Not Just Another Loons Victory

MIDLAND, MI - Saturday was Bullock Creek School Spirit Night at the Ft. Wayne Tin Caps - Great Lakes Loons game that took place at Dow Diamond. The Loons are hosting a contest between several area schools to see who has the best school spirit. The Bullock Creek Spirit Night happened to fall on a day where the Lancer family lost one of its' most well respected & important members.

Tom Gilstad, who worked for Bullock Creek schools for 31 years, and was Superintendent from 1997 through his retirement in 2001, passed away Saturday afternoon at the age of 63. Mr. Gilstad was very well respected by everyone in the Bullock Creek community. He always had a smile and a positive attitude, even as he battled cancer. Admittedly, I did not know him well, but got to know him a little better during the 2009 Loons season as I began to hang out with his sons, Kyle, Chris & Chad.

He was absolutely wonderful to me every time I saw him. He always had a hearty hello for me, a big hand shake, pat on the back and something funny to say. When former Los Angeles Dodgers manager, Tommy Lasorda, visited Dow Diamaond last year, my cousin Stephanie and I, stood and listened as Mr. Gilstad told us a story about hanging out with Lasorda one night. He was so excited about it and was amazed at how nice Lasorda was and how great his stories were. You could tell, it was a great moment for him. That's the person I will always remember. Someone who loved life, loved his family, was always positive and could make friends with anybody. A truly special person.

Starting out, the game was secondary in all of the minds of the Lancer community. The Loons jumped out to a 2-0 lead early, thanks to two solo homeruns by first baseman Jerry Sands. Towards the end of the fourth inning, with the game tied at two, the Gilstad family slowly made their way through the concourse of Dow Diamond. They were greeted by the Lancer family with open arms and support as they made their way to their seats in section 102, where they have had half season tickets for the last couple of years. The reason they were there was, as Kyle said later, it just "felt right being there" and for a video tribute that Bullock Creek had prepared to honor Mr. Gilstad.

As the family settled into their seats in the top of the 6th inning, Ft. Wayne began to comeback in the game. After allowing back to back walks to open up the 6th, Loons starter Brett Wallach, was taken out of the game and replaced by Justin Miller. Miller proceeded to hit the first batter he faced, walked the next one, and threw a wild pitch. The inning seemed to drag on, as the Tin Caps knocked Miller out and scored 3 runs in the inning to take a 4-3 lead. The anticipation of the inning ending was growing as the family was anxious to see the video tribute. Finally the inning ended when new Loons pitcher, J.B. Paxson, struck out Jonathan Alia. Sitting next to the Gilstad family, you could see the anticipation on their faces as Loons public address announcer, Jerry O'Donnell, directed the fans to the scoreboard for a "Special Tribute". After about a minute, O'Donnell announced there were technical difficulties and the video would be played later in the game. This caused a chuckle amongst the family. I was thinking Mr. Gilstad was playing a little joke on everyone and that was the "technical difficulty".

The game moved on through the end of the 6th inning and into the 7th inning stretch, with still no video. We sang Take Me Out to the Ballgame, as Bullock Creek's principal, Charlie Schwedler led the crowd in the singing. The game stayed at 4-3 through the end of the 7th. Just as the 7th inning ended, we heard O'Donnell again direct everyone's attention to the video board for a special tribute. The video was played and it was incredible. It was a powerful, one minute video, that chronicled Gilstad's love for The Creek and his love for all the kids who came through there, both past and present. It was a very emotional moment for everyone, especially the family.

After the video played, the top of the 8th began. Almost on cue, the first hitter for the Tin Caps, Nathan Freiman, hits a high pop up to second base. I'm not sure if I was the only one who thought this, but that pop up to the heavens, right after that video, was almost an acknowledgement to Mr. Gilstad. That may sound like a reach, but I truly believe that. It was a powerful moment that happened immediately after the playing of that video. I just happen to think that it happened for a reason.

The game moved ahead to the bottom of the 9th inning now, with the score still 4-3. We are all hoping for a Loons win in memory of Mr. Gilstad. The Tin Caps insert their closer, Nick Schumacher, to try and preserve the one run lead. Loons fans didn't have to wait long, as right fielder, Blake Smith, drove a ball over the right field wall for a game tying, solo homerun. We all broke into the Funky Feather as Smith rounds the bases and touches home to tie the game. The inning continues as the next hitter, J.T. Wise grounds out. Then Rafael Ynoa singles and then moves to third on a ground out by Johan Garcia. This puts the Loons' potential winning run on 3rd base with 2 outs. The next hitter, Christian Lara walks. Austin Yount, who is struggling early on this season hitting only .083, gets intentionally walked to load the bases. This puts a force at any base with Brian Cavazos-Galvez coming to the plate. Cavazos-Galvez hits a ground ball to shortstop Jonathan Galvez, who with Lara crossing right in front of him, bobbles the ball. Galvez reaches out for the ball, trying to recover and get the force out at second, but the ball, almost as if someone was reaching down to move it ever so slightly, rolls just out of the reach of his finger tips. Ynoa crosses the plate and the Loons comeback to win the game 5-4. It was almost as if Mr. Gilstad had a hand in that last play, moving the ball ever so slightly forward out of the reach of the shortstop, to allow the winning run to score.

