LONGTIME POLITICAL OPERATIVE SASSO LEAVES RED SOX EXEC TEAM

          Less than a month after "helping lead" the Red Sox
     "through the thicket of State House politics to win passage
     of a law providing up to" $312M in public funds for a new
     Fenway Park, the team's leading political strategist John
     Sasso, "is taking himself out of the game," according to Meg
     Vaillancourt of the BOSTON GLOBE.  Sasso called the process
     "interesting and challenging," but said, "It was always my
     expectation that after this phase was over, I'd concentrate
     on my longstanding clients."  During the past 18 months,
     Sasso "worked closely with the team's low-profile" CEO John
     Harrington and state leaders.  Business leaders "credited
     Sasso with developing the political and public-relations
     strategy that enabled the Red Sox to move from unveiling
     their new ballpark design to passage of a bill in just over
     a year."  Vaillancourt noted that "it took up to a decade"
     for the Patriots, Celtics and Bruins to "get their new
     facilities" built in the state (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/19).