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• Please use the drop down menu to select a certain speaker. • Robin Wright • Dick Flavin • Gloria Steinem • Peter Gammons, Maureen Mullen and Johnny Pesky • David Burnes, Red Sox great Tommy Harper, Luke Salisbury, and Dr. Sharon Freeman • Ron Shapiro • Faye Fields, Steve Jacobson, Bill Russell & Dr. Charles Ogletree • Tim Kurkjian • Frank Deford • Roy Blount Jr. • Bobby Doerr, Dominic DiMaggio, and Johnny Pesky • The Honorable Bill Bradley • George Vecsey • Dr. Andrew Zimbalist • Dan Shaughnessy & Stan Grossfeld • The Honorable Kathleen Kennedy Townsend • Sharon Robinson • Christine Brennan • Roger Kahn • Leigh Montville • Tom Oliphant • The Honorable Stephen Breyer • Bill Lee & Joe Castiglione • Jackie MacMullan Back to past speaker page... Monday, July 28, 2008 The Great Fenway Park Writers Series Proudly Presents: Robin Wright – National Security and Foreign Affairs Correspondent, Washington Post Author of and Speaking on: "Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East" 12-Noon Luncheon Absolut Clubhouse at Fenway Park (enter off Brookline Avenue) Red Sox Nation & BoSox Members, $50 Non-Members, $60 To register for this event please click here. Robin Wright – Biographical Brief Robin Wright has reported from more than a 140 countries on six continents for The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Sunday Times of London, CBS News and The Christian Science Monitor. She has also written for The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The New York Times, The International Herald Tribune and others. Her foreign tours include the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and several years as a roving foreign correspondent. She has covered a dozen wars and several revolutions. She now covers U.S. foreign policy for The Washington Post. Among several awards, Wright received the U.N. Correspondents Gold Medal, the National Magazine Award for reportage from Iran in The New Yorker, and the Overseas Press Club Award for "best reporting in any medium requiring exceptional courage and initia­tive" for coverage of African wars. She was named journalist of the year by the American Academy of Diplomacy, and won the National Press Club Award and the Weintal Prize for diplomatic reporting. Wright has also been the recipient of a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation grant. As an author, Ms. Wright has been a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Brookings Institution, Yale University, Duke University, Stanford University, and the University of California at Santa Barbara. She lectures extensively around the United States and has appeared on ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN and PBS programs, including “Meet the Press,” “Face the Nation,” “This Week,” “Nightline,” the “Newshour,” “Frontline,” and "Larry King Live.’ Among her books, "The Last Great Revolution: Turmoil and Transformation in Iran" was selected as one of the 25 most memorable books of the year 2000. She is also the author of "Sacred Rage: The Wrath of Militant Islam," "Flashpoints: Promise and Peril in a New World," and "In the Name of God: The Khomeini Decade." Sunday, June 22, 2008 The Great Fenway Park Writers Series & The New Repertory Theatre Proudly Present: The World Premier of Dick Flavin’s “According to Tip” Play at the Watertown Arsenal Center for the Arts 7:30 pm Cost of Preview: Pay-What-You-Can Reservations: 617-923-8487 or buy online at www.newrep.org. New Repertory Theatre in residence at the Arsenal Center for the Arts announces the World Premiere of According to Tip, written by Dick Flavin and starring Ken Howard. “I’m thrilled to be working with Ken Howard and Dick Flavin on According to Tip,” said Rick Lombardo, New Rep’s Producing Artistic Director. “New Rep’s dedication to new work comes from a mission to expose Boston audiences to emerging playwrights, and to nurture the future of American theater.” "Ken Howard and Rick Lombardo are the perfect team to bring Tip O`Neill to life on the stage of the New Rep. I can hardly wait,” said playwright Dick Flavin. Re-elect Tip! Just in time for election season, New Rep brings you the World Premiere of According to Tip. Featuring Broadway and TV star Ken Howard, this play traces the colorful and historically memorable career of Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill, former Speaker of the House. Tip will escort you back in time from Barry’s Corner in Cambridge to the White House. Get the inside scoop on politics during the Red Scare, Watergate, and Vietnam in this touching played filled with humor, music, and beguiling Irish wit. New Repertory Theatre presents provocative and intelligent works of both established and emerging playwrights in an intimate setting that involves and engages the audience. New Rep has earned a reputation for dynamic productions that honor the writers and feature talented professional actors from the New England theatre community as well as guest artists from around the U.S. New Rep has received Elliot Norton and IRNE Awards for outstanding acting, scenic design, direction, and production. Programming at New Repertory Theatre is supported in part by a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Lead Sponsor for According to Tip, Bank of America. The Artists: Rick Lombardo (Director) is now in his twelfth season as New Rep’s Producing Artistic Director. Earlier this year: A Streetcar Named Desire, A Pinter Duet: The Lover & Ashes to Ashes, The Clean House, and Dessa Rose. Last season: The Pillowman, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (which he also adapted), Silence, and The Wild Party, as well as Hamlet for Actors’ Shakespeare Project. Other New Rep Credits: Ragtime (IRNE Awards-Best Director of a Musical and Best Musical); Bill W. and Dr. Bob (which he also directed Off-Broadway in the spring of 2007 at New World Stages in NY); Romeo and Juliet; Into the Woods (multiple IRNE Awards); Quills; Approaching Moomtaj; The Threepenny Opera; A Girl’s War; his new musical adaptation of Moliere’s Scapin; Waiting for Godot (IRNE Award, Best Drama); Sweeney Todd (2004 Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Director, IRNE Award for Best Director, and Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Musical Production); The Weir (IRNE Award, Best Drama); Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (Elliot Norton Award, Outstanding Director); The Scarlet Letter; American Buffalo; A Moon for the Misbegotten; Twelfth Night; Beast on the Moon; Das Barbecü; Tartuffe; and The Real Thing; among others. Additional credits include the world premiere of Moby Dick: An American Opera, for which he received the Award for Outstanding Achievement in Theatre by Northern Ohio Live. He is honored to be a two-time recipient of the Elliot Norton Award from the Boston Theatre Critics Association for Outstanding Director. Dick Flavin is a nationally known writer and speaker. He has made thousands of speaking appearances all across America, chiefly addressing groups on the subject of how to use humor as a strategy in business and in life. His television commentaries have appeared on NBC-TV, CNN and WBZ-TV in Boston. He is the winner of seven New England regional Emmy Awards for writing and commentary. He was the narrator of The Teammates, an ESPN documentary that was nominated for three national Emmy Awards. Known as the “Poet Laureate of the Boston Red Sox,” he has written countless poems and song parodies about the team and its history, some of which are being compiled into a compact disc and DVD. The most well-known of them, Teddy at the Bat, a salute to Red Sox legend Ted Williams that is based on Ernest Lawrence Thayer’s immortal Casey at the Bat, has been performed by Mr. Flavin at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, at Fenway Park and in cities and towns across the country. The San Francisco Examiner called it a “showstopper” and a “stunning, bravura bit.” He was the co-host of and contributing writer to Red Sox Stories, a weekly television series that ran during the 2007 baseball season. He has also written and performed special material for the Boston Pops and Symphony orchestras. In addition to According the Tip, his play on the life and times of the late Speaker of the House, Tip O’Neill, Mr. Flavin has also written I Feel a Song Comin’ On, a soon to be produced musical about the lyricist Dorothy Fields. Theatre: New Repertory Theatre Where: In residence at the Arsenal Center for the Arts 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA 02472 Production: According to Tip Author: Dick Flavin Director: Rick Lombardo Cast: Ken Howard as Tip Designers: Scenic Design, Janie E. Howland Costume Design, Frances Nelson McSherry Lighting Design, Franklin Meissner, Jr. Performing: First performance: Sunday, June 22, 2008 @ 7:30PM Press Opening: Friday, June 27, 2008 @ 8:00pm Runs through: Sunday, July 13, 2008 @ 2:00 pm Performances: Sunday, June 22, 2008 @ 7:30PM Preview (Pay-What-You-Can) Tuesday, June 24, 2008 @ 8:00pm Preview Wednesday, June 25, 2008 @ 8:00pm Preview Thursday, June 26, 2008 @ 8:00pm Preview Friday, June 27, 2008 @ 8:00pm Press Opening Saturday, June 28, 2008 @ 3:30pm Saturday, June 28, 2008 @ 8:00pm Sunday, June 29, 2008 @ 2:00pm Wednesday, July 2, 2008 @ 8:00pm Thursday, July 3, 2008 @ 8:00pm Friday, July 4, 2008 @ 8:00pm Saturday, July 5, 2008 @ 3:30pm Saturday, July 5, 2008 @ 8:00pm Sunday, July 6, 2008 @ 2:00pm Sunday July 6, 2008 @ 7:30pm Wednesday, July 9, 2008 @ 8:00pm Thursday, July 10, 2008 @ 8:00pm Friday, July 11, 2008 @ 8:00pm Saturday, July 12, 2008 @ 3:30pm Saturday, July 12, 2008 @ 8:00pm Sunday, July 13, 2008 @ 2:00 pm Tickets: Full Price: $35-$55. Students: $13 Call: 617-923-8487 or buy online at www.newrep.org. