Man of the People?

A fairly slow Monday for local sports links. A little of this, a little of that. In the Globe, what passes for the main baseball story is an excerpt from Dan Shaughnessy’s new book. You won’t find a link here. You also won’t find a link to the (shockingly) positive review of the book by Dan’s employer, the Boston Globe today. I’m protesting on behalf of Red Sox fans who have been subjected to the curse mongering that has gone on for the better part of two decades by Shaughnessy. During this time, he has profited by the pain of Red Sox fans. Now he writes a cheerful account of the Red Sox finally winning it all, and wants fans to buy that as well? How stupid does he take us for? You would think that the chant that erupted in St Louis following the Red Sox World Series clinching victory would’ve been a sign that perhaps he wasn’t the one to write a popular book about this. People will buy it, of course, many just don’t know any better.

There are plenty of great books out there about the Red Sox winning the World Series. Faithful has been very popular, I enjoyed Leigh Montville’s Why Not Us? and I’m in the middle of reading Our Red Sox and liking it very much. There are literally dozens of other books out there on this topic. You have plenty of choices to read to enjoy this very special time in Boston history. I don’t think it’s necessary to bring more attention to someone who has spent as much time as possible emphasizing the negative and reminding fans of decades of failure.

Elsewhere this morning, there are a few other baseball stories, a look at NCAA basketball and hockey action from yesterday, a couple Celtics stories and some leftovers from yesterday in the Lawrence Eagle Tribune.

Byung-Hyun Kim is the subject of most of the baseball links this morning, as the submarining right-hander makes a late bid to be a part of the Red Sox opening day roster. He also talked (through interpreter Chang Lee) to the media following yesterday’s game about how he feels and his desire to do well in Boston. Tony Massarotti says that if Kim struggles early in the season, it will be harder for the Sox to escape from “the worst – and perhaps only – significant blunder” of Theo Epstein’s reign. Sean McAdam says that Kim could be gone as soon as Curt Schilling is ready to return. He can refuse an assignment to the minor leagues, but hasn’t decided if he would so so in that situation. Chris Snow’s notebook and David Borges notebook each have more on Kim and what he had to say to the media yesterday and what the future holds for him.

Jeff Horrigan looks at Trot Nixon, who is healthy this spring after coming in last year heavier and then getting injured quickly. Nixon said that reflecting on “real world” news helped him have some perspective when he was frustrated with his injuries last year. Lenny Megliola looks at the popularity of the Red Sox, taking a trip through Barnes & Noble to see how many Red Sox he can find on non-baseball magazine covers. John Tomase looks at how the Red Sox have rebuilt their minor league system under Theo Epstein. Christopher Price looks at how the events of last October have changed the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry…a real rivalry now. David Borges looks at Pawtucket native Jay Rainville, a Twins prospect. McAdam’s notebook looks at yesterday’s win over the Pirates. Horrigan’s notebook says that only one roster spot remains to be decided for the Red Sox, and because of Kim’s large contract, the Sox are likely stuck with him.

After winning 11 of 12 games, the Celtics have now lost three games in a row. Mark Murphy looks at the last 12 games of the season, seven of which are on the road, and eight of which are against teams that will be in the playoffs, or are on the bubble. Shira Springer looks at what the Celtics need to do to get back on track.

Michael Vega has the game story from Michigan State/Kentucky, while Adam Kilgore covers North Carolina/Wisconsin. Nancy Marrapese-Burrell, Alan Lessels and Stephen Harris have coverage of the UNH men’s Hockey team falling to Denver in the NCAA Hockey Regional Finals.

Bill Burt says that Drew Bledsoe is the most overrated quarterback ever. He is responding to some of Bledsoe’s own comments in a piece by Michael Smith last week on ESPN.com. Burt says he wasn’t going to bash Bledsoe any more , but after reading the Smith piece, he had to address some of Drew’s comments. It’s a long running joke on the Big Show that a drunken Bill Burt heckled Bledsoe during a Super Bowl week a couple years ago. They make reference to it quite often. Apparently though, it didn’t happen. I made reference to it once, and got a response from Burt saying it wasn’t true.

Russ Conway looks at how fans are striking back against the NHL.

Dennis & Callahan announced this morning that the new WEEI streaming will officially launch next Monday morning.

No local or national games on broadcast or standard cable TV tonight.