home to face the Twins.

Thursday night, the NBA Champion Boston Celtics selected J.R. Giddens with the 30th overall pick in the first round of the NBA Draft. They also selected Semih Erden with the 60th and final pick of the night. The Celtics hope that both players will be able to help the franchise that just captured their 17th title.

Giddens, a 6′5″ guard out of New Mexico, was the Co-Player of the Year in the Mountain West Conference last season averaging 16.3 points a game as well as 8.8 rebounds a night. Giddens began his college career as a Kansas Jayhawk but decided to transfer to New Mexico after his sophomore season was complete. He recorded 10 double-doubles during his senior year and led the Lobos to a 24-9 record on the season.

Erden, a 7′0″ center from Turkey, is a 21 year old big man with lots of potential. For his size he is very mobile and runs the floor well but will need to work on his defensive intensity if he ever wants to see time in the league.

The Celtics also made a deal with the Washington Wizards for the 47th draft pick on the night, Bill Walker, for an undisclosed amount of cash. Walker, a 6′6″ forward out of Kansas State, averaged 16.1 points a game during his sophomore season. He’s a great athlete that explodes when going to the basket but has been criticized at times for his shot selection and ball handling.

These three youngsters look to join the 2008-2009 Celtics roster and make a run at Green 18. Giddens has the best shot of making the team because the Celtics are very unlikely to re-sign veteran PG Sam Cassell. Eddie House is also currently unsigned and it is uncertain if he will opt to look for a multi-year deal or agree to another one year contract with Boston.

In the meantime, the Celtics continue to try and negotiate a deal with free-agent James Posey. The 6th man provided a huge defensive lift all season long and has the ability to drain a clutch 3-point shot when it’s needed. It will come down to if Posey wants his role to remain the same or if he wants to jump ship to another team for more money and become a starter.

For now, the Celtics are still just enjoying the fact that they are the NBA Champions and will be raising another banner in the fall.

Almost four years have passed since Phish broke up but recent rumors have begun to spread about a possible reunion tour in the works. In an interview last week with Rolling Stone Magazine, Trey Anastasio dropped a few hints that there is a possibility that the band may be considering getting back together.

“When Phish broke up, I made some comment about how I’m not gonna go around playing ‘You Enjoy Myself’ for the rest of my life. And its so funny because Fish and Mike and Page have been talking to each other a lot lately and now – it’s not that I can’t believe that I said that, but its symbolic of how much I lost my mind or how much I lost my bearings or something. Because at this point in time I would give my left nut to play that song five times in a row everyday until I die. I certainly thought about that while I was in jail.” Anastasio said.

The interview with Rolling Stone took place on May 21st, the same day Anastasio got the good news that he would not be heading back to jail for possession of pain killers without a prescription but rather he was sentenced to probation after successfully completing a drug treatment program.

It’s unclear at this point if the talks are just that or if the band has a real intention of hitting the road to tour again. Regardless, the rumors have Phish fans getting excited in anticipation to see the band perform live on stage once again.

Update October 1, 2008

The Phish reunion is rumor no more. Phish will reunite for three concerts at the very least in 2009 in Hampton, Virginia. Phish announced shows for March 6-8.

Phish tickets are now available.

For 16 years now, Tim Wakefield has dazzled hitters with his famous floating knuckleball. Randy Johnson has taken a different approach, hurling blazing fastballs past hitters for 22 seasons. In Wednesday night’s battle of pitching veterans, the junk was more effective than the heat as Wakefield hurled seven shutout innings in the Boston Red Sox 5-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Fenway Park.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, last night’s pitching match up was the oldest in combined age ever at Fenway Park. Johnson at 44 years old and Wakefield 42 next week still both still have what it takes to retire major league hitters on a consistent basis.

“I’m not facing him as a hitter, so it’s kind of cool,” Wakefield said. “I’m actually facing their hitters and they have a pretty good lineup over there.”

For seven innings, Wakefield was able to keep that pretty good Diamondbacks lineup in check allowing only two hits and no runs while recording six strike outs. The win improves his record to 5-5 on the season with a 3.88 ERA.

