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| None How about them Seawolves? June 5, 2012 11:36:19 AM Entry ID: 1973109 | Coral Gables, Fla. - Junior William Carmona went 4-for-5 with three RBI and senior Tyler Johnson went 6.1 innings as the No. 4 Stony Brook baseball team won for the third time in two days, beating UCF, 10-6, to win the Coral Gables Regional and advance to its first ever Super Regional. Stony Brook now travels to Baton Rouge to take on LSU in the Super Regionals beginning on Friday at 12 p.m. Game 2 will be Saturday at 12 p.m. and Game 3 would be Sunday at 1 p.m. All games will be aired on ESPN2 and all times are EST. The Seawolves are just the third ever No. 4 seed to advance to the Super Regionals since the NCAA went to the Regional format in 1999. Stony Brook improves to 50-12 with the win, the first team in the nation to reach 50 wins this season. SBU is also the first team in America East history to advance to the Super Regionals and the first to win a Regional since 1991. Stony Brook has won 26 of its last 28 games. Pitching on two days rest, Johnson (11-1) picked up his second win of the Regional. Carmona went 11-for-21 with two HR and 10 RBI in the Regional and was named the Regional's Most Outstanding Player. Joining Carmona on the All-Regional team were Johnson, juniors Travis Jankowski and Maxx Tissenbaum, sophomore Kevin Courtney and senior Pat Cantwell. The Stony Brook offense continues its offensive explosion on Monday, collecting 12 hits. SBU finished the Regional with 50 runs and 49 hits. UCF jumped to an early lead on a two-run home run from D.J. Hicks in the first. UCF then added a run in the third to push its lead to 3-0. But the Seawolves answered back in the fourth, striking for five runs. Junior Tanner Nivins (Kitchener, Ontario) reached on a hit by the pitch and senior Sal Intagliata(Franklin Square, N.Y.) followed with a double to left. Nivins came home on an RBI groundout for Stony Brook's first run of the game before Jankowski and Cantwell drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. UCF brought in Chris Matulis to face Carmona, who laced a two-run double down the left-field line to tie the game 3-3. Tissenbaum followed with a push bunt down the line to bring home Cantwell and put the Seawolves ahead. Sophomore Kevin Krause(Staten Island, N.Y.) capped the inning with a run-scoring single up the middle to make it 5-3. SBU tacked on two runs in the fifth on a two-out two-run single from Cantwell. SBU pushed its lead to 9-3 with two more runs in the seventh. Johnson gave up a one-out solo home run to Hicks in the seventh but sophomore reliever Joshua Mason(Woodland Hills, Calif.) then came on in relief and retired two of the next three hitters to get out of the inning. But the Seawolves answered right back in the seventh, as Carmona crushed a long home run to right-center field to lead off the inning. UCF did not go quietly though as JoMarcos Woods hit a two-run home run with no outs in the eighth to bring UCF within four. But Mason shut down UCF from there, getting the final six outs to send the Seawolves to the Super Regional. |
| None Johan Santana - And then Friday night happened. June 2, 2012 9:53:05 AM Entry ID: 1972610 | How can I explain this? When it comes to no-hitters, the thing about being a Mets fan was that it always felt like everyone got to have a birthday except me. With the exception of the San Diego Padres, every franchise in baseball had at least one no-hitter in its history but the Mets. Every fanbase had experienced that magical feeling that comes out of nowhere, when a regular game turns into a piece of history, when the guy on the mound for their team has talent and fate and maybe a generous umpire on his side and throws nine hitless innings -- except us luckless followers of the Mets. As a fan of the team for more than 40 years, I had resigned myself to a lifetime of watching other teams periodically hit the lottery. For my Mets, a no-no would never be. And then Friday night happened. Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/phil_taylor/06/02/mets.johan.santana.no.hitter/index.html#ixzz1wdwr0jFR |
| None Those were the days...Check out 2006 Tourneys. June 1, 2012 11:54:18 AM Entry ID: 1972512 | Flashback 2006 - That’s how we roll, and there is still plenty left in the can! Can? Open up the can of whooooop ass, go ahead repeat after me, whooop ass. For those that were a part of it, The best game in town how could you ever forget? No lies no cheats just good ole fashion fearless ass kicking, finger licking baseball. You can't duplicate it you can't copy it, it was what it was and the talent in the 2012/2013/2014 class speaks for it self. Hats off and thanks to all the dads that made the unselfish commitment to our kids, they know who they are. |
| Gamers May 25, 2012 8:01:20 AM Entry ID: 1971758 | Bryce Harper has skipped a lot of steps in his baseball career: most of college, his last two years of high school, anonymity. Harper is that rare person whose talent is so outrageous that the rest of him has to catch up to it. He decided at 16 that being the No. 1 pick in the draft was not enough -- he wanted to be the No. 1 pick a year ahead of time, because he could, and if you watched him hit, it almost seemed rude to make him wait. This is risky territory. Sometimes you end up with Tiger Woods dominating the Masters at 21 or Mozart composing an opera when he is 11. Sometimes you get Todd Marinovich, who never overcame his demons, or Jennifer Capriati, who finally did. The Washington Nationals think they have Mozart. And if you want to know why, look at what happened Wednesday night, when Harper faced a man who had intentionally hit him, then gleefully admitted it. The rematch came in one of the harshest sports cities in the country, in a budding almost/sort-of/potential rivalry, in just Harper's 24th big league game ... and, well, what happened is this: Nothing. Bryce Harper just played baseball. It's all he really seems to want to do. The world reaches conclusions, and he just wants to reach base. "He's a polarizing figure," Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said this week. "When he is on your team, you love him. When he is playing against you, you hate him -- and you don't even know him." This brings us to Cole Hamels, the Phillies star who beaned Harper on general principle in their first meeting. The amazing thing was not that Hamels threw at Harper. Pitchers have been doing that for as long as they have been pitching. No, the amazing thing is that Hamels admitted it afterward, without fear of repercussions, as though throwing a baseball at Bryce Harper was a perfectly normal social activity. Which it may be. For Harper, being hated comes as naturally as hitting. This is what happens when you are young and too good -- and you know it. Harper is 19. Most 19-year-old men are either doing stupid things or wondering why the guys who