Free Republic

The Houston Astros have hired Brad Mills from the Boston Red Sox as their new manager....

<p>MANCHESTER, N.H. – A 114-year-old New Hampshire woman who loves the Boston Red Sox, Hershey's Kisses and ice cream is believed to be the oldest American.</p> <p>Mary Josephine Ray secured the title of the oldest person in the US after the death of Gertrude Baines on Friday in Los Angeles.</p>

Boston's erstwhile slugging duo reportedly on list of 104 According to lawyers who spoke to the The New York Times, and whose names were not revealed, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez are on the list of 104 players who tested positive in Major League Baseball's 2003 survey testing for performance-enhancing drugs, testing that was agreed to and conducted only on the condition that the results would remain anonymous. Ortiz and Ramirez were members of the Boston Red Sox at the time and helped the club end an 86-year streak in which they hadn't won a World Series. Results from the...

When Justin Allan Rollins learned that he was being deployed to Iraq last year, the soldier had a mission of his own: to see his beloved Boston Red Sox play at Fenway Park one last time. Spec. Rollins saw more than just a game that summer day. He got to meet one of his heroes, Red Sox slugger David Ortiz. Ortiz signed a ball for him. Later, in the stands, Rollins turned to his father. "He said, 'If David Ortiz hits a home run, I can die a happy man in Iraq,' " recalled Kathryn Hanson, a close family friend....

BALTIMORE -- During a game in which Torii Hunter homered and Minnesota got 19 hits against the Baltimore Orioles, the most significant play in an uplifting victory for the Twins was a strikeout by Michael Cuddyer. The swing-and-a-miss led to three runs, and Minnesota won 8-5 Saturday to inch closer to a playoff berth. The outcome eliminated Boston from postseason contention and enabled the Twins to reduce their magic number for clinching a playoff spot to three. Any combination of Minnesota wins and Chicago White Sox losses totaling three will ensure the Twins no worse than the wild card. Minnesota...

BOSTON - The function of baseball at its best is that of any high art: to take us out of ourselves, to recall us to life, to disrupt the normal unhappiness. It breaks up what Walker Percy called the malaise of everydayness, and reintroduces us to the sublime. That's why I'm in this milling crowd inching its way toward storied Fenway Park, home of the Red Sox and field of too-often broken dreams. Sunday in the park with Ramirez and Papelbon and Youkilis is a kind of high holiday. The crowd itself is a study. There are ball caps aplenty...

The owner of radio stations WEEI and WRKO, fresh from signing one of Major League Baseball's most expensive radio rights deals, has found a way to get some money back: selling naming rights to the Red Sox radio network. ``We'll be right back on the WEEI/WRKO (Your Company Name) Red Sox Radio Network," proclaims promotional material for the deal. Entercom Communications Corp., parent of the two stations, plans to mail out requests for proposals to 25 top advertisers this week to gauge their interest in the five-year agreement. The asking price: several million dollars a year.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- It took Mike Greenwell 10 years to go from the Green Monster of Fenway Park to the green flag of NASCAR racing. The former Red Sox outfielder hung up his glove in 1996 eager to start a new athletic endeavor - racing cars. After a decade spent toiling around in late models, Greenwell will finally make his NASCAR debut in Saturday night's Truck Series event at Mansfield (Ohio) Motorsports Speedway. "I retired very early," Greenwell said. "I hit .297 my final year and I had 20 offers to go back and play the next year. "But...

In a stunning turn of events, radio company Greater Media this morning pulled out of the long-running bidding war with Entercom Communications for broadcasting rights for Boston Red Sox games. Sources say Entercom has won the hotly contested battle for Red Sox play-by-play. Entercom, parent company of local stations WEEI-AM (850) and WRKO-AM (680), is the only remaining bidder. WEEI, the top sports talker in the country, has been the longtime partner with the Sox. Entercom’s bid was said to have offered the Sox an option to buy an equity stake in WRKO in the future. Sources say that under...

