Nick is from the Bronx and grew up just a short subway ride away from the original Yankee Stadium. He spent many days of his youth sitting in those old seats and from that, he has developed a strong love for sports.
Inwood (Long Island) Firefighter, Joseph Sanford Jr. won’t be where he belongs this Christmas. His family will miss him dearly.
The 17 year department veteran succumbed to his injuries sustained in a house fire 5 days ago in Inwood. Sanford was helping to battle a blaze in the house. He was standing in the kitchen of the home when the floor gave out from under him. He was unaccounted for for several minutes before his dept. brothers found him in the basement. He fought for his life for (4) days but ultimately passed away yesterday.
Sanford is survived by his wife and daughter but his family went way beyond those who were related to him, as many firefighters are feeling the pain caused by his loss.
His loved ones have started a gofundme.com page to raise money for his wife and daughter in their time of need.
Sanford was 43 years old.
It’s always sad when these things happen but when it happens during the holiday season, it seems to be particularly harder to handle. This EZKOOL writer has already donated to the Sanford family and I ask that you do too.
St. Louis Cardinals outfielder, Oscar Taveras, has been killed in a car accident in the Dominican Republic. Taveras’ family has confirmed the accident which also claimed the life of his girlfriend. Taveras was 22 years old and had a bright future ahead of him. Just 13 days ago, he hit a game tying home run against the Giants in the NLCS.
Oscar Taveras was described as the present and future of the Cardinals offense. Today, the baseball world mourns his loss.
By now, I’m sure you’ve seen many of your friends and family do the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. You’ve probably seen your favorite actor, musician or athlete do it too. In fact, there is a good chance that you have also completed the Challenge. Your Facebook time line is probably clogged with people pouring ice cold water on themselves. Are you bored of it yet? Well don’t be.
Despite the fact that you have seen it everywhere, many don’t know how it became about ALS and even more don’t know the correct way to complete the challenge.
This is Pete Frates. He was 27 when he was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. He was 27 when a doctor looked him in the eyes and told him he has a disease that was a death sentence and has no cure and no course of treatment.
You wouldn’t blame the guy for giving up. You wouldn’t blame him for feeling sorry for himself or being angry. That’s not what happened though. You see, Pete was a hard nosed baseball player. He was the captain of the Boston College team. Giving up wasn’t something he was accustomed to. So he charged at the problem and began speaking and raising money for the ALSA which is an association that aides research in the hopes of finding a cure for ALS.
It was Pete’s friends that had seen others doing this ice bucket challenge to benefit various charities and decided to do it in honor of Pete. Well, it took off and now Pete has achieved what he set out to do. Pete is the reason that since July 29th of this year, ALSA.org has raised $31.5 million. And just to point out how incredible that actually is, that’s 16 times more than what the foundation received in the same time period last year.
Still, we can all do better. There are still many who don’t quite grasp how the challenge works. If you are nominated to complete the challenge, you are expected to dump a bucket of ice water over your head AND donate an amount of your choice to The ALSA . You can choose to not dump the water over your head and donate no less than $100. Either way, the foundation should be receiving a donation.
The whole point of dumping the ice water is to add a little fun to donating for a good cause. It keeps the cause circulating and getting bigger because each person nominates 3 others to complete the challenge.
I have to admit, I was one of the people who did not believe this challenge was helping anyone because I just didn’t understand it, but now that I do, I am amazed by how such an amazing cause has spread like wildfire. And it’s all thanks to a wonderful man names Pete Frates and his awesome friends. Thanks Pete!
I. I believe. I believe that. I believe that we. I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN!
In case you’ve been living under a rock, that is the battle cry of the American Outlaws. They are the official fan club of the United States Men’s National Team. You can find them all over the country. The group has 125 official bars, nation wide. If you are in the big apple, you can find these hooligans at Dempsey’s on West 34th street. But if you’re in Brazil this month, you will find a whopping 590 of these die hards.
In fact, it’s been said that the United States has the most supporters in Brazil other than Brazil themselves. If, that doesn’t make you feel proud, check your pulse.
This American team should not have made it out of the “group of death” according to experts, but they did. They sought revenge against Ghana for knocking them out in two previous cups, and got it. They almost beat Portugal but ended up with a heart breaking tie. And of course, they lost a 1-0 game to a German team that is capable of scoring often. The effort was good enough to get them out of the group.
