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A Bronx Tale: The Hall of Fame Story of Joe Torre
It was a chilly night October 8, 2007. The mood was somber. A melancholy atmosphere. The Yankees were in the postseason, having to claw their way back from a record under .500 at the All-Star break to even be playing autumn baseball in New York. They had captured the American League Wild Card in a season where their playoff hopes looked unreal for most of the way.
Towards the end of the season they built up some momentum, but the Yanks found themselves not only trailing the Cleveland Indians two games to one in the ALDS, but were down 6-3 in the top of the eighth in Game 4 facing elimination; looking at a third straight early October exit. Like so many times before, Yankee skipper Joe Torre walked out to the mound with his regular stoic expression on his face.
Fans at Yankee Stadium – all 56,315 of them – knew full well this could be the final pitching change Torre ever made in pinstripes. The manager took the ball from Jose Veras and handed it to his closer Mariano Rivera, hoping to keep the score right where it was to perhaps give the Yankees a fighting chance to come back and force a deciding Game 5.
Deep down everyone knew, though. This was it. As Enter Sandman traditionally blared through the Yankee Stadium sound system, everyone was on their feet, applauding and chanting the name of the man who led the Yankees to the playoffs 12 consecutive years; the man who took the Yankees to six World Series – winning four of those six fall classics, all four within a span of five years.
The end of the Torre era in New York was, in a word, sad. For some Yankee fans, this writer included, Torre was the only skipper they knew since becoming fans in 1996. Yet his last game will hardly be what Yankee fans – and all baseball fans, for that matter – will remember him for.
Now a brighter memory will be made as the unflappable Torre will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown – a more fitting lasting impression for a man who helped bring the Yankees out of a tailspin, and turned them back into the perennial winners they once were during the golden age of baseball.
Looking at the bigger picture and not just how his time in New York came to an end, Torre will be remembered for, what one of his former players described as "social genius." The Yankees could win a game 15-0 or lose a game 15-0, and Torre's demeanor wouldn't change. He appeared cool, calm and unbreakable, even in the wake of what critics thought were questionable decisions. Even facing fire from an owner in George Steinbrenner, who could (in the nicest way) be characterized as "difficult."
Case and point: right before Game 2 of the World Series in 1996.
The Yankees had lost the first game in unflattering fashion, 12-1, when Steinbrenner met with Torre to chat about the state of the team.
"George Steinbrenner walks into my office before Game 2 and he says 'this is a big game.' Well yeah, I know it's a big game. Only seven games you get to play here. For some reason I was in a goofy mood. I didn't feel the same stress that I felt later on.
"But I said to him, 'you know George, (Greg) Maddux is pitching against us. We're not really playing well right now; we're a little out of whack because we hadn't played in so long.' I said we may lose again tonight. But we're going to Atlanta – that's my town. We'll win three there and then next Saturday we'll come back and win the series for you.
"And I walked out of my office."
Torre's words became true; the rest of the '96 World Series played out exactly that way.
In his decade at the helm of the Bronx Bombers, he once said he had only one regret: not appealing for a timeout during the infamous "bug game" otherwise known as Game 2 of the '07 ALDS. He admitted he should've asked the umpires for a game stoppage until the midges migrated out of Progressive Field (then known as Jacobs Field) in Cleveland.
Torre didn't even regret the decisions he made in the 2004 ALCS – which as we all know, didn't end particularly well for the Yankees. He backed up his choice of starting Kevin Brown, a faltering pitcher far past his prime, in the deciding Game 7 of that historic-yet-woeful round before the '04 World Series.
Tomorrow, for the good and the bad; the wins and the losses; the triumph and heartbreak, Torre will be immortalized in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He, along with Tony LaRussa and Bobby Cox, were unanimously elected to baseball's hallowed hall for their managerial prowess and the important impact they each made on their respective clubs; LaRussa with the St. Louis Cardinals and Cox with the Atlanta Braves, of course.
When I traveled up to Cooperstown on June 12, a lot of Torre's mementos and artifacts were all over the place, as they've prepped for this big day since it was announced he was to be enshrined.
The Yankees are going the route of MLB, and will also personally recognize Torre's contributions to the game by retiring his number 6 on Aug. 23. Rightfully, Torre will be eternalized at Yankee Stadium with legendary skippers from the days of old like Miller Huggins, Joe McCarthy, Casey Stengel, and Billy Martin.
We could go on all day about Torre; how he always defended his players, no matter the situation; how under his leadership the Yankees won 1,173 games. How he may have made some not-so-favorable remarks about the organization in his 2009 book The Yankee Years but turned around and basically recanted the bad feelings, making amends with his beloved ballclub in the process.
A player, a manager, a social genius and an upstanding man, there might not be anyone who deserves the honor of the Hall of Fame more than "Mr. T." And his response to all of this adulation? Well, you couldn't have expected anything less:
What we learned in the first half
Over the first half of this season the Yankees can, at best, be described at "hot-cold." It seems the Bronx Bombers get into a groove, but begin skidding not long after they appear to hit a good stretch. Nonetheless, they find themselves within an arm's reach of first place in the AL East at the All-Star break – which, in a word, is miraculous, given their streakiness and injury problems.
There are plenty of storylines to be covered from the first 94 games of 2014. The First topic, of course, has to be
Masahiro Tanaka – Man, not Superman
If you remember back to the pilot episode of the old TV show Smallville, Lana Lang asks Clark Kent if he's "man or Superman." When the news of Masahiro Tanaka's partially torn UCL broke, it was the only quote this scribe thought of.
The man from Japan was virtually untouchable through his first few starts – dare I say Superman-esque, boasting the best record in baseball at 12-3 with an ERA of 2.27.
Then Tuesday happened. Superman lost his cape.
Tanaka was lit up by Cleveland for five earned on 10 hits. His fastball was flat, his sinker was hanging, and he took the loss in arguably the worst start of his young MLB career.
The bad line and the loss only made the news on Tanaka's partially torn UCL worse, as he's been one of the only bright spots in the Yankee rotation this season; with CC Sabathia possibly being done for good, Ivan Nova needing Tommy John surgery, and Michael Pineda being about as useful as a screen door in a submarine.
It's obvious the loss of Tanaka comes as a huge blow to the Yankees. So far the front office hasn't made a stunner deal to patch up the rotation holes, although they've added Brandon McCarthy from the Arizona Diamondbacks to help, acquired Jeff Francis from the Oakland A's, and called up the emerging Shane Greene to fill some of the void.
A blockbuster trade for a front-line starter may or may not be in the cards for the Yankees this year – there's not much out there to take, although Cliff Lee will apparently be off the DL and available come the July 31 non-waivers trade deadline.
Perhaps the Yankees can land the trade that never was in July, 2010. Lee would've been tremendously more valuable in '10 than he is now, but with the rotation in a state of disarray, he may be the closest the Yankees get to a top-of-the-line starting pitcher.
That is, unless they can somehow snatch David Price from Tampa Bay – but the Yankees stand a better chance of a magical leprechaun falling from a rainbow in the sky and bringing them cake and ice cream. It's extremely improbable.
On the other hand if there isn't a starter to be had at the deadline, the Yankees simply have to find a way to win with who they have.
As for Tanaka: the Yanks will be without his services for at least six weeks, yet he'll probably be gone beyond that timeframe; a UCL tear, no matter how large or small, usually spells a lot of time on the sidelines. It's also worth noting Tanaka apologized for his injury, taking the same road Hideki Matsui traveled in 2006 when he broke his wrist trying to field a fly ball in left field.
We've learned a lot about Tanaka over the first half of the season, but the hardest lesson we all learned is that he's a man. Not Superman.
Alfonso Soriano just not built to last
When the Yankees picked up McCarthy, it was almost shocking to see Alfonso Soriano's name on the "designated for assignment" list. The Yanks acquired their old pal "Fonsy" last year from the Cubs and he turned back the clock, becoming an exciting piece of a rather bland and dry 2013 offense.
Soriano said at the outset of the season he was considering retirement at the end of this season as it was; but I'm not sure he – or anyone else – expected the 38-year-old slugger to be cut in what may be his final season.
This year Soriano was batting a weak .221 with 71 strikeouts in 238 plate appearances. He only clubbed six homers and drove in just 23 runs in the 67 games he played – clearly not playing with the fire that burned last summer.
Perhaps it was a classic case of going back to the place, but not the time.
Derek Jeter, for one, was not happy with Fonsy's release, telling the Star Ledger "Soriano is like family to me. I'm going to miss him. He's like a brother to me. He should be proud of what he's been able to do."
If it really is the end of the line for Soriano, he put together a nice little career with 412 homers, two World Series appearances, and seven All-Star nods. Certainly not a Hall of Famer worthy span, but he was good enough to be a recognizable ballplayer and a bona fide difference-maker.
Mark Teixeira still has it
Soriano wasn't able to light up the offensive categories this year, but one man who has been ripping and tearing it up with his bat has been Mark Teixeira. The big first baseman is leading the team in homers with 17 and has knocked in 48 runs, which overshadows his somewhat low .239 batting average.
For Teixeira, a guy who missed basically all of last year and even spent time on the DL this year with a nagging hamstring injury, the above average power numbers and situational hitting are pleasantly surprising.
Generally after suffering season-ending injuries players don't respond with such decent numbers right away. Teixeira looks as good as new and is offering some positive results. It might even be fair to say he's putting the Yankees on his back and carrying the team this year.
David Robertson can indeed close
Last season the biggest story was Mariano Rivera's impending retirement and the big question that went with it: can David Robertson, who was set to supplant the great Rivera as Yankee closer, actually do it?
What's sad is, he's answered the question this season with a giant "YES" but it's flown under the proverbial radar; nobody is really talking about it.
Robertson has saved 23 games for the Yankees while only hitting two speed bumps: blowing a save in Chicago to the White Sox on May 23 and failing to save the game vs. the Minnesota Twins at home on June 1.
Other than those two instances Robertson has been as solid as a bull, closing out games without the fans even having to often utilize his famous "Houdini" nickname. Robertson has been shutting down other teams in the ninth with relative ease, evading trouble and doing Rivera proud.
