Rays. Red Sox. Game One.

The Tampa Bay Rays are playing in the American League Championship Series.

There, I wrote it, and it looks precisely as preposterous as I imagined.

Within the last week, I've begun ramping up for the NBA season by checking in at a Magic preseason game, and spent a rainy Saturday calling the play-by-play for the FSU-Miami football game. But the story that I simply cannot escape is the freaking Rays.

In fact, I think I might have to call them that. The Freaking Rays.

I write this from the left field auxiliary press box at Tropicana Field during Game One of the ALCS against the mighty Boston Red Sox. The cowbells, which have become a trademark of the Rays' playoff infancy, are at full blast. Unlike the Divisional Series against the White Sox, this game has a noticeable visiting team presence (no shocker there, if you've ever attended a Rays-Red Sox regular season game at the Trop). But while the red shirts are visible, they're not enough to drown out those bloody cowbells, nor can they stifle the Rays fans, who are treating every pitch like 4th & inches.

This is my third Rays playoff game. Fox Sports Florida has produced a one-hour live pregame show for each postseason game at the Trop; my role has been to stand for live shots at the Rotunda entrance, where the majority of the single-game ticket holders enter. I deserve combat pay.

Seriously -- what is it about a camera and lights that turns ordinary baseball fans into complete idiots? I've been cowbelled, hollered at, bumped while on-camera. Nine times out of ten, I can smell the booze on their breath. There are a few friendlies out there -- many thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hello, or compliment our coverage, or say how much they love the Chevy Florida Fishing Report (happens all the time, people. All. The. Time.) A few people wanted to shake my hand and say hello. Fine.

But the rest of you? When you wake up tomorrow with a pounding headache, please ask yourself if it's totally necessary to get blitzed before walking into a ballpark. I know the beer in here is expensive, but honestly. And another note -- if you want to get yourself or your sign on TV, it helps to do it when the camera is actually turned on. Or when the camera is attached to the tripod. I lost count of the number of people who walked up and hollered at a bright light and no camera.

Anyway, The Freaking Rays. I've been on a number of radio shows this week in Tampa and Orlando, and I'm out of superlatives. They might lose this series to Boston -- which would make Mrs. Red Sox Nation happy -- but they've already gone so far beyond anything we could reasonably expect, I'm not sure what to hope for anymore.

After visiting the home locker room after the first two games of the White Sox series, I was inclined to believe that this team wasn't going to lose. They dropped the first game in Chicago, of course, but came back to close it without a return trip to this bizarre pit they call home. Actually, Joe Maddon calls it "The Pit," which might be appropriate. Now, they're up against the closest thing to a dynasty that Major League Baseball can currently claim, and...I don't know.

Can The Freaking Rays go to the World Series?

Couple of notes: Tim Kurkjian is sitting two seats away from me, right next to Peter Gammons. Good to know that ESPN's star baseball reporters don't get seats any better than mine. Tim said hello when he walked in, which was a minor surprise, as it's been over five years since I worked with him in Bristol.

I asked him if he could believe this. "I have no idea how they're doing it," was his reply. "I picked them to finish fourth."

Also ran into former Magic play-by-play announcer and current TBS talent Chip Caray, who is working this series. He still lives in Orlando, and I see his family around town every so often. He's ready for this to be over. Baseball is a long season, no matter how entertaining The Freaking Rays might be.

The media crush for this series is easily 50 percent bigger than it was for the White Sox. These are the Red Sox, after all, and this is the Championship Series. The Rays PR staff, bless their hearts, are doing everything they can do to keep up with the demand. It's borderline overwhelming.

Oh, yeah -- I have to drive to Gainesville in the morning for our live Gator Pregame show, as UF faces LSU in a night game at the Swamp. So you've got that, plus another Fox Sports Florida pregame for the Rays, plus opening night for the Tampa Bay Lightning, all happening simultaneously on Saturday. Our two networks are being split and split again to divy up those three live pregame shows around the state, so check your local listings, as they say.

Next week, when the series moves to Boston, I'll host pregame and postgame live from our studio with Dewayne Staats and Joe Magrane while Todd Kalas reports live from Fenway. That's Fox Sports Florida in your channel guide.

The Freaking Rays. Shouldn't I be writing about college football right about now?