Season games quarterback in al davis raiders

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who has thrown for 506 yards and
four touchdowns in his first two games as a starter, will try to keep
the Cowboys winless at Lambeau Field.

The undefeated Cowboys and Packers play in Green Bay on Sunday night.
Dallas, a three-point favorite, is 0-5 at Lambeau Field. Although
it’s early in the season, this game could have a bearing on the
playoffs because of the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Here are some interesting statistics about both teams: Dating to the
end of the 2006 season, the Packers are 19-3 in regular-season games.
For only the second time since 1967 when the NFL started divisional
play, the Packers have opened the season with consecutive victories
over division opponents: the Vikings and Lions.

Dating to the start of last season, the Cowboys are 15-3. They have
won 11 of their last 12 road games, including the season-opening
victory at Cleveland. Quarterback Tony Romo is 21-5 since becoming the
starter in 2006.

“I’m a nostalgic person in a sense (because) I enjoy
traditional things,” Romo said this week. “I enjoy
watching great players or great sporting events at a great atmosphere.
Lambeau Field, obviously, has a great history, and it’s going to
be fun to go up there and be part of that a little bit. But, at the
same time, it’s just another game.”

“I was a kid, maybe 14 years old or something,” he said.
“It’s cool. It was a neat atmosphere.”

This isn’t Romo’s first appearance at Lambeau Field since
he was 14. In 2004, the Cowboys lost 41-20 at Green Bay. Romo was
third string and held for kicks.

Astros first baseman Lance Berkman and Chargers running back LaDainian
Tomlinson head the Texas Sports Hall of Fame class that will be
inducted in Waco in February.

Berkman, who is finishing his 10th season with the Astros, and
Tomlinson, who’s the best running back in the NFL, will be
joined by three others with football backgrounds. Former Cowboys
middle linebacker Lee Roy Jordan, former Texas running back Steve
Worster and former Longhorn and Philadelphia Eagles safety Bill
Bradley are going in.

Bradley, who coaches the Chargers’ defensive backs, is one of
only two NFL players in history to lead the league in interceptions in
back-to-back seasons. Former Cowboys cornerback Everson Walls is the
other.

Also being inducted will be former soccer star Kyle Rote Jr., who has
been a sports agent for two decades; former Longhorns basketball All-
American Clarissa Davis-Wrightsil; and the late Longhorns basketball
coach, Abe Lemons.

In 19 seasons with the Oilers and Titans, Bruce Matthews never missed
a game because of an injury. When he retired after the 2001 season,
Matthews had played in 296 games, more than any non-kicker in NFL
history.

Now, though, for the second time since he retired, Matthews is
recovering from major surgery. Five years ago, Matthews suffered a
torn quad tendon in his right knee when he slipped in water while
throwing a ball during a pee-wee football practice. This time,
Hurricane Ike sent Matthews to the operating room.

The morning after Ike hit, Matthews, 46, had three trees blocking the
drive at his house. He and Bob Queen, his close friend and business
partner in 2MQ Construction, got out the chainsaws and started
cutting. When they finished with the third tree, Matthews decided to
make one last cut, lost his balance, whacked his knee on a limb and
suffered the same injury to his left knee. He underwent surgery
immediately.

Matthews learned to play with pain a long time ago. That’s why
he’s already ready to resume his duties as the assistant video
coordinator at Elkins football games.

Even though Vince Young has moved into the background as the
Titans’ backup quarterback and won’t play again as long as
the team wins with Kerry Collins, Titans tight end Bo Scaife says fans
should not count out the former University of Texas quarterback.

Scaife, who played with Young at Texas, is one of the
quarterback’s closest friends on the team. Another former
Longhorn, Chris Simms, is the third quarterback.

“This is my job, so I have to go out there and perform no matter
who is quarterback,” Scaife said last week. “But Vince is
my friend, and to see him going through this … it’s a hard
time in his life, and he’s never dealt with stuff like this.

“I just try and do everything I can to stay behind him and try
and make sure he feels like he’s missed, because he is missed
throughout this locker room and on the field. There’ll
definitely come a time where we’re going to need him, but I
think everyone, or at least some people, keep thinking this is the
last we’ll ever see of him, that he won’t play for us
again. I don’t think that’s the case at all.”

Last season, Browns receiver Braylon had 80 catches for 1,289 yards
and 16 touchdowns. In their two losses this season, he has five
catches, six dropped passes and no touchdowns.

“It’s always troubling when a player goes through times
like he’s going through,” coach Romeo Crennel said.
“He’s dropping balls that we need him to catch.
We’re trying to do everything we can to help him get out of his
slump.”

Crennel is having his receivers catch balls with numbers painted on
them. The players have to shout out the numbers as soon as they see
them.

“We’re trying to improve his focus and be able to relax
and make some of those plays you saw him make last year,”
Crennel said. “I don’t think he’s lost
confidence.”

The Chiefs have been terrible at drafting quarterbacks since Len
Dawson retired. The last quarterback drafted by the Chiefs to win a
start was Todd Blackledge in 1987. Seems hard to believe,
doesn’t it?

The Chiefs haven’t won a game since Oct. 21 of last season. They
have an 11-game losing streak. They’ve scored 18 points.
They’re 0-2 for the third consecutive season under Herm Edwards.
They haven’t been 0-3 since Edwards became their coach.

Tyler Thigpen, who was drafted in the seventh round last year by
Minnesota and claimed on waivers by Kansas City, starts at quarterback
Sunday against Atlanta. He’s the Chiefs’ third starter in
the first three games, which has happened only three times in a non-
strike season since the merger in 1970.

Thigpen follows Brodie Croyle and Damon Huard. In 1976, the Rams
started Pat Haden, Ron Jaworski and James Harris in their first three
games. In 1988, the Browns started Bernie Kosar, Gary Danielson and
Mike Pagel. In 1997, the Jaguars started Mark Brunell, Rob Johnson and
Steve Matthews.

Interestingly, the Rams, Browns and Jaguars made the playoffs in those
seasons. The Chiefs won’t be making the playoffs.

The change at quarterback means that, going back to his years as the
Jets’ coach, Edwards will be making his 16th switch at
quarterback in 52 games. That’s a change every 3.25 games.

The Eagles have scored 75 points in their first two games, the highes
two-game total in franchise history. Receiver DeSean Jackson is the
second rookie in league history to start his career with two 100-yard
games, according to Elias Sports Bureau. Don Looney, who also played
for the Eagles, did it in 1940.

Jackson, who had six catches for 110 yards against the Cowboys, blew
his first touchdown by showboating. He tossed the ball before he
crossed the goal line. Naturally, he got a lot of grief from his
coaches and teammates and shouldn’t make that mistake again.
Fortunately for the Eagles, they retained possession and scored,
anyway.

“We told him you can’t afford those types of
mistakes,” running back Brian Westbrook said. “Because of
the position he’s in, we’re depending on him a whole lot
to do certain things for this team. He can’t make those types of
mistakes. I think he understands that, and I think that’s
something he’ll grow from and get better from.”

Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb usually gets off to good starts.
Going back to the start of the 2004 season, in the first three weeks
of each season, he’s played in 14 games. He has 32 touchdowns,
four interceptions and 4,302 yards during that stretch.

