Neil Armstrong

Joe is walking down the street when he sees Neil Armstrong coming toward him. Joe says, "Hey, you're Neil Armstrong, aren't you?" Neil says, "Yes, I am." "Man, you're my biggest hero," Joe says, "and that speech you gave about one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind was just awe-inspiring." "You have to understand something about that speech," Neil says. "Back then, communications weren't that good and that's not what I said." "Well, what did you say?" Joe asks. "I said, 'That's one small step for man and one giant leap for Dan Rind.'" Joe is confused and asks, "Who the hell is Dan Rind?" "Well, he's my next-door neighbor," Neil says. "What the hell has he got to do with anything?" Joe asks. "You see," Neil says, "about three months before the launch, I was walking past Dan's open bedroom window when I heard his wife exclaim, 'They'll put a man on the moon before you stick that in my mouth.'"

Superman's widow passes

Cancer claims Superman's widow

The wife of late Superman actor Christopher Reeve, who became an influential health activist after the star's death, has died.

Dana Reeve, who nursed the paralysed actor for nine years until his death in 2004, has died of lung cancer at the age of 44.

The Christopher Reeve Foundation, which backs research on the treatment of spinal cord injuries said Mrs Reeve, a nonsmoker and mother of a teenage son, had died on Monday night.

Christopher and Dana Reeve married in 1992. Life changed drastically for the glamorous showbiz couple three years later when Christopher Reeve suffered near-total paralysis in a horse-riding accident and almost died.

With him, she became an activist in the search for a cure for spinal cord injuries.

Kirby Puckett passes after stroke complications

Hall of Famer and Twins great Kirby Puckett passed away Monday afternoon at a Phoenix hospital, one day after suffering a massive stroke. He was 45.
"The entire Minnesota Twins organization is saddened by the loss of Twins great Kirby Puckett," the team said in a statement.

Considered one of the greatest players ever to don a Twins uniform, Puckett spent 12 years with the club before his career was cut short in 1996 when glaucoma caused him to lose sight in his right eye. Puckett retired as the club's all-time leader in hits (2,304), doubles (414), total bases (3,453), at-bats (7,244) and runs (1,071). The 10-time All-Star was then selected as a first-ballot inductee into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001.

"This is a sad day for the Minnesota Twins, Major League Baseball and baseball fans everywhere," Twins owner Carl Pohlad said.

Puckett was a six-time Gold Glove outfielder and five-time Silver Slugger. He led the American League in hitting in 1989, batting .339. But, aside from his affable personality, he was best known for his unforgettable walk-off home run in Game 6 of the 1991 World Series, which the Twins won in seven games. He was the MVP of the ALCS that year and also was a key member of the Twins' 1987 World Series championship team.

He was a leader off the field as well, being honored with the Roberto Clemente Award in 1996. Puckett is survived by his daughter Catherine, son Kirby, Jr., and his fiancée Jodi Olson and her son Cameron.

Arrangements have not yet been made for Puckett's memorial but tributes began popping up at the Metrodome almost immediately following the announcement of Puckett's passing. Signs, flowers and baseballs were laid out in front of the Twins' stadium to honor one of the most popular Twins players of all time.

"On behalf of Major League Baseball, I am terribly saddened by the sudden passing of Kirby Puckett," Commissioner Allan H. "Bud" Selig said in a statement Monday night. "Kirby was one of the great players of the 1980s and 1990s. I admired Kirby throughout his career. He was a Hall of Famer in every sense of the term.

"He played his entire career with the Twins and was an icon in Minnesota. But he was revered throughout the country and will be remembered wherever the game is played. Kirby was taken from us much too soon -- and too quickly. My deepest sympathies and condolences go out to his family and friends."

Puckett suffered the stroke at his home in Scottsdale, Ariz., early Sunday morning and underwent surgery that afternoon. The Hall of Fame player remained in critical condition and in intensive care at St. Josephs Hospital and Medical Center until Monday afternoon when the hospital said he was given last rites and had died.

