[http://active.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/metalbat.jpg]
New York's City Council is now considering a ban on metal bats, with former New York Mets reliever John Franco testifying Monday in support of the proposal. Franco and the bill's supporters are hoping a New York City high school ban would inspire others to follow.
"I'm speaking from someone who was standing on the mound for 22 years, and I can see the difference," Franco told a council committee on Monday. "And while I'm standing in the stands watching my son play, or some of the other Little Leaguers, I can see the difference."
Similar measures have been proposed by youth leagues and lawmakers in other states, including New Jersey, where a batted ball struck a 12-year-old boy in the chest, sending him into cardiac arrest. He was revived by spectators but was in a coma for months, just recently returning home. His father, Joseph Domalewski, told the committee on Monday his son sustained brain damage and still cannot walk. "My son is doing a sentence, and to me the only thing he did wrong is to pitch to a guy holding a metal bat," he said.
[http://active.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/littleleague_2.jpg]
In the Little League Newsletter this month was an interesting story I'd like to share with you.
David Patraeus was a tough competitor as an 11-year-old in Cornwall (N.Y.) Little League. More than 40 years later, he was selected by President Bush to head the Coalition Forces in Iraq.
A lieutenant general in the United States Army, David Howell Patraeus was unanimously confirmed in January by the Senate as Commander of Multinational Forces-Iraq, succeeding Army Gen. George Casey.
���He was shy, but if you gave him the ball, and told him to do something ��� he���d do it,��� Mr. Goldsmith, a retired facility manager with the New York State Parks Service, said. ���When you spoke to him, it was like talking to a grown-up. He was very smart, and a well-disciplined young man.���
Mr. Bloom, who passed away several years ago, and Mr. Goldsmith, 74, appreciated the opportunities that playing Little League afforded the players. Many of the lessons that baseball can teach come through in real-life situations, which was always a point of emphasis in the duo���s coaching philosophy.
[http://active.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/girardi_1.jpg]
Team officials weren't happy. Opinions were mixed in the clubhouse. And others around the team and league think it's much ado about nothing.
At issue were comments made recently by Phillies pitcher Jon Lieber. As released on the Official Site of Major League Baseball, the right-hander acknowledged received a pointer from former Marlins manager Joe Girardi last year. In a recent interview with the Philadelphia Daily News, Lieber said Girardi told him that some of the Marlins players noted that his pitches were flat.
Lieber and Girardi were former battery mates with the Chicago Cubs from 2000-02. Asked if Girardi's advice was helpful, Lieber said, "Yeah, there is no question."
[http://active.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/bonds_1.jpg]
Athletes were involved as customers in an illicit steroid distribution network that led authorities to raid two Orlando pharmacies and arrest four company officials, a New York prosecutor said.
Customers include Los Angeles Angels outfielder Gary Matthews Jr., according to the Times Union of Albany, which first disclosed the investigation, citing unidentified sources. Matthews would not answer specific questions about the story Wednesday. Matthews said he didn't know why is name was reportedly on the client list, adding, "That's what we're working on, trying to find out. I will address it at appropriate time."
The Times Union said investigators found evidence that testosterone and other performance-enhancing drugs may have been fraudulently prescribed over the Internet to current and former Major League Baseball and NFL players, college athletes, high school coaches, a former Mr. Olympia champion and another top contender in the bodybuilding competition.
+
[http://active.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/73439832.jpg]
(Another great sports tip from guest blogger Jon Doyle of+ {[|http://www.baseballtrainingsecrets.com/])
I get this question many times so I've decided to answer for everyone to see..."Jon, what is the best way to make a lasting impression during tryouts."
It's really simple actually, but you would be surprised how many mess this up...
1. Introduce yourself to the coaches holding tryouts. This is rarely done, but instantly makes you memorable to coaches who are understaffed and overwhelmed. I don't care if you're a local legend or just moved into town yesterday. This act immediately will label you as a leader and someone a coach wants on his team.
[http://active.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/71722316.jpg]
A boy hit in the chest during a baseball game last summer, suffering near-fatal injuries, finally returned home this past weekend.
The family of Steven Domalewski, 13, and his community have been keeping vigil since the Police Athletic League game last June. "Once Steven comes home, it's going to be a madhouse," Marie Fullerton, his aunt, told The New York Times for Friday's newspapers.
Domalewski was hit in the chest by a line drive from a metal bat in the millisecond between his heartbeats, sending him into cardiac arrest. The condition is called commotio cordis. Three spectators rushed onto the field and resuscitated him, but the damage was done. Domalewski, then 12, suffered brain swelling and went into a coma.
His case spurred legislators in New Jersey to consider whether metal bats should be banned from all youth sports. Read our original post regarding this story spurring discussion in youth sports, Aluminum Bats Banned
(Photo provided by Getty Images, taken by Jim McIsaac)
[http://active.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/carp.jpg]
Three words that warm the hearts of baseball fans -- "pitchers and catchers" -- are being tossed around this wintry week as Spring Training camps in Florida and Arizona open their gates for early arrivals. Pitchers and catchers report some two weeks ahead of their team mates to loosen up their throwing arms, kindling a reflex reaction among the game's faithful that spring is on the way.
Last year's spring training saw many major league stars leaving their teams for the World Baseball Classic. The 16-team tournament gave the sport a true world champion. Baseball fans around the globe had long been clamoring for an authentic world champion, and last year Japan put the crowning touch on the 17-day tournament, clinching the title with a 10-6 win over Cuba.
