Wednesday, June 23, 2010...One Crazy Day!

Today is one of those crazy days that doesn't happen too often. The USA Soccer team scores in stoppage time to avoid elimination...Two Men's Tennis players at Wimbledon played an epic 10 hour match over two days (that is still not over with yet)...Stephen Strasburg has another big game but loses on a bad call at the plate...A Hall of Fame Football player is indicted on rape charges...And to top it all off, a tremor felt in part of Michigan. This is definitely a crazy day...


USA Soccer's Dramatic Win



PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA - Team USA went into the last game of group play needing a win to get into the elimination round of the World Cup. If they lost, they were done, but if they played to a draw, they needed a few different scenarios to happen in order to advance. USA took on Algeria as England played Slovenia at the same time. England went up on Slovenia 1-0 in the 22nd minute of the game. At this point the US needed a win to advance, as a draw would not be enough. The US had several scoring chances against Algeria. In the 21st minute, Clint Dempsey, appeared to knock in a goal, however, the referee ruled him off-sides, nullifying the goal. Replays showed that the call was probably wrong. After a few more great scoring opportunities throughout the match, it appeared that the US was going to get another tough draw. Then, miraculously, in the 91st minute, almost a minute into stoppage time, USA soccer's best player, Landon Donovan, took a rebound off the goalkeeper and put the ball home from 7 feet away to give the US an improbable 1-0 lead and win. This was the first time the US has won their group in the World Cup since 1930. What a great day for USA Soccer and its' fans.

Epic Wimbledon Match That Won't End


WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND - Tennis has been played at Wimbledon since 1877. It has never seen a match like the one between American John Isner and France's Nicolas Mahut. They started their match on Tuesday night but was called after 4 sets and 2 hours, 54 minutes, due to darkness. They resumed play on Wednesday in the 5th Set. Over 7 hours, and 118 games later, the match was called again due to darkness. They have played 163 games total, so far, in all 5 sets, which is a record. Their almost 10 total hours of play, is about 3 1/2 hours more than the previous record that was set at the 2004 French Open. Compare this match to the length of the Major League Baseball game that was played on May 9, 1982. It was played between the Milwaukee Brewers & Chicago White Sox and went 25 innings, taking a mere 8 hours, 6 minutes (with the White Sox winning the game). Isner & Mahut will resume their match on Thursday. How much longer will it go? Stay tuned...

Strasburg Takes Tough Loss


WASHINGTON, DC - Washington Nationals rookie phenom, Stephen Strasburg, took the mound for his fourth Major League start against the Kansas City Royals earlier today. Strasburg impressed everyone again, going 6 innings, allowing 9 hits and 1 run while striking out 9 and walking none. His 9 strike outs gave him a total of 41 in his first four starts which breaks the previous record set by Cleveland's Herb Score (40 Ks) in 1955. The Royals scored their run on an RBI single by Jose Guillen in the 5th inning. The Nationals had an opportunity to score in the 6th inning. Roger Bernadina tried to score on an Adam Dunn single to right, but was thrown out by Jose Guillen. Replays clearly showed Bernadina's foot touching the plate before catcher Jason Kendall tagged him, but Home Plate Umpire Hunter Wendelstedt called him out. Despite Strasburg taking his first loss of his career, he still is showing that he can pitch in the big leagues, and pitch well. He has lived up to all the hype so far, but the true test will be when teams face him for a second time. We'll have to wait and see if he can stay dominant...

Hall of Fame Football Player Indicted


ROCKFORD COUNTY, NY - NFL Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor was indicted today on third-degree rape charges, patronizing a prostitute, among others. Taylor has had problems with the law before, mostly having to do with drugs. Over the past few years, he seemed to have gotten his life back on track appearing on ABC's Dancing With the Stars and was an endorser for NutriSystem. Taylor is a 10-Time Pro Bowler as well as an NFL MVP and three time Defensive Player of the Year. He was arrested on May 6th at the Holiday Inn in Ramapo, NY. He scheduled to be in court again on July 13.


Minor Earthquake in Midwest

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a 5.0 Earthquake hit the Ontario-Quebec border region on Wednesday afternoon. The shaking could be felt in portions of Michigan, with reports in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing, Saginaw, and numerous other areas in the state. Obviously this isn't sports related, but this just caps off what was one crazy day!

A Retirement, Passing of a Legend, and a Historic Hitting Streak

Below is a recap of some of the top stories of this past week...