By the way, the official Yankee Yapping term for a Robertson save is "Alabama Slam" because Robertson is an Alabama native and he slams the door in the ninth.
Get it?
It hasn't quite caught on just yet, although some YY Twitter followers approve.
Dellin is dealin'
Rightfully so, Dellin Betances has been named an AL All-Star this year. As a reliever he's struck out 84 batters in 55.1 innings pitched, making the best hitters in the league like Mike Trout and Jose Bautista look like hitters trying to strike a pea with a twig.
Betances has emerged as firearm and a practically an automatic 1-2-3 inning out of the 'pen, but I think the difference between Betances and someone such as Joba Chamberlain (or Phil Hughes for that matter) is that he found what didn't work and has now found what does work – and that's where he's staying.
The Yankees discovered that the role of starting pitcher was just not clicking for Betances. When he didn't make it as a starter, he found his way as a reliever, and that's who is – and who he'll be from here on out.
Unlike, however, Chamberlain and Hughes, who constantly flip-flopped roles and eventually didn't make it either way.
Bottom line: the Yankees have done the right thing with Betances, and the decision to make (and keep) him a reliever is paying off royally.
The Swan Song of Derek Jeter
Through the first half of 2014, the Yankee Captain is hitting .271 with two homers and 25 RBIs. He's slugging .321 and has swiped six bases while only getting caught once. He has 91 hits thus far, and has moved up on MLB's all-time hits list; in fact, at press time, he's 13 away from tying the legendary Carl Yastrzemski for eighth place on the all-time list.
But it's not exactly about his numbers this season, or the records he's shattering. It's about the atmosphere every time he comes to bat at Yankee Stadium – or anywhere else. Opposing fans cheer him when he steps into the box, showering him with appreciation and respect, while the opposing teams themselves shower him with adulation and parting gifts.
It'll only get more exciting, or maybe more fittingly bittersweet, when he takes the field in his final All-Star Game Tuesday night at Target Field in Minnesota.
Fans everywhere can appreciate what Jeter's done over the years, and how much he's meant not only to the Yankees but baseball in general. It's nice to see this fine ballplayer get the respect of his peers and those with whom he works.
The atmosphere is going to be surreal on the final day of the Yankees' season, whenever it may come; whether it be in the playoffs sometime, at the end of the regular season, or at the end of the World Series.
It's tough to consider right now, but whenever it ends – and however it ends – the Captain will go out a respected winner in the eyes of the baseball fans. And if you can go out with the adoration of everyone around you, isn't that the greatest thing in sports?
It's been a great first half of the 2014 season. Here's to a fun second half!
But before I go, here's some Yankee Yapping "Extra Innings"…. !!!
For the third straight summer I've been "down on the farm" so-to-speak, covering Minor League Baseball – more specifically the Hudson Valley Renegades, the Tampa Bay Rays' short season Single-A affiliate.
The last two games I've covered ended quite dramatically, as Hunter Lockwood, the Gades' left fielder, ended the game in extra innings with one swing; first a solo homer to beat the Staten Island Yankees on July 5, and just last night a two-run homer to beat the Batavia MuckDogs (a Miami Marlins affiliate) 12-10.
Just for the heck of it, I'll post my game story from Lockwood's walk-off home run that beat the Baby Bombers last weekend. This story ran in my newspaper (The Examiner) this week, so those who don't get a chance to read my regular recaps in the paper, here's a taste of what you're missing:
Renegades Stun Yankees with Lockwood's Walk-Off Homer
By A.J. Martelli
Hudson Valley Renegades relief pitcher Isaac Gil had a whipped cream pie ready for designated hitter Hunter Lockwood at the end of their game against the Staten Island Yankees Saturday night. It was the only way to celebrate what had just happened.
In the bottom of the tenth tied 3-3 with two outs, Lockwood delivered a solo, walk-off home run – a spectacular shot over the left field wall at Dutchess Stadium to give the Renegades a 4-3 win, extend Hudson Valley's win streak to seven in a row, and send the sold out crowd home happy.
"It's a huge rush for me and I know it's just a huge rush for the rest of my team," Lockwood said moments after clubbing the death blow. "Everybody has all the dog piles and stuff you see on TV, and it's just a lot of fun to be able to go out and produce for our team and for our fans out here.
"We've been playing good as a team, we trust everybody to get the job done, coming through in clutch situations, and that helps us stick together as a team and keep playing hard. We've had a bunch of late walk-off wins; a bunch of games where we've held tight and came through late – it allows us to keep playing hard, and since we've done it in the past we know we can do it in the future."
The dramatic homer was Lockwood's team-leading fourth of the season. Perhaps more importantly, the win was Hudson Valley's fifth walk-off style victory of 2014, and its fourth win of the season in extra innings. Skipper Tim Parenton doesn't mind playing in close games, given the results he's seeing right now.
"The guys just never quit and they've done it all year," he said. "Hunter Lockwood hit the ball hard a couple times tonight, but got one up in the air a little bit and it got out of here. It's just a great win for the guys. They just believe in each other, and we just have a resilient group."
The Gades' resiliency was never more evident than in the top of the tenth inning. The Yankees loaded the bases with nobody out, looking primed to break the 3-3 stalemate. But reliever Gerardo Reyes, who notched his first win of the year, pitched out of it, getting a line out to left, a pop out to short, and a groundout to end any danger.
"We just hung in there," Parenton said. "You sit there as a coach and say 'put it in the zone and see if they can make the hit or we can make the play.' We were able to get a couple pop ups and the ground ball out."
The Renegades took a 3-1 lead into the ninth inning; scoring in the sixth on an RBI double off the bat of second baseman Jace Conrad, and an RBI single from left fielder Clayton Henning in the seventh. Conrad plated the Gades' third run in the eighth, scoring from third on a wild pitch.
The Yankees were able to tie it in the top half of the ninth on two RBI singles off Reyes to send it to extras.
Renegades' starter D.J. Slaton did a fine job keeping his team in the game, tossing six innings of three-hit ball. He didn't walk a batter and struck out seven – and also had to wiggle out of trouble in the fifth inning, escaping a second and third, no out jam.
"The biggest thing for me was getting ahead, finishing off batters when I had the chance and trying to keep a low pitch count," he said. "For me it's fastball changeup and when those two are rolling for me, usually it's a good night.
"The fifth was a tough, sucky inning, but the biggest thing was, you just have to get a quick out in the infield somewhere, and a strikeout, and go from there. Once you get those two outs you don't relax a little bit, but you look for that third out any way you can get it."
Southpaw Ryan Pennell, a Rye Neck alum and Mamaroneck native, was solid in the role of the middle man. He threw two innings in relief of Slaton and allowed one run on just two hits. He walked two and struck out two.
The Renegades (15-5) are sitting pretty with the New York-Penn League's best record and are in first place in the McNamara division. With doubleheaders coming up on the schedule – and no days off until next Tuesday – Parenton plans on fielding his entire team to keep the winning recipe cooking.
"It's going to be tough, but we're going to rotate our lineup, put fresh guys in there," he said, "and just keep playing and hopefully keep winning."
Side note: The photo of Lockwood was taken by me, whilst conducting my postgame interview. I'm not much of a photographer, but my editor has some fantastic shots of Lockwood. He's a pro, I'm an amateur.
A Bundy-ful birthday gift
It wasn't exactly a Father's Day to remember for the Yankees, as they lost 10-5 this afternoon to the A's. The Bronx Broskis have to do some regrouping this week and thankfully for them, "the savior" (as I've dubbed him) Masahiro Tanaka starts their next game on Tuesday night at the big ballpark in the Bronx. It'll be an important series, with Toronto sitting ahead of them by four and a half games in the AL East.
While was Father's Day today, it was also my 27th birthday. I spent it at the ballpark – but the minor league ballpark. Specifically, Dutchess Stadium, home of the Hudson Valley Renegades. I've covered the Renegades the past two summers, and today I covered my first game of my third summer with them.
And I got quite a little birthday surprise.
The 'Gades hosted the Aberdeen IronBirds, a MiLB squad affiliated with the Baltimore Orioles. Throwing for Aberdeen was Dylan Bundy – the O's first round pick of the 2011 draft, and a future ace I've heard talked about on MLB Network and by Buster Olney of ESPN.
I got to interview him afterward and got a little story out of it, so I figured since this guy will most likely be facing the Yankees in the not-too-distant future, I'd throw my little story on him up here on the blog.
Note: I also interviewed TB Rays' 2014 first round pick, first baseman Casey Gillaspie, who smacked a two-run home run for his first hit as a pro ballplayer.
Even though I was indeed thrilled and excited to cover Bundy, I was a little bummed out the P.A. didn't play Frank Sinatra's "Love and Marriage" as he took his warm-ups. An Al Bundy reference would've made my birthday complete.
So, with that being said, here's my story on Bundy:
Orioles' Bundy Makes Solid Rehab Start vs. Hudson Valley
By A.J. Martelli
Although a year off and reconstructive surgery may normally sound like a formula for rust, it wasn't for starting right-hander Dylan Bundy on Sunday.
The Baltimore Orioles' 2011 first round draft pick out of Owasso High School (Okla.) made a rehab start against the Hudson Valley Renegades at Dutchess Stadium, pitching for the O's short season Single-A affiliate, the Aberdeen IronBirds. It marked the 21-year-old's first time pitching in a competitive game since 2012, being that Tommy John surgery sidelined him for all of last year.
Yet the stud, who has been compared by some to Stephen Strasburg, showed no damaging signs.
He tossed five innings and only let up one earned run after scattering five hits. Bundy walked none and struck out six by taking baby steps – he only threw 65 pitches.
"First outing in almost a year and I was pretty pleased with it," he said. "I don't think about (the surgery) at all anymore, and that's what I'm happy about."
Bundy gave the Renegades credit for touching him up, though he didn't feel he made too many mistakes dealing to the Hudson Valley hitters.
"I gave up five hits, but they just made good contact with the ball on what I think were pretty good pitches. They got the bat on the ball and they did a pretty good job. They were hitting the off-speed stuff pretty well, putting it in play."
Making adjustments, Bundy mentioned, also helped him along.
