Wheldon Killed in Crash at Las Vegas

IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon, 33, died Sunday afternoon from injuries he sustained after being involved in a 15 car crash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was a two-time Indy 500 champion winning in 2005 and again this year. The Las Vegas Indy 300 was canceled and all drivers participated in a five lap tribute in his honor. The 2011 IndyCar season ends tragically. This is the series first death since Paul Dana in 2006 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida.

Wheldon is survived by his wife and two young sons.

2011 Baseball Predictions

Here are some Major League Baseball predictions for the 2011 season...

In the American League I have the Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, and Oakland Athletics winning their respective divisions with the New York Yankees winning the Wild Card. The Red Sox and Tigers will face each other in the American League Championship Series with the Red Sox moving on to the World Series

In the National League I think the Philadelphia Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers and Colorado Rockies will win their divisions with the San Francisco Giants winning the Wild Card. The Phillies will play the Rockies in the National League Championship Series with the Phillies moving on to the World Series.

In the World Series, pitching and defense will dominate with many low scoring games. The team who's starters go the deepest into games will win and I think that team will be the Philadelphia Phillies who will again win the World Series for the second time in four years.

As far as the awards go, Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers and Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals will have monster years and win the MVP races in each league. Justin Verlander of the Tigers will edge out Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners for the A.L. Cy Young Award. The N.L. Cy Young award will go to the San Francisco Giants' Matt Cain.

It should be another great baseball season in 2011. It starts today with the Tigers and Yankees at 1pm on ESPN and Fox Sports Detroit. Can't wait!

The Only Pro Baseball Game My Grandma Ever Saw

My grandma, Lola Wirtz (my dad's mom), enjoyed watching baseball. She wasn't the biggest fan, but she enjoyed watching the Tigers on TV, watching her kids and grand kids play as well. I remember growing up she would even go out and pitch wiffle balls to my brother and I. What I didn't know, until a phone conversation with my dad, Mike, today, was that she only went to one Tigers game in her lifetime that we know of. Oh what a game it was.

It was Sunday, July 15, 1973 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. The California Angels were in town to play the Detroit Tigers. It was the fourth and final game of the series. The Tigers had won the previous three games and had a five game winning streak going. The pitching match up for that day was Jim Perry (brother of Hall-of-Famer Gaylord Perry) versus the great Hall-of-Famer, Nolan Ryan. In 1973, Ryan set the Major League record for most strikeouts in a season with 383. It was his second season with the Angels after coming over from the New York Mets after the 1971 campaign. Up to that point in the season, he had pitched his first career no-hitter against the Kansas City Royals in May, and was off to a great start with a ton of strikeouts. That day, my mom, dad, grandma, and a couple of other family members went down to see the game. As my dad recalls, they sat down the first base line near the bullpen (I have the ticket stub from the game somewhere). The game was one for the ages.

Ryan dominated the Tigers that day. He walked four and struck out 17. He also happened to pitch the second no-hitter of his career. He dominated the Tigers so much that in the bottom of the 9th inning, with two outs, Norm Cash came to the plate. As the story goes, home plate umpire Ron Luciano, who along with Cash, had a great sense of humor, noticed Cash with something other than a bat in his hand. Luciano told Cash he couldn't hit with that and asked what it was. Cash replied that it was a table leg and what was the difference? He wasn't going to hit Ryan anyway. Cash went on to get a regular bat and hit popped out to the shortstop. Ironically, in the 9th, that was the only inning Ryan didn't strike anyone out.

Ryan's performance that day was just one of many outstanding pitching performances that he'd have over his 27 year Hall of Fame career. That game, however, was the only game my Grandma ever went to see in person. I think she made a great choice. I just wish she was still around so I could ask her how much she remembered from it. Miss you Grandma...

Courage Outside the Ring

As he entered the picture on television last night, he didn't look like the same person boxing fans were accustomed to seeing. His suit seemed to be just draped over his thin body, his face gaunt and pale behind the TV make up, his once thick black hair, now in thin gray strands atop his head. When he opened his mouth to speak though, his voice, perhaps a little weaker, was still there and the passion for the sport he loved and called for the last 10 years was present as well.