do stupid things won't hang out with them. For most of his life, he was in the same grade as Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, those ridiculously talented Kentucky freshmen who won the NCAA title this year. Remember the Kentucky players putting hands to their eyes and holding three fingers up to make "3 goggles" when they sank a three-pointer? Cole Hamels would have tried to put them on their asses. Basketball culture encourages stardom from a young age. Baseball culture puts paying dues above everything else. In baseball culture, Harper forfeited the right to be 19 when he was 16. That was when he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated as "Baseball's Chosen One" ("that may have rubbed people the wrong way from the get-go," Rizzo said) and that was when he decided to chase his talent instead of putting it on a leash. A year later, he skipped his senior year of high school to be the No. 1 pick in the draft. Pretty soon he was blowing a kiss at a minor league pitcher after taking him deep, and it was caught on video, because everything is caught on video now. Somebody should really start a YouTube channel of people taking video of YouTube videos. Rizzo says: "I've never met a young player with as much baseball history knowledge and respect for baseball history as this guy [has]." Yes, this is his general manager speaking. Rizzo is tied to Harper, practically glued to him. But this is part of the Bryce Harper story. He constantly talks about the game's great players, and not just the current ones -- he talks about George Brett, Pete Rose and Mickey Mantle, guys who were not just stars but gamers. This is why he did not complain when Hamels plunked him. Would Pete Rose have complained? Hell no. Rose would have snarled and stolen home on Hamels. And that is what Harper did. The narrative started to change then. But to the Nationals, Harper didn't change. The kid who blew the kiss after his home run is the same guy who stole home. "All you saw was film after film of the kiss," Rizzo said. "To this day it is brought up by media outlets. The kid showed me the restraint that he showed, rather than immaturity -- because of all that led up to that that nobody knows about." Rizzo would not go into detail. But Harper was baited in the minor leagues, because that's baseball culture too. Your team pays you, but the other team makes you earn it. Nationals manager Davey Johnson compared Harper to Darryl Strawberry, not because Harper has an enormous capacity for self-destruction but because they were both prodigies. Johnson managed Strawberry with the Mets. At the time, Strawberry was supposed to be "the black Ted Williams," back when people figured if we had a White This and a Black That then we were making progress. Our racial attitudes have grown, thankfully -- otherwise Harper would be the white Darryl Strawberry, Jeremy Lin would be the Asian Steve Nash and scouts would scour America's playgrounds looking for the half-Mexican, half-Japanese Mike Schmidt. ("I'm tellin' ya, Dusty, he's gotta be around here somewhere!") Anyway, Johnson said that, like Harper, Strawberry put so much pressure on himself to succeed at the minor league level that he played better when he got to the majors, because he knew he had made it and could just play baseball. Well, memories can be funny. And Johnson's memory of a young Strawberry do not mesh with the record. In 1982, his last full year as a minor leaguer, Strawberry batted .283/.419/.602 at Double-A Jackson. The next year he started at Triple-A Tidewater and was even better: .333/.465/.596. Then the Mets called him up. He was undoubtedly ready. Harper's ascent was not quite as clear. In 82 plate appearances at Triple-A Syracuse this year, his numbers were nothing special: .250/.333/.375. He hit one home run. I looked at the numbers when Harper came up, and I thought: He isn't ready. But the Nationals know him better than I do. Rizzo scouted Harper and said, "he was taking pitches great, squaring the ball up, hitting the ball extremely hard. To me, the numbers in the minor leagues didn't mean anything." Rizzo thought Harper would succeed in the majors, but more importantly, he knew Harper would survive failure. "He is so confident in his abilities," Rizzo said. "Even if he were to struggle, it wouldn't beat him up mentally." Harper has not struggled. It's early, but his .267/.350/.467 line is very good for a rookie. His play has been another reminder that we can reach our conclusions about Bryce Harper, but his team knows him better than we do. Cole Hamels and the public can hit him. That's not the same as knocking him down. |
| Tightrope Stevie Ray Vaughan May 13, 2012 1:06:43 PM Entry ID: 1969949 | http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNuXO60G33w When Jamming was Jamming........... Stephen Ray "Stevie" Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and a notable recording artist. Often referred to by his initials, SRV, he is best known as the leader of the blues rock band Double Trouble, with whom he recorded four studio albums. Influenced by guitarists of various genres, Vaughan emphasized intensity and emotion in his guitar playing, and favored vintage guitars and amplifiers. He became one of the leading blues rock musicians, encompassing multiple styles, including jazz and ballads. Born and raised in Dallas as the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan, he moved to Austin at the age of 17, and formed the band, Triple Threat Revue, that evolved into a band called Double Trouble, in 1978. Accompanied by drummer Chris Layton, bassist Tommy Shannon, and later, keyboardist Reese Wynans, Vaughan became an important figure in Texas blues, a loud, swing-driven fusion of blues and rock. Despite the breakthrough success of Double Trouble's debut Epic album, Texas Flood (1983), Vaughan entered a period of alcohol and drug addiction. In 1986, he successfully completed rehabilitation and released the album In Step in (1989). On August 27, 1990, while departing a concert venue by helicopter in East Troy, Wisconsin, Vaughan was killed when the helicopter crashed into the side of a ski hill. His death triggered a global outpouring of grief, and as many as 3,000 people reportedly attended his public memorial service in Dallas. Vaughan was highly rated and is considered to be one of the greatest guitarists of all time. He has received critical recognition for his guitar playing, ranked at #7 on Rolling Stone's list of "100 Greatest Guitarists" in 2003. He ranked #3 on Classic Rock magazine's list of "100 Wildest Guitar Heroes" in 2007. Vaughan won six Grammy Awards, including Best Contemporary Blues Performance for In Step. Vaughan was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2000 and won five W.C. Handy Awards. As of 2012, Vaughan has sold over 11.5 million albums with Double Trouble. |