A RETIREMENT

Ken Griffey, Jr, the greatest center fielder of my generation, announced his retirement on Wednesday, June 2. He was only batting only .184 with no homeruns and seven runs batted in, in 33 games this season. Despite his struggles this season, Griffey left the game as one of the greatest players in the history of the game and a first ballot Hall of Famer. His sweet swing produced 630 career homeruns which ranks him fifth on the all-time list. He also won 10 Gold Glove Awards which ranks him second behind Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente (12 apiece) for the most ever by an outfielder in their career. He also made the All-Century team at the age of 29. His youthful enthusiasm for the game, his sweet swing, and his great defense will all be missed. He was my favorite player growing up, as well as the favorite of so many during his era. We were truly blessed to have seen such a talent during our lifetime.

A Passing of a Legend

John Wooden, 99, passed away on Friday, June 4th. Wooden was the Head Men's Basketball Coach at UCLA from 1948-1975. He won 10 National Championships (including 7 in a row from 1966-1973), won 620 career games, 38 game NCAA Tournament winning streak (1964-1974) and lead his team to an 88-game winning streak from 1971-1974. He also coached some of the greatest players in basketball history. What he will probably be remembered for most, from my era, was not for his coaching (since he retired from coaching 3 years before I was born) but his motivational books and pyramid of success. He wrote several books which were not really about basketball, but more about life. His quotes are legendary, "Be quick, but don't hurry", "Failing to prepare, is preparing to fail", and "Flexibility is the key to stability". There are many, many more as well. He was a true master of the spoken and written word. Another big part of his life, was the love affair he maintained with his wife Nell, after her death in 1985. She passed away on March 21st of that year. On the 21st of every month, from then until his passing, he wrote her a love letter. He placed it in an envelope and then on the pillow that she used to sleep on. He never remarried and was still very much in love with her until the day he died. It is a remarkable story of love and faith and one we should all learn about. Now that he has left us, he is now in heaven with her, and truly a happy man to be reunited with the love of his life, both in this life and beyond.



A Historic Hitting Streak

Before the last couple of weeks, no one had heard of Florida International's (FIU) Garrett Wittels and chances are, you still may not know him. He is a baseball player for FIU and yesterday tied Joe DiMaggio's (yes, that Joe DiMaggio) 56-game hitting streak. Having a hit in that many games in a row is an amazing feat. No one in the Major Leagues has even approached DiMaggio. Wittels needs a hit in his next two games to tie the all-time record at any level. Robin Ventura hit in 58 straight games in 1987 while at college at Oklahoma State. Wittels will be waiting months just to get his next at-bat. His FIU team was eliminated from the NCAA Coral Gables Regional by Dartmouth, 15-9. In that game, Wittels hit a double in his first at-bat to extend the streak, and added two more hits, including a single in his last at-bat of the season. Having to wait about eight months for his next at-bat will make it interesting as to whether or not he can extend hist streak and break Ventura's record. All I know is, that I will be watching and hoping the long layoff will not affect Wittel's and he can break the record that's stood for 23 years.

The Perfect Lesson

DETROIT, MI - Only five days removed from the Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Roy Halladay's Perfect Game, we were close to seeing history again, this time in Detroit and by a much lesser known pitcher. Armando Galarraga, who is two years removed from a 13 win season with the Detroit Tigers, set down the Cleveland Indians first 26 batters, on Wednesday night, without allowing a hit, a walk, a hit by pitch, or anyone to reach base on an error...In other words, he was perfect through 8 2/3 innings. It was an amazing showcase of control and of getting the Indians to chase pitches early in the count. He only went to a three ball count on one hitter. Entering the 9th inning he only had thrown 75 pitches. Even though his strikeout total was low (only 3), he kept the Indians hitters off balance all game long. Mark Grudzielanek lead off the 9th and hit a ball to deep left center field that Austin Jackson ran down with an over the shoulder catch on the warning track. The next batter, Mike Redmond grounded out to shortstop Ramon Santiago to retire the 26th consecutive hitter of the game. Then, it all came down to the 27th hitter for the Indians, Jason Donald.

