Some people not enamored of his refusing to sing The Song live during a game:
... So Neil Diamond gets to play Fenway Park and all they get out of him is a video performance of Sweet Caroline? I'd say for the privilege of playing Fenway Park, Neil Diamond should have to sing Sweet Caroline at least once a month and during any home playoff games for the next five years. ...
Anybody see Ladyhawk divebomb some lucky fan with a rat at Fenway yesterday? One keen-eyed TV watcher reports:
... Just before the Air Force fly-over, the hawk cruises over Fenway with what is obviously a large dead rat in its talons. I think the planes scared it and it was hard to see from the TV view, but the hawk came out of its swoop sans rat. Hence someone got said rat in his or her lap/beverage of choice in the stands. There was a mention of it on WBUR this morning so I know I was not hallucinating. ...
Camping out overnight in the cold and rain outside Fenway hoping to try to snag some Opening Day tickets or waking up to have the police make you leave? Elizabeth Pontes takes the photos.
Joy of Sox relays an account from somebody who'd been leading a tour at Fenway Park two days ago:
... At first I wasn't sure what it was, but I looked and saw the hawk flying away. I put my hand up to the back of my head and when I pulled it away - a pool of blood in my hand. ...
Earlier:
Hawk returns to Fenway, attacks girl.
Hawk nest removed from Fenway Park after school girl scratched on tour:
... The hawk had been perched on a railing and swooped at the girl with its talons extended. She was taken by ambulance to a local hospital. ...
Lyss posts photos of what apppears to be an exploding stadium light at Fenway Park last night, but what was actually workers doing welding. And guess what? If you do welding work at an ancient stadium, don't be surprised if you start a fire.
Boston Police put Sox fans on notice: Nobody will be let into the area around Fenway Park after the seventh sixth inning tonight:
If you are not already inside an establishment, be it a bar or restaurant, you will not be able to gain access to the area in and around Fenway Park. If you are inside an establishment and choose to exit the establishment in the 6th inning, you will not be able to return.
Victoria Welch was outside Gate B when the police moved in en masse and turned the area around Fenway into a private party for people lucky/rich enough to have tickets to the game:
Boston Police report arresting a disgruntled Sox fan for throwing a bottle of Poland Spring at the pitcher's mound at Fenway Park last night:
According to the suspect, he threw the water bottle in the direction of Red Sox reliever Eric Gagne because he was angry at the pitcher's poor play. Said the suspect, "I was pissed because he blew the game."
Gianno Lettieri, 35, of Marion, got no relief, however - he was arrested and taken away.
Also click on the link to read about a 62-year-old bank robber nabbed as he tried to escape the Mercantile Bank in the South End with a fistful of money. No word if his AARP membership will be revoked.
Boston Police report they will seek a criminal complaint against a resident of 411 Marlborough St. for telling fortunes without a license. Police say she applied for license, withdrew her application when her Back Bay neighbors objected, then set up shop in her apartment anyway:
Detectives obtained fliers that were put on cars advertising the psychic readings.
The Sausage Cook, who cooks and sells sausages at Fenway, reports record sales during Monday's game - 340 sausages. But:
... They will live long in my memory as the most gluttonous and stingiest fans I've encountered. By contrast, on Tuesday night Sausage Cook grilled 240 sausages - and made double the tips! Who knew? ...
Or at least, offer an alternative to that Gulden's stuff.
John Gallant of Hopkinton can't stomach the brown stuff and wants the Sox to give fans the choice of yellow mustard. Now, Gallant is a busy executive, but he's vowed to see this fight through to the end - and he's starting right at the top, in a letter to John Henry (disclosure: OK, Gallant's the president of my company, but he sure seems busy whenever I walk by his office - What? No, I really don't think he's only pretending to talk on the phone just to keep me from bothering him):
I hate the Gulden's brown mustard that is today the only choice for Sox hot dog and pretzel consumers and I know I'm not alone. I love a Fenway Frank, but because I don't love that fancy, yuppie mustard, my dog must be eaten naked, barren, devoid of condiment and the slight, but rewarding tang of yellow mustard. Or I must purchase my dog or pretzel outside the venerable park, running the risk that the item will cool before game time or be of lesser quality than the products offered by your fine organization.
Correspondence between the two follows:
Apparently, the Teletubbies have some relatives who went to work for Microsoft, where they now travel the country convincing people to use Microsoft SQL Server. Today, they showed up at Fenway, no doubt to make the fathers there for the Father's Day walk aware of the great value that Microsoft Visual Studio represents:
OK, I was an idiot. I waited until 5 p.m. to start looking on redsox.com for tickets to home games. Yep, yep, I stupidly waited a whole SEVEN hours after the tickets went on sale for the entire season. Yes, I can hear you chuckling pityingly - of course I could not find a single game with three seats together so my wife, daughter and I could go to a game (unless you count standing-room or obstructed-view seats for a few scattered games against teams like Kansas City or Tampa Bay). McCoy Stadium, here we come.
from a friend's blog:
After making my first trip to Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, and after experiencing the Boston perspective for a few days, I have made many observations about not only the Boston Red Sox , but also about the Yankees. Despite not seeing a single Yankee game on this trip, I have a new outlook on the Yankees this season. Just a warning, it isn’t an optimistic one, however I think I need to share it nonetheless.
Lino wonders:
... Why is my tax money being used to help the Red Sox ownership make more money? Thanks to Joan Vennocchi for having the stones to write about how Larry Lucchino is getting legislators such as DiMasi and Traviglini to sponsor bills that will be financially rewarding to the Red Sox ownership. When are my two compares going to sponsor anything that will help the poor working stiffs in the city? I hope they get acida from the free Fenway franks they’re getting in return.
Jason, normally a New York blogger, is in town for a design meeting. He attended a session at Fenway park on how Fenway has evolved over time. Interesting info worth a look (who knew the right field wall was once 500 feet from home plate?), although he takes at face value a claim by a Sox official that
they're trying to maintain a variety of ticket prices to keep the diversity level high ...
Johnny reads that the Sox want to ban the Yankee-hater t-shirts and wonders where the madness will stop:
You have your World Series cap, your World Series t-shirt, your World Series banner flying proudly from your porch. You've got the pictures of Ortiz at the victory parade and the book by Stephen King and that other guy. You even bought one of those Brockton Rox Curt Schilling bobble-ankle dolls. But your life still isn't complete. Until now. Because now you can own some Fenway Championship Sod - small pieces of sod that the Sox ripped up last year (remember that whole irrigation project?) and secretly transported to a Rhode Island turf farm (Rhode Island has turf farms? I thought they only grew clamcakes):
The sod, which is currently available exclusively to Red Sox Nation members, will be cut into 18" x 9" rectangles and can be purchased for $150 (plus 5% sales tax).
Damn! I knew there was a reason I should've joined Red Sox Nation! Now I'll have to content myself with the sod strips at the West Roxbury Home Depot. True, those only cost about $2 for four-foot-long strips, and they're only available early on Saturdays, but they turn the same beautiful shade of brown I bet Fenway Championship Sod would turn if planted in our weedarium yard. Hmm, but what's next? How about a monthly service (say, $100 a month) where somebody from the Fenway groundscrew comes and mows your bit of sod to make it look like a pair of socks?
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