"I focused more when guys were on base," he said. "Now I've got to focus more when guys aren't on base and do a better job locating my pitches. I've been trying to do a better job of that."
Bundy also talked about how much less pressure it was pitching at "The Dutch" as opposed to a major league stadium like Camden Yards – even though he thought facing the Renegades was just as dangerous as facing a big league team.
"A feel a little bit less pressure pitching here, but there's still a live batter up there that can hit the ball just as well as someone in the big league. My aim is to just go out there, make pitches, and compete."
Bundy will make a few more starts before being evaluated, and a plan for his future is drawn up going forward.
"I have a couple more starts; we'll see how my arm responds tomorrow," he said. "It should be good. Couple more starts, and we'll see what we're going to do after that."
Sights and Stories from an Afternoon in Cooperstown
The Yankees have finally hit a little bit of a hot streak, winning three in a row this week to pull to within three and a half games of the first place Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East. Last night Derek Jeter turned back the clock with three hits and two RBIs, while some clutch play on both sides of the field from Jacoby Ellsbury led the Bronx Broskis to a 6-3 win over Robin$on Cano and the Seattle Mariners to complete the sweep.
Tonight they'll look to keep the ball rolling at O.Co Coliseum against the AL West-leading Oakland A's.
While the Yankees are contending, yesterday, before their win over the Ms, my friends and I took a trip up to Cooperstown to visit the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. It marked my third trip to the baseball Mecca, and my first since July 3, 2010.
I figured I would share some pictures, tell some stories, and give my two cents on yesterday's getaway – and the shenanigans that ensued.
First of all, living downstate, a drive up north is humbling to say the least. As most of us are used to cities and overpopulated areas, you learn quickly by a drive through the country that things are different; farms and wastelands abound, and you pass houses on back roads that look as if they're owned by Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
My friends and I passed the time accordingly, however. We sang songs (notably "December, 1963") and told inside jokes to make the three hour trip seemingly go by faster. It took a little while but we finally made it to Main St. around 3 p.m.
The first thing I noticed were the banners hanging up outside the Hall, complete with the images of those who will be inducted at the end of next month. I had to take an obligatory picture of the banner with Joe Torre's face on it. What kind of Yankee fan would I be if I didn't?
When we walked in to get our admission tickets, we were told that yesterday was in fact the 75th anniversary of the Museum's opening. We were then given a special (and free!) keychain in honor of the day.
Torre's image (as well as a few of his baseball mementos) was on display right as we walked in – such is the tradition of the Museum. I remember my first trip to Cooperstown in 2007, giant almost Fathead-like pictures of Cal Ripken, Jr. and Tony Gwynn were in the same location, along with some of their baseball knick-knacks. (Ripken and Gwynn were the '07 honorees).
After that we checked out the room dedicated to the Negro Leagues. The great number 42 Jackie Robinson's jersey was on display – and evidence of how difficult he and the rest of the African American players had it back then.
There were also exhibits dedicated to the Ladies' Leagues; showcased were the uniforms Geena Davis and Rosie O'Donnell wore in A League of Their Own.
We then made our way around. There were plenty of artifacts from the days of old, specifically the days of Yankee past – which is what I was primarily aiming to get pictures of. Unfortunately the legendary Babe Ruth Room was closed for renovations, but his uniform was still on display. Lou Gehrig's locker and belongings were also out, in addition to Phil Rizzuto's Ray Hickock Award, one of Yogi Berra's MVPs, and Mickey Mantle's locker.
I also found this scale model of Wrigley Field pretty neat.
Then we got into the good stuff: artifacts from the Yankee Dynasty of the late 1990s, with some 2009 memories even exhibited. Among them some photos, Jeter's spikes from 1998 and jersey from 1996; and his helmet from 2000 Subway/World Series, one of David Cone's jerseys from 1999 (I believe it was the one he wore during his perfecto), Mariano Rivera's cap from the '09 Fall Classic, and the 1996 World Series trophy.
In the locker room of the Hall of Fame, treasures from recent memories are shown off. In the Yankee locker was Rivera's cap from last year's All-Star Game at Citi Field, Andy Pettitte's hat from the '09 World Series, and Hideki Matsui's bat from the '09 World Series.
The jersey Jeter was wearing when he whacked his 500th career double was also in the Yankee locker, and the jersey Alex Rodriguez was wearing when he whacked his 500th career double – Jeter and A-Rod are the only teammates in history to accomplish the feat in the same year (Jeter notched his 500th career two-base hit on May 3, 2012, and A-Rod reached 500 doubles on May 21, 2012).
We also noticed the Seattle Mariners' card. Read the number of championships and weep, Cano.
We then journeyed into a few different rooms with lots of pictures. Most of them speak for themselves.
I also decided to give Big Papi a piece of my mind.
I stumbled across this, too:
Reading it made me proud to be a reporter, although it puts a lot into perspective, what with the advent of Twitter and live-tweeting games in this day and age.
The "Baseball at the Movies" exhibit is one of my favorites at the Hall. Kevin Costner's jersey from Bull Durham was there, along with a no. 61 jersey Billy Crystal donated from his movie, 61*, about the famous home run chase during the 1961 season between Mantle and Roger Maris.
I also loved how John Fogerty's original draft of "Centerfield" which is (in my opinion) baseball's unofficial National Anthem, was there. I didn't notice that the previous two times I visited.
From there we went to the Promised Land: the plaque room. I tried to snap pictures of all the Yankees I could. Ruth's lifelike statute rightfully is located in the plaque room, which I also got a picture of.
After that we went into the room with all of the World Series rings in it. I managed to take some shots of the '96, '98-00 and '09 Yankee bling, although I'm unsure why the 1999 ring was upside down.
From there we left the Museum, making sure we saw everything there was to see, then took a walk about town. The rustic, old school, small town feel of Cooperstown is just amazing – and using the word 'amazing' it underselling it in a huge way. You have to live it and go there for yourself to truly appreciate it.
We took a jaunt over to Doubleday Field, hoping there might be a game going on, but the weather was uncooperative to say the least. We were the lone pilgrims at the "birthplace of baseball." Literally.
And, living in the year 2014, we had to take a selfie. Quota filled.
We left town afterward and took a tour of the OmmeGang Brewery right outside of town. I'm pretty sure my friend Alicia Barnhart over at "Ballparks on a Budget" would appreciate this part of the trip!
The tour wasn't that long, but we wound up staying for the tasting. The beer was delicious; it left me with a bit of a buzz, though my friends suffered no ill effects from drinking. Needless to say the ride home was interesting with a lightweight like myself riding as a passenger.
Overall, it was a fun day. I do think we rushed the trip a little bit; we didn't take a full, complete day like last time, but it's Cooperstown. Some never make it in their lifetime to this historic landmark town.
But me – I can now say I've been there three times. And I'm sure at some point I'll go again, because it gets better and better every time.
Yankee Yapping…or…The Book of Eli
At this rate this blog should just be renamed "Eli Manning Yapping." I covered the 37th annual Guiding Eyes for the Blind Golf Classic this afternoon; this was Manning's eighth year hosting. Here's the story on it that will appear in the print edition of The Examiner tomorrow, as well as some video of his blind put demo and some video of his presser:
MOUNT KISCO – The New York Giants are prepping for their 2014-15 season with OTAs and the upcoming training camp, but yesterday Big Blue's quarterback and former two-time Super Bowl champion and Most Valuable Player Eli Manning took time out to take part in the 37th annual Guiding Eyes for the Blind Golf Classic, an event held yearly at the Mt. Kisco Country Club.
It marked Manning's eighth straight year hosting the classic, and he couldn't have been happier to be in attendance.
"This is my eighth year working with Guiding Eyes and each year you hear more and more stories of the great work that it does and how many peoples' lives it affects and changes for the better," Manning said.
"Guiding Eyes is helping kids with autism and they have their heeling autism program, and helping out a lot of families. They're doing great work, I'm happy to be associated with them, and it's great to hear the stories about the lives it's changing for the better.
"I don't have a whole lot of time to do these types of things during the season; there's no time to get out on a Monday afternoon to the golf course, so I'm excited to be here and help out Guiding Eyes – something I feel strongly and passionate about. It's good to get outside, get away and help out a great cause."
Tom Panek, who took over as Guiding Eyes' president and CEO in February and is vision-impaired, talked about the positive influence Manning has had over the years in approval of Guiding Eyes.
"Eli has always supported the Guiding Eyes Golf Classic; I met him back in May (at the spring tee-off event) and he's set a good example for this organization," he said. "He's standing behind a very good cause, and I respect him for that."
Manning took the practice green and got a feel for what putting is like for a blind golfer. He took one shot at the hole from roughly 10 feet away, missing short and wide right – and followed up with a second shot, hitting the ball he had previously struck, unable to sink the put.
Last year Manning came up about an inch and a half shy of the hole during the demo, unlike two years ago when he made it on the first attempt.
Along with his annual demonstration, Manning took the time to talk about football, with the NFL season about three months away. He mentioned that his right ankle, which he had surgery on this offseason, is fine and he's only looking forward to hitting the gridiron to start playing.
"I'm 100 percent, I don't think about my ankle or notice it – it hasn't been an issue," he said. "I can play and I feel good about what our offense can do. As players, I think you're just looking forward to Week 1 and going from there. I'm not looking for the storylines (this season), I'm just looking to play football and hoping there'll be positive stories on Monday in the paper after a win."
In the meantime, Manning has been rooting on the New York Rangers, who hosted the Los Angeles Kings in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final last night. The Rangers went into last night's game trailing the series two games-to-none, yet Manning had hope the Blueshirts could rally from behind – a feat he's mastered in the Super Bowl.
"I've been getting into the hockey now, and hopefully they (the Rangers) can have a big turnaround," he said. "If they're anything like the '07 Giants, I guess they can kind of come out of a hole and be down, and come back out to win it."
For my other interview with Eli from last month (where he discusses Derek Jeter) click here!
All ex Yankees kill the Yankees
The Yankees are currently on a cold streak that makes Arnold Schwarzenegger's performance as Mr. Freeze in the god-awful Joel Schumacher film "Batman & Robin" look like an Oscar-worthy portrayal. The Bronx Bombers have become the Bronx Bums, losing four straight, however they did snap the losing skid by beating the Oakland A's 2-1 this afternoon. The Yanks have dropped six of their last 10, falling to third place in the AL East standings in the process.
