导出博客文章COOPERSTOWN, N.
Asics Shoes Australia Cheap .Y. -- In the weeks leading up to the Baseball Hall of Fame induction, the prevailing theme was, Two players -- different paths. Ken Griffey Jr. was the talented wunderkind who seemed destined for greatness from the moment the Seattle Mariners chose him No. 1 in the 1987 draft. Mike Piazza was the gifted hitter whose lack of speed and defensive skill heralded little opportunity until Tommy Lasorda hounded the Dodgers into selecting him in the 62nd round in 1988.Now the two sluggers will be linked in baseball history -- most notably, in the Hall of Plaques in Cooperstown -- as members of the Class of 2016. Piazza and Griffey delivered bookend speeches before a crowd of 50,000 Sunday, and next year theyll have the luxury of returning, playing golf and enjoying the surroundings sans pressure, if they so desire.They each took roads that not many have ever traveled, said former Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Eric Karros, Piazzas best friend in baseball. Mike was the late-round draft pick with people doubting him along the way. Junior had the expectations of having a successful big-league dad. But they both did it on their own. There werent any shortcuts. I think that added a human quality to the display of emotion you saw here.For all their differences, Griffey and Piazza have spent enough time together over the past few months to discover theyre kindred spirits in many ways. Amid the plaudits and the shoutouts -- and so many cheers -- they have learned theyre more alike than their baseball résumés would suggest.Theyre both softiesAlong with Frank Thomas tear-filled induction speech and Bill Mazeroski turning into a puddle and cutting his speech short in 2001, this was among the most emotionally wrenching induction ceremony in memory. Piazza sobbed while discussing his relationship with his father, and he choked up in recalling the influence that former Dodgers coach Reggie Smith had in saving his career when he briefly walked away from the game in the minor leagues.It was a sequence of events Piazza predicted recently when he appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live.Jimmy sent me a text and I said, Im gonna cry, Piazza recalled. And he said, Real men cry at funerals and when they get inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. So dont worry about it. Griffey was such a mess, he commenced crying less than a minute into his speech while thanking the Baseball Writers Association for voting him into Cooperstown. In hindsight, he violated a cardinal rule by looking down into the crowd at his sons Trey and Tevin, and his daughter, Taryn, against the advice of his fellow Hall of Famers.Thats probably the first time in a long time Ive seen Junior come out of his security blanket and lose his composure, said former Seattle Mariners outfielder Jay Buhner, Griffeys closest friend in the game. It was good to see him let his hair down, per se, and let the emotions flow. I love it. How can you not get choked up talking about your family? I got choked up listening to Piazza, too. I would have been crying like a little baby if I was up there.They have the makings of a comedy actBoth players revealed their senses of humor throughout the weekend, whether in their speeches or in dealing with the obligatory rookie hazing from their veteran Hall of Fame counterparts.They told me I had to sing with the band in the bar, Piazza said. So I started playing drums and then I went to singing, and my wife came running in and said, The bartender just said, Quick, get him back on the drums.When Wade Boggs started singing Knights in White Satin by the Moody Blues, it got a little scary and a little weird, so I knew I had to get out of there. I think Kenny got out of there, too.Griffey apparently relied on superior instincts and anticipation to avoid the indignity of singing for the established Hall of Famers.They tried it with me, but I acted like I had to go to the bathroom, Griffey said.Their challenges were different, but equally imposingThe definitive video from Piazzas formative years came when he was 15 years old, and Ted Williams visited the family home near Philadelphia to watch him hit off a machine in a batting cage. For as long as anyone can remember, Piazza was a cage rat and a grinder.I just think of the way he worked to get here, said Vince Piazza, Mikes father. If you did that today with your kid, theyd get you for child abuse. I would never let up on him. He would go to sleep at night, and Id put a gripper in each hand and he had to do 100 squeezes before he went to sleep. It was, Hey Dad, whatever you throw at me, Ill take it and do some more. He was a workaholic -- and it paid off.Griffeys smooth swing and athletic gifts obscured a love for the game and a natural tendency to hurtle into walls in pursuit of baseballs. Its a wonder he didnt spend more time on the disabled list early in his career.There was always a tug-and-pull and a responsibility to follow his fathers footsteps and live up to a reputation, Buhner said. When youre labeled a five-tool guy, especially at an early age, there are going to be some distractions. Year after year, you saw the maturity start to sink in, and you knew he was going to be a special player. I think [his wife] Melissa was his foundation. She kicked him in the ass and kept him in line.They have a kinship with their citiesWhen Griffey was a senior at Archbishop Moeller High School in Cincinnati and it began to become clear that Seattle would pick him first in the draft, he asked his father, Ken Sr., Wheres Seattle?After breaking in with the Mariners as a 19-year-old rookie in 1989, Griffey played in the same outfield with his father, scored the climactic run in Seattles stirring 1995 division win over the New York Yankees, hit 417 home runs and made 10 All-Star teams in a Seattle uniform.Randy Johnson made five All-Star teams in Seattle and won his first Cy Young Award as a Mariner, but entered the Hall of Fame in an Arizona Diamondbacks cap. Edgar Martinez was such a dominant designated hitter that baseballs top DH award is named after him, but he has yet to surpass 43.4 percent of the vote in a year. So the honor of Seattles only Hall of Famer rests with Griffey, and he carries it with pride.I spent 13 years there, Griffey said. I met my wife there. Trey and Taryn were born there. I have so many friends who still live there. I came from Cincinnati, where its black and white. You go to Seattle and its a melting pot. You see everybody. My first two years, I lived downtown. They have such a warm heart there. Theres not a mean spirit. People care about each other.Even now when I go downtown, its, Hey Ken. How you doing? Congratulations. The other question is, When are you going to own the team? Piazza joins Tom Seaver, who entered the Hall of Fame with 98.8 percent of the vote in 1992, as the second player to enter in a Mets cap. Gary Carter, a big part of the Mets 1986 world championship team, went into the Hall of Fame as a Montreal Expo.Piazzas emotional ties to New York are most profound whenever clips are shown of his 2001 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 the moment has had on others. It was a recurrent theme on 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 maintains, to this day, that the first responders, firefighters, police and families who had to move on from 9/11 were the true heroes. If entering the Hall of Fame in a Mets cap can enhance the positive feelings he provided during an indescribably low point for the city and the nation, hes on board.The way I feel about it, this is a gift to the Mets, Piazza said. Coming to the cauldron of New York after playing on the West Coast [with the Dodgers] in a more laid-back atmosphere, it was different. But it made me better. To join Tom Seaver, and everything he encompasses as such a legendary Met, is something thats very meaningful to me.
