I have nothing much to say on the subject except that I am a "fair weather" Sox fan.
I live 10 miles from Fenway and I think that I have been in there 2x.

I do enjoy it when they are winning as everyone is in a good mood.
I enjoyed it last yr when Don Zimmer got involved and threw the punch.
Gotta love it.

I remember when Don Zimmer was manager for the Cubs many years ago (that makes me sound old! )

I am a tried and true Cubbies fan since I grew up in the Chicago 'burbs (some of my fondest memories are my dad taking me to Cubs games when I was just a tot.)

But since moving to Minneapolis for college (and livng here), I've adopted the MN Twins as my team, too. I was lucky enough to attend both the '87 and '91 World Series when the Twins won and have been to the play-off games for the past two years until the Twins got ousted.

But, alas, have not been to a Cubs World Series......I'm still waiting....and waiting.....

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~Amy~®

21st trip to Aruba: May 2010
Paris, France: Aug. 3-19, 2010

Oh, Don Zimmer, now was he with the Red Sox before or after MN?? He was the best, until he went with the Yanks, then he was part of enemy territory . That whole Pedro/Zimmer encounter was a classic that will stay in my (very short lived ) memory for quite some time, sad to say but it makes me chuckle a bit.....


Now Amy, we were close with the Sox/Cubs series last year, if it wasn't for that "fan" in the stands that caught the ball in play...poor guy, he will never live that down. But what could have been doesn;t matter now.

One last statement, GO ORTIZ!!!!

Don Zimmer used to be with the Chicago Cubs (not MN) - he was manager in the late '80's which was when the Cubs got into the playoffs in 1989.

Oh, don't even get me started about "the fan" that blew it last year for the Cubs. I had my hotel booked near Wrigley and eveything - I was all set to go to Chicago! I was sooooo hoping for a Sox/Cubs World Series last year after my Twins got beat. Oh, well - there's always this year, right?

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~Amy~®

21st trip to Aruba: May 2010
Paris, France: Aug. 3-19, 2010

For the Sox, maybe - the Cubs, Twins, and Yanks will all be watching as the world series gets played. Sox vs Astros, Clemens vs Pedro in game 7, and no Grady Little to leave Pedro in if he gets tired. Bye bye Rocket, bye bye Curse, dawn of a new era: Boston wins! Boston wins!

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Dream on, dream on, dream until your dreams com e truuuue!!

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The Gerbil was manager when Bucky Dent used a cork bat in that one-game playoff that led to the Cranks losing to the Dodgers in the World Series.

I too was hoping for a Sox/Cubbies matchup. It actually lost a little of it's appeal when the they got bounced by the fish. I was in Miami for the start of the series. There were more people in Miami watching the Sox/Yank series that their own home team.

What I remember most was the Patriots pasting the Dolphins later that weekend. Now that was great.

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Aruba for me

Twins beat Boston last night. Even though I do like Boston, I also like it more when a team with a very low (and I mean LOW!) payroll like ours beats a team that's spending oodles of money (I especially LOVE IT when they beat the Yanks!)

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~Amy~®

21st trip to Aruba: May 2010
Paris, France: Aug. 3-19, 2010

Then you really must have loved the lean Marlins beating the bloated Yankee payroll.

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Aruba for me

I was OVERJOYED!!!! arty:

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~Amy~®

21st trip to Aruba: May 2010
Paris, France: Aug. 3-19, 2010

How come the party smiling face doesn't look like the one in the picture with the party hat and party favor???

arty:

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~Amy~®

21st trip to Aruba: May 2010
Paris, France: Aug. 3-19, 2010

I think the smiley face knew that the discussion was involving the Yankees, so it couldn't put its full effort into it....

Having grown up in southern Illinois and going to St Louis to see Stan the man and Enos Slaughter play in old Sportsmans park and being a lifelong cardinal fan, I must take exception to Kevin saying the Astros will be in the WS. Even with all the pitching the astros bought they are still 5 games behind the cards in the NL central. As far as dating myself, if seeing those 2 hall of famers play doesnt date me enough, I also went to see the Brownies(St Lois Browns) play when I was a kid. By the way , I grew up listening to Harry Caray on the radio for the Cards, years before he went to th Cubbies. Go redbirds.

Yeah, I've been burned by that one myself - too bad, I like that smiley!

arty: - right now (before I hit 'submit'), it looks like it's supposed to, with the hat and tooter. Let's see what happens...

