Boston doesn’t start the defense of its 2007 World Series championship until tomorrow in Japan, but members of Red Sox Nation can get a look ahead and look back with a trio of specials on NESN tonight.
The regional sports network will premiere a pair of Original NESN Entertainment (ONE) specials, a pre-season edition of The Remy Awards at 7:30 p.m. and United Nation: The 2008 Red Sox Season Preview, a half hour later. Those debuts will be followed by an encore Champions Again: The Story of the 2007 Boston Red Sox.
The Remy Awards, presented by DinnTrophy.com, enters its third campaign on NESN, with the former Bosox second sacker and the team’s analyst on the regional sports network taking an entertaining look at the off-season moves made by the club and other members of the American League, including nemesis the New York Yankees. Remy will also proclaim his predictions for the upcoming campaign, including which team will score division honors, as well as recipients of the leagues' MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year laurels.
Immediately following The Remy Awards at 7:30 p.m.,ONE will debut United Nation: The 2008 Red Sox Season Preview. Hosted by Tom Caron, United Nation will look ahead to the coming season on the eve of the club’s historic opening two-game series against the Oakland A’s in Japan. ESPN2 has the action from the Tokyo Dome at 6 a.m. (ET) on March 24 and 25.
The one-hour show will feature behind-the-scenes footage of the Red Sox trip to Japan; an in-depth look at the team's visit to Walter Reed Hospital in Washington D.C. last month; footage from knuckleball pitcher Tim Wakefield’s off-season flight with the Blue Angels; and a personal tour of J.D. Drew’s home town of Hahira, Ga. Globe 10.0 host Bob Ryan will also check in with his take on the 2008 season.
At 8:30 p.m. NESN will deliver an encore presentation of Champions Again: The Story of the 2007 Boston Red Sox. The 90-minute retrospective chronicles the 2007 Red Sox World Championship season, beginning with the December signing of Daisuke Matsuzaka to the World Series sweep of the Colorado Rockies.
