Feb. 23, 2001 - Will McDoogle, Guest Columnist
From the BSG site: A parody of the late, great Will McDonough and his famous Saturday "info" column for the Boston Globe. At the time, the crankier-as-the-years-went-along McDonough (who was renowned for going after certain Boston-related sports figures and protecting certain others) had been forced to retire from the Globe because of a mandatory retirement policy. That explains the setup. The other wrinkle was that some of the ideas for passages in the piece came from readers (I threw out the concept a week before posting it), so it was somewhat of a collaborative effort and that's what makes it one of my favorite BSG pieces. Sean McDonough told me once that this column made him laugh repeatedly and then he felt guilty afterwards. I thought that was high praise.
--BILL SIMMONS
--BILL SIMMONS
*******
SATURDAYS WITH MCDOOGLE
Quick Hits on the Boston Sports Scene
Editor's Note: The BSG site is proud to welcome back long-time columnist Will McDoogle to the fold. McDoogle was forced to leave bostonsportsguy.com last summer after a misunderstanding with the BSG's retirement policy. Thankfully, everything's been cleared up -- it's amazing what the threat of an age-discrimination suit can do! Anyway, we hope McDoogle will be writing columns in this space for years to come.
By Will McDoogle
Bostonsportsguy.com Staff
Red Sox fans take a steady beating from pundits for their unwavering, "This is the year!" optimism. But as we head into the first few weeks of spring training, more than ever, the diehards find themselves muttering those exact words. This is the year! In more than seventy years covering the Boston sports scene, your humble servant can't remember a spring training loaded with more hope and optimism.
Here are five expert takes on the 2001 Red Sox:
Celtics president Red Auerbach: "That Pedro Martinez is a helluva pitcher. Helluva pitcher. Seeing him dominate batters last year reminded me of Russell in the late-50's -- he was just at another level than everyone else. I remember there was a great player named Neil Johnston on the Warriors back then, a center who could really shoot. He averaged 20, 25 points a game for them. Then Russell came into the league and just swallowed this guy whole. Ate him up every time we played them. And Johnston's confidence was shot and he dropped out of the league in two years. He ended up opening a roofing business in Rochester. True story. What were we talking about? Oh, Pedro. Anyway, Pedro reminds me of Russell. He's a great player and my only regret is that I never had a chance to coach him."
Packers GM Ron Wolf: "We actually don't get Red Sox games up here in Milwaukee but I try to watch them every time they're on, as long as it doesn't conflict with Brewers' games. I actually met Dan Duquette once at a charity function and he's a very nice man."
WFAN radio host Mike Francesa: "There is an enormous, ENORMOUS amount of pressure on the Red Sox this year. Pedro has been unbelievable for them for three years running -- I mean, has he been un-bee-leeeeevable or what? He is unbelievable. Unbelievable pitcher. But their window is running out with him. That window is running OUT. He's 29, right? How many more years you think he'll be winning 20-25 games and giving up two runs a game? Two years? Three years? I'll tell you one thing... it's not gonna happen for much longer. It is NOT gonna happen for much longer. They need to win soon. Big year for the Sox this year. Huge year. Hu-MON-gous year. Big year."
Lou, a man I met on the street this morning: "I'm hoping the Sox play well this year because a buddy of mine at work who has season tickets let me buy Thursdays from him. So I'm really excited. I think it all comes down to the pitching. GO SOX!"
Former Red Sox reliever Dick Radatz: "I think the key issue this season will be if Jimy Williams stops babying Pedro. There's too much babying of pitchers these days. Back in my day, starters pitched every four days and relievers pitched 2 or 3 innings if they had to. Back in '65, I pitched in 149 of our 154 games and threw 630 innings overall. Sure, I blew out every ligament in my arm, broke both collarbones, developed four life-threatening blood clots and ruined my career for a 65-89 team, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Baseball is losing something, I'm telling you. Anyway, Jimy needs at least 40-44 starts from Pedro this season or this team's going nowhere."
Speaking of Radatz, some of you might remember a story from Jim Bouton's watershed book Ball Four where an unnamed male pervert offered Radatz $100 to whip oranges against his bare rear end. Desperate for money, Radatz agreed. True story. Those were the days, when ballplayers cared about the fans. Can you imagine a selfish major leaguer like Roger Clemens or Mo Vaughn agreeing to that now? It would never happen - not with this spoiled bunch of ingrates.
