Kerry diverts his plane to see Red Sox

7.30pm

BOSTON - Democratic White House contender John Kerry made a surprise visit to Boston for the Yankees-Red Sox baseball game on Sunday by secretly entering a city tightly secured for the Democratic convention that will nominate him for president.

"This plane is diverted," Kerry told reporters aboard his chartered Boeing 757 shortly after it left Columbus, Ohio, ostensibly for Titusville, Florida.

"It's a wonderful rivalry and it's a great event," Kerry said. "I love the Red Sox, the idea of missing a Yankees-Red Sox series right before convention week was not acceptable."

The Massachusetts senator, who on Thursday will formally accept at the Democratic convention his party's nod as President Bush's opponent, was attending the 8.05 pm game at Fenway Park and then resuming his original schedule.

The rivalry between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox is among the most heated in US professional sports.

Kerry's campaign plane landed at an isolated section of Logan airport, out of public sight. His shortened motorcade of unmarked SUVs could have been any one of the many in town for the convention.

Kerry said he made the decision a week ago but that it had to be closely guarded because of safety concerns. Boston is a city under suffocating security measures for the four-day convention following the US government's warning that the gathering could be a potential target for terrorists.

After attending church and holding a discussion on the economy, health care and jobs, Kerry boarded his plane in Columbus and waited until it was well in the air before making his announcement.

"We are going to Boston and we're going to the Yankees-Red Sox game right now," he said. "This is true."

The reporters on the plane were incredulous.

Kerry threw the ceremonial first pitch to Will Pumyea, a 23-year-old who served as a military police officer in the US National Guard in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We're going straight back on course afterwards," Kerry said, referring to his original plans.

There was no shortage of drama in Saturday night's Yankees-Red Sox game.

Four players were thrown out of the game after a third-inning brawl. They included Yankee Alex Rodriguez, who became the catalyst after being hit by a pitch and then scuffling with Boston catcher Jason Varitek. They were ejected along with Gabe Kapler of Boston and Yankees reserve Kenny Lofton.

The game ended dramatically when second-place Boston's Bill Mueller hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning for an electrifying 11-10 victory over the first-place Yankees. The Red Sox's win evened the three-game series at one victory each, meaning the winner of Sunday night's game would take the key weekend series.

Kerry, who began a six-day, cross-country trek to the convention in Colorado on Friday, will hold a town hall meeting at Cape Canaveral in Florida on Monday where he will focus on technology and innovation in America.

He is scheduled to be back in Boston on Wednesday afternoon.

- REUTERS