<
>

Playing dress-up

Wondering what to dress up as for Halloween? Looking for some ideas? Boston athletes are here to help. We asked Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics players: What was your favorite Halloween costume?

Jason Varitek, Red Sox catcher: "Batman. We didn't have the shell and the armor back then. We had a plastic mask."

Mike Lowell, Red Sox third baseman: "I was a Viking one time with the horn hat and everything."

Rasheed Wallace, Celtics forward: "I never dressed up. Nah, we used to snatch bags from kids that did dress up."

Dennis Wideman, Bruins defenseman: "I was a Teletubby one time. I was the purple one. Then I was Radioactive Man from 'The Simpsons.' I found it. There was just the costume sitting there. I'm a last-minute guy. I don't put a whole lot of thought into it. I go to the store and get the costume-in-a-bag thing."

Clay Buchholz, Red Sox pitcher: "I must have been 15 or 16 -- I dressed up as Michael Myers when 'Halloween' came out. I had the Michael Myers mask and wore one of my dad's work suits and had a chainsaw with no chain on it. I ran around the neighborhood chasing kids. It was pretty funny until the parents got mad at me and I had to sort of veer off into my house."

Jed Lowrie, Red Sox shortstop: "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I was the blue one, Leonardo. He was my favorite."

David Ortiz, Red Sox designated hitter: "I have never dressed up, never as a kid. But my son, he's going to be a bumblebee this year."

Marquis Daniels, Celtics guard: "I was dressed up like Lester Hudson one time. Have you ever seen him? [Laughs, as he's talking about his teammate sitting nearby.] No, actually, I was a pirate with an eye patch and a little fake hook and all that stuff, fake earring, fake gold tooth."

Michael Bowden, Red Sox pitcher: "Well, it wasn't Halloween, but when the rookies had to dress up for initiation, I was the Tin Woman from 'The Wizard of Oz.' In eighth grade, I dressed up as a girl. I had pretty long hair. Some of the doors, when I went to get the candy, they would question what I was supposed to be because they didn't know I was a boy."

Tuukka Rask, Bruins goalie: "No, we don't do that in Finland actually. Halloween is not a tradition for us. I've never done that, but we'll see what happens this Halloween."

Johnny Boychuk, Bruins defenseman: "I was Johnny Damon. I had my long hair and grew my beard out. This was when he was with the Red Sox and I had his jersey and dressed up as a baseball player. I'm a big Red Sox fan."

Daniel Bard, Red Sox pitcher: "I dressed up as Ice Man from 'Top Gun.' It was pretty good. I was told I resemble Val Kilmer in that movie. I spiked my hair up and got a green flight suit and aviator sunglasses."

Blake Wheeler, Bruins left wing: "I was a Power Ranger when I was like 7; that was pretty awesome. I looked really good. I was the red Power Ranger."

Shelden Williams, Celtics forward: "I'm trying to think of the last time on Halloween that I got dressed up. I was a monster I think. I made my own mask and everything. That was probably my best one because I actually made it."

Bill Walker, Celtics forward: "I was always a ghost, like Casper. I'd always cut up the sheet and do the Casper thing."

Kendrick Perkins, Celtics center: "The first Superman thing, yeah, the original Superman."

Jason Bay, Red Sox outfielder: "I'm having a tough time remembering anything I was for Halloween other than the cheesy baseball player, but that's not good. I can't use that. I was a hula dancer. But the embarrassing part is I wore it when I was in college; it wasn't even when I was younger. It was when I was like 20." (Teammate Jacoby Ellsbury chimes in, "I have pictures if you want.")

Milan Lucic, Bruins left wing: "Pirate with scars on the face that I drew on, the bandana, eye patch. I wanted to find a parrot for the shoulder, but I didn't get one of those unfortunately."