Nick Charles might not be a name the casual sports fan knows. He began on the national stage in 1980 when he was one of the first personalities, and the first sports anchor, that was hired at a new cable news channel called CNN. A new sports television program, called Sports Night, began as Charles teamed up with Fred Hickman for a successful 17 year run as they battled the up & coming ESPN and SportsCenter. Charles won three Cable Ace Awards as its' host as his thick, black hair, dark complexion, and good looks, were his calling card. In 2001, Charles left CNN to do boxing on Showtime's boxing series, ShoBox: The Next Generation. Charles again won a few awards for his blow-by-blow commentary. In August of 2009, things changed for Charles as he was diagnosed with stage 4 bladder cancer.


He took a leave of absence from Showtime to treat the cancer that August. He came back to do a couple of more fights, but around Christmas time of last year, he knew the end was near. Doctors told him that his cancer was back, and more aggressive than ever, and that another round of chemo may extend his life by a couple of months...He decided to turn it down. His days of calling fights was likely over, as his battle is coming to an end. However, it was an article in Sports Illustrated's March 7, 2011 edition by Joe Posnanski, that caught the attention of some executives at HBO. In that article, Charles said he wanted to do one more fight, but also stated that it likely wouldn't happen. Once his wish was presented to HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg, the wheels were in motion. HBO's regular blow-by-blow announcer, Bob Papa, agreed to graciously step aside to allow Charles to fulfill his dying wish.

So here we are, Saturday, March 26, 2011 at 9:45pm. A couple of minutes into HBO's Boxing After Dark broadcast, Papa introduces Charles to call the first fight of the night between Mikey Garcia and Matt Remillard. When Charles enters the camera, you can see the excitement in his eyes and hear it in his voice. His hands look older than they should on his 64 year old frame as he his holding his note pad. After thanking all people in boxing who have expressed their well wishes, he dives into the broadcast like the pro he is. Along with Roy Jones, Jr and Max Kellerman, Charles delivers a great broadcast of a fight that was clearly dominated by Garcia. His questions and transitions to his analysts were seamless. He was well prepared and did a great job, something we are accustomed to in a Charles worked fight.

After the fight is over, Charles comes on camera again with Papa. They talk briefly about the fight. Charles then transitions to say that calling this fight was one of the highlights of his life. He thanks HBO for the opportunity and Papa for being so gracious in sharing the microphone with him. Papa wraps up with Charles by saying, "Buddy I love ya." Charles last words as he steps off camera, "Likewise". Is this the last we hear from Nick Charles? He has been given just weeks to live, so sadly, it might be. As he said before the bout, he wanted to do this one last fight to inspire others to carry on and do what they love, no matter what adversity they are facing. He certainly did that. Not only did he inspire those people, he inspired all of us with his courage to put himself out there one last time, despite all he is dealing with. Papa I think spoke for all of us when he said, "Buddy I love ya." Anyone who saw Charles work, past or present, and especially after Saturday night, would say the last word that he uttered on camera and agree with Papa and say, "Likewise".

The Fab 5 Documentary

I just got done watching the fascinating documentary about the Fab 5 that aired on ESPN. It was brought to you by the producers of ESPN's award winning documentary series, 30 for 30.

My impressions of the show are that I was intrigued by the honesty of Jalen Rose and Jimmy King. Rose saying how much he hated Duke because they didn't recruit kids like him and that he thought that when they did recruit black kids they only recruited "Uncle Toms". Rose was resentful of Grant Hill because he came from a stable black family. Rose's father, former NBA star Jimmy Walker, never had a relationship with Rose throughout Walker's life. Rose said he wanted Walker to know who he was, and I think he did do that.

Jimmy King's description of the reaction of Chris Webber after he called "The Timeout" in the National Championship against North Carolina was amazing. He said Webber bent over and as the weight of what he did hit him, his whole body went limp. King describes, in vivid detail, how he had his hand on Webber's chest and he could feel his body go limp. King said that he has never discussed "The Timeout" with Webber and neither has any of the other players. King also said that he felt he was the most talented player to never make it in the NBA. He felt he sacrificed a lot at Michigan, but would never do it again.

I was, as I'm sure many were, disappointed that Chris Webber declined to participate in this documentary. After hearing again what his relationship to booster Ed Martin was, I can understand why he didn't. Apparently he remains defiant on that issue and may never apologize for it. University of Michigan Athletic Director Dave Brandon said that an apology from Webber would go a long way in getting over this. Dugan Fife echoed those sentiments as well.

