Expressing the sense of the House with respect to the Boston Red Sox victory in the 2007 Major League Baseball World Series.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 782) expressing the sense of the House with respect to the Boston Red Sox victory in the 2007 Major League Baseball World Series.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 days within which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. Speaker, as a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, I am pleased to join my colleagues in the House and in the Senate and my mom and dad and the entire Red Sox Nation in consideration of House Resolution 782, a bill that congratulates the Boston Red Sox baseball team, our beloved Boston Red Sox baseball team, for winning the 2007 Major League Baseball World Series.

House Resolution 782 was introduced by my friend and colleague, Representative Michael Capuano. The Boston Red Sox baseball team did indeed win their second World Series in four seasons, defeating the Colorado Rockies 4-3 in game four at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado, on Sunday, October 28, 2007.

The Red Sox are the first team in this century to win multiple championships since the year 2000. Kevin Youkilis, the first baseman for the Red Sox said, ``Pitching will lead you all the way,'' and that was it, great pitching and timely hitting. This team is now rightfully the best team in baseball.

The Red Sox won the 2004 and 2007 World Series under the great management of Terry Francona. We in Red Sox Nation wish to congratulate the management of the Boston Red Sox baseball team, the players, the coaches, the fans and the entire Red Sox community.

I commend my colleague, Representative Capuano, and Fenway Park is actually in his district. I want to thank him for congratulating the Boston Red Sox for winning the 2007 Major League Baseball World Series. From all the members of the delegation, we appreciate his hard work on this matter.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to my colleague and friend, Michael Capuano, for as much time as he may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to another friend of Red Sox Nation, part of Red Sox Nation from Connecticut (Mr. Courtney).

Mr. Speaker, before I yield additional time, I just want to relate anecdotally how the extent of the Red Sox Nation is expanding.

About a month ago I happened to visit Afghanistan and Pakistan. And while in Afghanistan, I traveled with the 173rd Airborne up in a little place called Nahre. It's about 8,000 feet up into the mountains of Afghanistan. And while I was there, the helicopter, it was not pressurized so it only took us up so far, and then we had to walk up a little ways to the outpost where the 173rd was conducting operations on the Pakistani border, and when we were approaching the camp, there were a group of Afghani villagers off to the righthand side digging a ditch. And while most of them had the traditional headdress of the Afghans at that time on in their project, I did notice one gentleman, an Afghani, probably about 30 years old. And on close inspection, there he was, 8,000 feet in the mountains of Afghanistan, an Afghani villager wearing a Boston Red Sox baseball cap. And that is an indication of how widespread and popular the movement behind the Red Sox has become.

And in closing, I would just like to thank the Red Sox organization. As a corporate citizen, its owners, its managers, its players, coaches, there is no shortage of kindness that they have shown to every cause. From Curt Schilling's support of ALS and the efforts against that disease, David Ortiz and his efforts to help alleviate the effect of the hurricanes in the Dominican Republic, there's no shortage of kindness and good citizenship that has been exhibited by this organization. We recognize them for their excellence.

Mr. Speaker, at this point, in a moment of questionable wisdom, I am actually going to yield to a Mets fan, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Weiner), for 1 minute, because I am not quite sure what he might say.

Thank God. Mr. Speaker, I have been remiss, and I would like to at this time yield to my great friend and colleague from Rhode Island, Representative James Langevin, who is a die-hard Red Sox fan and a leader of Red Sox Nation, for whatever time he may consume.

(Mr. LANGEVIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, seeing no further speakers on this matter, I yield back the balance of our time.

Thank you, Congressman Lynch, for letting me join in on today's resolution.

I come from the southern end of Red Sox Nation in eastern Connecticut. We are still closer to Fenway Park than we are to Yankee Stadium or Shea Stadium, so it's still safe for me to publicly speak out on this resolution.

As someone from a multigenerational Red Sox family like Mr. Capuano, we suffered and worried and have terrible memories, but obviously this is not our fathers' Red Sox any more.

This is a great team that combined a lot of new players, Dustin Pedroia, ``Jake'' Jacoby Ellsbury, Daisuke Matzusaka, along with the 2004 veterans of the last World Series, to again have another great exciting season, particularly the ALCS where they came back down 3-1.

As Mr. Capuano said, Red Sox Nation extends far and wide. Last March I was on board the USS Alexandria, a nuclear submarine out of Groton, Connecticut, under the ice in Alaska. I spent a day driving around with a great crew, professional and just so impressive in the work they do for our Nation. Sat down for breakfast after sleeping onboard the ship and was immediately confronted by the sailors who said they had only one question for me. I figured it was the war on Iraq, health care. And the one question was, Yankees or Red Sox? I was able to reassure them that I was a Red Sox fan, since they all were as well.

But one of the sailors indicated to me that he was coming up for re- enlistment and his dream was to do it in Fenway Park in front of the Green Monster. When I came back to Washington, we contacted President Lucchino of the Red Sox, who bent over backwards for this sailor and his family, his fiance, and they did, in fact, stage a re-enlistment ceremony in front of the Green Monster, wearing the 2004 ring as he signed the papers, committing himself again to our Nation. And I just want to read from the Boston Globe the comment of Petty Officer Vecchione who said, ``It's a sacred place. I had the ring on my finger as if I was married to the Red Sox for a few minutes.''

