Calling Good People "Racist" Isn't New: the Case of Ty Cobb

From Prager U.

Vince Lombardi: Roman Catholic

From RomanCatholicMan.com

Mike Piazza: Catholic Faith is the "Greatest Gift of All."

(photo from National Catholic Register)


Mike Piazza Says Catholic Faith is “Greatest Gift of All”

From The National Catholic Register

BY PATTY KNAP 07/25/2016

New York Mets slugger Mike Piazza was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame yesterday with an emotional speech before 50,000 people in Cooperstown, NY.

His day began early with 7:30 Mass at St. Mary’s Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church, a short walk from the Hall of Fame. As he left the church, he met with a beaming Father John Rosson, who said, “We have a celebrity in church this morning.”  Piazza asked for and received a special blessing from the priest. Piazza signed autographs and took pictures with parishioners.

In his acceptance speech Piazza thanked both his parents and described his Catholic faith as the greatest gift of all from his parents, especially his mother, Veronica:

She gave me the gift of my Catholic faith, the greatest gift a mother could give a child, which has had a profound impact on my career and has given me patience, compassion and hope. Pope Benedict the XVI said, ‘One who has hope, lives differently.’ Mom, you raised five boys, and you were always there for me.’

Piazza has often credited his Catholic upbringing as being the foundation of his life.  He was one of the athletes featured in the evangelization movie, "Champions of Faith", about the journey of Christian athletes.  He regularly attends special Masses held at baseball stadiums around the country for the players and is sometimes a lector.

Piazza's emotional ties to New York are highlighted in 2001 clips of his home run that propelled the Mets past Atlanta in the first game back from the World Trade Center attacks. Almost 15 years after the two-run shot cleared the fence at Shea Stadium, Piazza is a constant witness to the impact of the attacks, and he talked about it again over the Hall of Fame weekend:

The significance for me, personally, is the amount of people I see who want to talk about that moment," Piazza said. "I was sitting on a plane one time with my headphones on. It was a four-hour flight, and just as the plane was landing, the guy next to me said, 'You know, I lost my brother on 9/11, and I was at that game and I just want to thank you for what you did.' I was completely blown away. I listened to him and told him a few stories and he really enjoyed it.

Piazza has said that the firefighters, police and families who had to continuing living after the trauma of  9/11 were the true heroes.

He also thanked and honored his father, Vince, in how he was raised:

My father’s faith in me, often greater than my own, is the single most important factor of me being inducted into this Hall of Fame. Thank you, Dad.  I know he watched every game, cried when I cried, was angry when I was angry and celebrated more than I could ever celebrate. He was a man deeply devoted to his family and after having suffered a major stroke a few years ago, is stronger willed than ever.’

In an interview with BeliefNet, Piazza talked about having priorities in life and Christ at the center.

Because it's a game based on failure. It is a slice of life, so to speak, that life is adversity, and how you deal with adversity. And baseball, if you fail seven out of 10 times, you're a success. It's probably not the same numbers in life. But I still feel that in life it's not so much [about] the good times. It's what you find out about yourself during the bad times. Because when the times are going well, or things are going well, everyone's on their best behavior. And it's easy to be good. But when you go through adversity, when a couple goes through frustrations, or they go through a bankruptcy, or they have bills--all these things, you see a person's true colors. And you see a person's true grace under fire, so to speak. 

As a player, you have to believe. I have to believe every day that when I get in that batter's box, good things are going to happen. I can't go up there thinking, "Oh, I'm going to strike out. Or, I'm going to hit into a double play." Or even if I'm 0 for 20, I believe that 21st time I'm going to get that hit. And that's the way I think we have to be in life, to realize that we are going to go through a tremendous amount of test and adversity and frustration. 

We want to try to get closer to God. We want to try to be like Jesus. We always want to try to get on that horse and do the right thing, and be positive. And be positive not just for yourself but for other people.

Yogi Berra Dies at 90, R.I.P.

Yogi Berra, the most famous, and, most agree, the greatest major league baseball catcher of all time, died yesterday at the age of 90.  The following is from Time.com. 

Yankees Hall of Fame Catcher Yogi Berra Dies at 90

AP

New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra poses at spring training in Florida in an undated file photo

He caught the only perfect game in World Series history

(NEW YORK) — Yogi Berra, the Hall of Fame catcher renowned as much for his dizzying malapropisms as his record 10 World Series championships with the New York Yankees, has died. He was 90.

Berra died of natural causes Tuesday at his home in New Jersey, according to Dave Kaplan, the director of the Yogi Berra Museum.

“While we mourn the loss of our father, grandfather and great-grandfather, we know he is at peace with Mom,” Berra’s family said in a statement released by the museum. “We celebrate his remarkable life, and are thankful he meant so much to so many. He will truly be missed.”