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible Assisted Listening System Box office with TTY For TTY only, dial 617.923.2067 Large-Print and Braille Programs available Public Transportation: #70 or #70A bus to the School Street stop Parking: Free, six-level parking garage across from the Arsenal Center for the Arts Wednesday, June 4, 2008 The Great Fenway Park Writers Series Proudly Presents: Gloria Steinem – An American Icon Author of and Speaking on: "Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions” 12-Noon Luncheon Absolut Clubhouse at Fenway Park (enter off Brookline Avenue) Red Sox Nation & BoSox Members, $50 Non-Members, $60 To register for this event please click here. Gloria Steinem – Biographical Brief As a writer and an activist, Gloria Steinem has been a leader in the late-twentieth-century women`s rights movement. Among her many achievements is the founding of Ms. magazine — the first national women`s magazine run by women. Feminist and journalist Gloria Steinem was active in many liberal causes beginning in the mid-1950s and was the first editor of Ms. magazine. She became a leading spokesperson for the feminist movement and helped shape the debate over women`s enfranchisement. Gloria Steinem was born on March 25, 1934, in Toledo, Ohio. Her father was an antique dealer and her mother was a newspaperwoman. She was the granddaughter of the noted suffragette, Pauline Steinem. Given her family`s background, it was not surprising that she became a feminist and a journalist, but it was by no means a straight journey for her. When Steinem was young, she and her family spent summers at their resort in Clark Lake, Michigan, and traveled the country in a dome-topped trailer the remainder of the year as Leo bought and sold antiques from Florida to California. Because the family did not stay in one place long enough for her to enroll in a school, Steinem was tutored by her mother during those years. When she was only 8 years old her parents divorced, leaving Steinem to live the next several years with her mother in bitter poverty. Her mother suffered from depression so severe that she eventually became incapacitated, requiring young Gloria to care for her. At the age of 15 Steinem went to live with her sister, ten years her senior, in Washington, D.C., and from there she entered Smith College. When she graduated from Smith in 1956 (Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude), she won a fellowship to study in India for two years. Steinem`s experience in India broadened her horizons and made her aware of the extent of human suffering in the world. She realized that the high standard of living most Americans take for granted was not available to all. She commented at the time that "America is an enormous frosted cupcake in the middle of millions of starving people." She returned strongly motivated to fight social injustice and embarked on her career as a journalist. In 1960 she moved to New York and began writing freelance articles for popular magazines. She also did some script writing for the popular television show "That Was the Week That Was." One of her first major assignments in investigative journalism was a two-part series for Show magazine on the working conditions of Playboy bunnies. In order to do research for the article, Steinem applied for a job as a Playboy bunny and was hired. She held the position for three weeks in order to do research. The articles that she wrote as a result of her experience exposed the poor working conditions and meager wages of the women who worked long hours in the lavish clubs where rich men spent their leisure time. Years later, in 1970, she published a lengthy interview with Hugh Hefner, founder and editor of Playboy magazine. In that dialogue Steinem debated Hefner on issues such as women`s rights, the "sexual revolution," consumerism, and the "Playboy philosophy." In 1968 Steinem joined the founding staff of New York magazine and became a contributing editor. She established a column, "The City Politic," and wrote in support of causes on the American left. During these years Steinem moved into politics more directly, working for Democratic candidates such as Norman Mailer, John Lindsay, Eugene McCarthy, Robert Kennedy, and later George McGovern. She also worked with César Chávez in his efforts on behalf of the United Farm Workers. Steinem`s feminist concerns were first sparked when she went to a meeting of the Red Stockings, a New York women`s liberation group. Although she went as a journalist with the intention of writing a story about the group, she found herself deeply moved by the stories the women told, particularly of the dangers of illegal abortions. Gloria Steinem`s commitment to the political causes of the New Left provided a natural path into her later career as a feminist leader. During the years she spent establishing herself as a journalist she was deeply involved in the political movements that were stirring thousands of her generation to action. The civil rights movement and the movement against the Vietnam War involved young women as well as men who dedicated themselves to building a future based on racial justice and peace. Out of these movements sprang the rebirth of feminism, which had remained dormant for several decades. Women discovered their organizing skills in the process of participating in the political left during the late 1950s and early 1960s, and by the late 1960s they began mobilizing on their own behalf. The new movement for women`s liberation began at the grass roots level and swelled to mass proportions within a few short years. By the late 1960s Steinem had gained national attention as an outspoken leader of the women`s liberation movement, which continued to grow and gain strength. In 1971 she joined Bella Abzug, Shirley Chisholm, and Betty Friedan to form the National Women`s Political Caucus, encouraging women`s participation in the 1972 election. Steinem herself was active in the National Democratic Party Convention in Miami that year, fighting for an abortion plank in the party platform and challenging the seating of delegations that included mostly white males. Those efforts drew attention to the issue of under representation of women in politics and the centrality of political issues for women`s lives. In that same year of 1972 Steinem, as part of the Women`s Action Alliance, gained funding for the first mass circulation feminist magazine, Ms. The preview issue sold out, and within five years Ms. had a circulation of 500,000. As editor of the magazine Steinem gained national attention as a feminist leader and became an influential spokesperson for women`s rights issues. Steinem`s editorship of Ms. did not prevent her from continuing her active political life. In 1975 she helped plan the women`s agenda for the Democratic National Convention, and she continued to exert pressure on liberal politicians on behalf of women`s concerns. In 1977 Steinem participated in the National Conference of Women in Houston, Texas. The conference was the first of its kind and served to publicize the number of feminist issues and draw attention to women`s rights leaders. Steinem continued to speak and write extensively. In 1983 she published her first book, "Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions." The book included her recollections of the past, such as her experience as a Playboy bunny, and also highlighted the lives of other notable 20th-century women. In 1986 she published "Marilyn: Norma Jean", a sympathetic biography of the unhappy life of the film star whom she knew personally. In her books Steinem argued for the causes that occupied her energies for two decades. She continued to call for an end to women`s disadvantaged condition in the paid labor force, for the elimination of sexual exploitation, and for the achievement of true equality of the sexes. "Revolution From Within: A Book of Self-Esteem" was published in 1992, in which Steinem attempted to provide "... a portable friend. It`s self-help and inspiration, with examples of what some people have done and a glimpse of the extraordinary potential of the unexplored powers of the brain and how much our ideas of reality become reality." In 1994, Steinem published another book, "Moving Beyond Words," wherein her views on publishing, society and advertising were expressed. Around 1989 Ms. magazine was purchased by owners who didn`t have the kind of commitment that Steinem and her colleagues envisioned for their creation. After years of trying, in 1999 they managed to find backers to buy the magazine back. Steinem found investors among women of diverse backgrounds and ages who had some capital and wanted to have a hand in women`s activism. This created an exciting new environment for the magazine. Steinem was inducted into the Women`s Hall of Fame in 1993. In 1998, she was inducted into the American Society of Magazine Editors Hall of Fame along with Hugh Hefner of Playboy and Byron Dobell, former editor of American Heritage, Esquire, Life, and New York. On September 3, 2000, she married David Bale. Thursday, May 8, 2008 The Great Fenway Park Writers Series Proudly Presents: Peter Gammons, Maureen Mullen & Johnny Pesky Speaking on: "Diary of a Red Sox Season: 2007" 12-Noon Luncheon Absolut Clubhouse at Fenway Park (enter off Brookline Avenue) Red Sox Nation & BoSox Members, $50 Non-Members, $60 Event Sponsor: Peter Gammons Peter Gammons is an American sportswriter, media personality and National Baseball Hall of Fame honoree. Gammons attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He worked for the university`s student-run newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel. After graduating in 1969, he began his journalism career at The Boston Globe. Gammons was a featured writer at The Boston Globe for many years as the main journalist covering the Boston Red Sox. (1969-1976, 1978-1986), or as a national baseball columnist. Between his two stints as a baseball columnist with the Globe, he was lead baseball columnist Peter Gammons for Sports Illustrated (1976-78, 1986-90), where he covered baseball, hockey, and college basketball. Since 1988, he has worked at ESPN, primarily as an in-studio analyst. During the baseball season, he appears nightly on Baseball Tonight and has regular spots on SportsCenter, ESPNEWS and ESPN Radio. He writes an Insider column for ESPN.com and also writes for ESPN The Magazine. The Globe reprinted some of his ESPN columns well into the 1990s. In 2006, Gammons was named as one of two field-level reporters for ESPN`s Sunday Night Baseball, joining Bonnie Bernstein. Gammons is regarded as one of the top reporters in sports and is known for his high-profile interviews and his network of sources which allow him to report on major events (such as trades) days before they are official. His knowledge has earned him the nickname "The Commissioner.” He is regularly interviewed on radio and television programs. Gammons has also authored numerous baseball books, including Beyond the Sixth Game. He was voted the National Sportswriter of the Year in 1990, 1991 and 1993. He has also been awarded an honorary Pointer Fellow from Yale University. In 2004, Gammons was selected as the 56th recipient of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award for outstanding baseball writing, given by the BBWAA, and was honored at the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 31, 2005. Raised in Groton, Massachusetts, where he graduated from Groton School. He lives in Boston and Cape Cod with his wife Gloria. On June 27, 2006, Gammons was stricken with the rupture of a brain aneurysm in the morning near his home on Cape Cod, Mass., and was initially taken to Falmouth Hospital before being airlifted to Brigham and Women`s Hospital in Boston to undergo surgery. On July 17, he was released from the hospital. On August 19th, Peter made his first public appearance since the aneurysm rupture at Fenway Park when the Red Sox played the Yankees. Peter returned to ESPN on Wednesday, September 20, 2006. He reported from Fenway Park on the 6 P.M. edition of Sportscenter and the 7 P.M. edition of Baseball Tonight. Gammons has resumed his regular reporting coverage during the 2007 baseball season. Gammons is also a noted fan of indie rock and the blues, and is active in the Boston indie rock scene when his other commitments allow him the time; he has been sighted at several Midnight Oil shows, and has mentioned the band in several columns. He is also a fan of Pearl Jam, as he has talked about experiences at concerts as well as previous albums (as heard on various ESPN Radio shows.) With the assistance of a band of Boston musicians and Boston Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein, Gammons plays a Fender Stratocaster and sings at the annual Hot Stove, Cool Music concert event to benefit Theo and Paul Epstein`s Foundation To Be Named Later, a charity that raises funds and awareness for non-profit agencies serving disadvantaged youth in