It was a sad ending to a life that appeared to be the picturesque story of the American dream. The youngest of nine children who grew up amid poverty in a Chicago housing project, Puckett was drafted by the Twins in 1982 and became a fixture of the team just two years later.

It didn't take long for Puckett to establish a star-like quality, as on May 8, 1984, in Anaheim, Calif., he became the ninth player in MLB history to collect four hits in his Major League debut.

One of the rare players of this generation who spent his entire career with one club, Puckett became more than just an ordinary hero in Minnesota -- he was a legend. Even with his 5-foot-8, 220-pound build that resembled a football player more than an outfielder, "Puck" was known for his flair for nifty catches and a strong arm that never seemed to miss a target. A fan favorite, it was Puckett's everyman look and gregarious attitude that seemed to appeal to the legions of baseball followers.

"He was small, strong and didn't have a prototypical baseball body," Twins general manager Terry Ryan said. "And it was something that people really seemed to relate to. He was some kind of strong."

Puckett continued to generate highlight reels like the ones he made in the '91 World Series until he woke up one morning in March of 1996 with blurred vision in his right eye. He never again would play in a Major League game. The Twins retired his No. 34 jersey in 1997 and enshrined him in the inaugural class selected for the organization's Hall of Fame in 2000.

Even with the bad luck he received at the end of his career, Puckett never seemed to dwell on the negativity. The phrase of living a dream became a favorite of Puckett's and one than he used on numerous occasions.

"I want you to remember the guiding principles of my life: You can be what you want to be," Puckett said in his Hall of Fame speech in 2001. "If you believe in yourself, and you work hard, anything, and I'm telling you, anything is possible."

Puckett remained a fixture with the team even following his retirement. He joined the Twins front office staff as an executive vice president but resigned the role in 2002. The team had been trying to get the former player to come back as a special instructor for this year's Spring Training, but those attempts were unsuccessful.

"It seemed just right with him in a Twins uniform and the last few years he wasn't in one, which really bothers a lot of us," Ryan said. "You always wonder what could have happened if we had just kept him in uniform. That's bothersome."

The dramatic end to his career appeared to hurt Puckett deeply even though he never admitted it publicly, and his health seemed to suffer because of it. The former slugger continued to put on weight since retiring. The weight gain was especially alarming considering Puckett's family history of heart disease. The player had lost many of his family members before the age of 50 to various health problems.

"The last few times I saw him, he just kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger," Twins great Tony Oliva said.

It was worrisome to both Twins center fielder Torii Hunter and Jacque Jones, now with the Cubs. The two players came up in the Minnesota system and viewed Puckett as a mentor in their early years.

"We were all concerned," Jones said Sunday. "A man's going to be a man, a woman's going to be a woman. You can't change what they're going to do unless they want to change. He enjoyed life, he enjoyed the size he was. That's who he was."

It wasn't just his weight that seemed to spiral out of control once his playing days were over. Puckett went through a divorce in late 2001, and then in 2002, charges of abuse from a woman that he allegedly had an 18-year-affair with surfaced.

The bad news continued to pile on the former player and Puckett dropped out of the public view after his 2003 acquittal on charges that he groped a woman at a Twin Cities restaurant.

There had been hope things were turning around for Puckett, as some Twins players and coaches who saw Puckett at Harmon Killebrew's golf outing in Arizona this past November said Puckett appeared to be trying to lose weight and get his health back in order. He was also planning to remarry this June.

It's the thought that a life that seemed ready to restart ended so soon that sticks with Ryan.

"Losing part of playing career and now this, it just doesn't seem right," Ryan said. "And it doesn't seem fair. Unfortunately, it's starting to settle in now."

What's the big deal about Steeler football?

Being a Steeler fan means so much more than football. It does not even have much to do about winning, although winning is certainly better than losing. It means being from a corner of the world unlike any other. It means being from a place where the people are so tough-minded that they have survived the Homestead strike and the Johnstown Flood. They survived working 24 hours a day in mills and railroads and foundries and factories and mines during depressions, recessions, and wars, and they always knew on whose side they were. They even survived the abandonment of their industries and jobs.

