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iiyo or iiyo????

Today's pre-game press conference briefly turned into a Laurel-and-Hardy routine when Sox manager Terry Francona attempted to pronounce the Japanese word for "good.''

Sitting just a few feet away from Francona, Japanese reporter Takashi Settai - who writes for the Nikkei, a daily newspaper in Toronto - couldn't help but burst into laughter when Francona stressed the wrong syllable while trying to say "iiyo.''

The journalist quickly apologized when Francona shot him a glance.

"You've got to remember, I grew up in Beaver Falls, Pa.,'' Francona said. ``You can barely understand English there sometimes."

"Say it again?'' Francona said to Settai.

"EE-yoh."

"That's what I said."

"No, you said, ee-YOH."

"No wonder he looked at me like I'm a (dummy) when I said it."

"We try,'' Francona added. "I think most people probably appreciate the attempt, as bad as it might be."

Posted by Carolyn Thornton  at 5:19 PM to Thornton | Permalink