McNabb has thrown one interception in his last 219 passes, giving him
the lowest interception percentage in league history. His percentage
is 2.08, moving him ahead of Neil O’Donnell (2.09).

After the Rams’ terrible start, owner Chip Rosenbloom put coach
Scott Linehan under even more pressure by voicing his displeasure.

“It’s the job of the head coach, Scott Linehan, to figure
out how to motivate and give some urgency to this team,”
Rosenbloom told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. I believe in these
players, and I believe in this coach. The level of play is not
acceptable to me or anybody in the organization.

The Bengals are 0-2 for the 14th time in franchise history. They were
0-3 12 times. Out of those 14 seasons, only three times did they
finish .500.

Cincinnati’s offense has been so unproductive the Bengals have
been outscored 41-17. They are last in passing (105.5 yards) and 31st
in offense (184.5). Quarterback Carson Palmer has been terrible. His
ratings in the two defeats have been 35.3 and 41.3, the worst of his
career. Entering this season, his career rating was 90.1.

Before the the Titans beat the Bengals 24-7 last week, Cincinnati
receiver Chad Ocho Cinco said the only thing keeping cornerback
Cortland Finnegan from being recognized as one of the best at his
position was more trash talking. Finnegan, who limited Johnson to four
catches for 37 yards, said thanks but no thanks. He wants to remain
humble, so there’ll be no trash talking.

The Cardinals play the Redskins today. Running backs Edgerrin James
and Clinton Portis are two of six NFL players who have played at least
85 games and averaged at least 110 yards from scrimmage.

James averages 115.5 yards and Portis 111.4. They’re in elite
company. The other four are Jim Brown (125.5 yards), LaDainian
Tomlinson (125.4), Barry Sanders (118.8) and Walter Payton (111.9).

The Cardinals are 2-0 for the first time since 1991 when they finished
4-12. They’ve beaten the 49ers and Dolphins. If they defeat
Washington today, they’ll be 3-0 for the first time since 1974
when they finished 10-4.

“When people start talking about the prosperity of being 2-0 it
almost makes me laugh,” quarterback Kurt Warner said. “To
me, prosperity is continually winning and continually playing at a
level where you deserve something to come out of it, to have an
expectation that comes with that. I don’t think we’re
anywhere close to that right now.

“I can’t believe anybody would be happy or content with
being 2-0. Hopefully, we have the mindset in here that this is where
we expected ourselves to be, so why are you getting excited about
something you expect?

“I’m not playing to be 9-7 and be one game better than we
were last year. I’m playing to win a championship, and you need
every single win you can get. To me, you play 16 games and see where
you are at that point. You don’t worry about the first two you
played.”

Jaguars running back Fred Taylor has a response for everyone who
believes the NFC East is tougher than the AFC South.

“Our division, I think, is the best in football regardless of
what people say about the NFC East,” he said. “I
don’t think the NFC East can match up against AFC South teams
when you put things on the line.”

Last season, Taylor made the Pro Bowl for the first time last season.
Just about everyone thought he was long overdue.

“I was never really worried about it, or even cared,” he
said. “I always felt like from my own perspective and that of my
peers, that I was always worthy. So I didn’t really care a whole
lot, but to finally get an opportunity to go, I think the thing that I
probably miss the most out of the entire thing was the camaraderie
with the fellows, guys that you see doing those big-time commercials.

“Peyton (Manning) would probably be the first example, LaDainian
(Tomlinson) and a couple of other guys are in there. Those guys are
just down to earth. They’re professionals, but they’re
human. They’re all silly, just joking around, having a great
time, relaxing, enjoying their family and friends.”

Before the Raiders beat the Chiefs, there were reports that Oakland
coach Lane Kiffin would be fired regardless of the game’s
outcome. The Raiders won, and Kiffin kept his job.

Kiffin has sounded like a coach who wants to be fired. He’s
taken some shots at owner Al Davis. Things have gotten so bad that
Davis had a member of his staff make copies of an ESPN.com column
critical of Kiffin and pass them out to writers covering the team.

Remember, Davis asked Kiffin to resign after last season so he
wouldn’t have to pay him off, and the coach refused. Kiffin
wanted to fire defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, but Davis
wouldn’t let him. Davis hired James Lofton as receivers coach
without consulting Kiffin.

No wonder the Raiders can’t win. Everyone expects Kiffin to get
fired soon. Davis fired Mike Shanahan 20 games into his career as the
Raiders’ coach.

In the film The Express, the story of the late Syracuse running back
Ernie Davis who died of leukemia before he could play for the Browns,
Houston native Dennis Quaid plays legendary coach Ben Schwartzwalder.
The film comes out on Oct. 10.

Quaid, who has acted in many sports films, including The Rookie,
Everybody’s All-American and Any Given Sunday, talked with Hall
of Fame running back Jim Brown to learn about Schwartzwalder. Brown
played at Syracuse before Davis.

“I knew Jim Brown from Any Given Sunday,” said Quaid, who
attended Bellaire High School and the University of Houston. “He
pretty much gave me some straight talk about what it was like playing
football back in the ’50s and about Ben Schwartzwalder’s
character.”

• “It is the stupidest phrase ever invented. Why would you
want to lose at anything? Must win? Everything’s a must win,
everything you do.” – Jaguars RB Fred Taylor on how
ridiculous the term “must win” is.

• “We’ve got a chance to be as good as anybody.
We’ve got a chance to be the best in the league.” –
Broncos coach Mike Shanahan on his offense that leads the NFL with 80
points.

• “Rodgers, I mean, dude, he’s calm under pressure,
and he’s right on the money. He’s definitely impressed me.
He (Brett Favre) was a great player, but I just think as a team
we’re a year older, a little more experienced and a little
better than we were.” – Packers DT Ryan Pickett on QB
Aaron Rodgers.

• “We haven’t done that in a long time, and
there’s reason to be proud of our accomplishment (but), football
is a game of forget. You forget about what you did last week or
yesterday, and you just move on.” – Cardinals DE Chike
Okeafor on their first 2-0 start since 1991.

• “The one thing I know is that it saves us 6,000 miles of
travel and saves us 10 hours in an airplane. “Last year, we had
some games on the East Coast, and let’s face it, we
sucked.” – Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt on why his team
is staying in the east to prepare for next week’s Jets game
after they play the Redskins Sunday.

• “I’m not trying to look at it as me trying to
prove myself. I’m here for a reason. When you try to prove
yourself, you sometimes make bad decisions. I’m going to go out
and play within the game, make good decisions and try to do my
best.” – Cowboys SS Patrick Watkins, who was benched at
free safety last season but is now replacing the injured Roy Williams.

• “As much as it hurts my heart to tell him this, I think
me being able to work with Michael all those years has really helped
me to become the player I am today. Being able to watch him on the
field and off the field and work directly beside him, I really owe
Mike a lot.” – Giants DE Justin Tuck on watching and
learning from Michael Strahan.

• Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall has 55 catches in his last
five games, the most in NFL history during a five-game stretch.

• When the Browns finished 10-6 last season, they were 7-1 at
home, and they didn’t lose two in a row all season. Now
they’re 0-2 at home, including 10 consecutive losses to the
Steelers.