As for Clemens, someone who attended the ESPY awards in Vegas last week reports that the Texas Con Man was in rare form. In a bathroom at the MGM Grand, the former Red Sox ace insulted a young boy wearing a Pedro Martinez jersey, made a joke about a young man in a wheelchair who was trying to lift himself into a handicapped stall, then almost forgot to tip the washroom attendant. Clemens ended up dropping a $10 bill in the tip jar, then scooped in to take change of a $5 and four singles back. He must be saving for the K Kids' Kollege fund . . . You might have seen the Con Man during that ESPY's telecast carrying an extra two chins and 20 pounds. Now that he has his championship ring and a contract extension, look for him to stick a stamp on the regular season this year. Boston fans have seen this act before. Here's hoping that Clemens chokes to death on his own vomit some day.
***** ***** *****
All the commotion about this weekend's NFL Scouting Combine reminds us of a story from the '96 off-season: After seeing some of the top prospects, an unimpressed Bill Parcells apparently had a deal worked out with Jacksonville to trade the #7 pick, Myron Guyton, Dave Wohlabaugh and Corwin Brown for Jimmy Smith, Tony Boselli and two high Jacksonville draft picks that turned out to be Tony Brackens and Fred Taylor, as well as Jacksonville agreeing to forfeit any games played between the Pats and the Jags for the next five seasons. Unfortunately the deal was squashed by Bob Kraft and Bobby Grier in a back room meeting while Parcells was visiting sick children in the hospital.
One more Parcells note: people were claiming last month that Parcells was "lobbying" voters to get himself in the Hall of Fame. I spoke to Bill while I was washing his car this week, and he told me point blank that he didn't lobby the voters, adding, "Obviously I would love to get inducted at some point, but I'm not gonna sell my soul to get in there. Okay? All right?" He then tipped me $50 and told me to sucker-punch Paul Zimmerman in the back of the head next time I saw him. With pleasure, Sir Tuna.
A report from an ESPN.com baseball "guru" claimed that Nomar Garciaparra gained ten pounds in an off-season weight-training program. The actual number was actually closer to seven or eight pounds. Then again, you can expect nothing less from a pipeline that's been feeding us inaccurate information for years . . . Don't expect to see the XFL last for much longer on NBC. If the number continue to drop at this startling rate (almost 300% over the past two weeks), Dick Ebersol and company will almost certainly pull the plug . . . Kudos to former Patriot center Jon Morris, who scored two holes-in-one in the same round at Woodlawn Country Club last week . . . Rumor has it that Donna Harris-Lewis is hiring a new team of lawyers to revive the appeal process in her most recent loss against Doctor Gilbert Mudge in her "wrongful death" suit. If she wins, maybe she could use the money to buy her late husband Reggie a headstone for his grave. A source close to the widow claimed that Harris-Lewis is evil incarnate and warrants being slammed in this space every six weeks or so. If I ever see Harris-Lewis walking across the street, I will run her over with my 1978 DeSoto.
***** ***** *****
You’re not a true Red Sox fan unless you know who “The Breaker” was. In 1946, Tom Yawkey acquired, rather, stole Winthrop native Billy “The Breaker” O’Madigan from the Giants in exchange for the rights to Willie Mays. O’Madigan was a fan favorite and lasted two seasons (1946-48) with the Sox as a spot starter. You can find Billy today over at the Blarney Stone on D Street, parked at his favorite stool, and though names, dates, and personal hygiene are not so important to him now, he’s still sharp as a tack.
Billy shares this tidbit about the infamous "Pesky holds the ball" ending of Game Seven of the 1946 World Series: "About 10 years ago, I ran into Enos Slaughter at a sports card show and Enos told me, 'I never touched third base. If the Red Sox had appealed that play, I woulda been out.' As tears started welling up in my eyes, he looked at me and said, "Ahhhhh! Just kidding! Gotcha!' He thought it just about the funniest thing ever. What a bastard. I went after him and it took ten people to separate us."
