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San Diego has been in trouble for some time. The city has seen three mayors in the month of July alone, but they will not have to wait until November to elect a new one. However, the frontrunner of the 2005 mayoral election in San Diego is anything but your average politician. Councilwoman Donna Frye, 53, is a surf shop owner and advocate of the water sport up and down the west coast. It's not everyday a bonafide surfer runs for mayor, and chances are come November, she'll be mayor of the town she loves.

Frye led a field of eleven candidates in last Tuesday's mayoral election but fell short of being elected by a slim margin. Now, she will have a face-off against former Police Chief Jerry Sanders on the November 8 ballot. Unofficial results showed Frye with 43 percent of the county's vote, Sanders having only 27 percent, but since neither candidate reached a majority, they are forced under Californian law to be put on the ballot in November's run-off election.

Earlier in the month, Mayor Dick Murphy resigned admits controversy surrounding his pension fund that discredited City Hall. Seventy-two hours later, his replacement also resigned for taking bribes from a strip club owner, after being convicted of corruption by the local courts. Frye actually almost won a write-in campaign last year when supporters began to whisper that Murphy was in trouble.

Frye has since asked her supporters to stay behind her during the road to the election. She's also asked that they support the interim mayor, a fellow Councilwoman, who will micromanage the government leading up to the elections in November. She doesn't want to jump the gun, and she's afraid her supporters might just do that, by trying to get her elected sooner than the run-off against Sanders.

Most are confident that Frye will be crowned mayor in the November election. She's seen by supporters as one of the honest-to-God politicians left in the city. Even her competition has praised her efforts to clean up the political waste that has left a sour taste in the mouths of San Diego residents who are fed up with the backroom dealing going on without their knowledge or consent and definitely not for the betterment of their city.

Frye began her political career four years ago when she campaigned for ocean pollution regulation when her husband began suffering from symptoms related to the pollution of local waterways. This led her to gather a fan-base of surfers and young adults who support her causes and feel closer to her because of her surfing background and support.

She has vowed, if elected to office, to continue supporting causes close to environmental awareness as well as to bring repute to the San Diego City Hall which has seen far too much corruption on the national scene. Frye wants San Diegans to feel comfortable and to trust in their local government again, something that most who live in the county have walked away from since the scandals broke.

Jackie Kallen is known in the sporting world as one tough woman. Working her way through the male-dominated world of boxing, Kallen has become one of the most well-known and respected managers in the sport. Co-starring alongside Sylvester Stallone, Sugar Ray Leonard and Tommy Gallagher, she added her own knowledge and experience to make The Contender one of the most unique and refreshing reality television shows of the year. Kallen brought her unique brand of spunk and heart to the show and inspired all who watched!

How did you first hear about The Contender?
I read about it in a local newspaper while I was out promoting Against the Ropes. I knew I wanted to be a part of it in some way. Every day was a new adventure.

What did you think of the boxing talent of the contenders?
I was pleasantly surprised how good most of them were.

Did anything about them catch your eye right away?
Ahmed's personality and confidence, Jesse's sense of humor, Alfonso's sweetness, Sergio's intelligence.

Did you have a favorite to win the whole thing?
I originally thought that Ishe or Sergio had a good shot to take it all. I knew Sergio and have seen him fight and I had heard great things about Ishe Smith.

In one episode early on, you sat down with Najai Turpin to discuss his attitude about trust. He told you that he felt his mother and daughter were the only two people in the world he could trust. Did you sense, during that conversation, that there were much deeper feelings involved other than just the trust issue?
Of course. I knew there had to be some deep-rooted problems if he didn't trust anyone but those two. His mother was deceased and his daughter is just a child. So it appeared that he no adult that he felt he could turn to or relate to. That concerned me.

What was you reaction when you found out Turpin had taken his own life?
Shock. Sorrow. Disbelief.

Did you think back to the conversations you had with him about trust and wonder if there was anything anyone could've down to reach out to him during his time on the show?
Absolutely. But mostly I wished there was someone there for him after the show.

You had the opportunity to hang out with the contenders many times during their stay in the suite. How was it to watch these guys – who had never gone out to clubs, who had never worn a suit – soak up the limelight?
That has been one of the best parts. It was such a joy to see them evolve and grow as people.

What do you think the future holds for Sergio Mora?
Sergio has the potential to become world champion, a TV sportscaster or a writer.

If you could give him one piece of advice since his million dollar fight, what would it be?
Not to change. To stay as focused and down-to-earth as always. He has a good head on his shoulders and probably doesn't need any advice.

What advice would you give to Peter Manfredo, Jr. who lost the final fight, but came from behind so many times to make it that far?
Peter has to suck it up and move forward with his career. The past is just that – the past. His future can be as successful and bright as he chooses to make it. Peter is a great guy and he'll be back.

What have you learned from your experience on The Contender?
I learned that guys who live together and really like each other can still fight like cats and dogs when there is money at stake. Friendship is one thing but business is another.

What have you learned from your experience on a reality television show in general?
I learned that no matter how many scenes you were in, the editing can change all that and your part can be less than you expected.

Are you disappointed that the show, starting off with a ratings boom, failed to get renewed for a second season?
Yes. But I believe someone will pick it up. It's a great show.

What are you up to now?
I am managing four professional boxers, I do motivational speaking, I have a sitcom in development at a major studio and I have a reality show of my own that I am hoping to pitch soon.

The New England Patriots three Super Bowl Championships in the last four years have come in great part from their steady and hard hitting defense. But as the team prepares for the 2005 season, the squad finds itself missing many of the key defensive ingredients that have played a significant role their Super Bowl success.

As the Pats start their 2005 training camp, the team is missing five top defensive players; linebackers Teddy Bruschi, Roman Phifer and Ted Johnson, defensive lineman Richard Seymour, and cornerback Ty Law.

After the 2005 Super Bowl Championship season, the Patriots had to make some very difficult salary cap decisions. First, they opted not to resign linebacker Roman Phifer, a veteran backer who had played four seasons for the Pats and had been a key performer in all three of the team's Super Bowl wins. Then the Pats released Ty Law, a ten year veteran and all pro caliber cornerback, again due to the financial constraints of the NFL salary cap.

Also during the off season, middle linebacker Teddy Bruschi suffered a mild stroke that required hospital time. Though he has seemingly been recovering steadily from his collapse, the Patriots team leader on defense has elected to sit out the 2005 season to continue his rehabilitation regiment in the hopes of playing again in 2006.

Then just prior to training camp came the surprising announcement of another linebacker. Teddy Johnson, another tough inside backer and outstanding defender against the run indicated that the numerous concussions that he had experienced while playing pro football had taken their toll. Said Johnson, it was time for him to call it quits for his own long term health.

Finally, for the first time in recent memory, the Pats saw a player under contract express dissatisfaction with his salary agreement and elect not show for the team's mandatory training sessions. Richard Seymour, the Pats' all pro defensive lineman, failed to report for the team's mandatory minicamp earlier in the summer and now has yet to make an appearance at the preseason team camp.

The Seymour no show was an extremely unusual situation for a team that has had very few holdouts during the Belichick coaching era. The Patriots have become the league poster child for team harmony, with many professionals opting for less money just for the opportunity to play for the leagues best team in recent years.

Complicating matters for the Patriots is the off season loss of their defensive coordinator as well. Romeo Crennel, the Pats highly though of assistant coach finally was rewarded for his numerous years of success by becoming the head coach of the Cleveland Browns. But the loss of Crennel and co-captains Bruschi and Johnson mean the Pats have lost a lot of the intellectual leadership that formed the basis of defense that succeeded as much from being in the right place at the right time as it did for its punishing hits.

Though it has been known as the era of parity in the NFL, the Patriots in the last four years have managed to become a repeat champion and with three titles during the period the term dynasty has been associated with the franchise. But the highly-respected head coach of the Pats, Bill Belichick, will more than have his work cut out for him as he prepares his team to defend its NFL championship.

The decimation of the defense may just have brought the Patriots back to the pack and returned them to the parity level of the rest of the NFL.

Unless we have lived in a bubble for the last couple of decades, we all know the importance of exercise for a healthy heart. With life expectancies becoming longer, something does indeed seem to be working.

If you enjoy participating in sports, many of them provide an excellent way to get some of that exercise that is so beneficial to keeping your heart healthy. Even some of the less strenuous sports will provide a good workout but the more moving, running, etc. that is done, the more benefits you will be getting.

So why is getting exercise so vital to good health? Before answering that question, I need to say that prior to starting any exercise regimen, even if it is participating in a sport you haven't been regularly playing, it is imperative to discuss it with your doctor. You really need to have his or her thoughts on the kind of exercise routine you should be participating in, so do not skip this step.

Getting enough exercise (in this case the kind you will get while participating in a sport) while you are also eating a heart healthy diet is one of the ways we can help to prevent heart disease. It is a big problem and actually the biggest cause of death in this country.

Getting exercise can also keep your cholesterol levels under control by not only lowering the bad kind of cholesterol, but by helping with the good, too. Exercise helps the heart to stay strong, helps with cholesterol levels, and it also may lower your blood pressure which is always a good thing.

If you don't participate in your chosen sport often, you will need to have a regular exercise routine as well. This can be covered with aerobics, a treadmill, doing a routine with one of the many exercise videos that are available, or any other schedule you wish to follow. The important thing is to do just that . . . follow a routine. Stick with it and it will become something that you might actually look forward to doing every day. Make it a higher priority than other things you do and that way there won't be an excuse to skip your exercise routine on any given day.

So what kind of sport would you like to be part of? Many communities have baseball and softball leagues that anyone can join. If there is a sports complex or YMCA, you will be able to find things such as swimming or volleyball to try out. Track and Field is also an excellent form of exercise. If there is no complex or YMCA in your area, invite some friends and find out about using the local school's track or swimming pool.

If you are not used to exercise or sports, do a little reading on the net or at the library about various stretches you will need to be doing. After your workout, whether it is a sport or other forms of exercise, you will need to cool down as well as warm up. Know these things ahead of time to avoid injuries that didn't need to happen.

For a regular exercise routine and for maximum benefit to your heart, exercise between 30 and 60 minutes four or five times a week. Start with the bottom end, the 30 minutes, if you are not used to exercising. If you can just handle ten minutes to start, that is fine, too. Remember to drink liquids especially if you are doing outdoor sports.

Dickie V calls impact freshmen at the collegiate level Diaper Dandies . The Boston Celtics felt that their extraordinary 2004 draft might have brought the team the NBA equivalent of at least three such diaper dandies a year ago. And with what appears to be another strong draft in 2005, the Celtics appear to be headed into the 2005 season ready to give those dandies full reign.

Headed into the recent off season, the young and athletic Boston Celtics team seemingly had two major player personnel decisions to make. Gary Payton and Antoine Walker, two veterans that had helped the team to the Atlantic Division title in 2005 and into the playoffs, were both free agents. Given the impact of the two veterans had on the team a year ago, it was thought that the C's would ante up some decent money to try and tempt the two back into the fold.

But then came draft night 2005, a night the Celtics were looking at with only minor hopes of garnering a decent player. The Celtics held the number 18 pick, a spot not usually associated with acquiring an impact player. The Celtics however, were hoping that Providence College senior Ryan Gomes, might some how fall to them at number 18 thought hey felt it would be a long shot possibility.

But then the inexplicable happened, as it often happens on draft day. Some how, some way one of the nation's premiere prep school players, Gerald Green, was passed over early and the explosive scorer began slipping down the draft board. Through sheer luck, the high school player that many experts thought was a top three or four pick in the draft was still available at number 18 when the Celtics turn arrived.

Having taken a high school players in each of the last two drafts and with four rookies on last year's roster, the Celtics had to still be thinking of Gomes, a college senior who would give the team some greater experience. Gomes was still available, as the Celts had originally hoped he might be. But the chance to draft a player with the perceived upside of Green was too much to pass on and the C's made him their number one pick.

Then, almost like the vintage Celtics days the draft again took a strange turn. No team seemed immediately interested in the Providence College senior. Gomes began slipping deeper and deeper into the draft until once again the Celtics had an opportunity to draft the player they had hoped to take with their first round selection.

Given the talent that the team had assembled from the 2004 draft, General Manager Danny Ainge was ecstatic with the developments. He had now acquired what he believed were a number of key parts that would one day return the Celtics to being a true competitor for an NBA title.

But with the picks may have come the decision that it was time to forgo attempts to resign either Walker or Payton. After all, young players need game opportunities to develop their skills. With so many young players on the team and only so many minutes available Ainge needed to decide whether it is time to give the kids a chance to develop, to see if the Celtics have truly drafted any diaper dandies.

The inability to make strides with resigning either of the two may simply be a result of the Celtics no longer having serious interest. Instead, it appear the C's are prepared to start either Delonte West or second year pro, Marcus Banks, at the point guard position in place of Payton. Both players have enormous upsides, seemingly needing only more playing time to develop their overall skills.

It also appears the team wants more playing time to be available for another of the 2004 rookies, Al Jefferson, a former high school player who is also thought to have an enormous upside. Add fellow 2004 rookie talent, Tony Allen, and the Celtics do need playing time options for what could become a very inexperienced starting group.

Then throw in Justin Reed, the fourth of the four picks in 2004 along with the aforementioned Green and Gomes and the Celtics will have a youthful contingent coming off the bench as well. The team will still look to Paul Pierce, Ricky Davis and Raef LaFrentz for points and those three will garner serious playing time, but those three will be asked to bide some tough times and mentor the youngsters, theoretically helping the Celtics future at the expense of the present.

Youth is seldom served in the NBA so Celtic fans may become a bit testy this season. The choice to go young could be a real issue for the Celtics for 2005-2006 as the Celtics will field as green a team as any in recent NBA history.

But Danny Ainge appears to be casting his lot with some tough times in the next year or two for what he hopes is the opportunity for the Celtics to become a legitimate NBA contender once again, even if he has to wait until 2008 or 2009 for that to happen.

The logos on professional sports team uniforms may not have anything to do with how the players actually perform on the field, but they are nevertheless very important to a team's success. That is, in terms of marketing. Most people will buy sports-related clothing, merchandise, or hats for their favorite teams. It doesn't take a business degree to figure that out. For example, I live in Chicago, so it stands to reason that I have several Cubs, Bears, Blackhawks, and Bulls items. Every sports marketer's dream, however, is to come up with something that fans across the country will want to buy, not just fans in a specific city. That's where team logos (and uniform color schemes) come into play. Sometimes there is a jersey or hat that is so cool that you just have to buy it, even when it is for a team that you don't really have any ties to.

Over the years, I have accumulated a bunch of pro sports clothing items. Here are some of the teams that I think have the coolest logos.

First, the Chicago Blackhawks logo is a classic and is definitely one of my favorites. It shows an Indian head with feathers in his hair and war paint on his face. Some people don't think it's a very politically correct logo in this day and age, but that's another story altogether. I personally think this logo looks great on the Blackhawks' red jersey that they wear when playing away games. I see a lot of people wearing Blackhawks jerseys outside of the Chicagoland area, so I think others definitely feel the same way I do about the logo.

I also like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers logo, which was introduced several years ago and was a welcome change from their old logo. The new logo consists of a sword with a torn flag on it. The flag shows a skull and two more crossed swords. There is also a small football underneath the swords. This logo looks really good along with the silver (actually, they call it "pewter") and red uniforms. Another NFL logo that I think is cool is the Houston Texans logo. It's pretty simple: a steer's head that is half blue and half red, with a single star (Texas being the "Lone Star State") where the eye should be. I bought a Texans t-shirt just because of this logo, even though I know nothing about the team.

In baseball, I think the Seattle Mariners logo is pretty cool. It shows a baseball in the center of eight compass points jutting out in different directions. Even though the Mariners have been in last place for most of the last two seasons, that hasn't stopped me from buying their merchandise. Here again, the logo plays a big part in my purchasing decisions.

So if you want to buy pro sports merchandise, but you are tired of your home team's logo, take a look at some of the items that other teams have to offer. There is some pretty cool gear out there that you might be missing out on!

For my family, summer means going to plenty of baseball games. We take in our fair share of Cubs games, and even the occasional White Sox game. This can start to put a strain on our budget after a while. But we love going to the ballpark to watch professional baseball games. That's why the Schaumburg Flyers have become an important part of our lives in the past few years.

The Schaumburg Flyers are a minor league baseball team. They are part of the Northern League, which consists of 12 teams. Usually, minor league teams are affiliated with a Major League baseball team, which means that the players are "owned" by the big league club. For example, the Durham Bulls, a minor league team that became nationally known after the release of the Kevin Costner movie "Bull Durham", are affiliated with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The Devil Rays have a right to call up any Durham player if and when the Devil Rays have an open roster spot. This gives the minor leaguers a pretty strong incentive for giving it their all in every game.

