Thursday, November 3, 2016
Thursday, April 25, 2013
42: A Review by George Weigel
Now comes “42,” the long-awaited cinematic telling of the Jackie Robinson story, which I recently saw on a snowy April Sunday afternoon in the Twin Cities. I wouldn’t call it a great movie (like, for example, “The King’s Speech”); but it’s a very, very good movie, and an entirely plausible challenger to “61*” as the best baseball movie ever made. Chadwick Boseman captures some of the fierce intensity, and a lot of the raw courage, of the man who broke baseball’s color line. It wasn’t easy to imagine Han Solo, Indiana Jones, or President James Marshall (“Air Force One”) as Branch Rickey, the cigar-chomping, ultra-Methodist general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers whose Christian decency and shrewd business sense led him to take on the entire baseball establishment by signing Jackie Robinson; but Harrison Ford pulls off that role with aplomb. Kudos, too, to Nicole Beharie for capturing the steely grace, beauty and guts of Rachel Robinson, Jackie’s wife, who put up with all the racism that her husband endured and who, with him, embodied for millions of Americans the meaning of the civil rights anthem, “We Shall Overcome.”
Columnist George F. Will once wrote that Jackie Robinson was second—a “very close second”—to Martin Luther King Jr. in the pantheon of African Americans who reversed a nation’s racial attitudes and helped create what is, today, the most racially egalitarian society in history. “42” is a useful reminder of just how much those men, and others, had to overcome: Robinson’s teammates are, to put it gently, unenthusiastic about his presence among them; the Phillies’ race-baiting manager, Ben Chapman, mercilessly harasses Number 42 when he comes up to the plate; the Cardinals’ Enos Slaughter deliberately spikes Robinson on a routine play at first base; Pirates’ pitcher Fritz Ostermueller throws a killer pitch that smashes into Robinson’s temple (in the days before batting helmets); potty-mouthed fans remind us just how foul American racial epithets could be—and how children were taught to imitate the sins of their parents.
And through it all, Jackie Robinson, in that first, crucial season, stuck to the promise he had made Branch Rickey: he would have the courage not to fight back, save in playing some of the most electrifying baseball ever seen, especially on the basepaths.
Branch Rickey was dubbed “the Mahatma” by a Brooklyn sportswriter who thought the Dodger g.m.’s style akin to that of Mohandas K. Ghandi, whom John Gunther once described as “an incredible combination of Jesus Christ, Tammany Hall and your father.” And to the credit of screenwriter Brian Helgeland, “42” doesn’t gloss over Rickey’s Christian faith, or Jackie Robinson’s, and the role that Christian conviction played in forging their relationship and their ultimate victory. Still, when the packed crowd in that Minneapolis theatre burst into applause at the end of the movie a few weeks ago, I didn’t read it as an endorsement of Methodist theology or piety.
Rather, it seemed to me welcome evidence that, amidst vast cultural and political confusions, Americans still believe in moral truths, moral absolutes, and moral courage—and yearn for opportunities to celebrate them. There’s an important lesson in that for the country’s religious and political leaders.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Friday, June 4, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Opening Day 2010: Let's go Cubs!
Hey, if the Saints can win the Super Bowl... Why not a World Series for the Cubs!? Let's go Cubs!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Houston Astros mourn nun who kept faith in the team
I found this Houston Belief story at New Advent. What a great post and inspiration! God bless this wonderful Sister with eternal peace:
One spring season when the Astros were in a particularly bad slump, Sister Damian Kuhn made her way to owner Drayton McLane's office, dressed in her traditional blue habit and veil.
“She was our No. 1 fan, and she always took it personal,” recalled McLane. He told her it was time to start praying.
After a long sigh, she replied, “Drayton, my knees are bloodied. It's going to take more than that!”
Now McLane and the baseball team's players are struggling over a different loss — the death of Sister Kuhn on Monday, just months shy of her 90th birthday.
She, as a good Roman Catholic, and McLane, as a good Baptist, connected after he noticed the nun's unabashed enthusiasm for the team whenever she managed to snare a ticket for a game at the Astrodome that otherwise would have gone unused.
“She was hard to miss in a crowd,” McLane said, since her head was covered with a habit instead of a ball cap.
Thinking it was unbecoming for a nun to shout, she once told the Houston Chronicle that she tried hard to just clap and give high-fives. She never jeered or heckled, and always believed that next crack of the bat might be an Astros' home run.
Then 10 years ago, she saw it as a gift from God when the team moved to Minute Maid Park. That's because she was living across the street at the convent for the Annunciation Catholic Church and Incarnate Word Academy.
Bagwell was her favorite
McLane, acknowledging the nun's vow of poverty, bestowed her with season tickets that allowed her to sit behind home plate at the new stadium.
One of her best memories was being flown by the Astros on a private jet to the first day of spring training. “She got to watch the players practice and didn't get home until dark. She never forgot it,” said longtime friend Margaret Buckle, of Houston.
Sister Kuhn also marked her 80th birthday by throwing out the first pitch of the game to one of her favorite players, Jeff Bagwell. Their bond went beyond the ballpark as they occasionally shared pasta together at Carrabba's Italian Grill.
When her health began to deteriorate, the Astros sent a golf cart to transport her to games. In return for the Astros' kindness, Sister Kuhn made what McLane likes to call “heavenly fudge” that she regularly delivered to him.
