The Genz

For many rural midwestern kids, baseball is played on clumps of mud and fenceless fields. It is game of worn, muddy balls and cracked wooden bats. It is Tigers vs. Twins or Cubs vs. Cardinals in rough-looking affairs, including tatered uniforms that have no rythym of color and hats that are sponsored by Bob's Gas Station or Tom's Automotive. Fashion and matching colors are the farthest thing from these little leaguers minds. Instead, they dream of walking into Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park or Wrigley Field, visualizing a 3-2 count with the bases jammed and the crack of the bat that gets the mud flying and feet pedaling in all directions. Then, before they cross home plate in their dreams, they snap to it in time to connect during their Little League game. As one of those games ended in my youth and my (Little League) Tigers won - that is how I always remember it- I headed home anxiously to try and pick up the big league Tigers on WJR radio. Sometimes, it worked, usually after 7 p...

It is well known among my friends of my passion for the Pittsburgh Steelers. I do not hide in bad times, say a blowout in the playoffs against New England, nor do a believe that they are a perfect organization (but close). I love my Steelers and cheer for them in the best and worst of times. Yes, I will talk smack with friends about the other NFL teams, including the hated Vikings and Pats, and especially the villianous Ravens. Of course, you know me, I always side with the game's best franchise, Pittsburgh, which is the only team to win six Super Bowls. The Steelers are the best... just ask me. So, it hurt a bit after reckless and bad behavior by two Steelers, players that should know better - Santonio Holmes and Ben Roethlisberger. Boys, it is time to grow up. Roethlisberger is a two-time Super Bowl winning QB, who has ventured into dangerous territory with his brainless college behavior. Holmes, who was the 2009 Super Bowl MVP, is gone because his juvenile actions have continued...

"It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone." - A. Bartlett Giamatti, "The Green Fields of the Mind," Yale Alumni Magazine, November 1977 As March turned to April and spring training ended as the regular season began, baseball has started anew. More than a week into the season, the games have been filled with special moments. Casey McGehee's walkoff HR for Milwaukee enraptured that Brewers home crowd on opening day at that stadium. Arizona had a 13-run inning against Pittsburgh, who surprised the world by winning its first series against the L.A. Dodgers, a squad that made the postseason a year ago. There was C.C. Sabathia throwing no-hit ball for 7 2/3 innings against Tampa Bay and Jason Heyward of Atlanta beginning his major leagu...

Everybody loves Cinderella. And, in college basketball's biggest dance, Cinderellas are everywhere, showing their lucky charms for all the world to embrace. When ninth-seeded Northern Iowa defeated the top overall seed Kansas, 69-67, the Panthers turned the entire basketball nation on its ear. During this March Madness season, Northern Iowa hasn't been the only Cinderella wearing dancing shoes. 10th-seeded St. Mary's, 11th-seeded Washington and 12th-seeded Cornell are others that have put the whammy on basketball powers. Villanova, Georgetown, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, Temple and New Mexico, all seeded fifth or better, are back home watching the rest of the tournament on TV and wondering what happened. These Cinderellas are dancing at a relatively new dance hall. This is the first time in the history of Northern Iowa and Cornell that they have advanced to the Sweet 16. And, St. Mary's advanced to the Elite Eight in 1959 when only 23 teams were in the tournament. So, they t...

Local basketball hounds have to be eating up the success this year. Check out some of that success here -- SDSU women's basketball team (21-10) advanced to the NCAA DI Women's Tourney (we find out who they play Monday) for the second straight year. The Jacks defeated top seed Oral Roberts in overtime as they continue to dominate the Summit League Conference Tournament. They are 4-0 in two seasons with two consecutive titles. The USD men's basketball team continues to roll with its first-ever Great West Conference title that sends them to the College Insider's Tournament. The CIT is similar to NIT in that DI schools not invited to the Big Dance have a chance to continue their seasons. The 16-team tournament kicks off Tuesday. The Coyotes own a 13-game winning streak (second best active streak in DI - tied with Wofford - and second to Butler's 20 game streak). In the opening round of the CIT, the Coyotes, 22-9, will play Creighton (16-15) at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the C...

They call it "March Madness." And, even before the NCAA DI Road to the Final Four Tournament gets started, the "madness" has taken root. Evan Turner's 40-foot game-winning shot that lifted Ohio State to a last second win in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament was one example. The freshmen helped the top-seeded Buckeyes defeat rival Michigan and showed why he is a national player of the year candidate. In the first round of the Big East Tournament, we watched Georgetown topple top seed and 4th ranked Syracuse. That was followed by Marquette 6-for-6 3-point performance in the second half against 10th ranked Villanova. Marquette's Lazar Hayward hit a crucial three down the stretch that kept alive the school's bid for its first-ever Big East title. Not to be outdown, Notre Dame's big defensive effort led to their upset of Pittsburgh. Then there was John Wall's 23 points and nine assists to help Kentucky turn back a game and upset-minded Alaba...

Why Country and Flag Waving Matter When Sidney Crosby scored the game-winning goal for Canada in overtime on the final day and play of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, it stung. That goal, that loss by Team USA to the heavily favored Canadians bite at my soul. Just a few moments earlier, everything was right because USA's Zach Parise had tied the match with a goal in the final half-minute of play. For those few prideful minutes, I felt a sense of relief with a renewal of hope for a gold medal. I was thinking, perhaps imagining, the Americans waving the U.S. flag, jumping up and down with excitement and feeling the ultimate sense of accomplishment. At that moment, it made me think that this young passionate and aggressive hockey team had quelled naysayers by rolling through the tournament unbeaten and winning the top prize. But the anxiousness of that moment turned to frustration when Crosby slapped the winning shot past Ryan Miller. That is the way of sport, high expectations and it ...