|
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Boston Globe:
Sox-Yanks pitching matchups > Sox do it again > Wake Comments
were doctored > Robinson's legacy set in stone > Thumbs |
Boston Herald:
'Tek good in pinch > Heckuva first game > Cora corralled >
Schilling offers a far-from-Curt response > Chamberlain to miss
Sox |
ProJo:
Varitek's 9th inning homer fuels comeback > Ailing Cora could be
put on the DL > Schilling insists: I won't play for Yankees >
Wrapup |
Hartford Courant:
Farnsworth comes up big in Yankees win > ESPN settles with
Reynolds > Phillies beat Astros > Tigers rally past Twins |
|
It's Red Sox vs. YankeeZZZzzzzz: Rivalry's Buzz Takes a Beating
38Pitches: 'Umm, no.' | Wilbur: Space Shot | Yankee Swap
Video: Big Papi Explains Reason for Hitting Woes
Feb 28, 2005:
"Talkin' Disgrace-Ball"
(To the tune of "Talkin' Baseball" ... with apologies to Terry Cashman.)
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| (Mark McGwire - Getty Images -
Feb. 15, 2005) |
(Mark McGwire - NBC Photo -
Jan. 25, 1999) |
Baseball season's coming,
And everybody's bumming
'bout steroid use by players in the game.
Now Jose's book is finally naming names
of cheaters and all those who share the blame.
(Chorus)
Talkin' Disgrace-Ball,
Canseco and McGwire,
Yes, Disgrace-Ball,
Bonds says, "You're a liar."
Pudge and Rafael say "Where's the proof?"
While homerun numbers shoot straight through the roof.
We're talkin' Barry, BALCO and the juice.
Oh, Sheffield was dreaming,
Didn't know what he was creaming,
And, Jason's sorry,
But, who knows for what?
McGuire's sticking needles in his butt.
Caminiti's dead,
Look at Barry's head,
Bud Selig says, "So what?"
(Chorus)
Talkin' Disgrace-Ball,
Just can't put out the fire,
Yes, Disgrace-Ball,
And Bonds says "You're a liar."
His homers will surpass the great Babe Ruth,
Hank Aaron surely wasn't this aloof,
We're talkin' BALCO, Barry and the juice.
Say-Hey … Say-Hey … Say-Hey,
Cheatin' Barry, BALCO and the juice
Go away … Go away … Go away …
By Bill Bingham (I'm a 52-year old, lifelong Yankee fan), Westerly, RI
 Blood
Feud, Part Two…
In the Big Inning, God created the Red Sox and the Yankees...
The genesis of this book lies in our love of baseball and our fascination with the relationship that exists between its two most colorful teams. We set out to create a fair and balanced look at the Red Sox-Yankees “rivalry.” But somewhere along the way, we gave up our role as creationists and allowed the book to evolve into a different sort of animal.
Originally, we were going to serve up platitude-laden pabulum on the relative strengths and weaknesses of the two teams, always painfully careful to delineate the rich tradition of the competition and the deep and mutual respect that exists between the two great franchises. And then we sat down to write. It wasn’t long before we knew how the authors of the Bible must have felt. At some point they too must have realized that there is no way to give Good and Evil equal time and still sleep the sleep of the just.
It turns out that neither author of this book wanted to represent the Yankees point of view. In fact, neither of us could bring ourselves to write enough complimentary things about Steinbrenner’s team to fill the back of a matchbox, let alone half a book (the morning after the Red Sox lost to the Yankees in the 2003 ALCS, Jim Prime, one of this book’s authors, conducted a previously-scheduled radio interview from the ledge outside Room 745 of the Prince Edward Hotel in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island; the host of the radio show eventually talked him down). It was a revelation. Besides, we rationalized, that balanced, politically correct perspective on the Red Sox-Yankees phenomenon has been given, and there are several books on the market that take the “high road.” It is a road paved with good intentions. These books speak of the “rivalry” in politically correct and antiseptic terms. We came to the realization that, for us at least, such an approach would ultimately be phony, and even hypocritical.
In fact, unless you were born in Idaho, or are currently sitting on the fence in downtown Purgatory, there is no balance to this rivalry. And that’s another thing. Who’s kidding whom? This is no rivalry. A rivalry is what happens between Pillsbury Bake-off contestants, or maybe Heinz and Campbell’s or Hertz and Avis. Or between tourist bureaus in Maine and Massachusetts arguing who has the best fall foliage. No, this is no rivalry. This is a %$&*# feud. This is a duel to the finish, a knock ’em down, drag ’em out, survival-of-the-fittest cage match full of animosity, hatred, jealousy, pettiness and rancor. (God, that felt good!)
This is the unvarnished story of two teams that are scant miles apart geographically but light years apart philosophically. It is about Red Sox Nation and The Evil Empire. It is—not to put too fine a point on it—about Good vs. Evil.
Damn Yankees was a play about a guy who made a deal with the devil to ensure that his team—the Washington Senators (ha!)—finally beat the Yankees. That notion is almost blasphemous. Devilish deals are done by the Yankees and not to them.
As young baseball fans, and certainly over the intervening years, these writers occasionally pondered whether God was a Yankees fan, maybe even whether He hated the Boston Red Sox. How else could mere mortals explain the Yankees’ miraculous success story and the Biblical proportions of the Red Sox’ ineptitude? Year after year the Bosox suffered baseball’s version of famine, plague and pestilence while the Yankees were perennial visitors to that Garden of Eden known as the World Series. By the 1960s our suspicion had hardened into deep conviction—a conviction that only very recently we have rejected. We now believe. God may have switched teams for a while, but He is now a Red Sox fan. He watches them, He roots for them, and He even occasionally intercedes on their behalf—not on the field of course. He doesn’t cause a Red Sox player to jump higher (what Manny Ramirez did to rob the Yankees’ Miguel Cairo of a home run at Yankee Stadium last year was entirely above board). That kind of divine intercession would be wrong, and God is, above all else, fair. Once in a while a Red Sox player may do something that appears miraculous, but it is not a true miracle by God’s high standards. And He would never strike a Yankee dead or anything like that. The most He would contribute would be to ask the umpires to confer on a call in order to get it right. In the past, He didn’t even intervene to do that. He allowed mortals to make mistakes that robbed us year after year. So, as you can see, our lapse of faith was understandable, and hopefully forgivable.
Nevertheless, it was His fondest wish to have His Red Sox win the World Series. He also wants world peace, universal health care, the end of reality TV, a solution to those vexing problems in the Middle East, and nuclear nonproliferation. And maybe a little more respect for His environment and the natural world He gave us. Until the fall of 2004, all of these objectives seemed equally unlikely to be achieved.
God bends over backward to be neutral, but we now know that He’s pulling for the Sox. Somewhere up there in those Sky Boxes in the clouds, he’s sitting with Cy Young and Jimmie Foxx and Joe Cronin and Ted Williams and other saintly, celestial Sox and He’s watching the innings play out. Once in awhile He even visits Fenway, sitting near the Red Sox dugout in a seat once occupied by superfan Lib Dooley. He pretty much keeps quiet, just orders a single Fenway Frank and a large Coke and observes. You can tell it’s Him because He never participates in the wave and He covers His ears during some of the ruder chants. He is uncomfortable with the presence of Wally and other graven images (although ironically, He always got a perverse kick out of the New Jersey Devils mascot). His favorite player is David Ortiz, although His Son appreciates Johnny
Damon in the same way that Jimmy Stewart used to grudgingly admire the
work of Rich Little.