• On eight big plays, the Lions have allowed 397 yards. The
Titans, who lead the league in defense, have allowed 404 yards on 115
plays.

• In last week’s victory over Miami, Cardinals quarterback
Kurt Warner was 19-of-24 for 261 yards, three touchdowns and no
interceptions. The third perfect 158.3 rating of his career tied
Peyton Manning for the NFL record.

• Colts second-year strong safety Melvin Bullitt, who was
undrafted out of Texas A&M, is replacing Bob Sanders, out for four to
six weeks because of a sprained ankle.

• In quarterback Matt Cassel’s first start in place of the
injured Tom Brady, he was 16-of-23 for 165 yards with no touchdowns or
interceptions. He was 12-of-15 for 127 yards on passes thrown behind
the line of scrimmage or no more than 5 yards down the field.

• Rookie running backs, led by Chicago’s Matt Forte with
215 yards, have rushed for 1,197 yards through two weeks. That’s
the most in the first two weeks of the season since 1979 when rookies
rushed for 1,306.

The Lions are 31-83 since Matt Millen became team president in 2001,
including 10-24 under Rod Marinelli . . . The Patriots have a 21-game
winning streak in regular season, a league record . . . The Steelers
are 13-2 in their last 15 games against the NFC . . . Since 1978 when
the league went to a 16-game schedule, of the 232 teams that began
2-0, 153 (66 percent) made the playoffs . . . Redskins receiver
Santana Moss is the first player on his team to catch a touchdown pass
in five consecutive games since 1982 . . . In the 15 seasons of
what’s called the salary cap era, 78 teams have started 0-3.
Only the 1995 Lions and 1998 Bills made the playoffs. Of those 78
teams, 68 finished with losing records . . . Injured Colts safety Bob
Sanders is out four week to six weeks. The last time the Colts played
the Jaguars without Sanders, they allowed 375 yards rushing in 2006 .
. . Peyton Manning is 10-3 against the Jaguars, including 5-1 the last
three seasons . . . Dating back to 2002, the Bucs are 17-0 when they
don’t commit a turnover . . . Steelers quarterback Ben
Roethlisberger hasn’t thrown an interception in five games. He
has 10 scoring passes in those five games . . . Second-year Bills
quarterback Trent Edwards is 7-4 as a starter . . . Vikings tight end
Visanthe Shiancoe has dropped four touchdown passes in 18 games with
Minnesota . . . Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers is 15-2 as a
starter at home.

John McClain covers the Texans and the NFL for the Chronicle. He can
be heard on Sports Radio 610 Monday at 7:30 a.m. and Friday at 4:30
p.m.

Chicago sox white in jim thome hall of fame

Posted: Monday, 29 September 2008 5:53PM Record Rookie Slam and
Another Elimination Avoided WBBM NewsRadio 780.com Reporting

CHICAGO — Alexei Ramirez took the first pitch he saw in the sixth
inning into White Sox history. The grand slam put the Sox ahead to
stay in an 8-2 elimination game win over Detroit. The fourth slam for
the rookie is a Major League Baseball record. The 12th as a team is a
franchise record. The only record that matters today is 88-74, which
both the white Sox and the Twins have earned. The White Sox survived
at home for the second straight game, this time in a must-win game
Monday evening. By closing Detroit’s season a day after ending
Cleveland’s season, the Sox earned a chance to win the Division
with a third straight elimination game against Minnesota, at home
tonight. The three straight elimination game in three nights against
different foes is also a Major League Baseball record, headed for the
Hall of Fame. Tonight, the winner takes the Central Division and moves
into the American League playoffs this Thursday at Tampa. John Danks
starts for Chicago on three days’ rest against Nick Blackburn. The
division champ begins the playoffs at Tampa Bay on Thursday. “It’s
only about one game and that’s great,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen
said. “A good feeling.” . The White Sox are 7-2 at home against the
Twins his season When Guillen told Ramirez to relax before batting
with the bases loaded, the 27-year-old infielder made a promise. “I
told Ozzie to have confidence in me. I’m going to go out and get these
runners home somehow,” he said. His time with the Cuban national team
taught him about big games. “My team in Cuba was always in the
playoffs and I played in the Olympics and international games. I’ve
been in tougher situations, I feel,” he said through a translator.
Washed out earlier this month, Chicago and Detroit waited through a
rain delay of more than three hours before starting. Floyd (17-8) won
on three days’ rest — short rest has been successful trend for many
teams in the stretch. The loss left the Tigers in last place, capping
a season they began with hopes of reaching the World Series. “It’s
been a tough year,” manager Jim Leyland said. “Today pretty much sums
up what’s gone on all year, really. It hasn’t been a very good year
and it wasn’t a very happy ending.” Detroit, with nothing really to
play for, took a 2-1 lead into the sixth. But former White Sox ace
Freddy Garcia, who’d allowed only two hits to that point, had to leave
with tightness in his right shoulder with a runner on second and no
outs. When Garcia left, things got wild. Leyland summoned Armando
Galarraga (13-7) — the team’s best starter this season — and he
threw two wild pitches that allowed the tying run to score. After
Jermaine Dye walked, Bobby Seay relieved and threw Detroit’s third
wild pitch of the inning. Jim Thome struck out, but after an
intentional walk to Konerko, Seay also walked Ken Griffey Jr. to load
the bases. Ramirez sent the first pitch from Gary Glover, another
former White Sox pitcher, into the left-center field bleachers,
setting off a happy trip around the bases for the rookie whose
nickname is “The Cuban Missile.” Floyd gave up five hits and one
earned in six innings. He struck out eight and walked two while
throwing 118 pitches. “He admitted he was nervous, which was good
because if you’re not nervous in that situation, there’s something
wrong with you,” White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski said. “He didn’t
have his best stuff but he battled and made pitches when he had to to
get through it.” Pierzynski added an RBI double during a two- run
eighth. Floyd’s error helped Detroit take a 2-1 lead in the sixth.
Miguel Cabrera doubled with one out before Marcus Thames hit a hard
liner that White Sox third baseman Juan Uribe snagged for the second
out. When Ryan Raburn hit a slow roller between the plate and mound,
Floyd bobbled the ball while reaching down to pick it up and threw
high past Konerko at first, allowing Cabrera to score. Chicago scored
in the first but had a much bigger inning brewing when the first three
batters reached against Garcia. He walked Orlando Cabrera and DeWayne
Wise before Dye hit an RBI single, but retired the next three batters.
Detroit tied it in the fifth as Raburn singled, stole second and
scored when Brandon Inge doubled to left over the leaping Wise. After
his early struggles, Garcia rebounded, retiring 11 straight before
Griffey singled with two outs in the fourth. Garcia was 40-21 with
Chicago from 2004-06 and won three games in the postseason of 2005,
including the clinching Game 4 of the World Series. He is close
friends with Guillen and they texted each other leading up to the
game. Guillen warned that the White Sox had better “be ready for
Freddy.” Garcia was traded to the Phillies after the 2006 season for
Gio Gonzalez and Floyd, and both of the starters wore jersey No. 34 on
Monday. Garcia, who had shoulder surgery in August 2007, signed a
minor league contract with the Tigers on Aug. 14 of this year and was
making his third start for Detroit.