the Greater Boston area. Gammons debut album, Never Slow Down, Never Grow Old, was released on July 4, 2006. Gammons sang and played guitar on this collection of originals and covers that includes The Clash`s Death or Glory and Warren Zevon`s Model Citizen. Proceeds again went to Epstein`s charity. Maureen Mullen Maureen Mullen, co-author with Johnny Pesky of “Diary of a Red Sox Season: 2007”, is a prolific writer, whose work appears in such newspapers as the Boston Globe and the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, the Hall of Fame Magazine, and she’s a regular contributor to MLB.com. Here’s is one of Ms. Mullen’s recent article for MLB.com (it ran on RedSox.com); Ortiz mourns soldier lost in Iraq FORT MYERS, Florida – We`re all going to get them. It`s not a matter of if -- just a matter of when. Those phone calls, the bits of news that strike from nowhere, turning a perfectly average day into an exceedingly miserable one. They may be a part of life, but that doesn`t make them any easier to take. On Tuesday morning, Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz got one of those messages. A young soldier he met last summer at Fenway Park was killed last week in Iraq. Sitting at his locker in the clubhouse of City of Palms Park after the morning workout, Ortiz called a reporter over. "I have a story for you," Ortiz said. With that he told the story of meeting Spc. Justin Rollins. Within minutes, this mountain of a man -- the one with the megawatt smile, whose booming voice precedes him into any room -- was reduced to tears. Rollins, 22, of Newport, N.H., was killed with five other soldiers on March 5 in Samarra, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated near their unit during combat operations. They were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C. "He was such a good kid," Ortiz said. "He came to Fenway to watch a game, and he wanted to meet me. It was going to be his last game at Fenway because he was going to Iraq. He came by the clubhouse, and I talked to him for a while. He just seemed like he was so full of life." So impressed was he by Rollins, Ortiz promised to hit a home run for the young soldier. Ortiz kept that pledge, and for added measure, it was one of his patented walk-off numbers, in the 10th inning against the Phillies on June 24. "I told him at the time that that home run I was going to dedicate to him for going to Iraq," Ortiz said. "And just today I received a message from his family." Clubhouse attendant Jared Pinkos had the unenviable task of delivering the news. "He came in jovial, typical Ortiz, laughing," Pinkos said. "But this just knocked him out. He started shaking." Asked to send something for the funeral, scheduled for Saturday in Newport, with burial on Monday in Arlington National Cemetery, Ortiz has dispatched a white No. 34 uniform jersey, with the inscription, "My deepest condolences to the Rollins family. It was an honor to meet Justin and I will keep him in my prayers. Sincerely, David Ortiz." He is also sending a ball, to be placed in Rollins` casket, on which he wrote: "To Justin Rollins, Rest in peace. God bless, David Ortiz," and another with his autograph as a memento for the Rollins family. "It`s just so sad," he said. "He`s a young kid, full of life. Unbelievable, you know. It`s just sad." Ortiz paused, turned away and grabbed a T-shirt from his locker, wiping the tears from his eyes. Though it was the first time Ortiz had received a call informing him of the death of a soldier who was also a fan, he is no stranger to the pain of that kind of news. His mother, Angela Rosa Arias, died in a car accident on Jan. 1, 2002, at the age of 46. Her birthday was last week. He also has a friend coping with the loss of his own mother two days ago. The memories brought on by his mother`s birthday, his friend`s loss and, now, the news of Rollins` death have all hit him very hard, he said. "It just got me," he said. "I think of the pain coming from his family." "I can`t believe he remembered Justin," said Rollins` girlfriend, Brittney Murray. "Well, I can believe it because Justin left such an impression on people. But I know that Justin would be very excited right now. I remember him saying that home run just made him so happy, especially since it was dedicated to him." Rollins was to have come home on leave in April, on his wish list a trip to Fenway with Murray, who has never been to the fabled park. "That was one thing he said -- `We have to go to a Red Sox game. I really want to take you to Fenway.` That was one of his priorities for his leave," Murray said. "He loved baseball, and he loved the Red Sox. He told me his favorite place in the world was Fenway. It meant a lot to him." At his funeral service, Rollins will posthumously be awarded the Army Service Ribbon, the Iraq Campaign Medal Ribbon, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal Ribbon, the National Defense Medal Ribbon, the Army Overseas Service Ribbon, the Army Good Conduct Medal Ribbon, two Purple Heart Medal Ribbons and the Bronze Star with Valor. "It`s gong to be a long road," Murray said. "But he lived very passionately, and he passed that on to me. I`m glad to have known him. He believed in what he was doing, and he died doing what he loved." Donations may be made to the Justin A. Rollins Memorial Scholarship Fund, payable to the Newport School District, c/o Diane Fisher, 245 North Main St., Newport, N.H. 03773. Johnny Pesky John Michael Pesky (born John Michael Paveskovich, September 27, 1919 in Portland, Oregon), nicknamed "The Needle," is a former Major League Baseball shortstop/third baseman who played in the American League from 1942 to 1954. He missed all of the 1943, 1944, and 1945 seasons while serving in World War II. Johnny Pesky`s biography is Mr. Red Sox by Bill Nowlin, published by Rounder Books. Pesky has been associated with the Boston Red Sox for 56 of his 68 years in baseball – from 1940 through June 3, 1952; 1961 through 1964; and continuously since 1969. He was their manager in 1963-1964, and in September 1980. Pesky played seven-and-a-half seasons for the Red Sox and was selected to the All-Star game in 1946. An unselfish player, he moved from shortstop to third base in 1948 to make room for slugging shortstop Vern Stephens and was Boston`s regular at the hot corner until 1952 when he was traded on June 3 in a multi-player transaction to the Detroit Tigers. Almost two years later in 1954, he was again traded mid-season, this time to the Washington Senators, and was released at season`s end. A left-handed hitter who threw right-handed, Pesky was a tough man for pitchers to strike out. As a hitter, he specialized in getting on base, leading the American League in base hits three times - his first three seasons in the majors, in which he collected over 200 hits each year - and was among the top ten in on-base percentage six times while batting .307 in 1,270 games over ten seasons (1942; 1946-54). He was also an excellent bunter who led the league in sacrifice hits in 1942. He was a teammate and close friend of Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr and Dom DiMaggio. Their friendship was chronicled in David Halberstam`s book The Teammates. Pesky also has a feature of Fenway Park, home of the Red Sox, named after him. The foul pole in right field is also known as Pesky`s Pole, named in honor of the former Red Sox shortstop by former teammate and Sox broadcaster Mel Parnell. The story goes that Pesky won a game for Parnell in 1948 with a home run down the short (302 feet/92m) right field line, just around the pole. Being that Pesky was a contact hitter who hit only 17 home runs -- six of them at Fenway Park -- in 4,745 at bats in the major leagues, it`s quite possible that the home runs he hit there landed in close proximity to the pole. Research, however, shows that Pesky hit just one home run in a game pitched by Parnell, a two-run shot in the first inning of a game against Detroit played on June 11, 1950. The game was eventually won by the visiting Tigers in the 14th inning on a three-run shot by Tigers right fielder Vic Wertz and Parnell earned a no-decision that day. Although he is an icon as "Mr. Red Sox," Pesky actually began his coaching career in the New York Yankees organization with the 1955 Denver Bears of the AAA American Association — working under manager Ralph Houk. From 1956-60, Pesky was a manager in the Detroit farm system, reaching the AA level. He then rejoined the Red Sox in 1961 as manager of their AAA farm club, the Seattle Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League. Pesky enjoyed two winning seasons in Seattle. At the close of the 1962 campaign, Boston owner TomYawkey elevated manager Pinky Higgins to the club`s vacant post of general manager and personally appointed Pesky as Higgins` replacement. Although the selection of Pesky was a popular choice, the Red Sox were a second division team and notorious as a "country club" — a group of unmotivated players who did what they wanted, when they wanted. In addition, Higgins and Pesky were not particularly close, and the general manager would be accused of undermining Yawkey`s hand-picked skipper. A major off-season trade added slugging first baseman Dick Stuart to Pesky`s maiden roster, and whileStuart would lead the American League with 118 runs batted in during `63, he was an atrocious fielder (nicknamed "Dr. Strangeglove") who would constantly defy Pesky`s authority and make it difficult for him to control his players. Pesky`s `63 club started quickly and briefly had pennant hopes, but lack of pitching soon doomed it to a second-division finish — 76-85, bad enough for seventh place. The 1964 Sox also languished deep in the nether regions of the AL, winning only 70 of the 160 games Pesky managed. With two games left in the season, he was replaced as manager by Billy Herman, the club`s third-base coach and a friend of Higgins`. Pesky then left the Red Sox for four seasons, and joined the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. From 1965-67, he served as first-base coach for Pirate manager Harry Walker. There was rich irony in the fact that it was Walker who hit the double that scored Enos Slaughter with the winning run in the eighth inning of Game 7 of the 1946 World Series — the play on which Pesky was accused (wrongly, in many eyes) of "holding the ball" on a relay from the outfield, allegedly hesitating as Slaughter raced home from first base. After Walker`s firing in 1967, Pesky managed the Bucs` AAA farm club, the Columbus Jets of the International League, to a second-place finish in 1968. In 1969, he returned to the Red Sox organization, although he was miscast as a color commentator on the Sox` radio and television announcing crew. He worked with Ken Coleman and Ned Martin on Boston`s WHDH Radio and TV from 1969-71, then strictly on television with Coleman on WBZ-TV from 1972-74. He later served as analyst for selected games on radio with Joe Castiglione calling play-by-play. In 1975, Pesky finally returned to uniform as a fulltime coach under manager Darrell Johnson. As in Pittsburgh, he worked at first base and, in his first season back on the field, the Sox won the 1975 AL East title, swept three-time world champion Oakland in the ALCS, and battled the Cincinnati Reds in a thrilling, seven-game World Series. Pesky remained first-base coach under Johnson and his successor, Don