BOSTON — You don’t have to hit clutch home runs like Big Papi to be an MVP.

With the purchase of an MVP Package from the WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon, you can be an MVP, watch the Red Sox take on the Yankees, listen to those in-the-know about Boston sports, and help the Jimmy Fund win the ultimate championship - a victory over cancer. MVP Packages include a sought-after ticket to see the Red Sox-Yankees game at 8 p.m., on Aug. 18, as well as a ticket to the Ultimate Boston Pre-Game Show presented by Mellon the night before.

The Ultimate Boston Pre-Game Show will take place from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., at the Boston Marriott Copley Place on Thursday, Aug. 17, featuring representatives from the four Boston professional teams and helping to kick off the 18-hour radio-telethon. Jeremy Jacobs of the Boston Bruins, Wyc Grousbeck of the Boston Celtics, Robert Kraft of the New England Patriots, and Larry Lucchino of the Boston Red Sox will be on-hand to talk about their most memorable moments and the future of professional sports in Boston. Guests can mingle with their favorite WEEI and NESN personalities as well as celebrities and professional athletes in attendance and bid on one-of-a-kind sports experiences and memorabilia, before going home to rest up for the big game the next day.

MVP Packages are $300 per person and include a limited open bar, hors d’oeuvres, access to the “Auction of Champions,” a commemorative hat at the Ultimate Pre-Game Show plus the ticket to the Red Sox-Yankees game. Tickets can be purchased online at jimmyfundradiotelethon.org or by calling 617.632.5008 or toll-free at 877.738.1234.

The radio-telethon will be broadcast live on WEEI and NESN beginning at 6 a.m., on Friday, Aug. 18, featuring celebrity guests and callers as well as personal stories of the patients, doctors and researchers supported by the Jimmy Fund. In its first four years, the radio-telethon raised more than $5 million to support research and care for both children and adults at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

The goal for the 2006 event is to raise $2.6 million. Be sure to tune in and call 877.738.1234 to contribute.