OCTOBER 31 UPDATE

 

COMMITMENTS

Jenny Gensch, SS, Minnesota Irish 18A, to St.Cloud State University .

LINDI KENNEDY,OF,3B,L.V. RAGE GOLD,TO BYU

MANDI SEKLY- OF/1B  CALIFORNIA THUNDER 18 GOLD, TO RIDER UNIVERSITY .

Kelly Stiles, OF,1st,3rd, VA Shamrocks, to Univ of Pittsburgh

Crystal Seipel, OF, Houston Power Gold, University of Houston

Ashley Taylor, SS/P/1B, Diamond Fever (VA)/Dan River H.S., to Radford Univ.

 

THE RENEGADE TOURNAMENT

At 1030 EST, no word from California on games played.  Will keep checking.  Andy’s last flash, at 1030pm PCT Thursday, noted that several teams had withdrawn, and he was scrambling to put together a revised schedule.  Also noted that donations were being solicited to aid fire victims.  Good man, Andy.  You gave it your best shot under very trying circumstances.  SPY will publish any game information we get.

 

VERY GOOD NEWS

On Thursday, Stephanie Phillips was back at her highschool softball field to cheer for the team she helped lead to last year’s State championship.  Steph won’t be playing, of course, she’s still recovering from cancer surgery and chemotherapy.  But, just a few weeks ago, few would have predicted her being physically able to make the trip.

 

Now, Steph is coming off chemo, and, on Wednesday, her doctors said there is a very good prospect she can walk unaided by Christmas.  Steph seemingly beat cancer once when she was 12, and learned that the cancer had recurred while her team was in the playoffs.  There are still some concerns about known cancer cells, and Steph suffered infection after bone removal surgery, but, this has been a great week for the Phillips’ family – with the news that Steph may have won again.  Keep up the hard work in therapy, Steph, and we will keep up our prayers.

 

LAURA BERG HONORED

The Fresno State Alumni Association held its Third Annual
Top Dog Alumni Awards Gala last evening at the Save Mart Center and
two-time Olympic softball gold medalist Laura Berg ( Santa Fe Springs ,
Calif. ) was one of 12 distinguished alumni chosen for The Top Dog Alumni
Award.

Receiving the award for athletics, Berg is the first female to be
honored and the third individual in athletics to garner Top Dog Alumni
Award as she joins J.D. Williams (2001) and Augie Garrido (2002).

A four-time NCAA All-America center fielder at Fresno State , Berg has
gone on to represent the United States on the international scene.
Capturing gold medals at every level, including two Olympic gold medals
at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta , Ga. , and the 2000 Summer
Olympic Games in Sydney , Australia , she has been a part of the United
State 's softball national program since 1994.

This world-class athlete, who spent the last four years as an assistant
coach on the Bulldog softball coaching staff, is on her third USA
Women's National Softball Team as the United States will look to defend
its back-to-back gold medals at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens,
Greece.  ( Fresno State press release)

 

OF MICE AND MEN

In John Steinbeck’s epic novel of that title, he renders portraits of outsiders struggling to understand their own unique places in the world.  George is challenged constantly to convince others to forgive the brute Lennie for his excesses.  But, as the title implies, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

 

I thought of Steinbeck’s saga this week as I contemplated the Washington Redskins signing Darrell Russell, whose off-field escapades have dwarfed his considerable skills as a defensive tackle.  True, he was acquitted in the rape case, but his DUI and other offenses and drug violations not only caused him to be suspended from football but finally released by the Oakland Raiders – who have tolerated some players whose personalities are on the tattoo side of mean.

 

The signing by the Redskins has raised more than eyebrows in the Nation’s capital.  Is this the kind of man we want on the team our children support so fervishly?  Or, do we take the posture that every man deserves a second chance?

 

With hesitation, I agree with Danny Snyder that Russell seems to have finally grasped the consequences of his actions, and, from his remarks to the media, this well-educated, seemingly intelligent giant knows what’s at stake in what will be his last chance if he continues his past off-field behavior.  He seems repentant, and not just because he lost nearly two years and millions of dollars.  Still, if the woman wins her civil suit against Russell and two other men, I trust he will surely understand the harm she suffered.  Lack of evidence is a finding far removed from acquittal in the criminal case.

 

Lawrence Phillips, the Nebraska running back who beat up his girl friend and, incredibly was reinstated by Tom Osborne when the Huskers played for the national championship, seemed to show no remorse that I recall – and his off-field antics finally got him bounced out of the NFL.  All of the attention was on Phillips; very little about the college student, also an athlete, who was not only beaten but left school.  If Osborne ever expressed concern about the girl, it escaped me – certainly nothing on the order of magnitude of his tortured explanation that he wasn’t motivated by the Huskers’ need for Phillips at running back to win the championship but by his concern that Phillips be given another chance.  I long admired Osborne, but that stopped the night he concluded that a player who had committed such a savage act should represent Nebraska before the world.