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Nope...maybe nanc-arella's right: The party smiley must be a Yanx fan.

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Scube, Scube Nothing like a red sox fan and a Yankee fan going at it. It has been like this since what was that year 1918. since the curse of the Bamabino. and still goes strong today. Better than any other rivalary like Texas /Oklahoma ,celtics/ lakers. Duke/ North Carolina, even the famous Ohio State /Michagan in football .Red sox and Yankees is the top and now AS USUAL Yankees in 1st place with the best record in baseball no less supposedly no pitching and boston looking up again at the evil empire I expect it to get even more heated don't worry scube the dead sox oops I mean the red sox they have a payback coming to them.

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Born to raise Hell and enjoy every minute of it. Hawklords

don't you mean Bambino?? yup, this will be a good thread...

I think Bamabino is what they call an albino from Alabama - no wonder we haven't shaken The Curse yet, we've had the wrong target for our voodoo

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Made me Laugh out loud, too funny kevin!!

Of course just a slip of a letter.You know what is the most remarkable thing about this is that even right now the biggest draw for any team playing in their home stadium is when the Yankees come and play against them. That was proved when they played the dodgers recently, and just recently the against baltimore. Not only that But wherever I see the Yankees on the road I see more people wearing that WORLD FAMOUS interlocking NY logo then I see wearing the home teams colors or logo apparel. This is one of the most remarkable things I have seen in ANY sport .And It does not matter if the Yankees are playing in Texas or Minnesota or Cleveland It seems there are more Yankee fans in the other teams stadium than the home team I don't know we must be brainwashing people or it must be smoke and mirrors but anyone who knows the sports apparel business and the billions of dollars that are spent knows the Number 1 item by far is the Yankees NY symbol worn on hats or jerseys or any other piece of clothing. weather you LOVE them (I DO) or hate em (right Scube and kevin) George knows how to market his team and business and what does he do to make sure it stays that way he spends his money on the players it takes to keep it that way. Wish all those other Billionare owners would learn .Yes it doesn't always work but when was the last time the Yankees had a losing record it will take you a while to think about that one. GO Yankees

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Born to raise Hell and enjoy every minute of it. Hawklords

Geesh, I last checked board this morning and now this afternoon to find all this Yankee bashing! Well said, Ron!!! The Yankees do bring in fans at all the other stadiums. I have even saw a Yankee hat in Rome. They have a well put-together team (except for previously mentioned Contreras). Posada, Jeter, Bernie are class-A guys.

We sure got our butts kicked last night though!

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Well let's be honest here Ron. If you lived in Cleveland, would you root for a Cleveland team?

Oh I don't know. I seem to see more Dallas Cowboys swag out there.

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Aruba for me

I can't speak for other teams, but I beg to differ regarding your statement above about Minnesota! I go to more Twins games per year than I care to admit to and have been for over 10 years and I can definitely say that in all those years I can count on one hand how many Yankees hats or t-shirts I've seen in the Dome. Yankees fans? Sorry, but you will not find them in Minnesota (or at Wrigley - my hometown team - I make alot of treks there every year, too.)

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~Amy~®

21st trip to Aruba: May 2010
Paris, France: Aug. 3-19, 2010

The reason that so many people come to see the Yanks is that so many people love and hate the Yanks. They, like the Lakers and Cowboys, have transcended their local followings and are either loved or hated by all - not much in-between. I do recall going to Camden to see a Sox game and seeing nearly as many Sox caps as O's - but that doesn't get my head swelling into the shape of the Sox logo, unlike our friend Ron and his interlocking NY.

It's easy to jump on the bandwagon of a winner, that's why there's such a large following of Yanks/Cowboys/Lakers. And it's much easier to win when you spend bazillions more than everyone else every year, so don't get too cocky. It was only 10-12 years ago when they were the sad sacks of the AL East, and the Empire is teetering now, despite their gaudy record. Age catches up with even the best players...

So long to the Curse of the Bamabino!

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Bamabino....that's just killing me with laughter!

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~Amy~®

21st trip to Aruba: May 2010
Paris, France: Aug. 3-19, 2010

Not always so kevin! The Mets spending was close to the Yankees last year and they bombed! Remember two things - 1) We were brought up by our dads hearing about Mantle, Maris, Ford, etc. and how great they were (and they were). 2) It's also George Steinbrenner and the tone he sets for the team. He spends big money but takes no crap from them. They are expected to p erform. Any cry babies like Raul Mondesi are traded. They would not have thrown down a 70-something year old man on the ground nor show up for work looking like Johnny Damon. (what's the deal there?)