The Schaumburg Flyers, however, are not affiliated with a Major League team. This can actually work to the players' advantage because instead of being limited to their affiliate ball club, they are available to negotiate with any team. At any rate, I don't think a Flyers player has gone on to play in the Major Leagues so far.

Flyers games are entertaining and cost-effective alternatives to Cubs and Sox games for people living in the Western suburbs. A family of four can enjoy reserved seats and some refreshments (hot dogs and soft drinks) from the concession stands for just over $50. Ticket prices are $9.50 for reserved seats, and just $5.50 if you want to bring a blanket and sit on the lawn near the outfield along the foul lines. Parking is free at the Flyers home ballpark, Alexian Field.

You might also want to consider having your child's next birthday party at a Flyers game. You can get a party package for 10 people for $195. The package includes 10 tickets to the game (reserved seats), plus a hot dog, soft drink, and bag of chips for each person. In addition, you will also get a birthday cake with the Flyers logo on it. That sounds like a great deal to me!

In case you are wondering, yes, the Flyers are a professional team. Granted, the game play is not flawless; but neither are Major League games. According to the team statistical archive, various Flyers players have: turned a triple play; stolen home plate; hit for the cycle; pitched a no-hitter; hit four homers in a game; played all nine positions in a game; set the Northern League record for hits in a season; hit a walk-off home run. Those are all pretty exciting feats that fans rarely get to see in baseball games anywhere.

So the next time you want to catch a pro ballgame, check out your local minor league team!

Michelle Wie continues to garner a great deal of hype. Such is the case when you are able to outplay professional male golfers and are a 15-year old golf phenom who seems to be establishing herself as the game's next potential star.

But a second teenager, Paula Creamer, a scant three years older than Wie, appears to be making as many golf waves as Wie. And given that Wie is still winless despite the hype, perhaps more attention should be focused on the teenager who blitzed the field at the Evian Masters this weekend, winning her second LPGA tour title in her first year as a professional.

Amazingly, the Creamer had played more than a half-dozen events on the LPGA Tour this year prior to even graduating from high school in May. She had earned Tour status in 2004, when as an amateur, Creamer became the youngest golfer ever to win the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament. That five shot victory earned her exempt status for the 2005 LPGA season and the youngster immediately turned professional after the final round.

Prior to playing on Tour, Creamer had a stellar amateur career. She had been named 2004 Amateur of the Year by both Golfweek and Golf Digest and as Golfweek's and Golf Digest's 2003 Junior of the Year. The top ranked Junior player in both 2003 and 2004, Creamer was also named the 2003 American Junior Golf Association Player of the Year.

But in this her first season as a professional, Creamer has continued to grow as a player. After missing the cut at the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship in mid-May, Creamer would win her first LPGA title at the Sybase Classic the following weekend. That first statement of her professional ability focused upon her youthfulness.

At 18 years, 9 months and 17 days, Creamer became the second-youngest first-time LPGA Tour winner with her one stroke victory. Only Marlene Hagge had won at a younger age, claiming the 1952 Sarasota Open and the 1952 Bakersfield Open by the time she was 18 years, 2 months and 15 days. However, both of Hagge's wins had come in 18-hole events, so Creamer actually became the youngest winner of a multi-round LPGA tournament in the 55-year history of the organization.

The first win started the ball rolling. The California resident would follow up with a third at the McDonald's LPGA Championship, a second at the Wegmans Rochester Classic, and a fifth at the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic. As Wie was making headlines, Creamer was making cuts, finishing in the Top Ten and earning serious cash.

Everything came together this past week at the Evian Masters at Evian-les-Bains, France. Competing against a world class field that included Annika Sorenstam and the 15-year old Wie, Creamer buried the field, winning by an whopping 8 shots. The woman's consensus best golfer, Sorenstam finished a distant 12 shots behind the youngster.

In winning, Creamer became the youngest winner on the Ladies European Tour. Still two weeks shy of her 19 birthday, Creamer erased the record set by Belgium’s Florence Descampe who won the 1988 Danish Ladies Open, an aged 19 years and 74 days.

But more importantly, the win moved Creamer to second on the Tour in earnings, behind the incomparable Sorenstam, and past the $1 million mark in her first year as a professional. It also moved her higher in the public eye and allowed Creamer some much deserved press time during a period that Wie has been collecting most of the attention.

Of course, Wie also continued to make waves. The 15-year old Hawaiian played very well and would have been the story if not for Creamer, the amateur tying for second place against the same world class field.

But this time the headlines and the main story line was on the other teenager, the young lady three years Wie's senior but still two weeks shy of her nineteenth birthday.

Lance Armstrong ended his racing career today in brilliant fashion by capturing his seventh Tour de France title in a row. Armstrong won the race by 4 minutes and 40 seconds over runner-up Ivan Basso. Third place went to Jan Ullrich, who finished 6 minutes and 21 seconds behind Armstrong. The final leg of the Tour consists of a ride into Paris down the famed Champs-Elysees boulevard. This part of the race is traditionally taken at a slower pace, and serves as a triumphant victory ride for the winner. This year, the last leg was actually cut short due to some bad weather. The Tour de France organizers officially ended the race with the pack still about 30 miles outside of Paris in order to ensure the safety of the riders on the wet roads.

It's great that Armstrong will be able to go out on top. Not many athletes can make that claim. A lot of them hang on for a few years too long, which ends up tarnishing their legendary accomplishments just a bit. When I think of people who have truly gone out on top, I think of John Elway, who retired as a two-time Super Bowl champion. His final game was Super Bowl XXXIII, in which he was named MVP. You can't do any better than that in pro football. Pete Sampras also went out on top, but in a slightly different way. Sampras won the 2002 U.S. Open, which was his record-setting 14th major title. He didn't announce his retirement there and then, but he ended up withdrawing from every tournament the next season, and officially retired at the U.S. Open a year later. Now I will always think of Lance Armstrong along with guys like Elway and Sampras.

It's much easier to come up with athletes who played too long. Michael Jordan immediately comes to mind. Jordan retired once, then came back and led the Chicago Bulls to three more NBA championships before retiring again. At that point, if Jordan had stayed retired, he would have had the kind of career that movies are made of. But he decided to try playing one more time, and had a couple of less-than-stellar seasons with the Washington Wizards. Jerry Rice is another athlete whose performances declined dramatically in the last years of his career.

I have a lot of respect for Lance Armstrong. He could very easily stick around on Team Discovery Channel and ride several more Tour de France races just to collect a paycheck. He has one of the top names in cycling, and he could definitely milk his star power for all that it's worth. But he is a true champion. His competitive side wouldn't allow him to do anything but go all out for the win. The only blight on his career is the persistent rumor of doping. But since Lance has taken and passed countless drug tests in the past 7 years, I would have to say that's a problem that lies with the critics, and not with Armstrong himself.

Congratulations, Lance. You've had a career that mere mortals can only dream of.

For a hitter, it is the most cherished hit in baseball. It is not just any homer, it's cranking one with the bases loaded. It is none other than the "grand slam."

And when it comes to that majestic hit, the current edition of the Boston Red Sox is on a phenomenal pace during the 2005 season. The Sox have cranked nine grand slams already, tying the team record, and with another 60 plus games to go on the season, it is possible Boston could challenge the all-time record of 14 set by the Oakland Athletics during the 2000 season.

Leading the way for Boston are their two RBI machines, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez. Ortiz hit the first grand slam for the Sox back on April 15th, Manny hit the second the following day, both jacks coming against the hapless Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The pair also own the last three by the team on the season, Manny hitting hit his second on the season in late June, then followed up with his third for 2005 on July 5th. Ortiz followed with his second of the season 10 days later.

In between, Jay Payton (since traded), Doug Mirabelli, Trot Nixon and Edgar Renteria all took one deep. For the clutch hitting Nixon, it was his 8th of his career.

But when it comes to individuals, Nixon's eight pale next to Boston's best hitter, the enigmatic Manny Ramirez. Manny is half-way to the single season record held by Yankee great "Donny baseball", Don Mattingly. Perhaps even more importantly, the Sox left fielder is on the verge of the grand slam enchilada, the long-standing Lou Gehrig record for career grand slam homers. Manny still trails Gehrig, the powerful lefthander who hit a whopping 23 over his long Hall of Fame career.

But with his three in 2005, Manny has now pushed his career total to 20. And at just 33 years of age, the slugger will have numerous opportunities to add to his career total over the next several seasons. Most importantly, he may be playing for the team that will give him the greatest number of chances.

By playing on the Red Sox, players are getting more opportunities with the bases loaded than they do for any other team, at least for 2005. Whereas the Red Sox as a team have only the fifth best batting average in baseball with the bases loaded (trailing the Mariners, Blue Jays, Marlins and Nationals), they simply give their hitters more chances to hit with the bases loaded.

The Sox have loaded them up an incredible 129 times on the season. It is a staggering number, at least relative to the rest of major league baseball, as it is more than double the number of at bats of at least seven other big league teams.

In hitting those 129 at bats, Sox players have driven in 124 runs. At nearly a one-to-one ration, it is a solid sign of run production. But three major league teams, the Marlins, the Nationals, and Mariners all have stats whereby the ratio is higher than one-to-one.

But the most production of those three teams, the Nationals' 80 runs, is a whopping 44 behind the Sox. In fact, the Sox lead the number two bases loaded run producing team, the Philadelphia Phillies, by 38 runs. The Sox players are simply given more chances to hit with bases juiced. That means that Sox hitters, especially Ramirez, appear destined to have numerous chances over the rest of the season to bat with the bases loaded.

The grand slam is one of baseball's most cherished hits. The current edition of the Boston Red Sox is giving its hitters more opportunities to produce that special moment than any other team. It is a fact gives them an excellent chance to challenge the single team season record and Manny Ramirez the chance to continue his chase of the immortal Lou Gehrig.

You've probably heard by now that NHL owners and the Players' Association have agreed in principle on a new deal. Once the deal is officially ratified, hockey fans across the country and around the world will be able to see NHL hockey games in October for the first time in over a year. By all accounts, the new deal is not favorable to the players. They will receive lower salaries than they have seen in the past 10 years. The real winners here may be the fans. The new deal includes several rule changes that should make the game more exciting to watch.

If there's one rule that most hockey fans (including myself) hate, it's the single overtime rule that allows regular season games to end in a tie. Fans want to see a winner and a loser for every single game. Remember the uproar caused by baseball commissioner Bud Selig's decision to end the 2002 Major League All-Star Game when the score was tied 7-7 after 11 innings? Nobody wants to see a tie game. Anyway, starting with the new season, there won't be anymore hockey games ending in ties. There will still be three 20-minute periods of play followed by a 5-minute sudden-death overtime period if necessary. If the game is still tied after the overtime period, the teams will participate in a shootout.

The shootout format will be as follows: Three players from each team will participate. Each player will get one shot on goal. At the end of the six shots, the team with the most goals is the winner. If a winner can't be determined after these six shots, either because the teams didn't score any goals or because they scored the same number of goals, the shootout will then switch to sudden-death. The first team to score a goal in the sudden-death shootout round wins. As far as the game score goes, the winning team will only be credited one goal for the shootout round(s) regardless of how many goals they actually score. For example, if the game is tied 3-3 after regulation and the 5-minute overtime period, the teams will go to a shootout. If Team A scores three goals on its three shots, and Team B scores two goals on its three shots, then Team A wins the game. The official final score of the game will be 4-3, not 6-5. I'm not sure how shootout goals will figure in individual scoring statistics.

I think this is a great move on the part of the NHL. It shows that the league is interested in progressive changes to make the game appealing to modern audiences. Hockey's marquee players are the skilled goal-scorers that generate lots of offense. Most fans are paying money to see the likes of Jarome Iginla, Patrick Elias, and Martin St. Louis score goals, not to see a tight-checking, defensive game that ends in a 1-1 tie. Purists might disagree with me, but I think a lot of fans feel the way I do. I can't wait to see how this new rule works out!

When Tiger Woods won his second British Open by a whopping five shots last week, the golf world began to realize that perhaps the game's most popular player had returned to his position as the game's best. In winning his tenth major and second of 2005, Woods moved to the top of the money list for 2005 and to the top of the world rankings by a formidable four plus points.

His performance at the Open, at St. Andrews, the birthplace of golf, was reminiscent of his play from 1999-2001 when he totally dominated the golf world. More importantly, the victory put a finishing touch on his recent run that now has firmly perched him at the top of the Tour worldwide.

The going thought had been that Tiger was slipping and his strangle-hold as the world's top player had been loosened to the point that Vijay Singh had slipped into the number one ranking. Tiger's 2004 season gave folks ammunition to voice that perhaps his bid to top Nicklaus 18 major championships was no longer feasible.

Woods won only one PGA Tour event in 2004, the WGC Match Play Championship. And for the second year in a row, Vijay Singh led the Tour in overall earnings. In fact Woods slid to fourth in earnings, also trailing Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson, with Els earning more money in 16 events than Tiger did in 19.

However, the slip by Woods was clearly relative. Consider his stats from the 2004 season. He would enter 19 Tour events and make 19 cuts. In 18 of those 19 events Woods would finish in the Top 25. Perhaps most impressive though was Woods' 14 Top Ten performances in those 19 tourneys, meaning Woods finished in the top ten 74% of the time, best on tour for 2004. Woods also had three seconds, three thirds, and earnings totaling more than $5.3 million.

But the key factor was his performance in majors. Though he always built his schedule around those tourneys, by the end of 2004 Woods was also in the midst of going more than 2 years without winning a major. Given Woods desire to break the Nicklaus record for major titles, that drought was considered the most tell-tale sign of his struggles.

The game's most popular player began his return to the number one ranking with a strong start to 2005, winning two Tour events early in the season, the Buick Invitational and the Ford Doral. Woods then made a monumental statement by outlasting Chris DiMarco in a playoff to win the Masters, his fourth win at that major and ninth overall. With three wins on the season and the majors drought over, murmurs were beginning that perhaps he was back in command.

But sandwiched around the Masters were two of his worst tournaments in years. At the Players Championship prior to the Masters, Woods was a dismal 53rd. Then came the cut streak breaker, the EDS Byron Nelson Championship.

The standard for making golf cuts all time, owned exclusively by Master Woods, ended at the Nelson Championship. The failure to make the cut ended his phenomenal record of 142 consecutive cuts, a streak that began at the Buick Invitational back in 1998.

When the Masters champ took a tournament weekend off for the first time in seven years and headed back to Florida for some practice, he took with him one of sports most memorable streaks. He also took with him the critics who said that perhaps he still was not off the snide.

But Woods returned with some very strong play. Against a strong field at the Memorial, Tiger placed third. At his next stop, the second major of the season, the US Open, he was in contention until the final hole on Sunday. Only outstanding play by Michael Campbell kept Woods in second place.

Tiger followed that up with another second at the Cialis Western Open. Heading into the British Woods therefore had finished 3rd, 2nd, and 2nd in his previous three events. Add to that his three earlier wins including his win at the Masters and Woods was clearly on the verge of reestablishing his prominence headed into the British.

But again, the Woods standards are so high that his failure to win after the Masters was seen by many as proof that he still was struggling. Throw in the missed cut and well, most thought he was having a good season but still was in a battle for Tour supremacy with the likes of Els, Singh and Mickelson.

But by the completion of the British, Woods had leap-frogged everyone. With $6.6 million in earnings in 2005, he moved nearly $700,000 ahead of number two earner, Vijay Singh. He also became the first player on the season to secure four tour victories. But most importantly, especially for the World Golf Ranking, two of the four were major championships.

Continuing his usual pattern of play, Woods will tee it up only once more on Tour, at the Buick Open, prior to the final major, the PGA Championship. It should be quite a tourney as the defending champ is none other than Vijay Singh.

But right now, after nearly a two year hiatus, there is little doubt as to who the game's number one player is. And now that he is back, talk has once turned to the Nicklaus record. At 29, Woods is now more than halfway there.

Over the past few years the strength of the NBA has clearly been in the Western Conference. Over the past seven years, the San Antonio Spurs, and prior to this season, the Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Lakers, have all been considered superior to any Eastern Conference foe. Add to that mix the revamped Phoenix Suns and the ever talented Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves and the Western Conference has been seen as being deeper and significantly more talented than the East.

But a little more than two years ago, a slow transformation began. First, in the East there were the talented draft picks of LeBron James and Dwayne Wade, two rookies who are now budding superstars. Both are held in very high esteem by NBA insiders as each seemingly has the potential of a Michael Jordan.

Later in the 2004 season, the multi-team and multi-player trade that brought Rasheed Wallace from the Western Conference to the Eastern Conference Detroit Pistons further ate away at the imbalance. Wallace proved to be the catalyst to make Detroit a true title contender, pushing the Pistons to the top of the Eastern Conference. The Pistons then surprised the Lakers in the NBA finals, snapping a run of five consecutive Western Conference champions.

But still, to be blunt, that win was perceived as an upset by a weaker team and the weakness of the Eastern Conference was still a point of discussion. Then in 2004 off season, the blockbuster deal that sent Shaquille O'Neal to Eastern Conference Miami Heat further evened the balance.

