I'll start out with a couple of mea culpas for some mistakes I made in the last few weeks. Early senility continues to set in. I mentioned what great shape the Shawangunk Country Club is in and noted that the par-3 fourth hole, with the mountains in the background was my personal favorite. Actually, the fifth hole is the par-3 with the mountains in the background. Since there's little chance someone moved the holes the last time I golfed the "Gunk" — I apologize. I also mentioned that the Yankees were taking on the Red Sox in an important four game series in Boston this past weekend. Of course, that series was played in the Bronx. I promise to pay more attention to details and take my medication……….Speaking of the Yankees — it was great to sweep the hated Red Sox after having finished as bridesmaids the last few years. First, David "Big Papi" Ortiz gets named as having used performance enhancing drugs, and then the Bronx Bombers get timely hitting and great pitching to take four in a row from the Red Sox. Life is good……….White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen probably won't be doing seminars on political correctness any time soon. Ozzie Guillen was a hard nosed ballplayer in his day but as a manager, Guillen cannot resist an opportunity to stick his foot in his mouth. This past week Guillen expounded on his believe that his White Sox players were being hit by pitches at an unacceptable rate. Guillen also went on to "warn" the rest of the American League that any time one of his players is hit by a pitch, the White Sox will respond by hitting two opposing batters. Guillen is not a very intelligent man and is probably not aware that his macho "Machiavellian" approach will be looked down upon. Unfortunately, Guillen could not care less, as was evidenced by the fact that he also stated, "And I don't care if I am suspended." The White Sox manager always "wears his emotions on his sleeve," but Guillen is misinformed — and his anger misplaced. As of last week the White Sox were fifth in league in hit batsmen. (Imagine how upset the top four teams must be about getting their batters hit). Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig is a joke — an owner disguised as a commissioner, whose sole responsibility is to protect the interests of the owners, not baseball. Selig brought us the suspended All-Star Game a few years ago and has been the commissioner in the steroid-era, when cheating in baseball is at an all-time high. There was a time when the "eye for an eye" theory of retaliating against a team who threw at your batters was acceptable, but even then, the spoken word was avoided. It was part of the game. If your pitcher hit one of the opposing batters and they thought you were throwing at him intentionally, you could expect payback. But Guillen has crossed the line and his public verbal threats merit a suspension. Selig should show some spine and let Guillen know that we will not always settle our differences by taking someone out to the parking lot and kicking their butt (although something tells me that the fans on the south side of Chicago can relate to that practice). Of course, Selig is also the commissioner who allows teams to wait four and five hours before calling rain outs and also allows teams to extort money from fans by charging more for "premium" games, so we should not hold our breath waiting for the commissioner to do the right thing……….The Ellenville Booster Club is sponsoring the Third Annual Soccer Camp from August 17 to 21 from 12 noon to 5 p.m. at Ellenville H.S. The weeklong camp is free of charge to any Ellenville student in grades 5 through 10. Ellenville students in grades 11 and 12 may volunteer at the camp for credit toward their community service. Ellenville boys' varsity soccer coach Maxwell Mead will once again be running the camp. Mead reports that there are already almost 70 players signed up for the week and spots are limited. If you would like to sign up for the camp you can get all the necessary information by going to the Ellenville H.S. web page and clicking on the soccer link or by e-mailing Mead at mmead@ecs.k12.ny.us ………..There's no official word from the school district on who the new Ellenville varsity girls' basketball coach will be. In my opinion, there are only two or three Ellenville staff members that are qualified to coach this team and they might not be interested in the job. The district administration could go a long way in showing that they truly care about improving Ellenville Athletics by starting an immediate search for the most qualified candidate. One Ellenville coach recently described the situation to me by saying, "That is a skilled group of girls." The Lady Blue Devils have been playing very well in the Orange County Community College summer league and have only lost one game to date. This team needs an experienced, no-nonsense coach. Former Monticello boys coach Dick O'Neill is enjoying retirement. Former Sugar Loaf boys basketball coach Tony DiMarco said of O'Neill, "Dick O'Neill could go to the mall, pick out five kids, and in 15 minutes put together a defense that would shut down any high school offense." Maybe the Ellenville school district should give Dick O'Neill a call……….Heard a rumor that some New York Mets players have sworn not to shave until the team is playing .500 baseball. My son Kevin says if that's true you can soon expect those Mets players to be starring as cavemen in the Geico commercials……….A big highlight of the Ellenville football season comes at the end of the year banquet when a Blue Devils player is awarded the Sovak Award, named after deceased former Ellenville football coach Jack Sovak. One of the highlights of the season for me is seeing Sovak's wife Fran, a retired Ellenville teacher, who always attends the banquet with her daughters to present the award. I ran into Fran Sovak last weekend at the Lighthouse Deli. Fran, always a classy lady, was collecting money for the Ellenville Hospital………..until next time!