Six games out of the division lead behind both first place beasts the Toronto Blue Jays and second place contenders the Baltimore Orioles, the Yanks obviously have some catching up to do. What's unfortunate about some of their recent bad luck has been, specifically, the players who have been beating up on them.
A slew of former Yankees have come back to burn the Yankees – and as a junior baseball historian (if I may call myself that) I've noticed the evident concept of former Yankees punishing the Yankees, and it's not a series of random isolated incidents; rather a pattern that's developed over time: all ex-Yankees kill the Yankees.
Allow me to demonstrate.
April 27, 1982 – Reggie Jackson
Reggie Jackson became one of the most beloved Yankees in the late 1970s, helping carry the team to two World Series titles in 1977 and 1978. With three home runs in (the series clinching) Game 6 of the '77 fall classic, a candy bar named after him, and a tremendous amount of popularity, his legions of Yankee fans were disappointed when management didn't bring him back for the 1982 season.
So, in his first at-bat in his return to Yankee Stadium, Mr. October showed them what they'd lost.
As a California Angel, he hammered a home run off former teammate Ron Guidry. Yankee Universe was so upset that he wasn't in pinstripes anymore, that as he rounded the bases they chanted "REG-GIE! REG-GIE! REG-GIE!" in support of its old flame.
George Steinbrenner would later say, "letting him go was the biggest mistake I made as Yankee owner."
This is where it started.
June 14, 2003 – Tino Martinez
Tino Martinez was not re-signed after the Yankee Dynasty fell in the 2001 World Series, getting supplanted by powerhouse Jason Giambi (to play first base). He went to the St. Louis Cardinals, and was pleasantly surprised when a trip to Yankee Stadium appeared on the 2003 MLB schedule.
When the "Bam-Tino" returned he was greeted with open arms by the Yankee fans; cheers and fond memories abounded the night of June 14.
He dug in to a chorus of applause in the second inning, and took his former teammate Andy Pettitte deep for a two-run homer – much to the delight of all in attendance.
After the game Martinez lightheartedly said, "Andy Pettitte was a little flustered because, here I hit the home run and they're giving me a standing ovation. He's like, I really love you, but c'mon!"
And he wasn't done.
In the ninth inning he clubbed yet another two-run tater, showing the Yankees what they'd been missing. He accounted for all four runs the Cardinals scored, albeit it was a 13-4 Yankee win.
"My teammates were like, this is the greatest place I've ever seen," Martinez continued. "And I said, I told you – this is the greatest place of all to play."
It's also worth noting that Martinez smacked his 300th career homer on March 30, 2004 against the Yankees as a member of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He touched up Felix Heredia for the milestone home run in an 8-3 Rays win.
It's no wonder the Yankees brought him back in 2005.
July 10-12, 2009 – Bobby Abreu
Bobby Abreu was a stellar trade deadline pickup in 2006, filling a void the Yankees needed to plug in right field. He may not have been the best when it came to defensively playing the outfield wall, but man could he swing the bat.
And when the Yankees didn't return him for the 2009 season, he made them pay.
Like Jackson, Abreu went to the Angels. When the Halos hosted the Yankees for three games right before the '09 All-Star break, he slammed his former 'mates hard. The numbers tell the whole story.
In those three games, Abreu went 6-for-14 (.428) with six RBIs and three runs scored. He played a huge part in the Yankees losing all three games – getting swept before a few days off. The Angels beat the Yankees 10-6 in the first game, 14-8 in game two of the series, and 5-4 in the finale.
Abreu also smacked a grand slam on April 13, 2010, the day of the Yankees' 2009 ring ceremony, off now-Yankee closer David Robertson. He nearly spoiled the day, crushing the slam in the ninth inning, but the Yanks held on for a 7-5 win.
April 15, 2010 – Hideki Matsui
The man known as "Godzilla" pieced together quite an amazing career in pinstripes. Coming over from the Far East in 2003, he was a Yankee through 2009, when he went out with a bang: winning the World Series and collecting MVP honors of the '09 fall classic.
Yet, like Jackson and Abreu before him, the Angels came calling when the Yanks didn't bring him back for 2010.
The night of April 15 in his first year not playing Major League Baseball in pinstripes, Matsui took his former teammate Phil Hughes deep in the second inning.
Hughes watched the ball sail over the right field wall at the big ballpark in the Bronx with the countenance of a stiffened corpse.
More from Hughes later.
May 10, 2010 – Johnny Damon
Johnny Damon was one of the Yankees best turncoats, putting on the pinstripes after becoming a revered player in Boston. Following Matsui's example, he helped the Yankees reach and win the World Series in 2009, stealing two bases in one deft move in Game 4 to damage the morale of the Philadelphia Phillies.
The proverbial "man of steal" went to the Detroit Tigers after 2009, and was pitted up against his old team on May 10 the following season; the Yankees in MoTown for a four-game set.
In his first game facing off with his old friends, Damon blasted a solo home run off starter Sergio Mitre. His round-tripper proved to be significant, being that the Tigers beat the Yankees by one run, 5-4.
Damon wound up collecting four hits on his former team in the four-game series while scoring two runs.
May 14-15, 2013 – Raul Ibanez
Raul Ibanez was as clutch and as solid as they come in 2012 for the Yankees, seemingly creating magic on a nightly basis in the '12 postseason. Time after time he came up to bat in key spots, and always delivered.
The Yanks let him go after 2012, and he signed with the Mariners for 2013 – and he basically wasted no time showing the Yankees what they were missing.
On May 14 Ibanez teed off on CC Sabathia, warping a two-run homer. He finished the night 2-for-4 with the tater and a run scored, although the Yankees escaped the night with a 4-3 win.
The next night, however, Ibanez stuck it to the Yankees big time.
In the first inning he took Phil Hughes deep for a grand slam, and ended the night with six RBIs and two runs scored. The Mariners went on to win in a squadoosh, 12-2.
April 4-6, 2014 – Melky Cabrera
Melky Cabrera spent 2005-2008 up and down with the Yankees, but in 2009 found a permanent home on the 25-man roster. Like Damon and Matsui he left after winning the '09 title, getting traded for Javy Vazquez.
One of radio announcer John Sterling's quirky calls for Cabrera (whenever he did anything positive as a Yankee) was, "the Melk man always knocks twice."
At the beginning of this season, the Melk man knocked his old team three times as a Toronto Blue Jay.
On Friday April 4 he welcomed newcomer Masahiro Tanaka to the bigs with a leadoff home run; a rude welcome to MLB for the Japanese import. The Yanks had the last laugh, however, beating the Jays 7-3.
The next day he gave David Phelps something to think about, taking him deep in the eighth inning. His solo job paid dividends, because the Jays won 5-4.
The third time was the charm on April 6 – the series finale. Cabrera punished the Yankees yet again, homering off his former teammate CC Sabathia. The Yankee offense picked the big man up, and the Yankees went on to win 6-4.
The Yankees may have won the series, yet three homers in three consecutive days – off the bat of a player they gave away for a lousy pitcher (Vazquez) – is enough to make any Yankee fan face-palm.
May 11, 2014 – Mark Reynolds
Mark Reynolds was acquired by the Yankees on Aug. 15 last year after being designated for assignment by the Cleveland Indians. The Yanks may have thought they could catch some lightning; perhaps get a much-needed offensive spark from an unlikely source.
In all, Reynolds played 36 games in pinstripes. He finished his short-lived Yankee career with six homers, 19 RBIs, 15 runs scored and with a .236 BA. However, combining his numbers with the Indians, he finished 2013 overall with 21 home runs, 67 RBIs, a .220 BA and 55 runs scored.
Not too bad, but maybe his low batting average and his strikeout count from '13 (154) was too much for the Yankees. Whatever the reason, they allowed him to walk and he caught on with the Milwaukee Brewers.
On Mother's Day this year, as fate would have it, Reynolds had a chance to remind the Yankees what they let go of when he was at the plate with a runner on third in a 5-5 game at Miller Park in the bottom of the ninth.
Reynolds wrapped a single to left field to plate Rickie Weeks, giving the Brew Crew a walk-off, 6-5 win over the Yankees.
A former player burned the Yankees yet again, and something else to chew on: Reynolds has 13 homers this year and 28 RBIs – more than the Yankees' team leader in both categories. Mark Teixeira leads the Yanks in homers with 10 and RBIs with 27.
May 12-13, 2014 – Curtis Granderson
Not long after Reynolds made the Yankees remember him, Curtis Granderson gave them a grim reminder of how deadly he can be. Granderson, a Yankee from 2010-13, became a fan favorite while in pinstripes. His stroke was perfect for Yankee Stadium, and it showed.
When his four-year Yankee career was all said and done, Granderson finished with 115 homers (for the Bronx Bombers, not counting his time in Detroit) and 307 RBIs. Yet a cumulative batting average of .242 – and an injury plagued 2013 – most likely made the Yankee brass shy away from bringing back the "Grandy Man."
That's when the cross town Mets came calling. Granderson answered for four years and $60 million.
When he returned to Yankee Stadium May 12, Granderson took his old buddy Hiroki Kuroda deep in the sixth inning, a two-run bomb that proved significant: the Mets beat the Yanks by two, 9-7.
The very next night he showed the Yankees up again, this time with a three-run tater in the top of the first off Vidal Nuno. The Mets wound up winning 12-7, taking two Subway Series games at the big ballpark in the Bronx.
Lucky for the Yankees he cooled off when the Subway Series took the Citi Field: Granderson went 0-for-7 in the final two rivalry games with three strikeouts.
June 1, 2014 – Phil Hughes and Eduardo Nunez
Phil Hughes came up in 2007, dubbed by The Sports Illustrated the "next Roger Clemens" or in SI's own words, "the pocket rocket." Hughes was anything but, finishing his tenure in New York with a record of 56-50. Last year alone, his final year in pinstripes, he went 4-14 with an ERA of 5.19, letting up 170 hits in 145 2/3 innings.