How do we know all this? Faith mostly…
Faith? What does baseball have to do with faith? And is faith enough to endure an 86-year draught? Have the Yankees really committed all seven deadly sins? Find out next week, in our final
Boston Dirt Dogs exclusive excerpt from Blood Feud: The Red Sox, the Yankees, and the Struggle
of Good versus Evil. And to get the full story, pick up your copy of
Blood Feud, available this March at fine bookstores everywhere and online
at
www.rounderbooks.com.
Feb 26, 2005:
Feb 25, 2005:
Just Wear It New York
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(Boston Dirt Dogs Photo Illustration/ Robert Looney) |
The Pinstripers have adopted a new marketing approach for the 2005 season. Nike just put up this huge billboard on 7th Avenue across from Madison Square Garden. (Hey Mariano, you look better with The Gimp mask on)
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(Nike Photo) |
The Most Moronic Campaign Ever
Feb 24, 2005:
"I Love Walkah"
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(AP Photo) |
Can You Hear Them Now?
Celtics Take Giant Step and Bring Antoine Walker Home
Breaking News: Paul Pierciaparra™ Reportedly Cracks a Genuine Smile
Blood
Feud, Part One…
Game
Three, 2004 ALCS — The Lowest of the Low
Final
score: Yankees 19, Red Sox 8
The
Yankees had administered a crushing, demoralizing 19-8 thrashing in front of
what remained of a thoroughly disheartened Fenway Park crowd and what remained
of an equally deflated TV audience that extended throughout Red Sox Nation, from
Nova Scotia to Nantucket and well beyond. Over the three games, the Yankees had
a team batting average of .377, while the Red Sox pitching staff was embarrassed
by an ERA of 11.52. The Red Sox were teetering on the brink of a humiliating
Series sweep. By the time the final out was recorded, Fenway Park was all but
empty. Those disillusioned fans that remained showered their former heroes with
vitriol that would almost have made Yankee Stadium look welcoming.
The latest
battle in the ancient blood feud between the two venerable American League
franchises from New York and Boston seemed destined to end with a whimper and
not a wallop.
The talk
shows in Boston were alive with invective, venom, finger pointing, and
defeatism. There were calls for Terry Francona’s head on a platter. He was being
called another Grady Little, a name tantamount to Benedict Arnold in its infamy
throughout these benighted colonies. In New York, radio stations and tabloids
were crowing loud and long about yet another Boston choke . . . like the one in
2003, the one in 1986, the one in 1978 . . . and on and on. The only Sox fans
heard from, though, were those who still had enough energy left.
Most fans
were beaten down, subdued. There was no chance now.
Again and
again, we were reminded that no team, ever, had come back from a 0-3 deficit to
win the final four games. For the second year in a row, it looked like the
Yankees would whip the Red Sox and go on to represent the American League in the
World Series, but this time without even a respectable challenge by the Sox.
And so
Game Four of the 2004 American League Championship Series was poised like a
rusty guillotine above the bowed necks of Red Sox Nation. With the New York
Yankees leading the ALCS three games to none—the last game a disheartening,
embarrassing, soul-destroying slaughter in front of their own fans at Fenway
Park—the only thing remaining was the final, fateful blow. At least the end
would be quick.
It wasn’t
as if the Red Sox had not lost before, but they had always managed to make it
excruciatingly close, to come within five outs—or even one strike—of victory.
This time was embarrassing. Humiliating. This time it was nothing but a rout.
Could anything conceivably be worse for a Sox fan? We’re used to defeat, but
this was shameful. 19-8. A sinking feeling that could sink no lower. Boston had
bottomed out. We were reminded time and time again that no team had ever come
back from such depths. We were condemned to another long winter, and another
spring and summer of “19-18” taunts and T-shirts. The next season would find us
all bewildered, groping to find any semblance of self-respect as Sox fans. At
least there was some healing over the months after 2003’s Game Seven. If the
2004 Sox were swept by the Evil Empire, the wound was going to sting and fester
and might never heal. If it scarred over at all, the scars were going to run
deep.
How did it
all come to this? Let’s step back and review a little of the history between
these two teams, before resuming the story of the 2004 American League pennant
race…
What
forces drove two grown men to write an entire book on the Sox/Yankees rivalry
from the Sox point of view? Is God a Red Sox Fan? Find out next week, in another
Boston Dirt Dogs exclusive excerpt from Blood Feud: The Red Sox, the Yankees, and the Struggle
of Good versus Evil. And to get the full story, pick up your copy of
Blood Feud, available this March at fine bookstores everywhere and online
at
www.rounderbooks.com.
Feb 22, 2005:
Feb 21, 2005:
Feb 19, 2005:
|
OPENING DAY HAS A NICE RING TO IT!
Sox Three Ring Circus is Over
Brass Ring Decision Has Been Made
Internet Tail Wags the Dog Again
2.21.05: Boston Dirt Dogs has learned that Fenway Park will host a World Championship Red Sox ring ceremony on Opening Day when the Olde Towne Team faces the New York Yankees.
Owner Tom Werner had told WEEI's Dennis and Callahan this morning that Charles "Lord of the Rings" Steinberg would make the decision on the ring ceremony and that "Ring-gate would go on for a few more days." But it was Werner who was instrumental in finalizing the decision to have a ring ceremony at Fenway on April 11. The California-based owner had been on record as saying he "was looking forward to the ring ceremony on April 11" shortly after the Sox won the Series last October. Late Sunday night, Dr. Steinberg was on CBS4's Sports Final still dancing around the issue, blaming fans who he thought misinterpreted Jeff Horrigan's crystal clear column in the Herald last week. Steinberg continued to hide behind The Red Sox Foundation fundraising idea (Don't we do enough as a fanbase? Aren't we the most generous?) as the reason to change gears and have a separate ring ceremony. Chief Operating Officer Mike Dee was actually the first one to champion this idea in a Red Sox fan brainstorming and feedback session at Fenway Park back on February 10. (Remy Report message board link) A separate ceremony may also take place which will fund The Foundation after the home opener.
Ultimately it was the hundreds of angry phone calls that flooded the Red Sox offices last week that drove ownership to step in and get the ring ceremony back to its original scheduled date. Curt Schilling and the players also stepped up this week to let their voices be heard that they wanted to have the ceremony in front of their fans on Opening Day at Fenway. The official announcement from the team should come Tuesday or Wednesday.
