Sat. Nov. 17

 Now, we're in the post-post-season. You know what that means: After the Red Sox have won the World Series, all the Red Sox players who deign (decide?) to stick around town get to do lots of fun appearances, some for charity, some not. But this is the third year Manny Delcarmen has hosted the "Bowlin' Strikes for Schools" benefit at Kings Lanes. The Red Sox reliever and team mates to be named later (plus other celebrities and quasi-celebrities) will be rollin' the big balls at the big pins Saturday Nov. 17 at noon. You can join in this fun by forming a team of six ($450) or by just being an individual ($100) and hooking on with a team. (If you want to watch, it's $50.) The players promise to mingle with the crowd, sign autographs and do the usual athlete-fan thing. If were a great bowler - and I'm not, just fair at tenpin (but you should see me at candlepin!) - I'd probably get my team together and bowl better'n the ballplayers just to boast: "Oh, yeah, Delcarmen's a decent pitcher, but I beat him in bowling." I had this kind of semi-guilty rush, when I golfed with former Royals/Yankees catcher Carl Taylor in Florida a couple of years back. He hit the ball 300 yards of the tee, but his short game was miserable. We actually evened out over the long haul pretty well, but whenever I parred a hole and he bogied, I had that glow of "beating a professional athlete" even if it was not at his main game. And, truthfully, Taylor - who's Boog Powell's cousin, by the way - only picked up the game a couple of years before we started playing. Hell, I've been playing my whole life and it's a great day when I break 90. Taylor would shoot at 88 and be truly pissed off. It was a glimpse into an athlete's mindset, even one at 60. The competetive factor does not diminish. Which is to say, probably Delcarmen and his pals will roll pretty good games, so you better be on yours. Aw, heck, even if you're not your bucks go to the Boston Educational Development Fund.

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