So it's not just a bandwagon. It's pride in our team!

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[

It's easy to jump on the bandwagon of a winner, that's why there's such a large following of Yanks/Cowboys/Lakers. And it's much easier to win when you spend bazillions more than everyone else every year, so don't get too cocky. It was only 10-12 years ago when they were the sad sacks of the AL East, and the Empire is teetering now, despite their gaudy record. Age catches up with even the best players...

Ahhh Now that I got all the home team fans up ready to defend the honor of their home and as well as you should from the evil Empire let's get down to the fun. Kevin kevin if I remeber correctly the Seattle Mariners are owned by Paul Allen who just happens to be the 2nd or 3rd richest man in America part of the Microsoft billions. They use to have on their team A Rod, Ken Griffey Jr, Randy Johnson, John Olreud, Edgar Martinez a real outstanding team great players all and they should have won a few championships. But they didn't and when it was time the majority of those good players left that team for what ever reason. Maybe they wanted more money or they did not like the town of Seattle who knows I am sure that Paul Allen was not gonna go broke if he had shell out more money to keep them but hey he had his chances now look at them. A real shame. As for my friend in Minnesota the funny thing is when the twins play the Yankees and I watch it on TV whenever I see the Yankees hit homeruns in that stadium I always see the yankee fans in the stadium and BOY OH BOY there sure as hell is a lot of them stand up and clap and it's funny they make just as much noise as the minnesota fans. Somtimes I don't think that the yankees are playing an away game. Again I don't know maybe these fans are imported New Yorkers come to Minnesota to cheer for there favorite team but I always see a WHOLE lot of NY yankee hats in the stands I don't know maybe the TV is hiding all the twins fans in the stands .I am sure there are many I just don't see them and really you guys have a good team just don't count on keeping Jaques Jones or tori Hunter for long unless you Pay good dollars for those very Good players. Cause you know the Head of the Evil Empire Himself George (DARTH VADER) Steinbrener will have his check book open ready to treat them to the Paradise that is Yankee history OK boys bring it on you know us Yankee fans ready to snap and talk smack all day and nite long

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Born to raise Hell and enjoy every minute of it. Hawklords

When I worked at a different company a few years ago, one of our clients was the NY Yankees. One of the managers would always give us free tickets when the Yankees were in town and you know where those seats were? Smack dab in the middle of Yankee fans! I always talked to all of the Yankees fans surrounding me and you know what? They WERE NOT from Minnesota! They all flew in for one reason or the other (some were wives and girlfriends), but needless to say there is a small section of Yankee fans at the Twins game here, but, rest assured, they are not from Minnesota. Phew!

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~Amy~®

21st trip to Aruba: May 2010
Paris, France: Aug. 3-19, 2010

The reason: money! Yes Paul's a very rich man, but so are the owners of any sports franchise. The difference lies in the additional revenues that some teams/markets can earn, and that's where the Yanks (and Mets for that matter) so easily surpass the other teams. There's a ridiculous amount of people in NY, and they all have TV's...

As for the payroll issue, yes the Mets spent a lot last year (most likely because of the pressure of watching the Empire continue to do so), and yes so did the Sox - they were probably #2 and #3 in salaries. Still, both were (and are now further) well behind the Empire in spending. The days of Mantle and Maris etc are gone now, Darth will simply buy what he needs when he needs it. Keep the book open, Pedro's looking for a deal!

See you in October, you can call me from the ICU to congratulate me while you're visiting Brown and Sheffield et al. And Amy, your Twins just cost me a bet with my Ma - thanks!

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One last arrow to fire off: Bring on a salary cap, and let's see what happens.

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That would be great, wouldn't it?!?

My curiousity got the better of me....here are the payrolls as of April 13, 2004. And if the Cubs are really spending that much money then I am really counting on them now this year!!!


Baseball Payrolls, List


NEW YORK (AP) -- Payrolls and average salaries for the opening day rosters of the 30 major league teams. Figures were obtained by The Associated Press from management and player sources and include salaries and pro-rated shares of signing bonuses. In some cases, parts of salaries deferred without interest are discounted to reflect present-day values.