"Rings Will Be Ready for Opener"
Josten Denies Henry Claim Rings Won't Be Ready
Big Dog Not Expected to Get Ring Despite Yeoman's Work on Nomar, Pedro, D-Lowe, and World Series Ball PR Campaigns on Behalf of Organization
No Progress Made in Ring Talks
Nation, Sox to Meet on Monday
Steinberg Intermediary
Negotiates with Boston Dirt Dogs to "Call off the Dogs"
Special to Boston Dirt Dogs:
Late Friday afternoon, Red Sox EVP Charles Steinberg contacted a highly-placed
intermediary to negotiate with Boston Dirt Dogs in an attempt to halt the
hundreds of protest phone calls on BDD's behalf that had besieged and crippled
operations at the Red Sox Yawkey Way offices. While the hired gun negotiator
revealed that the good Dentist regrets his initial decision to change the ring
ceremony date in deference to the Yankees, and Big Dog ensured him that inciting
the Nation was nothing personal, those talks broke down at 6:00 p.m. Friday
evening without resolution as Big Dog said "I'll make Bob Goodenow look like a
"yes man" before this Nation rolls over for the New York Yankees."
Red Sox Plant Supermodel Ambassadors at Fall
River Trophy Celebration to Break Down Big Dog
|
 |
|
The unnamed
supermodel Red Sox ambassadors who broke down Big Dog in Fall River
late last night. |
In a bigger surprise than the NHL
talks being revived, Ring talks resumed again later last night due to an act
that Big Dog described as "dirty pool." Upon his arrival at the Fall River
Maplewood Babe Ruth Baseball League’s annual awards banquet and World Series
Trophy celebration in Swansea, MA last night, Big Dog was immediately greeted by
banquet organizer and Babe Ruth league president Norman Yelle who had a message
that "there's some people from the Red Sox who would like to meet you." As Big
Dog wandered over to the Red Sox table he was greeted by two Red Sox supermodel
ambassadors who immediately exclaimed "so you're the one who's been driving all
the calls" that nearly shut-down the Red Sox offices on Thursday and Friday.
Both representatives said they had spent the better part of Thursday and Friday
answering and returning calls from fans angry about kowtowing to the New York
Yankees. Knowing that the two blond bombshell ambassadors would be BDD
kryptonite, Steinberg's strategy was ultimately successful as Big Dog agreed to
"call off the dogs" in the Nation until Wednesday next week with the hopes that
the two sides could strike a deal. BDD asked for the concession that Steinberg
stop pretending that the website doesn't exist, as he has for three years, and
stop attributing the BDD driven activity to radio stations and random emailers.
Big Dog also foolishly agreed not to post pictures of the two special agents on
the "popular fan website" (Thanks Dan Shaughnessy... that nameless reference in
your column today never would have happened if Champ were still alive) as
the Sox starlets indicated that it was against department policy for their pictures to
appear on "popular fan websites." A lousy policy Dr. Charles if you ask us.
Stop Calling the Red Sox Front Offices Until
Further Notice
See above.
John Henry Don't Know Much About Red Sox
History
The venerable Red Sox owner, citing
popular internet message board fodder, asks a tired Nation "When was the last
time a team gave out the rings on Opening Day?" Well John, Red Sox Nation is not
concerned with the practice of other teams who chose to hand out their rings on
other random dates in order to boost attendance and pump television ratings. The
Boston Red Sox have a tradition of handing out their championship rings on
Opening Day. Respected Red Sox broadcaster Joe Castiglione confirmed Friday on
WEEI's Dale Arnold show that the Red Sox tradition is to hand out rings at the
home opener. Joe Castig witnessed the celebration and ceremony on the field for
the home opener on April 10, 1987 when the team handed out the American League
championship rings prior to the first pitch against the Toronto Blue Jays. John Henry also
went on in a popular newspaper column to make this amazing statement which shows he
ain't from around here "I don't think it's necessary to do anything in anybody's
face," said the polite owner. "Just to try to do something like that ...I can't
imagine feeling any worse than we did in 2003, except for the way they felt in
2004. I think 2003 plus 2004 equals a very interesting 2005. We still haven't
finalized the ring decision. I have no idea if they will be ready." Yikes.
That's some scary thoughts there John. Don't even know where to begin on that.
Regardless of the fact that a huge majority of Red Sox Nation has no problem
rubbing the Yankees noses in it for once, and Dr. Charles did say they would do
what the majority of the fans wanted, THIS ISN'T ABOUT THE YANKEES, it's about
what you said you were going to do, i.e. give out the rings on opening day,
which is well documented and was well-publicized on broadcast outlets (not everything is a link), contrary to some beliefs. The dugout cop was expecting his ring on April 11. A MLB/RedSox.com article/announcement last December, whatever that site is, was under the impression, as everyone else was, that rings were to be handed out on April 11, regardless of the opponent. And
it's about following Red Sox tradition, not what any other teams have done to
raise additional revenue or sell out their stadiums.
Deep Throat Tells BDD: "Follow the Money"
As usual, this is about money
according to Deep Throat.
Brass Ring Position Unchanged
At the timing of this update on
Saturday afternoon, an agreement had not been reached, and no major progress was
made today, although the sides agreed to continue the discourse through their respective representatives on Monday. We expect Charles Steinberg ("others had these other ideas, it's not
about the Yankees") and John Henry ("rings might be late and we can't make the
Yankees feel bad") to actually get on the same page by next Tuesday. Then we'll
see where we're at. Former WEEI talkmaster Bob Neumeier, vacationing in Tuscany with
Angie Dickenson, also said it would be "beyond the pale" not to give out the
Rings on Opening Day as had been planned since last October.
Ring it For...
WEEI callers were also
overwhelmingly against moving the ceremony as Ring talk dominated the airwaves
all day. And if it is about the Yankees, longtime caller Paulie from New Bedford
said that the Red Sox should give out the Rings "for Bill Lee who was
sucker-punched by Mickey Rivers in Yankee Stadium... for Jose Offerman's phantom
tag in Yankee Stadium... for Ted Williams who was forced to take a back seat to
Joe DiMaggio..." With apologies to SoSH, who do you want to Ring it For? |
Rose Knows Rings
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(Boston Dirt Dogs Photo) |
100 years young Red Sox fan Rose Bolger, who remembers the 1918 championship, told Boston Dirt Dogs last night at Fall River's Babe Ruth League Banquet that the Sox "need to give out the rings on Opening Day." She also called Pedro "a dirty player."
Pedro Being Pedro
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(AP Photo) |
Martinez Late for Day One of Mets Workouts
Boston Dirt Dogs has learned that former Red Sox diva Pedro Martinez showed up late to the first New York Mets spring workout. First-year Mets manager Willie Randolph learned first-hand who will run the show in New York this season. Randolph "was stomping around looking for him in the clubhouse" before practice, but the Prima Donna was nowhere to be found.
Feb 18, 2005:
2.19 Update: Popular Newspaper Columnist Picks Up on This Theme Today
Sox-Obsessed Yankees to Change Sinatra Song at The Stadium for 2005
"New York, New York" to be replaced with
"I've Got You, Under My Skin"
The Yankees Probably Don't Even Know Sinatra, born in Hoboken, Was a Dodger Fan His Entire Life. First Brooklyn, then LA.
Didn't the Yankees Camp Open a Couple of Days Ago?
