Sports - Sports News - Page 8

-Bianca- · 05-21-2007, 08:52 PM

Sappy story time.

Quote:

Little Leaguer doesn't let his prosthetic legs keep him on the bench

Anthony Burruto is among league leaders in home runs

Josh Robbins | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted May 11, 2007

When Anthony Burruto was a baby, doctors amputated his lower legs.

He was born without a shinbone in his left leg and without a fibula in his right leg. The physicians said surgery eventually would allow Anthony to walk.

He does a lot more than that now.

Using two titanium and carbon-fiber prostheses, Anthony pitches and plays first base for a Dr. Phillips Little League baseball team. This spring, he has hit three home runs, rating among league leaders.

Anthony, 12, insists he's nothing special. Those who know him disagree. He reminds them that there's nothing wrong with having limitations; what matters is how you deal with them.

"He's got a drive that I've never seen before and confidence that I've never seen in anybody," said his mom, Diane Burruto. "Every time I think he can't do something, he proves me wrong. I'm just so proud of him."

Some Little League parents want their kids to become major-leaguers, but Vinny and Diane Burruto consider it a thrill just to watch their son run the bases.

Anthony started playing baseball at 8 years old. Until his first home run last November, he had never run around first, second and third in a game.

After the ball sailed over the left-field fence, players from both teams cheered. Vinny and Diane wept. So did other parents.

"How could you not cry?" said Anthony's coach, Michael Marchell.

Other kids' parents still cheer for Anthony.

"Nice pitch, Ant!" they yelled Monday night. "Good one, Ant!"

The group included Rich Rieker, a former Major League Baseball umpire and current MLB umpire supervisor whose son Michael plays on Anthony's team.

"I've been around million-dollar athletes and the truly skilled people in baseball, and nobody inspires me more than this kid right here," Rieker said.

Even other teams' players like Anthony. When he hit his second grand slam this spring, a third baseman high-fived him as he rounded the bases.

Anthony, a sixth-grader at Southwest Middle School, makes friends easily. With dark-brown eyes and short, wavy black hair, he looks self-assured. He smiles often. He seems as if he's having fun.

"I talk a lot," he said. "I like sports."

He wants to play baseball for as long as possible.

"He's really cool," said teammate Zachary Holbrook. "He's funny. He's always the one who gets everybody up in the dugout, and he's a really good hitter.

"He's never mean to anybody. He always sticks up for everybody when they have a problem."

Anthony isn't shy about his legs. He wears long pants only when he plays baseball. He prefers shorts because they keep him cool. He and his parents moved here two years ago from Medford, N.Y., on Long Island, and he dislikes hot weather.

In New York, Vinny and Diane owned a restaurant called Anthony Bruno's, named after their only child. They moved to Orlando, they said, because houses cost too much in New York. They now run a pizzeria off of Millenia Boulevard.

Anthony was born two months premature, on Dec. 15, 1994. He weighed 3 pounds, 3 ounces and had to be in an incubator for 30 days.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1.9 out of every 10,000 babies are born with some kind of leg defect.

"I just couldn't deal with the fact that all this was happening to my son," Vinny said. "I hated the world."

Vinny found some closure on a summer day in 1996.

Anthony was 18 months old and he had just received his first pair of artificial legs. On vacation in upstate New York, Anthony walked for the first time.

Vinny calls it the happiest day of his life.

"From that moment on, this kid has not stopped walking," Vinny said. "He amazes me every time. You want to talk about being a proud father? I'm the proudest father on the face of this earth."

Having prosthetic legs still can be difficult, of course.

Anthony recently has grown out of his right leg's prosthesis.

He and his mom spent two hours Wednesday in the prosthetist's office as Alistair Gibson took new molds of his legs.

Anthony was concerned. He wanted to fit into his leg so he could play the baritone in his school's band concert Thursday and play in his baseball season's final game Saturday.

Eventually, Gibson was able to put Anthony into his prosthesis.

"He's hit three home runs!" Diane told Gibson as they walked out of the office.

"I'll hit another one Saturday," Anthony said, smiling.

Anthony is one of the best hitters on his team, which, coincidentally, is called the Yankees.

He has to reach first base on his own; after that, Marchell replaces him with a pinch runner. League coaches also have a gentlemen's agreement not to bunt when Anthony is pitching. If he makes an error, he never looks upset on the field.

