Welcome to Cooperstown
To say the Baseball Hall of Fame is simply a baseball museum, is akin to saying baseball is just a sport. But for those who truly love the game the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY is much, much more than a museum.
Andre Dawson, Whitey Herzog, and Doug Harvey are inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 25, 2010.
As Whitey Herzog said during his speech on Sunday about what it feels like on being elected, “Being elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame is like going to heaven before you die.”
There is a good reason over 350,000 visitors come from all over the world each year to see the Hall. It is a tribute to the game’s best stars and the history of the greatest American pastime.
The 2010 class included slugger Andre Dawson, manager Whitey Herzog, and umpire Doug Harvey. It is an immense honor to be elected into the Hall of Fame and shows how much of an impact and dedication you had on the game of baseball.
Andre Dawson was born on July 10, 1954 and was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 11th round of the 1975 draft. Andre had an outstanding career and played with the Expos for 11 seasons until going to the Chicago Cubs in 1987. He finished his career by playing 2 seasons with the Boston Red Sox and 2 seasons with the Florida Marlins. In his 21 seasons, he played in 2627 games, had 2774 hits, 438 homeruns, and 1591 runs batted in (RBI). In his plaque that will go into the HOF, he is wearing the Montreal Expos cap.
Whitey Herzog was inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee. He managed four teams including the Texas Rangers, California Angels, Kansas City Royals, and the St. Louis Cardinals. Herzog is wearing the Cardinals hat in his plaque since having managed there for 10 years and the club won the World Series in 1982.
Doug Harvey was born on March 13, 1930 in California. He worked in the National League from 1962-1992. He umpired a total of 4,673 games that included five World Series, and six All Star Games.
Harvey believes that if you are a fan of baseball, it a must. “Cooperstown is the home of baseball. One of the many duties of the home plate umpire is to make sure that the runner touches home. Well, if you’re a true baseball fan you need to visit Cooperstown. This is home and you need to be sure you’ll touch home by the end of the game. I’ll be watching to make sure you do.”
If you have not been to the baseball Hall of Fame, you must book a trip to visit. It is located on Main Street in the beautiful town of Cooperstown. Take the entire family for a weekend trip or bring your team and enjoy all of the festivities.
1 Comment »The Biggest Cycling Race of Them All
Tour de France cyclists riding in the final stretch of the race.
What event could be compared to running a marathon several days a week for nearly three weeks? Better yet, what event could be looked at as the equivalent of climbing Mt. Everest three times? You guessed it, the Tour de France! Every July, 22 teams of nine cyclists compete in this rigorous, yet, coveted bicycle race that attracts millions of spectators throughout each of the 21 stages. The race consists of 3,600 kilometers throughout France and its bordering countries, and contains 21 stages and 22 days of determination, will and courage. The Tour de France is unique in a way of maintaining certain traditions of the race while at the same time, altering the race every year. For instance, although the route of the race is planned differently every year, the Tour always ends at the same place, the Champs-Elysees in Paris.
The Tour de France covers a variety of terrain throughout its stages. In the 97th running of the Tour this July, there are 9 flat stages, 6 mountain stages with three mountain-top finishes, 4 medium mountain stages and 2 individual time trials. On an interesting note, there were seven cobblestone sectors that totaled 13.2 kilometers on the first three stages of this year’s race. That makes it the longest distance of cobblestones during the race since 1983 in stage three!
When most people set their minds on the grand daddy of all cycling races, they tend to focus on one rider who has overcome dozens of obstacles during his success in the Tour de France. Not only has Lance Armstrong overcome testicular cancer after being diagnosed following the Tour in ’96, but he fully recovered and went on to dominate the field in this race from 1999 to 2005 as he earned seven consecutive wins. Through that span of time, the popularity and exposure of the Tour de France and the sport of cycling increased a great deal in the United States. Of course, people would cycle for workout purposes before Armstrong’s years of success; however, the competition aspect of cycling took off during and continued on after his long string of victories. Lance Armstrong not only increased the hype of the Tour de France, but raised the sport of cycling to new heights. Nowadays, people across the world are constantly competing in bicycle races and traveling to their favorite annual races like the Tour de France.