Feb 17, 2005:
RING-GATE
Sox Now Admit Moving Ceremony in
Deference to Yankees Was Lousy Idea
Red Herring Alert! Rainmaker Blames Ring Makers
New John Henry Spin Puts Blame on Ring Makers Timetable
(Apparently Dr. Charles Didn't Get the Memo)
Revenue Streaming: Cheeseball Player Wannabe Rings Were Ready to Go in 45 Seconds, But Player Rings Might Not Be Ready for Opener
Sox to Reconsider Having Ring Ceremony on Opening Day
Charles Steinberg Dances Like Deney Terrio Around Ring-gate
Brass Will Give in to Public Pressure,
Over 500 Calls Received to Overturn Chump Move
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(Boston Globe Staff Photo / Jim Davis) |
The Dentist Gets Drilled on The Big Show
Doctor Charles Steinberg on WEEI's The Big Show: "Oh it's all good things, the question that Jeff (Horrigan) had called me with yesterday, he had heard that there were some thoughts, um, circulating about having the ring ceremony take place at an event other than opening day. And I told him I had heard those thoughts as well. People have made suggestions, some have said (read: him) 'why don't you have an event at Fenway so that not only the 35,000 people lucky enough (read: to get the magic scalper links) to get opening day tickets get to enjoy a celebration where you would raise the flag, but 35,000 more could make it say a fundraiser for the Red Sox Foundation and do the rings in a separate ceremony?', so that's one idea to come our way. One of the advantages to that is if you did it before April 3rd, um, it would be a decisive punctuation mark on what is 2004 so that you start 2005, uh you know, fresh, and raise the curtain... now another idea had come forth that said 'why don't you make it uh a high-end fundraising dinner for the Red Sox Foundation?' and you could do that as well, but when Jeff and I were talking about doing it opening day he said 'are you at all concerned about doing it in front of the Yankees?', well we're not concerned at all about doing it on opening day or doing it in front of the Yankees the way we would do it I believe would be full of decorum and respect which I think is what the Red Sox...(Buck thankfully interrupts here with "Charles, Charles") ought to continue to stand for."
Steve Buckley has Bingo: "Charles, don't confuse fundraising with fan allegiance and so forth because I think Red Sox fans are among the best in baseball when it comes to fundraising as is evidenced by the support of the Jimmy Fund over the years (Steinberg: "Amen") and what concerns us and I'm willing to bet 99% of our listeners right now is that this is something Red Sox fans have been waiting for for 86 years adn I don't think a single Red Sox fan really has one iota of interest in decorum and dispatching and anything like that. They just want to see those rings and they want to see it happen in front of the Yankees. And I guarantee you that Red Sox fans are in unison on this topic."
Steinberg: "Well that was the original thought. That's the plan that I've been sketching out in the offseason, and I think it's a great one. I can envision that ceremony and I was getting as excited as anybody who might have lived here um for not only their whole life but through generations. So that was the starting point. It was just when the question came, might you take it to a separate event, I said yes, we've heard those requests and there's been some early simple debate about it but I think that all of those who feel strongly in our organization we all haven't been in the same place at the same time for quite a while and I think we will be down here in this coming week but you want John, you want Tom, you want Larry, you want Theo, Mike Dee, all together, cause, Meg Vaillencourt, who is the Executive Director of the Foundation, put everybody together and what you want to do is that which will best resonate with the desires of Red Sox Nation (Thank God Glenn interrupts). And if you say they're in unison that they would like it most on Opening Day then I think that's going to be a very, very strong pull."
(blah blah, more decorum, less decorum "emit emotions scenarios")
Steve Buckley has Bingo: "How is there any measure of decorum being lost by having a ring ceremony which these players deserve and it is the home opener which is the proper forum for these things, it just so happens that the Yankees by the luck of the draw happen to be the team lined up on the third base line?"
Steinberg: "Right, let me correct what might be a misperception. I wasn't referring to decorum as a reason to not have the ring ceremony opening day. I think having it opening day is great. It's just that you and when you set out these options of how to do it opening day, one is where the Yankees have no choice but to see, the other one which they can avert their eyes from actually gives the fans a longer opportunity to give a soulful ovation." (But Jeff Horrigan's piece quotes when, not how: Leery of appearing that they are taking their success and rubbing it in the collective face of the New York Yankees, the Red Sox are leaning against presenting World Series rings to players prior to the home opener at Fenway Park on April 11. "There's a degree of decorum you'd like to show and a degree of respect you'd like to demonstrate," Steinberg said. ``When it is done, it will be done tastefully.")
Steve Buckley has Bingo: "See my take is the Yankees need to be made aware that life as they know it is forever altered."
(Dr. Steinberg then thanks us for driving over 400 conversations with Molly at the switchboard as he feels it is important to "resonate with Red Sox Nation"... so thanks for calling folks)
And I've got a million more emails where this came from: "hey,
is it true that the sox are really considering moving the ring ceremony??? I have invested over $2000 for tix and airfare and hotel to enjoy the purest moment in my life (with the exception of my two sons being born)! how dare the sox take away a sox fan's god given right to enjoy watching the first title in 86 years take place in front of the damn Yankees! if the roles were reversed we all know damn well the sox would watch an endless ceremony acknowledging a Yankee title (which would be just as long and as that painful 7th inning (lets cool down a pitcher) stretch anthem! Im appalled that I reserved vacation time and stole $$$ out of my sons college fund for my selfish act to watch my beloved red sox celebrate a joyous time in my and my entire families life!
Greg McCambly
Gilbert,AZ"
Sox Forced to Rethink Shameful 'Rings' Decision as Fans Inundate
Dr. Steinberg's Fenway Office with Protest Calls at 617-267-9440
Sean McAdam on the The Big Show: "This is political correctness run amok. This doesn't pass the smell test. This wouldn't happen if Larry Lucchino were still the CEO. I would not say this much about this new ownership team, but this smacks of guys who aren't quite sure of the local landscape. They have been given a gift by the schedule maker, and they are in danger of
screwing it up."
Steve Buckley on the The Big Show: "Charles is missing on this one. This is the first serious misstep he has made. If the Yankees had won the World Series, on that Sunday night in
Yankee Stadium, they would have had their ring ceremony."
Glenn Ordway on the The Big Show: "I was disturbed when I saw this. Why wouldn't you take advantage of this (gift MLB schedule makers gave you)? Why would you not go out to embrace this thing? He is missing the mood of the Red Sox fan out there. They've waited '86 years, you bet your life they wanna get up there, and they want to party. And they want to rub it in."
Sox Brass Now Kowtows to Steinbrenner, Yankees
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(AP Photo) |
Sox Will Now Be Presenting the World Series Championship Rings in a Ceremony "Prior to a Non-Yankees Game at Fenway."
Since when do the Boston Red Sox grant special treatment to the New York Yankees? Why don't you guys just walk around in "Yankees Suck" t-shirts if you're that paranoid and are willing to change our celebration schedule for this American League also-ran. And Bucky "Decorum and Respect" Dent throwing out the first pitch for Game 7 says "Hello" Dr. Charles.
I Guess We Know Who Our Daddy Really Is
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(AP Photo) |
This Would Never Have Happened if John Henry Were Still Alive. And You Can Bet Your Donkey That if the Yankees Were the 2004 World Series Champions, Rings Would Be Handed Out April 3 in Yankee Stadium.