Sister Kuhn was the oldest of five girls born to Buddy and Ruby Kuhn on Sept. 24, 1920, in Houston.
Her love affair with baseball was inherited from her father, who was a scrappy pitcher for a company team in Houston before the Astros existed.
“Buddy Kuhn was known all over,” recalled one of her sisters, Doris Olexa of Beaumont. “And our mother was taking Agnes (renamed Sister Damian Kuhn) to the games when she was only a baby.”
For as long as anyone can remember, she wanted to become a nun. “She even went around with a towel pinned on her head, pretending to be a nun,” Olexa said. “She never had any other desire. She loved her faith.”
Sister Kuhn then committed herself to the teaching order of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament in Houston at age 18.
Students were devoted
She served as a home economics teacher at the Incarnate Word Academy for 57 years until some mini-strokes forced her into retirement. Many of her students — such as Rose Carrabba, whose family owns the Italian grill — remained devoted and kept in touch with her.
Life as a nun didn't stop Sister Kuhn from having fun.
The Buckle family remembers taking her and another nun with them to Knott's Berry Farm in California after a wedding ceremony.
“I lost track of her there,” Buckle remembered. “Then looking up, I saw two nuns in full habits dropping at what seemed like 90 miles per hour from one of the scariest rides that nobody in my family would do. They were laughing their heads off.”
Room full of memorabilia
And Sister Kuhn's devotion to the Astros also knew no limit. At another Buckle wedding, the family spotted Sister Kuhn with a tiny earphone, concealed by her habit and connected to an old-fashioned transistor radio.
“She later smiled while denying having the game on during the ceremony,” said Buckle's son, Chris.
Even though she could no longer get to the ballpark, she never missed a game this last season on the small TV in her room.
Her health worsened at Christmas when she had a stroke that prevented her from speaking.
“She still understood everything and would smile and nod ‘yes' when asked if the Astros would be ready for next year,” said Sister Brigid Cummins.
Yet she must have sensed the end was near. Last summer, she gave away most of the Astros' memorabilia that decorated her room — from the ball she pitched to the signed photographs she possessed — to family members. All that remained was former first baseman Jeff Bagwell's No. 5 jersey, pinned in its place of honor on her wall.
Sister Cummins folded up the jersey to give to Sister Kuhn's family after she died.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Straw talks baseball and faith
Former baseball superstar Darryl Strawberry talks about his life in baseball, his failings, and his faith in God.
Hat tip to Spirit Daily for this one!
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Lou Gehrig's Farewell Speech: July 4, 1939
"Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans.
"Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn’t consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure, I’m lucky. Who wouldn’t consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball’s greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I'm lucky.
"When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift — that’s something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies — that’s something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter — that's something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so that you can have an education and build your body — it's a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed — that's the finest I know.
"So I close in saying that I might have been given a bad break, but I've got an awful lot to live for. Thank you."
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
GEAUX Tigers! LSU Wins College World Series and the National Championship!!!
The Tigers won their sixth national championship Wednesday night, defeating Texas 11-4 in the deciding game of the College World Series championship series at Rosenblatt Stadium.
After striking out Texas center fielder Connor Rowe to end the game, LSU pitcher Louis Coleman threw his glove high into the air and was tackled by catcher Micah Gibbs. It didn't take long for the rest of the LSU players to join the dog pile on the mound.
It is the first national championship for LSU coach Paul Mainieri, a former Tigers player, who was hired in 2006 to return the program to prominence.
The Tigers blew a 4-0 lead against the Longhorns, but scored five times in the sixth inning to blow the game open.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
GEAUX Tigers! LSU Wins Game 1 in 11 innings!
LSU defeats the Longhorns in 11 innings! One win away from the National Championship! GEAUX Tigers! Here is a great story on the LSU head Coach Paul Mainieri.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
LSU Baseball moves forward in the College World Series!
Homers by centerfielder Mikie Mahtook, shortstop Austin Nola and designated hitter Blake Dean, as well as a solid performance by starter Louis Coleman, paced No.1 LSU to a 9-1 victory over Arkansas in the second round of the College World Series Monday night at Rosenblatt Stadium.
The Tigers (53-16) extended their winning streak to 12 straight games and will play again Friday at 1 p.m. CT against the winner of Wednesday’s elimination game between Arkansas (40-23) and Virginia (49-14-1).
For the rest of the story click the LSU Sports Net.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
LSU moves forward in College World Series!
Friday, April 24, 2009
Field of Dreams Baseball
"The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh... people will come Ray. People will most definitely come."
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Cub Fans Speak!
It's gonna happen! Fans of all ages talk about the Chicago Cubs, baseball, love, faith...and the long wait. Find out about each of these fans, from every decade, here.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Champions of Faith: God and Baseball!
I showed this video to my Freshmen the last semester that I was at Don Bosco Prep and I think the boys appreciated it. It is great to hear baseball hero's share the faith and love that have for God! For more information on this film go to Champions of Faith!
Monday, July 21, 2008
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Best Baseball Game Ever!
It is the summer time and the Cubs are in first place so I thought I would share this baseball post! I came across this video of a group of people who decided to make a regular little league game into the best game ever! Tell me what you think!
