Best Boston Sports Arguments : The 100 Most Controversial, Debatable Questions for Die-Hard Boston Fans

by Caple, Jim

• ISBN13: 9781402208225
• ISBN10: 1402208227
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-12-20
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Inc

Summary

Every Boston fan knows that the only thing better than watching sports is arguing about them--picking the best, the worst and who will come out on top. And no city tears its sports teams apart like we do in Beantown! Veteran Boston sportswriters Steve Buckley and Jim Caple take you inside the 100 best debates in Boston sports. Covering the Red Sox, Celtics, Patriots, Bruins and beyond, every question you want to debate is here--as well as a few surprises. Arguments include: Who was the greatest Boston athlete ever: Russell, Bird or Brady? Boston: Football town or baseball town? Was freezing Ted Williams really all that crazy? The greatest clutch performer in Bruins history: Was it Orr, or was it...? Which Yankees loss was more painful? Dent or Boone? Who was better, Ted or DiMaggio?

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(4)
Are the Greatest of the Greats from Boston?	5	(3)
Who Is Boston's Greatest Athlete of All Time?	8	(3)
Is Johnny Damon a Traitor?	11	(3)
Should Tom Yawkey Be Enshrined in Baseball's Hall of Fame?	14	(2)
Should Boston Replace Ancient Fenway Park?	16	(3)
What Is the Most Underrated Sports Venue in Boston Sports History?	19	(3)
Was It the Curse---or Bigotry---That Kept the Red Sox from Overtaking the Yankees?	22	(3)
Why Jim Rice's Best Friends Are the Boston Baseball Writers	25	(2)
Should Doug Mientkiewicz Have Kept the 2004 World Series Baseball?	27	(3)
Why the Red Sox Have the Dumbest Retired-Number Policy in Sports History	30	(3)
Which Yankees Loss Was More Painful, Bucky Dent or Aaron Boone?	33	(3)
Should Tony Conigliaro's No. 25 Be Retired?	36	(3)
If You Could Go to Any Game in Boston History, Which Should You Choose?	39	(2)
Do the Celtics Have Too Many Retired Numbers?	41	(2)
What Is the All-Time Red Sox All-Star Team?	43	(3)
Should Celtics Broadcaster Johnny Most Be in the Basketball Hall of Fame?	46	(3)
Was Freezing Ted Williams All That Crazy?	49	(2)
Boston's Greatest Hockey Myth	51	(3)
What Was the Biggest Home Run in Boston History?	54	(4)
What Was the Most Overhyped Moment in Boston Sports History?	58	(2)
Which GM Was Most Responsible for the Red Sox 2004 World Championship?	60	(3)
What Was the Greatest Non-Game Moment in Bruins History?	63	(2)
Does Dominic DiMaggio Belong in the Hall of Fame?	65	(3)
What Was the Most Embarrassing On-Ice Moment in Bruins History?	68	(3)
What Was the Most Embarrassing Off-Ice Moment in Bruins History?	71	(2)
Who Was the Best Pitcher in Red Sox History?	73	(3)
What Was the Worst Time in History to Be a Boston Sports Fan?	76	(3)
Which Was the Most Important Season in Red Sox History?	79	(3)
What Was Boston's Greatest Might-Have-Been Powerhouse?	82	(3)
Which Sox World Series Team Was the Best?	85	(3)
What Was the Greatest Public Relations Gimmick in Boston Sports History?	88	(3)
What Was the Worst Public Relations Gimmick in Boston Sports History?	91	(2)
Bill Russell Deserves Something Named After Him	93	(2)
Who Was the Greatest Clutch Performer in Bruins History?	95	(3)
Who Was the Greatest Clutch Performer in Patriots History?	98	(2)
Who Was the Greatest Clutch Performer in Red Sox History?	100	(3)
Who Was the Greatest Clutch Performer in Celtics History?	103	(3)
Does Nancy Kerrigan Owe Tonya Harding a Thank You? (Not That Tonya Should Hold Her Breath)	106	(2)
The Boston Sports Trivia Question That Won't Ever Go Away	108	(3)
Did Boston Fans Really Suffer More Than Everyone Else?	111	(2)
Who Was the Most Important Front-Office Executive in Red Sox History?	113	(3)
Should Roger Clemens Go into Cooperstown Wearing a Red Sox Cap?	116	(2)
Has Johnny Pesky Been Unfairly Maligned for ``Holding the Ball'' in the 1946 World Series?	118	(2)
Should the Red Sox Trade Manny?	120	(3)
Why ``The Curse'' Is the Biggest Joke in the History of the Universe	123	(3)
The Most Overrated Closer in Red Sox History	126	(3)
Who Were the Three Most Important Men in the History of the Patriots?	129	(2)
And How One of Those Men Coughed Up a Super Bowl-Sized Furball	131	(3)
Did Don Zimmer Have It Coming?	134	(2)