This was a great documentary and I hope everyone that lived through the Fab 5 era sees it. It brings back a lot of memories of seeing one of the most dynamic and controversial teams in NCAA history.

The Power of Sports

I heard a story today about another family who has been touched by cancer. The story was told to a small group and touched all of us who were there. The person who was telling us and the circumstances of where we were and what we were doing isn't important. What is important is the man who told us is very successful and hard nosed when it comes to business, but he never let's business get in the way of his family. His family always is number one. We were in the middle of talking about something business related, when he decided to tell us what he and his family was going through.

It turns out his wife, who is around 40, was diagnosed with Colon Cancer a few weeks ago. They recently received some bad news that it had spread to her liver and is aggressive. When he said the "C" word, we all fell into immediate silence. This man, who I look up to, told the story of how they plan on attacking this disease and who believed, deep down, that his wife would beat this and had no doubt in his mind she would. What does this have to do with sports? Well here is the connection...

After telling the story about what his wife is going through, he told us about a hockey game his son was playing in. His son, who I believe is around 15 (he also has a daughter who I think is 12), is a pretty decent hockey player. Their team was playing an opponent that they always got crushed by every time they played. This was in a big tournament and this was a semi-final game. His son assisted on both goals their team scored and they ended up in a 2-2 tie at the end of regulation. The man, standing behind the glass near the net along with other fathers, watched as overtime began. After some back and forth possessions, his son found himself on a 2 on 1 break that started at the blue line. The kid with the puck skated up the ice and had his son was on the left. As the play developed towards the net, the one defensive player that was back, skated in on the kid with the puck. The man's son found himself one-on-one with the goaltender. He received a pass that he put in the back of the net, winning a dramatic game in overtime over a team that was seemingly unbeatable. The fathers, including this man, jumped up and down and hugged and cried as they celebrated this monumental goal for this young group of kids. After the game he walked down the hallway to the locker room to find his kid. He finally found him and the kid said to his father, "I did it for mom". When the man told us that, he broke down, and the rest of us broke down in the middle of this restaurant at those words..."I did it for mom". The son ended up presenting the puck from the game-winning goal to his mother when they got back home.

Everyone has their distractions and does different things when facing times of grief. For this father, watching his son play hockey was that distraction. A man who is desperately doing everything he can to help his wife fight the fight of her life turned to sports for a sense of normalcy. Sports is one of those things that can be a great distraction for those who love it. Sports is Brett Favre going out on a Monday Night the day after his father died and having one of the best games of his storied career. Sports is Olympic Figure Skater Joannie Rochette of Canada who had a brilliant performance that lead her to a Bronze Medal in the 2010 Winter Olympics after finding our her mother died just hours earlier, of a heart attack, shortly after arriving to watch her in Vancouver. Sports is Brandon Inge hitting a homerun for a young boy with cancer after the boy requested he hit one. Inge, overcome with emotion on the field for the first time in his career, said he sat on the bench after he got back to the dugout and cried knowing he fulfilled a suffering child's wish. Sports is so many things to us and it is so much a part of our lives. It can make us delirious with excitement and it can make us weep in despair and disappointment. It can also give us moments like the one on an ice rink where teenagers were playing a simple game of hockey, that in the scheme of life doesn't matter. On that day, however, it did matter and gave joy and hope to a family who is going through a difficult time. It's those little distractions and little moments of joy that can inspire us and give us strength to get through those most difficult times. I hope and pray this family has many, many more of those moments to come in the future...

Baseball Hall of Fame set to Announce New Class Today

The National Baseball Hall of Fame will announce it's class of 2011 later on Wednesday. Of the 33 players on the ballot this year, many are deserving, however, snce 2000, there have been no more than two players inducted in one year as voted by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). With so many different writers voting (539 last year), it makes it extremely hard to get in because each one of them has their own personal criteria on what a Hall of Famer is. In the steroid era of the late 1980s, 90s, and early 2000s, some writers refuse to vote for anyone, whether they have been accused of taking steroids or for just playing in the era. I don't think you can punish every single player in the steroid era. You can't say everyone is guilty of something. With that being said, here is my list of who should be in the Hall of Fame. Not everyone will get in today. I will put an HOF next to the names of the players who I think will get in today. Here are the top 5 players who I think should be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame:


Bert Blyleven, HOF

Blyleven pitched 22 years (1970-1992) with a 287-250 record, struck out 3701 (5th all-time) and posted a 3.31 ERA. He had 242 complete games and 60 shutouts (9th all-time). He was 5-1 with a 2.47 ERA in 8 postseason games. He was a part of two World Championship teams ('79 Pirates, '87 Twins) and a two time All-Star.