Opposing pitchers don't take it easy on Anthony -- and he hardly takes it easy on them. He has power, because he strengthens his upper body by often crawling from place to place at home.

On April 21, he hit a baseball so hard that it flew over a two-lane street beyond left field. Vinny ran onto the field and hugged his son. Tears welled in Diane's eyes.

To Anthony, able-bodied adults who say he's remarkable or inspirational have a strange point of view.

"You just see things differently," he said. "To me, it's normal."

Little Leaguer doesn't let his prosthetic legs keep him on the bench - Orlando Sentinel : Sports Little Leaguer doesn't let his prosthetic legs keep him on the bench - Orlando Sentinel : Sports

***NikNak*** · 05-22-2007, 01:44 PM

-Bianca- · 06-09-2007, 12:31 AM

Quote:

Daly says wife attacked him with steak knife

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- John Daly told authorities his wife tried stab him with a steak knife, and the golfer had red marks on his cheeks when he showed up to play Friday on the course where he lives.

Daly called police about 6 a.m. on Friday, Shelby County Sheriff's department spokesman Steve Shular said. When deputies arrived, wife Sherrie and the couple's children were not there. Deputies could not find the knife he claimed she used.

John Daly had red marks on his cheeks when he arrived for Friday's St. Jude Championship.

Daly is competing this week in the Stanford St. Jude Championship on a sponsor's exemption. He was tied for eighth after the first round in which he had a triple bogey and rebounded with five straight birdies.

He did not speak with reporters, but issued a statement saying he was the "victim of an assault by my wife."

"I filed a complaint with the Shelby County Sheriff's Office. They are investigating, and I'll have no further comment on the matter while they pursue their investigation. My only concern at this point is for the safety of my children and myself," the statement said.

Daly also said he was working with local authorities and tour security for protection. He had two bodyguards with him through his round, and he went from a tie for eighth to a tie for 58th with a 4-over 74 that featured two double bogeys, five bogeys and five birdies.

He did not speak to reporters after finishing his round, which should let him play into the weekend for only the fourth time in 12 events this year.

No charges had been filed Friday afternoon, and it will be Daly's decision whether he wants that to happen, Shular said.

The 41-year-old golfer and his wife argued last night at a restaurant near the golf course, he told deputies.

Daly has won two majors -- the 1991 PGA Championship and 1995 British Open -- but his play has been overshadowed by two trips to alcohol rehab, outrageous tales of gambling losses, trashed hotel rooms and suspensions.

Daly has struggled this season. He has one top-25 finish and has made only three cuts. He has withdrawn from three other events.

Daly met Sherrie at this tournament in 2001, and they married seven weeks later. Their son, John Patrick, was born a week before she and her parents were indicted in Mississippi on charges stemming from what authorities said was a drug ring and an illegal gambling operation.

Sherrie Daly pleaded guilty in November 2004 to a charge of conspiracy to structure a transaction to evade the reporting requirement. She began serving a five-month sentence in January 2006, then filed for divorce in Shelby County on Oct. 17, 2006.

Daly filed himself a day later, then said a month later that things were on hold. Shular said police had been called to the home only once before for a false alarm in December and that Sherrie Daly had listed a Collierville address for herself.

His autobiography -- "My Life In & Out of the Rough" -- details his gambling and drinking addiction with one chapter devoted to his three former wives that was titled, "All My Exes Wear Rolexes."

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

ESPN - Daly says wife tried to stab him with steak knife - Golf

***NikNak*** · 06-14-2007, 11:04 AM

Trouble in paradise.

***NikNak*** · 06-25-2007, 07:18 PM

Posted by Villp:

Quote:

Marion Jones -- Bankrupt

Just heard she is down to her last $2,000.

Just so there's no mistake, yes, this is the renowned American track and field superstar, Olympic icon.

I think she used 'roids and all, but this is really sad. She had to sell the house she bought her mom to make ends meet.

You wouldn't wish that on anyone.

Villp · 06-25-2007, 08:51 PM

Thanks, NikNak

***NikNak*** · 06-25-2007, 09:00 PM

Sure thing.

Welcome to the board, as well, if I didn't say it before!