Although Billy’s career was tragically cut short due to alcoholism and a total lack of physical conditioning, he made his mark on that ‘46 team. At a Jimmy Fund awards dinner in 1972, I was sitting next to then-Sox owner Tom Yawkey. During a lull in the proceedings, he leaned over to me and said, “If we had 26 guys with the heart and hustle of Billy the Breaker, we woulda won the damn thing in ‘46.” I agree, Mr. Yawkey. I agree.
***** ***** *****
Charles Oakley's recent comments in the New York Post raised eyebrows in NBA circles. In case you missed it, Oakley claimed that 50-60% of the NBA players smoked marijuana, which couldn't have made David Stern's office very happy. Celtics legend Red Auerbach weighs in with his thoughts: "Drugs have been a sore subject with me since we lost Lenny Bias. People forget, if we had Bias in the 80's, we might have rolled off 5-6 titles during the Bird Era. I'll never get over that. But if Oakley says that it's a problem, it's a problem. He's a great player and my only regret is that I never had a chance to coach him." . . . By the way, if the NBA is truly serious about stopping marijuana smoking, instead of fining players and suspending them, they should kick them out of the league. Let's see them find time to smoke pot and mess with groupies if they don't have a job. Maybe then the population rate in this country would start to drop.
Even though the Red Sox allowed more stolen bases than any other team in the American League last year, Red Sox pitching coach Joe Kerrigan says his staff is not going to change its approach. ''Tommy Harper had the best line for that after we gave up a run last summer to the Twins: So, the guy stole second base. And he stole third. Then he stole home while Garces was scratching his ass. The guy with the bat still needs to hit.'"
We've all seen what $80 million is worth in Anaheim: Mo Vaughn is out for the season, allegedly after injuring his arm while trying to lift huge suitcases of cash into a safe. It's been common knowledge for years that Mo Money's training regimen during the winter includes some treadmill work, light weights, an unbelievably huge lunch and dinners that are heavy on cheese. One recent workout ended when he had a five-egg cheddar-cheese omelet, a large helping of french fries, a plate of hash browns, nachos with cheese sauce, mozzarella sticks, a deep-fried baby calf, six Cookie Puss ice cream cakes and a warm glass of Crisco - this meal is known among his hangers-on as "The Foxy." That reminds me, if I had more time, I would rehash the Foxy Lady incident again and neglect to mention any of Mo's massive charity work during the offseason.
Speaking of Mo, since he's got the time off, perhaps Mo Money can take the Texas Con Man down to Providence over Patriot's Day Weekend. Rod Rutledge isn't using his car . . . Ty Law has been hanging low since the recent fallout from the revelation that his agent appealed Law's one-game suspension at the end of last season. People around the Patriots report that Law has seemed uncharacteristically subdued and soft-spoken as of late. Either he's embarrassed or he's out of Ecstacy. I hope he gets what's coming to him . . . Don't look for long-time Patriot-killer Tony Martin to end up in New England. Pats owner Robert Kraft heard a story about Martin's personal habits last week and didn't like it one bit. Let's just say that a crack pipe, a jug of kerosene and a four-year-old Asian girl were allegedly involved.
***** ***** *****
Red Sox CEO John Harrington on 2001 season: "We've sold 90% of our tickets for this season already, which is unheard of at this point in the season. I think our true fans knew that we wouldn't have raised prices again unless we knew something good was going to happen last winter, and it did... we ended up with Manny (Ramirez). We care about our fans very deeply here, especially when they're sending us checks for $8,000-$9,000 a pop." Harrington then announced that he would be vacationing in Aruba for the next four weeks. See you out there in March, Johnnie.
Clip and save this Kerrigan prediction for Pedro Martinez: "Call me crazy, but I think Petey's going to be even better this season with Manny in the lineup and with the higher strike zone."
Joe Gibbs on the late Dale Earnhardt: "Great man, greater person. That son of a gun was as tough as nails. I remember one time, one of my drivers cut him off and Dale bided his time for about three months... Dale ended up bumping my guy from behind during a practice run and sending him into a wall at about 150 miles an hour. My driver never walked again. But that was just Dale being Dale... he wouldn't let anyone ever get an edge on him. Terrific person. The sport will miss him greatly."
Auerbach on Philly's trade for Dikembe Mutombo: "I liked this deal for Philly -- he makes them the favorite in the East. Dikembe's an All-Star center who can guard any of the big guys in the league. And better yet, he's a top-notch person, I got to know him very, very well when he was at Georgetown. My only regret is that I never got a chance to coach him."