The Big Unit pitched well allowing two runs on eight hits over six innings but it just was not enough to win. Both the runs he allowed came from the hands of RF Brendan Moss who was in the game so that lefty J.D. Drew did not have to face the left-handed Johnson. Moss had an RBI ground out in the second inning that scored Mike Lowell and then in the sixth inning he drove in Lowell once again on a one out sacrifice fly.

“I’ve faced Wakefield enough times when I was with the Yankees,” Johnson said. “I’ve been on the other side of these. I guess what goes around comes around.”

Johnson was relived by right-handed pitcher Juan Cruz to start the seventh inning. Cruz was not sharp allowing a lead off walk to Lowell followed by Coco Crisp’s third double of the game. Wakefield’s personal catcher Kevin Cash then belted a 3-run homer over the Green Monster deep into the night sky. The blast was Cash’s first home run since June 21, 2005 which ironically came off of Randy Johnson when he was pitching for the New York Yankees.

Manny Delcarmen replaced Wakefield on the mound and pitched a perfect eighth inning with two strike outs to record his 11th hold on the season. Craig Hansen tried to close the door in the ninth but was only able to get the first two outs before loading the bases. Sox Manager Terry Francona wasn’t taking any chances and summoned closer Jonathan Papelbon to come in and nail down the final out. Papelbon needed to throw only five pitches before striking out Chad Tracy to finish the game and pick up his 23rd save on the year.

“It’s a lot better to play 5-0 than 2-0,” Francona said, “especially the way the ninth inning unfolded.”

The win improves the Sox home record to 31-10 on the year, the best in the American League. Overall, they boast a 49-32 record, which currently ties them with the Chicago Cubs for the most wins in baseball halfway through the 162 game season.

Next up, Boston hits the road for a 10 game road trip with stops in Houston, Tampa Bay and New York. The Astros are currently six games under the .500 mark at 36-42 on the season. They’ve lost seven of their last 10 games.

Believe it or not, the match up in Tampa may be the most exciting of the three road series. For the first time in franchise history, the Rays find themselves in the race for the division half way through a season. Currently they are only one game behind the Sox and have won seven of their last 10.

Following that three game set, the Sox will travel into the Bronx to take on the Yankees for four games over the 4th of July weekend. No one is promising any fireworks this year but New York has picked up their play over the past month, keeping them in playoff contention. The big bats are all still in the lineup, it’s their starting pitchers that have been shaky all season long and with Chien-Ming Wang out until Sept. things will not be getting any better anytime soon.

The Sox return home on July 7th for a three game series against the Minnesota Twins followed by three games against the Baltimore Orioles which will lead right into the All-Star Break.

Tickets are still available for all remaining Red Sox home games!

Some good news for Boston Bruins fans was announced Tuesday when the team made it official that they had re-signed defensemen Mark Stuart to a multi-year contract extension. Terms of the deal have yet to be released.

Stuart, who played for the Bruins in every single game last season, was the teams first round draft pick in 2003. He scored four goals and notched four assists during 82 games on the ice in the 2007-2008 campaign.

The Bruins also made an announcement that they have obtained the rights to defensemen Johnny Boychuk from the Colorado Avalanche for forward Matt Hendricks. Boychuk spent the majority of last season in the AHL but does have a few NHL games under his belt. Hendricks spent the all of last year in the AHL playing for the Providence Bruins.

Many reports say that the Bruins are now trying to put together a package to attract Marian Hossa of the Penguins to join their club. He may be the most talented skater out there on the market.

In other new, C Patrice Bergeron, who after suffering from a severe concussion and has not played since Oct. 27, continues on his path back to training camp and the NHL. “I’m feeling great,” Bergeron told the Boston Globe. “I’m back doing full workouts, the same as I was doing last year, and in some ways I’d say I’m ahead of where I was last year. No problem.”

