Handing out tricks and treats

With Halloween only a day away, it is time to look into the bag of goodies to hand out awards.

The Are You Absolutely Sure He Isn’t the Batboy Award: California Angels shortstop David Eckstein. How good would he have looked in a Red Sox uniform hitting first or second in the lineup? Yes, that’s right, he used to be part of the Red Sox organization. Enough said.

The Best Save Made by a Non-Hockey Player Award: San Francisco Giants first baseman J.T. Snow, who picked up 3-year-old batboy Darren Baker, son of Giants manager Dusty Baker, and carried him out of harm’s way after Snow crossed the plate in Game 5. Darren came out to pick up a bat while Giants were circling the bases.

The Premature Headline Award: The Boston Herald. During a late-season loss to the Baltimore Orioles, the Herald ran a headline over the Red Sox game story that read something like: How about those Pats! The Patriots were 2-0 at the time. If the Patriots swoon continues, could we see a headline that reads ‘How about those Bruins (or Celtics)’ over a late-season Patriots game story?

The Good Guys Don’t Always Finish Last Award: To the Anaheim Angels, baseball’s answer to the 2002 New England Patriots. What a joy to watch a team of unselfish, team-oriented players rally from a 5-0 deficit in Game 6 with eight outs remaining to win that game 6-5 and then claim their franchise’s first World Series one night later.

The God Works in Mysterious Ways Award: To University of Notre Dame and former University of Maine Athletic Director Kevin White. He named Georgia Tech coach George O’Leary to replace the fired Bob Davie as football coach at Notre Dame only to find out that O’Leary added some erroneous information to bulk up his resume. So White chose Tyrone Willingham from Stanford and now the Irish are 8-0 and in the hunt for the national title. Willingham has done a remarkable job with a good-but-not-great Irish team that keeps getting better.

The Who Needs Them Anyway Award: Former Boston Bruins goalie Byron Dafoe and in-limbo defenseman Kyle McLaren. Dafoe is a free agent who hasn’t caught on with anybody, probably due to his sieve-like performance in the playoffs against Montreal last spring. McLaren, who has spent more time in the training room than he has on the ice in his brief career, has asked to be traded. The Bruins, meanwhile, are 5-1-2 despite playing their first six games on the road. Byron who? Kyle who?

The There May Not Be An “I” In Team But There Certainly Is A “Me”: San Francisco Giants left fielder Barry Bonds. Bonds continued his habit of standing and admiring his home runs regardless of the score of the World Series games. By admiring his homers in lopsided losses, he is embarrassing himself. He is basically saying ‘We may be losing, but look at what I just did.’ With all that said, he still probably deserved to be the Series MVP even though his team lost.

The In Case You Weren’t Paying Attention Award: The University of Maine field hockey team is 14-2 and will host the America East semifinals and final Nov. 8-10 if it can beat visiting New Hampshire on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Bears have won 14 of their last 15, including a thrilling 2-1 overtime win over the nation’s current No. 7 team Northeastern. And Terry Kix’s team has achieved its success with a lot of homegrown talent. There are 14 Mainers on the roster.

Larry Mahoney can be reached at 990-8231, 1-800-310-8600 or by email at lmahoney@bangordailynews.net.