Short, squat and with a homely mug, Berra was a legendary Yankee who helped the team reach 14 World Series during his 18 seasons in the Bronx.

Berra played in more World Series games than any other major leaguer, and was a three-time American League Most Valuable Player.

But his name appears almost as often in Bartlett’s Famous Quotations as it does in baseball’s record book.

“It ain’t over ’til it’s over” is among eight “Yogi-isms” included in Bartlett’s.

“When I’m sittin’ down to dinner with the family, stuff just pops out. And they’ll say, ‘Dad, you just said another one.’ And I don’t even know what the heck I said,” Berra insisted.

Berra played for the Yankees from 1949-65. His teammates included fellow Hall of Famers Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford.

In 1956, he caught the only perfect game in World Series history and after the last out leaped into pitcher Don Larsen’s arms. The famous moment was captured in photographs published in newspapers around the world.

After his playing days, Berra coached or managed the Yankees, New York Mets and Houston Astros. He led both the Yankees and Mets to pennants.

In 1985, his firing as manager by the Yankees 16 games into the season sparked a feud with George Steinbrenner. Berra vowed never to return to Yankee Stadium as long was Steinbrenner owned the team.

But in 1999, Berra finally relented, throwing out the ceremonial first pitch of the Yankees’ season-opening game.

Berra, the son of Italian immigrants, got his nickname while growing up in St. Louis. Among his amateur baseball teammates was Jack McGuire, another future big leaguer.

“Some of us went to a movie with a yogi in it and afterwards Jack began calling me Yogi. It stuck,” Berra told the Saturday Evening Post.

He was a fan favorite, especially with children, and the cartoon character Yogi Bear was named after him.

Berra, who played in 15 straight All-Star Games, never earned more than $65,000 a season.

Growing up, he was anything but a natural.

Chunky and slow, Berra was rejected by his hometown St. Louis Cardinals after a tryout in 1943. But a Yankee scout recognized his potential and signed him.

He reached the majors late in the 1946 season and homered in his first at-bat. The next year, he continued to hit well, but his throwing was so erratic he was shifted to the outfield, then benched.

His breakthrough season came in 1948, when he hit .315 with 14 homers and 98 RBIs while continuing to improve his fielding. In 1949, he compiled a .989 fielding percentage and did not make an error in the All-Star Game or World Series.

“I don’t care who the hitter is,” New York manager Casey Stengel told the New York Journal-American. “(Berra) knows just how he should be pitched to.”

Berra was AL MVP in 1951, 1954 and 1955. He holds World Series records for most hits (71) and most games (75).

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1972.

“You never think of that when you’re a kid,” Berra said. “But egads, you gotta be somethin’ to get in.”

Among his boyhood friends was Joe Garagiola, who went on to a career as a major league player and broadcaster. In rejecting Berra at the 1943 tryout, the Cardinals signed Garagiola, another catcher, instead.

Lawrence Peter Berra was born in St. Louis on May 12, 1925, the son of Pietro, a laborer in a brickyard, and Pauline Berra. He grew up in “The Hill,” or Italian district, with three older brothers and a younger sister.

Berra was forced to drop out of school in the eighth grade and go to work to help support his family. He took jobs in a coal yard, as a truck driver and in a shoe factory.

He continued to play amateur baseball, which brought him to the attention of major league scouts.

In 1943, his first professional season with the Yankees’ farm team in Norfolk, Va., was interrupted by World War II.

He joined the Navy and later served on a gunboat supporting the D-Day invasion.

Berra married his wife, Carmen, in 1949. The couple, who met in their native St. Louis, had three sons, including Dale Berra, who played in the major leagues as an infielder.

Berra published three books: his autobiography in 1961, “It Ain’t Over …” in 1989 and “The Yogi Book: I Really Didn’t Say Everything I Said” in 1998. The last made The New York Times’ best seller list.

In 1996, Berra was awarded an honorary doctorate from the state university in Montclair, N.J., where he and his family lived. The university also named its baseball stadium for Berra. The adjoining Yogi Berra Museum opened in 1998.

The museum houses Berra memorabilia, including what he said was his most prized possession, the mitt he used to catch Larsen’s perfect game.

He tickled TV viewers in recent years by bringing his malapropisms to a commercial with the AFLAC duck. (“They give you cash, which is just as good as money.”)

His wife once asked Berra where he wanted to be buried, in St. Louis, New York or Montclair.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Why don’t you surprise me?

Lolo Jones: A Christian Virgin and Proud of It

Olympian Lolo Jones is a true role model for young girls, but has been severely ridiculed for her stance.  Mary Carillo, in fact, disappoints in the video because she can't seem to grasp why Jones feels the way she does about saving herself for marriage.  That's unfortunate, because there are a  lot more people who scoff at what Jones is doing than applaud her for it, and Carillo's laughing during the interview feeds into the belief of the scoffers.