Embedded Yankee Mendoza Rejoins His Old Team
Wells Gets in on Slappywhacking; Curt Calls Out Paydro
"Twiggy" McGwire Makes a Public Appearance
Roger Maris Turns Over in His Grave
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| (Mark McGwire - Getty Images -
Feb. 15, 2005) |
(Mark McGwire - NBC Photo -
Jan. 25, 1999) |
I Want My MVP – Ode to The Gator
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(Boston Globe Staff Photo / Jim Davis) |
To: Money for Nothing by Dire Straits
I want my, I want my MVP
I want my, I want my MVP
Now look at them bozos, that's the way you do it
I played the outfield, I’m the MVP
That ain't workin', that's the way you do it
Money for nothin' and your chicks for free
Now that ain't workin', that's the way you do it
Lemme tell ya, them guys ain't class
Jose get a needle on your upper biceps
Maybe get a needle in the ass.
We got to visit all of the ballparks
Custom bleacher deliveries
Now we gotta show some love to the Gator
We got to watch some NASCAR movies
The little Yankee with the money and no makeup
Yeah, buddy, that's his own flair
That little A-Rod got his own jet airplane
That little A-Rod he's a billionaire
I shoulda learned to play the outfield
I shoulda learned to play the wall
Look at that pitcher, he got it movin' for the camera
Man I could hit that ball
And I’m up here, hit fifty-seven homers
My last six years; in ’92 hit two-three-three,
Oh, that ain't workin' that's the way you do it
Get your money for nothin' get your chicks for free
Now that ain't workin' that's the way you do it
I play the outfield, should be the MVP
That ain't workin' that's the way you do it
Money for nothin' and your chicks for free
--Ron Sen, Boston Dirt Dogs
Would-Be 1988 MVP Mike Greenwell Talks to WEEI's D&C About the Plethora of Steroids in Baseball in the 1980's. Of Course Head-in-Sand Selig, Quick Sandy Alderson, and Tony the Absolute Phony Flip-Flopper La Russa Knew Nothing Until 1998
Feb 16, 2005:
Minky Lied About The Ball, Foulke Asked for It
"The funny thing about all this, all this came up now. I’ve been telling everybody since the minute we won that I had it. No one has contacted me, no one has said two words to me about this ball." -- 1.7.05 Doug Mientkiewicz to WEEI's Dale and Neumy
Ballgate: Foulke Asked for The Ball, Stinky Minky Wouldn't Give it Up
Meanwhile Dirt Dog Maintains His Claim as Rightful Owner
Quick Sandy Alderson and Tony the Phony La Russa
Put MLB Spin on Steroid Scandal
Deadbeat Dad's Daddy Will Let Him Respond to Trot's Slap
D-Lowe Removed from Red Sox Complex
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(Boston Dirt Dogs Photo Illustration) |
Breaking News: Derek Lowe, who had been working out at the Red Sox minor league complex in Ft. Myers was removed by police today and driven to Vero Beach to be dropped off at the Dodgers training camp. The former Sox Cy Young candidate refused to accept the fact that he will not be returning to the World Champions this season and spent the month working out at the Sox facility with the hopes they would change their mind. When told that he would have to leave today as the actual Red Sox pitchers and catchers would be arriving, Lowe snapped and Red Sox officials had to call for assistance to get him off the property.
Made in the SHADE
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(Sports Illustrated / Boston Dirt Dogs Photo) |
SI Swimsuit Issue Model Citizens
(Scottsdale, AZ -- February 16, 2005) Curt Schilling and his wife Shonda are asking families if their team is sunwise. Statistics indicate one in five children will grow up to develop skin cancer. In a public service advertisement produced specifically for Sports Illustrated's popular swimsuit issue, Curt and Shonda along with their four young children will showcase sun protective swimsuits in an effort to promote sun safety awareness for the SHADE Foundation of America.
"Think of your child and his or her four best friends. One of them has a chance of being diagnosed with skin cancer during his or her lifetime," said Curt Schilling. "The tools exist to prevent skin cancer, they are education and good sunsafety habits. We hope people will begin to think sunwise."
"The swimsuit issue reaches so many people who are thinking about swimsuits and being tan. This is a perfect avenue to make readers stop and think sunsafety," said Shonda Schilling. "Reaching adults in SI, many of them are parents. We want to educate them about the importance of sunsafety for their most valuable team, their family."
Shonda Schilling is a melanoma survivor. She was diagnosed and battled the deadly form of skin cancer in 2001, the year Curt Schilling and the Arizona Diamondbacks won the World Series. In 2002, Shonda founded the SHADE Foundation of America attempting to educate and save future generations from skin cancer. SHADE Foundation of American is a nonprofit based in Scottsdale, Arizona. For more information you can log onto www.shadefoundation.org.
The Curse of Using 'Curse' in the
Title of a Good Book Continues
Another Tool Publisher Plays to the Lowest Moron Denominator Thinking He's Going to Sell More Books by Adding "The Curse" to a Book Title
I Want My, I Want My,
I Want My MVP
Mike Greenwell who finished second to "Jose Ruiz" Canseco
in the 1988 MVP voting, wants his just rewards
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(Boston Globe Staff Photo / Jim Davis) |
Canseco Got His Money for Nothin', Fix for Free
"Where's my MVP?" said Greenwell, now a Fort Myers real estate developer and a volunteer assistant coach for the Riverdale High School baseball team. Greenwell graduated from North Fort Myers High in 1982.
"He's an admitted steroid user," Greenwell said of Canseco. "I was clean. If they're going to start putting asterisks by things, let's put one by the MVP.
"I do have a problem with losing the MVP to an admitted steroids user."
-- Ft. Myers News Press
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(NewsPress.com Photo / Amanda Inscore) |
Looking at Greenwell's guns above,
you have to wonder if Gator is on...
Cheater on Cheater Crime
Yanks Keep Coming Undone: "I am not like Jason Giambi sitting here crying"
-- Steroid User Gary Sheffield
Carlee Drives for Show
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(AP Photo) |
Free Stack Pose Puts Pointer Past Terrier at Westminster
Feb 15, 2005:
BASEBALL IN SHAMBLES
Senator McCain Says Records Can't Be Trusted
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(AP Photo) |
Senator John McCain appearing on CNBC's Dennis Miller was asked if people can trust today's baseball (home run) records in a historical perspective, he replied "I don't think you can."
"I think that the problems that are out there are coming to the surface, which I think is good for baseball." -- Sox manager Terry Francona
"I know that we were well on our way to having serious steroid testing, drug testing, and we still are and we didn't need a book to come out and tell us that we needed to do something."
-- Sox former captain Trot Nixon
'Present and Future' Danger
Selig, Alderson Strategy of Spin and Silence is Not Working
Canseco Will 'Shock the World'
Jose tells The Big Show on WEEI that he will "shock the world." There is another stage coming out that will prove he told the truth about McGwire. "There's a lot more coming out, a lot more happening in the next month."
Dirt Dog Barks at A-Fraud
"I'm not a deadbeat dad, you clown."
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(Boston Globe Staff Photo / Jim Davis) |
Nixon Blasts A-Rod in Ft. Myers, Says Alice is Not "Yankee Type."
"He's done some great things on the field. He's one of the best baseball players in the game and probably will be when it's all said and done. But when people ask me about the Yankees, I tell them about (Derek) Jeter and Bernie Williams and (Jorge) Posada. I don't tell them about Rodriguez."