Donald worked a 1-1 count. On the third pitch of the at-bat, Donald grounds a ball weakly towards second base. First baseman Miguel Cabrera ranges far to his right, fields the ball as Galarraga is making his way to first to cover the bag. Cabrera plants his right foot and throws a perfect throw to Galarraga. Galarraga catches the ball, just as his right foot hits the bag, a half step before Donald's. Game over, Perfect Game for Galarraga! But wait...first base umpire Jim Joyce shocked everyone by calling Donald safe. Everyone, players, coaches, fans both at Comerica Park and watching on television or listening on the radio, are stunned. Cabrera started to celebrate, but then put both hands on his head in disbelief. Second baseman Carlos Guillen jumped up then stopped in his tracks. Galarraga began to celebrate then, after hearing the call looked at Joyce and just smiled. Manager Jim Leyland went out to argue the call, but did so mildly. The announcers, both on TV and on Radio could not believe it. Even radio analyst Jim Price, who rarely says anything bad, called it a "terrible call". Everyone knew Galarraga got robbed of the first Perfect Game in the history of the Detroit Tigers and the 21st in the history of baseball (third of the year and second in just five days). Galarraga retired the next hitter, Trevor Crowe, to end the game. Catcher Alex Avila and Galarraga embrace at the mound as Leyland goes right at Joyce to chew him out. What happened immediately following the game, and over the next few day, however, was truly amazing.

After the game Joyce, a 22-year veteran MLB umpire, who is also very highly rated and well respected by everyone in baseball, looked at the replay in the umpire's dressing room. He said it only took him one view of the replay to see he blew the call. He was extremely upset that he cost Galarraga a piece of history (Click on Joyce's Reaction to hear his comments after the game). He then went to the Tigers' clubhouse and sought out both Galarraga and Leyland to apologize. A class act for someone who just cost the player, club, and game a piece of history. Amazingly, the criticism for Joyce came and went pretty quickly, and the support for him started. Galarraga & Leyland both took the high road in not ripping into Joyce. Everyone just seemed sad that history was prevented by a bad call. The Tigers gave Galarraga a beer celebration anyway in the clubhouse and called it a "28 out Perfect Game".


The next day, the Tigers went out of their way to show public support for Joyce. Joyce had home plate duties on Thursday and was visibly teary eyed as he and the other umpires walked through the tunnel behind home plate, to the field to a cheer from the crowd. Leyland had Galarraga take the line up card out to the umpires. You could tell that Joyce was touched by the moment as he gave Galarraga a big pat on the shoulder. Cabrera, before making his way to first base, gave Joyce a pat on the chest. The Tigers handled everything classy, even presenting Galarraga with a new Chevy Corvette. The way everything was handled made me proud to be a Tigers fan.

The missed call immediately started a huge calling for the expansion of instant replay as well as whether or not the Commissioner of Major League Baseball, Bud Selig, should award Galarraga with the Perfect Game. I am not really one that likes instant replay in baseball, however, I'm not naive to think that baseball doesn't need something in place to correct egregious errors like this. My hope is that Selig and MLB are careful with how they will expand replay and they won't rush to implement it before the right system is ready.

Selig ruled on Thursday that he would not overturn Joyce's call and give Galarraga the perfect game, which I agree with. It is very difficult to go back and overturn a call like that and would open up the possibility of the Commissioner overturning other calls that would directly effect outcomes of games. While there are many arguments on both sides of the coin, I still maintain Selig made the right call on this one.

It was truly a wild situation, none that we have ever seen before. Yes, Galarraga was robbed of his place in baseball immortality, but I think the way he handled the situation will make him be remembered far longer than if he had actually pitched a Perfect Game. The way he handled himself should serve as the perfect lesson on how to handle adversity, for all of us.

A Perfect Experience

MIAMI, FLORIDA - Last weekend, I went on a trip to visit some good friends in the Ft. Lauderdale area. Doug Frimodig and I go way back to 6th grade, where we first met in the halls of Bullock Creek Middle School, in Midland, Michigan. The one thing that brought us together was our mutual love of sports, especially baseball. We went to numerous Detroit Tigers games as kids. As young as the age of 16, when we got our driver's licenses, we would drive down to old Tiger Stadium several times a summer, to take in some baseball. We have traveled to Wrigley Field in Chicago together to watch a game, as well as to Milwaukee to witness Mark McGwire make history with his 65th homerun in that magical summer of 1998. The last game we saw together was Game 4 of the 2006 American League Divisional Series. The mighty New York Yankees were on the verge of being eliminated by the Detroit Tigers. I was able to get some tickets and Doug drove all the way up from Virginia, where he was living at the time. Many forces had to align for that experience to happen and it did. It ranked, for both of us, as the single greatest sporting event we had ever seen in person...until Saturday, May 29, 2010, that is...