| None Hamilton's historic night ranks among best May 9, 2012 8:40:43 AM Entry ID: 1969336 | When Josh Hamilton hit four home runs against the Orioles on Tuesday, he became just the 16th man in baseball history to accomplish the feat. More men (21) have thrown perfect games. Hamilton's performance was even more impressive than that, however. When you factor in the fact that Hamilton went 5-for-5 on the night, mixing a double in among his four homers, it could be argued that his was one of the handful of best single-game hitting performances in major league history. |
| None How bout them Rangers? May 8, 2012 9:55:23 AM Entry ID: 1969134 | Rangers strike twice on late PP, stun Capitals 3-2 NEW YORK (AP) -- With only seconds separating the New York Rangers from a series deficit they would be hard pressed to overcome, lightning struck twice in a matter of moments. A pair of power-play goals on the same high-sticking penalty against Washington's Joel Ward turned what seemed to be a sure loss into one of the most thrilling wins in Rangers history. Instead of being one defeat from elimination, the East's top-seeded team needs only one more win to knock out the Capitals and advance to the conference finals for the first time since 1997. Getting that far is expected when you finish first in the regular season, but no one could have drawn it up this way. Brad Richards scored the tying goal with 7.6 seconds remaining in regulation and Marc Staal completed the comeback when he netted the winner 1:35 into overtime during the second half of Ward's double penalty as the Rangers pulled out a 3-2 victory over the Capitals in Game 5 on Monday night. Faced with the prospect that the Rangers could be playing their final home game of what has been a special season, the Madison Square Garden crowd replaced pure panic with total euphoria when Richards and Staal packed a huge one-two punch. "I wasn't giving up hope until I heard the buzzer right at the very end," said forward John Mitchell, who won the key faceoff that set up the winning goal. "I had hope if there was 0.1 second left. It was awesome to know we had the opportunity with the power play." Game 6 is Wednesday night in Washington. If the Capitals win, Game 7 would be back in New York on Saturday. "Nobody thinks we are going to lose it easily," Capitals star Alex Ovechkin said. "It's not over yet. We're going home to play at our house. We'll come back here." The Rangers have been struggling on the power play throughout the playoffs, and they had failed on their first three chances Monday without mustering a shot. With so little time and no real confidence to fall back on, even the most optimistic supporter had to have had doubts. "The last minute was incredible," Staal said. |
| None May 8, 2012 8:59:35 AM Entry ID: 1969125 | PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Cole Hamels earned a five-game suspension for the way he welcomed Bryce Harper to the big leagues. The 2008 World Series MVP was suspended for intentionally throwing at the Washington rookie in the Philadelphia Phillies' 9-3 win over the Nationals on Sunday night. Major League Baseball announced the penalty Monday. Hamels also was fined. Hamels wasn't available to reporters before the Phillies opened a three-game series against the New York Mets. But he already admitted that he deliberately threw at Harper. "I was trying to hit him," the two-time All-Star lefty said Sunday night. "I'm not going to deny it. I'm not trying to injure the guy. They're probably not going to like me for it, but I'm not going to say I wasn't trying to do it. I think they understood the message, and they threw it right back. That's the way, and I respect it." Hamels began serving his suspension Monday night. With Cliff Lee expected to come off the disabled list and start Wednesday, coupled with Thursday's day off, Hamels really won't miss a turn in the rotation. Roy Halladay will likely pitch on regular rest Saturday and Hamels would then start Sunday against the San Diego Padres. Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. was disappointed the incident occurred. "Obviously that's not what we're about," Amaro said. "We're not about trying to injure people. Things that happen in the game happen in the game. Those are parts of the game. But as far as how the Phillies want to conduct themselves, we try to take the high road on things. By no means are we condoning this. We fully support what the commissioner's office has decided to do." Hamels plunked Harper in the small of the back with a fastball in the first inning. He said the purpose pitch was his old-school way of welcoming the 19-year-old Nationals phenom to the big leagues. "That's something I grew up watching, that's kind of what happened. So I'm just trying to continue the old baseball because I think some people are kind of getting away from it," Hamels said. "I remember when I was a rookie the strike zone was really, really small and you didn't say anything because that's the way baseball is. "But I think unfortunately the league's protecting certain players and making it not that old-school, prestigious way of baseball," Hamels added. Harper got the last word, though. When Hamels made a pickoff to first, Harper stole home for the first swipe of his eight-game big league career. In the third inning, Nationals starter Jordan Zimmermann hit Hamels in the left leg with one out and a runner on first when the Phillies pitcher squared to bunt. Home plate umpire Andy Fletcher warned both dugouts. Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo told The Washington Post that Hamels hitting Harper with a pitch was "classless" and "gutless." |
| None `Welcome to the big leagues."' May 7, 2012 7:45:35 AM Entry ID: 1968934 | WASHINGTON (AP) -- Cole Hamels admits it: He plunked rookie phenom Bryce Harper on purpose. "I was trying to hit him," the Philadelphia lefty said. "I'm not going to deny it." That startling bit of honesty came after Hamels nailed the Washington teen with a fastball in the small of the back his first time up during the Phillies' 9-3 win Sunday night. The candid remark is also certain to cost Hamels a suspension from Major League Baseball. Harper came up with two outs in the first inning and Hamels promptly drilled the 19-year-old. Why, exactly? "That's something I grew up watching, that's kind of what happened. So I'm just trying to continue the old baseball because I think some people are kind of getting away from it. I remember when I was a rookie the strike zone was really, really small and you didn't say anything because that's the way baseball is," Hamels said. "But I think unfortunately the league's protecting certain players and making it not that old-school, prestigious way of baseball," he said. In other words, Hamels said, "It's just, `Welcome to the big leagues."' Harper quickly evened the score with Hamels. After taking third on a single, Harper broke for the plate when Hamels made a pickoff throw to first. Harper stole home, sliding in safely for the first swipe of his eight-game big league career. "I think he kind of did that for me," Hamels said. Harper brushed off Hamels' comments on the purpose pitch. "Hamels threw a great game tonight," he said. In the third inning, Washington starter Jordan Zimmermann hit Hamels in the left leg with one out and a runner on first when the Phillies pitcher squared to bunt. Home plate umpire Andy Fletcher warned both dugouts. |
