THIS IS BOSTON - according to NESN

NESN's new ad campaign

OH JOY - Fenway Park will be around for another 40-50 years...

Red Sox ownership met with the press today in Ft. Myers and Larry Lucchino said that Fenway Park is going to outlive many of us.

The Red Sox have finished 10 years of improvements to Fenway Park, spending $285 million to renovate, improve and in some areas rebuild the old ballpark.

Team president Larry Lucchino said the major projects are done. Engineers have told the ownership group that the structure has 40-50 years of life remaining.

In other words, if you're waiting for a new ballpark you're going to be waiting for a long time. "There is nothing in the plans," Lucchino said.

I must admit I have mixed emotions about this. On one hand the place that I went to games with my late Dad and brother will survive. My son who is 19 may live to see the end of Fenway but I doubt I will make it to 2051. I will be spared seeing Fenway torn down and I know how it hurt to see Boston Garden fall in 1998.



In 1991 I remember gasping when I drove by Comiskey Park in Chicago as it was being torn down.


So Fenway survives....BUT


Saying all the major projects are done means the team has no plans to improve the 'cheap seats', especially the upper grandstand and right field areas.

The grandstand seats are a challenge to sit in....they may have been fine in 1934 when they were installed but not now. I would love to see John Henry, Tom Werner or Larry Lucchino watch ONE game from these seats. JUST ONE



The view from the RF seats are perhaps the worst of any seats in any MLB park....


Much of the $285 million was spent building seats on the roof and those seats are among the most expensive in the park.



To be fair, Fenway Park is not a dump like Wrigley Field in Chicago is. That ballpark is in horrible shape, but at least a few years ago they replaced all the seats so it is not uncomfortable to sit in them.

Long Live Fenway...

Long before Fort Myers...the Red Sox were in Sarasota but left Florida for all the wrong reasons

Here is a video from NESN that shows 'Red Sox Spring Training' from 56 years ago in 1955



The Red Sox in those years trained in Sarasota, Florida and then as is the case now many fans went to Florida to escape winter and see the Sox.

However the Red Sox left Sarasota after 1958 and moved training camp to Scottsdale, Arizona. The move made no sense at all as it was much further away from Boston. Only later did the real reason come out.

Scottsdale still embraced racial segregation then as blacks were not allowed inside the city limits after sundown. This delighted Red Sox GM Joe Cronin and especially Sox Manager Mike "Pinky" Higgins who made it known he had no use for Negroes.

This angered Ted Williams who almost quit the team because of the move because he meant he could not fish. Much later he did confide that the segregation issues on the Red Sox bothered him more.

The Red Sox remained in Arizona until 1965 and then moved back to Florida to infamous Winter Haven which also had racial problems. Red Sox pitcher Earl Wilson was a victim that first year back in Florida.

Former Red Sox pitcher Robert Earl Wilson, who endured racism to become the first black American Leaguer to throw a no-hitter, died of a heart attack Saturday in Detroit. He was 70.

... The subtext of the Red Sox scouting report on Mr. Wilson when he was signed was an indication of the bias in the organization at the time and what Mr. Wilson had to overcome to make it to the major leagues. It read in part, ''well-mannered colored boy, not too black, pleasant to talk to, well-educated, very good appearance.''

''It never bothered me what people said in the stands in Boston,'' Mr. Wilson told the Globe in 1980. ''What I heard in the South was so much worse ..."

Despite racial epithets and biased management, Mr. Wilson emerged to become one of the best Sox players on teams that struggled to reach mediocrity. The Red Sox brought up Mr. Wilson to the major leagues on July 29, 1959, just one week after the Sox called up their first African-American ballplayer, outfielder Elijah (Pumpsie) Green. The Red Sox were the last of the original 16 Major League franchises to have an African-American on its roster.