Doug and I had talked about seeing the Philadelphia Phillies play the Florida Marlins on Saturday night at Sun Life Stadium in Miami. We weren't entirely sure if we were going or not, but decided to go as the day progressed. We knew it would be a good pitching match up as Roy Halladay of the Phillies was taking on Josh Johnson of the Marlins. Halladay has been a great pitcher for the last several years. He came over to the Phillies this past off season from the Toronto Blue Jays. Johnson, is a young, up and coming pitcher, for the Marlins. We knew it would be a low scoring, pitcher's duel but what happened next, was truly unexpected.

The game started out with both pitchers in control. In the 3rd inning, the Phillies got on the board when Wilson Valdez (playing for the injured Jimmy Rollins) singled. Then Chase Utley hit a a line drive to center field that Cameron Maybin started in on, then went back too late. The ball hit off of Maybin's glove and rolled all the way to the wall. Valdez scored from first and Utley ended up on third base. The run was an unearned one, and turned out to be all that Halladay needed.

When the game went into the 4th innning, I elbowed Doug and pointed to the scoreboard. I said to him, "See what's going on right now?" He just shook his head and said, "Yep". We were careful not to say the words "Perfect Game" in fear of the jinx. We noticed early on that Halladay was keeping the ball low and had great command of his pitches. It appeared that we were on our way to witnessing a historic night, but you just never know in baseball, anything can happen.

The game moved on into the 5th, 6th, and 7th innings and still no hits or walks were given up by Halladay. As he retired hitter after hitter, we felt the excitement building. It was after the last hitter in the 7th when we knew perfection was within reach.

Halladay's last hitter in the bottom of the 7th inning was Hanley Ramirez. Ramirez who is one of the best players in all of baseball, and posed a huge obstacle for Halladay. If he could get passed Ramirez, his chances for a Perfect Game would increase tremendously. You could feel the excitement and tension building in the stadium as Halladay fell behind Ramirez, three balls and two strikes. Halladay's next pitch is a fastball that hits the inside part of the plate. Home plate umpire Mike DiMuro calls strike three as Ramirez stands at the plate in disbelief. We stood in disbelief as well, knowing we were witnessing something special. After Ramirez struck out, we started to alert everyone we could think of that a Perfect Game was happening, right before our eyes. As fans of the game of baseball first and foremost, we knew exactly how rare and historic a feat this would be, but only if Halladay could retire the next six hitters.

In the bottom of the 8th inning, the Marlins had Jorge Cantu, Dan Uggla, and Cody Ross up. Cantu hit a weak ground ball to third, Uggla struck out looking, and Ross popped out to shortstop. Twenty-four batters up, 24 batters down. Perfection was indeed within reach.

As the Phillies hitters are retired in order in the top of the 9th, the crowd of 25,086 stand as Halladay takes the mound one last time to try and write his place in history. The crowd, which had a lot of Phillies fans, was getting loud as the Marlins played their rally song to begin the 9th, hoping for a hit. The game was well within reach as Philadelphia held a slim, 1-0 lead. Luckily for Halladay, he was facing the bottom third of the order.



Mike Lamb lead off the inning. Lamb, pinch hitting for catcher Brett Hayes, hit a deep fly ball center field. Center Fielder, Shane Victorino was driven all the way back to the edge the warning track to make the catch for out number one. It was the longest hit ball of the night. Next up, veteran Wes Helms, who was pinch hitting for Maybin. Halladay worked Helms to a 1-2 count before throwing a low fastball on the inside corner that caught Helms looking for out number two. It was Halladay's 11th strikeout of the game. Now, all that was left between Halladay and perfection was another pinch hitter, Ronny Paulino.



As Paulino was walking to the plate, Doug and I are the most excited we have ever been at a sporting event. We could not believe our luck. What started out as two friends going to watch a baseball game on a nice night in South Florida with no real interest in who wins or loses, we were now completely immersed in what we were seeing and hoping to be a part of history. The crowd is standing up all around us in anticipation.

Paulino works the count to one ball and two strikes. On the fourth pitch of the at-bat, Paulino hits a weak grounder toward the shortstop. Third baseman Juan Castro, playing for the injured Placido Polanco, moves to his left, picks up the slow roller, spins and throws to first baseman Ryan Howard to retire Paulino.


Halladay has his Perfect Game. Only the 20th Perfect Game in 130 plus years of Major League Baseball. Amazing. After the final out was made, Doug and I gave each other a high five and started yelling and applauding with the crowd. We truly were in shock that we had witnessed a piece of history, one that we will surely never be a part of in person, for the rest of our lives.

It was truly a historic and great night. One that neither Doug nor I, will ever forget for the rest of our lives. Thank you Roy Halladay for providing us with a perfect experience.