| None Remain Forever Young May 6, 2012 1:02:39 PM Entry ID: 1968871 | http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x26l6c_rod-stewart-forever-young_music?search_algo=1 |
| None May 2, 2012 9:44:58 AM Entry ID: 1968302 | The body learns only what you teach it. What you teach it must be as specific as the action you want to learn. |
| None Matty boy doing well! April 26, 2012 12:45:31 PM Entry ID: 1967351 | http://www.msgvarsity.com/long-island/highlights-hhh-west-102-smithtown-78-1-19-12-1.898940 Pound for pound Matt has heart see for your self. Sometimes in life, God has other plans for you! Live the dream whatever it may be. Matt you make us proud! |
| None A good read April 26, 2012 7:20:12 AM Entry ID: 1967278 | ********************************************** What Pedro Martinez Told Me That You Need To Know ********************************************** When I was talking to Pedro Martinez in the big holding room before we took the bus over to the big tunnel he before we went on to the field, Pedro told me that one of the reasons he was not still playing is that when he got home to the Dominican Republic after his last season he realized his 11 year old son could not throw the ball well. In other words his throwing mechanics were poor. So right then and there he decided that his son's throwing mechanics were more important right then than playing again. He also added with some humor that 'who better to teach good throwing mechanics than me.' I would bet that Pedro caught his son just in time since he is only 11. So what's the point of all this? It's this: If you are not paying attention and using good tools to assess your son's mechanics, then his chances of being successful in high school, college or pro ball are very poor. There are many video analysis tools out there to help you assess your son's mechanics. The bottom line is that you as a parent need to take responsibility and educate yourself instead of believing it is your son's coach or instructor who is responsible. You need to know enough in order to assess whether your son is getting the very best instruction possible or not. You can easily learn all you need to know yourself or you can enlist an expert to help you. |
| None “Routine plays are going to win the game April 23, 2012 12:44:53 AM Entry ID: 1966658 | High school baseball has gone from wooden bats to metal bats, and now to bats that are more similar to wooden bats. Traditional wooden bats can also be used if a player so chooses. “It’s more like a wooden bat,” Section II coordinator Al Roy said about the newly issued BBCOR (Batted Ball Coefficient of Restitution) bats. The National Federation of State High School Associations made the switch because balls were exploding too fast off of the old BESR (Ball Exit Speed Ratio) sluggers. The estimated exit speed of a well-hit ball off a BESR bat is about 98 miles per hour. With the new BBCOR bats, the same well-hit ball leaves the bat at about 94 mph. Roy said that Section II hasn’t had any major injuries involving balls off the bats, but a few players around the country have died after getting awkwardly hit. “It’s a safety issue because pitchers were getting hurt by come-backers to the mound,” said Voorheesville Head Coach Kyle Turski. “Honestly, I think we should just use wooden bats.” Bobby Patrick, the new head coach for Berne-Knox-Westerlo, said that half of the Bulldogs’ team has been using traditional wooden bats. “Wood has a great feel,” he said, “It makes for a better hitter because they learn how to hit the right way. They can’t just crush the ball now.” Aluminum bats started being used in 1974, and Roy believes that the metal bats became popular because of the product’s unwillingness to break. Wooden bats can shatter, but metal bats could last an entire season. “It was a cost issue because all you had to do was buy one bat,” Roy said. “Wooden bats were the norm, and that was fine, but metal bats started being made.” Metal bats are used from Little League through college. Now, high school players have a choice of BBCOR bats or wooden bats. “I doubt we’ll see much of the wooden bats,” said Roy. “The kids are used to the aluminum bats.” BBCOR sticks act like their wooden counterparts, but not exactly. In layman’s terms, BBCOR measures the trampoline effect of the bat as the ball makes connection. The standard determines the amount of force lost in contact at a rate of 0.5, which is somewhat greater than that of a wooden bat. Hitters won’t have as much power with the BBCOR bats. A ball that was once a sure homerun, might now be caught at the warning track. BBCOR bats have a smaller “sweet spot,” Roy said. Voorheesville senior John David Springer isn’t a power hitter, but he knows that pitching, defense, and small ball will be a bigger factor in 2012. “It changes the game plan,” Springer said last Friday at practice. “The bat feels the same, but there’s less pop off of it. Usually, we’re a quicker, small ball sort of team, so I think we’ll be able to adapt.” The National Collegiate Athletic Association implemented the mandatory use of BBCOR bats in 2011, and offensive numbers surely dropped. The national batting average for Division I schools decreased from .305 to .282, the lowest mark since 1976. Scoring average fell from 6.98 runs per game in 2010 to 5.58 in 2011, the lowest since 1975. Also, home runs were down by about 40 percent. “Routine plays are going to win the game, not big hits,” said senior Mike Chiseri, starting catcher for Voorheesville. “The new bats aren’t very nice for the hitter, but it’s good for the pitcher.” Patrick, a former player for BKW, graduating in 2007, said that the loud sound of the old metal bats “got old.” The cracking noise off the BBCOR bats is quieter, but so will be the offensive production. With the new bats, a game score of 3 to 1 is more likely than an 11-to-7 final score. “Defense is going to win championships,” said Patrick. “It moderates the game in a positive way because players will need to have more awareness. There will be a greater sense of separation, too.” Everybody loves offense, but defensive games can be even more intense and entertaining. BKW, Guilderland, and Voorheesville will start swinging the new bats as the 2012 regular season begins early next week. “The games will still be exciting, but teams will have to try different things,” Roy said. “Every run has an impact.” |
