Two Wishes For 2010

There are a couple of things I would love to see the Pawtucket Red Sox do in 2010:

1.  Win a Governor's Cup championship for Ben Mondor for the first time since 1984.

2.  Adopt a child with cancer.

Through my association with the University of Cincinnati football team, I've become familiar with an organization called Friends of Jaclyn - an amazing program that matches children with brain tumors with sports teams.

(photo courtesy of the New York Times)

Cincinnati was the first major college football team to adopt a child through Friends of Jaclyn and 12-year-old Mitch Stone and his family have formed a close bond with the players and coaches.  There was a tremendous story about Mitch and his relationship with the UC football team in the New York Times on Thursday.  You can read it here.

So far, Friends of Jaclyn has matched 125 youngsters with sports teams - mostly college and high school squads.  I am not aware of any minor league baseball teams that are involved in the program - at least not yet.

Here's a more detailed description from the Friends of Jaclyn website.

FOJ is all about love, support, and friendship.  Once the team and child have been matched, there is a ceremonial adoption.  The child is surrounded by 20 or 30 new friends that rally around him or her.  A deep bond is formed between the child, the child's family, and the sports team. 

The child becomes the guest of honor at games and receives supportive text messages, emails, and phone calls.  Each child that is adopted helps to spread knowledge and understanding for pediatric brain tumors.  When the athletic community is exposed to the miraculous nature of each child and realizes the hardships that child has to endure, the community is forever changed. 

I've seem firsthand what Cincinnati's football team has done to lift the spirits of Mitch Stone, and also what he means to every member of the team. 

A Governors Cup title for the PawSox in 2010 would be wonderful.  But they don't need to win games to be winners.