Roberto Alomar, HOF

Alomar played 17 seasons (1988-2004) for seven different teams. He was a 12-time All-Star, 10-time Gold Glove winner, and 5-time Silver Slugger winner. He was the best all around second baseman in his era. He finished his career with a .300 average, 2724 hits, 474 stolen bases. He appeared in 58 postseason games, and was a part of two World Championship teams ('92 & '93 Blue Jays).


Jack Morris

Jack Morris was the winningest pitching of the 1980s. He was a fierce competitor who did nothing but win. He played 18 seasons (1977-1994) for four different teams, including the Detroit Tigers. He was a huge part of three World Championship teams ('84 Tigers, '91 Twins, '92 Blue Jays) and was also on the '93 Blue Jays team, but didn't pitch in the postseason. He was 254-186, (183 wins in the 80s) with a 3.90 ERA. He won 20 games three times and pitched a no-hitter in 1984. In 13 postseason games, he compiled a 7-4 record with a 3.80 ERA. Numbers aren't what really defined Morris, however. It was his intense competitiveness and will to win is what defined him. He arguably pitched the greatest game in World Series history in 1991. In Game 7, he pitched 10 innings of shutout baseball as his Twins won the World Series on a walk-off single by pinch hitter Gene Larkin. He definitely is a HOFer and if he doesn't get in at some point, it will be a crime.

Tim Raines

Tim Raines is a guy who, if you look at his numbers, may get overlooked as a HOF. He played in the era of great outfielders and may get lost in the shuffle. He played 23 seasons (1979-2002) for six different teams, having his best years as a Montreal Expo. He played in the same outfield as Andre Dawson and along with HOF Ricky Henderson, the most prolific base stealer of the 80s. He stole 808 bases over his career (5th all-time) including 90 in 1983. He stole over 70 bases six times. He had a career .294 average with 2605 hits along with being a seven time All-Star. He is a definitely a guy who should get into the HOF in the next couple of years.




Lee Smith

Lee Smith had an 18 year career (1980-1997) with eight different teams. It may seem like a journeyman type career, but when you needed a save, Smith was your man. He saved 30 or more games 10 times, with 47 being his career high. He was a seven time All-Star and his 478 career saves was the most by anyone when he retired in 1997. It has since been eclipsed by Trevor Hoffman (601) & Mariano Rivera (559).

Other players that also should be in the Hall of Fame: Harold Baines (5th time on Ballot), Barry Larkin (2nd), Edgar Martinez (2nd), Alan Trammell (10th), Dave Parker (15th), Dale Murphy (13th). Mark McGwire (5th) and Rafael Palmeiro (1st) are two players with Hall of Fame numbers but one admitted to steroid use (McGwire) and the other failed a test (Palmeiro). Jeff Bagwell (1st) never failed a drug test and was not mentioned in the infamous Mitchell Report, however, there have always been whispers about him using steroids. He was one of the best players of the 1990s, but alleged steroid use will hurt his HOF cause, as it has many other players of that era.

While I think only Blyleven and Alomar will be elected today, many others are worthy candidates. Let's hope eventually everyone I've listed gets in at some point. Here is a list of the remaining players who I haven't mentioned who's name also appears on this year's ballot:

Fred McGriff (2nd Ballot)
Don Mattingly (11th)
Larry Walker (1st)
John Franco (1st)
Juan Gonzalez (1st)
Benito Santiago (1st)
Kevin Brown (1st)
John Olerud (1st)
Brett Boone (1st)
Marquis Grissom (1st)
Carlos Baerga (1st)
Al Leiter (1st)
Tino Martinez (1st)
B.J. Surhoff (1st)
Charles Johnson (1st)
Raul Mondesi (1st)
Bobby Higginson (1st)
Kirk Rueter (1st)
Lenny Harris (1st)