MLB misc. and basketball

First of all, an article about Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens helping out 21-year-old pitcher teammates Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes. The 45-year-old Clemens began pitching in the Majors 24 years ago, before Chamberlain and Hughes were born. Here's the article: http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-spherr195338195aug19,0,3122854.column (originally found at: http://mlb.mlb.com/pa/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070820&content_id=2159755&vkey=mlbpa_news&fext=.jsp).

Here's an article about IU basketball head coach Kelvin Sampson helping to raise money for a children's home in Richmond, Indiana, along with his players D.J. White and Lance Stemler: http://www.pal-item.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070820/NEWS01/708200302/1008 (originally found at: http://iuhoosiers.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/082007aaa.html).

Next, an article about Reds pitcher Bobby Livingston and the Little League team from his hometown of Lubbock, Texas. The team lost today in the Little League World Series national finals to Georgia. Livingston had helped out the team financially and was rooting for them in the World Series. Here's the article: http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070820/SPT05/708200324/1027.

Here's an article about Cubs outfielder Cliff Floyd's return to the team after the death of his father. Here's what he had to say about being back with the team and the support of his teammates during the time after his father died:

"It's nice -- you can get caught up in all the stuff that's going on and caught up in sitting at home," Floyd said. "These are the guys who stood behind me and backed me through this and were present during the funeral. I'm really blessed to have good people around me."

Here's the article: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070820&content_id=2159671&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb.

Also, an article about injured Red Sox pitcher Matt Clement, a Christian, and his rehab. from shoulder surgery this season. He's hoping to be able to pitch some at the end of September. Here's the article: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070820&content_id=2160116&vkey=news_bos&fext=.jsp&c_id=bos.

Here's a biographical article about Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Webb, a Christian: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070821&content_id=2161329&vkey=news_ari&fext=.jsp&c_id=ari&partnered=rss_ari.

Next, an article about Mavericks guard Jason Terry being honored for his work with kids: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/basketball/mavs/stories/082207dnspomoore.3098995.html (originally found at: http://www.nba.com/news/linkcentral.html).

Here's the latest blog post from Cardinals pitcher Mike Maroth, a Christian: http://www.marothbaseball.com/2007_08_01_archive.asp.

Also, a note about Pirates pitcher Solomon Torres, a Christian, and his decision to drop a grievance against the Pirates because of his Christian beliefs:

Torres drops suit: In a decision that Salomon Torres said was made solely because of his "duty" as a Christian, Torres has decided to drop both his pending grievance and lawsuit against the Pirates organization.

"It's not my place to seek for justice," Torres said. "I wasn't trusting God to do what he wanted. Let God handle the situation. I just need to put that behind me."

Torres initially filed a grievance after claiming that the organization was less than candid with him into signing a contract for less money. And just last week, Torres had made plans to meet with an attorney to try to move forward with a legal suit.

But Torres had recently admitted that the pending lawsuit was affecting his on-the-field performance and said that as a result of that and his religious beliefs, he woke up on Sunday morning knowing that he needed to back down.

Here's the article: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070814&content_id=2148025&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb (originally found at: http://www.bpsports.net/bpsports.asp?ID=5655).

Here's an article about former MLB pitcher Orel Hershiser and his support of Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Webb and Webb's attempt to break Hershiser's record of 59 consecutive scoreless innings. Webb's streak ended at 42 innings. Here's the article: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070821&content_id=2162045&vkey=news_ari&fext=.jsp&c_id=ari.

Next, an article about Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte, a Christian, and the Yankees turn-around this season: http://mlb.mlb.com/pa/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070821&content_id=2161408&vkey=mlbpa_news&fext=.jsp.

Here's an article about Giants pitcher Barry Zito and his work to raise money to give financial help to injured soldiers through his Strikeouts for Troops organization. There are 35 other MLB players that also raise money for the organization. Here's the organization's website, which includes a list of the players involved: http://www.strikeoutsfortroops.org/. Here's the article about it: http://mlb.mlb.com/pa/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070821&content_id=2161410&vkey=mlbpa_news&fext=.jsp.

Also, an article about Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran, a Christian, and his hot hitting of late: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070821&content_id=2162577&vkey=news_nym&fext=.jsp&c_id=nym.

Here's an article about Braves outfielder Matt Diaz, a Christian, and his success hitting this year even with having to platoon: http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/braves/stories/2007/08/21/brvdiaz_0822.html.

Next, a Christian article about Angels outfielder Garrett Anderson after his 10-RBI game last Tuesday: http://www.bpsports.net/bpsports.asp?ID=5652. Here's an article about the game: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20070822&content_id=2162982&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb.

Lastly, a couple of notes from things that I heard while watching baseball on TV today. First, during the Little League World Series national semi-final game between Lubbock, Texas, and Warner Robins, Georgia, broadcaster Orel Hershiser mentioned that Georgia's Hunt Smith (not Colts punter Hunter Smith!) had put on his questionnaire that each player filled out for the ESPN/ABC broadcasts that he wanted to be a pastor when he grew up. Hershiser also said that his parents didn't know about it before that.

The other thing that I heard while watching baseball on TV today was when I caught the end of the Reds ceremony to retire former shortstop Davey Concepcion's #13. During Concepcion's speech of thanks, he said something like "Thanks to God for giving me the ability...".