Second thoughts

Friday, December 6, 2013

White Sox part-timer real bargain

Retirement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, at least in the case of Chicago White Sox slugger Paul Konerko, as David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune found out.

“Unwinding in Arizona after a 99-loss season hardly provided White Sox slugger Paul Konerko the tranquil southwest setting many imagined as the backdrop for deciding whether to return to the South Side,” Haugh wrote.

“ ‘When you have three kids who are 8, 5 and 2, you come home and jump right into the fray, but that was good,’ Konerko said after the team announced Wednesday he is coming back in 2014 for a final season.

“While Konerko stayed busy as a dad in the desert, he slowly realized how much he would miss setting an example for young players in a White Sox organization he always envisioned leaving in better shape.

“Konerko heard friends such as Jim Thome and Mark Kotsay rave about their experiences as part-time players late in their careers. He received text messages from teammates such as Gordon Beckham who wanted him back in the clubhouse every day no matter how often he appeared in the lineup.

“Mostly, Konerko listened to his wife, Jennifer, and people close to him whose collective outlook gradually changed over a lost Sox summer.

“If anybody in Chicago sports has earned a victory lap, it’s Konerko, the classiest pro athlete in town. Is Konerko an ideal fit for a slow roster that includes first-base phenom Jose Abreu and Adam Dunn? No. But re-signing Konerko was the easiest move Sox general manager Rick Hahn will make this off season.

“ ‘This is a one-shot deal to be a good influence, do some good things on the field and get it going the right direction again,’ Konerko said. ‘The easiest thing for me would have been to retire.’

“A baseball city should be grateful he didn’t.”

It’s just a game

A woman charged with killing a fellow Alabama fan after the end of last weekend’s Iron Bowl against Auburn was angry that the victim and others didn’t seem upset over the Crimson Tide’s loss to the rival Tigers, said the sister of the slain woman.

Adrian Laroze Briskey, 28, was charged Monday with murder in the killing of 36-year-old Michelle Shepherd.

Hoover, Ala., police Capt. Jim Coker said both women were at a party hosted by a mutual friend watching the game. The victim’s sister, Nekesa Shepherd, said she witnessed the killing and had no doubt it was about football, even though it was unclear to investigators whether the violence was motivated by the game.

Coker said alcohol may have been involved, but investigators are awaiting the results of toxicology tests to make a determination.

Nekesa Shepherd said Briskey flew into a rage when she saw the sisters and others joking that the Crimson Tide’s loss wasn’t as bad as if the NBA’s Miami Heat had lost a game.

“She said we weren’t real Alabama fans because it didn’t bother us that they lost,” Shepherd told The Associated Press. “And then she started shooting.”

Quote of the day

“I’ve been fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time throughout my career.” Auburn Coach Gus Malzahn

Sports, Pages 18 on 12/06/2013