When Cheating Doesn't Matter

There seems to be a big difference if someone uses performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) (or some other type of drug that gives you an edge), in football than there is in baseball. If a baseball player is caught using PEDs the fans are outraged and the media is all over it. If a football player is caught, no one seems to care, let alone, still gets an award. Take the case of Brian Cushing.



Cushing is a rookie linebacker for the Houston Texans. In January he was voted by the Associated Press (AP) as their Defensive Rookie of the year. It was found out last Friday, that Cushing tested positive for human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in September. HCG is not a steroid, but it is used to increase a body's testosterone levels after using a cycle of anabolic steroids, therefore making it a banned masking agent. Cushing was tested several times throughout the season and all tests were negative. The reason we didn't hear about it until this past Friday was due to his appeal of the suspension. The league upheld the suspension and now Cushing is suspended for the first four weeks of the upcoming football season. After news of the suspension, the AP decided to revote for the Defensive Rookie of the Year award today. Who wins the revote? None other than Brian Cushing.

I have several issues with this whole situation. First, I don't know how a player can appeal a PED related suspension and not have his appeal heard until AFTER the season. Second, when Cushing's suspension was announced on Friday, it was pretty much a non-news story. I, who watches and reads a ton about sports every day, didn't even know about it until Monday when I heard about it on Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN Radio (they were also making an issue out of not hearing about it until Monday either). I also have a huge issue with these writers who voted for a player who cheated. A lot of baseball writers will not vote for anyone who is either suspected of, has been proven to use, or even played in the so-called steroid era. Are some of the football writers setting their own precedent by saying they don't care if a player uses PEDs? When Manny Ramirez, of the Los Angeles Dodgers, tested positive for the same masking agent and was suspended 50 games by Major League Baseball last year, it was a a HUGE story for days and weeks. When Shawne Merriman was suspended for four games in 2006 for steroids, he still made the Pro Bowl (The NFL subsequently passed a rule banning players who are suspended for PEDs, from winning any post season awards or attending the Pro Bowl). Why is their no outrage for football players who are caught or suspected of using PEDs?

I do not like the fact that baseball players get ripped for PED use while football players do not. I don't want to hear that baseball holds their numbers and records in higher esteem than other sports. So what if they do? That doesn't matter at all or take away from the fact that cheating, is cheating, no matter what sport you are in. We either ignore all players use of PEDs or we show outrage for it across the world of sports, not just baseball.

Michigan Says Good-Bye to a Legend

DETROIT,MI - Ernie Harwell, THE voice of the Detroit Tigers for 42 years, passed away on Tuesday, after an eight month battle with cancer. While the news of his passing didn't come as a surprise, it still was hard to accept.

It was just last September when Harwell announced he had inoperable cancer of his pancreas. While the news hit Tiger fans and the entire baseball world hard, Harwell maintained a positive attitude. In numerous interviews after the announcement, he said that he had accepted his fate. He remarked that the good Lord has blessed him with a wonderful life and that he accepted whatever God had in store for him. A remarkable attitude by a remarkable man.

Career

Ernie Harwell got his start as a Major League announcer in 1948 when Red Barber, then the great Brooklyn Dodgers announcer, fell ill. General Manager Branch Rickey needed someone to replace Barber immediately and called down to the Atlanta Crackers of the Southern League, inquiring about their announcer, Ernie Harwell. The Crackers told Rickey that they would give them Harwell, but that they needed a catcher in return. Rickey agreed and traded minor league catcher, Cliff Dapper, to Atlanta for Harwell. He was the only announcer ever to be traded for a player.

Harwell called Dodger games from 1948-1949, then moved onto the New York Giants (1950-1953). After the brief stop with the Giants he moved onto Baltimore to call Orioles games from 1954-1959. Then, in 1960 he teamed up with another Tiger great, George Kell, and started calling Tigers games. For the next four decades, he developed a relationship with Tiger fans that is seldom seen between an announcer and a team's fans. A lot of teams had their own great announcers...The Los Angeles Dodgers with Vin Scully (60 years), the Cincinnati Reds with Marty Brennaman (36 years), and I'm sure fans of those teams have their own unique stories, but I can only speak of Harwell.