John Danks pitched a gem. Jim Thome provided the run. And The Chicago
White Sox fans made the city’s baseball joy compelete as Soxtober
arrived on schedule. WBBM’s Lisa Fielding was in the middle of the
South Side party.

Daley Plaza was filled with Cubs fans eager to celebrate the beginning
of the post-season with a noontime rally. WBBM’s Steve Miller was
there.

WBBM’s Mike Krauser has been talking with a prominent local economist
who sees danger in the bailout.

Among the stories: The man behind the $700 billion bailout plan,
Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson. A look at the state of Iraq.

In a bold bid to revive President Bush’s multibillion-dollar financial
rescue plan, Senate leaders scheduled a vote for Wednesday night.

Service, Selection, Satisfaction Social Security Disability
Representation; there is no fee unless you win. Experience the best…

WBBM-AM 780 has been the consistent all news radio voice in
Chicagoland for over 35 years and is now streaming online for free.
Listen online to Chicago news as it happens around the clock, along
with Chicago traffic, Chicago weather, Chicago sports and Chicago
business. Subscribe to WBBM’s free podcasts for additional Chicago
business and Chicago community reports and listen to Chicago news on
demand. WBBM news radio is also the home for Chicago Bears, Chicago
Auto Show and Chicago Air & Water Show.

Sunday hitting thome in jim thome hall of fame

Wedge wouldn’t weigh in on the controversial hit that was
awarded to the Pirates against CC Sabathia on Sunday, which prevented
the former Indians ace from tossing his first career no-hitter.
“I didn’t see it. I’ve heard about it 100
times,” he said. Sabathia botched a bare-handed attempt on a
ground ball in front of the mound that on replay appeared to be an
error. “That’s pretty much what everybody’s
saying,” Wedge said.

Cleveland’s all-time home run hitter, Jim Thome, is in town for
the final time this season, arriving fresh off tying Mickey Mantle for
14th place on MLB’s career homer list with his 536th Sunday.
Thome told reporters he still has the ball, but that he no longer owns
the one he hit for his 500th homer last year, traveling with his
father to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., to deliver it. Of
Thome’s 29 homers this year through Sunday, six had come against
Cleveland, including two in the season opener at Progressive Field.

Catcher Carlos Santana celebrated his promotion to Akron by hitting a
homer in his first game with the Aeros on Sunday — a 9-7 loss at
Erie. Santana, the key component from the Blake trade, scored two runs
and drove in a pair. Through Sunday he led all of minor leaguers with
124 runs and was second with 117 RBIs. • Buffalo did not qualify
for the postseason, finishing at 66-76, the Bisons’ first losing
season in 14 years as an Indians’ affiliate. Roundin’
third Andy Marte’s hitting streak was at eight games Monday,
with the third baseman batting .333 (10-for-30) with two RBIs over the
span.•Second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera entered Monday riding an
0-for-17 skid at the plate, while Ben Francisco was hitless in his
last 10 at-bats. Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or
cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.

In order to comment, you must agree to our user agreement and
discussion guidelines. You must be registered and logged in to post a
comment. If you aren’t already registered, to log in.

There is something seriously wrong with Travis Hafner, why have him
enter the playoff’s with Akron when he should be hitting major
league hitting. Is he under such mental duress???? He is a DH and
should be getting 4 ABs every game up here, since we are out of the
playoff run…. most likely.

The only thing wrong with Hafner is a common disease known as
“No Juice”. When they find a better way to mask it he will
return.

The jim thome hall of fame elizabethtown starting second

Elizabethtown Area School District inducted six individuals and two
teams into its Athletic Hall of Fame Friday.The hall’s second class
was introduced during halftime of the Elizabethtown home football game
against Manheim Township. On Thursday, they were honored at a
reception and ceremony at the high school.The inductees:• Gene
Garber (Class of 1965), who won four letters in baseball and two in
basketball. Garber struck out 27 batters in an 11-inning game against
Donegal. He pitched five one-hitters as a senior. In June 1965, he
signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates as a pitcher and shortstop.He had a
19-year major-league career with the Pirates, Royals, Phillies, and
Braves. He is 32nd on the major- league saves list and second on the
Braves’ all-time saves list, behind John Smoltz.
Related Stories

When he retired in 1988, his 931 career pitching appearances ranked
fifth in major-league history. He holds the distinction of ending Pete
Rose’s 44-game hitting streak.Garber was a recipient of the George W.
Kirchner Award by the Lancaster Sportswriters and Sportscasters
Association.He graduated from Elizabethtown College in 1969.•
Richard “RD” Miller, who was a E-town High School health and physical
eduction teacher for 31 years, starting in 1957. He coached football,
basketball and track. He was athletic director for 20 years, starting
in 1968.
Related Topics

The tim brown hall of fame singles doubles week

TROY, N.Y. – The Liberty League announced its weekly Performers
of the Week in women’s tennis and men’s golf and three
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) student-athletes have been
recognized. Junior were named the Performer and Rookie of the Week,
respectively, in women’s tennis, while freshman Taylor Wetherby
was the Rookie of the Week in men’s golf. Roe, a native of
Phoenix, Ariz., kept her undefeated streak alive last week, winning at
second singles and doubles in a 7-2 team win over Hartwick. She won by
scores of 6-1, 6-1 in singles and along with partner (Rockaway,
NJ/West Morris) won 8-1 in doubles. This is the second consecutive
weekly honor for the North High School graduate, who helped RPI win
their own invitational to open the season, posting 2-0 records each
day. Roe is currently 3-0 in both singles and doubles this season. A
native of Thousand Oaks, Calif., Wigen helped Rensselaer defeat
Hartwick with wins at fourth singles and first doubles. In her singles
match, she won by scores of 6-0, 6-1. She then cruised to an 8-0 win
with partner (Orangeburg, NY/Tappan Zee) in doubles. The Annie
Wright High School graduate has now earned back-to-back Rookie of the
Week awards. She went 2-0 in fourth singles and posted a 1-1 record at
first doubles to help her team win its season-opening invite.
Wetherby, who hails from Rutland, Vt., earned his first weekly award
after shooting a combined score of 150, including a 72 in the second
round to finish 15th overall at the Tim Brown Invitational. A graduate
of Rutland High School, he was the top finisher for the Red Hawks, who
placed third overall with a score of 601. The women’s tennis
team is back on the court this weekend when it competes in the
International Tennis Hall of Fame Tournament, hosted by the ECAC and
Trinity College. Action on Saturday and Sunday begins at 9am. The golf
team returns to the links on Saturday and Sunday at the Duke Nelson
Invitational, hosted by Middlebury College.

Tim brown hall of fame’s team manuel players

This may not be a hard criterion like wins or revenue, but in a way
it’s just as important. The heavy despair that settled in over the
franchise last fall wasn’t caused just by the team’s collapse and
failure, after all, but also by the joyless nature of it. To lose is
one thing; to lose with a Hall of Fame pitcher tossing balls into
short left field is another. And if the Mets were an infinitely
frustrating team to watch in the early going this year, that wasn’t
only because they seemed to be fulfilling contractual obligations to
throw a game away to match each win, but also because of their
generally dreary, lifeless play. Playing poorly is all right, but only
if you do it in style.