 

These superstars leave a lot of victims in their wake – fatherless children, beaten women, other violations of the law.  Surely, the fantastic salaries they are paid are a factor in their outlandish behavior.  So is the fact that they are surrounded by posses who think they can do no wrong, even encourage such behavior.

 

On reflection, some of them are the victims of a system in which they are pampered at an early age, and indeed have every reason to believe anything they do is right because no one ever tells them it is wrong.  The punishment meted out by Paul Tagliabue was appropriate in the Russell case; every owner in every sport should do the same.

 

SEGUES

A few readers have commented on my fondness for segues – the transition from one topic to another in seemingly seamless fashion.  Back in my journalist days, I always looked for a “hook” for stories, like the Steinbeck reference above, or, the reference to my daughter’s engagement in a story about an error I made in a photo caption.  More recently, I developed a style at the Department of State for burying sensitive items in reports and stories, including the use of misleading file labels and e-mail folders, knowing that certain political appointees were miffed that I had some very rare security clearances to which they were not entitled – and they constantly tried to break into my computer files.  One political appointee was a notorious leaker, who was also much beholden to a Senator.  The enemies within were as much a threat as the enemies outside.  Old bromide: hold your enemies close, hold your friends even closer.  Oops, a segue.

 

THE EVE OF ALL HALLOWS

The formal designation of Halloween, the eve of All Saints’ Day, still a national holiday in some countries, like France .  My town house cluster, which is nestled between two high-end areas, is a prime target for the young and not-so-young tricksters because they can hit so many houses without having to pass through gates or up driveways.  We’re such a good hit that kids come in car pools from other parts of the county.   Gave out six bags of candy in 90 minutes, 20 bars to a bag, or about 120 callers.  Reese’s cups, followed by Mr. Goodbar went early; good runs on Butterfingers and Snickers; not so much on miniature Hershey bars and York peppermints and Almond Joy.  One boy didn’t bother with a costume, or even say hello; about 13-14, he ran up the steps, grabbed a handful of candy bars and ran.  Best costume: boy of about 7-8 had a ghoul mask with a huge twisted mouth; after he got candy, he pressed a button and fake blood began to ooze from the eyes; very realistic.

 

THE BURMA ROAD

Always admired the National Geographic writers for their adventures – learned to brush my teeth with vodka when in the jungle while traveling with reknowned NG writer Peter White.  One writer just traversed the old Burma Road of WWII fame from Lashio in Burma to Kunming , China .  Learned that the Naga tribe, which can be found in the opium growing areas east of the Salween River , stopped head-hunting in 1991.  One of the little things that the State Department neglected to tell me when I was in that part of Burma in the late ‘80s.

 

COCA COLA

I’ve asked but I still don’t know what happened to the arrangement between ASA and Coca Cola, which at one time was the official drink of USA Softball.  Had that huge Coke bottle out beyond the Hall of Fame fences.  When the first US Olympic team was chosen, the VIP suite was clogged with Coca Cola execs, and, when we had breakfast with the newly chosen team the morning after selection, they were at many of the tables.

 

Now, I read that Coca Cola is one of the companies, like Nike, who provided Lebron James with $100 million in endorsement money – before he ever took a shot in the NBA.  We could support a lot of softball with what this kid considers tip money.

 

I know that local Coca Cola bottlers still provide HS scoreboards for softball and other sports, but, did we lose Coke somewhere along the way as a major softball sponsor?  Just Curious.

 

HOW TIME FLIES

This month marks the 100th anniversary of Enrico Caruso singing at the Met – La Donna e Mobile .  And, we just lost Signore Correlli, a noted spinto tenor in his prime.  I am no opera buff, although I drove through a snow storm in New York to hear Elaine Malbin sing the love aria from Madame Butterfly.  Thanks to a very sophisticated New York lady who dragged me to the opera and ballet, I actually knew what a spinto singer was – sounded like any other tenor to me but at East Side cocktail parties afterward, you were expected to make intelligent conversation.  Actually, you could have a very romantic evening at Nellie’s on 62nd street , where the waiters and waitresses were apprentice opera singers – and would gladly grace your table and date with an aria of your choice.  I was more at home at Toots Shor’s saloon, and PJ Clarke’s; while not famous, a reporter could still get into the Stork Club and Copacabana, or go down to Jilly’s where Frank Sinatra would hold court when he was in town.  You didn’t talk to Frank; you observed; he did not like reporters.  Or, you could drop in at Villa Pensa or Ruffino’s down in Little Italy and see what the wise guys were up to – and with whom.  You could wander over to the Village Gate and catch Peter, Paul and Mary, or uptown you could hear Dave Brubeck, and, if you could get past the doorman, you got into Birdland to hear Charlie Parker.  Worst assignment: I had to interview Bobby Vinton; I hadn’t even heard Red Roses for a Blue Lady and he knew nothing about New York politics.  A hell of a town, New York .

 

End

Spy Softball Home Page