Popularity and Draw

Each announcer has their own style. Harwell's style was like you were sitting there watching a game with an old friend. Growing up for me, I was lucky to have four really good announcers to listen to. There was George Kell and Al Kaline on the television side and Ernie Harwell and Paul Carey on the radio side. I began really watching baseball in the 1987 season, the season the Tigers won their last Division title. I remember listening to a ton of games on the radio, as Harwell and Carey described the action. Harwell had such an easy going style. He would paint the perfect picture of what was happening and you could easily close your eyes and visualize the action in your head. His soothing, smooth voice with that southern drawl, put you at ease and really made you feel like he was talking directly to you. He would also mix in great stories while taking nothing away from the current action that was taking place in front of him. That's not easy to do. His phrases of "Long Gone", "He stood there like the house by the side of the road and watched that one go by", "Two for the price of one", "A man from Midland (or Saginaw, or Warren or Windsor, etc) caught that one", became a part of Michigan lore. He was as part of the Tigers as any player or coach or manager. As players would come and go, he was the one constant we knew we could count on.

Retirement

Harwell retired in 2002. Upon his retirement, however, he made frequent trips to the ballpark and even made some appearances in the broadcast booth. He would occasionally show up on an ESPN telecast when they were in town, or even fill in a few times on Fox Sports Detroit. Whenever he was on, we would cherish every word he uttered. We knew his appearances would be few and far between, but it also brought us back to the days when he called the action. Whenever I heard he was going to be on somewhere, I called my dad right away to let him know. Or if he heard, he would call me. That's how much Harwell meant to us Tiger fans. It was always an event when he would pop into a booth, even if it was only for an inning. As the years went by, those appearances were less and less. His last appearance at Comerica Park, was on the field. It was September 16, 2009, and he came to say good-bye. In a moving speech (that appeared to be unrehearsed and from the heart), he thanked Tiger fans for all their support and loyalty. It was a chance for us all to say farewell to a man that meant so much to all of us.


One Final Good-Bye

It was a cool, crisp Thursday morning in downtown Detroit with barely a cloud in the sky. Fans from across the state of Michigan (and perhaps even further away) gathered at Comerica Park to pay their last respects to a Michigan legend. When I arrived, the line was wrapped around the corner from the main entrance of the stadium. Harwell's body lay in repose, just inside Gate A, next to his statue that was erected in 2002. The mood in line was somber. I could hear some people telling their stories of Harwell. I also noticed some people carrying flowers that were put beneath his casket and his statue. I saw people from many generations. Kids in strollers brought by parents who grew up listening to him. I saw older people who had listened to him since the beginning. You could tell a lot of people were dressed for work, either stopping before or taking some time during, to pay homage to a man that became their friend. The marquees at The Fillmore and at the Fox Theater had messages to Harwell. It was just a beautiful scene on a beautiful morning.

It didn't take long for the line to make their way through the stadium gates to where Harwell lay. As I got closer, I could see big pictures, that were on easels, of him, his wife, and more. As I enter the park I put my camera down and tried to take in the whole scene. The casket was open and you could see him dressed in a dark blue jacket, with that hat he always loved to wear. As I passed by, I silently said a few words to him and how much he meant to me, my family, and to everyone. I wish I would of had more time to stand there, but I said as much as I could as I slowly walked by. It is a moment I will never forget and I'm glad I was able to make it down there to see him one last time.


After passing by his casket an unexpected person was there thanking everyone for coming. As I looked at Mr. Harwell for the last time, I turned and say an outstretched hand out of the corner of my eye. As I turn to shake it, I looked up and it was none other than the Tigers President, CEO, and General Manager, Dave Dombrowski. I hadn't paid any attention to what was ahead past the casket as I was concentrating on taking in the whole scene. So to my surprise, Dombrowski was there. It was a class move by a class organization. It made me proud to be a Tiger fan.


A Final Word

It's so hard to believe that Ernie Harwell is gone. That we will never hear his powerful voice again, except on tape. It's hard to believe a voice that linked many a generation has been silenced forever. Life goes on, baseball will still be played, but one thing we Tiger fans will never forget, is the voice of our youth, the voice of our adulthood, and THE voice of the Tigers. It will live on forever, in all of us.

Ernie Harwell 1918-2010

Ernie Harwell, Hall of Fame broadcaster, songwriter, and devout Christian, died Tuesday evening at the age of 92 after nearly a year long battle with cancer. He was surrounded by his wife of 68 years, Lulu, and their four children. He was a legendary figure in the state of Michigan and will be missed by generations of Tigers fans. I will have a longer story about Harwell in the coming days, as he was to so many Michiganders, a major part of my life growing up.




Below is a link to Harwell's farewell to fans at Comerica Park on September 16, 2009.


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