LITTLE ROCK — Ex-scout still carries some clout
Gary Nickels, a Naperville, Ill.-based scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers, was watching Antiques Roadshow on PBS once when the item being discussed was a baseball signed by players from the 1961 New York Yankees.
“The host was saying that balls with a lot of signatures don’t have that much value, not as much as ones just signed by the top players,” Nickels said. “But he said this one was different because of one name - Bob Hale. There weren’t very many signed by him.”
Hale, who died earlier this month at 78, was one of 36 players who played for the Yankees in the season when Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle chased Babe Ruth’s single-season home run record. He got into 11 games as a backup to first baseman Moose Skowron.
Hale was 27 at the end of that season but retired to pursue his doctorate in education. He spent most of his life as an elementaryschool principal and part-time scout.
“He was a great guy to scout against,” Nickels said. “You always learned something scouting against Bob. ... We’re already missing him.” For sale
Chances are you’ll never have a golf game anywhere close to as good as Rory McIIroy’s, but if you have $3.24 million sitting around collecting dust, you can at least live like the top-ranked golfer in the world.
According to the Irish Times, McIlroy is putting his house in Moneyreagh, Northern Ireland, on the market just three years after he purchased the property. The 14-acre estate includes a 6,000-square-foot home, a pond and a golf practice area with four greens and a driving range.
Eating light
From Janice Hough of leftcoastsportsbabe.com: “Iowa lost to Central Michigan in football? Once again, proof you can choke on a cupcake.” Streaking
The Atlanta Braves have won21 consecutive starts by Kris Medlen, who didn’t make his first start this season until July 31.
His streak goes back to 2010, before he had elbow surgery, and is the longest such streak in the big leagues since the Yankees won 22 in a row behind Whitey Ford.
“It’s awesome,” Medlen said.
“My wife has told me, and a couple of people have said some of the names I’m being mentioned with. Whitey Ford? Come on.
Don’t even say it. ... Anytime you can get mentioned in the samesentence as guys like that, it’s really cool. I just try not to get too far ahead of myself, just focus on the goal at hand, which is trying to make the playoffs.” Bowled over
Steve Harvey of The Bottom Ten, on the Fiesta Bowl’s campaign-financing scandal: “As punishment, the Fiesta Bowl will have to call itself the Poulan Weed-Eater Bowl for the next three years.”Quote of the day “It’s going to be one of the most exciting Sundays of the year.”
Rory McIlroy heading into the final day of FedEx Cup play
Sports, Pages 26 on 09/23/2012