This damp February post-Super Tuesday day seems like a perfect time to look ahead to ... wait for it ... baseball!
-- Aspiring Dirt Dog Bobby Kielty, who helped to nail the WS win over the Rockies, has re-upped with a one-year deal with the Sox.
-- Gordon Edes has spring training storylines:
Buck up, Binky. The Super Bowl is yesterday's news. The sun is shining in Fort Myers, where the temperature is headed toward 85, Jon Lester and some other young lads are already there working out, and the official start of camp for the Red Sox, defending World Series champs, is a week from Wednesday.
-- And the state Senate has passed a resolution, sponsored by the aforementioned Senator Pichardo, urging Major League Baseball to retire uniform number 21 in honor of the late, great Roberto Clemente.
“Roberto Clemente truly paved the way for Latinos in Major League Baseball,” said Senator Pichardo. “Not only was Clemente one of the greatest players of his generation, but he was also a humanitarian who dedicated his life to helping the less fortunate. Much like Jackie Robinson, Clemente helped to change the face of baseball and he deserves to be honored by having his jersey number 21 retired by Major League Baseball.”
Born in Puerto Rico in 1934, Clemente played right field for the Pittsburgh Pirates for 18 years from 1955 to 1972, before dying tragically in a plane crash while delivering aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.
Clemente became the first Latino player to be admitted to the Baseball Hall of Fame and Major League Baseball annually honors a player who has dedicated himself to volunteer work with the Roberto Clemente Award. Clemente was also awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his lifetime of humanitarian service and was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002.