Sports

The Rebbitzen’s Husband tipped me off to this one:

“PROVO, Utah (AP) — A newspaper photographer got a little too close to the action at the state high school track championships — and was speared through the leg by a javelin.

Ryan McGeeney of the Standard-Examiner was spared serious injury Saturday, and even managed to snap a photo of his speared leg while others tended to him.

“If I didn’t, it would probably be my editor’s first question when I got back,” McGeeney said.

The 33-year-old McGeeney, an ex-Marine who spent six months in Afghanistan, was taking pictures of the discus event and apparently wandered into off-limits area set aside for the javelin.

Striking just below the knee, the javelin tip went through the skin and emerged on the other side of his leg.

“It wasn’t real painful. … I was very lucky in that it didn’t hit any blood vessels, nerves, ligaments or tendons,” McGeeney said.”

Best of line of the article goes to the coach who said:

“One of the first things that came to my mind was, ‘Good thing we brought a second javelin,”‘ Miles’ coach, Richard Vance, said Monday.

Can you feel the love.

ESPN has an interesting story about Julio Franco’s retirement. Here is an excerpt.

Consider that Julio Franco made his major league debut with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1982. Then consider …

• When Franco made his major league debut, Manny Mota was playing for the Dodgers. Mota is now 70 years old.

• A sampling of other players still active in 1982: Gaylord Perry, Jim Kaat, Carl Yastrzemski, Phil Niekro, Willie Stargell, Luis Tiant, Tony Perez.

• Jim Kaat pitched to Franco in ’82, and also to Ted Williams at the beginning of Kaat’s career. So Franco faced a pitcher who faced Ted Williams.

This video is worth watching just to see the hated celtics go down.

From Sports Illustrated:

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas activities officials are investigating a religious school’s refusal to let a female referee call a boys’ high school basketball game.

The Kansas State High School Activities Association said referees reported that Michelle Campbell was preparing to officiate at St. Mary’s Academy near Topeka on Feb. 2 when a school official insisted that Campbell could not call the game.

The reason given, according to the referees: Campbell, as a woman, could not be put in a position of authority over boys because of the academy’s beliefs.

Campbell then walked off the court along with Darin Putthoff, the referee who was to work the game with her.

“I said, ‘If Michelle has to leave, then I’m leaving with her,”‘ Putthoff said Wednesday. “I was disappointed that it happened to Michelle. I’ve never heard of anything like that.”

Fred Shockey, who was getting ready to leave the gym after officiating two junior high games, said he was told there had been an emergency and was asked to stay and officiate two more games.

“When I found out what the emergency was, I said there was no way I was going to work those games,” said Shockey, who spent 12 years in the Army and became a ref about three years ago. “I have been led by some of the finest women this nation has to offer, and there was no way I was going to go along with that.”

Somebody has got to establish some boundaries otherwise these women are going to get way too uppity. It frightens me to think of the consequences. Husbands around this country tremble at the thought of women gaining power. Oy.

Bill Plaschke has a nice column about Magic Johnson. I have run across him a couple of times and every time I did my experience was very similar to the one that Plaschke describes. Here is an excerpt from the piece.

“Hovan, in town for a medical conference, was shopping on Rodeo Drive with family that included his 9-year-old daughter Emily and two nieces.

Across the street, the girls saw a giant man in a white sweatsuit whom they immediately recognized.

“It was Magic Johnson, and they started begging me to cross the street and take his picture,” Hovan said.

The first thing that struck the doctor was, how are these little girls so familiar with an athlete whom they never saw play? How did they even know Magic Johnson?

Then he realized his nieces, who live in Southern California, know him from their father being a longtime Lakers fan. And his daughter knew him from watching him on the TNT studio basketball show, seeing his Magic Johnson Theatre and visiting one of his Starbucks.

“I thought, it’s amazing how this man’s impact spans generations,” he said.

Having been ignored by his only other encounter with a pro athlete in his life — Johnny Bench once blew him off — Hovan turned down the girls’ request.

“I didn’t want them to experience the pain of being brushed off,” he said. “And I didn’t want them to change the opinion of one of their heroes.”

Johnson had stopped at a crosswalk light, and the girls kept insisting, so Hovan finally gulped and walked over to him.

“The first thing I noticed was, he was all by himself, nobody around him,” Hovan said.

The next thing he noticed was that Johnson didn’t try to run, or hide. In fact, when Hovan shakily introduced himself and the girls, Johnson actually came to them.

“He bent down and hugged them,” said Hovan. “He asked how they were doing. He put his arms around them and got ready for the picture.”

At which point, the camera’s button stuck. Of course it stuck. Isn’t that always happening to common folk looking for photos of famous folk? The camera breaking just long enough to remind everyone of their place in life, the famous folk walking away in a . . .

“But that was the thing,” said Hovan. “He didn’t walk away. He stayed there and talked to the girls while I fidgeted with the camera.”

While Hovan fidgeted, other pedestrians noticed the pausing Magic and hustled over for their own photos. Then a busload of foreign tourists abruptly pulled up and dozens disembarked to join the scrum.

“It was just awful, I felt so terrible, I held Mr. Johnson up just long enough for him to be swarmed,” said Hovan.

Johnson stayed and waited until Hovan fixed the camera and took the photo, then stuck around to take care of everyone else, at which point the doctor noticed something else.

The entire time, Johnson never stopped smiling. He never stopped chatting. He embraced and engaged and touched everyone.

“He went far beyond any measure of responsibility that a public figure should feel,” said Hovan. “He stayed far longer than was reasonable.”

Surely there was a reality show camera around there somewhere?

“That was the interesting thing,” said Hovan. “Nobody was with him. Nobody was watching. There was no reason he needed to stay there other than, he was just being himself.”