... In 1966, Mr. Wilson was traded to the Detroit Tigers ... Many thought at the time the trade was retribution for outspoken remarks by Mr. Wilson during spring training. That year, the Red Sox had moved their spring training camp from Scottsdale, Ariz., to Winter Haven, Fla. Mr. Wilson was refused entrance to two nightclubs because of his race. He did not let the matter die. He told his plight to sportswriters covering the team, exposing racism and the Red Sox's reaction to it.

The trade to the Tigers was a blessing for Mr. Wilson. During his years with the Red Sox, they never had a winning record. Mr. Wilson found a home in Detroit, which had a larger population of middle-class blacks.

Wilson was traded for 'a bag of balls' in June of 1966 and it would come back to haunt the Red Sox the following season. Wilson won 22 games for the Tigers and had he remained with the Red Sox, the 1967 team may well have beaten St. Louis in the World Series.

Red Sox owner John W. Henry tries to win over Liverpudlians

Fascinating interview

<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-us&amp;brand=foxsports&amp;playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:fd1240b3-4646-4676-ac8a-4e299e1dce9e&amp;showPlaylist=true&amp;from=IV2_en-us_foxsports_videosearch&amp;fg=RAMP" target="_new" title="SSP: Interview with John W. Henry">Video: SSP: Interview with John W. Henry</a>

One Livepool fan responds

Portrait of our principal owner

Overall John Henry comes across as a very clever man. His body language is always presenting a reserved, relaxed and thoughtful character that seems to understand the psychology of the Liverpool fanbase. A psychology which incorporates decades of achievement and expectation with the distasteful experiences wrought by our previous owners. Our new owners can only say the right thing if they know what we expect from them and considering this interview it is clear that FSG are at least listening to the fans. Only time will tell whether they become the saviours that they position themselves to be but I, for one, will be giving them the benefit of the doubt. So when John Henry says “you just gave me Goosebumps” as a reply to a question about Liverpool winning the Premier League I will believe him and take it as a sign that there is more than a desire for profit in this man’s heart.

For those on Facebook you can follow JWH

Red Sox could really help the hotel and restaurant industry in January - Why don't they do it???

The Boston Red Sox have never been known to leave any money on the table but for some reason they refuse to sponsor a major team event like many other MLB teams.

For example in Chicago, both the Cubs and White Sox have major weekend long events in January that are huge draws.


2011 Chicago Cubs Convention 


2011 Chicago White Sox SoxFest

Both of these events are wildly popular and brings thousands of fans into the Chicago Loop in the middle of winter. This should be a no-brainer for the Red Sox, but they seem to have no interest.

Does anybody doubt for a second that a Red Sox WinterFest ( an event they held in December of 1996 at the Hynes Convention Center) wouldn't be a huge attraction? January is one of the slowest months of the year for the Boston hotel and restaurant industry and a Sox sponsored event would provide a nice boost. The prefect weekend would be the last weekend of January as that is week before the Super Bowl and there is little else going on.


The Red Sox do sponsor some minor events...the invitation only Christmas at Fenway, usually the second Saturday of December, the 2011 Red Sox Road Trip and of course Truck Day (this year February 8th)

.
Again, back in December of 1996, the Red Sox DID sponsor an event.

Patriot Ledger Nov 30, 1996

The Red Sox will host WinterFest Saturday (9 a.m.-7 p.m.) and Sunday (9 a.m.-6 p.m.) at the Hynes Convention Center. The event is modeled after the FanFest events, which have become popular attractions at the Major League All-Star Game. It's the first time a large-scale fan event has been planned in conjunction with the Winter Meetings.


Highlights will include autograph sessions, video batting and pitching cages, baseball card trading and memorabilia as well as merchandise from major- and minor-league teams for purchase. Ballpark-style food will be available. The event will also coincide with the lighting of the Prudential Center Christmas tree Saturday evening.
Tickets, available at the door, are $6 for adults, $4 for children 5-12. Children younger than 5 will be admitted free.

Come on Messrs Henry, Werner and Lucchino. This is a no brainer and would be a win for everybody.

Let's do it for 2012.