With the trade, Miami became an instant title contender while the Lakers, Shaq's prior team, dropped from title contention. Overnight, the East then had two teams capable of competing for the NBA championship while the West had one fewer.

Then came the 2005 draft and the further potential for the East to make up ground. The Milwaukee Bucks used the first choice to draft Andrew Bogut while the lackluster Atlanta Hawks drafted a consensus future All Star in Marvin Williams. Gaining the top two players in the draft only furthered the East's process of making up ground on their Western counterparts.

Lastly, now comes the free agent signing period for 2005 and already there are overtures of further rebalancing. Perhaps the most significant is the rumored signing of Shareef Abdur- Rahim by the New Jersey Nets. The former Trail Blazer would be yet another All Star, like the aforementioned Wallace, to shift conferences.

With the signing the Nets would appear to be poised for a run at the title also. After all New Jersey already has superstars Jason Kidd and Vince Carter, as well as the budding talent, Richard Jefferson. If pure talent makes a contender, then the Nets are there as the addition of Abdur-Rahim will make New Jersey one of the strongest offensive teams in the league.

Meanwhile the Lakers, the Kings and T-Wolves appear to have done little to upgrade their respective teams and they appear to be out of title contention for the new future. Of course the West still has the best team the Spurs and the league's next powerhouse, the Phoenix Suns, but now the balance of power may actually have shifted to the Eastern Conference when it comes to teams capable of winning an NBA title.

The East, once considered least, appear to be on the verge of becoming the NBA beast.

New England Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi has finally made his decision and will sit out the upcoming NFL season, according to a team spokesman. Bruschi will not play competitive football this season because of a stroke he suffered less than two weeks after helping the Patriots win their third Super Bowl in four years.

As a father and husband, it clearly is the right decision.

The Patriots leader on defense suffered what has been categorized as a mild stroke on Feb. 16. His collapse occurred just three days after he had played in the Pro Bowl and a mere 10 days after helping New England beat the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl XXXIX.

The decision has been a long time coming but it is still a difficult one for the Patriots as a team. Bruschi has been the leader of the Pats defense during their recent championship run. He is not only the signal caller on defense, but is seen as being both the intellectual and inspirational leader for his teammates on that side of the ball. The loss of Bruschi defensively is analogous to the Pats losing quarterback Tom Brady.

Bruschi becoming a star player for the Patriots was just another example of the Pats management seeing the football potential in a player. Categorized as an overachiever, Bruschi was a smallish 250-pound defensive lineman in college. The Patriots moved the smart, hard-working Bruschi to linebacker during his rookie season, 9 years ago. He soon became known as a player with a nose for the ball and his ability to make impact plays garnered him the respect of his peers.

But as good as he has been as a player, he is also known for his character and leadership by example. Who could forget the television cameras focused on Bruschi at last year's Super Bowl, the handsome father chasing his children around the field, tackling them and falling to the ground and rolling over on the ground as only a father and his children can do. The moment was signature Bruschi, preparing for the ultimate game by being an example for anyone who has to balance the complex role of professional athlete and that of being a parent, finding a way to share the moment in a way the children would enjoy.

Bruschi has said it was possible that he could sit out the 2005 season and return in 2006. Let's hope he gives that serious thought. If there is any risk of further injury, the 32 year old should never return to a game that has the physical demands that football has.

But if he retires, he would be walking away from the final three years of a contract that is set to pay him nearly $4 million dollars over the three year period. The Patriots do have the option of placing Bruschi on the physically unable to perform list which would allow him to be paid for the upcoming season even though he will not be playing.

Look for the Patriots, the classiest organization in pro football to do the right thing by the linebacker. Though the Pats are known for being cost conscious, they have also been known as having a full grasp of what it means to be a team and a teammate.

Bruschi needs the Pats now and it seems only appropriate that the team extends a hand to a remarkable teammate in his time of need.

NFL training camps will be starting up across the country in just a couple of weeks. This should be a welcome sight for people in places like Seattle, Tampa Bay, Cincinnati, and Denver since the baseball teams in all those cities currently occupy the cellars of their respective divisions. There's been plenty of football news over the last couple months, so before camp opens up, here are some quick notes to get you up to date on NFL happenings:

- Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Tice was reprimanded and fined $100,000 by the league for selling his allotment of Super Bowl tickets. Each team gets a certain amount of Super Bowl tickets to divide among its players and coaching staff. The only condition is that the tickets aren't allowed to be sold.

- Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams has been given the go-ahead to report to training camp. As you may recall, Williams decided to retire last year in order to travel and enjoy life. However, the Dolphins threatened legal action to get back millions of dollars in signing bonuses paid to Williams, so he reconsidered and will play again this year. If he is on the Opening Day roster, he will have to miss four games as a penalty for failure to comply with the NFL's substance abuse policy.

- New England Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi has decided not to play this season. Instead, he will focus his efforts on making a full recovery from a minor stroke he suffered last February. Bruschi hasn't officially called this a retirement; he will continue to evaluate his physical conditioning and make the bigger decisions further down the road.

- Embattled Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens is not sure whether he will report to the Eagles training camp. Owens is unhappy because the Eagles have thus far refused to renegotiate his freshly-signed 7-year, $49 million dollar deal. Just one year into the contract, Owens now feels he is being underpaid, and wants more money. Rumors have been going around that the Eagles have been talking to the Raiders about unloading Owens. Owens' agent said that right now there's a fifty percent chance that the wide receiver will show up at camp.

- Wide receiver Tim Brown retired after 17 years in the NFL. Brown spent 16 of those years with the Oakland Raiders, but when the team said they couldn't offer him anything more than a couple of touches per game, he went on to play with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2004. He didn't see much action on that team, either, which probably was a factor in his decision to retire. In a touching gesture, Oakland signed Brown to a one-day contract so that he could officially retire as a member of the Raiders. It was a nice way for the organization to show their appreciation for their #1 receiver.

There are a number of other stories that will play out in the first couple weeks of training camp, so stay tuned for more news!

Coaches in the NBA are known for having a short coaching life, but anyone who dares to step up and coach the Detroit Pistons had best never unpack his bags.

Larry Brown and the Pistons reportedly reached a settlement late Tuesday whereby Detroit bought out the final three years of Brown's contract. The buyout effectively makes Brown a coaching free agent, able to negotiate with any other NBA team for a coaching job.

Apparently the Pistons had decided that they team did not want the 64 year old coach back. Brown has continued to publicly insist that he wanted to coach the Pistons again next year. And until recently, the Pistons management had indicated that it wanted Brown to be their coach as well.

But the viewpoint of Pistons management has evidently changed in the last few days.
It was just two years ago that Detroit signed Brown to a five-year contract reportedly worth a cool $25 million. The deal also had reported built-in incentive bonus clauses for levels of success.

It would seem that Brown had more than met any expectations the Pistons could have set for him, unless the only expectation is that your team win an NBA title every year. In his first season as coach, Brown led the Pistons to the stunning upset of the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA championship in 2004. The longtime NBA and college coach had followed that up by taking the team to the 7th game of the Finals this year before losing to a strong San Antonio team.

The buyout of Brown just two years after coming on board in 2003 has remarkable similarity to the replacement of Detroit's prior head coach, Rick Carlisle. Carlisle had also evidently failed to live up to the expectations of management even though he had guided the Pistons to 50 wins in each of his first two seasons as coach, helping him earn the NBA Coach of the Year Honor in 2002 for his performance.

In Carlisle's two years with Detroit, the Pistons 100-64 record during the regular season garnered the club two Central Division championships and one trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. Despite that success, the Pistons released Carlisle to hire Brown.

Given what Brown accomplished, Pistons management might have seemed vindicated by its release of Carlisle. But just two years later, Larry Brown apparently is no longer the coach to lead the team, even after nearly taking the club to consecutive titles.

Brown is considered a bit of a maverick, a coach who has moved around over the years. But his quick buyout startled even many sportswriters very close to the NBA action. Brown of course is still the only coach to have won both an NBA and an NCAA championship, having won a title with the Kansas Jayhawks in 1988.

Whoever gets the nod to coach the Detroit Pistons next had best keep his bags packed and with him at all times. One has to wonder how short the tenure will be if the team actually struggles to win some games early in the season or heaven forbid, fails to compete for the NBA title in 2006.

Bowling is a great way to relax, enjoy time with friends, and experience some competition along the way. Even in today's era of "extreme" sports, bowling remains as popular as it ever was. You can find bowling alleys everywhere, from the smallest towns to the biggest cities. In fact, another indication of bowling's popularity is that these bowling alleys even stay in business from year to year. It doesn't seem to matter how the economy is doing; I have rarely ever seen a bowling alley boarded up or torn down.

If you are a bowling enthusiast and want to participate more often than just a couple games a month, you should consider joining a bowling league. Before you do, however, here are some points to keep in mind.

First, you should decide how competitive you want the league to be. This decision actually affects a lot of things, so you really need to think carefully about it. In my area, bowling is so popular that some bowling alleys have reputations for hosting the most competitive leagues you can find. So for me personally, I wouldn't even set foot into one of those places to inquire about a league because I'm not that serious about bowling. The more competitive leagues will have cash prizes every night they meet. These prizes, called "pots", are based on participation. For example, there might be a pot for total strikes and the buy-in might be $1. The person in the league who gets the most strikes during the 3 official games and who actually entered the pot wins all the entry fees from the night. The best leagues would probably have several different pots for bowlers to choose from.

Second, you should decide what kind of league you want to join. For example, there are men's leagues, women's leagues, and co-ed leagues. Then within these categories, there are beginner's leagues, intermediate leagues, and advanced leagues. There are also leagues that are based on handicaps, and scratch leagues. In bowling, a handicap is a way to add pins to your score to even things up. There are different ways of calculating handicap, but a common one is to use a score of 200 as a baseline. So if your average is 175, your handicap would be +25. If someone else's average is 205, their handicap would be -5. A scratch league is based on raw averages alone and doesn't employ the handicap system.

Finally, you should ask yourself how much of a commitment you want to make to the bowling league. Most leagues meet once a week, although some may meet twice a week. If you can't commit to attending at least 80% of the scheduled games, you probably aren't ready to join a competitive league. You owe it to your teammates to show up every week and put forth your best effort. If you join a league that's based on having fun, where people don't pay much attention to the score and are more interested in drinking a few beers and chatting, then you obviously wouldn't need to have as strong of a commitment.

Bowling leagues are definitely more fun than just bowling by yourself, so go out and join one today!

The AMA Motocross Championship has reached the halfway point, and so far it has been one of the most exciting years in recent 125cc racing history. The fans have been treated to exciting battles, unbelievable finishes, and 6 different moto winners in 6 rounds. This is quite a change from the dominating days of James Stewart, and before him, Ricky Carmichael. Through it all, veteran Mike Brown has emerged at the top of the pack with 223 points. Brown, a former factory rider, is contesting this year's outdoor series as a privateer. In second place, just 16 points behind Brown, is Monster Energy/Kawasaki's Ivan Tedesco. Tedesco, a two-time Supercross champ, is known more for his indoor skills than his motocross abilities, but his performance this year has shown people that he has evolved into a complete rider.

Red Bull/KTM rookie sensation Mike Alessi scored his first-ever career moto victory and overall win at Round 2 in Pennsylvania. Alessi's win was even more satisfying for him since it came on the heels of an incredible take out move by Grant Langston the week before. Alessi seemingly had moto 2 in the bag, but Langston came in hard on the last turn and made contact with Alessi's bike, causing both riders to tumble to the ground. Langston was able to remount and restart his bike in time to cross the finish line for the win. Alessi seemingly took forever to get his bike restarted and eventually finished 15th. He is now third in points with 187.

Meanwhile, Langston, also of the Monster Energy/Kawasaki team, looked strong in the early going but has now faded a bit with a 9-37 effort at Unadilla (due to bike problems). Langston was forced to sit out the second round due to an ankle injury sustained in the last-turn crash with Alessi, and he hasn't been able to make up the points since then. Currently he is still in fourth place, but his 172 points means that leader Mike Brown has a cushion of more than one whole race.

In addition to Alessi, there have been three other first-time winners this season. Makita Suzuki's Broc Hepler scored his fist moto win at the first round of the season, and backed it up with a 1-1 performance at Unadilla last weekend for his first career overall victory. Those two races have been the highlights of an otherwise puzzling season for Hepler, who was expected to do much better than 6th place, his current position. Josh Grant of the Factory Connection/Amsoil Honda team also notched his first career moto win with a victory in Round 4 at Budds Creek, Maryland. Grant has put in some pretty consistent rides and is in 5th place overall. Red Bull/KTM's Ryan Mills had a great race at Red Bud (Round 5). He led the second moto from start to finish and proved that the KTM team has more than one winner on the roster.

It looks like the championship will come down to the wire this year. Let's hope the second half of the season is as exciting as the first!

The AMA Motocross Championship has just hit the halfway point with the completion of the 6th round yesterday in upstate New York. Ricky Carmichael, the defending champion, currently sits atop the series points standings with 294. Carmichael, of team Makita Suzuki, has a comfortable 71 point lead over Amsoil/Chaparral Honda rider Kevin Windham in second place. Yamaha's Chad Reed is in third place, just 5 points behind Windham. Carmichael has won every overall so far this year, but is no longer in the running for his third perfect season. He has lost two motos out of a possible 12: once to Reed in the sand at Southwick, and once to Windham at Unadilla after a horrific crash with James Stewart.

Speaking of Stewart, he has not had the great results that many people expected him to have. The Kawasaki rookie has shown flashes of the speed that he is known for, but hasn't been able to put things together on a consistent basis. Stewart's best finish came at Round 2 in Pennsylvania, where he went 2-2 for second-place overall. However, his season has been marred by health problems that have forced him to miss a significant number of motos. In fact, Stewart has either failed to finish or failed to start 5 of the 12 motos so far. In addition, Stewart, along with Kawasaki teammate Michael Byrne, was penalized for running out of spec fuel, which cost each rider 25 points in the overall standings. Currently, Stewart sits in 9th, with 118 points.

Stewart's troubles have by far been the biggest story of the 250cc class through the first six rounds of action. But that's definitely not the only thing going on in this class. Here are some other tidbits worth mentioning:

- Estonian rookie Juss Laansoo has turned a lot of heads this summer. The MotoSport/White Bros./MSR Honda rider is having a great rookie year thus far. He started things off with a bang by going 5-8 for 5th place overall at the opening round at Hangtown, and has been fairly consistent since then. Laansoo sits just outside the top 10 with a respectable 96 points on the season.

- At 40 years old, veteran John Dowd is having one heck of a farewell tour. The Massachusetts native, who is set to retire at the end of this season, has a firm grasp on 7th place in the premier class. Dowd's 144 points put him ahead of factory stars Stewart, Byrne, and Tim Ferry, as well as privateer Nick Wey, who always seems to be in the top 10. Dowd's best moment came in the form of a podium finish at Southwick, his hometown track.

- Team Honda's Ernesto Fonseca has always flown under the radar in motocross, and that is especially true this year. The quiet Costa Rican is having a solid year aboard his #24 factory machine. With 174 points, Fonseca sits in 5th place and is within striking distance of Team Yamaha's David Vuillemin. Just 10 points separate the two riders.

Back in the early 1980s in Colorado, our small town, Catholic high school basketball team surprised everyone, even themselves, by making it to the state finals. The team was a motley bunch of lanky white kids and one black kid, none of whom were great players, but who worked amazingly together as a team. They had a couple of good shooters, some really good defenders, and a coach who believed in the team and made them all think they were better than they were. He taught them to reach for the stars and actually catch them a time or two.

Ours was a small high school that played other small high schools. We were used to small gyms and hometown courts complete with very supportive crowds and rivalries. Parents were at every game; not just parents of the players, but parents of most of the 300 students in the small school. I always had a good view of the games because I was a cheerleader. I'd always scoffed at cheerleaders, as I was more the tomboy type, but our cheerleading squad wasn't the prissy kind; we had fun and we supported our team. We followed them to every game and felt the loss when they did. Plus, many of us were dating the basketball players.

The season was a surprise to us all. The coach was only in his second year at the school and it was a young team of three seniors and the rest juniors. When we won the first 8 games, the school was in a frenzy, holding pep rallies and daring to speak about going to states. There were a few losses, as the season wore on and we played harder schools, but the enthusiasm stayed and the team only learned from their mistakes.

When the team won regionals and discovered we were on our way to the state finals, we were all nervous wrecks; not just the coach and team, but the whole school, including all the parents. The state championships were to be held in the field house of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. It was a huge, professional-type court, the likes of which none of us had ever seen. The crowds were huge, the noise deafening, and we all felt small and out of our element.

