On the bench – The Citgo sign in Kenmore Square will get a much needed renovation in next few weeks
By Jack Nicas – Globe Correspondent / July 22, 2010

Another Red Sox icon is headed to the disabled list.

The Citgo sign, the bright beacon above Kenmore Square, will go dark tomorrow for a 1-to-2-month hiatus while crews replace its 218,000 LED lights with brighter, more flexible, weather-resistant versions.

“It’s going to look fantastic,’’ said Martin Foley, 65, of Hingham, the electrician who has sat on a wooden swing and replaced the 45-year-old sign’s burned-out bulbs since it first appeared in the Boston sky, standing tall in the air beyond Fenway Park’s left-field, Green Monster wall.

In 2005, more than 1.7 miles of strips of LED lights replaced 5,878 glass tubes of neon, according to Citgo Petroleum Corp. The current sign uses roughly half the electricity of the original one, saving $18,000 per year in energy costs, according to the company.

But those LED lights are out of production, Foley said, and he has had to get creative to keep the 36,000-square-foot sign lit.

Pizzeria chain may face new wage case – Suit vs. Upper Crust sparks US inquiry
By Jenn Abelson – Globe Staff / July 22, 2010

The US Department of Labor is investigating new allegations of wage law violations at the Upper Crust pizzeria chain, according to several people involved in the inquiry.

The federal agency last year ordered Upper Crust LLC to pay more than $341,000 to about 121 workers for uncompensated overtime, following complaints from employees. Last week, two former Upper Crust cooks filed a lawsuit that accuses the company of taking back the federally-ordered payments by deducting the money from their weekly paychecks.

Carlos Matos, an investigator at the US Department of Labor, has already interviewed some former Upper Crust employees — including a manager and cook — along with several current workers, according to the people involved in the investigation. Matos declined to comment.

Neal B. Siskind, an attorney representing Upper Crust, which has 17 restaurants in Massachusetts, wrote in an e-mail to the Globe: “There will be no further comment on alleged pending matters until such time as my office has had an opportunity to review documentation filed by either former employees and/or the Department of Labor.’’

Remy agrees to contract extension with NESN
By Chad Finn – Globe Staff / July 22, 2010

Jerry Remy is in his 23d season as the Red Sox’ color analyst on NESN. Yesterday, the popular broadcaster and the network made it clear that both sides are looking forward to many more.

NESN announced that it has agreed to a multiyear contract extension with the 57-year-old Remy, who has returned to the booth full time this season after missing three months last year while recuperating from the effects of lung cancer surgery in November 2008.

“Let’s say I’ll be around awhile,’’ said Remy from Oakland, Calif., when asked if he could confirm the length of the deal. “There will be a time where it all comes to an end, but I don’t know when that’s going to be. It’s not any time in the near future, that’s for sure.’’

Remy said the negotiation was just the way he wanted it: succinct and drama-free.

“It took about 10 minutes to do the whole contract. We sat down at a table, had lunch, and that was it,’’ Remy said. “I couldn’t be more pleased with how it went. We actually talked about [an extension] last year, but when I got sick it sort of got put on the back burner. So really it was just a matter of time. We picked it up this year and rolled with it.’’

With the greatest of ease – Wegman’s dogs are graceful and soulful
By Cate McQuaid – Globe Correspondent / July 21, 2010

William Wegman, best known for working with his beloved Weimaraners, was photographing bulldogs for a commercial shoot in May when Panopticon Gallery’s owner Jason Landry and independent curator Jeffrey Keough stopped by his New York studio. The artist would gently toss the dogs a short distance onto a landing pad, according to an affectionate and comic essay by Keough. When the shoot was finished, Keough writes, Wegman turned to his assistant and said, “I want to throw more dogs.’’

In came Wegman’s Weimaraners Penny, Candy, and Bobbin. Penny and Candy cheerfully submitted to being thrown. Bobbin, who has a sore hip, was excluded, even though, Keough reports, he “begged to be involved.’’

Four stunning, funny images from the brand new “Untitled (Flying Dog)’’ series are included in “William Wegman: Inside/Outside,’’ a delightful exhibit Landry and Keough have organized at Panopticon. The four describe an arc as a Weimaraner, almost as fluid as a drop of mercury but with more personality, rises into the air against a warm sepia background and begins to descend.

WILLIAM WEGMAN: Inside/Outside At: Panopticon Gallery, Hotel Commonwealth, 502C Commonwealth Ave., through Sept. 7. 617-267-8929, www.panopticongallery.com

Kick start – ’68 game at Fenway helped pave way for soccer in area, Celtic-Sporting friendly
By Frank Dell’Apa – Globe Staff / July 22, 2010

On July 9, 1968, a Boston Beacons soccer game attracted 18,431 spectators to Fenway Park. Actually, Pele brought in the fans, his Santos club taking a 7-1 victory.

That might have been the first tangible indication in the modern era that big-time soccer could have an audience in the Boston area. It was the largest crowd for a soccer game in the region since the 1930s.

Other foreign professional clubs visited places such as Everett and Hudson, and Portuguese powers Benfica and Sporting performed in Foxborough in the early ’70s; crowds were substantial, but few records survive of those matches, which were not covered by the mainstream media.

But the Beacons-Santos game put soccer on the local map and was an early step in building a foundation for Boston/Foxborough being chosen as a venue for the 1994 World Cup and the establishment of Major League Soccer.

Rick Copland, for one, did not believe he would have to wait 42 years for the game to return to Fenway.

“Back in 1968 I thought they’d be coming back in 1969,’’ said Copland, a ballboy that July day. “It was a great day, it was just a lot of fun, because the players were very friendly. We ran around the field with them and had a lot of fun.’’

Copland, brought his family to last night’s Celtic-Sporting match, which drew 32,162 spectators. The teams played to a 1-1 tie, Georgios Samaras scoring on a 72d-minute penalty kick for Celtic and Helder Postiga tying the score on a header in the 81st.

Celtic won on penalty kicks, Paul McGowan sealing the victory in the sixth round of the tiebreaker.

1934 – Outside Chicago‘s Biograph Theater, “Public Enemy No. 1″ John Dillinger is mortally wounded by FBI agents.  More anniversaries.

[Image of Citgo sign from Wikimedia Commons - ed]