Team Payroll
N.Y. Yankees $182,835,513
Boston 125,208,542
Anaheim 101,084,667
New York Mets 100,629,303
Philadelphia 93,219,167
Chicago Cubs 91,101,667
Los Angeles 89,694,342
Atlanta 88,507,788
San Francisco 82,019,167
Seattle 81,543,833
St. Louis 75,633,517
Houston 74,666,303
Arizona 70,204,984
Chicgo White Sox 65,212,500
Colorado 64,590,403
Oakland 59,825,167
Texas 54,825,973
San Diego 54,639,503
Minnesota 53,585,000
Baltimore 51,212,653
Toronto 50,017,000
Kansas City 47,609,000
Detroit 46,353,554
Montreal 43,197,500
Cincinnati 43,067,858
Florida 42,118,042
Cleveland 34,569,300
Pittsburgh 32,227,929
Tampa Bay 29,506,667
Milwaukee 27,518,500

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~Amy~®

21st trip to Aruba: May 2010
Paris, France: Aug. 3-19, 2010

Kevin salary Cap right. You know what is funny when the players union asked for the owners to open up their books to see what all those owners who said they were losing money the owners all except one were saying No way never. they shouldn't have to do that. Now the funny thing is if baseball and we all agree Baseball is now big business I am wondering why they should not be held accountable for the money they take in and their spending but for some reason these socalled small markets want to cry poverty say they cannot compete with the major market teams Yankees ,Dodgers,Angels, etc,etc I mean if they are so poor and losing so much money why don't you let a top notch auditor go in look at their books and lets really see who is poor. I don't have to tell you the name of the only owner who said hey no problem I am open to it because it's no secret how much george spends on his team as a matter of fact yes he has a 200+ million dollar payroll but you know what for being over the socalled limit the extra 20 or 30 million dollars he gives back to the rest of the league and is divided up by the other teams yes that includes all those small market boys Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Milauwkee so george is actually giving those boys FREE MONEY the question is what are those boys doing with that free money? putting it in Swiss or grand Cayman off shore accounts or giving it to family sons,daughters,wives,mistresses or are they just using it to add a wing to their mansions or buying another yacht instead of putting it back into the team. Like I said even if you had a hard salary cap. say 70 million for every team in the league. NY Yankees would still be number 1 and you ask why plain and simple New York is the financial and media market in the world. It's the endorsements outside of the game that players would want and the money you make in commercials and TV exposure and really only LA can match that. So the thing is this george can be a bastard but he cares for his team and he REALLY cares for Yankee tradition and he will do all in his power and YES in his CHECKBOOK to make sure he has a winning product on the field and doesn't give a damn about how much it cost because he makes all that money back

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Born to raise Hell and enjoy every minute of it. Hawklords

Whether or not the teams you referred to are losing money or poor, if they were to try and field a team with a $200 million payroll, they would most certainly go belly up. There is so much more revenue coming into the Yanks org that they can afford to pay more than others, and the revenue sharing that the league imposes is merely a tax on Darth's spending.

Amy, thanks for the figures - I knew there was a disparity, but I didn't realize by how much . Even my Sox are spending less than I thought, nowhere near the Empire's gluttonous numbers. And you notice the Angels high on the list - they have a new owner, who came in with his checkbook open, ready to spend.

I agree that a salary cap is a pipedream, but it's working in the other leagues, that's why there's so much parity in football and even basketball. As went the high-flyin' overrated overhyped heavy-favorite Lakers, so will go the Yanks.

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And you know who beat the Twins in the play-offs in 2002 and 2003: The Angels and the Yanks (both with huge payrolls).

Now, Ron, you said the Yankees would still be number 1....I believe that honor belongs to the Florida Marlins right now!

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~Amy~®

21st trip to Aruba: May 2010
Paris, France: Aug. 3-19, 2010

You go girl!

Hey Bob, are you coming to KC this weekend for the Royals/Cards series? We'll be at the game Saturday. One of the coaches for our team is a regular Aruba vacationer. He & his wife go during week 3 every year. If you'll be in town, we'll be tailgating in lot J-33 & then sitting in section 108, front row. Look for the Aruba Flag beach towel!!

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Mindy from Kansas City

Jan 16-30, 2010 Divi Dutch Village

Sorry, kev & amy, that will never happen! Everyone, including owners, players, advertisers are too greedy. But seriously, isn't there a fund that teams that spend over a certain contribute to(obviously like the Yanks). Hubby says some owners pocket this money instead of building the players' payroll. (see, now we have a Met fan budding in, too!)
I AROD!!