Zimmer, before moving to a bench and batting coach role for Zimmer in 1980. The Red Sox had been contenders for most of the late 1970s, but in 1980 they stumbled to fourth place in the AL East, resulting in Zimmer`s dismissal with five games left in the season. Pesky took command as interim pilot, and Boston lost four of five, to finish Pesky`s career managing record at 147-179 (.451). The following season, his old friend Houk became Boston`s manager, and Pesky resumed his role as the club`s batting and bench coach. He was especially valued by Sox slugger Jim Rice, with whom Pesky worked tirelessly. Pesky missed the entire 1983 season with a serious food allergy that caused severe weight loss, but once the source of the illness was discovered, he was able to return for a final season as a fulltime coach in 1984. In 1990, nearing age 71, he spent almost 2½ months as interim manager of Boston`s top farm club, the Pawtucket Red Sox, when the team`s skipper, Ed Nottle, was fired in June. But since 1985 he has been a special instructor and assistant to the general manager, suiting up before games to work with players. Intermittently, Pesky has since been allowed to sit on the Red Sox bench during games, but three times has been prevented from the task — once by his own general manager, Dan Duquette, a second time when the Baltimore Orioles complained to MLB, and a third time in March 2007, when Major League Baseball announced it would enforce limitations that only six coaches could be in uniform during a game. Pesky, as an instructor, was ineligible. On April 3, 2007, the North Shore Spirit, a now-defunct team in the Independent Can-Am League, invited Pesky to sit in their dugout – and serve as an honorary coach – anytime he wanted. Pesky attended the 2004 World Series and, after the Game 4 triumph, was embraced by current Boston players such as Tim Wakefield and Curt Schilling as a living representative of star Red Sox players of the past whose teams fell short of winning the Fall Classic. He played a poignant and prominent role in the ceremony in which the World Series Championship Rings were handed out (April 11, 2005). With the help of Carl Yastrzemski, he raised the 2004 World Series Championship banner up the Fenway Park center field flagpole. On his 87th birthday, September 27, 2006, the Red Sox honored Pesky by officially naming the right-field foul pole "Pesky`s Pole." There have also been persistent rumors that the club will retire the number 6 Pesky wore as a player, even though he does not meet the stated requirements — chiefly, membership in the Baseball Hall of Fame — for such an honor. (Although he still suits up in No. 6, Pesky wore 22 as the team`s manager in the 1960s, and 35 as a coach from 1975-80.) A longtime resident of Boston`s North Shore, Pesky is a visible member of the community, making personal appearances for the Red Sox. For years, he has been a commercial spokesman on television and radio for a local supplier of doors and windows. The commercials are deliberately and humorously corny, with Pesky and the company`s owner calling themselves "the Window Boys." Friday, April 18, 2008 The Great Fenway Park Writers Series, UMass Lowell, and the Boston Red Sox Present in the Public Interest: Continuing the Conversation: Baseball & Blacks in America Featuring: David Burnes, Red Sox great Tommy Harper, Luke Salisbury, and Dr. Sharon Freeman, author of “African Americans: Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities” Panel Moderated by Dr. Jeffrey Gerson – Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, UMass Lowell With Dick Flavin, Baseball`s Poet Laureate, Presiding 12-Noon Brown Bag Luncheon $15 Per Person ($5 for UMass Lowell Students) Absolut Clubhouse at Fenway Park (enter off Brookline Avenue) To register for this event please contact Dan Lyons of the Red Sox Dr. Sharon T. Freeman – Biographical Brief Dr. Freeman is the Director of the Washington, DC Government`s International Business Development Office at the DC Chamber of Commerce and the Chair of the DC Chamber`s International Committee. She is an advisor to the Secretary of Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative on Small and Minority Business (since 1991) and is a member of the National Press Club`s Forums Committee. She is the winner of the DC Chamber`s Crystal Monument Entrepreneurship Award (2002) and Carnegie-Mellon University`s alumni award for Entrepreneurial Excellence (2001). She holds a Ph.D. in Applied Management and Decision Sciences from Walden University, a Master of Science from Carnegie-Mellon in management, and two undergraduate degrees in Cognitive Psychology and History from Carnegie-Mellon University. She is the author of six books; four of which have been self-published through AASBEA, and two that have been authored on behalf of U.S. Government agencies on the subjects of exporting and e-commerce. For more information, see www.aasbea.com. Dr. Freeman is also the author of many articles on business development, which have been published in various trade magazines and translated into French and Spanish. Tommy Harper – Biographical Brief Blending speed and power, Harper became only the fifth member of the "30-30 Club," hitting 31 HR and stealing 38 bases for the 1970 Brewers. As a young, highly touted outfielder with the Reds in 1965, he hit 18 homers and led the NL with 126 runs scored. After a disappointing 1967 season (.217), he was traded to Cleveland, where he continued to slump in a platoon role. Rescued by the Seattle Pilots in the 1968 expansion draft, he led the ML with 73 stolen bases in 1969, the highest AL total since Ty Cobb`s 96 in 1915. Although he preferred the outfield, Harper played mostly at third base (and 82 games at second base) for the Pilots and Brewers. Traded to Boston before the 1972 season, he returned to the outfield. In 1973 he was the Red Sox` MVP, hitting 17 HR, scoring 71 runs, and stealing an AL-high 54 bases. (JCA) Ron Shapiro ©2007 Photo by Luigi Ciuffetelli Friday, April 11, 2008 The Great Fenway Park Writers Series Proudly Presents: Ron Shapiro – One of Sports’ Most Respected Agents Author of and Speaking on: “Dare to Prepare: How to Win Before You Begin” 12-Noon Luncheon Absolut Clubhouse at Fenway Park (enter off Brookline Avenue) Red Sox Nation & BoSox Members, $50 Non-Members, $60 To register for this event please click here. Ron Shapiro– Biographical Brief Expert negotiator, sports agent, attorney, educator, author, and Baltimore civic leader, Ron Shapiro started his baseball career at Fenway Park. For a brief period of time during the summer of 1965, Ron worked on the grounds crew and assisted with the operations of the Fenway Press Room. He has maintained strong ties within the Red Sox Organization throughout the years. He attended Haverford College and graduated Cum Laude from Harvard Law School in 1967. After moving to Baltimore in 1967 for a federal clerkship, he began teaching law school in 1968. From 1972 to 1974 Mr. Shapiro served as Maryland State Securities Commissioner and earned a reputation as one of the most effective state investment officials in the nation. In 1972 he founded what is now known as Shapiro Sher Guinot & Sandler, a prominent Baltimore law firm. Subsequently, in 1976 Mr. Shapiro founded Shapiro, Robinson & Associates, a sports management firm that developed a national reputation through its holistic approach to contract negotiation, sound financial management, and commitment to community involvement on the part of its clients. In 1995 he founded Shapiro Negotiations Institute, a negotiation seminar and consulting firm that has trained over 350,000 professionals in the art of negotiation, dealing with difficult personalities, and enhancing preparation & listening skills. USA Today called Ron Shapiro “one of baseball’s most respected agent-attorneys,” and The Sporting News named him one of the “100 most powerful people in sports.” His impressive list of clients includes more Hall of Famers than any other agent, including Cal Ripken, Jr., Jim Palmer, Brooks Robinson, Kirby Puckett, and Eddie Murray, who have benefited from the more than one billion dollars in contracts that Mr. Shapiro has negotiated. In addition, Mr. Shapiro is the Special Advisor to the Owner of the Baltimore Ravens. In October 1998, Mr. Shapiro’s book, "THE POWER OF NICE: How to Negotiate So Everyone Wins – Especially You!" (Revised Edition, 2001) was published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. "THE POWER OF NICE" was excerpted in Fortune Magazine and named one of the “Top Ten ‘On the Job’ Business Books of the Year” by the Library Journal. Mr. Shapiro’s second book, "BULLIES, TYRANTS & IMPOSSIBLE PEOPLE: How To Beat Them Without Joining Them," was released by Crown Books (Random House) in June 2005 and made The Wall Street Journal’s Best Seller List in its first week of publication. "DARE TO PREPARE: How To Win Before You Begin!" is being published by Crown Business imprint of Random House in January 2008. Mr. Shapiro also authored more than 20 law journal articles; co-authored books on corporate and securities law; founded Maryland’s major bar review course; and began a legal publishing company. He taught at the Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland School of Law, and the University of Baltimore School of Law where he was honored for teaching excellence. Mr. Shapiro was named the 1996 Edward B. Shils Lecturer in Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. A charismatic and creative individual, Ron Shapiro appeared as a negotiations expert on ABC`s "Good Morning America," CNBC`s "Power Lunch," Mutual Radio`s "The Larry King Show," National Public Radio`s "Morning Edition," ABC`s Nightline," and ESPN`s "Up Close." Mr. Shapiro also appeared as a panelist on “Square Off” on CBS’s Baltimore affiliate. In addition, he has hosted a weekly talk show, “Front Page,” and "Special Edition," a series of prime time specials, both on NBC Baltimore affiliates. Committed to public and civic matters, Mr. Shapiro has chaired over 25 boards of charitable and community organizations, including Peace Players International, the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, St. Ambrose Housing Aid Center, Partnership for Homecoming Campaign, the University of Maryland Cancer Center Advisory Board, and the Baltimore Educational Scholarship Trust, as well as serving on numerous others. He was also Treasurer and Finance Chairman for former Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke. Mr. Shapiro has received numerous special honors and recognition including Chimes Hall of Fame for contributions and community service, American Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame Mel Allen Service Award for distinguished public service, Cheltenham High School Hall of Fame in recognition of outstanding personal and career achievements, Maryland Marketing Statesman of the Year, the City of Baltimore Citizen Citation for assistance and special contributions to the public schools and the citizens of Baltimore, and the Children’s Guild award for “Making the Impossible – Possible.” The Ronald M. Shapiro Research Award and Lecture was established in recognition of his service at the Greenebaum Cancer Center of the University of Maryland. In June 2003, Villa Julie College awarded Mr. Shapiro the Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree, and