Amazingly, our team won the first few rounds on days one and two. Our crowd, mixed in with the rest of the state, was wild with excitement. We cheerleaders had lost our voices during the second game the day before. Our team was up for the finals - the state championship. If they won the next game, they would be the best basketball team in the state for their league. The game was a nail biter. All the way through, there was only a one or two point discrepancy between the two teams. Finally, in the last few seconds, as we were behind only one point, our team was fouled and our best shooter was set to make a double foul shot. The pressure was so great, the normally great foul shot shooter missed them both. Time ran out and we lost the game.

We were all disappointed, but we had come so far and were proud. It was a moment in our high school history I'm sure no one has forgotten.

As a former teacher and coach, I have always been a proponent of the lessons that sports can teach youngsters. Because of that view, I continue to pay very close attention to youth sports.

In recent years there have been a number of times when I have read very positive articles about amateur sports and the wonderful coaches who are able to help youngsters learn to appreciate the opportunity structured competition can provide. The youth sports scene is fortunate to have many adults who generously volunteer their time to help children experience the wonder of sports. These coaches fully understand the purpose of athletics. They teach the ideals of competition, the notion of giving one's best effort, but are then able to keep winning and losing in perspective.

At other times I find myself recoiling at a tale that I hear. Such was the recent case of a T-ball coach in North Union Township, approximately 40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

If you believe in the good of sport and the importance of the aforementioned lessons, this story is one that will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. It seems a coach by the name of Mark Downs Jr. wanted to prevent a particular player from participating in a T-ball game. T-ball is of course a beginners' form of baseball that is usually open to very young players, generally around eight years of age.

In order to prevent a specific player from participating, the coach allegedly paid one of his players $25 to hurt the targeted individual. People allege that the targeted boy was in fact hit in the head and in the groin with thrown baseballs just before a key game. The injuries the youngster sustained prevented him from being able to play that day.

As sad as that sounds, the story actually grows worse when some additional details are revealed. You see the targeted player was not a key member of the opposing team. The selected player was instead a teammate, an eight-year-old mentally disabled youngster who actually played for Downs' team.

This disappointing case of sports gone awry has now become a police matter. Witnesses have told police that Downs didn't want the boy to play in the game because of his disability. T-ball league rules require every player to participate in at least three innings of every game, so without the injury the coach would have had to play the disabled boy in the game.

In trying to explain this to others, a member of the Pennsylvania state police issued the following statement. "The coach was very competitive," state police Trooper Thomas B. Broadwater reportedly said. "He wanted to win."

Though Downs alleged actions clearly crossed the lines of sportsmanship, police have taken the matter even further. Downs was arrested and arraigned last week, charged with criminal solicitation to commit aggravated assault as well as with the corruption of minors.

In researching items further, Eric Forsythe, the president of the R.W. Clark Youth Baseball League and the T-ball supervisor stated that Downs also had two daughters on the T-ball team. It is common for T-ball teams to consist of both girls and boys but it was not clear whether or not Downs' own childrenbenefitedd from the disabled player's inability to participate.

This ugly story drew national headlines and once again caused many parents to question their child's involvement in youth sports. It also brought great suspicion upon the many adults who give their time willingly to work with youngsters during organized play.

As League president, Forsythe has taken a strong stand. Says the head of the league, if Downs is actually convicted of a crime, he will not be permitted to coach in the league next year.

Unfortunately, that statement was just not strong enough for those people who see the importance of coaches being role models for their players. Those people, like me, believe that if the allegations against Downs are true, then the league should remove him from coaching whether or not he is convicted of a crime.

There simply is no place in youth sports for such coaches. They do nothing but tarnish the fine work of all the other volunteers who work tirelessly on behalf of children.

As a sports fan, one of my greatest pleasures besides watching the games is reading analysis about the games by my favorite columnists. Even though I played some sports when I was in high school, I don't watch professional games with an analytical eye. I just sit back and enjoy the games. So reading a columnist's take on certain plays or outcomes gives me a chance to understand not only what happened, but why it was allowed to happen. For example, some friends of my played football in school, so when they watch NFL games with me, they look at all the players on the field whereas I just focus on where the ball is at. They can tell me if an offensive lineman had a great day blocking or if he blew a lot of assignments. I wouldn't know the difference. Columnists are like that for casual fans: they can point out the things that we might overlook. Here are a few of my favorite sports writers, in no particular order.

Rick Morrissey, Chicago Tribune
Rick Morrissey's columns cover a lot of ground. His writings appear several times a week in the Tribune, so he tends to write more about the sports that are currently in season. So now you can expect to find lots of material about the Cubs and Sox. But he is just as likely to toss in a piece about the Tour de France or a major golf tournament as well. I like his columns because they don't pander to the teams or athletes he covers, and he dishes out praise along with criticism in an age when some columnists' M.O. seems to consist entirely of bashing people.

Bill Simmons, ESPN Page 2
Bill Simmons, also known as The Sports Guy, posts columns a couple times a week on Page 2, which is part of the ESPN website. Simmons is from Boston, so a lot of his columns are devoted to the Celtics, Red Sox, and Patriots. It's a testament to his popularity that his hometown bias doesn't stop people in other major cities from reading and enjoying his columns. He also writes a bunch of columns about pop culture, such as TV shows and movies, which are always funny and entertaining.

Frank Deford, Sports Illustrated
Deford is one of the most multitalented writers out there. His weekly "Viewpoint" column on the Sports Illustrated website is one of the few that I wait impatiently for. His writing is elegant without being overly showy, and his opinions seem to match mine on a range of sports topics, which makes him even more enjoyable to read. Besides writing for Sports Illustrated, however, he has written several books and a screenplay. Deford's book about his daughter's losing battle with cystic fibrosis is one of the most heartwrenching stories I have ever read.

If you are looking for a new sports columnist to add to your regular reading rotation, give one of these three writers a try. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Michelle Wie still has yet to win a single tournament on the Ladies Professional Golf Association tour, or actually to win any golf tournament of note thus far in her short career. But then again, she has yet to even turn pro.

But over the last two weeks the 15 year old golf phenom has now established herself as the game's next potential star, a hype that may be difficult to live up to but one that is now continuing unabated.

The youngster first made serious waves last week at the John Deere Classic, a men's PGA Tour event. The female golfer had received a sponsor's exemption to play in the tournament and she made the most of her opportunity. Twenty-seven holes into the tournament she was four under par and set to be the first female golfer to make a cut on the men's tour since 1945.

But a hiccup on the back nine Friday cost her the bigger opportunity. A double bogey and then another bogey dropped her back to one under and despite the major fanfare, just below the cut line.

That near miss however brought the 15 year-old Hawaiian right to the eve of the US Amateur Public Links Golf Tourney and her next major statement as a golfer. Wie had already become the first woman to ever qualify for a men's USGA event when she made it into the Public Links field by tying for the top spot at a player qualifier weeks before.

Following up her near miss at the John Deere, this time Wie made the all important cut. She proceeded to make further history by shooting rounds of 76 and 72 over the first two days of the tourney, scores good enough to make the final 64 players and with it the opportunity to compete in match play.

Having managed that feat, one had to wonder how she would do matched up against the men in head to head match play. Well, Wie promptly showed everyone that the hoopla surrounding the high school junior was every bit deserved. She proceeded to dispatch her opponents in the first three matches to make it to the final eight of the tournament.

Clay Ogden, a junior at Brigham Young University in Utah, ended the run for Wie with a thorough thumping, winning 5-and-4 in semifinals. In true form, Wie expressed real disappointment with losing, even if she had made it to the final eight, and she vowed she had learned a great deal from the experience.

Had Wie been able to win the men's Amateur Public Links she just might have become the first woman to get an invitation to ever play at Augusta at the Masters. Every year since 1989 the winner of the prestigious US Amateur had been invited to Augusta National and the opportunity to play the storied course.

The loss ended her quest to play in the Masters, at least for now, but the fine showing only added more fuel to the hype and the belief that this young lady has the potential to become one of the greatest woman golfers ever, even if she still has not won a single tournament of note thus far and has yet to even turn pro.

Alas, the hype about her potential might one day be her undoing. But for right now, her story is one to pay attention to. Certainly the male golfers of the world began paying attention after Wie's incredible performance the past couple of weeks.

There are very special moments in the world of sports though most are unplanned. But the golf fans of the world were poised for a different form of moment, one just as special but one that is known as such right up front.

Without a doubt, a great deal was made of this being Jack Nicklaus' final appearance at the golf championship of all championships, the British Open. Many fans wished that the game's greatest player might somehow resurrect the past and manage to make the cut so the public could enjoy four rounds, but if couldn't, they were poised to watch the finale when it came.

It came to an end on Friday, during the second round. Even though Nicklaus played well enough to finish ahead of many golfers in the field, he could not make it into the top seventy golfers, the cutoff point so as to be able to play on the weekend.

However, in true British fashion, the game's greatest player had the send off and finish that made his last competitive round at the oldest of golf's championships a memorable one. Standing on the 18th tee, four over par and definitively over the cut line, the Golden Bear stepped into the box and began his farewell with a tee shot reminiscent of yesteryear, a drive that traveled more than three hundred yards, winding up just off the fringe of the 18th green.

As he walked up the fairway, the fans along the fairway rose in unison to begin what would be an absolutely incredible send off. Midway up the fairway, his playing partners, Tom Watson and Luke Donald, began to walk more slowly allowing the winner of 18 major championships the opportunity to walk ahead alone as he received the thunderous applause.

When he finally made it onto the famed Swilken Bridge, the rustic stone structure that crosses a small stream in the middle of the fairway, Nicklaus turned and waved to the adoring fans, poised for one of golf's most signature photo opportunities ever. Though camera were snapping from every direction, the gentleman that he is, Nicklaus soon waved his playing partners and their caddies to join him on the bridge, they too becoming a part of the legendary photo shoot.

When they stepped aside, they left the Golden Bear alone with his son, Steve, who had been given the opportunity to caddy for his father at this esteemed event. The only thing more meaningful to Nicklaus than golf is of course his family and the chance to stand on the bridge alone with his son only added to the special moment. Finally, after everyone had garnered their photographs, Nicklaus headed on up to the 18th green for his final hole.

Putting from the off the green with what appeared to be the same exact style of putter he had used to win his last Masters tournament back in 1986, Nicklaus then rolled his ball to the left and slightly above the hole. Though within about ten feet, Nicklaus had a testy, hard-breaking putt for his birdie.

Lining up, aiming almost three feet left of the hole, the game's greatest player finished his career at the World's most significant golf event in the manner than defined his greatness. He plowed the putt soundly into the hole, his birdie once again causing the fans to rise and roar in unison.

The entire moment, from the tee to walking off the green at 18 was one that will go down in golf history. And the gentleman long known as the Golden Bear, so willing to share his moment with others as he approached the green, stood all alone by finishing his final hole with yet another birdie under the scrutiny of the entire world.

It was an extraordinary farewell to an absolutely great golfer and even better man.

When I was a little kid, we didn't have nearly the sporting opportunities that children have today; at least not where I grew up. Kids in my town rode bicycles, climbed trees, roller skated up and down the streets, and ran to their hearts content. Since I've grown up and had children of my own, I've found that sports are offered from pre-school on up. From swimming lessons to mommy and me classes and tumbling, children can be exposed to physical fitness and movement from a very young age. By the time they enter Kindergarten, most towns offer children the option to join a local soccer, basketball or baseball team. These are wonderful opportunities for the children to learn teamwork, for them to get fresh air and fitness, and for both kids and parents to make new friends.

Soccer and basketball are some of the best sports for teaching teamwork, though basketball is a bit harder for kids unless they've been taught to dribble from the time they could walk. Soccer is fairly easy for any child to pick up, as at the young age of five, the children are expected to do little more than kick the ball back and forth across a small field. In fact, watching five-year-olds play soccer is hilarious for on-lookers and spectators; rather than actually working as a team, the game usually consists of four or five children on each team simply herding the ball together down the field. They move in a continuous huddle, almost in mass, as they follow the ball. But in time, if these children continue to play as the years go by and they gain ability and agility, they will learn the rules of the game, the techniques, and how to play as a team; they will learn to depend on their team mates and what it means to be part of a collective.

In this day and age of sedentary living, computer games and TV, team sports are a wonderful way to get children off the sofa, out of the house and into the fresh air and sunshine. Not only do they need to be moving for at least an hour each day, kids need to breathe fresh air and be with other people. Computers and television are not conducive to this.

One of the best things about joining a local recreational sports team is that both children and their parents will meet new people and make new friends. Being a team together can be fun in a small town, where friendly rivalries take hold and the team and its fans begin to stick together. Being a team in a large city can bring camaraderie and closeness that often gets lost in the crowds. Not only will children enjoy being together on the field or court, they will get together for other activities and parents might find them shooting baskets on the driveway or kicking around a soccer ball in the yard or park. Kids with like-minded interests will tend to do those things, and in order to keep our kids healthy and fit, this is just what we want them to do.

Two years ago when I began my exercise routine of walking and jogging, my German shepherd dog played a huge role in getting me out each day. She was a healthy, happy, puppy-like 6-year-old dog with a desire for adventure and endless amounts of energy. She was well-behaved in the house, all 1000-pounds of her, lying around, trying not to get in the way, never getting into anything; but put her outside in sight of a squirrel or with a leash attached to her collar, and she could run forever. I knew she would help me jog and exercise through the long winter months in Maine when most people stayed inside by the fire.

I bundled up against the winter freeze, wearing layers of wicking material, fleece, gloves, and a headband. My dog was wearing her thick, shaggy winter coat and bright pink collar. We always jogged first thing in the morning when the air was crisp and frigid, the sky was light but the sun had not yet peeked over the horizon, and the world had not yet come alive for the day. Many mornings found us jogging on freshly fallen snow. These were my favorite times - leaving our lone footprints along the roadside, breathing in the frozen air, seeing the occasional snow bird flit through the boughs of the pines, heavy with snow.

I was a new jogger so the going was sometimes tough. I was still learning to pace myself and I always had in the back of my mind the idea that I wanted to go faster. My chug-along 11-minute mile wasn't enough for me. I had subscribed to the running magazines and read all about speed work, 5Ks, 10Ks, and of course, marathons. I wanted to be part of the action; but having just begun jogging at age 36, I had a long way to go just to catch up. My dog didn't care how fast or slow we went. It sometimes annoyed me that I was panting and exhausted at the end of a 3-mile run, but she could have gone forever.

We jogged on into the springtime and summer, I exchanging my fleeces for tanks and shorts, and she shedding her heavy winter coat. The next winter we had much more snow and ice than the winter before and I found myself heading to the local gym to run the treadmill rather than risk a sprain. Consequently, my dog didn't get out as much.

She's now 8-years-old and for a shepherd, she's well into middle age. Sadly, we realize she probably has two or three good years left. She can't go as far now when we jog, so sometimes we simply walk. She has arthritis and limps a bit when we first start out. She doesn't jump up as eagerly when I get out the leash; sometimes she groans and gets up slowly. I have to admit, sometimes I'm glad she's holding me back. I have a new perspective about running; like it is for my dog (or was) it should be fun for me, with a sense of adventure in mind. And when I'm tired and achy, I should give myself a break; after all, I'm not getting any younger.

Well, after all this time, it finally seems like that the NHL owners and the players have finally struck a deal. This agreement took approximately 300 days to come about not too mention the ripple effect of damages in earnings to the sports bar industry, equipment industry and countless others that have been effected by this seemingly never ending strike.

The players association and the owners after meeting a total of 82 times have finally agreed on the collective bargaining agreement that will span six years and contain a salary cap. This vote is supposed to be ratified sometime next week when the players meet in Toronto and the owners come together in New York. Details of the deal will not be disclosed to the general public until ratification takes place. The players were mostly opposed to the implementation of a salary cap it seems

The NHL season was cancelled last February after the players and the owners failed to reach an agreement. By doing this, both the owners and the players managed to cause a lot of disrespect against them from amongst hockey's greatest asset - its fans. ESPN, so annoyed at the long lock out period has not renewed its contract for coverage of the new NHL season. No new national cable partner has been selected as of yet.

If the deal is approved, the season will start slightly later than usual sometime in Mid October, (some fourteen months since the last game) and end later than normal next spring and IF the deal is approved, both the owners and the players will have a tough time wooing patrons and fans back into the game. Most people are looking at this sport from the angle that both the players and the owners were and are just plain greedy and really don't care about the fans at all. If they want to win fans back, they should try lowering ticket prices and other things like that. This will be a long, painful road for both the owners and the players for sure.

But the big question is did fans really miss hockey? Here in Canada, where the sport is primarily loved by a large group of fans, they would say yes. But for the average person, who was at best undecided before the lockout, well most didn't miss the game while it was gone. Of course there are a few die hards in every sport and these people found other ways to fulfil their hockey fix by viewing minor hockey or the American League. But for a lot of so called fans, this was the final straw. Hockey itself, seems to be of less importance the farther you go south in the United States. Yes, there are cities like Detroit and New York that hockey is still a popular sport but in cities like Tampa, it will be much tougher.

