I run this 1949 picture of Red Sox manager Joe McCarthy with the Yanks' Casey Stengel for several reasons:

Because it's amusing, with Ol' Case (who would go on to win seven World Series with New York, tying McCarthy's Yankee record) seeming to wear the expression of the cat who ate the canary;

because I wonder what ever happened to the good old-fashioned long-sleeved manager's uniform;

and because Marse Joe, whose decision to go with Denny Galehouse in the 1948 AL playoff game still causes the tearing of hair and rending of garments in Boston 55 years later, exemplifies the spirit of frustration that has hovered over the Sox for lo these many years, and has set in once again.

Ken Coleman, RIP: The former longtime TV and radio voice of the Red Sox has died.

With partner Ned Martin, he called the Red Sox' Impossible Dream season of 1967, and he narrated the indispensable highlights record that followed. And his call of the celebrated 29-29 Harvard-Yale game of 1968 leads a CD compilation of play-by-play calls of great football finishes.

In the span of little more than a year, Ken Coleman called the 100-1 long-shot Red Sox' pennant-clincher on the last day of the '67 season, and perhaps the greatest comeback in college football history.

His voice was a welcome part of summer for generations of Red Sox fans. He will be missed. Tom Fitzpatrick and Chris from Maine add tributes.

The Old Bawl Game: The late Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray instituted the tradition of singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch at Wrigley Field, and in recent years, visiting celebrities have been invited to lead the crowd in the singing.

The other day it was Ozzy Osbourne's turn, and his rendition was one for the ages. The local NBC affiliate's coverage includes a clip of his memorable performance, as well as past clinkers by Nancy Kerrigan and Mike Ditka. The lyrics to the Ozzie version are here if you'd like to mumble along.