Altogether he allowed 112 home runs as a Yankee pitcher, so naturally the Bombers had a chance to chastise him for all that grief this past Sunday, when he made his return to Yankee Stadium as a Minnesota Twin.
No such luck.
Hughes tossed eight innings of two-run ball on just three hits. He walked only two and struck out six, on the way to his sixth win of 2014. The Yanks couldn't figure out their former middle-of-the-rotation hurler.
And it only got worse.
Earlier this year the Yankees opted to designate shortstop Eduardo Nunez – the untouchable piece they wouldn't let go of in a deal that would've sent ace Cliff Lee to the Yankees in a potential 2010 trade that fell through. Nunez was acquired by Minnesota on April 7.
On Sunday the Twins took a 3-2 lead in the ninth – doable, perhaps, for the Yankees to battle back from. But Nunez came up and doubled in Aaron Hicks and Brian Dozier, padding the Twins' lead. Thus, the game was out of reach and the Yanks ended up falling 7-2.
A double dose of former Yankee torture.
April 29, May 1, & June 2, 2014 – Robinson Cano
Robinson Cano is not welcome at Yankee Stadium anymore, as evidenced by these three games. After inking a lucrative deal with Seattle this offseason, leaving Yankee fans high and dry, it seemed, Cano made his return to Yankee Stadium on April 29.
An RBI and a run scored on Cano's part helped the Mariners win a 6-3 game against the Yanks.
A rainout pushed the second game of the series back a day, and on May 1, Cano snatched another hit off his old team and drove in two more runs. Seattle won 4-2.
The makeup of the rainout happened this past Monday night; Cano went 1-for-3 with a run scored and two walks. Seattle once again bested the Yankees, 10-2.
The numbers don't exactly leap off the page, but looking at the box scores closely, the former beloved second baseman quietly helped slam the Bombers down in the Mariners' games vs. New York this year. Cano still has a chance to do more damage on his former 'mates next week, when the Mariners host the Yanks June 10-12 at SafeCo.
And more damage was exactly what Cano did. The slugging second baseman once adored by Yankee fans and now reviled homered off Masahiro Tanaka in the ninth inning to break up a shutout, although the Yankees won 4-2.
After all this proof one has to wonder what's next. When the Yankees host the Tigers Aug. 4-7, is Joba Chamberlain going to record some saves on the Yankees?
Will Hughes throw a perfect game vs. them when the Bombers go to Target Field on July 3? Is Cabrera going to smack three more home runs off Yankee pitching on June 17, when the Yankees get back from their upcoming road trip and host the Blue Jays?
It wouldn't be shocking if they did. Because it's as factual as it gets.
All ex-Yankees kill the Yankees.
July 10 – UPDATE!
As I typed this blog up on June 4-5, I continually had to go back and keep adding to it. Now, a little over a month later, (not thinking it was possible) I am returning to pile on even more pain caused by former Yankees.
Here goes.
Steve Pearce – June 20-22, 2014
If you blinked at all during the 2012 season, you may have missed Steve Pearce. He was acquired by New York from the Astros for cash on Aug. 27 and designated for assignment on Sept. 25, probably going hardly noticed bysome fans.
A journeyman, he made his way to the Orioles this year – and made sure the Yankees knew what they'd willingly given up not even two years ago.
On June 20 Pearce went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored in what would've been an Orioles win over the Yanks had it not been for some late-game heroics off the bat of Carlos Beltran.
The next day Pearce duplicated his performance from the day before; in fact he did it in more spectacular fashion. Pearce homered off Vidal Nuno, a two-run tater that helped lead the O's to a 6-1 win over the Yankees.
In the series finale he finished off his assault with a 2-for-4 clip. In that three-game set, overall he went 6-for-13 with a homer, four RBIs, two runs scored and two walks.
Not bad for a guy the Yankees axed right before the playoffs. He'll have a chance to leave more of a lasting impression on his old team this weekend, as the O's host the Yankees right before the All-Star break.
Nick Swisher – July 7-10, 2014
The "Swisher Salute" was a staple of every roll call at the outset of every Yankee home game from 2009-2012, but when Nick Swisher got offered a huge deal from the Cleveland Indians, it was time to say goodbye to the beloved right fielder.
This week Swisher darn sure made the Yankees pay for giving him up.
On Monday night he took a mighty hack and broke up Shane Greene's no-hitter in the fifth inning, homering over the big wall in left-center field.
That's right. One Swisher swing; no-hitter gone, shutout gone. Yet it made little difference, because the Yankees went on to get the better of the tribe, 5-3.
However Tuesday night, he took another swing that surely made a difference.
Off Tanaka, the Yankee ace, Swisher smacked a go-ahead two-run homer over the wall in right-center to give the Indians a 4-3 lead. Cleveland would go on to hand the Yanks a 5-3 loss, playing to win from behind.
If that wasn't enough, on Wednesday Swisher was at it again; knocking in two runs with a single right away in the first inning off new Yankee starter Brandon McCarthy. The Yankees would fight back and take that game 5-4 in 14 long innings, but just for good measure, Swisher added a base hit in the series finale tonight – which ended in a 9-3 victory for the Indians
Chris Dickerson – July 7-10, 2014
Believe it or not, Chris Dickerson was originally drafted by the Yankees in 2000, but opted for college instead of pro ball. He was good enough to be drafted again, the second time by the Cincinnati Reds. After making his MLB debut in Cincy in 2008 and enjoying a stint with the Brewers, he was eventually picked up by the original team that drafted him in a deal that sent Sergio Mitre to Milwaukee.
Dickerson was up and down with the Yankees throughout 2011 and 2012, but they ultimately designated him for assignment and released him.
The reason? An overabundance of left-handed hitters.
Great reason to cut somebody, right?
A free man, he went to the Orioles and Pirates before finding a home recently with the Indians. In this past four-game set this week, Dickerson collected seven hits and scored four runs on the Yankees.
That's not even the best part.
In an even funnier story, last year when he was with Baltimore, he clubbed two homers off Phil Hughes on May 21 – this of course being in 2013, when Hughes was still wearing pinstripes.
Dickerson gets bonus points: he went back-to-back; killed the Yankees last season and this season.
I'm just going to go ahead and end this post with,
To be continued….
UPDATE! Sept. 23
Yes. There is more.
Kelly Johnson – Sept. 14, 2014; Sept. 23, 2014
Kelly Johnson, we barely knew ye. This year Johnson became the first player ever to put on the uniform of every team in the AL East. In fact, in 2014 alone he's played with three of the five beasts from the east. He started with the Yankees in New York, where he played 77 games and hit .219 with six homers and 22 RBIs.
At the trade deadline Brian Cashman swapped him for Stephen Drew, shipping him over to Boston. Johnson played in just 10 games with the reigning champs and batted .160 with no homers and just one RBI.
The Red Sox let him go and the Baltimore Orioles took him from there.
On Sept. 14, in a Sunday night game the Yanks needed to take from the O's for the sake of the standings, Johnson delivered the death blow in a 2-2 game; an RBI double capping a ninth inning Orioles rally to finish off the pinstripers by a count of 3-2.
Johnson proved yet again that all ex-Yankees kill the Yankees Sept. 23 in the Bronx when he homered off Brandon McCarthy. He finished the night 3-for-5 with the round-tripper, in what turned out to be a 5-4 Baltimore win over New York.
Eli Manning Talks Guiding Eyes, Derek Jeter's Influence
For the third time in my career today I was given the chance to catch up with Eli Manning. Just thought I'd throw my story up here on the blog. I asked him about the game he and Peyton attended the other day and he gave me some great thoughts on Derek Jeter.
Here's some video and the story from the evening:
WHITE PLAINS – Throwing a game-winning pass in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl with time winding down is nothing New York Giants' quarterback Eli Manning is unfamiliar with, having accomplished the feat twice.
Being a Super Bowl hero may mean a lot to the veteran QB. Yet being a participant in Guiding Eyes for the Blind's annual Golf Classic at the Mt. Kisco Country Club might just mean a little bit more to him. This evening Manning announced at Mulino's of Westchester in White Plains that he would be hosting the event for the eighth straight year at the spring tee off event.
Guiding Eyes, a Yorktown-based nonprofit guide dog school, is thrilled to welcome Manning back into the fold – and Manning couldn't be happier to be back, as his interest keeps on growing over time.
"Each year there's different stories about the impact it has on people's lives," he said. "They're not just helping someone's life, they're changing it and it's such a great program. They (Guiding Eyes) are now helping out people with autism, and it's really an honor to be associated with a great program like Guiding Eyes."
On June 9 Manning will put on a blindfold before the golf game begins, and he'll try to sink a putt on the practice green. Last year Manning missed the shot from 10 feet away, although two years ago he hit it from 14 feet out. The golf classic will feature 14 blind golfers from around the country, competing for the Corcoran Cup – the prize for the winner.
"I think it's all luck," Manning said of the blind putt demonstration. "I don't think it's more challenging, I think it stays just as difficult every time. I can assure you I'm not getting any better at it, but it gives you a great appreciation for all the golfers who are playing in the tournament and playing blind. It's a great feat to watch, to play golf without sight."
Manning also talked about the goings-on of the Giants' offseason, including his ankle surgery, which he said went fine. In fact, the surgery affected his preparation for the upcoming golf classic but added he's been concentrating on getting back to football form.
"The last week I've been out on the field, passing," he said "I've been doing all the routes and all the drops I can do, but I feel no issues. The injury kept me off the golf course; my main focus is getting back healthy and learning the offense."
Manning took in some down time at a Yankee game last Sunday with his older brother Peyton, though he didn't get a chance to wish retiring Yankee captain Derek Jeter well. However he plans on attending a game before the baseball season ends to say a proper goodbye to Jeter, who gave him a lot of career advice over the years.
"I didn't see him – Peyton went early and saw batting practice and did the whole deal," Manning said. "I figure I might see Derek down the road, but it was Peyton's last chance. Derek's been great to me over the years; been a really great role model for me.
"Even at this stage in my life I still have role models and Derek 's been someone that you look up to, and you see how he conducts himself, how he handles being in the spotlight, how he plays the game, and he's been a great example for me to follow."