| None Pitching - Defense- Timely Hitting . April 13, 2012 9:36:57 AM Entry ID: 1965040 | You hear it all the time, pitching and defense wins championships. Think about how much time you spend working on your defense. I guarantee for most people, if you are honest, it is no where near the time you spend on your offense. If you live in a part of the country where it is cold and you are unable to get outside then I know you spend most of your time on your offense. We put the majority of our efforts on hitting and pitching and we overlook the backbone of a teams success. That is pitching defense and timely hitting. Most are convinced little Lenny is going be the next Roger Clemens or Mickey Mantle and overlook the importance of developing the defensive skills to compete in the game. Basics, you need the basic skills to compete at the next level. Get back to basics, enjoy have fun, it's the journey that counts. |
| None That's what this game is all about." April 13, 2012 9:16:48 AM Entry ID: 1965036 | St. Louis Cardinals third baseman David Freese has grown accustomed to the idea that life is different now -- that he's going to have a hard time eating dessert in a local restaurant without some overheated Redbird rooter shoving a pen in his face and handing him a napkin to sign. That's the new reality for a native-son-turned-postseason-hero in a baseball-crazed environment. But the fallout from Freese's October coming-out party also extends to some unexpected regions of the country. Let's start with Atlanta, where Chipper Jones sounds ready to either file adoption papers or run for chairman of the Fulton County Chapter of the David Freese Fan Club. "He's my young guy that I have a man-crush on right now," Jones says, laughing. "I thought he was on the verge of superstardom for a couple of years, but some fluke injuries prevented him from really emerging as an elite third baseman. He finally had a healthy, productive season last year, and he was probably swinging it the best at the end when his team needed it the most. That's what studs are made out of." David Freese has been in the spotlight since his Game 6 heroics and the Cardinals' World Series title Three weeks shy of his 29th birthday, Freese is a modest and reluctant star in the making. But he takes special pride in Jones' endorsement because it comes from one of his baseball role models. Freese has asked for a signed jersey from only one major leaguer, and that player wears No. 10 and plays third base for the Braves. "To hear somebody compliment you is flattering," Freese says. "To hear Chipper Jones say it is special. Whenever I see him, I'll definitely thank him for that. He's lost his mind, but that's pretty cool." As the Cardinals begin defense of their World championship on Wednesday night in Miami, Freese is part of a new world order in St. Louis. Chris Carpenter is out with a neck injury, but Adam Wainwright has returned from Tommy John surgery and is ready to reclaim his place among the game's elite starters. New manager Mike Matheny, the quintessential strong, silent type, was a bold choice to succeed Tony La Russa. And for the first time since 2000, the Cardinals must find a way to score runs without the comforting presence of Albert Pujols in the middle of the batting order. That means an increased reliance on Freese and outfielder Allen Craig, who is out until May because of knee surgery. The two young hitters need to embrace their roles as more than complementary players to Matt Holliday and Lance Berkman in this post-Albert universe. "I personally think Craig and Freese could hit 3-4 for a lot of teams in the big leagues," Berkman says. "It's hard to find young guys that are as calm in big situations, that trust their ability and know how to bear down and concentrate like they do. It's usually something you have to learn. Both of those guys were kind of born with it. "I've been fortunate to play with a lot of guys who are special players, and they all have an 'it' factor. You can't necessarily put your finger on it, but you sure can identify it when you're around them. You say, 'That guy is special.' And David is. He's a bona fide star now." Mr. October If a player is determined to prove his mettle, there's no better time than October, when the scrutiny increases, the stakes are monumental and reputations are forged. If Freese could slow his heart rate and keep his wits about him with so much on the line, how can anything faze him now? In hindsight, it's absurd to think that Freese's .545 average against Milwaukee in the NLCS was merely an appetizer. With St. Louis a strike away from elimination in the World Series, Freese delivered a game-tying triple against Neftali Feliz in the ninth inning of Game 6. In his next plate appearance, he homered off Mark Lowe to give the Cardinals a 10-9 victory in what some observers have called the greatest game in Series history. The following night, Freese's two-run first-inning double sent the Cardinals on their way to a 6-2 victory in the clincher. He's shown so much to bust through those walls. … What [David Freese] did in October is just a small glimpse of what he's going to do for the rest of his career. In the final accounting, Freese hit .397 with a .794 slugging percentage in the postseason. He won a 2012 Corvette as World Series MVP, and earned the everlasting gratitude of Cardinals fans. Five months later, he reflects on his magical run as if it were an out-of-body experience. "I think you learn a lot about yourself when you step in front of Philly fans, Milwaukee fans and Ranger fans," Freese says. "You have to learn to embrace it and understand that the game isn't going to run away from you. You have to attack the game, and confidence is a huge part of baseball or anything in life. It doesn't matter if you're in an office or on an athletic field." Freese had shown an intriguing array of tools since the Padres chose him out of South Alabama in the ninth round of the 2006 draft, but he didn't exactly quicken pulses around the game. Before St. Louis acquired him in a trade for Jim Edmonds in December 2007, Freese ranked 28th on Baseball America's list of San Diego's top 30 prospects. He was two spots ahead of noted draft bust Matt Bush on the list. Even today, visions of grandeur for Freese are clouded by caveats. He's a below-average defensive third baseman, in part because of ankle problems that limit his range. Durability also remains a concern he has a .783 OPS in 604 big league at-bats and he has yet to play 100 games in a season. But it's hard to discount that "it" factor. St. Louis bench coach Mike Aldrete, formerly the assistant hitting coach to Mark McGwire, watched Freese down the stretch last year and saw an otherworldly sense of calm. It would be an understatement to say Freese was "locked in" during the playoffs and World Series. "Watch any of the postseason tapes, and he was focused," Aldrete says. "I could tell from his cage work, which was hours before each game. I really liked the look on his face, his