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Yes there is, I think it's called the luxury tax, revenue sharing, whatever - the result is that teams that spend over xx dollars on salary pay xxxx dollars into a pool to be divided among all the teams. Who knows if that money is regulated as far as where it goes, I don't think it's mandatory that it gets added to team salaries, but I'm sure the owners are grateful (and eating well)...

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Yikes the Yanks just got whipped by the Mets!

Need to depend on Contreras to win tommorrow! Maybe he's more relaxed since his wife is here!

Ha-Ha , Red Sox clobbered too!

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The heck with the BoSox and Crankees. What about Tampa Bay!

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Aruba for me

Heckuva story, for sure. Their problem is that they'll have to start playing real teams again soon...from 18 below .500 to over .500 in one season has never been done, let alone before the all-star break. Lou's got it goin on!

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Lou knows how to manage a team, and not let the players run the show.

Battle in the Bronx tonight. Sox need to take 2 out of 3 or they're playing for the wild card.

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Aruba for me

Now Scuba, I may have slowed my roll on trash talking (have I?), but I won't go as far as to say that they gotta win 2 of 3 or else. I'm still counting on age catching up with their old arms, and the Sox lineup is just now getting settled. I saw the other day, with Trot and Nomar in there, they've got a real murderer's row at the plate. Ortiz and Manny having huge years, we just need Lowe and Wakefield to pitch like they can. Interleague games always costs the Sox some in the standings.

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Geesh, I feel guilty ever since I mentioned the Sox haven't done anything since Rudy Vallee sang "Tea For Two", you haven't been the same!!

Bring it on, kevin!

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All I gotta say is YANKEES 11 Dead sox 3. Murderer's row my A** their is only 1 Murderer's row and that is the 1927 NY Yankees

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Born to raise Hell and enjoy every minute of it. Hawklords

I think after last night, you're better off with Nomar NOT in there. It's more like murderer's row in your infield! Our "old arms" were just fine!

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All I can say is that it's not easy being a Sox fan...yeah Nomar had his problems, yeah they whupped Lowe right outta the stadium, yeah they're 6.5 games out now - what can I say? Corrine, it wasn't that you made the comment about tea for two that slowed me down, it's all of the above! I still believe they can come back and win it, but it's hard to talk trash when you're staring up from down so low ...

I heard them talking about this rivalry on ESPN yesterday before the game, and somebody's comment was 'Rivalry? Does a hammer and a nail have a rivalry?' Nuf said (SO FAR)...

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Kevin,Kevin you know when this post was 1st started I was going to be a nice Yankee fan Ha Ha .suprised huh that there are even Yankee fans like that. and like Scube was saying late May early june is not the time to talk so I was gonna wait till All star break and then talk trash. but once the red sox fans decided to get personal against my Beloved Yankess well what is a Yankee fan supposed to do. It is to talk trash back. .. Ever the eternal optimist you Really believe the red sox are gonna come back and win the American league east. Cause if you do as we say in New York I gotta bridge to sell you in Brooklyn real cheap. You can put a toll gate up and make lots of money. Even my Homeboy Scube knows the deal that's why he ain't saying much now. what you red sox fans have to worry about now is to make sure you stay in the race for the wild card cause if the Yankees do sweep this or even win 2 out of 3 this race will just about be history

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Born to raise Hell and enjoy every minute of it. Hawklords

All I can say is GO BUCS!!!!!!!!!!!. SORRY TO GET SO EXCITED FOLKS, BUT THE PIRATES HAVE FOUR WINS IN A ROW. HOPING THEY CAN GET ANOTHER ONE THIS AFTERNOON. I PROBABLY JUST THIS MINUTE JINXED THEM. HAVE TO GET SOME NL TALK IN HERE SOMEWHERE. I DON'T KNOW ANY OF THESE PEOPLE YOUR ARE TALKING ABOUT SO I FEEL CHEATED OUT OF THE CONVERSATION.
RUBA4EVER

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Only happy people allowed!

Its funny to find this posting on her because it reminds me of last oct. when we were in aruba but spent everynight at the Marriots sports bar so that we could watch our beloved cubbies. It was so neat because there were so many people from Boston there and we were cheering for them they were cheering for us. It was to be the World Series that would go down in history and destroy all the curses. Oh this year...as every Sox and Cubbies fan says. I actually saw a tear drop down my poor defeated husbands face. And to make matters worse we flew home the next day.

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SaraD.