Bruins GM Harry Sinden on the NHL trading deadline: "We'd love to get a horse defenseman but we aren't willing to give the farm away like Colorado did for (Rob) Blake. We'll probably end up bringing up some guys from Providence and keeping our fingers crossed that they'll work out. No sense spending extra cash this season when all of our season ticket holders have already paid." Now there's a GM who gets it.
***** ***** *****
In New York on business last week, your humble servant picked up the New York Daily News in the airport and couldn't help but notice that Lisa Olsen is writing a column there now. It's hard to believe that a full decade has passed since Olsen left her job at the Herald and was practically exiled out of the United States for a few years because a few Patriot players decided to sexually harrass her. Good to see that she landed back on her feet. Anyway, seeing her face reminded me of former Herald sports editor Bob Sales and what a spineless, backstabbing, unsupportive little weasel he was.
Look for the Boston Globe to make Ron Borges a general columnist and promote Kaleefa Dat Wa Mutaafalaa-Jones to the Patriots beat. A native of Samoa who moved to the United States in '98 and started interning for the Globe shortly thereafter, Kaleefa will be the first-ever Globie with Samoan, Indian, Vietnamese, Thai and African-American roots, another sound addition to what sports editor Don Skwar calls "The most diverse staff of sportswriters in the country." Kaleefa has never seen an NFL game before but vows that she's a "quick learner."
Nice to see Red Auerbach taking a much more active role since Rick Pitino's departure from the Celtics' organization. Sources tell me that Red singlehandedly squashed a proposed deal from Toronto that would have sent Vitaly Potapenko to Toronto for Michael Stewart, Muggsy Bogues and a #2 pick in 2008. The Celtics president emeritus was shuffled off as senile, or worse, a poor judge of talent by the know-it-alls who rode in with Rick Pitino. Well, look at some of the picks of Pitino, Chris Wallace, and Leo Papile: Chauncey Billups, Ron Mercer, Jerome Moiso, and Paul Pierce. Only Pierce has played like a lottery pick; the Celtics lucked out when he fell in their laps at number 10. Funny how the morons on Nitwit Radio never seem to mention these facts. Maybe it's time to let Red run the show again.
On a sad note, longtime friend Tim O'Connell passed away from cancer this week. Two years older than me, we grew up together in South Boston and both went into journalism; you might remember him from his 58-year stint at the Quincy Daily Shopper. Timmy will always be remembered for his quick wit, his stern character and his pious opposition to busing. He was also one of the very first fans to heckle Pumpsie Green at Fenway. He will be missed.
Will McDoogle is a bostonsportsguy.com staff columnist
By Will McDoogle
Bostonsportsguy.com Staff
Red Sox fans take a steady beating from pundits for their unwavering, "This is the year!" optimism. But as we head into the first few weeks of spring training, more than ever, the diehards find themselves muttering those exact words. This is the year! In more than seventy years covering the Boston sports scene, your humble servant can't remember a spring training loaded with more hope and optimism.
Here are five expert takes on the 2001 Red Sox:
Celtics president Red Auerbach: "That Pedro Martinez is a helluva pitcher. Helluva pitcher. Seeing him dominate batters last year reminded me of Russell in the late-50's -- he was just at another level than everyone else. I remember there was a great player named Neil Johnston on the Warriors back then, a center who could really shoot. He averaged 20, 25 points a game for them. Then Russell came into the league and just swallowed this guy whole. Ate him up every time we played them. And Johnston's confidence was shot and he dropped out of the league in two years. He ended up opening a roofing business in Rochester. True story. What were we talking about? Oh, Pedro. Anyway, Pedro reminds me of Russell. He's a great player and my only regret is that I never had a chance to coach him."
Packers GM Ron Wolf: "We actually don't get Red Sox games up here in Milwaukee but I try to watch them every time they're on, as long as it doesn't conflict with Brewers' games. I actually met Dan Duquette once at a charity function and he's a very nice man."
