Affleck fires some hard ones at Yankees

You don't go visit a Hatfield to get the truth about the McCoys.

But go ahead and make the visit if you want to be entertained by exaggerations about the McCoys.

So it went last week when actor and Boston Red Sox fan Ben Affleck appeared on Fox Sports Net's "Best Damn Sports Show" along with new Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling.

Somehow the topic of the New York Yankees came up.

"I mean, I just recognize that they are what's evil in sports," Affleck said. "It's not that there's hatred, but this is the epicenter of all things that are wrong with professional sports embodied by (Yankees owner) George Steinbrenner."

Affleck, of course, views the Don Zimmer-Pedro Martinez scuffle during the American League Championship Series in something less than a dispassionate way.

"Pedro behaved so admirably," Affleck said. "That was a horrible display of Yankee aggression . . . If that was Roger Clemens that got charged, Clemens would have yolked him -- 'What are you doing, Zim,' and popped him right in the face."

And what punishment should be administered to Jeff Nelson and Karim Garcia for their part in a fight with a Red Sox grounds crew guy?

"They should get life," Affleck said. "They should get life in jail. They should never get out of prison. This guy teaches retarded kids. He's cheering for the Red Sox and Jeff Nelson and Karim Garcia cleat-stomp him in the bullpen. They should never be released from prison."

After listening to Affleck's remarks, Schilling said: "I realized after watching the last segment why I want to go to Boston. . . . Boston fans have the ability to detach themselves from reality."

Said Schilling, referring to the curse of the Bambino: "Curses are what losers use as excuses."

Incidentally, Affleck and actor Matt Damon turned down an offer to become part-owners of the the Red Sox. Affleck told the Boston Herald last week even a 1% share was too pricey at $6 million.