With the Loons winning, it ended a long and emotional day for the Gilstad family. I think them being there was, in a way, semi-therapeutic. It was a place they knew their father, husband, brother, and friend would want them to be...celebrating a Loons win, with not just any community, but the Lancer community. A community that he held dear to his heart, and a place that will always remember and hold Tom Gilstad dear to their hearts as well.

Millen Adds to Draft Day "Legacy"

About 45 minutes ago (time of this post is 2:09pm), Matt Millen appeared on ESPN's Draft coverage. He was talking to ESPN's Ron Jaworski and during their playful exchange, Millen called Jaws a "Polack". Millen was forced to apologize somewhere off the set, alone, after a commercial break. Immediately after the apology, they showed the set with Trey Wingo, Jaws, Todd McShay, & Mel Kiper, Jr., and you can tell it was a bit awkward. While, I really don't think this was anything major, but leave it to Millen to screw up another draft day. Maybe he was making up for the fact that he couldn't draft another wide receiver...

An Honest Golfer

Imagine you are on the PGA Tour and looking for your first ever victory. You have just tied one of the best golfers, Jim Furyk, on the 18th hole and are heading to a playoff. This is the position that Brian Davis was in last weekend at the Verizon Heritage tournament in Hilton Head, South Carolina. He was in prime position to win his first tournament on the tour, but what happened next was almost unbelievable.

On the playoff hole, Davis hit a 7-iron that hit off the side of the green and bounced into some rough that had grass, twigs, and reeds. His next shot would be difficult. As Davis took his backswing, he barely hit a loose reed with his club...a violation of rule 13.4c, which states: The player must not "Touch or move a loose impediment lying in or touching the hazard." The thing is, no one noticed that he had hit the reed but him. Immediately, he called over a rules official and told him that he thought he had hit something on his backswing. After reviewing the tape, it was ruled he did indeed commit a violation, and was penalized two strokes. Davis then conceded to Furyk who subsequently won the tournament and over one million dollars. Davis earned just over $600,000 for 2nd place. His honestly cost him, not only his first PGA win, but over $400,000.

Golf has a certain etiquette to it that the players abide by. It's a gentlemanly game that players are supposed to police themselves and be honest when committing a penalty, if they are aware of it. This would never happen in a team sport, nor should it. Athletes in team sports are brought up completely different. With that said, I'm not sure how many golfers would have admitted this same mistake with so much on the line. This is a rule that, if you and I were out on the golf course, we'd more than likely ignore.

The question is, would you do the same thing knowing it would cost you a ton of money and your first (and maybe only) pro win? Brian Davis did and he deserves to be applauded (with a polite golf clap, of course).

Loons Pennant Race

Today, the Great Lakes Loons, in conjunction with Dow and their Dow Live Earth Run for Water, held the 4th Annual Loons 6K Pennant Run & Walk that started, & finished just outside of Dow Diamond in Midland. The weather was cool and overcast with some peaks of the sun during the race. Nine time Olympic Gold Medalist, Carl Lewis was at the race. He said a few words before the start (thankfully he didn't sing the National Anthem) and walked with a group of young girls from the group, "Girls on the Run".



I haven't watched too many races, but I'm always amazed at the diversity of the people that run. There were kids that looked like they were as young as 5 or 6, and adults that looked like they were in their 70s. A lot of them had strong, sprints to the finish. It was truly amazing. My brother, Justin, as well as another friend of mine, Chris Gilstad, both ran in the race. Justin's time was 27:58, good for 107th out of over a thousand participants. He was also 10th in his age group (Male 25-29; 25 participants in age group ). Chris finished with a time of 25:52, good for 50th place. He finished 5th in his age group (Male 35-39; 25 participants in age group). I'm not sure what their personal bests are, but those are pretty respectable times. In the 6K walk, Jeannette Gilstad, and her daughter Paige, both had solid finishes, as well. In addition to those four, there were several other recognizable faces that I saw cross the finish line, including Great Lakes Loons President & General Manager, Paul Barbeau.

It was a great event, that was only one, of hundreds held around the world, to make aware of the problems with drinking water. I hope the other events were as successful as the one held in Midland today.

Here are the final results from the races:

Men 6K Run Results

1. Adam Terwillegar 21:13
2. Benjamin Reed 21:38
3. John Billette 21:52
4. Mitch Hartnagle 22:01
5. Jeff Van Dusen 22:07


Women 6K Run Results

1. Adriana Young 21:47
2. Stephanie Mendyk 25:40
3. Lynn Sauve 25:59
4. Amy Smith 26:13
5. Suzanne Billette 26:18


Men 6K Walk Results

1. Johnny Olsey 33:29
2. Rick Huber 33:32
3. Paul Hugo 37:29
4. Jude Kole 40:20
5. Scott Luce 44:27


Women 6k Walk Results

1. Lori Lynn Short 39:42
2. Shelly Huber 41:13
3. Jennifer Wiesenauer 41:26
4. Jaime Gardiner 42:07
5. Connie Zvara 43:28











The runners at the starting line









The runners anticipating the start. Can you spot Chris Gilstad?









The runners are off!









The overall winner of the 6K Run crossing the finish line









Chris Gilstad finishing the 6K Run strong









Justin Wirtz finishing the 6K Run






Jeannette & Paige Gilstad crossing the Finish Line after their 6K Walk