Whatever you can say about the Jerry Manuel Mets, they haven’t been
dreary. Mike Pelfrey turning into the second coming of Kevin Brown?
Luis Ayala, he of the 1-8 record and 5.77 ERA, nailing down game after
game? The mere existence of Daniel Murphy? Not since the days of Benny
Agbayani and Pat Mahomes have so many players done such improbable
things in so many stirring victories — none of which even takes
into account the improbable resurrection of Carlos Delgado, or Jose
Reyes’s re-emergence as the most electric player in the game, or Johan
Santana’s surpassing mastery of the art of pitching. If this team
loses, at least you’ll be able to say they had a fine run.

For this more than any other reason, Manuel deserves the contract
extension he’ll almost certainly be getting this fall. There was much
for which to criticize Willie Randolph, but whether you thought his
in-game tactics, reliance on stale veteran talent, or grim fortitude
was his worst flaw, what they all had in common was a certain rigidity
that didn’t match the talent he had on hand, or the situation in which
he found himself. Calm is a virtue, but not when it edges over into
stubbornness. Manuel isn’t perfect, but he isn’t stubborn, and he’s
not afraid to take a risk. There’s a bit of Bobby Valentine in his
style, and it’s fitting that so much of the success he’s enjoyed this
year has come, as Valentine’s did, from his willingness not just to
turn to the unlikeliest players, but to trust them.

Marveling at what Manuel has done with players such as Ayala, Fernando
Tatis, Nick Evans, and company, though, should not make one forget the
essential nature of these players, or how bizarre it is that a $140
million team has proved so reliant on them. Manuel is something like a
chef who’s made a marvelous meal out of a couple of preposterously
expensive cuts from Pino’s on Sullivan Street and a bagful of wilted
produce from a sketchy greengrocer. Good on him for getting so much
out of a fistful of suspiciously brown Swiss chard, some sad-looking
onions, and a pint of no-name Czech beer — but what about the
guy who did the shopping?

General manager Omar Minaya is as much of a lock to receive a contract
extension as Manuel is, however the season ends, and so far as he’s
responsible for what’s right with the team, that’s fair enough. You
could make a long list of what he’s done right, and what he hasn’t
done that’s right, that directly bears on why his team is in first
place. Randolph’s firing was botched, but it was done, which was what
counted. Minaya didn’t give up on Delgado, or panic at the trade
deadline, and the surprising fruits of the purportedly desiccated farm
system were drafted on his watch. He also, of course, brought in
Santana and Carlos Beltran, moves that may not make him a genius but
certainly can’t be held against him, and that rate with the long-ago
drafting of David Wright and the signing of Reyes as the main reasons
the Mets are so good.

For all this, that the Mets were ever in a hole at all is largely due
to Minaya’s less inspired moves, ranging from his decision to rely
heavily on a whole flotilla of old players from Delgado to Moises Alou
to Orlando Hernandez to such smaller choices as bizarrely signing
Marlon Anderson to a multiyear contract. And many of their present
problems, the ones that could yet cost them the playoffs, are down to
more of his moves. If the team is without a proven closer, for
instance, that’s partly because Minaya signed an old one with a
history of arm woes.

All of this is to say that while Minaya is a near-certainty to be
extended, it’s an open question whether he’ll really be the best
available candidate for his job. His hand is in the events that have
left this team on the verge of something really special; it was also
in those that turned it into a botch. He’s created a wildly
entertaining team, but also one that for all its merits isn’t nearly
as good as it could be. Luckily for him, he just may have found a
manager who can make it look better than it is.

Omar Minaya is a good GM, who, like many executives, has made some bad
moves, some that bordered on genius…

Tim brown hall of fame’s bolt u.s tour

: Tommy Bolt, the 1958 U.S. Open champion who had one of golf’s
sweetest swings and most explosive tempers, has died. He was 92.

Bolt won 15 times on the U.S. PGA Tour, with his lone major at
Southern Hills club in Georgia by four shots over Gary Player. He was
inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2002, which he called the
highlight of his career.

Bolt was called “Terrible Tommy” and “Thunder,” and he was often fined
and suspended by the U.S. PGA Tour for slamming clubs and using
abusive language. He set up a special fund from his earnings to pay
the fines.

“That’s been ballooned out of proportion a little bit,” Bolt said when
he was selected for the Hall of Fame. “Now, I threw a couple of clubs.
I’m human, just like the other guys. But I threw them at the most
opportune time, it seemed like. They always had the camera on me when
I was throwing one.”

Bolt attended the U.S. Open at Southern Hills in 2001, and someone
asked if tales of his temper were overblown. “I couldn’t have possibly
broken as many clubs I was supposed to have broken. They haven’t made
that many,” he said.

During his induction in 2002, Bolt regaled the crowd with his favorite
story about breaking or throwing clubs. He was playing the Bing Crosby
Pro-Am at Pebble Beach one year when he had 135 yards left to the
16th.

Bolt turned to his caddie and asked for a 7-iron, and the caddied
replied, “It’s either a 3-iron or a 3-wood. Those are the only clubs
you have left.”

Bolt was born on March 31, 1916, in Haworth, Oklahoma. He served in
the U.S. Army during World War II and turned professional in 1946,
joining the tour four years later. His first victory was the North and
South Open, and he won at least one time through 1955, when he
captured four titles.

His last tour victory was the Pensacola Open in 1961, although he
continued to play the senior circuits and won the 1969 Senior U.S. PGA
Championship.

“Today’s players owe a debt of gratitude to Tommy Bolt and his fellow
pioneers,” tour commissioner Tim Finchem said. “His golf prowess was
only matched by his formidable and colorful personality, and he helped
launch an era of the game’s popularity that has continued for nearly
half a century.”

Public criticism from liberal and conservative blogs, legislative
offices and the campaign trail continued as Bush and congressional
leaders sought to patch up a $700 billion economic bailout proposal.

Residents talk about their morning routine in Tian Tan Park, both an
exercise spot and a social venue for many…

Iraqi fencers practice their sport, discuss life in a war zone and
share what they hope to achieve at the Para…

The tim brown hall of fame coach haskins miners

“You know, when they were first trying to get me in here, it wasn’t
that big a deal. “I didn’t feel I belonged. But now that I’m here, it
is. It is a very big deal. I am very, very honored.”

— The night before his induction into the Naismith Memorial
Basketball Hall of Fame on Sept. 29, 1997.

“I owe so much to my wife Mary. She’s always been so supportive, never
complained. In fact, she was the one who encouraged me to go into
coaching. She put it to me: ‘What else can you really do?’ ”

— Crediting Mary Haskins for his career choice after learning he had
been chosen to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall
of Fame in 1997.

“The national championship was played in Lubbock between us and
Kansas. That was the best team we played. Kentucky (the team the
Miners defeated in the NCAA finals) was averaging 97 points a game. We
didn’t let them run with it and, in the end, we were running with it.”

— Recalling the Miners’ double overtime win over Kansas, led by All-
America guard Jo Jo White, in the 1966 regional final.

