Even the Red Sox can’t avoid the modern day business of sports. Fenway and the likes of Tom and Jean Yawkey helped preserve a sweet, aged flavor for the Sox fans well beyond that maintained by most franchises, but the current flavor is less sweet, on and off the field.

The June issue of Boston Magazine raises some tantalizing questions about the Sox ownership in an article entitled “Boss Harrington.” While the official owner of the team is Jean Yawkey’s estate, the trustee of the estate, and thus the boss of the Sox, is John Harrington.

As the artcle notes, he is in the unique position of controlling a major league franchise without every having had to buy it. Offers of as much as $200 million have been turned down for the Sox, while some question whether Harrington is acting in the best interests of the estate or simply wants to continue its unique position in baseball.

The article is worth a read if you are a Sox fan or a follower of the business of sports. What remains unanswered is how long this situation can continue and whether there will be a growing ferment affecting the business of Boston baseball.

As for Fenway, a top official recently told me he expects a new yard is five or six years off.

“The ownership issue may need to be resolved first. Then there’s the question of where to build,’ he said.

As to a new park on the current site, “There’s not enough land owned or available around Fenway to build there,” he said.

The battle to keep the Sox in Boston will be waged around land costs, tax money availability and sweetheart deals from plenty of communities. This will not be pretty when the search for a new home gets serious.

Perhaps most amazing, there is a general acceptance that Fenway is gone. That is a realistic position since the infrastructure is crumbling, not to mention the need for modern boxes and suites. Sox officials view Baltimore’s Camden Yards as the ideal model for a new Fenway.

The amazing part is there will be no effort to “save Fenway.” It is a telling commentary on the fans desire for more comfort and service at the expense of a treasured memory. Then again, three hours in a Fenway seat built for the average person at the turn of the century can get you longing for a new yard in a hurry.

More immediate, the television broadcast rights are up again. Sox officials are happy with the production work of Channel 68, owned by Boston University. They are likely to keep the contract, but TV 38 (WSBK) in Boston, is back in the building. TV coverage in Maine is a problem tht Sox want solved, but they think 68’s production effort has exceeded TV 38’s work.

NESN’s role and ownership could change, and that would affect the whole TV package. Hang on to the clicker, you may need it to find your Sox.