WFAN radio host Mike Francesa: "There is an enormous, ENORMOUS amount of pressure on the Red Sox this year. Pedro has been unbelievable for them for three years running -- I mean, has he been un-bee-leeeeevable or what? He is unbelievable. Unbelievable pitcher. But their window is running out with him. That window is running OUT. He's 29, right? How many more years you think he'll be winning 20-25 games and giving up two runs a game? Two years? Three years? I'll tell you one thing... it's not gonna happen for much longer. It is NOT gonna happen for much longer. They need to win soon. Big year for the Sox this year. Huge year. Hu-MON-gous year. Big year."
Lou, a man I met on the street this morning: "I'm hoping the Sox play well this year because a buddy of mine at work who has season tickets let me buy Thursdays from him. So I'm really excited. I think it all comes down to the pitching. GO SOX!"
Former Red Sox reliever Dick Radatz: "I think the key issue this season will be if Jimy Williams stops babying Pedro. There's too much babying of pitchers these days. Back in my day, starters pitched every four days and relievers pitched 2 or 3 innings if they had to. Back in '65, I pitched in 149 of our 154 games and threw 630 innings overall. Sure, I blew out every ligament in my arm, broke both collarbones, developed four life-threatening blood clots and ruined my career for a 65-89 team, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Baseball is losing something, I'm telling you. Anyway, Jimy needs at least 40-44 starts from Pedro this season or this team's going nowhere."
Speaking of Radatz, some of you might remember a story from Jim Bouton's watershed book Ball Four where an unnamed male pervert offered Radatz $100 to whip oranges against his bare rear end. Desperate for money, Radatz agreed. True story. Those were the days, when ballplayers cared about the fans. Can you imagine a selfish major leaguer like Roger Clemens or Mo Vaughn agreeing to that now? It would never happen - not with this spoiled bunch of ingrates.
As for Clemens, someone who attended the ESPY awards in Vegas last week reports that the Texas Con Man was in rare form. In a bathroom at the MGM Grand, the former Red Sox ace insulted a young boy wearing a Pedro Martinez jersey, made a joke about a young man in a wheelchair who was trying to lift himself into a handicapped stall, then almost forgot to tip the washroom attendant. Clemens ended up dropping a $10 bill in the tip jar, then scooped in to take change of a $5 and four singles back. He must be saving for the K Kids' Kollege fund . . . You might have seen the Con Man during that ESPY's telecast carrying an extra two chins and 20 pounds. Now that he has his championship ring and a contract extension, look for him to stick a stamp on the regular season this year. Boston fans have seen this act before. Here's hoping that Clemens chokes to death on his own vomit some day.
***** ***** *****
All the commotion about this weekend's NFL Scouting Combine reminds us of a story from the '96 off-season: After seeing some of the top prospects, an unimpressed Bill Parcells apparently had a deal worked out with Jacksonville to trade the #7 pick, Myron Guyton, Dave Wohlabaugh and Corwin Brown for Jimmy Smith, Tony Boselli and two high Jacksonville draft picks that turned out to be Tony Brackens and Fred Taylor, as well as Jacksonville agreeing to forfeit any games played between the Pats and the Jags for the next five seasons. Unfortunately the deal was squashed by Bob Kraft and Bobby Grier in a back room meeting while Parcells was visiting sick children in the hospital.
One more Parcells note: people were claiming last month that Parcells was "lobbying" voters to get himself in the Hall of Fame. I spoke to Bill while I was washing his car this week, and he told me point blank that he didn't lobby the voters, adding, "Obviously I would love to get inducted at some point, but I'm not gonna sell my soul to get in there. Okay? All right?" He then tipped me $50 and told me to sucker-punch Paul Zimmerman in the back of the head next time I saw him. With pleasure, Sir Tuna.
A report from an ESPN.com baseball "guru" claimed that Nomar Garciaparra gained ten pounds in an off-season weight-training program. The actual number was actually closer to seven or eight pounds. Then again, you can expect nothing less from a pipeline that's been feeding us inaccurate information for years . . . Don't expect to see the XFL last for much longer on NBC. If the number continue to drop at this startling rate (almost 300% over the past two weeks), Dick Ebersol and company will almost certainly pull the plug . . . Kudos to former Patriot center Jon Morris, who scored two holes-in-one in the same round at Woodlawn Country Club last week . . . Rumor has it that Donna Harris-Lewis is hiring a new team of lawyers to revive the appeal process in her most recent loss against Doctor Gilbert Mudge in her "wrongful death" suit. If she wins, maybe she could use the money to buy her late husband Reggie a headstone for his grave. A source close to the widow claimed that Harris-Lewis is evil incarnate and warrants being slammed in this space every six weeks or so. If I ever see Harris-Lewis walking across the street, I will run her over with my 1978 DeSoto.