Righthander Jeff Reardon, who was instrumental in the Minnesosta Twins' 1980 World Series championship and also pitched for the Red Sox from 1990-92, was arrested in Florida yesterday on suspicion of committing armed robbery. According to a release from the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department, Reardon, 50, entered a jewelry store in a shopping mall and handed a clerk a note demanding money. The clerk, believing he had a gun, filled a bag with an undisclosed amount of cash. Reardon fled with the cash and was followed by the store manager and arrested outside a restaurant, police said .

http://cgi.ebay.com/Johnny-Damon-Soul_W0QQitemZ5648873584QQcategoryZ2022QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Once a huge piece to the puzzle in the Red Sox triumphant 2004 World Series Championship, this 32 year old leadoff hitter has decided to sell his soul to the highest bidder. This package includes his wife (NY bidders please remember the Anna Benson Deal) Michelle. This Package is very marketable and loves the media. Winner will acquire very hard worker, with little league arm. Soul is defined as "the actuating cause of an individual life", in this case $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. Please be advised when purchasing, honor is not available. THERE IS NO RETURN ON THIS SALE. this is not...

Last autumn, Curt Schilling helped the Red Sox win it all. Now, he and his wife, Shonda, are helping a New Orleans family of nine who have lost almost everything. Moved by the plight of thousands of Gulf Coast residents whose lives were shattered by Hurricane Katrina, the star pitcher and his wife arranged to fly up a family and to put them up in a Boston-area hotel, where the family has been since Saturday. The Fields family has seven children, four boys and three girls. They are between the ages of 5 and 12. The family fled its New...

Forget about strutting around in that ``Yankees Suck'' T-shirt next time you head over to Fenway Park to diss the Bronx Bombers. In a bid to restrain some of Red Sox Nation's more unruly fans, the Sox have begun a quiet policy of effectively barring display of the blunt T-shirts inside Fenway. Sox officials are strongly urging fans who show up with ``Yankees Suck'' shirts to turn them inside out. While declining to call it an outright ban, team communications chief Charles Steinberg claimed there have been no incidents where fans refused the team's request. Team executives rolled out the...

Even though he was the hero of the playoffs and the World Series, Derek Lowe's off-field antics – chiefly his drinking and womanizing – doomed his chances to remain with the Red Sox, sources say. Lowe, who went to the Los Angeles Dodgers this season after the Sox showed no interest in re-signing him, just walked out on his wife of seven years and their three kids to move in with Left Coast TV sports gal Carolyn Hughes. The move shocked his heartbroken bride, Trinka, but according to those who know D. Lo, it wasn't entirely out of character. ``He...

Derek Lowe, the ex-Red Sox hurler who was the hero of last year's ALCS and the World Series, has abandoned his heartbroken wife and kids and moved in with a TV reporter who covers his new team, the Los Angeles Dodgers. That's according to Trinka Lowe, Derek's wife of seven years and the mother of their three kids, who said her husband has left her for Fox Sports Net's Carolyn Hughes. ``This is definitely the worst time of my life,'' Trinka told the Track. ``I don't even know how to describe it. I still love him. He's still the father...

Athletes say they don't look back, ever. Athletes lie. Thus, it is safe to theorize the demons doing wind sprints in Nomar Garciaparra's head right now. Starting with, "Man, I'm glad I got married, otherwise the last 18 months would completely suck." The pain from a torn groin could have left Nomar Garciaparra seeing dollar signs now out of his reach.Thursday, Garciaparra got the cheery news that he'll miss at least the next two months with a groin muscle tear. This, after starting the season hitting .157. After watching the Boston Red Sox get their World Series rings. After watching...

BOSTON - The Boston Red Sox made their fans wait 86 years for another World Series title and only gave them five months to celebrate. The champions return to Boston on Monday for a combined celebration to mark their first title since 1918, their home opener and a game against the rival New York Yankees — any one of which would be enough for a sellout at Fenway Park. It's also the first game back for manager Terry Francona, who left the team after complaining of chest pains before the third game of the season. "We're excited to get back...

The best movie ever made about baseball in Boston was a 1962 film by the Spanish surrealist Luis Bunuel, called The Exterminating Angel. The plot is twisted: People arrive for a dinner party, enjoy themselves, get drunk, snipe at one another, and trade gossip. Then, when the time comes to go home, they stand up, they approach the door. But not one of them can bring himself to pass through that door. They know that the party's over; they cannot leave it. Soon, this group becomes a sensation in the city. Townspeople gather on the street, staring, wondering why the...