FEBRUARY 8th could be more than just TRUCK DAY :)

As all Red Sox fans know TRUCK DAY is scheduled to be February 8th, 2011


February 8th is a Tuesday and there is a chance there might be some other activity in the Back Bay on that day......



So would the Red Sox truck lead the parade?

GO PATRIOTS!!!!!!!!!


THE SONS OF BILLY SULLIVAN

How John Harrington made the Red Sox what they are today

Like everybody else I am a little stunned by what Boston has done the past 5 days but not really surprised. The Red Sox created a monster in 2001 when they decided to switch NESN from a pay service of $10-12 a month to basic cable.

These 3 articles give background

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2002/0415/092.html

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/article/10513

http://books.google.com/books?id=tHF...s88c&hl=en&ei=


When the Red Sox were put up for sale in late 2000, they knew NESN was the sleeping giant in the sale especially because Charles Dolan was at the door waving $$$$$. Harrington and Dolan despised each other dating back to when NESN was born in 1984.

Dolan owned SportsChannel ( which in many markets is now FOX Sports xxxxx )

Dolan bought SportsVision in Chicago for little money as the White Sox simply wanted out of a losing money fiasco and Dolan knew what would happen when Chicago finally was fully wired for cable. At the same time he also bought PRISM which was Philly based and was a HBO type service that in Philly and Boston showed movies and sports. (Boston it was the Celtics)

In New York he paid the Yankees 50 million for a 10 year deal around 1983 for half the games to move from WPIX to cable and brought back Mel Allen.

He then tried to buy the rights to the Red Sox and Bruins but Buddy LeRioux and Jeremy Jacobs decided to launch their own channel (NESN) instead that was similar to what the Tigers had in Detroit with PASS. NESN was at first 60% owned by the Red Sox, 20% by the Bruins and the other 20% by Viacom (which owned WSBK-TV and had the over the air rights to the Red Sox and Yankees)

Dolan was not happy and he refused to even offer NESN on his Massachusetts cable systems (Cablevision) which included Boston. This went on for almost three seasons as Dolan was trying to break NESN.

(The NY Daily News wrote about this in 2002 when Dolan tried to stop YES)

The Mayor of Boston finally told Dolan in 1986 he would revoke his Boston franchise unless he got the Sox on his TV that night (remember the Red Sox were the surprise team that year)

So for almost 15 years NESN was $10 a month or $15 if you added Sportschannel (Celtics-Whalers)

Dolan kept offering to buy and Harrington said no. Dolan tried to buy Viacom's 20% but the Red Sox had the right to match it.

When Harrington decided to move NESN to basic the cable companies balked at first but in a master stroke he gave Comcast first option to buy the channel if they ever decide to sell it. Comcast added NESN to basic and Time-Warner, Cox and Charter did the same. Harrington made one major mistake, he assumed since NYY was locked into a long term deal with Dolan's MSG channel he couldn't counter. Ooops.

Steinbrenner quickly figured out he had to do the same and quickly formed YES and even paid Dolan a huge fee to break the contract.

The Mets followed a few years later with SNY which is really CSN but since Comcast is not a player in the cable market of NYC they allowed the SNY name.

CSN of course now has started sports channels in many markets and Dolan's FSN is hurting.

The problem is team owned cable only works in a few markets....Minneapolis and Kansas City tried and they were disasters and the Indians STO only exists because the Indians owner can't stand Charles Dolan ( who is family LOL)

I expect in Chicago within 5 years you will see at least 2 sports channels... Bulls/White Sox and Cubs/Hawks going at it.

Bottom line - NESN going to basic started this madness.

and now NESN has launched


which is available in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and Michigan with more to come.

http://www.nesn.com/nesn-national-channel-listings.html

The rich get richer

NO! NO! NO! Leave Fenway Park playing field as it is

On Tuesday the Red Sox announced some major changes in the park for the 2011 season.

The team will install not one but THREE new HD Scoreboards over the bleachers

(Click HERE for VIDEO)

But the team also said there is a good chance that new bullpens will be built in right-center and they would be 6-8 feet closer to home plate and also the right field corner past Pesky Pole would be move closer to install more box seats past the foul pole.

