MLB misc.

Today I don't have much, but what I do have is pretty good I think.

First of all, an article from this month's Guideposts magazine by Dodgers catcher Russell Martin about him and his dad and how they both got to do what they love at Dodger Stadium: http://www.guidepostsmag.com/WEEKLY_FEATURE.ASP?DATE=07/02/2007.

Next, a great article about Cardinals pitcher Mike Maroth, a Christian, and about the charities that he's involved with and why he does it. He was traded a few weeks ago from the Tigers, and he's looking for ways to get involved in St. Louis now too. Here's a quote from him:

"We want to be servants," Maroth said. "I've been given a platform in baseball that allows me to do things like this. I want to take full advantage of it. It's part of our faith."

Here's the article: http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/0024CA1CD0355038862573180080E0AB?OpenDocument. (originally found at: http://mlb.mlb.com/pa/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070716&content_id=2089493&vkey=mlbpa_news&fext=.jsp)

Also, a good article about Tigers 1st baseman Sean Casey, a Christian, and how and why he talks to all his teammates and players on the other team so much. When someone reaches 1st base during a game, he talks to him. Also, when he's on 1st or 3rd base, he'll talk to the 1st/3rd baseman. Because of that, he's been voted the nicest guy in baseball. Here's the article: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070715/SPORTS02/707150552/1050. (originally found at: http://mlb.mlb.com/pa/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070716&content_id=2089493&vkey=mlbpa_news&fext=.jsp)

Lastly, today former Rice baseball player Joe Savery, a Christian, signed to play with the Phillies, who had drafted him in the 1st round last month. Here's the article: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070719&content_id=2096568&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb.

baseball misc. and Hoeppner

First of all, I was watching Rice in the College World Series last night, and I thought that some of the names sounded familiar. I went back and checked the articles that I had sent to you, and found a Christian one on the Rice baseball team from back in April (http://www.sharingthevictory.com/vsItemDisplay.lsp?method=display&objectid=04715208-C6B1-4378-953BAC0F51EED0E9). It was about juniors Joe Savery, Bobby Bramhall, and Brian Friday. On the bottom of the screen during the game it told when and by whom each of them were drafted: Savery in the 1st round by the Phillies, Friday in the 3rd round by the Pirates, and Bramhall in the 18th round by the Brewers. Here's an article about Savery being drafted: http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070607&content_id=2011822&vkey=news_phi&fext=.jsp&c_id=phi. Also, Rice won its 2nd game last night to take the lead in their bracket in the CWS. They get extra time off and wait for the winner of the Louisville/North Carolina game. Rice started and ended the season #1.

Here's a Father's Day article about Orioles 2nd baseman Brian Roberts, a Christian, and his dad: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070613&content_id=2023337&vkey=news_bal&fext=.jsp&c_id=bal.

Next, a Father's Day article about Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson, a Christian, and his kids. I thought that it was neat that he said that he was going to retire in a few years to become a full-time dad. Here's the article: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070610&content_id=2017915&vkey=news_pit&fext=.jsp&c_id=pit.

Here's an article about Red Sox infielder Alex Cora talking to highschoolers about volunteering in their communities this summer: http://mlb.mlb.com/pa/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070615&content_id=2027835&vkey=mlbpa_news&fext=.jsp.

Also, an article about Giants outfielder Dave Roberts, a Christian, standing ovation in his 1st return to Fenway Park in Boston since the 2004 post-season during the Giants/Red Sox game Friday: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070615&content_id=2028321&vkey=news_bos&fext=.jsp&c_id=bos.

Here's an article about what IU football incoming freshman Jeff Boyd had to say about coach Terry Hoeppner missing the upcoming season because of illness:

"It's going to be weird because (Hoeppner is) who I came to play for," said Boyd, an all-state defensive lineman from Warren Central High School's Class 5A state champions. "But it's still his staff, and I will do the best I can while I keep praying for him and hoping that he can return in good health."

Here's the article: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070616/SPORTS0601/706160501/1069/SPORTS0601.

Next, an article about Reds outfielder Josh Hamilton, a Christian, and throwing runners out at home plate: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070617/SPT04/706170420/1071/.

Lastly, an article about the Reds players and Father's Day. Here's some quotes from pitcher David Weathers and Josh Hamilton on fatherhood:

To closer David Weathers, being a father is old hat. He is the parent of son Ryan, 7, and daughters Karly, 3, and Ally, 9 months. They're worth more than a thousand saves. Said Weathers: "Being a father is the greatest honor of my life - to have three kids and raise 'em and try to teach them a good Christian way to live and make society better instead of worse. It's the best thing that ever happened to me."

