The State of Sports Dec. 1st

-Baseball

-World Series Ball
Enough is enough. Seriously the ball should be Mientkiewicz's and thats that. The man made the final out, he was the last one in possesion of it when the game was over, and he should be entitled to it. What about the man who came forward with the ball that Fisk hit the Fisk Pole in 1975 World Series. That, in my opinon, is an even bigger moment in Red Sox history. Its something people still talk about. 20 years from now this will be a triva or even a jepardy question. No one is going to remember Doug Mientkiewicz, unless you know the sport of baseball.

He was supposed to get the ball back unless "'unless the ultimate issue of ownership has been otherwise resolved," according to the Globe. Their case: Mientkiewicz only gained possession of the ball because he was, at the time employed by the Red Sox. Now he is no longer an employee of the organization, therefore, he has no entitlement to the ball. So the laywers are saying that its like Mientkeiwicz "stole" the ball. Its like he stole a stapler off a desk in the CEO's office, and they want it back.

This has gone too far. Meintkiewicz wasnt getting much support last year at this time, but now he will be getting a lot of support. Its his ball. Most people know this, and should support the man. The Red Sox are making a bad case, and they should just give him the ball back. If the Suffolk District Court rules in favor of the Red Sox, thats just pretty sad. And its not like Mientkeiwicz is going to auction the ball off either. Because if he does, after getting the ball back, then he could get lots of money for charity.

Quotes of note:
-"The funny thing about all this, all this came up now. I’ve been telling everybody since the minute we won that I had it. No one has contacted me, no one has said two words to me about this ball."
-Mientkiewicz to Dale and Neumy on 1/7/05

-"This is something that took 86 years, and 86 years is a long time. Personally, I went through hell and back this year. But winning the World Series is something I'm going to remember for a long time.
"It would be cool if we have kids someday to have it stay in our family for a long time. But I can be bought. I'm thinking, there's four years at Florida State for one of my kids. At least...."
-Mientkiewicz in Dan Shaugnessey's column on 1/7/05

"This is a gray area as to what players think they can take with them. We're going to ask Doug for the ball. I think it would be a nice gesture on his part to return it to Red Sox Nation." -Larry Lucchino in Dan Shaugnessey's column on 1/7/05

"I dont even have kids" -Mientkiewicz on 12/1/05 in USA Today

Other things:
-I really like BoSoxguys cheerleader competion. Its a great idea and I think you should check it out.

-If you are one of those people who isn't convinced about Mike Lowell. Read his press conference interview here. Its absolutley facinating and BDD founder Steve Silva does a nice job.

-I dont even write about hockey, but trading Joe Thornton may set the Bruins behind a little bit. Thornton is a key peice to the puzzle and I think that he should have been used as a centerpeice for their team. He is one of those guys you could build a team around. They probably did it for Salary cap relief.
-I dont think ill like this trade very much. Only because its like the Celtics went and traded away Paul Pierce right now. How mad would some people (including me and half the people on this dorm floor) be?
-More on this later in the week as more things come out from Boston and ESPN

-Bosoxguy made the point that BC doesnt travel well and it might be bad if BC goes to a bowl game. I read Eagles page every day, and he made a post that competely agrees with this. Soxguys contention is that the #1, #2, #3 ACC slot finishes are guarenteed. The other slots can be filled by any other ACC school, according to the selection comittee
-I personally think that the bowl selection commitees will look the other way because in recent history, BC has improved dramatically, especially with attendance. Fact is, that BC's program is now in the ACC, a conference with very good competition, and they should get a decent bowl, and the fans will support this. BC may not have much prestige as other schools do, but prior history should be ignored, and present history should be applied.