Friday, May 26, 2006


PASS RIGHT INTO HEAVEN: CATHY MAZURKIEWICZ, MOTHER OF NOTRE DAME FAN MONTANA, DIES

This is another sad story concerning the Mazurkiewicz family. Cathy, Montana's mother, has died of melanoma.

The only solace we can draw from this tragic development is that the mother is reunited in heaven with the boy she adored so much.

Prayers and condolences for the entire Mazurkiewicz clan as they mourn the loss of their loved ones, two beautiful people.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The mother of a boy granted a dying wish to call a football play for Notre Dame died eight months after her son.

Cathy Mazurkiewicz died Wednesday at 46 at her parents' home in Bodfish, Calif., of melanoma, said her daughter, Katrin Seymour. Montana, 10, died of inoperable brain cancer.

"Me and my sister were with her," Seymour said. "She took a few soft breaths, gave a smile, then she was gone."

Cathy Mazurkiewicz, the mother of six children, knew her health was failing when her son died but kept it quiet.

"When she was taking care of Montana she hardly had time to focus on her own illness," said Seymour, who lives in Alhambra, Calif., east of Los Angeles.

Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis visited Montana Mazurkiewicz in Mishawaka, outside South Bend, last September before Notre Dame played Washington. Weis asked if there was something he could do, and he agreed to let Montana call the first play against Washington. Montana called "pass right."

Weis called for a pass right on the first play of the game even though the Irish started on their 1-yard line. Tight end Anthony Fasano caught the pass and leaped over a defender for a 13-yard gain.

Montana never got to see the play, though. He had died the day before.

Cathy Mazurkiewicz said after the game that she couldn't believe Weis called the play after the Irish started with their backs to the goal line.

"It was an amazing play. Montana would have been very pleased. I was very pleased," she said. "I was just so overwhelmed. I couldn't watch much more."

Mazurkiewicz moved near Seymour shortly after Montana died.

Seymour said Mazurkiewicz was as big a fan of Notre Dame as Montana was.

"In fact, she had two tattoos," she said.

Seymour said her mother's death came almost as a relief.

"She struggled for a long time with pain and disability," she said. "It was a blessing to see she was at peace."

A memorial service is planned for June 3, Seymour said.


For more Notre Dame football info check out the following: The Blue-Gray Sky, The House Rock Built, Bare Down, We is Notre Dame and ND Nation Blog

Wednesday, May 24, 2006


DUKE, DUKE, DUKE, DUKE OF SHEA: METS TRADE AWAY JORGE JULIO FOR ORLANDO HERNANDEZ

The Jorge Julio experiment didn't last very long... neither did the Jose Lima one either. Will Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez be able to bring some of Jose Contreras' rediscovered magic to Flushing?



The pitching-thin New York Mets acquired Orlando Hernandez from the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday, hoping El Duque can help them now -- and maybe later, when even more is at stake.

The Mets traded reliever Jorge Julio to get Hernandez. The deal was announced before the NL East leaders hosted Philadelphia.

Listed at 36 years old, Hernandez was struggling in his first season in the National League. He was just 2-4 with a 6.11 ERA in nine starts for the West-leading Diamondbacks.
[...]
The Mets have Martinez, Tom Glavine and Steve Trachsel at the front of their rotation and had patched together the rest of their rotation.


Remember when the Mets were "pitcher-heavy" just a few months ago and were lauded for not having to "patch together" the back-end of their rotation?


OAKLAND WILL BE NEW HOME OF MLS FRANCHISE

All signs point to Oakland and Athletics owner Lew Wolff for a new soccer team in the Bay Area

Rational and rampant speculation on the new MLS franchise...

Hirshfield's & Dure's Soccer Sweep: MLS expansion announcement

This much we know: Major League Soccer has scheduled a media conference call Wednesday afternoon (3:30 p.m. ET) with commissioner Don Garber and an unnamed "leading sports industry executive." The topic: Expansion.

The next team is supposed to be Cleveland or St. Louis, according to accounts of a Garber interview in The Washington Post and Mid-Atlantic Soccer Report.

Here's the curious bit, spotted by one of the many eagle-eyed folks at BigSoccer.com: An Oakland A's notebook at MLB.com casually says the following: "The A's are expected to make a major announcement regarding their involvement in Major League Soccer on Wednesday." USA TODAY has not confirmed that the A's are making any such announcement, and there's no other indication of what's on the agenda tomorrow.



Soccer Capital News: MLS Expected to Announce Return to Bay Area Wednesday

Reliable sources confirmed to MatchNight on Tuesday night that a Wednesday afternoon MLS conference call will announce the return of a Major League Soccer franchise to the Bay Area as an expansion club. Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics organization will be involved in the ownership and operation of the team.


By the way, quit naming teams "FC". We call the sport soccer, so the FC designation is confusing to fans. "FC" gives off the air of a foreign appellation which fans can't warm up to. I prefer Dallas SC and Toronto SC.

Also, let's hope Wolff and Mr. Garber pick a better nickname than Earthquakes. Why name a team after a natural disaster? Imagine the bad pr after the inevitable earthquake has occurred.

How about, Bay Battlers. OK, now you give it a shot...