For outfielder Josh Hamilton, who has two daughters, 6-year-old Julia and 21-month-old Sierra, being a parent helps him stay focused on himself as well as his family.

"Being a husband and father reminds me of the responsible person I have to be, the way my dad was when I was growing up," Hamilton said. "Watching him be a man, husband and father - supporting us and taking time with us - showed me how to do it. (The kids) do things that catch me off guard. At one moment, they do something or say something that is absolutely hilarious, and in the next moment they do something that drives me crazy. That's all part of it, learning how to do it. The Lord's helping me with it every day. It's fun.

"The family comes out to the ballpark every night."

Here's the article: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070617/SPT04/706170421/1071/rss08.

lots of sports misc.

I was able to get caught up some on the articles that I have to read, so there are several articles for today. The first two are from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes' Sharing the Victory Magazine. The first one is about Kenyan long-distance runner Catherine Ndereba: http://www.sharingthevictory.com/vsItemDisplay.lsp?method=display&objectid=DC6AFE6F-E45D-4085-A5C431F10DA7C8B1.

The other one is about three members of the Rice baseball team: Bobby Bramhall, Joe Savery, and Brian Friday: http://www.sharingthevictory.com/vsItemDisplay.lsp?method=display&objectid=04715208-C6B1-4378-953BAC0F51EED0E9.

Next, some articles about Zach Johnson, the guy that won the Masters last Sunday. I didn't watch the Masters, but I saw that he had won on the bottom of the screen during the Red Sox/Rangers game on ESPN Sunday night. I was like "Who in the world?!" Then I found some articles about him, and was like "Cool!" The first article is about the final round of the Masters and after. Here's a quote:

Even more gratifying to Johnson was winning on Easter.

"My faith is very important to me," he said. "I had people looking after me. It was awesome."

Here's the article: http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/masters07/news/story?id=2830090.

Here's another article on Johnson, this one from Fellowship of Christian Athletes: http://www.fca.org/vsItemDisplay.lsp?method=display&objectid=68044E01-0728-437C-8DF7E1FE962816BA.

The third article on Johnson, also a Christian article: http://www.bpsports.net/bpsports.asp?ID=5559.

A paragraph about Johnson from Sports Spectrum's The Daily:

A MOMENT WITH THE MASTER’S CHAMP
Zach Johnson, who won The Master’s on Sunday, is not afraid to speak out about his faith. Here’s an excerpt from an interview he had with Bill Houston of Sports Spectrum Radio:

“Golf has always been something that I love to do, and I still continue to love to play golf. But it is still just a game. Even underneath that, to me it’s my job. Of course, I’m going to give 110 percent. It’s something that obviously pays the bills and helps my wife and me financially. But it’s not what matters in life the most. As far as priority ranking, God and Jesus are No. 1. That’s the reason I’m here. If I finish in the Top 10 or win a tournament, at the end of the day Jesus doesn’t care. As long as He knows I’m one of His and He’s my Savior, that’s all that matters.”

Here's the article: http://www.sportsspectrum.com/daily/archives/070411.php.

The last article on Johnson (for now): http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/masters07/columns/story?columnist=sobel_jason&id=2830348.

Here's a note about Cubs catcher Michael Barrett, a Christian, that I found interesting:

Free lunch: Cubs fans who stopped at the Cracker Barrel restaurant in Kenosha, Wis., on Sunday after the game got a treat. Cubs catcher Michael Barrett also stopped there, and decided to pick up the tab for all the patrons.

"I said [to my friend], what would it be like for these people if [former Cubs catcher] Jody Davis walked into the restaurant?" Barrett said. "So, I was going up to people and saying, 'Let me have your bill.'"

The manager of the restaurant took care of Barrett's tab. Barrett exited to a chorus of "Let's go Cubbies."

Here's the article: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070409&content_id=1888156&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc&partnered=rss_chc.

Also, an article about the Pacers helping to build a house for Habitat for Humanity and visiting a VA hospital: http://www.nba.com/pacers/news/habitat_va_070409.html.

Here's a good article about Braves outfielder Jeff Francoeur, a Christian, having his high school baseball number retired Monday night on the Braves off day (there are several pictures included in a photo gallery too): http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/gwinnett/stories/2007/04/10/0410gwxFrancoeur.html.

Lastly, I don't know if Japanese Seattle catcher Kenji Johjima is a Christian or not, but I thought that this comment of his about how to bat against Japanese Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka was funny:

Johjima has some simple advice to his Mariners teammates:

"I would first tell them to pray."

Here's the article: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article_perspectives.jsp?ymd=20070410&content_id=1890976&vkey=perspectives&fext=.jsp.