Next is Belgium. And if you’re an American, then you should be very sure of what you are doing on Tuesday at 4:00. You have to understand that when it comes to sports, or pretty much anything, America is anything but an Underdog. However, in the World Cup, that is exactly what they are. Still, they are forcing teams to take them serious. With youth on their side and their country behind them, they believe they can do the impossible. Beat Belgium and go on to win 3 more games, to capture the Cup.
Now if you are one of the few that hasn’t flocked to places like Grant Park in Chicago or Madison Square Park in NYC or a bar like Dempsey’s, then my guess is that you really just aren’t into soccer. That’s fine, because this isn’t about soccer. It’s about screaming your f**king head off for the red white and blue. Americans don’t agree on anything. Not war, religion, politics or even sports teams. But when those players put on those jerseys with the US Soccer logo, we can agree on them. And we can cheer for them
So on Tuesday, leave work a little early. Go find a bar or a deli or a restaurant or a park or a doctors office waiting room or a barber shop
or any place with a TV, because I guarantee that they will all be showing the game. Sit down or stand up and cheer for Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley, Graham Zusi, Tim Howard and the rest of the Red White and Blue to do something it has never done in the men’s World Cup. Win the whole damn thing!
Tony Gwynn passed away today at the age of 54, thus ending a battle with cancer dating back to 2010.
Gwynn was very private about his medical struggles but he had attributed them to years of chewing tobacco use.
Gwynn was a player of legendary proportion. A 15 time all-star, 5 time gold glove winner, 7 time silver slugger and an insane 8 time NL batting champ. Tony played the game like few could.
He was also an amazing ambassador to the game and his work off the field truly showed what a great person he was. Tony received the Roberto Clemente Award in 1999 for best exemplifying the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual’s contribution to his team.
Gwynn’s number 19 was retired with the padres and in 2007 he was elected the National Baseball Hall of Fame on his very first ballot with a whopping 97.6 percent of the vote.
Earlier I reported that Lamar Odom was being targeted by the Knicks before the season ended. My speculation was to lighten the load for Carmelo Anthony considering his injured shoulder.
This morning I have learned that the deal will not be a 10 day deal like I had originally thought. Looks like Lamar will be a part of next year’s Knick team.
ESPN is reporting that the new President of Basketball Operations for the Knicks, Phil Jackson, is considering signing embattled baller Lamar Odom. A source says a contract could be offered before the season ends next week.
The ceremonial first pitch in baseball has been a tradition for almost as long as baseball has been around. But on a sunny Tuesday afternoon in San Francisco, fans got to see quite possibly the best one yet.
Monday, all eyes were on the Bronx as Derek Jeter started in his final home opener of his storied career.
But by Tuesday, all eyes had shifted to San Francisco and little Miles Scott was set to kick off the Giants home opener with a ceremonial first pitch to remember. Miles is a 5 year old Leukemia survivor who has touched the heart of millions. But due to unforeseen circumstances, Miles was not able to attend. Perhaps it has something to do with his now socialite status from his recent fame. Some have likened this child to Bruce Wayne (billionaire Gotham City playboy and heir to the Wayne fortune).
Luckily for fans, Batkid showed up just in the nick of time to take over First Pitch duties. It’s interesting to note that no one have ever seen Miles Scott and Batkid in the same place at the same time.
Ok. I’ve had my fun with this story, as anyone would because this kid is just so awesome.
Miles Scott’s one wish was to be sidekick to the famed superhero, Batman. Well, this child’s wish went viral. On November 15th, 2013, the city of San Francisco rallied around him in one of the largest and most elaborate Make A Wish plans ever. Actors were hired and sets were designed to give young miles multiple different crime scenarios where by the end of the day, he was able to save Gotham City.
The San Francisco Chronicle even produced a “Gotham City Chronicle” edition with the headline
The Mayor of San Francisco, Ed Lee, presented Batkid with a key to the city and declared November 15th, Batkid day. Batkid even received a video of thanks from President Obama.
