Since we broke the news that former SteepleCat Roberto Martinez was vying for the hand of Williamstown's Ali Fedotowsky here on the sports blog, it seems appropriate to post the final score here.

Ali, the season's "The Bachelorette," accepted the ballplayer's proposal of marriage on the ABC show on Monday night. It wasn't a surprise for anyone who'd been reading the spoilers — the bet was on Roberto almost from the beginning.

The former pitcher struck out more than 20 competitors over the short season and may have sealed the deal when he offered Ali his 2002 SteepleCats baseball card in a July episode.

Martinez isn't a Berkshires boy — he's a native of Tampa, Fla., who since moved to South Carolina, hanging up his glove to sell insurance — but he spent the summer of 2002 with a host family in North Adams after turning down a draft pick with the Minnesota Twins. Oddly enough, his closest rival, Chris Lambton, is from Dennis, meaning Ali ended up with two choices who had "local" links.

So, will the hometown girl and the former 'Cat show up at Joe Wolfe to see North County's winning baseball team battle its way through the postseason? That would be a real diamond play.

For recaps of all "The Bachelorette" episodes, check out Entertainment Nerd.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The North Adams SteepleCats struck out against the North Shore Navigators 3-2 on Saturday night but hit a homerun for breast cancer awareness.

The team suited up in pink to host the American Cancer Society for a Breast Cancer Awareness Night at Joe Wolfe Field. Before the game, the SteepleCats honored local breast-cancer survivors on the field. Throughout the game, announcements were made as the 'Cats aimed to educate the community about this disease.

The Cancer Society also offered information on disease detection and treatment as wwll as on the Berkshire County Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk set for Oct. 17 on the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail in Adams. Fans received a pink breast cancer awareness ribbon to match the one painted behind home plate and those that came to the game dressed in pink got in free.

Six SteepleCats players and three coaches will bein at the All-Star Game in Newport, R.I., tonight. Click on the TEAMLINE link at 6:30 to hear All-Star broadcaster Rick Zmudzien and the rest of the SteepleCat All-Stars at game.

(This was published Sunday, July 18, but had to be removed Monday because of a technical issue. We've reposted it at its original date & time.)

On Tuesday, the sports world lost one of its biggest titans. George Steinbrenner, aka “The Boss,” a graduate of Williams College, passed away at the age of 80.

It’s been rather interesting, and somewhat disturbing, to hear the reaction from some members of Red Sox Nation.

I could barely stomach the local sports-talk radio yesterday; several callers called Steinbrenner a “lousy person” and “the worst thing that could’ve happened to baseball.” I also talked to my grandmother, who, to give you a better idea of her unrelenting fandom, swears that she wants to be buried in a Red Sox uniform.

“So Grandma, Steinbrenner’s dead. What’s your reaction?” I asked.

“I’m not crying, are you?” she said.

OK, then. Of course I wasn’t crying (I didn’t know the guy). But I certainly didn’t get any satisfaction from the passing of the man. (NOTE: My grandmother is a very sweet lady, so don’t judge her by this story alone.)

It seemed that, even in Steinbrenner’s death, Sox fans couldn’t help but express their resentment for the man who built an Empire, one that overshadowed Boston’s baseball team for so many years.

Let’s be real here. Perhaps without Steinbrenner, the Red Sox wouldn’t be the uber-successful franchise they’ve proven to be for the last decade. Boston has won two world championships in the last six years, beating the St. Louis Cardinals in 2004 and topping the Colorado Rockies in 2007. But let’s be honest. There’s only one team the Red Sox were built to beat: Steinbrenner’s Yankees.

Some fans are disgusted by the Yankees’ brand of baseball: big-money free-agent signings and a ridiculously expensive ballpark experience. Some believe that the Yankees’ way (“Buying a championship”) has disgraced the sport, and it’s the reason why Major League Baseball will never stack up to the parity-driven National Football League.

My reaction to that? Get with the times, folks. We can all complain about the swelled salaries of pro athletes, or the audacity of charging $6 for a hot dog, but the teams who get away with it are -- 99 percent of the time -- the teams who sell the most tickets and win the most championships.

Red Sox fans (especially those who enjoyed the 2004 and 2007 titles) shouldn’t complain about Steinbrenner’s business model, but instead credit him for setting the bar so high. The Red Sox brass may have billed the Boston franchise as this loveable group of scrappy underdogs, pitted against the clean-cut, spoiled rich kids in pinstripes, BUT the Sox are No. 2 behind the Bombers in team spending.

The Sox are rich bullies, too. Don't forget that.

Manny Ramirez, Pedro Martinez, Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett……The Sox have spent A LOT of money on championship-caliber talent. And why? Because Boston had to keep up with Steinbrenner and his Yankees.

SteepleCats starting pitcher Robert Nixon, a Welland, Ontario native, never played for the team but knows firsthand how good the players on the team are.

"The guys playing on the team now are four years younger than me so I haven't played with or against them," said Nixon. "I remember playing against kids on that team when I was in high school, though, and they were terrific. They've produced a lot of Major League draft picks."

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — His opponents have been striking out left and right, but former North Adams SteepleCat Roberto Martinez is looking good to play into the final innings of "The Bachelorette."

Williamstown's Ali Fedotwosky has benched 13 candidates so far on the ABC show, leaving Martinez and three others who'll be bringing her home to meet their families next week. Martinez will be presenting Fedotowsky with his SteepleCats baseball card from 2002, which was taken by Gillian Jones of the North Adams Transcript, on the Monday, July 12, episode.

Martinez pitched for the SteepleCats during their inaugural season in 2002. He made eight starts for the SteepleCats that season and went 2-5 with a 5.86 ERA. He pitched 35 1/3 innings, struck out 27 batters, walked 27 batters and held opponents to a .244 batting average. His eight starts were tied for the most on the team and his first start was on June 9, 2002, in the SteepleCats' second game as a franchise. 

Martinez was drafted out of high school by the Colorado Rockies in the 21st round of the 2001 First-Year Player Draft. He did not sign and opted to attend St. Petersburg Junior College. He was then drafted again by the Minnesota Twins in the 30th round of the 2002 First-Year Player Draft, but chose to pitch for the SteepleCats and attend the University of Tampa.

Fedotowsky was in Martinez's place earlier this year as she vied for the affections of the "The Bachelor." After leaving the show to keep her job, the popular contestant was offered the chance to select from her own team of eligible bachelors.