Latest Installment to My Steroid Article Collection

Today, the latest installment to my steroid scandal library of articles was published in the Morning Call. For those that don't know, I have become an avid editorial writer when it comes to the use of steroids in professional baseball.

Why so much writing on such a thing?

Because it means something.

I love baseball. My brother loved baseball. The neighborhood kids always loved baseball. Growing up backyard fun was simply about blasting a ball as far out of the backyard as we could. Of course--it was a tennis ball and a tiny aluminum bat. But it was the beginning of hopes for all of us to go on and someday play a sport on a real ball field--one with the sweet scent of dirt and rubber, one where the grass is cut to just the right height, and one where for three hours life exists between two white lines.

This is America's past-time, and as I have written in the past, I am tired of athletes tainting the game.

I love this game.

Here is the latest article......try to ignore the senior year of high school picture.

STEROID SCANDAL PART 3

Dustin Pedroia-Born To Play

Book: Born to Play

Author: Dustin Pedroia - Red Sox 2nd Baseman, Rookie of the Year, AL MVP

Normally when athletes write books, they are pretty well established in their sport. Most of the time they have worked their way up to being the top player, have broken many records, or have faced incredible odds in their many years. Most, however, don't write books after just two years in the big leagues.

But that's Dustin Pedroia for you. It doesn't matter what people think he isn't supposed to do, he will just go do it, and that is exactly how his baseball career is explained in his book, Born To Play.

Pedroia, who is the Mogsy of baseball, writes about the challenges that he faced in getting to the big leagues. Always being short, Pedroia was always told that the MLB was out of his reach, that he couldn't make it, and that his arm would never be strong enough.

As one of Pedroia's coaches explains in the book, just telling him he can't is the perfect way to get him to do exactly what you want him to do.

Born to Play, which was released just a two and a half weeks ago, is more than the story of a Major League Baseball player. It is the story of a person who got his way by pushing and shoving to get there. He didn't sit back and let people just watch. Pedroia explains that when things didn't look like they were going to go in his advantage, that he immediately would say something. It didn't matter who the person was, Pedroia always spoke his mind.

This is how Pedroia got a full scholarship to ASU, and how he moved through the minor league system with the Boston Red Sox. Pedroia made his future happen--he didn't leave it to fate.

He worked hard and did what people told him.

In his book, he chronicles his first years playing baseball, obstacles he faced such as a broken leg, a smashed face, and crippling hand. These could tear any player down, but not Pedroia, he always fought back.

That is the best part of the book. It almost makes you laugh at times--to hear this guy talk about how he was cursing at big league scouts.

Overall, the book is a quick and easy read. Would I call it absolutely inspiring? Not the most--but it def. does hit a chord. A good read for any athlete who has ever been told they can't, and a good read for any baseball fan.

Virtual Sports

Virtual sports are the next big thing, apparently, and no I don't mean professional Wii competitions.

The Ultimate Sports Insider reported on July 16 that there will no longer be state funding for athletics at the University of New Orleans. In order to keep the athletes going, without the use of a lot of money, UNO is thinking of having virtual swim meets.

This means that the swimmers will swim at their own pool--get official times--and then put them up to times that swimmers log on the same day, at the same time, in their own pool.

Virtual athletics is something that needs to be avoided--at all cost. Competition is what makes all the dreaded practices worth it. Showing up on game day--or meet day--is exciting because you know that you worked so hard to be there. It is exciting because when you show up at the field, or the pool, or the track, you can see your opposition. You can see if they are excited, nervous, tough, big, small, intimidating. With virtual athletics, you lose the excitement, especially in a sport like swimming, where knowing where your competition is in the pool--three, four strokes behind--or three, four strokes ahead, affects the way you push and when you push to finish ahead of them. You can't simulate a competitor. 

Virtual athletics will virtually slow down swimmers and make them less excited to be there. Showing up for a meet will feel the same as showing up for practice, and you should always feel different when you show up for game day. 

What's next...virtual track meets? golf? cross-country? gymnastics?

Let's just put Wiis in the gyms....

Dinner with an Olympian...

It is no secret that I have looked up to several members of the National Field Hockey Team since I began playing in 8th grade--so last week, when I got to sit down next to an Olympian for dinner, I was in a bit of shell shock. 

I don't think I even introduced myself--and it had been the third time that day I had interacted with her.

It is one thing to say that you met movie stars like Brad Pitt or Kevin Costner, but it is another thing to say you met an Olympian. These are the people who play for pride--but no money. They are the people who represent our country out on the playing field--everything that we stand for--respect, dedication, determination, and passion. They are the unsung heros. 

So what Olympian did I sit down to dinner with?

Rachel Dawson.

This was just hours after she made a speech that brought tears to the eyes of many young girls.