This strike has really hurt the game of hockey. This sport is the only professionally played one ever to loose a season to a labour dispute in North America. When the baseball players went on strike in 1994, it took much to win their fans back, and with hockey, it will even take more. These so called professionals are not worrying about the fans, but only had their best interests in hand until now. Time will tell if they will be successful in wooing back fans or not in the months to come.

It seems that we can never get past a single All-Star Game without national sportswriters devoting significant column space to players that were supposedly "snubbed." This means that a player who is having a pretty good, but probably not great, season doesn't get voted to the All-Star game for one reason or another. Perhaps he plays on a sub-par team in a small-market city. Or maybe he has put up such massive numbers in the past that a lesser performance by that particular player is viewed as mediocre, even though he still rates higher than other players in the league.

This prompted one columnist to suggest that some players should receive automatic All-Star invitations regardless of the kind of season they are having. He was talking about players like Derek Jeter, who is one of the league's biggest and most marketable stars. This year, Jeter was not voted to the American League All-Star team by either the fans or the players, despite a .308 batting average, 11 home runs, and 37 RBI at the break. This was actually the right call, however. The two shortstops who were voted to the American League team, Miguel Tejada of the Orioles and Michael Young of the Rangers, both lead Jeter in those offensive categories. Nevertheless, the columnist argued that fans pay big money to see the biggest stars of the game play together on the same field. That means Jeter should always be out there.

I'm not sure if I agree with that line of reasoning or not. On the one hand, I can certainly see what he means. MLB knows well in advance which ballparks will be hosting the All-Star game. The people of Detroit have had an opportunity to plan for this event for several months. Many fans undoubtedly purchased tickets long ago, when they had no idea who would be representing each league out on the field. If I were a fan and just spent a couple hundred dollars for All-Star Game tickets, I know that I would personally rather see guys like Jeter, Pedro Martinez, Matsui, and Torii Hunter in the lineup than guys I have never heard of.

On the other hand, the whole point of the All-Star Game is to give recognition to players who are having outstanding seasons. If this means that the roster must be filled with a bunch of no-names, then that's the way it goes. Everyone has to start somewhere, right? This year there were 23 first-time All-Stars in the game (lower than the 29 first-timers from last year). The number of first-timers has to be good for baseball on some level. For one thing, it means that there is usually a very deep talent pool in any given year. If the All-Star teams were made up of the exact same players from year to year, that would be pretty boring. This gives fans a chance to watch up-and-comers in action.

So while I understand where that columnist was coming from, I have to say that I like the way voting is done now. There's shouldn't be automatic All-Stars; that just defeats the whole purpose of the game. That columnist must have been kidding... right?

This week the PGA Tour heads across the big pond to the birthplace of golf. The Pros will tee it up at the majestic "Old Course" in St. Andrews, Scotland, for the third of the Tour's four majors. The venerable links course at St. Andrews is known for many features though none more apparent than the vast number of bunkers, veritable craters that may remind golfers of pictures of the moon, that is except for the color green that appears at St. Andrews.

The "Old Course" is home to many memorable holes, but the two most wondrous have to be the final two, the famous 17th, known to insiders as the "road hole," and the majestic 18th that plays in the direction of the magnificent stone structure know as the Royal and Ancient Clubhouse.

The 17th hole is truly among the most difficult in golf. The green is protected by one of the deepest bunkers pros will ever see, a crater so deep that often the only sure way out is to play the ball backwards, hitting it away from the hole. In addition, there is a stone wall that borders the hole, a man-made barrier from which players are not granted relief. Sometime during the tournament a pro will wind up with his ball next to said wall. Since the player will not be granted a drop the only choice may be to play a pool shot, hitting the ball into the wall with the anticipation of a proper ricochet.

The 18th is so straightforward that it almost appears anticlimactic, that is until it is played. It can be reached in one by an enormous drive but is protected by numerous subtle hazards including a low spot directly in front of the green that seems to draw golf balls like a moth to a naked light bulb. There can be no more reverent tee in golf than the one on 18, given the fans, the rustic stone bridge and the clubhouse in the distance.

Much will be made of this being Jack Nicklaus' final time at the British Open. The true golf fans are hoping that he somehow resurrects his game and makes the cut. It would only be fitting that the game's all time best player have the opportunity to play on the weekend one last time, and do so at a major golf championship.

Though the British is the oldest of golf tournaments, the last two years have seen absolute no names emerge from the pack to take home the esteemed prize. Ben Curtis in 2003 and Todd Hamilton in 2004 have won as the tournament has moved between various golf courses. However, fans should not look for the same results this year - at St. Andrews the past five winners have the following names: Nicklaus, Ballesteros, Faldo, Daly and Woods. Of the five, only Daly is not a sure Hall of Famer.

Perhaps most notably, real golf fans have also taken note of the man that finished one stroke off the pace at St. Andrews in 1995 was none other than Michael Campbell, the winner of this year’s US Open Championship. A final round 76 cost him dearly that year but given his track record at St. Andrews and his recent performance at the US Open, Campbell is a fitting choice to win this aristocratic event.

However, Campbell is still only ranked 22nd in the world even if he is currently first on the European Tour Order of Merit. In fact, everyone seems to think his US Open performance was surprising and no one seems to be giving him serious consideration this week. That could be a huge mistake.

The betters have installed Tiger Woods the favorite, with perennial premiere golfers like Els, Singh and Mickelson just behind the World's best player. If one of these four emerges with the title, he will make a strong statement for PGA Player of the Year. For Woods, the majors are his prime focus and the once untouchable Tiger would perhaps regain his preeminence with another win. Woods took home the first of the four majors this year, the Masters in Augusta, Georgia, and is looking for his tenth major championship.

High caliber players like David Toms, Kenny Perry, Jim Furyk and Darren Clarke are also all poised for the title and the opportunity to take home the Claret jug. As always, the majors bring the best touring pros together for a competition unlike any other.

Throw in the fact that this is the British Open, at St. Andrews, with none other than Jack Nicklaus teeing it up for the last time, and you have a once in lifetime type of event. It may be across the big pond but it will be the focus on golf and sports fans around the globe.

And well it should be!

The American League team won the Major League Baseball All-Star game 7-5 over the National League on Tuesday night in Detroit. Excluding the 2002 game which ended in a tie, the American League has now won eight consecutive All-Star Games. You have to go all the way back to 1996 for the last time that the NL team won the Mid-Summer Classic. This latest win assures the American League Champions home field advantage during the World Series, which is a pretty significant prize. The winner of the All-Star game has determined home field advantage for the last three seasons now.

The AL team dominated the game right from the start. Mark Buehrle of the White Sox started the game and worked two innings. He struck out three, scattered three hits, and didn't allow any runs during his time on the mound. Since the AL team jumped out to a lead it never relinquished, Buehrle's short stint was good enough for the victory.

Offensively, shortstop Miguel Tejada of the Baltimore Orioles got the AL on the board with a home run blast in the second inning off John Smoltz. He later added an RBI on a groundout to the shortstop in the third inning. Tejada's home run, 2 RBI, and outstanding defensive plays earned him the MVP award.

Mark Teixeira and Ichiro Suzuki also contributed offensively for the AL. Teixeira knocked one out of the park against Dontrelle Willis in the 6th inning with one man aboard. It was the switch-hitting Teixeira's first homer from the right side of the plate all season. Too bad it won't count in his yearly stats! Suzuki lined a single to right off Livan Hernandez, scoring two. That put the AL out to a comfortable 7-0 lead, and they never looked back.

The NL offense didn't get going until the top of the seventh when Andruw Jones went deep with a runner on. The NL would go on to score in the eighth and ninth innings also, but eventually came up short.

Overall, I thought it was a pretty boring game. There were, however, several moments from Monday's Home Run Derby and Tuesday's game that I found interesting.

• Bobby Abreu was on fire during the Home Run Derby. He hit a record-smashing 24 homers in the first round (the previous record was 15), and 41 total for the evening. Amazingly, because of the weird rules, he still might have lost the derby even though he hit the most home runs. I agree with those who think the rules should be changed.
• Brad Lidge pitched one inning for the National League, and he was untouchable. He struck out the side and showed everyone that he earned his roster spot.
• Ichiro Suzuki was taking such a big lead from first base that it lead to the commentators speculating that the only reason he didn't steal was out of respect for catcher Mike Piazza. On the very next play, Suzuki was picked off. So much for respect going both ways!
  

I was never much of an athlete, so when I decided two years ago that I wanted to lose 25 pounds, the only thing I knew I would do regularly was take walks. A friend encouraged me to start jogging, but I laughed and knew that would never happen. I planned to walk every day, rain, snow or shine; I bought a good pair of walking shoes, lots of all-weather clothing, and a watch with a timer and stopwatch. I drove around and measured out the streets around our home, marking out distances of two and three miles, not knowing how far I would be able to go. I have a 100-pound German shepherd who is always eager to put on a leash and go any and everywhere, so I began taking her with me on my morning walks.

At first I only went two miles and it took me more than 30 minutes. The same friend who told me I should jog, insisted that if I was only going to walk, I had to walk briskly, fast enough that it was tough to carry on a conversation. Since the only "person" with me was my dog, conversation wasn't a problem, but I walked briskly just the same. I began logging my walks and soon I was doing the two miles in just over 28 minutes. A 14 minute mile wasn't bad. My initial goal was to get under 14. Within another couple of weeks I was up to two miles in 27 minutes and I was feeling better. The weather was turning cold, but I had my cold weather gear and my dog had a hefty winter coat growing in.

By the time the snows came, I was doing a mile in 13 minutes. I was quite the power walker and I began going a bit farther each day, so I could say I walked an entire 30 minutes. One day I wondered if I could walk a mile in under 13 minutes. I cheated a bit and jogged part of the way. Checking my watch at the mile mark, I found I'd done it in 12:51. Success! So I jogged a bit of the second mile as well. The next day I wondered what would happen if I jogged the entire mile. I tried, but I could only do about half of it; still, my mile time was 12:40. I was a speed demon! I continued this for a few days, alternating jogging and walking, without really thinking about the shocking fact that I was, indeed, jogging. Finally, a couple of weeks into it, I jogged the entire mile without stopping. I did it in just about 12 minutes even. Somehow I had found a pace and kept going well into the second mile. The only reason I stopped was because I was too surprised with myself and figured there was no way I could go on.

By the time spring arrived, I was jogging 2.5-3 miles several times each week. I'd lost 18 pounds and the last seven pounds came off over the next several months. I never in a million years imagined I'd be a runner; though my running is more of a slow jog still - my best mile time is 10.5 minutes. I have no goals of becoming fast or winning any races; I just love the great outdoors, the feeling of success and the good health that comes from consistent exercise. If I can become a jogger, anyone can.

In the early 1980s when I was just a teenager, I went to my first professional football game. Happily, it was my favorite Denver Broncos, as I was living in Colorado at the time. My best friend, Jane, often went, as her dad had family season tickets to Mile High Stadium. This one time, Jane's mother couldn't go to the game, so she invited me to go with her, her dad and her younger sister. Snow was in the forecast that November day, so we dressed warm. We both wore our orange and blue cowboy hats in honor of the Broncos, and in typical 80s fashion, we each had a long, blue and orange feathered roach clip hanging from the side of our hats.

The Broncos were playing the Seattle Seahawks, but I soon found that, contrary to what I saw each week at home on TV, being at a Bronco game was nothing like watching one on television. In fact, much of the fun and excitement had little to do with the actual football game. We were taken in with a plethora of sights, sounds, smells, and things to do.

Our day at the stadium began with the food. Before we even took our seats, we loaded up our arms with sodas, hot dogs, popcorn, and candy. When we finally walked out onto the open stadium, the sight was breathtaking. We were about halfway up and the field looked so much larger than on television. We sat down as the players were announced; they ran out onto the field proudly - there they were, MY Denver Broncos! This was a couple of years before the beloved John Elway took the helm at the Broncos. Still there was veteran quarterback, Craig Morton, who would retire the next year.

Jane began pointing things out to me that television viewers rarely get to see. The scoreboard was more than just that; it seemed to have a running commentary of some obscure person who must have been typing in the words. It talked about the crowd, the weather, the players, and other things around the stadium. We saw the famous Barrel Guy: the faithful Bronco fan who showed up to every single home game, rain, snow or shine, wearing nothing but a big, orange and blue beer barrel around his middle, held up by a set of straps over his shoulders. He was hefty and smiling, had a full beard, and was wearing a cowboy hat much like ours.

Partway through the second quarter, it began to snow. We tightened our mufflers and huddled in our coats, but we were having too much fun to pay much attention to the weather. At halftime the snow came down harder and harder. By the middle of the third quarter, the field was covered and they were having people shovel across the yard lines.

At the end of the game, the Broncos won, as they often do in a snowstorm in the mile high city. Our roach clips were drenched and our hands and faces numb, but we got to see our favorite team play - and win. It doesn't get any better than that.

Living in an American city that has a professional football team can be an exciting thing, getting swept up in the seasons, familiarizing ourselves with the athletes, and listening to the Monday morning quarterbacks rant and rave on local radio and TV stations. It is even more fun to live in a city with a professional team when the said team is on a winning streak and perhaps even heading toward the Super Bowl that year. I have had the privilege of living in three areas where the professional football team went to the Super Bowl; more than once. One such place was Washington, D.C. in the mid-1980s.

I have been a Denver Bronco fan since I was a little girl, having grown up in Colorado, and seeing Craig Morton take the Broncos to the Super Bowl in 1977 and then watching John Elway practically grow up with the team. Yet when I lived in Washington in the 1980s, I couldn't help but get caught up in the Redskins mania. Washington Redskins fans, like most football fans, are extremely proud of their team and they love to talk about them.

The Redskins team in 1987/1988 was one of which to be proud. Doug Williams, the first African American to quarterback a Super Bowl team led the Redskins that year. Each Monday morning as I sat in D.C. traffic on my way to work, I listened to the football report on my favorite radio station. The DJs were die hard Redskin fans and each Monday morning, they had an on-air phone call with Dexter Manley. Manley was an outspoken, fun loving defensive player who loved to re-cap the game on the radio. It gave the huge, crowded, crime-ridden city of Washington a small town feel. It seemed as if the DJs of that radio station were talking to the local high school star of Dogpatch. I sat in my car, windows rolled up to avoid the exhaust fumes, and enjoyed the show.

All that season, every Monday morning I heard the Dexter Manley report. A few times the Redskins played Monday night football and then show was aired on Tuesday. I, along with the rest of the Washington residents who happened to catch that radio show felt like we had an inside scoop on the team. We knew the hopes and frustrations, the personalities and little nuances that were lost on the rest of the world. We select few who happened to be tuning in were the privileged.

Ultimately, the Redskins did go on to the Super Bowl that year and I found myself conflicted. My own Denver Broncos were the opposing team, and while I was swept along with the Redskin Super Bowl mania, I secretly wanted my Broncos to win. The Redskins turned out to be the better team that year; they won by a mile and the city went nuts. While I was sad to see the Broncos lose yet again, I have to admit I enjoyed the celebration with the Redskins. Washington surely loves their team.

Last summer I received a flyer in the mail about a kid's soccer league that was starting up in our community in the fall. There were soccer programs for children of all ages, but what intrigued me was the "Pee Wee" Soccer League, for children age 3 to 5. My daughter fell right into that category, so I broached the subject with my sports fanatic husband, certain that he'd agree that our daughter needed to be signed up right away.

To my surprise, he said he didn't think it was a good idea. He felt she was too young to join an organized sport, that it wouldn't bring her any value and that she would even get bored if she had to play soccer for an hour each week. His justification for the latter was that whenever he tried to kick the soccer ball to her out in the backyard, she just wasn't all that interested-- she'd rather chase butterflies or something.

Needless to say, I was shocked that my husband felt this way-- I thought he would want to be the first parent in line on registration day. I had always thought that it was best to get children involved in extracurricular activities early on, so they could try different things and decide what was right for them. But my husband clearly felt differently.

"No sports until she's in elementary school," my husband said firmly. "And even then it's only if she wants to join something".

I polled other parents in my neighborhood to see how they were handling the sporting dilemma. It turned out that gymnastics was a very popular sport for young children-- many of my neighbor's kids were already enrolled at a local gymnastic school. My sister's son-- a boy the same age as my daughter-- was already playing tee ball (a version of baseball that is suitable for younger kids). Most of the kids on our block were also involved in swimming lessons-- even as babies. My sister seemed to think that was unnecessary, as we don't own a pool and don't really go to pools, so she advised me that swimming lessons really weren't needed until age 4 or so. Still, even though their children were already involved in other activities, several of my neighbors were planning to sign their pre-schoolers up for the "Pee Wee" soccer as well. I hoped my daughter wouldn't be missing out.

