Curse Continues as NY State Supremes Overturn Red Sox v. Yankees
New York - Boston's ALCS victory celebration proved short-lived last night, as a hastily-assembled New York State Supreme Court ruled 9-0 to overturn the Red Sox historic come-from-behind win over the Yankees.
The dramatic ruling, issued at 4:52 AM, noted that while losing the series 4 games to 3 the Yankees had actually outscored Boston 45 - 41, and that a Red Sox berth in the World Series would constitute "widespread disenfranchisement of the higher scoring, and clearly more popular, team."
The ruling also overturned a game six interference call against Yankee Alex Rodriguez, which it termed "an arbitrary and capricious ruling against a player who was perhaps, not coincidentally, of Hispanic origin." It ordered American League officials to manually recount the runs in series games 4, 5 and 6, as supervised by Michele Catalano.
The Yankees' 46-member legal team erupted into a wild celebration on the ruling, spraying the vinyl-draped court room with champagne. They were joined by Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and the New York Supreme Court, wearing their traditional pinstripe robes.
It was another stunning victory for New York's famed "Murderers Row" of attorneys, who continued their dominance over the Red Sox legal department, compiling 48 consecutive court victories in the last 10 years while amassing a record 3.7 million billable hours. After the Yankees lost on the field 10-3 last night, they filed for an emergency injunction with the State Court, who were attending the game in Steinbrenner's private Yankee Stadium skybox.
Boston's attorneys vowed to appeal the ruling to the US Supreme Court, and to sue for several champagne-related slipping injuries. However, many longtime court watchers believe they will have a difficult time convincing the court to review the case.
"There are no constitutional issues at stake here, and with the World Series scheduled to begin Sunday there's no way a verdict can be rendered in time," noted Stuart Taylor of Lawsuits Illustrated. "Plus, the Yankees have solid case law on their side, such as Bambino and the landmark paternity suit Who v. Daddy."
Can we get a recount?
Posted by: Doug | October 21, 2004 at 08:11 PM