It looked like Doug Davis and the Arizona Diamondback were well on their way to another road victory over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Leading 4-1 entering the eighth inning, Davis appeared to have everything under control. He’d allowed only five hits and one run, which came way back in the first inning on a Dustin Pedroia solo homerun. Other then that, things were looking pretty good and a win was only six outs away. Unfortunately for Davis and Arizona, the Boston bats came to life scoring four runs on six hits in the eighth inning propelling them to the 5-4 victory Tuesday night.

Julio Lugo and Jacoby Ellsbury opened the inning with back-to-back singles off of Davis before he was removed from the game by Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin. Davis was replaced by right-handed relief pitcher Chad Qualls who would not make it out of the inning.

Pedroia ripped an RBI single plating Lugo to pull the score to 4-2. J.D. Drew would then strike out to bring Manny Ramirez to the plate with two on and one out. Ramirez made a productive out, grounding out to third but in doing so advancing both runners into scoring position setting the stage for Mike Lowell.

Sitting fastball, Lowell belted a waist high two-seamer off the Green Monster to knock home both Ellsbury and Pedroia tying the game at 4-4. The double was Lowell’s 16th on the season and he’s now at 41 RBI’s on the year.

Up next, Jason Varitek picked a brilliant time to break out of his 1-30 slump and connected with an RBI single off of Qualls to drive in Lowell for the go-ahead run, putting the Sox up for good 5-4.

“Tek’s been a little bit unlucky,” said Lowell, “He’s hit better than just those numbers, but it always feels good for a ball to drop, especially in a big situation. Any comeback win is big, especially when I saw Tampa Bay won and we can stay atop our division.”

The win keeps the Sox one game ahead of the Rays in the AL East standings and makes next week’s showdown in Tampa Bay a match up that the Sox will be looking forward to. In their last meeting at Fenway Park, the two team’s benches cleared after Coco Crisp charged the mound after being hit by a Jamie Shields fastball.

With the loss, Arizona falls to 40-38 on the season but remains in the lead of the NL West by a four game margin over the LA Dodgers.

In the final game of the homestand, Boston will send Tim Wakefield to the mound to pitch against another seasoned veteran in Randy Johnson. While Johnson (4-5, 5.09 ERA) is 12 wins shy of 300 and second all-time with 4,687 strikeouts, Wakefield (4-5, 4.17) has lasted 16 seasons thanks to a slow knuckler and has a 172-151 career record. Both pitchers in their 40’s still put their teams in contention to win whenever they take the ball.

“The last four games that I’ve pitched have been extremely frustrating,” said Johnson, winless since May 18. “I feel good. I’m just frustrated because in all those games it’s essentially been one inning.”

Johnson has pitched very well at Fenway Park. Over the years he has compiled an 8-2 record there, despite a 5.01 ERA. He’s won his last four decisions in Boston. On the other hand, Wakefield has not received very good run support in front of the Fenway faithful. The Sox are averaging only 3.3 runs a game in his 15 starts this season.

Following tonight’s game the Sox will hit the road for a three game series in Houston which will wrap up interleague play. They will then head to Tampa Bay for the much anticipated Rays match up, followed by a four game series against the New York Yankees in the Bronx.

Sox Notes:
- If the Sox lose tonight, it will be the first time they have lost back to back series at Fenway Park in three years.
- J.D. Drew is hitless in the Arizona series, and so is his younger brother Stephen Drew. The two are a combined 0-16.
- David Ortiz may take some swings off a tee as early as this weekend to see where he is at in returning to the line up from his wrist injury that has sidelined him for 22 games so far.

The Bank of America Pavilion has a full schedule of concert venues this summer and tickets are now available through Ace Ticket for all of these shows. Check out the list of artists and bands coming through Boston and be sure to contact Ace with any of your concert ticketing needs!

Highlights of Dates and Artists:

Ringo Starr - Wednesday, Jun 25, 2008 at 7:30pm
The former drummer of the Beatles continues to make music as a solo artist and is touring to get the sound out of his new album “Liverpool 8” which was released in January 2008.

Devo with Tom Tom Club - Friday, Jun 27, 2008 at 7:30 PM
It’s been a long time since Devo’s hit single “Whip It” was released in 1980, but the band is still going strong. They hit the studios in 2007 to record a new album and will be touring this summer to promote its release.