In the end, after a few heated debates on the subject, we decided not to sign our daughter up for it, citing that we felt she was too young even though the league was designed for kids in her age range. We signed our daughter up for a dance class instead. Not a formal ballet or tap class, it was called "Creative Movement" and it entailed a lot of singing and marching and running around-- certainly not organized dance, more of a free flowing kind of thing. My daughter loved her dance class and wants to sign up again this year. After two years of "Creative Movement", I thinks she'll be ready for ballet-- or even another type of sport if she so desires. But when the time comes, I'll leave it up to her.

Each year, the weekend golfer sets out to play the game without the time to practice or take lessons. In fact, the goal of the weekend golfer is the exercise and the socialization time with peers that accompanies walking a golf course, not in putting in countless hours of practice time.

However, there are times when the weekend golfer begins to miss-hit the ball. As the poor shots develop, the fun immediately disappears from the game. As a weekend golfer it is essential that you understand that all golfers go through sour periods. But the key is to be able to right the ship and bring your swing back into the fold quickly.

For consistent ball striking, there are three areas that the weekend golfer should focus on. Those three concepts are maintaining proper balance, keeping one's head still, and making consistent contact by limiting the back swing.

Of the three, the most important aspect is balance. This concept is actually critical to virtually every sport but is vitally true in golf. To ensure that you maintain you balance, begin with your feet shoulder width apart, then turn your toes slightly outward and bring your heels slightly closer together. This type of stance will immediately give you greater balance throughout the swing.

As you begin swinging the golf club, focus on keeping your weight between your feet, shifting only from the inside part of one foot to the inside part of the other. Many players move their weight beyond their back foot, or to the outside of their back foot, on the back swing and ahead of their front foot, or to the outside of the front foot, on the follow through. Consistency is developed when you as a golfer are able to keep your weight well-balanced between your feet. Focus on keeping your weight between your feet at all times.

As you work on your balance, also be sure to keep your head still and your eyes down. This proverbial tip is also at the heart of consistent play.

A moving head makes it difficult to strike the ball consistently as your swing plane and angle responds directly to the movement of your head. In addition, a moving head lends to balance issues. Traditionally, the average player's greatest mistake is the raising of the eyes just as the club makes contact. The player is looking to see the results of their shot even before the shot is finished. If you can resist this peeking and keep your head down completely through impact you will develop a more consistent game.

If you somehow do not manage to straighten things out by taking care of these balance and head issues, then try shortening your back swing. The average player tends to take a full back swing and then decelerating and limiting their follow through lending more inconsistency to their ball striking. The opposite is far better - take the club back only to mid-swing but then be sure to complete the swing with a full follow through.

This technique will bring straighter hits as your swing plane and the club face will be more in line during contact. In taking this step you are likely to lose some distance although many players see almost no change. If you are a person who loses some length, simply adjust your club selection accordingly. If you are a five-iron from 150 yards out, shorten the back swing and take a four or even a three-iron. Shortening the back swing serves to immediately straighten out many swing problems for the average golfer.

Golf can be a great activity for each of us. The opportunity to walk a beautiful course, basking in the sun and fresh air, can be an exceptionally positive experience. In addition, the game offers ample time for socialization within your foursome as you progress around the course.

Keeping the aforementioned basics in mind will ensure that golf is not only a healthy activity but also an enjoyable experience for everyone, no matter what caliber player you are.

Dana Quigley has proven to be the consummate professional - willing to tee it up week after week, thankful just for the opportunity the game of golf gives him to earn a living. Year after year, never missing a tourney, he has given performance after performance, always to the absolute best of his ability.

By the time this weekend was over, his streak had reached 278 consecutive events, a stretch that began in Boston in 1997. Eligible to compete in 278 events, Quigley has teed it up in every single tourney that was open to him over an 8 year period.

But his record streak could well be over now that this weekend's Ford Senior Players Championship at the TPC of Michigan is complete. Quigley has stated that he will have an MRI next week on his back to determine the extent of an injury that has troubled him for the past few weeks.

With the Champions Tour taking a break this week, Quigley will have the opportunity to have his injury evaluated before he makes a decision as to whether to play in the Tour's next scheduled event -- the British Senior Open, in Ireland.

It appears that Quigley's short game, especially his putting, causes him the greatest discomfort.
Bending over to address his chips and putts, Quigley notices significant pain, an ache that began 10 days ago after the final round of the Bank of America Championship. Quigley stated that he had felt fine playing but by the time he got home he noticed a twitch.

Quigley also has been playing quite some time with an ailing hip that has limited his driving distance. But the 58 year old states that the hip is an injury he can play through. The back, well that appears to be a different story and the flight overseas for the British Senior is of real concern to Quigley.

Not being able to compete in one of the five senior tour majors would be a real shame for marathon man. Though Quigley is known primarily for his iron man streak, the 2005 season has proven to be one of his very best as a pro.

Quigley is actually the senior tour's No.1-ranked player and is at the top of the list in earnings with nearly 1.4 million in prize money. He has also won twice in 2005, the MasterCard Championship and the Bayer Advantage Classic. Perhaps an even greater sign of his consistent play is that he has finished second three times and overall ranks second on the Champions tour in scoring average.

It would be ironic for the iron man of the senior tour to have his long-standing competitive streak end during the season that he is playing the best golf on the tour. But at 58, the ability to play week after week, year after year, is of far greater difficulty than for someone in their 20's or 30's.

Quigley deserves credit for his professional approach and his willingness to compete at every opportunity. If his back prevents a trip overseas even Quigley must be hoping that his time away from the game is short.

At 58, he must make as much hay as he can while he still has the chance to do so.

Hiking is one of the most popular sports and activities in the state of Maine. From hiking along the coast in the summer, walking through groves of colorful autumn leaves in the fall, hiking muddy slopes to see the springtime blossoms, or even tricky winter hiking, there is something for everyone. Many hiking trails are open year round or at least from early spring to late fall, and the ability to hike to the top of a mountain gives Mainers and visitors to Maine amazing views of the surrounding area. One such mountain is Bradbury Mountain, near Freeport, Maine.

Bradbury Mountain is hardly a mountain by most standards. If a visitor from the Rockies or the Sierra set out to hike Bradbury Mountain, they'd quickly find that it's more of a foothill - or even a foothill of a foothill. But the hiking trails up Bradbury Mountain are varied, easy, and the summit offers a surprising view of a tiny town below, the town of Freeport in the distance, and even Casco Bay off on the horizon. Bradbury Mountain is the perfect mountain for families, people with small children, or those just wanting an easy hike with a pretty view, but not something difficult or time consuming. It is a hike that can be done in a morning or afternoon, in just an hour or two.

Visitors to Maine who would like to hike Bradbury Mountain should take Interstate 295 to Freeport and then follow the signs about 10 miles to Bradbury Mountain state park. The park asks for a nominal fee, and then visitors can park in the large parking lot. Trail maps are available, as are outhouses and picnic tables. The longest trail is one that simply circles the park, and it is less than 3 miles long. The longest trail to the summit is a bit over a mile and the shortest trail, which goes up the face, is less than 1/4 mile.

The long summit trail is very scenic, taking hikers around the back side of the mountain and then winding back and forth to the summit. There is a variety of uphill hiking and flat areas, making for easy movement. The summit is a huge flat rock that gives panoramic views of the town of Pownal below, and the entire Casco Bay region. In the evenings, the lights of Portland can be seen to the south.

Every year on Easter morning, a sunrise worship service is performed at the top of Bradbury Mountain. Visitors park in the parking lot and most walk up the 1/4 mile face trail, which takes less than 10 minutes. The service begins at sunrise on the dot and after the worship, cheerful hikers can walk or drive the short distance down the road to the quaint white steepled church in Pownal for coffee and donuts.

Bradbury Mountain state park also has a covered pavilion, a playground and a camping area. Reservations are encouraged for camping. If you would like a easy, scenic hike and then lunch in a beautiful wooded picnic area, consider stopping at Bradbury Mountain the next time you're driving through Maine.

Hiking is one of the best ways to get physically fit, have fun with family and friends, and see new and beautiful areas of the country. Hikes can range from extremely difficult, where special gear may be needed, to basically just a walk in the park, where the hikers need only a pair of comfortable shoes, a bottle of water and a few snacks. Maine has many beautiful hikes all along the coast and into the mountains and meadows. One such hike is the hike up Mount Megunticook. Mount Megunticook rises high above the tiny and quaint coastal town of Camden, Maine, and the views from the summit are legendary.

Mount Megunticook is said to be the second highest mountain on the coast of the Atlantic, second only to Cadillac Mountain, also in Maine. There are multiple trails all over Mount Megunticook, but a favorite of our family is the trail up the back. The trail head is only a short drive north outside Camden and there is a small gravel parking lot for hikers.

The trail begins very steep and a bit off-putting to novices. The first 3/4 mile is almost like climbing stairs up through the birches and maples. Very quickly, hikers rise above the road and nearby lakes, and views are enjoyed within the first 30 minutes. After about the first mile, there is a flat rock on which to stop, have a snack and soak in the views. If the hike was begun in the early morning, there is often mist still on the lakes below.

When the hikers begin walking again, the trail levels out a bit. There is still more upward movement, but it is mixed with many flat and level areas. Not far from the summit, about two miles into the hike, there is a short ridge that is perhaps the most delightful part of the hike itself. The ridge has smaller, scattered trees, so the sunshine is more abundant, and there are wildflowers everywhere. At this point, the hike becomes easy and hikers get more of a spring in their steps. The summit is not far away and glimpses of the blue Atlantic can be seen in the distance.

The summit and end of the trail come suddenly. After walking through a short pine grove, the trees open up to a large, flat rock and cliff; below is the scenic view of Camden and its harbor, distant islands and inlets, and more coastline to the south as far as the eye can see. If hikers circle the summit, through the trees to the north, the northern coast of Maine is easily viewed, with Mount Desert Island rising out of the sea in the distance.

After a leisurely lunch on the rocks and perhaps a snooze in the sunshine, hikers will enjoy the mostly-downhill hike back to their cars. Just remember to take it slow, especially near the end where the hike gets steep. The trail is well cared for and safe, but the constant downhill hiking can be hard on the knees. Happy hiking!

All season the news has been of the poor start of the New York Yankees but for those who haven't noticed the Bronx Bombers have been getting together. By Saturday morning, they had passed the Baltimore Orioles and taken over second place in the American League East, 3.5 games behind the defending champion Boston Red Sox. The Yanks had won six straight and eight of ten, so with the significant number of games post-All Star break, Joe Torre has to feel good that his team is still definitively in the hunt.

Speaking of sneaking up on folks, how about the Braves? Off to their worst start in years, Bobby Cox's Atlanta boys have turned their season around as well. They too had won six straight prior to Saturday's game and now trail the Washington Nationals by 2.5 games. The Braves have played well at home all season and now own a sparkling 29 and 12 at Turner field for 2005.

Also on the team front the Cardinals and the White Sox continue to set the season pace. Both teams have managed 55 wins prior to the All Star break and appear to be well on their way to the best record in their respective leagues.

As the Braves move forward so does Andruw Jones. The Braves stellar defensive centerfielder is building on his solid power hitting credentials this year. Over the past seven seasons, Jones has hit at least 26 homers a year but his career best season prior to 2005 yielded 36 dingers. Heading into the All Star break weekend, the Braves star had already smacked 27 taters on the season.

As for quiet stories, how about the Orioles Rafael Palmeiro? The 40 year old first baseman went deep again on Saturday, his 565th career home run and the 2996 hit of his long, illustrious career. The Oriole hitter has quietly put together one of the greatest careers in Major League baseball history. Perhaps beginning to feel his age, last season was Palmeiro's worst since 1994 in home runs and hits. But the left-handed hitting star is poised for the rarest of feats, three thousand hits and 600 homers. Only Willie Mays and Hank Aaron have managed that accomplishment over the years. He will most certainly reach the 3000 hit plateau shortly after the All Star break (if not before) and barring injury should reach the 600 homer milestone some time late next year.

And how about the Red Sox one-two punch of Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz. Either player would be the best slugger on virtually any other American League team but hitting third and fourth in the Sox line up, the two have combined for 43 homers and 155 runs batted in. Ramirez leads the way with 22 long balls and 80 ribbies, but Ortiz leads the two by batting .316 on the season. These two hit after table setter Johnny Damon who is perhaps having his best season as a major leaguer and is in the midst of a 24 game hitting streak.

Finally, is this the year that Ken Griffey, Jr. manages to shed to the injury bug that has plagued him since he moved to the National League? Once considered a sure bet to challenge Aaron's home run record, Junior has been derailed by a series of injuries over the past four years. But if Griffey plays in just three more games in 2005, it will mark his most games played (84) since the 2001 season. It was just five years ago in 2000 that Junior had his seventh season of 40 or more homers, all before his 31st birthday. At the time he had amassed an incredible 438 homers. However, with 17 homers on the current season, the Cincinnati centerfielder is just 5 homers shy of his best season since 2000. So 5 seasons and 80 home runs later, Griffey now has 518 home runs lifetime. Like Palmeiro, it will be interesting to see where Junior winds up when he calls it a career.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has voted to drop baseball and softball from its lineup of official Olympic sports, beginning with the 2012 Summer Games. The 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, China, will be the final curtain call for both of these sports. This reduces the total number of summer Olympics sports to 26 for the first time since the 1996 Atlanta games. Both baseball and softball will be able to re-apply for Olympics consideration beginning with the 2016 games.

According to the IOC, members voted on all 28 sports from the 2004 Summer Games to see whether or not they would be retained. Since baseball and softball failed to generate a majority vote, they had to be dropped. The IOC says this vote shows that there just isn't enough worldwide support of these sports, citing the fact that most of the teams come from North and Central America, East Asia, and Australia. They also said that another important factor in the decision was Major League Baseball's anti-drug policy, which many feel is not up to the same standards (i.e. is too relaxed) as other Olympic sports. To some critics of this decision, it is just another way to show the influence of Europe on the IOC, since baseball is not a big sport on that continent (just look at how the Italian baseball team fared in Athens).

There were five sports eligible to replace baseball and softball, but in a surprise development, none of them received the two-thirds majority vote required for inclusion in the Olympics. Golf, rugby, roller sports, karate, and squash were all on the ballot, with squash and karate being the favorites. But it looks like the Summer Games will just consist of 26 sports for a while.

I don't follow the politics surrounding the IOC or the way the members vote. So putting that stuff aside, I would just like to say that from a personal standpoint, I am sad to see baseball and softball get dumped so unceremoniously. I am not a big fan of the Olympics to begin with, because I don't get into sports like archery, rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline, or synchronized swimming (which all, incidentally, passed the vote and will remain in the summer lineup). But one thing I really did enjoy was watching the USA women's softball team regularly and easily destroy opponents on their way to three gold medals since the sport was first included in 1996. At least I will get to see that happen one more time before all is said and done!

The thing that bothers me most about the decision to drop baseball and softball is that the IOC failed to fill the open spots with any of the sports from the waiting list. I think that if baseball and softball players have to sit out future Summer Games, the least that the IOC could do was let world-class athletes from other sports showcase their abilities in the international spotlight. Instead, it looks like the only result of this decision is going to be shattered dreams on the diamond.

It is ironic that Holyoke, Mass. Resident William Morgan invented the game of volleyball as the sport enjoys far more popularity outside the United States than within it. Morgan taught at the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) when he came up with the basic rules for the game in 1895.

Today close to 50 million Americans play volleyball at least once a week. That number swells to 800 million if you consider the global participants. Morgan's game is far different from where it was when it began. He had few rules, but the institutionalization of the game has meant adding in rules to make the game fair for all.

The YMCA exported the game to Asia, Cuba, Canada, and South America throughout the early part of the twentieth century. By 1917, volleyball existed in some form on most continents. In the United States, the game was beginning to catch on. The national YMCA held a 27-team national championship in Brooklyn in 1927.

By that time, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) wanted to add volleyball to their list of competitive sports. NCAA and YMCA leaders got together and changed a few rules, making the sport one that could have a place on the collegiate level court.

Other groups slowly began to take note of volleyball. Various organizations added rules, such as the rule that each side only gets three hits to return the ball to the other team. Players formed the U.S. Volleyball Association, now called USA Volleyball, in 1928 so that they could formalize the rules of the game. They staged a volleyball U.S. Open that year.

Throughout the rest of the twentieth century, volleyball slowly gained acceptance. It was added to the roster of the Pan American Games in 1955 and the Olympics in 1964. Throughout the United States, volleyball associations popped up, such as the California Beach Volleyball Association, the Association of Volleyball Professionals, and the Women's Professional Volleyball Association. These groups had as their main goal the promotion and stability of the game.

With the rise of associations came the advent of volleyball training. In its early years, the sport had not been something for which people trained. It simply was something people played in leagues in their spare time. The U.S. Women's National volleyball team began this year-round training in 1975, setting them up for future Olympic medals.

Beach volleyball became a sport with a tournament held in 1948. The United States added a four-person beach volleyball tournament later, but these first teams included only two people, one on each side.

