The Great Zuke

Father's Day

2010-06-20T22:23:00.000-07:00

Father's Day changes for me evey year. It's gone from wondering what to get my dad for father's day to wondering what to tell my kids to get their dad.
Father's day is about love. It's really an excuse to be our ideal selves. We go out of our way to get along and pitch in to make Father's Day special.
My kids puiled it off. They catered to my every need all day and most of all they spent time with me today instead of wathching TV and spending the day on Facebook. How freshfreshing.
I thank my family, not just for this day, but for all the days I have them in my life. And as for my father, I wish he was here. How I could use his advice, his calming influnence on my life. Man I miss him.
Another Father's day in the book and it finds me with mixed emotions. I am so lucky to have my family in my life and I sure miss my dad.

Finally getting a hit

2010-06-06T19:59:00.000-07:00

I don't feel like I've done a lot of great things in my life. I doubt I will ever get to that point where I can sit down and say 'wow, you did good.'
I hope I'm getting closer. Last week I stood on the baseball field at Utah Valley University with the Palfreyman family and awarded Austin Haws the Dave Palfreyman scholarship.
I was honored to be part of it. It gave me a glimpse of perhaps what could be. It is a small scholarship, but it will help Austin continue to chase his dream of playing baseball at UVU and that was nearly taken away from him nine months ago by a drunk driver.
Austin broke his neck in the accident and was nearly killed. But he's making a comeback now and with the Second Chance Foundation of Utah and the Palfreyman family we can help his comeback.
I couldn't think of anything I would rather do than have a hand in some small way helping Austin. It may not have been a home run, it's not some grandiose accomplishment, but it was a hit for me and I hope it's the starting of a long hitting streak.

Dave Palfreyman Scholarship

2010-05-16T19:33:00.001-07:00

In a few weeks I will be announcing the winner of the Dave Palfreyman scholarship. It will go to a Utah Valley University athlete who needs help to continue to pursue an athletic career.
I can't think of anything I would rather do than to help an athlete continue to play at the college level. My hope is that one day someone will tell me “If it wasn't for you I wouldn't have played college baseball." How cool would that be?
Dave Palfreyman passed away last year of cancer. He was a good man and a UVU supporter. It's not always cool to be a UVU supporter, not with BYU just a few miles away.
Guys like Palfreyman didn't care. They knew they were needed and they made a difference. It is an honor to have the scholarship in his name.
I hope this will be an annual event but if not, this year will offer a memorable moment. If anyone wants more information on the scholarship they can go to www.secondchancefoundationofutah.com
I will present the scholarship on May 31, at the 11th annual Utah Valley All-Star baseball classic at UVU. I hope to see you there.

Video Zuke

2010-02-28T20:58:00.000-08:00

I decided to try something new this year with our Beat the Zuke contest. I've been picking the winners of high school games for 19 years now, but just to try something different, I thought it might be fun to do some video segments. Last week I went to Orem High School for our final basketball week of the season. Check it out. Hopefully you'll get a laugh.
click here for the link. www.heraldextra.com/html_572c1356-8e18-11de-9952-001cc4c03286.html?#vmix_media_id=10908480

Tell me if this is a crazy idea

2010-02-12T22:55:00.001-08:00

I have been known for coming up with some crazy ideas in my days, but this one might be the strangest one yet.
Here it is. My idea is to have a high school seniors vs. coaches football game in May.
Doesn't sound so stange yet, but here's the kicker. It's a full contact, tackle, pads, helmets, the works.
A team consisting of soon-to-be graduating seniors will take on a team made up of coaches, former players, and celebrities.
I'm not really sure how the game will be received, I guess that's the big risk, but I'm guessing there will be a curiosity factor. People are going to want to see the coaches play. Players are going to want to go up against their coaches.
It certainly will be unique. To my knowledge now one has ever tried this. It could be a hit or it could be a flop, but I'm willing to give it a shot.
I'm not one that lives life thinking what could go wrong, I guess I'm optimistic in that way. The game is set for May 8 at Timpview High School. More details will be coming soon, and I hope both the coaches and players will go for it and have fun with it. I would like to use the proceeds, if there are any, to help fund an athletic scholarship for the Second Chance Foundation of Utah.
There just aren't enough athletic scholarships. One of my goals with the foundation is to provide an athletic scholarship for someone who needs help to keep their athletic career alive.
If I could do that with this game, it will be worth the time effort and work that will go into putting this event together.
Football in May? Why not. There's really never a bad time to play a football game.