Manning was in Nashville, Tenn. When the Giants selected wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. (LSU) in the first round of this past week's NFL draft, and he's excited to be playing with someone he's familiar with. Beckham attended the Manning family's football camp while in high school, giving the Giants a decided edge being that the QB and WR know each other.
"The more skilled players and good players you can add to the team, the better," Manning said. "Odell has always been a professional. The first time I worked ever out with him I think he was a junior in high school, and he was a different athlete from the guys that were there. He stood out and it's been fun to watch him grow as a player. I've been impressed.
"Now with a new energized offense, we can come in and get refocused on playing better football."


text:
All quotes tagged Predicts
(460 quotes found)
"It was almost predictable. The last thing you want to do when you're 13-0 is take a break. We hadn't played since December 17th and it showed."
"This winter has been several degrees warmer than usual. Normally, we would predict highs in the 40s and lows in the 20s."
"It means nothing. It's just something the conference does and we very rarely end up where the conference predicts we will."
"We noticed that, too, as a team. You can become predictable. Teams kind of picked up on it. When we became less predictable, we had success."
"It's not so bad if you've kind of predicted that that's how they're going to behave in certain situations, than if it hits you by surprise."
"We are seeing some very heavy loads this month. It's a little early to predict the summer, but we're seeing encouraging signs. The problem the industry has is there's a lot of discount fares, and so we're not making money."
"This hurricane re-writes our folklore. It shows you can't predict anything and can't build to protect."
"It's going to be difficult to predict whether or not [the hurricane] is going to have an impact on West Nile,"

subset: commoncrawl


text:
2008 Ford F250 Super Duty - Rolling Thunder
Big Power In A Big Package
If you think about it, a Super Duty is the perfect platform for a powerful audio system. There's plenty of room, there's already lots of sound deadening, the doors shut like a vault, and you know you're not going to bog it down no matter how heavy your amps, subs, and batteries get. None of those attributes were lost on Corey Kaplan of Chicago, Illinois, as he knew his '08 Ford F-250 Super Duty had the right foundation-it was just waiting for him to step things up.
Corey wanted an unmatched custom sound system and knew he had to look no further than Street Legal Audio in Algonquin, Illinois. Corey was looking for an interior that delivered a level of sound and luxury that Ford designers could only hope to put into a concept truck, but at the same time wouldn't contrast with the rugged capability of the Super Duty. Street Legal took his concept and delivered, with an Alpine IVA-W505 7-inch in-dash monitor that orchestrates the audio and sends video to two Alpine 7-inch visor monitors, one 11-inch Concept monitor in the passenger airbag location, two 17-inch Concept monitors flushed into the rear of the front seats and two 17-inch Concept monitors in the rear doors. Street Legal Audio fabricated two new door panels stuffed with Memphis 6 1/2-inch components, 8-inch Memphis subwoofers, and illuminated "SUPER DUTY" badges on each door. Our favorite addition to the truck is the custom center console that looks a lot like the factory console, just much bigger. The reason for the excess bulk is a 15-inch Memphis Mojo subwoofer that points rearward, filling the cab with bass. A single 2500-watt Memphis amp powers the sub while two 125-watt Memphis four-channel amps deliver power to the door speakers. For added power capacity, four HC 2400 Kinetik batteries were added to the truck, two underhood, and two in the bed. To transform the look of the interior and add some luxury, Street Legal Audio placed black ostrich inserts in each seat and upholstered the door panels, headliner, and middle console in matching material.
Corey thought that the outside of the truck deserved some upscale touches to match the interior. This time he turned to Attitude Performance, Inc. in Arlington Heights, Illinois, where a 7-inch Icon lift was bolted on up front, with Atlas leaf springs and Fabtech ladder bars in the rear. An Attitude Performance indexing ring sorted out the transfer case and their crossmember strengthened the front suspension mounting points. The axles both benefit from Mag-Hytec covers for increased fluid capacity and cooling. The kit made room for 37-inch Toyo Open Country M/T tires and 20-inch RBP 94R wheels. RBP was also the go-to company for the Super Duty's grille, side vents, badges, step bars, and of course an exhaust system for the Power Stroke diesel. Fitting the black on black exterior, the truck was outfitted with Recon LED tail lights, mirror lights, third brake light, and smoked headlights. The vinyl wrap was the finishing touch and gave the Super Duty a bold look.
Corey loves cruising in the lap of luxury with a high-quality audio system at the ready and a no-nonsense stance with just the right upscale touches, but good enough is never enough. With the new 2011 Super Duty on the market, we've got a feeling Corey will be building another beast of a hauler to raise the bar. Keep your eyes out Chicago.


text: S572 Addresses issues of relevance to artists working today, e.g., the current political and social climate affecting the art world, historical references from which we have developed. In addition, the seminar provides an opportunity to critique and review students' artwork. This is a general description based on an academic year semester. It is intended as a guide. Your instructor will provide you with specific course requirements. A lab fee is charged. Please visit http://www.indiana.edu/~blbursar for fee details.


text:
OCEAN CITY — The Maryland Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure® is offering Ocean City area businesses the opportunity to participate in two events the week leading up to the 2nd Annual Komen Maryland Ocean City Race for the Cure — Paint the Town Pink and Dine Out for the Cure®.
Paint the Town Pink is a competition open to all downtown businesses. Participating businesses are encouraged to decorate the outside of their building, store front and inside in pink from Friday, April 12, through Friday, April 19. Judges will then visit the participating businesses on Friday, April 19 and judge them based on their decorations. The winner will receive the "SeaBoard Business Prize Package", valued at $1,280.
Businesses can enter the competition by visiting www.komenmd.org/OC clicking on the "Paint the Town Pink" button and completing the form.
Dine Out for the Cure is an opportunity for local restaurants to partner with Komen Maryland to encourage race participants to dine at their restaurant by pledging a portion of their sales for the week. Taking place from Friday, April 12, through Sunday, April 21, participating restaurants will be listed on the Komen Maryland website and receive printable promotional materials identifying them as a Dine Out for the Cure participant.
Restaurants interesting in additional information or registering can visit www.komenmd.org/OC and click on "Dine Out for the Cure" button. Three restaurants, BJ's on the Water, Fresco's and VFW Post 8296, have committed to the program so far. Sponsorship opportunities are also still available for interested businesses and organizations. Sponsorship levels and benefits can be found at www.komenmd.org/OC by clicking the "Sponsors" button. Targeted sponsorship opportunities are also available. Please contact Margo Mandes, Eastern Shore Race and Development Coordinator, via email at email@example.com. Participants can register for the Komen Maryland Ocean City Race for the Cure online at www.komenmd.org/OC, at walk up registration at the Ocean City Convention Center Friday, April 19, and Saturday, April 20, or beginning at 6 on race morning in the Race Village.
Additional information about the event can be found at www.komenmd.org/OC.


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Broadway HitsVarious - Hal Leonard Corporation
Broadway HitsVarious - Hal Leonard Corporation
Publisher Desc. Fifteen favorites from the Great White Way for solo instrumentalists! Titles include: Backwoods Barbie; Breathe; Expressing Yourself; Find Your Grail; Follow Your Heart; Ireland; Mama Who Bore Me; Memphis Lives in Me; Part of Your World; Popular; Pulled; Take a Chance on Me; There's a Fine, Fine Line; Too Beautiful for Words and Woman.
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- BACKWOODS BARBIE by 9 TO 5
- BREATHE by IN THE HEIGHTS
- EXPRESSING YOURSELF by BILLY ELLIOT
- FIND YOUR GRAIL by SPAMALOT
- FOLLOW YOUR HEART by URINETOWN
- IRELAND by LEGALLY BLONDE
- MAMA WHO BORE ME by SPRING AWAKENING
- MEMPHIS LIVES IN ME by MEMPHIS
- PART OF YOUR WORLD by THE LITTLE MERMAID
- POPULAR by WICKED
- PULLED by THE ADDAMS FAMILY
- TAKE A CHANCE ON ME by MAMMA MIA!
- THERE'S A FINE, FINE LINE by AVENUE Q
- TOO BEAUTIFUL FOR WORDS by THE COLOR PURPLE
- WOMAN by THE PIRATE QUEEN
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Environment Ministers Target 2009 Climate Treaty
BOGOR, Indonesia - An informal meeting of environment ministers in Indonesia has accepted the need for negotiations on a new treaty to fight climate change to be wrapped up by 2009, a U.N. official said on Thursday.
The gathering of environment ministers and officials from about 40 nations this week comes ahead of a key meeting in Bali in December aimed at hammering out a new global climate deal to curb carbon emissions after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.
"The meeting has indicated very clearly that negotiations need to be completed in 2009 and it will give enough time for ratification of the long-term agreement by governments and its entry into force before the Kyoto period ends in 2012," said Yvo de Boer, the head of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat.
De Boer has been pushing hard for talks to be wrapped up by 2009, although there are concerns the timetable could slip because of the U.S. presidential election next year and the complexity of dividing emission limits between rich and poor.
There have been tensions between developed and poorer industrializing nations over who should bear the burden for cutting emissions, seen by many scientists as vital to slow global warming and effects such as floods, droughts and rising sea levels.
"There was a strong agreement here that industrialized countries must continue to take the lead by reducing their emissions of greenhouse gases given their historic responsibility for the problem," he told a news conference at the presidential palace in Bogor, an hour's drive south of the capital, Jakarta.
"But at the same time there was also an agreement to have a broader engagement of developing countries on the issue as well."
But the U.N. official said there should be incentives for developing countries to cut emissions, noting concern among poorer nations that reducing emissions could hamper development.
Kyoto binds 36 rich nations to cap emissions of greenhouse gases until 2012 and a new global deal would seek to engage outsiders such as the United States and Australia, as well as developing countries such as China, India and Brazil.
De Boer said Australia and the United States had played a constructive role in the informal talks and said both accepted that negotiations needed to be completed in 2009.
Emil Salim, a former environment minister heading the Indonesian delegation to the Bali talks told a later news conference that a wide spectrum of interests were represented at the Bogor meeting, including oil producers.
"Every country who has a stake in this have been represented in the meeting -- the archipelagic countries such as the Maldives, OPEC by countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United States, Australia, China and India."