These people have the DNA of hard work, without the necessity of complaint. They live simply, with no frills. All they ever want is to educate their kids and make their kids' and grandchildren’s' lives better than theirs. If you want to make a life-long friend of a Pittsburgher, just help his child.

They don't have movie stars or fancy cars or Rodeo Drive. Instead they have chipped ham, kobassi, and a "couple of beers." Instead they have the Strip, Polish Hill, Norside, Sousside and the Hill, and for an outing they go "Dan Tan" or Kennywood, and they miss the streetcar.

These people are genuine. They don't like chic cafes and cappuccinos,
but they support the Original Hot Dog and Iron City Beer. (and don't forget Jack's) And they never forget when it is their turn to buy! People from Pittsburgh don't have sunny beaches or fancy boats. (They think a pontoon houseboat is a yacht)

But the rivers roll gently, connecting the small towns of people whose histories have been built on strength and humility and work, 3 to 11, 11 to 7, 7 to 11, then swing...and then start again.

People from Pittsburgh don't have the biggest shopping malls or the best nightclubs, but they'll take Friday night high school football and Steeler Sunday over anything! Steeler Football means so much more than you think. It symbolizes a Diaspora of generations who had the best childhood they could imagine.

They ran free without a care or concern in the valleys of those Allegheny Mountains. They went out in the summer morning and came home at dark. Their blue-collar world
was easy ...

There was no one to tell them that they lacked material things --
There was no one to tell them that they needed more.

One October home run in 1960 was the greatest event in Pittsburgh history from VJ Day until the day the Steelers won their first Superbowl.

As the steel mills closed and the jobs disappeared, some of these people had to leave. Their children had to leave to find their fortune and place in the world. The world benefited because they spread their Pittsburgh values, even if they might still long for their home where things seemed simpler and more pure.

They try to teach their kids about Jack Lambert and Joe Greene and Clemente, and Mario, in hopes of departing not just the knowledge, but also the goodness and the passion they represented. (Just ask about Jack Lambert or his football camp, and what he was, or remember Joe Greene in his famous Coke commercial)

These Pittsburgh fanatics are everywhere, with those terrible towels created by the worst broadcaster ever heard on the radio, who donated the rights to the terrible towel to Allegheny School for Retarded Children. The school has earned over $2,000,000 from the towels, not counting this year's sales, which may be up this year by all reports. The towels wave, not just for the team, but also for the hearts they left behind. They wave in living rooms and (motel railings in Fort Lauderdale) and in the bars in D.C.
They wave all the way to Seattle. They wave for the Rooney family, whose values mirror Pittsburgh's own -- loyalty, grit, and humility. (Art Rooney came to my uncle's funeral, and my uncle was just a referee!)

The Steelers don't need cheerleaders! They know when to cheer, when to be quiet, and who to cheer and who to boo. The Fans wave their towels for football players like Jerome Bettis and Hines Ward, whose unselfishness and toughness have allowed sports to be about the game and the team. The Steelers have the Steel Symbol only on one side of their helmet to save money. Everyone know whose helmet it is, so why waste money for two decals?

Steeler football is not just about football.

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes

Jason McElwain is carried off the court after his 20-point performance in Greece Athena's regular-season finale.

The 17-year-old senior, manager of the Greece Athena High School basketball team, drained a three-pointer, a double-pump layup and a free throw, kissed the back of his ring finger at center court and sped off to the dressing room to exhort and amuse his teammates.

"You've gotta give it everything you got!" McElwain sang in rap verse. "The winner goes home all happy/The loser goes home and says/'Mommy we lost the game, wah wah wah!'"

McElwain, who is autistic, was back in his role as an all-around motivator on the eve of a sectional semifinal game Tuesday night — handing out water bottles, dispensing tips, helping run drills. Two weeks earlier, he suited up for a game and delivered a jaw-dropping performance.

His play drew national attention, and a flood of calls from Hollywood. His parents have received inquiries from about 25 production companies ranging from The Walt Disney Co. and Warner Bros. to independent documentary filmmakers.

"I don't know what I'm walking into," McElwain said.

