Baseball season in full swing, pardon the pun, and the Red Sox are far ahead in the American League East division.  Since 2004, I’m filled with an ever-present faith in the Sox and am excited for this season’s roster.  The pitchers are doing their jobs, players are coming up with key plays, the bats are coming together.  It looks to be an exciting season and so with that in mind, I’m dedicating this posting to the Boston Red Sox.

Of course, the first stop has to be the great Red Sox web site setup through MLB.  The MLB team sites are packed with information, up to minute scores and updates, stats, rosters, schedules, etc.  The MLB has consistently hosted some of the best corporate web sites from the very early days and embraced a variety of technologies to deliver the best in baseball.  Fans can even subscribe to watch every game of the season through their new MLB.TV.

The Jimmy Fund is a charity for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute “where children and their families find hope”.  Dana-Farber does great work for children with cancer and they’ve held deep ties with the Red Sox organization since its inception in 1948 and the then Boston Braves joined forces to help a 12-year-old cancer patient.  Their site has a great selection of photo galleries.  The 50 Year Anniversery gallery is particularly nice, especially the photo of Mo Vaughn walking 11-year-old Jason Leader back from the mound after the young clinic patient got a chance to throw out the first pitch.

The Boston Public Library has many great sites and an extensive collection of photos including their Boston Cicra 1918 exhibit.  You can see what Boston looked like when Babe Ruth played for the Sox and Calvin Coolidge was governor of Massachusetts.  And when the Red Sox had won the World Series before a long, 86 year drought that finally ended in 2004.

There are lots of great Red Sox blogs available.  Red Sox Connection is a fun site that has a lot for all types of fans.  The Joy of Sox blog is an in-depth blog with frequent updates, analysis, and a long list of links.  Soxaholix is a very interesting site that features a daily comic strip about an office of die-hard Sox fans.  And of course, any discussion of Red Sox baseball has to include reference to the great Yankees Suck blog.

Go Sox!

Sports Temples of Boston is a section within the Boston Public Library’s amazing web site.  It includes a brief history of each of the sites that comprise the history of sports within Boston and a detail list of available photographs.  There are over 440 images of Fenway Park, nearly 300 of the Boston Garden, and hundreds of others from the past and present.  A large portion of the collection includes sites that no longer exist and would seem out of place in modern Boston, like the Charles River Speedway and the Cyclorama on Tremont Street.  It’s an interesting look at Boston sports history through photography.

http://sportstemples.bpl.org/

This past Saturday, April 22, I watched Chris Byrd defend his Internation Boxing Federation heavyweight title against Wladimir Klitschko on HBO.  The fight was the second between these two heavyweights; the first, in 2000, resulted in a win by decision for Klitschko after he had twice knocked Byrd to the canvas.  In similar fashion, Klitschko dominated round after round against the seasoned champion until the referee halted the fight in the seventh round and awarded Wladimir Klitschko the win and the title.

Klitschko came into the ring with a strategy that put Byrd off his game through much of the fight.  He continued to hold his left glove in Byrd’s face and then followed with a strong right hand each time the champion attempted to move out of the way.  It was a technique that Byrd seemed unprepared to counter and worked effectively and consistently.  Wladimir Klitschko is now one step closer to his goal of consolidating the heavyweight championship titles.

Apart from Klitschko’s tactics inside the ring, I was really impressed with Chris Byrd’s actions outside the ring.  During his post-fight interview, Chris Byrd demonstrated the kind of gentlemanly sportsmanlike conduct that should be expected of a word-class athlete, but is too often missing from modern sports.  He handled his interview with honesty and respect for his opponent, even though HBO Commentator Larry Merchant gave him ample opportunity to diminish Klitschko’s win.

Merchant began the fight insisting that Klitschko had a weak chin and could be leveled by a strong puncher.  It was clear that the outcome of the fight did little to change his mind as he continued to doubt Klitschko’s endurance during his post-fight analysis with fellow commentator Jim Lampley.  Even during his ringside interview with Klitschko himself, Merchant pointedly asked, “Do you feel that the criticism, which I think a lot of it was justified, questioning whether you had the toughness or the chin has motivated you to this level?” Merchant wasn’t going to be satisfied until someone shared his opinion of the new champion.

When Merchant moved on to interview Chris Byrd, I expected him to find an ally in the defeated boxer.  Merchant immediately went after Klitschko and gave Byrd an opening by saying, “The general impression was that he had showed a lack of toughness and you felt, I believe, that you’re just tougher than he was and that was what was going to win it in the end.” However, Byrd rejected this line of questioning and instead credited his opponent. “It was knuckle-headed of me to think I was bigger and stronger than Wladimir Klitschko. He is 241 pounds of muscle. I am 212 pounds of bubbling up muscle, not real muscle. I felt I’d go in there and push him around. I really thought so. It didn’t work out for me. I was getting hit with all kinds of punches - things I didn’t train for in sparring. Wladimir Klitschko is a big strong guy… talented.” Throughout his interview Byrd stood strong and accepted his defeat with grace and class.

Chris Byrd is a good fighter, a strong fighter.  His father, Joe Byrd Sr., has trained him from age five to the present at the Joe Byrd Boxing Academy in Flint, Michigan.  Chris began his amateur boxing career at age ten and racked up 275 wins.  He became the U.S. boxing champion three times in 1989, 1991, and 1992 and then went on to take home a silver medal at the 1992 Olympics held in Barcelona.  Once he turned professional, Chris went undefeated for his first 26 fights until losing to Ike Ibeabuchi in 1999 while still nursing an injury sustained during training.  A year later, he claimed the World Boxing Organization’s heavyweight title, interestingly enough, against the then-undefeated Vitali Klitschko, Wladimir’s older brother.  Six months later, in a title challenge, Wladimir himself defeated Byrd and reclaimed the WBO title for his family.  Byrd didn’t go long without a title, defeating Evander Holyfield for the International Boxing Federation title in 2001 in Atlantic City, a title he held for five years.

When asked what this loss could mean for his career, Byrd answered, “I haven’t given it much thought. Go home talk to my wife, Dad, Mom, everybody. Pray about it. See what comes out of it. You know I’m disappointed for sure, but you know, I still got a lot of boxing left in me, I think.” I think so, too, Chris.

"I thank the Lord that I had a chance to fight Klitschko, a big, strong boxer.  I take nothing away from him.”
Chris Byrd