(Additional reporting by Adhityani Arga)


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Bob & Marianne Live from Atlanta Bread in Brick
Bob & Marianne in the Morning will be broadcasting LIVE this morning from Atlanta Bread at 1042 Cedar Bridge Avenue in Brick. Be one of the first 100 families to receive a complimentary cinnamon raisin or nine grain bread plus coffee and pastry! If you can't make it, Marianne is keeping a live photo diary of the event. Take a look at the action here!


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More cameras, more features, more choices—today's HDV market is a rich and varied one, thanks to mid-2005 entries from Sony, Canon, and JVC that established HDV as the prosumer's choice for HD video acquisition, and a slew of summer 2006 announcements that have added depth, breadth, and next-generation maturity to the field. Here's a recap of how we got from a one-camera market to a wealth of choices, and a breakdown of how the models differ from one another and the features of each that serve the event videographer best. The days of HDV being a one-horse race are long behind us. It's been less than two years since Sony launched the HDR-FX1 and made HDV viable for videographers, but the days when JVC's GR-HD1 was the only game in town—and a single-CCD, losing game at that—seem like eons ago. The hot handheld market just received a new batch of HD camcorders with the slew of IBC announcements, and, with one more on the way from Panasonic, the selection of prosumer HD camcorders has become quite bountiful. Try to think all the way back to the summer of 2006, when we had only about five different models of HDV and prosumer HD camcorders. We had the venerable Sony HDR-FX1 and HVR-Z1U; the flexible Panasonic AG-HVX200; the diminutive and consumerish Sony HDR-HC1 and HVR-A1U; and two much bigger models, the Canon XL H1 and JVC's GY-HD100U. That may sound like a lot of choices, but with the disparate needs of our industry, it was clearly not enough to satisfy demand. For instance, if you wanted a handheld that recorded one hour of HDV and had dedicated manual controls that weren't buried in a menu, there was basically only one choice—the FX1/Z1U. But that all changed this fall.
New Models, New FeaturesFirst, Canon introduced the XH A1 and G1. Then Sony introduced the HDR-FX7 and HVR-V1U (above, right). As of late September, we were also expecting to see the JVC GY-HD200 arrive in shooters' hands by the time this issue hits, if not a few weeks before. Meanwhile, Panasonic has already announced an upgrade to the AG-HVX200. More important than the near doubling of choices and the redistribution of features are the new price points these camcorders offer. Checking shipping prices, as well as the suggested prices of the camcorders not yet available, yields the state of the market reflected in the table on p. 35. You can see that we now have a pretty good selection of camcorders and a range of features from about $1,500 to nearly $10,000.
Once you get above $10,000 you might as well go right to Sony's XDCAM HD (the F330 or F350), which records three HD data rates and numerous frame rates, as well as DVCAM, on removable optical media that hold up to two hours on one disk, all starting around $15,500.
You can find detailed descriptions, tests, sample footage, and more about these camcorders on the web, and to recount all that information in this article would be redundant. What follows is a quick overview of the entire range of camcorders with an emphasis on the features most salient to EventDV readers.
Sony FX1 and Z1UThe emergence of HDV as a viable prosumer and professional format began with the introductions of the Sony HDR-FX1 (left) and HVR-Z1U (see Jan Ozer's February 2005 review). The Z1U is the "pro" version of the "consumer" FX1. While more than $1,000 separates these two siblings, they are more alike than different. Perhaps their nearly complete feature-set overlap reflects a weak effort at artificially differentiating the products on Sony's part, or maybe the key area of divergence—the lack of XLR support in the FX1—is Sony's way of drawing the line between consumer and professional cameras (the cameras are marketed by two completely separate divisions). If so, it was a miscalculation, because the FX1 has largely been adopted by pros, rather than consumers, in the United States, and pro shooters almost exclusively favor cameras with professional XLR inputs. That said, both of these camcorders have had significant success in our market and have served event videographers just fine for over a year now.
I admit to being an early adopter of these Sony HDV models and have grown to love the images they produce. On the other hand, Sony's innovative, handle-mounted screen turns out to be less useful than they intended. Not only does this design remove the screen as an easy way to stabilize the camcorder, but it also places numerous controls on top of the camcorder, which is not the best place for them if you need to make adjustments when you have the camera mounted high in the air or on a crane. Sony has recognized this problem and returned to a more traditional camcorder design with its latest models. The Z1U offers the XLR jacks and better access to the menus and control that a pro might expect. Though the FX1 lacks integrated XLRs, external boxes suffice for some and easier access to some camera features isn't worth the cost difference when the imaging blocks and lenses produce the same images in both camcorders. Much as the Sony VX1000 heralded the dawn of DV, these near-identical twins led the way to HDV on their own for quite a while.
In late 2005, Sony introduced the A1U and HC1 and served notice that the HDV market would be a broad and diverse one, with palm-sized and sub-$2,000 camcorders adopting HDV technology as well as more pro-oriented models. They also represented the first HDV models that might serve as second or third cameras for event shooters.
The Sony A1U is the "pro" version of the consumer HC1 (left). Both of these single-chip palmcorders offer an amazing 1080i HDV image for their low prosumer price. It's clear from the available manual controls and the "pro" addition of XLR jacks through a hot shoe that these were not designed as just consumer camcorders.
Although low-light performance is limited, and their color balance isn't perfect, they strike a beautiful balance between affordability and HDV image quality. Many users also select them as a second or third camcorder purely due to size—they are the smallest prosumer HDV camcorders—or price, when a camcorder might need to be "expendable" either in action or in war.
While neither is likely to qualify as the "A" camera of the professional event videographer, they have earned their place. They do a commendable job, are very affordable, and, when you need a camcorder for a personal event, they are the easiest to grab—with the least amount of worry.
Canon XL H1: The Hummer of HDVThe $8,999 Canon XL H1 (left) is the big daddy in the prosumer camcorder price range. The image quality you get from the "true HD" CCDs is what you pay for. You can record DV and HDV, naturally, but the big bonus you get here is the ability to put your own lens on the front, and the ability to take HD-SDI right off the imaging block and record it to tape or a computer hard drive. Not bad for the first HDV camcorder from Canon, and under $10k to boot!
Canon has developed and revised the XL design over several years and through several iterations. The latest version maintains the best aspects. The design is definitely lens-heavy, but it works for many people. This is clear from the continued sales of the XL line.
Best of all, some head-to-head tests with the Sony CineAlta and Panasonic Varicam put the image quality of the Canon H1 right up there with cameras that basically add an extra zero to the price tag. So for affordable 1080i images that really pass muster, the Canon H1 is the Hummer of HDV.
JVC Goes 60pJVC's GY-HD100U (left) is a camcorder like no other. Not only does it represent a departure in design from big palmcorders that fill this niche, but it produced stellar images right out of the gate. Not just DV and HDV, mind you, but true 24p that garnered praise from the independent filmmaking community in addition to event and corporate producers.
Aside from an imaging software glitch that was quickly rectified by JVC, this camcorder offers features, setups, and accessories that show careful forethought for the end user's needs.
From JVC's new take on Focus Assist to the camera's interchangeable lenses, adjustable shoulder pad, and multiple integrated battery and hard drive solutions, the HD100U makes shooting easy for the user. Not least among its unique advantages is the fact that it's the only camcorder in this price range with a speaker placed next to the shooter's ear.
This makes confident run-and-gun a possibility, and the HD100U has quickly justified its cost wherever it has been used (see Marc Smiler's April 2006 review).
The JVC GY-HD200 (left) hasn't shipped as of this writing, but it will probably be available for purchase by the time you read this. JVC announced it at NAB in April, and it was a bit of a surprise considering the HD100 hadn't been in users' hands that long. But the HD200 satisfies one of the most oft-repeated requests that JVC heard from its users: support 720p60 recording in addition to the 720p30 and 720p24 offered by the HD100. JVC touts increased compression efficiency and a longer GOP to cram double the frames into the same 19Mbps HDV data rate. This means you use the same tape as you did before, and that's a nice upgrade.
JVC has also increased the number of accessories available for the GY-HD line, making the little shoulder camera chassis the basis for much more—including full-out studio cameras. While it may be a bit odd to see the small HD250 inside the studio config, it's been much-praised for the image quality it generates, and budget-constrained operations have little choice when it comes to outfitting schools, government offices, local sports organizations, etc. So JVC may have correctly identified an under-served market and provided a critical solution.
Perks and Perils of P2Panasonic's AG-HVX200 (left) sits at about the middle of the pack—price- and picture-wise—and is the oddest bird of the lot. It is a DV camcorder, and a camera that records DVCPRO 50 and DVCPRO HD onto Panasonic's solid-state P2 PC cards. It has enjoyed rapid adoption among those who welcome its ability to record multiple HD formats at numerous different frame rates, including true 24p. This makes it an excellent second camera to augment a Varicam shoot (see Ben Balser's July review).
The HVX200 retains the the DVX100 series' compact design, which has proven to be very appealing to end users and has not seen any dramatic design changes since the original DVX100 was introduced many years ago (Panasonic also introduced the immediate successor to the DVX100A, the aptly named and DV-only DVX100B, to little fanfare in late 2005). The HVX builds on the solidity of the DVX100 design and tries to minimize differences, even though it integrates the entirely new P2 recording system. However, the cost and physical limitations of the P2 media make it a work-in-progress at best and have caused some potential owners to hesitate. Rental houses have stepped up to the plate, making the HVX a little more palatable to the pocketbook, and nonlinear software packages have integrated P2 workflow, making it easier to get the footage off the cards (for a tutorial on Final Cut Pro's P2 workflow, see Ben Balser's October Cut Lines). It's also worth comparing Panasonic's 4:2:2 DVCPRO HD system to the 4:2:0 MPEG-2 compression used in HDV. The HDV codec records 1440x1080 of luminance, but obviously its 4:2:0 color space limits it to half the chroma detail, just 720 pixels across. In comparison, the HVX200 uses three 960x540-pixel CCDs with pixel shift in both the vertical and horizontal axes. Also, like HDV, the DVCPRO HD codec itself does not record "full" HD. 1280x720p is recorded as 960x720. The more detailed 1920x1080 is recorded at 1280x1080 in 59.94i and as 1440x1080 in 50i. Here, chroma resolution is reduced from 960 to 640 pixels per line.
