USA Today's Bob Nightengale: Beltran doesn't want 'to be known as just a player'

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/cardinals/2013/05/09/cardinals-outfielder-carlos-beltran-more-than-a-ballplayer/2149249/

ST. LOUIS -- Carlos Beltran is sitting in the hospital lobby, smothering his cough, wiping his nose, trying to get over a nasty flu bug.

He walks upstairs, turns the corner, enters the hospital room, and there is a balding 15-year-old boy, Jason, who shrieks at the sight.

"Oh, my God," he says, "it's you. It's you!"

Jason has cancer. So does the 11-year-old boy down the hall. And the 13-year-old girl next door. And the 5-year-old boy one flight up. And Josh Nelson, a 17-year-old boy, waiting for a new kidney.

Beltran, despite feeling cruddy for the last few days, is visiting the Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center, spending two hours with young cancer patients before last week's St. Louis Cardinals game.

"I know kids look up to me," says Beltran, the Cardinals' All-Star right fielder, "but I don't want to be known as just a baseball player. God gave me the opportunity and blessed me to accomplish good things in this sport. But if you don't do something with it, and help people with blessings you received, what does that really mean?

"I want to be a good person, to help kids get an education, to help them achieve meaningful things. That's what this is all about, and it means everything to me. When you help people you don't even know, it makes you feel like you really accomplished something.

"There comes a time in everyone's career when baseball is over. There should never be a time when you stop helping people, and I never will."

For more on this story, click http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/cardinals/2013/05/09/cardinals-outfielder-carlos-beltran-more-than-a-ballplayer/2149249/

Viral video of Matt Kemp's touching gesture to young fan catches Dodger off guard

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/viral-video-of-matt-kemp-s-touching-gesture-to-young-fan-catches-dodger-off-guard-004632881.html;_ylt=A2KJ2UZ_cY1Rb1oAIDbQtDMD

LOS ANGELES – There was never supposed to be a video. Matt Kemp's uncommon act of kindness was never supposed to go farther than an ailing boy, his dad and the baseball star.

And yet when Kemp awakened Tuesday morning, 36 hours afterward, his phone told him otherwise.The video was everywhere.

No, there was never supposed to be evidence beyond the ailing boy's memory, and perhaps a shelf in his room. Maybe he's wearing Kemp's cap. Maybe he's still holding Kemp's gray road jersey and spikes.

"I didn't know that anybody was filming it," Kemp said Tuesday afternoon. "I wasn't aware."

A boy, Joshua Jones, and his father, Steve Jones, sat Sunday night in front-row seats at AT&T Park in San Francisco. The boy was in a wheelchair. Early in the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers andSan Francisco Giants, the father struck up a conversation with Dodgers third base coach Tim Wallach. He said his son was very sick, that he was a Dodgers fan, and that his favorite player was Kemp. The boy, who has cancer, is unable to speak.

"He just kind of looked at me," Kemp said.

For more on the story, click http://sports.yahoo.com/news/viral-video-of-matt-kemp-s-touching-gesture-to-young-fan-catches-dodger-off-guard-004632881.html;_ylt=A2KJ2UZ_cY1Rb1oAIDbQtDMD

Boston’s sports stars take the lead

http://bostonherald.com/sports/columnists/2013/04/boston_s_sports_stars_take_the_lead

By Steve Buckley, Karen Guregian

Boston Herald

David Ortiz was born and raised in the Dominican Republic, and he honed his skills as a professional baseball player in such minor league towns as Appleton, Wis., New Britain, Conn., and Fort Myers, Fla.

When he finally made it to the big leagues, it was as a member of the Minnesota Twins.

But as he spoke to Red Sox fans during a pregame ceremony eight days ago at Fenway Park, Ortiz might just as well have been from Wollaston Beach or Davis Square, Chelmsford or Southie.

“This is our (expletive) city,” he thundered, his choice of words both shocking and uproarious. “And nobody is going to dictate our freedom.”

Our city.

Our freedom.

More than just wearing his Boston uniform when he spoke about the marathon bombings, Ortiz was wearing his Boston pride. Suddenly, it was as though he grew up rooting for Fred Lynn and Jim Rice. It was though he went to UMass, lived in Southwest, quaffed brewskis at the Blue Wall. The only thing missing was a Boston accent.

For more on this story, click http://bostonherald.com/sports/columnists/2013/04/boston_s_sports_stars_take_the_lead

UNH senior ends track career to make bone marrow donation

http://www.unionleader.com/article/20130423/SPORTS22/130429686

By ALLEN LESSELS
New Hampshire Union Leader


Cameron Lyle, a University of New Hampshire track and field athlete from Plaistow, looked forward to wrapping up his competitive career with his best results ever in the America East championships early next month. 

No longer. 

Instead, Lyle is scheduled to be at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston Wednesday morning, intent on giving an ill young man he does not know a better chance to live. Lyle was due at the hospital at 6 a.m. for a procedure that will begin the process of donating his bone marrow. 

Lyle passed on his final chances to compete after he was told about a month ago by a representative of the National Marrow Donor Program that he was a rare match for a 28-year-old who is stricken with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, an aggressive cancer. 

