Apologizing

Bill Buckner threw out the first pitch at Boston's Opening Day. You'll recall Buckner was the Most Hated Man in Boston for allowing a routine grounder to skip under his glove and between his legs in Game 6 of the '86 Series, allowing the Mets to rally for the win, force a Game 7 and win it all.

Buckner moved to Idaho after he retired and became something of a recluse. The fact he threw out the first pitch this year, a mere 22 years later, suggests Red Sox Nation has moved on, possibly placated by a couple titles.

If you had the chance, to whom would you apologize? What player/manager/coach/executive did you misjudge or treat too harshly around here?

For me, it was Dave Shula. Poor coach, not ready for the job, hamstrung by Mike Brown's hands-on ways. Never had a chance. All true. But I was merciless with the guy. Years later, I met him for an interview the day of the Super Bowl. The game was in Tampa; he was staying in Orlando. He was classy, as usual, but he made it clear that some of the things I'd written had had a profound effect on his family, especially his sons, who were elementary school age at the time.

I understand that, as a public figure, you're going to get some criticism and you need to warn your family members that they could get caught up in it. You chose the life. But it never occurred to me that what I wrote could be used against his boys at school. Now I know.

I apologized to Shula that day. I've kept it in mind ever since.

We pass snap judgment daily. With the immedicay of the Internet (and the anonymity) people say some incredibly stupid things. Who over the years might you have been too hard on?