“George McCarty was the man who helped me get this job. He had been
the coach here (at TWC); he was a friend of Mr. Iba, a friend of mine.
… Something like that just wouldn’t happen today.

“Ben Collins was the football coach and athletic director and he was
behind me all the way. Dr. Joe Ray was the president and all he asked
me was whether or not I could control the athletes in the dorm — not
if I could coach basketball.”

“Mr. Iba was giving us a little chalk-talk about 11:30 one night after
we’d lost a game something like 45-39. The score was too big and he
didn’t like it. He was talking about how to stop a fast break. I must
have dozed off, and he threw an eraser at me and hit me right between
the eyes. I hope I didn’t miss much.”

— Relating a lesson learned from college coach Henry Iba when Haskins
played for him at Oklahoma A&M; (now Oklahoma State).

“I’m going to be around — I love UTEP. Come by and have a beer and
taco with me.”

— Aug. 24, 1999, at news conference to announce he would retire after
38 seasons as Miners’ coach, 719 victories, 14 Western Athletic
Conference championships, a national championship and induction into
the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

“I was playing AAU basketball. I was in Albuquerque and ran into
George McCarty. He wanted me to come over to Texas Western and be the
graduate assistant for him. But Polk Robinson was there, too. And he
told me they needed a head coach in a little place called Benjamin.

“Shows you how dumb I was back then. I thought I’d much rather be a
head coach than an assistant in college. So we got on the phone back
to Benjamin right then and they hired me over the phone. I called Mary
and told her we were going to live in Benjamin and she said, ‘Where in
the world is Benjamin?’

“Benjamin might not be very big. But it was a pretty good place for an
old boy to start a career.”

— Recalling how he started his coaching career before his induction
into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

“I remember talking to Eddie Mullens through one of those old crank
phones, you know, the kind you have to crank to get the power built
up. Eddie was a sports writer in Amarillo and he was calling to get
the results of the Hedley Owls. Later on, we took our eight guys to
the state tournament in Austin and Eddie went with us.”

— Remembering, as coach in Hedley, Texas, how he met Eddie Mullens,
who was later hired as sports information director at Texas Western,
on Haskins’ recommendation.

“I really walked into some pretty good players. Nolan (Richardson) was
here, Willie Brown was here, Bobby Joe Hill was already here and Bobby
Lesley (now-retired Eastwood High coach) had been with me at Hedley
(Texas) and came from a junior college here my first year. We weren’t
very big, but we had some 6-foot-4, 6-5 guys who could really play
big.”

— Talking about his first Miner team in 1961-62, which beat defending
Big 10 champion Iowa State, 66-59, in his first game, Dec. 2, 1961.

“I had a recruiting budget of $5,000 at that time. And I spent nearly
every penny of it trying to get Jim Barnes.

“I certainly put all my eggs in one basket. I’d drive all the way to
Oklahoma … Jim was at Cameron Junior College and everybody was after
him. Sometimes I’d fly. Most of the time I’d drive. But I always
went.”

— Talking about recruiting Jim Barnes, who led TWC to its first NCAA
Tournament appearance and was the first pick of the 1964 NBA draft by
the New York Knicks.

“(Barnes) got four of the cheapest fouls I’ve ever seen. “The last one
he got was the only legitimate foul. Kansas State lost in the NCAA
Finals to UCLA by one point.”

— On the Miners’ 64-60 loss to Kansas State in the 1964 NCAA
Tournament, when Barnes got in early foul trouble and eventually
fouled out.

“Bobby Joe (Hill) really struggled. And that’s because I wouldn’t let
him do what he could do. He wasn’t trying to be flashy, but it was
just natural for him to go behind his back, do things like that. It’s
the way he learned to play. He was an equal of Nate Archibald (Miner
and NBA star of the 1970s and early ’80s). And if I hadn’t let him go,
we would never have won the national championship in 1966.”

— Talking about guard Bobby Joe Hill’s struggles in 1965 season, the
year before Texas Western’s national championship season.

“Nine minutes into that game they finally got their first field goal.
We were up 34-4. My guys knew they had proved their point, so they
just cruised the rest of the night. We only beat ’em 86-68.

“… (Nevil) Shed had 18 in the first half. He was just a great
player. He was 6-8 and he could guard a guard. He could guard
anybody.”

— Relating how he knew the Miners’ 1966 team was something special
after it hammered No. 3 Iowa early in the season.

“It was one of the finest defensive games we’ve played all season. It
was the defense. Before the game we feared their shooting. It was the
best offensive team we played. But our team defense was excellent.”

“We played as well as we could play. But you would have thought it was
an awful year. I found out what it’s like being 22-6 after winning the
national championship.

“I ran into a man downtown — and he didn’t mean anything by it — but
he said, ‘Coach, sure hope we have a good team next year.’ This is
after a 22-6 season.”

— On being the defending national champions. The Miners lost in the
second round of the 1967 NCAA Tournament to Pacific.

“I told them I was making $23,000 in El Paso. They asked me to write
down what it would take to get me at Detroit.

“I knew I wasn’t going. So I wrote down $80,000 … which, at that
time, was like a million to me. And they said OK.”

— On the 1968 coaching offer from the University of Detroit, which
Haskins accepted at a press conference in Detroit. He quit the next
day and returned to El Paso after being assured he could keep his job
at UTEP.

“You know, there’s so much yapping on the court today. Guys are always
talking back and forth to each other. But Tim’s guys didn’t say a
word. That shows some discipline. The only thing they said out there
was ‘hands off, hands off.’ That’s what I used to yell at our guys on
defense and Tim picked it up. He has his guys saying it to each other.
It’s a good idea.”

— After 1996 loss to No. 5 Iowa State and former assistant Tim Floyd
in the finals of the Cyclone Holiday Classic in Ames, where Haskins
got his first collegiate victory in 1961.

“This is a great, great honor. But our national championship had some
social significance that might outweigh anything that would ever
happen to me. I didn’t know it at the time, but our championship in
’66 opened the doors for a lot of black kids.

“There were no blacks in the Southwest Conference in 1966. But two
years after we won, I happened to notice the All-Southwest Conference
team and there were five black players on it. I’m happy to have been a
part of that. If we’d have finished second (in ’66), it wouldn’t have
happened so quick.”

“Have you ever seen anything worse than that? Our defense was about as
pathetic as it gets. Give them (University of Tulsa) credit. They made
about every open shot they got; but open shots they got.”

— After Miners’ 70-57 Feb. 13, 1997 loss in their first home game
after Haskins’ selection to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of
Fame. It was UTEP’s worst home defeat in Haskins’ tenure.

“Our problem isn’t my age or my health. It stems from those NCAA
sanctions that limited us to two scholarships for two years. We got
two players out of the four and 50 percent is about right. It has been
a lot to overcome.”

— Putting talk of his possible retirement to rest and discussing
plans to return after 13-13 season in 1997.

— At the announcement in September 1997 that the UTEP Special Events
Center would be renamed for Haskins after years of lobbying by
university and El Paso officials.

“What a great player he was. Do you think we’ll ever see one guy lead
the NBA in scoring and assists in the same season again? It shows what
a player he was.

“I remember when he came to El Paso. I saw a little bitty guy …
maybe 5-10, 135 pounds. His playground coach talked me into taking
him. He was fun to coach. I didn’t have to call timeouts when I had
him, because I had a coach on the floor.”

