Mark Buehrle didn't especially like the hazing he endured while he was a rookie with the Chicago White Sox in 2000. So now that Buehrle has become a veteran, he's gone the other way in how he treats rookies.
Now with the Toronto Blue Jays, Buehrle discussed with Canadian website sportsnet.ca recently his dealings with young players the last two seasons.
Rather than being shoved with four or five other teammates into an airplane bathroom -- a move called the "Hotbox" -- Buehrle took five rookies last season suit shopping. It came after the players carried water onto buses or planes for their teammates, an initiation of sorts, but nothing like what Buehrle said he went through.
"It's like 'Thanks for being a good sport, you did everything we asked you, here's a suit or two for you,'" Buehrle said.
Sometimes Buehrle's helpful side can be cause for confusion, like last year when Marcus Stroman was suspended five games by Major League baseball for throwing at the head of Baltimore Orioles catcher Caleb Joseph. As Buehrle told the story, Joseph upset Blue Jays shortstop Jose Reyes when he stepped on his hand. Buehrle told the website that he told Stroman to "go get them." Stroman thought he was telling him to throw at Joseph, so he did.
Stroman said Buehrle helped him through the suspension.
"He let me know everything was going to be fine, just keep quiet, it's going to die down," he said. "He was there for me. Normally, the young guys are scared to approach the older, more established guys. ... He's the complete opposite of that."
Stress relief
Playing a Division I sport can be fairly time consuming and overwhelming. Xavier basketball player Matt Stainbrook has found a good way to relieve some stress.
Stainbrook, a 6-10 senior forward, is a part-time driver for the taxi service Uber. Whenever he gets the chance he'll drive his 2004 gold Buick Rendezvous through the streets of Cincinnati, concentrating on his routes through the street rather than on the floor.
"It's relaxing," Stainbrook told the New York Post. "It sort of gets your mind off basketball, because I tell you, the majority of the time you're thinking about basketball or school.
"You get to talk to people who don't always want to talk basketball all the time, so it's a change of pace."
Don't look ahead
No. 2 seed Arizona got by Xavier with a 68-60 victory on Thursday night to advance to today's Elite Eight game against No. 1 seed Wisconsin.
The Wildcats are glad to be there, of course, considering a victory means they will advance to the Final Four for the first time since 2001.
Assistant coach Joseph Blair, who was on Arizona's 1994 team, is convinced his players weren't looking ahead, though.
"If any one of the players told me that's what they were thinking about before the game," Blair said. "I probably would have punched them in the face."
Sports quiz
Q. Which school has the most NCAA Tournament appearences without reaching the Final Four?
A. Brigham Young, which has been to 29 tournaments.
Sports on 03/28/2015