"My first reaction was 'yes,' when they told me on the phone," Lyle said Tuesday afternoon. "After that, I did think about what I was giving up. But the kid who has leukemia has it a lot worse than me. This kid is dying."

There is little time to waste, and there was no chance to squeeze in the championship meet.

For more on this article, go to http://www.unionleader.com/article/20130423/SPORTS22/130429686

Jack Hoffman, 7, stars at NU spring game

http://sports.omaha.com/2013/04/06/jack-hoffman-7-stars-at-nu-spring-game/

From the Omaha World Herald

Jack Hoffman, a 7-year-old cancer patient, was undoubtedly the star of Saturday’s Nebraska spring game. The Husker fan and friend of the football team led the Huskers in rushing yards on the day.

“Obviously, Jack’s a young man who has touched the hearts of a lot of people,” coach Bo Pelini said. “Our football team and the student body have gotten behind him, and he’s become a big part of the team. We weren’t sure if he was going to want to do it. We brought the idea to his dad, and I thought it was a pretty special thing.”

Hoffman scored on a 69-yard run for the Red team.

Taylor Martinez and Joe Ganz drew up a play with him on the sideline.

“That was awesome for the team and for Jack,” Martinez said. “He’s going to remember that for the rest of his life and so will I. It was awesome for him to score that touchdown.”

The play call was spontaneous according to senior fullback C.J. Zimmerer, but the Red team put some serious thought into giving Hoffman a clear path to the end zone and letting him run.

“We drew up the play probably 30 seconds before so I’m sure it was all a blur for him,” Zimmerer said. “I was telling some of the other reporters that he did a great job. We wanted to get him around the edge, giving him a nice lane to the end zone. He did a great job running his little legs there. He’s fast for a little guy. He did a great job for the pressure of 60,000 fans. I’m sure it was not very easy for a 7-year-old.”

Hoffman formed a bond with former Husker running back Rex Burkhead when the two met after Jack was diagnosed. He wore a No. 22 football jersey — Burkhead’s number — on the field.

For more on this story including photos and video:  http://sports.omaha.com/2013/04/06/jack-hoffman-7-stars-at-nu-spring-game/

Jamaal Franklin’s classy postgame message for FGCU’s Sherwood Brown

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-the-dagger/jamaal-franklin-classy-postgame-message-fgcu-sherwood-brown-035342173--ncaab.html (with video)

By Jeff Eisenberg / The Dagger

As Florida Gulf Coast players danced around the court Sunday night celebrating becoming the first No. 15 seed ever to reach the Sweet 16, San Diego State star Jamaal Franklin made a point to seek out the Eagles' best player.

Franklin pulled FGCU senior Sherwood Brown aside, embraced him and delivered a classy but heartfelt message.

"He just told us that we did a great job and he was just saying to keep this thing going," Brown said."We're doing something special, and he just wants us to keep it moving. Don't stop now."

Franklin's version of the conversation was similar. He said he encouraged Brown to keep being a leader, to embrace the opportunity of playing in the Sweet 16 and to make FGCU's ride last as long as possible.

"Those guys we played against right now are just like us," Franklin said. "They all love each other and they all play together. They just want to win. And you can see at the end of the game, a lot of teams win games and just leave the court, but they embraced it. They embraced it together."

Of all the San Diego State players, Franklin should be most familiar with how Florida Gulf Coast celebrated. Though he was disappointed his 20 points weren't enough to propel the Aztecs to the Sweet 16, Franklin remained on the court long after his teammates had gone to the locker room, soaking in the sight of the Eagles dancing and rejoicing at his team's expense.

Franklin, a notoriously hard worker during the offseason, puts in long hours each summer working to improve his jump shot and sharpen other facets of his game. Whether he does that work in preparation for the NBA draft or for his senior season at San Diego State, the image of Florida Gulf Coast rejoicing will surely be seared into his mind.

"When teams celebrate like that I always stay on the court and watch because at the end of the day that's motivation for me," Franklin said. "I'm always going to be in the gym working out, and stuff like that needs to be in my mind so I can motivate myself to get better and motivate my teammates. Stuff like that always stays with me, never goes away."

Cano: Gesture after WBC title game sends message

                    Jorge L. Ortiz, USA TODAY Sports

TAMPA – Robinson Cano was so taken by the sportsmanship gesture at the end of the World Baseball Classic, he would like to see its message carry over to the fans of another set of rivals – the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.

Cano rejoined the Yankees on Thursday fresh off guiding the undefeated Dominican Republic to the WBC title, earning MVP honors after batting .469 with two home runs.

As the undisputed leader of the Dominican team, Cano met with teammate Octavio Dotel and Puerto Rico catcher Yadier Molina before Tuesday's championship game, and they agreed the losing team would congratulate the winner.

For more on this story, click http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2013/03/21/robinson-cano-sportsmanship-dominican-republic-puerto-rico-wbc/2008185/

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2013/03/21/robinson-cano-sportsmanship-dominican-republic-puerto-rico-wbc/2008185/