in 2004 he was presented with The Forman Award, as a superior Haverford College Athlete who has devoted himself to the betterment of society. SmartCEO Magazine recognized Mr. Shapiro as one of the “Twenty Most Admired Leaders ” in May 2006. In 2007 he was named one of Maryland’s Super Lawyers. Mr. Shapiro’s dispute resolution techniques have settled a major symphony orchestra strike, facilitated solutions to human relations problems, and resolved disputes in governmental, corporate, and major biotechnology challenges. Mr. Shapiro has negotiated on behalf of, or served as deal coach to, Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, as well as entertainment and news personalities. Ron Shapiro is frequently cited by parties representing each side in a negotiation as the ultimate "Win-Win" negotiator. Friday, February 1, 2008 The Boston Red Sox, The Great Fenway Park Writers Series, and the BoSox Club Proudly Present: The Red Sox’s Annual Birthday Tribute to Jackie Robinson Featuring: Bill Russell, Charles Ogletree, Steve Jacobson, Elaine Weddington Steward & Faye Fields with Don Orsillo as Master of Ceremonies Reception & Program 5:30 PM EMC Club (enter at 20 Yawkey Way) Red Sox Nation & BoSox Members, $50 To register for this event please click here. Biographical Briefs Bill Russell Bill Russell was the cornerstone of the Boston Celtics` dynasty of the 1960s, an uncanny shotblocker who revolutionized NBA defensive concepts. A five-time NBA Most Valuable Player and a 12-time All-Star, the angular center amassed 21,620 career rebounds, an average of 22.5 per game and led the league in rebounding four times. He had 51 boards in one game, 49 in two others and a dozen consecutive seasons of 1,000 or more rebounds. His many individual accolades were well deserved, but they were only products of Russell`s philosophy of team play. His greatest accomplishment was bringing the storied Celtics 11 championships in his 13 seasons. Until the ascent of Michael Jordan in the 1980s, Russell was acclaimed by many as the greatest player in the history of the NBA. William Felton Russell was born on February 12, 1934, in Monroe, Louisiana. His family moved cross-country to the San Francisco Bay Area, where Bill attended McClymonds High School in Oakland. He was an awkward, unremarkable center on McClymonds`s basketball team, but his size earned him a scholarship to play at the University of San Francisco, where he blossomed. Russell grew to be a shade over 6-9, and he teamed with guard K. C. Jones to lead the Dons to 56 consecutive victories and NCAA Championships in 1955 and 1956 (although Jones missed four games of the 1956 tournament because his eligibility had expired). Russell was named the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player in 1955. Russell averaged 20.7 points and 20.3 rebounds in his three-year varsity career. By his senior season he had matured into a dominant force who could control a game at the defensive end. With the 1956 NBA Draft approaching, Boston Celtics Coach and General Manager Red Auerbach was eager to add Russell to his lineup. Auerbach had built a high-scoring offensive machine around guards Bob Cousy and Bill Sharman and undersized center Ed Macauley, but he hadn`t been able to muster the defense and rebounding needed to transform the Celtics into a championship-caliber club. Russell, Auerbach felt, was the missing piece to the puzzle. However, because of their second-place finish the year before, the Celtics would be picking too late in the draft to get Russell. And because Auerbach wanted to use a territorial selection to nab Holy Cross star Tom Heinsohn, Boston would forfeit its first-round pick altogether. So Auerbach began to think trade, and he set his sights on the St. Louis Hawks, who owned the second overall pick in the draft. The first pick belonged to the Rochester Royals, but that team already had a promising young rebounder in Maurice Stokes, and Auerbach knew that Royals owner Les Harrison was not going to pay Russell the $25,000 signing bonus he was asking for. Rochester selected guard Sihugo Green, who played nine seasons in the league with five different teams (including, ironically, the Celtics in 1965-66). St. Louis owner Ben Kerner was willing to talk trade, and the key was Macauley. The 6-8 center was a six-time All-Star at that point and a local hero in St. Louis, where he had grown up and then starred for St. Louis University. Auerbach could afford to give up Macauley if he was getting Russell, but it was not until Boston agreed to add rookie Cliff Hagan to the mix that Kerner consented to the trade. The deal brought the Hawks a championship in 1958, but it brought the Celtics a dynasty. In that same draft, Boston added Heinsohn, who would be NBA Rookie of the Year for 1956-57, and K. C. Jones, Russell`s college teammate who would also become a stalwart of the Boston juggernaut. Russell didn`t join the Celtics until December because he was a member of the 1956 U.S. Olympic basketball team, which won a gold medal at the Melbourne Games in November. The Celtics had bolted to a 13-3 start, and when Russell arrived he adapted quickly. Playing in 48 games, he pulled down 19.6 rpg, the best average in the league, while scoring 14.7 ppg. Boston`s starting five of Russell, Heinsohn, Bob Cousy, Bill Sharman, and Jim Loscutoff was a high-octane unit. They posted the best regular-season record in the NBA in 1956-57, waltzed through the playoffs, and were heavily favored in the Finals against Bob Pettit`s St. Louis Hawks. The teams traded victories until the series came down to a dramatic Game 7 in Boston. Tom Heinsohn scored 37 points for Boston, but the Celtics couldn`t pull away. Last-second scores by the Hawks sent the game into overtime and then into a second extra period. The Celtics finally prevailed, 125-123, for their first NBA Championship. In only part of a season Russell had added a new element to the Celtics and to professional basketball. For the previous few years, the Celtics had been an unstoppable offensive machine led by 20-point scorers Cousy and Sharman, both future Hall of Famers. But Boston had lacked the rebounding and defense to win it all. Now Russell brought a new level of defensive artistry, intimidating opponents with blocked shots and proving that it didn`t take a scorer to dominate a game. Energized by their championship, the Celtics won 14 straight games to start the 1957-58 season, and they kept rolling. In his first full season in the NBA, Russell took command and led the league with 22.7 rpg. Early in the season, against the Philadelphia Warriors, he set an NBA record for rebounds in a half by grabbing 32 and wound up with 49 for the contest. Although he was tough and durable, the slender Russell was not a muscleman or a big banger. His rebounding prowess derived from positioning, anticipating where the shot would come off of the rim and moving quickly to the ball. His game was as much analytical and mental as it was physical. Boston posted the league`s best regular-season record that year, finishing atop the Eastern Division at 49-23. The Celtics then returned to the NBA Finals for a rematch with the Hawks, who had won the West with a 41-31 mark. The teams split the first two games at Boston Garden, but when Russell went down with an ankle injury in Game 3, the Celtics` fortunes plummeted. With Russell ineffective the rest of the way, St. Louis won that game and two of the next three to take the series. Russell was voted the NBA Most Valuable Player for 1957-58. Oddly enough, he was only named to the All-NBA Second Team. In fact, during the five years that Russell was voted league MVP, only twice did he make the All-NBA First Team. The argument was that, while other centers were better than Russell -- that is, they had more conventional skills -- no player meant more to his team. Russell repeated as the NBA rebounding leader in 1958-59, grabbing 23.0 per game, the first of seven consecutive campaigns in which he averaged at least 23 boards. Russell was also known for extending his effort at critical moments, both within a game and within a season. Consequently, he typically improved his rebounding numbers during the playoffs, and in the 1959 postseason he pulled down 27.7 boards per game. The Celtics reached the NBA Finals for a third straight season and regained the crown with a four-game sweep of the Minneapolis Lakers. Russell set a Finals record with 29.5 rpg in the series, and he helped launch the greatest championship run in the history of professional sports. Boston`s 1959 title began an unprecedented and unequaled string of eight consecutive NBA Championships. Interestingly, although Russell was not considered a skilled offensive player, he was a selective shooter and in his early years ranked regularly among the NBA`s top five in field-goal percentage. In 1958-59, for example, his .457 mark was second in the league. Russell`s greatest adversary, Wilt Chamberlain, entered the NBA and joined the Philadelphia Warriors for the 1959-60 season, setting up a decade-long rivalry. The debate over who was the greater player would last even longer. Chamberlain put up incredible numbers during the period in which the two went head to head, but Russell helped the Celtics hang nine NBA championship flags in the Garden in his first 10 seasons. As Celtics player Don Nelson told the Boston Herald, "There are two types of superstars. One makes himself look good at the expense of the other guys on the floor. But there`s another type who makes the players around him look better than they are, and that`s the type Russell was." Chamberlain led the league in scoring (37.6 ppg) in his first season, and he took the rebounding crown from Russell, 27.0 to 24.0 rpg. The Celtics` center had one monstrous game, however, when he pulled down 51 rebounds against the Syracuse Nationals in the 1959-1960 season. It ranks as the second-best rebounding effort in NBA history, behind Chamberlain`s 55 against the Celtics on the next season. What became clear, both during the 1959-60 season and over the next several years, was that basketball was a team game. As Russell later wrote: "To me, one of the most beautiful things to see is a group of men coordinating their efforts toward a common goal, alternately subordinating and asserting themselves to achieve real teamwork in action. I tried to do that, we all tried to do that, on the Celtics. I think we succeeded." Chamberlain was great, but the Celtics were better. They improved their regular-season record to 59-16 in 1959-60, at one point running off 17 straight victories. They eliminated Chamberlain and the Warriors in the division finals, then met St. Louis again in the 1960 NBA Finals. Russell stepped up his play in the title series, setting an NBA Finals record with 40 rebounds in Game 2 (surpassed by Chamberlain with 41in 1967) . The Hawks extended the series to seven games, but Russell dominated Game 7, contributing 22 points and 35 rebounds as the Celtics won, 122-103, and notched their second consecutive championship. While Russell was changing the way the NBA viewed defense, the league still appeared to be in an era of runaway offense, with Chamberlain leading the way. Even the defense-oriented Celtics averaged 124.5 points. Russell`s impact on the game can`t really be tracked through NBA statistics. Blocked shots were not an official statistic until 1973-74, and