Who Was Boston's Greatest Owner?	136	(3)
Who Is the Second Best Hitter in Red Sox History?	139	(2)
What Was the Greatest Draft in Boston Sports History?	141	(2)
What Was the Worst Draft in Boston Sports History?	143	(3)
What Was the Most Memorable Pitch in Fenway History?	146	(2)
Boston: Football Town or Baseball Town?	148	(3)
Did Military Service Cost Ted Williams the Home Run Record?	151	(2)
Which Celtics Player Had the Most Unique Career After Hangin' `Em Up?	153	(3)
Which Bruins Player Had the Most Unique Career After Hangin' `Em Up?	156	(2)
Which Red Sox Player Had the Most Unique Career After Hangin' `Em Up?	158	(3)
Which Patriots Player Had the Most Unique Career After Hangin' `Em Up?	161	(2)
What Was the Greatest Football Play in Boston History?	163	(2)
Who Was the Worst Coach in Patriots History?	165	(3)
Dumb and Dumber: What Was the Worst Move by a Red Sox Manager?	168	(4)
Who Was the Worst Manager in Red Sox History?	172	(2)
Should Teams Promote a Pitching Coach to Manager?	174	(3)
Who Was Really at Fault in the Ed Armbrister Play?	177	(2)
The Boston Athlete You Never Got Used to Seeing in Another Uniform	179	(3)
Which Was the Greater Feat: DiMaggio's Hitting Streak or Batting .406?	182	(2)
Who Was Better, Ted or DiMaggio?	184	(3)
So Should the Red Sox Have Traded Ted Williams for Joe DiMaggio?	187	(2)
Bobby Orr's Greatest Goal: Not!	189	(2)
What Was Bobby Orr's Greatest Goal (For Real)?	191	(3)
Who's Had a Better Career, Ben Affleck or Lou Merloni?	194	(2)
Len Bias or Reggie Lewis: Which Player's Death Had a More Dramatic Effect on the Success of the Celtics?	196	(3)
What Was the Greatest Game in Red Sox History?	199	(3)
The Bird vs. Pierce Argument	202	(3)
What Was the Greatest Moment in Boston Sports History?	205	(2)
What Was the Worst Call in Boston Sports History?	207	(3)
What Was the Most Boneheaded Front Office Move in Red Sox History?	210	(3)
Who Was the Biggest Celtics Villain?	213	(2)
Who Was the Biggest Red Sox Villain?	215	(2)
Who Was the Biggest Patriots Villain?	217	(3)
Who Was the Biggest Bruins Villain?	220	(2)
What Was the Best Moment in Red Sox History, Finally Winning the World Series or Beating the Yankees in the Playoffs?	222	(3)
Who Was Fenway's Greatest All-time Anthem Singer?	225	(2)
What Was the Lowest Moment in Red Sox History?	227	(3)
Why Gino Cappelletti Belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame	230	(2)
Did the Red Sox Give Nomar Garciaparra the Bum's Rush?	232	(3)
Could the Bullpen by Committee Strategy Have Worked?	235	(3)
What Are the Best Boston Sports Movies?	238	(3)
What Are the Worst Boston Sports Movies?	241	(3)
Do the Red Sox Left Fielders Represent Baseball's Greatest Position Dynasty?	244	(2)
What Are the Most Overpriced Seats in Baseball?	246	(2)
Was the 1975 World Series the Best Ever Played?	248	(3)
Inch for Inch, What Was the Biggest Hit in Red Sox History?	251	(2)
What Was the Biggest Upset in Boston Sports?	253	(2)
What Was the Most Embarrassing Moment in Boston Sports?	255	(3)
Who Are the Most Inspirational Athletes in Boston History?	258	(2)
Are the Red Sox the New Yankees?	260	(3)
What's the Best Sports Commercial Ever Made?	263	(4)
Sources	267	(2)
Index	269	(24)
About the Authors	293

Excerpts

From the Introduction: On the following pages, you will find the 100 best arguments in Boston sports history. Which is to say, the only sports arguments that really matter. We mean, c'mon. Sure, fans are passionate about sports all over the country, but could you get anywhere near as many good, well-rounded sports arguments going in, say, Tampa Bay? "Who's the greatest Devil Ray in history, Fred McGriff or Randy Winn?" Or what about Phoenix? How much could winning the World Series in 2001 have really meant to those guys given that they didn't even have a team until 1998? Sure, they had to put up with Buck Showalter and his ego, but what sort of real pain could they have endured in just four seasons? "Man, remember that one day in 1999 when it was, like, 85 degrees outside and the UV Index was 8.5 and they didn't close the roof?" That's the beauty of Boston sports. Boston has history. And we're not talking about the "Here's the Granary Burial Ground where founding fathers John Hancock and Samuel Adams are buried" crapola they feed you on the Freedom Trail tour. We're talking about real history. The important stuff.