As Boston native Bob Kirk stood watching the Red Sox celebrate last October after winning the World Series for the first time in 86 years, he talked about his father who died of cancer the previous December. Mr. Kirk said, "His last words to me were, 'have they signed Schilling?'" Schilling is Curt Schilling, and yes, the Sox in signing him to a contract obtained not only one of baseball's top hurlers but a man who showed physical and spiritual courage during 2004 while tens of millions watched. He pitched two crucial playoff and World Series games with his own...

TAMPA, Fla. - The most extravagant collection of celebrities this side of Oscar night meets in a windowless bunker every workday before 9 a.m. Here in their stocking feet are Jason Giambi, who has emerged at the center of a nationwide steroids controversy; Alex Rodriguez, who has been fending off insults in the news media from opposing players; Kevin Brown, the pitcher who last year broke a hand by punching a wall; and, a few lockers away, the newcomer Randy Johnson, the 6-foot-10 pitcher whose first visit to New York as part of the Yankees resulted in a public scuffle...

President Bush had some strong words to Syria to get out of Lebanon, noted here. He and Vice President Cheney welcomed and congratulated the World Series Cham-peens, the Boston Red Sox, who ended a drought of Biblical proportions with their first World Series win in 86 years. With Speaker Hastert and Senator Stevens, he presented the Congressional Gold Medal to Jackie Robinson's widow, Rachel Robinson, in the name of her husband. In Arnold, Maryland, the president participated in a job training and education dialogue, linked here. Secretary of State Condi Rice attended a one-day London meeting, info here, to discuss...

CHICAGO, March 2 (UPI) -- An avid sports fan who produces a Web log on the Boston Red Sox is bought out by a major daily newspaper and hired as a sports producer for its Web site. This may sound like some wishful thinking, like some tenuous scenario in one of those fantasy baseball leagues many fans join, but the blog BostonDirtDogs.com, founded by Steve Silva, is now part of The Boston Globe online. Silva is now filing regular reports from the World Series champion Red Sox spring-training site in Florida."Newspapers are doing a lot of experiments online," said Chuck...

WILMINGTON, OH -- Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling made a surprise appearance Monday with President Bush, limping to the stage to give Bush a strong endorsement. . . . . "On Tuesday, we need you to get out the vote. We need you to get your friends and neighbors out to vote -- tell them you're voting for President Bush and get them on board, too," Schilling said. "I know everbody wants to be on a winning team, and there's plenty of room on this bandwagon." In Burgettstown, PA, just west of Pittsburgh, Schilling hobbled to the stage with...

The Springsteens support Kerry, the Schillings support Bush. Bruce Springsteen held a free concert for Kerry with 80,000 people in attendance. Schilling helped the Boston Red Sox win the World Series for the first time in 84 years. While being interviewed by Good Morning America, Schilling threw in a last minute political comment. "just tell everyone to vote...and vote for Bush". The look on Charles Gibson's face was worth the price of admission. Both "celebrities" symbolize their perspective candidates values. Springsteen, a rich, famous musician who spends most of his time ensconced in his own world. Schilling is a rich...

Curt Schilling was being interviewed by Charlie Gibson this morning and finished his interview with "Tell everybody to vote.. and vote Bush!". Shill is the man!!! Now, for my prophesy to be fulfilled, Bush will win, and will greet the Sox in the White House sometime after Nov 3.

TORONTO -- Terry Francona gave all the standard answers to the standard questions after yesterday's 3-1 loss to Roy Halladay and the Toronto Blue Jays. The Sox had just played three weeks without a scheduled day off, they'd fallen out of first place, and they'd wasted another good performance by Pedro Martinez. They were looking forward to flying to Tampa for today's offday, and the rookies were putting on their Hooter's uniforms (the annual rookie hazing, usually reserved for a trip through Customs) when the press filed out of the manager's office. Oh, and one more thing, Francona remembered, "Watch...

BOSTON -- The Boston Red Sox placed All-Star slugger Manny Ramirez on irrevocable waivers, The New York Times, the Boston Herald and the Providence Journal reported Thursday. The move means any major league team can have Ramirez -- if it is willing to pay his salary. The outfielder has five years and $104 million remaining on a $160 million, eight-year contract. He is scheduled to make $20.5 million next season. When contacted by The Associated Press, Red Sox spokesman Kevin Shea said: "The waiver procedure is a confidential procedure, and we're prohibited from commenting on it. We're not permitted to...