— Talking about Nate Archibald while looking at his former player’s
exhibit in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame before his
own induction in 1997.

“I wouldn’t be in here today without Eddie. I told him two or three
times just to drop it, not to nominate me anymore. But he wouldn’t
ever listen to me. He has everything to do with me being here and he’s
been a great friend.”

— At his hall of fame induction in 1997, crediting retired UTEP
Sports Information Director Eddie Mullens, who nominated Haskins four
times before the hall’s selection committee enshrined Haskins.

“It means a lot to me. I’ve had an awful lot of good players over the
years. And I’m happy for our players tonight. I thought our defense
was very, very good in the first half.”

— Jan. 3, 1998, after Miners edged SMU 66-64 on center Jon Bomba’s
tip-in at the buzzer for Haskins 700th career victory.

“The reason I’m getting this done now is I can’t see. My players are
tired of getting chewed out … I see something wrong and chew
somebody out and it’s the wrong guy.”

— 68-year-old Haskins blasting his team during February 1999
practice. The Miners were in second place in the WAC, with a four-game
win streak, preparing to play New Mexico at The Pit. During the
practice, Haskins also tossed a chair, then laced into his players
before sending them off the floor. The Bear was right: the Miners lost
to the Lobos and lost in the first round of the WAC Tournament, but
16-12 record was first winning mark after three straight losing
seasons.

“I’m not even comparable. “That’s like being compared to the greatest
of all time in my eyes.”

— Reaction to be ranked alongside his coach and mentor Henry Iba in
1999 Sports Illustrated article by Alexander Wolff.

· Tribute by Duke Keith · Video: Memorial Part 1
· Video: Memorial Part 2 · Video: Memorial Part 3
· Memorial Interviews · Share Your Memories ·
Photos Of His Life · Video: Press Conference · Video: El
Pasoans React · The Bear Timeline

News Partners: Alamogordo Daily News · Carlsbad Current-Argus
· The Deming Headlight · Farmington Daily Times ·
Las Cruces Sun-News · Ruidoso News · Silver City Sun-
News El Paso Times Site Map

Tim brown hall of fame’s hall all-ciaa success

The values learned on the playing field — how to set goals, endure,
take criticism and risks, become team players, use our bodies, stay
healthy and deal with stress — prepare us for life. — Donna de
Varona

I usually travel with a little brown spiral note pad. It’s small, easy
to carry and comes in handy to record notes, thoughts and ideas.
Usually, a column idea emerges from those notes, as it did last week,
after I attended the Winston-Salem State University C.E. “Big House”
Gaines Athletic Hall of Fame banquet. The evening was about more than
personal recognition; it was about the journey, too.

Lined up outside the McNeil banquet hall, in the Anderson Center,
before the program, were the inductees, along with their escorts —
their mothers, a son, a daughter, a wife and several previous hall of
fame members. They were standing tall and dressed to impress. It was a
special evening filled with pride and emotion. You could tell from the
remarks shared during the program, the smiles on their faces and how
they walked in when announced to the audience. Leonardo Horn looked as
though he can still carry the pigskin, and Tory Woodbury could suit up
and play quarterback today.

Being inducted into a hall of fame is a major accomplishment, a big
deal. It doesn’t get much better than joining an elite group of
achievers and being recognized in front of family and friends. It’s a
proud, memorable moment, one that recognizes outstanding
accomplishments on and off the court, field, track or mat.

While the spotlight shone on the honorees, their comments focused on
the unseen inspiration for their success — their family, friends,
coaches and teammates. It is those stories that touch your heart, make
you laugh and think about what is important.

Danny Boden, an All-CIAA wrestler, always gave his best, even as a
young child, according to his mother. He learned to set goals and the
value of discipline and hard work, and he reaped success as a result.
A hall of fame wrestling career started long before the public
recognition.

The same can be said about Winfred Mack, an All-CIAA football player,
who had a flashback to Anderson High School, now the Anderson Center.

Here he was being recognized in a banquet hall in what had been a
school he had fond memories of. He is carrying forward a legacy of
high expectations and motivating others to succeed. He is one of many
recognized who responded to the people who believed in them, and that
belief and encouragement paid off.

It paid off for Jack Cameron, too, an All-CIAA and All-NAIA football
player. Growing up in a small town, he expected to graduate from high
school and get a good job. Before attending WSSU, he had never set
foot on a college campus. “Everybody looked good,” he said. His
motivation for success: “I had people I had to answer to.” That’s
accountability.

All of the inductees understand the meaning of sacrifice, especially
Laurie Underwood, an All-CIAA softball player. She attended college on
an academic scholarship and later was encouraged to try out for the
team. Her mother, by her side this evening, had instilled in her the
value of getting an education.

Underwood recalled the days when she didn’t have the proper shoes and
wore her brother’s football cleats, several sizes too big, she added.
She thanked her brother for his role in her success.

James Winbush, an All-CIAA football star and now a high-school
principal, shared some advice he learned a long time ago. If you are
the smartest person in your group, you need to get some new friends.
In other words, keep challenging yourself, and associate with people
who can help improve your game, make you better and inspire you.

“I am going to try to keep from crying,” said inductee Tim Grant, as
he paused during his comments. He played basketball for “Big House”
Gaines and later coached alongside him. The man responsible for his
attending WSSU, his high-school government teacher, George Wylie, was
there to witness his induction. That was no small feat, as Grant had
not seen him in years.

Grant’s wife, Vicki, searched the Internet, made a few calls, located
and arranged for Wylie to be present as a surprise. Grant remembers
clearly Wylie telling him that the four years he would spend at WSSU
would be the best four years of his life. And they were.

That’s what the evening was about: love and relationships that last
forever, deep emotion and a sense of gratitude, and the impact and
influence of people who care.

■ Nigel Alston is a Dale Carnegie trainer and motivational
speaker. He can be reached at .

Take a look at the multitude of JournalNow Blogs, including reports
from NASCAR reporter Mike Mulhern, parenting advice from Paul Garber,
and cooking tips from food editor Michael Hastings and restaurant
critic Laura Giovanelli. It can all be found at .

Macphail yankees president in tim brown hall of fame

DELRAY BEACH – Baseball’s oldest living Hall of Famer won’t make it to
the final game at Yankee Stadium tonight.
Instead, he’ll watch from his beachside Delray condo bombarded by
memories of Mickey Mantle and Billy Martin, five consecutive world
championships and his role in the pine-tar controversy.

American League president. He was instrumental in the creation of the
designated hitter and was credited with ending the 1981 strike.

Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.As American League president,
MacPhail upheld a home run by Kansas City Royals third baseman George
Brett (below, being restrained as he charges the umpires) in a game
against the Yankees on July 24, 1983, even though too much pine tar
was found on Brett’s bat. MacPhail ordered the players to resume the
game in the ninth inning a month later. The Yankees eventually lost.

Lee MacPhail might be remembered as the middle man in a family dynasty
that includes his Hall of Fame father, Larry, and his son Andy, who is
president of the Orioles.