Chicago with the Doobie Brothers - Tuesday, Jul 01, 2008 at 7:30pm
In 1994 Chicago was supposed to release an album called “Stone of Sisyphus” but it never happened. Well, that album is going to be released this year, and the band is touring with the Doobie Brother to rock out those tracks.

Feist - Tuesday, Jul 8, 2008

Widespread Panic - Thursday, Jul 10, 2008 at 7:00pm

John Mellencamp - Monday, Jul 14, 2008 at 7:30pm - Tuesday, Jul 15, 2008 at 7:30pm
Don’t miss this recent addition to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame as John Mellencamp performs twice at the Pavilion.

Mark Knopfler - Saturday, Jul 19, 2008 at TBA
Ever since the 1995 break up of Dire Straits, Mark Knopfler has excelled in his solo career. The purpose of his current world tour is to showcase and promote his 5th solo studio album titled “Kill to Get Crimson” which was released in September 2007.

Yes - Wednesday, Jul 23, 2008 at 7:30 PM
In 1968, Yes formed and immediately became a popular English progressive rock band. To celebrate the groups 40th anniversary, they will be conducting a world tour in 2008 to commemorate all their years of success.

Crosby Stills and Nash - Friday, Jul 25, 2008 at 7:30 PM
The trio of David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash have rocked been on the stage performing since 1968. Their folk/rock music is known for tight harmonies and creative lyrics and they continue to impress their audiences 40 years later.

Poison - Tuesday, Jul 29, 2008 at 7:30 PM
Poison will kick off its 2008 Summer tour in style and Boston will be one of its featured stops. The band will play many songs from their most recent album “Poison’d!” which was released in 2007.

Jethro Tull - Monday, Aug 04, 2008 at 7:30 PM
After a busy year of touring in 2007, Jethro Tull somehow found time to hit the recording studio so they could cut some new tracks for an album yet to me named, which they plan on releasing this summer. The 2008 summer tour will most likely be to promote the new album.

Chick Corea with Stanley Clarke, Al Dimeola and Lenny White - Wednesday, Aug 06, 2008 at 7:30pm
With great skills on the piano, Chick Corea headlines a great group of musicians including Stanley Clarke on bass, Al Dimeola on guitar and Lenny White on the drums.

George Thorogood and the Destroyers with Buddy Guy- Saturday, Aug 17, 2008 at 6:00pm
With Buddy Guy and George Thorogood rocking out on the guitar together with the Destroyers band backing them up, this show has potential to be legendary when it comes to blues rock and roll sound.

Ryan Adams and The Cardinals - Sunday, Sep 07, 2008 at 7:30 PM
After trying the solo act for a few years, Ryan Adams is back making music with a band. Together The Cardinals and Adams create an alternative country/rock sound that entertains all who listen.

Make sure to contact Ace Ticket today for seats to any of these great venues coming to Boston this summer!

It doesn’t happen that often, but on Monday night Josh Beckett was out pitched at Fenway Park. Dan Haren tossed seven shutout innings of two hit baseball to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks past the Boston Red Sox 2-1 in a good old fashion pitchers duel. With the win, Arizona has now won the last five games Haren has taken the mound.

Haren, now 8-4 on the season, was acquired by the D-Backs through an eight player trade last winter with the Oakland Athletics. In the yesterdays win, he was able to use a plethora of fastballs to keep Sox hitters at bay for most of the evening.

“I was pretty aggressive with my fastball, probably more fastballs than I usually do,” he said. “It really wasn’t the game plan coming in. I was just able to keep it down and away.”

Over the first six innings, the Sox were held to only one hit which came on a double by Jason Varitek in the third. The only other runner to reach base during that time was Jacoby Ellsbury who drew a two-out walk in the third inning as well.

“He’s tough. It doesn’t matter who he’s pitching against,” Beckett said of Haren. “There are a few pitchers in the big leagues today that I enjoy watching and pitching against … Haren’s obviously one of them.”

Beckett’s line through six was equally as impressive, allowing only three hits and no runner to reach past second base. It was in the seventh inning that gave the Red Sox ace a little trouble.