the league only recorded total rebounds, without distinguishing between offensive and defensive boards until that same season. Russell was revolutionizing the game in ways that were clearly understood, even if they weren`t measured. His ability to leave his man and slide over to cover an opponent driving to the hoop was startling. He was unmatched at swooping across the lane like a big bird to block and alter shots. The rest of the Celtics defenders began to funnel their men toward Russell and become more daring with their perimeter defense, knowing that he was looming behind. All of this played mind games with opposing shooters near the basket and had a disrupting effect as they began to sense Russell`s imposing presence. Furthermore, other centers started to model their own defensive play after Russell`s, and while they might not have been as skillful at it, it changed the way the game was played. Interestingly, Russell`s style of play also rejuvenated Boston`s offense. Many of the Celtics` points now came when Russell plucked a defensive rebound and fired an outlet pass to Bob Cousy, who would start Boston`s vaunted and deadly fast break. The dynasty was beginning to establish itself under Red Auerbach, and "Boston Celtics" and "NBA champions" became practically synonymous as the decade progressed. The team was multitalented, with many great players, but the enduring image was that of Russell, his head thrust forward from the slight hunch of his shoulders, his eyes scanning the court, his long left arm snaking out to deflect a shot. Boston won the title again in 1960-61, and Russell was named NBA Most Valuable Player, the first of his three consecutive MVP Awards. The next season, 1961-62, saw Russell register an 18.9 scoring average, his career high. Chamberlain`s individual accomplishments were mind-boggling: he won the scoring title by averaging 50.4 points, while the team-oriented Celtics didn`t place anybody in the top 10. The NBA players, voting for MVP, chose Russell over Chamberlain. The Celtics added another future Hall of Famer, John Havlicek, in the 1962 NBA Draft and lost Bob Cousy to retirement at the end of the 1962-63 season. In what had become an annual routine, Boston won its fifth consecutive NBA title in 1963, and Russell claimed his third consecutive MVP Award. The legendary center later called the 1963-64 Celtics team the best of his era. Although it was merely competent on offense, he felt it was the best defensive unit ever. Russell once again led the league in rebounding, with 24.7 rpg, his all-time high. The Celtics, rolling inexorably, topped the San Francisco Warriors in the Finals in five games, taking their sixth consecutive title, something no team in any sport at the major league level had accomplished before. It was an era of such sustained achievement, for Russell and for the team, that even spectacular accomplishments seemed almost routine. Russell repeated as NBA rebounding leader in 1964-65, collecting 24.1 rpg, including a 49-rebound game against the Detroit Pistons that season. He also ranked fifth in the league in assists with 5.3 per game. The season`s most dramatic moments came in Game 7 of the Eastern Division Finals, when the Celtics led, 110-109, with five seconds remaining against Chamberlain and the Philadelphia 76ers. Russell`s inbounds pass hit a wire supporting the basket, giving the Sixers the ball with no time elapsed on the clock. Philadelphia`s Hal Greer inbounded to Chet Walker, but Havlicek stole the ball to seal the victory. That moment as called by famed Celtics broadcaster Johnny Most is an NBA treasure. In his gravelly voice Most screamed, "Havlicek steals it. Over to Sam Jones. Havlicek stole the ball! It`s all over! Johnny Havlicek stole the ball!" The NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers was almost anticlimactic, as the Celtics claimed the championship in five games. For his play that season, Russell won his fifth and final NBA Most Valuable Player Award. Following another NBA Championship in 1965-66, Red Auerbach retired, and Russell took over as player-coach the following season, becoming the first African-American coach in the league. He led Boston to a 60-21 regular-season record, but the Celtics finally had their string of championships snapped when they lost to a powerful Philadelphia 76ers team in the Eastern Division Finals. The Sixers went 68-13 in the regular season and is considered one of the league`s best ever, trounced the Celtics in five games to advance to the NBA Finals. After that one-year hiatus, Boston returned to form in 1967-68, recapturing the championship under Russell`s direction. In the Eastern Division Finals, the club came back from a two-game deficit to force a seventh game with Chamberlain and the 76ers. The Celtics were leading, 97-95, with 34 seconds left when Russell took over. He sank a foul shot, blocked a shot by Walker, grabbed a rebound off a Greer miss, and fed the ball to Sam Jones, who made the final basket in a 100-96 triumph. Boston then beat Los Angeles in six games in the NBA Finals. The 1968-69 season was even more gratifying. The aging Celtics barely made it into the playoffs with a 48-34 record, then caught fire in the postseason. In Russell`s third year as player-coach, Boston repeated as NBA champion by defeating the Lakers, who had acquired Chamberlain, in a seven-game battle for the title. The great Celtics leader promptly retired, having guided the team to 11 championships in 13 years. Russell had amassed 21,620 career rebounds, second in NBA history only to Chamberlain`s 23,924. In 1973, Russell resurfaced as head coach and general manager of the Seattle SuperSonics. He took a team that had won only 26 games the year before and put it on a winning track, notching 36 victories the next season and then compiling a 43-39 record to earn a playoff berth in 1974-75. But Russell became frustrated at the players` reluctance to embrace his team concept. Some suggested that the problem was Russell himself; he was said to be aloof, moody and unable to accept anything but the Celtics` tradition. In any event, his enthusiasm for the task waned after his fourth season in 1976-77, and he departed. Ironically, Lenny Wilkens guided Seattle to a championship two years later, preaching the same team concept that Russell had tried unsuccessfully to instill in his players. A decade after he left Seattle, Russell gave coaching another try, replacing Jerry Reynolds as coach of the Sacramento Kings early in the 1987-88 season. The team staggered to a 17-41 record, and Russell departed in midseason. Between coaching stints Russell was most visible as a color commentator on televised basketball games. For a time he was paired with the equally blunt Rick Barry; the duo provided brutally frank commentary on the game. Russell was never comfortable in that setting, though, explaining to the Sacramento Bee, "The most successful television is done in eight-second thoughts, and the things I know about basketball, motivation and people go deeper than that." He also dabbled with acting, performing in a Seattle Children`s Theatre show and an episode of Miami Vice and he wrote a provocative autobiography, Second Wind. Russell`s lack of consistent success in other endeavors hasn`t diminished his place in basketball history, and he has had no shortage of post career honors over the years. In 1970, he was named to the NBA 25th Anniversary All-Time Team. In 1974, Russell was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In 1980, he was named to the NBA 35th Anniversary All-Time Team. That same year, he was voted Greatest Player in the History of the NBA by the Professional Basketball Writers Association of America. Although the arrival of Michael Jordan later in the decade may have reopened the debate over who was truly the game`s best player, what remains irrefutable is that Russell radically changed people`s thinking about how basketball games are won. Dr. Charles Ogletree Charles Ogletree, the Harvard Law School Jesse Climenko Professor of Law and Vice Dean for the Clinical Programs, is a prominent legal theorist who has made an international reputation by taking a hard look at complex issues of law and by working to secure the rights guaranteed by the Constitution for everyone equally under the law. Professor Ogletree has examined these issues not only in the classroom, on the Internet and in the pages of prestigious law journals, but also in the everyday world of the public defender in the courtroom and in public television forums where these issues can be dramatically revealed. Armed with an arsenal of facts, Charles Ogletree presents and discusses the challenges that face our justice system and its attempt to deliver equal treatment to all our citizens. He furthers dialogue by insisting that the justice system protect rights guaranteed to those citizens by law. In 1998, Professor Ogletree was awarded the Jesse Climenko Professor of Law chair at Harvard Law School. He holds honorary doctorates of law from North Carolina Central University, New England School of Law, Tougaloo College, Amherst College, Wilberforce University, and the University of Miami School of Law. Professor Ogletree earned an M.A. and B.A. (with distinction) in Political Science from Stanford University, where he was Phi Beta Kappa. He also holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School where he served as Special Projects Editor of the Harvard Civil Rights - Civil Liberties Law Review. Charles Ogletree began his illustrious career as a staff attorney in the District of Columbia Public Defender Service. He quickly rose through the ranks serving as Training Director, Trial Chief, and Deputy Director of the Service before entering private practice in 1985 in the law firm of Jessamy, Fort & Ogletree. Professor Ogletree is formerly "of Counsel" to the Washington, D.C. firm of Jordan, Keys & Jessamy. Professor Ogletree is the author of the forthcoming book, All Deliberate Speed: Reflections on the First Half-Century of Brown v. Board of Education, published by W.W. Norton & Company, to be released in April of 2004 (www.alldeliberatespeed.com). He is the co-author of the award-winning book, Beyond the Rodney King Story: An Investigation of Police Conduct in Minority Communities, and he frequently contributes to the Harvard Law Review, among other publications. He has written chapters in several books, including If You Buy the Hat, He Will Come, in Faith of Our Fathers: African American Men Reflect on Fatherhood and The Tireless Warrior for Racial Justice, which appears in Reason & Passion: Justice Brennan`s Enduring Influence. Privileges and Immunities for Basketball Stars and Other Sport Heroes? appears in Basketball Jones, published in 2000. In addition, Professor Ogletree`s commentaries on a broad range of timely and important issues have appeared in the editorial pages of the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and the Boston Globe, among other national newspapers. His commentary on how to make Black America better was published in the 2001 compilation, Lift Every Voice and Sing. Most recently, Professor Ogletree has contributed a chapter entitled The Rehnquist Revolution in Criminal Procedure, which appears in The Rehnquist Court: Judicial Activism on the Right, published in 2002. In 1991, Professor Ogletree served as Legal Counsel to Professor Anita Hill during