Yes, the Tour is highly anticipated each year because of the physicality involved; however, the culture of the Tour de France is another perk to attending the event. Not only do you get to witness the best cyclists in the world, but millions of cycling enthusiasts from across the world are able to experience the beauty of France and its bordering countries. Attendees have 21 stages to choose from when trying to get a glimpse at the race, and each stage includes its own unique experience for both riders and spectators. Additionally, of the millions that attend the race, you are bound to meet individuals of different ethnicities and backgrounds. It is interesting to see how they perceive the race and what they expect to get out of it.
Furthermore, the Tour de France is an event that cyclists take years out of their lives to train and qualify for. Whether you’re traveling in Europe during the race or a die-hard cycling enthusiast, the Tour de France must be seen in person to experience the true prestige of the event and the profound passion of the participating cyclists.
Comments OffLouis Who?
The British Open was not a tournament that made us sit at the edge of our seats on Sunday afternoon. Nor was it a tournament that made us need our glasses so that we could see what was going on. Truth be told, nothing was going on except for a man from South Africa leading the pact. It was like watching a three point contest where no other contestant was hitting 3’s except for that one guy. It was like watching a 25 mile marathon where the leader was 5 miles ahead.
Louis Oosthuizen is all smiles after winning the British Open.
It was like watching Louis Oosthuizen dominate the course in St. Andrews, Scotland. And this is exactly what happened this past weekend. Louis is 27 years old and lives on a farm next door to his parents in Gouritz River, South Africa.
There was no drama at the British Open. Tiger Woods blended in with the rest of the field and was going through the motions. He finished (-3) and tied in 23rd place. Many thought that Tiger would make his comeback during this tournament, but it looked like it was another setback.
Phil Mickelson definitely did not show up to play in this tournament and ended (+1) and in 48th place.
Oosthuizen ended the tournament (-16), which was seven strokes ahead of Lee Westwood (-9). Louis Oosthuizen was a 200-1 outsider before the tournament had begun. His seven stroke victory was the biggest winning margin since Tiger Woods won by eight strokes at the British Open in 2000.
When the underdog comes out on top, it is always special and proves that anyone can win on any given day. Even though his victory might not be what the fans had hoped for, that is part of sports. Louis Oosthuizen has put in his time and has finally shown the world what he is capable of doing. “Its just brilliant knowing that I can do it and I’m looking forward to the rest of the majors.” I believe that it is great for sports when somebody wins and there is not a single person who saw it coming. It shows the world that the favorite is not always going to win and if you want to win, then you can make it happen.
Louis will enjoy his victory and will be bringing a ton of confidence with him to the US PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, Wisconsin in August.
If you want to attend the next big golf event taking place in Wisconsin, check here for more information.
1 Comment »All-Stars in Anaheim
As the 4th of July passes each year, sports fan are fully enthralled in the baseball season. The middle of the season marks many things for baseball. General Manager’s star to look at the standings to see where their team stands, as well as whether or not they are buyers or sellers come the trade deadline. Yet, as each team looks towards the season’s second half, Major League Baseball takes three days out of its schedule to honor their All-Stars.
Unlike the other major sports in America, baseball handles its All-Star game quite differently. Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig has put in place a number of rules that has boosted the importance and fan friendliness of the game including that each team must have one representative on the All-Star roster, and that the winner of the game will earn it’s league home-field advantage in the World Series.
Furthermore, the National League has not won the mid-summer classic since New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza won the MVP in the 1996 game. As the winner of the National League pennant a year ago, manager Charlie Manual of the Philadelphia Phillies will look to avenge his team’s World Series loss to Yankee’s manager Joe Girardi tonight.
Red Sox's DH David Ortiz during last night's Homerun Derby.
Featured in the All-Star game are a bunch of familiar faces coupled with some new ones. Yankees Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera are making their 13th, 11th and 11th appearance respectively while St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols is making his 9th appearance. Among the first time standouts are the starting pitchers Ubaldo Jiminez of the Colorado Rockies who brings his major league leading 15 wins up against David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays who has an AL best 12 wins.
While each league’s roster features 34 top players, only 9 of them get the honor of starting Tuesday night in Anaheim, California. Among these 18 starters is one rookie, Atlanta Braves 20-year-old outfielder Jason Heyward who will unfortunately be replaced by Corey Hart due to injury. On the American League side, the headline is the Yankees double play combination of Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano at shortstop and second base respectively.
The celebration of talent in Anaheim tonight will start with the solemn news of the passing of the New York Yankees longtime public address announcer Bob Sheppard. Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter will have a recording of Sheppard announcing his name before each of Jeter’s at bats tonight.
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