He also criticized Rodriguez for slapping the ball away from Boston pitcher Bronson Arroyo along the first base line in game six of the American League Championship Series.
RED SOX ACQUIRE INFIELDER ALEJANDRO MACHADO FROM WASHINGTON NATIONALS, ANNOUNCE DENNEY TOMORI SIGNING
The Red Sox today acquired infielder Alejandro Machado from the Washington Nationals for a player to be named or cash considerations. Machado will be added to the Red Sox' 40-man roster, which now stands at 40. The switch-hitting middle infielder is a career .291 hitter over six seasons in the Braves (1999-2001), Royals (2001-03), Brewers (2003) and Expos/Nationals (2004) organizations. With 154 career steals, he has averaged 25.7 a campaign. The 22-year-old has posted 30 steals in a season three times, including last year with the Expos' Single-A Brevard County and Double-A Harrisburg affiliates. He also stole 30 bases in 2003 with Double-A Wichita (Royals) and Double-A Huntsville (Brewers), and in 2000 with Rookie-level Danville. The six-foot, 184 pounder tied for the Expos organization lead with his 30 stolen bases in 2004, while ranking fourth with a combined .306 batting average. The Venezuelan hit .355 (66-for-186) with 11 steals in 46 games for Brevard County before his promotion to Harrisburg, where he batted .280 (97-for-346) with 19 steals in 93 games.
Tito Rear-Ended in Florida
Francona's Car Gets Hit from Behind While Talking on the Phone with Dale and Mazz. Bob Neumeier and Grady Little Sought for Questioning.
Mazz: The Dale and Holley Show Debuts on WEEI March 1
At least Holley knows baseball (cough)
MLB Buys the Mickey Mouse Online Ticket Broker that Put Hundreds of Thousands of Sox Tickets into the Hands of Scalpers for Years, and Shut Out the Vast Majority of Fans from Having a Chance to Go to Opening Day
Yanks Knew Giambi was Using, Cashman Lied, "Steroids" Deleted from Contract
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(AP Photo) |
Yankees Gladly Made Deal with the Devil
And Giambi's Two HR's in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS
Put Sox Through Hell, and Cost Them Series Shot
"Besides trying to spin their oversight to their advantage, the Yankees have also been less than forthcoming in their reaction to the suggestion that they omitted references to steroids at Giambi's request.
"In one breath, General Manager Brian Cashman called the report inaccurate and hogwash. In the next breath, Lonn Trost, the chief operating officer, acknowledged that the Yankees indeed had done the deed.
"The Yankees can't even get on the same page. When they were signing Giambi, maybe they were missing the page that would have prompted them to ask him the question." -- Murray Chass embarrasses the lying Yankees in the Times
Bud Lied: FBI Said MLB Knew of Steroid Abuse in Mid-90's
Orza Tried: Union Scumbag Tried to Downplay Advantage in 2000
Thanks Bountiful
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(Boston Dirt Dogs Photo) |
What Did Mo Know About Nomar?
"If you start to get injured at the age he’s getting injured then that just brings up speculation... what happens is when you start hurting your wrist, and your ankles, and things aren’t healing that's what brings up the speculation. -- Mo Vaughn on WEEI with Michael Smith and Steve Burton
Garciaparra Distrusts Steroid Testing
Feb 14, 2005:
The Captain Shapes Up
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(AP Photo Special to the Globe / John Amis ) |
Tek Getting Stronger Every Day the Natural Way
"I think I was lucky and taught at a young enough age about working on elastic movement and flexibility, and now my work is starting to show. My flexibility is better now than it was when I was young. I'm bigger and heavier, but my speed and quickness are better and I move better. That's a good combination to have. I continue to try and gain an extra step from the year before." -- Jason Varitek in Gordon Edes gem
In other news: Ken Rosenthal interviews Curt on a variety of topics. Schilling is on Sports Center today working his butt off in Arizona, but Gammons thinks it will be Wells vs. Johnson for the Opener in New York.
Feb 11, 2005:
Feb 10, 2005:
Won't Outsell Canseco But Still Required Reading
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(Boston Dirt Dogs photo) |
Exclusive Excerpts Here Next Week
Nomar Named
Garciaparra Named Briefly in The Book, but
Jose Says Nomar is Not on His Steroid List
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(Sports Illustrated Photo / March 5, 2001) |
A Boston Dirt Dogs source says that former Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra will be named in Jose Canseco's upcoming book "Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big."
(Former Red Sox pitcher Casey Fossum is not named in this edition.)
Juice Guy Has Jitters Addressing NY Media
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(Getty Images Photo) |
Giambi Apologizes But Won't Say for What
Liar Says He Didn't Lie to Grand Jury, Blows Chance to Educate Kids on
the Dangers of Steroids
Nixon's Back
Trot "feels good, ready to go" and has been working out in Ft. Myers since January
(But Wade Miller could be out for five months)
Bob's Dope
"I thought that call from Terry Francona would be the highlight of our day until I went to bostondirtdogs.com" -- 2.10.05 Dale Arnold of the now (sniff) defunct Dale and Neumy Show (yes, dope is a good thing here Bob, and rhymes with Bob Hope :-)
Thanks for the Show Neumy
Sung to the tune of Bob Hope's "Thanks for the Memory"
Thanks for the show Neumy
It was life "beyond the pale," you sitting next to Dale
Every morning on The View, you’d reminisce of Seattle Slew
How lovely he was!
Thanks for the show Neumy
27 bottles of wine, your stories were so fine
The football pool and tips on Pickle’s over-under line
How lucky it was!
More...
Feb 9, 2005:
The Commissioner
Wears No Clothes
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(AP Photo) |
Selig Thinks You're Stupid
Bud Light Wants You to Believe He's a Dummy
(Unless He's Lying)
"While whispers of steroid use in baseball date back more than a decade, when bulked-up players began hitting homers in record numbers, Selig said he hadn't heard the rumors until about 1998, when McGwire broke Roger Maris' single-season home run mark.
''I never even heard about it,'' Selig said. ''I ran a team and nobody was closer to their players and I never heard any comment from them. It wasn't until 1998 or '99 that I heard the discussion."
-- Bud Selig on Steroid Crisis
So Bud's the Only One Who Didn't Hear the
"Ster-oids! Ster-oids!" Chants at Fenway in 1988?
Or for the Next 10 Years Afterwards?
LIAR, LIAR: "I don't know if there were allegations in the early '90s," Selig said. "I never heard of them."
"Fourteen years ago (1988) the crowd at Fenway Park in Boston chided Oakland A's outfielder Jose Canseco during the American League Championship Series with damning chants of "Ster-oids! Ster-oids!" The game had never before seen a physical marvel such as Canseco, a 240-pound hulk who could slug a baseball 500 feet and still be swift enough to steal 40 bases. Upon retiring last month after failing to catch on with a major league team, Canseco, while not admitting steroid use himself, said that steroids have "revolutionized" the game and that he would write a tell-all book blowing the lid off drug use in the majors. Canseco estimated that 85% of major leaguers use steroids." -- Sports Illustrated, June 3, 2002
And Why Wasn't Anything Done in 2002 Bud?