THIS CAN NOT BE ALLOWED TO HAPPEN

The playing field has not seen any major changes since 1975 when the flagpole was moved behind the CF fence and CF was reduced to 379 feet from 390. In 1940 the bullpens we know were installed simply to help Ted Williams hit more home runs.

Mike Silverman in the Boston Herald echoes my thoughts exactly.

Death Valley in right-center has been a part of Fenway lore for decades and it is part of what makes Fenway special.

So to John Henry, Tom Wener and Larry Lucchino I ask that you bite the bullet. If you need to expand the bullpens then simply knock out 2 or 3 rows of the bleachers. I am sure you can make up the lost seating there somewhere on the roof.

This ownership has done a fantastic job in rebuilding Fenway Park. In 2000 under John Harrington the park was ready to fall down and it was in the same kind of condition that Comiskey Park in Chicago and Tiger Stadium in Detroit had become ( both of which are long gone now )

Fenway will be around now for another 30-40 years and we will be spared the heartbreak of seeing it torn down like we did with Boston Garden in the late 90's.

However PLEASE leave the field as is.

Thanks from an old fan.

The Red Sox in South Carolina

One would not think you could find Red Sox Nation 925 miles south of Boston in the charming community of Greenville, South Carolina but as these pics show that is exactly the case.


I would highly recommend Greenville as a weekend trip.

Proof Tom Yawkey was a racist

Red Sox historian Glenn Stout has discovered an article in Sports
Illustrated from 1965 that proves Tom Yawkey was a racist and it is direct quotes from Yawkey that convict him.


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/ MAG1077374/1index.htm

"They blame me," Yawkey says, "and I'm not even a Southerner. I'm from Detroit ." Yawkey remains on his South Carolina fief until May because Boston weather before then is too much for his sensitive sinuses. "I have no feeling against colored people," he says. "I employ a lot of them in the South. But they are clannish, and when that story got around that we didn' t want Negroes they all decided to sign with some other club. Actually, we scouted them right along, but we didn't want one because he was a Negro. We wanted a ballplayer."


Stout posted on his blog yesterday


http://verbplow.blogspot.com/2009/11/tom-yawkey-race-and-
smoking-gun.html


Red Sox fans over the age of 50 certainly were suspect in their
feelings about Yawkey but this should settle the debate once and for
all.


Shameful

A Red Sox fan pleads to MLB...come clean NOW!!!!

I urge all to read the report posted on the Sports illustrated website Saturday morning before reading my post.

Sources tell SI Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroids in 2003


I guess I can not be shocked any more by revelations about steroid use by baseball players. My reaction to the news that A-Rod had tested positive back in 2003 just saddened me. Like millions of baseball fans I was hoping he could catch Barry Bonds and become the all time home run king with no questions asked. How naive we all were...

As a fan of the Red Sox and MLB and also someone who earns a living being a tech at games here is what really concerns me

from SI
The list of the 104 players whose urine samples tested positive is under seal in California. However, two sources familiar with the evidence that the government has gathered in its investigation of steroid use in baseball and two other sources with knowledge of the testing results have told Sports Illustrated that Rodriguez is one of the 104 players identified as having tested positive, in his case for testosterone and an anabolic steroid known by the brand name Primobolan. All four sources spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the evidence.

So there are still 103 names out there waiting to be leaked...one by one all summer long. MLB and the players association can not let that happen....just come clean with the names now as how much worse can it get at this point?

In 1998 I was as caught up in the Mark McGwire-Sammy Sosa chase on Roger Maris' HR record as anyone. I remember being in a packed Harvard Square bar when McGwire broke the record and fans were excited. I should have known better based on what happened at Fenway Park 10 years before.

