Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff

Packing a suitcase full of thoughts while daydreaming about stowing away on the Red Sox equipment truck headed for Florida and an escape from this endless winter:

The gear begins its long journey to Fort Myers this Friday and I, for one, sure am glad Jason Varitek’s catching equipment is on it.

Let’s be honest here. The Sox could have continued to play hard ball with their captain. They might have even been able to squeeze another dollar or two in savings to exact revenge on Scott Boras for the Mark Teixeira negotiations. But then what?

Boston’s Boys of Summer believe they have a championship contender in October, with the pitching staff expected to lead the way. Did you really think they were going to entrust Josh Bard with their World Series hopes? As feeble as ‘Tek looked at the plate in ’08, there simply was no other alternative. Truth is, despite Varitek not having any other options right now, The Red Sox needed him as much, if not more, than he needed them.

-It’s funny to hear folks talk about how Jarrod Saltalamacchia is going to learn the ropes under the Sox veteran for a year, then take the reins behind the plate. Ummm, unless I’m missing something, don’t you have to, like you know, actually acquire him in the first place?

If the asking price for Salty (I refuse to type Saltalamacchia any more than I have to) or Diamondbacks prospect Miguel Montero was in Boston’s ballpark, wouldn’t Theo Epstein have already pulled the trigger on a trade? I’m guessing it’s going to take some combination of low level prospects, plus someone from the Buchholz-Masterson-Bowden trifecta to close the deal. That’s a price I’m not so sure Theo wants to pay right now.

-Remember when Super Bowls used to be blowouts of epic proportions, and the only reason people stayed interested in the 4th quarter was the gambling squares?

What a great, great game Sunday. You have to hand it to the Cardinals for almost overcoming the disastrous end of the first half. And you have to hand it to the Steelers for overcoming the late game collapse to drive for the winning score. Hate to say it, but very reminiscent of Brady leading the Patriots into Vinatieri field goal range after New England coughed up a 14-point lead against St. Louis.

-Seeing as he’s messed up the rest of his endorsement deals, perhaps Michael Phelps might want to have his agent approach a cell phone carrier about promoting its line of camera phones.

-I’ve seen the future of the Bruins Stanley Cup hopes, and the future’s name is Tuukka Rask.

We’ve beaten this “Bruins need a true #1 goalie come the playoffs” thing to death, but I’ve long believed Rask is the team’s best hope of breaking Boston’s longest championship drought. My only question was whether the 21-year old prospect from Finland is ready to lead a playoff charge. After watching that 35-save shutout of the Rangers over the weekend, I’m thinking he might be ready sooner, rather than later.

I also hope when Rask does get promoted to the NHL for good, he takes up residence on the second level of an apartment complex. That way, when he meets his neighbors in the lobby for the first time, he can tell them: “My name is Tuukka. I live on the second floor.”

Somewhere, Susan Vega groans!