This is from a post at the Washingtonpost.com:

A devout Christian, Jones has previously discussed the central role religion plays in her life from reading the Bible before a race to listening to Christian music. That faith has helped her persevere through a trying childhood in Des Moines, Iowa. Jones’ family was so poor that she had to shoplift frozen dinners.

Missy Franklin Talks About God

Olympic Champion Missy Franklin was interviewed by Chad Bonham for Beliefnet.com, and you can read the whole interview HERE.

Excerpts about her strong faith, which she discovered during her first visit to her high school, Regis Jesuit, are reproduced below:

Bonham: Can you tell me about your faith journey?

Franklin: Religion was not important in my parents’ upbringing. Therefore I never had a church home. We occasionally attended a church service but I felt so uncomfortable and self-conscious as I didn’t know what was expected. Before my freshman year I visited Regis Jesuit High School. As I walked in the main door, I felt at peace and knew I belonged there. From that first moment, I knew God was with me. Every day over the last three years, my faith has grown. One of my favorite times is going to our beautiful school chapel and spending time with God. This year, I attended Kairos with my Regis Jesuit sisters and it changed my life forever. I now really work on keeping my faith strong.

Bonham: How has your faith in God specifically helped you deal with the challenges you’ve faced as an Olympic hopeful?

Franklin: God is always there for me. I talk with Him before, during and after practice and competitions. I pray to Him for guidance. I thank Him for this talent He has given me and promise to be a positive role model for young athletes in all sports.

Bonham: What are your expectations for what God might be doing collectively through the church at the Olympics?

Franklin: Once every four years, athletes, families, friends and fans come together from all over the world. I know God will be there and I hope many of the people there will also feel His presence. He will offer us the opportunity to appreciate and love our similarities and differences. It will be up to each of us to take away as little or as much as we want from London.

Missy Franklin (Photo by Michael Haaseth/NBC)

 

Jack Twyman: "That's What Friends Are For."

That's former NBA great, Jack Twyman, visiting his friend, former NBA great, Maurice Stokes many years ago.  Their story is one of the greatest stories rarely told, and if you never heard it, please read this piece at Cincinnati.Com.

Jack Twyman saved Maurice Stokes. That’s who Twyman was. When he was 23 years old and just starting his own career, family and life, Twyman gave himself to a fallen teammate. 

“That’s what friends are for’’ was how Twyman explained it, many years later.

Maurice Stokes died of a heart attack, on April 16, 1970, at the age of 36.  The last twelve years of his life were spent in a wheelchair, and for the most part with the greatest friend anyone could ask for: Jack Twyman.

Jack Twyman died two days ago at the age of 78.  His obituary was published in The Washington Post.

This is from a story today in The New York Times:

Years after his accident, when Stokes had recovered enough finger flexibility to type, his first message was: “Dear Jack, How can I ever thank you?”

And from St. Thomas Aquinas:

"Love is willing the good of the other as other."


H/T: jpa1948

Tim Tebow & Bubba Watson: Sports Role Models United by Faith

Bubba Watson, the 2012 Masters Champion, on being asked why he presented Tim Tebow with his Player's Badge (#15) from the final day of the tournament:

"... I just felt like I should give it to him. It's his football number, and I thought he might want it more now that I won," Watson said. "We believe in the Bible and doing good for people. That's our connection. We both play sports, and there are other connections, too, but our first connection is being Christians."

Watson traveled to Jacksonville, Florida five days after winning the 2012 Masters, to participate in the Tim Tebow Foundation Celebrity Golf Classic at theTPC Sawgrass Stadium Course in Ponte Vedra.

Ernie Els Talks about Autism

Ernie Els, known on the PGA Tour as "The Big Easy," has won three major championships, was ranked the World Number One Golfer, won the World Match Play Championship a record seven times, and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in May, 2011.  Still he feels that he would rather be remembered more as a man who did something about Autism, by raising public awareness, than as a golfer.

He was, and is, as any follower of the game can attest, one of the top golfers of all time, and, as his fellow golfers will attest, one of the nicest guys on the Tour.

Curtis Martin: A Paradigm for The Hall of Fame

Curtis Martin, the fourth leading rusher in NFL history, who ran for 1,000 yards in each of his first ten seasons, made it to the Hall of Fame on Saturday, but his stellar football career is not what defines this great and good man.  This piece by Steve Politi of the Newark Star Ledger is a must read for all football fans - especially those who think character should count when Hall inductees are chosen.