To begin the inning, Beckett issued a walk to Connor Jackson. Mark Reynolds followed it up with a one out single to left field. With runners on first and second and only one out, Chris Young belted a wall-ball double scoring Jackson and moving Reynolds to third. Chris Snyder then pushed a ball to the right side of the infield to drive in the second run of the game putting Arizona ahead 2-0.

The Sox were happy to see Haren stay in the dugout to begin the eight inning and were able to produce a run off of relief pitcher Tony Pena. Julio Lugo walked with one out and then Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia connected on back-to-back singles which loaded the bases for J.D. Drew. Drew just got under a Pena fastball, hitting a sac-fly to center field which knocked in Lugo from third to cut the lead to 2-1. Up next, Manny Ramirez had a chance to put the Sox on top with two runners in scoring position but lined out to third base to end the threat.

Former Sox farm hand Brandon Lyons worked the ninth inning for Arizona and retired the side in order on only five pitches to record his 16th save on the season. Lyons was dealt from Boston to Arizona in the Curt Schilling deal prior to the 2004 season.

Boston is currently 1-3 on their homestand after having won 19 of their previous 22 games at Fenway. They still have the best home record in the American League at a 29-10 mark.

Looking ahead, Justin Masterson will try to get the Sox back into the win column tonight going for his fifth win on the season. The rookie has been a nice surprise filling in for the injured Clay Buchholtz. Masterson is 4-1 on the year with a 3.00 ERA in six starts. He has not allowed more then four runs in any of his outings.

Doug Davis will hurl for the D-Backs and attempt to pick up his third win on the year. Davis, who has not won a game since May 23rd, is coming off of two impressive outings that both ended in no-decisions but Arizona wins. Over his last 13 innings of work, Davis has allowed only one earned run while striking out 15.

Tonight’s first pitch is scheduled for 7:05pm.

The New England Patriots 2008 pre-season mini camps are already underway and the entire roster is set to report to camp in a few weeks to kick off training for the reigning AFC Champions. The Patriots have had plenty of time to try and forget about the Super Bowl upset and concentrate on preparing themselves for another run at a championship.

WR Matthew Slater was the first Patriots draft pick to sign a contract when he agreed to a deal with the team on June 13. Slater, a WR/DB/special teams player out of UCLA, was picked in the fifth round. He is the son of Hall of Famer Jackie Slater, a former Rams offensive linemen.

One of the teams’ main focuses during these padless mini-camps has been their attention to red-zone defense. Last season the Patriots defensive unit admits that they struggled at times within the red zone and it is certainly an area they can improve on this year.

“Red zone was a real area of weakness,” LB Mike Vrabel said. “We could have been a great defense last year if we’d played better in the red zone. Statistically, we were good, except in that area.”

Some players that will not be back in a Patriots uniform this season include; TE Kyle Brady and LB Rosevelt Colvin. Both players were released after failing team physicals. Cornerbacks Randall Gay and Asante Samuel will not be returning, both signing multi year deals with new teams. Gay signed a four year, $12 million dollar contract with the Saints and Samuel inked a six year, $59.475 million dollar deal with the Eagles. Another notable player not returning will be WR Donte Stallworth who signed with the Cleveland Browns for a seven year $35 million dollar deal.

Veteran WR Troy Brown and LB Junior Seau are currently both unsigned unrestricted free agents that have both expressed interest in returning to play one more season with the Patriots before retiring.

After setting an NFL record for receiving TD’s in a season (23), Randy Moss will definitely be back after he agreed to a three year $27 million dollar deal that has him in New England through the 2010-2011 season. LB’s Teddy Bruschi and Larry Izzo also signed new contracts with the team to ensure their return.

And of course, Tom Brady isn’t going anywhere anytime soon which instantly makes the Patriots favorites again to win the AFC East.

The first scheduled Patriots pre-season game at home is on August 7th against the Baltimore Ravens. One month to the day, the Pats will open their home regular season schedule with a game on Sept. 7th against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Patriots tickets to all home games are now available!