Denial Is Not a
River in Egypt

It's Just Something Suddenly Flowing Freely Out of Fenway Park

5 p.m. Update: Ch. 7 Sources Stand By Story and Add Dugout Drinking Was
Going on in 2010, Too. And Beckett Started the Practice in 2009
Globe's Peter Abraham Says Ch. 7 Story on Dugout Drinking 'Checks Out'
Gammons Has Had Enough of the 'Swill': Clears Henry, Lucchino But Not Werner
Johnny Damon Chimes In, But We'd Really Rather Hear From D-Lowe on This
New York Times: Red Sox Fans Consumed by Chicken and Beer
Beckett, Lackey, Lester, Francona Deny Cups of Beer Were Being Consumed
in the Boston Red Sox Dugout During Games

"I cannot let this allegation go without response; enough is enough. I admit that I made mistakes along the way this season, but this has gone too far. To say that we drank in the dugout during the game is not true." -- Josh Beckett, comes out of hiding to issue statement in combo denial

"There are things that went on this season that shouldn�t have happened, but this latest rumor is not true, and I felt that it was important to try to stop this from going any further." -- John Lackey, surprisingly didn't blame execution and location

"Absolutely not." -- Jason Varitek when asked if there was any drinking in the dugout on WAAF this morning

The Bud Lights May Be Cold, But the Respect for Tito
Is Lukewarm at Best

"Did this team respect Terry Francona? I would say yes. Everybody has their own respect for their own manager, yes... He is your boss. And what I believe in is your going to have coaches you don't like. You're going to have management you don't like. You have players you don't like but I'm still going to play with the utter respect. This is my elder. This is the way I was brought up, the way I was raised. No matter what, I'm going to respect them and treat them with that same respect and whether guys are going to go in a foxhole with somebody, at this point it doesn't matter because you have to function. He's still our boss and t doesn't matter what happens that he makes the lineup, we go out and play. He makes the lineup, we go out and play. With him, whether guys would go in a foxhole or have that much respect, you have to. You don't get to that many wins and those things going on." -- Jason Varitek on WAAF this morning

More Tidbits from 'Tek...

The Captain to WAAF today: Shame on unnamed sources... Clubhouse guys are our lives... We've had problems for 15 years, they've always stayed in house... David Ortiz called a players' meeting in mid-September... Carl Crawford cares too much... It's wrong to drink in the clubhouse, but it wasn't out of control... Lackey takes on a role larger than his numbers on the mound and he took the ball when he didn't have to, wasn't 100 percent... Josh was our only stability... Jon's his own man... Saw players play video games, pregame... his dog ate the gift headphones, he didn't make it to the yacht party... Didn't go out to dinner to celebrate Tito's demise... Beckett's not fat, not out of shape, drinking in the clubhouse did not affect his season... Need a new manager with a strong personality... Wants to come back, has bled the uniform, can't picture playing anywhere else...

Move Over Jeter, Captain Intangibles Is Here

�I didn�t fit their [Red Sox] mold as a player, and this is eight, nine years ago now. I didn�t fit their mold physically as a player and that changed through time because what I do, intangibles, and different things but statistically as a player, I didn�t fit that.� -- Jason Varitek, more gems from WAAF interview