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wow, what a shot! Aaron Boone set off bedlam in the Bronx on Thursday night with a leadoff home run in the 11th inning to give the New York Yankees a 6-5 victory over the Boston Red Sox for a trip to the World Series and their 39th American League pennant. New York trailed 4-0 in the fourth inning and 5-2 in the eighth as Roger Clemens made an early exit in what looked to be the final game of his storied career. But the Yankees bounced back, rekindling all those painful memories that have haunted...

Push comes to shove for Zim By Jim Caple BOSTON -- One day after his fight with Pedro Martinez during Game 3 of the Red Sox-Yankees series, Don Zimmer choked back tears and told a room filled with reporters that he was embarrassed by what happened. "I'm embarrassed for the Yankees, the Red Sox, the fans, the umpires and my family," he said. "That's all I have to say, I'm sorry."  Zimmer sheds crocodile tears as he prepares for battle in Game 4. At least, that's all he had to say to most reporters. He explained his feelings at...

I guess the obnoxious Boston Red Sox fans have nothing to say today. You Fans must all be democrats.

The Polo Grounds: A Calm Review of Baseball Sunday, September 22, 2002Cursebusters, Inc.? by Jeff Kallman Plans can change. Sometimes, maybe they should. Saturday in Seattle, they certainly should have. Not very nice, Seattle Mariners. The visiting Anaheim Angels were in town Saturday, needing one game to clinch a postseason spot. Who comes out to throw out the ceremonial first pitch? An assassin from yesteryear: Dave Henderson, Boston Red Sox, Class of '86. Talk about the hand that held the dagger thrusting it into the back of the sons who are not supposed to be visited with the sins of...

Have You Heard The New Bill Buckner Joke? by Jeff Kallman "Mookie," the voice hailed the New York Mets' first base coach, "what do you say you hit me a few grounders?"Forgive Mookie Wilson if at first he had to retrieve his jaw from the Shea Stadium grass, before flashing his familiar, almost satchelmouthed grin. Not everyone gets the honour of hearing the newest Bill Buckner joke, especially when it's cracked by Bill Buckner himself. And especially when he cracks it at the bloody crossroads where Buckner and Wilson collided too profoundly to leave each other strangers.It was almost sixteen...

I guess every player thinks about going into the Hall of Fame. Now that the moment has come for me, I find it difficult to say what is really in my heart. But I know it is the greatest thrill of my life. I received two hundred and eighty-odd votes from the writers. I know I didn't have two hundred and eighty-odd close friends among the writers. I know they voted for me because they felt in their minds, and some in their hearts, that I rated it, and I want to say to them: Thank you, from the bottom...

CRYSTAL, RIVER FLORIDA (TICKER) -- Hall of Famer Ted Williams, regarded as perhaps the greatest hitter in the history of major league baseball, died on Friday. He was 83. Williams, who suffered a series of strokes and congestive heart failure in recent years, was taken to Citrus County Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead of cardiac arrest at 8:49 a.m. EDT. Williams, who spent his entire 19-year career with the Boston Red Sox and was a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 1966, was the last man to hit .400 -- one of the few hallowed marks to go unchallenged...

Red Sox legend Ted Williams dead at 83 07/05/2002 Associated Press CRYSTAL RIVER, Fla. - Ted Williams, the Boston Red Sox revered and sometimes reviled "Splendid Splinter" and baseball's last .400 hitter, has died at age 83. Williams, who suffered a series of strokes and congestive heart failure in recent years, was taken Friday to Citrus County Memorial Hospital "where he was pronounced deceased," said sheriff's department spokesman Lt. Joe Eckstein. He underwent open-heart surgery in January 2001 and had a pacemaker inserted in November 2000. AP The Hall of Famer, who managed the Texas Rangers when the team...

April 12, 2002 New Face of Red Sox Is Little's By JACK CURRY OSTON, April 11 — Thirty-one years ago, Grady Little's father gave him a simple piece of advice about his impending marriage that has defined a long and winding baseball career and, more specifically, the man. Bill Little offered the sound guidance that so many other parents have offered their children when he implored his son never to go to bed angry with his wife, Debi. The words resonated with Little. They were simple, yet vital. So Little took his late father's advice and incorporated it well...