October 5th, 1988 was Game 1 of the ALCS at Fenway Park between Oakland and the Red Sox. A week before sprinter Ben Johnson had been disqualified from his world record 100 meter run at the Seoul Olympics for having Stanozolol in his urine. A Boston columnist wondered how baseball would treat that situation. That afternoon when Jose Canseco came up to bat the park erupted in jeers as the chant S-T-E-R-O-I-D-S, S-T-E-R-O-I-D-S were directed at Jose who simply laughed. MLB executives most likely laughed as well. (BTW he had the game winning HR later in a 2-1 victory)


As a Red Sox fan I want those 103 names released to help erase doubt that any of the 2004 or 2007 World Series champs could be tainted. The city would be devestated if it came out that Pedro, Pappi, Manny or anybody else was dirty. But by the same token a cloud not of their doing hangs over them now especially David Ortiz. In the last 2 years Papi has lost much of his power and I pray it is because of an injury but the reality is now you have to wonder.

The Red Sox have so far come across unscathed in this scandal but fans certainly have their doubts about Nomar and Mo Vaughn. Nomar did not help himself with his infamous SI cover earlier this decade.

http://i.cdn.turner.com/sivault/si_online/covers/images/2001/0305_large.jpg

But I worry most about my son who is now 17. His first real solid baseball memory is that of McGwire breaking the record when he was just 6 and how it had to be a big deal because FOX was showing it live. He has become a huge sports fan and in his short time on the planet has seen 3 Super Bowl winners, a Celtics championship and the Red Sox winning the World Series. But now he questions if it really mattered, was it on the level?

Baseball you must clear the air on this.

A Nation Invades Chicago (and for some they have no choice)

A long weekend of baseball on the south side of Chicago and the final result was the Sox won all 4 games.
(Red Sox 2 White Sox 2 )

Red Sox Nation was at U.S. Cellular Field in force all weekend and for the most part was very well behaved.

We met a couple Monday night and their reason for being in Chicago saddened me. They are from Randolph and ardent Red Sox (and especially Coco) fans. I asked if they get to Fenway often and their reply stunned me. They don't go to Fenway *NOT* because they can't get or afford tickets but because they fear for their safety because of their race.

'The Cell' as the park is called by the locals is a very nice place to watch a game and unlike the ballpark 8 miles to the north the fans know exactly what is happening on the field. This was proven in the sixth inning when White Sox pitcher John Danks hit Jacoby Ellsbury with a pitch and a loud groan was heard as Danks' perfect game was gone. These fans know their baseball and the only pink hats I saw were Boston ones. The concessions I sampled were quite tasty and priced far more reasonably than Fenway. One nice feature for those who like to keep score is you can buy a scorecard for only $1 and they also sell beer at the seats.

One thing Red Sox and White Sox fans share is Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk. His number 27 is retired at Fenway and the number 72 is retired at USCF. In the center field bleachers there is a statue of Fisk.

In some ways a White Sox game reminds me of minor league games in Lowell or Pawtucket as their are a lot of gimmicks between innings from hamburger races on the scoreboard to a goal scoring contest sponsored by the hockey Blackhawks and the fans seem to enjoy them.


Leaving the park we saw a sign that would make Yogi Berra proud. I mean how can you enjoy the game when you have left?????

The park is located 5 miles south of 'The Loop' Unlike Boston there is plenty parking and the park is located just off the Dan Ryan Expressway. The park is also served by 2 subway stations. The lines at the SOX-35th St station after the game is just as bad as Kenmore.

Overall if you ever want to see The Olde Town Team on the road I would highly recommend Chicago. It might be the finest city in the United States.

Thank You New York Yankees ( Yup I typed that )

On Sunday evening I took my teenage son to Yankee Stadium so he could experience all that The Stadium in The Bronx can offer ( the history, the smells, the garbage etc )

I had bought the tickets months ago from Ticketmaster.com and chose the will-call option. After waiting in line nearly 30 minutes at the window I gave the clerk my ID and confirmation from Ticketmaster.

NO TICKETS

Of course I asked for the ticket manager and after about 10 minutes I was told to go into the lobby of the Yankees offices. At this point I was waiting for George Constanza to appear.

I did get some dirty looks as both of us were dressed as Boston fans.