the Senate Confirmation hearings for Justice Clarence Thomas. His reflections on those experiences are contained in The People vs. Anita Hill: The Case for Client-Centered Advocacy, a chapter of the book, Race, Gender and Power in America. He was profiled in an article in The American Lawyer entitled, Tree Time. More recently, Professor Ogletree was prominently featured in award-winning author Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot`s compelling book, I`ve Known Rivers, and in a Boston Globe magazine article entitled, Faith in the System. In 2003, he was selected by Savoy Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential Blacks in America and by Black Enterprise Magazine, along with Thurgood Marshall, A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., and Constance Baker Motley, as one of the legal legends among America`s top black lawyers. In 2002, he received the National Bar Association`s prestigious Equal Justice Award. In 2001, he joined a list of distinguished jurists, including former Supreme Court Justices Thurgood Marshall and William Brennan, and civil rights lawyers Elaine Jones and Oliver Hill, when he received the prestigious Charles Hamilton Houston Medallion of Merit from the Washington Bar Association. He also held the Wayne Morse Chair of Law and Politics at the University of Oregon Law School and was a Scholar in Residence at Stanford University. In 2000, Professor Ogletree was selected by the National Law Journal as one of the 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America. He has received numerous awards, including the National Conference on Black Lawyers People`s Lawyer of the Year Award, the Man of Vision Award from the Museum of Afro-American History in Boston, the 1993 Albert Sacks-Paul A. Freund Award for Teaching Excellence at Harvard Law School, and in 1995, The Ellis Island Medal of Honor and The Ruffin-Fenwick Trailblazer Award named in honor of the first African-American man and woman to graduate from Harvard Law School. In 1996, the National Bar Association honored him with its Presidential Award for The Renaissance Man of the Legal Profession. He was also awarded the International House of Blues Foundation Martin Luther King, Jr. Drum Major Award, The Justice Louis Brandeis Medal for Public Service, and the 21st Century Achievement Award from the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts. In addition to his strong academic focus, Charles Ogletree`s national media experience and exposure is considerable in its scope. In 2001 and 2002, Professor Ogletree moderated the nationally-televised forums, State of the Black Union and Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community, produced by Tavis Smiley Productions. Professor Ogletree also served as the moderator of four of producer Fred Friendly`s seminal ten-part series, Ethics in America, which aired on PBS. Since 1990, he has moderated dozens of similar programs, including Hard Drugs, Hard Choices, Liberty & Limits: Whose Law, Whose Order? and Credibility in the Newsroom. Professor Ogletree has also appeared as a guest commentator on Nightline, This Week with David Brinkley, McNeil-Lehrer News Hour, Crossfire, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Larry King Live, Cochran & Company, Burden of Proof, and Meet the Press as well as other national and local television and radio programs. He served as NBC legal commentator on the O.J. Simpson case. Professor Ogletree also serves as the Co-Chair of the Reparations Coordinating Committee, a group of lawyers and other experts researching a lawsuit based upon a claim of reparations for descendants of African slaves, along with Randall Robinson, co-author of The Debt: What America Owes to Blacks. Professor Ogletree has a long record of commitment and service to public schools and higher education. He completed ten years of service to his alma mater, as a member of the Stanford University Board of Trustees, and for five years served as the national Chairman of the Stanford Fund, the University`s principal fund raising organization. Professor Ogletree`s development activities have also raised substantial funds for Harvard Law and the UDC, where he currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of the District of Columbia, a land grant and historically black college and university. He continues to serve as the Chairman of the Board of the B.E.L.L. Foundation, which is committed to educating minority children in after school programs in Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C. In addition, Professor Ogletree served as one of the founding members and trustee of the Benjamin Banneker Charter School in Cambridge, a school that provides educational opportunities in math, science and technology to minority children in a public school setting. Professor Ogletree attended public schools in his hometown of Merced, California, and has set up a scholarship fund there that now annually provides support for needy students who want to pursue higher education. He has also provided scholarship support for students at Harvard Law School, Stanford University, and the University of the District of Columbia. Professor Ogletree has been married to his fellow Stanford graduate, Pamela Barnes, since 1975. They are the proud parents of two children, Charles Ogletree III and Rashida Ogletree. The Ogletree`s live in Cambridge and are members of St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church. Faye F. Fields Faye is the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Integrated Resource Technologies, Inc. (IRT), a provider of intelligence operations support, security services, information technology support, and management services to government and private corporations. IRT has multiple project locations throughout the U.S and Korea. By virtue of its growth and market niche, IRT was awarded the Black Enterprise Magazine “Emerging Small Business of the Year” award in 2004. Most recently, In November 2007, she was featured in "Gems of Wisdom for Succeeding in the 8(a) BD Program—and Beyond," a book authored by Dr. Sharon T. Freeman and M. Charito Kruvant to assist aspiring entrepreneurs and small businesses. Faye graduated with honors from Middleton Senior High School; she studied Nursing at the Jewish Hospital of Cincinnati, Ohio later earning a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Nursing degrees at the University of Cincinnati. She continued her education at the same university completing all of the course requirements for a Ph. D. in Business Administration. Throughout her academic career she was active in student associations and the national honor sorority, Sigma Theta Tau. After more than 10 years in the health care field, where she served as both a service provider and an administrator in a University medical center, her interests shifted towards business and management. In 1979 she began her management-consulting career in New England at one of the most successful entrepreneurial enterprises and leading technology firms of the time-Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). At DEC she served in several capacities, to include, Senior Management Development and Internal Organizational Consultant positions. Upon moving to Washington, DC she built on the DEC experience, working at the executive level of several award-winning small and disadvantaged businesses. After having acquired a diverse background in management, organizational development, professional and managerial training, and health service delivery and administration, the time had come to establish her own professional services firm. In 1986 she founded IRT, Inc. based on a “business model” that maximizes talents of other small, minority, and woman-owned businesses. To this end, IRT teams with smaller businesses as subcontractors, enthusiastically shares lessons learned with aspiring entrepreneurs, and actively participates in initiatives and programs that support small business. IRT currently serves as a mentor for two start-up businesses. For more than 17 years, she has succeeded in the demanding and highly competitive Federal Government contracting industry, building a company with contract awards exceeding $50 million dollars. At the same time that she has been totally engaged in building a business, she always has been mindful of the need to “give back” and to “reach back.” As such, Faye has shown support to deserving community initiatives, especially those that contribute to enhancing the quality of life for women and disadvantaged citizens. In May 2006, Faye as a partner in the Lerner Family ownership group became a part owner of the Washington Nationals Major League Baseball Team. This places her in a select group of no more than 2 African American Women owners of major league baseball teams. Faye is also a member of the Group Hospitalization and Medical Services, Inc Board, the Washington D.C. affiliate of CareFirst BlueCross and BlueShield, and the Board of Directors of South Eastern University. Above her professional and civic contributions, she is the devoted wife of William Fields. They reside in Washington, DC and have enjoyed 33 years of marriage. Steve Jacobson From the time I learned to read, I loved reading about sports because that told me how people reasponded to stress and, unlike war, nobody got killed. When I graduated from Indiana University I did my two years in the army playing baseball and writing propaganda and came out looking for a job in media. My first taste of the big time was covering the Bill Mazeroski World Series for Newsday. For the next 45 years I have watched athletes--male and female--responding to pressure, both succeeding and failing. I covered World Series, Super Bowl, NBA and NHL championships, Final Fours, Indianapolis and NASCAR, and the atrocities of Little League and high school sports. I found common human elements in all. Twice, what I found, led to my nomination for the Pulitzer Prize. All the while I was hearing the stories of how black athletes had to endure so much injustice, which led me to interview and collect what went into my newest book, "Carrying Jackie`s Torch." What I learned stunned me and I tried to pass on to the reader things that have been hidden by time. Those events, the cruelty, and the courage, should not be forgotten. When not following or writing about sport and sports figures, I enjoy traveling with my wife, Anita, skiing, food, more skiing, more travel with Anita, casting an eye on the follies of politics, and doing whatever I can with my son Mathew, his wife, Susan, and my daughter, Neila, who showed me what goes into being a female athlete. Elaine Weddington Steward Elaine Weddington Steward was appointed Vice President and Club Counsel on March 7, 2002. Elaine joined the Red Sox in July 1988 as associate counsel and was named assistant general manager in January, 1990. Steward was the first female assistant general manager in Major League Baseball. She was named legal counsel in February of 1995, while continuing with her responsibilities as assistant general manager. She held the assistant general manager position until 2002. Steward was appointed a Vice President of the Red Sox on January 30, 1998. Steward is a native of New York City and graduated with honors from St. John’s University in 1984 with a B.S. in Athletic Administration. While attending St. John’s she served as an