***** ***** *****
You’re not a true Red Sox fan unless you know who “The Breaker” was. In 1946, Tom Yawkey acquired, rather, stole Winthrop native Billy “The Breaker” O’Madigan from the Giants in exchange for the rights to Willie Mays. O’Madigan was a fan favorite and lasted two seasons (1946-48) with the Sox as a spot starter. You can find Billy today over at the Blarney Stone on D Street, parked at his favorite stool, and though names, dates, and personal hygiene are not so important to him now, he’s still sharp as a tack.
Billy shares this tidbit about the infamous "Pesky holds the ball" ending of Game Seven of the 1946 World Series: "About 10 years ago, I ran into Enos Slaughter at a sports card show and Enos told me, 'I never touched third base. If the Red Sox had appealed that play, I woulda been out.' As tears started welling up in my eyes, he looked at me and said, "Ahhhhh! Just kidding! Gotcha!' He thought it just about the funniest thing ever. What a bastard. I went after him and it took ten people to separate us."
Although Billy’s career was tragically cut short due to alcoholism and a total lack of physical conditioning, he made his mark on that ‘46 team. At a Jimmy Fund awards dinner in 1972, I was sitting next to then-Sox owner Tom Yawkey. During a lull in the proceedings, he leaned over to me and said, “If we had 26 guys with the heart and hustle of Billy the Breaker, we woulda won the damn thing in ‘46.” I agree, Mr. Yawkey. I agree.
***** ***** *****
Charles Oakley's recent comments in the New York Post raised eyebrows in NBA circles. In case you missed it, Oakley claimed that 50-60% of the NBA players smoked marijuana, which couldn't have made David Stern's office very happy. Celtics legend Red Auerbach weighs in with his thoughts: "Drugs have been a sore subject with me since we lost Lenny Bias. People forget, if we had Bias in the 80's, we might have rolled off 5-6 titles during the Bird Era. I'll never get over that. But if Oakley says that it's a problem, it's a problem. He's a great player and my only regret is that I never had a chance to coach him." . . . By the way, if the NBA is truly serious about stopping marijuana smoking, instead of fining players and suspending them, they should kick them out of the league. Let's see them find time to smoke pot and mess with groupies if they don't have a job. Maybe then the population rate in this country would start to drop.
Even though the Red Sox allowed more stolen bases than any other team in the American League last year, Red Sox pitching coach Joe Kerrigan says his staff is not going to change its approach. ''Tommy Harper had the best line for that after we gave up a run last summer to the Twins: So, the guy stole second base. And he stole third. Then he stole home while Garces was scratching his ass. The guy with the bat still needs to hit.'"
We've all seen what $80 million is worth in Anaheim: Mo Vaughn is out for the season, allegedly after injuring his arm while trying to lift huge suitcases of cash into a safe. It's been common knowledge for years that Mo Money's training regimen during the winter includes some treadmill work, light weights, an unbelievably huge lunch and dinners that are heavy on cheese. One recent workout ended when he had a five-egg cheddar-cheese omelet, a large helping of french fries, a plate of hash browns, nachos with cheese sauce, mozzarella sticks, a deep-fried baby calf, six Cookie Puss ice cream cakes and a warm glass of Crisco - this meal is known among his hangers-on as "The Foxy." That reminds me, if I had more time, I would rehash the Foxy Lady incident again and neglect to mention any of Mo's massive charity work during the offseason.
Speaking of Mo, since he's got the time off, perhaps Mo Money can take the Texas Con Man down to Providence over Patriot's Day Weekend. Rod Rutledge isn't using his car . . . Ty Law has been hanging low since the recent fallout from the revelation that his agent appealed Law's one-game suspension at the end of last season. People around the Patriots report that Law has seemed uncharacteristically subdued and soft-spoken as of late. Either he's embarrassed or he's out of Ecstacy. I hope he gets what's coming to him . . . Don't look for long-time Patriot-killer Tony Martin to end up in New England. Pats owner Robert Kraft heard a story about Martin's personal habits last week and didn't like it one bit. Let's just say that a crack pipe, a jug of kerosene and a four-year-old Asian girl were allegedly involved.