Last week, I had the opportunity to work the Princeton Field Hockey Camp--a camp that I have both played at and worked at before. However, this year the itinerary was different. This year there was to be a guest speaker. When I asked the head coach who the guest speaker was, and she told me Olympian Rachel Dawson, I was in awe. I was going to meet an Olympian. 

Now--I have actually met an Olympian before: Diane Moyer, and I have even played on the same field as National Team members But this was somehow different, for me, probably because I had never gotten to see Moyer compete, and because when I played with Katie O'Donnell in a Futures Tournament, I was oblivious to the fact that she was possibly, if not, the best player in field hockey at the time. But in this case, I had cheered the for the National Team through their entire journey to Beijing, I had cheered for Dawson while she and her teammates took on other countries in the Olympics, and now I am still cheering for Dawson and the National Team as they shift their focus to the 2012 Olympics. This is part of my lifetime--and it is nothing short of amazing.

I walked into the auditorium to meet with the head Princeton coach over camp business, but I stuck around to watch Dawson talk to young hopeful field hockey girls.

With her hands reaching for her toes and her body bent at the waist, Dawson opened up by saying that this is how she goes into every game--pretending to stretch those hammies and taking it all in. 

Dawson described her journey to becoming an Olympian, and how it all began with a dream. Dawson, who once aspired to play basketball in college, realized in high school that field hockey was the right path for her. She then went onto one of the top teams in the nation: University of North Carolina, where she was a consistent starter. Dawson told the girls that her biggest dream was to go to the Olympics--and how inspiring it is, because Dawson has had the opportunity to play in the Olympics.

Reaching the dream, of course, was not easy. It took making sacrifices. Dawson, a standout at UNC, was having the season of her life. She and her teammates were undefeated and headed for the ACC Playoffs, and likely the NCAA Championship in the future. But during the season, Dawson was offered an opportunity to train with the national team. 

After thinking it over, Dawson chose to train with the National Team, and she never looked back on that decision. She ended up making the National Team roster which in turn led to her fulfilling her dream of playing in the Olympics. Dawson, now has a new dream--standing on the podium at the 2012 Olympics in London. She has the first step down: She has envisioned herself standing on that podium. And every aspiring athlete knows--if you can see it...it can happen.

Dawson described that there were also people along the way who helped her in getting to where she is today. Standing near by was Kristen Holmes-Winn, the head coach at Princeton. Dawson explained that she knew Winn for some time on the hockey field, and that this summer the two had gotten to team up for the first time, which was something Dawson had always hoped would happen.

As the presentation came to an end, Dawson offered a piece of advice to the girls about going for their dreams and not being scared. Her words were: "Don't look at your feet...Just Dance."

The girls in the audience sat quietly through the presentation taking it all in. Some of them probably envisioned themselves achieving their own dream--whether it be standing on the podium at the Olympics or just making their varsity squad. No matter what it was, the looks on their faces said that Dawson had hit a chord--and that these kids were ready to go out and succeed at fulfilling their own dreams.

That night, in the camp store, one girl came in and said to me:

"Did you get to see Rachel's speech today?"

I replied, "Yes--and it was absolutely awesome."

The girl responded by saying, "It brought tears to my eyes."

A Runner Who Runs Through it All...

I thought this was a great story that ran in the New York Times today, so I decided to post a link.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/sports/09ultra.html?_r=1&hp

An unfortunate loss on 4th of July

Former NFL quarterback Steve McNair was shot and killed today. He was 36. His death is the latest in a string of celebrity deaths that have occurred in the last two weeks--starting with Ed McMahon. 

Rest in Peace

Do the Japanese players in the MLB get lonely?

This past week most Red Sox fans were concerned with the outing that Dice-K had on Friday night. Simply put, it was terrible. If you missed it, be glad you didn't see it, and if you saw it, I was scratching my head too. Here is a guy who pitched fantastically in the World Baseball Classic, but then comes back to the Sox and can barely muster up any strike-outs. 

Francona puts him on the disabled list, and then everything seems okay.

But a couple weeks later Dice-K has fallen again, and no one can give an answer why.

Wait--one person can.

His translator.

Maybe I am too concerned with the wrong things when I watch baseball sometimes, or maybe I just pick out details. 

Does anyone else think that maybe the guy is ready to go to Japan? It must be hard to play on an American team and not be able to communicate with your own teammates or manager without a translator.

When I traveled to Italy and attempted to play field hockey there, I had a really hard time. A lot of the practices turned into two hour runs for me, rather than 2 hour games of field hockey. Baseball is slightly different as it doesn't require talking each second of the game, but it still requires communication with your team on and off the field. The only person I felt a real bond with playing field hockey over in Italy was the one girl from Spain who could speak English with me. Other than that, I had no one. Who does Dice-K have ? Is he getting lonely? How do he guys deal with not being able to communicate? Does it hurt him and the team? 

You got to wonder what is going on inside his head when he wants to crack a joke with the guys...and he just simply can't.