Baseball in November

2008-12-09T19:33:00.000-08:00

There is nothing quite like playing baseball in November. I must say, it is the highlight of my year. This all started in 1993 when I was invited to go to Orlando, Florida to play in the Roy Hobbs World Series. That first year our team went 1-5, but it was amazing. I was hooked.
Now every year our team goes to Florida to play a week long tournament at the Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins spring training complex' in Fort Myers, Florida.
This year our team had no pitching. I had thrown in just one inning prior to the tournament due to finger and shoulder injuries. What's weird is I had the most innings pitching of anyone on our staff. In other words, no one else had even thrown one inning.
I was shocked that our pitching held up. It was our hitting that hurt us. We had a hard time adjusting to wood bats. We went 2-5 in the tournament, but we only really lost one game. Our first game we lost 10-0, but after that we should have won three other games.
We lost in the second round of the tournament, but more than the wins and losses was the good times and good company. I loved going out on the beach and listening to live music.
One night we went to Coconut Fest, a huge town festival that Derek Wright called Strawberry Days on steroids. Survivor was playing an outdoor concert. It was a lot of fun. The whole week was a lot of fun.
Over the years I have made some of the best friendships of my life playing baseball. I love the guys on my team. We have a bond that comes from years of playing together. It is really what sports are about. When the tournaments and seasons are over, the friendships are what endures. I could go play with other teams and other tournaments, but that's not that fun.
Playing baseball with a group of friends, guys whom you choose to play with, makes all the difference. The jokes, the laughter, the food and the companionship. It can't be beat.
As time goes on, I don't remember so much the wins and loses, but I'll never forget the people I play with.

Favre and Packers Dumb and Dumber

2008-07-31T20:37:00.000-07:00

I’m still waiting for someone to offer me money to shut up and go away.
I wonder if I put that option on e-bay how much money I could raise?

I’m sure some people would go all in.

I say this because apparently the Green Bay Packers have offered Brett Favre $20 million dollars to go away.
I’m no agent, but that sounds like a pretty good deal to me. Take it Favre.

As a Packer fan, this whole fiasco is making me consider being a Bears fan.

Whew, I’m glad that thought didn’t last long.

But seriously, what is wrong with Green Bay’s front office? How much is it really going to set the franchise back by giving Favre another year? I know he had a chance. He put the Packers in a bind, but refusing to let Favre compete for the starting job is just plain dumb.

The shareholders are restless. Their stupidity rivals Favre’s stubbornness.
If Favre is really determined to come back, why not get something of value for him?

Trade him to the Bears. What harm could he do with that offense?

Even if he was traded to the Vikings and he helped them become a playoff team, it wouldn’t look near as dumb as offering him that much money to go away.

Who wouldn’t want to get a draft pick out of the Vikings rather than to pay Favre $20million to call it quits?

The Packers have blown it now. They have lost their leverage.
This whole thing could have actually helped Green Bay. The Packers got nothing when Favre decided to retire. Now they could get something of value by him coming back if they haven’t already waited too long.

The Minor Leagues

2008-07-30T20:00:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's because the Brew Crew is in the process of getting swept by the Chicago Cubs, and I need something to keep my mind off the pain, but there is so much to love about Minor League Baseball.
I just finished writing a lengthy feature for the Daily Herald on Orem Owlz manager Tom Kotchman, who topped the 1,500 win mark in June and will be honored on July 31 by the Owlz.
Kotchman has been managing in the Minor Leagues 30 years. That is hard to comprehend. Since 1990, he has had just one losing season.
Every year I wonder if he's coming back and every year he does. I have hosted some of Kotchman's players in the past and know how much respect his players have for him.
I took batting practice with Casey Child, one of his former players last week. Casey hit .325 with 11 home runs and was an all-star under Kotchman in Boise, Idaho. He struggled the next year and Casey said Kotchman told him, “Where do you want to hit. Just tell me where you're most comfortable and I'll hit you there all year."
Casey was released after his second year, but he to this day has a lot of respect for Kotchman.
Kotchman could have been managing in the Big Leagues or at higher levels in the minor leagues but he has stayed at the Rookie level so he could see his family more. He gets it.
There are so many interesting stories in minor league baseball. I would love to cover an independent minor league baseball team. When a player does well, fans pass the hat and put money in it to reward the player for a good night.
How cool is that?
I am currently collecting stories to include in a book that will have a minor league baseball storyline. To me, players in the minor leagues are much more interesting than those in the Major Leagues or the NBA.
Minor League players are a lot like high school players. The game still matters to them. The passion for the game is still alive and that's refreshing to me.