(We Know, Those Slimebags Fehr and Orza)
"No one denies that it is a problem," says commissioner Bud Selig. "It's a problem we can and must deal with now, rather than years from now when the public says, 'Why didn't you do something about it?' I'm very worried about this." -- Sports Illustrated, June 3, 2002
Schill Certainly Knew the Drill
"Arizona Diamondbacks righthander Curt Schilling thinks twice before giving a teammate the traditional slap on the butt for a job well-done. "I'll pat guys on the ass, and they'll look at me and go, 'Don't hit me there, man. It hurts,'" Schilling says. "That's because that's where they shoot the steroid needles."
"You sit there and look at some of these players and you know what's going on," he says. "Guys out there look like Mr. Potato Head, with a head and arms and six or seven body parts that just don't look right. They don't fit. I'm not sure how [steroid use] snuck in so quickly, but it's become a prominent thing very quietly. It's widely known in the game.
"We're playing in an environment in the last decade that's been tailored to produce offensive numbers anyway, with the smaller ballparks, the smaller strike zone and so forth," Schilling continues. "When you add in steroids and strength training, you're seeing records not just being broken but completely shattered.
"I know guys who use and don't admit it because they think it means they don't work hard. And I know plenty of guys now are mixing steroids with human growth hormone. Those guys are pretty obvious." -- Sports Illustrated, June 3, 2002
Now That's the Ticket
Some Non-Scalpers and Non-Net-Savvy Fans Will Actually Be Able to Buy Some Overpriced Tickets This Season through the Red Sox Monster Seat/Yankees Game Drawing
(Unless Your Email is on the MLB.com Black List of Course)
"Oh thank you, thank you, dear Red Sox, for the chance to be on of the CHOSEN FEW. Those who will, once again, be thrown into the Waiting Room from Hell. No escape....No tickets for the masses. The only hope I have of EVER getting a choice seat that are available in this so-called "lottery" is if I pay some guy with 15 vowels in his name 10x face value of the ticket on the Mass Pike overpass. Until the Red Sox fix this disgrace of a system, I'd rather spend my 2 hours of useless torture slamming me head in my car door. At least when I do that there is the off chance I might decide there is pain, and stop." -- 2.10.05 Tim Frost, Red Sox fan
Gammo Knows Web Gems
Peter Gammons Hall of Fame Chat Wrap
andy2dandy: What's your take was on the increasingly popular baseball bloggers? Do you think this may eventually change sports writing?
Gammons: I think the Internet and blogging has already dramatically changed journalism. It's not bad, it's actually quite democratic. I find myself going to the Boston DirtDogs site every morning to see what's going on.
(Yikes, we've got to start getting up earlier)
Yawkey Bust: Sox to Break Pain in the Glass
CBS4 Reports .406 Club to Have Outdoor Seating Next Season
Two Tiers of Glassed-In Seats Will Be Open-Air in 2006
200 Additional Heated Seats to be Added
Sox Helped Pats Win Super Bowl as Philly Planned Their Own Roving Rally Early
"New England’s first two titles came courtesy of Adam Vinatieri field goals in the final seconds—and this victory was only slightly less tense. Again, the Pats relied on their patented formula of individual opportunism, selflessness, innovative game-planning and emotion fueled by perceived disrespect. The last of those came after the Patriots received a copy of an e-mail sent from an Eagles official to a member of the Boston Red Sox organization seeking advice on a prospective victory parade, a missive that Belichick milked for maximum effect during his address to the Pats on Sunday morning at the team’s hotel in St. Augustine." -- Michael Silver, Sports Illustrated
The Early Worm Gives
Sox Fans the Bird
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(AP Photo) |
Prima Goner shows up early for the first time ever
"It was always a lie that I reported late. I was always on time."
Hey Schill, if the phone don't ring, it's the guy who stayed behind in Boston for Game 6 against the Yankees on the other end: "The Red Sox don't need to worry about me no more, I'm not worried about them. I moved on. I went out of their lives. My ex-teammates, I'll give them a call, I'll call Jason (Varitek), I'll call (Derek) Lowe, (Kevin) Millar, Bill Mueller." -- The Dominican Diva to NY Post
Pedro the Providence Party Boy Cleans Up His Act
Feb 8, 2005:
Breaking News: Schill's Red Sock Walks into Hall of Fame
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(Photo Special to Boston Dirt Dogs) |
Breaking News Exclusive -- Sock Joins Shoe: The famous bloody sock worn by Curt Schilling during Game 2 of the 2004 World Series has been reunited with its K ALS shoe and is now on display at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. Today, Curt Schilling's mother-in-law and father-in-law, Don and Patsy Brewer, hand delivered the sock to Ted Spencer, the Curator of the Hall of Fame. The bloody sock and the K ALS shoe will be on display with other memorabilia from the 2004 World Series until October, 2005. File under: Karma Suture.
Schilling Killing Belichick in Mass. Governor Vote
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(Boston Dirt Dogs Photo / Meir Weinberg) |
But Bill's a Real Genius
Roberto Cemente
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(AP File Photo) |
Sox Cement Lineup:
First Baseman Petagine Gets Minor-League Deal
"Roberto Petagine, a 33-year-old Venezuelan, first came to the Japanese
Pro Baseball League in 1999 with Yakult Swallows, and hit 44 HRs,
winning the home run title. Hideki Matsui finished second with 42 HRs
that year.
"Petagine was a major force who brought Yakult Swallows to their Japan
Series title in 2001, along with then ace Kazuhisa Ishii (who now plays
for LA Dodgers) and then closer Shingo Takatsu (now with Chicago White
Sox). He won the title for most HRs and RBIs and was named Central
League MVP (again, over Hideki Matsui) that year. He also won the Gold
Glove at first base three years in a row from 2000 to 2002.
"Before the 2003 season, Tokyo's Yomiuri Giants (think: Japanese Evil
Empire), who was looking for a replacement for Hideki Matsui, signed him
for $7 mil a year for two years and converted the gold glover to an
outfielder. But this conversion was unsuccessful (or should I say a
disaster) and he had to convert back to 1B, where he had to split his
time at first base with Yomiuri's star player Kazuhiro Kiyohara (that
made both stars very unhappy). He had surgery on his left knee before
the beginning of 2004 season, ended the season with the least home runs
(29) in his Japanese career, and was released by Giants this off season.
"Bats: Left, Throws: Left. He has a Japanese career OBP of .446 (his 2004
OBP, .409, was the worst in his 6 years in Japan).
"Does his signing have more impact than Denny Tomori? Definitely. Is he
better than Hideki Matsui? That maybe hoping too much (though he was in
1999 - 2001). I do think he is a good left handed bat off the bench
(more pop than Ramon Vasquez) and a good back up at first for Kevin
Millar. Though that would put more pressure on Youklis.
"On a non-baseball note, his wife Olga, who is 24 years Roberto's senior,
was his friend's mother when they met." -- Daigo Fujiwara, Boston Dirt Dogs, founder of JapaneseBallplayers.com
Curt's Coming on Strong: Schilling May Be Ready for Opener
Miller Timely: Wade Working Out, Throwing in Florida Already
Pats Didn't Cover, but Get on Another
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(Sports Illustrated Photo) |
Branch Makes the Right Calls
This week's cover image marks the 10th time that a Boston-based team has been on the SI cover since July 04. Red Sox with five covers (July 5, 2004; Sept 13, 2004; Nov 1, 2004; Nov 8, 2004; and Dec. 6, 2004 ) and the Patriots with five (Sept 6, 2004; Oct 18, 2004; Jan 24, 2005; Feb 7, 2005 and Feb 14, 2005.).