demeanor and his aura. I told him at the time, 'The best at that is Albert, and you've got it right now."' Aldrete hit .263 for seven teams over 10 seasons, so he knows how difficult it is to attain a Pujols-caliber focus at the plate for such an extended period. Even batting champions and perennial All-Stars find the quest daunting. "I had it for like three pitches one time," Aldrete jokes, "but I wasn't playing that day." Hometown hero The magnitude of Freese's achievement -- and the Cardinals' achievement -- dawned on him when the World Series parade traveled down Market Street in St. Louis and he saw all those parking garages crammed to capacity. Day after day during the offseason, Freese accepted well-wishes from local fans who were predisposed to cheer for the kid from Lafayette High School in suburban Wildwood, Mo. The parade was just a warm-up to a chaotic winter. In November, Freese was summoned from the stands during a Missouri-Texas football game and waved to an adoring crowd. He received a key to the city of St. Louis, attended the Country Music Awards, got a GQ fashion makeover and did interviews with Jay Leno, Ellen DeGeneres, Mike & Mike and "Access Hollywood Live." He talked to everyone but the ladies from "The View." Nonstop adulation can make a man's head swell. But when Freese needs a lesson in perspective, he has plenty of handy reference points in his life and baseball career. The reviews weren't so glowing when he was arrested for driving under the influence in 2009 or when he dropped a weight and broke his toe a year later. Last April, Freese suffered another dispiriting setback when Atlanta reliever Scott Linebrink broke Freese's hand with a fastball. Freese has learned to live with the ups and downs by embracing his Christian faith and becoming more discerning about his circle of friends in recent years. He owes a huge debt of gratitude to Holliday, who looks out for him the way an older brother would. "You have to stay grounded, and it starts with the people you surround yourself with," Freese says. "I've had my moments where I didn't really surround myself with the right people. I think everybody knows that." As a born hitter, Freese has an abiding respect for his craft. He can routinely be found behind the cage watching Holliday, Berkman or Carlos Beltran and taking mental notes while they take their hacks. Freese has always been gifted with quick hands and a natural, all-fields approach. But he'll have to adjust when pitchers pound him inside with hard stuff and challenge him to pull the ball this season. He is not a big advocate of video, unless his swing is completely out of whack. During the inevitable rough patches, he relies more on intuition, feel and an inner toughness forged during a time when he was nobody's darling. Slumps and hard knocks have taught him that the batter's box can be a lonely place on occasion. "He's shown so much to bust through those walls," McGwire says. "I remember sitting down and talking to him and saying, 'There are reasons why certain things happen to you in life. Somewhere down the line it's going to pay off.' Then the World Series came and I told him, 'Dude, this is what's happened.' What he did in October is just a small glimpse of what he's going to do for the rest of his career." When Freese reflects on the events of October, it's not the triple off Feliz or the home run trot against Lowe that give him a nice, warm feeling inside. It's the sense of belonging that comes with knowing he's in the right place. Another season has arrived, and he yearns to relive the experience. "I see all the highlights," Freese says, "and I see everybody celebrating. Grown men running around like little kids. That's what this game is all about." |
| None Truth is stronger than lies April 8, 2012 7:56:10 AM Entry ID: 1964182 | VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI, carrying a tall, lit candle, ushered in Christianity's most joyous celebration with an Easter vigil service Saturday night, but voiced fears that mankind is groping in darkness, unable to distinguish good from evil. Easter for Christians commemorates Christ's triumph over death with his resurrection following his crucifixion. "Life is stronger than death. Good is stronger than evil. Love is stronger than hate. Truth is stronger than lies," Benedict, wearing white robes in a symbol of new life, told the faithful in a packed St. Peter's Basilica. Still, Benedict worried in his homily: "The darkness that poses a real threat to mankind, after all, is the fact that he can see and investigate tangible material things, but cannot see where the world is going or whence it comes, where our own life is going, what is good and what is evil." "The darkness enshrouding God and obscuring values is the real threat to our existence and to the world in general," the pope said. "If God and moral values, the difference between good and evil, remain in darkness, then all other 'lights,' that put such incredible technical feats within our reach, are not only progress but also dangers that put us and the world at risk," Benedict added. |
| None It's more than a game April 5, 2012 10:45:04 PM Entry ID: 1963917 | ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- Nine months after a Texas Rangers fan died after falling over an outfield railing at a game, his 7-year-old son helped unveil a statue Thursday honoring his father and others who love America's pastime. The life-size bronze statue depicts Shannon Stone and his son, Cooper, wearing baseball caps. They are holding hands and looking at each other as if they're talking. The inscription reads: In memory of Shannon Stone and dedicated to all fans who love the game. "Today is a celebration of spirit, family and love of the game," Rangers President Nolan Ryan said. "This bronze represents so many things that are good about baseball - competition, happiness, memories - and I think Shannon embodied what we as an organization hope for in our fans." On July 7, Stone was reaching for a ball tossed to him by Josh Hamilton, Cooper's favorite player, when he fell headfirst about 20 feet and landed on concrete behind the outfield wall. Before the game, Stone had stopped to buy his then-6-year-old son a new glove in the hope of catching a ball. Witnesses said Stone, a Brownwood Fire Department firefighter, was conscious after falling and sounded worried about Cooper being left alone. Stone, 39, was pronounced dead within an hour. In September, Cooper and his mother returned to the Rangers Ballpark at Arlington for the first time since Stone's death. Cooper stood on the pitcher's mound and tossed the ceremonial first pitch of the playoffs to Hamilton. Some 50,000 fans were on their feet, many with tears in their eyes. In creating the statue to honor Stone, sculptor Bruce Greene said it was important for him to depict the moment where fathers and sons are discussing the play-by-play after the game. He also said it was a priority to finish the statue before the start of the season. The Rangers' season opener is scheduled for Friday against the Chicago White Sox. Ryan said that when Shannon Stone was a boy, he caught a foul ball hit by one of his favorite players, Buddy Bell, who played for the Texas Rangers from 1979-85 and again in 1989. Before the statue was unveiled Thursday, Bell gave Cooper a baseball jersey, bat and ball - after high-fiving the boy. Stone's widow, Jenny, attended the unveiling with her son but did not speak to the crowd, which included the team, Brownwood firefighters and Arlington emergency personnel. In a statement read at the ceremony, Stone's family said the statue represents what he believed in - his son, family, friends and having fun. "Shannon lived life to the fullest, doing the things that brought him and others joy. We hope this statue reminds people of doing just that," the family said in the statement. |
