My Favorite Marathoners

I've seen many elite runners in the Boston Marathon, from Joan Benoit Samuelson to Johnny Kelley, but the greatest and most inspirational marathoners I've ever seen are the Hoyts. They'll be back in the race tomorrow & my friend Nancy and I will make our annual pilgrimage to watch. I remember watching them run the first year, when Dick was much younger and Rick was still at Boston University; now Dick is 68 and his wheelchair-bound son Rick is 47.The Boston Globe has two video clips on the father-son team.

Shepard Fairey Arrested in Boston

I have been meaning to write about the AP's bullshit claim against Shepard Fairey for using their copyrighted photo to make his Obama "hope" poster (above); then I open the newspaper today and find that Fairey was arrested last night outside the Institute for Contemporary Art. I have no idea what that's about, but I'm pretty sure the AP's case against him is bogus. Did Campbell's Soup sue Andy Warhol? (runs to google to check...yes they did! But dropped the case, whether because they liked the exposure for their brand, or because they were going to lose on the merits of whether Warhol's work infringed on their brand.)

So, is the AP claiming a copyright on Obama's face? I would think if anyone has the right to "use" the photo, it's the subject.

We all know why AP is suddenly doing this more than a year after the poster came out. Newspapers are in the toilet, cutting costs left and right including cutting AP, and they need money.

Boston.com: AP wants credit for Fairey's Obama image

Boston.com: Street artist arrested on way to event at ICA

Shepard Fairey, the controversial street artist riding a roller coaster of publicity with his red, white, and blue posters of President Obama, was arrested last night on his way to deejay an event kicking off his exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art.

Fairey, 38, who is known for his countercultural style, was arrested on two outstanding warrants and was being held, according to a police official with knowledge of the arrest who requested anonymity. Police could not describe the nature of the warrants, but said they originated in Massachusetts.

Fairey has been arrested at least 14 times, he has told the Globe.

The artist was arrested at about 9:15 p.m. as he was about to enter a sold-out dance event at the ICA on Northern Avenue, known as "Experiment Night." The event is geared toward a younger crowd, with techno-style music, and more than 750 people were waiting for Fairey, some of whom had bought tickets on Craigslist for as much as $500.

Fairey was supposed to appear as a guest disc jockey for the kickoff of his exhibit, "Supply and Demand," which will run through Aug. 16. He was scheduled to go on stage at about 10:30 p.m., and an hour later organizers told the crowd that he was arrested.

"We're very disappointed," said Paul Bessire, deputy director of the ICA.

Plus ca Change

CJ Gunther for The New York Times
The operators of the Out of Town News, which opened in 1955, say the business is no longer profitable and they will leave when their lease expires.

Another institution of my youth goes under:

Boston Globe: Out of Town News, Harvard Square landmark, may close

NYTimes: A New Sign of Change at the Gates of Harvard

All Hail American League MVP Pedroia the Destroia

Boston Globe: Most Valuable: Pedroia

Pedroia was named the American League Most Valuable Player today, becoming the first Red Sox player to earn the honor since Mo Vaughn in 1995. It is the 10th MVP award in club history. Minnesota's Justin Morneau finished second, and Pedroia's teammate, Kevin Youkilis, finished third.

Pedroia, who became just the eighth player in AL history to earn MVP, Gold Glove, and Silver Slugger awards in the same season

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The 25-year-old Pedroia emerged as a franchise cornerstone and an offensive force in his second full major league season, batting .326 with 17 home runs and 83 RBIs while establishing franchise records for a season by a second baseman in runs, hits, doubles, batting average, total bases, and extra-base hits. He is the first Red Sox second baseman ever to be named MVP and the first AL player at his position to be so honored since Nellie Fox of the White Sox in 1959.

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He became the third major league second baseman ever to tally 100 runs, 200 hits, 50 doubles, and 20 steals in a season, joining the Yankees' Alfonso Soriano (2002) and the Astros' Craig Biggio (1998).

After a slow start -- he was batting .260 on June 13 -- the fiery Pedroia was consistently outstanding through the rest of the summer, but his MVP candidacy gained momentum during a late-season stretch when he seemed to singlehandedly carry the Sox.

During a five-game period when Youkilis was briefly sidelined, Pedroia batted cleanup and hit .667 (12 for 18) with four doubles, two home runs, seven RBIs, and six runs scored. He batted .345 with an OPS of .949 in the second half, and in August and September, he batted a combined .353 with a .995 OPS.

Gold Glove awards aren't always the best indicator of good defensive play, but Pedroia truly did have an outstanding year with the glove. He made just six errors at second base, the same number of miscues he committed during his rookie season.

He finished second to Oakland's Mark Ellis in fielding percentage for AL players with at least 100 games at the position. His .992 was barely eclipsed by Ellis's .993, and it stands as the third-best percentage ever by a Red Sox second baseman, behind Mark Loretta (.994 in 2006) and Bobby Doerr (.993 in 1948).