Flash foreword to Tuesday as Giants pitcher Matt Cain walked with Batkid hand in hand out to the pitchers mound so that he could deliver the first strike of the day with the help of Batman himself. The scene was one of the most heart warming, this baseball fan has ever seen. Batkid, Miles Scott is an amazing child and Tuesday afternoon, he reminded us what baseball is all about. It’s about the kids.
Thank You, Batkid. You are the greatest superhero of them all.
The Sun has slowly begun to set on the storied career of Derek Jeter. I say that only because today will be the first of quite a few notable lasts for Jeter. This will be the final spring training game of his 20 year+ career. With each passing “last moment” that goes by, the sun will set slowly on the captain’s final season. Hopefully all the pomp and circumstance will give way to one final twilight for Jeter, one final October.
Today’s game will be against the Marlins, and the biggest thing to take away from today will not be any ceremony or speech, no number in monument park or plaque on a wall. It will be as simple as this; The captain has had a completely normal and healthy spring and will head north just recently finding his timing at the plate. Yes, He’ll be 40 in June, but I have learned that whenever those doubters get going, Jeter always shines.
Jeter’s last Opening Day will be on Tuesday the 1st and the following day, Wednesday, April 2nd, the Astros (one of the teams that passed on Jeter in the 1992 draft) will honor Jeter with a brief ceremony before the game. Something that each team is bound to do for the captain as we saw last year with Mariano Rivera’s farewell tour. Wednesday’s ceremony will be attended by Andy Pettitte and Rodger Clemens (for some reason).
Next monday, April 7th, The Yankees will host the Baltimore Orioles in Derek’s final home opener. The details of the pre-game festivities have yet to be released but since the Yankees have all year to plan something special for Jeter, I don’t believe he will be the focus of any ceremony that day. The thing to watch will be the fans. Monday’s home opener will mark the first time the fans will get to say goodbye to the captain in the Bronx.
My heroes, my dreams and my future lay at Yankee Stadium. And they can’t take that away from me.
Fortune Magazine put together a list of today’s 50 greatest leaders and in a list consisting of people from all walks of life including, Pope Francis I (number 1), Apple CEO Tim Cook (number 33), and the Dalai Lama (number 9). Fortune Magazine tabbed our Yankee captain as number 11 on the list.
As he begins his 20th and final season in pinstripes, Jeter remains that type of role-model player that even a Red Sox fan must grudgingly respect. it’s not the five World Series rings he’s won or his team record for career hits. in a steroid-tainted, reality-TV era, Jeter, the son of two Army veterans, continues to stand out because of his old-school approach: Never offer excuses or give less than maximum effort.
It is enough of an honor that Fortune Magazine decided to name Jeter to this list, but Fortune felt Jeter was the only athlete deserving enough to make this list. Jeter has always been viewed as an above average player, but as far as his skill level goes, he has never been the undeniable best. That’s not what made him great. The thing that made Jeter great is a word that is so often associated with him: The intangibles.
Jeter was able to come into a starting role on the 1996 Yankees in his rookie season and by half way through that year, he was leading the team straight up to their first World Series title since 1978. Jeter did not relinquish that leadership role and in June of 2003, Jeter was named the 14th captain of the Yankees and has held that title for 11 years making him the longest tenured yankee captain.
It’s a great honor for Jeter to be named to Fortune’s 50 greatest leaders list, but it is also very much deserved.
It’s pretty obvious that the Yankees will retire Derek Jeter’s number this season. After what we saw last year with Mariano Rivera, we can figure that Jeter is in store for a day just like Mo got.
As soon as the captain announced his retirement, tickets for obvious milestone games, skyrocketed in price. Opening Day saw an increase. The last home game went through the roof. Even the last game of the season at Fenway Park got up around $250 for standing room tickets.
However, the most important day is one that is not set in stone yet. Derek Jeter Day will be the day the yankees immortalize Jeter’s number in monument park and thanks to last year’s Mariano Rivera Day, we can make a pretty good educated guess.
Judging by how the Yankees like to do things, I am putting my money on Sunday, September 21st against the Blue Jays. That day has seen a hike in ticket sales as well due to the fact that people like me figure that to be the day but tickets are still pretty affordable. There are many sites with tickets still available but my go to site is www.VIVIDSEATS.com. Click on that link to go right to the game on September 21st.
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