Lee MacPhail also worked in the Yankees organization in four decades,
built Baltimore into a championship contender and made the shocking
decision as American League president to allow George Brett’s home run
to stand despite the pine tar on his bat.

At 91, MacPhail, who’s going on his third decade in Delray Beach and
gave up golf just a year ago, has so many memories from a half-century
in baseball that he often turns to his autobiography, My Nine Innings,
for a quick refresher.

For all the good and the bad that MacPhail saw at Yankee Stadium, his
most memorable Yankees moment occurred not in the House That Ruth
Built, but in a tiny Oklahoma apartment that Mantle couldn’t wait to
escape.

One of the Yankees’ scouts, Tom Greenwade, discovered Mantle in 1948
but quickly learned the phenomenon was too young to sign.

He waited a year until Mantle turned 17, and then approached MacPhail,
who was the director of farm scouting.

“He said, ‘Lee, we got a young player I’d like you to see, I think
he’s going to be pretty good,’ ” MacPhail recalled. “He took me to the
player’s home, and I went up to the third floor where his bedroom was.
It was Mickey Mantle. We signed him to his first contract.”

MacPhail’s upper-management career began as general manager in the
1960s in Baltimore, where he helped build the Orioles teams that would
win two World Series. He didn’t stick around for the championships,
although he made the key move – acquiring Frank Robinson from
Cincinnati.

He went on to reign as American League president for 10 years, but
MacPhail considers his glory years serving as the farm scouting
director of the Yankees while Joe DiMaggio and Mantle took baseball by
storm.

“From 1949 to 1953, we won five consecutive world championships in
Yankee Stadium. Nobody’s ever going to equal that again,” MacPhail
said. “That’s enough to really put a place in history forever.”

Bobby Brown, who played third base on the first four World Series
teams before serving in Korea, understands why MacPhail holds the
early days of his career in such high regard.

“Some of the kids you nurture and some that you foster and develop end
up on the team, and you feel like you’re part of it, and rightfully
so,” Brown said.

MacPhail never played organized ball, and his father, Larry,
discouraged him from making a career of it, saying it’s “too small of
a business.” He steered his son to a short-lived front office job in a
livestock company.

Larry MacPhail was, as his son describes him, “a character. He was
very volatile, very outgoing, fun.”

He had left the automobile business to become general manager of the
Cincinnati Reds in 1933, and for years, son Lee lived in his shadow.

The elder MacPhail made a name for himself in World War I, when he
accompanied Col. Luke Lea to the Netherlands on an unsanctioned
mission to try to capture exiled German Kaiser Wilheim II.

The mission failed, but Larry MacPhail returned with the kaiser’s
ashtray that he smuggled out of a hotel.

He was just as brash and adventurous when he joined baseball. As
general manager of the Reds and Yankees, president of the Brooklyn
Dodgers and later a co-owner of the Yankees, he introduced night
baseball, televised games and church organs at stadiums, and he was
the first to fly the team to road games.

His infamous temper led to his dismissal from the Yankees after he
threw fists at his co-owners, Dan Topping and Del Webb, at the
celebration dinner for the 1947 World Series.

Topping and Webb bought Larry MacPhail’s share of the club, and he
never returned to baseball, although he was inducted into the Hall of
Fame in 1978.

When Lee MacPhail entered the Hall in 1998, they became the first
father-and-son Hall of Famers, a feat that hasn’t been matched.

“They could not be more different as human beings,” Andy MacPhail
said. “They ended in the same place, the Baseball Hall of Fame. But my
grandfather did it in much more spectacular fashion. To my
grandfather, there was no such thing as bad publicity.”

Andy MacPhail described his grandfather’s personal life as equally
dramatic. Larry MacPhail divorced his wife and married his secretary.

“I always got the impression that my dad made a conscious effort not
to take the same path his father did,” Andy MacPhail said. “He chose
the same profession, but he chose to do it in very different way – not
any less effective, but not nearly as sensational. My father shunned
the attention and the spotlight. My grandfather enjoyed it.”

After Lee MacPhail’s early days with the Yankees and his time building
the Orioles into championship contenders, he returned to New York as
general manager in 1966.

It was a tough time for the Yankees organization. CBS purchased 80
percent of the club from Topping and Webb, and star players began to
decline. The amateur draft was introduced, meaning, for the first
time, the Yankees couldn’t sign any player they wanted.

MacPhail remained as general manager when owner George Steinbrenner
arrived in 1973, but it wasn’t an ideal work situation.

“I didn’t get along with (Steinbrenner), and it was partly my own
fault,” MacPhail said. “He was taking over and doing stuff himself
that the club itself had been doing. He was getting so personally
involved, making the decisions on his own and not giving anybody else
any credit for anything. So I was happy to leave him.”

MacPhail was named American League president a year later. He was
instrumental in the creation of the designated hitter and was credited
with ending the 1981 strike that canceled more than a third of the
season. Owners were demanding compensation for free agents who left
for other teams. They turned to MacPhail.

“I was representing the owners, but I had the players’ positions in
mind,” MacPhail said. “I was always very close to the players, so I
was able to negotiate with them pretty well.”

Two years later, he would cross paths again with Steinbrenner in one
of the only controversial moments in MacPhail’s career.

On July 24, 1983, at Yankee Stadium, Kansas City was trailing the
Yankees 4-3 with two outs in the top of the ninth inning. Royals third
baseman George Brett hit a two-run homer off Goose Gossage to give
Kansas City the lead.

There had been a problem with players using too much pine tar on their
bats to get a better grip, and Yankees manager Billy Martin asked home
plate umpire Tim McClelland to examine the bat.

McClelland found Brett’s pine tar extended too far up the bat. He
reversed the home run and ended the game as a furious Brett stormed
from the dugout and was restrained by Kansas City manager Dick Howser.
It’s one of the most infamous moments at Yankee Stadium and is still
shown on highlight reels.

Kansas City protested the call. MacPhail made a stunning decision to
uphold the home run and order the players to resume the game in the
ninth inning a month later.

“That’s brought up more than anything else in my career,” MacPhail
said. “I felt the pine tar didn’t have anything to do with him hitting
the ball out of the ballpark. We were trying to stop pine tar from
getting on the bats, ruining a lot of balls, but that wasn’t the issue
with Brett’s home run.”

“I’m glad he made that decision and I didn’t,” said Brown, who
succeeded MacPhail as American League president a year later. “I’ll
take the Fifth on it. I just think that was a very tough decision. No
matter which way he ruled, he was going to get blamed for something.”

The easiest thing to do, Andy MacPhail said, would have been for his
father to “crawl under the rule book, say that’s the way the rule read
and let the ruling stand.”

“He overruled it to much controversy, particularly where he was living
(in New York), but he did it without criticizing the umpires, saying
they were simply following what was in rule book,” Andy MacPhail said.
“He was able to do it in the spirit of the rule, to take that
different path and try to judge what was the intent, what was fair and
what was proper, and not just sort of take refuge in the letter of the
law.

“He performed almost every job in baseball, starting at the lowest
rungs, almost to the highest rungs, and he did it extremely well,”
Brown said. “That was a record of excellence over a long period of
time.”

With the death of legendary Yankees shortstop Phil Rizzuto in 2007,
MacPhail is the Hall’s elder statesman.