***** ***** *****
Red Sox CEO John Harrington on 2001 season: "We've sold 90% of our tickets for this season already, which is unheard of at this point in the season. I think our true fans knew that we wouldn't have raised prices again unless we knew something good was going to happen last winter, and it did... we ended up with Manny (Ramirez). We care about our fans very deeply here, especially when they're sending us checks for $8,000-$9,000 a pop." Harrington then announced that he would be vacationing in Aruba for the next four weeks. See you out there in March, Johnnie.
Clip and save this Kerrigan prediction for Pedro Martinez: "Call me crazy, but I think Petey's going to be even better this season with Manny in the lineup and with the higher strike zone."
Joe Gibbs on the late Dale Earnhardt: "Great man, greater person. That son of a gun was as tough as nails. I remember one time, one of my drivers cut him off and Dale bided his time for about three months... Dale ended up bumping my guy from behind during a practice run and sending him into a wall at about 150 miles an hour. My driver never walked again. But that was just Dale being Dale... he wouldn't let anyone ever get an edge on him. Terrific person. The sport will miss him greatly."
Auerbach on Philly's trade for Dikembe Mutombo: "I liked this deal for Philly -- he makes them the favorite in the East. Dikembe's an All-Star center who can guard any of the big guys in the league. And better yet, he's a top-notch person, I got to know him very, very well when he was at Georgetown. My only regret is that I never got a chance to coach him."
Bruins GM Harry Sinden on the NHL trading deadline: "We'd love to get a horse defenseman but we aren't willing to give the farm away like Colorado did for (Rob) Blake. We'll probably end up bringing up some guys from Providence and keeping our fingers crossed that they'll work out. No sense spending extra cash this season when all of our season ticket holders have already paid." Now there's a GM who gets it.
***** ***** *****
In New York on business last week, your humble servant picked up the New York Daily News in the airport and couldn't help but notice that Lisa Olsen is writing a column there now. It's hard to believe that a full decade has passed since Olsen left her job at the Herald and was practically exiled out of the United States for a few years because a few Patriot players decided to sexually harrass her. Good to see that she landed back on her feet. Anyway, seeing her face reminded me of former Herald sports editor Bob Sales and what a spineless, backstabbing, unsupportive little weasel he was.
Look for the Boston Globe to make Ron Borges a general columnist and promote Kaleefa Dat Wa Mutaafalaa-Jones to the Patriots beat. A native of Samoa who moved to the United States in '98 and started interning for the Globe shortly thereafter, Kaleefa will be the first-ever Globie with Samoan, Indian, Vietnamese, Thai and African-American roots, another sound addition to what sports editor Don Skwar calls "The most diverse staff of sportswriters in the country." Kaleefa has never seen an NFL game before but vows that she's a "quick learner."
Nice to see Red Auerbach taking a much more active role since Rick Pitino's departure from the Celtics' organization. Sources tell me that Red singlehandedly squashed a proposed deal from Toronto that would have sent Vitaly Potapenko to Toronto for Michael Stewart, Muggsy Bogues and a #2 pick in 2008. The Celtics president emeritus was shuffled off as senile, or worse, a poor judge of talent by the know-it-alls who rode in with Rick Pitino. Well, look at some of the picks of Pitino, Chris Wallace, and Leo Papile: Chauncey Billups, Ron Mercer, Jerome Moiso, and Paul Pierce. Only Pierce has played like a lottery pick; the Celtics lucked out when he fell in their laps at number 10. Funny how the morons on Nitwit Radio never seem to mention these facts. Maybe it's time to let Red run the show again.
On a sad note, longtime friend Tim O'Connell passed away from cancer this week. Two years older than me, we grew up together in South Boston and both went into journalism; you might remember him from his 58-year stint at the Quincy Daily Shopper. Timmy will always be remembered for his quick wit, his stern character and his pious opposition to busing. He was also one of the very first fans to heckle Pumpsie Green at Fenway. He will be missed.
Will McDoogle is a bostonsportsguy.com staff columnist
