RIP Mark 'The Bird' Fidrych

Yesterday in a tragic accident, former Detroit Tigers pitcher Mark 'The Bird' Fidrych lost his life while working on a truck on his farm in Massachusetts. The details of the accident arn't as important as the fact that he was only 54 years old, and left behind a wife and daughter. Our prayers go out to his family and friends.

I was actually only four years old when he made his major league debut. I can still remember how much fun he was to watch as a kid. I went to my first Tigers game in 1977, a year after Fidrych won the Rookie of the Year award, and made baseball fun again for so many fans. Due to injury, I never did see him pitch live, but that didn't stop him from being my favorite player back then, and even now. One of my most prized possessions is an old baseball card of him that my mom cut off the bottom of a Twinkie box. The price guides will tell you it's worthless. It's bent, beat up, and doesn't fit the mold of a 'mint' baseball card. To me, though, it represents a part of my childhood. I used to carry that card in my back pocket everywhere I went when I was in gradeschool. It was as important to me as my Star Wars toys that I cherished at the time.

I did have the pleasure of meeting Mark in 1995 at a card show in Mt. Pleasant. He was great with his fans and signed a card for me. I have always wanted my kids to meet him, too, but that isn't going to happen now. I did actually send him two cards in the mail to sign for Lily and Trevor (before Brian came along). He was nice enough to sign them and send them back. Mark is Lily's favorite player, too, basically because she's heard all of the stories from me and has seen all of the things I collect of his. All I can do, I guess, is keep telling the stories, showing the pictures, try to keep his legend living on.

RIP Mark 'The Bird' Fidrych. You will be missed, but never forgotten. In my opinion, the Bird is STILL the word.

http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/mlb/news/tributes/obit_mark_fidrych.jsp

Last Game For The Lakers

Papa and Nana came to visit us from Cadillac and to take in the final Laker hockey home game of the season. Trevor was too sick to come, but Lily and Brian took up the slack. This might be Brian's last game for awhile, as next season he will be entering the 'terrible two's' stage and will be a handfull to take care of at a game.

Pictured here are me and Brian, and Brian with Nana and Papa. Maybe we'll try to get to a Greyhounds game in Canada, or the Soo Eagles down the street at the Pullar before hockey is officially over for the season.

The Lakers won Friday night 7-4(after being up 6-0), but lost 4-1 on Saturday while Nana and Papa where there. Here's my article (probably my last one) from MiCHO:

http://michigancollegehockey.blogspot.com/2009/02/lakers-fail-to-sweep-broncos.html

Globetrotters Spin Magic In The Sault

Wow, I don't know where to begin. The kids and I all had such a great time, and I'm not sure which of us was more excited. To start the game, Lily and Trevor went out on the court and played musical chairs with the Globetrotters' mascot, Globie(pictured). They had a lot of fun with that. When the game started, we were all amazed at tricks and skills that the 'Trotters were doing on the court. Lily was expecially impressed with what was going on. In the third quarter, Trevor got to go back onto the court and try to steal the basketball from one of the Globetrotters with three other kids(video above). This time, Trevor came away victorious and won an autographed ball by the team. After the game they were also able to meet members of the team and get autographs and pictures. The whole game was non-stop fun and action. They are already wanted to see them again if they come to the area. The Globetrotters won the game 76-72 over the Washington Generals.

Spring Training in January

The kids and I started spring training over the weekend, going to the college and getting a pretty good work out in. We were able to play some catch and the kids got to practice some hitting. Lily will be hitting live pitching this year (coach pitch) so we did some soft toss drills to work on her hand-eye coordination. She also got to use her new purple baseball glove she got for Christmas. Trevor is still hitting off of the tee, and picked up where he left off last season, as you can see in the video. He also is sporting his new batting glove. We'll be alternating doing this and going skating probably until April or so.

New Year's News

As we enter 2009, we have a lot of things to look forward to, and a lot that has happened so far this year. On Jan. 11, we celebrated Brian's first birthday. Everyone had a great time at his party, and he loved eating the cake.

Also pictured, is Lily getting her ribbon and medal for cheer leading. Don't know if she will continue to do this, but it was fun for her the first half of the year.

I had my gall bladder taken out on the 16th, and am still recovering from that. I hope to be back to work in a few days, but we'll see how I feel.

On the 28th, we'll be heading to Canada to watch the Harlem Globetrotters. In May, I have the baseball trip to look forward to, and the kids big tap dance production. I'm excited that Trevor will be a part of that this year, too. Also in May baseball and soccer start up. Lily will be playing ball, and Trevor will play both.

Have Fun, Play Hockey Clinic

Lily and Trevor participated in the "Have Fun, Play Hockey" clinic at Lake Superior State. The Laker hockey team was on hand to run the clinic and help the kids learn how to play. Both kids had a lot of fun and worked really hard. No trouble getting them to sleep on this night. The video is of Lily puck handling. The pics are of the kids in the locker room, and Trevor getting help from Laker goalie Brian Mahoney-Wilson. He helped Trevor out a lot during last seasons clinic, too. We'll probably do this again next year, unless I can get them into a full time hockey program.

Walk This Way

Yes, it's true. At only ten months old Brian is up and walking like crazy. Looks like he's ready to steal second base in the big game. What an amazing kid. He is really smart, too, as he's learning all sorts of new things. Lily and Trevor are really into him and help out quite a bit. At this rate with Brian, we'll have MLB scouts hanging around in no time.