Asics Shoes Sale Australia . -- Three close looks at the bucket, three misses.
Asics Shoes Online Australia . - NASCAR announced a 33-race schedule for the 2014 Nationwide Series with virtually no changes from this years slate.
http://www.cheapaustraliaasics.com/ . Booth picked up 65 caps after making her national team debut in 2002 at the age of 17. She most recently played for Sky Blue FC of the National Womens Soccer League. "It just felt like it was my time to move on," she said in a phone interview from her hometown of Burlington, Ont. PORTLAND, Ore. -- Defending champion Brooke Henderson shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday to take a two-stroke lead after the opening round of the LPGA Cambia Portland Classic on Thursday.Picking up where she left off from a year ago, when she shot a 21-under 267 to win her first LPGA tournament, Henderson, 18, hit 16 greens and made nine birdies on a warm, cloudless day at the 6,476-yard Columbia Edgewater course.Henderson said a combination of factors allows her to feel at home at Columbia Edgewater.I love tree-lined courses, and thats very much what this course is, Henderson said. With the bent grass, which is kind of what I grew up on, I really like it. It suits my eye. Then winning here, that gives me those extra vibes and adrenaline, which I think will help as the week goes on. This golf course, being out here in the Northwest, in the beautiful temperature, I like wearing long sleeves and pants.Angela Stanford, Demi Runas and Mariajo Uribe each shot 67 to trail Henderson.Runas, whose best career finish is a tie for 25th, and Uribe are looking for their first LPGA victories. Stanford lost in a playoff in the 2003 U.S. Womens Open at Pumpkin Ridge, which has previously played host to the Portland Classic. Uribe and Stanford shot bogey-free rounds.Stanford, who tied for fourth last week in Arkansas, is somewhat of a surprise among the leaders. She hasnt had much success at the Portland Classic, her best finish a tie for eighth in 12 tries.Poana greens are usually not very friendly to me. Its nice to watch the ball go in the hole here. I havent always played well here, so I tried to just put that on the back burner and see if I could carry it over from last week, and it did, Stanford said.Carlota Ciganda, Jaye Marie Green, Ayako Uehara and Daniela Iacobelli shot 68. Four strokes back at 69 are No. 18 Suzann Pettersen, Sarah Jane Smith, Lee-Anne Pace, Briana Mao and Jiayi Zhou.Pettersen is a two-time Portland winner, claimiing the 2011 and 2013 tournaments.
Discount Asics Shoes. No. 15 Anna Nordqvist is among 12 players at 70. No. 9 Stacy Lewis shot even-par 72, as did Austin Ernst, the 2014 Portland champion.Henderson, starting early in the morning on the back nine, was only 1-under through seven holes. But she birdied three of the next four holes, then finished on fire while playing the front nine, making consecutive birdies on holes 5 through 8. Henderson just missed a fifth consecutive birdie, sliding a 15-foot putt past the left side of the hole at the par-4 ninth.It was a bogey at the par-4, 391-yard fourth that helped ignite Hendersons string of four consecutive birdies.That was a dumb hole ... a hole with my length I could have taken advantage of, Henderson said. The bogey bothered me a little. I knew I had two par-5s coming up, so I tried to focus on them.In her last six rounds at Columbia-Edgewater, counting last years Monday qualifier, Henderson is 32-under par, all six rounds in the 60s.Last year, Henderson won the Portland Classic by eight strokes, becoming the third-youngest champion in LPGA Tour history. Since winning her maiden event, Henderson has soared to become No. 2 ranked, and two weeks ago won the Womens PGA Championship.Henderson is attempting to become Portlands first back-to-back champion since Annika Sorenstam won the 2002 and 2003 tournaments.The Portland Classic is normally played in late August, but moved up because the LPGA is taking three weeks off for the Olympics. The Portland stop is typically popular among the tours best players, but with the U.S. Open scheduled for next week in California, only 13 of the worlds top 50 entered this year.The Portland Classic is the LPGA Tours longest-running non-major, now in its 45th year. The purse is $1.3 million, with $195,000 going to the winner. ' ' '