Monday, May 15, 2006


GREATEST HITTERS IN BASEBALL: HOME ROAD SPLITS

Baseball Musings' Day by Day Database is a fantastic resource. You can look up any sort of stats for all hitters and pitchers. You can compare players over any given time frame and within any parameters you wish.

Let's compare hitters from the 1974 through 1992 seasons. I like to stop at 1992 because a huge offensive explosion started in 1993 (due to expansion, Coors Field and later, steroids).

I believe that there are many players whose legacies are colored by their home field advantage througout their careers. Yes, most players hit better at home than on the road but let's compare some Hall of Fame, great and very good players. (Players are grouped into the following categories according to how their home/road rankings compared to each other).

*04/01/1974: Start Date*
*10/31/1992: End Date:*
*1255: Minimum Plate Apps (roughly 5 seasons)*

VERY IMPRESSIVE
Rod Carew
Home: .339 (3rd highest)
Road: .330 (highest of all)

Tony Gwynn
Home: .330 (4th highest)
Road: .324 (2nd highest)

Wade Boggs
Home: .369 (highest of all)
Road: .307 (4th highest but big discrepancy)

CONSISTENCY
Don Mattingly
Home: .316 (9th)
Road: .306 (5th)

Paul Molitor
Home: .309 (13)
Road: .298 (14)

Mike Greenwell
Home: .315 (10th)
Road: .297 (16th)

HALL OF FAMERS THAT MAKE YOU GO, HMMM...
Kirby Puckett
Home: .349 (2nd highest)
Road: .293 (29th)

George Brett
Home: .323 (6th)
Road: .292 (31st)

Ryne Sandberg
Home: .309 (14)
Road: .270 (142)

SCRATCH YOUR HEAD: ROAD WARRIORS
Bill Madlock
Home: .305 (21)
Road: .303 (8)

Cecil Cooper
Home: .302 (32)
Road: .297 (17)

Bob Watson
Home: .285 (104)
Road: .305 (6)

Mickey Rivers
Home: .285 (110)
Road: .309 (3) !!!

Manny Sanguillen
Home: .271 (c. 200) [not quite enough home pa's]
Road: .304 (7)

FENWAY LOVED MORE THAN BOGGS & GREENWELL
Jim Rice
Home: .320 (8th)
Road: .277 (94)

Carl Yastrzemski
Home: .301 (35)
Road: .251 (306)

Fred Lynn
Home: .299 (38)
Road: .267 (165)

FAVORITE SONS
AL OLIVER
Home: .326 (5th)
Road: .295 (23rd)

Will Clark
Home: .314 (11)
Road: .289 (41)

Lou Brock
Home: .311 (12)
Road: .272 (127)

Mark Grace
Home: .306 (18)
Road: .292 (33)

Hal McRae
Home: .308 (15)
Road: .285 (52)

Thurman Munson
Home: .306 (20)
Road: .288 (42)


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Wednesday, May 10, 2006


KEN ROSENTHAL ON THE KANSAS CITY ROYALS



Ken Rosenthal does a good job of dissecting, or doing a post-mortem, on the Kansas City Royals...

1: No help from draft for K.C.

2: Royals are far from a K.C. masterpiece

3: These deals doomed the Royals


JOE MORGAN AND PETER GAMMONS CONTINUE TO DEFEND BARRY BONDS

Peter Gammons and Joe Morgan embarrassed themselves by defending Barry Bonds


Why does Joe Morgan continue to embarrass himself when it comes to Barry Bonds and steroids?

Morgan leapt to Bonds' defense when Philadelphia fans were taunting the tarnished slugger. One fan's sign said, "Ruth did it on hot dogs and beer." Morgan retorted, "wasn't beer against the law when Ruth played?"

Wow, Morgan has sunk to new depths. What a pity he's cheapening his own Hall of Fame career with that kind of rhetoric. Why any former player would want to defend Bonds is beyond me.

Then there's Peter Gammons. He spoke about the trials and tribulations that Roger Maris and Hank Aaron when through when they broke Babe Ruth's records. Gammons then compared Bonds' experience to that of Maris and Aaron. What those men went through was nothing like what Bonds is dealing with. Bonds is facing the wrath of fans because he broke the law and cheated the game of baseball. Maris had his problems because he was taking aim at a cherished legacy. Worst of all was what Aaron went through because he was being unfairly targeted because of his race.

Gammons is also a member of the Hall of Fame (writer's wing). His comments about comparing Bonds to Maris and Aaron was a disgrace.


ORLANDO SENTINEL'S JEMELE HILL: POOR EXCUSE FOR A JOURNALIST

Willis McGahee: clueless and rich

Jemele Hill basks in the narcissistic glow of Willis McGahee with her feature, Taking a power drive with..."

Courtesy of Dead Spin

Here is an example of Hill's stunning journalistic skills and integrity...

But McGahee was still a perfect first victim for the Sentinel's "Riding With" series because he is living the life most of us wished we had at 24.

He's the starting running back for the Buffalo Bills. He lives in a condo with a fabulous view of Miami. He's rich. And, he's got three cars -- a Porsche Cayenne, a BMW 645 and an Infiniti QX56 SUV.

Now if I were 24, rich, living in Miami with three cars, where would my mind be most of the time?

Why on the opposite sex, of course.
Nice to know where your priorities lie, Jamele.