Outside of their mutual pledge to rock and roll all night and party every day, their love of an occasional drink, and the fact that they were both portrayed by Gary Oldman in a feature film? Not a lot. But it’s interesting to note that entrepreneur/balloonist/bazillionaire Richard Branson–who founded Virgin Records, the label that signed the Sex Pistols back in the day–has commented on possibly buying into the Sox:
Told about the New York Times [NYT] Co.’s efforts to sell its stake in Boston’s ballclub, Branson said: “I would never say no about any interesting idea.”
“If the owners of the Red Sox want to drop me a line or get in contact, we’d be delighted to find out more,” he said.
Sure, probably a meaningless aside that reverberates through the local media. But consider the advantages. It would give John Henry and crew an “in” to England’s rich baseball underground, which could become a source of new talent for years to come. Also, the Virgin catalog may well be included as part of the deal, enabling unlimited use of XTC and Holly and the Italians between innings (and please, no Heidi Watney/“Tell That Girl to Shut Up” jokes).
More importantly, it would add an interesting new angle to Red Sox “six degrees of separation,” finally making it possible to link Lars Anderson to The Human League in less than four steps–a vast improvement over the 35 steps it currently requires.
Of course, we can already link Jerry Remy to Elton John in just four steps. Because Jerry has been seen cavorting in the NESN booth with Rene Russo. The same Rene Russo who appears as a back-up singer in this video by Elton’s right-hand man, Bernie Taupin:
SurvivingGrady.com. Where it’s fun to find out.
