Sports Then and Now

Jason Grilli as he prepared to make the roster of the 2010 Indians

Over the past several months, one of my wildest baseball dreams has been realized. Not blessed with an overabundance of skill on the baseball field, it is beyond my greatest expectations that I’d ever have the chance to rub elbows with one of the chosen ones who has been dually blessed with extraordinary baseball skills.

As surreal as it seems to me, Cleveland Indians pitcher, Jason Grilli, and I became buddies last November through our work with the award winning children’s baseball book, A Glove of Their Own, and have become good friends over the six or so months that have passed.

Nearly every morning, the phone rings at my house in rural Massachusetts, and the name “Jason Grilli” pops up on the Call ID. I scratch my head in amazement that a “real live baseball player” would be calling ‘lil ol’ me, answer the call and hear the voice of a bonafide major league pitcher the other end of the line. Read the rest of this entry →

With Opening Day only four weeks away, it doesn’t get any better than hearing Jason Grilli talk about the ticket that got him here. Grilli sits down with Cleveland Indians beat writer, Nick Camino, on WTAM 1100 AM Cleveland Indians Radio, aka The Big One in this up close and personal talk about Spring Training 2010.

Listening to Grill Cheese talk about topics including, his chances of making the 2010 version of the Cleveland Indians, his off-season preparation and pitching for Team Italia in the World Baseball Classic makes it nearly impossible to think of anything, but Opening Day.

Grilli and fellow Italian, Camino, share some good ol’ Pisan humor during this candid and entertaining interview at the Indians Spring Training facility in Goodyear, AZ.  Grill and Camino even break away from baseball for a bit and discuss Grilli’s business, Perfect Pitch Marketing and the new CU3000 Globalinx Video Phone. Read the rest of this entry →

John McCain (seen here with Rob Manfred (L) executive vice president of labor for Major League Baseball, during a news conference on dietary supplements, on Capitol Hill, February 3, 2010) has the support of MLB. Should he?

Just days before the Super Bowl, Senator John McCain (R – Arizona) officially announced the Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2010 (DSSA10). The bill, which he is co-sponsoring with Senator Byron Dorgan (D – North Dakota) proposes to give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) control over the dietary supplement industry.

Inspired in part by the questionable make-up of certain non-prescription supplements, some of which have been blamed by athletes for their positive drug tests, has many supporters (including Bud Selig) that believe that, if signed into law, this bill would be beneficial for both sports and the public at large.

On the surface the bill seems likable enough. The profit margin on dietary supplements and vitamin sales topped $2.25 billion in 2007. Many of the items are marketed so as to lead consumers to the notion that they had true medicinal value while they are supposedly made up of ingredients heretofore not regulated.

McCain’s speech specifically mentioned the concept of certain manufacturers who are less than honest about ingredients, including substances that they should not be. This is the argument that the jocks use, as in, “I was only taking supplements. I had no idea they contained a banned substance!” According to McCain, they may not be lying after all. The issue gets a little bit cloudier, though, when one stops and thinks about that very issue. If the supplement manufacturers are adding substances that they should not be, they are already subject to scrutiny by the FDA. This from DailyPaul.com (as in Ron Paul): Read the rest of this entry →

Cleveland Indian’s pitcher Jason Grilli has a career record of 18-18 with a 4.74 ERA. Good enough by all standards to make him one of the top middle relievers in the game, but the Hall of Fame is not yet calling. According to the record book that really counts, however, Grilli is a winner of the Cy Young Award, MVP and slated for induction into Life’s Hall of Fame.

After chatting with Grilli, it is clear that he is one of the good guys. Soft spoken, humble, and committed to helping those less fortunate than himself are attributes that don’t show up on the scoreboard. He is a man who thinks about family, friends and those less fortunate than himself long before he is concerned about his wins, losses or earned run average.

For those who are keeping score at home, Grilli is throwing a perfect game. Read the rest of this entry →

The definition of a true hero is not a guy who leaps tall buildings in a single bound but, more realistically, a person who heaps the world’s problems upon his or her broad shoulders without regard for their own personal health or well-being. A person who sees a situation and devises a solution, rather than to turn their backs and complain.

By definition that would qualify Frank Guzman as, more than just a baseball coach, but as a mentor, a leader and yes, a bona fide hero in the eyes of everyone who knows him. When assisting those in a state of crisis from his security position with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Guzman has turned his passion for baseball into a rescue for many of Rochester, New York’s Latin population. Read the rest of this entry →

Zephyr's Strength and Conditioning Coach, Gary McCoy talks about the Road to the Show

“Some of these guys are going to make it. Most won’t. But they all share a dream and passion for the game of baseball. Nobody tells their compelling stories of hard work, determination and sense of tradition better than the players themselves.”

That sums up the story of “The Road to the Show” the much awaited project of co-creator and producer, Larry Richards. “The Road to the Show” tells the real life stories of players as they fight their way through baseball’s minor leagues in hopes of getting their day in the sun as full-fledged Major Leaguers.

Richards, a graduate of Syracuse University, has been working on the “original baseball docuality” for better than two years and continues to work tirelessly to get it into the hands of those who will make his personal baseball dream a reality, as well.

As Richard’s states on the show’s web-site, “Somewhere in the minor leagues is the next legend”. Read the rest of this entry →