Salon.com > Howard Ulman

Red Sox, Bruins postpone games

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 19:42:00 +0000

The Red Sox and Bruins postponed their games on Friday night while authorities searched for a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings.

No makeup date was announced for the opener of the Red Sox three-game series against the Kansas City Royals scheduled for Friday night at Fenway Park. The Bruins game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at TD Garden was tentatively rescheduled for Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

The bombings near the marathon finish line on Monday killed three people and wounded more than 180. Police identified two suspects. One was killed during a shootout with police and the other was being sought in a massive manhunt Friday that virtually shut down the city and some suburbs.

Red Sox players and other team employees had been told to stay home until a decision was made on whether the game would be played.

Earlier, the Bruins and Penguins cancelled their morning skate.

Saturday's originally scheduled game between the Buffalo Sabres and Penguins in Pittsburgh was rescheduled for Tuesday night.

Johnny Pesky, beloved by Red Sox fans, dies at 92

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 07:38:26 +0000

BOSTON (AP) — Adored by generations of Red Sox fans, Johnny Pesky was so much a part of Boston baseball that the right-field foul pole at Fenway Park bears his name.

Pesky, who played, managed and served as a broadcaster for the Red Sox in a baseball career that lasted more than 60 years, died Monday. He was 92.

"The national pastime has lost one of its greatest ambassadors," Commissioner Bud Selig said. "Johnny Pesky, who led a great American life, was an embodiment of loyalty and goodwill for the Boston Red Sox and all of Major League Baseball."

Pesky died just more than a week after his final visit to Fenway, when Boston beat the Minnesota Twins 6-4 on Aug. 5.

Yet for many in the legion of Red Sox fans, their last image of Pesky will be from the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park on April 20, when the man known for his warmth, kindness and outstanding baseball career was moved to tears at a pregame ceremony. By then the former shortstop was in a wheelchair positioned at second base, surrounded by dozens of admiring former players and a cheering crowd.

Johnny Pesky, beloved by Red Sox fans, dies at 92

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 21:00:01 +0000

BOSTON (AP) — Johnny Pesky, who spent most of his 60-plus years in pro baseball with the Boston Red Sox and was beloved by the team's fans, has died. He was 92.

Pesky died Monday at the Kaplan Family Hospice House in Danvers, according to Solimine, Landergan and Richardson funeral home in Lynn. The funeral home did not have a cause of death.

Pesky appeared at Fenway Park on April 20 when the Red Sox celebrated the 100th anniversary of the ballpark. The team invited all its former players back, and Pesky was moved to tears at the pregame ceremony.

"I've had a good life with the ballclub," Pesky told The Associated Press in 2004. "I just try to help out. I understand the game, I've been around the ballpark my whole life."

Pesky, a lifetime .307 hitter, was a player, manager, broadcaster, and most recently a special instructor for Boston. Unofficially, he was the club's goodwill ambassador.

Until the past several years, he seemed ever present at the Red Sox spring training camp in Fort Myers, Fla., and at Fenway, where he always had a few minutes to chat with fans and still had knowledge to impart to players well into his 80s.

His legacy is a permanent part of Fenway with the Pesky Pole — the right-field foul pole.

Patriots win exhibition opener, 7-6 over Saints

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 03:01:13 +0000

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Will Smith crunched Tom Brady from behind, forcing a fumble in the first quarter. It may be the Saints defensive end's biggest play for a while.

One of four players punished in New Orleans bounty scandal, Smith was suspended for the first four regular-season games. So Thursday night's sack of New England's star quarterback was a highlight in the Patriots lackluster 7-6 win in their exhibition opener.

John Kasay had a chance to give the Saints (No. 9 in the AP Pro32) the lead, but his 41-yard field goal attempt went wide to the right with 3:07 left.

The game followed two days of joint practices between the teams and was the first for the Patriots (No. 2) since their 21-17 loss in the Super Bowl to the New York Giants.

Brady left after two series and 15 plays — plus two holding penalties against new left tackle Nate Solder — and banged his helmet on the ground in anger when he returned to the bench. He finished with four completions in seven attempts for 30 yards and the 11-yard sack from which he got up slowly on his first possession. Smith came around the left tackle position filled by Solder after Matt Light retired.