In his team's final home game of the season, McElwain entered with four minutes to go. It was his first and only appearance for the Athena varsity team in this Rochester suburb. The 5-foot-6 manager hit six three-point shots and a 2-pointer and was carried off the court on his teammates' shoulders.

His triumph was captured on a student video that made the rounds of the television networks. The school was besieged with calls and e-mails from parents of children who have autism, a little-understood developmental disorder.

"We have an obligation as a society to find a way to include people with different abilities," said the school's athletic director, Randolph Hutto, whose 12-year-old son, Joshua, is autistic. "This, hopefully, will help open doors for some people, or open some eyes."

McElwain, who didn't begin talking until he was 5, still lacks social skills but has learned to cope well in his teens, said his special-education teacher, Diane Maddock.

"He might talk a little loud, laugh a little too long or not be able the read the body language or even the tone of voice of a person, but it's not a big difficulty," Maddock said. "If you call him on it, he will acknowledge it, say 'OK, you're right, I shouldn't have said that or laughed when I laughed.'"

"This couldn't happen to a nicer kid," she added.

Considered too small to make the junior varsity, McElwain signed on as manager, then took up the same role with the varsity to stay near the sport he loves. Amazed at his dedication, coach Jim Johnson had him suit up for the home finale. There was no guarantee he would play — Athena was battling for a division title — but he got in when the Trojans opened a large lead.

"It was like a big old bucket and I was just hitting them like they were free throws," McElwain said. "I just felt relaxed."

The coach couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"He's been my right-hand man, he's there every day and just getting him the opportunity to suit up was emotional enough for me," he said. "For him to come in and seize the moment like he did was certainly more than I ever expected. I was an emotional wreck."

Because he played in just one regular-season game, McElwain was ineligible for sectional play. But he's not bothered.

"I just want to win as a team, not individually," he said.

What's more, he prides himself on having a lot of friends.

"I'm not really that different," he said. "I don't really care about this autistic situation, really. It's just the way I am. The advice I'd give to autistic people is just keep working, just keep dreaming, you'll get your chance and you'll do it."

In the midst of Olympic stories about prima donna skiers and squabbling speed skaters came a truly inspiring sports story last week.

Jason McElwain is a 17-year-old senior at Greece Athena High School in Greece, NY. McElwain is autistic. Like many other autistic people, McElwain struggles with verbal skills and social interaction, so it is remarkable enough that the towheaded teen serves as the manager for the school's basketball team.

He's been team manager since junior high when coaches told him that at 5-foot-six-inches, he wasn't tall enough to play for the school team. Not discouraged, McElwain opted to be the team manager, keeping statistics for the game, handling the clock and serving as a general team gopher.

Wearing his own uniform - a white shirt and black tie - he watched the games from the bench for the last six years.

Until last week, that is.

Prompted by fans, coaches at the school said they would let McElwain play in an actual game. On the day of the last regular-season game of the year, fans with James McElwain signs filled then gymnasium. There were only four minutes left in the game when coaches looked down the bench and signaled McElwain -now dressed in a regulation uniform - into the game. His team was up 20 points and coaches figured they were safe to let the boy live his dream of taking the court during a real high school basketball game.

In a later interview, the coach said McElwain was so excited he almost failed to check in at the timekeeper's table before he sprinted onto the court.

No one expected McElwain to do very much. When he tossed his first shot into the air, he missed, with the ball sailing in a wide arc over the goal. His second shot - a lay up - was off course, too.

He didn't give up, though. He tried another shot, one from three-point range. This one swished through the basket and the gymnasium erupted with cheers.

McElwain wasn't done. He went on to hit six three-point shots, finishing the game with 20 points, all scored within four minutes.

At the end of the game, the teenager who didn't learn to talk until he was five was carried off the court on the shoulders of his teammates.

The Greece Athena High School Trojans won the sectional title, thanks in part to the work of one young man who wouldn't quit.

It's said the first Olympics took place in Greece, founded on the principals of athleticism, accomplishment and valor. Now, thousands of years later, those same traits are found in one high school boy who proves heroes come in all shapes and sizes.

Article link