���It���s an opportunity to try and expand the game globally,��� said Yankees captain Derek Jeter, who plays for the United States. ���I think it���s great for the game.���
This year, after 45 days of spring training, the season starts April 1 when the Mets visit the St. Louis Cardinals, who plan to have former stars Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Keith Hernandez and Bruce Sutter on hand to watch the championship flag get raised.
Don't Throw Away Junk Baseballs - Use Them To Become Stronger And More Powerful
Posted by Trish18 Jan 22, 2007
[http://active.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/71510742.jpg]
(Another great sports tip from guest blogger Jon Doyle of {[|http://www.baseballtrainingsecrets.com/])
Every player and team is forced to throw away dozens of rain soaked baseballs each year. On top of that, if your field has any trees or woods near it, you'll find many waterlogged baseballs each year while searching for foul balls.
Well, I'm here to save the day and teach you how to become a stronger, more powerful hitter using those balls you were throwing away.
[http://active.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/71722199_1.jpg]
Matthew Van Dusen recently reported out of Bergen County,* *New Jersey that township recreation officials have banned aluminum and non-wood baseball bats from the youth baseball league to protect players from high-speed line drives like the one that almost killed a Wayne boy last summer.
The recreation advisory board had discussed the move for a while but acted after a drive off an aluminum bat struck 12-year-old Steven Domalewski of Wayne in the chest in June and stopped his heart. "We thought there was a need for us to be pioneers in this area," said board president of the league, Rich Weiner.
This switch comes as the state Legislature mulls a ban on non-wood bats -- including aluminum, titanium and other alloys -- in most organized games involving children under 18.
Andy Wingfield, an assistant baseball coach at Ramapo High School in Franklin Lakes, said he has seen two young players hurt by line drives over the past five or six years. Also, a report from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission found that, between 1991 and 2001, eight players were struck and killed by drives from non-wood bats, two from wood bats and seven from bats whose composition was not known.
Several coaches and Little League officials told the legislative safety committee at a hearing in October that the ban is unnecessary since injuries are rare and children will leave the sport if they have to use wooden bats, which have smaller "sweet spots."
What do you think? Should aluminum bats be banned in youth baseball leagues?
(Photo provided by Getty Images, taken by Jim McIsaac)
</div>
[http://active.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/71722197.jpg]
Alice O'Neil, who last year celebrated her 80th birthday and was selected to her fourth three-year term as Massachusetts District 16 Administrator, was recently highlighted on Littleleague.org. Her story demonstrates patience and enthusiasm for today's generation of Little Leaguers and that feeling young is a state of mind:
Serving as DA since 1993, Mrs. O'Neil has been a Little League volunteer for 40 years. Starting in 1966, she kept the scorebook for her husband, Edmund, who was a long-time coach and manager in the East Lynn (Mass.) Little League before his passing in 1999.
"I started as scorekeeper on account of my son," Mrs. O'Neil said. "Patrick (O'Neil) played Little League through Senior Division for my husband who managed in Little League for 28 years." That first year made such a profound impression on Mrs. O'Neil that keeping the book became just one of her many Little League-related duties. She was East Lynn's player agent for eight years, and later served as the district's director for Junior, Senior and Big League baseball.
[http://active.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/57141246.jpg]American baseball fans are preparing to finally get a closer look at the "gyroball," a pitch that may or may not really exist, but one that has been steadily gaining notoriety over the past year.
Five years ago, computer scientist Ryutaro Himeno was testing super-computers by modeling the fluid dynamics of airflow around baseballs. As detailed in the books he has helped write, a gyroball calls for a complex flip of the fingers during release, ending with the thumb pointed down. At its most effective, the pitch breaks horizontally as it nears the batter, as though shrugging off gravity.
It's one thing to hypothesize a new pitch. It's another to throw one. Japanese pitching phenomenon Daisuke, who led Japan to the World Baseball Classic championship in March, says he's thrown gyroballs. "I have done it in a game," Matsuzaka told Yahoo Sports. "But not too much. Sometimes accidentally." Fans may get a chance to decide for themselves, as Matsuzaka will finally join the major leagues next season.
Could this be the the first new pitch to be introduced to the sport of baseball in nearly four decades or is it just wishful thinking?
(Photo provided by Getty Images, taken by Jed Jacobsohn)
[http://active.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/52571518.jpg]
I love the Olympics. I love the spirit and pride that comes with international competition in such a wide range of sports. When I think of Olympic sports, track and field, swimming, skiing, and skating come to mind. Video games do not.
Ted Owen, head of the Global Gaming League, wants to see that changed. He���s pushing a campaign to get video games introduced as a demonstration during the 2008 Olympics. He's so serious about the idea that he has entered into talks with the Chinese government about having video games included during the Beijing Olympics.
Owen told CNN, " People aren't watching the Olympics as much anymore. You need to bring younger viewers back if you want to keep making money. To do that, you need to embrace non-traditional sports. They did it with snowboarding - and look how the popularity of that has surged in the Games. Video games deserve to be seen as a non-traditional sport...They would bring something to the Games that that age group engages in and everyone understands."
The idea sounds a little crazy, especially since baseball and fastpitch softball will get the Olympic boot after 2008. A few questions came to mind:
* Would video gaming compromise the integrity of the Games more than baseball and fastpitch softball?
* Does anyone else have a problem with new events being considered based on how much revenue they could pull in as opposed to it's accordance with the Olympic's mission of sporting competition?
* Could video gaming potentially be considered sporting competition?
Visit the fastpitch softball or baseball boards if you have something to say about this topic!
(Photo provided by Bongarts, taken by Alexander Hassenstein)
Facebook
MySpace
YouTube
Twitter