A gift he never got to give...

Last night in Arlington, TX a fan, a father, a fireman died trying to do something that just about everyone who goes to a ballpark in America tries to do... catch a ball and take home a piece of the game.

I remember the first time I went to Tiger's Stadium with my Dad. I wanted to take my glove even though my Dad explained that I wouldn't need it since we were sitting under the overhang of the upper deck. I wanted to catch a foul ball, a thrown ball, I didn't care how I got it, but I knew I wanted it! I even remember saying "you never know Dad!" He said "you're right! Why don't you bring it?" The only use that glove got that day, was as a pillow on the arm rest for the ride back home from Detroit. I will never forget that day!

Shannon Stone's son will never forget yesterday either... but not for a good reason. He watched his father die at a baseball game.

I am sure that Josh Hamilton will never forget yesterday either. He was the player who flipped the foul ball up into the stands towards Stone. Something ballplayers do hundreds of times in a season. I am sure Hamilton thought nothing of tossing that ball up towards the seats at the time... now, I am sure he will never forget the way it felt to throw that particular ball.

Fans everywhere go to the ballpark to watch a game, but deep down everybody wants to take home a 5-1/4 ounce ball made out of cork, rubber and tightly wrapped in leather.... that was used in THAT game. Not just for the memorabilia but for the story that they will share with their child for the rest of their lives. People holding babies or beers, people sitting in the front row at field level or the 3rd row from the last in the upper deck, they all are watching and waiting and hoping.. but none of them think that they could die trying!

I never knew Mr. Stone but I can tell you in that moment when Josh Hamilton turned and tossed the ball towards him, I am sure he felt that joy and happiness that everyone feels when they realize they will actually be able to have a small piece of the game. To be able to catch the ball, turn and hand it to your child is a feeling that every American father wants to have one day. I know I do.

I can't imagine the anguish that Mr. Stone's son felt when he saw his father fall over the railing. I can't imagine the worry that Mr. Stone had when he was being taken out of the park, asking the EMT's to make sure that his son was ok. I just can't imagine... not without hurting in my heart.

It's all because of the fact that I can personally relate to the whole situation, both the attempt and then the worry about your child's safety... I think most fathers in America can.

It's a sad and tragic day in all of sports...

#STSW

Is it the media or has C.C. Sabathia just had enough?

In a time where the Yankees-Red Sox Rivalry is starting to get stale... C.C. Sabathia may have stirred it up again last night. Was it REALLY C.C. though.. or was it the media?

Red Sox starter Josh Beckett had already hit Yankees stars Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez last night when Sabathia plunked David Ortiz in the leg. It was the first time that Big Papi has been hit by a pitch thrown by a Yankee... EVER. 162 games, including the Pedro Martinez era when he seemed to target Yankees with a sniper rifle.

David Ortiz walks down to first base after being hit by a
 Sabathia pitch. - Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

The plunking came in the last game of a series that the Red Sox would ultimately sweep the Yankees, but the controversy started in the first game when, Ortiz, after smacking a home run, did a little spin move and flipped his bat towards the Yankees dugout. What followed the flip was a virtual call to arms by the New York Sports Yappers. Michael Kay, for one, spent the majority of his ESPN Radio show the following day going on and on about how the Yankees should have retaliated. They had been shown up and they did not respond. Previously in the same game, John Lester had hit two Yankees, including taking slugger Mark Teixeira out of the game with a bone bruise on his right leg. Kay complained and came up with scenarios where Ortiz should be drilled for the "show up" in that night's game by A.J. Burnett. It was an interesting debate but Kay stretched into something far bigger than what it was. Yanks Manager, Joe Girardi was the only team member that mentioned it after the game and all that he said that he "didn't care for it". What else could he say? That it was just Big Papi being Big Papi? Of course not, as the skipper you have to stand up for your team but was Joe sending a message to Burnett? If it was a message, Burnett didn't get it because he didn't drill Ortiz.

David Ortiz, amongst the MLB players anyways, may be the most "well-liked" player in all of baseball. That's probably why he has never been thrown at by a Yankee before. Yet, he was hit last night by Sabathia.

Did the media drum this up? Ortiz seems to think so. In a post game interview in the visitors locker room he said the following: "It's going to be just Papi talking, and if you don't like it, just get the (bleep) out of here, I want to thank you guys -- not all of you, most of you -- for the stuff today. I finally got hit (by the Yankees). I hope you're happy. I'm done."

Has the rivalry fizzled out so much that the media took this opportunity to try and stir up a fervor? Did C.C. Sabathia just say "enough is enough"???

The Red Sox break of the nearly a century old "curse" by winning the World Series took the wind out of the rivalry. There is a real sense of it being gone in a way. A rivalry that many call the "biggest in ALL of sports." I disagree by the way, there's a little rivalry between Michigan and Ohio State that trumps every rivalry I know of, but that's another debate for another day. The excitement of a Red Sox - Yankees just isn't there anymore. The media still tries to force feed us with the hype and promotion of their broadcasts... but that IS their job.

I agree with Ortiz in a way, but on the other hand I am kind of glad in a way that a pitcher took matters into his own hands. There seems to be a trend where the payback and retribution has been taken out of the game. That's what I grew up watching, if you hit one of ours, we will hit two of yours. It was just part of the game. Of course, just like Michael Kay said MANY times on Wednesday, "I am in no way advocating throwing at some one's head, just drill him in the ribs."

Time will tell if this plunking is the catalyst of the often heated rivalry being restored. We all know that Kay and the rest of the talkers in the media will do their best to keep it relevant.

#STSW

do you understand the words that are coming out of YOUR mouth???

Suzyn Waldman - NYDaily News Photo

During a recent CBS/Yankees radio broadcast, Suzyn Waldman, who has made NUMEROUS on air mistakes in the past, ran down that day's NL schedule noting that "old friend, Ian Kennedy (ex-Yankee)" was starting for Arizona, and "old friend Dustin Moseley (ex-Yankee)" was starting for the Padres. Really Suzyn? Are they "old-friends? Did you use to have a steak with them on home game days at Smith & Wollensky's for lunch? Did you have a beer with them at the pub and share a post game re-cap? Did you attend their kids birthday parties? Are they really old friends or are they JUST former Yankees.  Delusional!

What is also delusional is that moments later, Adam Dunn, signed by the White Sox after playing for three NL teams (Reds, Nationals, Diamondbacks), was batting when Waldman said Dunn's mighty batting slump is directly attributable to having switched leagues. WOW Suzyn! You figured it out... no... actually you figured out bubkiss.

Switching leagues nowadays doesn't mean ANYTHING to hitters. It hasn't for years. They have gone up against most of the other leagues pitchers in inter league play. The MLB has become, almost, a singular league. The fact that she had just named two ex-Yankees pitchers who that night were starting in the NL seemed lost on her.They not only switched leagues, but BOTH were starting!

How about Russell Martin's terrific start with the Yankees after arriving from the Dodgers Suzyn? You called that game for CBS right? He went 1 for 3, scored 2 runs (which means he obviously walked) and stole 3rd base. He had no problem making the transition from the NL to the AL. Is he some special phenom? No, he really isn't.

Making the switch from the NL to the AL or going from the AL to the NL is really not the"big difference" Suzyn so "expertly" pointed out that it is.

Sports Broadcasters REALLY need to get it together!