Avatar · 06-26-2007, 08:51 AM

I have no sympathy for Marion Jones. I know she hasn't been formally charged with using performance enhancing drugs, but neither has Barry Bonds. And when you look at the circumstantial evidence (married to Tim Montomery, who has been charged with using drugs, the BALCO involvement and the statements of C.J. Hunter and Victor Conte), I think there's a better-than-average chance that she has.

-Bianca- · 07-09-2007, 08:20 PM

Dan Patrick is leaving ESPN this summer.

***NikNak*** · 07-10-2007, 07:51 AM

Wow, 18 years? He's had a good run.

iblazed · 07-14-2007, 09:37 PM

Arturo Gatti one of the most exciting boxers you would ever see fight. Retired tonight after being knocked out pretty bad. He announced his retirement after the fight.

***NikNak*** · 07-16-2007, 09:16 AM

Thanks for the news.

-Bianca- · 07-20-2007, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Go (To Jail) Team!

Nothing beats getting busted in your favorite team's official duds
JULY 20--Sports franchises love nothing more than fans shelling out for a replica of their favorite player's jersey. Of course, seeing the garments on a perp when he/she is posing for a mug shot, well, that's the kind of marketing no team desires. On the following 18 pages, recent arrestees show their allegiance to the Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Broncos, Philadelphia Eagles, Phoenix Suns, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors, Denver Nuggets, and other clubs...

Go (To Jail) Team! - July 20, 2007

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***NikNak*** · 07-21-2007, 11:39 AM

Craziness.

-Bianca- · 07-24-2007, 12:45 AM

Quote:

Texans' Green makes downpayment on home for single mom

HOUSTON -- When Regina Foster tells her son Reginald they're finally moving from an apartment to their own home, the 7-year-old with autism likely won't comprehend what that means.

But when he sees the backyard, he'll be happy and that's all that matters to Foster, a single mom.

"He'll respond to that," she said with a smile.

Foster's dream of home ownership is coming true thanks to Ahman Green and the Houston Texans. On Monday, Green made good on a promise to make the down payment on a home for a single parent in exchange for reclaiming his No. 30 from teammate Jason Simmons.

"This is for Reggie," Foster said, tears running down her cheeks when she was surprised at work by Green and Simmons. "He needs it. Kids with autism can't adapt well to change, so it will be wonderful to have something we don't have to ever leave."

Foster received a check for $50,000, with Green donating $25,000 and Texans owner Bob McNair contributing the rest.

"You definitely deserve it and we're happy to do it," Green said as Foster thanked him while hugging him repeatedly.

Foster, who works for a mortgage company, was chosen from five finalists who met strict criteria that included a pledge to do 100 hours of community service and contribute at least $1,500 toward the down payment.

"I always wanted to use my star power to help people," said Green, who signed as free agent with the Texans after playing in Green Bay since 2000. "When we have the opportunity to do that it's just overwhelming."

Foster said she knew nothing about football and reluctantly admitted she wasn't a Texans fan.

"I just became one," she joked, adding that she'll dedicate Reggie's room to the Texans. Green said they'd donate Texans gear for the room.

Simmons, who came up with the idea when Green approached him about the number he'd worn since the inception of the franchise, had to fight back tears during the presentation.

"This is emotional," Simmons said. "When I thought of this I couldn't have imagined anything on this level. The best part is that she's not worried about herself, she wants a place for her son."

Green said part of the reason why Foster was chosen was because he learned through work with Easter Seals the difficulties and expense of caring for a child with special needs.

Foster has been trying to buy a house for some time to provide her son more stability and give him a backyard in which to play. She quickly found that her lack of money for a down payment would make such a purchase difficult and had put her plans on hold until Monday.

"I had been getting discouraged," she said. "I couldn't afford the down payment, but because of them I can finally do this."

Madeline Jones, a friend and co-worker of Foster's, said Foster was a hard worker and she couldn't think of anyone who deserved this more.

"Her son is her life," Jones said. "This is a dream come true. I don't think these guys even realize how big this is to her. It's unreal."

Green said it was hard to believe his promise had evolved from some words and a handshake with Simmons to a reality.

"I never realized how important this could be," he said. "I thought it could be big, but I was nowhere in the ballpark of what it would mean to this one family."

ESPN - Texans' Green fulfills home dream for single mom - NFL


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