General W.T. Sherman
12-03-2004, 05:05 AM
I know many of you don't give a shit about baseball, and none of you are from New England and so cannot appreciate how huge this World Series was for us. This guy summed it up pretty good:
The Red Sox didn't merely reverse the curse in 2004 -- they made a mockery of it. Down 3-0 in the American League Championship Series against their pinstriped rivals from New York, the Sox mounted an unprecedented rally to win the pennant. By then the fates had written the script and Boston simply crushed St. Louis to win the World Series, consecrating the most stirring victory in New England since 1776.
http://i.a.cnn.net/si/2004/magazine/specials/sportsman/2004/11/27/wertheim/tx_1127_sportsman_si.jpg
Sox named Sportsmen of Year by SI
After vanquishing a so-called curse to win the World Series, the Red Sox don't figure to have any problems with the fabled Sports Illustrated cover jinx.
The entire Boston team was named Sunday as the magazine's 2004 Sportsmen of the Year.
The Red Sox, who overcame a 0-3 American League Championship Series deficit against the Yankees en route to winning their first World Series in 86 years, beat out a field that included 2002 Sportsman of the Year Lance Armstrong, who won his record sixth consecutive Tour de France; Tom Brady, who won his second Super Bowl MVP Award; Diana Taurasi and Emeka Okafor, who led the University of Connecticut women's and men's basketball teams to NCAA titles, and eight-time Olympic medalist Michael Phelps.
Only two other teams have ever been named Sports Illustrated Sportsmen of the Year: the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" United States Olympic hockey team and the 1999 U.S. women's soccer team.
The show featured a piece on each contender comprised of relevant footage, interviews with pertinent people and quotes from Sports Illustrated articles.
Center fielder and leadoff hitter Johnny Damon, left fielder and World Series Most Valuable Player Manny Ramirez, and starting pitchers Curt Schilling and Bronson Arroyo appeared in Sports Illustrated senior writer Tom Verducci's segment on the Red Sox.
"We had fun, but when we stepped between the baselines, guess what? Game on," Damon said. "It's like a dream. It's something I can keep playing over and over again."
Interspersed between the features on the potential winners were clips of celebrities making their picks. Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and fan Regis Philbin were among those who chose the Red Sox, while Yankees manager Joe Torre singled out Damon in particular for his two-home run, six-RBI performance in Game 7 of the ALCS.
Comments from Boston celebrities such as comedian Dennis Leary, former Celtics Tommy Heinsohn and Bob Cousy, Boston mayor Thomas M. Menino and Red Sox including Schilling, Arroyo, manager Terry Francona, designated hitter David Ortiz and Damon followed the announcement.
Sports Illustrated has conferred since 1954 the Sportsman of the Year award to the athlete or team that best symbolizes in character and performance the ideals of sportsmanship. The only Red Sox player to have been named Sportsman of the Year was Carl Yastrzemski, who was honored following his American League Triple Crown during the "Impossible Dream" pennant-winning season of 1967. Schilling shared the award with teammate and co-World Series MVP Randy Johnson as an Arizona Diamondback in 2001.
"It's about values and the values that are important to the people who follow those sports," Sports Illustrated managing editor Terry McDonell said. "The Red Sox are the Sportsmen of the Year, but every Red Sox fan everywhere shares in that with them.
"It's the highest, finest level of sport," he added.
The Red Sox didn't merely reverse the curse in 2004 -- they made a mockery of it. Down 3-0 in the American League Championship Series against their pinstriped rivals from New York, the Sox mounted an unprecedented rally to win the pennant. By then the fates had written the script and Boston simply crushed St. Louis to win the World Series, consecrating the most stirring victory in New England since 1776.
http://i.a.cnn.net/si/2004/magazine/specials/sportsman/2004/11/27/wertheim/tx_1127_sportsman_si.jpg
Sox named Sportsmen of Year by SI
After vanquishing a so-called curse to win the World Series, the Red Sox don't figure to have any problems with the fabled Sports Illustrated cover jinx.
The entire Boston team was named Sunday as the magazine's 2004 Sportsmen of the Year.
The Red Sox, who overcame a 0-3 American League Championship Series deficit against the Yankees en route to winning their first World Series in 86 years, beat out a field that included 2002 Sportsman of the Year Lance Armstrong, who won his record sixth consecutive Tour de France; Tom Brady, who won his second Super Bowl MVP Award; Diana Taurasi and Emeka Okafor, who led the University of Connecticut women's and men's basketball teams to NCAA titles, and eight-time Olympic medalist Michael Phelps.
Only two other teams have ever been named Sports Illustrated Sportsmen of the Year: the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" United States Olympic hockey team and the 1999 U.S. women's soccer team.
The show featured a piece on each contender comprised of relevant footage, interviews with pertinent people and quotes from Sports Illustrated articles.
Center fielder and leadoff hitter Johnny Damon, left fielder and World Series Most Valuable Player Manny Ramirez, and starting pitchers Curt Schilling and Bronson Arroyo appeared in Sports Illustrated senior writer Tom Verducci's segment on the Red Sox.
"We had fun, but when we stepped between the baselines, guess what? Game on," Damon said. "It's like a dream. It's something I can keep playing over and over again."
Interspersed between the features on the potential winners were clips of celebrities making their picks. Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and fan Regis Philbin were among those who chose the Red Sox, while Yankees manager Joe Torre singled out Damon in particular for his two-home run, six-RBI performance in Game 7 of the ALCS.
Comments from Boston celebrities such as comedian Dennis Leary, former Celtics Tommy Heinsohn and Bob Cousy, Boston mayor Thomas M. Menino and Red Sox including Schilling, Arroyo, manager Terry Francona, designated hitter David Ortiz and Damon followed the announcement.
Sports Illustrated has conferred since 1954 the Sportsman of the Year award to the athlete or team that best symbolizes in character and performance the ideals of sportsmanship. The only Red Sox player to have been named Sportsman of the Year was Carl Yastrzemski, who was honored following his American League Triple Crown during the "Impossible Dream" pennant-winning season of 1967. Schilling shared the award with teammate and co-World Series MVP Randy Johnson as an Arizona Diamondback in 2001.
"It's about values and the values that are important to the people who follow those sports," Sports Illustrated managing editor Terry McDonell said. "The Red Sox are the Sportsmen of the Year, but every Red Sox fan everywhere shares in that with them.
"It's the highest, finest level of sport," he added.