And I think really what that incident showed, though, is that we have a management who sees that it's a two-way street in Red Sox Nation. We love our players, but they love their fans; and that's why we have such a great fan base who are so passionate about this incredible team that goes back to the early days of baseball.

And I appreciate again the bipartisan support and even the support from some Members who root for other teams in this resolution and urge its passage.

I thank the gentleman for yielding on this historic occasion and for the purpose of a great celebration and recognizing the great victory of the Boston Red Sox in this year's World Series.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of House Resolution 782, a resolution that congratulates the Boston Red Sox on winning the World Series on October 28, 2007. As a life-long Red Sox fan, I am so pleased to be here with the rest of the New England delegation to show our appreciation for the Red Sox players, coaches, front office, and the rest of the Red Sox Nation.

The 2007 Red Sox were dominant from the beginning of the season, which is not easy when you have 162 regular season games in a year. In the World Series, the Red Sox faced the Colorado Rockies, a team that had won 21 of their last 22 games, leading up to the last showdown. That statistic didn't faze the Red Sox at all, though;

and whether it was in Boston or Denver, the pitchers made their pitches and the batters showed how hard it was to get an out in their lineup.

With a sense of inevitability, the Red Sox swept the Rockies in four games to win their second World Series in 4 years.

Every player on the team made a contribution. From veterans like Curt Schilling to rookies like Jacoby Ellsbury, Mike Lowell, who helped to keep the Red Sox on top during the regular season and rightfully won the World Series Most Valuable Player.

The 2007 Red Sox not only worked hard; they enjoyed themselves as well and kept the fans entertained, which is easy to do when you love what you do and you're good at it.

We watched Jonathan Papelbon strike out batters, and then we waited for a celebratory dance at the end of the game. It's not often in professional sports that you see a team full of players that has such a strong bond.

It's always a good year when you can follow your baseball team all the way from the beginning of April to the end of October. It's an even better year when they can take the World Series trophy on a parade through Boston.

The 2007 Red Sox played this year with confidence and class and showed us the true definition of team. I look forward to 2008 and adding on to two World Series trophies that we've already won this century.

Again, my congratulations to a great team. Congratulations Boston Red Sox and Red Sox Nation.

I thank my colleague from Massachusetts for yielding, along with his great comments.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to apologize to you for some of the pain that this moment may be inflicting. I didn't expect you to be in the chair. I just want to express my personal regrets that you have to suffer through this as a lifelong Yankee fan.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to add my voice and congratulations to the Red Sox on behalf of the entire Red Sox Nation, which has always been strong but now growing across the country. Every road game they played, they filled up stadiums, and they filled it up both with supporters of the opponents, because they came to see good baseball and with Red Sox fans they found everywhere across this country.

I will tell you they epitomized, on behalf of all of us, what is good about sports and what is good about America. Baseball is still America's game; it's still America's pastime. We all love watching it, but I will tell you, I will

admit that, as a lifelong Red Sox fan, I always had my doubts until the last play of the last game.

I always figured we could find a way to blow it like we did for 86 years. They are slowly turning me around, and one by one, one game at a time, now two in the last 4 years, maybe I will get over the initial years of my Red Sox days always figuring, come late in the season, the Yankees would sneak up on us and clobber us from behind.

I will tell you that it is nice to begin the new century this way, but I also remember that we started off the last century pretty well too, but then we hit a wall. I don't expect that will happen, I expect this will continue on and on for the Red Sox. As you have probably noted, the Red Sox didn't just keep it all to themselves. They have now handed it off to the Patriots and the Boston College Eagles, and hopefully the Celtics will be able to gain the same type of traction that the Red Sox did.

I end my remarks by simply saying congratulations to the Red Sox. Thank you for a wonderful year on behalf of all of my constituents.

Mr. Speaker, like the Speaker, growing up a Big Red Machine fan, I still remember those teams with Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez, in sixth grade, watching that series.

I rise to recognize the most recent achievements of the Boston Red Sox and commend their victory in the 2007 Major League Baseball World Series. In the last few years, the Red Sox have distinguished themselves as one of the most dominant teams in baseball. Of course, this was not always the case.

After winning their fifth World Series in 1918, their regular season successes were often met by postseason disappointment. Those were the old Red Sox.

In this century, we have the new Red Sox, the team that entered the 2004 playoffs as a wild card and then proceeded to mount one of the most memorable comebacks in baseball history down three games to zero against their arch rival, the New York Yankees.

They came back to win the American League Championship Series and ultimately went on to break the Curse of the Bambino, winning the 2004 World Series in four straight games against the St. Louis Cardinals. In 2007, after winning the American League East Division, the Red Sox again faced adversity in the American League Championship Series down 3-1 to that other great team in Ohio, the Cleveland Indians. They persevered, winning three games in a row to once again represent the American League in the World Series.

The Red Sox went on to win this series again in four games, sweeping the red-hot Colorado Rockies behind the leadership of Manager Terry Francona. The 2007 Red Sox did it all. I congratulate them and their team and the entire Red Sox community.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of our time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.