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Youkilis finished sixth in the AL in batting (.312), sixth in on-base percentage (.390), third in slugging (.569), and fourth in OPS (.958). He won the Hank Aaron Award as the best offensive performer in the league, but did not win the Silver Slugger award at first base, losing out in a vote of managers and coaches to Morneau.

Pedroia, who made just $457,000 last season, didn't have an MVP bonus provision in his contract. Morneau earned $75,000, while Youkilis got $25,000.

ESPN: Pedroia beats out Morneau to win AL MVP

MLB.com: Pedroia named AL MVP
Teammate Youkilis gets two first-place votes, finishes third

NYTimes: Pedroia Is American League M.V.P.

Now I Hate Comcast Even More

This is your brain on dope.
Comcast GM Bill Bridgen.
I bet he's not from around heah.

Boston Globe: Cousy fired from Celtics broadcasts
Comcast GM prefers two-man booth setup

How could they? Do they have no decency? Celtics legend Bob Cousy gets the ax from his lousy 10-game a year stint (pocket change to Comcast), and with a phone call from some low-level manager? THIS IS BOB COUSY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE. Cousy is The Cooz, the guy who dazzled in the 50s, coached in Kansas City in the 60s, and has been the voice of the Celtics here in New England for decades. I learned everything I know about point guards and fast breaks from listening to the Celtics during the Larry Bird glory years. He has that hysterical Frenchman's lisp that caused him to utter such gems as "Wick Wobey with the webound" and "Wobewt Pawwish with the wainbow jumper" and now "Way Allen fwom twenty" which you just have to love. He's the Cooz! He's not just some old broadcaster you put out to pasture.

Brief break for a funny story: My friend L went to a Celtics game in the mid-80s with our friend G, an athlete but not a sports fan. L saw Cousy in the hallways of the Garden after the game and asked him for his autograph. She was thrilled! Her friend G asked, why are you getting all excited over getting some TV announcer's autograph? L hunted down a payphone on the street outside the Garden, car horns and drunks blaring in the background, to call me just so someone would understand that SHE GOT BOB COUSY'S AUTOGRAPH! And to tell the story of how our friend did not know that Bob Cousy was BOB COUSY, THE Bob Cousy, the man, the Cooz, the ballhandler extraordinaire, the man who was on a first name basis with Arnold and Russell, the pride of Holy Cross, the Houdini of the Hardwood, Mr. Basketball, Mr. Celtic!

Fire Bob Cousy? What, they couldn't find a puppy to kick?

This may be business to Comcast, but it's war to me. Like Bob Cousy, I have The Killer Instinct, so watch out Comcast GM Bill Bridgen, we're after you. (Killer instinct, of course, does not refer to actual killing, just to beating an opponent. Got to keep Homeland Security from investigating me.)

Two videos of Cooz in his prime:

Tearjerker

Jackson, Mason and Weston Taylor

Boston Globe: A promise kept
Utah children live their father's dream of seeing Red Sox play at Fenway

Photo Gallery: A promise lives

Another Reason to Prefer Larry Bird's Red Auerbach's Celtics

No fucking cheerleaders.

Boston Globe: Go-go dancing all over Red's grave

Red Auerbach, the iconic coach and general manager who built 16 Celtics championship teams, was disdainful of cheerleaders, who he feared would distract from the game. The Celtics would have cheerleaders over his dead body, Red said. And so the suits waited. In February 2004, Auerbach told the Globe, "They're just waiting for me to die so they can get cheerleaders." He was right. Two and a half years later, Red was dead, and at the first available opportunity the girls took the court.

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As a fairly recent transplant from New York, I'm a little puzzled by all this. I thought that I was moving to the land of stiff collars and self-restraint. No one thinks of Boston as "sexy." Boston is classic. It's distinguished. It's Brooks Brothers and Bloody Marys.

Maybe that's why the Celtics Dancers' erotic interruptions feel so incongruous. And when I glance around at the game, I see plenty of baffled faces. There are suburban dads in attendance with preteen daughters, shrugging helplessly. They seem to be saying, "These aren't your role models!" There are respectable older gentlemen, like my father-in-law, who sinks deeper into his popcorn. Our eyes don't meet. There are also legions of teenage boys, their eyes like saucers, holding up their cellphones to get the perfect soft-porn picture to show off around school. I guess those are the customers the Celtics are hoping to please.

World Series Heroes

After several signature moments in the World Series, Jacoby Ellsbury took time out to have his teammates sign his jersey.

(Globe Staff Photo / Stan Grossfeld)


Hope he is enjoying the parade today. Every local TV station is showing it live. Papelbon is dancing up a storm. Varitek is holding a "Sign Lowell" sign that must have been passed to him from the crowd. Boston loves their Red Sox.

I went to the Celtics championship celebrations in 1984 and 1986 and those were pretty special, but I bet there were 1/20th there compared to the huge crowd of people at this rally. Maybe 1/100th. This is a one team town. We love the other teams when they're successful. but everyone is a Red Sox fan, no matter whether they're world champs or 86-76 (that would be last year, folks).