| None April 1, 2012 7:39:51 AM Entry ID: 1963024 | Opinions are just that, an opinion good or bad. You may agree you may disagree but your opinion nor my opinion really matters. Facts are facts and speak the truth, don't be manipulated by other opinions. Look at the facts and make a decision. Winning is not always decided by the score at the end of the match, so don’t be fooled and make your decision based on wins and losses. Don’t believe the lie, the truth usually prevails. |
| Talk about game? Palacio's pin leads N.Y. over N.J. March 27, 2012 9:35:23 PM Entry ID: 1962202 | WEST NYACK, N.Y. -- Dylan Palacio still felt like he had something to prove. Never mind that the Long Beach senior went 41-0 and won the Division I state wrestling title at 160 pounds he had a chance to wrestle New Jersey's finest, and his latest tour de force might have been the loudest statement of his stellar high school career. Wrestling at 152 pounds Sunday, Palacio pinned undefeated New Jersey state champion Raamiah Bethea of Trenton Central in 5:12 at the New York/New Jersey All-Star Wrestling Challenge at Clarkstown South High. The Long Island contingent went 5-1, as New York held on for the 27-23 win. Shenendehowa's Cole Lampman beat Morris Knolls' Jermaine Eleumenor in the deciding match at 285 pounds, 2-1, in triple overtime. The Palacio/Bethea match was the only one to feature two undefeated state champions. "I got the rush before the match," said Palacio, who had the day's only pin and was named Most Outstanding Wrestler. "I knew the match would be straight doubles, everything he had. I have great defense. We fought and fought, and it was one of the best matches of the day." |
| None It’s about ‘We,’ not ‘I’.” March 24, 2012 7:42:14 AM Entry ID: 1961429 | At a Sachem North lacrosse practice last week, this year’s theme was loud and clear every time head coach Jay Mauro spoke to his team: “It’s about ‘We,’ not ‘I’.” “I think the kids have bought into it,” he said. “It’s about getting it together and becoming a better team. We’re going to do it through hard work, because talent is only going to take you so far. Believing in each other is a crucial part of this team.” |
| None Win at any cost? March 21, 2012 2:14:20 PM Entry ID: 1960858 | (CNN) -- New Orleans Saints Head Coach Sean Payton was suspended for the entire 2012 season and the team was fined $500,000 for operating a bounty program against opponents, under sweeping discipline announced by the NFL on Wednesday. Under the program, the team paid bonuses for knocking opposing players out of a game. Former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, now with the St. Louis Rams, was suspended indefinitely from the NFL, effective immediately, the league said. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will review Williams' status at the season and whether to reinstate him, the league said. The team will also forfeit its second-round draft picks in 2012 and 2013. Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis was suspended without pay for the first eight regular-season games of the 2012 season, the NFL said. Saints Assistant Head Coach Joe Vitt was suspended without pay for the first six regular-season games of the 2012 season, the leagues said. One sports analyst, Jim Trotter of Sports Illustrated, said the discipline is "historic." "One of the reasons they could be so strong against the Saints was that there was a paper trail," Trotter said, referring to e-mails. "I don't think other teams would be dumb enough to put it in writing," Trotter said of the bounty system. "I definitely believe they are trying to make an example of them." The NFL is facing class-action lawsuits from former players who claimed that their efforts led to concussions, head trauma and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a dementia-like brain disease. "The league has to be concerned about lawsuits," Trotter said. |
| None March 21, 2012 1:46:59 PM Entry ID: 1960848 | "Statistics: The only science that enables different experts using the same figures to draw different conclusions". ~Evan Esar |
| None acts like he's just getting started and he's happy March 21, 2012 12:47:06 PM Entry ID: 1960828 | PHOENIX -- Wes Timmons thought it was another march to the baseball gallows. Eight of his A's teammates had already been cut from big-league camp in the previous 24 hours, so when he received a summons to the manager's office, Timmons figured he shared their fate. "I just assumed it was that time," he said. Timmons is, after all, a 33-year-old infielder -- and elementary-school substitute teacher -- who has played 998 minor league games in his 10-year pro career and hasn't spent a single day in the big leagues. Not as a doubleheader fill-in, not as a September call-up and, until last year, not even as an invitee to a major league club's spring training camp. He entered Bob Melvin's office and took a seat. The manager read Timmons some of his spring statistics -- which, at the time, included a .323 average (10-for-31) with four walks and a .405 on-base percentage, though just one extra-base hit, a double -- and the two discussed how the spring had gone. Then Melvin asked a curious question, "How's your Japanese?" Timmons burst into a smile, as the realization dawned on him that he'd be joining the A's for their season-opening trip to play the Mariners in Japan. "I am more than willing to learn," he replied. Two games shy of 1,000 in the minors, Timmons is on the verge of shedding the label of "real-life Crash Davis," the frequent joke he's heard the last few years, even if the fictional character in the movie Bull Durham at least had a cup of coffee in the big leagues. "Minor league baseball has changed a lot since then," he said, "but when you watch the movie, I'm like, 'Well, that kind of fits, I guess.'" Every profession has its rites of passage, but few entail such celebrated bumps in the road as being a minor league ballplayer. Perseverance is a series of incalculably