SI's Rick Reilly: "In the final hours before the Super Bowl, NFL players have been known to go and get, say, a $40 hooker. Or go to Tijuana and get muy smashed. Or try to set the coke-snorting world record.
"But before this Super Bowl, wide receiver Deion Branch of the Patriots did something even stranger.
"He picked up his cellphone and called every coach in his life who meant something to him. He called Pee Wee coaches. He called his high school receivers coach. He called his junior college offensive coordinator. He called his college head coach. He called 13 coaches in all.
"And do you know what he told them? Thank you.
"Thank you for caring about me when I could’ve gone south. Thank you for making me run stairs. Thank you for believing I could do this.
"He thanked his coach at Louisville for not giving up on him when his grades were lousy. He thanked his high school coach for believing he wasn’t too puny. He thanked one coach for being there for him when his infant son was near death.
"He got so emotional while thanking them that “I was crying half the time,” says Branch, 25. “It’s hard, but I don’t want them to think I’ve left them behind. I want them to know I’m thinking about them all the time.”
"And when he was done calling—about two hours later—he got on the team bus, put on his number 83 and made the Patriots thank God they had drafted him.
"Branch caught 11 passes—tying the Super Bowl record co-owned by his hero, Jerry Rice—for 133 yards. He was named the MVP of New England’s 24–21 win over the Eagles." (continued in this week's Sports Illustrated)
Feb 7, 2005:
McGwire Exposed!
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(Boston Dirt Dogs Photo / NBC) |
Canseco Blows the Whistle on Unnaturally Big Mac,
He Personally Injected Palmeiro, Juan Gone, I-Rod, and Mark McGwire
Canseco in Juiced: "McGwire and a young Jason Giambi heading into the men's room to inject each other with the anabolic steroids that would turn them from lanky lads into musclebound behemoths."
"If you were around the game and didn't hear any of that, well, you purposefully had planted your head in the sand, whether you were an owner, a player, a union leader, a writer. Everybody knew; everybody blew it, to varying degrees." -- Buster Olney, ESPN The Magazine, on the steroid disaster
The Unabashed Brothers
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(Boston Globe File Photo / Jim Davis) |
Jose Gives McGwire a Private Lesson
The New Old Single Season Home Run King: Roger That
Iron*: 63*, 64*, 65*, 66*, 70*, 73*
Irony: 61, no asterisk.
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(AP File Photo) |
The Natural
Above: Roger Maris, New York Yankees' slugging outfielder, follows through on his swing as he hits his record-breaking 61st home run on the last day of the season, October 1, 1961 at Yankee Stadium. Maris broke Babe Ruth's single season home run record in the fourth inning on a pitch from Tracy Stallard of the Red Sox. Maris' home run record, 61 in a single season has stood for over 43 years, but 1998 was the year the record almost fell. Three flaxseed oil soaked sluggers, St. Louis Cardinals Mark McGwire*, Chicago Cubs Sammy Sosa*, and San Francisco's Barry Bonds* have all attempted to hijack Maris' record in the years that followed to no avail.
His fate in hands of Veterans Committee, many wonder why Maris has been left out
Steroidgate: What did the President know and when did he know it?
Feb 4, 2005:
Breaking News:
Dirt Dog Tries to Steal The Ball!
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(Boston Police Department Photo) |
Caught Red-Handed!
The founder of the popular Boston Dirt Dogs website was arrested earlier today by Boston Police detectives when he was caught red-handed while attempting to steal the million dollar World Series Ball from Fenway Park. He was quickly apprehended and led away in handcuffs as he was heard screaming “I am the rightful owner of this baseball! It belongs to me, not Larry Lucchino!” Jodi Mientkiewicz, who was outside the park in the alleged getaway vehicle, has been held for questioning. The Red Sox are expected to press charges. Stay tuned for more details as they become available.
Feb 3, 2005:
"Don't Be a Punk After Pats Win"
Theo urges the low-rent scumbags and "college students" who embarrass our city to behave this time around in a public service announcement on postgame safety and vandalism. Speaking of which, how's the Victoria Snelgrove four month murder investigation coming along Commissioner O'Toole?
MILLION DOLLAR BABY RETURNS!
Boston Gets The Ball Back
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(AP Photo) |
Above: New England Patriots Vice Chairman Jonathan Kraft delivers a bag containing the ball that was caught for the final out for the Red Sox' first World Series win in 86 years to Fenway Park on Thursday.
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(AP Photo) |
Above: Red Sox President and CEO Larry Lucchino examines the Historic World Series Ball to assess the damage done when the million dollar ball was knocking around among sharp objects in Jodi Mientkiewicz's purse for a week.
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(AP Photo) |
Ball Gets Red Carpet Treatment
Following an 86-year journey, the “Final Out” Ball arrived at Fenway Park early this afternoon. The historic ball was delivered to the park in an armored Brinks truck by security officers of the Brinks Company. Two armored guards carried the ball in a black canvas bag down a red carpet that had been laid out along Yawkey Way and brought it inside the ballpark. It was then whisked up to the .406 Club elevator near Gate A. The ball was then carried to the Hall of Fame Club and handed-off to Red Sox President/CEO Larry Lucchino and placed in a custom-made presentation case. The ball will accompany the World Series Trophy on its tour of Massachusetts.
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(AP Photo) |
Sammy So-So Joins O's
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(Getty Images Photo) |
Sosa packs bags for Baltimore:
Flaxseed Oil, check. Cork from wine bottles, check.
Feb 2, 2005:
A Very Brady Cover
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(Sports Illustrated Photo) |
Another Reverse Jinx for Pats.
New England Going to the Super Bowl is Like Watching the Movie Groundhog Day
Feb 1, 2005:
A-Fraud Wants You to Give Him a Hand
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(Boston Dirt Dogs Photo / Sawin) |
ESPN.com: "Yet, Rodriguez called it, "a smart play, one I would've made again. In the heat of the moment, you do things sometimes out of instinct," Rodriguez said. "I thought it was a smart play, and we almost got away with it. We put an umpire in the position of having to turn over a call like that in Yankee Stadium. It gave us a shot. (Umpire) Jim Joyce told me, 'if you'd knocked the crap out of (Arroyo) it would've been legal because he was in your way.' So if I had a chance to do it again, I would've tried to run him over. Even though I probably would've hurt someone with my weight and velocity, dropping my shoulder down."
"With my talent people will follow naturally."
-- Alice Rodriguez
Big Stein Tells Slappy to Get His Tired Act Together
The Boston Red Sox have invited 16 non-roster players to major league spring training.
Invitees include righthanders Scott Cassidy, Jack Cressend, Jeremi Gonzalez, Josias Manzanillo and Kris Wilson, and lefthander Jason Kershner. Catchers Jeff Bailey and Shawn Wooten, infielders Dave Berg, Tim Hummel, Dave McCarty and Kenny Perez, and outfielders Chip Ambres, George Lombard, Billy McMillon and Simon Pond round out the group.
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