GIANTS WIN THE SERIES! Now, Let Us Watch!!

I was in a box in late September '97 when the Giants clinched a playoff spot in game #161 and Barry Bonds danced on the dugout at Candlestick. My wife and I were at PacBell Park in the early 2000s when they clinched another. We became engaged sitting in booth #73 in 2001 in the old 24 restaurant (now Acme Chophouse), and we watched Barry hit home run #73 in a game that had slipped from 9/16 to the last game of the season in early October because of MLB's pause after 9/11.

But do you suppose we've been able to watch the Giants on MLB.com or on cable TV the past two seasons? No. The "suits" at Comcast and Time-Warner have failed to reach an agreement to carry the Giants games in Hawaii (the A's also are blacked out).

MLB has placed its heavyweight rump on its collective hands -- after washing them of any responsibility -- and we fans have been the losers in this fans-be-damned outrage.

Will we celebrate out here in the Pacific during the off-season? You bet. Will we give the car an extra coat of polish as we drive around Honolulu with license plates that shout out our loyalty? Of course. And here's what else we and other baseball fans pledge to do: We'll use the off-season to fight this blackout and the corporate greed that makes it possible.

We'll use whatever political pull we can muster to confront the Commissioner's office, Time-Warner, Comcast and others -- even the Giants, who've been a silent witness to the disregard of the fans' interests in pursuit of the almighty dollar.

So let the celebration continue for months to come, but as we enjoy the moment, let all baseball fans in Hawaii, including fans of teams that also are blacked out when they play in the Bay Area, resolve to end this damnable MLB blackout before the first pitch of 2011.