The manager could not have been nicer and explained that somehow my tickets had been resold even though he could see that the credit card had been charged and i had a confirmation.

He then gave me 2 seats that were about as close to home plate as possible AND gave me $100 in Yankees dollars to use for concessions including beer. ( $ 8.50 for Coors Light and I thought Fenway was bad )

Sorry it took me a few days to post this but i was having trouble downloading pictures from my phone ( had to get a new USB cable )

So I just want to pass on that the Yankees could not have handled the situation nicer.

Never thought this day would come

Using my laptop at a Back Bay bar (Pour House on Boylston)

When Tampa took the lead Wednesday night suddenly the entire bar was chanting TAMPA SUCKS.

Wondering how long before the website and t-shirts appear as we have to face facts.

Tampa Bay is for real

What the heck is that mascot supposed to be????

NESN scorebox change is driving me nuts

Anybody who watches Red Sox games on NESN is familar with the box at the top of the screen that shows all the game information. However for some reason this season they are only showing the information when they use the center field camera. As soon as the ball is put into play the score box vanishes. Are they insane?

The other night I was clicking back and forth between the Red Sox and Celtics game and because of this change I had to wait 20 seconds to find out the score.

A have talked to a couple of bartenders and they said their customers hate it as since the sound is not always on the game they need the scorebox to keep track of what is going on. As far as I can tell no other team is doing this.

Anybody else bothered by this?

We need BPD officer Billy Dunn on road games

Friday night we saw Jonathan Papelbon unravel in the 9th inning against the Twins.

2 nights earlier he blew a save in Detroit.

Red Sox Nation is aghast.......what is wrong???????????

The answer is obvious...........Papelbon needs Boston Police detective Billy Dunn to greet him on road games.

Officer Dunn is a fixture in the Red Sox bullpen and has developed a friendship with Red Sox pitchers.

So how can it be arranged that Officer Dunn is available for road games????

During college football we routinely see police from whatever state running bodyguard for the coach. Why can't we do the same thing for the Red Sox bullpen?

No tax dollars are at play here as the Red Sox could simply pay the freight.

We need Officer Dunn in the bullpen for all road games as well.

At 2 PM tomorrow we are not under attack

First at a little after 2 PM tomorrow if you see 4 F-16's zooming in formation over Cambridge heading for the Back Bay don't worry....it just means the Boston Symphony is near the end of the national anthem at Fenway Park. The boys are back in town.

A friend of mine just moved to Boston and found a nice apartment in the 1100 block of Boylston and she asked me if being that close to the ballpark is going to cause her problems parking.

That was 2 days ago and I am still laughing. She is going to learn that living next to Fenway is not fun.

What do Red Sox fans do on Opening Day? It seems they eat and drink a lot.

The Red Sox concessionaire Aramark predicts how much will be consumed at Fenway on Tuesday

• 20,600 Hot Dogs
• 5,800 Bags of Peanuts
• 4,800 Sausage and Pepper Sandwiches
• 3,500 Slices of Pizza
• 3,000 Pounds of French Fries
• 2,900 Soft Pretzels
• 1,700 Bags of Cracker Jack
• 1,500 Bags of Popcorn
• 1,300 Hamburgers
• 1,000 Orders of Chicken Tenders
• 800 Bags of Cotton Candy
• 500 Orders of Nachos
• 300 Gallons of Ice Cream
• 7,200 Bottles of Water
• 1,100 Gallons of Soda

and we can only guess how much beer.

New food items at the park include fish and chips, knishes, kosher hot dogs, Buffalo chicken sandwiches, fruit cups, garlic fries, shaker salads, hot pasta dishes and gourmet popcorn.
If you have tickets....DO NOT DRIVE.

Fenway is accessible from the Green Line (B,C, and D trains) at Kenmore Station, or by the Ruggles Shuttle bus from the Ruggles Station on the Orange Line. There is also limited commuter rail service at Yawkey Station.