Babe Ruth's Conversion (or Reversion)

Today, we celebrate the Conversion of St. Paul of Tarsus, the Apostle to the Gentiles.

Fr. Joseph Mary, who celebrated Mass on EWTN this morning, spoke of St. Paul's Conversion, and mentioned the Conversion (actually, Reversion) of Babe Ruth.  He read parts of a Testimonial written by Ruth when he was close to death in a French hospital, in 1946.

Some excerpts from the testimonial:

Looking back to my youth, I honestly don't think I knew the difference between right and wrong. I spent much of my early boyhood living over my father's saloon, in Baltimore- and when I wasn't living over it, I was soaking up the atmosphere. I hardly knew my parents.

St. Mary's Industrial School in Baltimore, where I was finally taken, has been called an orphanage, and a reform school. It was, in fact, a training school for orphans, incorrigibles (sic), delinquents and runaways picked up on the streets of the city. I was listed as an incorrigible. I guess I was. Perhaps I would have been but for Brother Matthias, the greatest man I have ever known, and for the religious training I received there which has since been so important to me.

I doubt if any appeal could have straightened me out except a power over and above man- the appeal of God. Iron-rod discipline couldn't have done it. Nor all the punishment and reward systems that could have been devised. God has an eye out for me, just as He has for you, and He was pulling for me to make the grade.

As I look back now, I realize that knowledge of God was a big crossroads with me. I got one thing straight (and I wish all kids did) – that God was the Boss. He was only my Boss but Boss of all my bosses. Up till then, like all bad kids, I hated most of the people who had control over me and could punish me. I began to see that I had a higher Person to reckon with who never changed, whereas my earthly authorities changed from year to year. Those who bossed me had the same self-battles – they, like me, had to account to God. I also realized that God was not only just but merciful. He knew we were weak and that we all found it easier to be stinkers than sons of God, not only as kids but also all through our lives.

In December 1946 I was in French Hospital, facing a serious operation. Paul Carey, one of my closest friends was by my bed one night. "They're going to operate in the morning Babe," Paul said. "Don't you think you ought to put your home in order?"

I didn't dodge the long, challenging look in his eyes. I knew what he meant. For the first time I realized that death might strike me out. I nodded, and Paul got up, called in a chaplin, and I made a full confession.

"I'll return in the morning and give you Holy Communion," the chaplin said, "but you don't have to fast."

"I'll fast," I said. I didn't even have a drop of water."

Occupy PGA Tour!!

This was received in an E-Mail from a friend today:

I am a member of golf's 99%.

I play golf, but have not yet made it to the professional level!! I have played the game for over 40 years, but have not really put in the practice time and study to be the best. I also probably do not have the skills to really get there either. However, I now feel that I should be paid by the successful professionals for trying.

 It isn't fair that those players who have worked harder, have studied the game, have better equipment and are stronger and more skilled should make all that money. Oh sure, they have their charities that they give millions of dollars to, but I am sure that they write all that off on their tax returns to reduce paying their fair share. Is that fair?

They should pay for my golf, buy me new equipment and share their winnings. The whole system should be changed to accommodate people like me!!

Let's occupy a golf course and demand that those who are better at what they do pay for us who aren't as good. Whining should get us something, like media attention and sympathy from network news reporters!

Occupy PGA Tour!!

Note: The above should not in any way be construed as a criticism of those members of the "Occupy Movement" who are simply demanding their "right" to be rich.

H/T: jpa1948

Tim Tebow Inspired Focus on the Family Commercial

Focus on the Family ran this commercial during the Denver / Pittsburg game on Saturday obviously in honor of Denver Quarterback Tim Tebow, who directed an overtime win by completing 10 of 21 passes for 316 yards (that's 31.6 yards per completion).  One more thing: the time of possession by Pittsburg in the overtime game was 31 minutes and 06 seconds.

Fr. Jonathan Morris told Fox News this morning that the commercial caused 100 million hits on Google searching "John 3:16." 

John 3:16

New International Version (NIV)

 "¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

"Moneyball" (the movie) as Metaphor

Fr. Robert Barron dissects the movie, "Moneyball," as a metaphor to benefit anybody who is "walking the spiritual path."  To take that walk, one has to know what it is that he wants, then be able to see the goal clearly, and thereafter have the courage and willingness to pursue it without the distractions of worldly success.  Brad Pitt might not see it that way.

"Moneyball:" A Must See Baseball Movie

Tim Tebow throws for 3:16. There are no Coincidences

Tim Tebow threw for 316 yards to lead the Broncos over the Pittsburgh Steelers in overtime last night.  He completed 10 out of 21 passes for an average of 31.6 yards per completion.

http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_19701689



John 3:16

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

_____________________________________________
"In the designs of Providence there are no mere coincidences."

Blessed John Paul II