The DVCPRO HD system offers up to 100Mbps. The frame size is fixedand shooting fewer frames does not increase the amount of data allocated to each frame. Compared to the 25Mbps of HDV, DVCPRO allocates more data to each frame, but HDV uses a much more efficient codec (MPEG-2) and interframe compression to make the most of the bits it has. It also offers a singular convenience: recording HD video to inexpensive DV tape. So while some covet the DVX200 and its vast and versatile feature set, and have hastened to make it a permanent addition to their arsenal, others have stepped back and realized those advantages are available at a lower cost through rental. Then, if the P2 system turns out to be more trouble than they expected, they can just return it at the end of the day. Or they can simply rent it for specific shoots—say, commercials or other corporate projects, rather than all-day events—where P2's shooting-time constraints don't pose a problem.
Sony Killers?When Canon announced its XH A1 (left) and XH G1 in July, the new pair of all-in-one camcorders were immediately dubbed the FX1/Z1U killers. This is because the Canon XH G1 and A1 take direct aim at the design and the pricing of Sony's $3,500 FX1 and $4,500 Z1U. The compact design features a side-mounted LCD; XLR jacks; a nice, long 20x optical lens (double what Sony offered in the FX1/Z1U); and Canon's famed optical image stabilization. This alone could rip potential buyers from the Sony fold. Another nice feature of the new Canon models is that they are twins. Unlike the artificial stratification of Sony's consumer/prosumer camcorders—which amount to differentiating them on the basis of XLR jacks, some menus, and other tweaks—Canon's camcorders are deliberately identical. One has additional jacks and features. But other than that, you will find everything else designed to make it easy to jump back and forth between these HDV siblings and not miss a beat.
Canon also backs up the power of these camcorders by including the imaging block from the top-of-the-line H1. These are some very pretty chips. Plus, Canon also gives the power to the people by offering it in two flavors: the less expensive A1 (MSRP $3,999) for those who just need a good HDV camcorder, and the G1 (MSRP $6,999) for those who also want the ability to get the pristine images out of the camcorder on HD-SDI. We'll be reviewing the A1 in February 2007.
CMOS vs. CCD: Sony Strikes BackRecently, Sony's HVR-V1U entered the fray and became Sony's fourth CMOS camcorder to try and replicate what CCDs have done well for decades: converting light into electric charges, processing it into electronic signals, and thus capturing digital images. Sony's HC1 and A1U were the first to use the technology for HDV acquisition. A consumer model, the HC3 came next, followed by the UX1 (see Douglas Spotted Eagle's November UX1 review). Though designed primarily as consumer models, the HC1 and A1U proved to be a pretty good implementation of the new CMOS technology. The DCR-PC1000 was Sony's first foray into CMOS land, and even that SD camcorder produced some pleasant images.
The V1U and its consumer sibling, the HDR-FX7 (left), take CMOS to the next level with a three-CMOS chip imaging block and the ability to record true 24p. Sony's new models also boast the ability to record short bursts of slow motion video they introduced on the HC1/A1U. With these new cameras Sony has also finally moved past its 10x and 12x optical zoom lenses and offers its first 20x optical in a prosumer camcorder. This lessens the lure of Canon's new, lower-priced XH models (see Douglas Spotted Eagle's November V1U review).
Although previous CMOS solutions have failed to even maintain the low-light capability achieved by recent prosumer CCD camcorders, these new camcorders could break new ground by leveraging three chips and advanced processing to take CMOS users where they have never gone before. Forthcoming optional accessories like an integrated hard disk recorder, LED light, and a wide-angle lens show that these camcorders also have some thinking behind them.
ConclusionsThe video production market has grown considerably in just a few short years. I've shot events with everything from a two piece 3/4" system to Hi8, SVHS, Betacam, DV, DVCAM, DVCPRO, and HDV—and numerous models of each. Based on what I've seen of HDV compared with the formats that have served me in the past, I'm excited by the latest generation of products offering affordable HDV to event videographers. Though I don't have much interest in 24p, and worry about the limited record times of P2, I see the value of these features for certain applications, and understand that manufacturers are trying to make one piece of gear fit the needs of more users than ever before. I prefer usability and quality over groundbreaking innovation. I use my camcorder to make money and to tell a story—reliably, and repeatedly. I need to count on it and bank on it.
That said, I like the new Canons and the new JVC camcorders and believe they hold the most promise of the current and emerging HDV models. Even as a long-time Sony user, I hesitate to put my eggs into the CMOS basket. Maybe in a couple of years, when we see how well the CMOS chips hold up, and demonstrate improved low-light capability, I might find myself using one. Until then, I'll put my money on time-proven CCDs and stick with what has worked for me.


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Wendy Stary, assistant professor in engineering and technology, is the new director of STEPS for Girls — Science, Technology and Engineering Preview Summer program for Girls at UW-Stout.
The five-day program, which began in 1997, is for girls entering seventh grade. They attend labs and classes, live in residence halls and use university dining and other facilities.
Stary replaces Glendali Rodriguez, who has begun a new position at UW-Stout as associate vice chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs.
Stary isn't planning any major STEPS changes in the near future.
"I think the fact that the STEPS for Girls program is in its 18th year says a lot about the overall quality of the program. What I do hope to have an impact on is the economic viability and sustainability of the program with the ultimate goal of being able to maintain a competitive tuition and limited full scholarships, to assure a diversity of participants," she said.
For continued success of the program, she points to the contributions of the many people who are passionate and committed to its mission, including sponsors, the university, community and graduates.
"I love that the girls are given a multitude of opportunities to build confidence and realize that they are capable of so much more than they might ever have dreamed possible, with constant reinforcement that it's OK to be cute and smart!" she said.
Stary, who grew up on a small Wisconsin dairy farm in Augusta, earned a bachelor's degree in manufacturing engineering from UW-Stout in 2001. After working in the plastics industry, she returned and earned her master's in manufacturing engineering in 2008 and joined the faculty.
She became acquainted with the STEPS program in the summer of 1998, when she worked as a student lab assistant.
Her roles with STEPS have included serving as the "Lego geek and mentor to girls attending the advanced STEPS" and since 2008 teaching plastics at STEPS, she said.
The program is held four times during the summer with approximately 40 girls in each five-day camp. STEPS graduates are hired for all program leadership roles, including high school junior counselors, lab assistants and college level counselors. In 2013 more than 60 applications were received for each of the high school positions.
STEPS is accepting applications for 2014 summer participants, counselors and lab assistants. For more information go to the website or contact Stary, 715-232-1161.


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Yo man what is this is crazy sh*t that is going on when people make there top 10. Apparently there is a Nagato that is stronger then the Nagato who was the 6 paths of pain.
Now people need to realize that Nagato at his strongest was with the pains. Whether you like it or not is up to you. But it is a simple manga fact.
There is no "Healthy , and experienced with Rinnegan" Nagato in Naruto-verse. That Nagato didn't exist. So why do people keep making this imaginary Nagato to put into top 10s, instead of just Pain or Nagato... But people like to say "Nagato (healthy)".... wtf.


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If you happen to be in a relationship that's, um, teetering, or if you're currently experiencing major marital troubles and you're looking for something super-escapist to catch at the movies, do not go see Carnage. Go see box office champ Sherlock Holmes, or go get Chip-wrecked with Alvin & Co. Maybe you could even watch Tom Cruise, more determined than ever to stay relevant as an action star, in Mission Impossible IX.
But don't see Carnage.
This new film, directed by Roman Polanski and starring Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz, and John C. Reilly is a very sharp portrait of couples who do one thing but are quite another. It's also savagely funny and very claustrophobic, and over time the characters unravel and become very scary people indeed. Totally worth watching – unless the dissolution of upper middle class marriages and wild displays of hypocrisy aren't your bag. Of course, there are probably a fair number of people who don't want to watch anything connected to Roman Polanski, and this'll probably diminish viewership.
If none of this bugs you, definitely go see it because it's a nifty bit of mental gymnastics. With crack performances.Carnage was originally a play on Broadway called God of Carnage and deals with the aftermath of a playground brawl that leaves one of two eleven-year-old boys minus some front teeth. The action revolves around a single meeting of the boys' parents, and it starts out with a veneer of icy civility as the two moms and two dads try to determine responsibility. Because it was a play, the language feels really dense at first, and also because it's a play, all the action's in one single location. For the movie, this all essentially stays the same. The language remains dense (although you do get used to it), and the single-location part makes it all feel hyper-claustrophobic (which you don't get used to, but that's the point).
It's an easy movie to watch but it's not an easy movie to consider because you'll have trouble finding alliances and heroes and heroines — since there really aren't any. There are just four people who represent elements of ordinary people we all know, played by four of the best actors working in movies today. Foster has the most glittery role, as the snippy repressed "liberal" wife who gets into it repeatedly with Waltz, a bored and cynical lawyer. The ever-likeable John C. Reilly, plays the "good natured" one, while Kate Winslet plays the lovely, lushy one. Nor, from the opening credits to the closing ones, does the tension dissipate – ever.
I won't give anything away but if you do choose to see it, you'll see all of these archetypes turned upside down; the movie zips along and comes in nicely at under an hour-and-a-half – and when it's all done the characters (and possibly you too) will be completely winded.
Kate Winslet's already been nominated for a Golden Globe here, and I'm honestly not exactly sure why all the actors weren't tapped. Absolutely go see Carnage if you're curious about 1) Broadway plays that become movies, 2) the deterioration of "polite society", 3) the ways in which men and women differ, and/or 4) what Christoph Waltz' post-Inglourious Basterds career looks like. It's a very good and gritty movie that will intrigue and exhaust you. But if you want to see three Oscar-winners (and one who will be some day) strutting their stuff, check Carnage out.
Today's poll:
Carnage is in theaters right now. Which of its stars is your favorite?
1) Jodie Foster
2) Christoph Waltz
3) Kate Winslet
4) John C. Reilly
For the latest pop culture news and voting, make sure to sign up for the People's Choice newsletter!