Despite the fact that volleyball is not as popular as football, basketball, or baseball in the United States, the nation is still dominant in world competition. The U.S. Men's Volleyball team has won several gold medals in the Olympics and continue to be strong competitors.

The sport celebrated its centennial in 1995, and it continues to grow. Most college programs now include women's volleyball, and beach volleyball became an Olympic sport in 1996. The game holds just as much anticipation and fervor for players and fans as it did one hundred years ago.
By Julia Mercer

Ok, I have to admit it. I made major fun of the sponsors giving Michelle Wie an exemption to play at this week's John Deere Classic.

But, the kid made me look bad today. Real bad. At one under par, her 70 put her just one stroke off the cut line. More importantly, to those young, aspiring female golfers, her score topped that of more than 50 men. Not just men, actually, fifty men on the Professional Golf Association tour, in other words the world's best male golfers. Ouch.

My sarcasm had reigned supreme. Don't let her play at this tournament I said. Not this week, not at the John Deere Classic. A fifteen year old girl and John Deere just don't match.

I pleaded: isn't anything sacred anymore. I mean, John Deere is the ultimate in the male psyche, a machine that actually raises the testosterone level of the average man, regardless of age. To give a fifteen year old kid a free pass, and a girl at that, to play this week was the absolute opposite of the ultimate to the male psyche.

I know she's good. And cute. But she has yet to win a single tournament on the Ladies Professional Golf Association tour. Heck she has yet to even turn pro and the sponsors give her an exemption? What are those Deere folks thinking I asked?

Why this week? If she was to get a free pass at a tour event, why not last week? At least that was the Cialis Western Open - that might have made some sense, at least to the older golfers who follow the Champions Tour more than they do the PGA Tour. You know, in some sort of weird way.

Or maybe team up later in the golf season as part of an American contingent at the Tommy Bahama Challenge. At least that sounds something like fifteen years of age. Better yet, why not the Nissan or Buick Open, the Mercedes, the Ford Doral, or the Chrysler Classic. Even if she is a girl, every fifteen year old is thinking about their license and the first car. I could make sense of that association I said.

But not the John Deere Classic, not this week. Not a fifteen year old girl who has yet to even turn pro. Not at the tournament symbolizing everything male. I mean if a player gets a hole in one at this event he/she probably wins a tractor. Not a car, not a Nissan or Ford or Mercedes.

And then she goes out and shoots one under. Beats out more than 50 men. If she can manage to shoot just a stroke better tomorrow she will probably become just the second women golfer to ever make a cut at a PGA Tour event, the first since Babe Didrikson Zaharias in 1945.

Imagine, the second female golfer to ever make a PGA cut - a fifteen year old who has yet to even turn pro?

At the John Deere Classic?

Today the Los Angeles Times reported that the National Hockey League's (NHL) labor dispute, which has been dragging on for almost a year now and resulted in the cancellation of the entire 2005 season, appears to have ended. The Times article cited an anonymous source who said that both the owners and players' union have agreed, at least "in principle" on a new deal. The deal is expected to be announced sometime soon, which means that we will likely see professional hockey return to the ice this season.

I have been a hockey fan since I was about 10 years old. I used to be a diehard Chicago Blackhawks fan. I watched every single away game on TV (home games used to be blacked out due to the team's owner, Bill Wirtz, who I guess thought that showing the games would cut into ticket sales) and my family even shared season tickets with another family, which meant that I got to attend plenty of games each year.

Hockey was an exciting sport at that time. The great Wayne Gretzky was in his prime, Mario Lemieux was coming into his own, and there were plenty of dazzling offensive plays to keep the fans entertained. Then something happened, and the game changed, both locally for me, and around the league. The first big change came when the old Chicago Stadium was torn down to make room for the new United Center. The Stadium was a great place for hockey. It was cozy, the good seats were very good, and even the nosebleed section wasn't terrible. Sure, there were obstructed views, but we fans put up with it. The United Center, by contrast, feels huge. Watching hockey at the UC just isn't as fun.

Then around the league, the playing style shifted, and the emphasis moved from offense to defense. Whereas we used to routinely get scores of 6-5, or 5-4, we now get a lot of 2-1 or 1-0 games. I know a lot of people appreciate watching tight defense and great goaltending, but I am not one of them. These low-scoring games are a snooze! It makes me feel as though I am watching soccer or something. So I slowly stopped watching. At first, I didn't go to games anymore; I just watched them on TV. Then, instead of planning my nights around the Blackhawks' schedule, I just caught the games whenever I remembered to. Finally, I stopped watching whole games and settled for the highlights on SportsCenter.

After all this, I have mixed feelings about the NHL coming back. I didn't really miss it when it was gone, plus we now have people like Jeremy Roenick, who used to be my favorite player when he was on the Blackhawks, openly dissing fans by saying they should stay home if they think the lockout was the players' fault because they are too greedy. Aren't you supposed to be trying to win fans back? On second thought, Jeremy might be on to something. Maybe I'll do just that.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC), has named London the host city for the summer games in 2012. London defeated Paris, the perceived favorite throughout much of the bidding process, by a vote of 54-50. This will mark the third time in history that the Olympic Games will go to London, with the previous two times occurring in 1908 and 1948.

As for Paris, this latest defeat marks the third time since 1992 that the City of Lights has failed to secure hosting rights for the Summer Games. This loss to London will be particularly difficult for Parisians to swallow, because they had been considered the frontrunners for such a long time. The people in charge of Paris' Olympic presentation were confident that they had finally figured out the right way to approach the IOC. A successful Olympic bid would have done much to reinvigorate this city, which has been experiencing high unemployment and economic hardship recently. Thousands of people gathered at city hall, with champagne ready to flow, in order to await the announcement of the winner. Instead of celebrating, however, they went home shocked and disappointed.

Many people credit London's surprise victory to a combination of two things. First was the speech given by Sebastian Coe, a former Olympic gold medallist and the leader of London's bid committee. Coe told the IOC that London would use the games as a showcase to hopefully inspire younger generations to compete in sports. The second factor in London's victory was the trip that Prime Minister Tony Blair made to Singapore in order to lobby for bids. Now the world's attention will be on London's preparations for the games in much the same way that we watched construction take place in Athens last year. There are already some concerns about whether or not London can get certain venues ready in time.

The bidding process for the 2012 games started two years ago. Nine cities were selected to compete for the right to host the games, including New York, London, Paris, Moscow, Madrid, Havana, Istanbul, Leipzig, and Rio de Janeiro. The IOC bid committee then gave the countries a questionnaire to narrow the choices down to five. On the questionnaire, host city hopefuls had to answer such things as what kind of political support the Olympics could expect to receive, what kind of Games budget would be available to work with, what kind of facilities would be set up in the athletes' Olympic Village, and what kind of mass transit capabilities would be put in place in time for the Games.

Next, the five remaining choices had about nine months to put together so-called bid books. Then the IOC bid committee toured the prospective Olympic sites in each of the five cities. Final voting was done by nearly 104 IOC members via a secret electronic ballot. In order to be declared the winner, a city has to receive at least 50% of the votes cast, plus one additional vote. The 54 votes received by London met this requirement.

Canoeing is a sport in which just about anyone can participate, and it gets the entire family or group of friends into the great outdoors. If you have a canoe, you know the thrill of shooting down a stream of rapids and navigating in and out of the waves, avoiding rocks and paddling furiously. Or if you are more the mild-mannered canoe paddler, perhaps you know the peace and serenity of gliding almost effortlessly across a transparent lake, letting the paddles push you along, the sun on your back, a gentle breeze whispering in your hair. If all these things sound foreign to you and you've never been in a canoe, it is time you experienced the fun and potential fitness of canoeing.

Canoeing can be done just about anywhere that you can find water; in a quiet pond, up a gentle stream, down a raging river, or even in the ocean. It is a wonderful way of building upper body strength and a good way to get fresh air and sunshine.

There are three different types of canoes. Kayaks are often called canoes in other countries, but for the most part, they are known as kayaks in the United States. Kayaks are different from canoes because they have a closed cockpit where an individual sits and paddles with a double-ended paddle. Conversely, open kayaks have an open cockpit where an individual sits or kneels and paddles with a single-ended paddle. Traditional canoes, as they are known in the United States, are open canoes that are often associated with Native Americans. Canoes are larger than kayaks and are easily paddled by two people as well as just one.

There are a variety of canoeing options from canoeing marathons to sprints to white water racing, but most recreational canoe paddlers enjoy canoeing just for the fun and the opportunity to be outdoors. Canoes can be rented or bought in just about every state and can be used in shallow streams or in the wide ocean. It is always best to rent canoeing equipment first, to use it and get used to the sport before buying.

To go canoeing, you'll need the basic equipment: obviously, a canoe (one canoe for each set of two people, though a child can ride in the middle with the two older individuals); one paddle for each person, with an extra paddle in the canoe in case one is lost; one pair of wet boots or swimming shoes for each person; one safety life vest for each person.

Getting into the canoe and paddling and turning are easily learned and there are canoeing schools all over the country where groups and families can go to learn the basics. Fitness can be attained by paddling continuously, and many groups will have fun racing across ponds, upstream, or into the ocean current. Safety drills are always a good idea to practice, and often a sort of obstacle course can be set up for practicing turning and paddling.

Remember to never stand up in a canoe as canoes are wobbly and will capsize. Always hold on to your paddle or you might have a long swim to shore. Leave your valuables at home in case the canoe does capsize and items are lost.

When you say the term "triple crown" to a sports fan, he or she will most likely think of horse racing, where the triple crown is the term given to the three biggest races of the year, the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes. But there are also two separate triple crown references in Major League Baseball, one for hitters and one for pitchers. The batting triple crown goes to the hitter who, at the end of the season, leads the league in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in (RBI), which have traditionally been considered the most important hitting stats. The pitching triple crown goes to the pitcher who, at the end of the season, leads the league in wins, strikeouts, and earned run average (ERA).

While both of these achievements are undoubtedly difficult to attain, a quick look at baseball history shows that perhaps the batting triple crown is a bit harder. In fact, since 1878, only 16 players have ever won the batting triple crown. The list of past winners includes greats such as Rogers Hornsby (who won it twice), Ty Cobb, Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams (who also won it twice), and Mickey Mantle. The most recent player to win the triple crown was Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox, who won it in 1967. It's interesting to note that Cobb won the triple crown in 1909 despite hitting only 9 home runs, a feat that would never happen in today's game. Also, the brilliant Frank Robinson won the triple crown in 1966 with a relatively low batting average of .316. I think it's safe to say that that number wouldn't be enough to win the title today, either.

On the pitching side, there have been 33 triple crown seasons since 1877, with many of those being repeat performances. This list contains such immortal names as Walter Johnson (who won it three times), Cy Young, Grover Alexander (also a three-time winner), and Sandy Koufax (also three times). We have seen a few modern pitchers win the triple crown, including Dwight Gooden in 1985, Roger Clemens in 1997 and 1998, Pedro Martinez in 1999, and Randy Johnson in 2002. So in a span of 6 years, the feat was accomplished 4 times, including back-to-back wins by Clemens.

This year, there is currently one player that has a legitimate shot at the batting triple crown. Derrek Lee of the Chicago Cubs is leading the major league in batting average with a .377, which is more than 20 points ahead of second place. Lee trails in the home run category by 2, and needs 10 RBI to take over the lead in that category. Those are all attainable levels, especially since the Cubs have a pretty solid lineup. Pitchers have to face Lee because he's got Aramis Ramirez, with his 18 homers and .304 average, batting behind him. Lee also has the luxury of playing in the relatively small confines of Wrigley Field for half of his remaining games. Let's see if he can get it done!

One thing that a baseball fan living in Chicago learns early on in life is that he or she must choose to root for either the Cubs or the White Sox. There's no middle ground, and there's definitely no way to back both teams. The baseball team that we choose to root for helps people determine our personalities, or so they think. For example, Cubs fans are stereotyped as being beer-guzzling yuppies who only go to Wrigley Field for the atmosphere and don't really care about the game. In fact, one common joke is that Cubs fans never even know the score at any given point in the game. White Sox, on the other hand, are stereotyped as taking the game more seriously. They are more likely to be the blue-collar type, and care more about any particular game's outcome rather than a Cubs fan would.

Of course those stereotypes aren't 100% accurate, and of course there are some people in Chicago who go to both Cubs and White Sox games indiscriminately. However, I'm not one of them. I have been a Cubs fan ever since I can remember, probably because my parents were Cubs fans. Sure, I have been to White Sox games -- but only when the tickets were free. Don't get me wrong: although there is a heated rivalry between the North Side (Cubs) and the South Side (White Sox), it's nowhere as bitter as the rivalry between, say the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. I don't actively hate White Sox fans. But I do begrudge them their team's success.

That brings me to the dilemma faced by some Chicago baseball fans this year. There's no doubt that this city is starved for a World Series title. The Cubs haven't won one since 1908 and the White Sox haven't won since 1917. So is the allure of a World Series title enough to make Cubs fans cross over to the dark side? I don't think so.

You see, as much as I want the Cubs to win a World Series, I don't want the White Sox to win one. The taunts and jeers from Sox fans would be unbearable, especially since the Cubs were supposed to have the better team these last few years. No one picked the White Sox to come out strong this season, especially with the departure of Magglio Ordonez and with Frank Thomas' persistent injuries. The dynamic pitching duo in the Windy City was supposed to be Kerry Wood and Mark Prior, not Jon Garland and Mark Buerhle.

But the White Sox have the best record in the majors, at 56-26, and a comfortable 9.5 game lead in their division, while the Cubs are two games under the .500 mark and are 12.5 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals. If the White Sox keep up their strong play in the second half of the season, they will be favorites to make it to the World Series.

Even if they do, I will be rooting against them, as I am sure my fellow North Siders will too. Go Cubs!

Exercising means different things to different people. Some of us like to lace up a pair of sneakers and just take a walk to wherever we end up, and then turn around and come home. Others research the best running shoes and practice sprints, long distance running, hill work, and some cross training. People who are looking for a more social aspect of exercising are often found in a gym lifting weights, or in an aerobics or Pilates class, stretching and moving in front of a large mirror. Some people opt for swimming at the local Y or braving the local lakes or ocean waters during the summer months. Many enjoy competitive sports such as tennis or racquet ball, while others will join leagues and teams to play regular games of baseball, softball, football, soccer, or basketball. While it is unimportant how one acquires fitness, it is important to find a type (or many types) of fitness program that you enjoy so you can keep moving once you start moving.

One of the best ways to stick to a fitness routine you've started is to find an exercise buddy. This can be in many different arenas. Sometimes exercise buddies are met at the gym when weight lifters help or spot each other with the free weights. Classes are a great way to meet people and find someone at or near the same fitness level. The key is to find someone who encourages you and keeps you accountable; someone who will care if you don't show up one day; someone who depends on you to be their fitness buddy as well.

If a husband and wife enjoy the same sport of type of exercise, sharing fitness can be a wonderful time together. Sometimes the friendly competition helps to keep things lively in such things as tennis or road racing; but simply taking daily walks together can promote health and necessary time together for communicating, as well.

Many walkers and runners, who prefer solitude to having a chatty exercise partner, find a wonderful partner in a dog. Dogs must only be acquired if you have the necessary space and time to put into dog ownership, but when you do have a dog, it is a wonderful jogging or walking companion. The dog is always ready to go, never complains about routes chosen or your choice of pace, and a dog can be walked nearly anywhere.

Many cities and communities have local bicycling, running, and walking groups where like-minded athletes or wanna-be athletes can join together to enjoy their sport of choice with others who like the same sport. If you can't find a club or group in your phone book or online, visit a local sporting goods store, running shoe store or bicycle store; chances are the employees or manager knows of a local group.

The key is to have someone with which to enjoy exercising, as well as someone who will hold you accountable. It's so much easier to crawl out of bed and head for the track or the gym before sunrise when you know someone will be there waiting for you.

It is no secret that exercise and striving to be physically fit is a good thing. The studies have been done, we've seen the statistics, and we know that we should be on the move, daily. We've been told to limit our fat, limit our carbs and limit our protein. We're told to eat less and to eat healthy, and while we're at it, keep moving! Sometimes the fitness lifestyle can become so regimented we feel like a rat on a wheel, doing the same thing over and over and eating all the same boring foods. We keep exercising and dieting, yet we feel hungry and dissatisfied. While it is important to have a variety of exercise routines as well as meal options, one of the simplest things we can do to help with the hunger during and after a workout is to eat the proper pre-workout snack. Our bodies burn fuel when we are in motion, so it is important that we "fill up" our bodies with the proper fuel for optimum energy and efficiency.

One thing to remember before a work out is never to eat too much. A full stomach can cause cramping and a sluggish feeling that will only have us cutting our work out short. Eating a small, high energy snack thirty minutes before exercising will give us the kick we need, the long-lasting energy to finish, and we won't feel full.