intern in the New York Mets public relations department and was a member of the St. Vincent’s College Honor Society. She was a recipient of the prestigious Jackie Robinson Foundation Sports Management scholarship. In 1973, the year after Jackie Robinson died; his extraordinary commitment to youth was recognized when Mrs. Rachel Robinson founded the Jackie Robinson Foundation. The Jackie Robinson Foundation honors Jackie`s memory by keeping alive the spark and commitment that he brought to social issues. The Foundation continues Jackie`s fight for human dignity and brotherhood by supporting college-bound minority and poor young people by awarding them scholarships as they seek to develop their potential. Upon graduation from St. John’s University School of Law in 1987, Elaine was an intern in the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball through the Executive Development program. She was admitted to the New York State Bar in April of 1988 and is a member of the American Bar Association. In 1999 she was selected as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Leaders of Boston and was elected into the YWCA Academy of Women Achievers. In 2001 she received the Outstanding Alumna Award from the St. John’s University Black Alumni Association. Don Orsillo – Biographical Brief Don Orsillo is the play-by-play announcer for Boston Red Sox games on the New England Sports Network. He was born in Melrose, Massachusetts where he often dreamed of being a broadcaster for the Red Sox. Orsillo graduated from Northeastern University with a degree in Communication Studies. While at Northeastern, he interned under Red Sox radio voice Joe Castiglione. Before doing Major League Baseball games, he worked in the minor leagues announcing Pawtucket Red Sox games on the radio from (1996-2000), having previously done games for some of the New York Mets` minor league affiliates. He has been NESN`s play-by-play man since the beginning of the 2001 season (his first game included a no-hitter thrown by then Red Sox pitcher Hideo Nomo against the Baltimore Orioles). He also called Cal Ripken Jr.`s final game. Orsillo works with color commentator and former Red Sox second baseman Jerry Remy. He is sometimes referred to by fans as "announcer boy," after he was given that nickname by Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield in a NESN commercial.[1] In addition to his Red Sox duties, Orsillo has called the Beanpot hockey tournanment and Boston College men`s basketball on NESN. Orsillo was tabbed by TBS to work the Philadelphia Phillies vs. Colorado Rockies series of the 2007 National League Division Series, teaming with Joe Simpson.[2] He currently lives in Smithfield, Rhode Island with his wife, Lisa, and their two daughters, Sydney and Madison. Wednesday, November 7, 2007 The Great Fenway Park Writers Series Proudly Presents: Tim Kurkjian -- ESPN Author of and Speaking on: "Is This a Great Game or What?” 6:30 PM Dinner EMC Club (enter off Yawkey Way) Red Sox Nation & BoSox Members, $65 Non-Members, $75 Cost includes autographed copies of Mr. Kurkjian’s book To register for this event please click here. Tim Kurkjian– Biographical Brief Tim Kurkjian is a Major League Baseball analyst on ESPN`s Baseball Tonight and SportsCenter. He is also a contributor to ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com. He guests on Mike & Mike in the Morning on Thursdays at 7:44 AM, discussing the latest in happenings in Major League Baseball. Mr. Kurkjian is well known for his Baseball Tonight segments and SportsCenter reports that include an in-depth analysis of statistics, trade situations, and unusual "Did-You-Know?" facts. In his article "Gaining an Appreciation for the Sacrifice Fly" (July 14, 2007, ESPN the Magazine), he confessed, "I`ve always been fascinated by sacrifice flies.” He has an extensive background in covering baseball. His journalism career began with the Washington Star in 1978 following his graduation from the University of Maryland; he then worked briefly for the Baltimore News American in 1981. Mr. Kurkjian began covering baseball as the Texas Rangers beat writer for the Dallas Morning News where he worked from 1981 to 1985. Kurkjian then covered the Baltimore Orioles for the Baltimore Sun beginning in 1986. He was a senior writer for Sports Illustrated from 1989-1997 as well as a reporter for CNN/SI from 1996-1997. He authored his first book, "America`s Game", in 2000 and his second book, "Is This a Great Game, or What?: From A-Rod`s Heart to Zim`s Head – My 25 Years in Baseball", was released in May 2007. Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe says, “Tim Kurkjian has written a wonderfully entertaining book, but that’s not surprising, because Tim’s a wonderfully entertaining guy. And, as funny as he is to read, he’s even funnier to listen to. His knowledge of the game is second to none.” Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Mr. Kurkjian was the 2007 Commencement speaker at Walter Johnson High School (he’s a graduate of that high school). Friday, September 28, 2007 The Great Fenway Park Writers Series Proudly Presents: Frank Deford -- the Legendary Sports Illustrated writer and NPR Morning Edition Commentator Author of and Speaking on: "The Entitled: A Tale of Modern Baseball" 12-Noon Luncheon Absolut Clubhouse at Fenway Park (enter off Brookline Avenue) Red Sox Nation & BoSox Members, $50 Non-Members, $60 Event Sponsor: Frank Deford -- The Man Who`s Been Called, "The world?s greatest sportswriter" "Baseball is a game of instinct and keen observation, of knowing which way the ball is going to bounce off a broken bat and knowing whether a player wears his pants high or low. At least it is to Howie Traveler, who never made it as a player?his one major league hit and .091 batting average attest to that. After years of struggling his way up the coaching ladder, Howie`s finally been given his shot to manage in the big leagues. But America`s pastime has changed. Whether Howie can spot a small flaw in a batter`s swing won`t matter if he can`t manage today`s megastar players?especially his superstar outfielder Jay Alcazar. If Howie can`t get through to Jay?a homerun slugger with giant talents and an ego to match?his managing career will be over as soon as it began. But Jay has no use for Howie. Until, that is, one night at the hotel when Howie sees something at Jay`s door he wishes he hadn`t..." From six-time National Sportswriter of the Year and NPR commentator Frank Deford comes a page-turning novel that takes you deep into America`s game. "The Entitled" (May 16; 978-1-40220-896-6; $24.95; fiction) is a tale of modern baseball. It takes you inside a ball club and inside the mind of a defeated manager and a champion slugger, as only Deford can. He creates a world where the idealism of the old game meets the reality of today?s sports landscape, as idolized millionaires step in to replace the boyhood heroes of yesterday. Deford?s writing is authentic and emanates today?s baseball. Fans who already know quite a bit about the game will get more knowledge out of this book than they have with non-fiction books on the genre. Frank Deford is a six-time National Sportswriter of the Year, Senior Contributing Editor at Sports Illustrated, commentator on NPR?s Morning Edition, and a correspondent on the HBO show RealSports with Bryant Gumbel. In addition to being the author of more than a dozen books, he has been elected to the Hall of Fame of the National Association of Sportscasters and Sportswriters and has been awarded both an Emmy and a Peabody. Sporting News describes Deford as ?the most influential sports voice among members of the print media? and GQ simply calls him ?the world?s greatest sportswriter.? Wednesday, August 1, 2007 The Great Fenway Park Writers Series Proudly Presents: One of America’s Most Celebrated Writers: Roy Blount Jr. Author of and Speaking on his widely acclaimed new book: "Long Time Leaving: Dispatches From Up South" 12-Noon Luncheon EMC Club (enter at 20 Yawkey Way) Red Sox Nation & BoSox Members, $50 Non-Members, $60 (autographed copy of “Long Time Leaving: Dispatches From Up South) To register for this event please click here. Books by Roy Blount Jr. SELF-PROMOTIONAL BIO, IN THIRD PERSON Roy Blount Jr.`s twentieth book, "Long Time Leaving: Dispatches From Up South," has just been published by Knopf. His biography of Robert E. Lee has recently come out in paperback. "Feet on the Street: Rambles Around New Orleans," which according to the New York Times" delivers the goods: a wild, unpredictable ramble through a wild, unpredictable town." He is a panelist on NPR`s "Wait Wait...Don`t Tell Me" and a columnist for The Oxford American. He was recently named president of the Authors Guild and elected to the Fellowship of Southern Writers. His first book, about hanging out with the Pittsburgh Steelers, "About Three Bricks Shy...And the Load Filled Up," now available from the University of Pittsburgh Press, was named one of the ten best sports books ever by Jonathan Yardley of The Washington Post --and just recently called, by Adam Gopnik in The New Yorker, "the best of all books about pro football." Norman Mailer said of his second book, "Crackers," "Page for page, Roy Blount is as funny as anyone I`ve read in a long time," and Time placed Blount "in the tradition of the great curmudgeons like H.L. Mencken and W.C. Fields." Garrison Keillor said in The Paris Review, "Blount is the best. He can be literate, uncouth and soulful all in one sentence." Playboy said he was "known to the critics as our next Mark Twain." Whether, on the one hand, it is his place to quote these plaudits and whether, on the other hand, he feels that they are adequate, are questions not for him to answer at this time. He has been named a Literary Lion by the New York Public Library and a Literary Light by the Boston one, and he is a usage consultant to The American Heritage Dictionary. His one-man show at the American Place Theatre was described by The New Yorker as "the most humorous and engaging fifty minutes in town"--which, when you stop to think how many fifty minutes there are in New York at any given time, is something. In l988 he expanded that show into Roy Blount`s Happy Hour and a Half. He has performed for Folk Tree Concerts and at Chet Atkins` Celebrity Golf Tournament, and introduced Chet in Carnegie Hall. A regular panelist on NPR`s Wait Wait Don`t Tell Me, he has appeared on A Prarie Home Companion frequently and on CBS Morning Show, Tonight Show, David Letterman Show, Good Morning America, Today Show, Larry King, Politically Incorrect, and in a series of TV spots for the NBA starring Bill Murray, which he helped Murray create. A contributing editor of The Atlantic Monthly, he writes a regular column ("Gone Off Up North") for The Oxford American, and has done so in the past for Esquire, The New York Times, Atlanta Magazine, Inside Sports, The Soho News, Men`s Journal, Conde Nast Traveller, The San Francisco Examiner, Spy and The Atlanta Journal. His essays, articles, stories, verses and even drawings have appeared in 166 different periodicals including The New Yorker, Gourmet, Playboy, Vanity Fair, GQ, Life, TV Guide, Vogue, Rolling Stone, National Geographic, Antaeus, Smithsonian and Organic Gardening; and in 174 books, including "The Best of Modern Humor," "The Oxford Book of American Light Verse," "The Norton Book of Light Vers