We started with eight hopeful worship leaders, but only 2 remain.

The Lincoln Brewster Rays blew a huge lead in historical fashion in Game 5, failed to win Game 6, but came through when it mattered in a memorable Game 7 contest.The Hillsongs Red Sox had abundant chances to break through in the final game, but failed to do so in almost every instance. Jason Bay mastered the art of the check swing strikeout, Jason Varitek flailed at a ball in the dirt to strike out with the bases loaded, and Matt Garza spit his way to winning the LCS MVP.

As a Red Sox fan, it was a brutal game to watch in that the Sox had so many opportunities to break through and never could. It would have been easier to have been down 4 or 5 runs, or to never have had runners in scoring position. But as it was, the Sox sent a handful of batters to the plate in those last 3 innings with a chance to turn the game, and none of them could do it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not wishing we had been down more, I’m just saying it was a tension-filled game, and that sucks when your team never comes through. Especially when there’s 40,000 screaming fans wearing brand new Rays jerseys banging on cowbells. Where were all these people for the past 10 years? I know it’s cliched to be annoyed by that, but I don’t care, I still found it annoying.

But on the whole, I can’t be too upset. Yes the 04 and 07 championships ease the pain on some level. (without them, that loss last night would have been exponentially more sickening.) But as anyone who watched the series knows, the Rays were the better team. (Although with Mike Lowell in the lineup instead of Mark “I’ll swing at anything I think I can get my weak bat on” Kotsay, we might have been able to push through a few more runs when we needed them.) I am thankful that the Sox fought back in Game 5 and gave me that memory. And I’m proud of them for fighting until the end. You can’t win them all. Congrats to the Devil Rays.

Moving on, in the National League the Matt Redman Phillies beat up on the Paul Baloche Dodgers and advanced in 5 games. You might not remember it because it happened 3 weeks ago, but trust me, it did.

So here’s your matchup heading into the World Series, which starts Wednesday night. The Matt Redman Phillies against the Lincoln Brewster Rays. You’ve got the power of one of England’s finest worship leaders against straight up American Fender Strat Rock. In my opinion, the Phillies are the better team heading into this clash, but the Rays have home field and no time to get rusty. In the end, I’m going with my heart on this one: Tampa Bay broke my heart, so they get my wrath. Not to mention that I interact with too many miserable Philly fans on a daily basis. These folks need a championship.

I’m taking the Phillies in six.