Dungy, Williams, and baseball

I don't have much today, but I thought that I would go ahead before it gets to be a lot.

First, an article about Colts head coach Tony Dungy and Indiana Fever guard Tamika Catchings (both Christians) being awarded with the 2007 Chase Major Taylor Award by the Coca-Cola Circle City Classic. The award is "a tribute to African-American athletes, coaches, athletic administrators and officials who have made significant local and national contributions to youth while encouraging excellence in future generations". Here's the article: http://www.colts.com/sub.cfm?page=article7&news_id=7123d788-c330-4e20-9e51-aef21341382b.

Here's a note about Bucks guard Mo Williams and a charity event that he's holding, from an article about his upcoming season:

Williams will return to Milwaukee this weekend to play host to a charity event, a celebrity softball game at Helfaer Field at Miller Park. The event is free and open to the public and begins at 7 p.m. Saturday.

As part of the back-to-school event, the Mo Williams Foundation will provide backpacks for youngsters attending the softball game.

"I'm a baseball player; I played shortstop and pitched," Williams said. "Young adults are my main focus. I'm blessed to be in a position a lot of people aren't, and I want to use it as a gift."

Here's the article: http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=651256 (originally found at: http://www.nba.com/news/linkcentral.html).

Next, an article about Braves outfielder Jeff Francoeur, a Christian, and his great outfield play this season: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070822&content_id=2163755&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl&partnered=rss_atl.

Here's a great article about Braves 1st baseman Julio Franco, a Christian, written on his 49th birthday last Thursday. He's currently playing for the Single-A Rome (Georgia) Braves still, I think, but should be back to play with the Braves in Atlanta on Saturday. Here's the article: http://www.ajc.com/braves/content/sports/braves/stories/2007/08/22/franco_0823.html.

Lastly, a couple of notes from the Little League World Series games today. First, after Lubbock, Texas, beat Curacao in the world championship consolation game, they showed the Texas team huddled together on their knees praying. That was awesome. Later after Warner Robins, Georgia, beat Japan to win the world championship on a walk-off homer in the 8th inning (regulation is 6 innings), most of the Japan team was crying. After celebrating, the Georgia team went over to the Japanese team to shake their hands like the teams do after every game. However, since the Japanese players were crying, the Georgia players gave them hugs instead and tried to console them as much as they could with the language barrier. It was neat to see.

MLB misc.

First, an article about an interesting contract agreement between the Nationals and one of their high draft picks Jack McGeary. McGeary wanted to go to Stanford, but the Nationals wanted him to sign with them, so they worked out a deal. McGeary can go to school and work on his conditioning, and then when school's out he'll pitch in the minors. So both sides get what they wanted, the best of both worlds. Here's the article: http://www.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/stories/081607aau.html.

Here's an article about Red Sox outfielder J.D. Drew, a Christian, helping out his wife as much as he can when he's home with his baby son, who is recovering from surgery. Here's the article: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070816&content_id=2152130&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb.

Next, an article about Mariners outfielder Raul Ibanez and how his hitting has improved of late. Here's a quote about him:

A sore right front shoulder that deprived him of power and a batting stroke that had developed some mechanical flaws tested Ibanez throughout July. As a deeply religious person, Ibanez relied on his faith, head trainer Rick Griffin's superb medical staff and patience from his manager and hitting coach to work his way out of his hitting funk.

"I think the lack of home runs might have gotten to him," [Mariners manager John] McLaren said. "We know he has power, and we also know why he wasn't hitting for power -- his shoulder. It wasn't something that kept him from playing, but Raul just wasn't himself.

"He is such a professional and character guy, he never complained or used [his sore shoulder] as an excuse."

Here's the article: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070816&content_id=2152177&vkey=news_sea&fext=.jsp&c_id=sea&partnered=rss_sea.

Here's an article about Brewers outfielder Gabe Gross, a Christian, returning to the Brewers from Triple-A Nashville: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070816&content_id=2152188&vkey=news_mil&fext=.jsp&c_id=mil&partnered=rss_mil.

Also, an article about Braves 1st baseman Julio Franco, a Christian, reporting to play for a week or so with the Single-A Rome (Georgia) Braves and how much his new teammates wanted to learn from him. Franco will be returning to Atlanta by September 1st. Here's the article: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070816&content_id=2153308&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl&partnered=rss_atl.

Lastly, an article about Padres catcher Michael Barrett, a Christian, still recovering from concussion-like symptons that resulted from getting hit in the head twice in a week's time: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070819&content_id=2158397&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb.