Sporting goods manufacturers may be hazardous to your health.

That's the word coming out of Montana as a jury found aluminum bat manufacturer Hillerich & Bradsby(maker of Louisville Slugger) liable for the 2003 death of prep baseball pitcher Brandon Patch. (Local paper's coverage of the ruling)

The crux of the prosecution's argument in civil court was that Hillerich & Bradsby failed to provide adequate warning as to the dangers of their aluminum bats. Though I'm saddened to hear of the tragedy that has befallen the Patch family, I'm not entirely sure what "adequate warning" means.

A label on the bat? A signed waiver accompanying each Louisville Slugger? A safety coordinator at each youth baseball game in the country explaining what "can happen" when a ball pings off a bat?

I'd be curious to see what you folks think. I believe this ruling could have long-lasting consequences to youth sports in this country.

Recruits cannot legally accept money to be lured toward a school. So universities looking for an edge take donor money, pour it into facilities and other whistles, and invite recruits to come enjoy their playground for 4-5 years. And you know what? It works.

It's one way of promising incoming players that they will be spoiled, even if it's not in direct compensation outside of a scholarship. More and more, recruits visit campuses and factor in how nice the facilities are as one of the reasons for committing. The beauty of their environment plays more of a role than you might think, especially at the higher levels.

Here's one example on the baseball front. In this article in the LSU student newspaper, Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco explains that a nice stadium on campus is huge for recruiting. Interestingly enough, having nice stadiums throughout the SEC makes a difference, too. "When a kid is choosing to go play baseball, is he gonna go to Billings, Montana, and play in an old, beat-up minor league park, or is he gonna go to the Southeastern Conference where it is not just Ole Miss or LSU, but there are 12 nice stadiums?" Bianco told the paper.

Strange. Your heated rival could help you land the recruits needed to beat them.

There's also the other side of the coin. I played baseball at a big-city junior college several years ago. My high school field was in much better shape than the juco digs. Our "clubhouse" in college was a little storage closet next to the dugout, and it was broken into about six times in the year I was there (one good shoulder into the door would snap the lock in half). Our "locker room" was the men's room of the community recreation center at the other side of the parking lot (it had two showers!)

Needless to say, facilities had little to do with my decision. But if a coach could offer me a clubhouse like this one at the University of Kansas, which opened this year? Yeah, it would probably be icing on the cake. I would stop sending my highlight video out and ask the coach where I need to sign.

You want to think that student-athletes choose a school because of academic opportunities, playing time and player-coach relationships. In a lot of cases, they do.

But this is one way big schools can throw their money around and create an edge. They call it the "arms race" in college athletics, and whether it's backed by good intentions or not, recruits are loving it.

After all, if you can't be compensated as an amateur, you might as well be pampered.

San Diego Chargers linebacker

Shawne Merriman

-Even in the Beijing Olympics , China track star

Liu Xiang

If Merriman wanted to play through this injury while at the University of Maryland, does that change things? What about during his high school days in the Washington, D.C. area?

It's a gray area worth visiting. Merriman wasn't the first player to ignore a doctor's orders. You can bet he won't be the last.

(Another great sports tip from guest blogger Jon Doyle of Baseball Training)

A few weeks ago I introduced you to the plank. Well here's another version of the plank, called the side plank, that builds helps develop shoulder and core stability...and, like the plank, you can do it while watching the playoffs. Who said watching TV wasn't active?

Place your elbow directly under your shoulder and your foot on top of you other foot. Simply raise your hip off the ground and hold for 30-60 seconds. Repeat on other side.

(Jon Doyle is a former NCAA All-American baseball player who now works as strength and conditioning specialist. For more tips check out www.baseballtrainingsecrets.com)

While using technology in football has gotten a bad rap lately, the argument for implementing the use of it in baseball got a boost last night at the end of the Padres–versus-Rockies game.

The last game of the MLB regular season was the best game of the year. But instead of focusing on how great of a game it was, the talk among the sports community is about the controversy that ended it.

The Padres were playing the Rockies for the National League wild-card spot after the teams ended the season in a tie. The Rockies were hot, having won 14 of their last 15 games to get to this point. But things didn’t look too hot after Jorge Julio gave up a two-run home run in the top of the 13th inning, putting the Rockies in an 8-6 hole.

The Rockies battled back to tie it up again and, with no outs, Matt Holliday was standing 90 feet from clinching a playoff spot. This is where the controversy began. A sacrifice fly was hit to right field and Holliday tagged up and sprinted home with the season on the line. The throw from right field came loose as Holliday slid in head-first. Safe! Or was he?

The umpire didn’t call him safe at first. Replay shows Holliday missed the plate on an incredible block by Michael Barrett. Barrett then picked up the ball to tag Holliday as he lay on the ground. But for some baffling reason—-after hesitating and waiting until Barrett reached to tag Holliday for the second out—-the ump decided to call him safe.

Maybe the umpire just missed the call. Is it possible he was trying to make up for the fact that an earlier ball that was ruled a double was actually a Rockies homerun? Perhaps Holliday sold his slide by not getting up and scrambling to touch home plate.  We’ll never know what was going through his mind, but it seems clear enough that Holliday still hasn’t scored the winning run.

Since games such as this one are so important, do you feel instant replay would be an asset to assure accurate calls?

(Another great sports tip from guest blogger Jon Doyle of Baseball Training)

Everybody has heard the term "See the ball, hit the ball." So why do most hitters, coaches and instructors ignore this critical hitting aspect?

This is the most basic of hitting concepts. We all spend a great deal of time and resources on the mechanics of executing a quality swing. But none of that matters if you can't see the ball. 

Your kid doesn't know if there is something wrong with his vision. He doesn't know if he needs glasses (or contacts) or if his prescription is too weak. He assumes what he sees is the way it’s supposed to look. Before you hustle him off to another pricey session with a hitting instructor, get his eyes checked.

And make sure that instructor spends time on baseball-specific vision training, not eye drills that make you choose a color or have you sitting down looking at a computer. That's not specific to baseball.

If you're not training vision in your stance, then it's not specific to the sport and it will have very little, if any, carryover to the batter’s box.

See the ball. Hit the ball. It’s that simple.

(Jon Doyle is a former NCAA All-American baseball player who now works as strength and conditioning specialist. For more tips check out www.baseballtrainingsecrets.com)

By David Kloser

There's no place for teasing and heckling on the baseball field, I'm sure you'll agree, yet there seems to be no getting around it. People are going to say what they want. As a former college player and high school coach, believe me, I've heard some wild things.

Unfortunately, teasing and heckling does happen and not just on the field. However, what you learn on the baseball field will help you manage and understand things off the field. I know it does for me.

I spoke with over 300 of today's top Major Leaguers about how they handle heckling (as well as other topics) and one of the main points they shared was, "control what you can control." You can't control what people say to you, but you can control your reaction to them.

Here are a few excerpts from Stepping Up to the Plate that reveal how big leaguers handle heckling. If you like to copy the styles and habits of the pros, you might want to try out some of these positive approaches to heckling too.

You're in the field and you hear something like, "Hey #@!%! You're a *&#@?" Here's what two-time all-star and World Series champion Darin Erstad has learned over the years: "It's an ugly side to the game. You can let it bother you or let it make you stronger. You have to accept that (the teasing) is not personal and you can't take it with emotion."

How does all-star infielder and 11-year MLB veteran Edgardo Alfonzo overcome hecklers? He explains, "I already have my mind set on what I'm going to do, what I'm going to listen to and what my intentions are. The game's only a couple of hours long, I don't want to take my focus off our (game plan)."

Paul LoDuca, three-time all-star handles it this way. "I take the heckling in stride. I was a short, chubby kid when I was younger, so I got razzed a lot. I still do. I just laugh. You can't take it serious. If you do, it starts getting in your head."

Bonus Tip: Tim Wakefield from the 2004 World Series-champion Boston Red Sox puts it best: "You have to force yourself to ignore (the teasing). A lot of people base their self-worth on what other people think about you. You have to be happy with yourself. My self-worth is based on the type of person I am, not what I do on the field."

Wrap Up: Control what you can control, have a game plan and stay focused on it. Whether you're on the field or in the classroom, what you think about yourself plays a big part toward your success. If you know you're not a @!%&*#, it won't matter what other people say.

David Kloser, speaker, visualization trainer and author of the series "Stepping Up to the Plate: Inspiring Interviews with Major Leaguers" interviewed over 300 Major League Baseball players about success for life on and off the field. David speaks on this topic throughout the country. For more information visit www.SteppingUpToThePlate.com

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Barry Bonds* is about to break one of the most coveted records in all of sports. As Bonds��� career home run count increases, so does conjecturing as to whether Bonds belongs in the Hall of Fame. Hank Aaron said he will not be at the game in which Bonds hits his 756th home run, and Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig has not announced if he will be present. The integrity of baseball is at an all-time low.

It is ironic that what is now drawing jeers and criticism from fans is what brought the fans back to the ballpark after the 232-day strike in 1994 that resulted in cancellation of the Word Series. Baseball returned, but many fans did not. It took the long ball (and steroids) to bring attendance and revenue back.

Major League Baseball���s stance on drug use has changed drastically in recent years. Prior to 2003, players didn���t have to worry about drug testing. Steroid accusations that once fell on deaf ears have now made their way into Congressional hearings. Now, at the risk of losing fans again, sport-wide standards are a must to restore credibility.

Barry Bonds has never tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs but his legacy is likely to never recover from the controversy. As in the ongoing metal-versus-wood bat debate in New York, regulation consistency is needed in sports today to reinstate integrity. I hope in the near future baseball returns to its original form; that fans return to baseball to see the sport free of steroids and records without controversy.

What do you think -- should Barry Bonds have a spot in the Hall of Fame?