long bus rides through mid-sized minor league cities There are the eight-hour bus trips that are actually better than the alternative: when the bus breaks down along a scorched Southern highway, as happened to Timmons years ago. There are the days the motel's hot water runs dry. There's the hotel in Savannah, Ga., whose air conditioning fails on a 100-degree afternoon. And plenty more. "We could talk for hours," Timmons said, shaking his head at the memories. None stand out more than the day the outfield wall caught on fire. Ivy had grown along the wooden fence during the offseason at the home ballpark of the Mexican Pacific League's Mayos de Navojoa, and on the winter league's opening day in late 2010 the greenery went ablaze with red and orange flames. "For whatever reason the fans thought it'd be cool to set the ivy on fire," Timmons recalled. Play was stopped for half and hour -- on two separate occasions -- and the fire burned a hole in the fence. "We finished the game with part of the centerfield wall not being there," he said. Those incendiary delays weren't even the worst part of his stay. In the second week of the season a fastball struck Timmons on the left arm. The club took him to get an x-ray -- at a dentist's office. "So that was fun," he said with a wry smile. There, the diagnosis of a fracture was confirmed and Timmons received an oversized cast that ensconced most of his left arm, from his wrist up past his elbow. (Back in the States, he received a more suitably sized cast for his forearm.) He also noted that such minor league travails grow less outlandish in the higher levels of the minor leagues. Besides, other than seven weeks last season, Timmons hadn't been below Triple A since 2006. He has been a man stuck in baseball limbo. * * * Just last week Timmons sounded like a man beginning to accept his baseball destiny -- that a major league promotion may never come. "That's the road God has chosen for me, man," he said then. "That's who I am, just kind of hanging around. If it comes, it comes. If not, you know, I've had a great career up to this point. I don't really have a whole lot of regrets on the field." Timmons, a utility infielder who has primarily played third base in his career, is coming off his best season, batting .341 with a .420 on-base percentage in 95 games split between Double A and Triple A in 2011. His lack of power -- he's never hit more than eight homers in a season -- is a detriment when compared to the prototypical third baseman, but his versatility in playing every infield position helps. "It's hard to get the guy out," Oakland assistant general manager David Forst said. "He's played himself into the conversation, very much so." The A's were in need of extra infield help after projected starting third baseman Scott Sizemore tore his ACL early in camp. But roster decisions aren't always linear one injury doesn't necessarily bump everyone up one spot on the depth chart. Though the A's will need to whittle the roster down to 25 players for the rest of the season, they will travel with 30 to Japan and will designate 25 players to dress before the two games with the Mariners. "He's played well enough that he deserves to go," Melvin said. "He should be proud of that." Timmons' situation is complicated by not being on the 40-man roster, which means that, not only does he need to be good enough to make the club, he needs to sufficiently outplay the competition that the club is willing to remove another player. Making this trip to Japan does not guarantee placement on the 40-man. If he does eventually make Oakland's 25-man roster, he'd be the oldest position player on the rebuilding club only pitchers Grant Balfour, Bartolo Colon and Brian Fuentes are older. "He's veteran-minded, but he's still got that youthfulness where you don't really expect that he's been in the game that long," said second baseman Jemile Weeks, the 25-year-old starter who lockers next to Timmons. "He'll give you the impression that everything's fine and dandy. He's not a complaining type. He acts like he's just getting started, and he's happy to be here." * * * Each of the past few winters Timmons has huddled with his wife, Randi, in their Jacksonville, Fla., home and deliberated whether it would be best for him to retire or to trudge ahead with his major league dream at the expense of time and distance away from his family, which includes two daughters -- Kallyn, who is almost six years old, and Irelyn, who is three. "So we weighed the pros and cons of coming back, and God willing and my wife being so wonderful, I'm playing again," he said. "Would I rather be working 9 to 5 or playing a kid's game? I've gotten to the point in my career where the money has gotten a little bit better, and there are just not a lot of jobs in this world that are better than what I'm doing." Modern technology makes the separation from his family almost bearable -- "If it weren't for Skype or FaceTime, I don't know how anybody ever did this," he said -- but he knows he's missing out. Also, minor league salaries are a pittance compared with even the major league minimum of $480,000. The salaries for even veteran minor league free agents can be less than $20,000 for a season only a handful of players make more than $100,000. Most make something in between, including Timmons (the exact terms of his deal were not disclosed). Timmons has his degree in physical education -- he began college at Appalachian State and later transferred to Bethune-Cookman -- and spends his winters as a substitute teacher at Chets Creek Elementary School, where his wife and mother teach fulltime. "Any subject you can think of, kindergarten through fifth grade," he said. "Some of the students follow [my baseball stats], and some of them make fun of me because I don't hit a lot of home runs. I get it from all ends of the spectrum." Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/joe_lemire/03/20/wes.timmons/index.html#ixzz1plpt0QPX |
| None Have a plan for your kid. March 15, 2012 2:50:42 PM Entry ID: 1959883 | Yesterday's email got very high interest. Those who read it should have a good idea why you might want to reconsider or at least rethink how you will decide which travel team you sign up for. The most important word in that entire article was - DEVELOPMENT. Many of you do not understand what it means or how it will impact your son's pitching career.(Baseball Career) You may think your son is developing because he is playing a lot of games. Games are the problem. Games do not develop baseball or pitching skills. Only goal oriented individual skills practice does that. The key word here is development, coaching/teaching training. Put a development plan in place. Throw in some tough love, hold him accountable, be honest and leave the rest up to the baseball Gods. More importantly, it all starts in the class room and the influences that surround him and the values you instill. |