The pregame celebration starts at 1 PM and it will have an Olympic feel to it. The ceremonies will commence with a parade of flags belonging to 62 nations on the warning track by the Green Monster. The nations represented by these flags either count Red Sox Nation members as its residents or have citizens who have been in touch with the Red Sox front offices via letters and emails professing their love for the Olde Towne Team.

In addition to the players receiving their World Series rings, championship banners will be unfurled on the Green Monster and the 2007 World Series pennant will be hoisted by the team on the center-field flag pole.

The Boston Symphony, the epitome of Boston’s musical culture, will be an integral part of the Opening Day ceremonies by performing the national anthem and by providing musical accompaniment to the entire ceremony.

GO SOX!!!!!

The most hated words in Boston

I can make an argument that these are the most hated words in Boston.
Ballgame over The Yankees win............THEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE YANKEES WIN!
This is John Sterling on WCBS as he says those hated words



He certainly does get excited doesn't he? Notice how Dame Edna just ignores him in the next booth

Baseball Woodstock getting panned in media

Yesterday I questioned the wisdom of this baseball farce that will take place Saturday night in Los Angeles involving the Red Sox. I thought I was alone in wondering if this was a good idea but turns out I was only a day early.

Eric Wilbur unloaded today on Boston.com

It's difficult to imagine that the Red Sox could find themselves in a land more foreign than the one they just vacated, but that will be the reality Saturday night when they (or perhaps a minor league lineup wearing Sox uniforms) take on the Dodgers in a Charles Steinberg circus production at the famed Los Angeles Coliseum, a place that hasn't been used for professional baseball in almost a half-century.

There's a reason.

LA Times sports columnist T.J. Simers was even more blunt

The McCourts say they will sell no more than 115,000 tickets in the Coliseum, which coincidentally is just how many they need to sell to set the world record for the largest baseball crowd, the Australian national team setting the mark in the 1956 Olympics.

I don't know how many times my next-door neighbor has told me, "If only the McCourts can break that Australian record."

Who cares how many people fill the Coliseum other than the people who have to line up to go to the bathroom?

On a bright note, maybe it'll be like every other Dodgers game, the Dodgers announcing a crowd of 115,000 and only 25,000 sitting in the stadium.

The Dodgers could have cut ticket sales off at 90,000, everyone having a grand time without falling all over each other, but just how many people can you cram into a dump?

To help pad the attendance, the Coliseum entrance has been moved back from the building. Fans sitting by the Olympic statues outside the Coliseum will now be considered inside for attendance purposes, and will be watching the game on big-screen TVs.

Sports Illustrated's Jon Wesiman also thinks this is nuts.

And with the transcendent lure of bad traffic, bad parking, bad seats and utter meaninglessness as far as the standings go (even though the regular season will have already started for the Dodgers' opponents, the Boston Red Sox, in Japan of all places), more human beings will venture inside the Coliseum peristyle than have ever been to any single baseball game.

"This is more of an event than it is a game," Dodgers broadcaster Charley Steiner said. "It sounds a little grandiose, but it is kind of like a baseball Woodstock. People are coming to be there not necessarily for the outcome of the game. It's a celebration."

Please let nobody get hurt in this fiasco.

Thought baseball in Japan was weird? Next up Baseball Woodstock

The Red Sox now return to Spring Training mode until they resume the season on Tuesday in Oakland.

The Red Sox will play 3 games in Los Angeles over the weekend but Saturday night promises to be as strange if not stranger than Toyko. They will play the Dodgers at the stadium that Los Angeles played in when they moved from Brooklyn 50 years ago.

The largest crowd ever to see a baseball game is expected as over 115,000 tickets have been sold.
This game is the brainchild of Dr. Charles Steinberg, the Dodgers’ executive vice president for marketing and public relations who left the Red Sox to go Hollywood.


If left field looks a little short well it is as it will be 201 feet down the line ( 109 feet less than Fenway )


The game will be on NESN at 10:30 PM Saturday night.



NY Times offers a sneak peak
201 Feet to Left, 440 Feet to Right: Dodgers Play the Coliseum