Some of the best pre-fitness snacks are as follows:

* Granola. Granola is high in energy and has a sufficient amount of protein to offset the carbohydrates. Most granola has fat in the form of nuts, which is good fat.

* Cottage cheese and fruit. A 1/4 cup of cottage cheese and half of an apple or banana is almost like a small meal, but it is light and provides the needed energy for a work out.

* Peanut butter and jelly sandwich. A PB&J might make you think of sack lunches and public school cafeterias, but it can be a great pre-exercise snack. Peanut butter provides the protein and the bread and jelly give you the carbs. Half of a sandwich is usually enough, unless you're going for an unusually long run or have an extra long work out.

* Cheese and crackers. A low salt, low fat cheese like mozzarella or Swiss sliced up and eaten with a few crackers is a tasty treat right before a work out.

* Energy bars. Energy bars can be good, but surprisingly, they can also be filling. Usually half of an energy bar is enough, and you might want to have a bit of cottage cheese or string cheese with it, as energy bars are generally made mostly of carbs.

Aside from the pre-exercise snacks, it is very important that you stay hydrated. Gatorade is still a favorite among athletes, and it is fine to drink, but nothing beats plain old water. The key is to stay hydrated constantly. Don't drink a large amount of water right before your work out; rather, drink water all during the day to keep your body in a regular state of hydration. That way, if you only drink a bit of water before your work out, you'll be fine.

Roger Federer is cementing his position as one of the greatest tennis players to ever pick up a racquet on the professional tour. The Swiss-born star, who will turn 24 next month, defeated American number two seed Andy Roddick in straight sets in today's Wimbledon Finals. Federer seemed to be on cruise control for the entire match, and was definitely at his best. He committed only 12 unforced errors in the three sets, and even neutralized the hard-serving Roddick's most powerful weapon. In fact, Federer served up 11 aces to Roddick's 7. This victory is Federer's third Wimbledon title in a row, and is the fifth Grand Slam championship in his career (having also won the Australian Open and the U.S. Open in 2004). Federer is only the fourth man in tennis history to win the prestigious Wimbledon tournament three consecutive years.

Today's final also marks the first time Roddick has advanced that far in a tournament since last year's Wimbledon. While last year Roddick showed promising signs of being able to handle Federer, even winning a set before dropping the next three. Another significant stat is that Roddick's grass court record is 32-0 against all other opponents, but 0-3 against Federer. Unfortunately for the likable 22-year-old star, it seems that he will probably be facing Federer in many more Grand Slam finals in the future, so he better find a way to solve Federer's game. Otherwise, he might be facing a career full of second-place finishes.

Federer, whose sponsors include Nike, Wilson, and even a dairy compnay, always brings a complete game to the table, and he obviously brought his best stuff today in defeating Roddick 6-2, 7-6 (2), 6-4. He made some incredible returns of Roddick's blistering 120+ mph serves, and painted the lines all day with winners, 49 in all. Federer was just as unflappable and dominant at the net as he was from behind the baseline. Roddick played well, but he clearly wasn't anywhere near Federer's level.

Federer is already ranked number one in the world, and today solidified his position. The scary thing is that Federer, being so young, will probably only get better and better as the years go by. He is already on pace to tie or break Pete Sampras' record of 14 career Grand Slam titles, and he will no doubt set a few more records of his own.

On top of his remarkable tennis successes, Federer has many things going for him off the court as well. For example, he is very popular among tennis fans, which is not always a given for the top players of the day. Following his Wimbledon victory today, there were more than 1,000 fans logged onto his official website at one point. He has won a Laureus World Sport Award, and is nominated for an ESPY Award in the category of Best Male Tennis Player. He also has his own signature line of cosmetics, called RF Cosmetics, that includes shaving balm, deodorant, body wash, and cologne.

Venus Williams showed the world that her tennis career is far from over, as she defeated Lindsay Davenport in the finals at Wimbledon. Williams' victory marked her first Grand Slam title since 2001, and her third Wimbledon championship overall. She previously won the prestigious tournament in 2000 and 2001, and lost to her sister, Serena, in the finals in 2002 and 2003. This year, in what was essentially a rematch of the 2000 finals, Venus needed three sets to finish off Davenport, who was the tournament's number one seed. In fact, the two hour and forty-five minute match was the longest in Wimbledon history for the women's finals.

Prior to this years' Wimbledon tournament, many people felt that Venus' tennis career had reached its peak. Venus turned 25 this year, which can be considered old for the sport, especially when there always seem to be new 16 and 17 year old "phenoms" coming up through the ranks each year. Venus herself burst onto the women's professional tennis scene in 1997, as a 17-year-old, by becoming reaching the finals of the U.S. Open, only to lose to Martina Hingis. She then won three tournaments in 1998, though none of them were majors, and followed that up with seven tournament victories in 1999, including the Italian Open, and the Doubles Championships, playing with sister Serena, at both the U.S. and French Open.

The next two years would prove to be the best in Venus' career. In 2000, she was the gold medallist in both singles and doubles at the Olympic Games in Sydney. Then she reeled off a couple of Grand Slam titles by winning Wimbledon, both singles and doubles, and the U.S. Open. In 2001, Venus and Serena again teamed up for a major doubles championship, this time winning the Austrailian Open. Venus then went on to win the singles finals of both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, which was her last major title until today. She did manage to reach the finals in several Grand Slam events, including the French Open, Wimbledon, and the Australian Open during the course of the next two years, but settled for the runner-up trophy in each of those events.

For someone who was so used to dominating the competition and winning championships, it must have been hard to take. Williams' own father has been quoted as saying something to the effect that her head just isn't in tennis anymore.

Considering all of Venus' off-court commitments, it's really not that surprising that her father would say such a thing. For example, Venus has to make appearances for her sponsors, which include Wilson Racquet Sports, McDonald's, and American Express. She was in New York City in early May attending the launch party for the new Fruit and Walnut Salad from McDonald's. She has also been looking after her own interior design company, V Starr Interiors, since 2003.

Hopefully, today's victory at Wimbledon will spark a resurgence in Venus' career. She has shown that she has a lot of tennis left in her, so we just have to wait and see where her game goes from here.

Written by James Fohl


Born on March 12th, 1962 Darryl Eugene Strawberry was a talented Major League baseball player that was never able to fully achieve his full potential because of a variety of problems that occurred during his Major League ball career that stretched from 1983 until 1999.

He was born in Los Angeles, and played high school baseball with a variety of other talented players
who also would eventually become Major League players.

Upon being drafted by the New York Mets in 1980, he was being called the Black Joe BiMaggio, and was also being compared to baseball legend, Babe Ruth.

With His Major League Debut In 1983, Major League Analysts Everywhere Started Thinking That Darryl Strawberry Was Going To Be One Hell Of A Ball Player

In 1983 he made his Major League debut, hitting an impressive twenty six home runs, seven triples, and bringing in seventy four runs. With these impressive statistics, he was named the
National League's Rookie of The Year.

1987 was the year that Darryl Strawberry almost became the first person in Major League Baseball to hit forty home runs, and to steal forty bases in a single season. Unfortunately, he missed the
goal by only hitting thirty nine home runs, and stealing thirty seven bases.

After 1990, Darryl Strawberry's popularity started falling downward. He was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, but personal problems started popping up as he was accused of domestic violence by his wife. The fact that he wanted Los Angeles to burn in hell did not really help his popularity much either.

Personal Problems Began Attacking Darryl Strawberry Every Year, And Eventually These Problems Would Leave To His Retirement From Professional Baseball

In 1994, he was sent to the San Francisco Giants to play baseball. Unfortunately his skills were leaving him, as his statistics continued to crumble. After a short stint with the San Francisco Giants, the New York Yankees welcomed him, and this would be the last team he would play for.

More problems developed for Darryl Strawberry starting in 1998 when he was diagnosed with colon cancer. The following year, he was found guilty of soliciting for a small amount of cocaine. A year later (2000) he was found with more cocaine and suspended from Major League Baseball. In 2000, he also announced that since his cancer had spread he was retiring from Major League Baseball. In 2001 Strawberry was arrested yet again, only instead of solicitation cocaine, he was solicitation
sex from an undercover police officer posing as a prostitute.

After a few years from being in the news, Strawberry seemed to be doing a little better in 2004, saying he had found Christianity and was becoming involved with church activities at the Without Walls International Church.

When Darryl Strawberry first came onto the baseball scene back in 1983, many professional baseball
analysts expected great things from the ball player. While he had proved them right for several
seasons, personal problems plagued most of his career and ultimately prevented him from becoming the great player many people believed he would someday be.

The Major League Baseball All-Star Game will take place on July 12 at Comerica Park in Detroit, MI. One of the most interesting aspects of the All-Star Game is that players are voted in by the fans. Fans placed their votes via ballots at the ball park or online at the Major League Baseball official website. I like this system, even though it usually means that some very deserving players are left out. For example, lots of players get voted in on reputation alone, even if they are having terrible seasons. Also, not many fans follow all the teams in both leagues, so they may be completely unaware when a relatively unknown player posts some big numbers in the first half of the year. But this year, I am happy to say that I agree with almost every one of the fans' choices.

In the infield, the fans wisely recognized the monster season that the Orioles' Brian Roberts is having, and they voted him in on the first ballot. Over in the National League, Jeff Kent of the Dodgers gets the nod. It is a testament to the caliber of player that Kent is when you consider how much the Astros have been struggling this year without him. Apparently, it wasn't Clemens and Pettite that carried the team to the postseason last year.

Over at third base, Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees led the balloting in the American League, while the Philadelphia Phillies' Scott Rolen will represent from the National League. This is one of those situations when reputation was more important to fans than performance, considering that Rolen missed 33 games due to a shoulder injury. A-Rod is having a good season despite the team's woes. He is batting .324 with 20 home runs and 66 RBI so far, and is playing his fairly well on defense, though his 10 errors put him on pace to match the highest season total in his career.

Did you expect to see anyone other than Miguel Tejada take the field for the American League at shortstop? He and teammate Brian Roberts give the Orioles the strongest middle infield, both defensively and offensively, in all of baseball. The National League will have an all-L.A. middle infield as Cesar Izturis joins his double play partner Jeff Kent on the All-Star roster. I don't watch the Dodgers enough to know how good of a selection this is by the fans, but maybe the fact that I haven't heard more about Izturis says enough.

Albert Pujols of the Cardinals and Mark Teixeira of the Rangers will play first base for their respective leagues. Pujols is having a good year, but I think he's getting in on reputation here, since Derrek Lee of my hometown Chicago Cubs is having a great year.

The outfielders for the American League will be Ichiro (no doubt helped by Internet voting from Japan), Manny Ramirez, and Vlad Guerrero. Jim Edmonds, Carlos Beltran, and Bobby Abreu will represent the National League. I can't really argue with any of those picks, though I would have liked to see my fantasy team leader Miguel Cabrera get some respect in the real world!

Overall, these were great choices by the fans and I am happy to say I was a part of it.

Written by James Fohl

With the Major League baseball season well under way, and since it is almost half way completed, baseball fans of all sizes are getting readily excited for the upcoming 2005 Major League Baseball All Star Game, which is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, July 12th, 2005 in the Detroit Tiger's Comerica Park. The Major League Baseball All Star Game is of course a baseball game composed of two teams, one from the American League, and another from the National League that play each other in hopes of showing off which league has the most talent. These two teams are composed of the best players of each league, thus the whole All Star title of the game is put in to perspective.

For years and years since its introduction in 1933, the All Star game was just that, a single baseball game played in the middle of the Major League Baseball season. However, for a couple seasons, most notably from 1959 up to and including 1962, two games were played a season.

For some fans, just a game between the best players of the two leagues just wasn't enough. The fans wanted to see more, such as competitions held between individual players, and thus the home run derby contest came to be in the mid 1980s.

First played during the 1985 All Star game, the home run derby was a contest that pitted the best eight batters of both the National and American Leagues against each other in a contest to see who could hit the most home runs.

Each player is given ten outs, which refers to a ball that is either not hit out of the park, or a ball that the batter swings at and misses. Home runs, and pitches that the batter does not swing at do not count as outs.

While the home run derby contest started out with batters only slugging five to maybe ten home runs during the contest, in recent home run derby contests batters hitting twenty or more home runs during the contest are not rare.

So far, in its twenty year history the record for most home runs hit during a home run derby contest stands at twenty seven, and the record was set by Miguel Tejada of the Baltimore Orioles in the 2004 season. The record for the batter to hit the least home runs, yet still win the home run derby contest is a tie, and goes to Ryne Sandberg of the Chicago Cubs in 1990, and Eric Davis of the Cincinnati Reds in 1989. Both Ryne Sandberg and Eric Davis only managed
to hit three home runs during the home run derby contest and still come out winners.

While the home run derby contest remains fairly popular, it still acts as a side show to the main attraction of the All Star game, which of course is the All Star game itself. It will really be exciting to see what happens, and what records are broken during this year's Major League Baseball All Star game.

Written by James Fohl

When you are watching a game of baseball, whether at the stadium behind home plate or in your favorite lounge chair at home behind your wide screen television set, you always see a series of incredible events that unfold.

Whether they are a home run at the end of the ninth ending that ties a game, or a grand slam that clears the bases, the game of baseball always has something that can really add suspense to the game, and overall excite the fans of the game.

One of the most amazing plays in baseball to me is something known as a triple play. A triple play
is when a team manages to get three players out on a single play. While double plays (when a team
manages to get two players out on a single play) are fairly common in the game of baseball, triple
plays are quite rare.

Certain circumstances must exist in order for a triple play to occur. The first of these circumstances
is the fact that there must be no outs in the inning. After having no outs in the inning, the opposing team must have players situated on at least two bases. (Ex; first and second base) Next, a player must hit the ball in a manner that allows the receiver of the ball access to other players.

For example, the perfect scenario for a triple play would be no outs, players on first and second, and the batter just hits a ground ball to the shortstop. He would tag the runner going to third, toss to the second baseman, and the second baseman would throw the ball to first base for the third and final out.

While it sounds easy in theory, a triple play is actually quite hard to pull off because of the limited
amount of time available to the players. Although double plays are quite common, it still takes a great amount of effort in order to successfully pull one off. Pulling a triple play off, on the other hand involves a whole extra out and does not add any time. The timing factor is one of the primary reasons why; that even when the circumstances are right for a triple play, it just does not happen because the batter is able to get to first base on time.

Triple plays were a lot more common back in the early days of baseball than they are today. Back in the early half of the 20th century, games were actually played that involved more than one triple play in a game. Today it is something to see a Major League professional ball team pull off more than one triple play in a season. Some teams, such as the Pittsburgh Pirates have not pulled off a triple play in over ten years.

So the next time you are watching professional ball players, keep an eye out to see if the circumstances exist for a triple play. It is really exciting to see when a team looks like they are pulling ahead with two players on base and zero outs to totally just get annihilated with a triple play made by the opposing team.

Written by James Fohl

One of the few differences between the National League, and the American Leagues of Major League Baseball is the fact that the American League uses a player known as the designated hitter.

The designated hitter is a baseball player in the American League that bats for the pitcher. That is his sole responsibility in a baseball game. He does not actually field, and just bats. If he actually takes another player's position, than the team gives up their designated hitter status, and the pitcher must bat for himself.

Because the designated hitter is something only found in the American League, problems certainly
arise whenever an American League team, such as the Baltimore Orioles or Kansas City Royals plays against a National League team such as the Pittsburgh Pirates, or Chicago Cubs.

While this used to only occur during the World Series, the introduction of interleauge play in 1997 has brought the two leagues to face each other many times a season. Fans of the National League call the designated hitter idea unfair, as it gives the American League team an extra experienced batter. On the other hand, fans of the American League team call the National League unfair, because while playing in a National League ball park, the pitcher of the American League team must bat; something the pitcher is not used to.

The designated pitcher arguments have been addressed many times in the past with the World Series; however with interleague play now occurring, the arguments are occurring now more substantially. Many Major League baseball advocates are suggesting the removal of the designated hitter from Major League Baseball in order to quiet these arguments, and help return baseball to the sport it was before the introduction of the designated hitter in the early 20th century.

While many people can not name a designated hitter off the top of their head, the position is usually
field with either new or old players. Most of the time, new players pulled up from the Minor Leagues
have the batting power, however are still lacking the skills for on field play. Because they have the ability to drive the ball, they are usually put into the position of designated hitter while they work on their fielding skills. In contrast, many professional ball players of the American League decide that after playing several seasons, they just are not in the condition to be on field players. Instead, they become designated hitters and are still allowed to use their skills to help their ball teams to victories.

As the debates continue for whether the designated hitter belongs in the American League, I know that I will look past these debates and arguments, and instead just watch the baseball game while eating my foot long hotdog and chanting whenever my favorite ball players come up to bat. Maybe in the near future an ultimate proposal will be made for the whole designated hitter ordeal, but for now, I am just a fan who really doesn't care about the politics of baseball, just the game itself.