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jalbre6
02-25-2005, 01:09 PM
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1999622

BOSTON -- Could the sports arena in downtown Boston, smack in the middle of Red Sox Nation, would be named after one of the hated New York Yankees?

Maybe, for one day. Or maybe not. The FleetCenter hasn't decided.

It's been selling one-day naming rights for charity while it tries to line up a new long-term naming deal.

The winning bid for Tuesday's naming rights was made by a New York attorney. Kerry Konrad bid $2,300 on eBay. He wants the arena to be known as Derek Jeter Center, in honor of the Yankees' captain and shortstop.

Not so fast, said FleetCenter spokesman Jim Delaney. Delaney said he told Konrad that his naming request might not be accepted.

Konrad is a Harvard graduate with a 20-year rivalry with some of his Boston classmates.

A decision could come today. The FleetCenter is the home of the NBA Celtics and NHL Bruins.

jalbre6
02-25-2005, 07:25 PM
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1999921

There will be no Derek Jeter Center after all.

On Tuesday, New York attorney Kerry Konrad won the right in an eBay auction to name Boston's FleetCenter for a day. For his $2,325, Konrad wanted to honor the New York Yankees shortstop.

But, on Friday, FleetCenter officials rejected the name, which Konrad hoped would add to the 25-year rivalry he has had with his former college classmates who are Boston Red Sox fans.

"We decided that all the names had to be rated G, and this name was determined to be obscene and vulgar," said Richard A. Krezwick, president and chief executive of the FleetCenter, which has auctioned off daily naming rights to about a dozen companies since its contract with the bank was terminated. "We were afraid of the volume of phone calls bogging down our switchboard, the number of e-mails clogging our portal and the potential graffiti on the side of our building."

When reached at his office, Konrad said he was not disappointed.

"I had no idea that this joke would get so much attention in the first place," Konrad said. "It was a joke. I've already had my laugh. But I could have made it much worse, like the A-Rod Center, Bucky Dent Center, the Aaron Boone Center, or the 'Only 25 More [championships] To Go' Center."

To be fair, the Red Sox are only 20 championships behind the Yankees' major league record 26.

Instead, on March 1, the building will be named the Jimmy Fund Center. Jerry Rappaport Jr., Konrad's ex-college roommate and Red Sox fan, added $6,275 to Konrad's bid -- to reach $8,600 in total to signify the 86-year Boston Red Sox curse that was broken in 2004. The money will go to The Jimmy Fund, which supports the fight against cancer through Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Krezwick said that it's not likely that any future auction winner would get by with naming the arena after anyone associated with the Yankees organization.

"I got a lot of e-mails from Red Sox fans in Boston who tipped their cap to me," Konrad said. "They left the back door open. I'm sure if [Yankees owner] George Steinbrenner were foolish enough to auction off the naming rights to Yankee Stadium for a day, Red Sox fans would have thought of something clever."

The FleetCenter is the home of the NBA's Celtics and NHL's Bruins. No events are planned on March 1 -- the NHL is locked out, and the Celtics have an off-day.